The deeper they went, the more the air tasted like ammonia and rot.
[POV: Ren Takashi - The Assault Team]
"Move it, meat!" Grog barked, his voice echoing too loudly in the cramped tunnel. "My grandmother crawls faster than this, and she's been dead for ten years."
"Fuck off," Daigo muttered under his breath, sweating profusely.
The Vanguard was having a miserable time. The tunnel was barely wide enough for two people, and Daigo's massive tower shield kept scraping against the jagged rock walls—SCREEE, SCREEE—a sound that set everyone's teeth on edge.
"Daigo, lift the shield," Ren whispered, walking directly behind him. "You're scraping the enchantments off."
"It weighs fifty pounds, Ren!" Daigo snapped back, his face flushed in the torchlight. "And it's hot as balls down here."
Ren didn't answer. He was too busy trying to keep his own panic in check. The darkness pressed in on them, heavy and suffocating. The torchlight only illuminated a few feet ahead, casting long, dancing shadows that looked like claws.
Behind Ren, Rika was practically stepping on his heels. She had a death grip on the back of his leather tunic.
"Ren," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"Clicking," Rika swallowed hard. "Like... wet clicking."
"Probably just water," Itsuki said from the back, though he had his staff raised. "Or rats. Zone 3 dungeons are ecosystems."
"Stop yapping!" Grog stopped abruptly.
Daigo almost walked into the Guild Master's back. Grog turned around, the scar on his face twisting into a cruel grin in the flickering light.
"We're here," Grog said.
He stepped aside. The narrow tunnel opened up into a massive, cavernous chamber.
Ren stepped forward and raised his torch. The light spilled into the room, revealing the floor. It wasn't stone. It was white. Sticky, pulsating white strands covered every inch of the ground, the walls, and the ceiling.
Bones—some animal, some humanoid—were suspended in the webs like macabre wind chimes.
"Oh god," Rika gagged, covering her mouth. "Please tell me those aren't webs."
"Current market price for Giant Spider Silk is five gold coins a spool," Grog said, leaning casually against the tunnel entrance. He pulled a cigar from his pocket and lit it with a small match, the flare illuminating his bored eyes. "Go on then. Harvest it."
"Are you insane?" Daigo shouted. "Look at the ceiling!"
Ren looked up.
Above them, in the shadows of the stalactites, hundreds of red eyes blinked open.
Skitter. Skitter. Skitter.
The sound was like dry leaves blowing over pavement, multiplied by a thousand.
"You want to be Heroes?" Grog blew a smoke ring toward the ceiling. "Heroes work for their pay. Clear the room, brats. I'll grade you on speed."
"You piece of shit!" Daigo roared, raising his shield just as the first black shape dropped from the ceiling.
It was a Venom-Weaver. A spider the size of a wolf, with hairy, chitinous legs and dripping fangs.
THUD.
It landed on Daigo's shield, its weight driving the Vanguard to one knee. "Get it off! Get it off!"
"Formation!" Ren screamed, his voice cracking. "Rika, flank left! Itsuki, light it up!"
Ren drew his sword. The fear was there—cold and paralyzing in his gut—but he forced it down. He looked at the spider gnawing on Daigo's shield.
[PASSIVE SKILL: DIVINE GUIDANCE]
The world turned grey. The Golden Line appeared. It didn't point to the spider's head. It pointed to the joint of its front leg.
Sever the leg. Destabilize. Strike the thorax.
"Die!" Ren yelled.
He lunged. The recoil tore at his shoulder, but he ignored it. His sword flashed, cutting through the thick, hairy leg with a spray of green ichor. The spider screeched—a high-pitched hiss—and rolled off Daigo.
"Rika, now!" Ren ordered.
Rika was shaking, but she moved. She darted in, her daggers flashing. She stabbed the spider in its multiple eyes, crying out in disgust as they popped like grapes.
"Gross, gross, gross!" Rika screamed, stabbing it over and over again until it stopped twitching.
"Two more on the ceiling!" Itsuki warned. "Daigo, shield up!"
Grog just watched from the tunnel, smoking his cigar, a smirk on his face. "Sloppy," the Guild Master muttered. "Too much screaming."
[POV: Reiji Narukami - The Defense Team]
Five hundred feet above them, in the "Safe Zone" of the middle layer, the mood was different. It wasn't terror. It was rage.
"Move the crate, Princess," Vance sneered.
Vance was one of Grog's lieutenants—a skinny, rat-faced man with yellow teeth and a crossbow slung over his back. He was sitting on a rock, watching Mei Tachibana drag a heavy box of mining supplies across the uneven floor.
"My name," Mei gritted out, dropping the crate with a heavy thud, "is Mei."
"Whatever," Vance picked his nose. "We need those barriers set up by the chokepoint. Chop chop. Unless you want the creepy-crawlies to flank your boyfriend down there."
Reiji stepped forward, wiping sweat from his forehead. He was carrying two crates himself. "Sir Vance, we agreed to secure the perimeter. We did not agree to be your pack mules. Your men are just sitting there."
He pointed to two other Iron Hounds who were playing cards by a lantern.
"We're the pros, kid," Vance laughed. "Pros save their energy for the real fight. You trainees need the conditioning. Consider it... strength training."
"Strength training?" Mei snapped. She spun around, gripping her lance. Her knuckles were white. "I have a Strength stat of 12. I could snap your neck like a twig, you lazy fuck."
Vance's smile dropped. He reached for his crossbow. "What did you say to me, little girl?"
"Mei, stop!" Reiji grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back.
"Get off me, Reiji!" Mei shoved him away. "They're using us! Valdorn sent us here to learn, not to do their dirty work!"
"I know," Reiji whispered, his voice hard. He looked at Vance, his "Perfect Prince" mask slipping just a fraction. "I know, Mei. But if we fight them now, the Assault Team loses their support. Ren and the others are counting on us to hold this line."
Reiji turned to Vance. He stood straight, radiating a cold, Paladin aura.
"We will move the crates," Reiji said calmly. "But if I see one monster slip past your 'Pro' guard because you were playing cards... I will report you to the King personally for treason."
Vance scoffed, spitting on the ground near Reiji's boot. "Ooh, treason. I'm shaking. Just move the box, hero."
Mei kicked the crate so hard the wood cracked. "I swear to god," she hissed to Hinata. "One day. I'm going to stab him. Accidentally."
"Get in line," Hinata muttered, eyeing Vance's back.
[POV: Ayaka Fujino - The Rearguard]
At the cave entrance, the air was still. Too still.
The sun outside was setting, casting long orange rays into the mouth of the cavern. Ayaka sat on a folding stool, organizing potions. Her hands were trembling slightly.
"You okay, Ayaka?" Noa asked. The Summoner was sitting on the ground nearby, painting a picture of the stalactites. Her ink-dog, Gouache, was curled up asleep on her lap.
"I don't like this," Ayaka whispered. "The mana in here... it feels angry."
"It's a dungeon," Yui said, punching her own palm restlessly. "It's supposed to feel angry. I just wish I was down there. Sitting here is torture."
A shadow fell over them.
Another Iron Hound mercenary—a bald man with missing ears—leered at them. He walked over to the medical table, picking up a healing potion.
"Hey there, nurse," the man grinned at Ayaka. His teeth were black. "I got a sore back. Think you could use those magic hands on me?"
Ayaka stiffened. "I am reserving my mana for the combat teams, sir."
"Aw, come on," the man stepped closer, invading her personal space. He smelled of unwashed leather. "The boys downstairs are fine. Grog looks after his own. How about you look after me?"
He reached out to touch a lock of Ayaka's hair.
SNAP.
Yui moved. It was a blur. She slapped the man's hand away with a sound like a pistol crack.
"She said no," Yui said, her voice dropping an octave. She stood between Ayaka and the mercenary. Yui was short, but her [Monk] aura was terrifying. "Touch her again, and I'll break your fingers. One by one."
The mercenary recoiled, rubbing his hand. He glared at them. "Feisty bitches. You won't be so tough when the sun goes down."
He walked away, muttering curses.
"Thank you, Yui," Ayaka exhaled, clutching her chest.
"Don't thank me," Yui spat. "These guys are trash. Total trash."
Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet vibrated. Dust fell from the ceiling.
BOOM.
A low, distant roar echoed up from the depths of the cave. It sounded like a scream.
Ayaka stood up, her eyes wide. "That came from the deep levels."
"Ren," Noa whispered, dropping her paintbrush. Gouache the ink-dog woke up and growled at the darkness.
"Something's wrong," Ayaka said, grabbing her staff. "That wasn't a spider."
Down in the dark, the real nightmare had just begun.