I continued ascending the roots that stretched upwards towards the roof of the cavern. As I moved higher and higher, I began to see holes carved into the rock face of the cavern. Dozens of ants slipped in and out of the small rock burrows every moment; it was order from chaos. From a distance, it looked like utter chaos with ants rushing in every direction, yet they never bumped into each other, and they didn't jockey for position. It was as if every ant knew its place and position and that of every other ant around it. They moved in waves, almost, surging back and forth, up and down the root network, in and out of their burrows.

  I climbed ever higher; something like a goal had come into sight. Far above, near the roof of the cavern, I could see a massive section dug out of the cavern wall. A combination of instinct and intuition said that I'd find the boss of this chamber there. The previous chamber had taught me that there wasn't likely to be much point searching for an exit until I had killed whatever controlled the chamber. I had to assume the exit would be blocked or otherwise impassable until the boss was dealt with.

  I reactivated [Stealth] as I climbed ever higher, regardless of the drones below, I didn't want the boss getting a look at me before I was ready if I could help it. Following my instincts, I scurried upwards, sticking low to the curves of every root, hopefully limiting my profile and making me harder to spot from a distance. As I passed the massive opening, the air grew thick with a pungent, acidic scent. My heart began to thud, pounding against my rib cage as I pressed my back against a gnarled root outgrowth. It may have been easier to traverse the root network that stretched over the cavern in my spider form, but I couldn't discount the value of stealth here. [Stealth], which was much easier to achieve in my smaller human form.

  I peered around the edge of the growth, my eyes widening at the sight before me. From my perch above the chamber, I could see that it was a hive of activity, quite literally. More than a hundred ants scurried about, their black exoskeletons gleaming in the dim light cast by the roots.

  They weren't what caught my attention. In the center of the chamber, perched atop a throne of compacted earth and roots, sat what had to be the ant queen. She was enormous, easily ten times the size of the largest drone. Her bloated abdomen pulsed rhythmically as she laid egg after egg, each one whisked away by attendant ants. Her mandibles clicked incessantly, a sound that sent shivers down my spine. Unlike her ant drones, she was covered instead in steaks of white that stood out against the rest of her black carapace. As I observed, I couldn't help but notice the distinct sense of threat I felt from the queen. This queen wasn't like the [Root-Nexus] that was dangerous only for the sheer amount of spawn it pumped out. This queen was dangerous all on her own without considering her spawn. As I watched the scurrying chaos that was the queen's chamber, several ants different from the rest emerged, and danger screamed its way up my spine, causing me to go rigid.

  Four ant-like creatures came forward to surround the queen as I watched, as if they were summoned. I was certain I hadn't been detected, at least not yet. Some sense that their queen was being watched, perhaps. I couldn't stop staring at them. To call them ants wasn't quite right, though I had my suspicions that they had perhaps evolved from the worker ants that scurried around the chamber tending to their queen. Where the thorax of other ants merged with the section that attached to their legs and head, these monstrosities deviated. Instead of continuing, they bent at ninety degrees, pointed up and formed a humanoid torso covered in black chitin. The image brought centaurs to mind, only much more grotesque than a fusion of human and equine. They sported a large ant head where a humanoid's would have been, but their arms ended in large pincers that seemed almost crab-like. Equally capable of rending anything caught in their grip or acting as hammers. I was absolutely certain that these four creatures, especially together, were the single deadliest threat I had faced since my arrival in this strange place.

  I was certain the four of them together could dispatch the nightmare Rex that had chased me when I had first awoken here. Very likely with ease. A single one might have failed, but not the four of them combined. I decided to take a risk and triggered [Analyze] on one of the massive ants. I felt the familiar tug as the skill attempted to pry information from the creature. For a moment, I feared it would fail, alerting the ant-centaurs to my presence. My fear was unfounded, however, and a familiar screen appeared before me.

  I grimaced at what I saw. I'd felt more resistance to my skill this time around, and now I could guess why. I hadn't been able to get a look at the creature's skills, and its stats were ridiculous. It had more stats than me in every damn category that would matter in a physical fight. Even in my spider form, if I fought them directly, they would be stronger and faster, and there were four of them. Any fight like that would not be in my favour. I gritted my teeth, frustration and anxiety coursing through me. This situation was far more precarious than I'd initially thought. The queen and her royal guards presented a formidable challenge, one I wasn't sure I could overcome, not with brute force alone. I needed a plan.

  One of the royal guards turned its head slightly, its antennae twitching. My heart leapt into my throat. Had it sensed me? I held my breath, pressing myself further into the gnarled root, focusing on [Stealth]. Seconds ticked by like hours as I waited to feel some disruption in the skill, even just a flicker, some sign that I'd been discovered.

  The guard's attention shifted back to the queen, and I let out a silent sigh of relief. I couldn't stay here much longer; the risk of detection was growing by the moment. But I couldn't leave without finding a way to deal with the queen and her protectors. My heart rate settled as my mind did the same. There was risk, and it was one I had to take. I needed more information. I focused on the royal guard and activated [Analyze] again. I had to know what its skills were. As I focused on the royal guard, I felt the familiar tug of [Analyze] once more. This time, I pushed harder, willing the skill to reveal more information. For a heart-stopping moment, I thought it might fail, but then the information flooded onto the screen I'd left open.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  My blood ran cold as I processed this information. These weren't just powerful creatures; these were as monstrous as I had been in the previous chamber. These were the apex of the ants that called this chamber home. A massive stat line that exceeded my own in some ways, and extra skills on top that would assist in combat. There were only four skills on its stat sheet, but those four skills might make a world of difference. As I stared over the screen, the royal guard's head snapped around to face my hiding place directly.

  Shit.

  A high-pitched screech ripped through the still air of the cavern, as one every single ant stopped staring directly towards my location. It seemed like my [Authority of the Hollow Web] wouldn't be doing me any good anymore.

  Double shit.

  I turned, prepared to run or leap to another root structure to put some distance between myself, the queen and her guards. I came face-to-face with a familiar trio of angry ants as I did. Angry hisses surrounded me as I faced the trio who had climbed up the root structure behind me, the same three who had ripped apart a pair of their brethren not so long ago. My heart pounded in my ribs. This was bad, this was very, very bad. All three ants leapt at me with no warning, but thanks to my higher Dexterity, I was able to intercept their mandibles, keeping them from reaching my soft flesh. I pushed one aside with my dagger and another with an open hand, careful to keep my fingers out of reach. The third ant plowed into the other two from behind, and that was the last straw; my balance, already tenuous at best from absorbing the lunges of the other two, was shattered. As a single clump, the four of us plummeted down to the surface of the queen's chamber.

  The air was driven from my lungs in an explosive burst as I slammed into the ground. For a moment, I saw stars. The ants hadn't fared as well, or so I found when I rolled over into a puddle of greenish fluid. It seemed the ants' exoskeletons hadn't been able to stand up to the fall. Danger and instinct screamed in my mind, sending me rolling across the ground without conscious thought. I found myself looking into the compound eyes of a royal guard, its pincer-like hand buried in the ground where I'd been fragments of a second before. In that moment, I followed my instincts. I lashed out with a leg, planting my boot against the guard's pincer. Using it like a springboard, I shot off across the ground, rolling to my feet as I did. [Hollow Web Metamorphosis] triggered as I moved, and I went through the rapid shape change. These weren't enemies I could face in my human form. I needed the strength and speed my spider limbs could offer me. The world shifted as my senses expanded and I skittered away from the guard. My eight legs battered and pierced the smaller drone ants as I passed by, trying to keep them from grabbing onto me. I could feel the system notifications building up already, but I had no time to pay them any attention.

  Behind me, I could see the royal guards giving chase as I battered my way through the crowd of drones. Three out of four of them.

  Not good.

  Reaching the edge of the chamber, I launched myself off the edge without a second thought, and still air whistled past the hard edges of my arachnid body. For a moment, I thought I was safe when I saw the three royal guards hesitating at the edge of the chamber, staring down at me. I reached out with my forelegs, digging deep furrows into one of the massive twisting root columns as I tried to arrest my fall. My joints screamed in agony under the strain, then my momentum shifted, swinging the rest of my body onto the root, and I hung on for dear life, heart pounding like never before. My vision whipped back to the guards just in time to watch in horror as large flaps of chitin on their thorax split apart to reveal large gossamer wings. Furious buzzing filled the air as the three guards took to the air to chase after me.

  I cursed, leaping from the root I was on to another; I had to get further away. I had to assume each of these guards had [Queen's Chosen], which meant being near their queen made these guards stronger. I had to get far enough from the queen that they lost their advantage. I was going to need every scrap of advantage I could pull together if I was going to get out of this alive.

  I fired off lines of webbing as I went swinging from root to root, leaping through the air. If I were lucky, I might be able to catch one of them. The world became a dizzying blur as I bounced back and forth among a cluster of roots, trailing thick lines of web everywhere I went. All the while, the buzzing of my enemies' approach grew louder around me. I kept going despite the growing sickness as the world spun around me, not all of it from my continued acrobatics. My vision snapped back to the guards as they approached through the air, weaving through the web lines I had scattered everywhere. One of the guards wasn't quite as nimble as the other two. I watched as it snagged a wing on one of the lines, sending it tumbling end over end through the air.

  I launched web lines as they became more and more tangled, snagging more lines as they fell. Launching myself through the air towards the trapped royal guard. Its fellows moved to intercept my course. I couldn't match their freedom of movement in the air, but I could exceed their speed in a straight line.

  I fired off another web line, dragging myself to the side as the pair blasted past, buffeting me with the air of their passing. Another web line connected me to the trapped guard, and a hard yank brought me close enough. I lashed out with my forelegs, aiming for its wings. My razor-sharp forelegs sliced through the delicate wings of the trapped royal guard, spraying greenish blood into the air. It let out an ear-piercing screech as the web lines sagged, with the guard unable to provide lift anymore. I didn't have time to celebrate the small victory. The other two guards were already circling back, their compound eyes locked onto me with predatory focus.

  I launched myself away, unable to risk another stab at the trapped guard, firing web lines in rapid succession to swing between the massive roots. My heart pounded in my chest as I pushed my spider form to its limits. [Web walker's Grace] hummed through my body, allowing me to traverse my own hastily created web network with unnatural ease. The buzzing of wings grew closer. I chanced a glance behind me and saw one of the guards gaining ground, its pincers snapping menacingly.

  Close, too close.

  It charged through the air towards me, pincers extended, ready to grip me and tear my body to shreds. A split-second decision saved me from that fate.

  I severed my web line, dropping into free fall.

  Air rushed past as I struggled to control my fall. I launched a web line at a nearby root to arrest my fall. My heart stuttered when the line went wide, not grasping anything. Desperately trying to stay calm, I fired off a thicker line from the rear of my thorax this time. The thicker line sailed through the air as I fell until it made contact with one of the thick roots and snapped taut. The muscles in my thorax screamed as they clenched the line, trying to arrest my gathered momentum. I let out a screeching hiss in agony as I felt something inside my thorax tear, but my uncontrolled fall snapped to a halt for a moment.

  An angry screech ripped through the air from above me, and then my line went slack.

  I plummeted.