With the last of the Blue Iron James smelted, he forged a pair of tongs, the better to work with hotter metals without themselves melting and becoming damaged. Quenching them was something of a chore, given that they flash boiled any water they came in contact with for quite some time. It took several refillings of James's quenching bucket and a prodigious amount of steam before the Blue Iron Tongs were finally quenched.

James began to suspect he'd have a use for the Basic Water Enchantment: Frostbite sooner rather than later, if he was going to forge anything else with Blue Iron. He fanned the steam that enveloped his camp away, helping the ever present breeze carry it away.

The Red Iron Ore proved easier, although the smelter had to run as hot as James could get it. Once they melting temperature of the Red Iron was reached, it melted like any other iron, save Blue.

With the last of the Red Iron James smelted, he forged a War Hammer modeled after his Earth War Hammer, with a flat striking face on one end and a spike on the other. Although more experienced with forging now, the metal cooled so quickly and took so long to get to the proper temperature that the forging proved more difficult than James had expected.

[Appraisal]: Red Iron War Hammer, Quality: Very Low, Durability: 15/15

James was already planning to leave the smelter and forge behind and construct new ones on the next floor, but even if he wasn't, he would need to upgrade them to deal with Red and Blue Iron more easily.

Finally, it was done. James packed up everything in his camp save the smelter, forge, and his Green Iron Anvil Shaped Object. It still wouldn't go in the magic bag.

He set off, shield in his left hand and anvil in his right.

The small room was empty, as was the second cavern. A quick glance at each of the monster-filled passages revealed nothing, so James pressed on, through the door, through the boss room, and to the staircase.

Step by step he descended. He grew aware of his breathing, more labored than a simple walk should have produced. His hands didn't tremble, but mainly because they were carrying heavy objects. Under all the weight of his armor, it felt as though his chest was trembling, driven by his pounding heart.

At the same place as before, James stopped. He couldn't will himself to take another step, to descend to the level where the next floor was visible through the tunnel. No matter how long he stood there, panting, he couldn't do it.

What a coward he felt. Even with a [Reflect] shield over three times stronger than before, even with armor entirely enchanted with [Water Resistance], even after packing up almost everything and bringing it this far, was he just too cowardly to take the next step? Tears filled his eyes and spilled down his cheeks inside his helmet, and he blinked hard to clear his vision.

Feeling defeated, he slumped his shoulders and sighed. Today, again, he would return to the first floor, perhaps setting up a new camp in the boss room.

He turned and spotted a spider monster picking its way down the stairs silently towards him, only barely visible even in the relatively bright light spilling from the tunnel exit.

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It was barely two yards away.

It was as tall as his chest, standing on its thin spindly legs.

He could see his green figure reflected in its multiple hideous eyes.

A clear viscous fluid dripped from its fangs.

James shrieked, tried to jump backwards, and tumbled the rest of the way down the stairs. Only the terror of suddenly coming face to face with one of the spider monsters helped him keep his grip on his shield and anvil, muscles frozen in terror.

He smashed to the tunnel floor, armor clattering, and he rolled, feeling a stretching and tearing in his core as he forced his heavy armor into the roll, getting to his feet faster than he ever had before. Adrenaline coursed through his blood thick and heavy and there was only one thought on his mind: get away.

He stumbled out of the tunnel exit on to the pebbled beach and slid, losing his footing. After a precious lost moment he regained his footing, and turned to look back at the tunnel entrance.

The spider was advancing on him.

Have to get away. Have to stay away from the lake.

At an impasse torn between two terrors, without any conscious thought, James threw what he had at hand at the spider monster.

He threw his anvil at the spider.

Normally, even though it was made of Green Iron and therefore lighter than one might expect, even a Strength boosted person cannot throw an anvil at a monster. At all. It would be too heavy.

Empowered by terror, pushing beyond the unconscious limits of his strength, James did it. He threw his anvil at the spider.

Of course, he missed the main body. What business does a Smith or Enchanter have throwing things?

But with miraculous luck, the anvil smashed straight through three of the four legs on one side of the spider monster, and it silently collapsed, unable to maintain a standing posture without three of its legs.

For a single instant, James felt relief. Now the monster would be stuck-

The monster continued advancing, now pulling its main body slowly towards James.

"Hammers!" James screamed at the magic bag, and with only the barest hint of thought in his mind, that being that throwing had somehow worked, threw one hammer after another at the spider.

They all missed. And now he was out of hammers, all embedded in the pebbly ground around the spider.

Next he hucked his shield at it. The monster was again only two yards away and crawling closer every moment. Although the Green Iron Tower Shield was heavy, and did slow the monster down as it fell on it, the monster shrugged it off with the intact legs on one side, displaying unexpected strength for how spindly they were.

"Shield!" James yelled next.

And out came his first shield. The ridiculously sturdy and unbelievably heavy Iron Tower Shield that even now, he couldn't toss, even in his panicked state of greater strength. Not that that stopped him from trying. He shoved with all his force and only managed to slip on the unstable ground, the spikes on his boots doing nothing to stabilize him on slippery water worn pebbles.

He tumbled, falling on the shield.

Splat.

With a sickening squishing noise, James fell shield and armor and all on top of the spider monster. This combined weight proved too much for the monster's carapace to withstand, and it collapsed catastrophically, spewing arachnid innards in a spray around James.

James was unaware of this, as he had whited out upon finding himself getting even closer to the terrifying spider monster. He came to in a moment, scrabbled to his hands and knees, and crawled away. Devoid of weapons and shields, he scrambled for the wall, trying to get away from the monster, the lake, and the tunnel entrance all at the same time. Upon reaching the wall, he finally remembered the wards.

"Warding stakes!" he shouted desperately, grabbing a fistful of stakes and spilling most of them onto the ground as he hastily stabbed three of them into a triangular shape and roughly pushed his magic power into them, straining the ward as it formed.

With that, he fell back on his butt and scooted until he was up against the wall, scanning desperately around. Where was the monster? Where was it?!

He felt his doom was upon him.

But he didn't see it.

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