Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 54
>Chapter Title: The Hidden Spider Queen
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Chapter 54
Do-hyun froze at the sudden message.
For a moment, he couldn't grasp the situation.
‘Slayer? Location?’
But after a brief pause, Do-hyun quickly pieced it together.
It was the second ability of the Slayer trait.
The effect that let him pinpoint the location of any monster that had acquired the Slayer title.
An effect he’d forgotten about since it hadn’t triggered in a while.
Even if he wandered blindly, as long as he headed to Seoul, he’d never imagined he’d locate it through some other means than the Eye of Truth he’d hoped for.
‘But why?’
Still, he wondered why it had popped up now.
The prerequisite was a monster type that had gained the Slayer title, but he didn’t have a Spider-type Slayer title himself.
Only one hypothesis came to mind.
‘No way…….’
The only Slayer-related title Do-hyun possessed was the Legendary title ‘First Slayer.’
‘So it’s not just applied to the boss I devoured—it attaches the Slayer effect to all bosses?’
When he’d checked the hidden info during Jihard, he’d thought it applied because he’d devoured a goblin.
That had seemed the more balanced explanation.
……Yeah, that made sense.
‘Have I ever seen such a broken balance in a game? Even for a Legendary, does this make any sense?’
He would’ve known if he’d acquired more Legendaries before.
Even in Delrock, Legendaries were rare treasures, so he hadn’t expected performance this overpowered.
‘Or maybe not? Strictly speaking, you need the Slayer trait to make full use of it…….’
A kind of synergy effect, perhaps.
The Slayer trait or the First Slayer title—each on its own was perfectly reasonable…….
But combined, they created an ability so cheat-like the word just slipped out.
Conditional cheating, so it felt balanced……
‘Eh, still too much. It’s straight-up broken.’
Excuses aside, a cheat was a cheat.
Especially one offering perfect aid in his current situation—a cheat among cheats.
[Would you like to view the location of Field Boss ‘Spider Queen Eliza’?]
‘Yeah.’
As he consented, the minimap at the bottom of his screen changed.
The small square map, which had only shown his position as a blue dot, now had a large dark red dot added.
‘Huh?’
But the location was odd.
‘Why is it overlapping with me?’
The blue dot marking Do-hyun.
It overlapped perfectly with the dark red dot.
Then he saw it.
[The Eye of Truth activates.]
*Twitch.*
A massive red silhouette that hadn’t been there moments ago writhed beneath the ground.
It was unmistakably spider-shaped.
The red mass shifting slowly to the left……
‘No way?’
Suspecting the possibility, Do-hyun instinctively activated a skill.
‘Backstab.’
[Using Backstab.]
The skill triggered, and Do-hyun’s figure vanished.
“Huh? What?”
“Why?”
The warrior player beside him flinched, and the mage player—who seemed to be his party member—tilted his head.
The warrior glanced around cautiously before speaking.
“No…… There was a guy standing alone right next to me until just now, and he suddenly disappeared.”
“Probably gave up and logged out. Can’t form a party if you’re just standing around during Philbo grabs.”
“Yeah…… Oh, now that you mention it, there was some kid next to him.”
“A kid? This is an 18+ game. Probably just a short girl. Anyway, that’s not important right now. 30 seconds left—focus.”
“Right, got it.”
Raven’s Philbos were notoriously competitive, so plenty of players gave up.
They brushed it off without much thought and focused entirely on the spiderweb.
The remaining time ticked down to 10 seconds.
No telling where it would spawn—they had to stay sharp.
[Time until Field Boss respawn: 00:00:00]
As the endless 10 seconds finally passed and respawn time hit!
Including them, players’ eyes scanned every direction.
“Where is it!”
“No sign on the east! You got it?”
“Nah, not here either…….”
“West is clear.”
“Huh? North too?”
Then chaos erupted.
Respawn time had come, but the Field Boss hadn’t appeared.
Dumbfounded, they stared blankly at the spiderweb like marionettes with cut strings.
It was Raven’s first stolen Field Boss.
* * *
At that very moment.
[Using Backstab.]
[Mark created.]
-……What?
Spider Queen Eliza froze at the sudden presence behind her.
In her eyes appeared a single human.
A man in mostly red attire with blue accents, gripping a mid-weight iron sword.
“Whoa…… it actually worked?”
It was Do-hyun.
He’d tried the skill on a hunch from the silhouette, and it really activated.
Even seeing it, he could hardly believe it.
They weren’t even in the same space—he’d used a movement skill across the ground itself.
‘Theoretically possible, I guess.’
Backstab’s range was any visible target.
And Do-hyun had seen it as a red silhouette.
It perfectly met the conditions. Of course, it was a ridiculous theory in practice.
‘Hah…… No one else has ever used Backstab like this.’
Even Do-hyun, who’d pulled it off, felt dazed.
Still, he grasped the rough mechanism.
Spotting the boss’s location via Slayer must’ve registered its hiding as stealth, triggering the Eye of Truth.
Then Backstab hit the revealed target.
-Master, how’d you do that?
“Too complicated to explain—just know it’s pure honey.”
-Okay.
Jihard nodded at the vague answer.
Vague as it was, Do-hyun couldn’t describe it better.
[You have encountered Field Boss ‘Spider Queen Eliza’ of the Western Forest.]
[Predation effect triggers on first-encounter kill.]
[You are the first to enter ‘Spider Queen Eliza’s’ movement tunnel.]
[Benefits apply to first discoverer.]
[Density of Field Boss ‘Spider Queen Eliza’s’ Essence Orb increases.]
[Drop rate increased by 30%.]
[EXP increased by 30%.]
[Sudden location change summons Guardian to current position.]
‘If this isn’t pure honey, what is?’
First-discovery rewards boosted all stats, plus higher drop rates and Essence Orb yields.
Not guaranteed gear like before, but higher density meant better harvest rewards—satisfying enough.
‘The stat boosts from first-discovery alone are juicy.’
Who else had racked up this much in this bracket?
-Eliza!
Do-hyun snapped from his thoughts at Spider Queen Eliza’s piercing shriek, turning to face it.
His first impression?
‘Freakin’ huge.’
Its overwhelming size made him question if it was really a spider.
Comparable to a playground slide—hadn’t he seen a giant tarantula that size in some foreign flick?
Next, it wasn’t as gross as expected.
The snowy white fur and majestic bulk meshed well?
The fur was longer and silkier than thought, dulling the insectile creep factor.
-Eliza, Eliza!
But despite the elegant look, its eyes glowed red with feral light, exuding danger.
Maybe amplified by its drugged-out chanting of its own name like a spider on something.
[HP: 40,000 / 40,000]
‘40k…… Plenty to test with.’
Enough to properly gauge his new skills and items.
Do-hyun grinned, swinging the Bastard’s training sword through empty air.
The sharp whoosh as it cleaved pleased him.
‘Yeah, this feels more natural.’
Do-hyun had wielded all sword types, but he’d handled this mid-size swift blade the most.
-Eliza!!
Spider Queen Eliza struck first.
Of its eight legs, the front two slammed down simultaneously—blinding speed and power.
*Crunch-!*
Do-hyun sidestepped, the legs piercing like awls into the earth.
But Eliza used the embedded legs as leverage, yanking its massive body forward in a charge.
*Thud! Thud-thud! Thud!*
Multiple spear-like legs stabbed relentlessly at Do-hyun, but he remained composed.
Composed enough to check its info window.
[Spider Queen Eliza]
-Title: Elite Field Boss
-Type: Spider
-Traits: Steel Web, Deadly Venom, Spider Sense
-Description: Ruler of the Western Forest, Spider Queen Eliza.
An intelligent hunter, she herds prey where she wants and finishes in one go.
Her potent venom, steel-tough webs, and spider-sharp senses make solo hunts difficult.
‘So that’s the sharp sense.’
Reflexes were top-tier, no doubt.
Unlike other bosses, Eliza dodged Do-hyun’s occasional swings at its forelegs.
High agility, sure—but this was predictive evasion, not reaction.
At this level, most melee DPS would struggle to land hits one-on-one.
Of course, it just meant superior evasion compared to other bosses.
*Whoosh- Crunch!*
-Eliza, Eliza, Eliza!
Yet it hadn’t landed a single blow on Do-hyun either.
It lunged with venomous fangs up close or stabbed with awl-legs at range, but Do-hyun allowed no direct hits.
As they traded misses and retreats.
‘This’ll do.’
Do-hyun glanced around and nodded.
Then activated a skill without delay.
[Mark disappears.]
-……Eliza?
Eliza froze as Do-hyun vanished from view.
But its senses pinged soon after, detecting the incoming rear attack and twisting to evade.
*Crunch.*
Until the low ceiling blocked it.
Bouncing off the ceiling mid-leap and tumbling to the floor left Eliza visibly flustered.
Do-hyun smirked at the sight.
‘Just as planned.’
Why had he toyed instead of going all-out?
To exploit terrain.
Unlike the high-ceiling spiderweb, this was a narrow, low tunnel. And irregular in height.
The initial encounter tunnel had seemed tall enough, so he’d lured it here to restrict movement.
In short, it was a rat in a trap.
-Eliza, Eliza, Eliza!
Realizing this, Eliza raged—but soon fell silent.
A golden dragon silhouette loomed behind Do-hyun’s turned back.
[Using Ascending Dragon Kick.]
[Set option adds 6% bonus damage.]
The dragon slithered down his leg, coiling around his foot. In a blink, the flying back kick launched Eliza’s bulk airborne.
The might of Ascending Dragon Kick, powered by his sky-high Strength.
*Smack- Boom!*
Flipping midair, Eliza crashed into the wall, kicking up dirt clouds.