I skittered forward, searching for anything of use, but all I found was endless dirt and darkness. The mushroom in between my mandibles slightly helped, glowing bright enough just to illuminate the tunnel a few ant feet in front of him. However, the tunnels stretched on, twisting and turning in unpredictable ways. My antennae twitched, catching no scent of food, just the damp, earthy aroma of the underground.
After a few minutes, a faint sound caught my attention, clittering, rhythmic and erratic, flaring my ears. I moved carefully, rounding a corner, and then I saw it. A large spider, much bigger than me, hunched over the carcass of another spider, its fangs sinking deep as it devoured its kin. Its body twitched with every bite, tearing into the remains in a wild, frenzied manner.
I narrowed my gaze and activated Appraisal, hoping to get an idea of what I was dealing with.
[Appraisal Activated...]
[Target: Large Spider]
Damn it. That was useless. My mandibles clicked in frustration, as i dropped the mushroom, and in that instant, the spider froze. The frenzied eating stopped abruptly. Then, in one sharp, unnatural motion, its head twisted toward me, revealing a grotesque sight. A bloodied mouth, dripping with viscous fluids. Multiple glistening eyes locked onto me, and my body stiffened.
Crap.
The spider lunged forward, its powerful legs propelling it through the air. As it rushed towards me, its blood covered mouth opened, spewing blood on the ground. In a split second, it closed the distance, leaping straight at me with terrifying speed. I dodged, just in the nick of time as it jumped at me. Instead of meeting flesh, its fangs met the hard muddy wall. I didn't waste this opportunity. I turned my body around, against its will as I jerked my mandibles, slashing at the creature's legs, as it hissed. It spews silk wildly in my direction as I instinctively backed off giving it enough time to escape the earth's grip on its fangs. Damn it I should have gone for the kill.
The air was filled with hissed once more. He raised his front legs as it crawled side to side, as if to confuse me. Then in an instant, it lunged. No warning. Just a blur of segmented legs and glinting fangs, too fast to follow. I brought up my mandibles just in time, deflecting its initial strike. The clash sent a jarring tremor through my exoskeleton, but my balance held. I lunged in turn, snapping forward but the spider leapt out of reach, impossibly nimble. As it held his front legs high once more and swayed side to side, circling me.
I adjusted my footing, trying to track its erratic movements, but the moment I blinked—it was airborne.
Its fangs sank deep into my side. Pain exploded through me like wildfire. A hot, stabbing lance into my abdomen. I twisted violently, slamming my body sideways into the floor, dislodging it before it could burrow deeper. I countered, mandibles slashing—but again, I struck nothing but empty air. A hiss filled the space between us. Then came the webs.
A sticky blast coated my face, blinding me instantly. I flailed, my legs scraping the floor, vision white and useless. A solid weight crashed into me, sending me tumbling across the stone. My side screamed from the earlier bite, ichor leaking into the dust. I tried to rise, but my limbs trembled.
[Warning: Health Critically Low — 2 HP Remaining.]
That voice, The System. The alert was jarring. My vision pulsed red. In that moment, something clicked. The skills.
Tactical Foresight — Activated.
The world changed. In that second, I was no longer blind. I sensed the spider—white flashes illuminating where it moved, trailing echoes of presence like heat shimmer. I heard its legs tap the ground like drumbeats, every scuttle crystal clear. My mind moved faster. My perception narrowed into a blade. It leapt again. But this time, I moved first.
I spun, ducked beneath its arc mid-air, and snapped my mandibles forward. They grazed the soft edge of its hind leg—not enough. It twisted away again, spraying webs wildly to keep me off. But now I saw what I hadn't before.
Every time it spat silk, its underbelly flared open for just a moment unguarded. That's what I'd been searching for before. That one weakness. And now I had it. It leapt. So, did I. I barreled straight forward into its path, not avoiding this time, not defending. I invited the clash. Its fangs met my shoulder—but my mandibles met its gut. A sickening crunch echoed through the cavern as I drove its twitching body into the stone wall. Its legs flailed, beating at me in desperate, panicked strikes. But I held it firm, mandibles deep in its vulnerable flesh. Warm fluids spilled onto my face and down my legs, the scent sharp and nauseating. The spider shrieked and thrashed. Then, with a sudden surge of strength, it twisted its head and bit down again, harder than before.
[Warning: Critical! 1 HP Remaining.]
The pain was unbearable. My vision darkened at the edges. I grit down, rage and desperation flooding every nerve. My mandibles were still inside it—and I used them. I began to shake, sawing the spider across the stone wall, scraping and shredding. It screeched, the sound high and feral. Its legs flailed for another bite. I beat it to the punch. With a final, furious heave, I tore my mandibles sideways in one brutal motion—ripping through the spider's underbelly.
Its body collapsed to the side, guts spilling across the cavern floor. The ichor sprayed across my carapace. The spider twitched once… then stilled.
[System Notification: Congratulations! First Blood]
I stood over the ruin of the beast, my legs trembling, ichor dripping, and mandibles pulsing with fatigue.
[System Notification: Congratulations! Level up achieved]
My eyes slowly spiraling out of control.
[System Notification: Congratulations! Arachnid Sla…]
Until the darkness consumed me once more