Plague Spider [3]

The journey through the dark tunnel was eerily quiet. Yunhee remained silent, walking steadily ahead without hesitation.

I hadn't expected Yunhee to suddenly pin me against the wall, though I suppose it was something I should have anticipated.

[A few constellations are disappointed.]

[A few constellations say they wanted to watch a kiss scene.]

[A few constellations say you are not manly.]

A vein popped on my forehead.

Those arrogant constellations were teasing me now. Being teased by my junior was one thing, but from the constellations too? Ridiculous.

I took a deep breath, pushing aside the distractions.

This was no time to lose focus.

Ignoring the mocking messages from the constellations, I pressed on.

"We are almost there."

The tunnel ahead grew brighter with each step, signaling that we were nearing the end. My heart began to beat faster, a knot tightening in my chest. What would we find at the end of this passage?

[The Hidden Fable has been updated.]

[You have found the core of the hidden dungeon.]

"Wh-What? All these..."

When we emerged from the tunnel, Yunhee gasped in shock.

We hadn't arrived at the next station. Instead, we'd arrived at a chilling, unfamiliar location.

The ground was littered with remains of various monsters: torn wings, broken torsos, dismembered limbs. The sight was grotesque.

[The constellations are disgusted by the sight.]

I glanced upward to see a light, hanging high in the air, illuminating the grotesque scene. It seemed like the mana in this place had coalesced there, casting a sickly glow over the room.

Yunhee's voice broke through the heavy silence.

"Hey, look over there."

I followed her gaze to the far end of the room.

In the dim light, there was three people webbed to the wall at the end of the room. Angelica, Jongho and Gyeong. There were all there.

Luckily, they were still alive. But they looked like they had fallen unconscious since they didn't utter a word. I was far away so I couldn't see their expressions properly.

"We should go to them..."

"Shh! Get over here, quickly."

I grabbed Yunhee's hand, pulling her toward a nearby corner for cover.

"Jakga, what are we doing? They're right there. We should just grab them and go."

"Shh! Lower your voice."

Suddenly, a disturbing sound echoed from the tunnel. The ground trembled as large, crawling spiders appeared, dragging the massive corpse of a creature behind them.

It was a Order 8 Nightmarish Rhinoceros. Despite being at an Order of Level 8, it possessed the strength of some Order 7 Terror.

How did those little spider manage to catch it? Was it because of their venom, or had the creature already been injured?

My mind raced with such possibilities.

The crawling spiders dropped the torn rhinoceros and left the place quickly as if they were in a hurry.

Yunhee whispered, "What are they doing?"

"I told you before."

"You mean they're feeding it to the mother spider? I don't see it anywhere."

"You're looking in the wrong direction." I pointed to the ceiling.

Yunhee's face drained of color as she looked up, mirroring the icy dread tightening in my chest. The sheer horror etched into her wide eyes told me we shared the same fear.

Descending from above was a monstrous spider cloaked in a pitch-black exoskeleton, its segmented plates fitting together like jagged pieces of armor. Its legs, each as thick as ancient tree trunks, arched with razor-sharp barbs capable of cleaving through steel. From its serrated mandibles oozed a sickly green venom, which dripped to the ground with a hiss!

Eight eyes glowed faintly in shades of crimson, gleaming with predatory malice as they scanned the space for prey. Fine silver webbing clung to its massive form, while bristling hairs along its thorax twitched with every subtle movement.

Order 7 Plague Spider.

The mother spider that commanded the small ones, and the boss monster of the Subway Dungeon.

"Keurruuuk—"

The Plague Spider descended onto the carcass of a rhinoceros with its mandibles clicking in anticipation. A sickly green liquid sprayed from its maw, hissing as it coated the dead beast's flesh.

Crunch! Munch!

The flesh dissolved almost instantly, reduced to a soupy mass as the spider feasted, tearing chunks of melting tissue with brutal precision.

Jung Yunhee whispered, "That's acid?"

"Is it? How surprising."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. The Plague Spider's name was no joke. It could melt anything it touched.

If that liquid made contact with skin, it was game over.

The author of Song of Nightmares had described the Plague Spider as an utterly revolting creature, and now that I saw it with my own eyes, I knew those words were no exaggeration.

Should I use it? Either way, the performance was about to begin.

I placed my hand on Yunhee's shoulder and spoke softly.

"I'll be back soon. Stay here."

"Huh? Wait a minute..."

Before she could protest, I moved toward the spider.

"What are you planning to do?" Yunhee grabbed my sleeve.

Despite trying to act tough, her hands were shaking pretty bad. Even indifferent people were afraid of death.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to kill that overgrown spider."

Yunhee's facial expressions shifted to that of disbelief. It seems like she received a mental shock beyond her capability to deal with and stopped thinking rationally.

She opened her mouth to say what I knew was coming.

"Are you out of your mind?! I knew you were reckless, but this is suicidal!"

I smirked inwardly. It was just like in the novels—every time the protagonist said something outrageous, the people around them would think they were insane. Though, I wasn't the protagonist here.

"I know what you're thinking. That thing can't be hunted down."

"Then..."

"However, that thing pretty weak right now due to overfeeding."

"Wait, you don't mean..."

"That's right. The mother spider usually overfeeds before going into hibernation. So during this time, It will become much weaker."

I gently pushed her hand off my sleeve, speaking calmly.

"Stay here. When the time is right, go free the others."

Without waiting for her to respond, I turned and left the hiding spot. Fortunately, she didn't try to follow. It would have been troublesome if she tagged along and said she wanted to help out.

Even if she was a little strong, she will be completely useless in this battle.

The Plague Spider seemed to sense my presence. It stopped feeding and turned its multiple eyes toward me.

Rather than attacking, it advanced slowly, keeping its distance and studying me.

"Fuu—"

At this point, the plague spider has already filled up my vision. My breathing became heavy and my body was trembling.

[You have fallen under the effect of Fear]

[The skill, Black Box has activated.]

[The negative status effect has been released.]

Like an iron wall, the «Black Box» nullified the murderous intent flowing my way from the Monstrous Nightmare.

I took a deep breath, steadying my mind. Gripping Silver Demon tightly, I steeled myself and stepped forward.

This wasn't part of the original plan.

Initially, I intended to slip in unnoticed and steal the cores while the spider was in hibernation, unable to defend itself directly and relying solely on its minions for protection.

But circumstances had changed, and forced my hand.

After all, I had to take responsibility for Angelica and Lee Jongho being captured.

If I hadn't been prepared for scenarios like this, I never should have entered this hidden dungeon.

[The Plague Spider has detected an intruder.]

[The contents of the Narrative has been updated.]

[Defeat the 'Plague Spider' and clear the Hidden Dungeon.]

"Keurururuk—"

The Plague Spider charged, its front legs raised high before bending at sharp angles, ready to strike.

Slam!

I barely rolled out of the way, the ground splintering where I had just stood. Gripping Silver Demon tightly, I channeled my spirituality into the weapon and fired at one of the spider's eyes.

Puok!

A screech of pain tore echoed as the spider staggered back.

But I knew that wouldn't stop it. The plague spider's exoskeleton was too tough for a simple bullet to break. The eyes, however, were a different story. Now it had only seven left.

Enraged by the loss of that single eye, the spider slammed its razor-sharp legs into the ground repeatedly.

Slam! Boom! Kwahng! Kaboom! Slam! Boom! Kwahng! Kaboom!

Each impact shattered the earth and sent tremors through my bones. Even though weakened from overfeeding, the spider was still deadly.

One mistake, and it would all be over.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The relentless barrage continued without pause, each strike aimed directly at me. Its frustration grew, evident in the fury of its attacks.

I dodged each deadly stab, twisting and weaving between them, before pulling Silver Demon's trigger three times in rapid succession.

With a sharp whoosh, the bullets cut through the air like deadly darts, striking true.

Three more eyes burst in a spray of black ichor. Only four remained.

Rooooaaaar!!!

The spider let out a deafening roar, staggering in agony as dark blood gushed from its ruptured eyes like a fountain.

Despite the critical injuries, I knew Silver Demon alone wouldn't be enough to finish it off, not even with an increase in spirit power. At best, I could blind it.

But now that it was sufficiently weakened, it was time to execute my next move.

Summoning the Iron-Cutting Sword from my dimensional storage ring, I gripped the blade firmly in my hands.

[Some constellations are laughing.]

[Some constellations are shaking their head in disappointment.]

[A few constellations wonder what you'll do with that weak sword.]

Indeed, the Iron-Cutting Sword was no legendary artifact. As a mere D-rank mystery item, it could easily slice through magic iron but lacked the power to defeat the spider on its own.

However, its true potential lay not in the blade itself but in the skills wielded alongside it. With the right techniques, even this seemingly weak sword could become a formidable force.

[Two skills have been activated at the same time.]

[Aura Sword + Blood Demon Ki]

The combination of these two skills would create something far more powerful. Such a rare phenomenon was called Skill Combination.

[The skill 'Synthesis' has activated.]

[The skill cards: 'Aura Sword' and 'Blood Demon Ki' are being combined.]

[A new skill card is being generated.]

| Synthesis |

A skill card I had bought from the Exclusive Shop for a whopping 40,000 coins. Basically, it combined two skill cards together and created a more powerful one. Despite its incredible utility, the card was tucked away in the shop and priced surprisingly low.

At first, I thought it was some kind of scam. But to my fortune, it turned out to be genuine.

Suspicious? Definitely. But I didn't question it.

Even then, there was a chance of failure if the two skills did not share enough comparability. But I could handle that 'flaw' with my information.

[Congratulations, synthesis was successful!]

[You have acquired the skill card 'Blood Demon Sword Energy.']

Kiiing!

The sword trembled in my hand as a blood-red aura erupted from the blade.

[A few constellations open their eyes wide.]

I grinned inwardly.

Their surprise was gratifying. It wasn't every day they saw this kind of technique, especially in a Lesser World facing the beginning of the Stories.

I readied myself as the spider's massive legs thudded against the ground.

Thud! Thud!

The plague spider staggered, its movements growing more erratic. Such a foolish creature... struggling only hastened its end.

[2000 coins have been invested into Spirit Power.]

[Spirit Power Lv. 10 → Spirit Power Lv. 20]

[Your overall spirit energy has increased.]

Swish!

The spider's legs, resembling sharp razors, swept through the air, dangerously close to me. Any strike would surely be deadly, especially with my low physique.

But rather than dodge, I surged forward, swinging my Iron-cutting sword with determination.

Slash! Puoookk!!

The seemingly indestructible exoskeleton cracked, and one of the spider's legs was cleanly severed.

This was the power of the Blood Demon Sword energy that allowed someone like me to face off against an Order 7 Nightmarish Terror.

The plague spider screeched in agony, and tottered unsteadily on its remaining legs.

And, like that, an opening was created.

Without hesitation, I seized the opportunity, leaping forward, and drove my sword into its vulnerable spot.