NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29
A white room.
No, a room filled with white threads. The nearly 1 ton Aranea hung effortlessly from the thin strand.
‘That just means the spider silk is strong.’
Crack-crack-snap!
The hunter being dragged had his head severed, and the blood oozing from Aranea’s fangs stained the pure white silk red. An undeniable death. The first to react was a man holding a spear, presumably a companion of the dead hunter.
“What the hell?!”
He adeptly leaped through the webs. But— the web was all its territory. In other words, every space within this ‘white room’ was within Aranea’s reach.
“No!”
The female hunter— Yoo Ah-hyun, nocked an arrow on her bowstring. It was a quick motion and flawless execution. But just as Aranea drew back a foreleg, the hunter climbing the web slipped. The web that had been his foothold ensnared the spear-wielding hunter completely.
“Gah?!”
The hunter extended his spear in resistance. Just before he was entirely wrapped up, a shot from the female hunter’s arrow struck the junction where the webs converged. But it didn’t break. Instead, as it was pulled tight, the webs constricted further.
“Aaaaaaaaaah!”
The hunter screamed loudly. The archers attempted to shoot their arrows but a middle-aged hunter shouted.
“No! If you can’t cut it, don’t shoot at all! That’s Aranea! A monster with a difficulty rating of B-!”
A difficulty rating of B-. In other words, it meant a B-class hunter would be needed to take it down alone. He shouted more but it went unheard.
‘—If I die here, it’s all over.’
No hesitation. I had to save him. To survive— and for clearing this dungeon, an alliance with the hunters was absolutely essential. And for that alliance to be formed, I needed to extend my hand first.
‘It would be troublesome if they see me as an enemy.’
Instead of hunting the monster right away, I needed them to think I was a comrade in arms against a mutual enemy. It would take 2 seconds for the spear-wielding hunter to reach the fully encased web— Aranea had been watching me from the start. Naturally, it counterattacked as soon as I moved.
‘You thought it would be easy!’
Just as it was watching me, I was watching it too.
The notion and intuition told me how the webs might move. Riding the rhythm and gliding like a wave, I reached the spot and transformed my fangs.
‘I have to cut it!’
I needed to sever and break free. I transformed into a suitable shape. Thin, dense, and sharp. My fangs resembled saw blades as I bit into the web.
‘Tough!’
With my strength at 123 plus hardening, the silk stubbornly resisted being cut. Finally, it was only after infusing magic power that I succeeded in breaking the thread. And just as I got that far—
“Shit. Two monsters in the boss room?”
—Even my D-class stealth couldn’t evade the hunters’ detection. In that moment, with the hunters’ gazes on me, I swiftly cut the web and freed the ensnared hunter.
“Hup! Ha! Huh!”
Perhaps he’d been suffocating in the web, clutching his neck and coughing, but there was no time to wait. I hurled him down.
“He’s falling! Ji-hoon, catch him! Catch him!”
Though thrown from 10 meters high, I believed he’d catch himself. Above all, I had no time to stand still. Aranea manipulated the web with the grace of a puppeteer, and the threads tightened from every angle.
‘…!’
How on earth could one control the webs filling the room? Was it the magic power? Or the inherent power of the Aranea species itself?
‘Are there any empty spaces?’
No. As I thought, the threads filled every corner. Yet suddenly, a very small gap appeared.
‘A trap?’
There was no choice. I had to escape! My essence is slime. I could slip through that tiny gap just barely. About a second later, the web clumped together, pushing each other. What would have happened if I had been caught in Aranea’s silk, tougher than steel?
‘Instant death…’
“What did you do just now?! Why that wolf?!”
The middle-aged hunter’s question drowned out my landing sound. He was holding a bow in one hand. Perhaps she shot the junction of the web?
“….”
“….”
“Ugh!”
A strange tension flowed between us. But then the impending threat from Aranea made us divert our focus from each other. After all, there was a more formidable enemy in front of us. Humans had a natural instinct to unite against a common foe.
‘I might be the monster, but…’
“That Worg can wait. Right now, Aranea is urgent. Does anyone know anything about it?”
“It’s damn fast and uses webs well…”
“I know all that! Is there anything else?!”
“How about trying fire?”
The warrior’s suggestion made Yoo Ah-hyun click her tongue, but perhaps desperate, she scratched the arrowhead with her fingernail. Though the arrowhead wasn’t flammable nor covered in gunpowder, the tip caught fire.
‘Magic power?’
Using magic power to perform a trick one might see in wizardry… how ironic.
“You don’t intend to shoot that, do you?”
“Do I look that stupid?”
Yoo Ah-hyun grinned as she gripped the arrow shaft. Aranea continued to lazily look down on us from above. The rippling threads silently invaded the space.
‘Faster!’
A speed faster than before. Aranea’s intentions were serious. No hunter dared to face the wave of threads head-on and were pushed back helplessly.
‘Are they herding us?’
We were being driven into a corner like adept sheepdogs. In the meantime, the arrow that Yoo Ah-hyun clutched touched the web, and one part of the thread began to ignite.
“Cough! Cough!”
It was certainly effective, but too much smoke was produced. That was what he was concerned about. Covering his mouth with his sleeve, he realized the smoke was far more toxic than anticipated. If it caught fire, it’d be suffocating before burning all the webs.
“We can’t use fire…damn.”
The hunter with the spear I had just saved cut the approaching threads. It seemed he infused magic into it.
‘So if you don’t use magic on each one, you can’t deal with the webs…’
The disparity of power hit me anew. Above all, it hadn’t even used its greatest asset, agility. It was mocking us right from its spot.
“Ugh!”
Another hunter was pulled up. I saw it coming and cut the thread, causing Aranea’s eyes to spin uncomfortably.
‘I need to figure this out.’
It was stressful knowing it was watching me without doing anything particularly special. Above all, there was no way I could simply cut all the threads cluttering the room. I needed a sharp solution.
‘If I could just cut that…’
The junction Yoo Ah-hyun shot at earlier. Whatever the principle, that was a spot where the threads gathered. Threads only hold significance when connected, so even a creature like it couldn’t use severed strands. I aimed to leap toward the junction.
“They’re cornered!”
“Block it! Do whatever it takes!”
In the end, the hunters were cornered. Under the lead of the middle-aged hunter, they formed a defensive wall.
“Shit… why the hell is an Aranea in this dungeon?!”
“Stop talking and block! You idiot!”
The waves seeped into the ground, but its threads didn’t. Layering upon layering, the weight increased, pulling their feet down. Even if they tried to cut the web with magic, the incoming speed was impossibly fast. As the warriors’ feet stuck, the archers pushed their backs with all their strength.
“Hang on!”
“Shit…!”
Yoo Ah-hyun jumped by stepping on the head of a warrior in front of her. When her feet landed amid the threads, they ensnared her. Naturally, it was assumed she’d get stuck, but she clawed at the web like climbing a rock wall, and even while enveloped in magical energy, she managed to keep her balance.
‘Impressive.’
Koo Sang-seop was the same; hunters were exceptionally resolute. Just as I was briefly distracted by her movement, the threads surged. Reading its moves by instinct and intuition, I narrowly dodged and accidentally met Aranea’s haunting gaze.
‘—Before it can move.’
Once it moved properly, no skill could save me. I had to handle the webs before that happened. While it underestimated us.
“To the side with the threads! Block it!”
The formation collapsed. Unable to withstand the pressure, the gaps between shields narrowed, and the already small space tightened like the morning subway. The hunters below appeared unable to self-rescue.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
With all its eight eyes focused on me, I felt a momentary stiffness in my movements— or, rather, my body truly couldn’t move.
‘…!’
This was a new experience for me but I knew. Magic eyes. Each of those eight eyes was a fragment of the magic eye. The activation condition was likely that all eight eyes were focused on one target.
‘Paralysis? Petrification? Stun?’
I didn’t know what kind of magic eye it was, but its overwhelming 244 magic power immobilized me.
[All Damage Reduction (D) Lv.3 has reached its maximum proficiency. All Damage Reduction (D) Lv.3 -> All Damage Reduction (D) Lv.4]
All damage reduction combined the previous magical and physical damage reduction promoting its level. The potency of the magic eyes diminished. Plus, by maximizing my 94 magic power, I could barely move.
‘Damn it!’
Thanks to that, my magic power hit rock bottom. I had no choice but to make an unavoidable decision.
[Magic Regeneration (D) Lv.1 skill obtained]
[Remaining skill points: 4]
Like groundwater springing from a well, my magic power gradually replenished. Barely escaping the mental exhaustion, I climbed the web for a while, finally reaching the junction. Since my magic eyes didn’t affect Aranea, it attempted to disrupt me using the webs. But I wasn’t so foolish as to be caught off guard twice with the same trick.
“Now! Push it away!”
With all attention and threads focused on me, the defenses below naturally loosened. The warriors pushed forward boldly, breaking through the webbed encirclement. Immediately afterward, a barrage of arrows rained down targeting the maze’s spider.
“Help A-hyun! Keep Aranea busy!”
All the arrows were shot simultaneously. Though Aranea instituted a barrier with the silk, this time it didn’t block it. The arrows infused with magic were no longer mere arrows. They were sniper rifles— no, possessing an even greater power. However, Aranea elegantly dodged them all.
“Reload! Warriors, pack in tight!”
Following the middle-aged hunter’s orders, the hunters made a unified effort to fend off the encroaching threads. Even though the shields crumpled under intense pressure, they withstood it. Their only hope rested in that.
“Crackle…!”
The threads at the junction were tougher than expected. I once again had to use my temporarily restored magic, leading to a bout of dizziness. Once the junction was severed, the white threads that had covered the room fell to the ground.
“Block with your shields! No, evade! Dodge! Get out of the way!”
With a delayed timing, the clump of threads crashed heavily to the ground, sending dust flying. What if we’d blocked it? What if we’d gotten caught beneath it? Cold sweat ran down the middle-aged hunter’s forehead. A single miscalculated order could lead everyone to their deaths.
Not all the strands had fallen yet, but most of the threads not directly linked to Aranea had dropped. Just as the middle-aged hunter thought he could take a breath, he scanned the situation once again.
‘That crazy girl!’
Yoo Ah-hyun aimed her bow at Aranea. She wasn’t targeting the junction after all. The female hunter had aimed at Aranea from the start!
“…!”
“No! Come back! I said come back!”
The middle-aged hunter was right. It was crazy. It was a suicidal act. Had she lost her mind? No, it didn’t seem that way. She just didn’t know!
‘Aranea was just toying with us this whole time!’
It hadn’t really moved up till now. It had merely been playing puppet master. Its real threat wasn’t controlling the threads, but that unfathomable 438 agility.
“I’ll kill you!”
Yoo Ah-hyun pulled the bowstring tight. It was like a textbook-perfect stance; something you’d see in the Olympics. Almost 200 magic power rich in her arrows surged toward their target, but the moment they collided with the web, they pitifully fell to the ground.
“Huh?”
What she didn’t realize was that Aranea had magic power.
It wasn’t surprising the arrow had been stopped. Almost 200 magic power? Aranea’s magic far exceeded that. Only arrows infused with magic could pierce the webs. If I think about it, as soon as Aranea infused the threads with its magic, it nullified any possible chance of piercing.
‘You dumbass!’
Perhaps when the archers’ arrows pierced the web, Aranea presumed it had no magic power.
With a shuddering sensation, the chilling eight eyes of the spider glared at the female hunter as if seeking revenge, and her body froze rigid. By the time the hunters belatedly tried to save her, it was too late— except for me, who had already been running.
“Gah?!”
Before Aranea could move, it snatched Yoo Ah-hyun. As the middle-aged hunter caught her, he activated hardening.
‘I can’t evade!’
Even with the cheat skills of instinct and insight, I couldn’t come up with anything. It was already too close. There was no way to evade this attack!
“…!”
I was thrust out with a huge impact. It turned out I’d collided with Aranea without even realizing it. Although I felt no pain, the aftereffects of mental exhaustion were still hitting me hard; I couldn’t stabilize myself. Resilience was meaningless! I was colliding—!
‘Grrk!’
If I hit the wall at this speed, I couldn’t imagine the impact. How much of my body mass would I lose? Surely I wouldn’t die, right?
“Yikes!”
Just before the collision, someone caught me. With a grunt, they strained to hold me back, even scraping against the ground repeatedly before coming to a halt just before the wall.
“…Phew!”
When I looked back, it was the hunter who had saved me with the spear earlier.
“Dammit. I saved a monster today.”
The hunter wiping blood from his mouth panted heavily. However, his legs were already giving way, leaving him immobile.
“…Phew!”
“Block! Don’t leave a gap! Load your arrows!”
After I had collided with him, Aranea started moving in earnest. Agility of 438. Even foreseeing it with instinct and insight was hardly feasible. The hunters fell one by one to rapid defeat.
“Gah!”
One hunter got pierced alongside his shield by Aranea’s front leg.
“Yikes!”
Another nameless hunter lost his head to the spider’s fangs.
‘1 against 7…’
Remaining hunters: seven. No, with the hunter holding the spear, it was actually 1 against 6. Meanwhile, Yoo Ah-hyun’s arrow found its mark. It pierced through Aranea’s thick fur into its body, but instead, it just provoked more anger from the spider boss.
“Retreat, form up! Retreat! Retreat!”
In an orderly manner, they fell back and leaned against the wall. The middle-aged hunter and warriors raised their shields, while the archers shielded them. Normally that would work— if the opponent were normal.
“Don’t let it through!”
The middle-aged hunter shouted, frustration boiling inside him. But even before that shout finished, a warrior took a tremendous hit. Though the middle-aged hunter tried to support him, the formation instantly collapsed. Aranea’s target was Yoo Ah-hyun. Holding her bow, she glanced up in disbelief.
“You— You damn spider!”
“No! Come back! I said come back!”
In that moment, a warrior charged ahead. He tried to shoulder charge with the armor’s shoulder pads but the difference in strength and mass was overwhelming. Before he knew it, he was caught by Aranea with ease. He quickly tore open a short-distance teleportation scroll from his waist pouch, but—
“Ugh, hiss…”
Before he could activate it, the spider shredded him apart. Only the miserable corpse got enveloped in light and stained the ground with blood.
‘Ah.’
The scent of blood was filling the maze differently from that of animals. In the meantime, three had died. 1 vs 5. Odds? Did they even exist from the beginning? Did they ever exist at all? Aranea was strong. If only I hadn’t come in here. No, I would’ve at least warned them against it.
I was the only one who knew Aranea was strong. I alone was aware of it.
—Perhaps I had driven them into this predicament.
“What’re you doing?! After rescuing you… Huh!”
My thoughts were interrupted. The hunter screamed with frantic eyes.
“Go! Go and fight! What are you doing just standing there?! You monster brat!”
He was clearly clutching broken ribs, his face pale, urging himself onward. His hand had no strength, and he staggered as if he’d collapse if he didn’t lean on the spear.
“Get out of the way! I— Huh! I’ll fight!”
But he still wouldn’t stop.
Shoving Yoo Ah-hyun aside, the middle-aged hunter barely succeeded in blocking Aranea’s blow. The female hunter, regaining her senses, drew back her bowstring. But it was futile—it was blocked effortlessly. Just as Aranea swung its scythe-like foreleg, the hunter discarded his spear and dashed madly.
—Slash!
The hunter who had just been yelling at me was split in half, collapsing. He hadn’t achieved anything and lost his life.
What he claimed was fighting, what he yelled out to do, only delayed Yoo Ah-hyun’s death by a few seconds. Did that death hold any meaning?
If it was destined to die like that, what significance did his life hold?
“Ji-hoon! Seo Ji-hoon! Seo Ji-hoon!”
“Snap out of it! He’s already dead!”
“Load! Reload!”
Aranea’s red eyes spun viciously. Some of those eyes turned toward me but soon treated me as no longer of any worth and focused back on the hunters.
As if mocking. You were no longer worthwhile.
‘……!’
In that moment, someone shouted.
As if something had strongly urged them forward.
Thump— thump— thump—! Thump thump! Thump thump!
Nonexistent pulses, a nonexistent heart beat faster. My depleted magic surged back to fill the well. My dizziness from mental exhaustion was finally clearing up.
[Survival Status…]
Was there any meaning to his death? Did those who died need to die?
[Destruction Probability…]
I didn’t know.
But trembling in fear and receiving death threats.
Facing continual death.
Another’s life lost with such futility.
[0.03% of a boost…]
—was something I could no longer abide.
[Experience points have reached maximum. Lv.19 -> Lv.20]
[Evolution conditions met]
[Weak Intuition (F) Lv.9 has reached its maximum proficiency. Weak Intuition (F) Lv.9 -> Weak Intuition (E) Lv.1]
[Choosing the Path of Marang (Magic Wolf)!]