There is a profession called adventurer that appeared after the Demon King was destroyed. Adventurers often take on quests from the adventurer's guild to earn money and reputation. These quests can include dealing with threats from monsters that roam in forests, dungeons, or near residential areas. Protecting merchants, nobles, or important people on their journeys to faraway places. Exploring ancient ruins, dungeons, or areas that no one has ever set foot on. Searching for herbs, precious ores, or special materials needed for alchemy, weapon forging, or magic creation. Searching for and capturing wanted or traitors to the adventurer's guild. Investigating the causes of unusual events such as epidemics, curses, or the appearance of strange creatures.
Adventurer's quests are often divided by level, from easy to difficult, suitable for each person's ability.
In an inn called Cat Grass, there was a girl who was sleeping very deeply and showed no signs of waking up.
Bang!
The door of the room rang loudly and a girl in rose-red armor walked in.
"Wake up Mira, the whole team is waiting for you!"
The girl kept shaking the girl named Mira awake but the girl still tried to cling to the blanket.
"Stop it Rose-san, let me sleep a little more."
"WHAT KIND OF CAPTAIN IS SUCH A LAZY?!"
Rose pulled the blanket hard, causing Mira to be dragged out with messy hair and half-closed eyes, looking tired.
"I'm so tired... I had to stay up late yesterday to write a mission report..." Mira mumbled, trying to drag herself out of bed.
Rose crossed her arms and snorted.
"Stop making excuses! We have an important mission today, if you don't wake up, we'll leave first!"
Hearing the important mission, Mira blinked, seeming to be more awake.
"What mission?"
Rose sighed, placing her hands on her hips.
"A mysterious monster appeared near the western mine. The villagers said it could swallow an entire freight car in the blink of an eye."
Mira immediately stood up, her sleepiness disappearing without a trace. "Sounds interesting!"
Rose looked at the little captain helplessly.
"Only monsters will keep you awake?"
Mira shrugged, smiling mischievously.
"That's what an adventurer is!"
She quickly put on her clothes, slung the short sword on her waist, and ran after Rose outside.
Downstairs in the lobby of the Grass Cat Inn, the other members of the team were already waiting. A tall warrior with bronze hair and a giant axe leaned against the bar, a blue-haired archer was checking his arrows, and a petite mage was sipping tea.
Mira raised her hand in greeting.
"Sorry, sorry, I overslept-"
"What did you forget? We bet you overslept on purpose!"
The bronze-haired warrior roared.
Mira scratched her head, smiling.
"Come on, let's go do the mission!"
The team looked at each other and sighed, but still stood up, preparing to set off. A new day of adventurers began.
After a while, the group arrived at their destination, they looked at each other and nodded in agreement, their eyes shining with vigilance. Before them was the entrance to the dark mine, only a few flickering torches stuck on the stone walls, illuminating the bumpy path ahead. The air inside was cold and had the characteristic musty smell of mined soil and rock.
Mira drew her sword, the steel reflecting the firelight coldly.
"Alright, the formation is the same. Rose leads the way, I'll follow. Misha in the middle provides magic, and Roland and Kiva will protect the rear."
Everyone immediately got into position. Rose, in her crimson armor, held her large shield tightly and advanced. Her footsteps echoed in the quiet space of the mine.
After walking a short distance, Misha raised her hand, chanting a short incantation. A small ball of light appeared and floated in her hand, illuminating the path ahead. Under the light, the group could see the winding tunnels leading deep into the ground.
"If it's a monster, it will choose the darkest place to hide."
Misha muttered.
Suddenly, Roland frowned.
"Everyone... did you hear a noise?"
The group immediately fell silent. A strange sound, like something scraping against rock, echoed from deep within the tunnel. It felt like something was moving in the darkness, waiting for them.
"Prepare for battle."
Mira whispered, tightening her grip on her sword.
The group continued to advance, the light from Misha's magic ball gradually illuminating the scene before them...
Inside the cave were many spider webs, and inside those spider webs were corpses that had died from drying out, with two small but very deep holes on their necks.
"Hey, everyone, I think..."
"What's wrong, Kiva..."
"Kiva?"
Rose called out to Kiva, but the Elf simply did not respond.
"Why didn't you say it was over?"
Rose turned around to see Kiva tied up by a spider.
"Kiva!"
The group was instantly startled, their eyes widening as they saw Kiva hanging in the air, his body covered in thick white silk. His mouth was covered, only his eyes were darting around in panic, trying to signal his teammates.
"Damn it! On the ceiling!"
Mira screamed, raising her sword high.
Misha immediately controlled the ball of light to fly up. As the light spread, a horrifying scene appeared, showing dozens of giant spiders clinging to the ceiling of the cave, their red eyes flashing in the darkness. They had jet-black bodies, long, winding legs, and sharp fangs dripping with green liquid.
"Vampire spiders..."
Roland gritted his teeth.
"They are extremely dangerous predators. Victims who are bitten will have their blood drained before being eaten."
"Everyone, defensive formation!"
Rose shouted, raising her shield, standing in front of the group.
But the spiders didn't give them a chance to react. One of them swooped down from the ceiling, aiming at Misha.
"Get back!"
Mira quickly swung her sword, slashing straight at the incoming spider. Her sword cut through its front leg, causing the monster to scream in pain and fall to the ground.
But immediately, three more came from behind. Roland and Rose turned around, blocking them. The sound of metal clashing rang out as Roland's axe slashed down, cutting off one of the nearest spider's legs.
Misha retreated back, quickly casting a spell.
"
A blazing fireball shot straight at one of the spiders, burning the silk covering its body. A shrill screech rang out as the spider rolled on the ground, its body gradually consumed by the flames.
Mira glanced at Kiva, who was still hanging from the ceiling, being gradually squeezed by the spider webs.
"Hurry, we have to save Kiva before he gets drained of blood!"
Mira ordered.
But the spiders didn't give them a chance to get close. More of them poured out from the depths of the cave, surrounding them from all sides.
"Misha, is there any way to burn all these webs?"
Rose shouted while using her shield to block a bite from the spider in front of her.
Misha bit her lip, looking at the dense webs on the ceiling. If she used too much fire, she might burn Kiva as well.
"Can't use fire directly... But there is a way!"
Misha quickly took out a potion from her bag and threw it into the air.
"
As soon as the magic activated, a strong wind caught the potion, shattering it in midair. A green smoke spread throughout the cave, carrying a strange scent.
The spiders reacted immediately, becoming confused, moving unsteadily and starting to retreat.
Mira saw an opportunity.
"They're disoriented! Rose, cover me and save Kiva!"
She immediately rushed forward, jumping onto a rock and then leaping high, swinging her sword to cut the silk holding Kiva.
Kiva fell, but Roland quickly caught him.
"Are you okay?"
Roland asked. Kiva nodded weakly.
"Thank you... but we're not done yet..."
Mira looked up and saw a giant spider, three times the size of the others, crawling out from deep within the cave.
"The final boss has appeared..." Roland muttered.
The group immediately got into a fighting stance once more.
The spider from above continuously shot down its webs but was cut off by Mira. Kiva raised his bow and immediately shot arrows containing poison.
The arrows flew towards the spider queen but they bounced off due to its tough skin.
"My arrows are useless."
"Leave it to me!"
Roland immediately jumped high and approached the spider.
"Misha, cover Roland!"
Mira ordered and Misha immediately cast a 100 times body strengthening spell on Roland.
Roland's body lit up with a powerful magical energy. The feeling of explosive power made his muscles tense, his eyes flashed with determination.
"Alright, let's see how tough you are!" Roland roared, swinging his giant axe.
BOOM!
The swing of the axe was so powerful that the surrounding air shook. The axe blade swung down on the spider queen, creating a dazzling spark on impact. But instead of cutting through, the axe blade only left a shallow cut on the monster's rock-hard shell.
"What?!!" Roland was shocked.
The spider queen immediately counterattacked, baring its giant fangs, intending to stab Roland.
"Back off!" Mira shouted.
Roland dodged by a hair's breadth, but one of the spider's legs flew out, slamming into him.
BOOM!
Roland flew backwards, hitting the cave wall, sending rocks flying.
"Roland!"
Rose panicked, about to rush forward, but Mira stopped her.
"Don't rush! We have to find its weak point!"
Mira tightened her grip on her sword, her eyes never leaving the spider queen.
Misha stared at the monster, her mind racing with thoughts. Its shell was too hard for normal weapons to penetrate, and her enchantment wasn't enough to make a difference... but there was one notable point.
"Mira! Aim for its leg joints!" Misha shouted.
"The thickest armor is on its back and belly, but the joints between its legs and body are thinner!"
"Got it!"
Mira responded, then charged forward at lightning speed.
Kiva, still weak from the spider web, tried to draw his bow again. But this time, he fired a special arrow, an explosive arrow.
BOOM!
The arrow hit the spider queen right in the eye, causing it to scream in pain.
Mira took the opportunity to slide under its belly and swung her sword at the leg joint.
SWISH!
One of the spider's giant legs was severed, causing it to stagger.
"Attack it! Don't let it regain its balance!"
Mira shouted.
Rose charged in, using her shield to strike another leg, while Roland, despite being injured, stood up and swung his axe straight at the monster's face.
BOOM!
Finally, the spider queen let out a piercing roar and collapsed to the ground, its body convulsing before it became completely still.
The group gasped, sweating profusely.
"Did we... win?"
Kiva stammered.
Mira stabbed her sword into the ground, resting her hands on the hilt, nodding.
"Yes... it's over."
Misha relaxed her body, almost collapsing from exhaustion.
Rose patted Roland's back.
"Don't risk your life like that next time."
Roland laughed awkwardly.
"It's no fun if you don't."
Mira looked at the spider queen's corpse, then sighed.
"That's good... but now we have to report for the mission. Let's go."
The group, tired as they were, still kept smiles on their faces. Another day of adventurers had ended in victory.
Or not.
Hundreds of different screeches rang out from the darkness.
"What is it?"
Mira and the group looked back after hearing the screech and saw that many more queen spiders had appeared.
"There's more than one queen spider!"
"No way, isn't there only one queen spider in each swarm!"
The group's faces paled. They had used all their strength to take down one queen spider, but now... a whole swarm was pouring out from the darkness.
Giant spiders, as big as a small room, their red eyes glowing in the darkness. Spider webs clung to the cliffs, signaling that this was a giant spider nest and not just a simple cave.
"Run!"
Mira shouted.
No one objected. They immediately turned around and rushed towards the exit.
The spiders immediately chased after them, their footsteps hitting the rocks creating terrifying sounds. Spider webs shot down from above, almost binding Roland, but he swung his axe and cut them off and continued running.
Misha, panting, still tried to cast a spell.
"Wind Wall!"
A wall of wind appeared behind them, blowing a few spiders away, but it wasn't enough to stop the entire swarm.
"Kiva, fire!" Rose shouted.
Kiva immediately turned, drew his bow, and fired a volley of exploding arrows.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The explosions blocked the spiders' path for a few precious seconds.
"We're almost at the exit!"
Mira shouted. But at that moment-
BOOM!
The exit was blocked by a giant spider web.
"Impossible..."
Roland gritted his teeth.
Another spider queen, twice as big as the previous one, slowly crawled out from the darkness. It had a large scar on its face, and its fangs were dripping with purple-black liquid.
Misha stammered.
"It... it's the Ancient Spider Queen..."
"What now?"
Kiva growled.
Mira took a deep breath, then looked forward.
"We fight."
"But how can we defeat so many spider queens! Just one is too much for us!"
Misha shouted as the spider queens charged.
"Then fight until we can't fight anymore!"
Mira gritted her teeth, swinging her sword.
There was no way back. If they didn't fight, they would die.
"Split up!"
Mira ordered.
"Rose, Roland, hold off the little spider queens! Kiva, cover from a distance! Misha, focus on attacking the Ancient Spider Queen!"
Misha trembled, but still nodded. She was the only mage here. Without her magic, the group couldn't win.
BOOM!
A spider queen charged, but Rose blocked it with her shield. Roland immediately swung his axe at its leg, cutting off one of its leg joints.
"Kiva, shoot!"
Mira shouted and Kiva jumped onto a rock, drew his bow, and shot three magic arrows, which spun in the air and stabbed straight into the spider's eye. It screamed in pain, staggering back.
Misha stood at the back, her hands trembling as she chanted. Magic light gathered in her hands.
"
BOOM!
The flames burst out, engulfing the Ancient Spider Queen.
It roared but then, it jumped straight out of the fire, almost unharmed.
"What?!"
Misha shouted.
"The ancient spider is resistant to magic!"
Mira gritted her teeth. This was bad.
"
A sound rang out from behind the spider web wall and fireballs pierced through the silk curtain, rushing into the spiders and burning them.
Mira and the group were startled and stepped back, looking towards the source of the fireballs that had just torn through the thick spider webs.
From within the darkness, a figure slowly stepped out.
"
The light reflected from the luminescent magic
The stranger wore a long black cloak, the hood covering most of his face. But his eyes were as cold as the moonlight in the night sky, still shining in the darkness.
He slowly raised his arm, and a magic circle appeared on his hand.
"
Then it disappeared.
It wasn't teleportation. It wasn't super speed.
It was simply too fast for the naked eye to see.
"Careful!"
Mira shouted, but at that moment-
SHAKE!
A series of moonlight blades cut through each spider queen at an unimaginable speed.
BOOM!
The giant bodies fell one by one.
Mira, Rose, Roland, Kiva, and Misha could only watch in silence.
"What the hell is this..."
End of Chapter 1