The journey north took two full days of travel through increasingly difficult terrain. The monster nest they'd been assigned to clear was located in a rocky region where cave systems provided a perfect habitat for dangerous creatures.
Their observer was a Silver rank adventurer named Marius, a stern-faced human warrior who'd been doing guild work for over a decade. He followed at a distance, watching their party's dynamics without interfering.
"Remember," Kelsa said as they approached the cave entrance on the second evening, "this is Silver rank. That means creatures are in the Level 12-14 range, minimum, possibly higher. We can't afford mistakes."
The cave entrance looked like a giant mouth that opened before them, dark and ominous. Arin's Darkvision let him see deeper than his party members could, and what he saw made his core pulse with concern.
Webs. Massive webs stretching across the cave interior, each strand thick as a human finger.
S P I D E R S L A R G E O N E S
"Giant spiders?" Torvin groaned. "I hate spiders."
"What size are we talking about?" Kelsa asked.
Arin formed more letters. A S L A R G E A S H O R S E M A Y B E B I G E R
"That would be Cave Hunters," Marius spoke up from his observation position. "Level 12-13, highly territorial, hunt in packs. They'll use the webs to trap you and attack from above. Standard tactic is to burn the webs and draw them out."
"And if we can't burn them?" Essa asked.
"Then you fight in the darkness with enemies that can walk on walls and ceilings while you're stuck on the ground. Not recommended."
Kelsa pulled out a flask of oil they'd purchased in Thornbridge. "Arin, can you scout ahead and identify how many we're facing?"
Arin activated Stealth and flowed into the cave, his essence draining at the now-familiar rate.
[-2 Essence per minute]
The interior was worse than he'd thought. The cave system extended deep into the hillside, with multiple chambers connected by webbed passages. And in those chambers, Cave Hunters waited.
[Cave Hunter - Level 12]
[Cave Hunter - Level 13]
[Cave Hunter - Level 12]
[Cave Hunter - Level 14]
[Cave Hunter Queen - Level 15]
Five spiders total, including a queen that was Level 15—higher than anything Arin had fought before. The queen occupied the deepest chamber, surrounded by egg sacs that probably contained hundreds of juvenile spiders.
Arin carefully mapped the cave system, noting where the webs were thickest and where the spiders positioned themselves. Then he returned to his party and spelled out what he'd found.
F I V E S P I D E R S O N E Q U E E N L E V L 1 5 D E E P I N C A V E
"A queen," Kelsa said grimly. "That makes this significantly harder. Queens are intelligent and will coordinate the others' attacks with hers."
"Aye, but it also means if we kill her, the others might flee," Torvin pointed out. "Cut the head off the nest, as they say."
They spent the next hour planning their approach. The oil would be used to burn paths through the webs, creating movement corridors that favored human movement over spider agility. Essa would provide light and healing, while Torvin held the front line. Kelsa and Arin would focus on eliminating individual spiders.
"The queen is the priority," Kelsa decided. "If we can reach her and eliminate her, the mission succeeds even if some of the others survive. Arin, you're our best bet for getting to her. Can you use Stealth to bypass the regular spiders and target her directly?"
Arin considered. It would require going deep into the cave alone, facing a Level 15 enemy without support. Risky, but not impossible.
C A N T R Y
"No," Marius interrupted. "That's not how Silver rank parties operate. You work together, support each other. Sending your scout alone against the most dangerous enemy is Bronze rank thinking."
Kelsa's expression tightened, but she nodded. "You're right. We go together, we fight together."
They lit torches and entered the cave, with Torvin leading and Arin scouting ahead in Stealth. The first web barrier appeared thirty feet in, stretching across the entire passage.
Kelsa threw oil on it and lit it with a torch. The web ignited, burning with surprising intensity and filling the cave with acrid smoke. Behind the burning web, Arin saw movement, a Cave Hunter descending from the ceiling.
[Cave Hunter - Level 12]
"Contact!" Kelsa shouted.
The spider emerged from the smoke, its eight legs moving with terrifying speed. It was easily the size of a horse, with mandibles that dripped venom and eyes that reflected the torchlight like burning coals.
Torvin met it with his shield, the impact of the spider's charge sending him skidding backward. His warhammer came up, catching one of the spider's legs and crushing the joint.
Kelsa darted in from the side, her sword finding gaps in the spider's chitinous armor. Arin used Charge from behind, slamming into the creature's abdomen with enough force to rupture internal organs.
[-5 Essence]
The spider shrieked, a sound that echoed through the caves and probably alerted every other spider in the system. It tried to retreat, but Essa's holy magic burned into it, and Torvin's hammer finished it with a devastating blow to the head.
[+32 Mass]
[+24 Essence]
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Arin absorbed what he could of the spider before they pressed deeper. Two more web barriers, two more fires, and they reached the first main chamber.
Two Cave Hunters waited here, both Level 13, positioned on opposite walls where they could attack from different angles simultaneously.
"Split their attention," Kelsa ordered. "Torvin, take the left. Arin, Essa, and I will handle the right."
The fight was more complex than the first, requiring precise coordination to prevent the spiders from using their superior mobility. Torvin kept one spider engaged while the rest of the party eliminated the other, then turned to help finish the first.
Arin took hits during the exchange. The spider's legs raked across his form as he tried to engulf its head, chitin edges sharper than they looked.
[-12 Mass]
He held on anyway, his acid burning through the creature's eyes until it stopped thrashing. The absorption that followed helped offset the damage.
[+28 Mass]
[+22 Essence]
When the second spider finally stopped moving, Arin absorbed its remains while the party caught their breath.
[+29 Mass]
[+21 Essence]
[Skill Available: Webbing - Tier 1]
[Accept skill? This will replace one of your current skills.]
[Webbing: Project sticky strands to entangle enemies or create barriers. Cost: 8 Essence per use.]
The ability to trap enemies at range was tempting. Arin had seen how effective the spiders' webs were at controlling movement and creating chokepoints. In narrow dungeon corridors, webbing could be devastating.
But eight essence per use was expensive, and his current skills worked together as a cohesive system. Stealth let him approach unseen, Charge let him strike hard, and Darkvision ensured he was never caught blind. Adding webbing would mean sacrificing one of those proven tools for something untested.
[Skill Declined]
Maybe someday I'll have a fourth skill slot. Then abilities like this would be worth reconsidering.
By the time both spiders were dead, everyone had taken hits. Essa's healing magic glowed constantly, mending bite wounds and neutralizing venom. She glanced at Arin with concern.
"You lost some mass in that exchange."
S T I L L S O L I D
"Two more plus the queen," Kelsa said, checking her sword. "Is everyone still good?"
"Aye," Torvin said, though his armor showed significant damage.
They pushed deeper, past more burning webs, into chambers that showed signs of the spiders' feeding habits. Bones of various creatures littered the floor, some animal, some humanoid. Adventurers or travelers who'd been unlucky enough to encounter the nest.
The fourth spider attacked from above, dropping from the ceiling onto Torvin's back. Its weight bore him down, mandibles seeking the gaps in his armor.
Arin flowed up the spider's leg and wrapped around its head, his acidic nature burning through eyes and mandibles. The spider released Torvin and tried to dislodge Arin, its remaining legs scraping and tearing at his mass.
[-8 Mass]
But Kelsa's sword found its abdomen before it could do more damage, and the creature collapsed. Arin absorbed what he could before they moved on.
[+18 Mass]
[+14 Essence]
[Skill Available: Wall Walking - Tier 1]
[Accept skill? This will replace one of your current skills.]
The spider's ability to traverse any surface, walls, ceilings, and even smooth stone, was impressive. But Arin could already climb effectively with his natural slime physiology. The skill might make it easier, but not enough to justify losing Charge, Darkvision, or Stealth.
[Skill Declined]
One spider left, plus the queen.
They found both in the deepest chamber, a massive space easily sixty feet across. The Cave Hunter Queen was enormous, twice the size of the regular spiders, with armor that gleamed like polished obsidian.
[Cave Hunter Queen - Level 15]
[Cave Hunter - Level 14]
The regular spider attacked immediately, trying to prevent them from reaching the queen. But the party had found their rhythm now, working together with practiced efficiency.
Torvin held the regular spider's attention while Kelsa, Arin, and Essa focused on the queen. The massive spider was fast despite its size, and its intelligence showed in the way it maneuvered, trying to keep the egg sacs between itself and the attackers.
Arin activated Stealth and circled around, looking for an opening. The queen's underbelly would be vulnerable, less armored than the rest of its body.
[-2 Essence per minute]
He flowed up the wall and along the ceiling, positioning himself above the queen. Then he dropped, using Charge in mid-fall to add momentum.
[-5 Essence]
He struck the queen's back, his mass driving into the joint where the abdomen connected to the thorax. The impact cracked chitin, and Arin's acidic nature burned into the wound.
The queen shrieked and reared back, trying to dislodge him. Her powerful legs scraped and tore at Arin's mass, each strike dispersing chunks of his form.
[-15 Mass]
Kelsa used the opening to drive her sword deep into the queen's thorax, between armor plates. Essa's holy magic burned from another angle.
The queen's movements became more frantic, more desperate. It abandoned defense and simply tried to kill anything it could reach. Its mandibles caught Kelsa's shoulder, tearing through armor and flesh. One of those same mandibles caught the edge of Arin's mass, ripping away another section.
[-10 Mass]
"Essa!" Kelsa screamed.
Holy light blazed as Essa poured healing magic into Kelsa, knitting flesh even as the queen's venom tried to spread. Arin wrapped around the queen's head, covering its eyes and suffocating it while his acid burned deeper. He could feel himself growing smaller with each passing second, his form depleted by the queen's desperate thrashing, but he held on.
Torvin, having finished the regular spider, charged with his warhammer raised. The blow caught the queen in the head with enough force to crack the exoskeleton.
The queen staggered, its legs giving out. One more strike from Torvin's hammer, and the massive spider collapsed.
[Cave Hunter Queen Defeated - Level 15]
[+84 Mass]
[+67 Essence]
[LEVEL UP!]
[You have reached Level 12]
[+1 Skill Points]
[Current Mass: 185% of base]
[Current Essence: 178/200]
The queen's mass flowed into him, filling out his depleted form. He'd taken significant damage during the fight, but absorbing a Level 15 creature more than compensated. His body swelled with new mass, stronger than before.
The chamber fell silent, except for the sound of heavy breathing. Everyone was injured, exhausted, covered in spider ichor and their own blood.
"Everyone alive?" Kelsa asked, her voice strained from pain.
"Barely," Torvin said.
"Arin?" Essa looked at him with professional concern even as her healing magic continued working on Kelsa's shoulder. "You took some hard hits from that queen. How's your mass?"
B E T T E R N O W Q U E E N W A S W O R T H I T
"Mission accomplished though," Essa added, her healing magic still glowing as she worked on Kelsa's shoulder.
Marius, their observer, entered the chamber and examined the dead queen. His expression was carefully neutral, but Arin thought he saw approval in the man's eyes.
"Adequate coordination," he said. "You worked together, adapted to threats, and completed the objective. That's what Silver rank requires." He made notes on a tablet. "I'll recommend your party for advancement. Report to Guild Master Theron when you return to Thornbridge."
They'd done it. Passed the final test. All that remained was the official paperwork, and they'd be Silver rank adventurers.
As they made their way out of the cave system, past the burning remnants of webs and the bodies of dead spiders, Arin felt his core pulse with satisfaction and something that might have been pride.
We did it. Together. The way Levi always said things should be done.
His creator would have loved seeing this, seeing Arin as part of a real party that trusted and supported each other. Would have been proud of how far his creation had come from that scared slime hiding in a jar at the academy.
But Levi would never see it. The thought carried a familiar ache, but it was softer now, less sharp. Arin was becoming something his creator had only imagined possible.
Silver rank was another step forward. Important in its own right, not just as preparation for what came later, but as proof of how far he'd come.
And there's still further to go.
