Jenna tossed another broken piece of purple crystal into their makeshift fire. The crystal crackled as it burned, casting a violet glow across their temporary hideout—a small alcove they’d reinforced with scavenged debris and whatever they could drag from the surrounding area. "Still nothing?" Christy asked, looking up from her ration pack. Jenna shook her head. "We’ve been searching for nearly eight hours. No exit, no pathway leading up, not even a sign of other dungeon sections." Gray tore into a protein bar, chewing mechanically. "Maybe that’s why this section hasn’t been properly mapped. Hunters come in, can’t find their way out, and..." He let the implication hang in the air. "That’s assuming they even made it past the spider matriarch," Luke added quietly, adjusting his glasses. "Most teams wouldn’t have survived that encounter." Jake prodded at the glowing crystals with the tip of his dagger. "We wouldn’t have either if the kid hadn’t done his... thing." An uncomfort

Arachne didn’t wait. She blurred again, closing the distance instantly, but this time she didn’t commit to a single, powerful strike. Instead, she flowed around him, a whirlwind of dark limbs and flashing chitin. Her two priMay arms feinted high while her smaller, shoulder-mounted limbs stabbed low, aiming for his legs and joints. The speed was dizzying. Kyle reacted purely on instinct, his staff becoming an extension of his will. He blocked, parried, twisted, barely keeping the razor-sharp points from finding purchase. Sparks flew as chitin scraped against the metal staff. Each block sent jarring force up his arms, but he held his ground, his feet planted, his focus absolute. "Faster than you thought, human?" Her voice was a low hiss, seeming to come from multiple directions at once as she circled him. "Your clumsy stick can’t keep up." He didn’t reply, conserving breath, tracking her movements. She was right. Her speed was phenomenal, her attacks unpredictable, coming

Christy cursed, ducking under a scything claw that sheared through the air where her head had been moments before. The mutated mantis-scorpion, whatever, shrieked, its segmented tail whipping around, dripping viscous green fluid."This thing’s hide is too damn thick!" she yelled, her blades flashing as she parried another blow, the impact jarring her bruised arm. Sweat plastered strands of hair to her face."Focus fire on the joints!" Gray shouted, loosing a crossbow bolt that ricocheted harmlessly off the creature’s main carapace.Christy gritted her teeth, danced back from a spray of acid, and lunged forward again. She saw an opening – a momentary gap where the leg met the thorax. She drove her right blade in, feeling resistance give way slightly.The monster shrieked again, not just in pain but rage. Ignoring May’s flanking attack, it spun with unnatural speed, its heavier scorpion tail blurring toward Christy faster than she could react.Her eyes widened. She tried to twist away,

The walk was suffocatingly quiet.Arachne walked stiffly ahead, her weakness obvious but her hatred palpable. Kyle followed close behind, the connection between them a silent leash. The rest of the team trailed further back, a tight knot of distrust and exhaustion.Gray kept glancing between Kyle and Arachne, his hand never far from his hammer. Christy nursed her wounded arm, her face grim. Jake and Luke stuck close together, whispering occasionally. May walked silently, but her gaze missed nothing.Jenna remained detached, watchful, her earlier outburst replaced by a chilling calm.Kyle could practically taste their unease, thick and sour in the air. He didn’t care. Let them doubt. He had the power, and he had the way out.They reached the waterfall maybe twenty minutes later. Water cascaded down a sheer rock face into a churning pool below, the sound echoing slightly in the cavernous space. Hidden behind the curtain of water was a dark cave entrance."In there," Arachne muttered, po

Jenna walked near the back, her pace steady, eyes scanning everything. Her mind, however, was focused elsewhere. Not on the unnerving murals or the silence, but on the small tracker concealed in her palm. It vibrated faintly, a steady pulse confirming its target was close.Her mission here wasn’t just about clearing this dungeon or mapping the anomaly. Valen City hadn’t sent an A-rank team leader solely for reconnaissance. They lost something here. A weapon artifact retrieved from another high-rank dungeon, irreplaceable, potent. The last team assigned to test it vanished in this very sector.The directive was clear: retrieve the weapon. No matter the cost. The team, the dungeon clear—secondary.Her tracker had remained silent until they passed through Arachne’s portal. Now, it pointed directly toward the heart of this castle. Toward the Queen. Toward whatever lay beyond the doors they were inevitably approaching.Kyle was a complication. His power was undeniable, perhaps even necessa