Rodrick’s sword flashed, cutting a small spider from the air as it flung itself at Arwin. It was one in what felt like hundreds. They poured out from the webbing and up from the tunnel behind the Broodmother in a rolling wave of chittering bulbous bodies. Arwin and the others hurriedly backed up, regrouping with their backline and crushing the monsters as they grew close. Fighting them if they got surrounded would have been a nightmare. He banished his helm to avoid affecting his entire group with its oppressive aura. “You got a plan for this?” Rodrick called, stabbing another one of the monsters before it could catch Olive from her unarmed side. She gave him a curt nod of appreciation. “Not yet,” Arwin replied through a grimace. This would have been a great spot to have an actual mage. Lillia’s powers were incredibly useful as utility, but they weren’t exactly the best for clearing out large groups of enemies. “I’m working on it. Suggestions would be appreciated.” He swung Verdant Blaze and crushed a pair of small spiders that had drawn too close. The Broodmother advanced with her swarm of children, jaws clicking. It seemed more than content to let them slaughter the tiny spiders as it took its time to advance. Decent survival strategy. Pelt children against the wall until they manage to do damage to the victims, then move in for the kill. Okay… not so decent strategy. I can still see it working. “I’ve got the energy from the other thing,” Reya called, her face slightly pale at the number of monsters approaching them. “I don’t know how much use that will be, though.” “I’ll keep it in mind.” More spiders splattered beneath Verdant Blaze. They were so many of them that they were starting to climb on top of each other just to reach them. A horrifying vision of the spider flow continuing until it completely filled the room struck Arwin and he shoved it away. He didn’t even want to consider that. He didn’t have time to. They needed a way to kill the Broodmother – that would probably stop the other ones. At the very least, it would trivialize them. Weakness flooded through his legs. The spiders had poison. That wasn’t a surprise, but it was moving through Arwin’s system faster than he’d thought it would. He skidded to a halt, changing direction now that they were behind the Broodmother and taking another few bites in the process, and burst into motion once more. Arwin’s legs started to lock up as the poison worked deeper into them. He’d taken so many bites now that he probably had enough running through him to be fatal – it didn’t matter. Anna could heal him when the fight was over. There were only a few paces between him and the Broodmother. Damn good thing I brought Olive. I don’t think I have the energy to swing my hammer right now. Arwin lunged. It was more of a trip, but at the speed he was moving, it still worked. He launched Olive forward like a missile and she drove her blade straight into the Broodmother’s side as blue energy flashed to cover it. He dimly noted that there wasn’t any trace of Reya’s monster anymore – it must have collapsed at some point. Spiders churned beneath Arwin as he hit the ground, crushing several of them beneath himself in a roll. A shadow plucked him up from the ground before the small monsters could swarm over him. Beneath, Olive’s blade continued forward and carved down the intersection between the Spider Broodmother’s head and body. The monster managed a pained screech before her blade worked the rest of the way through it. Despite its bulbous abdomen, its head wasn’t nearly as thick as the centipede’s had been. Olive dropped to the ground and the spider’s head splattered down beside her. All the small monsters crumpled in unison, dropping and curling up like shriveled husks. Arwin barely even noticed. His chest had bound up with poison that was already working its way toward his throat. The world sputtered around him as darkness bit at the edges of his vision. Then there was relief. Warmth washed over Arwin’s body and he drew in a choked breath as he felt the poison release its grip on him. His eyes snapped fully open to find Anna kneeling beside him and the shimmering words of the Mesh dancing above him. Achievement: [Mmm, Poison] has been earned. [Mmm, Poison] – Awarded for having nearly as much poison in your bloodstream as blood. Effects: One skill in your next Skill Selection has been upgraded to Unique. This achievement will be consumed upon choosing your next skill. “Ah,” Arwin said, dismissing the achievement with a weak grin. “You made it.” “You’re insane,” Anna muttered, helping Arwin up. The others all stood in a semicircle around him. “Any side effects? Are you seeing straight?” He nodded, looking over to the Broodmother to make sure it was actually dead. There hadn’t actually been an achievement for killing it, but he supposed that made sense. It wasn’t like the monster itself had put up all that much of a fight – and he hadn’t even personally touched it. The Mesh probably didn’t consider anything he’d done in regard to the actual fight worthy of an Achievement. Arwin couldn’t complain. He’d gotten an Achievement for pumping himself full of poison. Not one he was particularly proud of, but a Skill upgrade was a Skill upgrade. He’d take what he got. “I’m fine,” Arwin said. “Everyone else?” “Didn’t run through a field of hungry spiders after stripping his pants off,” Rodrick said. “Speaking of which, I’d like to point out that it was not me who lost his pants this time.” “Can I blame you anyway?” Anna asked. “Damn,” Anna said with a sigh. “Anyone get anything good from that fight?” Arwin asked. “I got an Achievement for making the Broodmother kill one of its own children. Kinda messed up, actually,” Reya said. “I guess my ability counts as the original monster coming back. Free Skill improvement for my next level, so no complaints.” “I got one as well,” Olive said. She coughed into her fist. “For… being a projectile. Got me a direct skill upgrade. I’m not sure it’s an experience I’d like to replicate, though. It’s a bit demeaning.” Arwin bit back a snort. “Sorry. It was the best idea I had at the time.” “Oh, it worked,” Olive said. “I’ve always just thought of myself as a swordswoman, not the literal sword. If that’s what it takes to win a fight, I’m all for it. I’d rather just not think about it too much.” “It was cool, though,” Reya supplied. Olive sent her a surprised look followed by a weak smile that showed she didn’t believe her words in the slightest. Maybe not the time, Reya. Good attempt, though. “Tastes like all the other spiders,” Lillia proclaimed as she stepped out from behind the dead Broodmother and held up a bundle of wispy white strands. “But look at this!” “Webbing? Shouldn’t it be super sticky?” Rodrick asked. “No, not all webs are sticky. This stuff isn’t,” Lillia said. “Where’d you get that from?” Anna asked.