Ash wiped the sweat from his brow as the glow of Nel’s conjured light orb revealed the remnants of the Spider Queen. We survived. The thought barely felt real. His arms ached, his mind reeled from the battle, but they were still standing. Was it luck, or are we actually getting stronger? Her massive, broken form lay in a heap of chitin and ichor, the faint echoes of battle still reverberating in their minds. Grant was busy prying free the Queen’s massive fangs as trophies, while Leona inspected her venom sacs, carefully draining what little remained for alchemical use. Nel crouched nearby, exhaustion etched into his face, but his curiosity unyielding.

  “This is… not normal,” Nel muttered, prodding the exposed remains of the Spider Queen’s abdomen with the butt of his staff. As the party dissected the corpse, they uncovered a pulsating, abnormally large Magic Stone Core embedded deep within her chest cavity. It glowed faintly with an eerie, dark aura, unlike anything they had encountered before.

  “What’s with this thing?” Grant asked, squinting at the stone as if it might explode.

  “It’s different,” Leona said softly, her voice laced with unease. “Magic stones don’t normally have… that.” She gestured to the faint swirling patterns within the stone, dark tendrils that seemed to writhe like living things.

  Ash held the core aloft, its unnatural aura making his skin crawl. This thing… it’s different. Stronger. More dangerous. If we had known what we were up against from the start, would we have even stepped foot in that labyrinth? The weight of the words settled heavily in his mind. The fight had been brutal, but had they truly won? Or had they just been lucky?

  The Night Warden had been stronger—far stronger. But what if it wasn’t just him? What if there were more creatures like the Spider Queen awakening from the depths?

  He clenched his jaw. Are we ready for this? “Whatever this is, it’s why she was so strong. We’ll have the Adventurer's Guild Association examine it when we get back.”

  With their grim discovery secured, the group ventured deeper into the chamber, arriving at a grand treasure room. The air was thick with the scent of ancient wood and lingering magic, the kind that had been left untouched for centuries. Their footsteps echoed against the damp stone floor, each step reverberating in the hollow silence. A faint, musty scent of parchment and decay mixed with the cool, damp air, making the space feel eerily preserved, as if time itself had stalled within these walls.

  At its center stood a chest, its intricate carvings hinting at ancient enchantments. The wood was aged but unbroken, its surface etched with faded runes that pulsed faintly under the dim light. When Ash stepped closer, a chill ran through his fingers as he brushed against it, the cold seeping through his gloves like a whisper of forgotten power.

  Inside lay a silver bracelet etched with glowing runes that pulsed faintly as if responding to their presence. A faint hum filled the chamber, like the distant murmur of wind rushing through hollow tunnels. As Leona reached toward it, she felt a tingling sensation crawl up her fingers, the magic within the bracelet subtly reacting to her touch.

  “It’s beautiful,” Leona whispered, reaching out before pulling her hand back. “Do you think it’s cursed?”

  “Only one way to find out,” Nel said with a tired grin. “But I’d wager it’s an enchanted artifact. Something like this could fetch a fortune.”

  Ash nodded, slipping the bracelet into his pack. “We’ll figure it out later. Let’s get out of here.”

  As if on cue, the room began to tremble. The walls shimmered with an otherworldly light, and before anyone could react, the party was enveloped in a flash of magic. When the light faded, they found themselves standing at the entrance of the labyrinth. The steps that had led them down were gone, replaced by solid ground.

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  “So that’s how it works,” he murmured. Ash exhaled, as he glanced back at the now-sealed entrance. It's over, but why does it feel like we've only scratched the surface? he thought to himself.

  Nel nodded knowingly. “Labyrinths are almost alive. Take out the treasure, and the energy that sustains them fades. Give it some time, though, and it’ll return—new monsters, new challenges.”

  Under a canopy of stars, the group began their trek back to town, their steps weary but their spirits bolstered by their hard-fought victory. Ash lagged slightly behind, his grip tightening on the core in his pack.

  The Adventurer’s Guild Association buzzed with activity as Ash stepped inside, carrying the spoils of their dungeon dive. The clerk at the counter, a sharp-eyed woman named Mirelle, raised an eyebrow as he set the Magic Stone Core down.

  “That…” she began, leaning closer. Her expression shifted from curiosity to shock. “This is from the Spider Queen?”

  Ash nodded. “It’s… unusual, isn’t it?”

  “Unusual doesn’t cover it,” Mirelle said, carefully inspecting the core. “This is an extremely rare drop. Magic cores like this only form when a monster obtains a Name. It means she wasn’t just a Spider Queen. She was Velatrix, Mistress of Webs.”

  Leona, standing nearby, frowned. “A Named Monster? Like the Night Warden, The Soul Reaper?”

  Mirelle nodded grimly, taking an uneasy step back. “Exactly. Named Monsters undergo transformations that make them exponentially more powerful. The fact that you encountered one at your rank is—” she hesitated, inhaling sharply. "Troubling." In this case, as a Dungeon Master, her mutation would’ve raised the dungeon’s rank from D to C. You all are lucky to be alive.”

  The weight of Mirelle’s words sank in as the tension in the room thickened. Conversations among nearby adventurers hushed as they caught sight of the core, their eyes darting between each other with growing unease. Mirelle disappeared into the back room, her hurried steps betraying the calm expression she had tried to maintain. When she returned, her grip on the pouch was tight, her expression more severe than before. She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice. "You don’t understand how rare this is. Or how dangerous. Monsters don’t just become Named. Something must have pushed it over the edge." She exhaled, placing the pouch in Ash’s hands. "Fifty gold coins. Consider it well-earned." “Fifty gold coins. Consider it well-earned.”

  Ash’s eyes widened. “Fifty?”

  “It’s a fortune for adventurers at your rank,” Mirelle said with a small smile. “Don’t spend it all in one place.”

  Ash thanked her and left, heading back to the inn where his companions waited. His grip tightened on the pouch of coins. The coins jingled in his pack, a tangible reward for their harrowing ordeal. But his thoughts were clouded with questions about the implications of their discovery.

  In a secluded chamber within the Adventurer’s Guild Association, Marsh Hollister, the Head Master, sat across from Zane Valiant, the Guild Leader of Scarlet Enclave. The air between them was heavy with unspoken tension.

  Zane was a commanding figure, his presence as intense as the flames he wielded. His long, fiery red hair cascaded down his back like a flowing inferno, streaks of gold flickered and shimmered with every movement. His piercing amber eyes burned with a mix of wisdom and an indomitable will. He wore a tailored crimson coat adorned with intricate flame-like patterns embroidered in gold thread, and around his neck hung a pendant in the shape of a blazing phoenix—the symbol of Scarlet Enclave.

  “You’re sure?” Zane asked, his deep voice laced with concern.

  Marsh nodded, placing down the Spider Queen's Magic Stone onto the table in between them. “Ash Vale’s party cleared the dungeon. The Spider Queen… she’d become Velatrix, Mistress of Webs. It’s been over a century since we’ve seen her return.”

  Zane’s brows furrowed as he could feel the power emanating from the stone. “And the surrounding miasma?”

  “Growing thicker,” Marsh replied. “If left unchecked, it could destabilize the ecosystem. The Night Warden’s disappearance already has us stretched thin. Bright Hollow’s loss still echoes in our ranks.”

  Zane leaned back, his expression dark. “If the Night Warden and Velatrix are connected, we’re facing a pattern. One we can’t afford to ignore.”

  Marsh nodded gravely. “I’ve already begun mobilizing resources. But we’ll need Scarlet Enclave’s strength if this escalates.”

  Zane stood, his fiery hair shimmering in the dim light as if alive. “You’ll have it. But we’ll need more than strength to deal with this. Keep me informed.”

  As Zane departed, Marsh stared at the map before him, marked with spreading zones of miasma. The darkness was encroaching, and the name Velatrix was only the beginning. Ominous foreboding settled over the room, a grim reminder that something about the world was changing—and not for the better.