By the time we reached the cave, I already had given both {Quick Tier 1 Evolution} and {Memory Bank} to Riley. But {Body Regeneration} was still not available to her. Before we walked inside, I pulled everybody behind one of the trees not so much worried that the spiders could hear us but more concerned with them being able to see us approaching.
"Okay, just as a rundown of the plan. Michael, you stay with Riley. If she move back, you do too. Astrid, I think one of us should take the lead and the other stay close to Michael and the witch."
"I'll lead," the Frosted Lumberjack said in a confident tone.
I was a little bit surprised since it was the first time she ever made that type of suggestion and I was imagining that I would be the one taking point on this attack. But at the same time, I didn't really care all that much about leadership to make a big deal out of it. However, I was curious about the reason for her decision.
"Okay. I don't have a problem with that, but why?"
"I'm big. If Michael close, get in way."
"I think you might get in the way either way, but ok. Let's try with you in the front, then." I turned to Riley. "Witch, do you have anything else you want to add?"
"A small thing," she replied. "I'm not a she. I'm a they."
I just nodded. "Okay then."
I wasn't really all that well versed in gender politics in the old world. What I remembered was that Pops said it used to be a big thing. But honestly, I couldn't care less. There were bigger issues in the world than arguing about what people should call themselves. And if they wanted to be called they, he, it, or whatever it was, as long as they answered I was fine with it.
"Hang on, why is that?" Michael spoke up, looking with a confused expression at the witch.
"It means that if you're talking about me, I'm asking you to say they instead. Just preference."
"So, kind of like a nickname?" Michael tilted his head.
"It's more complicated than that, but sure. Kind of like a nickname."
"Got it. So can I call you 'they' instead of Witch?"
Riley squinted at the Improvised Archer. "Sure, I guess. I feel like Witch is easier, but you do you."
"Was that all, or did you have anything to say about the plan?" I turned to Riley.
The witch looked down, clearly embarrassed and said, "No, just that."
"Okay then. Astrid, we'll follow you."
But before we started, the Frosted Lumberjack made a quick explanation of a few hand gestures. She would be using them as we were going deeper into the cave. She also asked me to use {Firestarter} to create a torch so we could see what was around. After all, we had no idea how deep that cave was. And unlike spiders, we didn't have a good way to see in the dark.
Slowly, we entered the cave, and it was quite obvious that it was getting dark quickly. Less than 10 meters [32.8 ft] away from the entrance, the light of the torch was the only thing piercing the darkness in front of us. To make matters worse, any attempt at hiding from the monsters went out of the window, as there were spider webs everywhere. I knew that this type of creatures would get signals from their webs to know where prey was located. Meaning that they might have been getting the information that there was a new group approaching as soon as we stepped into the cave. But still, we continued.
We could hear chattering in the distance, but it was hard to tell if it came from a single entity or various spiders. As a matter of fact, we were not even sure if these spiders were actually the same spiders that we faced in the village. They could be a completely different species altogether, making our travel here not as useful as we might have hoped.
At least they would give us some levels. More importantly, give Riley some levels that way they would be able to get some skills and hopefully figure out a way to make an antidote for the people in the village. And more importantly, for Astrid.
The cave made a couple of turns and we no longer had any sort of light aside from the one in the torch I was carrying. To make matters worse, I had to control the exact location of the flame so we wouldn't end up setting one of the spider webs on fire. I couldn't remember if spider webs were really flammable or not. But I wasn't going to risk starting a fire inside a cave when we only had one way out.
We eventually reached a larger chamber, one that didn't seem to have any other exits. And one that was covered completely by spider webs. From top to bottom, the wall, the ceiling, the floor, everything was a covered by the web. This is where if there were spiders, they should be. And more than that, we also noticed a couple of cocoons on the sides of the walls holding something that might still be moving.
Riley took a step towards it, but I quickly stopped them with my staff and pointed up. Michael and Astrid had already noticed, but on the ceiling there were two spiders staring down at us. They were the same type of weird centaur spider, but with only two heads instead of three. Just the lower and the upper torso. They seemed to be waiting for us to approach the cocoons as they were in a position to intercept, but when we stopped and looked up, they realized their plan failed. Both monsters jumped down from the ceiling, landing on the opposite end of the chamber. Directly in front of us.
Unlike the full centaur that we saw that had that extra head, these seemed to be able to alternate which body was on the ground without any issues. And I didn't know what was worse. Being able to do that or not.
We didn't waste time at least. Michael fired an arrow at one of those spiders, but it was able to move out of the way, the projectile landing in one of the cocoons behind it. These spiders were clearly smaller than the ones we saw in the village and a quick confirmation from the System cleared any doubts.
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Rotling - Tier 0 - Saturated
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I was happy that we were dealing with something much, much less troublesome. I jumped to intercept the second spider, who was dashing at Michael and Riley, quickly passing the torch to the Witch. And Astrid had locked the first one in a battle just as the first arrow missed.
The Frosted Lumberjack wasn't holding back, but she wasn't going all out either. Instead of using {Emerging Glacier} she focused on {Frost Chop} and a new skill that she gained this on the last level up to reach 20. It was called {Grasp of Ice}.
The skill was very strange. While the description said it could only be used if she was wielding the axe, the attack itself did not require the weapon at all. Instead, Astrid was supposed to grab the target with one hand while holding the weapon on the other. If that worked, the area where she touched would be quickly frozen over. And she had managed to blend the ability with her combat style almost seamlessly.
The way the Frosted Lumberjack would just try with the axe and use the blunt end between the shaft and the blade to pull her forward and then use that skill to damage them. Her first attack was already enough to break a few of the legs of the spider she was fighting, and I didn't want to be left behind.
Using {Formless Lunge} I slammed my staff on the head of the spider. The one of the lower body. There was a sickening crunch, but it wasn't enough to destroy that one head. Fortunately, with two heads, it seemed to be struggling to control its body as quickly as it was before. This delay between movement allowed both Michael and me to strike it repeatedly and dodge from any incoming attacks before we killed it.
It wasn't hard to deal with those spiders, but they were also just tier zero. Saturated, yes. But tier zero nonetheless.
Once the two monsters were dead, I barely felt any particles coming into me. Which did make sense. Not only were we splitting the particles into four, but most of them were going to Riley. And if that wasn't going to reduce the amount of particles I would get enough, those creatures were also much weaker than I.
But before turning to the witch and asking if they gained any levels, we took a few steps towards the couple of cocoons that were at the back of the cave. One was much bigger than the other. The small one was about waist high and we froze when we got closer worried that we were about to find a child enveloped in that web. Even Astrid, who was usually neutral, seemed to be worried about that situation. Still, using her axe, the Frosted Lumberjack slowly cut the cocoon open, revealing its contents. And the moment she did so, we all let out a sigh of relief.
It wasn't a child but instead a deer. And its body was mostly drained. It looks like the creature was here for a while already. .
Turning to the next cocoon. The bigger one, Astrid, cut it open without any hesitation. Not only it was by the side of that animal which likely meant it was something similar to it. But it was the one that Michael ended up firing an arrow at. And since there was no noise coming from it, it was safe to assume that whatever was inside was already dead.
But the moment she opened, we all froze. Inside the cocoon wasn't a deer or some animal. It was a man. A man that was just skin and bones as if all the fluids inside of its body had been sucked out by something. Which, in all likelihood is exactly what happened. And the arrow that Michael fired was embedded deep into its eye. Its hollow sockets staring right at us.
The Improvised Archer took a step back and quickly moved to the side before starting to wretch on the ground. Any food that he had eaten these past few hours was now part of the decorations of this cave. Astrid also looked upset, but not so much just because of the sight. I had a feeling she was taking in the ramifications of what happened. The fact that this man spent who knows how long here trapped and being eaten alive by those spiders. At least, that was what I was doing.
Luckily, Riley didn't seem to be on the same wavelength. They reached out and started to inspect the body, looking for any remnants of poison. Once they found it, the witch just touched the substance and put it close to their eyes. They were the one handling the torch now and use it to get a better look at things. After rubbing the poison between their fingers for a moment, they nodded.
"If this is what's going on with the people in the village, I know how to fix it. Let's get out of here and I can make a pill for Astrid, so I can test."
With that, we headed off of the cave but leaving the man behind. Taking him out of there would be not only too much trouble, but also probably destroy the body.
Outside, Riley picked a few of the herbs they had once more and used that medicine making skill to create the antidote for Astrid. And this time, it worked perfectly. The moment she ate it, the poison was almost entirely removed from her body, which meant that now we could save the people in the village and then go after those who were captured by the rest of the spiders.