Crownless Reincarnation: New World? Nah I'd win-Chapter 118: [Core Dungeon] [5]

[Event <Core Dungeon>]

The air inside the fifth floor was different from all the floors before it.

It was darker and filled with more humidity.

Sticky threads hung from trees, some nearly invisible until someone brushed against them.

Even though the place was enormous, there were a lot of threads blocking their view.

Akamir sliced through one with a careless flick of his blade. "Stay alert."

They moved in a tight formation, but this time Akamir remained at the back.

He didn’t plan to take active part in the fight this time, fearing any sudden sneak attack from the Bloodhound Omen.

Viros and Luca took the lead, their eyes looking around, weapons drawn.

Zaina stayed behind them, her staff faintly glowing, her breath steady as she prepared her next spell.

Ronin stayed back, already fitting an arrow to his bow.

Lyselle and Ragina followed the group but hadn’t drawn their weapons.

Akamir gave them a look but didn’t say anything.

’It’s better if they just stay out of this.’

A low rumble echoed within the place.

The trees ended suddenly, revealing a cavern hollowed into the side of a hill.

Jagged webbing pulsed with a faint blue light, covering the walls and floor.

In the center, hanging from the ceiling, was the boss.

A spider the size of a cart, its body covered in mottled black armor, legs long and thick with barbs.

Its eight eyes glowed faint green, fixed on them.

It dropped to the ground the moment they reached its radar.

The impact shook the floor before the monster screeched at them.

Without waiting, Viros charged first with a grin and Luca followed.

The spider screeched, a high-pitched sound that made Zaina flinch, but she didn’t stop.

Her staff moved as she chanted softly under her breath.

A faint shield formed around the two rushing ahead.

The beast moved quickly despite its size, lifting a leg to stab down.

Viros rolled to the side, swung his axe hammer, and left a gash on the creature’s joint.

Luca slid beneath the spider’s body, slashing twice across its underbelly before retreating.

It turned sharply, trying to catch him with its mandibles, but Ronin’s arrow flew past its leg, embedding into one of its eyes.

The spider jerked back, enraged by the sudden attack.

Zaina’s spell activated and a burst of light surged around Luca, blinding the creature but didn’t have any effect on him.

Akamir stood at the edge, one hand resting on his sword, the other held behind his back.

He was ready to interfere if things got out of their hands.

The spider lifted its abdomen and spat a thick web toward Viros, who barely ducked out of the way.

It wasn’t just sticky—it hissed, steaming where it touched the ground.

Ragina tried to step in, but Lyselle caught her wrist and shook her head.

Akamir looked at the Duke’s daughter but didn’t say anything.

The beast lunged again, once again making Luca and Viros split apart.

Zaina followed them with her eyes, her next spell forming quickly.

The spider turned toward her—only for another arrow to hit its side.

Ronin didn’t stop shooting.

Each arrow aimed for the eyes or joints, forcing the spider to keep shifting its stance.

Luca jumped up a rock and pushed himself off it, slamming his blade into the spider’s back.

The beast shrieked, thrashing wildly.

One of its legs caught Luca mid-air, flinging him across the ground.

Zaina didn’t panic as she made her next spell.

A spherical thing wrapped around Luca’s body before he even hit the dirt, slowing his impact.

Viros gritted his teeth, ducked under a swinging leg, and lodged his axe deep into the spider’s side.

He twisted hard, tearing flesh off its body.

The creature screeched again, backing up quickly.

Ronin let out a low whistle. "It’s getting reckless."

’Alright, let’s help them a little.’

Akamir finally stepped forward.

He raised his left hand slightly, and the air shifted.

Not much. Just a soft flicker.

The spider hesitated, its legs twitching. It sensed something.

But Akamir didn’t attack as he noticed something.

He stepped to the side and stopped again.

Zaina’s third spell lit up the cave, raining sharp shards of blue light from above.

They cut through two of the spider’s legs, clean and deep.

The monster collapsed with a heavy groan.

"Hahaha, got you, bitch!"

Viros didn’t give it time to recover.

He leapt up, landed on its back beside Luca, and drove his axe into its head. Luca followed with a final strike to its mouth.

The beast spasmed once, then went still.

A soft hum echoed through the cavern.

The core within the spider’s body pulsed faintly before dimming.

A silence followed as the spider died, and the only sounds were their breaths that filled the air now.

Zaina wiped sweat from her brow. Ronin lowered his bow.

Lyselle exhaled slowly, and Ragina stepped forward but said nothing.

Akamir walked past the body without stopping. "We move after a few minutes of rest."

No one argued.

They knew waiting too long would only expose them to more trouble.

Akamir glanced to the side and saw the raven again.

It wasn’t the one from before but had the same crimson color.

His hand twitched slightly near his sword, but he didn’t reach for it.

’Should I just go attack them?’

He quickly shot that idea down.

Akamir wasn’t really sure how strong they were or what tricks they had under their sleeves.

’Let’s just wait for a while.’

The group gathered themselves quickly, forming up again.

As they moved out of the cavern, no one spoke for a while.

Until Viros began massaging his hand. "Damn, that thing was tough."

"You guys took care of it easily." Akamir said, glancing at him. "Good job."

"Meh, it wasn’t that hard." He replied, shrugging off. "With all the training we did, I would be ashamed if I got worked up over the first boss."

"Still," Luca muttered, brushing dirt off his shoulder, "it had some real weight behind those legs. I felt that hit in my spine."

Zaina turned her head, frowning slightly. "I could’ve done more if I had been more active."

"You did enough," Viros said from the back. "Your shield probably saved us twice."

Ragina nodded quietly but didn’t join the conversation.

Lyselle kept scanning the surroundings as they walked, her hand now resting lightly on the hilt of her weapon.

Akamir trailed at the rear again.

His steps were steady, but his eyes flicked toward the raven.

They followed a narrow path between towering moss-covered trees.

The threads were thinner here, less sticky, and more decorative than functional.

"I thought you said the fifth floor boss changes every time," Ragina said suddenly.

"It does," Luca replied. "But there are patterns. Spiders show up a lot around this level."

"Then what about the others?" she asked once again. "Will they not face a boss monster?"

"They will." Luca replied, glancing at her. "A new monster will take the previous one’s place in a few hours."

"You think there’ll be another boss before the tenth?" Ronin asked after a while.

"There will be," Luca answered. "Seventh floor sometimes has core beasts, but depends on the path we take."

"Isn’t that rare?" Lyselle asked.

He gave her a glance before she shook her head.

"Not in this section of the dungeon," Luca said. "You see, this dungeon adapts. It picks things based on how fast we move or how strong it thinks we are."

"That’s disturbing," Ragina mumbled.

Viros chuckled. "Makes it more fun."

Zaina gave him a flat look. "That wasn’t fun."

"It was kind of fun," Viros said, smiling.

Akamir closed his eyes briefly, tuning out the idle talk.

He stopped the urge to stare at the raven, to let them know.

"You should be careful." Nayomi said, floating beside him. "Remember those things aren’t humans and don’t follow human logic."

Akamir nodded silently. "Yeah, you told me before."

The Bloodhound Omens have multiple races with them.

But...

They have one thing in common.

The ability to harness and create blood fire.

’Hmm?’

Akamir stopped as he felt something in front of them.

He slowed down, and so did the rest of the group.

"What happened?" Viros asked, glancing forward.

Akamir moved and cleared a path toward his side.

He kept on removing the threads before he reached someone.

....A dead body.

It wore full body armor along with a helmet that covered his skull.

Akamir removed the moss off his breastplate.

"Oh, goddess."

A gasp escaped from behind, and Akamir kept staring at the insignia.

The one that belonged to the Polmona Dukedom.

It was one of those who entered the dungeon with the Duke of Polmona.

He let out a sigh as he looked behind him at Lyselle, who had a concerned look on her face.

"Let’s go." Akamir said, walking away. "It’s not the time for this."

Lyselle lingered for a second longer, fingers brushing the insignia.

She didn’t say a word, but her jaw was tight.

The group eventually found their way to the sixth floor.

This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶