"What was that roar?"
A member of the New Moon Legion looked towards the deep shadows of the nest and asked with fear.
"Arachnos." Lunato answered in a solemn voice. The expressions on the rest of the members also became grim.
Moments later, the shadows around them came alive, turning almost viscous.
Ksh! Ksh! Ksh!
Sound of pickaxes digging into the mud echoed in their ears as a huge silhouette whose head touched the ceiling of the nest emerged in the darkness.
"New Moon Legion, in position!" Red Dart ordered her team, understanding the gravity of the situation. She also could not miss this chance to show off in front of Lunato.
Immediately, the New Moon Legion's three Natureguards moved forward with their wooden shields. Warblades flanked them with their sharp blades, eager to slash and slice the incoming threat to pieces.
The Elementalists, Spirit Speakers and Druids formed ranks around Lunato and Red Dart, a safe distance behind the melee players. They had taken out their orbs, wands and staffs, ready to unleash their magical might on the enemy.
Red Dart, proud of her Guild's formation, sneaked a glance at Lunato but his face was as impassive as ever, completely unphased by the discipline shown by New Moon Legion's members.
His eyes were focused on the Sun Blight Spider that emerged from the shadows.
Long hair cascaded down its muscular human half that seemed like it was sculpted from stone. Its powerful spider limbs were no less destructive than metallic pickaxes, digging up the forest floor with their every movement.
The face of the monster was obscured by the shadows but its glaring ruby red eyes shining in the darkness were enough to spook the New Moon Legion members.
Aarghh!
The Boss monster screeched, seeing the players who had been slaughtering its minions and it scuttled forward at them.
Three Natureguards of the New Moon Legion stepped forward to intercept it. They jumped in air in an attempt to bashed their shields at the Spider's upper body but they could hardly jump higher than a feet above the ground.
Unbeknownst to them all, a shadowy net had formed around the area, slowing their speed and restricting their movements.
"Dark Net!" Lunato whispered the name of the Boss' skill in a solemn tone. Then he quickly took measures to counter the skill.
"Red Dart, summon your Fire Elemental Sprite to light up this area and burn this net." He ordered the team leader of New Moon Legion and began to chant a spell for a Tier 1 Water Magic himself.
Meanwhile, the Natureguards and Warblades attacked with all they had and finally, they forced the boss to focus its hatred solely on them.
The Sun Blight Spider successively thrust its front legs at the Natureguards and Warblades, piercing through their defenses.
The Natureguards withstood the Spider's offensive for a few rounds before their Health Bars blinked red. Warblades came to assist them but they were even flimsier than the tanks and lost HP faster than sand in a sieve.
Fortunately for them, the healing spells arrived from the Druids in a timely manner, recovering their lost HP and it helped them survive the assault.
The aggro was firmly stabilized by the melee classes and the barrage of spells and arrows began. Damage numbers in hundreds popped up above the Spider's head but none exceeded 200s.
Seeing their strategies and damage numbers, Samar who was watching the battle from shadows exhaled a sigh of relief.
The damage that New Moon Legion dealt to the boss was merely a tickle compared to its 25,000 HP. Samar judged that they could hold out for some time but defeating the boss was an impossible task for them.
This gave him the opportunity to implement his plan.
Samar had searched everywhere in the nest for the Shadow Cocoons that he required to complete Elara's quest. The only place he had yet to search was the actual lair of the Sun Blight Spider.
Knowing the fearsomeness of the Boss, Samar did not dare to go and explore the nest while Arachnos was present in it.
He had been waiting for the New Moon Legion to draw Arachnos out so he could infiltrate the lair in Boss's absence and explore it for the cocoons.
And now was his chance.
Samar sneaked into the lair at the center of the nest using the darkness to avoid the eyes of New Moon Legion members. The journey was smoother than he expected and he was soon taking the first step into the Arachnos' lair.
Pitch Black Darkness! This was the only way Samar could describe the insides of the lair.
Not a single ray of light could enter the lair. After experiencing this darkness, Samar now knew what 100% blindness felt like.
He lit up the light orb he had brought with him and wrapped it in a piece of clothing. His common sense told him that since the item was named Pristine Shadow Cocoon, it was better if he did not expose it to too much light.
Samar had to strain his eyes to see in the incredibly dim light but he could make out the shapes of cocoons in the lair.
These cocoons were everywhere!
They were hanging from the ceiling, attached to the walls, embedded in the trees and even the floor at the back was full of cocoons.
Samar grinned ear to ear and immediately plucked the nearest cocoon. It was purplish black in color, the same as the Shadow Seamstress' shadow tendrils.
He tried to check its status window but he received no result as if it was not an item at all. After closer inspection, Samar realized that the cocoon in his hand had burst open.
In fact, many of the cocoons in the lair were the same as the one in his hands and not the Pristine Shadow Cocoons that Elara had requested. His smile diminished and he walked deeper into the lair, to the cocoons placed at the very back.
Samar felt a difference as soon as he reached near the tens of cocoons. They did not reflect even a bit of light and Samar had to rely on dark spots to determine the location of the cocoons.
He checked one and a status window successfully opened in front of him.
—--
Pristine Shadow Cocoon
Grade: Blood-Iron
~ Can be boiled to obtain Shadow Silk, a precious tailoring material.
—--
'One can extract Shadow Silk from these cocoons! No wonder Elara was willing to let go of commissioning fees worth 20 Gold Coins.'
Samar thought, as his eyes looked at the tens of cocoons with greedy shine. Even after submitting the four cocoons required for the quest, he would have six left that he could sell for a hefty sum!
Samar picked up the cocoon, only to realize it was heavier than it looked. It had a soft and slippery texture that made it hard for Samar to keep hold of it with one hand yet he somehow managed.
Then suddenly the cocoon trembled and squirmed in his hand, startling him. It slipped from his hands and fell to the ground before he could put it in the inventory.
"Crap!" Samar cursed, as it crushed two other Pristine Shadow Cocoons with it. He mourned the loss of the missed out Gold coins.
Then something weird happened. Three creatures came out from the broken cocoons and all of them were Lv 1!