Event Raid (2)

The moment I laid eyes on the spider, I got angry.

"No."

No matter how much I loved sex, a spider bigger than a human was out of the question. If it had been an Arachne with a voluptuous, stacked upper body of a beauty, sure — but a straight-up spider? Absolutely not.

—Kiiiiii

When the spider, sporting tentacles in place of legs, let out a roar, the tentacles on its carapace writhed. Its egg sac bulged as if it were about to spawn spiderlings at any second, and a luminous light poured from a hole that could have been either an eye or a maw.

The hole was large enough for my forearm to fit with room to spare. To put my dick in there, I'd have to be a giant, not a human.

Was that the tentacle spider's reproductive organ? Suddenly I thought of the fisting play I'd seen back on Earth.

The kind where you shove a fist into a woman's pussy and shake it around. It always looked so staged that it never turned me on — but a tentacle spider that already came with a massive hole was a different story.

What would it feel like to shove a fist in there and work it around? Just imagining it sent a chill down my spine.

"Mad Demon. This lady trusts that what she is thinking is not what thou art contemplating."

"Yohan! Remember your oath! You swore!"

"...I'm really not doing it. That thing is too much."

If I put a fist in instead of my dick, it wasn't sex, so I could still make excuses. I absolutely had to punch that hole for the finishing blow.

"Indeed. Given how repulsive it looks, this lady need not worry."

Twitch.

Lulu, watching from beyond the transparent barrier, wilted with dejection.

Isn't it cute...?

"Hmm. Lulu's perspective differs from this lady's. The courage to speak one's own impressions honestly is truly admirable. Lulu shall make a fine minion."

Hehe. So is it cute?

"In a way, it is rather cute."

Lulu's expression bloomed wide open. Cheonsol gave her a thumbs-up of approval.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

It wasn't empty praise, so I felt a little embarrassed. Looking closely, wasn't it kind of cute? The colors were pretty, and the light pouring from the hole was dreamlike.

Clap clap.

Sophia clapped her hands. When she brought them together in front of her, her massive breasts compressed and jiggled.

"Kids. Let's plan this out. Luckily, the Tentacle Spider is a monster I know. It shows up a lot in Newbie Raids."

"So we just trust you, Lady Sophia?"

"Of course! Just trust me!"

Sophia boasted, giving her chest a soft, bouncy pat. Watching her fists spring back with a poof-poof, I could tell Sophia's breast condition today was peak form.

"There are three patterns to watch for. First: hundreds of spiderlings launched from the egg sac dead-center on its carapace. Second: a pattern where it suddenly stretches its tentacles long and swings them like whips. Last: a laser beam fired from the hole on its face."

"A laser comes out of that hole?"

"Yep. So try not to face that mug head-on if you can help it. The charge-and-fire interval is short, and the range is wide, so even the most agile minion has a hard time dodging it. That's what the guide said, anyway."

"Theeern Na-a will take the flaaanks or reaar, not the frooont."

Na-a gripped her spear and declared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it with confidence.

"Na-a's speeed drooops when she's not in waaater."

"This lady's body is not particularly sturdy, so she cannot say what would become of her if struck by that beam head-on."

"Lan-lan-i will fight with Mom too!"

"So in the end, I have to tank."

Having awakened as a Holy Knight, it was an inescapable fate. No matter the game, a Holy Knight with a self-heal always got stuck as the tank.

"No? All four of you hit the rear and the flanks. The Tentacle Spider has a lot of legs, right? It's agile and shifts position easily."

"Master. Does the spider not shoot webs?"

"Ah! I forgot to explain that! It uses its tentacles instead of webs! See those on the carapace? Those split apart like spider silk and capture prey!"

"So we just have to watch out for the tentacles and the beam."

"Watch the spiderling launch too! The Tentacle Spider is plant-attribute, so it plants seeds in the spiderlings before launching them. If you get bitten, the seed burrows inside and sucks out your nutrients!"

"A spider that plants parasitic flora, then. Got it."

"It is no easy foe."

"Na-a haaates plaaants. Better not get hiiit."

"Master! Question!"

Lan-lan-i shot her hand straight up.

"Is the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tentacle Spider tasty?"

"I don't know..."

"This lady searched the boards, and it is said to be delicious. A delicacy, they claim."

"Yay!"

Lan-lan-i's fighting spirit blazed.

"Let's catch it fast!"

"Alright, alright. If you clump up you'll all get swept by the beam, so spread out reasonably. Good. Ready to start the raid?"

"Yes, my lord!"

"Mad Demon has picked up something strange again..."

—Kieeeek!!

The spider reared up on its front legs and roared the instant it started. Dozens of tentacles that had been hidden beneath its body flexed and whipped about like soft lashes.

Shwaaaak

I ducked my head to dodge, and the moment I did, goosebumps raced down my spine. Abandoning any attempt at balance, I threw myself into a roll across the floor just as a tentacle clenched shut on empty air.

The mere act of that grip kicked up a wind that scattered my hair. The sensation of a tentacle grazing the back of my neck lingered.

Thanks to Diamond Body, there was no pain at all. I scrambled up and shouted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a warning.

"Everyone watch out! The tentacles bend in directions you wouldn't expect!"

"Yohan's right! The Tentacle Spider is a Level 3 monster! Assume it's several times stronger than any tough opponent we've faced so far!"

The kids. Since this was a raid, I checked how the party members were doing.

"Let gooo!!"

Cheonsol and Lan-lan-i, the agile martial artists, dodged well enough — but Na-a, sluggish by racial trait, failed to evade a tentacle.

Her tail had been snared, so she had jammed her spear into the ground and was locked in a contest of strength. Still, that tail was impressively tough. The scales held up without a scratch.

"Na-a! I'll help you!"

"Lan-lan-i! This lady has drawn her blade, so she shall sever the tentacle! Lan-lan-i, strike the spider's main body!"

"Okay!"

Lan-lan-i, always good about listening to Mom, charged the spider. The spider rotated its body to face her.

Daring to ignore Dad and go after my daughter?

"I'm going too!"

I gripped my sword and charged. The spider swung a few tentacles my way, but I already had their measure.

Not just anyone becomes a fighting-game master. You have to know every technique and tech of a character, and you have to be good at mind games too.

But once your dynamic visual acuity hits the absolute peak, you can get by even if the other elements are a little short. I was the kind of player who hit rank one no matter which fighting game I picked up.

I wasn't lacking in any of the three. And of them all, my dynamic visual acuity was the standout. The sense the status window itself labeled a talent tracked every tentacle's trajectory.

I found the gaps in the tentacles filling the space ahead of me. Factoring in the ones that had bent at impossible angles earlier, I picked out a path to life.

I stripped off a layer of clothing, reinforced my body with Divine Power, and took a single step between the tentacles.

Shwaaaaak

—Kieek?

The tentacles sliced empty air in vain. The spider, which had been pinning Lan-lan-i down, spun around in shock.

That luscious hole sat dead ahead of me. Particles of light began to gather. Sophia screamed.

"Yohan! Dodge!"

In the instant I was about to dodge, I spotted tentacles writhing five paces away. Anyone who wasn't an idiot could predict that dodging the beam would put their feet right into those.

"Mad Demon! It is dangerous!"

"Mad Demon!"

"Yohaan!"

The women screamed too. Nobody was even dead yet — why were they already carrying on like that? I stared the spider down boldly and dropped my pants.

With only my underwear remaining, warm and majestic Divine Power wrapped my entire body. Since I wasn't fully naked, I couldn't draw out a full hundred percent — but Naked Armor, synergizing with Diamond Body, activated all the same.

"I'm fine, so just handle the spi—"

Swaaaaaaaaaaa

The spider's laser beam hit dead-on. This was only the second time I'd been struck by a beam, and I still couldn't get used to it.

Body hair burned away first, and then pain sank into every single cell of my body. I'd grown a lot since fighting the robot, but this wasn't a Level 1 minion — it was a Level 3 elite monster.

Self-Healing.

Sensation in my arms vanished, so I chanted Self-Healing. The moment I tried to push forward through the pain, I realized my legs had been obliterated and chanted Self-Healing again.

If I'd become a martial artist instead of a goddamn Holy Knight, I could have stepped through some mystical footwork and dodged the whole thing. A Holy Knight had no choice but to tank it out on pure body and healing skills.

How long did I hold? Then I heard Lan-lan-i's voice.

"Don't bully Mad Demon! Lan-lan-i Punch!"

My muscles twitched. My sword had melted away in the beam long ago. Being a common item, of course it was never around when I needed it.

Feeling the need to craft a new one, I took a step forward. Then I thrust my fist out ahead of me.

"Fire... Punch..."

A single blow split the beam. I chanted Self-Healing, and my burned-out retinas recovered enough to show me what was in front of me.

"Spider! Pay the price for trying to kill this lady's husband!"

"Take the speaar of juuustice."

"Cheonsol Kick!"

Cheonsol severed the spider's tentacles. Through the gap left by the missing tentacles, Na-a's thrust stabbed into the spider's flank.

Lan-lan-i brought her fist down on the spider's head. Its neck snapped downward with a violent jerk, and the beam died out.

"Self-Healing."

I fully restored my body, then advanced again. The party members who saw me let out a cheer.

A raid leader had to live up to the party's expectations. I clenched my fist tight and declared:

"I'll... be the tank..."

"Hah. This lady fretted for nothing."

Cheonsol let out a sigh.