Borrow Some Money

As Ye Chuan continued absorbing the souls of those demonic creatures, the power of his Soul Banner grew increasingly formidable. Translucent chains flew out as if they cost nothing, reaping one soul after another.

Hordes of Glowspider Venomants fell, yet even more of them surged forward relentlessly!

Ye Chuan watched as his artifact's attributes steadily increased, his gaze settling on the tide of spiders.

The sheer density of their numbers made him slightly nauseous—especially since most were palm-sized spiders, swarming forward in a dark, seething mass.

"Activate!"

Ye Chuan instantly triggered Ghost Etherealization!

At the cost of halving his magic resistance, he became immune to most physical attacks.

And what was his magic resistance?

[Infinity × ½]

The spiders lunged at him madly, only to pass right through his body. Meanwhile, the Soul Banner voraciously devoured the surrounding souls. Without hesitation, Ye Chuan began summoning fireballs.

"Meteor Shower, descend."

Fireballs rained down one after another, exploding against the ground. Waves of scorching flames incinerated the venomous spiders, while their souls were completely absorbed by the banner.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Each fireball erupted into a sea of flames upon impact. Within moments, the swarm of Glowspider Venomants had been reduced to half their original numbers.

Deep within the labyrinth, a massive spider—standing five to six meters tall—sharpened its metallic, blade-like limbs. Its bulbous green eyes gleamed with an unsettling, almost human-like intelligence.

"Are you the Glowspider Venomant King?" A sudden voice rang out. The king’s compound eyes instantly locked onto the figure standing before it.

"Skreee!" It raised its scythe-like limbs high.

"Shut up." Ye Chuan lifted the Soul Banner and smashed it down—

The skull of the Glowspider Venomant King, a being of equal cultivation level, exploded on impact. Green blood mist sprayed in all directions.

"Pathetic." Ye Chuan flicked the blood off the banner.

His attributes were stacked too high. Even opponents of the same realm couldn’t survive a single exchange.

A 1% increase here, a 1% increase there—soon, the damage became overwhelming.

A chain lashed out, ensnaring the soul of the Glowspider Venomant King. Ignoring its desperate struggles, Ye Chuan ruthlessly dragged it into the banner.

After the king’s death, Ye Chuan stored its enormous corpse in his inventory. With their leader gone, the remaining Glowspider Venomants scattered in panic.

Ye Chuan ignored the stragglers, instead using his spiritual sense to search the area.

"That thing Niya mentioned…" He glanced around until his senses detected something—a pendant hidden among the half-melted spider silk.

The pendant held an emerald-green gemstone. Ye Chuan stored it in his inventory and checked its description.

[Item: Gemstone Pendant

Seems to be someone’s personal keepsake.]

"Whatever. Let’s get out of here."

……

……

"That guy… he’ll be fine, right?" On the second floor of the labyrinth, Niya leaned against a wall, idly flipping her dagger.

She tossed it into the air, caught the hilt with precision, and repeated the motion over and over.

"Instant-cast magic…"

She knew Ye Chuan was strong, but the Glowspider Venomant King was no pushover.

That monster excelled at summoning its kin for battle. Its chitinous exoskeleton and limbs were harder than steel, and its magic-resistant silk made it a nightmare for most adventurers.

And Ye Chuan was a mage.

"Ah, whatever. I’ll just check on him. If he’s dead, I can drag his body to the church for revival… assuming it’s not too mangled." Niya stood up, about to descend to the third floor, when she spotted a figure soaring upward.

"You escaped?"

Seeing Ye Chuan unharmed, she frowned. His clothes weren’t even dirty—no signs of a fight.

"Escape?" Ye Chuan scoffed. "What if I just wiped out all those monsters instead?"

"You were only in there for a short while."

"Long enough." He snapped his fingers. With a heavy thud, the colossal corpse of the Glowspider Venomant King crashed onto the floor, its skull shattered and green blood pooling beneath it.

"The Glowspider Venomant King… How?" Niya examined the blunt-force trauma on the corpse, then skeptically eyed Ye Chuan’s slender arms. Was he secretly a warrior?

Impossible.

But after traveling with Ye Chuan briefly, Niya had grown accustomed to absurdities. She suddenly asked, "Did you see any corpses inside?"

"Corpses?"

"Adventurers’."

"No." Ye Chuan shook his head. He’d scanned the area with his spiritual sense immediately and found nothing.

Most likely, the spiders had devoured them completely.

"Is this what you were looking for?" He held out the pendant, noticing Niya’s expression shift. Her eyes glazed over as she stared at it.

"Niya?"

"This is it…" She took the pendant, clutching it tightly as if her chest ached.

A pained look crossed her face. "Why…?"

"Did you lose this?"

"No…" Niya met Ye Chuan’s gaze, then shook her head. "Since the Glowspider Venomant King is dead, our partnership ends here. Maybe we’ll work together again someday."

With that, she staggered slightly but quickly vanished from sight.

"That’s it?" Ye Chuan blinked.

Just like that?

……

"Whatever. Back to Yisu Town."

Though puzzled by Niya’s behavior, Ye Chuan left the labyrinth and returned to town. The sky was just beginning to lighten, and the Adventurer’s Guild’s oak door remained half-open.

Inside, drunk adventurers snored on the floor, and the reception desk was still unmanned.

"Guess I finished the quest too early." Ye Chuan checked the time.

Without the reward, he couldn’t visit the succubus den yet—though he was curious about what lay inside.

"Are you, by chance, a mage?" A voice interrupted his thoughts. Ye Chuan turned to see a gaunt man in black robes addressing him from a nearby table. A staff rested beside him—clearly a fellow spellcaster.

"How’d you know I’m a mage?" Ye Chuan replied casually.

"Heh. You don’t look like a warrior or a thief. You give off… a familiar aura." The man chuckled. "Besides, we mages love burning the midnight oil studying magic."

"Are you in need of assistance?"

"Actually, yes."

"May I be of service?"

"Sure. Lend me some money. I want to visit a succubus."

"?" The gaunt male mage froze for a moment. "I—I meant... something bigger, more meaningful."

Ye Chuan responded earnestly, "Lend me some money. I want to find a bigger succubus."