The blue light of the teleport crystal burst open in Kiriya's palm, and the first thing that hit him was the damp, suffocating scent of rust and moss.
The purple haze of the Misty Gorge was far thicker than what the forum guides had described; beyond five meters, shapes were already little more than shifting shadows.
Only the fractured moonlight leaking through cracks above cut across the web-covered ground, casting broken streaks of pale silver.
"The coordinates are right. This is the outer rim of the spider nest." Lina's voice drifted through the mist, steady and sharp.
Her ice-blue longsword sliced through a veil of clinging web. The steel plates of her Pit steel Armor gleamed faintly in the haze, and each step she took set her armor plates to rasp softly, sending clouds of silvery dust scattering.
That dust, Kiriya knew, was the corrosive residue woven into the webs themselves.
Kiriya summoned two phantoms. Pale-blue orbs of light traced arcs in the mist as they formed."Shadow Spiders favor the dark. Watch the shaded spots."
He had barely finished when the left phantom lashed out, its sword cleaving downward. A blot of darkness burst from beneath the moss, eight crimson eyes flaring under the moonlight.
[Shadow Spider]
[Level: 16]
[HP: 800]
[Skill: Shadow Ambush (brief invisibility into sudden strike)]
"It's gone invisible!"
Lina's frost-blue mana surged into the sword. "Frost Thrust!"
Ripples of cold spread out like frost upon glass. The moment they touched the shadow, the spider's form was ripped back into visibility.
Kiriya's body and his other phantom attacked in perfect unison. His bronze blade darted for the creature's mandibles, the movement so smooth it was more instinct than conscious thought—reflex forged in the Mine Lord's battle.
But just before the strike landed, the spider dissolved into black smoke. A decoy.
"Behind you!" Lina cried.
Lina's spike landed a fraction late. Venomous fangs scraped the edge of Kiriya's cloak. He flipped backward, one phantom stepping in to intercept the follow-up strike. Its blade carved open the spider's abdomen—
"Phantom Thrust!"
The Phantom sword's force erupted at the moment Lina's Ice Wall surged up, trapping a second ambusher mid-pounce.
Between their seamless exchange, Kiriya caught sight of something far grimmer—dark-green venom seeping from a crack in Lina's side armor. One fang had grazed her waist.
"Drink this." He fished a Small Antidote from his pack and thrust it at her.
Her fingers trembled faintly as she took it. Through the haze, her ice-blue eyes flicked toward him.
"What about you?"
"My boots have anti-toxin enchantments." Kiriya lied. His boots had a paltry 5% resistance—hardly worth mentioning.
But there was no time for explanations. Three more spiders lunged at once. Kiriya arranged his phantoms into a triangular defense while he slipped around to strike at the weakest target.
One by one, the Shadow Spiders dissolved into smoke. When the last vanished, Kiriya's EXP bar surged to mid-level 16.
Lina opened her mouth to speak—only for the ground beneath them to tremble. From deep in the mist came the rasping hiss of chitin scraping against stone.
"It's an elite!" Lina's voice sharpened. Ice-blue frost surged down her sword, the blade glowing like a shard of frozen moonlight. "Prepare yourself!"
The fog churned. A massive figure emerged slowly, its body the size of a millstone. Its dark-purple carapace glistened with oozing green venom.
Across its abdomen stretched a grotesque face-shaped pattern, contracting and expanding with every breath. Eight spear-like legs gouged trenches into the stone as it advanced.
[Venom Widow]
[Level: 20 (Elite)]
[HP: 5000]
[Skills: Venomous Spit (acid spray causing DoT), Web Bind (restrains target for 2s)]
"Its venom gland is beneath the mandibles! And its webs form in diamond patterns!" Lina's words came rapid-fire, recalling the forum guides. "Stay clear—"
She never finished. The Widow didn't charge. Instead, it reared back, and a fan of green venom sprayed outward, blanketing a five-meter arc.
"Move!" Kiriya seized Lina's arm, dragging her back. Poison spattered across her steel armor, sizzling with a corrosive hiss.
"This thing's on a whole other level!" Kiriya cursed, watching one phantom dissolve in the toxic rain. "It's predicting our movements!"
Lina said nothing. Her mana flared like a storm. "Ice Wall Barrier!"
A frozen rampart surged upward, blocking the spray. But the Widow was cunning—it spun silken threads across the ground, weaving a glittering lattice. With a pulse of silver light, holes burned through Lina's wall.
"That's the precursor to Web Bind!" Kiriya yanked her behind a boulder. "It's going invisible next!"
Even as he spoke, a smear of venomous green burst from the fog. The Widow lunged, fangs aimed straight for Lina's spine.
Kiriya whirled, intercepting with his bronze sword. The venomous strike screeched against the blade, leaving a charred-black scar across the edge. His stomach dropped—its venom was far deadlier than the guides had ever warned.
"We can't hold this pace!" Lina gritted, her armor already eaten through in three places. Her HP plunged to 60%. "Its venom carries armor-break!"
Kiriya's eyes flicked to his level-16 skill bar.
[Phantom Summon: 12s cooldown]
[Phantom Slash: 8s cooldown]
Then he remembered—during the Mine Lord fight, Lina had delayed the boss with precise ice thorns."Freeze its left foreleg! I'll draw its focus!"
"You're insane!" Lina seized his wrist, moonlight swimming in her eyes. "Its venom will kill you!"
"Trust me." His voice was calm, steady as steel. He pressed his last Moon Spring Water into her hand. "Drink it. Wait for my signal."
The cool liquid rushed down her throat, restoring mana like a flood. Lina's gaze followed as Kiriya vanished into the fog, his black cloak flickering in the Widow's vision. Then she understood—he was the bait.
"Now!" Kiriya's shout tore through the mist.
Lina exhaled, blade flashing. "Frost Thrust!"
Three jagged spears of ice struck true, piercing the Widow's left foreleg joint. Cold burst like shrapnel, halting it for half a second.
It was enough.
Kiriya's Phantom Slash carved into its eyes. The Widow shrieked, flailing. Venom sprayed in retaliation, catching his leg. Agony scorched his body—his vision blurred, his speed cut in half.
"Kiriya!" Lina's Ice Wall rose just in time, shielding him. "Drink the antidote!"
He shook his head. "It's preparing Web Bind! Run!"
The ground erupted in silver light. Diamond-pattern webs detonated across the floor. Lina dragged him clear—just as the boulder behind them cocooned into silk.
From the mist, the Widow reappeared. Its abdomen's face-like mark split wide, belching a cloud of black mist.
"That's new…!" Kiriya gasped.
"Paralysis Toxin!" Lina shouted, her body shielding his. Ice-blue mana condensed around her armor in a desperate shield. "Hold on!"
The shield crackled and burned in the miasma. Her HP plummeted. Kiriya's hands trembled as he raised his sword—but the paralysis scrambled his mana flow.
Then, suddenly, the Widow stiffened. Something had pierced its abdomen sigil.
An ice thorn? No—the angle was wrong.
Kiriya's eyes widened. A gloved hand gripped a bronze sword, its blade driven clean through the monster's weak spot.
A phantom.
When had he—?
As the Phantom Slash detonated inside the Widow's body, Kiriya realized: in his final lucid moment before paralysis, his instincts had triggered the summon, hiding it in the Widow's blind spot.
The pale-blue glow faded as the phantom dissolved—leaving only its attack behind.
-380!
The Widow's HP dropped below 10%. It screeched, staggering. Lina seized the opening, her Frost Thrust pinning it to the cliffside. The Elite shuddered once—then dissolved into emerald light.
Two golden flashes lit the fog.
[EXP Gained: 1500]
[Current Level: 17]
Kiriya's gaze lingered on the system prompt, then drifted to the corroded scars across Lina's armor. His throat tightened. He tried to speak, but Lina cut him off first.
"Your phantom…" Her lips curved faintly. "You hid it behind the boss on purpose, didn't you?"
"…Yeah."
For a heartbeat, silence. Then Lina's ice-blue eyes arched into crescent moons. "Guess you've got more brains than I thought."
She drew something from her pack—a faintly glowing cloak. "Shadow weave Cloak. Corrosion Resistance +15%. It's yours."
Kiriya accepted it, his fingers brushing hers. Cold—like frost seeping through his skin. He caught sight of crimson trickling beneath her armor.
"Misty Gorge, deeper in…" Lina pointed through the thickening haze. "They say there's an upgraded teleport crystal there—one that leads straight to the Level 30 zones."
Kiriya nodded. He fastened the Shadow weave Cloak across his shoulders.
In the violet fog, his dark silhouette stood beside her silver-white form. Two colors overlapping—shadows and moonlight—before the abyss of mist ahead.