"Hey, Vel?" I asked, slightly agitated but also playful.
"Hm?"
"You don't even have money of your own. All of it is mine at the moment."
Seralyn grinned. "Looks like somebody is going to be in debt."
"Not if I'm right," Velariah grinned.
"What makes you bet on me anyway?" I asked.
"Just a hunch," Velariah replied. "She's done her fair bit of killing in the dungeon. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if she did evolve her inherity."
"Heh," Seralyn chuckled. "Not hard when Arch seems to spawn monsters that fit her well, poison and all."
She seemed lost in thought for a second. "Speaking of, you should be able to use any poison that was used on you, right?"
I nodded. "I believe that's how it works."
"So, what about the Red Death poison that was used on you? That's one hell of a potent poison."
"I think so, yes. I should try it out while we're down here."
We walked down the first cave tunnel. For some reason, it was completely empty once again.
Thus, we reached the large, open room unhindered.
I unsheathed my blades and held my spear at the ready as we approached. The room ahead of us was completely dark; all the torches had been extinguished.
I didn't like the looks of it. I put on my helmet as Draco and I both approached the room, with Nira holding the torch close, so we could see what was directly in front of us. Both of us held our shields before us, bracing against the darkness.
It turned out to be the smart thing to do.
Before we even reached the large room, a large figure pounced on the two of us from the darkness. I was ready and impaled it mid-jump, before it crashed on my shields. I forced it to the ground and sank my fangs in it. I wanted my venom to be as lethal as possible. I didn't specifically think about the Red Death poison. I hoped this would 'pick' whatever was most potent.
After a very brief struggle that lasted no more than a few seconds, the animal that pounced on us was dead. Draco walked forward and blocked the way as I observed what I had just killed.
On the ground before me, was a lioness.
A frigging lion had just jumped on us. It wasn't just any lion either. Its claws had nails that were at least as long as a butter knife. I winced when I first noticed them. I imagined those could rip through flesh within seconds, causing death by exsanguination if they tore through arteries.
Ouch.
"You guys okay?" Nira asked.
"We're fine," Draco called from the front.
I left the corpse and walked up to the lizardman. This beast was probably worth a fair penny, its hide alone would be excellent, but there were those claws as well, and possibly a trophy.
That was something to worry about later.
When we reached the doorway, the torches around the room suddenly lit up, one by one, clockwise from where we stood.
"Very fancy, Arch," I said with a smile.
"Best not to insult the dungeon," Velariah said from behind me.
"I'm praising him."
The light allowed us to see what was going on inside the room. I was immediately left questioning how in the hell we were going to get through this.
The lioness was not alone. There seemed to be a pride of lions inside this room, complete with three males, easily made out by their colorful red and orange colored manes.
And they had horns…
The males did. They, however, didn't seem to have the same claws the females had.
As things stood, they were simply chilling. I doubted they'd keep doing that for long.
Most of them were sleeping, scattered throughout the room. I almost felt bad for barging in on sleeping lions.
"What the hell are Zerdanian Savannah Lions doing here?" Velariah asked.
"These are not dungeon specific?" I asked, noticing how Velariah referred to the region we'd eventually set off to.
"Nope, they are not. That's why I'm asking."
"How are we supposed to know?" Seralyn asked. "It's a dungeon. Rules are wonky here."
"How much do you know about these things?" I asked. These things were still unknown to me. If there was anything I could know about them before engaging them, I'd like to know it.
"There isn't much to know about them. The females tear you to shreds, while the males barbeque you with lightning."
Wait, what?
I turned my head as far as I could to face her. "What?" I asked incredulously.
"The males use lightning magic, at least the ones in Zerdania do. Their magic is focused in and fired from their horns."
"So we need to either kill them, or break their horns, is what you're saying?" I asked.
"Hah, good luck with that. The lionesses won't let you get close. We will have to deal with those first. If possible, I'd advise not breaking the horns, they are worth quite a bit."
"Seralyn, you think you can get them? I'd hate to deal with claws and lightning at the same time."
"Possibly. I should be okay, if you can keep them off my back."
"I'd suggest we try fighting the same way we did before," Draco spoke. "Elania and me guarding the doorway with Seralyn firing from behind. That way, they can't all attack us at once."
"I'll have my sword ready behind you guys," Velariah said as she unsheathed her blade. "Seralyn, the floor is yours."
The archer stepped forward with a nocked arrow and forced her magic into it. The arrowhead burned bright and seemed to catch the attention of some of the lionesses that weren't sleeping.
She released her arrow, which hit its target, right in the flank. One of the male lions was killed almost instantly. I could see electricity form around its horn, but it dissipated as the beast died.
That was a relief. I wasn't sure what to expect from an electrical attack.
The attack from our side did draw aggression from several lionesses, and it seemed to wake up the remaining sleeping lions.
Uh-oh.
Lions were known for hunting in groups, like wolves.
We were lucky there were walls to our sides, offering a fair amount of protection.
We would have been done for, if it wasn't for that one simple truth.
We had about five lionesses making their way to us while the rest of the pride watched us from a distance. All in all, I estimated there to be a dozen or so females.
Three of them pounced on us.
I managed to impale one of them with my spear and pump venom into the creature with my fangs, as another slashed away at the carapace below my human torso. The last one was occupied with Draco.
I could hear a few slams from his shields and roars of pain coming from the target he was in combat with, but I was focused on what was going on in front of me.
As soon as the lioness that jumped upon me fell victim to my venom, the next one was already swiping at me. I managed to stab it with my two blades, causing it to stop in mid-air as it impaled itself. Its claws continued to scratch as it slowly died, hitting my new vambraces with its long nails.
I had never been happier to stop by Dworag…
As it died, I stabbed the one under my human parts with my spear and brought my fangs down again, injecting yet another lethal dose of venom.
As it died, I felt a terrible headache returning, combined with slight drowsiness.
Not now...
White light glowed to my side, followed by the roar of another dying lion. I assumed that was Velariah's work.
Another arrow was fired and barely missed my side. One of the lions waiting was struck down by an arrow to its head. The arrow promptly caught fire, as the dragon-blessing was activated, setting the already dead beast on fire.
Speaking of overkill…
"Please be a bit more careful," I called out. "I'd hate to get an arrow in my back."
"You'll be fine with your armor, but don't worry, I won't hit you."
"I'm worried about something else right now," I spoke as I felt another wave of drowsiness hit. "I think my evolution just triggered. We need to finish this fast."
"Don't rush things," Draco said. "That would be a mistake."
There was a bit of quiet in the battle as neither side made a move. Draco and I still stood at the ready to deal with any possible attack. We'd killed off half a dozen of the lionesses and there was half a dozen to go. They seemed to stare us down.
One of them pounced and found itself impaled on my spear. Another one followed directly afterward and was stopped by my shields. As I knocked it to the ground, Velariah stabbed her blade into the beast's head, instantly killing it.
From the corner of my eye, I saw one of the male lions standing at the back. Its horn started to glow slightly and I saw crackling in the air surrounding it.
"Brace!" Velariah called out behind me.
I did just that. I raised my shields to protect myself from a ranged attack as another lioness saw that as an opening and pounced at my chitinous lower part. That was a bad idea, I could just sink my fangs in it and—
My shield got struck by lightning. A bolt the size of my fist impacted the steel. The metal conducted electricity all the way through my arms and upper body. My shields were jerked upward, and a second bolt impacted the area where my human torso fused with my spider parts.
My human parts were jerked backward to my spider abdomen and my arms went limp.
I couldn't move them anymore.
"El!" Velariah shouted.
Fuck.
An inherity-powered arrow shot past me in the direction of where the attack that had just struck me came from. At the same time, another lioness pounced on me, dead-set on slicing me in the small area of my human torso that was now revealed.
I found that I could still move my spider parts and raised my front four legs in an effort to stop the attack aimed at me.
I could still see what was going on before me with the necessary strain on my eyes as I had to look all the way down.
The lioness was stopped by my legs and Draco transformed into his black-scaled version and brought an axe down behind the beast's head.
He didn't fully cleave through it. I assumed that was because I held its body with my legs, but he seemed to do a good amount of damage judging from the amount of blood that oozed from the beast's neck.
Velariah stepped forward while I felt magic coursing through me. This wasn't the numbing kind, instead, it was warm.
That must be Nira's.
Meanwhile, the lion that was clawing away at my carapace was still there. Seeing as I could still move my lower body, I grabbed it with my legs and palps and sank my fangs into it, feeling the last reserves of venom being drained to kill it.
Another flash of white came from my peripheral vision, and another roar of pain from one of the lions was heard. After that, came another flash of red that followed an arrow impacting something close to the front.
I slowly felt sensation return to my arms as Nira was working behind me.
"Just one more," Velariah called out. "You hanging in there, El?"
"Oh, I'm hanging alright," I commented on my situation. I still wasn't able to pull my human torso back up. Not only that, but the exhaustion was starting to become harder to deal with. My headache seemed to be getting worse too, despite Nira's efforts to heal me.
Fuck…
"I'll get it," Seralyn said as she fired an arrow.
I couldn't see whether it had hit or not. A roar came from where it was aimed and I saw the lion run up to us, ready to impale the first of us it ran into with its horn.
I found some strength returning and raised my human torso slightly to see what was going on clearly.
Draco was still in his black-scaled form and bashed the lion's head with his left shield, before bringing down his axe with his right hand with such force that it severed its head.
"That's it," Velariah said. "Let's get out of here."
I saw Draco's black-scaled form briefly emit a white light before dimming back to black. When he turned around, I saw him reaching for his head.
"Was that what I think it was?" Seralyn asked.
Draco nodded.
"Seems you owe me, Velariah," She grinned.
"Hold on a second. Didn't Elania say she evolved her inherity earlier?"
I nodded with the tiny bit of strength I could. Nira still let her magic flow through me and I found myself slowly rising up as strength returned to my torso.
"I did."
"Means you owe me, Seralyn. She was first."
"Fuck."
A loud roar came from the room and I looked to see what had caused it.
In the middle of the large open room, at the center of the circle. stood something that resembled a massive lion, except that it had wings like a dragon. Its manes were red like fire and when it roared again, I could see some flames coming from its maw.
What the hell was that thing?
It roared again and a fireball impacted the wall next to the doorway.
I wasn't going to be able to fight…
Not with an evolution kicking in…
"We should get out of here, quickly," I spoke. "I don't know how much longer I'll last."
Without a word, we made our way back through the cave tunnel leading up to the large room. I still couldn't move my human torso too much, but I could at least see where I was going. Besides, I didn't need it to move anyway.
I imagined the sight must have been hilarious. I was still bent over backward as I ran up the stairs. Once I was at the top, I could feel the waiting guards throw a few odd glances at me.
The worst part was that I didn't want to raise my human body. I just wanted to lie down and drift away into sleep...
My headache only served to fuel my desire to just knock myself out.
"We're going back to Dawnleaf. Thank you for guarding the entrance. Did anything show up?"
"Not a soul, Ma'am," Sergeant Kaniar said. "Are you alright?"
"We're fine. Elania here got paralyzed by lightning… well… part of her did."
Why was it always me?
To be fair, I didn't expect this kind of effect. I guessed if this was what lightning magic did, it was best for me to be the one to get hit. I could still move…
I was still cursing in my mind at the worst possible timing for my evolution to trigger. If this was how things were going to be, I could get myself into some real trouble one day…
Kaniar led the way out of the tunnels with a magical torch of his own.
Nira was positioned on my back, healing me as we walked towards the village at a brisk pace. Her healing certainly got rid of the paralysis effect. After some time, I walked upright again and was able to move my arms around. Seralyn handed me my scabbards which I used to sheath my blades once more.
Walking became increasingly difficult. I found myself slowing down as the headache and exhaustion wrecked my entire body. Not even an energy potion helped to stave off my imminent collapse. In fact, it only made the pain in my head worse.
The adverse reaction made me decline the painkiller potion that Velariah offered me.
I barely made it to the cobblestone road near the village before I collapsed, my legs giving out from under me. Velariah's arms broke my fall before my head would have hit the stones. I thanked her in my mind before my world blacked out.
_______________________________________________________________________
I was standing before the Hellspider Queen that guarded Arch's Core Room.
The spider clicked its fangs together but the gesture didn't freak me out as much as it would have before.
"Arch?" I asked. "Are you in my dreams again?"
The dream was so vivid. I could see everything before me clearly. I could recall myself getting exhausted, and ultimately, passing out. My presence here in front of the spider confirmed this was another lucid dream.
"I am." The voice of the queen entered my mind. "It would appear our communication has become… easier. I have to use far less strength than I had to before to uphold our mental link."
"That's neat, I guess? Was there anything you wanted to talk about?"
I decided to get straight to the point. I knew the experience of time in dreams could be iffy. Who knew how long I had before I would be pulled out of here.
"I wanted to let you know that I am intrigued by the progress you've made so far."
"Well, you kind of forced me into taking you more seriously."
"That I did. I hope you recognize why I had to."
I nodded. "By the way, what was that large monster that showed up right before we left?"
"You like it?"
I swore I could hear Arch laugh through the spider.
"I combined the properties of several other monsters to create that. It took me a while but I daresay it provides a good enough challenge for you guys."
"So… You can create anything you wish?"
I was starting to get intrigued by how dungeons operated.
"Alas, I can't. I am restricted to replicating whatever has entered my premises."
I was confused. It must have been visible in my expression because Arch continued.
"Some adventurers that entered a few days ago had materials in their armor that were taken from those creatures. I believe they are called Zerdanian Savannah Lions. From those materials, I could replicate the organic structures of the animals. I then took one of those creatures, made it bigger, and added some properties of the dragon that you encountered before. Ember was her name, right?"
I nodded. "But we didn't have any dragon material with us."
Realization struck me. "Unless you mean..."
"Your weapons. Part of her power resides in them. It was enough for me."
"I see."
"Of course the beast that was before you is nowhere near as strong as the dragon. My resources to create creatures are limited to my power. I think I did a decent job at creating it, though. It should still be somewhat of a challenge without being overly powerful."
"Why, thank you. How nice of you," I said with some playfulness.
A thought entered my mind.
"Does that mean you distribute the power in a beast… I mean, do you cut corners somewhere? I don't quite know how to explain..."
"I get what you mean," The spider before me replied. "Yes, that is the case. Those lions that you fought, I kept them as close to their wild counterparts as possible. Theoretically, I could make the males' lightning attacks stronger, but it would be at the cost of other properties, such as speed."
"Interesting. That information could be quite useful. Thanks a lot."
"I feel like I've said a bit too much, but you and your companions have been a blessing to me. I should be the one to thank you."
So polite. Perhaps Arch wasn't half-bad after all.
"Hey, Arch," I asked, suddenly remembering something else.
"Yes?"
"Do you have anything to do with that giant borer that showed up near the village?"
"I was wondering if you'd ask me about that. That was not me. I am not quite sure how that came to be either. Perhaps if you brought some of its body to me so I could analyze it?"
Fuck. I hoped there would still be something left after I woke up. Please don't let this take more than a day or two…
"If there's anything left when I wake up, I will certainly do that. I believe Valtheril and others were going to try to find out on their own, but if you're willing to help..."
I sighed. "Just promise me you won't try to replicate that thing."
"I won't. Besides, where would I put that thing? My floors are made of stone. It would be completely useless."
I chuckled. "Yeah, I guess."
"It's time for you to wake up. Congratulations on your evolution, Elania. I hope your new changes won't bother you too much."
That didn't sound good.