?


    The two, especially Alten, looked at the sword with puppy eyes, both excited and relieved that Lyrian actually got it fixed. Leon came over and inspected the sword closely.


    Coming from a family of swordsmiths and swordsmen, Leon knew if a sword was worthy of use. He could also tell how sharp the edge of a de was just by looking at it.


    He tilted the de up and put it close to his eyes, squinting, "This is amazing... the edge is so sharp, I can''t even see it." He said, astounded by the brilliance of the sword-making.


    "Let''s head out now. We''ve been in this vige for long enough, it''s already the 21st day of the exam. We don''t have much more time left to pass." Alten spoke, as Leon agreed and gave back Lyrian''s sword.


    As they started to make their way back into the main Poison Tarant''s Nest with the radioactive and luminescent green walls, Lyrain had another thing to say, "Guys, before we leave," A slight grin formed on his face as the other two turned to look at him, "I''m going to take down that Poison Spider."


    Alten was instantly shocked, "What!? Why!? That thing is one of the apex predators of thisnd that I spoke about, fighting it in its own nest... that''s like a death sentence!" He said, flustered by just the thought of it.


    Lyrian found the answer obvious, "Why not? It won''t add too much time to the wait, and on top of that, it might even be the golden-tiered creature. Also... I want to test out this new sword."


    "So that''s the real reason!" Alten called out on hearing this.


    Lyrianughed, not fully being able to deny Alten''s usal, "Gah..." However, Alten quickly let down his defensive stance, "I guess I have no choice if I''m to travel with you guys. I guess I can also test out the new skills I learned from Gimli and Dorit." He said in a defeated tone.


    After walking for a sort of while they remerged in the original Poison Spider''s cave, as the dwarves called it. To humans, the beast was known as the Poison Tarant, with its thickyer of hair that covered its back.


    The three were now at the same fork in the path that they encountered three days prior when looking for Brokkr, Igniel''s brother. Now, however, they chose the left path instead of the right, entering into the main nest.


    As they walked through the small 8 by 8-foot corridor, no one made any sound. The more they walked, the more the walls radiated with poison, making them feel increasingly unsafe. They all had their guards up, walking carefully.


    Finally, the corridor opened up to anotherrge cavern room that was about 50 by 50 meters in height and width. Before they entered, Lyrian immediately noticed therge green amber crystals on the sides of the round room''s floor and around the walls as well.


    The reason why they were green instead of orange was because of the dense poison in the room, corrupting the crystals. He also noticed several spidersying around, about 15 in total, along with a giant curled-up spider in a web cacoon in the middle of the room, propelled in the air with webs stuck to the roof and the floor.


    Without a doubt, that was the Poison Tarant, easily being over 20 in length. Alten, who was at the back, slowly made his way to the front.


    On seeing what was inside, he whispered, "I say we take this opportunity, seeing as the spiders are sleeping, and use it to kill as many as possible with one big attack. This room is too big to haverge explosions, but we can get close up since they are sleeping." He said as the other''s nodded in agreement.


    Taking out his white-silver bow, Alten loaded it with two arrows before pulling them back and beginning to aim. Seeing this, Leon and Lyrain quietly walked inside, hiding their presence as they made precise and slow steps.


    Finally, upon getting close enough, Lyrian turned his hands towards the sleeping spiders as Leon clutched the hilt of his de. At that exact moment, Alten let go of his arrows, immediately piercing through 2 spiders and killing them instantly.


    Hearing this as a signal, Lyrian unleashed a fire attack, incinerating the nearby spiders with a loud boom. Leon also took out his sword, his eyes glowing as he streaked across the cavern, slicing through the rest of the spiders as he left a white blur behind him.


    In the end, he sheathed his de once again as he whispered under his breath, "Iron Blitz."


    This all happened in a total of 5 seconds, and in the end, all of the spiders had been killed. However, before they could celebrate, the Poison Spider in the middle began to squirm, its web cacoon quickly beginning to rip apart.


    As Lyrian and Leon dashed to the side of the cavern room, the Poison Spider suddenly extended all of its 8 legs out at once, instantly tearing through the rest of the webs as itnded on the floor and let out a bloodcurdling screech.


    The screen was enough to make one''s ears nearly bleed, but along with that came a deadly influx of blood lust that made the limbs of those in the cavern go weak.


    [Warning! A creature with a lethal threat level has bloodlust over you!]


    [Creature threat level: UPPER HAVOC]


    Lyrian''s eyes widened as he realized how much of a beast this poison spider really was. Its sheer presence took away more of his power than any other creature that he had seen in the exam.


    ''Upper havoc? Why is it so much stronger than the other beasts we''ve encountered.'' He thought to himself, falling onto one of his knees as Alten and Leon struggled simrly.


    ***


    Back in Anaviotis...


    "Hey... why is this area not allowing vision." One of the examiners suddenly said as the others took a look at the vision on his mana orb.


    It was ck like a TV screen static, not showing anything but vibrations.


    Julius confusedly spoke, "Huh? That''s odd. All creatures inside of the exam area should only be set at a set limit in terms of power, of course, all except for the golden-tiered creature. Any beast weaker than it shouldn''t be able to disrupt the mana vision with its aura."


    Another followed up, "We may need to send in a helper." He spoke seriously, "How did that creature even get in there?"


    Julius was quick to answer, "It''s not about how it got in there, but how we missed it up until this point... Its presence must have beenpletely erased for decades."