Zane was in pain.

A lot of pain.

It was hard to think clearly. It was dark—completely dark. Not a sliver of light anywhere. Something soft was under him… and it groaned.

Then a very familiar voice rang out in the darkness.

"Holly bear balls, that hurt. Oof—who just hit me in the nuts?"

Zane blinked, his foggy thoughts beginning to clear as the voice brought him back. Tarni.

With a grunt, Zane focused. Create Light.

A small, glowing orb blinked into existence above the tangle of limbs, illuminating the large cavern around them. They were all sprawled together in a heap on the cold stone floor.

Lily shot upright with a startled shout, flailing her arms—one of which smacked right into Zane's broken arm.

He screamed in pain, and the light winked out.

"Fuuuck!" he growled through clenched teeth.

More cursing, groaning, and struggling followed as they untangled themselves, each movement setting off fresh aches and bruises. Once they were finally separated and Zane had a moment to breathe, he gritted his teeth and muttered again, "Create Light."

The glowing orb returned, casting warm light across their bruised and battered forms—and the wide cavern surrounding them.

They took stock of their injuries under the soft glow of Zane's conjured light.

Everyone was hurt.

Zane was the worst off—his right arm was definitely broken, and at least a few ribs felt cracked. Breathing hurt, moving hurt… everything hurt.

Tarni had a nasty-looking bruise along his side and what looked like a sprained wrist. Lily had a deep gash along her leg and a tender shoulder, but both of them could still move.

"Well, shit, mate," Tarni grunted as he poked at his ribs and winced. "This is not a great situation."

Lily gave a short, bitter laugh. "It's better than outside with that bear."

Zane nodded, though the motion made him dizzy. "Yeah… the way it hit me? We wouldn't have survived a head-on attack."

He shifted against the cold stone wall, cradling his arm and wincing again. The silence that followed was heavy, punctuated only by the occasional drip of water somewhere deep in the cavern.

They each tried pulling up their System Map, hoping to get a better idea of the mine's layout. Unfortunately, the maps only showed the areas they'd physically explored. Everything else was just empty space—blank and unknowable.

Tarni stared at the void on his screen, then muttered with mock seriousness, "Caution… there be dragons."

Both Zane and Lily jolted.

"What?!" Zane barked, instinctively looking around.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack," Lily hissed, clutching her chest.

Tarni blinked, then grinned sheepishly. "Oh, nah—I just meant, like, on those old-timey maps. You know, they used to draw dragons and sea monsters in the unexplored parts. Warnings like 'Here be dragons' and stuff."

Zane groaned, slumping back against the cavern wall. "You absolute knucklehead."

Lily shook her head with a sigh. "Next time, maybe lead with the history lesson before the dragon part."

Tarni held up his hands defensively. "Hey, just trying to lighten the mood."

They explored the cavern cautiously, checking for danger while taking stock of their surroundings. The walls were rough-hewn, damp in places, and the floor sloped gently in various directions. It didn't take long to find several tunnels branching off from the main chamber—at least five, each one disappearing into shadow.

Most of the tunnels looked fairly similar: dark, narrow, and quiet. But one stood out.

A faint shimmer caught Lily's eye first. "Hey… is that… webbing?"

They all turned to look. Sure enough, delicate strands stretched across the entrance of one of the tunnels. Unlike the others, this tunnel seemed colder somehow, and the light from Zane's summoned orb glinted faintly off the fine threads.

"Yep. That's a spider tunnel," Tarni said grimly. "A big one, I reckon."

Zane shifted uncomfortably, his broken arm held tight against his side by a makeshift sling. Thinking he would never leave Kai behind again. "Maybe we avoid that one?"

Lily glanced down the other tunnels again, then shook her head. "They all look the same, but this one's different. If something built webs, it means there's something living down there—and where things live, they might build, hoard, or guard things."

"Also might eat us," Zane muttered.

"True," she said. "But it's a sign of something. The rest of these tunnels might go nowhere."

They debated for a few more minutes, weighing risk against reward. In the end, curiosity—and the possibility of finding something valuable or the Dungeon Boss—won out.

Tarni grinned as he took the lead. "Alright. Into the creepy spider tunnel we go."

Zane sighed and followed, muttering under his breath, "Really wish I had a flamethrower right about now…"

The further they moved down the tunnel, the thicker the webs became. What had started as thin strands brushing against their shoulders and arms had now turned into veils of white silk draped across the passage. They had to push through them slowly, and Tarni took to using his machete to slice through the densest clusters, occasionally wrapping the silk strands around his weapon's handle.

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"Reckon this stuff might be useful," he said, winding a length of webbing and tucking it into his pack. "Feels strong. Could be worth something."

Zane, still cradling his broken arm, wasn't so enthusiastic. "Just don't tangle yourself up in it, mate."

Eventually, the tunnel opened up into a large cavern, wider than any they'd seen so far. The light from Zane's glowing orb floated up toward the ceiling, illuminating the dense canopy of webbing above them.

Then they saw it.

Suspended in the very centre of the chamber, surrounded by sheets of glistening silk, was a spider—massive, silent, and utterly still. Its long legs curled slightly around its bulbous body as if waiting.

Lily instinctively whispered, "Rapid Appraisal."

A glowing screen appeared in her vision.

Name: Giant Huntsman Spider Level: 8 Classification: Dungeon BOSS Status: Healthy Threat Level: High Loot Drop: YES Hostile: It will be… after you poke it!

Lily sucked in a breath and took a step back.

"Dungeon boss." Then, in a quiet whisper, she proceeded to explain what the message said

Tarni blinked. "Well. That explains the décor."

Zane narrowed his eyes. "Level eight. That's above us. You think we can take it?"

"Not without a plan," Lily said. "And not while you've got one working arm."

The spider twitched slightly at the edge of the light.

Zane lowered his voice. "Right. Let's not poke it."

Tarni gave a weak grin. "Aww, but it said we could."

They backed up slowly until they were hidden just around a bend in the tunnel, out of the spider's direct line of sight.

Tarni scratched his chin thoughtfully, eyes flicking to the webs clinging to the stone around them. "You know how in the last dungeon we got teleported out a minute or two after we killed the boss?" he asked. "Reckon it'll be the same this time? And… if it is—do you think the others'll be transported with us?"

Zane leaned against the wall, cradling his arm. "I really hope so. We're not getting out the way we came if that bear's still out there waiting for round two."

"I'm pretty sure I heard the entrance collapse anyway," Lily added. "Didn't sound like something we'd dig our way through any time soon."

"I think it's safe to say we'll get teleported out once we kill the boss," Zane said. "And if the others aren't pulled with us… We come back in and get them."

Everyone nodded grimly.

"Alright," Tarni said, rolling his shoulders. "Then we need a plan."

The planning began. Quiet voices, quick decisions. In the end, the plan was simple—brutally so.

Clear out as much webbing from the tunnel as possible. Ball it up, light it, and throw it into the main cavern like a flaming gift basket. If the fire didn't kill the spider, the three of them would rush in to finish the job.

There was one key difference from their usual fights.

"Dad's not tanking," Lily said firmly, looking him dead in the eye.

"No argument here," he replied, raising his broken arm slightly with a grimace. "I'll hang back and throw what I can from range."

Tarni nodded. "Alright then. Let's go roast a spider."

Zane smirked despite the pain. "Burn it with fire. Classic strategy."

They turned toward the tunnel, ready to prepare the flames.

Bell and Kai had stocked the fire high, making it easier for the others to spot them in the dark if they returned. After what Bell had done to that poor musk ox with her new bow and skill, they'd come up with a plan: if anything else was drawn in by the firelight, they'd fight it off together.

They both had their party stats and system map open, keeping one eye on their surroundings and the other glued to the glowing displays, hoping—praying—they'd see the other three show up on the map again soon.

Bell noticed it first.

A loud, involuntary "FUCK!" escaped her lips as she saw Lily's HP suddenly drop.

Then Tarni's.

His bar was plummeting—diving toward zero fast.

Before she could even process that, Zane's HP, already low from whatever had happened earlier, began to tick down in small, steady chunks. Hit after hit, like he was taking blows over and over again.

Kai leaned forward, pale in the firelight, his jaw clenched tight as he stared at the data.

"What's happening to them?!"

Bell's heart slammed in her chest. She couldn't answer.

She watched helplessly as Lily's HP dropped by nearly 25% in one sharp hit.

"They're going to die…" she whispered.

Kai's voice cracked. "Should we go after them?"

Bell didn't answer right away. Her mind was a storm. Did I make the wrong choice staying here? They should have tried to find them earlier. They hadn't known where to look. And now—now—they were trapped, out of reach, bleeding out. She was shaking.

"We should've gone. We should've found them."

She stood, fists clenched at her sides, staring into the darkness beyond the firelight.

Kai put a hand on her shoulder. "Mum…"

But she didn't hear him.

She was watching the HP bars flicker in real-time, helpless to do anything but wait and hope they held out.

The fire had been a good plan.

Not as effective as they'd hoped—but good.

The webbing went up in an intense blaze, and the giant spider shrieked as flames licked across its hairy body. It thrashed in its webs, pulling the whole cavern into chaos. But when the smoke cleared, it had only taken about a quarter of its HP.

And now, it was pissed.

Arrows began to fly from the tunnel entrance. Tarni and Lily stood side by side, releasing shot after shot. The glowing orb Zane had summoned gave just enough light to aim. Zane, limited by his broken arm, grabbed one of the spears they'd made and hurled it with all the force he could muster.

It stuck.

Hard to tell if it did much damage, but it felt good to hit something.

They only managed three arrows each before the spider charged, its huge legs hammering against the stone, forcing them into close quarters.

Blades came out.

Tarni ducked under a lunge and went for backstabs, his movement fluid but tight with focus. Lily shouted a command and used her Group Snare, vines of shadowy force erupting from the ground to wrap around several of the spider's legs. Zane tried to stay back and slash at the spider from behind Lily, but her snare just wasn't strong enough, and she was on the verge of being overwhelmed. With a shout, Zane activated Defensive Stance, positioning himself to one side of Lily so she could attack without worrying about being blindsided by the spider's legs. He absorbed blow after blow. The stance wasn't as effective with one arm, but it helped. Just enough to cover her as she repositioned.

Then the spider's head dropped low.

Its mandibles opened wide, fangs dripping venom as it lunged for Zane.

He didn't have time to dodge.

But Tarni did. Leaving his weapon stuck in the back of the giant spider, he leapt down between Zane and the spider.

"ZANE, DOWN!"

Zane flinched as Tarni threw himself into the path of the bite. The spider clamped down hard, and Tarni screamed as its fangs sank into his shoulder. The poison hit him instantly—his knees buckled, and he dropped to one side, panting in pain as his resistance skill battled the venom in his bloodstream.

Another shriek from Lily as one of the spider's bladed legs stabbed through her calf, pinning her to the cavern floor. She gritted her teeth, trying to pull free, but blood began to pool under her leg.

Zane's world narrowed.

Everyone was down but him; this was not going well.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the spear he'd thrown earlier—still embedded in the spider's abdomen.

Zane roared.

He sprinted forward through the chaos, taking hit after hit from flailing spider legs. Each impact jarred his ribs, sending pain flaring down his spine—but he didn't stop. He could feel his strength leaving him with each hit. But he was the last one still standing, and he could not fail.

Then the System pinged.

System Notification Your Title has been activated: "Who needs Blood? Not you!" (+20% Constitution when your HP is below 10% for 2 minutes)

With the extra boost to his health, he managed to dodge one of the spider's legs as it tried to tear him in half, then he reached the spear and grabbed the shaft with his good hand.

With a grunt of effort, he shoved it in deeper.

The spider reared up, screeching.

Zane twisted the weapon hard. The tip tore through flesh, chitin, and something vital.

The spider convulsed.

Then collapsed with a final hiss.

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