The Tarantula's Marble
Yeom Sang-taek explained why he'd been putting off the marble extraction. Anyone else might have called him crazy, but this man, who clearly knew his spiders inside and out, seemed like he'd understand.
"So you kept delaying the marble work because you were afraid this little guy might die?"
"Yes."
"Fascinating. It's been a while since I've seen a raider like you."
"Pardon?"
"I'll help you. Everyone else treats mediums like Medusa as one-and-done disposables—use 'em once and toss 'em. But I think the opposite. With a little thought and effort, you can find a way. People are just too lazy and kill them off instead."
"Really?"
Tears welled up in Yeom Sang-taek's eyes from sheer joy.
"They say strike while the iron is hot. Let's do it now. What do you say?"
"Th-that sounds great to me. Thank you so much."
"Makes me feel good too."
Yeom Sang-taek fetched the cage.
The man opened the lid and snatched up Medusa with effortless ease.
"Here's the method. I'll draw out the condensed mana from Medusa's body—very slowly. It's a tricky process, so I'll handle it, and you absorb that mana through my hand. Got it?"
"Yes, sir."
"Sir?"
"...No, bro."
"That's much better. Let's begin."
The man's brow furrowed in concentration. A purple aura flowed from his hand, enveloping Medusa, and the once-frenzied tarantula's movements slowed to a crawl.
Yeom Sang-taek watched with worried eyes.
"It's anesthesia. Don't worry—she'll wake up."
"...Okay."
"Now grab this wrist and absorb the mana."
Yeom Sang-taek nodded and gently took hold of the man's wrist. To his surprise, he felt the familiar mana he'd once injected into Medusa's body—dense, heavy, concentrated to the max.
The absorption took nearly two hours.
Yeom Sang-taek focused harder than ever, desperate not to miss a single drop of mana.
"All done."
The man placed the limp Medusa back in the cage. Without her marble, she looked shriveled up.
"Will she be okay?"
"Heh, she'll wake up soon enough. Think of it like major surgery for a human—she'll need close watching for a bit. Feed her lots of her favorite food, and she'll bounce back quick."
"Got it. I'll do that."
Yeom Sang-taek gazed at Medusa in the cage. Seeing the vibrant, sometimes uncontrollably wild creature so wilted tugged at his heart.
What should I feed her when she wakes? Surgery patients start with porridge, right?
He asked the man about it.
"Kahahahaha!"
The man laughed loud enough to be a nuisance.
"Bro?"
"You really love this guy, huh? Worrying about that too. Just feed her normally—no need for porridge."
"Phew, what a relief."
"Come to think of it, I know you from somewhere."
The man scrutinized his face.
"Really?"
"Yeah. You're from Pink Team, right? The one led by Kim Jun."
"That's right."
"What was your name...? Something Yeom."
"Yeom Sang-taek."
Yeom Sang-taek beamed as he said it.
"Right, Yeom Sang-taek."
It was the first time someone had recognized him like that!
"What's your name, bro?"
"Me? Call me Spider Bro."
"Spider Bro?"
Yeom Sang-taek burst out laughing. Strangely, it fit him perfectly.
A moment later, Medusa stirred.
"Uh, bro."
"I know. I'll teach you how to extract the marble without killing the tarantula."
"For real?"
Yeom Sang-taek hadn't dreamed it'd be this easy.
"But this stays our secret. The Dungeon Association doesn't like this method. If it gets out, neither of us benefits. Here's the story: you extracted the marble solo today. And to strengthen it further, you bought a similar-looking tarantula. No one will suspect a thing. Sound good?"
"Perfect!"
Yeom Sang-taek gave a thumbs-up.
Spider Bro ruffled his hair affectionately, and Yeom Sang-taek didn't mind one bit.
"See you around."
"Yeah, bro."
Back home, sitting before the cage, it felt like he'd woken from a dream.
What luck. Or maybe heaven had intervened. When Medusa escaped, he'd thought it was over—but now he could extract the marble without killing her.
Yeom Sang-taek sensed the pea-sized marble floating right above his hand.
Focusing on it, he cast Strong with one-handed magic. The skill activated so smoothly and simply that his arms and legs felt heavier.
"Whoa!"
He shouted without realizing it.
At that moment, Medusa woke.
The sluggish tarantula gazed at her owner with those deep, clear eyes.
Yeom Sang-taek quickly caught a small black moth and tossed it into the cage.
Medusa seized it slowly and began nibbling away. Spider Bro was right. What a relief—he could keep her for life now.
He wanted to tell Kim Jun right away but held back.
A strange happiness washed over him. The thrill of a secret no one else could know, and the opportunity it brought.
Yeom Sang-taek lay on his bed.
He was asleep with a smile in under ten seconds.
His middle finger turned squishy.
Maeng Gyu-pil slipped his ever-hungry Stro Laba through the door crack. The thinned parasite effortlessly bypassed the electronic lock.
Click.
A satisfying sound.
He opened the door and strode into the living room in his shoes. The vibe was worlds apart from Yeom Sang-taek's cramped place.
This young guy was already obsessed with trophies—shelves crammed with souvenirs from various events, framed photos of himself striking cool poses on the wall. Pretension oozed from every corner.
Pink Team's main buffer treasured figurines over trophies. Maeng Gyu-pil never imagined meeting a raider who collected them so meticulously.
He sank into the sofa.
Snore, snore. The homeowner's heavy breathing filled the air.
Then, a question popped into his head.
Why hadn't he killed Yeom Sang-taek?
He'd had plenty of chances.
Why not kill the guy and impersonate him?
If that tarantula on the streetlamp hadn't eyed him warily, if he hadn't learned Yeom delayed the marble work to save the spider, if this house didn't scream "humble raider" unlike most cocky ones he knew... Do Jin-yong, blissfully ignorant and sleeping like a lamb, might not die tonight.
The exact reason why he spared him? Even Maeng Gyu-pil couldn't say. Just that Yeom wasn't the type worth killing.
Do Jin-yong, on the other hand? A juicy steak, mouthwatering at the mere thought.
Lingering at Yeom's had cost him time.
Maeng Gyu-pil rose and entered the bedroom.
Do Jin-yong scratched his belly in his sleep.
No pity stirred. This wasn't personal. If Do had better luck, he wouldn't have joined the Sokcho raid—or Pink Team.
Plain bad luck.
Of course, Do himself would never accept that.
Maeng Gyu-pil approached the bed slowly. Sensitive types jolt awake here, but Do was the exception.
Another stroke of his luck.
He'd die without even feeling the pain.
Maeng Gyu-pil raised his middle finger. Stro Laba stirred, sensing the task.
Squelch.
Stro Laba burrowed straight into Do Jin-yong's nostril, up to the brain.
Do's eyes bulged as he looked up at Maeng Gyu-pil.
In that hazy dream-reality blur, the life in his eyes snuffed out. Stro Laba flipped the switch, powering down his brain.
Stro Laba feasted deliciously on the pale brain matter.
Maeng Gyu-pil prepared for the transformation.
This one had to be flawless. One slip, and he was done for.
That very risk sent electric thrills through him.
High risk, high return.
The greater the danger, the bigger the reward.
The second marble had formed.
A hard-won triumph after nearly dying twice overnight!
Tears of emotion froze on his cheek before they could fall, thanks to the tank's overwhelming chill. Without Sa Bi-ju's icy aura filling the space, he couldn't have made two marbles before the Sokcho raid.
"Sis."
Skyla got a weird thrill calling the Association President's sister "sis." In that moment, she felt on equal footing with Sa Gyeong-baek at the top of the raider world.
Sa Bi-ju, flipping through a magazine as usual, glanced at her.
"Can't come tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Raid the day after. Heading into the dungeon."
"A raid?"
Sa Bi-ju's eyes sparkled—probably memories of raids from long ago.
Skyla briefly explained the Sokcho Dungeon raid. At "relic quest," Sa Bi-ju's eyes widened further.
Skyla braced for a tantrum—insisting to tag along or forbidding the dungeon altogether—but Sa Bi-ju just gazed calmly and whispered,
"Come back safe. I'll be bored to death without you."
"Got it."
Sa Bi-ju suddenly hugged her.
Skyla startled at the chill around her neck... and spotted the gleaming silver necklace.
"Sis?"
"Borrowing it to you. So come back and return it, okay?"
"Th-this is...?"
Her reporter instincts kicked in—blue-tinged silver necklace meant one thing: priceless.
Bingcheongyeong.
Crafted by Bang Il-mok, rival to master item-maker Do Jong-man. Made with Nuclium, Spiridium, Geludium, and more to maximize chill. Rumors said it could drop ambient temps to absolute zero depending on the owner, but unverified.
Boosted mana by 15%, resistance to cold by 30%. Bang made only three; one to his daughter, the other two vanished.
Current owner: Sa Gyeong-baek's sister, secretly Sa Geum-ok.
"Yep, Bingcheongyeong. It's a gift from my brother, so you have to return it."
"I-I'll come back for sure."
She nearly bawled.
Exiting the tank, Skyla waved goodbye to Sa Bi-ju and left the ice factory.
Strange feeling.
Pink Team felt like family, but the slightly unhinged Sa Bi-ju had wormed deep into her heart too. Their shared ice raider bond amplified it big time.
Still pitch black outside.
Skyla hailed a cab. Destination: Uramata Raid Center.
The cab refused the abandoned factory zone, so she ran the last 20 minutes. Sky still dark, but lights blazed inside the center.
Who'd come this early? She peeked through the door.
That guy's been here all night. No doubt.
Kim Jun ran the track—not his usual blistering pace, but... lighter somehow. Hard to pinpoint the change.
Skyla entered, and Kim Jun approached.
His feet hit the ground, yet he floated like a ghost.
"You're early."
"You pulled an all-nighter, huh?"
"Kinda happened."
His face glowed clear, unburdened—problems solved.
"Mastered Jungchwi?"
"Roughly."
Kim Jun grinned.
"Roughly" from him meant near-perfect.
Skyla knew a bit about Jungchwi—a hidden trick of Mokhonbo, rarely used due to flaws.
She burned to know how he'd fixed them.
"Show me. Jungchwi."
"Okay."
Kim Jun shot forward like a spring—crossing 10 meters without bending a knee.
Skyla's jaw dropped slightly.
"...That's Jungchwi? No way. It needs prep time."
"Eliminated that."
"How?"
"Eh, simply put: added a lock and some mechanisms to a virtual spring."
"......"
Skyla stared blankly, uncomprehending.
Kim Jun shrugged, circled her, and explained.
Skyla, from her reporting on martial arts' unique mechanics versus magic, followed easily enough.
That didn't lessen the shock.
It amplified it.
Tell civilians raiders' key trait is imagination, and they laugh. "If it mattered that much, I'd be a raider too."
Real raiders get deadly serious—they know exactly.
Low raiders need talent, effort, and imagination to reach mid-tier, then high.
This imagination isn't lazy daydreaming.