It flies around us, taunting us at being noticed. Perhaps it did not realize I had already discovered it? Yes, that must be so. It might not be the most clever of opponents, but I still believe it a powerful one.

The spiders do not move. Indeed, they scatter about the walls and all, moving as a coarse flame licking at the walls, but they are weak, and that I know. As I am told by Gautier to ready my magic, I notice a shift in my enemy. His flight slows, focus shifting from his erratic movements instead to... something else. At the moment, I cannot tell.

But that ignorance soo lifts from me like an unassuming curse.

I can almost hear the name of the spell being used, shouted into the darkness.

"Bolt!"

The main part of the creature, the glowing, blue orb of what I assume to be pure mana shifts colour, becoming red and hot and burning, and from within that ball of fire and flame, a burning ray shoots out, burning any and all in its path.

I prepare to raise a ward against the oncoming spell, fully believing it meant for I and my companions, only to realize that it was not meant for us. Instead, the blast of fire passes just above our heads, showering us in the immense heat of the Intermediate skill.

I may have underestimated my enemy.

No matter the ward I may have put up, it would have been unable to stop this.

I glance behind myself, seeing the ray strike and burn several of the paper spiders, tearing through them with an ease that puts us hunters to shame. Several of the spiders previously unaffected by the ray burst into flames, perfectly living up to their names. After the ray has passed and my enemy, if I may call him that, stops to fly at an even level, it is clear that he has taken out at least two dozen spiders, creating an empty gash where the spiders had previously been.

We all stare, I and my companions. We can do no more.

-----

Paper Spider (18) have been defeated

You have gained EXP

You have gained a Level

You can no longer gain levels

Your level is (49)

Paper Spider (18) have been defeated

Excess EXP will be repurposed into (EVOLUTION)

Ooookay, they're staring, um, did I do something wrong?...

Maybe I should have gone with a really big fireball after all?...

Okay, yeah, um, they aren't moving. Are they supposed to not move? Did the spontaneously become statues? I hope not, that would be hard to explain to pretty much anybody...

"E-, everybody, attack at once!"

So the warrior shouted, and the hunters went to work. The one who could slash slashed, the archer shot arrows, the mini-wizard used some fire-magic I don't have (maybe it's advanced? Can't know), and the healer guy put up some shimmery shiny bubble around all of them.

The spiders, on their part, were pretty much mowed down. Sure, it wasn't as quickly as when I attacked with my Ray of Death(trademark), but it was still quite effective. The thing that made me really happy, however, was that none of the hunters attacked me. Very nice of them. I hope my message came across well.

-----

Indeed, if we choose to mess with that creature, we shall not survive this encounter. It seems uninterested in us, to some extent (it did, after all, follow us here) so our best bet is to ignore it until this spider situation is under control.

As Grenouille had said so perfectly, these are indeed more spiders than we are used to. As Mister Brobdingnag told me, "no pain no gain", however, I do doubt that his proverbs are suitable for dead people. As much as I use Small Flame, I doubt I'll be able to take out enough for us to survive this encounter. My mana is starting to run low, and every spider I kill is just as quickly replaced by yet another one.

If the creature joined our endeavours, perhaps, we might just survive. After all, it did know the Intermediate Spell "Bolt". Even just knowing Intermediate Fire Magic could easily make a peasant into a noble, or, rather a wizard. However, the two are practically interchangeable.

Sadly it has no reason to fight for us and so, I shan't ask for it-,

I have run out of mana. My mana crystal is empty. I turn to our newest recruit, Anders, and can immediately tell just from a shared glance that he, too, has run dry. I click my tongue. Grenouille is on his few last arrows. Oeuf is panting and tired.

Is this how it ends? Is this how I die? Swarmed in a dungeon, overlooked by an uncaring enemy? Surrounded by-,

"Creature! Help us!!"

I turn to see Grenouille shouting at the creature, my enemy, as if it cared about us in the least. He has thrown away his dignity at last. I can do nothing more than shoot him an unsavoury glance, before-,

-----

-"Fireflies!"

I shout, letting a large portion of my mana transform into small fireflies. With how weak these creatures are, this much should be enough.

...I'm not sure how to feel or think about this. Being called a creature? Not cool, makes me feel like a creatures in a horror movie. Help us? Hell yes, awesome, the kind of thing you'd ask of another human.

So, I'll help, but if they want to talk more I'll ask them not to call me "creature".

The little fireflies I created fly out at speeds almost as quick as my own, each one embedding themselves into a single spider, setting them ablaze.

...Holy shit these guys burn really well. Once one goes on fire, the next one does as well, and then yet another one, until I and the hunters are just straight up surrounded by a wall of fire.

Spell (Fireflies) has gained several levels

Ooo, nice! The wall of fire continues for a fair few seconds, until, finally...

Paper Spider (44) have been defeated

You have gained EXP

Excess EXP will be repurposed into (EVOLUTION)

-Holy shit, 44?? That is... if I was level one, I would have gained a l o t of levels from that, wouldn't I?...

Well, anyhoo, no use in mulling over that.

The wall is now more of a charred black thing, which peels off mere seconds after being created. I turn to the hunters. The hunters turn to me.

"...Holy shit."

Ah, the one expressing the common thoughts of the group is, the uh... the archer guy. The one who also asked me for help. Look, if these guys weren't made of paper, this wouldn't have worked nearly as well! This was a stroke of luck!

Man, exactly all of the spiders have been burnt, from the way we came to, all the way through into the place we were going to-,

Is-, is that scuttling I hear...?

Hair-Weave Queen Spider "Venus", Lv. 67, (C)

Birther of spiders and commander of said spiders, she is the leader of Paper Spider troops, but will, like the Ant Queen (various tribes) seldom act herself, instead letting her children fight her battles. However, unlike the Ant Queen, the Hair-Weave Queen Spider has no bodyguard, and if trouble arises which the Paper Spiders cannot defeat, she must emerge herself.

Oh fuck