Chapter 52

[Translator – Proks]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 52: Human-faced Spider (3)

Seo Yerim looked at Kim Minwoo.

He was always a man who went beyond her imagination.

She thought he would offer some comfort, but he straight away told her to pick up a bow.

She was taken aback.

“Are you serious?”

“You’ve never held a bow, have you?”

His eyes were full of such certainty that her words got stuck in her throat.

She was born in the Sword Sect and awakened with a sword in her hand.

It was true that she had never held a bow as Kim Minwoo said.

There was no need for her to do so in the first place.

“That doesn’t mean I have talent in that area, does it?”

“Seo Yerim, don’t you want to be stronger? Than you have to try everything.”

Seo Yerim fell silent.

Of course, what he said wasn’t wrong.

If she tried, she might be able to find a new talent in a different area, as Kim Minwoo said.

It didn’t matter if she didn’t find it.

She could just continue her sword training as she had been doing.

But what if, just by chance, she found another talent?

‘What will become of my life?….’

A life she had been training for all her life.

That would mean that her whole life was pointless.

That’s why she didn’t want to try to change.

If she couldn’t find talent in the other area, that was a problem in itself.

But finding it was a problem too.

“I know it’s burdensome. But Cedric’s words are not a lie. You might be able to raise your level and learn a few more skills, but that’s as far as you can go.”

Kim Minwoo said nonchalantly.

That’s what they called a “canned S-rank.”

High level but no substance.

‘Of course, Seo Yerim wasn’t at the level of a can, but…’.

He had to make her pick up a bow.

He had to make her realize it now, while her mind was still clear.

“Now, think about what you really want. Is it to end with a sword, or is it the recognition of the Sword Saint? Either way, neither of those are goals you can achieve with a sword.”

Seo Yerim lowered her head.

If an intermediate awakened had said something like that, she would have immediately refuted it.

But Kim Minwoo was different.

He was a swordsman who even her grandfather asked for direct guidance.

When he spoke with such conviction, she couldn’t refute him at all.

She stared intently at her sword.

Was it her goal to end with a sword?

‘….Maybe not.’

It was her goal to gain her grandfather’s approval.

That was her goal.

The sword was merely a means to that end, so to speak.

Her grandfather used a sword.

Her profession was a swordsman.

She had been training with this all her life.

That’s why it was a weapon she couldn’t let go of.

“Let’s leave it at that for now. We should head out to attack the Human-faced Spider soon.”

He didn’t expect her to pick up a bow overnight.

Just reminding her that there were other options besides a sword was meaningful enough for this conversation.

‘This is enough for now.’

She needed time to think about it.

He looked at Seo Yerim.

“Can we go?”

“….I guess I’m mentally ready for this much? Let’s go.”

Even so, she didn’t look like a professional awakened person who had lost her mind in the gate.

She looked at the towering mountain in front of her.

A mountain full of fog.

It was time to head towards that place.

* * *

Seo Yerim drew her sword and looked at him.

“Do you have any plans?”

“I’ve roughly planned it out.”

“I guess you know a lot about the Human-faced Spider? All I know is that it looks like a human face.”

A monster with a human face.

It was characterized as a very cunning and intelligent hunter.

‘The average level range is roughly between 351 and 400.’

It was an A-rank monster that usually appeared as an intermediate boss, and he had killed it a few times.

Of course, if he answered like that, it would be a bit strange.

“I read a lot of strategy guides. It was mentioned there.”

“Strategy guides? You read books too?”

“….Yes. I read books too.”

This person can read books.

And she’s suspicious of that.

It’s not cool to lie.

“Then let’s go in.”

“It’s dinnertime now, isn’t it?”

“The Human-faced Spider is active at night. If you go in the morning, you won’t be able to catch it. It won’t come out because it’s hiding.”

The Human-faced Spider usually makes a large mountain its stronghold.

The spiderwebs it spews from its tail spread out in all directions, sticking to every corner of the mountain.

This is how its hunting ground is completed.

‘If you go in without knowing, you’ll be a corpse.’

Thin, transparent spiderwebs.

It is very difficult to identify with the naked eye.

Is that all?

The stickiness is enough to cut through an attached body, and even poison flows between the spiderwebs.

If you touch it, you’re dead.

Before climbing the poison-filled mountain.

The first thing he did was take an antidote.

He shared a top-rank antidote with Seo Yerim, one bottle each.

This should be enough to not have any problems with the airborne poison for thirty minutes.

“The plan is simple. I’ll make the Human-faced Spider come here.”

“How?”

“Like this.”

He summoned a group of skeletons.

The armed skeletons began to roam the mountain without hesitation.

Immediately after.

Clang!

[Skeleton 356 was caught in a sticky spiderweb!]

[Deadly poison is spreading!]

[Skeleton 543……]

[Skeleton 654……]

A group of skeletons flailing their whole bodies with their feet stuck to the ground.

It was no different from sending a signal to the Human-faced Spider.

‘We’ve set up a feast here, so come quickly.’

However.

‘This isn’t enough.’

The Human-faced Spider is very cunning.

It won’t do the stupid thing of rushing in head first just because something got caught in a spiderweb.

‘It will circle around.’

Either by climbing a big tree.

Or by digging a hole and popping out.

No matter what, it won’t rush straight at the skeletons.

‘Because it will suspect a trap.’

What’s more tricky is that.

The Human-faced Spider was basically born with camouflage.

If it comes in hiding with its camouflage on, you won’t be able to find it unless you’re really good.

He continued to scatter skeletons in all directions.

The skeletons each had a trap in their hands.

They climbed trees and set traps, and planted them on the ground.

He set traps in every space around him.

“….Wouldn’t it be easier to just burn down the mountain?”

“If you burn it down, it will go into a hole or cave that it has dug in advance and hide. Then it will take forever to catch it.”

If the Human-faced Spider hides in its lair, it will be very tiring.

Instead of a mountain like this where there are spiderwebs everywhere, its lair is all spiderwebs.

‘And it won’t catch fire.’

If you think it’s just a normal spider web that will melt in the fire and jump in, you’ll get eaten instead.

Monsters aren’t monsters for nothing.

Then.

―Coo―

Whitey’s voice echoed.

‘It’s coming.’

He had told him to make a sound if he felt something big was coming.

Even if it could deceive their eyes with its camouflage, it couldn’t hide the sound of its massive body bumping into things here and there.

Being the smart creature it was, it must have caught on and let out the sound.

The direction was west.

Seo Yerim must have also sensed it, as her grip on the sword tightened.

Rustle.

A tree in the distance swayed.

Something that looked like a transparent body was approaching, its form indistinct.

The Human-faced Spider, cautiously gauging the situation, stared at the skeletons tied to the ropes from a distance.

Then, it began to approach, slowly but surely.

Clang!

Boom!

Explosive traps went off in all directions.

Since they were installed in multiple layers, it was inevitable that a chain explosion would occur.

―Krrrk?―

The creature’s body was covered in explosives.

‘I blocked the camouflage.’

He cast a curse.

The curse, which had missed a few times, accurately hit the creature’s body.

[The ‘Human-faced Spider’ is under the Curse of Aging!]

[The target’s level is overwhelmingly high!]

[The target resists the curse!]

[Defense and movement speed are reduced by 5%!]

[Translator – Proks]

[Proofreader – Gun]

“Kill it!”

The skeletons that were hiding all over rushed in.

―Kiiick!―

The Human-faced Spider’s eyes turned red.

It spun its body around.

The immense weight crushed the skeletons.

A group of skeletons shattered.

The level difference was 300.

In the first place, the skeletons were not designed to deal damage.

That’s why he hadn’t even drawn his mana yet.

No matter how much magic he cast, it wouldn’t work.

It was better to cling to it and hinder its movement.

He rushed in with Cedric.

“Ice!”

[Whitey shares properties with her master!]

[You can use the ice attribute!]

[Ice resistance increased by 20%]

The Human-faced Spider’s outer shell was very hard.

It was also fire resistant. In other words, it was vulnerable to water attributes.

Ice is also part of the water attribute.

He plunged his ice-cold sword deep into the creature’s torso.

[The effect of the title, ‘Insect Slayer’, is applied!]

[Damage increased by 10%]

[The effect of the title, ‘Slayer of the Strong’, is applied!]

[Damage increased by 20%]

[You have a polar opposite attribute!]

[Damage increased by 40%]

Insect Slayer and Slayer of the Strong.

The damage increase didn’t end there.

If he attacks with a polar opposite attribute, the damage will increase up to twice the attribute ratio.

The 20% attribute Whitey gave him.

Thanks to that, the damage was boosted by 40%.

‘Damage increase is multiplicative.’

The damage, which was inflated by nearly 1.8 times, struck the outer shell hard.

Clang!

‘It won’t break in one hit.’

Even though the damage was inflated, the base damage itself was low, so the increase in value couldn’t be high either.

But that was okay.

There was a way to break through.

Seo Yerim swung her sword from the opposite side.

[Seo Yerim uses Space Slash (B)!]

Scratch!

Her sword tore through part of the outer shell in one Slash.

High level and a weapon to match.

Add to that a powerful skill, and she was definitely strong.

Venomous blood sprayed everywhere.

The Human-faced Spider’s gaze instantly turned towards her.

The human-like mouth gaped open.

Swoosh!

A massive amount of poison poured towards Seo Yerim.

[Seo Yerim uses Moon steps (A)!]

Dodging backwards.

[Seo Yerim uses Sword Dance (A)!]

‘She’s dodging well.’

She’s also drawing aggro well.

Thanks to that, he was able to work comfortably.

He kept hitting the same spot.

[You have attacked the same spot! Damage increased by 11%…….]

[You have attacked the same spot! Damage increased by 22%…….]

[Same…….]

Same.

It meant attacking the exact same spot without a single inch of error.

This level of play is something he can do even while picking his nose.

Especially in this situation where the aggro is focused on the other side.

The damage started to skyrocket due to the multiplication.

The outer shell, which was gradually turning blue, finally shattered.

A large hole was created.

It was time to deliver the final blow.

Seo Yerim and Kim Minwoo exchanged glances.

[Title: ‘Single-minded Striker’ acquired!]

The Human-faced Spider, which had been screaming, turned its gaze towards them.

He threw the skeletons he had been holding in front of the creature’s gaping mouth and immediately jumped back.

“Cedric!”

[Cedric uses Mini Breath!]

Cedric, who had approached with his mouth wide open, shot his breath into the pierced outer shell.

Even though it had fire resistance, that only applied to the outer shell.

Its internal organs and blood had no resistance to the breath.

Sizzle!

The poisonous blood boiled in the breath, creating a massive cloud of smoke.

―……!

The Human-faced Spider jumped up in pain as its flesh was cooked.

However, it couldn’t shake off Cedric, who was shooting his breath into it.

This was because he had already grabbed hold of the broken outer shell and was practically shoving his face inside.

He would be recalled soon due to the intense poison, but it was still an advantage.

‘It’s worth it.’

He’ll be revived anyway.

And for free.

[Cedric is recalled…….]

[The effect of Death Lord is activated!]

His exhaustion was short-lived.

Cedric was revived with full mana once again.

He shot another breath.

―Kieeeyyyy!

The Human-faced Spider screamed in pain after being hit directly by two blasts of breath.

On top of that, it started to stumble on all fours.

Then, its tail rose up.

Spiderwebs shot out in all directions.

He retreated with Seo Yerim.

The slow-reacting skeletons were all recalled.

Then, the Human-faced Spider turned around and started running like crazy.

“Let’s chase him!”

He ran with Seo Yerim.

He tried to block its path by summoning skeletons in front of it, but they were no match for the Human-faced Spider’s breaking power.

Cedric breathed fire and Seo Yerim unleashed a flurry of sword strikes.

It took all of this, but it still charged forward relentlessly.

The chase continued.

Soon, they could see a cave in the distance.

The entrance was covered in spiderwebs, so it seemed like that was its lair.

‘It looks like it has about 10% of its health left…….’

It would eventually hide inside the cave.

He could feel it.

They couldn’t catch it like this.

It was time to take a gamble.

He rummaged through his inventory.

Then.

“Catch this!”

He threw her a quiver of arrows and a bow.

It was a level 51 magic item that the skeletons had made.

He had originally intended to use it to draw aggro, but he had to use it for something else now.

She took it in a daze and looked at him.

“What are you doing? Shoot!”

“I’ve never held a bow before!”

“Just shoot! Quick! It’s going to go inside if we don’t!”

She was about to say something, but she grabbed the bow.

Seo Yerim awkwardly took a stance, imitating what she had seen in the media.

She pulled the arrow back to the string.

The string stretched taut.

She narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath to concentrate.

At that moment.

Time slowed down to a crawl.

Her stance, her breathing, her weapon, her distribution of power – everything was a mess.

Yet, she felt a strange sense of certainty.

She knew that if she shot now, she would hit.

A terrifying amount of mana gathered around her arrow.

She could see the Human-faced Spider heading towards the cave.

[Brilliant Talent blooms!]

[Showtime!]

[Overwhelming talent creates a skill!]

[Skill: Precision Shot (A) is created!]

[Title: ‘Experienced in Nothingness’ acquired!]

[Title: ‘Late Bloomer’ acquired!]

Thwack!

The mana-infused arrow flew away.

The arrow, slicing through the air, pierced the Human-faced Spider’s head in one breath.

[Level up.]

[Title: ‘Divine Marksman’ acquired!]

The Human-faced Spider fell limply to the ground, dropping a skill book.

“…….”

Seo Yerim.

She stared blankly at the bow.

[Translator – Proks]

[Proofreader – Gun]