Queen Of The Cave

[Episode 26]

What could possibly go wrong? Seriously?

How about everything, absolutely everything! There isn't a single thing that is going well and especially not right now!

I was worried that a group Lynn knew nothing about and randomly joined would be dangerous but them being a bunch of murderers was NOT what I was expecting. I could easily see that they weren't normal since Lynn knew nothing about that Luciano guy on top of sounding extremely greasy, but to think that it'd be even worse!

"Ruvie dear, I'm sorry. I didn't expect this to happen. They looked so trustworthy and kind. I always knew that I trusted good-looking people too easily!"

Honestly, where did you even get the idea that he was good-looking anyway, he looks like the dog poop under my shoe! "Don't worry Lynn. It's not your fault, I should've known." Curse my foolish past self!

To be honest, my mental capacity to think and contain any more nonsense is hanging on a small thread of string. Even worse that I'm quite literally hanging off a single thread of string right now, and upside down for the record, together with Lynn. Honestly, it would've been a million times better had those guys just been outright evil and ambushed us. To think they were just a bunch of chickens who intentionally abandoned their teammates saying it's for "the greater good", leaving us in a dark cave where a massive man-eating spider is nesting.

I nearly crack my wisdom teeth with how hard I grit and clench my teeth before closing my eyes to think.

Just how did we get to this point?

Well, after greeting Luciano, I introduced myself to the four other members of the 'Shulkerz' I did think that the name of their team was a bit odd but wrote it off thinking they were trying to be emo or something. The other members were as disgustingly smiley as their captain but again, I tried to be nice and ignore it since I was more interested in the cave.

An hour and a half later we teleport to the Bowa forest and end up at our previous locations so we met up at the centre of the forest so that we could all enter the cave together. It looked dark and dreary, but we suspected that there'd be some sort of treasure in there which we could exchange for points. With Lynn and I at the back for security, we slowly entered the cave.

A new type of monster, which Shulkerz member, Joseph, with a 'B rank' analyse skill identified as a Spindoff, arbitrarily attacks us with a thick web as soon as we walk in. As the webs shined against the crystal-filled cave, we noticed that they looked like iron, in fact, they were indeed metal nets. Despite such an unfamiliar creature suddenly attacking us, the Skullz members, along with Lynn, calmly attacked it while I jumped back to avoid the crossfire.

This group was certainly no joke. It felt as though there was no need for my presence. I could barely even land a blow on any of the Spindoffs that attacked us as we progressed further into the cave. Though luckily, with Lynn's help, I was able to get a few finishing blows and get a few points.

Shortly after entering, we seemed to have somehow reached the heart of the cave. There were fluorescent lights shimmering from the crystals and rocks all over the walls but one glint in particular managed to catch our full attention.

The yellow glow of gold and a large stack of it too.

Joseph, the guy with the analyse skill, was second in command and quite friendly. He was the only member I didn't find creepy. I actually decided to join the group for the day since he seemed like the only normal-looking person.

His only fault was his hastiness.

Without a second to waste, Joseph jogged from the entrance of the treasure room towards the faint glow of gold, probably expecting to throw the gold pieces up in the sky and roll about in it. However, he only managed to nuzzle the treasure with his pinky finger before strings of gold rain down on him, amputating his limbs.

A crimson shine dripped calmly from the pile of gold.

Towering over with its enormous body was a colossal Spindoff Queen. Her intentions were extremely clear from her immediate crunching and gnawing of Joseph's remains.

Feet glued to the floor in fear, a warm hand placed itself on my back. I had thought it was Lynn trying to comfort me and it had almost worked, until I found myself on the floor, staring directly at on of the many legs of the Spindoff Queen.