GLOBAL AWAKENING: My 10,000x Exp Multiplier-Chapter 9: []The Spider Queen’s Nest, Mana Drain

The lowest floor of the Sunken Catacombs was entirely devoid of the bioluminescent moss that illuminated the upper levels. Here, the darkness was absolute and heavy, thick with a toxic and sweet smelling miasma that clung to the back of the throat. The stone walls were coated in thick and shimmering layers of white webbing, vibrating slightly with every step Vahn took.

Vahn navigated the treacherous terrain with the silent precision of a ghost. His fifty Agility allowed him to step lightly over the sticky strands of silk that acted as a localized alarm system for the apex predator of the dungeon.

He was far beyond the recommended level parameters for a solo player. This was raid territory!

The tunnel opened into a massive cavernous chamber. The floor was completely obscured by a sea of pulsing and translucent egg sacs. At the center of the room, hanging suspended from the ceiling by thick cables of webbing, was the master of the labyrinth.

[Labyrinth Boss: Broodmother Arachne]

↳ Level: 20 (Elite)

↳ HP: 25,000/25,000

The Spider Queen was a monstrosity of chitin and venom. Her abdomen was the size of a transport truck, covered in thick and bristling black hairs that scraped against the stone. Her upper torso was vaguely humanoid, possessing six multifaceted crimson eyes that glowed with a predatory malice.

Vahn did not hesitate. The optimal strategy against a summoner type boss was to eliminate the core unit before it could utilize its spawn.

He engaged [Temporal Step]. The world ground to a halt.

Vahn launched himself off a stalagmite, clearing the field of egg sacs in a single leap that defied gravity. He sailed through the frozen air, directly toward the exposed humanoid torso of the Spider Queen. He drew the Soul Bound Shadow Blade, feeling the immense and hungry power of the Level 15 weapon thrumming in his palm.

He aimed for the cluster of crimson eyes, channeling his kinetic energy into the strike.

The blade connected! The dark metal sheared through the thick chitinous plating of the Spider Queen with zero resistance, biting deep into her skull. It was a perfect critical strike.

But as the blade sunk into the flesh, something went catastrophically wrong.

Vahn gasped as an intense and agonizing hollow sensation ripped through his chest. It felt as though a vacuum had been opened inside his digital veins. His vision flickered, his avatar body suddenly feeling incredibly heavy, as if he had been submerged in wet cement.

[Warning: Extreme Mana Depletion Detected!]

Vahn canceled [Temporal Step] instantly, kicking off the face of the Spider Queen and backflipping through the air to land heavily on a clear patch of stone. His boots skidded across the ground, and he was forced to drop to one knee, heavily panting.

He looked at his interface. His Mana and Stamina bars had plummeted from one hundred percent to a critical flashing red four percent in a fraction of a second.

Above him, the Spider Queen shrieked in absolute agony, a massive chunk of her health bar completely deleted by the strike. She dropped from the ceiling, the cavern shaking violently as her massive weight hit the floor. Her crimson eyes locked onto Vahn, dripping toxic green venom from her mandibles.

Vahn ignored the enraged boss, his mind racing at a million miles an hour. He analyzed the error in his calculation and pulled up the weapon data.

[Soul Bound Shadow Blade (Level 15)]

↳ Notice: Weapon tier far exceeds user base output capacity. Swinging this weapon requires a massive toll of latent mana to sustain its physical form.

"An oversight," Vahn muttered quietly, rubbing his temples as a sharp headache bloomed behind his eyes.

The math of the 10,000x multiplier was flawless, but it had created a systemic paradox. He had force fed millions of EXP into a base level bronze dagger, mutating it into a Legendary Growth item. The blade was incredibly powerful, capable of ignoring armor and scaling with his Agility. But Vahn himself was still a Level 1 [EXP Architect]. He possessed zero base Strength, zero base Endurance, and zero base Intelligence.

The weapon was a sports car engine strapped to a bicycle chassis. Every time he swung the mutated blade, it forcefully drained his stamina and mana to compensate for his lack of foundational stats. Against the low level Shadowstalkers, the drain was manageable. But against a high tier boss, channeling the full power of the blade for a critical strike had completely emptied his reserves.

He was tapped out. He couldn’t use [Temporal Step]. He couldn’t swing the Shadow Blade again without forcing his avatar into a coma state, resulting in a system logout and death penalty.

The Spider Queen hissed, rearing back on her hind legs. She spat a massive and sprawling net of toxic webbing directly at Vahn.

Vahn purple eyes glowed faintly. He couldn’t rely on his cheat weapon. He had to rely on his raw and unadulterated skill. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"System interface closed," Vahn commanded softly. He sheathed the heavy Shadow Blade at his hip.

He was entirely unarmed. His stamina was critically low.

The web descended upon him. Vahn didn’t try to run, he didn’t have the energy. Instead, he calculated the exact trajectory of the falling net. He took one precise half step to the left, leaning his torso backward at a steep forty five degree angle. The toxic webbing sailed mere millimeters past his face, crashing into the stone behind him and sizzling as it melted the rock.

The Spider Queen shrieked again, charging forward like a heavily armored tank. Her massive front legs raised like scythes, aiming to impale him.

Vahn expression remained an impassive mask. He possessed fifty Agility. That wasn’t just movement speed, it was processing power. He could see the micro telegraphs in the musculature of the boss. He saw the slight dip in her left shoulder before she struck.

As the massive scythe leg crashed down, Vahn pivoted smoothly, letting the razor sharp appendage bury itself deep into the stone floor right where he had been standing. The beast was stuck for exactly one point two seconds.

Vahn stepped onto the embedded leg, using it as a ramp. He didn’t draw his sword. He didn’t need it.

He ran lightly up the length of the leg of the Spider Queen, his movements completely conserving his remaining three percent stamina. The boss thrashed wildly, trying to shake him off, but Vahn moved with her momentum, maintaining perfect balance.

He reached her upper torso. The deep wound he had inflicted earlier with the Shadow Blade was gushing dark fluid, exposing the soft and pulsating neural cluster beneath her heavy armor.

Vahn raised his right hand. He formed his fingers into a rigid spear like point. He didn’t have strength, but velocity multiplied by mass equaled kinetic force.

With his remaining stamina, he thrust his hand forward with explosive and pinpoint accuracy. His arm blurred, burying his hand deep into the exposed and unarmored neural cluster of the Spider Queen. He didn’t just pierce the brain, he aggressively twisted his wrist, scrambling the localized data of the boss core.

The Spider Queen went completely rigid. A terrible and silent shudder ran through her massive frame.

Critical Hit! Weak Point Exploited!

The beast collapsed, exploding into a blinding shockwave of golden and blue pixels that illuminated the entire cavern.

Vahn landed lightly on the stone floor, his stamina bar hitting absolute zero. He exhaled slowly, dusting off his commoner tunic. It had been messy. It had been statistically inefficient.

But the system chimed loudly in his head.

[You have slain the Broodmother Arachne (Solo)!]

↳ Base EXP gained: 1,000.

The golden text hidden behind the firewall flared brilliantly.

[Hidden Modifier Applied: The 10,000x Factor.]

↳ Total EXP gained: 10,000,000.

Vahn rubbed his temples as the headache faded. Ten million EXP! He had enough capital to fix the bottleneck in his stats. It was time to upgrade the architect.