Edward had nothing else to do but to think about how to escape his current predicament. He couldn’t move due to the spider venom and was wrapped in webs, however, he still had access to his aura. He projected his aura to scout his surroundings but all he managed to do was to sense the area one meter around him. The webs surrounding him were too thick and they were disturbing his aura, preventing it from going far.

As long as those webs are around me, I won’t be able to go far. I have to get rid of them but how? I can’t even move.

Edward used his teleportation, hoping that he would be able to teleport outside of the webs. He did teleport but only one meter to the side. His teleportation was limited by his aura range, and he couldn’t teleport to a place he couldn’t see or sense. Additionally, the webs followed him through the teleportation as if they were a part of his clothes.

Edward grumbled internally. Of course, this would have been too easy. He rolled his eyes, the only action he was still able to do. He couldn’t twitch a finger even if he wanted to, he was feeling trapped inside his own body. The webs don’t have their own energy so my teleportation considered them as clothes and they are getting teleported with me. I have to find another way.

Due to his limited options, Edward didn’t have to think much. The only other thing I can do is to form aura blades directly into the air to cut those damn webs. The danger is cutting myself at the same time I cut the webs. It’s better if I attempt to cut them from the inside. I never controlled aura blades from a distance before. Edward wasn’t sure he would be able to do it, but it did seem feasible. He had never used aura this way, but he was already able to form aura blades alongside his dagger as well as forming aura steps to run into the air.

He manifested a blob of aura in the tight space between his face and the web. He willed the aura blob to change its shape into that of a sword. It was just like when he was training to increase his aura density except that he kept a regular density this time for the aura so that it would be easier to manipulate. Slowly but surely the aura turned into a miniature sword.

Edward mentally controlled the sword to cut the webs in front of him. Edward focused all of his attention to control the aura blade but it wasn’t like he had anything else to focus on anyway. The blade cut a hole through the thick webs, the aura having no difficulty cleaving them apart. Edward directed the blades to cut them from top to bottom. It was as if someone was dissecting a caterpillar cocoon, except that the cut was happening from the inside of the cocoon.

With the webs surrounding him cut apart, Edward was free to deploy his aura. He probed his surroundings, recognizing the room the spider had ditched him to. He sent his aura alongside the tunnel. It was straightforward with no crossroads and it was going upward the further it went from the room until it led outdoors. There was no trace of the spider, but this didn’t reassure Edward, with portals, the spider could be back in an instant. The spider could have several dens such as this one spread throughout the forest for all he knew.

Edward had done one step in the right direction but that didn’t change the fact that he was paralyzed. Actually, he was starting to feel unwell. He couldn’t feel pain, only numbness, but he felt nauseous, had the urge to puke, and was sweating. Fuck what is wrong with me? This bastard spider, what the heck did it inject inside me?

Edward remembered that spiders liquified their prey because it was the only way for them to eat, their mouth was too small to ingest food the normal way. This information didn’t help to appease his nausea, his urge to puke only intensifying. He realized that it wasn’t that he couldn’t wait for the paralyzing poison to dissipate but rather that if he didn’t do anything he would die from the poison before the spider even came back.

Edward felt gall build up in his throat but he was still unable to move. I need healing. His pupils dilated. The healing syringe. He couldn’t move but he could manipulate small objects with his aura, although that wasn’t something he was using much since at his level of proficiency it was useless in fights. Carefully, Edward’s aura took hold of one of the two healing syringes he had on him. Slowly the syringe floated out of its case. He was still wearing his armor, so the only place where he could inject the syringe was where the spider had bitten him. He injected the syringe content inside his injury.

A few seconds later sensations came back to him bit by bit, he twitched in pain. I’ve never been so glad to feel pain. He rolled to the side and puked, from his position some of the puke was on his armor and even his face. Still, he felt a lot better. He took a deep breath, actively trying to move his members to gain back control of his body faster. He sensed that the healing was not only working on the poison but was also mending his wounds.

Edward groggily shook off the webs remnant that still clung to him, went on one knee, and finally got up on shaky legs. He didn’t leave immediately, waiting for his state to improve before risking getting out. After a few minutes, not feeling in optimal conditions but good enough to run, he left the spider’s den. The tunnel’s slope was gentle enough that he didn’t need to escalate the webs to leave the lair.

Out in the open, even if both the sky and the ground were made of webs Edawrd felt a sense of relief. He was certain that he would relive this event in his nightmare, he had never been so close to dying, and if he had to die this wasn’t the way he would choose. Being eaten alive by a spider wasn’t something he wanted to experience.

He shook his head. I’m not out of danger yet. I need to go to safety as soon as possible. This giant tarantula took me by surprise. If it can open portals directly from webs, I can’t walk on them unless I want to end in the same situation. Edward formed aura steps and ran in midair keeping his distance from both the webs on the ground and those covering the sky.

I have no clue where I am. Orientation can wait for later though. Safety comes first. Edward saw several trees covered by spiderwebs but he continued to run, he wanted to be far away from this spider’s lair before hiding.

Reckoning that he was far away, Edward chose a tree to hide in. He used the same method, cutting an entrance into the tree, removing the inside, and grinding it into small pieces that he dispersed elsewhere. He entered the hideout, close the entrance, and collapsed in a mix of relief and exhaustion.

He closed his eyes, the events kept repeating in his head, the spider emerging from its portal right under his foot, the fangs biting him, the spinnerets coating him in webs. It had been a perfect ambush and there was nothing he could have done about it. The only thing he could do was to be more careful in the future. Actually, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to continue dealing with the spiders. However, since he was currently lost inside their domain, it wasn’t like he had a choice anymore.

Edward focused internally on his aura. Nowadays he was using meditation only to increase his mana, but now he was going back to the basics, just like the first time he had gained access to his aura. The small ephemeral flame that represented his aura and life force had turned into an unyielding ball of flame. Its blue hue had deepened turning azure in color.

Edward gazed into it, watching as the flame burned proudly unbothered by Edward’s turbulent thoughts. Slowly, Edward calmed down and regain his confidence. Although he had never been so close to dying, the main reason was that he had been ambushed. In itself, the giant tarantula wasn’t out of his reach, it was weaker that the Mare Irae that he had defeated. He could deal with it if he was more careful.

He improved his posture, moving to a cross-legged position, and considered his options. If he gave up on the spider’s infestation, no one else would be able to deal with it. He couldn’t drop the problem even if it was harder to deal with than he had anticipated. He didn’t know where he was currently located, but it wasn’t a problem in itself if he had to destroy all the spiders’ nests. All he had to do was to follow the threads alignments to find the closest nest. He would burn those nests one by one. Grim determination flashed inside Edward’s eyes, he wasn’t done yet.

Edward switched to overwatch meditation to rest and give time for his body to recuperate. He needed his body to be in peak condition before heading out.

Several hours went by. Edward opened his eyes, he was ready to go. He closed back the entrance of his hideout after leaving, making sure that it looked inconspicuous. He didn’t run on the ground but immediately used aura steps to stay a good distance from any webs. He gazed at the webbed ceiling, noticing the threads’ alignment and heading accordingly to the nearest nest. He didn’t need to hunt that bear-sized tarantula for revenge, it would come for him if he continued to attack and destroy nests.

He had only run for five minutes when a squadron of wolf spiders found him. The thirty spiders immediately turned into a hundred. However, Edward was getting familiar with how they proceeded. Diving from above, he had already seen their initial positions. From experience, the spiders’ mirages were behaving more aggressively than the real ones which were trying to hide among the group.

“Rèng khwāmrĕw”, Edward used his acceleration not letting the time for the spiders to adjust their positions. Extending his daggers with aura and never setting foot on the ground, he went right in the middle of the group. A wolf spider jumped on his left to intercept him but Edward simply flicked his wrist without slowing down, the spider was cut in two but ended up being only an illusion.

Now right where he wanted to be, Edward extended his daggers even more until the aura blades reached five meters in length. Still, in movement, he turned on himself, slicing everything around him in a deadly whirlwind. He teleported above the group not letting them have time to react. The apparent hundred spider group had turned to only twenty. Twenty-five corpses lay on the ground while most of the mirages had disappeared.