Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Albino Boss
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"What the hell is going on here?!"
Sunhyeong looked close to his limit from the sudden, prolonged exertion in his heavy plate armor, which was poison for such movement.
But what could they do?
Everyone knew now.
The number of spiders chasing them from behind was far from normal, and the current situation had greatly exceeded expectations.
"I don't know either, but I think the boss is the problem! Sang-su, how much mana do you have left?"
"Maybe a mutation? I've got some mana to spare. Even better if I don't have to kill them outright!"
"Then when I give the signal, support the rear too! Just tie their feet."
"Got it!"
Sang-su obediently followed Jeong-hyeon's instructions.
He wasn't some childish fool who let his pride get in the way during emergencies.
The personnel screening system of a guild like Jeongjin was reliable even in situations like this.
Jeong-hyeon felt along his side, counting the daggers he had left.
He already knew since he'd thrown them himself, but he needed to double-check.
Five left.
With the boss fight ahead, he didn't want to waste any more daggers.
But unavoidable circumstances were always a thing.
"Two in front, I'll handle the rear!"
If they were attacked from both front and back at once, he'd have to deal with the rear alone.
"Kirurek!"
Since they were closing in on each other, the clash happened right in front.
In times like these, frontliners and backliners blurred together.
"Watch out, both of you! They're fast!"
Even Sang-su, who could use magic, was one thing, but Jeong-a and Do-yoon had to draw their shortswords and join the fray.
And during that time, one came at Jeong-hyeon.
He could have thrown a dagger to deal with it easily, but this time he decided to handle it up close.
He'd already internalized the rock spiders' movements through several fights.
"Kieek!"
The spider closed in over Jeong-hyeon's head and lunged down.
A leg thrust toward him, or its widely spread chelicerae.
Getting hit by either would mean serious injury.
But conversely, avoiding those points made dodging the attack not so hard.
It was easy for Jeong-hyeon, who could see the attack path.
Jeong-hyeon, who had been deliberately matching his party's pace, accelerated.
Kang—
Sparks flew from the spider's claw hitting the ground.
It was an inhuman clash of flesh and rock.
But there was no time to be startled by the familiar sound he'd heard often since entering the gate.
Jeong-hyeon's foot, which had stomped hard on the ground, sprang forward.
He pivoted toward the spider's flank and smashed its third leg.
As expected, the spider's leg lashed out irregularly.
Next was the gap between its eyes.
A spot even a dagger could pierce easily.
No need to mention the mace, with its kg-level weight plus Jeong-hyeon's strength.
Pakak—
Along with the shattering sensation, sticky fluids soaked the mace and dripped to the floor.
Around then, the front fight wrapped up too.
The spiders lay flipped over, legs curled, twitching faintly.
Sang-su's electricity had done its job well.
A normal mana bolt would have snapped their necks already.
"Once it's done, keep running!"
Who knew how many they'd caught already.
In a situation where they couldn't properly receive heals, everyone had at least one or two decent wounds.
Once the battle ended and the adrenaline faded, they'd be hit with excruciating pain.
'I hope they can feel the pain.'
The party started running again.
Sang-su looked at Jeong-hyeon with newfound eyes, but none of the previous hostility remained.
An F-rank level 3 was generally enough to enter the Rock Spider Cave.
But that was just enough—no way it should match a D-rank level 2 or 3 in combat power.
Jeong-hyeon was different.
He might even have more impact on the hunt than Sang-su himself.
His senses and judgment went beyond what rank or level could express—they were impressive.
He could see now why Sunhyeong, Jeong-a, and Do-yoon made such a fuss over Jeong-hyeon.
How much further did they run?
Jeong-hyeon suddenly sensed something and stopped everyone.
"Hold up!"
Relief that they could finally stop, or anxiety at yet another change?
Their faces mixed emotions hard to separate.
Jeong-hyeon felt the same.
"The spiders from behind are retreating."
They'd seemed to match their speed teasingly, even approaching one by one on purpose, but now they were gone.
No more spiders ahead either.
"Then..."
Jeong-a trailed off, as if guessing something.
Everyone nodded at once.
Jeong-hyeon said it.
"This must be the boss's destination."
Catching their breath and advancing, they soon reached a vast chamber.
The ceiling was about three times the normal height, and the width even greater.
Holes like the spiders' tunnels packed the walls, and a large one up front big enough for two people.
No other exits like the one they'd come from, so this was likely the gate's end.
Normally where the boss would wait.
"No boss, as expected."
Sunhyeong raised his shield tensely, scanning around.
From the info Jeong-hyeon had checked, the Rock Spider Cave boss waited in a plaza called the "boss room."
The association team must not have found it for this reason.
Maybe it hadn't pulled tricks like now, but it probably hadn't bothered with them.
'It's got that level of intelligence.'
Driving them here with regular spiders proved it.
Sizing up opponents and picking prey.
"No telling where it'll come from. Stay sharp."
Even without Jeong-hyeon's reminder, they were all primed with weapons ready.
They'd ended up at the end of a gate they hadn't planned to fully clear.
And the boss that herded them here revealed itself from the large upper hole.
"Kiririk."
"It's out!"
No ambush—it emerged leisurely, almost relaxed.
Its mid-truck size was huge, but what stood out most was,
"White?"
Unlike normal rock spiders, completely different color.
Similar texture and form, but in the pitch-black cave, its stark white body and red eyes popped.
A hallmark of mutant bosses: albino.
Fully emerging onto the ceiling, it stared down at the five for a while.
They watched its overwhelming presence, barely swallowing.
Amid that, Jeong-hyeon acted.
Pang—
He hurled one of his five remaining daggers with full force.
Even nearby party members didn't catch when he drew it—blinding speed.
A perfect D-rank Throwing Skill shot, no holding back.
Pakak—
Slicing air, the dagger seemed headed for the white head's center, but,
"Kieek!"
It whipped its head, barely dodging.
Still, Jeong-hyeon's dagger tore into one of its five eye pairs and burrowed in.
The giant spider roared in pain or rage.
Jeong-hyeon yelled immediately.
"Sang-su, Jeong-a, hit it!"
"Uh, y-yeah, got it!"
Snapping out of their daze at his call, Sang-su and Jeong-a hurriedly unleashed attacks.
Whether it saw them as jokes or not, hunters smashed monsters.
Killing humans without hesitation wasn't enough—it toyed with them like this?
Jeong-hyeon, who'd felt a twinge of fear, now felt calm.
One memory of helplessly losing to monsters—at age 10, losing his parents—was enough.
Even if this was the end, he wouldn't go down easy.
He was a hunter; the white spider before him, a monster.
That was all.
Mutant, boss, size—irrelevant.
Just strike while it was off-guard.
Ping—
Chiririt—
Two attacks flew at the spider in an instant.
Jeong-a's arrow hit first.
The white spider was a recently spawned boss monster.
The pain from Jeong-hyeon's dagger was novel to it.
Before it recovered, Jeong-a's arrow calmly pierced the third leg's joint.
"Kieek!"
The massive body swayed once, but that was it.
Unlike regular spiders, its size meant insufficient nerve damage.
But Sang-su's electricity soon wracked its body.
"Not yet. It won't die from that!"
Jeong-hyeon said, drawing another dagger but not throwing.
A few daggers wouldn't kill it anyway.
Up close maybe, but it was still on the ceiling.
Better to observe its reaction to this barrage.
"Kieeeek!"
As expected, rage boiled over—it screeched and moved.
No more leisure.
Like other spiders in nature, it scuttled quickly overhead.
"It's coming!"
Sunhyeong's warning.
His arm and massive shield trembled faintly.
In a normal fight, he'd block a falling spider with his tower shield.
But could he block that?
No one, including Jeong-hyeon, expected it.
If it dove committedly, even tank Sunhyeong couldn't dodge.
No choice.
Had to use one more.
But maximize its effect.
Jeong-hyeon called Sang-su.
"Sang-su, can you enchant my dagger with magic?"
"Huh? That..."
Sang-su glanced at the dagger Jeong-hyeon held and nodded.
"Yes, I can!"
"Then the strongest one you can! Now!"
No hesitation once confirmed.
Jeong-hyeon hurled the dagger at the spider, nearly at destination.
"Ugh! Give a signal at least!"
Sang-su fumbled, caught off-guard, but luckily the lightning enchantment took.
Two conditions for weapon magic enchantment:
The mage must be able to cast it.
The weapon's metal must hold mana.
Violet marium dagger crackled with currents.
It flew straight, slamming into the opposite third leg joint from Jeong-a's arrow.
Just a dagger would be like her arrow.
Boost the projectile's destructive power.
Nerves respond to electricity, so a shock-charged dagger near them made physical size irrelevant.
"D-Done!"
"Get back!"
Proving Jeong-hyeon's plan, the dagger hit and the giant spider halted abruptly, then plummeted.
Not far from the party, Jeong-hyeon grabbed Sunhyeong's collar and dragged him out of the crash zone.
Kung—
Rock-on-rock thunder filled the chamber; through the dust cloud, the flipped white body appeared.
Its eight legs thrashed wildly, screaming different from normals.
But Jeong-hyeon smiled confidently.
'Got it on the ground—halfway there!'