My shock of finding the Portal so abruptly was broken a split second later by a sense of alarm. I stepped to the side, but I wasn’t fast enough. A strong hand snagged onto my shoulder guard and jerked me backwards. I barely had a chance to look at Blake’s determined face before he threw me across the ceiling, sending me sliding toward the glass and steel A-frame just as the Uttu climbed out of the hole.

“Son of a bitch!” I yelled as I sped through the air. Damned if I was going to be spider food so that they could get away. I twisted and stabbed my kindjal down. It pierced into the rough ground and I came to a sharp stop — right under the Uttu.

The spider struck down at me in a blur. I rolled to the side. The giant spider’s sword-length fangs stabbed into the ground. I swung my kindjal at them. The crystal-steel blade hit the smooth black surface. A four-inch crack splintered out over the fang before my kindjal bounced off. While the monster withered and thrashed in obvious pain, I rolled to a crouch under it.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the legs of the smaller spiders reaching out of the hole just ten feet from me. Like hell was I going to deal with those and the Uttu at the same time. I quickly slammed a mist barrier over the hole, cutting off their escape route. Then I turned my whole attention to surviving the Uttu.

Every time I tried to escape my spidery-prison, a huge spider leg thicker than my thigh would stab down and puncture where I was headed with the sharp claws at the tip of its legs. Our moves were frantic, me jerking out around under it while it tried to stomp and stab me to death with its feet, its fangs, or the spinnerets on its butt.

The Mist Blade was too long to maneuver in the tight place without getting stuck. In the end, I released the mist and used my shortened blades. I slashed my kindjals around, but the Uttu’s exoskeleton was harder than anything I’d ever dealt with. I chipped its HP away one point at a time, leaving tiny scratches here and there, but that was it. Every time I tried to hit the same place again, the Uttu always shifted out of the way, as if it knew it couldn’t take a second hit there.

I was getting just as beat up. I was able to get out of the way of the worst attacks, but the Uttu was doing a helluva job adding to the injuries I’d already sustained throughout the day.

Just like a normal spider, the Uttu didn’t have a mouth or nose. I didn’t know how it breathed, but I was getting desperate. I cast Poison Fog and pooled it thick around me, covering the whole Uttu. The dry wind ripped at the condensed cloud, but I didn’t let it float away. A normal person wouldn’t be able to see an inch in front of their noses, but the Uttu’s vision didn’t seem affected. Probably because of the millions of hairs all over its body. At first nothing changed as we continued our awkward shuffling. Then, suddenly, the Uttu stiffened.

I took the chance to stab straight up into the underside of its abdomen right where I’d hit before. Crack! My kindjal broke through the thick exoskeleton and sank into the huge global cavity all the way to the hilt. Black blood and innards gushed out and covered my hand and arm.

The Uttu arched up high, away from me and pulling the kindjal right out of my slick hand. It’s four uneven front legs flailed around in the thick, poisoned fog. I dived away and rolled to my feet. I came up short right next to Penny and Mark, who stood in front of Blake with their weapons out. The fourth injured man stood off to the side, breathing heavily with sweat covering his gray face.

Penny barely gave me a glance, her whole attention was on the Uttu, wakizashi out.

“You don’t know how to die, do you?” Mark muttered, another modest but sharp looking war axe in one hand and a bastard sword in the other.

I sneered but didn’t answer.

“It’s injured,” Penny said, watching the spider legs play peek-a-boo in the Poison Fog. “Where? I can’t see. Did that cloud come from you?”

I glanced at her. Was she seriously asking for help? As in, almost-teaming-up help? I gritted my teeth. If Blake or Mark asked, I for sure wouldn’t say anything. But I didn’t actually have a bone to pick with Penny. She was part of their team, but she’d never actually done anything to me.

Technically, I could just jump off the building and leave the Uttu and Blake’s team behind. Only they didn’t know that. As far as they were concerned, I was stuck on the top of the building with them. Blake obviously wanted to kill me — the dumbass did just throw me under the spider — but I wasn’t opposed to teaming up with Penny for a minute. Even if I didn’t get EXP from teaming up with them, I did want the energy crystal from the Uttu since its energy was still absorbed by the System. And if the System was in trouble, it needed all the help it could get.

“... I stabbed through its abdomen underneath,” I said softly and looked at the Uttu. At the words that were next to its red name tag. “And … it’s poisoned with Bleed and partial Paralysis.”

“Bull shit,” Blake hissed. “Even we couldn’t crack its skin.”

“Exoskeleton,” Penny muttered flatly under her breath.

“I made several cracks on its legs and underbelly. And the right fang,” I muttered. “If you can hit one of those spots, you might be able to deal real damage.” Whether or not they believed me, that was their problem.

The Uttu rushed out of the Poison Fog, its movements now slightly slower than before. I didn’t keep the Poison Fog on it. I wouldn’t be hurt, but if I was going to temporarily team up, I shouldn’t poison them. Well, at least one of them. Two of them deserved it for sure, and I couldn’t decide on the third.

Mark and Penny rushed forward and met the Uttu head on. Blake stayed back, throwing out random orders, but his strategies weren’t that great. The two Hunters mostly ignored him. They worked together somewhat, but they still lacked the smooth teamwork that I appreciated with Emma’s team. The fourth man hung beside Blake, holding his sword and shivering.

Since Mark and Penny were distracting the monster in front, I went high. I created a mist platform above it and jumped up. Apparently the monster had some animosity toward me. It abandoned Penny and Mark to lift on its hindlegs, reaching out at me with its long front legs. I tsked and created another block so that I could make a hard stop and jump even higher, out of its sudden thirty-foot reach.

In a flash, Penny lunged forward and stabbed into the hole that I’d left in the Uttu’s underbelly, shaving off a huge chunk of HP. The Uttu jerked and withered. It dropped down right on top of the young woman, trapping her under it. She yelled out as she was suddenly crushed under its weight.

Mark swore and jumped forward. He attacked the Uttu’s multiple eyes with his weapons like a madman. “Move, damn you!” he yelled.

One of its eyes popped. The Uttu jerked and rose on its feet, revealing the motionless girl underneath.

From up here, I could finally locate the exact place the energy crystal was on the giant spider. In the middle of its abdomen, closer to the top than the bottom. Too deep for my kindjals to reach, but I should be able to get through it with the Mist Blade. However, at this point, if I used the Mist Blade, I’d skewer Penny too.

I leaned over and kicked off the mist block, putting as much speed as I could into my attack. I shot like a bullet at the distracted Uttu. My second kindjal disappeared and I gripped my right kindjal with both hands and stabbed down with all my might right where the faint light was gleaming. With a loud crack a foot long crevice opened up and my kindjal plunged right into its back.

The Uttu arched back in pain and surprise. Mark took advantage of that time to grab Penny and run back to where Blake was. The Uttu’s movement was so violent, I was thrown completely off it. I flew through the air and caught myself on a mist block. Breathing heavily, I stared down below. The hole was right where I needed it to be, now I just needed a chance to attack one more time.

“What are you doing?” Blake hissed at Mark, his face pale. “Just leave her. She’s dead anyway.” He reached out to pull Penny out of Mark’s arms.

Mark shifted so that Blake couldn’t touch her, juggling the young woman and his sword at the same time. “She’s still breathing.”

“Your job is to protect me,” Blake snarled. “Not her.”

Mark tsked. “You don’t need to remind me.” He set her on the ceiling a little ways away from the two men. Then pointed at them with his sword and threatened, “If you want me to keep doing my job, don’t touch her. Let’s see you get out of here without me.” He was battered and covered in red and black blood, but he still came across as imposing.

Blake and the other guy stiffened, as if Mark had read their minds.

The Uttu came rushing forward, obviously enraged by its injuries. A shield with a huge spike in the middle appeared on Mark’s left arm. He ran forward and met the monster head on. Hunter and monster clashed and started to exchange heavy blows.

From above, I threw my kindjal at the Uttu, trying to distract it enough for Mark to land a good hit. Once it was distracted, I could attack the hole above the energy crystal again. Unfortunately, there was a clear difference between now and before. Mark just wasn’t enough without Penny, especially with how tired he already was.

Finally, the giant monster swept its leg out and smacked right into Mark’s shield. The spike on the front bent in half as the shield contorted around his arm from the force of the hit. Mark was thrown back. He smashed into the ceiling and skidded across the dirty surface. His limp body hit the short rim around the ceiling with enough force still to vault him over the edge.

Shocked, I thrust out my hand and collected the faint fog that I had spread over the entire ceiling top with under him. He landed on a large mist platform several feet below the line of the ceiling. I paused, hand still out and conflicted. I hated the guy. Hated his indifference to my life. But I can’t say that was a new concept for Hunters, it was how everyone was. I also hated that he was so entangled with Blake. I was sure that everything that Blake’s done to me, Mark had a hand in it.

Only, I couldn’t deny that I was impressed with how Mark was determined to save Penny. It made him seem like he could be a normal person. It was that tiny thought that made me stretch out my hand impulsively. And now that I had him in my grasp, I was torn on whether I should drop him or leave him there.

Before I could sort my thoughts out, the Uttu charged at Blake and the fourth guy. Both men yelled and stumbled back. They lifted their swords, but neither of them looked like they had confidence in fighting.

Suddenly, Blake reached out and grabbed the other guy.

“What are you doing?” he yelled, weakly struggling. Unfortunately for him, he was so injured, he couldn’t throw off Blake’s hand. “Stop!”

Blake didn’t even answer. He just threw the screaming man right at the Uttu.

The monster’s huge fangs stabbed into his chest, nearly breaking the man in half. His screaming cut off and his dead body went limp.

The Uttu paused and focused on the meal in its fangs, while Blake backed away, looking for a way down.

I cast Mist Blade and kicked off my mist block. Silently I shot down. Gripping my blade with two hands, I stabbed down into the hole I made earlier. The ten foot blade sank into the black cavity, down, down. The Uttu didn’t even have time to react before I felt the slight resistance of the energy crystal. The energy crystal broke and the Uttu exploded into tiny lights.

I dropped through them and landed in a crouch, my Mist Blade stabbing a hole through the ceiling. Just like I thought, I didn’t get any EXP, but there were two Drop orbs at my feet. I picked them up and stood, looking at Blake.

He stared at me with wide eyes full of shock and hate. “What the hell … was that?”

I sneered at him. “I wonder.”

Blake glared. Never mind the fact that his team was either dead or unconscious around him. From this angle, it was impossible to see Mark still hanging off the side of the building. Now that the Uttu was gone, it was like he’d been shot with courage. He pointed his sword at me. “A little insect like you should have died a long time ago. This time I’m going to make sure you stay dead. There’s no one here to stop me this time.”

I looked at him, taking in all his injuries and comparing them to mine. He was ten levels above me, but I could see that I had a lot more training and technique compared to him. And I was sick and tired of his shit.

I settled into a fighting stance. “You’re right, there’s no one here now. Come get me,” I taunted.

*****