30.1. Screech

“A Lair?”

I frowned. Lucerna had a Lair. And here, in front of us, was what Edithe was calling a ‘monster Lair’.

“Yes. Lairs are where monsters lay their nest, where they claim as their dens, or where they mark their territory. The first and third scenarios become dangerous for any towns nearby because the monsters are then unusually aggressive and dangerous. But when multiple Lairs are made in the same place, a place becomes a Dungeon.”

“You told me that— if they’re bad for you Humans, let’s just go destroy it and level.”

The Human woman shook her head.

“That’s not a good idea. Giant Spider nests can get big. And if they’re all really around the same level as the one you fought, we’ll be overrun in minutes. I did not expect there to be a Lair this close to the entrance of the Dungeon. We should turn back now. Leave this Dungeon and find someplace else to level.”

“What?”

I stared at her in shock. She could not be serious! We just came here and fought a few monsters, before suddenly, we were going to leave. I hadn’t even leveled yet!

I was just about to protest when Daniel spoke up.

“I don’t think we should be too hasty. There’s still that other path we hadn’t followed.”

“You mean the tunnel that went even further down the Dungeon?”

Edithe gave him a dubious look; the Human man simply shook his head.

“It makes no sense for a Lair to be so close to the surface and not have been a problem for any of the towns nearby. This is probably just an alternate entrance to it— one that only the more adult and higher leveled Giant Spiders can leave from. I’m sure that if we go down the other tunnel, we’d find easier monsters to deal with rather than stronger ones.”

“And how do you know that?”

He shrugged.

“Just a hunch. We should at least take a look since we’re already in here.”

I quickly backed him up.

“Daniel is right! We’re already in the Dungeon! We can’t just leave now!”

“Well, technically that’s not how it works—”

I glared at him and he shut up. Why are you arguing against yourself, idiot? He was weird. Humans were weird.

Edithe glanced between the two of us before she sighed.

“Fine. We’ll take a look. But if anything happens— if there are monsters far beyond what I can handle— I will not hesitate to leave either of you here.”

She paused, fixating a look on me.

“Although I highly doubt one of you will need help to escape.”

I grinned, satisfied that we could continue exploring the Dungeon; we turned around and made our way back to where the tunnel split into two. I eagerly walked ahead of the two Humans, stepping up beside Druma who had been ordered to take the lead. They called him their ‘tank’— he was strong and had a high [Vitality] apparently.

We began our descent to a lower part of the Dungeon until eventually we saw our first Giant Spider. He was not as large as the first one I saw, and his appendages were not as thick either. Instead, he had long, spindly legs that made its body rise up to my head level.

It was secreting a thread, spinning it around a four legged creature that was the size of a wolf. But she wasn’t a wolf— she had a hairless body, and hand-like feet with sharp nails protruding out of its four finger-toes. She struggled, trying to tear herself free from the bindings.

[Weaving Spider - Lvl. 43]

[Howre - Lvl. 25]

“Huh.”

I stared at how tightly the Giant Spider was tying up the other monster, but when he heard me speak, he immediately whirled around and dropped her. He snarled and fired three needles made of silk. I stepped back, but Druma was already moving forward.

The [Yaksha] brought his hands forward, the wood on his arms suddenly extending, almost forming a shield. He blocked the incoming attack as Edithe shouted.

“Druma, keep it distracted! Mistshard, flank it from the side!”

Her Spirits did as they were told as Daniel rushed forward. I saw the Humans and Spirits begin attacking the creature, and frowned. Oh no you don’t! You won’t be keeping the experience for yourselves!

Before Daniel even reached the monster— as Mistshard released a plume of icy air at the Giant Spider— I dashed forward, faster than my legs could take me. The gray rock walls blurred around me as the Skill carried me forward, right under the face of the [Weaving Spider]. I landed a [Fire Strike] on his head before strings appeared around me.

I flipped out of the way as the threads closed in, right as Daniel reached him and sliced off one of his left legs with a Skill. Mistshard began freezing the monster’s right side as he struggled to fend off the Human man. I threw a few orbs of fire at him from a distance as Druma fired off some wood spikes of his own. Then finally, the Giant Spider fell dead.

Defeated [Weaving Spider - Lvl. 43]!

More experience is awarded for defeating an enemy at least 10 levels above you!

Less experience is awarded for defeating an enemy with the help of others!

Subspecies [Zelus Imp] Level Up!

[Zelus Imp – Lvl. 25] -> [Zelus Imp – Lvl. 26]

Gained 5 Stat Points and 3 Skill Points!