The drills hadn't stopped in days.
More gold. More iron. More ominite. The village was richer than ever, and the forge glowed day and night. But Caelen wanted to keep digging. Sothing tugged at him—like there was more just below the next layer of rock.
So he kept going.
He had two golems beside him and a reinforced lantern on his belt. The tunnel ahead grew tighter, warr, and slled of sothing... odd. Not tal. Not earth. Sothing sharper.
"Slls like... rot," Caelen muttered.
Ten more steps. Then the wall opened.
A vast cave spread out before him, twice the size of the village square. His lantern light caught glints of silk strung across the ceiling—massive webs crisscrossing like bridges.
And there they were.
Spiders.
Dozens of them.
Their bodies shimred black and red. Legs like spears. So crawled across the walls, others crouched over shiny egg sacs. One raised its head toward him and hissed.
"Oh. No thanks."
He backed away.
[Danger Zone Detected]
Level: dium to High
Species: Cave Spinners
Estimated numbers: 40
Queen: Confird
Special note: Unhatched egg discovered.
Quest triggered.
System Alert
Side Quest: Clear the Spider Nest
Defeat the Queen Spider and her swarm.
Reward: Silk x200, Ant Egg (Taable upon hatching)
"...Wait. Queen spider?"
He stepped forward again.
There, deeper in the shadows, past the spiders, stood sothing massive.
Six legs. A thick brown carapace. A crown-like shell on her head. She towered over the others, surrounded by piles of white, unhatched eggs.
"Yeah. Definitely not just spiders."
Caelen stepped back and whispered, "I'm gonna need backup."
Half an hour later, Caelen stood at the edge of the tunnel with a team behind him.
Zira had her daggers drawn. Garin held a torch in one hand and a shovel in the other. Dorgrim ca with a hamr, and Borin dragged a cart full of weapons.
"I thought we were mining, not fighting bugs," Borin grumbled.
"I didn't expect a bug dungeon either," Caelen said. "But if we take down the queen, we get silk and an egg we can raise."
"A tad spider?" Zira blinked. "That's... actually kind of cool."
"You want it?"
"I'll think about it."
Caelen grinned. "Alright. Let's go."
They moved in.
The first wave of spiders attacked imdiately. Eight-legged horrors dropped from the ceiling, fangs ready. But Zira spun through them like wind, slashing fast and low.
Garin shoved one back with his torch, then slamd his shovel into its eyes. "I hate spiders! Why are they always so big?"
Caelen cast [Earth Wall], blocking off part of the cave and funneling the spiders toward a narrow pass. "Hold the chokepoint!"
Borin threw an iron spear. It pinned a spider to the wall.
"Nice shot," Dorgrim muttered as he crushed another one with his hamr.
Enemy defeated: Cave Spinner
12 XP
Enemy defeated: Cave Spinner
13 XP
They fought hard. Silk tore from the walls. The air filled with dust, screeches, and the hiss of fire.
Then the queen roared.
She charged from the back of the cave, her huge body shaking the floor. Her claws slamd into the wall, cracking it. Two smaller ants crawled out beside her like royal guards.
Zira's eyes widened. "Okay. I don't want that egg anymore."
Caelen pointed at the queen. "We take her down. Garin, stay back and throw rocks. Zira, with . Borin—"
"Already on it!" Borin shouted, swinging a glowing pickaxe.
The queen lunged.
Caelen raised his hand. "Transmute: Stone to Chains!"
Thick chains burst from the ground and wrapped around her legs. She shrieked and shook, but it slowed her just enough for Dorgrim to leap and drive his hamr into her side.
Critical Hit!
[Queen Ant] - HP 72%
Garin chucked a glowing ore chunk. It exploded against one of the guard spider. "That was iron with fire runes!"
"Nice bomb," Caelen shouted.
They pressed the attack. Zira slashed at the queen's face. Caelen used [Create Pillar] to knock her upward. Borin aid for her legs.
Finally, with one last roar, the queen collapsed.
Quest Complete!
Queen Ant defeated.
You obtained: Silk x200, Ant Egg (Unhatched)
XP Gained: 400
Item added: [Queen's Core Fragnt]
Skill Progress: [Transmute 1]
Everyone collapsed to the floor.
Dorgrim wheezed. "Never doing that again."
Zira leaned back on a boulder. "I changed my mind. I want the egg again."
Garin wiped his forehead. "What are we going to do with the silk?"
Caelen stood, brushing dust from his coat. "Make armor. Clothes. Ropes. Threads for enchantnts. We use everything."
Zira tilted her head. "What about the egg?"
Caelen smiled.
"We raise it."
Back on the surface, the silk was stored in crates and labeled for crafting.
The egg was placed in a ward chamber, monitored by Caelen and the elves. They wrapped it in a silk blanket and etched a soft fire rune around the floor.
Everyone ca by to look at it.
So were amazed. So were nervous.
But Caelen had a feeling.
This thing would grow into sothing powerful.
And loyal.
The cave was cleared. Reinforced. Labeled.
Another tunnel marked safe.
The mine expanded. And now, they had silk.
And soon... maybe a queen of their own.
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