Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Shield Assault
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"Kyieeeek!"
"What do we do now?"
It was good that they'd peeled the giant spider off the ceiling.
But even so, approaching a creature swinging its blade-like legs wildly seemed impossible.
No matter how well Jeong-hyeon could read attack paths, he couldn't dodge everything pouring down so fast and irregularly.
If luck was bad, a blind swing from one of those legs would cause serious injury.
Running away at this timing?
If the boss came to its senses before they fully escaped the gate, they'd be sent straight to the afterlife.
The regular spiders hadn't swarmed here only because they feared this one, but they were still lurking somewhere in the cave.
"We have to settle it here."
Honestly, he had no clear answer.
They weren't prepared to take down the boss, nor was this a party of sufficient size.
Jeong-hyeon recalled his fight with Jucheol.
The situations back then and now had similarities.
The opponent was filled with rage.
And it had no inkling that it might lose to them.
The only difference was the overwhelming gap in power.
'Normally, taking down a boss in a Level 3 gate requires a party of at least ten...'
Level 3 gates also served as a branching point where bosses appeared.
Typically, they demanded a party of ten or more at the appropriate level.
Moreover, the one before them was a variant.
Jeong-hyeon pictured the massive axe Jucheol had wielded.
'If we had a weapon like that, maybe we could've managed somehow?'
The party's current weakness was the lack of strong close-range attack power.
It didn't matter against regular monsters, but it was a huge disadvantage against a boss.
But thinking about what they didn't have wouldn't make it appear.
Jeong-hyeon issued an order to Sang-su.
"For now, hit it with your strongest available spell. While it's still out of it, we pile on as much damage as possible to start."
"Got it."
Sang-su immediately began preparing his magic.
The crackling electricity in the air alone suggested it wasn't a light spell.
"Jeong-a, keep watch near the entrance for now. Prevent the spider from climbing back up—focus on harassment shots."
"Yes!"
Jeong-a's arrows weren't ideal against spiders anyway.
Too inaccurate to pierce weak points, too weak to inflict major wounds.
As long as she properly kept the boss from scaling the walls, she'd more than do her part.
Do-yun, naturally, waited in a safe spot.
"Looks like we're stuck with the hardest job again..."
Sunhyeong flashed a resigned smile.
As the tank, he'd probably braced for it from the start.
Jeong-hyeon grinned and nodded.
"Yeah, pretty much."
At that moment, Sang-su, who had been chanting with eyes closed, shouted.
"Here it goes!"
The current swirling above Sang-su's head in a sizable orb shape shot upward.
It rose until it hovered over the boss, whose struggles were gradually weakening,
Then—
Kwarang!
It plunged down in an instant.
Tower Attack Lightning.
A flashy, powerful single strike known as the pinnacle of low-grade lightning magic.
It took time to cast, and it was rare to see even at the D-Rank Level 2 stage.
Of course, compared to natural lightning, it was inferior, and at higher ranks, monsters existed who could rain down a dozen such bolts in seconds—but in this situation, it was the best spell available.
Chiiik—
The smell of charred flesh filled the air as the white legs twitched in agony.
'D-Rank makes a real difference.'
Against Hee-soo, he'd only won through sheer luck.
If she'd gone all-out, he'd have been slaughtered.
Sang-su wiped sweat from his brow and smiled faintly.
"Insect types like that are weak to overhead attacks. No way to block it."
It sounded like the boasting Jeong-hyeon had heard a few times before, but something clicked in his mind upon hearing it.
"Sunhyeong, how high can you throw your shield?"
"Huh? Throw it? What's that suddenly?"
Eight legs sweeping every direction without blind spots.
The party's trait of struggling to deal direct close-range damage.
If they took a bit of a gamble, could they solve it?
'Of course, failure means death...'
But dragging out a normal fight against this thing would end the same way anyway.
They'd die one by one, either from exhaustion or attacks.
Jeong-hyeon grinned at Sunhyeong,
"W-Why are you smiling like that?"
An inexplicable chill made Sunhyeong step back.
"Just hear me out first."
***
After unleashing his strongest spell, Sang-su entered cooldown.
The boss, regaining its senses, finally flipped over and began moving.
It was nothing short of a disaster.
"Kiee!"
As if refusing to admit these puny humans had hurt it so badly, it rampaged, attacking everything in sight.
Kwang!
Its talons left deep gashes in the walls—raw destructive power.
Jeong-a, tasked with preventing wall-climbing, had nothing to do; the white spider showed no interest in climbing, thrashing madly instead.
And the focus of that fury was, naturally,
"Uwaaak!"
Jeong-hyeon.
It must have remembered exactly who shook it from the ceiling.
Sunhyeong tried pulling aggro, but the spider ignored him.
At least the party's fastest member, Jeong-hyeon, was the main target—a stroke of luck.
Even a tank like Sunhyeong couldn't withstand more than a few frontal hits.
Jeong-hyeon screamed unflatteringly while dodging, half to firmly hold the spider's attention.
In truth, he was scanning the terrain in the brief gaps.
'I explained the plan, but... eek!'
Kwang—
Could Sunhyeong really keep up with his speed?
Jeong-hyeon dodged a leg slamming toward him.
Most swings, driven purely by rage, were easy to evade.
But some grazed right in front of him or sent wind through his hair in razor-close calls.
Watching holes pockmarking the smooth white leg from inches away made his pores contract involuntarily.
Yet amid it all, Jeong-hyeon calmly lured the spider to his desired position.
A wall with holes suitable for stepping and jumping.
That was his first destination.
'He's keeping up so far.'
Glancing back, Sunhyeong had secured a safe distance and positioned himself behind the spider.
They were experienced hunters with more years than him.
For now, he had to trust them.
When he felt close enough to the holes, Jeong-hyeon shifted from evasion to full sprint.
The boss hesitated at the sudden change but pursued at high speed.
Finally reaching the wall,
Jeong-hyeon leaped with his momentum.
"Kirit?"
Even the spider's senses couldn't track his quick move fully; its foremost legs probed left and right.
"Here!"
With Sunhyeong's shout, his massive shield flew toward airborne Jeong-hyeon.
Smoother than expected.
Surprisingly, Sunhyeong had tossed it precisely to his height.
Jeong-hyeon caught it easily, raised it high in midair, then slammed it down as he dove.
'It'll work!'
The giant spider's most annoying feature: eight chaotically flailing legs.
Severing them was priority one, but two issues arose.
First, lack of tools.
Second, lack of method.
Conversely, solving both might let them fell this behemoth?
The spider seemed oblivious as Jeong-hyeon plummeted swiftly onto its back.
"Get chopped if you don't know!"
Kwang—
An attack that had been solely the boss's domain until now.
In that one-sided flow, Jeong-hyeon's shield crashed into the third leg's joint.
Already weakened by his dagger and Sang-su's magic.
Kwajik—
Even a defense-oriented shield, over 10kg with sharp edges, became a devastating weapon here.
After a rock-shattering impact, the leg tore free from the body.
Gushing fluids from the stump proved it.
"Kieeee—!"
The rock spider's agonized roar echoed through the chamber.
No variant boss could overcome its species' structural weakness.
The remaining seven legs stiffened, its body swaying wildly.
Jeong-hyeon seized the ample opening.
"Fall! Fall apart!"
Gripping the shield firm, he hammered every visible leg.
Couldn't match prior acceleration, so multiple hits needed, but
Kwajik—
Kwak—
He severed another in seconds.
Losing two of four legs on one side, the spider looked far less overwhelming.
One more, and its balance would collapse entirely, but
"Kieek!"
Regaining poise amid tremors, it turned to face him squarely.
Still, momentum had shifted decisively.
Sensing defeat, the boss threateningly raised its intact forelegs and retreated warily.
Realizing the wall was its last shot at victory.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Pabak—
Pazijik—
But Jeong-a, assigned to block wall-climbing, didn't let it.
Sang-su, cooldown over and casting again, joined to halt the boss.
Jeong-a even nocked and loosed three arrows at once—a masterful archery feat.
None dealt lethal damage, but piercing tough hide was hard anyway; as harassment, perfect.
Sang-su's unblockable lightning needed no mention.
Jeong-hyeon smirked crookedly.
"Not going your way, huh?"
As if understanding,
The massive white spider only growled lowly, no longer berserking wildly.
It knew better than anyone its defeat loomed.
Jeong-hyeon burned to peek into its mind.
How desperate was this once-confident beast now?
"Jeong-hyeon!"
As the spider quieted somewhat, Sunhyeong stood beside him, reclaiming his shield and planting firm.
"Uh... think you can handle it now?"
Jeong-hyeon asked, tone laced with concern.
Two legs gone, but attacks remained threatening.
Sunhyeong grinned.
"Have to now. Better than before, right?"
Jeong-hyeon nodded at the confident addition.
Eight symmetrical legs weren't just eight attack vectors.
Moving one required others for support.
Rash moves now would cause collapse.
Attacks wouldn't be light, but enduring was key to survival.
"Jeong-a, keep harassing! Sang-su, switch to offense now!"
"Yes!"
Responses came from behind at Jeong-hyeon's command.
A sense of true unity washed over him.
Not a bad feeling.
Jeong-hyeon shouted vigorously.
"Alright, round two—let's go!"