The woods thickened as the team pushed deeper toward the mountains. The sunlight dimmed under the

  dense canopy, filtering down in narrow streaks through layered branches. The air was humid and heavy

  with the scent of moss and living soil. Fallen leaves muffled their steps, and each shift of wind carried

  faint noises that could have been branches creaking or distant wildlife moving across the underbrush.

  The front line moved steadily through the woods, with Orran, Tyrish, and Kayris clearing the path

  ahead of them in practiced formation. Their footsteps were calm and deliberate as they controlled the

  forward space. Vanra directed the pace from the mid line, her staff held lightly in one hand as she

  watched the terrain and the team with equal focus. Bash stayed right beside her, in the safe center of the

  formation just as she had instructed. Rhoen and Korvex held the rear, weapons ready as they monitored

  the woods behind them.

  He still felt the faint echo of the T3A pulses he had absorbed. Even three had been almost too much. He

  kept his face neutral, not wanting anyone to notice, and let the rhythm of marching steady him.

  The team walked several minutes in silence before Tyrish finally muttered, just loud enough for the

  group to hear, “That Skirr business was irritating. They were fast for no reason.”

  Kayris snorted. “Speed types never fight fair.”

  Orran brushed aside a low branch. “At least that worm made sense. I would take something predictable

  over another speed pack.”

  Vanra raised a hand, signaling them to quiet down. “Stay focused. These woods are not empty.”

  The mood shifted instantly. Everyone sharpened their senses, listening for anything out of place.

  A faint shimmering sensation brushed across Bash’s shoulders like static. He looked around but saw

  nothing. No movement. No glow. No distortion. Just tightly packed trees and patches of thick shadow.

  “Something is off,” Rhoen said quietly, scanning the canopy above. “There is structure in the air.”

  Before anyone responded, the woods answered for them.

  Orran’s forward stride ended abruptly with a sharp jolt. His body lurched backward, and his shield arm

  locked in place as if caught by a steel trap.

  “What in the...” he growled, trying to pull free. His boots skidded over the forest floor, but he did not

  move.

  Kayris and Tyrish both halted instantly. They had seen the faint shimmer ahead a split second before

  contact and managed to stop themselves. Thin strands of nearly invisible web glinted faintly between

  the trees, reflecting just enough light at the right angle to reveal that they were surrounded.

  Kayris lifted a hand. “Stop moving. All of you.”

  Vanra swept her gaze across the area. “Do not touch the webs.”

  Orran strained with all his strength, muscles bulging, but the more he pulled, the more the strands

  tightened. His breath hitched and a low groan escaped him.

  “Why do I feel weaker?” Orran hissed.

  Vanra reached his side, examining the silk caught around his arm and torso. “Life Steal. This is not

  normal silk. It drains your energy on contact. The more you struggle, the worse it gets.”

  Tyrish kept his distance and drew his dual zweihanders. “Perfect. Because spiders were not annoying

  enough already.”

  Kayris sliced the nearest strands with quick, precise strikes, careful not to touch any with her skin. The

  webs dissolved into faint green mist where her blades passed, but the freed fragments twitched and

  recoiled before dissipating entirely. Between her cuts and Tyrish’s wide sweeps, they cleared enough

  space for Orran to stagger backward, still breathing heavily and visibly drained.

  Orran shook out his arms, trying to recover. “That stuff hit hard. Strength affinity did nothing to stop

  it.”

  Vanra nodded. “Life Steal bypasses affinities. It pulls vitality directly. Be careful.”

  Then the forest moved.

  Not the wind. Not branches. Movement.

  Hundreds of small shapes crawled out from behind trunks, from the canopy above, from beneath mosscovered stones. Spiderlings the size of large hounds skittered into view, their bodies sharp and

  crystalline, their many legs slicing through the shadows. They clicked and hissed softly, forming a

  loose semicircle around the team.

  Kayris exhaled through her nose. “That is a lot of legs.”

  Rhoen swallowed. “Those are T3G spiderlings. Stronger than they look.”

  Behind them, the shadows split open.

  A massive spider descended from between two enormous trees, each leg longer than Tyrish was tall. Its

  dark, reflective carapace shimmered faintly. Its fangs dripped the same faint green toxin that coated the

  webbing. The air itself felt heavier as it crawled forward.

  Vanra’s eyes narrowed. “Vitality Weaver. T3A. Rare. Very rare.”

  Tyrish lifted one of his blades. “And very territorial.”

  The mother spider screeched, a low vibrating sound that made the air tremble.

  Vanra steadied her staff. “Do not move too much. The webs heal them and drain us. Minimize

  unnecessary contact.”

  The spiderlings reacted first.

  Hundreds rushed forward.

  The woods erupted into chaos as webs shot through the air like volleys of thin, glistening threads.

  Kayris cut a dozen away before they reached her. Tyrish split three spiderlings in one sweeping arc.

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  Orran planted his shield and deflected a storm of shooting silk that would have pinned the entire front

  line.

  Rhoen fired rapidly, each shot tearing through clusters of spiderlings while his healing waves pulsed

  outward, washing over the team. Korvex stood back, unleashing bursts of mineral force that shattered

  spiderlings into crystalline shards.

  And Bash tried to keep up.

  He fired shots when he saw openings. He moved with the team, trying not to get caught in the webs.

  But the spiderlings were fast, and the life steal toxin coating their silk gave their movements an

  unnatural edge. Every shot he took was precise, but his damage was minimal compared to the others.

  Then when the first spiderling died.

  The T3G Life Steal pulse slammed into his core like a spike of raw electricity.

  Bash staggered, biting back a gasp.

  Another spiderling died. Another pulse. Another shock.

  No one else felt anything. None of them had Life Steal affinity, so the essence bypassed them entirely.

  But Bash felt every one.

  He gripped his weapon harder, trying to steady himself.

  Then three spiderlings died almost simultaneously, sending a cascade of pulses into him. His vision

  blurred and his hearing muffled. He felt the ground tilt under him.

  Kayris glanced back. “You good?”

  “Fine,” Bash forced out. “Just stay focused.”

  But he was not fine. The pulses were stacking too fast.

  Another wave hit.

  Then four spiderlings struck him directly with silk threads, pinning his legs in place. Each thread

  carried the toxin. Each one siphoned his vitality.

  A pulse struck. Then another. Then five more.

  The world spun.

  Bash collapsed to the ground as his knees buckled completely.

  “Bash is down!” Rhoen shouted.

  Vanra snapped her head around. “Rhoen, help keep him alive. Do not let anything reach him.”

  They worked instantly.

  Rhoen swept healing shots across Bash’s body, their golden energy weaving through the draining toxin.

  Vanra crouched beside him, one hand pressed firmly to his chest as she poured restorative resonance

  directly into him. Korvex and Rhoen fired over their shoulders, sniping spiderlings that tried to rush the

  center.

  Four pulses hit Bash at once.

  His body arched involuntarily.

  Kayris snarled and cut down the cluster that had hit him. Tyrish and Orran plowed through the

  remaining spiderlings, carving a path toward the mother. For every spiderling that fell, Bash took

  another pulse. Vanra kept him alive through sheer force of healing output, her staff glowing brighter

  than it had all day.

  The spiderlings dwindled rapidly.

  Two hundred fell to fifty.

  Fifty fell to thirty.

  Thirty fell to fifteen.

  Vanra dragged Bash backward with a burst of wind force. “Stay here. Do not move.”

  Bash could barely hear her through the fog in his head. His limbs twitched. His vision pulsed with

  white spots. He tried to nod but was not sure if he actually did.

  The mother spider loomed ahead, its massive form advancing through the thinning swarm.

  “Front line, protect Bash!” Vanra ordered.

  Tyrish, Kayris, and Orran ran to intercept the creature. Rhoen and Korvex positioned themselves

  behind them, firing nonstop.

  Orran drove his shield into one of the spider’s legs, pinning it just long enough to raise his zweihander

  and carve a deep cut across the weakened joint. Tyrish hooked his blade into the carapace to pry it open

  further. Kayris slipped beneath the lifted body segment, striking the inner joints with precise, rapid

  cuts.

  The Vitality Weaver screeched as cracks split across its body.

  It reared back.

  Tyrish drove both blades deep into its thorax.

  The spider collapsed.

  The moment it hit the ground, its death pulse blasted through the forest.

  A T3A Life Steal wave slammed into Bash.

  His body jerked and his vision went black for a brief moment. Three seconds. No more.

  When he blinked awake, the sounds of combat had already died down. The team was standing,

  breathing hard, checking wounds. Vanra and Rhoen were sweeping the squad with healing pulses.

  Tyrish wiped his face. “Life Steal fights are just as bad as healer and damage combinations. Maybe

  worse.”

  Orran kicked a fallen spiderling aside. “I am never touching webs again.”

  Rhoen crouched to inspect the fragments. “A couple hundred T3G shards and a T3A Life Steal

  fragment. These can actually forge Life Steal gear. That hardly exists anywhere. This is going to be

  worth a fortune.”

  Kayris turned to Bash. “You good?”

  Bash forced himself upright. His legs felt like stone but he managed it. “Yeah. Just got overwhelmed.

  Multiple hits at once. It drained me faster than I expected.”

  Vanra nodded, her expression firm but sympathetic. “Life Steal is brutal. No one could see the webs

  and they were draining us while healing themselves. For a Green portal, that is easily one of the worst

  situations we could have encountered.”

  Bash exhaled slowly. “My gear did not handle that well at all.”

  “You managed,” Vanra said, giving him a final healing pulse. “We all did. Let us move. The mountains

  are still ahead.”

  The team reformed their lines and pushed deeper through the woods, their pace steady, their mood

  serious, and the looming peaks drawing ever closer through the thickening shadows.