Chapter 72
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: The Predator Beneath the Canyon
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Kang Seol descended a long passage under Jamad's protection.
Chii...
Trrrrum...
Sharp protrusions and rocks jutting from the terrain couldn't even scratch Jamad's hide, allowing their intrusion.
"No walls! There's nothing!"
"Good. Let's keep going down like this."
Karen and Jamad steeled themselves, remembering how much effort they'd put into seizing this opportunity.
Gradually, the end of the long passage came into view.
"We're dropping!"
"Hold on tight!"
Splaaash...
Finally escaping the passage, they plunged into emptiness.
"Huh? Wha..."
Splooosh-!
'Water?'
Kang Seol hadn't anticipated an underground lake of this magnitude. The impact of the fall sank him deep, but Jamad grabbed his hand and pulled him to the surface.
"Puhah!"
"Kuh... keck... A lake, of all things."
"Everyone seems fine, so let's get out first."
Clank, clank.
With Karen last, dumping water from her armor as she climbed out, the group escaped the lake.
"Falling in the middle would've made this a nightmare to escape."
"Is this where the underground water spreads out across the entire canyon?"
"Eh, not that important anyway."
"Lucky we hit the lake. No injuries."
"The ceiling's insanely high. This cavern must be massive."
Karen was right.
Kang Seol surveyed their surroundings, checking the terrain.
Jagged stalagmite pillars, a solid and slick floor, and an enormous cavern.
To confirm precisely, Kang Seol touched the bulging part of his cloak.
Tap.
[Venta's Veil activates.]
[The surroundings brighten.]
"Ugh, too bright!"
- Karen lol
- *_* My eyes!
- Kyle Ward, time for duty.
"Come to me. It'll be better."
"Ha, much better. You carry some weird stuff—not like a general store or anything."
"Fruits of my labor."
"Can't deny that. Nice view now. Hmm..."
Karen scanned the illuminated surroundings.
"It's all spiderwebs. See that?"
"The ceiling?"
"Yeah. That's why there's a hole up there. It climbed using webs and drilled through."
Then, a quiet message appeared.
['Her Last Descendant'] main content has changed.
['Her Last Descendant'] has changed to 'Predator Beneath the Canyon'.
Adventure 11-1. 'Predator Beneath the Canyon'
After a long search, you've finally caught the spider's trail. You've pursued it to the lair of another predator in Shadow Canyon, evading Kupa, the canyon's stalker.
This vast cavern can't be ownerless.
Uncover the master here and end the long chase.
But the master won't welcome you.
Goal: Obtain the pure blood of Anakindria's last descendant.
Failure: Decrease in Hwmun's favorability and Hongryeon Sword re-reforging failure.
Remaining time: 「71:59」
Kang Seol clenched his fist.
'We came to the right place!'
The quest changing confirmed he was on the right path.
Jamad asked,
"What now?"
"Huh?"
"Some last descendant or whatever— a huge bird snatched it."
"No, I don't think that was the descendant."
"You think so too?"
"The spider was big, but it doesn't make sense for one to claim a cavern this size alone. Plus, webs everywhere on ceiling and walls—no way it spun all that by itself."
"Agreed. House this big means the owner's just as huge. That one was probably a minion."
Karen urged, having overheard.
"So, we push forward?"
"Yeah, let's go."
Then, a whisper echoed from somewhere.
A light voice like a breeze.
- Come closer... closer...
Kang Seol's eyes widened as he asked the others,
"Who said that?"
"Huh?"
"Not me."
"I heard a voice just now..."
"What'd it say?"
"Maybe nothing... Let's move."
As Kang Seol stepped forward, Karen placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling a childish prank.
"Boo!"
"...What?"
"No reaction."
"Don't mess around."
"Not messing—testing."
"Testing?"
"You heard a voice, right? What'd it say?"
"Come closer, closer."
"Hmm..."
Their gazes met.
Battle-hardened in Pandea, they all caught on.
"Mind magic."
"Even mental manipulation?"
"Trouble."
Karen thumped her chest.
"Trust me. Mind magic doesn't..."
"Mind Manipulation Resistance? It's sealed."
"Damn..."
Jamad advanced slowly, warning the group.
"No enemies nearby, so it's a long-range mental attack. Pretty high level."
"If it's just mind magic specialist, fine—but spider. Remember?"
"Yeah. Eight legs, eight eyes. Normal spiders."
"Nesting here means big too. All our legs combined wouldn't match."
"Stay sharp."
With Venta's Veil lighting the way, they pressed on.
Sticky webs everywhere, but oddly, old carriages, rare patterned dishes, and junk tangled in them.
And bones too.
"Eaten a lot."
"...Yeah."
Witnessing the fates of long-past victims soured Kang Seol's mood.
'Is Kirin here too?'
Kirin had died pointlessly over a decade ago—maybe one of those bones.
Tap.
Kang Seol picked up a skull from the bones, staring at the dark holes where eyes once were.
You'll end up like this someday. Didn't want this...
The horrific echo lingered.
Whoosh.
Kang Seol shook his head, tossing the skull aside.
Then the whisper returned to his ear.
- Come closer, child... Receive fire's blessing...
Crunch...
Kang Seol frowned.
Swoosh—
Karen ahead blocked him with an outstretched arm.
"Stop."
Jamad had slipped behind Kang Seol for protection.
Kang Seol scanned the ceiling and every space. His eyes caught countless red circles.
Kiiii-!
All spider eyes.
Legs moving busily in goosebump-inducing silence amplified the disgust.
- For fire's life... Offer your flesh...
"Shut up."
Kang Seol commanded his summons.
"Kill them all."
Kiiiiiii-!
Jamad first encased Kang Seol and himself in rock, shielding from spiders.
Whooosh-!
Kwachak!
A casual swing burst a spider's head.
[Experience accumulated.]
[Sulfur Spider defeated.]
Chiiik...
The spot touched by sulfur spider blood sizzled faintly.
"Sulfur smell from the blood—careful. Fairy!"
Pop-!
Karen had already slain a few, kicking another's head.
Sploosh-!
[Experience accumulated.]
[Sulfur Spider defeated.]
"Kahaha! That all you got?!"
Jiiik-!
Karen's right shoulder armor got webbed by one spider.
"Hup!"
Feeling the web's unnatural strength, Karen spun.
Whiiish-!
The huge spider launched skyward, crashing headfirst.
Pajiiik...
Kiiik!
Kwachak!
[Experience accumulated.]
[Sulfur Spider defeated.]
"Like it hot? Me too!"
Gray ash covered Karen—only her eyes burned.
Red irises gleamed with fervor.
"I'll kill every spider!"
Kwachak!
[Experience accumulated.]
[Sulfur Spider defeated.]
Jamad swung a carriage wheel from behind.
Whooosh-!
Sploosh-!
Chiiik!
Thud! Boom!
[Experience accumulated.]
[Sulfur Spider defeated.]
Ki... Kiiik!
The spiders panicked.
Whispers persisted in Kang Seol's ear.
- Don't resist... Embrace the fire...
"Hey. You listening?"
- ......
"Wait there. Coming soon."
If Kang Seol seemed endangered, Karen or Jamad crushed the threat.
The horde thinned.
Kiiii!
One spider cried fleeing; others followed.
"Chase?"
"No, don't know what's hiding. Move slow."
"Whatever."
The floor soaked in spider blood.
"Blood or sulfur...?"
"Annoying, but no big deal."
Kang Seol bottled some blood from a corpse.
[Obtained Sulfur Spider Blood.]
'As expected.'
These weren't Anakindria's descendants. Subspecies or different breed.
"Won't end easy."
"Snowman, look."
Not just webs—cocoon bundles appeared.
"Cocoons?"
"Something inside."
"...Spiders?"
"No, looks like prey."
Jamad jabbed a broken wood shard, ripping one.
Jiiik—
"Grotesque."
Karen grimaced.
Inside: a mummified corpse drained of fluids, dead with blood tears. Pitiful.
Imagining Kirin's similar end fueled Kang Seol's rage.
"Let's go. End them all—spiders or whatever."
Jamad asked Karen,
"Okay without drawing sword?"
"That's why—draw it early?"
"Can swing?"
"...Good point. Smash like always."
Karen brushed it off, but her state was dire—heart-locked, unable to draw or swing for others. She suffered inwardly.
'Nothing I can do but watch.'
Watching.
Kang Seol's only option for her.
Step. Step.
The cavern widened, as if for a giant.
"Master. Seems like..."
Halt.
Karen stopped; the group followed.
"Here, right?"
Dragon-nest huge.
Webs and cocoons everywhere.
Piles of cocoons like trophies irked Kang Seol.
Kiiiiii...
- Hehe... Walking right in... Fun child. I am Atarak. Anakindria's last descendant left in the world.
Kang Seol looked up at the vast space.
An overwhelmingly massive spider hung on crisscrossed webs—beyond words.
Insight filled his view with her info.
[Atarak: Anakindria's Last Descendant]
Rank:Hero
Est. Level:18~30
The ancient fire spider queen, Anakindria.
Once, all feared her.
But she vanished, her legend forgotten. Now a new queen bearing her blood emerges: Atarak.
Basic Abilities: [Bite 2], [Neurotoxin Injection 3], [Spider's Whisper 2], [Sweet Dream 1], [Web Bomb 1], [Persistent: Nest Guard 1], [Persistent: Motion Detection 1]
Special Ability: [Sulfur Saturation 1]
'Hero rank...'
Kang Seol's eyes sharpened.
Atarak was no ordinary foe, as expected.
Kiii...
- Chatting with prey is new... but you've whetted my appetite. I'll give you a chance... child.
Kiiii...
- Still hungry. You won't satisfy. Bring... more prey to the canyon.
"Payment?"
Kiii...
- I'll grant fire's blessing.
Choices appeared before Kang Seol.
You've encountered the giant queen spider, Atarak. Instead of eating you, she makes a distasteful offer. How do you respond?
1. What is fire's blessing?
2. Whatever it is, I accept. New Fire Queen.
3. Is Anakindria dead?
4. Tell me exactly what to do.
5. No other offers?
……
Such a fresh proposal—normally, Kang Seol would've been cautious.
He delayed, surveying around.
Countless cocoons.
Countless lives ended here. Kirin's too.
No compromise.
Kang Seol smiled at Atarak.
And replied,
"Offer rejected. Get ready to come down."
Atarak trembled in rage.
Kiiiiiii-!
- Kill all those puny things!