Part Five – Matriarch

“That’s one big spider.”

Kumoko Matriarch

Rank: C

Description: A spider-type monster that has evolved to specialize in producing other spiders. Because its abilities are geared towards production, it is far weaker than its rank would indicate.

Big didn’t cover it. It was bigger than a car, closer to the size of a pick-up truck. Throw in its legs and it was actually much larger than that. The only reason it hadn’t chased us was that it was too big to fit through the tunnel.

There were a few spiders still left in the chamber. Most had participated in the grand chase of us, leaving only a small number to guard the Matriarch. Most I could see were D-Rank Guardians with the remaining number as E-Rank fodder. Even though they knew we were here, they were prioritizing protecting their leader.

“I don’t see any other exits. Meaning that there shouldn’t be any reinforcements. If we deal with these spiders we’ll have finished.”

“How do you two want to do this? We’ve used up a number of Combustion Bombs, so I don’t want to use anymore. I could keep the big one distracted while you deal with the smaller ones.”

“I could snipe at them from here. So long as Cameron keeps them occupied, they shouldn’t be able to attack me.”

Our strategy came together much quicker than I thought. It usually took longer than this, mostly due to me and Alicia bickering. Or more like me wanting to exterminate the monsters and her prioritizing our safety.

Don’t get me wrong, I want to make sure we’re safe too. But sometimes you have to throw caution to the wind. Adventurers must adventure and so on.

Alicia started our assault off. Using a combination of her Blitz arrows and rapid-fire, she launched multiple arrows at the lesser spiders. While she couldn’t get the hang of firing multiple arrows at once, her rapid-fire was a spectacle to watch. Every spider she targeted ended up looking like a pincushion.

It didn’t take long for them to counter attack. The spiders that hadn’t been crippled were charging at us, but this was Cameron’s turn to step up. He activated his Charge Skill and…. Well, charged. Since there was more than enough room, he’d switched to using the Momentum axe. And to see him mowing down spiders with it was awesome. Even the D-Ranks were overwhelmed by the attack.

Guess it’s my turn. I triggered my Skills and charged out from behind Cameron. The Matriarch had moved after he’d cleaved through the first wave. Since my job was to deal with her, I needed to keep her away from him. This sounds like a good time to try my new Skill.

“Graaaaaaaaa!!!”

I hadn’t meant to shout so loud, but when I activated the Skill, it just came out. I could feel something similar to Sword Aura, but emanating from my whole being. The lesser spiders surrounding me all froze and the E-Ranks even turned and fled. This I had expected. What I didn’t expect was for the Matriarch to turn and hiss at me.

How the hell does a spider hiss? That seems biologically impossible! Even if it is a monster. Surprises aside, my guess was that the Skill was less effective on enemies who were as strong as you. It just acted like an aggro Skill. Pretty damn useful.

Each of its limbs were about as thick as a telephone pole. Not so big as to crush me, but not small enough to ignore either. And two of these were heading right at me. Every fucking time! Why do I keep coming across giant insects? First it was beetles, then maggots, now it’s spiders. It makes no sense!

Such a large and obvious attack wasn’t going to hit me. While the strength and speed behind the blow was tremendous, I was more than experienced at dealing with such attacks. I sidestepped both strikes and managed to half sever its right foreleg. If that’s what you call it. I don’t know insect biology!

it didn’t like that, as it backed up and spat globs of poison at me. But again, I had experience at this. I waited til it was between shots, then threw several knives at its face, destroying three of its eyes.

I was feeling pretty good here, but I’d quickly learn. You don’t underestimate a C-Rank.

[Alicia’s POV]

Looks like we’re almost done. She and Cameron had killed all the smaller spiders and Michael was wrapping up his fight. He’d start to blur as he darted around the spider’s legs, cutting into them each time he did so. She did want to help him out, but with the way he moved it was difficult to ensure she wouldn’t hit him.

I wonder what we’ll do next? Where will he drag us to? We’ll probably end up hunting every kind of monster at this rate. She wasn’t as adverse to that as she made it out. Except undead. Just no.

“Kraaaa&$#@!#@$%%&$#@......!!!!!”

Just as Michael had succeeded in severing both its front legs, the Matriarch let out an ear piercing shriek. She couldn’t even hear the last part due to her hearing fading. Aahh! My head!

The pain lasted but an instant, but for Michael, who was engaged with it, a moment was too long. The Matriarch then used one of its remaining limbs to bat him away. He slammed into a wall, and became embedded there.

“Cameron!”

Thankfully, either his hearing had come back quicker than her’s, or he had decided to attack it anyway. He charged straight at it, swinging his axe. But since he was a lower rank, he wasn’t going to be able to fight it head-on.

It was a good thing she was there.

Together, they were just able to keep it from pouncing on Michael. With her providing cover fire, Cameron could focus on hacking at its limbs. Since both forelimbs were already cut off, it wasn’t as big of a threat. Not to mention the damage to its vision.

As another leg was cut off, it tipped onto its side, leaving it vulnerable. Cameron used Charge one more time and using the momentum from the Skill, swung the axe straight into its stomach, cutting it open and letting its guts flop out. The carapace and chitin surrounding the wound looked cracked, most likely due to Crushing Aura.

“Ohhhhhhh. Ow, ow, ow. Ow. I feel like I got hit by a dump truck. And I missed the rest of the fight. Haaah.”

What!? When did he wake up? And he still wanted to fight!? How much of a battle junkie is he?

“You just thought of me as a battle junkie, didn’t you?”

“Of course not. I don’t have to think of you that way. You already are.”

He didn’t respond to that, turning away and heading over to Cameron. Thbbbt. Don’t try to be so menacing all the time. You can actually be nice when you want to.

“I think this axe is about shot, lad. The stomach acid was the last straw.”

“Damn! We’ll have to get you a new one then. Maybe a D-Rank weapon. Hopefully we can find a Dungeon after this.” Geez! He never stops, does he?

*Clap clap clap clap*

The sudden sound of clapping startled them. The go-between had come into the room and was watching them. Why is he applauding us?

“I must say, I didn’t expect you to kill the Matriarch. At most, I thought you’d deal with most of its underlings and barely escape with your lives. I’m most pleasantly surprised. Most pleasantly.”

“You…!” Michael was already reaching for his swords. Even though she couldn’t see his face, she knew his expression had just turned cold. He had no tolerance for people who tried to kill him.

As if he had sensed Michael’s rage, the agent put the briefcase on the ground and took several steps back.

“You misunderstood. While I may never have expected you to completely wipe out the nest, I did still expect you to make significant contributions. And neither did I try to dispose of you.”

“But you still knew about the C-Rank monster. Most people would’ve died fighting it.” That seemed to surprise the man, as much as she could tell.

“So it was that strong? I’m afraid the Intel we received only told us the names of the monsters. While we did scout them out, the grunts were only E-Rank. No one expected a C-Rank. Of course, there’s no way you’ll believe me so easily. But…”

At this, he looked towards Cameron’s axe, which had developed multiple chips and cracks in the blade. It was only an E-Rank weapon, meaning it was far more vulnerable than our other equipment. That it had lasted all this time was amazing.

He quickly came to a decision and pulled a small pouch out of his pocket. From that pouch, he pulled a battle-axe, which he laid by the case.

“In the next two or three months, my organization plans to produce and distribute weapons similar to this one. Since you broke yours while killing a monster for us, one that we didn’t know about, I’d like you to have this as a token of apology.”

With that, the man turned and left the chamber. I’m glad I didn’t have to see anyone get killed.

[Protag’s POV]

That was….interesting. Sure, I might’ve been pissed that he didn’t tell us about the C-Rank, but was it really worth a new weapon? Especially such a nice one?

Beast-Fang Axe

Rank: D

Effect: Increase to Strength, Increase to Endurance, Slight increase to Destructive Power,

Description: A battle-axe forged from Mana Steel that was imbued with the fangs of a beast during the forging process. Grants the wielder great physical strength in battle.

All in all, I had to say that this was better than the Desecrated Sword before it upgraded. It didn’t compare to the Nightmare’s Twin Swords, but I figured something would have to be over C-Rank to exceed them.

“Something’s still bothering me. I know we got all of our money, but I’ve a bad taste in my mouth. That guy seems a little fishy to me. Why did he give us such a nice weapon? I wouldn’t be surprised if that was his personal weapon.”

“I think he gave it to us to keep us open-minded.”

“What?” what did he mean by that?

“If we were convinced that they tried to use us, we might never do another job for them. This way, he can save face and hopefully we won’t refuse to work with them. And it’s an advertisement for their weapons.”

“Ah, that makes much more sense. But I wonder what they wanted from here?”

A quick search answered that question. There was a large amount of a metal called Mana Steel nearby. Since the axe said it was made of it, they were probably hoping to use this in production. But there was one thing I wasn’t sure about.

This isn’t ore, it’s actual metal. Meaning they can use it right away. Why did this appear? I know I shouldn’t think too hard about it, but this is ridiculous. Ore needs to be refined into workable materials. If we can get metal without any work, then anyone could build an arsenal of weapons. This is going to lead to trouble. I guarantee it.

Either way, we got paid. It was time for us to head home. Orrrrrr, we could stop at a Dungeon. I wasn’t going to be derived of a good fight.

[???’s POV]

“They did WHAT!?”

The messenger sighed again. He didn’t want to be here, getting yelled at by this low ranking soldier. But orders are orders.

“The generals have decided that we’ve suffered too many losses. While keeping the Dungeon nearby is bad for the soldier’s mental health, they cannot justify sending more men to their deaths.”

“So what? We give up on the rewards? Many of my men are desperate. We still don’t know what these things are. What if it opens up and a horde of monsters spill out? We’ll be the first ones slaughtered.”

“Regardless, you have your orders. Do not send any more men into that Dungeon. We can’t have any more soldiers dying needlessly