Xar watched as the girl lay on the rock, her breath turning rhythmic as her mind turned darker. He could not see far into her thoughts; the Soul-Bound-Shield concealed her mind from his sight. The red haired human next to her was a bit easier to peer into. Her mind was a chaotic thing, shifting between random thought strings Xar could not grasp as she slept.

Xar brushed his head with his front legs, cleaning himself a bit. He still felt indignant at being brushed aside like that by the human, but he could tell the Soul-Mark-Bond was exhausted and so he decided to let the insult slide. She had helped him with the Poison-Death after all.

He turned his attention away from the sleeping humans, and towards the Poison-Death corpse that lay nearby. Triumph-Victory-Kill filled him as the not-voice in his head told him to devour the poison death. To Grow-Evolve-Loot, and to follow his brethren. But his newer abilities told him of a different path, seperate from the not-voice. The Soul-Mark stirred and the not-voice dimmed. He had learnt to ignore the voice ever since he'd gained the Soul-Mark-Mind, breaking free of its clutches, unlike his brothers.

“This sure turned into a mess,” he heard the nearby human say as he paced near the sleeping humans. This one was tall, and he had a different shape than the other humans. Male, he realised. This human was a male. The human crouched, taking out the Magic-Red-Heal as he drank it. Xar felt the magic of the potion spread through the human as the boy made a hissing sound, his mind growing brighter for a second as pain covered it. The human took off his armor, and Xar saw that the human’s back was covered in red.

he sent and the boy jumped, turning around, mind bright with surprise. A second hiss, as the human stopped his sudden motion, clutching his shoulder this time.

“Elphion damned [Mind mages],” the boy whispered as he looked around, searching for Xar. He settled his sight on a wall in a random direction as he straightened his back once more and replied.

“Injured yes, the potion should take care of it though,” he paused as he took out a glass vial before he added “You need some too?”

Xar stared, taking a second to respond. Without the Mind-Thought-Link, words were difficult to understand. [Mind Link] did not work with these humans either, their minds were too different. Xar would need to practice without the Soul-Mark a bit more, to make the other not-voice speak up more often, the newer one that told him about his [Mind Link] and showed him pretty numbers that went up sometimes when he slept. Maybe he could try to finally get the [Telepath] class to level 5.

he sent back, stringing the words together. Words were a new concept. Before now, Xar hadn’t realised that sound and meaning could be conveyed in such a method. And there was more, he had felt a lot more could be done with these words. But without the Soul-Bond feeding him the human’s knowledge, Xar found it increasingly difficult to further understand the words, or communicate with the other human.

The human raised his shoulder, and Xar knew the gesture to be a shrug. The boy put down a healing potion nearby, and picked his large dagger up, adjusting the ring on his finger.

“I know Booksy’s gotten up to something with the guild and what not, and Rumina isn’t sharing. But I trust them, which is the only reason I came despite you being a mind mage. I dislike your lot, but I’m willing to cooperate. I’ll guard the entrance, you keep an eye on the girls... from wherever you may be hiding,” the boy said, staring at the wall before he walked off.

Xar waited until the boy was a bit further away, before he walked up to the red vial. He used his front legs to tip the vial over. The glass clanked against the rough ground, almost rolling away but Xar held it in place with telekinesis. He opened the cover, squeezing inside the small vial.

The red liquid sloshed inside and after inspecting it for a moment, Xar took a few sips. The liquid spread through his body, his back legs itching as Xar scrambled out of the vial. He moved around, irritated by the sensation and flipped onto his back, legs twitching in the air as if he was dying. A few moments of agony later, the itching sensation passed and he found his legs healed.

Xar sat down, his body healed as he thought about what he wanted to do. The Dungeon-Home still called him to return, but the Soul-Bound-Mind had given him new insights. And he’d found the not-voice did not always help him. It led him to the Poison-Death after all.

He focused on the Soul-Bond-Link. When the link had joined him with the human, Xar had seen images of shadow people, and he'd seen himself in those images. His name as well, they had told him of it. He didn't remember having a name till that moment. Or getting one. Xar had not known he was Xar until the Soul-Bond-Link showed him so. Now, Xar understood he was Xardhviladrothic, the most magnificent and greatest spider in the Dungeon-Home. But the question remained, how did he gain a name? And who were the shadow-people?

Xar frowned, clicking his jaws in irritation. He let the thought dissipate. The thought track was leading him nowhere and there was a job he'd been given. To Watch-Observe-Guard the humans, and he would do so.

He spread his Sight out, the Soul-Bound-Mark shifting as the dungeon home was made aware in his mind. He saw the shifting creatures moving around in the home, following the not-voice instinct as they obeyed its order. He saw his siblings in the various corners, fighting over prey, to Grow-Eat-Evolve as the not-voice commanded them to.

Xar also saw two other humans. They ran through the sewers, taking sharp turns as they quickly headed towards him. He felt the aura of another Soul-Bound-Mark come from one of them, an overbearing presence that spread to each corner of the passage he was barrelling down. Xar shifted his legs, as he turned in the direction the presence came from.

A link spread towards him, three oaths bound to the presence, one linking the sleeping human to the man. Xar did not like this Soul-Bound-Mark. He retreated towards the human, climbing onto her head. Moving around, he burrowed himself into her hair and sent.

The human shifted, her mind growing brighter as thoughts started to form. Xar felt the breaking Soul-Mark-Bond re-establish itself and he kept all eight eyes open as the other mark and another woman entered.

The aura strengthened, sweeping over the room as if trying to overwhelm everything present. Xar kept still as he continued watching the humans.

❖❖❖

A throb of pain went through Jenn's arm as she opened her eyes. The next thing she noticed was Viel’s presence, spreading through the chamber. She sat straight up, a headache assailing her as she inspected her hand. The area around her lower arm had turned red, with purple lines running through her skin, showing the overextended mana pathways. Her body ached, some mild pain remaining.But her wounds had closed. Although, using even the tiniest bit of mana would probably send her rolling on the floor in agony. What was I doing here? I killed the snake and then the mark— Her eyes widened as she remembered what she'd seen just before falling asleep.

the mark- Xar, sent back and Jennifer felt her hair shift. She suppressed a shiver from the sensation of tiny furry legs moving on her neck. She saw Viel and Anghul make their way toward her, Gavril walking alongside. She could sense his surprise at meeting the Ranked adventurers, even from where she sat.

“Do you have any serious injuries?” Viel asked, walking nearby.

Jenn shook her head, taking care not to move too fast. Her eyes shifted towards Rumina's still sleeping form. Taking Jenn's cue, Viel crouched down near her friend. He grabbed her hand, checking for a pulse then pressed his palm to her forehead.

“Is she alright? I-I think she’s not hurt but she’s been unconscious for a while... I think? I’m not sure how long I slept,” Jennifer admitted as Viel took out a potion then slowly poured it in Rumina’s mouth.

“She’s fine, no serious injuries. Not any that I can see, at least. We’ll still have a healer look at all of you, but for now I’ve given her a potion of recovery,” Viel said, getting up as Jennifer nodded.

The man walked towards the snake’s corpse, inspecting it. “A Spectral Python huh? A young one from the looks of it, mid bronze rank,” Viel said, turning towards Jennifer.

“It seems my training was of some use after all,” he said with a slight smile. “I’m glad you came through without any serious injuries. Although perhaps we'll have to cut these independent explorations short. If bronze rank threats are appearing in the sewers then the dungeon shift is worse than we’d anticipated.”

“Sounds about right. With how the upper circles are all running about, I doubt anyone's been paying attention to whether a tier shift may be happening inside the Dungeon,” Anghul scoffed as she inspected the area.

“Let’s get these kids back, then deal with this disgusting slime infestation. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many in a single area. Might be a birther nearby spitting them out,” She said and pulled her bow out, setting it on the ground.

Jennifer grabbed Viel’s hand nodding at him in thanks as he was about to lift Rumina up. She hadn't even finished the motion, when Gavril came over, grabbed her hand and hoisted Rumina onto his shoulder. Jennifer looked at Gavril, confused and the boy looking back at her with a frown.

“Let’s get out from here then,” Viel said, looking at Gavril once before he bent down to touch the snake’s dead body, the entire beast disappearing inside his dimensional ring. He turned towards them, giving a nod before walking away and Jennifer followed behind.

Can Viel sense Xar? His presence is gone- although I can still feel that bond to him. Do I tell Viel? What will they do to a spider of all things? Is he even a spider? I’ve never heard of a talking monster before.

Jennifer felt Xar shifting on her neck, something like curiosity coming from the bond that linked them.

she sent and a feeling of puzzlement came to her, before he sent back.

Jennifer paused mid-step at the words.

“What’s wrong?” Viel asked.

“N-Nothing, just thought of something. Is Anghul not going to come?” she said, diverting his question.

“She’ll follow behind after she takes care of the slimes.Once we’re out of range.” Viel said and Jennifer nodded mechanically, following behind him.

she sent through the link. she added, sending the image of her waving her arms around in frustration and found a feeling of reassurance flowing through the bond.

“You alright Jenn? You’ve been zoning out a bit. Didn’t hit your head did you? Not that much's in there besides books.”

“Shut up Gavril,” Jennifer replied without thinking. She saw Viel shake his head and she turned to glare at the boy. Gavril returned a slight smile, but the smile slipped back into a frown as he looked towards Viel.

Jennifer slowed down slightly so that she walked next to Gavril as she leaned in towards him. “Is there something wrong with Viel?” she asked and the boy turned to look at her before shaking his head.

“Nah, I just don’t trust anyone who can kill me without effort. And I just don’t like that guy’s face y’know. Too bright and too golden. Makes me wanna punch him.”

Jennifer shook her head at the boy, as she continued walking when Xar sent.

At his words she looked at the boy from the corner of her eyes. The clenched fists, and the tense back. His steps resounded with a thud as he walked on, carrying Rumina.

it asked and Jennifer smacked her head. In her head, at least. Of course a spider won't know what the guild is.

Jennifer said, trying to send the image of the guild.

it sent back, with the mental equivalent of a ‘Duh’.

She felt magic stir behind her, as the mana around her started to shift. Stopping, Jennifer turned to see Anghul standing in the central chamber. The woman hoisted her bow up, magic swirling around her as she did.

Jennifer squinted her eyes, and saw a large arrow of pure black form on the bow. Viel walked in front of her, partially shielding her.

“Stay back, if you want to watch,” he said and she returned her eyes to the woman much further away.

Surely there’s no way? Not from this far right?

Jennifer gulped as a large storm of mana moved through the chamber, she felt something pulling her in, sharp gusts of wind, now moving towards a darkness that sucked everything toward it. Jennifer felt a pulse move through the area, and though she could hear nothing, she was keenly aware of a skill being used.

The woman drew her arrow, its dark body like a gap in reality itself, threatening to eat everything. Jenn watched with bated breath, as Anghul tensed her muscles, the huge bow drawing back. And then with a twang, the arrow was loose.

Jennifer would’ve liked to say she caught a glance, a brief sight of the arrow racing toward its target. But all she saw was a bright flash as dust exploded carried by the blast. She covered her eyes, the ground shaking as the sewer trembled from the explosion. Large chunks of rock fell, causing more dust to rise as the whole section collapsed beneath Anghul's feet, causing a mini earthquake in the area.

The nervous knot of tension increased in her gut, as Viel turned back around. Jennifer looked behind her, seeing a sharp circular area cut into the walls, now covered in boulders, sealing the entire area.

She'd seen hundreds if not thousands of slimes in the area, and now, not a single jiggling body remained. Jennifer gulped, pulling her eyes away from the demonstration of strength as she walked ahead through the sewers. Her steps were heavy, burdened by the enormity of witnessing the true strength of a Ranked-Plate. And these monstrous people want me to join them in their delve.

She looked at her mark, the glow of it heavy on her heart as they walked back toward the surface.