Tom slammed his Shield into the mouth of the nearest Headless; it squealed and toppled backward.

Quick as a cat, Amber was on top of it. She slammed her Daggers down and silenced it.

In seconds, another Pygmy Tom had been facing off against fell to the ground, gurgling and twitching. It's body was racked by spells.

Fuck, this armor is heavy.

Tanking was exhausting. The monsters constantly pushed and rammed into him, trying to drag him beneath their tidal wave. On top of that, Tom had to try to protect himself, to follow Tess's orders, and to pay attention to his family.

He gasped as he tried to drag air through the thin slits of his plate helm.

Just need to catch my bre—

An electric green arrow lit up in front of him, directing him downhill. Tess had begun to incorporate different hues into her orders; the brighter the arrow, the more immediate and important the order.

Tom stepped down the hill, and tried his best not to trip and crash down it. The rest of Team One followed.

Tess was leading them closer to where the Wolf Spiders lurked. They were jet-black and snarling, with six wolf legs ending in large clawed paws, and two front legs ending in a long single talon. The largest Spider had a scruffy mane running down the back of its back. Their muscular jaws looked like they had some serious crushing power, and their curved canines were more like spider fangs than wolf teeth.

Tess's arrow directed Tom straight into their path.

Tom rushed into the Spiders without giving himself time to think. He slammed one with his Shield, crunched a second with his Flail, and used [Taunt] on the third.

They howled, and swarmed him. Their claws clicked against his armor like hail on a tin roof. In moments their large jaws found the seams between his plates; Tom screamed when their long fangs pierced his skin. Blood spurted from his collar, waist, and leg.

Tom went to raise his Shield, but his arm wouldn't move.

The Spiders attached a trail of silk to his armor, and began wrapping it around him, pinning his arms against his body.

"Little help!" Tom yelled, as he fought not to topple over.

Kate the Bear roared, and swatted a Spider off him. It tumbled across the ground and yelped. It found its footing, only for Tess and Amber to pounce on it and slice it into pieces.

The maned Spider leaped off Tom, landed on Kate the Bear's back, and bit down. She bellowed and thrashed around; the Spider tumbled off Kate and howled as it ran around in terrified circles. An icon for Chloe's [Fear] spell hovered over its head. Kate the Bear barreled into it and pinned it down, biting and growling. The rest of the group quickly dispatched it.

The bonds holding Tom's trapped arms were suddenly loose; Amber had sliced through the webbing.

The last remaining Spider swayed toward Tom. Its hair was falling out and it snarled in pain. Hana's full host of spells had fully kicked in, and the creature was already on its last legs.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

*****

The giant Troll died with a final wet gurgle, green ichor pooling around its twisted form.

Tom's armor melted back into his skin.

After killing the Spiders, Team One had rushed forward to help Team Two with the Troll.

Mike had done well tanking the creature, and had dodged most of its swings. However, he had paid for the Troll strikes that had found their target, and his right arm hung limp.

Tom had used [Taunt] to pull the threat away from Mike. Jeannie cast some type of spell with her gem stones, and a magical rock shield formed around Tom. The Troll still hit like a truck, but with the rock shield and buffs kicking in, it had done no lasting damage.

As other teams had finished off the remaining Pygmies, they had all converged on the Troll and killed it.

Now, Tom was picking pieces of spiderweb out of his hair and beard.

A prompt appeared.

[Suitable material identified for Muscle Modification. Would you like to absorb?]

Tom gave a mental nod, and the spiderwebs soaked into his skin.

Tom pulled up his character sheet.

[Muscle Modification: Wolf Spider Silk.

Your muscle and tendons now have enhanced tensile strength, and have increased resistance to tearing and damage.]

Hell, yeah.

Tom was ripped from his thoughts by shouts of "fire!"

Orange light flared in his peripheral vision, and he whipped around. Angry flames licked up the sides of the lumber piles stacked close by Foundation's center.

"Shit!" Bo shouted. "Richard, what the hell?"

Richard stammered an apology, his face pale.

Bo shoved past him, and gestured wildly at others to help drag away the flaming pieces and throw dirt on the logs.

Tom hobbled over to help douse the spreading flames before they consumed the newly built Shacks and Town Hall. Smoke stung his eyes, and splinters of pain pierced his legs as he stomped on the flames.

The last embers sputtered out, leaving behind charred lumber and a haze of smoke.

Bo grabbed Richard by the front of his jacket, his face thunderous. "You better work on your fucking aim! You nearly burned down the town!"

Richard quailed under Bo's fury. "It wasn't my fault, there were—"

Bo released him with a disgusted growl, and turned to survey the damage. He paced angrily back and forth between the burned logs.

Tom stepped up beside his friend and clapped a hand on his shoulder; partly to reassure him, and partly to stop his pacing. "Take a breath man, we made it through, Bo. Everyone's still standing, and so are the buildings."

"No thanks to him," Bo growled.

Richard shrank away.

Bo dragged a hand over his face.

"He'll get better," said Tom. "We all will. We're going to have to deal with a lot of unintentional mistakes along the way, and you're going to have to chill out."

Tom hoped everyone would improve. Silently, he agreed with Bo; they couldn't afford deadly mistakes like that. However, no one was perfect.

Tom met Bo's gaze. "Let's just be grateful we didn't lose anyone today."

Bo blew out a heavy breath, and nodded. "Ya, okay."

The Sun had fully set now, and darkness covered Foundation and the surrounding battlefield. People with injuries were lined up in front of Jeannie, Finn and Kate for healing; flashes of green occasionally lit up the gloom.

Tess checked her [Battle Map] to ensure there were no straggling monsters. "Looks like we got them all."

Tom closed his eyes in relief. He rolled his shoulders, and winced at the web of bruises forming under his skin.

The family members gradually gathered together.

A weary Finn approached. He hadn't used the canes during the battle, but he leaned heavily on his staff. He gave Tom a thumbs-up. "All the major injuries are taken care of." He massaged his temples. "It's a good thing too, because I've run out of mana. I think I wasted some by casting [Floral Surge] in quick succession, without giving the first spell enough time to work. It's hard to just sit there, though, while someone is in pain."

"Sorry, I can't help you right now," said Loo. "I used both [Mana Spring] and [Mana Brook] in that fight, and they're still on cooldown."

"You did good, Finn," Bo said, gruffly. "Everyone did real good."

The words had barely left his mouth when Tess called out, making Tom jump.

"Zero casualties! We did it!"

Ragged cheers erupted from nearby townsfolk. Tom closed his eyes and drank in the sound. They were ALL alive. They had done it.

Thank fuck Tess got us prepared.

Bo's voice cut through the cheering. "Everyone! Tonight, we celebrate. Subdivision block party! But first, get out there and pick up your Coins and loot!"

Laughter rippled through the crowd, and the battle tension finally seemed to drain away.

Hana pulled Bo over to Richard. He shook Richard's hand and apologized for his outburst.

Teams One and Two gathered around the same campfire.

Tom exchanged smiles with Kate and his daughters. He let himself believe that his family was safe; at least for now.

Sophia and Art tapped Tess's shoulder, and led her away from the circle for a quiet chat.

When Tess returned, her expression was grim.

"Sophia and Art said that, while there are no monsters here in the Settlement, the recent tracks showed that a lot got away."

Tom frowned. "What are you thinking?"

Tess pointed at Group Two. "Tomorrow, you guys should hit the Headless Dungeon. It's at Level 1, so you'll be fine."

"But . . . you're a higher level!" Priya spluttered.

"Why us?" Jill asked. "Strictly from a safety perspective. Shouldn't your team should go, since you've already done it once?"

"Why do they get to go, and not us?" Amber shouted. "It should be us! We need to level!"

Tess ignored the protests, and turned to face Team One. "Tomorrow, we pack up and go after the Spider Dungeon. Find it and clear it before those things get any stronger."

"I withdraw my complaint," Amber said.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.