The fang tanker took no damage from Lucius’s claws. Not even a scratch was left on its thick black exoskeleton. But the blow was enough to wake the beast up.

  With the webs cleaned out of the way, Vivi had a clear view of the most terrifying monster she had yet encountered.

  The tanker opened its eyelids. Sharp globes of red ether stared down at Vivi from double her height. The tanker’s torso was like a wall; a hard impenetrable exoskeleton. The exoskeleton extended to the ground, where it was supported by small centipede-like legs. The rest of its intestines extended backwards, carried along by more little legs. The tanker’s arms were crooked, ending in shield-shaped blocks instead of hands. The shields had a sharp point, perfect for piercing any little critters in its path.

  The monster opened its mouth, revealing thick black teeth. It let out an ear-piercing screech that shook the entire cave.

  “Run!” Lucius screamed.

  Vivi dashed away with all the speed her legs could spare. The tanker was large and heavy; Vivi thought it would be slow.

  She was wrong. The tanker’s little legs weren’t special, but its speed came from its arms. It slammed the spiky shields into the stone, then pulled itself forward with force. Each hit made the ground tremble, dust falling from the ceiling.

  Tunnel! Vivi thought, dashing for the exit. The monster would be too big to follow her through the narrow hole. She ran. Each rhythmic tap behind her was louder, closer. The monster was right by her trail. Lucius gathered all of his ether to Vivi’s legs. She was still losing space.

  A few more steps. Vivi jumped into the tunnel just as the tanker’s arms pierced the stone where she’d just stood. She didn’t stop there; she got back up, running.

  The second hand-shield reached into the hole. The tip of the spike was inches from reaching Vivi’s neck. The tanker crashed into the wall above the tunnel, too big to pass through.

  Outside the boss room, more monsters formed a concave around her exit.

  There were elite fanglings, at least ten of them. Behind them stood one thicker variation. It stood on a pair of heavy legs, wielding sharper and longer claws. Its face was just as scary as the regular fanglings’.

  “A fang destroyer!” Lucius called. He filled both of Vivi’s hands with ether, claws shining with ether. “Kill them! Kill them all!”

  Vivi released one desperate discharge with her left hand, killing two fanglings at once. Seven more fanglings were charging at her. She released her right swipe, killing another. By the time that was done, her left was filled with ether again. She killed another fangling moments before it could thrust its claws into her skin.

  The next fangling came immediately. Vivi had no time to kill it. She held out her claws, blocking the fangs from piercing her with venom.

  She was tackled to the ground as claws hit her chest. A pained scream escaped. Lucius immediately pushed ether into the spot, protecting Vivi’s vitals with ether.

  The next claw swipe was charged. Vivi slashed in a panic at the monster above her, killing the fangling and another behind it.

  Lucius wasn’t playing anymore. Vivi sensed the spirit’s absolute focus. Lucius collected ether from the dead monsters, while simultaneously empowering Vivi’s claws. His reserves grew to 712. The claws grew stronger with each kill. By now, Vivi could one-shot even the elite fanglings.

  Vivi growled, then swiped wide across the whole room. Her attacks slashed through another two fanglings. The attacks pierced through, landing on the fang destroyer.

  The destroyer survived Vivi’s attacks with slight scratches on its exoskeleton. The destroyer stepped forward slowly, intending to push Vivi back to the tanker’s lair.

  A lot of Lucius’s ether was exhausted. They were running out of ammo.

  More fanglings rushed in, filling the room like an infestation. There were dozens, charging at her with no fears.

  Vivi growled louder. Her eyes saw red as she threw endless attacks at the onslaught of fanglings. Her fingers burned, insane amounts of ether surging through her hands.

  Fanglings were slaughtered before they could reach Vivi. Lucius’s reserves grew from each kill, rising to 823, 839, 873.

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  When they reached 900, Lucius charged up both claws. Vivi threw the attacks forward with all the strength she had. She dashed forward, slashing at the destroyer from up close. The closer she was, the more damage her claws did.

  The fang destroyer could no longer withstand the damage. Cracks formed on its exoskeleton. It stood, but only barely. Vivi charged another attack, then drove her claws into the destroyer’s abdomen. Finally, it collapsed. Lucius quickly collected its ether, hitting 967.

  “Nearly there,” Lucius said. “At a thousand, the claws can be evolved.”

  I told you we’d get ambushed! Vivi screamed in her head. We need to get out of here!

  “Agreed,” Lucius said. “I’m losing energy. Let’s head back the way we came.”

  Vivi entered the next room swiftly. More fanglings rushed in. Vivi swiped through them without stopping. The regular fanglings were mere fodder; so long as she wasn’t surrounded, she could deal with them just fine.

  Another fang destroyer approached her from the right. Vivi ran past it, forward, into a room she had already cleared of webs. She swiped down another rush of fanglings. She killed so many that Lucius struggled to collect all of their ether.

  With each upcoming room, fanglings attacked her from all directions, charging at her wherever they could. Vivi kept running, slashing, growling.

  She couldn’t defend it all. A fangling claw slashed her in the back. She turned around and swiped the insect down, grimacing from the warm pain.

  Their reserves hit 1005. The next evolution.

  Vivi’s hands were constantly charged with ether. The claws glowed red. Their firepower increased; Vivi could slash through an extra fangling with one swipe, and the slash took far less time to charge. She could cast swipes almost immediately after each other.

  Still, almost all of that 1005 ether was exhausted and dim. They had to get out!

  Another screech echoed throughout the cave. The tanker’s scream.

  The tanker’s voice was like a drug for the little ones. More and more fanglings rushed in. Vivi gritted her teeth, running for the exit.

  The way up was blocked by fang destroyers. A lot of them. Strong ones, wielding hundreds upon hundreds of ether each.

  She threw claws at them. The destroyers blocked, standing tall.

  Fanglings rushed from behind. Vivi was forced to deal with the threats. There were so many of them! At this pace, she’d get overwhelmed.

  To the left! Vivi thought. She swiped the web-covered entrance, then rushed into the dark and quiet room.

  The room was filled with eggs and larvae. A red-eyed brood mother screeched at Vivi.

  Vivi screamed, slashing blindly at the room. She killed the brood mother and massacred the larva. Behind her, fanglings attempted to enter the room through the narrow tunnel. Vivi swiped at the choke point repeatedly, killing tens of fanglings. Their ether count quickly grew to over 1200. With each kill, Lucius had more to spend, more ammo to use for their claws.

  Exit? Vivi thought, quickly glancing around herself. The dark room was a small nest with no clear exits. There was no path deeper.

  But there was a small crawl space.

  Vivi decided to take the risk. She jumped into the crawl space in the wall. Lucius! Kill anything that follows me!

  “Got it,” Lucius said.

  The crawlspace wasn’t filled with webs, thank the gods. But it was filled with sharp rocks. Vivi pulled herself forward using the rocks, trying her best not to get scratched up, but still prioritizing speed. She barely fit. That was enough. She just hoped the crawlspace would lead her somewhere that wasn’t immediate death.

  The fanglings chased her for a short while. But after a minute, they stopped coming. No more awaited ahead either. Why was that?

  “Vivi, those sharp rocks!” Lucius said. “Take a look at them.”

  With Lucius’s translucent figure offering light, Vivi saw better. The white rocks were the same ones Axback kept in his forges. Emberstones.

  “Emberstones repel monsters!” Lucius said. “We’re lucky!”

  Vivi kept crawling forward. Why would monsters be repelled by rocks?

  “Emberstones light up when reacting with ether,” Lucius said. “If a fangling touches a stone, it burns.”

  Vivi was barely listening. She saw dim blue light ahead. The exit. Vivi rushed forward.

  The crawlspace led Vivi to the ceiling of another cave. Vivi fell without watching where she was going. She plumped down on solid stone, right next to sharp crystals.

  The chamber was small and devoid of monsters. Like a little alcove within dangers. The only exits were in the form of more crawlspaces. Beside Vivi flowed a river, entering from a crack in the ceiling and exiting into a crevice on the ground.

  Vivi let out a chuckle. Another. Then she burst into a laugh.

  “We’re alive?” she gushed. “We escaped?”

  “Of course we escaped,” Lucius said, taking a proud pose. “A strategic exit.”

  After the fangling massacre, Lucius’s ether reserves peaked at 1327 ether.

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