Alex joins the spider dungeon
29
The group retreated in formation while Brem fired, covering the withdrawal of his team. As they fell back, they noticed a pattern.
It seemed that the creatures were deliberately luring them somewhere. They did not pursue at high speed, but instead guided Tiffany's group.
Each lateral attack pushed the hunters toward a point covered in webs like walls. The path narrowed with every step they tookit was a hurried march for survival.
At one point, a tunnel awaited them like a door announcing salvation.
When they passed through the tunnel, everyone could finally breathe a little, relieved to still be alive.
They were in a kind of clearing. However, countless web strands wove through the area, intertwined like a hunting map only the spiders could understand.
Tiffany looked around, contemplating the silence. She sensed that something was wrongand she was not alone. The other hunters felt the same; their faces revealed a certain urgency.
Above the hunters' heads, something slid without them noticing. It had no concrete form, only a distortion in the surrounding darkness and the sound of webs being pulled toward some unknown place.
Finally, the hunt had begun, but none of those present knew that they were the prey, nor that a hunter was hidden in the darkness.
At this moment, night had fallen. The darkness in the clearing deepened, and the torches the hunters had lit barely illuminated their noses, the flames flickering lightly to the rhythm of their hearts.
"I feel something watching us. Everyone, resume battle formation."
Rouke's perception attribute screamed danger. Even though he was two stars, his class was still common. He was very strong for his level, but his authority and class were ordinary.
"I can feel something moving in the darkness too," Sarah said, brandishing her staff and administering healing to everyone.
The hunters watched their HP recover at a considerable speed.
Tiffany's heart still trembled with the movement of the darkness.
"Did you see that? It wasn't just me, right?" a hunter asked, terrified. Rouke raised his fist, signaling that everyone should be silent.
Brem slowly rotated his bow, ready to fire an arrow at anything that dared move in the darkness. His trained ears picked up something beyond the windit sounded like a voice.
It could have been a chant or a whisper, but he could not understand what had been said by the darkness.
"I think someone is speaking?" he said, tense and uncertain.
"I don't see or hear anything. Are you sure you didn't just hear the rustling of the wind?" Liam replied.
"I'm sure, it sounded like the voice of some people, but I can't understand what they said," Brem insisted. He knew what he had heard; the voices came from all directions, blending with the wind.
During the confrontations with the spiders, some, including Tiffany, had leveled up, but there was no way for them to check their system panelsany distraction would be enough to cost them their lives.
They could not rest; to survive, they had to remain vigilant at all times.
Suddenly, something moved from behind the hunters. A shadow tore through the darkness, and not even Rouke reacted in time.
"Careful, behind you!" Sarah shouted to the line of hunters in defensive formation, but it was too late.
The claws that pierced the darkness went through the chest of one hunter. He had no time to scream for help or lament his life. The second hunter turned his head, and the arm carrying his weapon was gone. He tried to scream as he was swallowed by the darkness.
In a single pull, the bodies vanished into the depths of the night's darkness.
Daniel's eyes glowed as his aura erupted from his bodyPredator Mark lv3. A beautiful crimson light clung to the creature moving through the darkness, but in an instant, the ability broke.
The mark that had shone in the darkness disappeared as if it had never existed.
"What the hell? The creature is immune to my tracking ability; this has never happened to me before. Leader, do something!" Daniel shouted in alarm.
Rouke did not hesitate. His axe was planted into the ground as the ability, Seismic Hammer lv3, was used. The forest trembled before the display of brute force, and the hunters around suffered damage even though they were not the targets of the ability.
The trees were uprooted by the power of the ability, but even with the powerful attack, they could not see the creature. Somehow, everyone knew the monster was still there.
Brem drew the string of his bow, scanning the darkness, Sarah illuminated the surroundings with her staff, Tiffany felt the air change, and the other hunters became vigilant.
The silence of the scene made the hunters' hearts tremble.
"The creature seems to be everywhere. What do we do now? Where should we strike?"
Liam whispered, his words tinged with fear. Unfortunately, there was no answer to this concern.
Alex found himself in a dead forest. Apparently, it was early; dawn could barely be seen through the mist. The dungeon seemed like an open world, and this time, there were no companions to guide him.
He seemed lost and very worried. He had barely met his sister, and she had already been kidnapped. It could not be said that he had very strong feelings for her; after all, Alex barely knew her.
But he remembered those eyes that reminded him of his father. Even though this reality was different, he still had to honor his father's teachings, and the girl saw him as her brother, so he had to act accordingly.
Alex chose a random direction and ran with the best of his abilities. He had to clear the dungeon as quickly as possible.
Something moved in the shadow of a tree. He stopped to see what it was, and at that instant, a golden arrow shot toward him at high speed. A gravitational field formed, protecting him.
He saw five silhouettes that appeared to be human. Alex let out a sigh, thinking he had found members of the Blue Spirit Guild, but his perception attribute alerted him that the figures were dangerous.
Then they revealed themselvesnot humans, but monsters resembling humans.
Their skin had grayish tones, their arms were twice as long, and on top of their heads grew two antennae. Each face had four eyes staring at Alex.
"Hey brother, look, we found the one who ran from the queen," one figure said, pointing at Alex and speaking to the monster beside him.
"Your antennae are defective, brother. Why don't you look properly? Seems like a male."
"Really? Well, humans… it's so hard to tell if it's male or female. They all look the same."
"Don't mind him, he's very stupid. The females have the reservoirwhat's it called again?"
While the other monster thought, one of them stepped forward and finished his thought.
"Mammary glands."
One of them looked at the speaker and said in admiration, "Brother, you are so smart. How do you know all these complicated things about humans?"
The praised monster tapped what corresponded to his chest and said,
"I can access the memories of the humans that our queen devoured before generating me. I think I'm smarter than the smartest one from the hunters' world."
The observing monster looked envious and said again,
"Brother, one day I'll be as smart as you too."
"Of course you will, just… you have to smell my ass every day before sunrise."