Chapter 42. New Guardian and Field Theory.

"All of you, get aside!" shouted Temir. After his cry, the people gathered around tried to scatter, but most of them didn't make it in time.

Within seconds, a spider landed where Temir had been standing. The ground shook violently, signaling a rupture. Two or three of the wounded, who had been healing until now, were saved by Adil and two girls. In the end, the spider's attack was successfully repelled, or more accurately, survived. The faces of the people hinted that their hearts were beating so hard that the pulses reached their necks, as if their hearts were tearing out of their chests in fear.

The spider that appeared before them resembled the previous one, the only difference being in color. Its carapace, covered in fur, glowed with a venomous shade of green, as if signaling that a dangerous predator was now before them. It shot several strands of webbing that enveloped some members of the first group. Fortunately, archer Sasha managed to deflect the webbing flying towards her, protecting not only herself but also those around her.

Currently, twelve people were present on this battlefield, three of them were wounded, and the healer couldn't help in the fight against the spider. The remaining eight could engage in combat. Unfortunately, after the spider's attack, three more were removed from this list, leaving only five for the fight. Perhaps due to this outcome, Temir turned to the group members.

"We and Adil will attack. Sasha, help the others get out of the web if they're stuck, and just run towards Arman. My bird will lead you to him," he said sternly.

After the spider's attack, Temir received a hint about the dungeon boss. If Ever's considerations were correct, Arachna was right above them, in an improvised cocoon hanging in the middle of the dungeon. The cocoon, supported by the web that bound the entire dungeon, meant they needed to remove the support points holding the entire structure. Following this theory, he decided to send them to Arman, who would have to destroy the earth islands within reasonable limits, leaving only a few for the safety of the wounded.

In Temir's mind: "Maybe I found the dungeon boss," Ever said, her voice confident.

"Are you sure? What should I do then? Leave the spider and go after the dungeon boss?" Temir spoke several questions in a row. The tone of his voice was filled with uncertainty and haste; his heart was beating strongly in anticipation of the upcoming battle.

"I said I might have found it. To be precise, I have a hunch. Perhaps the dungeon is led by the queen of spiders, or rather, the mother. My hunch is that she is now in something like a cocoon, held by all this webbing," she said slowly but with a brightly expressed tone, as if imitating a character from a detective story.

"So, it's just a hunch, but... it's still better than aimless wandering through the dungeon. What should I do?" Temir asked.

After his words, Temir heard something like a smirk, after which he heard Ever's response.

"It's simple. We need to get her out of there," she said with a brightly expressed smiling voice. He couldn't see her, let alone feel her, but this strange connection made him sense her. Temir felt her existence, and perhaps that's why he imagined her as a living person, picturing a young girl with a book in hand, constantly gazing into the distance through a window.

"Thanks to this plan, I can not only get the boss out of the cocoon but also earn points for the system," such a thought was in Temir's mind after talking to Ever.

Immediately after Temir's words, Adil and Sasha began to help the unlucky members of the group get out of the web. At the same time, Adil, drawing his sword, rushed at the spider, but in the middle of the attack, he jumped back. It happened because he noticed Temir attacking the spider. With a powerful blow, Temir severed the spider's hind legs, causing it to fall on its back. Adil, not wasting time, attacked its abdomen with the sword, which entered the hilt, but unfortunately, the sword didn't move any further. Losing momentum, he had to step back.

Pulling out the sword, Adil found himself taken by surprise; his boot was stuck in the sticky mass that poured out in large quantities from the spider's carcass. Slowly but surely, his leg sank into this mass. Feeling the fear of being under the pressure of an enraged spider, Adil tried to pull his leg out with force, but to no avail. The more force he applied, the stronger the force of the sticky mass was felt.

Fortunately, one of the members of the first group rushed to his aid, for the sake of which the rescue mission was organized. Before him stood a girl who looked about seventeen; she knew how to use her fire ability, slowly burning away the sticky mass. While she was helping him, Adil, as if enchanted, watched her. Her hair was fiery red, which harmonized well with her fire ability, and her height was small, possibly between 160 and 170 centimeters. For him, her height was small; she seemed to imitate a small flame that one would want to protect.

While Adil and the redhead girl were occupied with their task, Temir continued his battle with the spider. He executed his attacks with a wide smile on his face. The people around him, who had intended to run towards Arman's group, couldn't move from their places. The entire battle process resembled a meat grinder. The spider was literally torn into pieces, with legs falling off constantly, each the size of an adult human.

On the ground surrounding the spider, not only liquid webbing spread but also its secretions, mixed with something akin to blood. While everyone awaited the fierce confrontation, the spider tried to break free from Temir's relentless onslaught, convulsively waving its remaining claws and legs. At one point, one of its legs struck a cluster of trees. After its strike, the island slowly began to crumble, and the earth scattered like a sand dune meeting a hurricane in a desolate desert.

Unfortunately for the spider, the destruction of the island played into Temir's hands. Therefore, with even greater enthusiasm, he continued his series of attacks, and within moments, the spider finally met its demise. Perhaps, for someone, this battle might seem excessively cruel, especially considering that the spider had only attacked them once. However, such is life. If Temir hadn't been stronger than the spider, the battle would have been cruel, especially for him and the people now surrounding him.

This entire incident did not go unnoticed by Adil and the girl helping him. At the moment when the spider attacked the cluster of trees, the girl's gaze, thrown in Temir's direction, was fanatical. In her eyes, the young man had turned into a legendary figure of the Awakened, who, with his strength, would probably one day earn the title of a national Awakened. However, such a look was not only from her but also from Adil and the other people in this group.

Admiration and fear intertwined within them. They admired the strength he displayed, but internally, they feared him. The severity demonstrated before them was too ominous, causing the seed of fear to take root in their hearts, while alongside it, the seed of admiration flourished in full force.

Battle from Temir's Perspective.

The fight started swiftly. Using the "shadow leap," I found myself on the spider's back in no time. As in the previous case, following Ever's advice, I decided to cut off its smaller legs located at the rear of the spider. My attempt to sever several legs with one strike succeeded. The blow, infused with the "piercing strike," was so powerful that it easily detached both upper legs. Filled with enthusiasm, I delivered the next blow slightly lower, completely cutting off its ability to use webbing. The squealing sound and the spider's fall were expected after such a series of attacks.

After the spider fell, I considered stepping back from it for a moment, as in such rage, it might accidentally hit me with its sweeping claws and legs. I had wanted to use the "shadow leap," but before me, an image appeared of Adil awkwardly retreating. His foot was firmly stuck in the mass rapidly flowing out of the spider. The only thing left for me to do was to try to help him pull out his leg. However, at that moment, the girl with fiery-red hair rushed out. She skillfully used her fire, slowly and cautiously burning the sticky liquid on him.

Having calmed down a bit, I still decided to intervene. Although I couldn't help her free him faster, I could distract the spider, which I did. Since waiting out its frenzy was not an option, it was worth infuriating it even more, perhaps even defeating it.

And so, using the "shadow leap," I attacked the spider. Infusing my dagger with the "piercing strike," I spent 30 mana points. The blow landed on the leg closest to me. After each strike, I regained between 10 and 20 mana points. Although, as far as I remember, I was promised to restore half of the mana from damage.

"As in the game, in this case, your damage adapts to the monster's viability. Most of your damage is the ability to break through the monster's resistance. The stronger the monster, the stronger its defense; it may have low health, but its defense could be extremely powerful," Ever responded to my thoughts.

"So, even though my ability shows my damage as several thousand, in reality, it's only around 30-40 damage?" I asked her in wild amazement. Yes, I was astonished by this revelation. The system, for the most part, played with me, making me believe in invincibility.

"For example, I can mention goblins. Goblins often have no resistance to either magic or physical attacks. Therefore, your damage to them, which is approximately 120 health per goblin, will restore 60 mana points to you. And now, let's take this spider as an example. Perhaps the spider's resistance to damage is 2450, and your damage is, let's say, 2470. In this case, you'll only restore 10 mana points. I hope it's clearer to you now," she said with the tone of a tired teacher.

"Understood, though it's a pity. I thought that thanks to this ability, I would always replenish the full mana pool, but... too bad," I said sadly. When I first saw the description of the ability, a feeling of invincibility awakened in me. Even if it gave mana from my base damage, not the increased one, I would still get slightly over 70 mana points per turn. Unfortunately, that's how it was.

Right now, two feelings prevailed in me. The first was inspiration, and the second was regret. With maniacal joy, I destroyed the spider as if in revenge for the spoiled mood. At some point, the spider, out of desperation, began attacking the trees holding the island from sinking into the swamp, but I was even glad about that. It saved me from unnecessary exertion, for which I was, of course, grateful. And now, since its body would inevitably vanish in the swamp, it was time to end the spider's torment and hand its body over to Ever.

After several series of attacks, the lifeless body of the spider began to slowly sink into the swamp. So, not missing the opportunity, I turned to Ever.

"Convert its body, please," I said and turned to the group of people who remained on the other island. Their looks were filled with some fear or astonishment. I noticed that every second person had their mouth slightly open. Due to all this pressure they exerted on me with their gazes, I exploded.

"What?!"