“W-What are we going to do?”

“I-I d-don’t want to die here” Astrya whimpers.

“I-I can do this” Sirius seems like he is trying to motivate himself, but his hands are restlessly fidgeting while grasping his weapons, while his knuckles are turning white.

Ilyena is the only one who doesn’t comment, but I can see her shivering.

Before I can give any directions, the Colossal Arachnid rushes towards us at an unfathomable speed. Sirius, who is the closest to it, only has enough time to raise his shield before the attack strikes. His shield is splintered and he is sent flying backwards and crashes into Elayne, knocking them both down.

His health dramatically reduced directly to the red zone, which means that single attack claimed 90% of his life. Being a warrior, he has a higher amount of health than the rest of us; therefore, if anyone else was hit by that charging attack, they would have died. Elayne, having not been directly hit, was better off, but her health still depleted into the yellow zone from the impact.

“Get back!”

The Colossal Arachnid goes in for another attack. It jumps towards us as if we were prey caught in it’s web; however, it’s massive body gets caught on the tunnel walls, just barely missing us. It’s blood red eyes watch us in frustration before slinking backwards.

Rather than commanding some of the smaller spiders to go in after us, it tosses them clear of the pathway between it and us.

Without warning, it launches another attack at the wall. The walls shake and cracks begin to form along the rock. Out in the cavern rocks can be heard crashing down along with the dying squeal of spiders.

However, on the fifth strike, something unexpected happens.

The Colossal Arachnid becomes wedged in the mouth of the tunnel, unable to maneuver. It’s body squirms as it tries to free itself to no avail.

“This is our chance!” I continue, “Attack it with everything you’ve got!”

“Aim between the eyes.” Ilyena says while charging towards it. She agilely avoids the arachnid’s two free front legs and stabs her blade to the hilt into one of the spider’s larger eyes.

The spider tries to bite Ilyena, but I come up behind her and slash out with my sword. A critical hit was made dealing 50 damage. A fireball from Elayne passes by my head and hits the spider square between it’s eyes. With this, the spider manages to free itself, but Ilyena’s sword remains embedded in one of it’s eye dealing constant damage.

The arachnid, now enraged, commands a handful of spiders to charge in after us. Since the tunnel entrance has been widened, we have to move back further to fend them off. Sirius is almost ready to fight again, but it seems his fear has once more taken over, because he is quivering behind Astrya and Elayne.

Ilyena and I meet the spiders head on, and make short work of those spiders. At this point, those smaller ones are just free experience. 30 experience per spider, even when divided among our group, makes levelling very fast.

I’m only a few kills away from level 12 when the Colossal Arachnid resumes it’s assault on the tunnel entrance. For every hit, more rocks fall from the ceiling in the cavern, and more spiderweb cracks appear on the walls. This boss’s pattern is fairly predictable, but I can only imagine what would have happened if we were caught in the middle of the cavern.

This pattern continues for over ten minutes before I notice what could be a miracle. The spider, after each assault, backs up the same amount of distance. This spot just so happens to be beneath a large jagged stalactite, which loosens with every subsequent attack.

“Elayne!”

“Huh?”

“Can you see that stalactite up there?” I point towards the ceiling.

“Mhmm, what about it?”

“The next time the spider retreats, I want you to fire a spell towards it.” I continue, “I’m hoping to pin it down under that and then finish it off. So make it your best spell. We only have one shot at this!”

“Okay!” Elayne seems to understand my plan.

The spider, not waiting for our discussion, continue banging against the wall. It’s as if it is desperate to eliminate us. Anyways, this is only the first dungeon, so there must be a way to kill it.

“Now!”

The spider is crouched right under the stalactite in the optimum position. Elayne fires off her spell aimed at the base of the rock.

At this moment, it seems almost as if time has slowed down. I am conscious of every respiration, every heartbeat, every noise and sensation.

*BooOooom*

The spell hits the pillar and a large explosion ensues. A cloud of dust and debris conceal the area, but these is no other movement. The spider’s attention changes to the ceiling above it, and when it turns back to us, I swear it has a mocking look in it’s eyes.

When the dust clears, the stalactite can be seen hanging by a thread, ready to fall at any moment. Unfortunately for us, the next time the spider assaults the wall, the resulting vibrations will cause it to fall harmlessly to the ground.

The arachnid commands the smaller ones to assault us once more. There are only a few seconds until they reach us, but by then it will be too late.

I only have one shot at this.

I grasp a throwing knife in my hand and take aim at the pillar. Calming my inner self, slowing my breaths and heartbeat, focusing on the knife in my hand. It is full bronze construction, but the balance is slightly off due to my inexperience. My arm reaches back, the muscles tensing up like a bowstring drawn to it’s limit.

I release the knife and watch as it sails through the air. There is a high chance of failure if I am only a tiny bit off.

The spiders are almost at us now.

I draw my sword and prepare to meet them when a *clang* rings throughout the cavern, followed by the sound of crumbling rocks.

A hit.

The stalactite comes crashing down. It pierces through the arachnids carapace like a hot knife through butter. It squeals in agony as a tremor shakes the floor from the impact.

The arachnids health bar depletes in the red, but it still hasn't died. The smaller spiders are in disarray, skittering around the floor at random.

"Ilyena! Follow me!"

I dash out, heading for the arachnid with Ilyena close behind me.

Elayne picks off spiders that get too close to us; however, the path is mostly clear.

The Arachnid only has a sliver of health left, but it's eyes still glare at us. The hate is clearly evident, adding another touch of realism.

I release an attack aimed between its eyes while Ilyena jumps on top of it. Since it is immobile, Ilyena stands on its head dealing out constant damage to it. Her sword is still embedded in its head, so she twists it around before pulling it out. On the blade is a mixture of brain matter and blood, but with that move the arachnid finally collapses and turns into pixilated dust.

That fight was too much for being in the first dungeon. Without the environmental advantage we would have all died. Even having 10x the amount of people wouldn't have changed anything if it were an open room.

At this rate, I worry about the actual boss fight.

Congratulations

You have killed the hidden boss: Colossal Arachnid.

Teleportation restriction has been lifted.

As the first players to kill a hidden boss you will be given the following based on your contribution:

50,000 Tor

1 treasure box

2,000 experience.

Your name will be entered in the Hall of Fame. Do you wish your name to be known? Yes No

"Yes"

Maybe I'm vain, but I don't see a problem having my achievements known.

System Announcement. Players: Quinn, Ilyena, Sirius, Elayne, and Astyra have defeated the first hidden boss.

"We did it!" Astrya's voice reverberates with excitement from the mouth of the tunnel.

My level raises to 16. 2,000 experience is no joke. It's more than all the experience obtained before now combined, and that doesn't include the regular experience from the boss itself. The drops from it are similar to the other spiders, but in a larger quantity. I was wondering how the loot sharing would work, but apparently the drops are individualized, so there is no telling what the others have gotten. It's a very self centred system that facilitates privacy.

My drops are 20 pieces of high quality spider silk, 3,587 Tor, and a ring. The ring is of white gold and silver entwined with a pitch black onyx gem held in place by what appears to be spider legs.

Ring of Webs Vitality 150 Physical Defence 50 >>>>>>> Pierce 13 Magic Defence 75 Slash 25 Dexterity +15 Crush 12 Durability 1000 Special Ability

Allows user to shoot out a net that constricts the target.

Effect is based on user's level and level of target.

Cool down: 1 hour

Damn. This is over powered.

Player: Gem Red has sent you a message.

“Quinn! What’s this about you defeating a hidden boss? It is you right? You’re not hurt are you?”

She seems panicked, her voice high strung and quivering, so I had better send her a reply right away.

“I’m going fine Gem, no need to worry. Yes, it was me, and no, I am not hurt. Oh, our team will be staying here for another couple hours. I’ll tell you more about it when I get back.”

Player: Darkbond has sent you a message.

“Congratulations. By the way, is it alright if we mention your name in our store?”

I send him a reply. “Thanks. Umm, I would prefer it if you didn’t. For now anyways.” You’re turning into quite the businessman there Darkbond.

Player: Cheetos has sent you a message.

“Quinn, you’re a popular guy in town right now. Drinks are on you next time ya hear?”

Player: Gem Red has sent you a message

“Alright, be safe...”

*plop*

I turn around and see everyone sitting on the floor leaning their backs against some of the fallen stalactites.

"Haa...” Sirius breaks the silence, "How many levels did you guys get? I went up two levels! 2!”

“1 for me. Leveling is so hard as a priest, so thank you everyone for this."

“I got 2. Being a priest can't be that bad. Anyone can learn weapon skills or magic. Besides, priests get a boost in mana, intelligence, and spirit at every level." Elayne explains.

"I know" Astrya pouts, "but it's still hard."

"How about you two, Quinn and Ilyena? You dealt the most damage to it, so must have gotten something good." Sirius says with a playful grin.

“3.”

"Okay... And you Quinn?"

"I'm now level 16.”

""What!?""

They stare at me in disbelief.

"Is that odd?"

"Just how much damage did you do?"

"Ahem.” I awkwardly clear my throat, “I wasn't counting.."

"Experience then?"

They look at me with questioning eyes. I didn't think i got too much, but compared with them, I did receive more.

"Umm, 328 for the kill and 2,000 for the bonus."

*pfft*

"How the hell did you manage that?" Sirius questions.

"The total experience from the arachnid was 1,000.” Before I can answer, Elayne starts to explain. “500 of that was split evenly between the five of us, and the other 500 was based on who dealt the most damage." She continues, "Quinn did a little less than half the total damage on it, so that part is explainable. Assuming the bonus experience was based on contribution, it makes sense considering how much the rest of us got."

"Well, if you put it like that..." Sirius scratches his head.

Speaking of level, I haven’t upgraded my stats yet. I bring out my player menu and put those five levels worth of bonus points to good use. First, I increase my defence to 100 and then I put 5 points each into Intelligence and Spirit, and then with the remaining 10 points, I add them to strength.

Player Status

Player Name Quinn Class: Assassin Level: 16 Guild None Experience 3938/4320 Stats Vitality 300/300 Stamina: 275/275 Strength 225 Mana 400/400 Defence 100 Intelligence 15 Dexterity 110 Spirit 15 Skills Active Passive Appraisal Level: 1 213xp Archery Level: 1 46xp Cloaking Level: 1 243xp Backstab Level: 1 295xp Night Vision Level: 1 359xp Blacksmithing Level: 2 1620xp Cartography Level: 1 120xp Cooking Level: 1 202xp One-Handed Sword Level:1 594xp Swordsmanship Level: 2 1867xp Thrown Weapon Level: 1 34xp Two-Handed Sword Level: 1 0xp

I now have a staggering amount of strength, and at this point I am probably the strongest player in EndGame Online. There was no notification for passing level 15, but given the hidden boss’s bonus experience, it’s safe to assume I am the highest level person as well.

That was an excellent, albeit frightening, experience grinder.

Now, it is time to get moving. I try to steer the conversation towards a constructive direction.

”So, what are we gonna do now?"