Well, that’s it! I’m about to die, she whined, sprinting behind the closest rock in search of cover.

  [Sovereign Monster nearby, proceed carefully.]

  “S-SOVEREIGN, is that its rank?!” Lily exclaimed, sweating profusely at the possibilities of what kind of creature could even warrant a warning.

  Weirdly enough, though she was scared, she was also quite intrigued by it. In the back of her mind, Lily was almost sure it was going to be a dragon, or something similar at least, as she believed those were the only creatures worthy of such a grandiose title.

  Wait a moment, she thought to herself, her mind racing with a multitude of theories. Was it the creature’s fault for the lack of monsters in the vicinity? Did it slaughter everyone and everything that stood in its way?

  Suddenly, the possibility of meeting the sovereign creature wasn’t as intriguing, seeing as she found herself stuck in a cave with it.

  “Crap, gotta leave this place,” she whispered, not daring to risk being heard. For all she knew, a sovereign monster could have super hearing, or super sight, or whatever other super sense there was, with a side of overpowered stamped on it.

  And thanks to her efficient vision, she soon found a small opening that seemed to lead away from that part of the cave, though, unfortunately, it was way too high up to reach.

  Hold on, she furrowed her forehead, an unconventional idea forming in her mind. I’m a spider! Lily exclaimed inwardly, almost eager to test out her newfound abilities, and with a surge of confidence, she sprinted toward the nearest wall.

  Maybe I can climb it, she thought, promptly reaching for the rocky surface with her two anterior limbs, which, as if they had superglue on, stuck to it effortlessly.

  “Oh yeah, baby!” she cheered loudly, so loud it echoed around the empty place, forgetting about the System’s warning for a brief second. “All hail the spider diva!”

  Oh crap, she gulped hard, committing to her test and smoothly sticking onto the wall with the rest of her legs, freeing the two anterior limbs that she preferred using as hands from carrying the weight of her unusually light body.

  In the blink of an eye, she was sprinting on the vertical surface like a race car, headed toward the small opening from which a cold blue light emanated. I’m almost there, she thought to herself as she crawled with the speed of a cheetah, grinning at how easy it was.

  But suddenly, a powerful vibration made the white hairs on her body stand on end, freezing her in place. What a weird feeling, she thought, turning toward the epicenter of the vibration. What was that?

  “YOU.” A powerful shock wave hit the little spider, causing her to black out for a moment.

  “W-what the hell…” As she regained consciousness, Lily realized she was free-falling like a sack of potatoes and knew she had to react on the spot. Crap, she thought to herself, what happened? In an instant, she effortlessly stuck back to the wall; her sights focused on finding the culprit.

  “You’re more durable than you look,” an ominous voice said in the distance, powerful enough to make thin cracks in the wall as it echoed. “Too bad you’re gonna be my next snack.” In the blink of an eye, a bright, spherical object conjured by the echoing voice hurtled toward Lily at breakneck speed.

  Is that—somehow she was able to dodge the massive fireball aimed at her by jumping away at record speed, an action that her body almost performed on its own. “Whoa, that was close!” Lily exclaimed, surprised by her own capabilities.

  “Heh, very interesting,” the ominous voice spoke again.

  “Who the hell are you?!” Lily shouted in anger as she attempted to identify the source of the echoing roar.

  [Warning.]

  “W-what—” Her eyes widened as the creature stepped out of the shadows, as if it wanted the little spider to look at it.

  [Sovereign Basilisk engaged.]

  You have to be joking, she thought to herself, sweat dripping down her forehead. Lily immediately recognized the creature’s species: a reptile, a massive one at that. But it didn’t look as she expected; it was onyx-colored, with markings that looked like flowing lava across its enormous body. Even more peculiarly, the creature had legs and a long tail, like a lizard.

  Knowing well that spiders were some of a reptile’s favourite food, she knew she had to leave immediately if she didn’t want to be someone’s snack.

  “Come here, little spider…” the basilisk urged her, licking its mouth a moment later.

  The danger it posed was off the charts.

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  “PASS!” she shouted, hastily running in the opposite direction, headed for the small opening she was trying to reach earlier. She knew she stood no chance against a creature categorized as sovereign, who just by the looks of it was a mighty creature, too mighty for her.

  “I didn’t give you permission to leave,” the basilisk rebutted, its voice relatively calm and collected.

  As she ran, another fireball aimed for her. Still, just as before, thanks to her ability to sense the vibrations and her agility, she managed to dodge it again, visibly pissing off the sovereign creature with a cheeky smirk.

  “You dare mock me?!” the basilisk shouted, its tone growing angrier by the second. “Pitiful…” it roared.

  Lily didn’t care to turn around and look at it; she knew she had no time to waste if she wanted to escape alive from that dangerous predicament. Still, the sovereign monster had more than one ace up its sleeve, though, as a massive, glowing circle formed around Lily, its perimeter resembling writing, almost like an incantation.

  These words, she thought to herself, noticing that for some reason, she was able to read a couple of them as she got closer to the edge of the circle. “Flame… prison?” she mumbled under her breath.

  “Die!” But just before the monster unleashed its power, Lily froze on the spot again, much to the basilisk's regret, and a millisecond later, a massive fiery wall exploded right out of the perimeter of the glowing circle, effectively trapping her inside of it.

  Phew! That was close, she thought, letting out a loud sigh. “Can I maybe…” She extended the tip of her arm, eager to test if she had any fire resistance and could maybe jump through it, but had to fall back immediately before she could reach it, as the sheer warmth it emanated was already damaging her. Nope.

  Had she not halted her escape, the fiery wall would have most likely incinerated her on the spot.

  “You're a smart little spider, I’ll give that to you,” the basilisk chuckled, its deep laugh echoing around the cavern. “But that won’t save you from your fate,” it continued, slowly approaching closer toward Lily as the flames burned brightly, “me.”

  Think, Lily, think! How can I get out of here? Lily thought to herself, squeezing every bit of her brain as she tried to muster up a decent solution. If only I could find a way to get past the fire, she wondered.

  “You can’t escape my prison,” the monster threatened.

  At least it’s stuck on the ground, she took a deep breath, looking down at the massive creature, for once actually being happy to be a wall-climbing spider. “Come up here then!” she yelled with a confident tone, knowing she was fast enough to dodge whatever fireball or prison the enemy threw at her.

  The basilisk immediately shattered her smugness when its legs clung to the walls, the same way hers had earlier.

  As its massive body quickly approached the fiery walls, the sovereign monster laughed harder and harder, so hard that the rocky surface beneath Lily began shaking, even causing massive stalactites to fall from the ceiling.

  It’s not fair, she whined inwardly, tears forming around her eyes at the impending doom. Then, like a bolt of lightning, an idea struck her. “Wait, the System,” she mumbled under her breath. “System, how can I escape this prison?” she asked, hoping for a solution to her unusual problems.

  [You have the skill: Silk Web.]

  “Silk Web? A skill?” Lily wondered, and just like that, a translucent window appeared right in front of her multitude of eyes. Silk Web: long-range utility sp-PELL?! Shut the front door! Am I a mage of some sort?! Where was I? The user can create webs—blah, blah, blah—that’s it, she read internally, scanning the area around herself to find the perfect spot to try it out.

  The vibrations caused by the monster’s heavy steps were quickly growing stronger, and she had to act soon if she wanted a chance to attempt anything at all, but she wasn’t just waiting for no reason; she was interested in seeing how the basilisk planned on approaching her, hoping that it would have to drop the incantation to try and attack her directly.

  “Just a couple more steps,” she mumbled under her breath, closely monitoring the enemy’s every move. Once it drops the wall, I’ll use my web and jump away toward the small opening in the ceiling, she planned.

  “Your time has come, little spider,” the basilisk chuckled maniacally.

  Lily hoped her theory was correct, but to her dismay, instead of dropping the fiery walls, the monster simply walked through them, its body most likely being fire-resistant, or at the very least, resistant to its own flames.

  Still, she had to try anyway; if she had to die, she was going to do it on her own terms, so she courageously faced the fiery wall and took a couple of steps back to have enough room to take a running start. Here goes nothing, she thought, then sprinted toward the fiery wall using all her strength.

  “Still trying, I admire that,” the basilisk said.

  Lily smirked back as she turned her abdomen toward the ceiling, staring right into the sovereign monster’s eyes. “Silk Web!” she shouted, her voice accompanied by little hisses as she spoke, causing echoes to emanate from her.

  A high-speed and sturdy web immediately burst out of her spinneret, soon lifting her body off the ground as the thread stuck on the rocky ceiling, enabling her to escape the basilisk’s attack safely.

  “Impossible!” The monster roared, its disbelief evident as it instantly threw fireballs aimed at the little spider, which Lily managed to dodge gracefully, pissing off the basilisk even harder. “You insignificant critter.” Its mouth suddenly glowed bright red.

  As she reached the ceiling, Lily took a quick look back at the basilisk, noticing it was getting ready to strike again with a different ability. I don’t even want to know, she thought to herself, immediately turning around and sprinting as fast as she could toward the small opening. “Light,” she whispered under her breath, just a couple of steps away from safety.

  “DIE!” the sovereign monster roared as it opened its mouth, releasing a massive stream of fire aimed directly at the little spider.

  Almost there, she thought to herself, desperately pushing her legs to their limit—all eight of them, even the two anterior limbs she favoured using as hands. She was so determined to survive that she would have done anything to gain just a little bit more speed. I can make it! Lily mused as the fire was about to reach her, its warmth rapidly growing stronger, an attack so massive that it looked impossible to dodge.

  “Lily…”

  It was like a whisper that echoed in the back of Lily’s mind, growing louder the closer the fire got.