61 Preparing for the worst 2

Descending a spiralling tunnel further into the enemy Dungeon, I was quite relieved to had included many Slimes in my Vanguard's ranks. The Amber Jellies lead the assault despite their relatively bad perceptiveness because they could basically tank every trap the defender had thought of adding. Pit falls, spikes and falling rocks, were almost no problem for their physical damage resistance and my ability to heal them by transfering just a few points of Mana over to them. When we finally reached the Dungeon's first room we had only lost one Jelly and the rest seemed a bit more weathered and experienced. The chamber that greeted us was a dark cavernous space filled with columns that restricted mobility and sight. Sumiré was forced to light a torch because she didn't share our low light vision. Sunfür and the the other coyotes could just sense the danger oozing from each corner of this place, indicated by their raised fur and lowered ears.

"Have care how you swing you weapon brother. A glaive is ill suited for such terrain." Abel whispered while scanning his surroundings. "Oh don't get your pantaloons in a twist. Ass kicking is universal and all-terrain!" Cain smugly retorted, much to his brother's chagrin. "Keep you guard up, I don't like how quiet this place is.." I offered, raising a flaming hand towards the ceiling. As I did, I noticed the texture of the roof shifting slightly, as If the rock were peeling away from my flame's heat. That wasn't rock. It was an added layer upon it. Something glistening, soft and vulnerable to fire. It was so.. familiar..

Suddenly, a woosh of air caught us all off guard as Sumiré fired a Powershot with her sling! The iron pellet flew towards a corner between the ceiling and a pillar, hitting something that squealed loudly! I couldn't see what it was, none of my minions did and yet Sumiré was hastily reloading! "What is it?" I asked anxiously but the girl didn't have time to answer me. The ceiling itself unlatched from.the cave's embrace and began descending upon us like a white blanket! "Silk?! It's spiders!" I yelled as everyone around me cowered instinctively. I fell to one knee as well but raised both hands with palms outstretched. Before the sheet of sticky silk managed to touch me, a gout of fire fanned out from them, engulfing and burning the sheet in a flash. There was no celebration however. The moment I destroyed the silk I immediately realised the true nature of the enemy's trap! The oxygen in the room lessened dramatically, giving way to carbon monoxide and probably other noxious fumes as I started getting prompts stating that I was poisoned!

Everyone except the Slimes began coughing and even I was rendered nearly helpless as my strong body couldn't function without breathing. From the corner of my failing vision, I managed to make out two things. For one, pale spiders, the size of cats, had began crawling out of holes in the ceiling and descending upon us. Their sickly colouration and the fungus growths on their chitin betrayed their unique nature and probable resistance to toxins. The second thing was that Abel and Cain were still standing despite the poison they were breathing.

[ Abel and Cain's Poison Resistance has reached Rank 2!

Abel and Cain's Poison Resistance has reached Rank..

Abel and Cain's Poison Resistance..

Abel and Cain's Poison Resistance has reached Rank 5! ]

I hastily read through the prompts before noticing that Cain began tearing through the spiders hanging above us using his polearm! Abel on the other hand, much to my shock, seemed to be taking deeper breaths, inhaling the noxious fumes more rapidly despite the pain it was causing him! "Abel.. stop.. what are you.." I only managed to say before I noticed him holding up his hands, palms facing each other as if he were clutching an imaginary ball.

[ Abel's Poison Resistance has reached Rank 6!

Abel's Poison Resistance has reached Rank 7!

Abel has successfully infused his Mana with a toxic substance! DING! Abel has obtained a new Passive Skill! Poison Manipulation Magic! DING! Abel has devised a new Mana pattern. "Cleanse". "Cleanse" has been cast by your Follower. The air in the vicinity is once again breathable. Abel has unlocked achievements 1) Budding Mage 1, 2) Poisoner Initiate, 3) Clutch 1. He has earned XP. He has earned 2 (+2) Skill points. He has earned 1 Attribute Point. ]

While this was happening, Cain was spearheading our defence with the slimes. After failing to connect with some wide swings due to the columns, the fledgling warrior had finally wised up. Heeding his brothers words, Cain shifted to thrusting attacks paired with kicks, punches and the occasional "Slime Toss". "Yeah! Get some, you filthy roaches!" the Batwing Vorsani growled, taking all the aggro on himself! When Sumiré, the Coyotes and I, were finally able to stand again, witnessed a hoard of the pale spider monsters flanking us form every side! "How can it even make so many? This place is definitely at a lower level than me!" I thought before I made sure Sumiré was ok and got to squashing the arachnids as well. Sunfür, now all better, took a defensive posture by the girl's side, tearing apart anything that got too close to her while she fired shot after shot at the spiders still walking on the ceiling above us! The spiders had numbers but were definitely much weaker than my creations who were now rapidly growing due to all the XP they were gathering! Cain was going to town with Abel covering his flank. The coyotes tearing off limbs and crushing thoraxes with their nasty bites. Although we did lose three, as they were overwhelmed by the horde.

After almost a minute of nonstop fighting, the spiders' numbers had barely diminished! "Abel, cleanse the air again!" I shouted to my minion before jumping up so high that reached the ceiling and grabbed hold by a stalactite. "But my Lady.. why should I..." my follower tried asking when he saw my entire body begin to glow red! Forgetting everything, Abel began casting his magic while I Overchanneled my own. Through a hole near my head I could see a myriad of eyes staring down at me, sending shivers down my spine. This however only strengthened my resolve and the Mana inside me exploded outwards! I unleashed what was probably my most powerful Fire-Breath ever! The entire system of tunnel above our head, that the spiders had been using to attack us, lit up! Flames came pouring out each hole like exhaust vents and the stench of burnt arachnid permeated the air. Screeches and howls escaped from the monster's as the either died or jumped my minions as a final, desperate attack.

All smoke, fumes and carbon monoxide, swirled towards Abel's palms forming ball of spiralling wind. It then burst out in a puff of fresh air, leaving the fledgling caster winded and out of Mana. Sumiré began slamming her torch down, crushing our enemies as they were now too close for ger ranged weapon. Sunfür kept her safe throughout the entire assault and had sustained multiple bites for his valiant efforts. Thankfully, even with the venom, Sunfür was high enough Level to tank these monsters' attacks. My Jellies were dissolving spiders left and right but had sustained casualties as the venom affected them as well. Out of the ten monsters I had brought with me, only five had survived the chamber full of spiders. We had lost three wolves and two Slimes. The survivors were now significantly stronger but the loss irked me to no end. I came down from the ceiling and stomped on a spider, crushing it beneath my boot. "Everyone! Regroup!" I ordered and my allies complied, killing stragglers along the way.

At that moment, strands of silk began flowing into the room from its other end that we hadn't managed to explore yet. The strands began connecting to any pillar they touched, restricting our movement! "Something big is coming my Lady!" Sumiré said fearlessly as she drew back her sling. The fact that the girl couldn't see beyond her torch's light and yet continued to sense the enemy before us, perplexed me to no end. Following her example, I wound up a Flame Arrow, aiming it at the same direction as she was. Without warning, extremely long spider legs shot towards us, making me nearly shit myself! A huge pale, fungus covered, daddy long legs looking spider, came rushing from shadows! Surely hoping to catch us off guard while we still dealt with its smaller kin. Its small rotund body bobbed and weaved between columns, gracefully gliding on its long legs while we rolled out of its way! My arrow fizzled out of existence and Sumiré lost her grip on her sling when she hit the hard floor of the cave.

Cain went in for an overhead stab but the spider batted him away! Sunfür was the one who managed to freeze the monster's movement in the end. The Starfang Wolf's fur began to glow a bright golden before it exploded with light! The spider skittered to a stop and screeched in pain! Its eyes unable to handle the brightness of daylight. Once the spider recovered it tried to assume its erratic movement again, stabbing down with its feet in an attempt to skewer us! I tried firing off a Flame Arrow but only managed to graze the monster as I was forced to dive out of the way of an attack. Abel managed to crack one of the giant's legs out of balance with his staff and the rest of my minions followed his example. The beast was soon destabilised and its assault halted. Wolfs, slimes and Vorsani soon had its legs and suddenly the spider's greatest weapon, its speed, was rendered obsolete.

The spider reered back, flashing us a pair of giant venomous fangs, as it took a deep breath! It was obviously preparing to hit us with something and I froze up as I was caught in the middle of Overchanneling my next magic! CRACK! Sumiré suddenly hit the monster dead center it its ugly maw with her Powershot! This interrupted its attack long enough for us to answer with our own. Finally getting my wits about me, I drew my Oxäur cleaver and slashed through two of its legs as I charged through. The spider's compact, round body fell to the ground as it struggled to stand once more. However, with my minions on the rest of its feet, that was impossible. "Cain! Now brother!" Abel shouted all of a sudden and I realised that the Vorsani brothers had been setting up a play! Cain bullrushed the downed monster, activating both of his special attacks at the same time! Winged Charge plus Power Strike, made his glaive's blade glow red with Mana! The weapon's tip became coated with the glowing energy and it extended, boosting its reach and lethality. The small warrior flew into the spider with all he had, driving his weapon into and threw its body!

[ Boss Monster "Long Leg Canyon Abomination, Level 10" has been defeated within its domain! Congratulations, your Party received 3500 XP to be divided amongst you. You have earned 500 Aether points. You have defeated Deep Canyon Wretch x41. Your party had earned 1230 XP to be divided amongst you. You have earned 200 Aether points. You have earned 2000 Gold. Congratulations! You have unlocked the Achievement "Horde Breaker 1". You have unlocked the Achievement "Horde Breaker 2" for defeating more than 40 enemies at once. Defeat 80 enemies at once to unlock the next tier. You and your Party are awarded 100+300 XP. 1 Skill Point. 1 (+3) Skill Point. Congratulations! You have reached Level 16! You have 2 unassigned Attribute points. ]

I huffed in satisfaction for our victory and looked proudly at my team who were ironically looking to me for approval. I smiled at them and lay a hand on Sumiré's shoulder. The girl lay her own hand on mine and squeezed gently. "We won my Lady.." she said, barely containing her pride. "We lost some of our ranks but we conquered this floor. I don't know how this Dungeon produced so many monsters but needless to say, we need to watch ourselves going further. And we need a breather.. I highly doubt it can replenish all those minions in a single night. Let us collect all the drops from the defeated, head out for a night's rest and attack again at dawn!" I commanded and everyone gave a small cheer of delight.