Chapter 66

Chapter 66

My blood ran cold. There had been no mention of penalties for friendly fire, but since we entered the Trial as a team, the system might have certain limiters in place to prevent team killing. The fact that it was now directly referencing that had to be intentional. I had the secondary objective to keep the team alive. There was no way it would pit us against each other.

Unless it wasnt setting out to pit us against each other. Just me, against them.

The elevator plummeted downward, its accelerating speed adding to the nausea in my stomach. I nearly asked Jinny if shed received a notification before another popped up in my vision.



Matt? Jinnys voice startled me out of my horror. Whats wrong

A tendril of darkness snapped out of the wall and grabbed at me. I saw it coming and dodged, but it followed unhindered, turning on a dime, looping around my waist before I could get my saber out of its sheath. The tendril looped around my waist and slammed me back into the wall.

Talia bent down on all fours and jumped upward in a mighty leap that still only closed half the distance. Her jaws closed inches from where my leg had been before she plunged back down onto the waiting elevator and landed hard, sprawling onto her side. I watched, suspended in mid-air, as she did a little circle, desperately trying to figure out a way to reach me.

A million tiny threads looped over my arms, my legs, my torso, pulling me tight into the cold gelatinous substrate of the wall, until I felt my back slide into it. Frigid slime covered my neck, my ears.

There was a shrieking noise, and three charged crystals hit the wall next to me and exploded. Jinny was firing up from below. The tendrils loosened, then tightened again, twice as strong as before. I held my breath just before the wall consumed me.

It didnt hurt, or burn, as Id expected. Instead, it felt like I was being dragged underwater at an alarming speed, squeezing through a burrow of mud. With the tendrils binding my arms tight to my side, I couldnt reach into my inventory. Same issue with my saber.

So, I did the only thing I could do. I began to summon. Wherever it was going, wherever it was taking me, it wouldnt hurt to have a little extra firepower on my side.

/////

I emerged from the wall in a heap, gagging for breath as the liquid on the floor pooled in my mouth. It tasted foul, like putrified offal and something else. I pushed myself up from the floor in disgust and found that my hands and legs were pinned in something sticky. I twisted around until I could see what held me. The white pattern was unmistakable.

Spiderweb.

My surroundings looked much like a sprawling mess of stone ruins amid a bog.

Audrey landed a few seconds after me, collapsing rather pathetically onto the floor. She staggered upright, looking stunned and wilted, then bent down to sniff the dark liquid and audibly gagged. No. No, no no no. Poor meat.

Audrey, help. Dont get tangled.

Her head snapped up, and she scuttled over to me immediately, stopping a foot away to inspect the threads. Experimentally, she bit at one of them, and barely managed to free her mouth. She worked frantically, with a combination of teeth and vines, growing more distraught as her efforts proved ineffective.

Hard to say. To propose an alliance, perhaps.

I blinked. Why? Is that even possible? Would I be able to exit the trial without clearing the last floor?

The spider raised an eyebrow. It is possible. So long as you are the sole survivor, the alternative parameters are met. And while many creatures from the higher realms are less civilized than I, many can be brought to your side, given the proper motivation. As for the why, we are kin in more ways than one. She reached up with an arm to bring my head closer to hers. We are both reviled by the grand order. Manipulators that work best behind the scenes, loathed and hated by all. It only makes sense that we band together, does it not?

I felt my heart-rate finally slow. As I stared into her dark eyes, I recognized an emotion. A human emotion, one I could work with.

Loneliness.

I gave her a savage smile. I already got the big one to give me some of his gear. Hell be weaker than he would have been otherwise. He has a unique sword Im interested in. The other two have more than a decent share of Selve and their items will sell for a high price. I was going to wait until we cleared the trial, and they were at their weakest to make my move.

Yet, you saved one of them, she challenged.

Do I look like a fool? Of course, I fucking saved the enchantress. The Trial was for four people. Letting someone die that early on would be wasteful, and potentially set me up for failure.

The spider laughed. Spoken like a true opportunist.

I tapped into an old bitterness to give my words weight, one Id been carrying for longer than I could remember. It was unbearable, the way they treated me. Like I was the weakest of them. Like I was prey, rather than predator.

Unbearable and uncouth. You deserve so much better, The spider agreed.

Dont rob me of the satisfaction, My voice turned urgent. Let me help you finish them. Their items are mine. Their bodies are yours. It will mark the beginning of our alliance.

She studied me for a long time. Eventually, she seemed to find what she was looking for. Greedy. But I have no use for items tailored to humans. Your proposal is accepted.

The spider attached a thin thread to my arm. It was almost invisible and looked weightless. A small spider latched itself onto the back of my neck. What

My captor turned ally loomed over me. It would be foolish for a spider to blindly trust another of its kind. I have not lived this long without learning how to take precautions. We will prepare the chamber together. This broodling has a particularly potent poison, and little understanding of how to moderate it. If I see you deviate, even a little, or endeavor to sabotage our efforts, I will signal her. And you will not have time to regret your betrayal.

Seems like a rocky start, for what I was hoping would be a fruitful relationship, I said, not bothering to hide my displeasure.

She hesitated, then reached out to touch my forehead, the pointed tip of her leg glowing. Perhaps a carrot to accompany the stick.