บท 146: Spiders (II)
Listening carefully to her surroundings, Snow tried to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. She took another step and the crunching of the sound of her boots rang loudly, breaking leftover small pieces of bones that she did not realize until too late.
The loud sound rang with vicious payback as if telling whatever was in the room.
Metal against metal ground against each other not too far away to the right. Snow snapped her head towards the directions, her ears perked, trying to find out what was causing such a ridiculous sound.
Even the webs started to shake and move, until suddenly, a giant spider stepped out of the darkness.
The top half of its large body was shaped into human and the bottom half into a spider. Its black body had an hourglass underneath, reminding her of a black widow. The top half of the body was beautiful, her full bosom, curvy hips, and even her face were enchanting both genders. Her long black hair flowed downwards like a river, covering most of her chest. Even her eyes were slightly slanted with a hint of bright light blue.
Two more pairs of eyes opened up near her forehead, startling many who starred with awe.
"Human," the spider called out in their tongue. It was a bit rough but had a slight chime to it. She stepped a few feet forward, staring down at the group before them. "What purpose do you have to be here?"
Snow flinched. She really didn't like spiders, and being in the presence of a giant one made her skin crawl. She hated centipedes and millipedes the worst, mostly because the hundreds of legs creeped her out every time.
With a cough, Snow spoke, "My name is Snow, and I have come here for my friends."
"Your friends?" The spider tilted her head, shifting her hair a bit to the side. "Do you mean...these?"
Snow followed her gaze and saw hundreds of bodies tangled in spider silk. She quickly scanned and saw that those bodies were still alive and breathing. They were partially paralyzed, and from the group of hundreds of swinging bodies, she thought she saw a few with a powerful magical force that reminded her of powerful players.
"Yes?" Snow said, contemplating if it was really were the people she was looking for.
"How about we play a game," the spider said, clicking her teeth in excitement at the new challenge that came before. "It's straightforward."
Snow didn't trust the spider, and she could tell that the spider outclassed her in power.
"What would that be?"
"To see who can weave the best tapestry or a blanket. If you win, I set all of your friends free."
Stunned by the challenge, Snow took another step forward. This time, she stood straighter, her eyes glowing gold. The simmering of holy energy slowly spewed out of her body, a bit agitated, she spoke, "That would not be fair, oh great one," a hint of sarcasm was laced in her lines.
"What do you mean?" The spider folded her arm, she leaned forward, getting herself comfortable.
"Because you are a master web spinner, a fantastic weaver, how am I supposed to compare to your skill?" asked Snow. "The artwork that you have done all around us has proven the beauty of what you can do." She waved her hand, emphasizing the web that the spider cast.
A heavy silence descended upon the group.
Snow uncomfortably stood still, unsure why the spider had not answered her. Was what she said wrong? To contend to a master weaver sounded like a stupid idea when she didn't even know how to weave in the first place. Why bother?
"I would have thought you would have taken my offer," the spider had finally spoke. "It is what every single one of your kind did."
"Well, it's stupid," Snow bluntly spoke. "I can't weave or know how to weave and to compete against a master weaver when everything is stacked against me is illogical. Plus, I would have lost and ended up like the ones up in the air." She pointed towards the bodies dangling above her.
The spider barked out, laughing, throwing her head back as tears dripped down her face. She wiped it away, allowing her to move closer to Snow as she stood over her.
Snow felt dwarfed amongst the monster that stood tall, but she didn't shrink back and instead faced the spider without shaking. Even though her mind was screaming, eww, spider!
"Then how about this," the spider said with a mischievous smile. "What is my name, and in return, I will give you a favor."
"That is a bit..." Snow sighed. Why were all monsters so difficult? "How many chances would I get?"
"Three chances." The spider held up her fingers.
"Do I get any clues?"
"Maybe."
"Is it difficult to say a yes or no answer?" Snow grumbled.
"Human, I'll give you one now. I have lived for a very long time, and I have won numerous titles for my weaving skill."
"Can I talk with my teammates?"
The spider waved her hand, "Go ahead," and shooed her away.
Snow turned around and walked over towards her team. They all huddled around her as they all broke out with names.
"Saintess, we should kill her," one of the players voiced his opinion vehemently, which a lot of them agreed on. "She's a monster. She must have killed the rest of our teammates! Why are we playing by her rules?"
"Saintess, the level of the monster is too high. Even we can not decipher her name with our normal identification." Another replied.
"Saintess!"
"Saintess!"
The voices of her guildsmen chatted with cacophony that her eyebrows furrowed.
"Quiet!" Olgom shouted, silencing everyone. He was next to her, making her ears ring. "Let the lady speak!"
"Thanks..." Snow was finally able to think and hear without the constant chattering of the other Players sinking into her mind. "We aren't killing the spider, yet."
A few groaned at her words, shaking their heads in disagreement.
"I know you are wondering why, but trust me. Fighting the spider is not the best route to go right now."
The amount of power that they had was deplorable as the Players themselves were still weak. She needed the main force that she had come with to even kill the monster before them. Right now, everyone would just be food, completely going backward in what she was trying to accomplish.
The whereabouts of the group were unknown, and if she could persuade her way out of this, she would.
"But, this is a monster we are talking about." The player named Tussel said with a hint of unease. "To trust the words of a monster is like putting a knife at the back of your neck and getting whacked seconds later for believing in its lie."
Snow folded her arms and leaned a bit back as she seriously spoke with a lower tone, "Then you suggest killing the monster by myself?" She asked him.
"Well, we will help you."
"With that weak body?" Her words were like knives, slashing into their minds ruthlessly.
"We aren't weak."
"Yes, you are. Compared to the spider in front of us, half of you guys will be dead before you can swing your sword."
"That's not true."
"Oh please. You guys have been stuck in the dungeon for over one year. The strength that you have gained is probably lost. Right now, escaping from here and finishing our quest is more important than slaying every monster we see. If we were to fight now without anything that can offset our chances even higher, at least two-thirds of you will die." Snow said with gritted teeth.
"We came to destroy the dungeon core and save the rest of the people stuck in this dungeon."
The others uncomfortably shifted around by her intense gaze.
"We must stay alive until we meet up with the others. With that being said, anybody have any clues of what the spider's name is?"
Different name suggestions spewed out from each of th players.
"Spidey?"
"Rose monsters?"
"The idiot."
"Florence."
The list went on.
"Okay. Okay." Snow raised up her hand. "Let's not just throw random names without thinking. Does anyone have any hint of an idea, maybe legends and myths that we can think of?"
Everyone thought over what she said.
"I might have something." Jose raised up his hand, he was peeking out the side of the Olgom's leg.
"What would that be?" Snow asked.
��I like to read stories about myths and legends, especially back at home. There was a famous myth where a woman bragged about being the best weaver around. She even bragged to the gods, Athena, stating that she could beat her, which she did in a contest. Athena got mad and cursed her to become a spider."
"Her name?"
"Arachne."
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