Eventually the small black spider slowed.
It finished feeding on another fallen ironfang before stopping entirely, its thin legs shifting slightly against the stone.
Then the faint sensation passed through the bond.
Not hunger this time.
Something closer to… fullness.
Riven frowned slightly.
"…Almost?"
The spider remained still for a moment longer before turning its body toward the deeper part of the tunnel again.
Riven followed.
The passage curved slightly ahead.
And then—
Movement.
A much larger shape emerged from the shadows.
Riven's eyes narrowed.
Greater feral.
The ironfang spider that crawled into the faint light of the illumination stone was nearly twice the size of the others they had encountered in this hidden section. Its legs scraped heavily against the stone floor as it advanced, the iron-dark fangs shifting slowly beneath its cluster of eyes.
The predator spider froze beside Riven's foot.
For the first time since entering this chamber, it didn't rush forward immediately.
"…Yeah," Riven muttered quietly.
"You're not beating that."
Still—
He glanced behind them.
No other movement.
No other spiders.
This was the last one he could sense in this section of the cave.
Unless he got lucky and found another collapsed tunnel like the one earlier, it would be difficult to find more prey.
Which meant this one would have to do.
Riven exhaled slowly.
"…Guess I'll soften it up."
The greater feral crawled a little further into the light before stopping.
But Riven didn't give it time to think about its actions.
His foot slammed into the spider's side.
The impact sent the creature skidding across the stone, but it quickly regained its footing.
Stronger.
Much stronger than the lesser ferals.
Riven moved again before it could attack.
A sharp kick struck one of its legs, forcing the creature to stumble briefly before it regained its balance.
He didn't follow up.
Didn't push his advantage.
Killing it outright would defeat the entire point.
Instead he kept moving, striking carefully, weakening the spider little by little while avoiding the worst of its attacks.
The ironfang lashed out repeatedly, its legs slamming against the cave floor and walls as it tried to catch him.
Each time Riven slipped away just before it connected.
Still—
Holding back made the fight much more difficult than it should have been.
Several minutes passed before the spider's movements finally began to slow.
One of its legs dragged slightly across the stone.
Another bent at an awkward angle.
Its breathing came harsher now.
"…That should do it."
Riven stepped back.
The predator spider moved immediately.
It rushed forward the moment the path cleared, its thin black body vanishing briefly against the dark stone before climbing onto the wounded greater feral.
The larger spider reacted instantly.
Even weakened, it thrashed violently, its legs striking out in a desperate attempt to crush the attacker.
For a moment it looked like the smaller spider might be thrown off entirely.
But it held on.
Barely.
Anchoring itself near the creature's head, the predator spider struck.
One of its thin legs drove forward.
An eye burst.
The greater feral screamed.
Another strike followed.
Then another.
The larger spider staggered violently, its remaining vision collapsing as the predator spider repeated the same brutal tactic it had used against the others.
But this time the fight wasn't as easy.
The greater feral shook its head violently, nearly dislodging the small attacker several times.
For a moment it looked like the predator spider might lose its grip—
Then it struck again.
The final eye burst beneath the sharp edge of its leg.
The greater feral staggered once more before collapsing heavily against the stone as the predator spider entered through the eyes.
Its body twitched for a moment.
Then went still.
The silence stretched for several seconds before the small black shape finally emerged again. The predator spider crawled back out of the destroyed eye socket, its thin legs coated in dark fluid as it climbed onto the corpse's head.
Then it stopped.
Riven felt it immediately.
The sensation passing through the bond was different this time.
Stronger.
Full.
Its legs slowly drew inward, folding close to its body as if it were conserving energy.
Riven frowned slightly.
Through the bond he could feel the same sensation repeating again and again.
Fullness.
Riven watched as the predator spider curled tighter against the corpse, its thin legs wrapping inward until its body became little more than a small black knot resting on the ironfang's head.
Then a faint pulse passed through the bond.
Then another.
The small body of the spider twitched once, its dark shell flexing almost imperceptibly as if something beneath it was beginning to move.
Riven's eyes narrowed.
"…It started."
The spider remained curled up, completely still now.
Whatever transformation was beginning, it clearly wasn't going to finish instantly.
Riven stepped forward carefully and crouched beside the corpse, watching the tiny creature for another few moments.
The pulses continued.
Slow.
Steady.
Almost like breathing.
He extended a thin strand of soul force toward the beast pouch at his waist.
The connection formed immediately.
A faint suction appeared beside the curled spider, pulling the small black form gently away from the ironfang corpse.
Through the bond, Riven could feel it settling inside the pocket dimension of the beast pouch, the strange pulses continuing faintly as whatever change had begun progressed slowly within.
He remained crouched for another second before standing.
"…Alright."
Riven glanced once more at the large ironfang corpse before pulling Yue Lin's dagger from his ring. The blade slid into the softer parts of the creature's abdomen as he searched for a beast core.
It took a little longer this time.
Then—
Click.
Something hard struck the blade.
Riven's eyebrows lifted slightly.
"Well."
He carefully cut around the small crystal-like core and pulled it free, wiping the dark fluid off it against the stone before slipping it into his ring.
This was a successfull trip after all.
With that done, he turned back toward the tunnel he had entered from.
The webs thinned gradually as he walked, the air slowly growing fresher with every step.
Eventually the faint light from the cave entrance appeared ahead.
Riven stepped out onto the rocky slope outside the cave and inhaled deeply.
I missed this.
Fresh air.
He rolled his shoulders slightly, the tension that had built up during the long time underground slowly leaving his body.
After a moment he reached into the inner pocket of his robe and pulled out the illumination stone. The soft glow still pulsed faintly beneath the surface, though it dimmed quickly once he stopped feeding qi into it.
Riven turned it in his fingers before slipping the stone back into his ring.
Then he looked around again.
The surrounding light felt almost blinding after the darkness of the cave, even though the sun had already begun its slow descent behind the distant hills.
For a brief moment he simply stood there, letting his eyes adjust.
He exhaled and started walking.
There was no reason to stay here any longer.
He had come out here for two reasons.
To avoid the Knight's Order disciples.
And to help his predator spider evolve.
Now—
The disciples were dead.
And the spider was currently curled up inside the beast pouch, in the middle of whatever transformation it had begun.
Mission accomplished.
Riven adjusted the strap of the pouch slightly as he started down the path leading away from Blackweb Hollow.
The journey back passed quietly.
Riven traveled mostly alone along the worn paths between the scattered settlements and stretches of wilderness. Occasionally he passed merchants or wandering cultivators, but none of them paid him much attention.
Three days later he entered the city.
Before long, the familiar sight of the Silvercrest Mansion appeared in the distance.
The tall outer walls rose above the surrounding buildings, their white stone catching the late afternoon sunlight.
Riven didn't slow as he approached the gates.
The first thing he would do was to find Alric.
Ask questions.
Figure out what exactly he had gotten himself involved in.
Or at least mark him with the Arachnotoxin Canon.
He wanted to know where this guy was at all times.
But before he could take another step forward—
Someone stepped into his path.
A small figure.
Riven blinked.
Standing directly in front of him was a young girl, barely reaching his chest in height. Her dark hair was tied loosely behind her head, and she wore a simple light-blue dress that swayed slightly in the breeze. The fabric looked carefully maintained but not extravagant, decorated with small silver stitching along the edges.
Leyla.
She looked up at him with wide eyes.
For a second Riven just stared back.
Then something clicked in his mind.
"…Oh."
His expression froze slightly.
I forgot about the souvenir.