Crunch.

  The sound sent chills through Tyler, but he smiled, blood on his teeth. His attacks were doing damage again. The effect of the webbing was lessening as Shahan burned it down. The spiderling he had just struck twitched once, then died in a mess of legs and pulp.

  Tyler took a deep breath and, for a second, gagged. The smell of spider guts and burning from Shahan’s spells had filled the area with a hot, rotten odour that burned the lungs, as if a gas attack had just been deployed.

  Still, it was working. He could feel the difference, like a migraine had just eased away, and he was able to think clearly.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Tyler saw movement. At first, he thought it was just another spiderling joining the fight, a threat he was now comfortable dealing with. But the movement was large. It was the Domain Warden — she had decided to join the fight.

  The huge spider skittered into the fray, its legs like blades — long and deadly. Like spears with joints, they stabbed into the ground as if someone were driving in stakes, and when it pulled them free, great chunks of earth came with them, leaving deep scars behind.

  “Big guy incoming!” Tyler bellowed.

  Heads snapped up and turned. Even in the chaos, people understood the warning — something dangerous was here, and they needed to watch for it.

  Bill was closest to Tyler, club in one hand as his other moved, controlling wind into powerful thrusts that shoved spiderlings aside while he crushed others.

  Tyler pointed with the pole. “Bill — with me!”

  Bill didn’t argue or wait for Rafe to confirm. He just nodded and fell in behind Tyler, swinging his club and crunching spiderling after spiderling.

  “Rafe, we could use your help too.”

  Rafe just grunted and rolled his shoulders.

  Tyler’s eyes flicked to Shahan. “Shahan! You stay on burning the webs!”

  Shahan’s gaze met his for a fraction, fear behind it, then a sharp nod. His hands tightened and the glow between them flared.

  Tyler swept his pole toward the others without looking for agreement. “Rest of you — kill the damn spiderlings!”

  Syed was already in the thick of it, blood on his face like war paint. Helen moved with constant sideways grace, never stopping long enough to be caught. Charlie’s polearm spun once in a controlled circle, then planted as he reoriented.

  Keith, behind them, had one hand on Syed’s shoulder, the other already glowing.

  “And Keith — don’t let us die!” Tyler said, smiling at the old man as he ran toward the spider, stick overhead, determined to end this fight as quickly as he could.

  Tyler hadn’t meant to take control — it had just happened. He’d seen what was unfolding, assessed the situation, and deployed everyone logically. The web pressure was easing, and the ring of skittering bodies had thinned. Even with a few returning from the trees, clinging upside down like nightmares and dropping when they saw an opening, there were… what? Ten? Eleven? The others could handle them.

  The Dominion Warden stepped forward, legs clicking softly, and the webbing around the clearing stirred as if tugged from beneath. It tightened, and pressure fell on everyone again.

  Tyler’s stomach turned, but he resisted complaining. Shahan was burning the webbing — it wouldn’t be for long. Tyler swung into the Dominion Warden as hard as he could, trying to connect with its back while Rafe and Bill battled the other side.

  The spider brought its back leg up to defend, as if it could see behind itself. Tyler’s stick connected, and instead of a crunch, a shockwave rippled up the wood, through his arms, and into his head. A second later, another leg shot out, stabbing into Tyler’s shoulder and sending him sprawling, leaving a hole the size of a fist — deep and bleeding.

  “Your numbers are too small!” Al’s voice quite but urgent

  Tyler ignored the AI, he knew he was right, he didn’t need to check his status his body was aching all over, as if he’d just been in a head on car crash, but if he didn’t keep going, if he didn’t push, well he’d die right here and now.

  Tyler rolled away, two legs striking one after another, trying to pierce his side. He swept his stick around and staggered back to his feet. Rafe and Bill were dealing with the same problem. The damn thing had too many legs — it defended every attack while countering and doing serious damage to all of them.

  Tyler manoeuvred around to the other side, catching a spiderling with a glancing blow as he moved. A leg flew off into the trees as it fell, struggling to right itself.

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  “We need to attack together. Those legs are deadly and fast — we can’t get past them on our own. Rafe, you go high. I’ll go low. Bill, when we’re about to strike, we need you to pick one of the defending legs and move it. You got it?”

  Rafe nodded, and Bill rolled his neck, an audible click sounding as he nodded in turn.

  Tyler and Rafe attacked in unison. Rafe jumped, swinging both arms down together like a hammer directly onto the spider’s back, while Tyler crouched low and swung his stick upward, aiming for the spider’s abdomen. Two legs crossed to deflect both blows as Bill sent out a condensed wave of air that shifted the leg blocking Tyler’s strike just enough for him to land a powerful hit. The spider’s body split slightly, and it wailed.

  It still defended against Rafe’s attack and sent another leg spearing forward, catching him in the side and digging deep before Rafe could twist away. He coughed blood as he backed off, Keith’s hand already on his shoulder, green light spilling over him as the wound began knitting together.

  “Right, we have a system — and unfortunately, it’s going to hurt us just as much.”

  They went back to work. Tyler and Rafe traded blows with the spider, taking many in return. Bill knocked its legs aside, and Keith healed them just as fast.

  The spider hissed under the assault until the webbing tightened again, pressure bearing down harder. The ground began to rumble, as if something were drilling up through the earth. Tyler used Insight on the spider once more.

  Arachnid — Rank F — Domain Warden — Level ???

  Cast: Dominion Strike — 3 seconds

  “Move! Move! It’s casting something new!” Tyler shouted as he backed away.

  Rafe moved immediately, but Bill was slower. The ground beneath the webbing erupted — not spikes, but legs. Carbon copies of the spider’s own limbs shot out at jagged angles, sharp and deadly. One pierced Helen through the ankle as she tried to leap away, knocking her down. Charlie was there in a flash, smashing the spiderling that leapt toward her.

  Bill had it worse. A leg punched straight through his back and out his chest, pinning him in place. He coughed, and a torrent of blood sprayed from his mouth. For a second, everyone froze — everyone except the spider.

  It advanced on Bill, rearing onto its two back legs and unloading the other six into his trapped body in a brutal flurry.

  Tyler moved first. He sprinted in, swinging into the creature’s back, blow after blow landing as it failed to defend. The others followed a heartbeat later, even those who had been fighting spiderlings turning to attack, trying to drive the spider off Bill. Tyler climbed its back, reaching for its head — then the spider leapt several metres away.

  Bill hung there, limp, like a doll mauled by a dog. There was no movement, no life — nothing Keith could do now, as his hands blazed green, but the healing rolled by finding no purchase.

  The others surged toward the spider, attacking again, but it still held its defence, blocking every strike with its many legs.

  Tyler, still on the creature, jammed his stick into the joint between leg and body, driving it deep. His arms burned as he pried, trying to tear the limb free. If he could make an opening, they could finish it. He felt something crack — then the world grew heavier as the webbing tightened again.

  The ground rumbled. Tyler hauled desperately on the stick, yanking with everything he had, trying to sever the leg. The spider hissed and turned its attention toward Shahan. It was targeting him — the one burning the webbing, the one giving them a chance.

  “Shahan!”

  Too late. More legs erupted from the ground. One speared through Shahan’s shoulder, another through his leg, trapping him just like Bill moments earlier.

  A red glow flashed from a tent opening. Tyler saw Carl for the first time, his hand lit with crimson. A red mark appeared on Shahan just as the spider lunged, Tyler still clinging to its back, his stick buried deep.

  The spider unleashed its flurry on Shahan. At the same time, the leg Tyler had wedged his stick into shifted. Tyler rammed the wood down and felt cartilage give. He leaned on it with everything he had, tugging until it broke free. A loud crack echoed through the trees as the leg snapped and went limp, Tyler rolling off the spider’s back.

  The others were already there, attacking relentlessly. Tyler, dizzy and gasping, forced himself up and climbed back onto the spider, stabbing his stick into the joint of another leg, right next to the paralysed one. The spider leapt away again, trying to flee the onslaught.

  This time there was an opening with the damaged lef. Everyone focused their attacks there. When the spider tried to defend the exposed joint with the neighbouring leg, Tyler drove his stick deeper with the movement, wrenching, trying to tear free another limb.

  An attack came from Rafe — fierce and brutal — and the spider countered with the same hampered leg. Rafe yanked Helen clear, and then — snap. The leg went limp as Tyler’s stick finally broke under the force he applied.

  With two legs down, Tyler grabbed the broken shaft and began jabbing at the spider’s head. It didn’t do much damage, but it enraged the creature, which hissed and snapped at him. The others never stopped attacking. Blows landed freely now, pouring into the gap Tyler had created.

  After another minute of relentless assault, the creature wailed one last time. Its legs buckled, and it collapsed to the ground, Tyler sliding down its side and dropping to his knees.

  The rest of the team fell back as well, all dropping to the ground, panting and wheezing. They were bloodied and beaten. Rafe looked over at Tyler and gave a nod of acknowledgement, but Tyler didn’t have time for that. He’d received several notifications during the fight, and now he checked his status screen.

  ENTITY STATUS

  Name: Isaac Vane

  Race: Humanoid — Rank F

  Class: Savant

  Profession: N/A

  Level: 2

  Experience: 87 / 500

  Attributes

  ? Strength: 4

  ? Dexterity: 5

  ? Stamina: 5

  ? Intelligence: 10

  ? Wisdom: 5

  ? Perception: 4

  6 free stat points available

  HP: 31 / 250

  Just as he’d thought, he had gained three levels — two from killing the spiderlings, and one when the Dominion Warden went down. He quickly distributed the points: three into Dexterity, one into Strength, and one into Stamina. He was going to need them.

  “Where the hell did that come from?” Charlie said as he tried to get to his feet and failed.

  “It doesn’t much matter now,” Tyler said as he looked toward the tents and spotted Carl, hugging the lining. “It’s over. We killed that monster, and we learned something valuable from it.”

  “Huh?” Charlie muttered, looking at Tyler, unsure what he meant.

  “We learned there’s another monster among us,” Tyler said quietly. “We learned who killed Penny.”