Like the lairs previously, this one too counted spiders close to a hundred. Elite ones were close to the eggs, protecting them, while the rest of the Jumping Arachnids were around and above them. Bones wouldn’t afford himself the same mistake he made in the last lair and let the eggs hatch. Dozens of small baby spiders skittered the ground and crawled all over him in a span of seconds! He almost spent all his mana using consecutive Mana Blast to blast them all away. It was effective though, as every spider in the vicinity was blasted to pieces.

With so many spiders, It was impossible to sneak around and take one group at a time. That was the point Bones guessed. The dome was big and wide enough for a party of adventurers to battle it out as the spiders came in waves. This will be a pain in the ass…at least Mana Blast and Bone Nova were gaining experience!

Bones crawled inside and observed his surroundings. At first glance, he could only see the movements in his peripheral vision, but his senses told him otherwise. The moment he stepped forward and walked up to the center, the arena was set and a cluster of spiders jumped at him at once. He blasted the first wave away and got hit in the back with an acid projectile that spread all over his coat, corroding it in the process.

The second wave came seconds later. This time, more projectiles flew his way and more spiders skittered towards him under the cover of the fog. The spiders spitting acid projectiles were rooted in the walls, hidden behind webs and fired at him in intervals every few seconds. Bones constantly moved around, avoiding the projectiles and taunting the jumping ones. Every time he would stop, he would use Bona Nova to clear the spiders closest to him. Mana Blast would be more effective but he hadn’t had much chance to level his other area of effect skill.

The way he fought the spiders worked well for him the last few lair's but was mentally exhausting. He had to keep his senses keen and be ready to react instantly and without hesitation so as not to get swarmed. If he did get swarmed, he would have to blast his way out. He wouldn't mind spamming Mana Blast if the skill wasn't so damn mana consuming. Each lair so far had a wave more than the previous lair.

After an hour, another lair was cleared and the fog settled down and disappeared, leaving the ground full of corpses. Once again, Bones spread his senses and searched for mana signatures coming off the bodies. Once he sensed mana, he approached the body and removed the mana stone. After taking a peek inside his inventory he cursed loudly.

"AAARGH DAMNIT!! I should've known it would be like this!"

Among the numerous monster parts he looted, all the bones he collected disappeared. They were a part of the monster and not a drop, so just like the body, they too disappeared after a period of time. All the time spent collecting bones…"Fuck!"

Alright. From now on I’m strictly keeping only the loot I gained as a monster drop!

When he left the lair, the sun was already waning behind the tree line. What now? Do I continue or wait until tomorrow? He looked over his ruined coat and was annoyed. What's the point in having a self-repair function if it gets ruined easily? Should I wear chainmail or plate armor?

Bones took a moment as he visualized himself in heavy armor and chuckled, shaking his head. He would have to ask Hem or Darsumi for advice later. He won't be able to keep using the current equipment. Adventurers life sure is expensive! Or maybe I'm doing it wrong?

He looked up, then down, then turned sideways towards north. He guessed it was north.

*sigh* He unequipped his gear and stored it in his inventory. At this point, they bothered him more than protected him. It's been a while since I've been nude…at least there's nothing tangling below! *harharhar*

Nude and accompanied by his own laughter, he continued north throughout the night. By dawn, he was standing in front of the ruins. The ruins of a temple.

A massive doorway, without doors, was in front of him. He had to look up just to see the top. There were inscriptions on the doorway he didn't recognize nor he did expect to. The passage of time had dulled the color of the stone the temple was made of, or at least it looked that way as he WAS in the dungeon after all. Moss covered most of the walls and vines grew in spiral around the pillars that were once supporting the temple. What's left of them were broken pieces with a few badly scratched marks left by something long and sharp.

Why, this must be the boss room! I really hope the doorway isn't any indication of the size of the boss.

Bones slowly and wearily approached, taking a peek. The inside was dark, pitch black and his senses weren't picking up anything. Literally anything, like there was nothing inside the temple! He frowned but still took a step forward. He wouldn't give up now when he was so close to finishing the dungeon! The moment he stepped inside the temple, the unseen torches on the walls flared to life. They lit up one by one until Bones could see the corridor leading deeper inside. Definitely a boss room!

He continued down the corridor. The torches behind him fizzled out as he walked past. The corridor led to a hall that was lit up by braziers. He didn't see or feel anyone inside the hall. With a doubtful mind he walked inside until he reached the middle of the hall. He looked back, but saw only darkness behind him. He turned around, looking at every nook and cranny but didn’t see anything. He spread out his senses as much as he could, encompassing the whole hall, but still couldn't sense anything.

This doesn't make sense! Am I in the wrong place? I shouldn't be! There's nothing out there but a jungle full of-

*hiiisss*

Bones halted his thoughts. He wasn't alone. The hall wasn't empty! How?

*Tip tappy* sounds of many spider legs tapping on the walls echoed the hall. Bones couldn't pinpoint the exact direction the sound was coming from. HOW?

Suddenly the tip-tap sound stopped and a woosh sound was heard before Bones was sent flying from the impact. He flew and skidded to a halt a few meters away. He bounced back on his feet immediately and looked at what hit him but didn't find anything. He looked down and saw two holes in the bone armor where his torso was. Was that a bite?? Was I just fucking bitten without even noticing?

The area around the holes cracked a bit but repaired themselves at a visible rate as the mend skill patched them up. Tip-tap sounds were heard again, snapping Bones out of it. He couldn't believe he couldn't even sense the spider. How was someone supposed to fight against something like that??

The harsh, cold truth was? He wasn't supposed to fight it. At least not alone and not at his level. Bones saw the attempt as a fruitless effort and turned to leave. He dashed towards the darkness where the entrance to the hall was and he almost made it to the corridor when-

*hiiiisss* *swoosh*

-the impact propelled him forward and into the corridor where he skid to a halt. He turned to glance behind him and saw a thick strand attached to his back. He felt the tugging motion and was suddenly pulled and dragged back. Shit. Shit. Shit.

*hiiisss*

He came to a stop in front of the monster and looked up only to see…a woman? Spider? Spiderwoman? "What the fuck? He blurted out staring into the numerous eyes on the woman's face. He Identified the monster in front of him.

Widow Queen lvl 34, Boss

Bones knew at that moment he royally fucked up! The queen pulled him up and screeched in his face before biting down and piercing his waist with its fangs. Bones felt the venom coursing and mixing with his mana. He kept pumping mana, empowering his body and expelling the venom. Moments later, his body went limp. The Widow skittered in a circle once, then shot the web up and into the ceiling of the hall. With Bones in tow, she started climbing the web.

When she was high enough, with all the mana he could muster, Bones used the Mana Blast to set himself free. The whole hall shook from the blast and the giant spider was blasted away in the opposite direction. Bones was blasted away toward the entrance and as soon he felt the ground beneath him, he scurried away and down the corridor. A web shot past him, attaching itself to the doorway of the temple. Bones was relieved it missed until he felt her coming. The Widow used the web to propel herself towards the exit. She was gaining ground and was almost upon him when the light reached them both and she stopped at the exit of the temple, screeching in rage.

Bones practically flew out of the temple and disappeared in the jungle. Seconds later, he walked back out and was standing in front of the temple, watching the Widow. She hissed and stared daggers at him. What a deadly combination. A woman to entice and the spider to kill.

He turned around and disappeared in the jungle, leaving the screeching and hissing Widow on the temple's doorstep.

Bones knew his attempt at clearing the dungeon failed spectacularly. What now? Should I go and clear more lairs? Do I try to find my way back to the dungeon entrance?

His question was answered when the timer appeared, counting down the minutes until the dungeon would close. Huh? I'll be damned. There's a timer!

It seemed like his choice was made so he could spend the remaining time however he wanted until the countdown hit zero. He thought for a moment, then grinned. While there was still some time left, he would go and try to find another Viper.

00:00:03

00:00:02

00:00:01

When the timer hit zero. Bones was kicked out of the dungeon. He felt disoriented for a second but quickly found his bearing. He looked at the familiar forest around him and with a hand on the tree, he penetrated the bark and climbed up to the top of the tree. He peeked his head above the tree line and turned around until he saw the familiar clearing. About a kilometer away?

He climbed down and jumped off the lowest branch. When he landed, he turned to the trunk of the tree he apparently came out of. The tree bark had a rough outline of an arch he was now familiar with, marking the entrance to the dungeon.

Was the entrance always here or the entrance appeared once I left the dungeon? "Anyway…" He summoned a worn map he secretly tore out of the book from the guilds library and marked the estimated area he was in.

Rushing through the forest and spooking any creature crossing his path, he reached the clearing within a minute. Steel Tusk Boars were still roaming around, uprooting the ground in search for food and he could spot a few critters moving about. He took out his equipment from the inventory. The holes and tears were mostly repaired but looked a bit faded. The enchantment must be weakening…

He equipped his gear and headed towards the entrance to the dungeon. He opened the hatch and started going down the ladders. Once he reached the bottom, he looked around the cavern, wishing he had done more than just ladders.

I should put in more effort and build a proper entrance to the dungeon. From my understanding, every natural dungeon was rare and valuable. I guess having a tower in this place again was out of the question! Bones chuckled.

…No, not a tower this time. A cabin perhaps? A small, cozy cabin would be enough. Maybe with- he looked around, -an oversized basement? I could at least add a wooden platform to stand on when I bring guests here.

Bones climbed the ladders and sneaked a peek outside before fully opening the hatch and leaving the cavern. He turned and walked in the direction of the forest. Roughly two hours later, Bones returned to the cavern looking annoyed and taking out dozens of roughly cut wooden logs from the inventory.

Like with ladders, Bones used spider silk to tie the logs together and made a shabby looking wooden platform. It didn't look like it was done by a professional but for the basement, it was plenty enough.

This really sucks…Bones thought and continued working the wood.

Bones wasn't a carpenter and swore if an opportunity comes, he would hire professional help to renovate the cavern to something more accommodating.

Tomorrow, I'll head back to Stonefalls.