The Young Nepentula
Having noticed the anomaly with the baby Nepentula, we exchanged glances for a moment before reacting swiftly.
"Block the entrance!"
"Damn it! The black mage was bait from the start!"
Spreading out in a fan formation centered on the passage connected to the outside, we prepared our attacks. The opponent's level was clearly higher than ours, and it even possessed the high intelligence to set traps, but we had no intention of going down without a fight.
"W-we're all going to die...."
"Black mage! Stop hiding in the corner and come out and fight! That's the only way you'll survive!"
"H-hiik! I-I'll come out and fight!"
At my shout, the black mage reacted reflexively and issued commands to the animals in the center of the cavern. The creatures, which had been staring blankly into the air, snapped to their senses and began glowing as they guarded the passage. Liliye clicked her tongue briefly at the sight.
"At this rate, they'll be more of a hindrance than a way to buy time."
"Can't be helped. With the black mage in that state, the animals are bound to act strangely too."
As Lahan responded to her grumbling with a bitter smile and began preparing his magic, I—who had been quietly focusing on the sounds—felt it instinctively.
"It's coming."
Hearing my mutter, Karam poured mana into his body to its limit. Just as he gathered strength throughout his frame to react to whatever approached, his survival instincts blared and moved his body on their own.
KWAAAAANG!
The moment something long struck his shield, Karam's body was sent flying backward. While the black mage stared in a daze at the sight of the massive orc being flung back like a sheet of paper, I barely managed to fill the gap and gritted my teeth as I manipulated the Ikelos.
Over a thousand shards spread out before me, forming a single massive shield. Beyond it, four tentacles pounded against the barrier.
"This damn...!"
I swallowed a gasp and endured the shock transmitted through the shield. Occasional attacks that pierced through the shield burst the heads of animals corrupted by black mana. What kind of ridiculous attack was this?
I was pushed back a few steps but somehow avoided being sent flying. Thanks to being made of shards, attacks above a certain threshold were mitigated as the fragments flew backward, allowing me to hold on. If not for that, I would have been launched like Karam.
"Just hold on a little longer! My magic is ready!"
While I blocked the attacks, mana gathered violently around Lahan before various spells flew beyond the shield. As the barrage of magic—condensed with the maximum firepower usable in the cave—raced forward in a brilliant light, I confirmed the identity of the monster that appeared beyond the passage through the gaps in the shards.
A massive spider wielding four tentacles like its own limbs. Realizing its identity from its appearance, composed entirely of plants rather than a hard shell, I shouted.
"Nepentula! The opponent is a Nepentula!"
"What?!"
"A Nepentula?!"
Because the situation was urgent, I cast aside formal speech and revealed the opponent's identity, prompting an unusual atmosphere from the adventurers' side. It was only natural—the opponent was none other than a Nepentula.
Nepentula. A spider-type monster whose entire body was made of plants, a representative territorial monster, and the infamous tyrant of the North, the ruler of the forest. It marked its territory with threads soaked in its unique plant pheromones and possessed an obsession with its domain stronger than any other. Monsters above a certain level influenced their surroundings simply by existing, and an adult Nepentula accelerated the growth of surrounding plants, causing rare medicinal herbs to flourish in its territory. Not only that, but when injured, it absorbed nearby plants to recover, and because it perceived its surroundings through the senses of plants, it had no blind spots. Its personality was also extremely vicious and ferocious, so even other monsters were reluctant to enter a Nepentula's territory.
The fact that such a creature was right in front of us would be terrifying for ordinary people, but adventurers were different. They calmly examined the Nepentula that had appeared silently in the passage before shouting.
"Everyone calm down! It's a baby! It only has four legs!"
"It's an opponent we can handle with our current strength!"
"Stay sharp! If we succeed in subjugating it, we'll never have to worry about money again!"
They lowered their stances, their fighting spirit ignited. There was no need for it to reach adulthood—even if it became a sub-adult, it would have taken less than five minutes for everyone here to be wiped out. But the opponent was a baby. Although our forces consisted only of Iron and Bronze ranks, we weren't about to be defeated by a mere infant. It would just require a bit more effort.
KWAGAGA-GAK!
Startled by the tentacles raining down once more, we focused on defense. Karam, who had been sent flying into the cavern and regained his composure, stepped in front of me.
"You held up well! From now on, I'll block it!"
Wrapping mana around his shield, he slammed his sword against it as if seeking to redeem his earlier failure, drawing aggro. While the Nepentula's attention focused on Karam due to the noise, the other adventurers also acted calmly. They used the narrow passage to pressure the massive baby Nepentula.
"Kirit."
"Be careful! The Nepentula's tentacles are concentrated with all kinds of plant toxins!"
"So a graze means death?"
"Exactly!"
Hearing my warning, the adventurers became wary of the Nepentula's tentacles. Relieved by the sight, I glanced around at the cave terrain, which lacked even a single patch of moss. It was fortunate this was a cave rather than a forest. If it had been a forest, it would have absorbed surrounding plants to recover the moment it was injured. Thankfully, there was no need to worry about that happening.
Watching the adventurers calmly repeat attacks and defenses using the narrow passage, I turned my head slightly to examine the Ikelos that had transformed into soldiers. Perhaps because they had been struck repeatedly while in shield form, none of them were intact. Still, they moved without issue, living up to their ability to withstand attacks from Silver-rank adventurers.
'I knew the summons were buffed in-game for ten years, but I didn't expect it to be to this extent.'
Although I was using Argo Saga's abilities in reality, the subtle differences from the game made it impossible to be certain. Even the unique dimension I had contracted with was similar to Argo Saga's unique dimension but different.
'Come to think of it, I don't even know what kind of place the unique dimension is.'
Setting aside the sudden curiosity, I calmly observed the battle. Whenever the baby Nepentula tried to force its way into the cramped passage, the adventurers desperately held it back. The sight of the baby Nepentula freely moving legs thicker than logs and attacking with the tentacles on its back was nothing short of terrifying. If the other three hadn't been Bronze-rank adventurers, the line would have been breached long ago.
Frowning at the prolonged standoff, I pondered what to do. Neither the baby Nepentula nor the adventurers had a decisive blow against each other. The Nepentula couldn't act freely due to the cave environment, while the adventurers couldn't move recklessly because of the Nepentula's poison.
"If I intervene, it'll definitely break their flow."
Though I had decent talent, today was my first real battle. If I jumped in, I might disrupt their precise coordination. Therefore, I refrained from participating and instead looked at the black mage, who was muttering nonsense beside me.
"Hey."
"Th-the hunter is watching......yes?"
"Keeping the animals around doesn't seem like it'll help anyway, so I'll use them."
"W-what?"
Since he didn't express refusal, I took it as agreement. Before he could object, the Ikelos scattered in all directions and drove spears into the animals' heads. As the sharp shards pierced their eyes and ravaged their insides, the animals collapsed without being able to do anything. If they had been ordinary animals, they should have fled or resisted upon seeing the situation, but the creatures in the cavern were under the control of black mana and offered no resistance whatsoever.
Thanks to that, experience points flowed in without pause. As the Ikelos smoothly eliminated the animals, the black mage recoiled in shock and grabbed me by the collar.
"W-what are you doing?! Why are you killing the meat shields?!"
"Calm down. This is the only way to unlock a new skill."
"Unlock a skill? What are you talking about?"
The black mage asked in confusion, but I had no obligation to answer.
"Just watch quietly. I'll prepare a surefire method."
"O-okay. Then I'll trust only you."
At my confident words, the black mage sat down, biting his nails. I didn't know why he was in the North, but it seemed he had suffered quite a bit while staying here.
While conversing with the black mage, all the animals had apparently been killed, as the refreshing sensation I had felt throughout my body disappeared. Focusing my mind, I checked the accumulated experience points and smiled.
"Good. With this much, I should be able to unlock a new skill."
I had confirmed the usefulness of summons through the Ikelos. To unlock a new summon, I carefully examined the skills and, after some deliberation, chose one.
"Alright. This is it."
Reading the skill description, I smiled. With this, I could definitely land a solid hit on the baby Nepentula.
***
Having blocked the tentacles that had charged multiple times with his shield, Karam ground his teeth. The damn baby Nepentula refused to die. It seemed to be consuming nutrients stored in its body to regenerate even without plants nearby, as the baby Nepentula remained vigorous. In contrast, all three of us on this side were exhausted. However, adding the black mage or Argo to the fight would be risky. The black mage's mind was unstable, and Argo lacked real combat experience. Besides, Argo was a summoner. The fact that his summons had performed their share was already enough.
Retreating backward to avoid the baby Nepentula as it moved its massive legs and tried to force its way in, Karam shouted.
"We have to hold it here! If we fall back any further, it'll enter the cavern!"
"We absolutely can't let that happen!"
"It's already hard enough holding it in this cramped space—we can't fight it where it can run wild!"
At Karam's words, Liliye and Lahan each raised their aura and mana. As seasoned adventurers, they skillfully utilized their strengths to pressure the Nepentula. Seeing them still burning with fighting spirit despite their fatigue, Karam let out a chuckle before his expression hardened.
'I underestimated it because it was a baby, but the Nepentula is stronger than I thought.'
I had believed our forces would be enough to defeat it, but the Nepentula was stronger than expected. Wondering if it might be a baby in the process of growing into a sub-adult, he prepared to receive the tentacle attack when—
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Startled by the sudden sound of something massive walking from behind, he turned around. BOOOOM! A golem engraved with a massive rune on its torso drove its heavy fist into the baby Nepentula's face.