Cave and web

In the royal castle of Sigma, the King sat on his throne Moïse standing at his right hand as usual.

"Have you heard about the famous new trio of adventurers in the Guild?" Moïse asked.

"Yes, however it is very unpleasant that an inferior creature like a beast man is in this group." (King)

"Apparently this one is just a slave they bought." (Moïse)

"Even though it bothers me, but my purpose is to recruit them." (King)

"The Three?" (Moïse)

"Of course not, just the two men. We need a new captain for the royal knights. Since the old one died on an expedition to a dungeon." (King)

"Have you approached them yet?" (Moïse)

"Yes I sent them a letter, for over 3 months but I haven't had any response yet." (King)

"If I have to I will go to meet them soon." (King)

---------

Zem got up as usual early in the morning, next to his bed there was a chest of drawers on which a letter was placed. On it was the royal letter of Sigma, he blew when he saw it.

When they received the letter, they already knew that they were not going to answer it, they had already heard many acts of barbarity from the royal knights. It was out of the question for them to join them, especially since the letter was addressed only to Élias and Zem. Veid, who was a silly man, was excluded from this proposal even though they had passed him off as a slave.

Their lives as adventurers were what they had dreamed of since childhood and it was more than satisfying for them. They were even on the verge of becoming A rank adventurers.

In two days, they would leave for a mission in a dungeon that was an urgent request from the guild. The dungeon in question had appeared near a village on the edge of the Sigma kingdom's territory. According to the guild's information, it is a Rank B labyrinth dungeon. It will take 3 weeks of travel to get there, as many adventurers have already been sent by the guild.

As a result, they made all the necessary preparations to leave: food resources, healing potions and everything else they needed. Once they had finished their preparations, they took their horses and set off in the direction of the village.

After three weeks of passing through several small towns and villages and even sleeping under the stars, they finally arrived in the village. They finally arrived at the village in question, and had a good day's rest before heading to the keep. This one was anchored in a natural cave dug in a big mountain. In front of it, an encampment had been set up, with many adventurers walking around.

It always worked like this, when a dungeon was discovered a stay camp was set up. Adventurers would stay there for the duration of the dungeon raid allowing them to explore and leave the dungeon at will. There were also many other people present. Like vendors who sold a bunch of different items to the adventurers. This could range from healing potions, mana recovery, weapons and many other items.

There were also the informants, people who sold a lot of information about the dungeon. The monsters that could be found there, their levels, their types, the environments of the dungeon and many other things. Usually these short-lived camps that were only there for the duration of the dungeon were always very lively.

Zem and his brothers did not linger there in the least, there were many glances thrown at them because of Veid's presence. However, having experienced this kind of stare several times before, they entered the dungeon.

In this one, no natural light could penetrate making the place a dark and gloomy place where a silence of death reigned. Where any monster could be lurking in the shadows and attack them by surprise. But Elias mastered the fire and floated many flaming balls around them to light their way. For this was not the first time they had attacked this kind of dungeon. They advanced through the multiple galleries that offered many choices of route several times. This made it easy to get lost or to use areas already explored by other adventurers.

This is what made the labyrinth dungeons special, a single floor, but extremely large. With many different paths, dead ends and sometimes traps. Where you could get lost for days if you weren't careful or find yourself surrounded by monsters. So many different and unpredictable elements that made it an arduous and perilous exploration. And each dungeon had its own numerous specificities.

For labyrinth dungeons like this one it was advisable to have at least one adventurer who could light their way. Mastering fire or light to warn of dangers lurking in the shadows and surprise attack. To have a marker class as a group member or with similar abilities. To be able to mark out the path so as not to get lost and find their way back easily.

To leave with lots of supplies in case you get lost and to leave and move very tightly with at least 7 adventurers. And in the extreme case and for those who can afford it to have a return stone. These were some of the things that were recommended to do in this kind of dungeon.

Advancing for several thirty minutes without a hitch, they briefly heard an almost imperceptible sound. Zem immediately drew his sword impregnated with the water element and swung it over his head. A sound of something falling to the ground could be heard. It was a huge black head with two large mandibles accompanied by a mouth full of sharp teeth and a multitude of eyes. It was a spider the size of half a man a Black Spider.

"Élias!" Zem shouted.

In an instant Elias moved his flaming balls to shine towards the ceiling of the cave, the light then revealed more than thirty spiders. Slime dripped from their mouths, their multiple eyes staring back at them. In the webs, human remains could be seen, surely adventurers who had unfortunately been tricked.

In the next moment they pounced on them, but Élias had already stored up mana and shot a wave of flames from his hands. The flames engulfed a dozen spiders, who screamed as the fire devoured them, before falling dead to the ground.

Five spiders swooped down on Veid with their sharp legs and mandibles trying to slash him. Immediately, he set up a wind barrier that stopped their attacks, in the next instant the barrier turned into a tornado. Carrying them in the air like feathers, the winds of this tornado were as sharp as razors. The spiders caught inside were sliced into multiple pieces that were thrown in multiple places. Zem concentrated water at the end of his blade, a high-pressure jet came out cutting up the remaining spiders.

"These spiders are always so vicious." (Veid)

"We might find more of them in our path and those were just black scout spiders." (Élias)

"Let's stay on guard." (Zem)

So they continued to venture deeper into the cave. Along the way, they killed more than two dozen of the spiders again. As they went deeper, the level of the spiders began to rise.

"Analysis." (Veid)

Race: spider / Type: scout <Level > 70

<Vitality > 270/ <Attack > 150/ <Defense > 300/ <Speed > 150/ <Endurance > 170/ <Agility > 300/ <Intelligence > 100/ <Physical > 270

<Skills > Night vision / Perception / Web / Stealth / Contortion

<Unique Skills> Web sense / Web throw / Poison bite /

<Elements > (None)

-----

Until he came across a different type of spider. Their shells were much larger and stronger. Equipped with an extra row of teeth and four mandibles instead of two.

Race: Spider Soldier / Type: Soldier <Level > 100

<Vitality > 320/ <Attack > 200/ <Defense > 350/ <Speed > 200/ <Endurance > 200/ <Agility > 350/ <Intelligence > 140/ <Physical > 320

<Skills > Night Vision (Lv 2) / Perception (Lv 2) / Web (Lv 2) / Stealth (Lv 2) / Contortion (Lv 2)

<Unique Skills> Web Sense (Lv 2) / Web Throw (Lv 2) / Poison Bite (Lv 2) / Poison Web (Lv 2) / Cutting Web (Lv 2) / Poison Throw (Lv 2) / 

<Elements > (None)

There were some that went up to level 100 to 110 and their number was more than twenty. They had come from the galleries in front of them a good fifty meters away.

"Looks like things are starting to get complicated as expected from a B-rank dungeon."(Zem)

Respectively, in order of power Veid was at level 115 with a swordsman mage class. Élias 130 with a magic knight class and finally Zem with a level of 150 as a Paladin. The spiders swooped down on them aggressively crawling on the walls, ceiling and floor.

"Veid!" (Élias)

Veid unblinkingly launched a powerful gust of wind that filled the entire area of the tunnel ahead of them. This reduced the speed of the spiders' progress, but the purpose was quite different. Indeed this wind had only one purpose, to amplify the real attack that was to follow.

"Wave of flames" (Élias)

A fiery torrent of fire erupted from both of Helias' hands. The already powerful flames combined with the wind and grew more massive and devastating. The spiders didn't realize until much too late that their frontal attacks had meant their losses. They were caught in the flames and ended up totally charred. In a small area like this Elias' flames proved to be very destructive, as there was no way to hide or dodge.

So they continued on as they had started, burning everything in their path.

They also came across humanoid bats around level 100 called Scheibers. They were a head taller than a normal human and were colored a slight shade of purple and black. They had sharp jaws and a pair of wings, and their legs and arms had a pair of claws at the end.

Their attacks were powerful blades or gusts of wind that they drew from their wings. They dodged many of his many attacks as best they could. In cases where they could not dodge because of the many attacks, they parried with their swords. When the opportunity came Élias impregnated his sword with water. And sent slashes to slice them into multiple pieces. Cutting their flying session short, their bodies falling to the ground heavily.

They also faced giant Rats that moved in whole groups of 50. But with Élias fiery attacks combined with Veid's wind. Combined with this enclosed area, they were a match for them.

After exploring hundreds of corridors in the cave. This is approximately 8 hours in the dungeon. They took a short break and took some potions to recover their mana and some food. Of course paying attention to their surroundings ready for any possible attacks.

After that, they went on their way, walking through the dark and damp corridors once again. Most of the time they only faced spiders, so they concluded that this dungeon was only centered on these black spiders and the boss would normally be a spider general. The boss would normally be around level 150.

Because the dungeons and quests were categorized by level:

F : 1 - 20

E : 20- 40

D : 40 - 60

C : 60 - 80

B : 80 - 150

A : 150- 250

S : 250 - 500

SS : 500 - 800

SSS : 800 - 1000

Finally, after 2 days in the dungeon, the end of their road led them to a gigantic open cavity. Only the most important thing was what was in front of them. Several groups of adventurers fighting against a host of monsters. There were three groups, one of which had already lost almost all its members, their corpses already being devoured by spiders. There were only two left, who unfortunately were quickly overwhelmed before dying miserably.

The second group seemed to be holding their own against the spiders until some Scheibers joined the fight and broke up their formations. Carrying several adventurers into the air, the men were then attacked in midair by several of them. Panicked and defenseless, they ended up being eaten by them in a macabre aerial dance. Their cries and their limbs tearing, the Scheibers started to devour the men as in a buffet, in the air.

The last group of 20 seemed to be doing well in dealing with the spiders and Scheibers.

But Zem and his brothers barely had time to concentrate when a swarm of Scheibers swooped down on them. Élias immediately threw his flames, but they were able to dodge. This time it was an open area where he could fly properly and thus dodge the flames that were inevitable in the small tunnels.

They then counterattacked by sending many wind attacks. The brothers dodged all the attacks they could that were coming at them nonstop. In the distance, a large number of Soldier spiders could be seen running towards them from all directions encircling them.

They projected with their mandibles many attacks like acid and spider webs. These webs were as strong as iron and if they touched them it would have been difficult to get rid of them. Attacks rained down on them from the sky as well as from the ground. If by chance the spiders came near them, it would immediately sign their end.

"I'll take care of the back, you take care of the front!" Said Zem without flinching.

"All right!" Veid and Helias replied.

Each knew what they had to do, it was something they had earned as the battles went on. Battles that only made them stronger as time went on. In front of them they had a cloud of enemies, but at no time did they tremble because they were sure of their strength.

Zem then shouted at the top of his lungs activating several of his skills:

Determined General: A general's determination increases the statistics of the caster and his allies by 10%.

Provocation: You provoke enemies who then target you more easily.

"Aquatic Lance!" (Zem)

Zem raised his hand and above his head formed a multitude of water spears. More than a hundred when he lowered this one the spears charged at the spiders at breakneck speed. Every time a spear hit a spider it immediately lost its life in a small explosion.

The spears continued to form and melt relentlessly at their enemies. He blocked all the attacks that came towards him with a water shield that seemed to move like a living being. At the same time, numerous slashes of water came out of his sword and cut the bats without mercy. They crashed to the ground, their bodies having been cut up in a clean way.

The number of spiders quickly began to decline. Elias and Veid who had received Zem's buff also started to move. Instead of dodging now like Zem a wall of wind and fire protected them. They both channeled their mana and after a while.

Veid swung his sword at such exceptional speed that the sword could hardly be seen. From these numerous attacks a tornado was formed, spiders and bats were caught inside and ended up cut up. But this was not yet the climax Élias did exactly the same thing and a tornado of fire formed. Burning everything in its path the screams of the creatures resounded ending up burned alive.

Then the two tornadoes began to move closer together. They merged, doubling in size, the tornado now touching the ceiling of the cavity. The gravitational pull sucked in all the monsters nearby. Now the creatures were not only burned, but also cut.

On Zem's side, in addition, there was now a long pressurized jet capable of cutting steel coming out of his sword. Cutting through like a knife cutting through butter spiders. The water lances also continued to rain like rain and after 15 minutes the monsters were annihilated. The group of 20 adventurers who were fighting the monsters also finished. Of course, they had witnessed the show of force of the three brothers.

"So these are the Three Elements." Declared one of the adventurers impressed.

The three being about to congratulate, all of a sudden the cave began to shake violently.

"The dungeon, is it collapsing!" (Veid)

"No!" (Zem)

As Zem's senses grew sharper, goosebumps ran across his skin. Then a huge flow of mana pressed down on everyone in the cave. Out of one of the tunnels came a black creature the size of a man while still maintaining a humanoid form.

Its body was thin, covered by a thick black carapace with eight arms with sharp claws. Two mandibles protruded from its mouth with eight menacing red eyes.

"There must be a mistake, this is a B rank dungeon!" Said Veid in horror.

Race: Black Spider / Type: Prince <Level > 250

<Vitality > ?/ <Magical power> ?/ <Attack > ? / <Defense > ? / <Speed > ? / <Endurance > ? / <Agility > ? / <Intelligence > ? / <Physics > ?

<Skills > ?

<Unique skills> ?

<Legendary skills>?

<Elements > (?)

[You cannot see the target's stats and skills. Due to the difference in level and skill level Analysis].

"It's a mutation!" Zem coldly analyzed.

The beast screamed releasing an overwhelming flow of mana that overwhelmed the adventurers. The rank B dungeon had now transformed with the appearance of a mutation at Rank A even S.