As Elara looked on, Ignatius nodded thoughtfully. He turned his attention to the large ball of webbing, where dozens of spiders now scurried about frantically, trying to repair the damage that his flames had caused as they traveled along the webbing.
Velma made a noise of appreciation at the sight, her eyes glinting with a mix of fascination and disgust. “Hey, Ignatius,” she called out, her voice echoing in the cavern. “Think you could destroy that big ball over there?”
Isolde stepped forward, her gaze fixed on the nest. “This is probably the nest,” she said, her tone grim.
Velma nodded in agreement. “Then it would be better if we do that. If this isn’t the boss, we need to find a way out of this cavern. And we won’t be able to do it with a bunch of spiders on our asses.”
Isolde sighed, then turned to Ignatius. “Torch it all,” she said, her voice firm.
Ignatius complied without hesitation. He raised his staff, and a stream of fire burst forth, engulfing the nest in a blaze of heat and light. The spiders screeched and writhed as the flames consumed them, their bodies curling and blackening in the inferno.
Elara watched in a mix of horror and awe as the fire devoured the nest, the heat so intense that she could feel it even from where she stood. The scent of burning webbing and charred flesh filled the air.
Isolde stepped beside her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Elara glanced up at her, seeing the grim determination in the older woman’s eyes.
As the flames died down, all that remained of the nest was a smoldering husk, the bodies of the spiders reduced to ash and charred remains. The cavern was eerily silent, save for the crackling of the residual flames and the breathing of the group.
Velma broke the silence, her voice cutting through the stillness. “Hey, Ignatius,” she called out, turning to the mage. “Did you get a lot of experience points for that?”
Ignatius looked at her, his eyes still gleaming with the residual energy of his spell. He nodded humbly, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. “Indeed, I have gotten quite a bit,” he admitted, his voice soft.
He turned to the rest of the group, his gaze sweeping over each of them. “Thank you all for allowing me to do that,” he said, his tone sincere.
Velma scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I’d rather be alive,” she retorted, her voice sharp. “I can always get experience points in other places.”
Isolde stepped forward, her gaze fixed on the smoldering remains of the nest. “We need to keep moving,” she said, her voice firm. “There’s no telling what else might lurk down here.”
Elara nodded in agreement, her hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of her dagger.
As she looked upwards, her eyes widened as a massive shadow loomed above them, blocking out the fire still sizzling away at the webs. Panic surged through her as she struggled to comprehend the sheer size of the shadow descending upon them.
“Move!” her mind screamed, but her body felt frozen, anchored by the overwhelming sight. Instinct took over just in time. She activated her voidwalk ability, teleporting to the other side of the smoldering pile of spider corpses.
A deafening crash erupted as the gargantuan arachnid landed where she had stood moments before, the impact shaking the entire cavern. The ground trembled violently, sending loose rocks tumbling from the walls. Her heart pounded in her chest, adrenaline surging through her veins.
“Alira!” Isolde’s voice cut through the chaos, filled with concern and urgency. Velma’s curses echoed sharply, each word a testament to their dire situation.
Elara spun around, her breath catching in her throat. She was now faced with the monstrous spider. Its body loomed like a dark mountain, the size of a house, with legs as thick as tree trunks, covered in bristling hairs that stood on end. Multiple eyes, gleaming with malevolent intelligence, fixed on where she was before. Its mandibles clicked together with a menacing rhythm that sent chills down her spine.
Ivoryfang Matriarch [Level:???]
“It’s above level 190!” Isolde shouted, her words echoing through the cavern. “Be careful and don’t hold back!”
The words caused Elara’s heart to speed up. She gripped the hilt of her dagger tightly; her knuckles turning white with the force of her grasp.
The Ivoryfang Matriarch let out a hiss that reverberated through the chamber, its mandibles clicking together in a savage rhythm. It moved forward, its legs carrying it towards them with a speed that belied its size.
Elara crouched behind the smoldering remains of the spider nest, her eyes fixed on the massive form of the Ivoryfang Matriarch. The creature’s back was turned towards her, its attention focused on the rest of the group.
She watched as Isolde emerged from the billowing smoke, her flail spinning in a blur of blue light. The weapon hummed with energy, casting an eerie glow on Isolde’s features.
But where was Ignatius? Elara strained her ears, trying to catch any sound of the mage’s voice or the crackling of his flames. She wanted to call out, to ask if he was alright, but she bit her tongue, knowing that any sound could draw the Matriarch’s attention. The spider’s legs twitched, its body shifting as it prepared to strike.
Isolde’s flail struck the Matriarch’s flank, the impact sending a shudder through the creature’s massive body. It let out a hiss of pain and rage, its multiple eyes gleaming with malevolent intelligence as it turned to face its attacker.
Elara watched as Isolde danced back. The older woman’s face was a mask of concentration. Her eyes narrowed as she calculated her next move.
The Matriarch lunged forward, its mandibles snapping at the air where Isolde had been just moments before. The ground shook with the force of its movement, loose rocks tumbling from the walls of the cavern.
Isolde swung her flail, the chain extending and wrapping around two of the Matriarch’s front legs. The spider hissed in anger, its movements becoming more erratic as it struggled against the restraints.
Sudden burst of sparks emerged from the shadows and directly hit the Matriarch’s eyes. The creature reared back, its mandibles clicking together in agitation. Her gaze darted to the source of the sparks, her heart leaping as she caught sight of Ignatius, his staff raised.
The Matriarch thrashed violently, its legs jerking and twitching as it tried to dislodge the flail. Isolde held fast, her muscles straining with the effort of keeping the creature contained. The spider’s mandibles snapped at the chains, trying to sever the links and free itself.
Isolde’s feet dug into the ground, her stance unnaturally solid. It had to be a skill, Elara surmised, one that allowed the older woman to hold her ground against the Matriarch’s thrashing.
The mage’s fireballs streaked through the air, each one finding its mark in one of the Matriarch’s many eyes. The creature hissed in pain and rage, its vision impaired by the relentless assault.
Blinded by Ignatius’s relentless fiery assault, the creature’s movements were erratic and desperate, driven by pain and rage.
Sticky webs shot forth from the spider’s spinnerets, the strands glistening in the flickering light of the flames. They streaked unnaturally towards Ignatius and Isolde, seeking to ensnare them, to immobilize them and render their attacks useless.
Ignatius danced back, his staff weaving intricate patterns in the air as he deflected the webs with bursts of flame. The strands sizzled and burned, disintegrating into ash before they could reach him.
Isolde was not so lucky. A strand of webbing caught her arm, the sticky substance clinging to her armor and pulling taut. She grunted with effort, her muscles straining as she fought against the web’s pull.
But even as the spider sought to immobilize its attackers, Velma darted forward, her movements a blur of speed. She ducked and weaved through the flailing legs, her blade flashing in the dim light of the cavern.
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She struck at the spider’s underbelly, her sword finding the gaps in its chitinous armor. The creature hissed in pain, its legs twitching as it tried to dislodge the nimble attacker.
Velma pressed her advantage, her blade seeking the joints of the spider’s legs. She struck, each blow calculated to cause maximum damage.
The Matriarch’s agonized hiss reverberated through the cavern, its massive form thrashing in a frenzy. The spider’s limbs convulsed as it struggled to shake off the relentless assault. With a sudden, bone-rattling roar, the Matriarch reared up, its jagged legs glinting menacingly in the dim light. It launched a fierce strike at Velma, its appendages slicing through the air.
Velma’s instincts took over. She twisted and rolled aside just in time, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow that would have reduced her to a smear on the cavern floor. But there was no time to recover. The Matriarch’s mandibles yawned open, revealing a glistening maw dripping with venom. With a guttural hiss, it spat a torrent of caustic poison, the air sizzling as the toxic liquid splattered across the stone.
Ignatius was relentless. Fireballs streaked through the air, each burst of flame searing the Matriarch’s eyes and forcing it to recoil with a shriek of pain. The relentless heat shattered its precision, turning its once-calculated strikes into frantic, erratic lunges. Shadows flickered wildly across the cavern walls, cast by the mage’s blazing onslaught, making the Matriarch’s every movement seem all the more monstrous.
Velma darted in and out of range, her blade a blur of steel and light. Each strike was swift and precise, aimed at exploiting the spider’s vulnerabilities. She moved with lethal grace, each step calculated to keep the Matriarch off balance.
But the Matriarch was no easy prey. It feinted with a vicious swipe of its legs, a deceptive strike meant to divert Velma’s focus. The moment she shifted to evade, the spider struck—spitting a torrent of venom straight at her.
She couldn’t dodge.
A piercing scream tore through the cavern as the caustic liquid splashed across Velma’s side. Elara watched in horror as the warrior’s sword slipped from her grasp, clattering against the stone. Velma crumpled to her knees, her body convulsing from shock and pain.
Elara’s heart pounded like a war drum, fear and desperation crashing through her in waves. Her grip tightened around her dagger, the cold metal biting into her palm.
Velma tried to rise, but her movements were jerky, uncoordinated. The toxin was already taking hold, draining her strength with every passing second.
Isolde’s face was a mask of grim determination as she fought to keep the Matriarch contained, her flail straining against the creature’s thrashing. Ignatius’s flames continued to streak through the air, each fireball finding its mark in the spider’s eyes, but the Matriarch’s rage only seemed to grow.
The creature’s movements were erratic, unpredictable, and with a sickening crunch, it wrenched its legs free from Isolde’s flail. With a clatter, the chains hit the ground.
Isolde stumbled back, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief. The Matriarch reared up, its massive form looming over her like a living nightmare. Its mandibles clicked together in a savage rhythm, toxin dripping from its fangs.
Elara saw her chance. She activated her voidwalk ability, teleporting to Velma’s side. The warrior flinched at her sudden appearance, her eyes glazed with pain and confusion. Elara didn’t hesitate. She placed Velma’s left arm over her shoulder, supporting her weight as she scanned the cavern for a safe spot.
The ground quaked violently with each of the Matriarch’s movements, sending loose rocks crashing down from the cavern walls. Elara’s jaw clenched in determination as she struggled to half-carry, half-drag Velma toward the relative safety of a large boulder jutting from the cavern floor. Each step felt like wading through mud. Velma’s body was heavy and unresponsive, her strength drained by the toxin coursing through her veins.
Amid the chaos, Isolde’s voice cut through the tumult, raw and urgent. “Hold on, Alira! You’re almost there!” Isolde’s words were barely audible over the cacophony of battle, but they carried a fierce determination. The older warrior moved with the grace of a seasoned fighter, her flail a deadly extension of her will. She swung the weapon in wide arcs, the chain snapping and rattling as it struck the Matriarch’s legs and body. The spider hissed in frustration, with a frenzied rage as it attempted to crush the persistent nuisance.
Elara’s heart raced, her breaths coming in ragged, uneven gasps. Each heartbeat seemed to reverberate in her ears as she reached the boulder, finally able to slump Velma against the rough stone. The warrior’s face was pallid, her breath coming in shallow, labored gasps. The toxin was visibly draining her vitality, her strength ebbing away with every passing second.
Elara’s eyes locked on Isolde, who was now dodging a particularly vicious swipe from the Matriarch’s front legs.
Ignatius continued his relentless assault on the Matriarch’s eyes, the mage’s flames searing the spider’s already burnt and blistered flesh. The creature’s hisses of pain and rage echoed through the cavern, its movements becoming more erratic and desperate with each passing second.
As she knelt beside Velma, her mind raced with the possibilities of how she could contribute to the fight. Velma had been the one to deal significant damage to the Matriarch, her blade finding the weak points in the spider’s chitinous armor with deadly precision. With Velma now incapacitated, Elara knew that someone needed to take up that role.
She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she knew she planned to do. She had to be the one to find the Matriarch’s vulnerabilities, to strike where it was weakest. It was a daunting task, but one that she knew she wanted to undertake.
Her eyes narrowed as she focused on the Matriarch, her gaze darting over the creature’s massive form. She took in every detail, every movement, every twitch of its legs and mandibles. She willed her Dragon’s Precision skill to activate, to guide her to the spider’s weak points.
The world seemed to slow down around her, the chaos of the battle fading into the background as her senses sharpened. She could see the Matriarch’s movements with a clarity that she had never experienced before, could anticipate its actions before they happened.
Her gaze was drawn to the joints of the spider’s legs, to the soft, unprotected flesh that lay beneath the hard outer shell. She knew that if she could strike there, if she could sever the connection to its body that allowed the creature to move, she could cripple it, render it vulnerable to Ignatius’s flames and Isolde’s flail.
Elara’s muscles tensed as she prepared to move. She knew she would only have one chance, one opportunity to strike before the Matriarch’s attention turned to her.
She activated her voidwalk ability, teleporting herself onto the Matriarch’s front leg. Her knuckles holding her dagger turned white as she channeled all her focus into her Dragon’s Precision skill. The world seemed to slow down around her as she struck at the joint, the point where her instincts told her the spider was vulnerable.
But to her dismay, the dagger barely scratched the surface of the Matriarch’s chitinous armor. She cursed under her breath, her frustration mounting as she realized that her own strength was not enough to pierce the spider’s tough exterior. She clung to the leg, her mind racing as she tried to think of another way to deal damage.
Ignatius’s surprised shout reached her ears, the mage clearly taken aback by her sudden appearance on the Matriarch’s leg. She ignored him, her attention focused solely on the task at hand. She knew she had to think fast, to come up with a plan before the Matriarch realized she was there and tried to shake her off.
As she held on, she felt the impact of Isolde’s flail against the spider’s body, the force of the blow reverberating through the creature’s frame. Isolde was fighting with everything she had, her strength evident in every strike. She watched in awe as the older woman swung her flail again and again; the chains wrapping around the Matriarch’s legs and body, seeking to restrain and cripple.
And then an idea struck her. If she couldn’t generate enough force on her own to pierce the Matriarch’s armor, perhaps she could use the spider’s own strength against it. Or even better, use Isolde’s strength.
Elara shifted her grip on the dagger, placing it back in her sheath, the cool metal sliding into the scabbard with a soft, reassuring click. Her heart pounded with renewed resolve. She voidwalked over to Velma’s short sword that lay abandoned. As her fingers wrapped around the hilt, a sense of awkwardness washed over her. The weight and balance of the sword felt foreign in her hand, a reminder that she lacked the skill to wield it.
But her plan didn’t require finesse with a blade. She focused her mind, activating her voidwalk once more, and in an instant, she found herself perched atop the Matriarch’s head. The Matriarch’s body heaved violently, its massive legs thrashing as it struggled against Isolde’s relentless assault. The clanging of Isolde’s flail and the spider’s furious hisses created a chaotic symphony of battle. Elara’s Dragon’s Precision skill flared to life, highlighting the critical weak spot beneath the spider’s armored exterior, showing her exactly where the creature’s brain lay.
Her grip tightened; she aligned the blade’s tip with the exposed vulnerability she’d pinpointed. The blade felt cumbersome, and as she thrust it downward, she could barely make a dent in the Matriarch’s tough exoskeleton. The resistance was palpable, the sword’s edge not biting as deeply as she’d hoped.
Undeterred, she held the sword steady, keeping it poised for the critical blow. She shouted over the din of battle, her voice raw with urgency, “Isolde! Hammer the sword in!”
Isolde’s gaze shot up, a look of disbelief flashing across her face. Her voice was strained as she responded, “Alira, you’ll get hit!”
“I won’t!” Elara retorted, her voice cutting through the noise with unyielding conviction. “Trust me!”
Isolde hesitated for a heartbeat before disengaging from the Matriarch. She swung her flail, the heavy head glowing blue and gaining momentum with each rotation. Isolde released the chain, letting it fly to its full height before pulling it down with a sharp pull. The metal head hurtled towards Elara like a meteor.
She watched as the flail grew closer and closer, her heart pounding in her chest. At the last possible instant, she activated her voidwalk.
In an instant, she reappeared beside Velma, her chest heaving as she steadied herself against the boulder. With a powerful force, the flail head struck the hilt of the short sword. With a resounding crunch, the force thrust the blade deep into the Matriarch’s head. The sword’s edge penetrated the spider’s brain, and for a moment, the cavern fell silent.
The Matriarch’s immense body went rigid, its legs twitching erratically in a final, futile dance. A dreadful stillness followed as the once-mighty creature succumbed to the fatal blow, its monstrous form collapsing with a shuddering thud.
[You and your allies have defeated Ivoryfang Matriarch [Level 278].
You have earned 60750 Exp.
You have leveled up to Level 46.
You have 50 unspent Stat points]