Seeing the Giant Spiders heading out erased Aura’s lingering exhaustion. While she doubted that the Spider’s den would be empty, she hoped that the resistance they may end up facing would be lessened. After all, it was very much looking like she may need all the strength she could get to deal with the Fortress situation when they were done. For now, some last minute preparations needed to be made before descending into the hole.

  Chief among them was eating something, though being among the last to wake, that had already been started. Eating a potato raw was not something she had ever done before, but on biting into one, the texture was better than the slop that she had been eating. The flavor left a lot to be desired, and she decided that as soon as she was able, she needed to see about cooking up an actual meal for herself.

  Outside of dwelling on those idle thoughts, she also checked her condition. Her HP reading a [138/140] puzzled her for a bit. If her previous realizations were right, between sleeping after leveling and the poultice she should have been at full health. At least her mana was topped up, and asking everyone else what their conditions were like helped confirm some things. Both Kaelen and Maul had taken some hits and been healed up after the last battle. They had leveled up as well, but neither were at full HP. Instead, being at [126/140] and [144/150] respectively.

  It is when Ryse speaks up that she begins to understand what may be going on. Much like Violet, he had not taken any hits during that Spider fight. Unlike her, he had leveled up and got a boost to his max HP. And while he had slept some, he only recovered a fraction of what the increase to his health was, leaving him at [108/115]. Why this was the case was a mystery, but it wasn’t worth dwelling on right now. There were bigger things to focus on.

  With some food in their stomachs, and everyone already dressed and ready to go, Kaelen took the lead once more to head towards the hole. While they walked carefully to avoid falling into any of the cracks in the ground, it did not take them long to reach the silk that is spreading out from it. Ryse mentioned how the silk doesn’t have any adhesive properties. Something that Aura recalled him testing last night. With that in mind, they all cautiously continue forwards until they can see downwards.

  The hole opens to a pit, and a rather deep one at that. While there is no illumination coming from the hole itself, the slowly brightening sky allows them all to see inside somewhat. The true size was hard to judge due to the low light and the silk, but Aura guessed that a modern building could probably fit into this hole. The walls were covered in spider silk, thick sheets of it that made the whole thing look foggy in the early morning light. Standing out clearly were patches of dark earth at varying elevations, with some of them even leading into openings in the walls. The appearance seemed familiar, but she could not place why.

  “Maul, was this a mine or something before the monsters came?”

  Kaelen speaking up allows her to connect the pieces, and looking at it now Aura sees it too. Though, for all she had envisioned a mine looking like, this one doesn’t fit her imagination. It is not just the Spider silk covering the walls, but the lack of any traditional mining equipment in sight. The walkways are bare and covered in what looks like a variety of detritus, and glancing towards one of the openings she has a good angle on, the tunnel looks to be collapsed.

  “I don’t know what a mine is. As far as Fortress has said, this place is always a den of monsters. It is only months after an extermination comes out that new monsters take root here.”

  Maul’s answer, meanwhile, is more than a little unnerving to hear. The fact that something as simple and ancient as a mine is not a concept that is known really speaks to how far gone this world was. It made sense to a degree though; all the players had been brought to this world to save it after all. And while Aura was more than willing to kill monsters and save people, she had no intention on getting to involved with any rebuilding or the like. Even now, leading this group to rescue Calen and Jackie, her unease lingered.

  “That doesn’t matter too much. I’m not seeing any other Spiders right now. Nor can I really see any of the animals that we saw brought in last night. Let’s get down into this place and start checking around.”

  Taking the initiative, Aura moves to the front and sits down at the edge of the pit. It was the safest way for her to reposition herself to a climb, and she knew she needed to do so first. The drop to the first ‘level’ of this mine did not look too far, so if the silk gave way she should be fine. But this way at least, she was putting herself at the most risk. After repositioning and beginning her descent, it is interrupted by something that she had noticed missing.

  Unlike the previous quests that had appeared for her, this one lacked an option to accept or decline. Perhaps it was because she was too deep in at this point to do otherwise, or perhaps because it knew she was determined to rescue Calen and Jackie even without the quest. Either way, she ignored it and the window faded away to allow her to focus on the task at hand.

  Climbing down, Aura quickly realized that the layers of silk covering the walls were vast. She could grip the wall with plenty of force, and still not feel the earth that should be behind it. It was a challenge climbing down using only her upper body, even with her strength being greater than on Earth. Especially when she had to support her full weight with just one hand to reach down to grip more of the silk to make a handhold. At the very least it should be easier for the others, given how the impressions her hands made did not fade.

  With a light sheen of sweat on her brow, she eventually feels her feet connect with solid ground. Cautious of what kind of state the ground is, she doesn’t let go of the wall right away. Only after stomping her feet lightly for a short time, did she finally let go and step away from the wall.

  “Okay everyone, it seems safe enough to come down.”

  Her words echo slightly thanks to where she is standing, and with the light illuminating them she sees others beginning to make their way down. While she would like to explore a little to find where they need to go, keeping an eye on everyone’s descent is the safer thing. Only Ryse and Violet struggled with their descent, them both rubbing their arms on reaching the landing.

  “It was bad before, but I can’t make out anything now that we are down here. Though, the lack of sound means we probably aren’t being surrounded at least.”

  Maul is the first to voice the obvious, and now that Aura focuses on it, the silence is eerie. In this open space, sound should travel easily enough. The silk covered walls may dampen noise a little bit, but only everyone’s breathing and movements echoes. Luckily, sight soon becomes available once Kaelen pulls out his light stone. It thankfully is not blinding and allows them to get a better look now that they are inside.

  While the light allows them to traverse these walkways more easily, it otherwise doesn’t provide much assistance. As they all walk towards one of the openings in the silk, a quick check reveals that the tunnel is filled with rocks and dirt. Every tunnel seems to share that story, at the very least on this top level. With the light aiding them, they determine that this former mine goes four levels deep.

  And so, after clearing out the top level they descend once more. The search turns out the same results all the way until they reach the bottom level. The spider silk has encroached onto the ground down here, though that mainly seems to be because it is spreading from one tunnel in particular. With an opening large enough to accommodate the Giant Spiders’ size, and the fact that it is the only not collapsed one, it seems that they have found the way forwards.

  “Fighting in tight quarters like this won’t be easy. Though, that should go both ways at least. If I can suggest something, maybe Maul and Kaelen should take the lead here? Violet and I can attack over their heads at least. And we should have someone watching our backs just in case.”

  Standing at the tunnel entrance, Ryse is the one to suggest the formation for heading inside. The anxiety in the air is palpable as they all await a possible attack, so his words do help to steady them a little. And while Maul doesn’t look to happy about taking this suggestion, there is no real reason for him to protest it either. Soon enough they all get into the suggested formation and head into the cave.

  Standing at the back of the formation, Aura is getting the least amount of light. The way forwards is illuminated well enough, though it is not long into the winding tunnel that their back goes dark. More then that though, the air seems to almost shift as they go forwards as well. Humidity is something she has not really felt since being forced into this world, but now she is experiencing it. A musty scent filling the air soon follows and has her face crinkling in displeasure, though she keeps any thoughts on it to herself.

  After walking for a time, the procession soon comes to a halt. Looking forwards, she sees the reason for that being. While the walls have remained lined with silk, that has been it for a while. Now though, she spots small black spots moving all along the walls. Hundreds of normal sized spiders are scurrying about, and not aimlessly. For they are not the only thing that are now starting to appear on the walls.

  Lumps, or rather cocoons, of various sizes are seen sticking to the walls and ceiling. They are spaced apart somewhat, though peeking forwards to where things are illuminated, the macabre decoration continues. The spiders seem to slip between the threads of silk and into the cocoons, though doing so doesn’t change something disturbing. The cocoons are all partially deflated, as if whatever was inside of them was no longer. And considering what happened to the dead in this world…

  “Maul, how long have the Giant Spiders been around for?”

  While she asked the question, Aura suspected that the timespan was a long one. She did not think there were any other settlements nearby, which meant that all these cocoons were probably for various animals, or even other monsters. It wasn’t to sobering a thought, as it just went to show how much damage these things had done to the ecosystem.

  “The Giant Spiders, almost a year at this point. I know that after an extermination, the Soldiers tend to run into normal animals and Fortress eats well for a while. I can see now why that stops being the case when the monsters reemerge.”

  While everyone else is disturbed by the sight before them, Maul doesn’t seem to be. If anything, there is a little bit of frustration to his tone as he comes to the realization of where all the meat that is rarely eaten goes. It is almost laughable, in a rather dark way. She notices Violet cautiously step towards one of the deflated sacs. With visible trepidation, they brush some of the spiders away and grip the sac. The silk that comprises it seems to be fragile, likely due to age, and she easily tears it open. Nothing ends up falling out of it though, not even an essence crystal as may be expected. Letting out a sigh of relief at that, they step back into the formation to a bunch of puzzled looks.

  “I figured that it might be worth it to at least check one. If… if these sacs used to hold animals and such then maybe a drop could be within them. But if not even one of those Essence Stones are dropping, then I imagine the Spiders must have either made off with any drops… or eaten them.”

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Aura is not the only one to nod at the explanation, and the group continues their forwards march afterwards. As they travel deeper, something else soon emerges. At first it looks like a trick of the light. But after Kaelen turns a corner with his light, it isn’t a trick. Rather than being plunged into an inky darkness, the tunnel remains illuminated. The silk that the sacs are resting on seem to glow with a soft, silvery light. The light level is low enough that she cannot make out the details of how many spiders are crawling around, but not so bad that she cannot see her own hands in front of her face.

  Catching up with the others quickly, she explains the discovery to them. After testing it out and discovering she is telling the truth, they decide to stash the light stone away for now. While they may not have encountered anything hostile yet, a source of glowing light different from normal would surely be noticed. So, with only the light of the silk guiding them, they continue forwards through the tunnel.

  The tunnel lacks any branching paths thankfully, but it is by Aura’s estimates an hour before the scenery shifts in any meaningful way. The tunnel opens into a large, cavernous area still illuminated by the silk. Though this cavern, has a pair of unsettling differences as well. The sacs that they had all grown used to seeing still line the walls and ceiling, but they are not deflated anymore. It is hard to tell, but some of them even look to be moving slightly.

  The other notable thing are the cocoons that are resting in the middle of the cavern floor. Though calling them cocoons could be a misnomer, as they look more like eggs than anything else. Spaced out evenly, just from a glance she notices that there are dozens of them. And with each being about the size of a person curled up, it is anybody’s guess as to what may lay inside of them.

  “I don’t like this everyone. It is hard to see with the silk on the ground, but my skill is telling me a couple of things. The amount of Giant Spider tracks I am picking up is uncountable. But, more than that, just from looking at them they all seem to be coming from where those strange sacs are resting.”

  At Kaelen’s words, everyone tenses up and take a more offensive stance. Aura grips her club tighter with one hand, eyes scanning over everything. What is being said causes her to think about the quest that had appeared on entering this place. The first bonus objective had mentioned that there may still be a fighting force of Giant Spiders around, but it could be more than that. They had seen plenty of smaller spiders scuttling around in the tunnel and had seen some slightly bigger ones dragging creatures into this place as well. A possibility comes to mind which had her stomach dropping, and it was something she needed to check.

  “Scan. Scan.”

  Muttering under her breath, she attempted to use her skill twice. The description did not give away much on the limitations of the skill, except that it likely only worked on targets with HP. That was why her first target was one of the still full looking sacs she could see on a wall. And when nothing appeared for her, that was confirmed at least. Which made the fact that the second Scan picked something up more worrying. Thanks to her skill leveling up recently, it was not just an HP value, but a name as well.

  Evolution Cocoon (Giant Spider)

  75 HP

  “Everyone, we have a bit of a problem here.”

  Getting everybody’s attention with that statement, Aura considers the best way to explain the information she just gained. With Maul here as well, talking about her having [Scan] did carry risks, though it could be more so to keep it concealed right now. So, she admitted to having a skill that allowed her to gain information on targets, though she did not give too many details. Importantly though, she said what information she just gleaned from using it on these cocoons. While there is some surprise at her initial admission, the knowledge of what these are causes grave looks to go around.

  “Do you know anything about an Evolution Cocoon Maul? It… is not something that we learned about at our old Settlement.”

  “Hmm, I do recall Fortress mentioning it once. I’m sure it is obvious at this point, but monsters can be stronger than normal as well. They do not have access to the same means that we do, so their jumps in strength are more sudden than gradual. When a monster reaches a certain strength through killing others, they can evolve to be stronger. It is why the extermination takes places when it does, to ensure that the monsters do not evolve to be too strong.”

  Luckily for them all, Aura’s question is something that Maul knows about. While indirectly, they had witnessed a stronger spider before. Thankfully though, this did not seem to be the case right now. The maximum HP of these cocoons was lower than that of a normal Giant Spider. So, by her best guess, these cocoons would become Giant Spiders if given enough time. And with how they were wiped out daily, it was probably a common thing.

  During her contemplations though, some of the others are not idle. Maul is putting his club away, while Ryse is stepping a bit away from the others. Before she can do anything to stop it, Maul brings his hand down hard into the cocoon, while Ryse fires off a Mana Bolt towards another further back. The magic seems to crash into its target and almost splash off it, while the fist leaves a visible dent in.

  “Damn, I didn’t do any damage with that spell. Are these things immune to damage or something?”

  While Ryse complains slightly, his speculation proves to be false when he sees the damage Maul inflicted. They all watch as he continues to hammer at the cocoon, with it eventually bursting in a liquid filled spray. Golden particles follow shortly after, and with them providing more illumination a grin is on Maul’s face.

  “It is less, but these things do give some XP for destroying them.”

  Chuckling to himself, he quickly makes his way towards another one of the cocoons and begins to get to work on it. His words strike a chord with everyone else though, and despite the task they are down here for this is a golden opportunity. Them growing stronger could only be a good thing in the long run, and soon enough everyone begins to approach the cocoons to work on them.

  Taking a page out of Maul’s book, Aura doesn’t use her weapon to smash one of the cocoons. Attacking with punches and kicks, it takes her a little longer to burst the egg than Maul. A notification announcing the defeat of a [Developing Giant Spider] as well as [+10 XP] appears. She also briefly notices a smaller than normal essence crystal, though she ignores it for now. Instead, much like Maul had done, she swiftly moves onto the next one.

  Cocoon after cocoon is smashed through everybody’s combined might. For the likes of Violet and Ryse, it takes them twice as long to smash even one compared to Aura. Still with each one smashed they all were growing closer to a level. That aside, spending too much time in here could be dangerous as they are making plenty of noise in doing all of this. It is also slightly exhausting work, and after smashing around six she needs to take a break. In doing so, something a little off.

  The cocoon that Ryse had blasted with magic earlier, further back among them all, seems to still be glowing slightly. In fact, the glow coming off the cocoon seems to be giving off some light. And that light is providing illumination enough to allow her to see something in the tunnel beyond the cavern. Eight vibrant green eyes seem to catch the light, gleaming slightly.

  “We’ve got company everyone!”

  Adrenaline pumping away her fatigue, Aura stands tall and raises a hand towards the far tunnel. The words for her spell are already leaving her lips when everyone else turns to look in the direction she called out to. And while her spell flies towards her target, it proves to have been waiting. Jumping out of the tunnel and over her spell, a Giant Spider lands at the back of the room. It is not a normal Giant Spider though, but one that is obviously stronger.

  With a carapace that even in this low light has a greenish tinge, longer fangs, and thicker looking legs this one looks like one of the two that had left with the hordes earlier. Letting out a shrieking hiss that echoes through the cavern, it rears its head back and spits a greenish liquid towards them all. Due to the distance, it spreads out to be more like a cloud than anything else.

  Thankfully, due to her warning the others react quickly enough to get out of the way. Violet and Ryse fall back to get away from the incoming attack, with the former stumbling slightly but still able to do so due to her AGI. Kaelen and Maul charge forwards, one pushing against the cocoons while the other weaves through them. As for herself, as soon as Aura let out her spell she began to move across the cavern, beginning to jump to move as soon as she is clear of the attack.

  While this Spider looks different enough to justify using [Scan] on it, it is not her primary target. As soon as the thing shrieked, she noticed how the glowing cocoon began to shake violently. In a scene like from a game she played when she was young, the cocoon shines brightly before falling away. The Spider that comes out however, is not a Giant Spider. The carapace is a smoother, light blue color. It is also smaller than the others, though not by too large of a degree. At it emerging, she quickly uses her skill on it.

  Mana Giant Spider

  100 HP

  Seeing the name raises questions, but she doesn’t give it much thought as she reaches the emerging monster. She hears the others engaging with the larger one, but this Spider is an outlier. Just the name tells her that it may be able to use magic, and that could be dangerous. Closing the distance on it, she manages to catch it off guard to deliver a strike to the side with her club.

  [28 Damage Dealt]

  Seeing the damage she is dealing being the same offers a little bit of hope for her, though that changes when the Spider turns to face her. Unlike the other Spiders who stay close, this one hops back and away from her. Not stopping there, she watches as mana gathers between the mandibles, before shooting out towards her. Magic is fast, and there is no getting out of the way of the attack.

  [-2 HP]

  The spell colliding with her feels strange. There is force behind it, and the impact seems to sink through her armor and leaves her chest tingling. But at the same time, her body and mana resist the attack. Part of it is probably due to her innate skill, but the rest is unclear. Either way though, the low damage and the fact this thing seems to want to use magic makes her the perfect opponent for this thing.

  The others have caught on to what she is doing at this point, but the stronger Spider is keeping them from helping. With that in mind, she knows she cannot play around with this one and decides to finish it quickly. Being on the pursuing end of a foe is different, and the Mana Giant Spider clearly has a higher AGI than her. But it is also unorganized and outmatched. Taking only some slight extra damage, she dispatches the monster with a few swings of her club. As she is swinging her club down on it for the last time though.

  “Aura look out!”

  Violet’s voice calls out, and Aura has just enough time to look to see more of that green liquid heading her way. So much closer to the source though, it doesn’t disperse into a cloud form. And with her mid-swing there is no dodging this. She has just enough time to close her eyes and turn her head before the liquid sprays against her back at the same time as her club ends the Giant Mana Spider’s life.

  [-18 HP] [Poisoned Effect Gained]

  An acrid smell fills her nostrils, and she feels a thick, viscous liquid running down her back. As it does, that numbing sensation starts to creep up along the back of her neck and head. She sways a bit at the disorienting feeling but does her best to remain standing.

  This things poison is strong if it is affecting me from just smell alone. I can’t let any of it get into my body.

  With her eyes still closed, her hearing is sharper. Based on the sounds of battle, the stronger Giant Spider is moving closer to her. Chitin strikes flesh, a groan of pain follows. Ryse and Violet’s chants are still audible, as are the screeches of the monster taking the hits. It is coming for her, probably thinking she is poisoned. And while that is true, she can still fight.

  Turning around with her hand raised, she cracks her eyes open slightly. The poison is mainly in her hair and on her back, but she feels it starting to creep down her face. Seeing her suspicions of the thing approaching to be true, she takes a breath and chants out loud. As soon as her spell launches from her hand, she coughs due to the acrid smell filling her mouth, but she witnesses her spell colliding with the monster. It seems to have been caught off guard by the fact that she was still capable of fighting, meaning it made no attempt to dodge.

  [34 Damage Dealt]

  Despite her spell hitting, the monster is still charging. She doesn’t know how much HP it has but the others have been fighting it for a little bit. Kaelen is ducking behind a cocoon, using his sling and targeting the softer head of the monster. Not wanting to risk this thing trying to poison her or someone else again, she wipes off some of the poison that is creeping down her forehead and charges forwards.

  With her focusing on this battle now, and Maul recovering from apparently having been slapped aside, it is a foregone conclusion. While it had been proven by Jackie losing a fight that these things could handle someone in a one-on-one, being outnumbered meant that it stood no chance. It is a Mana Bolt from Violet that ends up being the killing blow, with the monsters’ thicker legs giving out and it falling to the ground limp. There is a moment of silence after it falls, before others begin to speak.

  “Fuck Aura are you okay?”

  “Damn it, I knew we should have gotten some Antipoison as well as poultice.”

  “Hang on Aura, I have some of that!”

  Kaelen, Maul, and Violet’s voices call out to her. The poison is beginning to flow down her forehead again, so Aura closes her eyes to be safe. And while her head, neck, and upper back are rather numb, she laughs at all the concern being sent her way.

  “I’m fine everyone. Well, not fine but I’m not in any danger at least. Someone just get me some water or something to dry my hair off with, and then we can get back to taking care of these cocoons. Quickly though, just in case any other of those stronger Spiders attack.”

  There are some sounds of uncertainty at that, and she hears Violet mentioning having some of what she requested. Before she focuses on that though, even though her eyes are closed she still sees the window notifications that appear.

  [Giant Mana Spider Defeated.] [+30 XP]

  [Venomweaver Giant Spider Defeated.] [+40 XP]

  What if cultivation was engineering?

  Engineer mind + Taoist cultivation + Blacksmith MC

  He died. He glimpsed infinity. Now he's building his way back—with a hammer.

  No shortcuts. Just a nine-year-old forging lightning generators and formations in a dying kingdom.

  ? Daily Updates ? Slow-Burn ? Real Cultivation