Tyler’s body spun through the air, the force of the blast tearing the breath from his lungs before he could even curse properly. The world flipped upside down, the sky vanishing, replaced by chitin, fangs, and darkness.

"What the hell—?!" he shouted, the words barely leaving his mouth before he was swallowed by a shadow.

A gigantic spider loomed over him, its abdomen blotting out the light. Its mandibles parted wide, revealing rows of slick, serrated fangs glistening with venom. Before Tyler could regain his balance, thick strands of webbing shot out from the creature’s mouth, wrapping around his torso and limbs. The pull was relentless, dragging him straight toward those waiting jaws.

The last thing he saw was the cavernous darkness inside its mouth—

—and then everything went black.

---

A day earlier...

The cart carrying Tyler, Kaeya, and the rest of the adventurers rattled to a stop near a temporary military camp set up at the edge of the mountain range. Tents dotted the clearing, soldiers moving back and forth with tense expressions. The air smelled of iron, damp soil, and unease.

As soon as they disembarked, a commanding officer handed out scrolls, quickly explaining the situation.

"Several spiders have breached the border through the mountains," he said. "We suspect there’s a hidden passage somewhere in this range. Your mission is to locate it."

The adventurers murmured among themselves, excitement and fear mixing freely.

Tyler glanced at Kaeya, who was already scanning the surroundings with sharp, calculating eyes. Without much discussion, the two of them naturally paired up and moved away from the main camp, choosing to investigate on their own.

Behind them, chaos of a different kind was unfolding.

The healer girl—soft-spoken, pretty, and clearly talented—had instantly become the center of attention. Several adventurer boys crowded around her, arguing loudly over who should team up with her for the mission.

"I’m better at close combat!"

"You’ll just get hurt, she needs protection!"

"I’ve got higher endurance—"

Their voices overlapped, tempers flaring.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, the healer calmly stepped away from them and walked toward the man they had rescued earlier.

"I’ll go with him," she said, smiling gently.

The arguing stopped.

The men stared, disbelief turning into irritation, then open hostility.

The man—Olsen—looked equally surprised but recovered quickly. He introduced himself properly this time, explaining that he specialized in strength-based combat and wielded a heavy sword. The healer nodded, clearly impressed.

As Olsen and the healer walked off together, the glares aimed at his back could have pierced armor.

Tyler watched the scene with mild amusement as he adjusted his pack.

"Honestly," he said casually, "I don’t think that Olsen guy is suspicious."

Kaeya stopped walking and turned to him, her brows knitting slightly. "I’m very sure there’s no village anywhere near here," she said firmly. "He lied about that."

Tyler hummed thoughtfully. "Still... he feels familiar somehow. How about we keep an eye on him while doing our mission?"

Kaeya raised the scroll she was holding. "What about this?"

Tyler took it from her and skimmed through the contents. "Primary objective: locate any secret passage in the mountain range. Secondary team objective: collect five Ice-Fire Berries."

He blinked. "Five? Those things are rare."

"We’d be lucky to find even one," Kaeya agreed.

Tyler smiled faintly. "That won’t be a problem here."

A short while later, they stood before a peculiar plant growing in a rocky crevice. Its leaves shimmered faintly, half tinged with red, half with blue, as if fire and frost coexisted within the same stem.

Tyler crouched and took out a bottle filled with crimson liquid. He uncorked it and poured the contents onto the soil around the plant.

The earth drank it greedily.

Almost immediately, the plant shuddered. Tyler’s vision flickered as familiar notifications appeared.

[+5 EXP]

[+5 EXP]

The stem thickened, a bud forming rapidly before blooming into a strange flower. Moments later, the petals fell away, revealing twin berries—one glowing faintly red, radiating warmth, the other glowing blue, cold to the touch.

"All that blood," Tyler muttered, "and it only produced one fruit. No wonder it’s rare."

"That’s not the only reason," Kaeya said. "Ice-Fire Berries grant temperature immunity. They keep the body stable regardless of extreme heat or cold."

Tyler nodded, then pulled out another bottle.

"Is that all your blood?" Kaeya asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Nah," Tyler replied smoothly. "Mixed with monster blood."

It was a lie, of course. Every drop came from his copper pot, copied endlessly.

Minutes later, they pocketed five Ice-Fire Berries.

Tyler straightened up. "Now... let’s follow Olsen."

---

They moved quietly through the forested slopes, careful not to alert the other adventurers. Tyler’s Eye of the Jungle activated naturally, his senses stretching through the terrain. He could see footprints, disturbed soil, broken branches—signs of recent movement.

Olsen and the healer were ahead, unaware they were being tailed.

Something felt off.

Olsen led the healer away from the main search routes, deeper toward the mountains. The terrain grew steeper, darker. The forest thinned, replaced by jagged rock formations and narrow paths.

Kaeya slowed her steps, instinctively reaching for the hilt of her sword. Her posture shifted from casual to alert in an instant, years of training surfacing without conscious thought.

"He’s leading her somewhere isolated," she whispered, her voice low and sharp.

Tyler, who had been walking half a step behind her, raised a hand before she could draw her blade. "Wait," he said calmly. "Maybe he’s just... you know. They’re just—"

Kaeya shot him a confused glance. "Just what?"

Tyler tilted his chin forward. "Look."

Kaeya followed his gaze and froze.

A short distance ahead, Olsen had backed the healer girl against a large boulder. Her staff lay forgotten on the ground. His hands were on her waist, hers tangled in his hair, and they were kissing with a desperation that left no room for doubt. It wasn’t shy or hesitant; it was intense, clumsy, and unmistakably mutual.

Kaeya blinked.

Once.

Then again.

"What in the heavens is happening?" she asked flatly. "They met yesterday."

Tyler coughed lightly, looking away to give the couple a semblance of privacy. "You’ll meet all kinds of people in this world. Some stay together for years and never truly connect. Others... well, sometimes they just hit it off the moment they meet."

Kaeya turned to him slowly, her eyes narrow. "You speak like someone with experience."

Tyler smiled faintly. "Kind of."

She stared at him for a long moment, then let out a quiet breath. "Alright. Let’s... not disturb them."

They retreated a few steps, choosing a different path that curved along the mountain’s edge. The terrain grew rougher, shadows stretching longer as the mountain blocked the sun. Soon, even daylight seemed to thin, reduced to a dim gray glow.

On the other side of the mountain path, the rest of the adventurers were not nearly as calm.

Several of the men who had been vying for the healer’s attention were gathered together, voices raised in bitter complaint.

"Unbelievable. She chose him."

"I told you we should’ve gone together."

"Figures. handsome-looking guy with a tragic story. They always fall for that."

Their grumbling echoed through the narrow pass.

Then something moved.

A streak of blue light darted between the trees, fast enough to blur.

"Did you see that?" one of them asked, gripping his weapon.

Before anyone could answer, another flicker of blue flashed past. One of the adventurers reacted on instinct, drawing his bow and loosing an arrow.

The arrow hissed through the air and struck something with a wet, crackling sound.

A sharp screech followed.

They approached cautiously, weapons raised. Pinned to the trunk of a tree was a spider—larger than a fist, smaller than a dog—its legs twitching violently. Blue electricity crackled across its body, sparks jumping from its mandibles to the bark.

"That looks dangerous..." one of them muttered.

"Well, thank goodness there’s only one," another said, exhaling in relief.

The moment the words left his mouth, the forest answered.

Tiny blue lights ignited all around them.

Dozens.

No— hundreds.

The trees, the rocks, the ground itself lit up with cold, electric glows. Baby spiders, each no larger than a human head, crawled into view. Their abdomens pulsed with blue light, veins of energy running beneath translucent carapaces. Their mandibles clicked softly, sparks snapping between them.

The adventurers stood frozen.

Surrounded.

Their relief turned to dread.

---

Meanwhile, Tyler felt it before he saw it.

A subtle shift in the forest’s rhythm. A disturbance, like a ripple through still water.

He stopped abruptly.

Kaeya noticed instantly. "What is it?"

"Spiders," Tyler said. His Eye of the Jungle sharpened his perception, extending his awareness outward. "A lot of them. Electrified."