Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Just a Thousand Spiders
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“Erika, got a minute? I have one thing I want to ask.”
“Ah, sure. Delta. Of course.”
It had been about three days since the banquet—the day I received my new name, Delta. I approached Erika right after she’d finished sparring with Claudia in the training grounds and casually struck up a conversation.
Erika suggested we sit since standing and talking felt a bit awkward, so we walked over to one of the long benches against the wall of the training grounds and took a seat.
In the training grounds, Iris and Lize’s spar was in full swing. Ice mixed into the swirling whirlwinds, scattering frost everywhere. The ice crystals sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight.
It was a clash so massive that just the two of them occupied nearly half the training grounds—and the shocking part was that this wasn’t even their full power.
The scale was far grander than in the game.
“What did you want to ask? Is it important?”
“It’s important in its own way. By any chance, do you hate spiders?”
“Spiders...?”
Erika wore a bewildered expression. I knew full well that this question sounded absurd out of the blue. But it was something I absolutely had to confirm to decide the subjugation order.
Depending on whether Erika joined the subjugation or not, we’d either take down the Spider Queen Arachnaira first or the Burning Golem first.
If she came along, we could go straight for the Spider Queen. If not, we’d have to subjugate the Burning Golem first, acquire a specific area-of-effect spell, and then tackle the Spider Queen.
In the vanilla version, you could just smash whatever was closest, but in this modded hellscape, that didn’t fly. Heading for Arachnaira without ranged attacks was straight-up suicide.
“I don’t absolutely hate them, but I definitely don’t like them either. Why do you ask?”
“It’s nothing major. There’s a monster we need to subjugate soon, and I was planning to bring you and Lize along.”
Ever since my secret came out at the banquet—that I was hiding something—I’d decided there was no point in holding back anymore. I’d just brazenly flaunt my knowledge without restraint.
After all, everyone already knew these actions were tied to that secret. There was no reason to come up with excuses any longer.
‘They’ll probably get even more curious this way.’
But that couldn’t be helped. Telling them the truth would require more time for me to fully integrate here.
That this was actually a game world, that they were just bosses and NPCs from the game, and I was the player who’d cleared it—spilling that now would only cause more confusion.
“I get what you mean. You’re saying we’re going after a spider-type monster, right?”
She hit the nail on the head immediately. The question about hating spiders, combined with the fact there was a monster to subjugate—it wasn’t hard to put two and two together.
Maybe recalling her encounter with a centipede the size of her body in the Rune Dungeon, Erika’s face twisted with a hint of disgust as she spoke.
“Correct.”
“I was secretly hoping I was wrong even as I said it. But my gut feelings never miss, do they?”
Erika let out a small sigh. Just thinking about the monster’s appearance was making her shiver. And since it was a monster, it probably wasn’t normal-sized either.
“I don’t like spiders at all... but that’s no reason to back out from subjugating a monster we have to take down. When do we leave?”
“Whenever it’s convenient for you. There’s no time limit. I’ve got the plan all set, so anytime works.”
“I’m fine anytime too...?”
“......”
“......”
For some reason, it felt like we’d just overlapped with a family awkwardly insisting “anywhere’s fine” when picking a restaurant for dinner.
“Uh... okay then. I’ll talk to Lize and let you know.”
“Understood, Delta.”
‘I still haven’t gotten used to that.’
It had been nearly three days since I started being called Delta, but hearing it still felt strange.
More than thinking “that’s my name,” my mind jumped straight to the image of a child guardian in a wetsuit, drill in one hand, patrolling an undersea city.
Who knew when I’d get accustomed to it.
“Erika, you’re up.”
“Right away. Be there in a sec, Iris. Anyway, let me know once it’s decided. I’ll be waiting.”
Erika reached for her waist as she headed off. Iris looked perfectly fine, not a hint of fatigue, waiting for her.
With a sharp *clink*, the wakizashi slid from its sheath, and flames began to flicker around Erika’s body.
“What were you talking to Erika about?”
Lize filled the empty spot. She plopped down on the bench, her sweat-dampened chest heaving vigorously up and down.
Her already form-fitting white sleeveless top clung even tighter to her skin, and a bit of bare flesh peeked through underneath. It was more provocative than usual.
Strangely, there was no sweat smell—just Lize’s unique body scent.
“We were talking about the next monster we need to hunt.”
“Going monster hunting again? Already?”
Lize blinked in confusion. Fair enough—they had no concept of grinding enemies for levels and stats, so they probably wondered why I kept heading out for subjugations so often.
We’d spent the entire day before last just leveling up, after all. Anyone would think I had a personal vendetta against monsters.
“We took a day off. Time to get moving again. This one’s a big fellow.”
“What about me? You’re not bringing me?”
Her face thrust right up close. Lize’s signature body scent flooded my nostrils.
“I was going to ask you anyway, so no worries. Speaking of which, do you hate spiders by any chance?”
“Spiders? Hmm... not to the point where I can’t stand them, but I don’t like them either. Erika probably said the same, right? Am I correct?”
I’d just been thinking internally how similar their answers were.
“Yeah, spot on. How’d you know?”
“We have similar tastes. Like twins or something—people say we don’t look alike, but we match in these ways. What I hate, she hates; what I like, she likes. She always insists we’re nothing alike and our personalities are polar opposites so it doesn’t show, but she can’t fool my eyes.”
‘......Total surprise.’
They seemed polar opposites in every little detail, so it was shocking that their preferences aligned like this.
“From what you said, Delta, it’s a spider-type monster. Right again?”
I nodded instead of answering.
“But hey, Delta, there’s one thing you should know.”
Lize pulled her face back a bit. The usual playful vibe was gone, replaced by an incredibly serious expression. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen her like this.
“If we’re going after a monster, our personal tastes don’t matter. No matter how disgusting it looks or how familiar it feels, a monster is a monster. We would never refuse a necessary subjugation because of its appearance. Keep that in mind. Got it?”
Her voice matched her serious face—deadly earnest.
It was the last thing I’d expected. It really hit me that Lize was a knight commander. Duty as a knight outweighed personal feelings.
Impressed, I reached out and ruffled her hair.
“......What? Why?”
“Because you’re a good girl.”
“......I can kinda guess what you’re thinking, but I’ll let it slide since it feels nice.”
I gave her head a few more strokes before pulling my hand away, then watched as Lize was called over by Claudia for her spar.
Lize deftly parried a greatsword as long and heavy as a person with her dagger, which was barely the length of her forearm.
The key was deflecting what she could and never engaging in a contest of strength. She was exploiting how Claudia’s massive greatsword struggled with quick direction changes.
‘Good thing I said upfront I didn’t need to spar.’
The commanders had HP adjustments, so even hard hits wouldn’t leave more than scratches until their health bottomed out. But for me, a graze meant death. No way I’d risk that.
Besides, there was no reason to spar with the commanders when I wasn’t fighting them as bosses. What use was swordsmanship to me anyway.
“Let’s take a break. Good work, everyone.”
At Iris’s words, the elements scattering wildly across the training grounds came to an abrupt halt. The winds died down, the flames subsided, the ice melted, and the lightning dispersed.
The commanders, having finished their spars, walked over to where I was. Each one glistened lightly with sweat, their sleeveless tops clinging seamlessly to bare skin. Their individual body scents filled the air in an instant.
I expected Lize to claim the seat next to me, but the others surrounded me too. For a moment, I wondered what was going on.
Were they not hot or something?
“Right, Delta. Since we’re resting, give us more details on that monster from earlier. What are we hunting this time?”
Lize nudged me with her elbow. Iris and Claudia perked up their ears at the unfamiliar topic, turning toward us with “Monster?” looks on their faces.
“It’s no big deal.”
Yeah. Just one pattern aside, it was a nothing boss.
“We just need to catch about a thousand spiders.”