It was growing.
Soon after, we started again; the path to Level Two of Ash Dungeon was marked by a sudden change in atmosphere. The air turned heavy with moisture, and the walls glistened with thick strands of silvery webbing. The air was laced with a musty, bitter scent.
Felix held his torch higher, his face twisted in unease. "This floor reeks of spiders."
I nodded grimly, my thoughts racing. I hadn't forgotten Ella's injury. The herbs she needed—bloodroot and crystal sage—were supposed to grow somewhere at this level. But the deeper we went, the more danger crawled around us.
Then the sound hit.
Chittering. Skittering. Scraping.
Hundreds of small red eyes glinted in the dark.
"...Don't move," Felix whispered.
Don't move? Fuck! I saw hundreds or even thousands of spiders, and he told me not to move?
Too late.
The wall behind us pulsed—and exploded outward.
Hundreds of spiders, each the size of a small dog, poured out from cracks and tunnels like a living tide of legs and fangs. We turned and ran. I ran like a madwoman with three boobs was after me.
"This way!" Felix yelled, pointing toward a narrow tunnel.
We sprinted, dodging webs and leaping over fallen stones, but the spiders were fast—too fast. Their shrill hissing echoed through the stone halls.
I felt one leap onto my back. I swung my sword blindly, knocking it off just in time before it sank its fangs into my neck. "Shit!"
"They're swarming—!"
We broke into a wide chamber—only to realize too late it was a dead end. Webs clung to every wall, and at the far end sat a hulking figure.
The Spider Matriarch.
Its body was as big as a wolfhound, pulsating and glossy black, its legs ending in dagger-like tips. Eight red eyes locked onto us, and a high-pitched shriek rang out, sending its brood scuttling up the walls to trap us in.
"Guess we make our stand," I muttered, gripping my sword tighter.
Felix raised his blade. "You ready, miracle boy?"
Boy? I am not a boy! But surely I ran like one.
I smiled nervously. "As I'll ever be."
The mother spider lunged with terrifying speed. Felix slashed low while I ducked to the side and struck her abdomen. My sword bounced off its thick exoskeleton.
Then its fangs sank into my arm.
"DIRK!" Felix shouted, charging forward.
But something strange happened.
The pain never came. I looked at my arm—venom coating it—but my skin wasn't blistering, my blood wasn't boiling. Instead, a soft golden glow shimmered just beneath the surface of my skin, and then—
BOOM.
The spider screamed and reeled backward, steam rising from its face where its venom had backfired. Its legs twitched uncontrollably as its body began to bubble and crack from within—and then it collapsed, dead.
Felix stood stunned. "What in all the holy gods was that?"
I stared at my hands, my breath trembling. "I... I don't know. It bit me. I should've been poisoned. But it was like something reflected it. Like... magic." Okay! Now I know what the cheat skill was; surely the guardian gave me an overpowered magical shield.
Felix walked overcautiously, poking the spider's corpse with his blade. "Whatever it was, it saved your life. And killed this ugly beast."
The smaller spiders scattered at the death of their queen, fleeing into the cracks with screeching cries. We stood in silence as the dust settled.
Then something glowed behind the spider's massive body.
I stepped closer and found a cluster of herbs growing out of a crack in the rock—bloodroot and crystal sage, just like the guidebook described. The soft golden petals pulsed with healing energy.
I gathered them gently. "We found it. This is what Ella needs." Odd, surely it was not easy, but at level two? I thought I'd be dealing with the boss or maybe at the very end of the dungeon.
Felix grinned, resting against the wall. "Not bad, kid. You've got luck, power, and snacks. That's a winning combo."
I gave him a tired smile. "Let's just hope I don't glow and explode next time."
By the time Felix and I climbed out of the dungeon, the sun had already dipped below the treeline. The sky was awash with orange and violet hues, the wind heavy with the scent of moss and blood. We were exhausted, bruised, and covered in spider guts, but we had what we needed.
I held the satchel tightly against my chest, feeling the soft glow of the bloodroot and crystal sage through the cloth. My arm still pulsed faintly with warmth where the Spider Matriarch had bitten me—but I didn't feel weak. If anything, I felt stronger.
Felix glanced at me as we mounted the baron's spare horses tied near the dungeon's outer camp. "Are you sure that stuff's going to work?"
"I read about it in one of the herbalist journals Elvie gave me," I replied, voice firm. "But... something's telling me it'll be enough."
Felix nodded, and we galloped toward the Baron's estate, dust flying behind us.
Ella lay motionless on a simple cot, her breathing shallow and skin pale. A faint black web of corrupted veins spread from her side, where the cursed wound from the bandit's blade had taken hold.
Elvie sat beside her, clutching her hand. "She's getting colder..."
The baron's physician looked on, helpless. "Our purifying salves don't work on cursed wounds. We don't have access to the sacred herbs here."
"Then it's a good thing we do," I said, stepping in with Felix behind me.
Elvie jumped to her feet. "Dirk!"
I moved fast, laying the satchel on the table and taking out the glowing herbs. The bloodroot shimmered a soft crimson while the crystal sage pulsed with faint blue light, like a heartbeat.
"Boil water, quickly!" the physician ordered. "We need to brew these into a poultice and tincture."
The staff leapt into motion. Elvie helped crush the herbs, while Felix kept a steady fire going. The room was filled with an earthy, soothing aroma within minutes.
Once the tincture was done, they poured a few drops into Ella's mouth and gently dabbed the poultice onto her wound.
Everyone held their breath.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then—the veins began to retreat. Slowly, steadily, the black threads vanished beneath her skin, replaced by a healthy flush of colour. Her chest rose more evenly.
She blinked, eyes fluttering open.
"...Dirk?" she whispered hoarsely.
I let out a long, shaking breath. "Yeah. It's me. You're okay now."
Elvie threw her arms around me, tears in her eyes. "I knew you'd make it back. I just knew it."
Felix chuckled from the corner. "Told you he was a miracle."
Ella smiled weakly. "You stink of spider guts."
"Hey. You're welcome."
Then, the blue glow returned.
A soft echoed in my ears, distinct despite the roaring silence around us.
Quest Completed: Make sure your companions survive.
Reward: Companion Level Up by 2
I blinked at the screen, the message almost too surreal to process after the madness we'd just escaped.
"Guys..." I started, my voice a little hoarse. "I think you just... levelled up."
Elvie looked over. "Again? Seriously?"
The GUARDIAN screen let me focus on my companions, and sure enough, when I scanned them, their stats glimmered like newly polished weapons. Ella's mana had increased significantly—her healing spells would be stronger now. Elvie's magic capacity had jumped, her elemental focus glowing brighter even without her consciously using it.
"Whoa," Felix muttered, checking the shine of his hands. "I feel... tingly. Like a surge of mana ran through me."
"You're welcome," I said with a lopsided grin, still panting. "That was all me."
Ella raised an eyebrow, half-laughing. "You? We were the ones almost eaten."
"Yeah, but I kept you all alive." I stood up slowly, patting the dust from my pants. Which, according to the magical screen that follows me around like an obsessed stalker, is apparently worth two levels.
Elvie scoffed, but I caught the slight twitch of her lips. "Well, don't get cocky. But... Thank you."
That sounded like praise. I'll take it.
The baron himself came to see us in the drawing room, flanked by two guards and his steward. "I was informed of your success. You saved one of your own and used foreign herbs with magical healing properties. Impressive, Dirk."
I stood a little straighter. "Thank you, my lord. It's all thanks to the dungeon and some luck."
"More than luck," the baron said thoughtfully. "It seems fate favours you. There is something unusual about you, young man."
He turned to his steward. "See to it that Dirk's stall near the dungeon receives better protection. Double the guards. And set up a supply line for the herbalist trade."
"Yes, my lord."
As he left, Felix slapped me on the back. "Well. You just became the baron's favourite person."
"Let's hope that doesn't get me killed."
The crisp morning air hung heavy with dew and the soft scent of damp earth. Birds chirped somewhere in the distance, and faint echoes of laughter and shouting rose from the nearby adventurers preparing for another dive into the dungeon.
I stood at the makeshift stall near the dungeon entrance, a hand-carved wooden sign above our heads that read:
"DIRK'S DELIGHTS — Fuel Before You Fight!"
Beside me, Elvie carefully lined up small bottles of water and sachets of instant coffee. Ella, now fully recovered and more radiant than ever, stacked neat trays of mamon under a linen cloth. The magical steam kettle we had brought hissed gently in the background as we boiled water for cup of noodles.
Our display wasn't fancy, but it had heart—and curiosity sold faster than hunger.
A group of dusty adventurers approached, gear clanking. One had a bandage around his thigh; another held his stomach like it might burst from too much dried meat.
"Oi," said the tallest, a human warrior with a greatsword strapped to his back. "Heard there was a crazy good snack stall out here?"
"That's us," I said with a grin, waving them over. "Try this—soft bread filled with cream. We call it 'mamon.'"
He took one with scepticism, a bit into it... and froze.
"...By the gods," he mumbled, mouth full. "What is this cloud of sugar and joy?"
Ella giggled. "Told you."
The others scrambled to grab their share, and in minutes, we had sold half our mamon. I poured a cup of boiling water into one of our noodle cups and handed it to a mage sitting near the fire. "Spicy chicken flavor," I said. "Wait three minutes."
"You mean I don't need to make a stew from scratch anymore?" he asked, genuinely awed.
"Nah," I chuckled. "Modern convenience."
Elvie offered him a sachet of deodorant next. "This is for... your smell," she said carefully, trying not to offend.
"My—oh." He lifted his arm, sniffed, and blushed. "Uh. I'll take three." Just then, Felix appeared from the path up to the baron's estate, waving as he approached. He still had the light chainmail under his cloak and the casual ease of a man used to danger. "How's business?" he asked, grabbing a bottle of water and downing it in one go.
"Booming," I said. "And we're only getting started."
He nodded toward the dungeon's dark entrance. "Rumours say new monsters have appeared on the third level. The team didn't return yesterday."
Ella frowned. "You think it's too risky to explore deeper?"
"I don't think," Felix said with a smirk, "I know. But if you're smart, Dirk, you'll be the first to supply the idiots who go anyway."
"Elvie, Ella," I said, glancing at them. "What do you think? Should we start prepping supply kits for longer dungeon dives?"
Elvie tapped her chin. "Maybe water, noodles, a few herbal patches, and your deodorant. They'll need everything they can get in that dark pit."
I beamed. "Now that is why you're both geniuses."