Free Web NovelChapter 215: _We All Have Our Aces
The dungeon Rift was at an open field at the far edges of Aurelia. As they got closer to it after dismounting from the vehicles... Ambrose felt oddly underwhelmed.
After surviving an S-Rank dungeon, an anomaly SS-Rank Rift that was the very first of its kind and being around powerful Espers twenty-four seven—a C-Rank Rift felt like just another boring Tuesday.
But of course he couldn’t show that, forcing himself to seem tense as the rest of the team ventured past the pulsing white Rift one by one.
"You ready for this?" Leon nudged Ambrose gently, flashing him a friendly smile.
Ambrose nodded. "Ready as I’ll ever be."
With that, the two of them walked side by side... both people who had secrets that would make others in the team foam in their mouths.
Once the blinding white light had dimmed, Ambrose’s pupils widened just a bit.
Stretched before them was a cave.
It was so dark that someone in the team had to light it up with a floating ball of light.
"A cave-type dungeon." He mumbled to himself. "Typical. It’s mostly higher-ranking dungeons that have vast ecosystems."
A young lady angled her head to him. "Thanks for the fun fact no one asked for," she muttered, but it was still loud enough for him to hear.
Ambrose swerved his head slowly in her direction. No words. No display of power at all. Yet his silver eyes glinted with a cold, empty light that took her by surprise.
She blinked, subconsciously inching back by a step. Her entire body shuddered, adding further to her confusion.
’What the heck?’ she thought. ’Why did staring into his eyes feel so pressuring?’
In a couple of seconds, Ambrose looked away from her, already shifting his focus to something far more important.
"There seems to be light crystals ahead!" Someone yelled out.
Then the B-Rank leader stepped forward naturally. "Remember—stay sharp. Where there’s light there are likely things that need and use them."
The team moved forward.
Ambrose slipped a hand to his belt buckle, clutching his frost dagger.
"Cool weapon," Leon noted almost instantly. "If I didn’t know any better... It seems kinda high grade. A-Rank?"
The question brought a frown to Ambrose’s face. Suddenly he recalled the fact that the system caught an aether spike from this guy.
And now he was asking him way too many questions for comfort just a few seconds into their mission.
Was his paranoia speaking or was that suspicious?
It was almost as if Leon could read his thoughts. "I must’ve overstepped there." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry about that. I understand we all have our aces. Not to mention you came from an S-Rank Guild."
[Smooth.]
’Too smooth.’ Ambrose added, all while keeping his lips curved in an approachable smile. ’I might need to keep an eye on him.’
Meanwhile, Leon—aka Loki— almost couldn’t help the smirk quivering at the corner of his lips.
’You’re definitely hiding more than I originally thought.’ Their mind was perfectly calm. ’That dagger is clearly S-Rank. Either the Espers circling you really respect your company—or...’
They didn’t finish the thought but it was truly anyone’s guess.
The group pressed deeper into the cave, the floating light orb bobbing ahead like a hesitant guide. The air grew thicker, cooler, carrying a faint metallic tang that made Ambrose’s nose twitch.
After what felt like ages of careful trekking, the passage opened up dramatically.
The walls suddenly sparkled with clusters of glowing crystals that pulsed softly in shades of blue and violet, casting shifting patterns across the stone. The ceiling had risen too, stretching high enough that the light barely touched it, leaving pockets of shadow that felt far too deep.
The B-Rank leader raised a hand, signalling everyone to slow. His eyes swept over the glittering surfaces with clear recognition. "Most of these are aether crystals," he announced, voice low but carrying that unmistakable tone of opportunity. "High quality too. Ripe for the taking if we’re quick."
No one needed to be told twice.
Tools came out almost instantly—compact mining picks, reinforced bags, and small extraction devices humming to life. The team split naturally.
A few members moved to the walls with practised efficiency, the sharp clinks of metal against crystal echoing through the chamber. Three others, including the young lady who had snapped at Ambrose earlier, stayed on guard, weapons drawn and eyes scanning the perimeter.
Ambrose hung back slightly, fingers still wrapped around the hilt of his frost dagger. Something felt off. The silence here was too... watchful.
His gaze drifted upward. Several irregular holes dotted the high ceiling, dark and perfectly round like bored tunnels. They didn’t look natural.
He took a cautious step sideways to get a better angle, only to feel something sticky brush against his shoulder.
A web. Not the delicate strands of a normal spider, but thick, rope-like threads that clung stubbornly to his jacket. Too big. Way too big.
Ambrose shifted away sharply, heart skipping as the web trembled from the movement. His silver eyes locked onto it—and then onto what waited at its centre.
A massive spider clung to the strands, easily larger than an adult man. Its chitinous body gleamed obsidian black under the crystal light, segmented legs twitching with unnatural patience.
Eight glowing eyes, bright crimson, fixed directly on him. Not on the mining team. Not on the guards.
On him.
The creature didn’t move at first. It simply watched, fangs glistening with a faint, venomous sheen.
Ambrose’s grip tightened on his dagger until his knuckles whitened. A low, almost inaudible chittering sound vibrated from above, so subtle it might have been his imagination. But the way those eyes bored into him told him otherwise.
"Ambrose?" Leon’s voice came from nearby, casual but alert. "You good?"
He didn’t answer right away. The spider shifted one leg, testing the web. More chittering joined the first—faint, from different directions.
Ambrose’s stomach tightened. They were far from being alone.
"Everyone stay sharp," he said quietly, not breaking eye contact with the creature. "We’ve got company."
The crystals continued to glow innocently around them, beautiful and treacherous, while the shadows above suddenly felt a lot more alive.
