Chapter 52: Man-Faced Spider (3)
Seo Yerim stared at Kim Minwoo.
He was always a man who exceeded her expectations. She thought he might offer some comfort, but instead, he told her to pick up a bow out of nowhere.
It was absurd.
“You’re seriously saying that right now?”
“You’ve never held a bow before.”
His eyes held such certainty that her words caught in her throat.
Born in Sword Sea Pavilion, she had awakened gripping a sword. As Kim Minwoo said, she truly had never held a bow.
There had never been any need to.
“That doesn’t mean I’ll have any talent for it.”
“Seo Yerim. Aren’t you looking for comfort right now? Then you have to try everything.”
Seo Yerim fell silent.
Of course, his words weren’t entirely wrong. If she kept trying, she might discover some new talent in another field, just as he suggested.
If she didn’t find any, it didn’t matter.
She could just keep training with the sword as always.
But what if, by some slim chance, she actually found talent elsewhere?
‘What the hell would happen to my life then…?’
A lifetime of training.
All of it would be denied in an instant.
That was why she didn’t want to attempt any change. Failing to find talent elsewhere would be a problem.
And finding it would be a problem too.
“I get it. It’s burdensome. But Cedric’s words aren’t a lie. You might level up and learn a few more skills, but that’s as far as you’ll go.”
Kim Minwoo said flatly.
That was what people usually called a tin-can S-rank.
High level, but no real substance.
‘Of course, Seo Yerim isn’t quite at tin-can level…’
But to get her to pick up a bow, he had no choice. He needed to jolt her awake with some harsh words this time.
“Take this chance to really think about what you truly want. Is it mastery of the sword, or recognition from the Sword Sage? Either way, you’ll never achieve those goals holding a sword.”
Seo Yerim lowered her head.
If some random nobody had said that, she would have shot back immediately.
But Kim Minwoo was different.
Even her grandfather sought his teachings directly.
When he spoke with such conviction, she couldn’t muster a rebuttal.
She stared blankly at her sword. Was her goal truly to find her end through the blade?
‘… Maybe not.’
Recognition from her grandfather.
That was her true goal.
The sword was, strictly speaking, just a means to that end.
Her grandfather wielded a sword, Kim Minwoo's profession was Swordsman, and Seo Yerim had trained with the weapon her whole life. Those were the only reasons she could not let the matter go.
“Let’s end the talk here. We need to start tackling the Man-Faced Spider.”
He didn’t expect her to grab a bow and master it overnight just because he told her to.
Simply reminding her that there were options besides the sword made this conversation meaningful enough.
‘That’ll do.’
Some time to stew was necessary too.
He looked at Seo Yerim.
“Ready to head out?”
“… You think that broke me already? Let’s go.”
As expected of a pro Awakener, she wasn’t losing her composure inside the gate.
She gazed at the Heavenly Peak ahead.
A mountain shrouded in thick mist.
It was time to head there.
* * *
Seo Yerim drew her sword and looked his way.
“Got any kind of plan?”
“I’ve got a rough one.”
“You seem to know a lot about the Man-Faced Spider. All I know is that it looks like a person’s face.”
A monster whose face resembled a human’s.
Its defining traits were its extreme cunning and intelligence as a hunter.
‘Average level around 351 to 400.’
An A-rank monster that usually served as a mid-boss. He’d taken it down a few times before.
Of course, saying that outright would raise too many questions.
“I read a lot of strategy guides. It was in there.”
“Strategy guides? You read books too?”
“… Yeah. I read books.”
Anyone could read a damn book.
Was he seriously getting suspicious over that?
Making a liar feel awkward.
“Alright, let’s go in.”
“It’s evening already?”
“The Man-Faced Spider is active at night. If we go in the morning, we won’t catch it. It hides away.”
The Man-Faced Spider typically claimed an entire mountain as its stronghold.
Spider silk spewed from its tail spread everywhere, sticking to every nook and cranny of the mountain. That completed its hunting ground.
‘Walk in blindly, and you’ll come out as a corpse.’
Thin, transparent spider silk.
Incredibly hard to spot with the naked eye.
And that was just the start.
Its stickiness could slice through flesh, and venom coursed between the strands.
Touch it, and you were done for.
Before climbing the venom-filled mountain, the first step was antidotes.
He split the top-grade antidotes with Seo Yerim, one bottle each.
This would neutralize airborne venom for thirty minutes at least.
“The plan is simple. We’ll lure the Man-Faced Spider here.”
“How?”
“Like this.”
He summoned a horde of skeletons.
Armed skeletons began roaming the mountain freely.
Soon enough.
Clatter!
[Skeleton 356 is caught in sticky spider silk!]
[Paralytic venom spreads!]
[Skeleton 543…]
[Skeleton 654…]
Skeletons staggering with their feet stuck flat to the ground.
It was no different from signaling the Man-Faced Spider.
A feast laid out here—come and get it.
But.
‘It’s not enough.’
The Man-Faced Spider was extremely cunning.
It wouldn’t come charging straight in just because a few webs were tripped.
‘It’ll circle around.’
Climbing big trees.
Burrowing tunnels to pop out.
Whatever it did, it wouldn’t rush the skeletons head-on.
‘It’ll suspect a trap.’
And what made it trickier.
The Man-Faced Spider had natural camouflage by default.
Camouflaged and hidden, it was nearly impossible to spot approaching.
He kept scattering skeletons everywhere.
Each carried traps in their hands. Climbing trees to set them, burying them in the ground.
Every possible space around was rigged with traps.
“… Wouldn’t it be better to just burn the mountain?”
“If we set it on fire, it’ll hide in pre-dug tunnels or caves. Then it’ll take forever to catch.”
If the Man-Faced Spider retreated to its lair, it became a nightmare. Unlike the sparse webs here, its home was entirely woven silk.
‘And fire wouldn’t even work.’
Charge in thinking it’s ordinary silk that melts in flames, and you’d get eaten instead.
Monsters weren’t monsters for nothing.
Then.
—Kuuu.
Hayangi’s cry echoed.
‘It’s coming.’
He’d told it to cry out if it sensed something big approaching. Camouflage could fool the eyes, but not the sounds of its massive body bumping around.
The smart beast must have gauged it and let out the call.
Direction: west.
Seo Yerim had sensed it too—her grip tightened fiercely on her sword.
Ssslrk.
Trees shook in the distance.
Something transparent-like slithered closer.
The Man-Faced Spider cautiously eyed a line-tethered skeleton from afar.
Soon, it began inching forward bit by bit.
Click.
Boom!
Scatter traps exploded everywhere. Multiple layers meant chain reactions were inevitable.
—Kerrk?
Its body was engulfed in shrapnel.
‘Camouflage blocked.’
He cast the curse.
The curse that had missed before sank perfectly into its body.
[‘Man-Faced Spider’ is afflicted with Curse of Aging!]
[Target’s level is overwhelmingly higher!]
[Resists curse!]
[Defense and movement speed reduced by 5%!]
“Kill it!”
Skeletons hidden all around charged in.
—Keeek!
The Man-Faced Spider’s eyes glowed red. It spun its body once. Immense weight crushed the skeletons.
Skeletons shattering left and right.
Level gap alone was 300.
Skeletons weren’t built to deal damage in the first place.
That was why he hadn’t even summoned mages. Magic wouldn’t land anyway. Better to swarm and hinder its movements.
He charged in with Cedric.
“Ice!”
[‘Hayangi’ shares attribute with owner!]
[Ice attribute can be utilized!]
[Ice attribute resistance increased by 20%!]
The Man-Faced Spider’s hide was extremely tough. It had fire resistance too. Conversely, it was weak to water attributes. Ice counted as part of water. He thrust his frost-laced blade into its body.
[Title, ‘Bug Slayer’ effect applied!]
[Damage increased by 10%!]
[Title, ‘Strong Slayer’ effect applied!]
[Damage increased by 20%!]
[Possesses counter attribute!]
[Damage increased by 40%!]
Bug Slayer and Strong Slayer.
Damage boosts didn’t end there.
Attacking with a counter attribute doubled the attribute ratio for damage.
Hayangi’s 20% attribute.
Damage ballooned by 40%.
‘Boosts multiply.’
The near-1.8x inflated damage slammed into the hide.
Kaaang!
‘Won’t pierce in one hit.’
Even boosted, low base damage meant limited gains.
But that was fine.
He had a way to pierce it.
From the opposite side, Seo Yerim swung her sword.
[Seo Yerim uses Space Slash (B)!]
Slash!
Her blade tore through part of the hide in one stroke.
High level, matching weapon.
Plus a powerful skill— she was undeniably strong.
Poisoned blood sprayed everywhere.
The Man-Faced Spider’s gaze snapped to her. Its human-like mouth split wide.
Whoosh!
Massive venom surged toward Seo Yerim.
[Seo Yerim uses Moon Step (A)!]
She dodged backward.
[Seo Yerim uses Sword Aura Barrage (A)!]
She unleashed bundles of blue sword auras at the Man-Faced Spider.
‘Dodging well.’
Pulling aggro perfectly too.
He could work freely because of it. He hammered the same spot repeatedly.
[Struck same area! Damage increased by 11%…]
[Struck same area! Damage increased by 22%…]
[Struck same…]
Same area.
Attacking the exact same spot without an inch of error.
This level of play was nose-picking easy.
Especially now, with aggro locked elsewhere.
Damage skyrocketed from multiplicative boosts.
The increasingly blue-frozen hide finally shattered.
A massive hole opened.
[Acquired Title, ‘One-Spot Digger’!]
The screaming Man-Faced Spider’s gaze turned his way. He threw all the skeletons into its gaping mouth, then leaped back immediately.
“Cedric!”
[Cedric uses Mini Breath!]
Cedric, mouth agape, had closed in unnoticed and blasted breath straight into the breached hide.
It had fire resistance, but that was the hide.
Internal organs and blood had no defense against breath.
Sizzle!
Poison-laced blood cooked under the breath, billowing thick smoke.
—…!
Agony from its innards roasting made the Man-Faced Spider flail.
But it couldn’t shake off Cedric buried face-first inside the cracked hide.
It would reverse-summon soon from the intense venom.
‘Worth it.’
It would revive anyway.
For free.
[Cedric reverse-summoned…]
[Death Lord effect activates!]
The slump was brief.
Cedric revived at full mana, fresh as ever. It blasted a second breath.
—Kieeeek!
Two direct breath hits wracked the Man-Faced Spider with screams.
Its legs began to buckle as a bonus. Soon, its tail lifted.
Spider silk shot out in all directions. He and Seo Yerim retreated.
Slow-reacting skeletons were all reverse-summoned.
The Man-Faced Spider turned and bolted madly.
“Chase it!”
He ran with Seo Yerim.
He summoned skeletons ahead to block paths, but the Man-Faced Spider bulldozed through.
Cedric fired breaths, Seo Yerim sprayed sword auras.
It tanked them toughly and charged forward relentlessly.
The pursuit dragged on.
Soon, a cave appeared in the distance.
Silk plastered the entrance—clearly its lair.
‘Blood at about 10%…’
It would ultimately hide inside.
He sensed it.
Couldn’t catch it like this.
Time for a gamble.
He rummaged his inventory.
Then.
“Catch!”
He tossed her a quiver and bow.
One of the skeletons’ crafts, magic item with level limit 51. Meant for mob pulling originally, but desperate times.
She caught it reflexively and tilted her head at him.
“What’re you doing? Shoot!”
“But I’ve never used a bow!”
“Just shoot! Hurry! If it gets in there, we’re too late!”
She gripped the bow as if to argue. She awkwardly assumed a stance like she’d seen in media.
She nocked an arrow and drew the string taut.
She narrowed her eyes, inhaling to focus.
That instant.
Time slowed to a crawl.
Her stance, breathing, weapon, power distribution—everything was a mess.
Yet a strange certainty bloomed.
If she shot now, it would hit for sure.
Terrifying mana gathered over her arrow.
The Man-Faced Spider racing toward the cave came into view.
[Radiant talent blooms!]
[Show time!]
[Overwhelming talent generates a skill!]
[Skill, Precision Shot (A) generated!]
[Acquired Title, ‘Tasted Flow State’!]
[Acquired Title, ‘Found Its Match Late’!]
Thwack!
The mana-charged arrow flew.
Ripping through air, it pierced the Man-Faced Spider’s head in one shot.
[Level up.]
[Acquired Title, ‘Divine Sniper’!]
The Man-Faced Spider spat a skillbook and collapsed limply.
“…”
Seo Yerim.
She stared blankly at the bow.