When I woke up, my head hurt, and my body felt like garbage. I was confused about where I was. Then I remembered how I went down. There was a part of me that hoped to wake up in my bed at home, but the other half expected to wake up in a spider’s web, ready to be slowly eaten.

  When I opened my eyes, it was a surprise to see Kaylie holding up the boulder over the hole while Jack was leaning on it, passed out. I looked down at my body, and there were no more spiders on me. There was, however, a bloody mess. My shoulder was still bleeding, not only from Sana’s arrow but also from the spider’s bite. I observed the other bite, and yep, I was still wounded there, but it seemed the blood had dried. I didn’t feel pain anywhere, but moving was weird. It was just slightly off, and my hands felt numb.

  I saw the spiders’ bodies near me and wondered how long I had been out. Reaching my hand out, I rolled over, crawled over a couple of feet, and put my hand on the spider. I used my Soul Absorption and felt a rush of energy within me. I could sense not only the return of my strength, but also a clearing of my mind, and I noticed more around me. I saw Sana across the room near the exit and a spider halfway to her, lying dead, with blood spilling out of it.

  In that moment that I could move and think, I looked down at the spider that I used my Soul Absorption on. It was limbless, and its blood was everywhere. I saw the other one, and it was killed in the same way. I moved over to it and repeated my Soul Absorption. After that, I finally felt like myself again. Moreover, it seemed like my shoulder had stopped bleeding, but it was still bright red.

  I got to my feet and heard Kaylie say, “You okay? I don’t think you should be walking.”

  I ignored her and went for my prize. I got to the last spider that didn’t have any limbs taken off, blood dripping out of its mouth, and I tried to use my Soul Absorption on it, but nothing happened. It must have been dead for too long. However, I must have been fortunate to have reached the other two spiders just in time.

  Sana approached me back with her bow still out, not looking at me. “You okay?” she asked.

  I didn’t know why they kept asking that. “Yeah, I’m fine. What happened?” I asked as I walked closer to Kaylie and Jack.

  “There were more spiders than we expected,” Sana said.

  “Yeah, I know that,” I replied, harsher than I intended. I was still a little disoriented, but it wasn’t anything to worry about. My body was almost in tip-top shape, just a little scarring that I hoped, with time, would fix itself.

  “Sana and I tried burning the first spider, but it didn’t work. Then she got the brilliant idea of smashing it, and that killed it,” Kaylie said, not pointing because she was still holding up the rock.

  When I looked at the spider, it didn’t look smashed at all. If it weren’t for the blood on its mouth, it would look alive. “That spider doesn’t look crushed at all.”

  “That is how tough they are. I used my Air Magic to push the spider up high and then dropped it. I believe that it damaged what was underneath that shell, and that was the reason it died. If you think of a person wearing armor, it's the same thing. Some armor might protect you, but you could still easily die from the fall,” Sana explained. I figured it either died from damaging its brain that hard or was knocked out and died from internal injuries.

  “What about the other spiders?” I asked, still feeling a little confused.

  “Well, we saw what you did and thought it was a great idea. Kaylie moved to the rock while I started detaching all their legs. After removing them, I was able to pull the spiders away from you, and it just took time for them to bleed out. You woke up soon after that, but I didn’t expect you to heal that fast. Based on our previous experience with you, it should have taken you significantly longer to recover. Kaylie also mentioned that last time you didn’t heal until the spider’s venom had been fully metabolized through your body,” Sana replied, raising an eyebrow as if posing a question.

  Her explanation clarified why I had managed to use my Soul Absorption ability on two of the spiders while struggling with the third, which had died earlier. The ones that bled out slowly still had their souls intact by the time I reached them, whereas the one that died instantly probably lost its soul before I woke up.

  Her question indirectly probed my Soul Absorption ability, which not only allows me to gain experience from deceased opponents but also temporarily enhances my healing. Without this ability, I would still be lying on the floor, drifting in and out of consciousness due to the spider venom. Jack was already aware of it, as my eyes glowed when I activated the ability, but it seemed the others were beginning to realize it as well. Sana had unwittingly provided a perfect opportunity to attribute my recovery solely to my healing powers. Still, with them by my side, I felt compelled to offer some honesty. Even if it was only partial.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Well, I have this ability where I can use dead bodies to boost my regeneration temporarily. It doesn’t last long, and it only works on creatures that have recently died,” I paused, considering how much to share before continuing. “It also grants me some additional experience.”

  That was all they needed to know. I decided against delving into the specifics about ‘souls.’ The term ‘Soul Absorption’ might have sparked fear or hostility. After all, the idea of someone being able to steal a soul was quite alarming. While they might have accepted it, I couldn’t be sure of their reaction. Given that our relationship was still in its early stages, I wasn’t ready to risk it by revealing something so sensitive and potentially controversial. After all, I didn’t choose to be granted an ability named Soul Absorption. I could stop using it, but I didn’t want to. It was a quick way to be powerful.

  “Wow, that sounds amazing!” Kaylie exclaimed, her enthusiasm evident.

  Sana, however, was not impressed and eyed me suspiciously. “Anything else you want to tell us?”

  Judging from her gaze, I knew better than to divulge more. Fortunately, in this world, discussing Abilities was taboo, and I was not obligated to disclose them. So, I simply replied, “No.”

  Kaylie broke in. “Do you know how long Jack will be out? We need to strategize better for the next assault.”

  I looked at her incredulously. “Are you kidding me? We barely survived that last rush. And you want to go through that again?”

  “No,” Sana replied firmly, “I don’t want to, but if there’s no exit, our options are limited. I’d suggest escaping through the holes in the ceiling, but whoever ends up holding the rock last would basically be dead. So, the only feasible path is to push forward. Do you have any better ideas?”

  “Alf and I need our armor,” Kaylie insisted. “It will take time to dive into those water pools and retrieve it piece by piece, but we weren't as effective in combat without it. Ideally, we would wait for daylight when it's warmer, but I think we should start as soon as Jack is up. I’ll keep an eye on Alf, and you can look after Jack.”

  As Kaylie and Sana continued their discussion, my thoughts began to drift. I sensed an idea forming at the edge of my consciousness, catching only fragments but feeling its potential.

  “Hey, Rabbit, can you create a 3D model and show it to me?” I silently asked in my mind.

  “That’s easy,” Rabbit responded, and suddenly, a 3D image of a rabbit materialized in front of me. It cocked its head, looking curiously at me. I was taken aback. Not because it was a rabbit, but because it wasn’t what I had envisioned. Nonetheless, the demonstration was fascinating. If Rabbit could project this image just for me, he might be able to create a visualization of himself that only I could see. I filed that thought away for later discussion. “What exactly do you have in mind?”

  “I want to see a 3D image of the cave we’re in,” I requested. The rabbit promptly dissolved, replaced by a detailed model of the cave. Some sections of the walls appeared incomplete due to our limited visibility in the dim light and fire. The cave extended downward, branching into two pathways, and featured a high ceiling in the central chamber. “Can you highlight the spiderwebs in another color?” I asked next.

  Almost instantly, the cave model was bathed in a red tone. “Now, show me where the water is,” I continued. A line indicating the water level materialized. I interacted with the model, moving my hands to explore different angles, and Rabbit adjusted the view accordingly. “Can you pinpoint the spiders’ locations?”

  Rabbit hummed thoughtfully before responding, “Nope. Based on your initial encounter, I can only hypothesize the concentration of spiders in each area. Most seem to cluster in the main chamber, with a few scattered down the tunnel you explored.” He highlighted these estimates in green. Without exploring the cave and stopping them from moving, it was impossible to be precise. Still, Rabbit’s educated guess was that a significant number were around this rock. They were likely aware of our presence and biding their time.

  I then shared my plan with Rabbit, seeking his input on its feasibility. His response was typical. “Oh, I’m pretty sure it will work. Just not exactly how you think.” We fine-tuned the strategy for a while. When I finally looked up, I noticed Sana had taken over from Kaylie in holding the rock, while Jack was still unconscious.

  It was time to handle the prompts from our last skirmish.

  Experience

  One Level 10 Carbinium Spider. You have gained 495 experience points.

  Two Level 12 Carbinium Spiders. You have gained 3,531 experience points.

  That wasn’t enough experience to get me to the next level. In fact, for these spiders being so hard to kill, they didn’t give much experience. I was hoping others might be more generous. While reviewing my character sheet, I also noticed my resistance had increased.

  Resistances: Mental 20%

  Cytotoxic Venom 24%

  Carbinium Cytotoxic Spider Venom 33%

  It seemed like my resistance had gone up from the several bites I had received, but not as much as the half-dose of venom the first time around. I considered asking Rabbit for more details, but instinctively, I felt that my resistance gains might plateau soon.

  With those reflections settled, I looked up to see Jack awake, albeit groggy. I shared my plan with the team, and we decided to wait until dawn to put it into action.