Chapter 10
Senior, be careful.
This is the final gate of the 2nd floor—the Spider Colony.
We had to pierce through the swarm of spiders that launched webs everywhere and slay their queen, the boss spider.
On the surface, they didn’t look dangerous at all. But those webs they fired were infamous.
Have you perhaps developed a Happy Virus immunity spell?
When Kai ran explained the strategy for the Spider Colony raid, he shrugged his shoulders once more and added with a mocking tone.
The reason he was talking about something like Happy Virus immunity was.
Because of the spider webs.
Spiders couldn’t fire webs with precision, but they were famous for spreading them out in a wide, net-like area.
Most of all, advancing while dodging webs being fired endlessly without stopping was practically impossible.
If you touch even a single strand, you’ll end up smiling while your own guts get eaten alive because you’re poisoned by the Happy Virus. Haven’t you seen that?
I know.
But you’re about to do that right now?
Kai shook his head with a tired expression, shrugging again.
Is that all?
Yeah, webs are magic, mind-wall scrolls, and there’s no way to block them.
The only options are dodging the webs or slicing off the queen’s head and wrapping her webs around the body of the queen that was hiding nearby.
Just watch.
No need to explain everything with words.
Just do it and you’ll succeed.
I tightened my belt around my waist according to my own raid plan.
The first raid was thanks to Marian’s wind spirit’s help.
The spirit raised wind to lift a balloon-like airship.
I tied the belt to it, soared into the sky, cut the rope, and leaped straight onto the queen’s body.
Impressive.
The moment I landed after slicing through the wind, Kai’s voice came from beyond the crystal receiver.
The hard shell of the queen was felt under my feet. Ahead, I saw the queen’s head. I landed perfectly.
In an instant, the other spiders who had spotted the intruder began their indiscriminate attacks.
Webs that I simply couldn’t dodge were flying at me now.
From now on was the second raid.
Between the dense white webs spreading out like paper, streaks of colorful energy flashed past.
Then, the surroundings flashed, and a warm aura rushed in.
A combined attack by Marian and the priest Leo nic.
In front of my eyes, the webs melted away and the spiders briefly hesitated.
Now it was the final raid.
I just ran straight at it and beat it down.
In other words, a purification attack.
There was no clearer path to victory than beating without stopping.
I rushed toward the queen’s head and opened my jaws wide.
When the queen’s saliva fell, the armor began to corrode with a sizzling sound.
Ugh.
My muscles felt like they would burst. Originally, it was a one-versus-one infiltration raid, but since we were all meeting for the first time, I was uneasy about relying on my back.
So I decided to receive help from the tool.
I pulled out the massive spear I had slung across my back and twisted the handle.
Then the spear split into six blades and stabbed between the queen’s jaws. The sharp blades spread out and began to spin sharply.
Kyahaaaaak.
A painful scream of agony echoed like a death rattle. To scream, the mouth must open.
I took out the Pain Tolerance flask and drank it, then tore the Strength Increase scroll and, with surging strength throughout my body, jumped into the queen’s jaws.
The armor began to melt slowly. I could feel the queen twisting her body and trying to spit me out.
The sticky innards were coming strongly. The time I could endure was about thirty seconds.
Target secured.
I said briefly toward the crystal receiver, then, gripping the blade-separated spear, drew the giant neck of the spider from inside to outside.
Kyahaaaaaaaaaaak!!!!!!
The queen’s sticky saliva covered my whole body.
Smoke rose from my entire body and I felt my soles sticking to the ground.
Even though I had consumed the Pain Tolerance flask, it wasn’t like the pain was completely gone, so I bit my teeth together and drew again. Once, twice, three times.
The queen’s body swayed, and a white wave came over me.
Tango Down.
I conveyed the situation through the crystal receiver.
Whoa… it really worked?
Senior really is the kind of guy who does it if he says he will?
Wow, the angel of white appeared.
The spiders shouted at me, who had wrapped the queen’s webs around my whole body.
The queen spider would push out the webs hidden deep inside her body to the outside if she died, for the next queen selection.
Unlike the webs of ordinary spiders, the queen’s didn’t contain the Happy Virus.
If it were a human, they would use a shining sword to confirm the bloodline of the imperial family or a sharply shaped mage’s certification mark.
But in the spider world, it was enough to receive only the web of the previous queen.
I was wrapping it around my body like that.
A new queen was being born.
The thousands of spiders who had been firing webs to save their queen fell silent for a moment.
Then, as if nothing had happened, the spiders headed back to their duties.
A boring ending, no matter how many times I saw it.
With the blessing of Eria the goddess, I still couldn’t remove the senior’s webs.
Leo nic, the priest who hadn’t said a word, also spoke one line, but I didn’t notice because my performance had been quite shocking.
But it was a plan I had established after thorough review.
It wasn’t the least bit reckless.
I had done the exact same thing countless times during my dungeon hunter days.
At that time, the assault leader was me, of course.
Just in case, I also wrapped the queen’s webs around my teammates’ bodies.
Just in case there was a low-level variant psycho spider somewhere.
Personally, I thought our journey was going smoothly.
Thanks to the meticulous pre-planning, I thought we were mowing down monsters like a icebreaker ship slicing through ice floes and passing through shortcuts.
But my teammates’ thoughts were different.
Huu… it really was tight.
Marian was peeling off the webs stuck to her arrow one by one.
Hey, wasn’t it weird to cover the queen like that? Hey, senior! Do you have Happy Virus immunity?
Kai kicked off his shoes that had been taken off and exhaled roughly.
Was it that tight?
It was pretty tight, but it was doable, right?
What if we followed the handbook given by the Hunter Association as instructed, Senior?
Of course, Piaje’s office was the most principled way.
We would go around the edge of the Spider Colony one by one, kill the defensive spiders, weaken the offensive spiders, and finally strangle the queen spider.
But the problem was that such a raid required a full day.
Our goal was not to obtain as many crystals as possible or hunt rare monsters, but to arrest the culprit.
At this very moment, I didn’t know which hunter might be caught by Mosquito.
That was why I chose to infiltrate directly from the air rather than going around the edge.
Ugh… even if I do this, these webs won’t disappear.
They’re just like silk. Elves go crazy for silk.
Without any special reason, Kai kept teasing Marian.
The more he did, the more Marian’s expression got darker.
Knight Kai, be careful. Your humor is sharper than it looks.
Huh?
If you start using insults, you won’t recover your senses.
Piaje, the office, who had seen it all, stepped in.
It was the true advice of someone who had experienced it before.
Webs, store them safely in your backpack and go to the 3rd floor underground.
Thud, thud.
I took off the heavy armor that was covered with the queen’s webs and began changing clothes one by one.
The 3rd floor underground of the dungeon was a desert terrain with boiling lava, so I had to change into equipment with strong flame resistance and heat tolerance.
Caw, it’s a huge chicken? No, is it a fat turkey wearing a golden crown?
Marian kicked Kai, who was wearing a cloak made of phoenix feathers and an armor reinforced with magma crystals, while laughing.
Then, you’re a burning quail?
Marian’s expression hardened when she put on the burning silk gloves, but Kai shrugged and walked past.
** * **
Boom boom.
Whoa… this is beautiful…
Marian looked up at the sky and said.
The sky she looked at was turning red from the rising lava.
Boom.
Another lava eruption.
It’s falling! Run! Jump!
Kai, whose build was over two meters tall, moved nimbly while avoiding the lava.
From the ground, hot sand wind rose, and from above, scorching heat that could burn the brain spurted out.
So, does that mean we have to do a big fight here? All at once?
Kai asked while running.
I nodded my head.
It’s always possible. First, discover the oasis.
I planned to pass through the 3rd floor underground the fastest.
The Valley of Fire was an extreme environment where humans could not survive.
Exploding volcanoes and pouring lava on an endless sandy plain.
And giant stone golems rolling merciless rocks. It was literally hell.
The longer you stayed, the more your mental strength wore down, but in high-risk high-return, you could easily find precious treasures or ruins.
That was why the Valley of Fire on the 3rd floor underground was a place dungeon hunters explored with great effort.
In fact, there were stories of dungeon hunters who became billionaires in one blow by exploring the Valley of Fire and then retired.
Who could have imagined that the elderly Jewry, the representative of rat poop mana, would find a abandoned lair of a red dragon and become a billionaire?
Blazier, who discovered the forgotten laboratory, went to marry nine times? With twenty-one children?
The conversation between Piaje’s office and Kai continued.
For our priests, this place is a sacred site they must visit.
Leo nic, the priest who had a slightly different viewpoint from others.
Because the Valley of Fire was called the starting and ending point of all life, if it were a priest of the Eria Church, it would be worth exploring at some point.
It was a sacred site for the pilgrimage of priests who had crossed the valley of flames like a pilgrim’s path, reflected on themselves, and gained great enlightenment about the unknown proposition of fate and life.
Well, if you’re unlucky, you might be hit by the fire wyvern’s flame breath and go straight to the side of the gods.
I agree. Let’s go all at once. Hot is the worst.
As expected.
Piaje, the office who was a pro dungeon hunter, was on the same side as me.
Treasures and new enlightenment were good, but there was no place for people to be.
People must be in an environment where they can live.
Hey, the oasis is visible.
At the right time, Piaje, who had been running in the lead, discovered the oasis.
Three palm trees that were too foreign near the lakeside where clear water flowed.
The oasis, called the paradise of pilgrims.
If it were strangers, they would run and dive in headfirst, but for those who knew, at least for Clovan Dungeon hunters, it was natural to stand hesitantly near this cool water.
Uwaaaa, senior. Just five minutes. Just five minutes of rest.
Marian, who had raised the wind alone, that is, enjoying the fan of the spirit, bent her waist, grabbed her knees, and spat out rough words.
A swarm of monsters… it’s like sand that gets stuck between wet toes. No matter how much I wipe, it keeps sticking.
Marian who had first come to Clovan Dungeon seemed to be struggling with the power.
The expressions of the others were not much different.
Should we rest here? Or find a hunter’s hut?
Speed was good, but if we pushed too hard, accidents would happen.
Aigo, I’m drained.
Kai lay flat near the oasis.
They said this is a monster safe zone.
Dangerous monsters don’t appear near the oasis.
That’s why it’s called a monster safe zone.
I looked at the teammates and said.
We rest here for three hours. Let’s take a short break. Marian, even if it’s hard, please do the ward magic.
Marian groaned and stood up, beginning to draw the ward magic circle.
Even if it was a safe zone, it was a kind of alarm to prepare for monsters appearing or other hunters showing up.
Aigo, why did I learn magic?
Marian’s grumbling voice continued like an alarm sound.
** * **
After resting for about three hours like that.
We gathered in front of the oasis with determined expressions.
Start.
At my words, everyone looked elsewhere and was distracted.
I had no choice but to step forward.
Splash.
I jumped into the oasis.
It was cool. I drank the clear water on the way.
Crap! Since it’s come to this.
Kai cursed and jumped into the oasis. Then he gulped water down.
Soon the rest of the members also jumped in, and Leo nic, the priest, carefully transferred the precious water bottle from his waist to his body.
The joy of quenching thirst was momentary.
Soon, the sky shook ominously.
The flow of air slowed strangely, and beyond the sand hill, a massive red flame shot up.
The teammates who were watching came out of the water and tore scrolls one by one.
A faint light began to be engraved on the bodies of the teammates.
Flame Resistance, Physical Defense Support, Stamina Preservation, Energy Regeneration, Vision Preservation Improvement, Pain Tolerance scrolls disappeared in sequence.
I took out the flasks of [Flame of Regeneration], [Scream of Sharp Blades], [Rage of Rotating Edges], [Tough Life], [Blessing of Wise Life] from the bag and drank them one after another.
And I stuffed potions into every pocket on my body.
Doping.
Drug addict.
Hey, I’m awake and I won’t be able to sleep at night.
Woah, the fighting spirit is boiling.
Common features of doped people.
They were covered with all kinds of active and passive skills, and a force that made them want to do something immediately surged.
Then, Leo nic, the priest, cast the blessings with a faint glow in his two eyes: [Eria Goddess’s Protection], [Blessing of Eternal Life], [Burning Will].
We were ready.
Kung kung.
Heavy footsteps were heard from afar.
The massive red flame that had been beyond the sand hill was getting closer.
Everyone to their positions. The target is the hell guardian Cerberus. Sand giants and fire wyverns may also appear, but it’s fine if we handle them as usual.
The monster horde was approaching.
The oasis was a trick that summoned all the monsters of the 3rd floor underground Valley of Fire boss at once.
No, rather than a trick, it was more appropriate to call it a hidden trap.
If a person exhausted by the heat threw their body into the oasis, all monsters would rush out madly and exterminate everything. It was a harsh raid.
But if we could handle the approaching monsters, it was also the fastest way through the 3rd floor.
Searching one by one would also be difficult.
Huu…
Kai, holding the dagger tightly with both hands, exhaled deeply.
Marian, holding three arrowheads in one hand and pulling the bowstring.
Piaje was aiming the rune cannon at the approaching monster, Cerberus, who had three heads shaking.
As I said earlier, we have to cover the eyes of the guy.
Cerberus with three heads was excellent at detecting attacks from all directions.
From the three heads came flame breath, and from the giant snake-like tail, deadly poison spurted out.
If exposed to poison, the body would melt and die.
If hit by the tail, holes would be drilled all over the body.
If hit by flame breath, even the corpse wouldn’t be found.
In reality, it was a situation where only long-range attacks were possible.
At that time, a red wave rose from the sky.
It’s a fire wyvern.
The monster party appeared here.
Kukung.
The ground shook.
Left side stone golem horde!
In front of them, sand giant kraken is lurking.
Basilisk, don’t look it in the eye at all.
Huh? Monster buffet?
Cerberus appeared leading the monster horde that had been sleeping in the Valley of Fire.