Darkness.
Elias steadied himself, shaking off the lingering disorientation from the dungeon’s entrance. His body still hummed with residual energy, the telltale aftershock of a spatial shift.
He looked around and saw Primus standing tall a few meters in front of him, its exposed core and sub-cores glowing in that faint blue light—ever so slightly illuminating its immediate surroundings. It was looking at him as if awaiting his orders.
With a slow exhale, he reached for their connection. A gentle tug for a silent command.
Without delay, the golem walked closer to him—leaving only a few feet of distance.
He flexed his fingers, his mana stirring.
Metal surged over his hands, molding into something familiar. Heavy. Solid. Reliable. The only weapons he trusted with his lack of experience in fighting.
His mace-hands.
He rolled his shoulders, adjusting to the weight.
“Okay. Let’s do this.”
Another gentle tug at their connection, and Primus led the way forward.
Elias followed, moving cautiously as they marched deeper into the dark.
The air grew heavier with every step, thick with an eerie stillness that pressed down on his chest like an invisible weight.
Their footsteps echoed—his light, Primus’s heavy. The faint blue glow of the golem’s core barely pushed back the darkness, revealing only jagged stone walls and a floor coated in a thin layer of dust. No signs of life. No markings. Nothing.
It looked like a fairly normal cave—except one thing.
He clenched his fists. It was too quiet.
With a thought, he activated his [Mana Sight] hoping to catch a trace of something—anything—but the void around them swallowed his efforts.
A cold shiver crawled up his spine. It wasn’t just dark here—it was empty.
[Mana Sight] should have revealed something. Traces of residual energy, flickers of life from bugs, even the faint flow of ambient mana. But there was nothing. The mana was still.
Suddenly, something echoed from deeper in.
TAP TAP TAP
Elias froze.
He hurriedly ordered Primus to stop and be on guard.
Pouring his focus on his skill, he looked intently ahead. Scanning the darkness for whatever was making that noise.
The sound came again.
TAP TAP TAP
Closer this time.
He strained his eyes, but all he could see were the stone surfaces. Even Primus’s glow failed to reveal anything of note.
His breathing slowed. He listened.
For a few tense moments, there was nothing. Just silence.
Then—
Movement.
Not from ahead. From above.
Elias barely had time to react before a sudden weight crashed onto his back, slamming him face-first into the cold stone.
He lifted his head, only to see eight thick legs that tapered into a sharp point surrounded him. A low, clicking chitter filling his ears, reverberating through his skull.
His breath hitched. A spider. A massive one.
Instinct kicked in. Mana flared inside him as he tried to roll over to face it—but before he could, needle-like fangs pierced his shoulder.
A searing burn shot through his body as venom surged into his veins. His muscles locked up instantly, a cold paralysis spreading from the wound. His breathing hitched—his body refused to move.
The spider tightened its grip, pressing him into the stone. Its chittering grew louder, reverberating through his skull like nails against glass.
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BOOM
Primus struck.
A massive fist slammed into the spider’s side, sending it skidding across the floor. The fangs ripped free from his shoulder, tearing flesh in the process.
Freed from its grip, Elias rolled onto his back, gasping through clenched teeth. His arm throbbed violently, but there was no time to focus on the pain. He forced himself upright just as the spider steadied itself.
It was fast.
Already, it had flipped back onto its legs, mandibles clicking in agitation. The chitin on its side now caved in and sporting a few cracks. A thick, dark fluid oozed out of the wound, but the monster didn’t falter.
It lunged.
He reacted, diving sideways to just barely avoid its charge. Its massive bulk crashed into the stone where he’d just stood, sending cracks splintering across the ground. Dust and debris filled the air as the creature skittered, reorienting itself unnaturally fast.
‘Annoying ass—’
He hissed in pain, his arm burning from the venom, his muscles sluggish, but he couldn’t stop moving. If he did, he was dead.
"Primus!"
The golem didn’t hesitate. It lunged forward, swinging a colossal fist.
The spider jumped toward him, avoiding a direct hit—but that was fine. Elias was hoping to close the distance anyway.
He swung his mace-hand with everything he had, aiming for the cracked section of chitin.
CRUNCH
The impact landed clean, widening the wound. The spider let out a shrill, ear-piercing screech, its front legs flailing wildly as it staggered back.
Elias pressed his advantage. He had to finish it fast—before the venom took full effect.
His vision blurred. His pulse thundered in his ears.
One more hit.
Primus led the charge with another massive hook.
But the spider wasn’t done.
Its eight eyes glanced at the golem, then quickly locked back onto him before it leaped.
His heart lurched.
The creature soared over Primus, avoiding another crushing blow. Its massive shadow loomed over him, its mandibles twitching violently—ready to tear into him.
Time slowed.
His body was too sluggish to dodge—and much too slow to actually hit it mid-air.
But there was one thing he could do.
His mana stirred.
He activated [Quick Imbue] skill, applying a temporary Impact rune on his right mace—draining over sixty percent of his mana.
An expensive price for a rune, but [Quick Imbue] was worth it for emergencies.
Elias then dropped low and punched the ground with all his strength.
The rune immediately activated and broke—releasing all of its effects in the time it took to blink. A forceful shockwave blasted outward, propelling him backward just as the spider came crashing down where he had been.
Its fangs slammed into the cracked floor instead of his flesh.
‘Now.’
Elias gritted his teeth, channeling every last bit of his strength into a counterattack. He twisted mid-air, forcing his sluggish limbs to obey, and swung down with all his might.
CRACK
His mace-hand collided with the spider’s head, caving in part of its exoskeleton. The creature screeched, its legs spasming wildly as it staggered—but it still wasn’t dead.
Not yet.
“Primus! Smash it!”
The golem surged forward.
BOOM
A massive fist caved in the spider’s abdomen, sending a spray of thick black ichor across the chamber. The monster convulsed—legs curling inward—before finally collapsing with a sickening thud.
Silence.
Then—
|Ding! You have killed [Windswept Jumper Arachnid (II) – Level 145]!|
|Ding! You have absorbed 1% of the enemy’s essence!|
|Ding! [Mana Sight] (UC) has leveled up!|
|23 => 24|
|Ding! [Quick Reflexes] (C) has leveled up!|
|1 => 11|
|Ding! [Quick Imbue] (UC) has leveled up!|
|2 => 4|
He staggered.
His knees buckled, and for a moment, he nearly collapsed—but sheer willpower kept him standing.
His body wasn't listening. His breath came in ragged gasps, his muscles sluggish from the venom. His regeneration was fighting to purge it, but against a Tier Two's poison, it was like trying to put out a wildfire with a cup of water.
TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP
More were coming.
‘Fuck. I don’t have time for this.’
He needed an antidote. Fast.
Through blurry vision, Elias forced himself to focus on the spider’s corpse. High-tier monsters always had valuable materials, and if he was lucky…
He forced out a hoarse command.
“Primus—check the body.”
The golem obeyed, stepping forward and tearing into the carcass with its massive hands. Chitin cracked, revealing the soft innards beneath. Dark ichor pooled on the dungeon floor, releasing a foul, acidic stench.
His clenched his jaw, scanning the remains. His mind raced.
Spiders carried venom. Venom glands could be refined into antidotes. But that took time he didn’t have.
His gaze darted to the spider’s abdomen, where the venom sac should be. If it hadn’t ruptured during the fight…
There.
A swollen, dark green organ, glistening with toxic fluid.
He didn’t hesitate. He reached in with his left hand and yanked the sac free.
Pain flared in his wounded shoulder. His vision dimmed for a second, but he pushed through it.
He had one shot at this.
Venom could kill. But with his adaptation skill—though temporary—he could gain a buff that could help him resist it at the very least.
He tightened his grip on the venom sac, pressed it against his bleeding wound—
—and squeezed.
A burning wave of agony surged through his body.
His muscles locked up. His jaw clenched so hard it nearly cracked his teeth.
But he didn't let go.
The venom seeped into his bloodstream, mixing with what was already there. His regeneration kicked into overdrive, his entire body flaring with unnatural heat as it tried to counteract the fresh poison.
Then—
|Ding! Temporary buff [Partial Resistance (5%)] gained!|
Elias collapsed to his knees, panting. The worst of the paralysis faded.
His limbs were still heavy, his body weak, but he could move. And right now, that was enough.
He exhaled and shakily pushed himself up.
“…I hate spiders.”
Primus stood beside him, motionless, waiting.
Elias wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He could move, but the buff would disappear eventually.
TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP
“…I really hate that I have to do this.” He said, eyeing the rest of the venom.
TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP
TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP
They were getting closer.
He didn’t hesitate anymore and brought it up to his mouth.
TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP
A glance at Primus showed his jealousy of him being made of stone.
But he refocused on the venom and closed his eyes.
GULP
