Chapter 520: Blessed Grounds

A moment later, the young man let out a long breath and pulled the insect egg from his abdomen, visibly relieved.

He was clearly an Awakener—his body was tough enough that slicing open his own stomach wasn’t fatal. After spitting out the wood chips he’d used to brace himself, he scrambled to his feet, still shaky but alive.

“We need to get out of here—now! The Spider Empress is coming!” he shouted in the local dialect.

“Huh?”

Chris blinked, completely lost. The guy was speaking in the native tongue, and Chris didn’t understand a word.

Seeing the confusion on Chris’s face, the young man grew even more frantic. He started gesturing wildly, practically dancing in place, trying to mime his warning. Every movement tugged at his wound, making him wince and clutch his stomach in pain. The whole thing looked almost comical.

“What is this, interpretive dance?” Chris chuckled, casually throwing in a couple of exaggerated hip sways of his own.

The young man froze mid-gesture, staring at Chris in disbelief. Whatever he was feeling at that moment, words clearly weren’t enough.

But before anyone could say more, the ground suddenly began to tremble. The earth cracked and caved in around them, and towering trees toppled like dominoes.

A wave of raw, murderous energy surged up from below.

“Oh no! It’s coming out! Run! Run now or it’s too late!” the young man babbled in his native tongue, panic rising in his voice.

He turned to the others—Ethan and the rest—only to find them standing perfectly still, calm as ever, eyes locked on the source of the disturbance. Not one of them made a move to flee.

“…What the hell is wrong with these people?” he muttered, sweat pouring down his face.

The ground split wide open, revealing a gaping chasm of darkness, like a direct tunnel to hell itself.

Then it emerged.

A massive spider clawed its way out of the abyss, its body the size of a small mountain—easily fifty feet tall. Eight crimson eyes glowed like coals, and its entire body was covered in thick, black bristles. Its long, spindly legs ended in spear-like claws that gleamed with deadly sharpness.

“Damn… that’s a big one,” Ethan muttered under his breath. So far, this was the biggest spider-type mutant he’d ever seen—top-tier nightmare fuel.

The spider’s blood-red eyes locked onto them. It opened its grotesque mandibles and let out a piercing screech that sent a wave of foul wind through the forest.s have a deep-rooted, primal fear of spiders—something buried in our DNA.

And this thing? It was the stuff of pure horror.

The native youth started shaking like a leaf, his face drained of all color. Beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks as his voice cracked with terror.

“It’s over… we’re done for… there’s no time left…”

The Spider Empress, enraged by the intrusion into her nest, lashed her massive tail. In an instant, a barrage of silk threads shot out like a storm of arrows, slicing through the air with explosive force.

Ethan didn’t move. He just stood there, completely still, as if he hadn’t even noticed the attack. The threads closed in—fifteen feet away, ten…

Then his eyes flashed red.

The deadly silk froze midair, suspended like time itself had stopped. The sudden stillness was eerie, unnatural.

With a flick of his wrist, Ethan summoned a blazing light. The Star Map slab appeared in his hand, its embedded Radiant Crystal pulsing like the North Star.

The once-dim forest lit up in a wash of pure white.

Then Ethan leapt into the air like a shooting star, the Star Map slab raised high, and launched himself straight at the spider.

Compared to the monstrous creature, he looked tiny—like a pebble flying at a mountain.

But the power radiating from the slab was overwhelming. The air trembled. Trees around them shattered into splinters from the sheer force.

Then he brought it down.

The slab slammed into the spider’s head with the force of a meteor strike.

BOOOOM!

The impact echoed like thunder. A shockwave rippled outward, flattening grass, snapping branches, and toppling trees in every direction.

At the center of the blast, a small mushroom cloud rose into the sky.

“Oh my god…”

The Palawa youth stood frozen, eyes locked on the scene before him, completely stunned.

As the shockwaves faded and the dust finally settled, Ethan strolled back toward the group, tall and composed. His white clothes were still spotless, not even a speck of dirt on them. In his hand, he casually flipped a dark green crystal core.

“S+ grade crystal core. Not bad,” Ethan said, clearly satisfied.

Mia nodded. “Looks like this forest is crawling with high-level mutant beasts. Plenty of resources. We should hunt more while we’re here—not just to absorb energy, but to stock up on crystal cores for crafting Crystal Core Armaments.”

“Yeah, good idea.” Ethan tucked the core away, then turned to glance at the native youth. He looked over at Oliver. “What was he yelling about earlier? You speak his language?”

“I do! I’ll translate,” Oliver said proudly, finally getting a chance to show off his skills.

“Uh…” The native youth—still a little dazed—finally seemed to realize just how powerful these strangers were. They’d taken down an S+ class spider overlord in a single blow. “Judging by your looks… you’re not from around here, are you?”

“No shit. We’re from the U.S.,” Oliver replied casually.

“Oh, oh…” The young man nodded quickly, eyes full of gratitude.

“Thank you. You saved my life back there!”

Oliver started chatting with him, trying to gather intel. They needed a guide—someone who knew the island and could help them navigate and collect information.

Through the conversation, they learned his name was Koa, a B+ level Awakener from a small town on the forest’s edge. He’d been out hunting mutant beasts when he got ambushed by that spider.

Oliver raised an eyebrow. “There’s a town outside the forest?”

“Yeah, it’s a well-known safe zone. A lot of survivors live there now.”

“And it doesn’t get attacked by zombies or mutant beasts?” Oliver asked, skeptical.

Koa nodded. “That’s right. Our town chief is a powerful Awakener. He performs a ritual every day—some kind of blessing. As long as the ritual’s done, the town becomes ‘The Blessed Grounds.’ No zombies, no monsters, nothing can step foot in that area.”

“You serious?” Oliver’s eyes widened.

Just one ritual a day… and monsters can’t even enter? What kind of ability is that?

“I’m telling the truth. You’ll believe it when you see it,” Koa said, nodding earnestly.

He explained that he wasn’t originally from the town—he’d lived in a tribal village before. Most of the town’s residents were former city dwellers who fled when the apocalypse hit and the cities were overrun. They’d taken refuge in the town, and in all the months they’d been there, not a single monster had attacked.

Of course… if you left the safe zone, all bets were off. No protection out there.

Oliver was fascinated, and relayed everything to the rest of the group.

“So as long as you stay in the town, monsters can’t touch you?”

“No way. That’s real?”

“Maybe the town chief awakened some kind of unique ability?”

“Whatever it is, we gotta check it out.”

Chris and the others exchanged curious glances, murmuring among themselves.

Mia looked over at Ethan.

“If what that Palawa guy says is true, and no monsters can enter… that might be a problem.”

“You think I’ll be able to get in?” she asked.

Ethan thought for a moment. “Probably. I doubt it’s really some divine ‘Blessed Grounds’ thing. There’s gotta be more to it.”

With that, Koa took the lead, guiding them toward the town beyond the forest.

But every step he took tugged at the wound in his abdomen, sending sharp jolts of pain through him. His face twisted with every movement.

“You okay?” Oliver asked, concerned.

Koa gritted his teeth and shook his head. “I’ll live. It hurts like hell, but I had to get that egg out. This is the best outcome I could’ve hoped for.”

“Well… not exactly,” Oliver said with a shrug. “My boss said he could’ve taken it out without you slicing yourself open.”

“…Huh???” Koa stared at him, completely dumbfounded.

Wait, seriously?

Suddenly, his stomach felt like it hurt even more than before…

…

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