The leader, Dorian, armed himself with the spear. His backpack dropped onto the solid ground.

The archers dropped their burdens to the the cave floor as well. They took out their bows and nicked arrows to them.

Bron reached his hand high in the air. A green magic circle manifested and began to rotate slowly. The spell was ready. The moment the enemy appeared, they would be trapped.

Ruford turned to Adrian and Irene. “What are you looking at? Go forward. It’s your time to face the creatures.”

“Shut up!” Simon frowned. “They have not received the order yet.”

“A group of giant arachnids is coming. Leave a couple for the newbies.” The leader ordered. The warmth of the torches have already thawed the lingering ice on his facial hair.

Half a minute later, a couple dozen beasts came into their view. Insects would be the precise term. All of the assailants were giant spiders, their height reached that of human waists, and their eight legs made them unbelievably fast. In a few moments, they closed the distance.

The two groups- clashed.

The leader stood his ground, and protected Bron. Tens of roots came out from the ground and wrapped around the legs of the spiders. The blade-like legs of the spiders made it difficult to hold them for long, but the two archers did their job well. Arrows whistled through the air, piercing between the eight red eyes of the spider and coming out from their backs.

Every shot of an arrow equated to a kill. Despite this, Dorian was the one who had the most kills till now. Every time he slashed his spear, a spider would slice cleanly in half. His fast foot movements allowed him to cover a wide distance. He killed any monster that walked past the blockade and got too close to the archers.

Ruford and Simon took out their weapons as well. The fact that the newbies would face a couple did not mean they would not. If they were lucky, they would face one target each. And if they were unlucky and the ‘testers’ decided to increase the difficulty, they would have to face more than one.

And apparently, they were unlucky.

Six spiders ‘escaped’ past the blockade and rushed to the inexperienced four. Both Ruford and Simon took a step back. Simon released his arrow, but in vain. The target sprang with its six legs and charged at him through the walls.

Adrian and Irene remained standing on the spot.

“Grrrrrrr.” The spiders jumped at them, opening their blade-like mandibles to the fullest. Their red reflection could be seen on the two central eyes. Adrian fluidly dodged the attack and chopped at the thin waist of the spider, the joint between the upper body and the abdomen.

Blue-green liquid besmirched his hand as it sprayed from both halves of its body. He waved his hand, clearing it in one smooth movement. The spider tried to get on its four legs as it screeched in pain. But alas, half of its body was detached. It slumped to its own haemolymph.

On the other hand, Irene snapped his fingers. Every single one of the inner organs froze, rendering the spider dead, still on the air. Irene simple moved away. The spider fell on its underbelly. The impact shattered all of its internal organs. Blue-green fluids spilled from its pores.

The veterans, despite having their hands full with the battle, had their senses maximised. Besides, they were keeping their attention on the newbies, so that they could rush forth when they were in mortal danger.

What transpired between the two freshers and the two released spiders made them gasp mid battle. They took their time to give the scene a glance, just to make sure.

And it was not wrong. They sensed correct. Both of the newbie ‘couple’ were standing close to their original position. There were the carcasses of the two arachnids just beside them- still bleeding out haemolymph.

They took care of their next targets before turning to the other duo. Both of them were struggling against the monsters. But that should not have been the case. The wolves they willed earlier were way stronger than these boneless insects. Hence, they decided to send two each to the amateurs.

The number of spiders had dwindled. Only a few remained. They killed the remaining ones and focused all of their attention on the trainees. All of them spades thinking the same thing.

Dorian turned to Adrian and Irene. “Help them.”

The moment Adrian received the order, he rushed to Ruford who was closer to him. Before attacking the spiders, he snatched the sword away from the amateur and threw it behind. Irene easily caught it.

He pushed the youth back and threw a wild inch at one of the spider’s face. His fist smashed the spiders head to a fudge. The eyes looked like red sprinkles on the black cream. It slumped to the ground. The other spider jumped at him from the side.

Adrian manoeuvred against the strike and span a kick right at the monster’s behind. The insect rocketed to the closer cave wall. The soft boneless being was reduced to a mush, blue-green fluids and innards flying everywhere. The paste in the wall slowly slid to the ground.

On the other hand, Irene understood what Adrian’s prior action meant- don’t use magic.

She charged towards the spiders closing on Simon. Even though she had never practiced with a sword before. Her strength and speed surpassed even the stronger high level augmenters.

She slashed at one of the spiders at full power. The target was sliced in half. It could not even let out a screech before both of its part fell on two different directions. But it was not the end. Just the wind generated from the strike waved to the other spider, beheading it.

The headless body staggered here and there for a few seconds before finally thumping onto the cave floor.

The battle- was over.