Step!
As the group of humans approached the spider's nest, with only about a hundred meters between them, the one leading them raised his hand, signaling the others to stop.
Then, calmly, he turned to face them and spoke coldly, drawing his strange black sword.
Screech!
"Form up for battle. By now, the Calamity Spider has likely noticed our presence, so stay alert."
This human, named "Alvin", wore a silver armor adorned with interwoven golden lines that covered his entire body.
On his head, he wore a helmet that concealed all his features, leaving only his mysterious black eyes visible.
His voice was rough and stern, leaving no room for argument. Yet, not all the humans took him seriously.
One of them stepped forward, grinning widely, swinging his massive axe.
"Let her come! I'm itching to shove my axe into that ugly thing's head."
Unlike the others, who appeared noble, this human looked rough and intimidating.
He had a broad body over two meters tall, wearing old, cracked armor with dried blood stains.
His head was unprotected, revealing his rugged forties-aged face: brown eyes, thick eyebrows, a bald head with a large black beard, and most notably, a massive scar stretching from the middle of his forehead down to his ear.
The others glanced at him strangely, their expressions resigned.
They had long grown tired of his antics and boastful talk throughout the journey.
"Yes, yes, we get it, Carlos, you're strong."
Calmly, the only woman in the group patted the middle-aged man on the shoulder and said while shaking her head,
"We've already told you to keep your voice down.
Tsk. You should understand that even if the spider's abilities are restrained due to its Rank-Up slumber, that doesn't mean it's weak.
If it feels cornered, it'll unleash everything it has.
We're already taking enough risks by venturing this deep into the Grimfen Forest, we don't need any more trouble."
Like the others, the girl, Selene, wore metal armor—sky-blue in color—with the emblem of a sealed golden rose engraved on the chest.
She protected her head with a helmet custom-fitted for her, leaving much of her face visible.
She had blue eyes, brown hair tinged with gold, and smooth, fair skin. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but she possessed a subtle, feminine charm.
Selene stepped forward to the front and addressed everyone as she raised her strange wooden staff, carved with mysterious runes and adorned with a large brown gemstone at its tip.
"Listen carefully. Do not underestimate that spider, and beware of its seduction abilities.
I'll cast enhancement and protection spells on you now. Let's finish this quickly."
As soon as she finished giving her orders, the gem embedded in her staff flared brightly.
She began murmuring several strange, incomprehensible words, and a few seconds later, she pointed her staff at the others and shouted, "Enhancement!" "Protection!"
At that moment, a transparent glow enveloped the other humans' bodies. It resembled a magical aura made of two overlapping colors, green and yellow.
Without any more pointless chatter, everyone put on serious expressions and took up their battle formation.
The barbarian Carlos stood at the front. Behind him was Alvin, and at his side stood Willard, who also wielded a sword.
At the very back was Selene, the C-Rank healer, the weakest member of the team.
But that didn't matter. Her only role was to provide support from a distance and heal the others once the battle was over.
They advanced cautiously, their steps heavy. They made no effort to hide themselves, there was no point in doing so.
The moment they reached the web-filled area, red eyes appeared without any warning.
They stared at them with malicious intent, and from every direction within the webs, a cold, hoarse female voice filled with killing intent echoed out.
"You filthy humans. Leave now, or I will kill you."
Carlos pointed his axe toward the glowing eyes and sneered with a mocking smile.
""What kind of nonsense is that? If you were really capable of killing us, you wouldn't waste your breath talking."
The others showed their displeasure, wishing that this foul-mouthed man would just shut up.
Still, they knew he wasn't wrong. Dialogue and mercy were not traits of monsters, and it was clear that the spider did not want to fight them.
At the center of the webs, the spider woman clenched her teeth in rage, her body trembling violently.
The truth was, she really couldn't fight at full strength right now. And if she tried to flee, assuming she even could, her months-long Rank-Up slumber would fail.
She would lose a huge portion of her power and might even drop down a Rank.
A Rank-Up was no simple matter. Any external interference, even internal or psychological stress, could trigger a violent backlash.
That left her with only one option: forcefully stop her slumber and fight for her life.
And that meant all the effort she had poured in over the past years to meet the conditions for her Rank-Up would be wasted.
'Just a little more, All I needed was a few more days to reach A-Rank. But these damn humans ruined everything. Damn it, damn them all. I'll kill them.'
Her face twisted as every trace of her human features vanished.
Her fangs grew longer, her body swelled several times over, and thick, coarse hair—like fur—spread across her once-beautiful white skin.
In just a few seconds, she transformed completely, returning to her original form.
A massive spider, ten meters tall and sixteen meters long, with eight vicious red eyes and eight towering legs.
"I'll kill you all."
The entire nest of webs, covering an area of 10 square miles, trembled.
The humans noticed this immediately. Their bodies tensed, grips tightening around their weapons. In a stern voice, Alvin shouted,
"It's coming, prepa…"
Before he could finish, hundreds of massive, sharp white spears burst out from every direction within the webs ahead of them, flying straight toward them at an absurd speed.
There were so many that they completely blocked out the sunlight.
And yet, none of them panicked.
Selene raised her glowing staff and shouted, "Shield!"
In an instant, a huge, solid, transparent barrier appeared around them.
At the same time, Carlos stepped forward. He lifted his axe high, and a massive, translucent projection of the weapon formed above it, moving in perfect sync with his grip.
With overwhelming force, he swung it up, shattering every spear that was about to crash into them.
Like rain, the remaining spears slammed into the ground around them, annihilating everything in their path.
Trees were smashed apart, the earth was flattened, and everything within several hundred meters was reduced to ruin.
Ignoring his teammates' looks, Carlos burst into loud laughter.
"Is that all you've got?"
Then he swung his axe once more, this time aiming directly at the wall-like webs ahead.