Arthur stared at the grotesque ant radiating an aura beyond E-Rank and quickly thought about what to do. His escape route was completely blocked, there was no way through as long as that ant stood there.
It felt as if time had frozen before his eyes. He analyzed the situation from every angle and reached a grim conclusion: the logical—no, the only—option was to retreat deeper into the tunnel and search for another exit. And that, in itself, would be suicide.
Once again, he found himself trapped between the hammer and the anvil, danger closing in from all sides. Resigned, he slowly stepped backward, doing his best not to provoke the ant, while keeping his eyes locked on it.
When he put a bit more distance between them, he saw it open its mandibles. Its toothless mouth was filled with sticky, crimson saliva. Then, without warning, it sprayed him with a torrent of grayish substance, thick vapor rising from it.
His eyes widened. Every one of his senses screamed in terror. Since he had already passed through the tunnel once, he didn't need to scan it again, relying solely on his memory, he leapt backward and threw himself to the side, taking cover behind a large rocky protrusion in the wall.
But it wasn't enough.
The moment the substance touched the wall, it rapidly melted it—and everything nearby. From the viscous remains, twisted red mushrooms began to grow.
Arthur was exposed once more. He glanced at the red fungus in front of him, swallowed hard, then lifted his head to look at the ant. Without holding anything back, he turned and ran at full speed—and the ant gave chase.
His movements were incredibly agile. With smooth, fluid motions, he dodged obstacles and cleared dangerous turns and slopes along the way. In contrast, the ant struggled to keep up, its massive, armored body working against it.
Because of this, the gap between them quickly widened, and he pulled away from it. Yet, Arthur didn't feel any relief. He kept running until he reached a three-way junction.
There, he stopped with his body tense and every sense on high alert, carefully examining the three passages. He wouldn't choose randomly. From time to time, he glanced back at the tunnel behind him to see if the ant had caught up.
'Damn it… now I'm trapped in this cursed maze, and who knows where it leads. And worst of all, the full moon frenzy is about to begin, and my movements are restricted by that damn spider-woman's web.' he thought, grinding his teeth in anger.
Suddenly, a loud sound came from behind him, and he immediately realized the ant was closing in.
Time was short. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he didn't hesitate and chose the passage where he felt the faint breeze, moving through it.
Of the three passages, this was the logical choice—air meant a possible exit.
Since Arthur didn't know the terrain of this new tunnel, he slowed his speed and scanned his surroundings more carefully. Fortunately, nothing new appeared—just fungus, and more fungus… or so he thought at first.
After covering half a mile of sharp, winding turns, he came across a sight he wished he hadn't: another ant. Although smaller than the first and of a lower Rank, his heart nearly stopped.
Two similar ants in the same area meant only one thing—a terrifying realization: he was now trapped inside their nest, and it was clear more would appear.
'Alright… I'm fucked up. This situation is worse than I thought. Huff… why did I even come here in the first place? Am I really stupid enough to lead myself into this trap?'
He couldn't find the words to express his regret and frustration for following his curiosity. Yet, he didn't let his tangled emotions or fear hold him back—he leapt over the ant and continued his escape.
Naturally, the ant followed, moving the long feelers above its head in strange, erratic motions, occasionally spraying him with acid.
Arthur dodged the attacks and even managed to widen the gap, but he didn't have time to feel relief. Several smaller ants blocked his path, as if they had anticipated his arrival.
They left no opening for him to pass, opening their mandibles in unison and preparing to strike.
His face twisted in despair. He knew with absolute certainty that he couldn't confront this ant directly—any minor injury could turn his body into a mass of living fungus.
The deformed bear hadn't been the only fungal monster he had faced. Over the past three weeks, he had encountered many creatures infected by the parasitic fungus.
From this, he understood that these monsters were like zombies—they could only be killed by destroying their bodies or severing their heads, even the weak ones.
Despite all avenues being blocked, he didn't give up, as usual. Scanning his surroundings, he suddenly spotted a glimmer of hope:
a small hole in the wall beside him. Without hesitation, he jumped into it.
The hole was steep—more like a chasm that dragged him downward at an impossible speed.
Before he could even grasp what was happening, he had plummeted hundreds of meters underground, finally landing in a shallow underground stream.
Splash!
"Ah—"
He shook his head slowly; the fall had left him a bit dizzy. Looking around, he realized he was in a vast cave, water flowing through it. Thick plant roots stretched across the walls, some glowing faintly with a blue light.
His eyes widened, and he muttered in astonishment, "Where… am I? What is this place?"
…
Above the massive spider's nest, the Spider Woman lay relaxed, enjoying the cool evening breeze, watching the sun approach the horizon.
Suddenly, her expression froze. Her eyes widened as she quickly turned south, murmuring in disbelief, "The wolf… disappeared. This!? this is impossible."
She stood there, shocked and unable to react properly. She had completely lost her connection to Arthur and could no longer sense the webs she had implanted inside him.
"Is he dead? No… I would still be able to sense that. So… what happened? Could he have fallen into some kind of mana barrier?"
Her shock subsided, unexpectedly replaced by worry. She didn't understand why her emotions were mixed, but she didn't remain frozen. She hurried toward the last place she had felt Arthur's presence.