The boy was not surprised when he found more paths infested with spiders. Wherever there was a dark hole big enough for the monsters to hide, then there would be at least one of them, no exception. In fact, it wasn't uncommon for Red to find two or three of them sharing the same hunting space.

Whenever these spiders made their way over to the surface, they would generally be alone. Down here, though, they lived together in no apparent conflict. The youth used the same strategy with the rocks and was able to find some curious information about how the creatures worked.

The first thing was how they detected prey. Their web threads were very sticky, and whenever the spiders identified something disturbing their lines, they would quickly come out of hiding to check. This wasn't the limit of their senses, though. Evidently, the monsters still had good enough eyesight, hearing, and smell to chase and capture running prey, as they had done back in the chamber with the pond. This meant that even if the boy managed to avoid their traps, he may still attract their attention if he wasn't careful.

Then there was also the fact they seemed to share their 'web-senses'. That was to say if Red managed to hit a single thread with a rock, then seemingly all the spiders in the vicinity would be alerted, no matter how far they were. The youth supposed all their webs must be interconnected, so there was just no way of alerting one spider without warning the rest.

The third thing Red tested was the thread density in the area. As far as he could tell, they were fairly interspersed. The monsters spread them to key points of the room where their prey was more likely to walk through, such as tunnel entrances. Some other areas were completely free of webs, though. The boy couldn't exactly tell how densely the threads were packed without close observation, but he was fairly confident in his conclusion after some testing.

This meant that Red could feasibly sneak by the spiders without touching their webs. However, it wasn't a plan of action he felt particularly certain of. If he was noticed midway through the monsters' nest, for instance, then how would he run away with invisible threads surrounding him? It was a journey of no return, and the youth wouldn't choose to enact it until he had exhausted all his options.

Suffice it to say, though, it didn't seem like he would have a choice.

After the best part of a day spent scouting the area, Red found out that every path he took was at some point blocked by the spider's presence. Sneaking through them just wasn't something he could avoid in the end.

Coming to that conclusion, the youth decided to find a place to sleep first to face the task ahead in prime condition. Or at least, as good of a condition as he could manage in this hellish place.

...

The time spent laying down had helped relieve him of some tension accumulated in the previous day and to think about a plan with a clear mind.

Since he had to sneak through the spiders, he would choose to go on the safest path.

The passages in this place weren't straight paths leading towards the river. According to the map, a lot of them were interconnected with each other, and some of them lead to completely unmarked locations. The worst thing he could do in this kind of situation was to take a very roundabout route that went through multiple ambush spots on the way to his destination. At the same time, some of these chambers only had a single spider in them, while others had three or even more.

In the end, after considering all his options, Red finally settled on one path.

Retracing his steps, the boy found himself back at the first chamber he tested with rocks the previous day. This place only had a single spider, was full of rock cover he could use to hide, and was one of the most straightforward routes towards where he wanted to go. The youth accomplished the easiest part, which was the planning. Now he had to execute it.

Careful not to make any noise, Red crouched down and slowly approached the chamber. He more or less remembered where the thread he had found before was located, so the boy consciously avoided the area. Soon, he was upon the chamber, farther than he had ever dared to approach before.

Examining the room, Red saw no signs of the spider or any of its web around him. If he hadn't personally seen the creature wander out of its hole, then the boy would have assumed the chamber was completely safe to walk through. He knew better, though.

The youth studied the pit in the ceiling, making sure nothing was coming out of it. Only after a few minutes had passed, Red composed himself and took his first steps into the room.

'One... Two... Three... Four...'

He stopped and looked around again. The boy stuck close to the walls while keeping the stalagmites between himself and the spider lair. At the same time, Red decided he wouldn't walk more than 2 meters at once before stopping and checking for any webs in his path.

Sure enough, right in front of him, the youth saw a shimmer. Narrowing his eyes, the image of a long line became clearer, attached to the wall in front of him and up into the ceiling. It stood right in his way, but it still left some clear space between it and the ground for the slave to sneak through.

Taking a deep breath, Red laid prone on the dirt and started to crawl forward. With a snail's pace, the boy moved close to the web thread. Looking ahead of it, he could see that even more of the invisible lines were waiting for him, but for the moment he wasn't at risk of touching any of them.

Scraping his body against the floor, Red slowly moved underneath the thread, afraid to even breathe too hard lest the air disturbs it. It had been a long ordeal before he was finally through, but the youth never once thought about hurrying. Looking back to make sure he had enough space, the boy sat up again and examined his surroundings.

No movement from the pit in the ceiling. Along the edge of the room, the number of webs increased significantly. Red thought that perhaps he could still sneak through them, but it was better to look for another way.

Doing so, the youth found a far less cluttered path within the stone spikes. The spider didn't bother setting up any webs amid the stalagmites since the space between them was so small and its prey tended to be on the bigger side. Red wasn't about to let this opportunity go to waste and immediately crept forward towards the exit of the chamber.

Soon, however, his cover started to disappear and the boy had to risk his luck against the threads. Red had to maintain careful control over his entire body and extreme concentration to not make sudden noises or bump into one of the threads. Luckily for him, his commitment was paying off.

It took the better part of 20 minutes of carefully weaving between rock cover and open space for him to approach the tunnel opening. Much to his dismay though, what he saw immediately crushed his hopes.

The entire passage was covered with the crisscrossed web threads, blocking his way forward. In such large bunches, their appearance became clearer to see from a bit further away. There was no way Red would be able to sneak through without disturbing any of them.

Perhaps this was yet another lesson he needed to keep in mind. To always expect the worst.

Red shook his head. He couldn't allow his spirit to be crushed, not now. He had come too far for that. Conviction came to him as a quick plan formed in his mind.

Looking around, the boy picked up a pebble. He examined the chamber, trying to find a place where he recalled threads were located before. After carefully measuring his target for a few seconds, Red threw the rock, hoping to hit the invisible line.

The projectile hit the opposite wall of the room. A miss.

Not discouraged, he picked up another stone and adjusted his aim. The object sailed through the air until it collided with an unseen obstacle. The boy witnessed it, the flickering and blurry image of the thread shaking from the rebound, alarming the owner of the nest. Knowing what came next, Red hid behind a large stalagmite.

Shuffling sounds. A long hairy leg surged over the edge of the hole, and soon the entire body of the spider was revealed. The creature examined the room with its eight eyes, before directing its attention towards the thread which was still quivering. The monster shuffled forward, its feelers and forelegs examining the web in front of it in search of the prey. It found nothing, but Red wasn't about to let it lose interest.

Gently, the boy peeked over his cover, doing his best to not be noticed. Picking up another rock, he eyed a different corner of the chamber. This time, he gathered all the strength in his Upper Arm Vein, and with a heave, hurled the pebble towards the tunnel he had just come from.

The stone clattered against the hard surface, splintering in the process. This time, the noise wasn't small.

The spider immediately moved with the same suddenness and speed that had terrified Red in the first place, charging towards the noise it had just heard. Nothing was there to greet it, though. It stood in place examining the area, at least one leg always connected to the invisible thread in the air. It was confused, and seemingly on high alert. The youth wasn't about to let this opportunity go.

Drawing his cleaver, Red charged towards the blocked exit and swung the blade against the web blocking his way. Thankfully for him, they offered little resistance under the sharpness of his weapon and did not stick to its surface. The passage was revealed to the boy who didn't hesitate to run through it. However, that was when he heard it. The noise of something heavy moving and shifting the air around it.

The boy immediately threw himself onto the ground. He felt something rubbing against his leg and looked back. The spider had crossed the entire chamber in a split second and had almost reached Red in a single jump. Its feelers were menacingly stretching for the human, rubbing against his lower body. Something seemed to have stopped its momentum, though, and it took him a moment to notice what it was.

Ironically, the same net of webbing it had raised to stop prey from escaping held it in place for the moment. It didn't seem it would keep it tied for long, though, as more and more lines started to snap with loud noises as the monster kept pushing forward. Red didn't stay to watch and immediately pushed his left leg down towards the tunnel.

More tearing noises and the shuffling of feet came from behind him. The youth doubled his efforts in gaining some distance, but he knew this was a vain effort. He couldn't outrun it. He needed to hide.

As Red turned around a bend, he started to hear the sounds of the spider rapidly approaching him from behind. Frantically, the boy examined his immediate surroundings, in search of cover or anything else useful.

The monster got even closer, the distance between them diminishing in a matter of seconds. The youth was fully expecting the creature to jump at his back at any second, but then he saw it. Some protruding rocks, forming a small alcove where Red could hide in. It was fairly shallow though, and the slave wasn't sure it would keep the spider from reaching him.

Abruptly, the sounds of footsteps ceased for a moment, but the boy heard it again.

The noises of stirring wind as something heavy moved quickly through the air. Having run out of time to consider, Red dove into the hole, scraping his skin as he sought cover.

Behind him, another thudding sound came as the spider's body landed not an instant later. Suddenly, the youth felt something heavy rubbing against his back and pulling him by his shirt with tremendous force. Resisting as hard as he could, the boy promptly started to tear the cloth away from his body. Thankfully, the poor-quality fabric helped him at the moment, and Red found himself free of the clothing as he dashed into the corner.

Looking back, the spider's feeler was grabbing his shirt as the creature's menacing fangs stood no further than a meter away from him. Gripping his cleaver, the boy swung down against one of the monster's appendages.

The feeler was cut off in one blow, and the beast reared back due to the pain, retreating from the hole. It hissed in anger before it tried reaching its prey. It was quickly met with another slash, damaging its other appendage and forcing the spider back once more. Red could hear the noises of its shuffling legs outside as he cowered in the corner of the small alcove.

However, soon no other sounds came from outside.

A minute went by in complete silence. Then five minutes.

Soon enough, half an hour had gone by, in which Red neither saw nor heard anything from the spider. The youth still didn't dare to leave his cover.

Finally, when almost an hour had passed, the boy heard the heavy shuffling of the spider's eight legs moving back in the direction of its lair.

Red, however, didn't come out.

Not until another hour went by.