Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 56
>Chapter Title: Eliza's True Form
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>Rumors spread, and a flood of attention poured her way.
>One day, a massive spider was discovered desperately calling out a woman’s name?
>How could anyone not be intrigued?
>“The devil must possess it. I’ll go slay it.”
>“It’ll fetch a nice price for sure. Bring it back.”
>“If I raise a beast like that, everyone will look up to me, right?”
>For all sorts of different reasons, they tormented her. And with that, many seasons passed.
>Having endured every single one of those days, she had become a field boss, trailed by all manner of grim epithets.
—Eliza…… Eliza.
There had been many grueling moments, but whenever they came, Eliza repeated her name.
>Recalling the sight of her master, who had once gazed at her warmly and called her name.
And then another fifty years slipped by, bringing us to now.
>Liza! Liza!
>>Elizaaa!!
After long anguish, she finally welcomed the moment she had so desperately longed for.
* * *
……And that’s how it happened.
>Sniff! Elizaaa!
>>Liza!!
Which explained why those two were glued together, unable to bear even a moment apart.
The first emotion that welled up in Do-hyun upon hearing this tearjerker of a melodrama wasn’t sadness or anything like it.
>No, it was sad, sure. But absurdity hit him first.
“No, so basically, you ditched Eliza and left, right?”
Jihard flinched.
>Sniff, Eliza!
Then he played dumb and hugged Eliza again.
Do-hyun fired off another brutal fact-bomb at the ridiculous sight.
“No, Eliza’s the one who got abandoned—why are *you* crying? You ditched her for 150 years; you’ve got no right to feel sad about it.”
>Urk, ahem! N-no, it’s not like that! I had no choice……
Jihard tried to argue back this time, but Do-hyun wasn’t one to just take it lying down.
“No choice my ass. You didn’t even recognize her while I was beating the crap out of you. Sounds like you just forgot all about her until you heard the name.”
>……
“What, is that it? Wow, what if Eliza had gone around without shouting her name? You’re one cold bastard, you know that?”
>……Yeah, you’re right. It’s all my fault.
Did he finally feel some guilt toward Eliza?
>Jihard, looking dejected, turned his head away, unable to meet Eliza’s sparkling eyes any longer.
>Liza……
This time, Eliza was the one who looked downcast.
The way she stared longingly at her master made her seem just like a puppy. And that only stabbed at Jihard’s heart even deeper.
“Yeah, you’ve always been like that. Always waiting for me.”
>Liza!
“Sorry for making you wait so long, Eliza. I won’t leave you again.”
>Lizaaa!
What a fool he was.
Rub rub.
150 years, no less.
>After forgetting about him for over ten times the years they’d spent together, she had every reason to resent him.
>Yet Eliza was nuzzling her face against him, clearly delighted for some reason.
>Not once had she shown even a hint of anger—just pure, simple joy.
“To think I forgot a girl like you……”
He hated himself for it.
At the same time, he felt baffled.
*‘This is weird. There’s no way I’d forget Eliza.’*
It wasn’t an excuse; it really was strange.
>Sure, at first, her exotic appearance had sparked his curiosity.
>But as they spent more time together, those feelings grew. At some point, Eliza had become Jihard’s one and only friend.
>Forget *that* kind of friend?
*‘No way.’*
Back in his hideout, he’d constantly felt like he was forgetting something important.
>And now he knew it was Eliza.
>The moment he recognized her, it was like a switch flipped—every memory of her came flooding back at once.
But the strangeness didn’t end there.
*‘Why couldn’t I return home? I found some clue, discovered something, got chased…… Huh? Clue? What clue?’*
His head felt muddled.
>*Confused* was the better word.
Do-hyun stared blankly at Jihard, who was losing his grip on reality in every way, then blurted out a question.
“But why were *you* hiding?”
>Huh?
“I mean, come on. Was there any reason you had to hole up in a place like that for *that* long?”
>Oh……
Truth be told, Do-hyun had always wondered.
>Jihard seemed to have a ton of secrets, but even setting that aside—what had kept him buried underground for centuries?
>His connection to this guy was just one of the many curiosities.
>That’s……
Jihard started to answer, then clamped his mouth shut.
>He slowly shook his head.
>I can’t tell you that, Master. It’s beyond my current abilities.
>……? What’s that supposed to mean?
>Sorry, Master.
Do-hyun didn’t press further at the sight of Jihard’s unnecessarily grave expression.
>Instead, he muttered to himself.
“What, it’s not like you’ll drop dead if you tell me. ‘Beyond your abilities,’ my foot.”
>Pretty much.
>? Pretty much?
Do-hyun let out an incredulous snort at Jihard’s response to his mutter.
“You’re not Voldemort or something……”
>What’s that, Master?
“It’s a thing. Can’t say the name due to copyright.”
>……?
Their conversation ended with mutual confusion, but the worry that followed was the same.
“What now?”
>……Yeah, what now, Master.
No further explanation needed—Jihard got it.
>What had brought Do-hyun here in the first place.
*‘Can’t kill her for the graduation quest……’*
It was to clear the graduation quest.
>And that required killing Eliza. But after hearing her story, Do-hyun wasn’t heartless enough to go through with it.
>Especially since Jihard—annoying as he could be—had sort of grown on him, and this was his pet(?)……
*‘Can’t even take her along in the system.’*
She probably wouldn’t turn into a card like Jihard had.
His head was pounding.
>Liza! Liza!
>>Huh? What?
>>Lizaaa!
>>No! What are you saying!?
Eliza waved her massive limbs frantically, making her point.
>Jihard, who seemed to understand, was locked in a heated back-and-forth with her.
“What’s going on?”
>No…… It’s nothing, Master.
>Liza liza!
Eliza pushed past the evasive Jihard and stepped forward.
>Then, without warning, she sank her fangs into her own leg.
[The Field Boss of the Western Forest, ‘Spider Queen Eliza,’ has been inflicted with Deadly Poison status.]
>[HP has fallen below 10%.]
“What the……?”
Before Do-hyun could even react, Jihard bellowed.
>Eliza, what are you doing!
>Liza liza!
>>Huh? What? ……For real?
He seemed to listen, then nodded in acceptance.
>Do-hyun was dying of curiosity.
“Hey, what’s she saying? Don’t leave me out—tell me too.”
>Oh…… She says to stab her, Master. She says it’s fine.
>……Even if she says it’s fine?
>Yeah. No time to explain, but it’ll be okay. So please do what Eliza wants, Master.
“Well…… if you say so.”
It felt off, but if they insisted it was fine, there was no reason to refuse.
“Stabbing now?”
>Liza!
Eliza nodded eagerly.
>Do-hyun thrust his training sword deep, HP draining away fast. To end it quicker, he even used Striking.
How many times did he repeat it?
[The Field Boss of the Western Forest, ‘Spider Queen Eliza,’ has been defeated.]
>[Due to First Clear benefits, the Essence Orb has been enhanced.]
>[Will you harvest the Enhanced Essence Orb of Spider Queen Eliza?]
>[Recorded in the Book of Adventures.]
>[You have defeated a new type of boss on First Encounter.]
>[Predation effect: All stats +6.]
Eliza’s eyes dimmed as her life force ebbed, and she collapsed.
>……Is this okay?
>Yeah.
Jihard seemed unfazed, unlike the stunned Do-hyun.
>It took a few seconds for Do-hyun to understand why.
Pop!
>Liza!
“Huh?”
Something popped out from the massive corpse.
>About five centimeters long.
>At first glance, it looked like a fluffy ball of white cotton candy.
>It was Eliza.
>Eliza! It’s been ages since I’ve seen you like this.
>Liza liza!
A cheerful alert rang out amid Jihard’s joyful voice.
Ding.
[You have discovered the Hidden Named Boss ‘Eliza’ that was parasitizing the Field Boss of the Western Forest, ‘Spider Queen Eliza.’]
>[Guardian ‘Jihard Black’’s Loyalty and Affinity with ‘Eliza’ is MAX.]
>[Conditions fulfilled.]
>[Will you take ‘Eliza’ under Guardian ‘Jihard Black’? ]
>……Whoa.
……It worked?
* * *
Delmroken had bosses like that sometimes.
>Special types that parasitized other monsters.
>They rarely died in one go, hopping from host to host and bedeviling players.
>You had to kill the damn things over and over to clear them.
*I struggled with them too.*
The worst was Pinaleia, the one that parasitized a zombie dragon.
>Suddenly facing a dragon—even a knockoff—multiple times when one was already a nightmare.
>The rewards were great, but yeah, it pissed him off.
>Those memories were so vivid, he’d even overkilled them in the Godose tutorial.
>Liza!
Simple reason he was bringing it up now.
“Who’d have thought the field boss was her host……”
Eliza was one of *those* types.
>Who could’ve imagined?
>A field boss turning out to be nothing more than a shell.
*‘No wonder it was weird.’*
Non-named bosses all respawned.
>They had fixed behaviors and residual memories from their settings, but that was it.
>Nothing deep enough for melodramas like this.
*‘Especially not a 150-year-old sob story.’*
Named bosses were different, though.
>They were true residents of Godose.
[Guardian ‘Jihard Black’ Subordinate List]
>- Eliza
Now his guardian……
>No, more precisely Jihard’s subordinate.
Opening Eliza’s info brought up a flashy window.
[Viewing Eliza’s information.]
>[Eliza]
>[Title: Named Guardian]
>[Type: Spider]
>[Loyalty: MAX]
>[Traits: Sky Spider Thread, Parasite]
>[Guardian Traits: Sunflower, Endurance, Gluttony, Food Coma]
>[Description: A mysterious white spider, presumed to be a rare breed.
>Despite her long life, she has yet to reach adulthood. Incurably devoted to her master, with incredibly tough silk.]
>[Most abilities are sealed due to ‘Jihard Black’’s low level.]
>[Stats adjust in proportion to ‘Jihard Black’’s growth.]
>[Usable Skills: 1]
>- Thread Spinning
*‘They call this striking gold while fishing, right?’*
He’d only taken Jihard as a guardian, and somehow he’d uncovered a hidden piece and gained a new one.
>Great at loot, obedient (conditionally), finds hidden fields……
>Now even cracking hidden pieces for him?
*‘Maybe Jihard’s the real lucky charm.’*
Do-hyun found himself looking fondly at the ugly goblin.