Chapter 49
Chapter 49
49.Arachne's Labyrinth (3)
What on earth is going on?
I couldn't help but be bewildered. I naturally expected a boss Spider Monster at the end of Arachne's Labyrinth.
But instead, a woman in silver armor was holding a bow and fighting Arachne. And that wasn't all.
Chunbae said he felt Divinity.
'Divinity? A woman in silver armor?'
-Both. But the woman in silver armor has more.
Come to think of it, despite being outnumbered, the woman in silver armor seemed to have the upper hand.
There were many Spider corpses around, and Arachne had several arrows stuck in her body. She was bleeding a lot too.
-I don't know why the Spider woman has Divinity, but that woman in silver armor is definitely an Apostle of some god.
Silence hung in the massive pupils. Neither we nor they moved.
It felt like a three-way standoff. The woman in silver armor was the first to speak.
"How did humans get in here?"
The nuance was strangely off. The way she said 'humans,' and... it felt like she was talking down to us?
Chunbae said that woman was an Apostle, but are Apostles different from humans? There was no time to ask.
"Who are you?"
"Us?"
Well, what should I say? Even if I said we were Hunters, they probably wouldn't understand.
The party members looked at me. As the Guild leader, it was right for me to answer. Though I didn't really have anything to say.
"Just people who came in?"
"So, intruders. I don't know how you got in, but this is good."
The woman in silver armor nodded in relief.
"Now, hurry and help me kill that Spider."
I tilted my head at the slightly condescending tone, and Arachne hurriedly opened her mouth.
"Wait! I don't know who you are, but please don't! You don't seem like bad people, seeing as you haven't harmed my children even though you trespassed..."
"Silence. What is that hideous Monster doing, flapping its jaws?"
The message popped up then.
[You have reached the end of the Labyrinth too early. The Gate will be altered.]
[Choose one to help: Arachne or the woman. The Gate will change depending on your choice.]
A choice.
It happened from time to time. It wasn't uncommon for Gates to force a choice.
Still, the sudden change flustered the party members. Me too. I wonder if we'll have time for a long discussion.
Judging by the situation, we had to make a decision as quickly as possible. However, I had a solution.
"I'll go think for a bit."
The Room of Thought. Because I had a Subspace where I could contemplate things thoroughly, unlike others.
The party members nodded as if they were used to it, since I'd done it once before.
Whoosh-.
When I opened the Subspace, the two women turned to look at me warily. They were watching to see what I was up to, but they didn't seem like they were going to attack right away.
"......"
I raised both palms to show that I wasn't going to attack and carefully headed into the Subspace.
After closing the door, I quickly went over the situation with Chunbae again.
"What the heck is going on? Do you know anything? You said you felt Divinity."
-The nature of the Divinity they possess seems similar. It seems the Apostle came to recover the Divinity that was transferred to the Spider woman for some reason.
Chunbae continued.
-The woman in silver armor was stronger. Considering the Divinity I sensed, Arachne probably would have lost if we hadn't used the shortcut.
Hmm. That seemed likely. I only saw it for a moment, but the Apostle seemed to have the upper hand despite being outnumbered.
However, some questions remained. We entered 'Arachne's Labyrinth,' after all.
"No, shouldn't Arachne win? If the woman wins, we won't meet Arachne."
-No. You would have met her. Though she would have been slightly different from the being you just met.
"Slightly different?"
-The Apostle's goal seems to be to recover the Divinity. I don't know why, but the Spider woman had Divinity, though not a large amount... Usually, when a being loses Divinity, they become consumed by madness.
I think I understood what he meant.
"You mean that Arachne would have lost her Divinity and become a Monster?"
-Probably. The Spider woman you just saw seemed stronger than level 21-25. You would have faced a weakened, maddened Spider woman who lost her Divinity.
I pictured it according to Chunbae's words.
In the original Labyrinth, we wouldn't have arrived here at this time. Arachne would have been defeated.
Arachne, who had her Divinity stolen by the woman in silver armor, would become a Spider Monster consumed by madness.
And so, she would try to catch us, the 'intruders,' heading for the center.
'I understand the situation roughly.'
Gaining Chunbae was definitely a great boon. I was able to learn a lot about Gates that I didn't know before.
Even now, if I didn't have Chunbae, I would have been quite worried.
In any case, the turning point of this Gate was that we arrived too quickly using the Subspace.
"So, who should we choose?"
-I cannot know that. The woman in silver armor is stronger, so she may give better rewards, but she may not.
Come to think of it, the Apostle woman naturally ignored us and showed a condescending attitude.
That meant she might take our help for granted instead of rewarding us.
"Hmm."
I pondered for a moment. How the Gate would change and what the reward for helping would be were unknown.
However, one thing was certain.
"Since the Apostle is stronger, helping the Spider will raise the Gate's difficulty, right?"
The Gate subjugation reward and the experience points we acquire are entirely determined by the Gate's difficulty.
Currently, we were in a state of having discovered a 'situational hidden condition.'
The problem was that we had to choose only one, but this was definitely decided.
-Yes.
"Then it's better to side with the Spider."
An Apostle, was it?
Judging by the way she spoke, she would probably just leave after recovering the Divinity, telling us to deal with the crazed Monster Spider.
But, wouldn't that be no different from the original Gate?
-However, be careful. There is also the possibility that the Spider woman will suddenly change.
"Of course. I'm thinking of catching both of them."
In any case, Arachne was also a Monster. I had to discuss it with the party members, so I opened the Subspace and went back out.
The Apostle and Arachne were still wary of me. Uncle, who knew Chunbae, asked me.
"Did you decide?"
"The results are unpredictable. But one thing is certain."
The party paid attention to my words.
"Choosing the more difficult side means the Gate reward and experience points will be better."
In this Gate, we could say we already got our money's worth by obtaining the C-grade Swiftness Skill.
It was a choice to get more experience points rather than rewards.
"I'm in favor."
"Me too."
"If it's Han Hye's choice, I agree too."
Uncle and Min-jae nodded first, and Lee Shin-hee also agreed, looking at me without objecting.
It was a moment when I felt quite trusted by the group.
There were many cases where humans were the enemy inside Gates, but the Apostle seemed much more human than Arachne.
"That armored woman is stronger. We'll side with the Spider."
"Good. I've been feeling strangely unpleasant since earlier."
Uncle snorted, and Min-jae chimed in, "Exactly."
"But be careful. Think of Arachne as a potential enemy too."
No sooner had I made the decision than the Apostle opened her mouth.
"I don't know what you're whispering about, but hurry and help me. Otherwise, I'll deal with you first."
I drew the Elegant Sword.
"You."
"Did you just address me as 'you'?"
"You have no manners."
The Apostle's face turned red as I mimicked her tone. It seemed I hit a nerve.
I had already made a choice, but I wondered if I wouldn't have sided with the Spider anyway.
The way that Apostle spoke was really annoying. It felt like I was talking to the Evil god from before.
"T, thank you!"
Staying still is half the battle, they say.
Arachne, who received our choice, teared up and was happy. Her lower body was a Spider, so she was a bit grotesque, but...
As soon as I made the choice, a message popped up again.
[Spider Enthusiast]
-Recommended level: 26-30
-Help Arachne drive out the mysterious intruder.
Hmm. Spider Enthusiast.
I'm definitely not that.
Naturally, the Apostle expressed anger at Han Hye's choice.
"You lowly thing...!"
In a one-versus-many battle, the many have the advantage, but that's not always the case in every situation.
If the one facing them is strong and the many are not coordinated, they risk being defeated individually or collapsing.
That was why Hunters, who mainly catch powerful Monsters, mainly train to coordinate.
The Dinosaur Guild was also created not long ago, but they trained quite hard to coordinate.
'The problem is Arachne.'
Han Hye watched the Apostle warily and glanced at Arachne. He couldn't tell how she fought.
If she moved without thinking, it could harm each other.
'She's injured, but seeing Spiderwebs around the Apostle, can she provide ranged support?'
We should start by coordinating, Han Hye thought.
Arachne didn't know us either, so it would be difficult for her to go all out. Han Hye said to Arachne.
"Is close combat difficult for you?"
"A little...!"
Han Hye nodded.
He thought it wasn't bad, actually. He didn't have to worry about Arachne's movements.
"Okay. Support me. Let's take it slow for now."
"Yes. Be careful!"
Arachne quickly added.
"I have a bow, but I'm also good at close combat!"
No sooner had she spoken than the woman in armor drew the bowstring. Her target was the Dinosaur Guild's rearguard.
Han Hye nonchalantly reached out his hand.
Whoosh-.
A Subspace appeared in front of the Guild members. The arrow whistled through the air, but that was it.
Thud-. It entered the Subspace and lost its power.
"Use it as a shield."
"Wow..."
Seo Min-jae exclaimed.
"Against enemies like this, it's more reliable than any tank, isn't it?"
A warrior who plays the role of rear guard is excellent against close combat opponents, but can have difficulties against ranged enemies.
But a 4M Subspace with physical immunity would block all attacks if you stood behind it.
"Do as we trained. Uncle, watch over us from behind."
"Okay. I'll join in when I see the situation."
As Han Hye stepped forward, the Apostle frowned.
"You wield strange tricks."
Han Hye didn't bother to reply. Suddenly, the human-sized Spiders surrounding the woman began to retreat.
It was Arachne's doing, to be considerate of Han Hye.
The Spiders couldn't do much damage to the Apostle anyway, and they could be a hindrance to Han Hye.
Instead, they surrounded the Apostle to prevent her from escaping far.
"......"
The Apostle, with a hardened expression, closed her mouth and rolled her eyes. She could catch Arachne.
However, it was difficult to gauge the skills of the newly appeared uninvited guests. She could win in a 1:1, but that wasn't the case.
"Hoo."
Han Hye wasn't comfortable either. The opponent was an Apostle of god. It was difficult to know her level easily.
He took a short, deep breath. He was thinking of saving Leap as a trump card rather than showing it right away.
Let's be careful and test the waters first. Just as Han Hye made a decision and was about to move.
"Goddess of the moon, hunting, and purity, bless me..."
The Apostle moved her lips.
"Grant me your hand and eye so that I may rightly find and strike down your prey."
Flash-!
Then, light began to spread from the Apostle's body, and a mysterious energy began to emanate.
'This is Divinity.'
Feeling a slight sense of déjà vu, Han Hye was able to immediately recognize it as Divinity. He had felt it before.
Of course, he was also a little embarrassed.
'A finishing move? Isn't it like an awakening skill? Why start with that...'
She didn't do that when fighting Arachne, so that meant she was showing her true skills.
Wasn't the usual way to fight in these situations to test each other before strengthening your power?
'How unfair.'
It looked like she was starting with a finishing move from the beginning. Han Hye clicked his tongue.
If she was going to come out like that, there was no choice.
"Min-jae!"
Han Hye also decided to unleash his maximum firepower from his side.
"Let's start with a bang."