The Fly In The Spiders Web chap 15

The wind tugged at the edges of Valen’s cloak as he stepped out of the village gates and onto the mountain path. The familiar crunch of gravel beneath his boots offered no excitement anymore. The sun had barely risen, but he was already moving. The road to the Fenward Dungeon was one he knew like the back of his hand. Even with his eyes closed, he could reach it.

But today wasn’t just another round of coin-gathering or herb-collecting.

His new daggers, custom-forged by Clyde, were sheathed at his sides—resting in new leather loops across his belt. Unlike his Bone Sword, these were built for speed, not brute strength. Slender and curved, they gleamed faintly in the morning light. Twin weapons, mirror images of each other, perfectly balanced. Their hilts fit in his hands like extensions of his body.

Valen hadn’t smiled when he received them. He never did. But his father had still seemed to understand the quiet gratitude in his eyes.

"You’re sure about this?" Clyde had asked, hands black with soot as he handed over the blades.

Valen nodded. “I need to move differently now. Faster. The sword isn’t enough anymore.”

Clyde said nothing, just gave a grunt and returned to the forge. He hadn’t asked why. No questions about what drove his son to train, to isolate himself, to fight alone. Perhaps he already knew. Or perhaps he understood that Valen wouldn’t answer.

Still, as Valen adjusted the daggers on his belt, he felt the weight of that conversation. It had taken five years to ask his father for something personal. Five years since that day in the boss room when a power beyond his understanding had saved his life—and disappeared without a trace.

That moment haunted him.

Every month, he had tried to summon it again: that overwhelming surge, the strike Monsters feared, the stillness after the storm. But no matter how hard he trained, no matter what skills he chained together, it never came back. It wasn’t in his status screen. No name. No description. Just a memory. A ghost of something he no longer understood.

He’d hoped the daggers might help—new weapons, a new stance. Something different.

And now, he would test them.

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The entrance to the Fenward Dungeon loomed ahead, silent and inviting. A faint shimmer marked the boundary, a curtain of magic that only adventurers could see. Valen stepped through it without hesitation.

The first floor barely offered resistance anymore. Wolves, goblins, and lesser beasts scurried away the moment he entered. He didn’t even draw steel. Only when he reached the path down to the second floor did he begin to feel the stirrings of anticipation.

The voice gave him access to the second floor it was a reward for finishing the first floor without access it wouldn’t let him pass the fog like an unbreakable barrier

The air changed the moment he descended.

It was cooler here—darker, denser. The moss glowed a dim blue along the walls, enough to see but not enough to comfort. Here, the creatures were smarter, faster. Packs moved with coordination. Traps were layered into the stone. But even these failed to excite him now.

He moved in silence, clearing out a group of armored crawlers with a swift combination of Quickdraw, Phantom Slash, and Echo Step—the echoing boom startling the rest of the floor’s beasts. The daggers performed well. Better than he expected. He felt light. Dangerous.

The Mirrored Movement passive was already at work, and paired with Blade Shift, he could slip between aggressive bursts and defensive repositioning with ease. The coordination between hands felt natural. Almost too natural.

And yet, still, there was no trace of that hidden power. Nothing stirred in his blood.

He gritted his teeth and continued.

Hours passed. Silver fang wolves. Some big slimes even a cave troll. Nothing came close to challenging him. He made it to the corridor near the second floor’s boss room, more out of habit than curiosity.

That’s when it happened.

A rustle behind him—too quiet for a beast.

He spun, but not fast enough.

A silver-furred wolf, lean and starved, lunged from a shadowed gap in the stone wall. Its jaws clamped onto his shoulder before he could bring up his weapons, its momentum dragging him down.

-37 HP

Valen hit the ground hard, teeth clenched against the pain. Blood splattered across the mossy stones. The wolf snarled, eyes glowing with a faint red hue. This one was different. A second-floor variant. Maybe a stray from the boss chamber—or a guardian.

“Too slow…” Valen hissed, twisting his body.

The Instinctive Parry didn’t trigger. He was on his own.

But his reaction came fast enough. One dagger came up in a reverse grip, plunging into the wolf’s side. The beast yelped and recoiled, just as Valen twisted and launched into Echo Step, vanishing in a sonic boom and reappearing above the wolf.

Momentum Slash.

He came down like a blade of wind, both daggers slashing into the wolf’s back. A second delayed strike from Echo Step exploded into the beast’s ribs. The wolf crashed against the wall, whining in agony—but it wasn’t dead.

It lunged again, this time aiming low, trying to tear his legs out from under him. Valen spun midair, using Blade Shift into an evasive roll, dragging one dagger across the wolf’s eye as he passed.

The creature shrieked and collapsed, twitching. It took three more stabs to finish it off.

Panting, Valen stepped back, wiping blood from his cheek.

He’d been careless. Walking near the boss room was always risky. But still…

His eyes drifted toward the sealed stone archway at the end of the corridor. The boss room.

A low vibration rolled through the floor. It wasn’t loud. Just… persistent.

Like breathing.

Valen stepped closer, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. The blood had stopped, and his natural regeneration—boosted by his stats—was already kicking in. He wouldn’t die. But what lay beyond that gate might kill anyone else.

The door wasn’t open, but something was inside.

He reached out with Heightened Intuition, letting the passive skill stretch his senses. And immediately, his stomach turned.

It was a single presence Dozens of little movements. Twitching limbs all of them… connected.

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“A spider…” Valen whispered.

No.

Not just a spider. A massive one. The air was thick with webs. Mana pooled around the cracks of the sealed gate. This was no ordinary boss.

His instincts screamed.

The same feeling he’d had five years ago returned—not the mysterious power, but the dread before it. That moment when he knew he shouldn’t win… but did.

Whatever was inside that room… it wasn’t meant for him yet.

He took a step back.

Then another.

But he didn’t run.

Instead, he crouched near the dead wolf’s body, examining the bite marks in his armor. Then his eyes drifted to the daggers in his hands—now soaked in blood.

They’d held up well.

Better than expected.

He looked once more at the boss gate.

Valen had only taken a few more steps when his instincts screamed.

He twisted—but too late.

Another grey blur slammed into his back, jaws snapping as claws tore through his cloak and raked across his side. He hit the ground hard, rolling over as pain flared beneath his ribs. The wolf snarled, lunging again.

Heightened Intuition had given him just enough warning to avoid a fatal blow. Gritting his teeth, Valen brought up his left forearm to deflect the wolf’s teeth while his right hand reached for his bone sword.

Quickdraw.

Steel flashed. The blade bit deep into the beast’s neck. Blood sprayed. The wolf spasmed violently and collapsed atop him, dead weight pressing into the wound it had caused.

Valen shoved the corpse aside, wincing. His side was bleeding, not too deep, but enough to slow him. “Damn thing must’ve been waiting nearby.”

He stood up, scanning the dim hallway. The second-floor boss room loomed ahead—its massive double doors of dark stone now slightly ajar.

That was wrong.

The boss room doors never stayed open.

And then it clicked. The scent of blood. The ambush. The slightly open door.

The dungeon had sensed a challenger.

The door creaked open wider as if inviting him in.

“No,” Valen muttered. “Not now. I didn’t—”

A low rumble echoed from the walls. Magic circuits along the floor began to glow. Behind him, the corridor sealed itself with a solid wall of stone. The air shimmered.

[Second Floor Boss Chamber: LOCKED]

A magical prompt flickered into existence. No escape. No turning back.

He was trapped.

“…Of course,” Valen muttered, wiping blood from his cheek. “Should’ve known better.”

He took a slow breath, forced his heartbeat to steady.

This was his fault. He knew better than to walk so close to a boss room with the wound still fresh. But the dungeon didn’t care about caution. It wanted blood. It had given him no choice.

Valen approached the entrance, dragging the bone sword behind him with a soft hiss along the stone.

As he stepped into the chamber, the doors behind him slammed shut with thunderous finality.

The room beyond was massive—a cavern of webbed pillars and jagged stone. The ceiling was lost in shadow, and the air stank of venom and decay. Silk strands clung to every surface like an infestation.

Then it dropped.

A massive shadow fell from the ceiling. Eight legs slammed into the floor, shaking the chamber. The creature’s body was covered in bone-like chitin, each limb as thick as a grown man's torso. Its fangs dripped with green venom, sizzling as they hit the stone.

[Elite Venomfang Widow - Level 22 - ELITE Variant]

“Elite…”

This wasn’t a normal second-floor boss. No, this was a variant—stronger, faster, and far deadlier. The kind of monster that devoured entire parties of adventurers.

And he was alone.

Valen didn’t hesitate. There was no time to panic.

Overdrive.

Fury surged through him as Fury Drive reached its limit. His body ignited with speed and power, stamina beginning to burn away like fuel.

The spider shrieked and lunged.

Valen moved faster.

Echo Step.

He vanished with a loud shockwave, reappearing at the spider’s side mid-swing.

Momentum Slash.

The force of the flash-step fed straight into his attack. His blade carved through one of the spider’s legs, splitting carapace. The beast howled, venom spraying in arcs.

It retaliated, hurling itself into a spinning leap—legs extended like blades.

Valen flipped backward midair, using Blade Shift to transition into evasive form, reducing the impact as a leg clipped his shoulder.

He crashed into a pillar, vision swimming.

The spider was already upon him.

Too fast.

Duel Parry.

Instinct kicked in. Twin blades—bone sword and Clyde’s dagger—intercepted twin fangs. Poison hissed just inches from his face as the spider pressed down.

His arms shook.

He couldn’t hold it.

“Not yet—!”

Phantom Slash.

A cross-slash burst from his weapons, an afterimage trailing behind each swing. Both blades struck with explosive force.

The spider recoiled, screeching.

He dashed forward again, chaining into another Echo Step, this time from an angle.

Double-hit—first impact, then echo.

It screamed louder, enraged, flinging silk in a wide net across the room. Sticky threads whipped toward him.

Blade Shift: Defensive.

He slashed through what he could, but the net caught his leg. The spider moved fast, pinning him.

Venom-dripping mandibles opened wide.

A second passed.

Then—Instinctive Parry triggered.

The attack veered slightly as he twisted his core, reducing the blow’s force. His shoulder tore, but it wasn’t lethal.

He roared back, eyes blazing.

Raged Cleave.

A brutal horizontal swing, wide and crushing. The spider’s front legs shattered under the force. It shrieked, stumbling.

Valen didn’t stop.

Quickdraw → Phantom Slash → Momentum Slash → Echo Step.

Four chained skills.

Speed. Power. Timing.

He became a blur of movement, zigzagging through the air, cutting through limb after limb until only the creature’s main body remained. Black ichor dripped from dozens of wounds.

The spider shrieked and began charging its final attack. Magic gathered between its fangs—venom boiling into a volatile orb of green flame.

"Die."

Valen leapt.

Overdrive Surge—a burst of power from the last of his stamina.

He twisted midair, weapons crossed.

Phantom Slash one final time.

The afterimage hit first.

Then the blades.

The spider’s head split in two.

The orb exploded—but not before the spider fell.

The shockwave slammed Valen into the wall.

Silence.

Then a glowing light washed over the chamber.

[Level Up! You are now Level 18.]

[Level Up! You are now Level 19.]

[Level Up! You are now Level 20.]

[Level Up! You are now Level 21.]

[New Skill Unlocked Sword Masters Flow]

[New Item Spider Fang Duel Blades]

He gasped for breath, hands shaking, covered in cuts, ichor, and venom burns.

But he was alive.

How could he forget mana existed he once again feinted with way to much overuse he should’ve been dead

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[Status Screen – Valen]

Name: Valen

Age: 15

Level: 21

Class: Legendary Swordsman

Subclasses: Berserker (Unlocked), Duel Blader (Unlocked)

Race: Human

Title(s): [title(s): [2nd floor cave Dungeon Survivor], Elite Slayer,LEGENDARY class

Skills & Abilities

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Legendary Swordsman (Main Class)

Passive Bonuses:

* +15% to all base stats

* Heightened Intuition: Sense danger, read body movement, anticipate attacks

* Instinctive Parry: Chance to automatically reduce damage by ~40%

* Swordmaster's Flow (NEW): Slight mana regeneration when chaining attacks seamlessly (Uncommon Passive)

Active Skills:

* Quickdraw: Lightning-fast unsheathing + first strike; can chain into other skills

* Precision Slash: Bonus damage to weak points

* Momentum Slash: Increased damage based on current movement speed

* Echo Step: Flash-step movement with a delayed shockwave strike if used during an attack

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Berserker

Passive:

* Fury Drive: Each successful hit builds a meter toward Overdrive

* Unyielding Will: Immune to fear, stun, and mind control below 25% HP

Active:

* Overdrive: Temporarily boosts strength, speed, and resistance; drains stamina rapidly

* Raged Cleave: A wide, brutal knockback swing infused with fury

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Duel Blader

Passive:

* Mirrored Movement: Dual wielding increases agility and attack speed

* Blade Shift: Freely switch between evasive, defensive, and aggressive styles—even midair

Active:

* Phantom Slash: Cross-slash with an afterimage that hits twice

* Duel Parry: Blocks from two directions with perfect timing

Valens Inventory/Equiped

* Warden’s Bone Sword – Unbreakable, soul-bound, still sharp after 5 years

* Clyde’s Forged Daggers – Balanced for speed, precision, and dual-style combat

* Bone Sigil-increased defense 5% from the warden on the first floor

Mana Stones (x13) – From dungeon mobs

Wolf Fur(x3)

Wolf Fangs(x9)

Type: Rare Weapon – Elite Monster Drop

Description: Twin daggers forged from the venomous fangs of the Widow Matriarch. Sharp, light, and humming with latent venom.

Stat Bonuses:

* +3 Agility

* +2 Dexterity

* +1 Strength

Special Effect:

Poison-Tipped: Basic attacks have a 10% chance to inflict Minor Poison (damage over time).