The skulls on the door were gray and didn’t look authentic, yet when mixed with the low fog that used to hang over the second floor, it created a macabre atmosphere.

“Luke, should we go back to report this to the Guild?” Nathalia asked as she backed up a few steps.

…

He didn’t respond. A bad feeling was engulfing the half-wolf’s chest, like a very tight grip.

It is common knowledge that Dungeons are unpredictable and mysterious places, there is never any way to know what is about to happen and that is exactly what the half-wolf feared, the unpredictability.

Dungeon’s advertising was simple and effective: a cavern with floors, where on each floor there is only a single monster much stronger than the others.

However, this is just a standard and good, standards are just a way of saying that something averages, and being a standard will not make it a determining rule.

Even though he was scared, Luke could hear what was behind the door. There were still two shallow breaths, almost nil. He considered the possibility that there might be two remnants of the quartet, and if they were, the reward of a gold coin was quite tempting for a thief who used to earn at most three hundred silver coins a month.

“Nathalia, go ask Lorran’s group for help. We saw them not fifteen minutes south.”

“No, I will stay.” The girl said firmly and with a fierce look. She was scared, but she kept playing tough.

Luke couldn’t determine if she was too dumb or too brave, because if there was a Boss behind this door, it could mean they would both die.

The half-wolf placed both hands on the door and realized it wouldn’t be difficult to open it, it didn’t feel too heavy and looked at Nathalia, who nodded.

When he applied the necessary force to open it, the stone door creaked and creaked against the floor. Blam! Crrrrr! The hiss of the old door hinges reverberated on that silent floor.

As soon as the door opened fully, the half-wolf noticed something different.

‘Is the rotten smell gone?’ he thought, confused.

However, the chamber revealed by the door still had the same macabre vibe as the corridors on the second and first floors. Amidst giant spider webs and dust, it wasn’t hard to notice two different things: two large cocoons and a giant spider beside them.

The creature had the normal six legs of what you’d expect from a monster spider, furry and bizarre, but the entire back resembled an ordinary person, except that its face was still very much like a spider’s.

“Luke draw your sword!” The Elf screamed anxiously and raised her hand to use ‘Malevolent Hook’. However, the boy caught her arm before she could use the ability.

Contrary to what the pair believed, the spider, when faced with Luke and Nathalia, climbed the walls and fled through a large hole in the ceiling of the room. Leaving behind the two cocoons and a cobwebbed room. The two breaths the half-wolf heard came from these two cocoons.

With his right index finger, the half-wolf asked Nathalia to be silent, and with his left hand, he lifted his cloak a little, just enough to draw a throwing knife.

As they entered the room, the chill of fear grew worse, and this feeling intensified as they inched towards the white cocoons.

The hole in the ceiling was quite big and looked old. Luke couldn’t tell if it led to the first floor or not.

When they were close enough, Luke pulled out one of his knives and began to cut through the cocoon on the right, while Nathalia watched over the surroundings.

Among so many slimy lines, a human face appeared. A beautiful young face of a girl. As his heart still pounded, the half-wolf quickly finished making the opening in the cocoon.

“It’s a girl, and she’s alive…” He whispered to Nathalia, who shivered a little at the sound of his voice. But she noticed something different in his tone, so she turned to check and saw the boy inactive, looking at a naked redhead in the cocoon.

“Take her off carefully and put on her cloak.” The Elf guided him.

The half-wolf had never seen a girl completely naked, so he was surprised. ‘Her clothes must have melted from the acid. So why didn’t her skin melt?’

Without further wrapping, he pulled the girl out of the cocoon and covered her with his cloak.

Then he opened the other cocoon as well. This one was bigger and took more work to tear. When opened, the cocoon revealed the plump face, of a man who must have been in his early twenties.

‘If they were two skinny bodies, I could carry them over my shoulders, but this guy is too fat.’

It is noteworthy that the man was wearing good armor, which greatly added to his weight.

Nathalia huffed and said, “Uff… Luke, she’s back…”

From the big hole in the ceiling, the giant spider appeared and this time it was accompanied by two others, of identical size. From the look of their bodies and blades, they sure as hell weren’t Class-F or E, at the very least they were Class-D.

The half-wolf was confident in his abilities, however, the real problem would be protecting Nathalia, and the two people passed out at the same time.

“Nathalia, we will have to leave one of them. Which one do you choose?”

The Elf looked back scared, after all, the boy threw all the responsibility on her back.

Watching the look of terror on the girl’s face, Luke realized that he was prioritizing his work for the Stroguehers, rather than saving lives that could yield some reward, apart from the one proposed by the Guild Master.

“Sighh… Think you can protect them both?”

“Yes!”

As two spiders descended the walls, one remained in the hole, watching.

Just then, Luke drew his sword, breathed in, raised it like a spear, and as he sighed, he hurled the saber towards the left spider.

Zingg! The hiss of the sword splitting the wind, like lightning, got even better as the sound of flesh tearing blessed his ears. Whoa! The curved sword sank easily into the monster’s abdomen.

Soon after, the spider on the right spat out several webs, which Luke couldn’t dodge or cut, so they managed to trap his arms.

——

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