Uglyface lunged forward, sinking its jagged teeth into a dazed crystal spiderling. The creature had no chance to react, its fragile body snapping apart like a brittle twig between Uglyface's relentless maw.

  With the crystalline energy no longer surging through the hive, the spiderlings were significantly weaker. The Queen’s advantage had crumbled, leaving Enya’s soul-forged minions now superior to their foes.

  Enya had four active fighters: Pell, Fred, Muffins, and Uglyface. Muffins hadn’t been enhanced yet—she hadn’t had a moment to focus, since she was dodging slicing cobwebs only a minute prior. For now, Muffins remained as-is, and Enya decided not to waste resources upgrading it just yet.

  Soul-Energy: 73/200

  Her reserves were running low. Between shielding herself, summoning bone spikes, and creating her current minions, she barely had enough energy left to summon two more soul-forged skeletons. Even if she did, she’d only have enough mana left for one more bone spear before running completely dry. Sure, there were corpses scattered across the battlefield to absorb Soul Energy from—but dashing into the chaos to crouch down and absorb Soul-Energy, seemed like a terrible idea.

  “Not so damn tough now, are ya?” Pell growled, delivering a solid kick to the spiderling that had shot a cobweb at him. The creature hurtled across the cavern floor, pieces of it breaking and laying strewn across the ground.

  A sharp, grating chittering noise came from the Queen. The hive reacted instantly, their movements shifting into a defensive formation. The remaining spiderlings gathered in a tight line, creating a barrier between the Queen and her attackers.

  The regular spiderlings weren’t much of a threat anymore, but the guards—hulking and heavily armored—still posed a challenge, even without their crystalline enhancements.

  Fred didn’t hesitate. He charged in, leading the assault while Muffins followed behind. Fred launched a fist forward, Chitin crunching under the force of his blows as he struck a spiderling. Muffins ran forward, crouched lower, focused on intercepting the smaller spiderlings that tried to counter against Fred.

  The royal guards, however, were a different foe altogether. The mildly injured royal guard, cracks marring its face, scurried forward at Pell. Although the cave was filled with darkness, the loud cracking sound of bones easily revealed her minion’s positions.

  The guard raised a thick, barbed limb and swung downward at Pell with powerful force. Pell caught the limb mid-swing, his bones creaking under the strain. Although he was strengthened now, he was still an inexperienced fighter.

  “Pell, you got this!” Enya barked, her glowing eyes flickering as her eyes scanned across the battles happening.

  Fred turned and darted in next. He lunged at the guard’s exposed flank while Pell held its leg still. A swift kick from Fred sent his bony foot into a cracked portion of its carapace, widening the fracture. A shrill screech escaped the spiderling as it flew in the air, its leg severed as Pell’s grip held true. It thrashed about in the air before landing in a heap far away.

  The royal guard tried to stand, but it wobbled as it did so.

  “Uglyface! Finish that thing off!” Enya commanded.

  From the right, a spiderling was knocked straight into the air, dozens of feet as Uglyface burst through a swarm of spiderlings surrounding it. Its powerful, ugly legs stomped against the ground, propelling it forward at extreme speed. Uglyface didn’t opt to bite, to claw, or to even swipe the guard with its tail. Instead, it lowered its head, its snout sharp and pointed, running straight at the guard.

  Crash!

  A flurry of crystal and bone fragments exploded everywhere. The royal guard shattered completely into pieces, while a massive portion of Uglyface's face became less… stupid.

  Enya focused in at the collision, and she noticed that its entire snout had broken. Even though it was a Soul-Forged skeleton, the royal guard’s crystalline toughness couldn’t be underestimated.

  A leftover blue gem fell onto the ground as the guard’s body shattered. This was the same crystal that was similar to the one on the Spiderling Queen’s back. However, it was now dim, devoid of light. With her sight, Enya noticed small micro-cracks that lined on the crystal. This was most likely caused by the light that radiated from her badge, overloading it and damaging it like the others around the cave.

  She felt kind of bad; she knew how much Pell needed money, and apparently these gems could have been worth something. He had spent money on her for the gear she had, boots and badge alike. However, if she could grab some of the rare crystals Pell was hoping for, then maybe she could pay back his kindness. But now, because of her actions, they may all be deemed useless, as she essentially had just broken them.

  “Maybe the city lord will compensate him,” she murmured, though a wry grin crossed her face. “No one says no to someone as cute as me, right?”

  Shaking off the thought, she refocused.

  One down.

  Under ten spiderlings remained, along with the last royal guard and the Spiderling Queen. The Queen herself had stayed eerily still, her tiny body watching the fight unfold with twitching mandibles. Enya noticed how it never acted directly, relying entirely on its hive to protect it.

  “She’s like me,” Enya muttered, a flicker of understanding crossing her features. “Weak on her own, but strong with her minions.”

  But the tide had turned. Enya’s skeletal fighters had the upper hand, their soul-forged strength outmatching the Queen’s crippled forces.

  “Alright,” she whispered, her grin sharpening. “Let’s finish this.”

  Pell and the rest of her minions regrouped, while the remaining spiderlings formed a tighter defensive line in front of the queen.

  The line of spiderlings all opened their mandibles. Enya recognized this motion; they were about to shoot those razor-sharp crystal cobwebs—nearly a dozen of them at the same time.

  The instant she noticed this, she sent a mental command through her bond, warning everyone with her thoughts.

  “Pell! They’re about to—“ she yelled out, but was cut off mid-sentence.

  “I heard you the first time!” Pell shouted back, already darting off to the side.

  What? She hadn’t warned him about the incoming attack. Her other minions were warned through her bond, but Pell didn’t count as one of her minions. What exactly was he on about?

  A cacophony of other crashes rang out in different directions. All of her minions managed to scatter and dodge the bombardment of cobwebs shot at them. Crystal webs covered the cavern walls, some of them splintering into reflective shards that slightly gleamed in the darkness.

  “Uglyface! Charge—” Enya stopped herself mid-command. Though the spiderlings couldn’t see, they could clearly hear. That was how they kept pinpointing everyone’s positions in the pitch-dark cave. Shouting commands only gave away her location—a mistake she couldn’t afford to repeat.

  She shifted to using the mental link with her minions, though that meant Pell would be left out of the loop. He wasn’t her summon and bound to her magic like the others; he’d have to figure things out on his own. She could only hope he’d keep up the pace with the rest.

  Uglyface, charge into the horde and clear a path for Fred! Do whatever you can, even if you fall!

  The mental command zipped across their bond, and Uglyface immediately veered mid-sprint. Its skeletal form scuttled behind the spiderlings, heading straight for those preparing another volley of crystal webs. Quick and erratic, it lunged forward, biting and snapping at a smaller spiderling with its uneven jaw.

  But the horde wasn’t idle. A nearby spiderling spat out a razor-sharp cobweb that wrapped tightly around Uglyface's hind legs. The skeletal rat faltered, tumbling forward in a wild crash. Its frame skidded to a stop in the center of the cavern, momentarily immobilized, thrashing about in an attempt to get rid of the webbing.

  Fred, meanwhile, shattered two spiderlings with swift, brutal strikes and sprinted to help Uglyface. Muffins struggled, locked in a prolonged battle with a single, stubborn spiderling, its blows less efficient but determined. Everyone else was empowered by Soul-Energy, but at least Muffins could keep an extra spiderling preoccupied.

  Pell faced off against the last royal guard. He circled it carefully, his fingers twitching and flexing as his hollow eyes stayed locked on the hulking creature. With a sharp clash, they collided—Pell’s skeletal hands gripping and straining against the guard’s barbed limbs. They locked in place, both struggling in a contest of raw strength and attrition.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Everyone was occupied. Everyone, except for Enya—and the Spiderling Queen.

  From the shadowy tunnel entrance, Enya’s glowing yellow eyes pierced the gloom shrouding the hive. Her gaze locked onto her target. She began channeling magic, her Soul-Energy weaving the intricate spell circuit for a full-powered bone spear. A plan had begun to form in her mind, and she was ready to execute it.

  Those spiderlings won’t be a problem soon, since Muffins, Fred, and Uglyface are taking care of them. But that big spider is a problem. But what if…

  Her eyes narrowed as she adjusted her aim, calculating her next move.

  A phrase from Sable’s books resurfaced in her mind.

  Minions exist to serve their master.

  Summons, constructs, and Soul-Forged skeletons—minions alike—they are all just tools meant to be used. Things to serve and protect their owner or master. Enya understood this truth well. Her minions would act to shield her from harm instinctively.

  The spiderling hive must operate in the same way as her and her own minions. After all, what was a Queen without her subjects? If she could exploit this strength, and turn it into a weakness…

  Her lips curled into a sharp grin. The bone spear circuit solidified in her hand, its ghostly glow illuminating her expression, a shine that none else could see without mana sensitivity.

  The ground beneath the Spiderling Queen trembled. Pebbles and fragments of stone jittered and danced, a precursor to something massive tearing through the earth. The crystalline spider froze, its chittering silenced as it sensed the impending threat.

  Pell, locked in his struggle against the royal guard, suddenly felt the pressure lift. The guard disengaged with a sharp leap, leaving Pell stumbling forward as it scurried frantically toward its queen.

  The Spiderling Queen reacted immediately, its many legs scrambling to pull it away from the danger below. From beneath the stone, the bone spear burst upward, rupturing the ground where the queen had been a moment earlier.

  “Now!” Enya shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos.

  The spear shot skyward, a jagged, ghostly spike of necromantic power. At the same moment, the cavern erupted into motion. Like gears in a machine, every player moved in unison, their actions moving according to what she envisioned.

  The Spiderling Queen dodged the spear—barely. Its legs scrambled for purchase as it threw itself clumsily across the ground, its movements awkward but swift. However, the bone spear accomplished what Enya had wanted.

  The royal guard, closing in on its queen, rushed straight into her trap.

  Skill: Recast has been activated.

  The spear, never intended to strike the queen, reappeared in a blur, bursting upward once more. This time, it pierced cleanly through the royal guard’s undercarapace. The creature’s body lurched as it was impaled, the bone spike carrying it upward with brutal force. Its body flew alongside the tip of the spike, the bone raising faster than the spider’s body. This resulted in what was like what Enya had eaten back in town, the delicious street-food known as a kabob.

  Behind the Spiderling Queen, the ground rumbled with a different kind of threat. Heavy, pounding footsteps approached quickly.

  The queen turned, its smaller size allowing for quicker movement compared to its guards. But it was already too late.

  Muffins barreled in with surprising speed, his skeletal arms outstretched. Before the queen could react, he scooped it up, clamping it tightly in his bony grasp.

  The spiderlings were small and compact, about the size of pillows, while the royal guards towered over them, nearly reaching Enya’s neck. By contrast, the Spiderling Queen was diminutive—barely larger than Pell’s skull. If she held it with both palms flat, it would fit snugly.

  Muffins continued his frantic laps around the cavern, the Spiderling Queen wriggling helplessly in his skeletal hands. Despite its impressive title, the queen was frail—too weak and fragile to even attempt escaping. It was clear now that its role in the hive was more conductor than combatant, directing the swarm rather than leading any fights.

  Uglyface and Fred were acting wildly, stepping in and stopping the advance of the remaining swarm. Muffins was now the prized possession that they all wanted, and Enya was going to make good use of that fact; scrambling the hive and whittling them down one by one as they tried to save their queen.

  With both royal guards defeated, only a few scattered spiderlings remained, their resistance feeble against the relentless onslaught of Enya’s Soul-Forged minions, Pell included. She was surprised to realize just how effective her creations had become; the cleanup was swift and decisive.

  “I am sick—and tired—of you! Go and die already!” Pell bellowed, punctuating his rage by punting the last spiderling with his bony foot. The unfortunate creature sailed through the air before slamming into the cavern wall with a sickening crunch. Ichor splattered, and shards of broken crystal scattered across the ground.

  Enya dropped back into the cavern’s center, crouching as she pulled out her bonecarver’s quill. With careful precision, she began etching a circuit onto Fred’s skull. The design was familiar—create light, the very first spell she’d learned in the dungeon. Although it wasn’t registered in her system anymore, the patterns were still fresh in her memory, allowing her to cast—or in this case—engrave manually.

  “And let there be light!” she declared, raising her hands theatrically as she finished engraving the circuit.

  Fred’s skull flickered to life, illuminating the dark cavern like a makeshift street lamp. The glow chased away the shadows, revealing the aftermath of the battle. Corpses, ichor, bone chips, and crystal fragments lay in piles everywhere the eye could see.

  “Never thought I’d miss light this much,” Josier muttered, stepping into view.

  He had been on the front lines earlier, holding back the bulk of the hive swarm while Enya formulated her plans, summoned minions, and directed them all in battle. However, after her little light show with the badge, he’d wisely retreated to the outskirts, wary of being caught in another burst of brilliance that would leave him blinded.

  Though he’d avoided losing his eyesight, his human eyes couldn’t pierce the darkness like hers or the others. Now, with Fred’s illumination, he could finally take in the scene—and the extent of their victory. He had been cautiously listening as hard as he could, to ensure there wasn’t any real danger that would befall them, but it seemed like his caution was now unwarranted.

  Pell approached, stretching his arms and legs with exaggerated motions. His joints creaked and cracked noisily, evidence of how hard he’d pushed himself during the fight. He gave Enya a pointed look.

  “I’ve got so many questions—like why I’ve got this creepy glowing mist around me, why I suddenly feel way stronger than usual, and why I kept hearing your voice in my head—but I’ll save those for later. Are we done here?”

  Voice in his head? Enya blinked, confused. She opened her mouth to ask, but Pell spoke again.

  “Everything’s dead now. Except for that queen spider your skeleton cupcake is holding—”

  “Muffins!” Enya interjected sharply.

  Pell paused, brow ridges lifting in mock confusion. “What?”

  “His name is Muffins, not cupcake!” she corrected with a huff.

  Pell groaned, rubbing his temple as if the correction physically pained him. “Fine,” he grumbled. “Muffins is still holding that damn spider queen. Why haven’t you killed it yet?”

  Enya put a finger to her chin, feigning deep thought. She hummed as if carefully weighing her options before answering brightly. “Because she’s pretty!”

  Pell stared at her. “What?”

  “The Queen—she’s really pretty! It was hard to tell during the fight, but that blue crystal on her back is gorgeous! It shines and—”

  “Alright, alright. Spare me the details.” Pell waved her off, shaking his skull in disbelief. He was getting used to her erratic reasoning. The same creature that had been trying to murder her moments ago was now a glorified prisoner in Muffins’ skeletal grip—all because Enya thought it was cute.

  “Also…” Enya added with a pout, “I don’t think I can make her a skeleton.”

  “I can’t imagine you could,” Josier said, stepping into the conversation. “That queen’s more crystal than spider. And insects—or arthropods, I think they’re called?—don’t have bones.”

  Enya nodded solemnly. “For now, I want to keep her as a pet!” she declared. “Until I figure out a way to kill her and make her my minion!”

  Pell winced at the casual cruelty of her statement. Killing an enemy in battle was one thing—that was just survival. But holding something captive just to kill it later and enslave it? Hells, he thought, what is wrong with this kid? What exactly did those damn necromancer books teach her?

  Pell’s skull rattled as he reluctantly shook his head. “Whatever you want, then. Normally, I’d say no one’s going to let you walk out of here with a monster, but…” He cast a sidelong glance at Josier. “Nobody’s going to argue with a High-Noble.”

  Josier caught the look and shrugged, whistling innocently. He had no intention of getting involved in that debate, either.

  Enya’s interface was flooded with notifications, but the hunt wasn’t over just yet. There were still plenty of corpses to harvest for Soul-Energy, even if some of the spiderlings’ bodies were completely destroyed. She wasn’t sure if shattered crystal fragments could still yield energy, but she intended to find out.

  In addition to absorbing Soul-Energy, she also planned to gather every piece of the rare blue crystals left behind. Yet another mystery still nagged at her—a loose end among her spoils of battle.

  “What’s that thing?” Enya asked, pointing to the massive, dimly lit crystal cocoon hanging in the cavern’s center.

  Uglyface circled beneath it, sniffing with its shattered snout—despite the obvious fact that it couldn’t actually smell.

  Pell and Josier both turned their attention to the cocoon. Several feet tall and shaped like a flawless gem, it glinted faintly in the dim light from Fred’s skull, its surface composed of the same crystalline webbing the spiderlings had spun. It loomed, eerie and unbroken, like the centerpiece of the entire cavern.

  “Beats me,” Pell and Josier said in unison, their tones equally flat.

  Enya frowned. “It’s right there! A big, weird… thing! It’s practically screaming to be opened!”

  Josier raised an eyebrow as Pell crossed his arms skeptically.

  “Kid,” Pell said, his unease plain, “that thing might be, like… their eggs or something. I’m undead and all, but I still don’t like spiders. These things were big enough to look like monsters, but if you crack that open and a million tiny spider babies come pouring out? I’m gone.”

  “I’m… inclined to agree,” Josier added, shuddering. “Big monster spiders that act like elemental golems? Fine. A swarm of spiderlings? Absolutely not.”

  “Nothing gained! Nothing adventured!” Enya declared, skipping toward the cocoon with a gleeful energy that made Pell and Josier exchange resigned glances.

  “That’s not the say—” Josier began, but Pell cut him off with a weary shake of his skull.

  “Don’t. I’ve learned not to bother going against her whims.” Pell sighed, a strange heaviness creeping into his voice. He wasn’t just tired of arguing with her—something deeper felt… off. There was a growing tug in his mind, subtle but insistent, making it harder to even question her. He didn’t know why, and it left an uneasy flicker in his soul-flames.

  While Enya called her minions over, gesturing for them to crack open the cocoon, Pell pulled up his own notifications. He’d been too busy during the fight to check, expecting nothing more than the usual system messages—maybe a small amount of experience, likely diminished because of his non-combat class.

  He swiped his screen, and his soul-flames froze.

  System Notification: ‘Pell’ has been registered as a Level 13 Skeleton

  Name: Pell Meltere

  Level: 13

  Type: Soul-Forged Humanoid Skeleton

  Class: Merchant

  Power Rating: 345

  You have been soul-bound to Enya Empyria.