Frostfire Legacy

After a brief rest, the group resumed their journey, with Party 4 leading the way. Party 3, the other scout team, had been recalled shortly after the battle against the army of Small Cave Spiders, reuniting the entire raid party.

Roughly five minutes after they started walking, they discovered an unusual mound with an entrance leading underground. It appeared to be a small, harmless hill, except for the cluster of Small Cave Spiders guarding the entrance.

"That's the cave we assume is the Cave Spider Mother's Lair," one of the scouts of Party 4 announced in a low voice. "When we tried to enter to see if our guess was true, we were chased out by the little bugs, so we couldn't check inside."

"I see. Good work."

Lizandrea praised the group before turning to address the entire raid team.

"As you've heard, this cave most likely contains the boss monster we're looking for. Expect that Small Cave Spiders will fill the entire path from the entrance to the enemy. Don't let your guard down!"

A tense air settled over the group. Facing a boss monster was no small feat. To add to that, only a few among them had experience battling powerful foes like the Dire Wolf of the First Floor.

"Party 1 and 2 will lead the way! Everyone else, prepare to launch an attack at any given moment!"

She waved her glowing mace, pointing it forward. "Let's go! March onward, brave adventurers!"

Lizandrea and Aster's parties led the charge. The Small Cave Spiders loitering around the entrance quickly noticed them, releasing high-pitched shrieks before skittering forward.

"Knight's Challenge!"

"Taunt!"

The two girls, Lizandrea and Celestinya, used their taunt skills to draw the spiders' attention. A few dozen spiders quickly split between them, launching their attacks.

"Metal Body!" Celestinya cast her skill once more, raising her defenses.

Due to this skill, the spiders were not even able to scratch her, much less cause significant damage. However, what was amazing was Lizandrea. Without even using a defensive skill, she was tanking the spiders like they were simply a breeze!

She wasn't letting their attacks land head-on, of course. Instead, she made good use of the metal gauntlets covering both arms, her shin guards, and the small piece of armor covering either side of her waist. All attacks were forced to land on those points with her superb control of her body and the enemy's movements!

*CRUSH!* *SMASH!* *SQUELCH!*

And to add to that, each swing of her mace was deadly to the spiders. Even without it grazing them, just the fact that it was "swung in their direction" was more than enough to turn them all into meat fragments!

"Is that a magic weapon, after all?" Aster wondered.

Magic weapons were special types of weapons that used mana in exchange for abilities that were impossible for normal weapons.

For example, the one that Lizandrea was using had a special enchantment, expanding its size by up to a foot around the glowing tip depending on the amount of mana being inputted. As the enchantment was invisible, it was great at taking weak monsters by surprise, giving them a sense of false security knowing that the mace wouldn't reach them.

In just a few seconds, the swarm of a dozen or so spiders was eliminated. The two of them didn't even need backup!

"Mages! Light Spell!"

"Yes! Priodis Liora Consorie Sphar! Small Light Ball!"

A total of five thumb-sized spheres of light appeared, floating above the caster's staves. They were as bright as a 15-watt light bulb, so they should be able to push away the darkness of the cave's path, at least.

The mages controlled their lights, moving two up front on either side, two at either side of the middle of the formation, and one at the back, making sure there was visibility of their rear to avoid pincer attacks. Since their formation was spread out more in the middle, the arrangement looked like a pentagon from above.

"Good. Now, let's move! Melee fighters, make sure you can swing your weapons. Those spiders could be hiding in small gaps between rocks. Make sure to protect the mages!" Lizandrea warned before stepping inside the cave.

The initial path sloped downward at a steep angle. A single slip would send someone rolling to the bottom, unable to stop.

The party moved carefully, covering the 50-meter slope in two minutes. Reaching the flat part of the cave, they quickly spread out, watching for any signs of enemies.

"There's nothing?" Aster muttered in confusion.

There were a few spiders outside, but none inside. This puzzled not only him but most of the others too.

"No, Star! They're here! I can hear the creepy sound of them crawling through the walls!" Cassy alerted him. "But they're all moving... away from us?"

"This is bad."

Lizandrea frowned deeply. "The Cave Spider Mother must've called them back. We'll have to fight multiple enemies at once, not just the boss!"

Fighting against numbers was daunting, as their previous experience proved. If not for Aster's quick thinking, freezing the spiders and limiting their path, retreat might have been their only option.

Seeing the dark look on everyone's faces, Aster raised his voice. "It's dangerous, but we can't fall back. Giving the enemy more time to spawn Small Cave Spiders will only make it harder later. Retreating should be our last option!"

Lizandrea nodded, affirming his words. "Let's proceed..." She commanded, taking the lead.

The cave's structure was more complicated than expected, resembling an anthill with many winding paths and dead ends. Occasionally, they crossed paths with small groups of cave spiders, dispatching them swiftly.

As the paths grew more complex, they feared getting lost. Reaching a large space with multiple connected paths, they decided to let both scouting parties map the area before proceeding.

While waiting, the main party rested briefly, keeping their guard up while guarding every other connected path. Time passed without incident until about an hour later.

The first of the two parties returned, but...

"Only one? Where's the rest of your party?" Aster asked, seeing the bloodied appearance of the jaguar-kin man, the leader of Party 3.

His reply, through chattering teeth, made everyone gasp in fright.

"They're... dead."