Swarm of Breeding Spiders

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Apollo frowned at the obscene number of spiders littered throughout the entire underground cavern. If he was to complete his quest, then dealing with this area would be inevitable.

Thus, Apollo stepped out into the open, and because of this their grueling green eyes all turned to look at him as he entered. On top of the sound of his footsteps, Apollo's bloodlust was still active, making him an easy target to sense. 

At a glance, most of the spiders were the color of soot with long slender legs that shimmered with a metallic luster. However, the unsettling part was their overly large fangs that dripped with a viscous green liquid. The liquid seeping from their fangs sizzled and melted a hole in the floor upon contact. 

[Oh ho, those toxins are pretty potent. Although it poses some danger, I'll only remind you to remain wary.]

"I agree, but I'm not all too worried about that. Their most frightening aspect are their numbers! On top of that, do you see the number of eggs littering this place? If we fight here, they'll possess the upper hand," Apollo answered. 

In addition to the numerous spiders which numbered well over 400, there were hundreds upon hundreds of white eggs with a slimy faint green substance covering them. Moreover, they carried a putrid stench that stung one's nose. Luckily, the blood that covered Apollo dulled it as they mixed together.

[That isn't necessarily the case. You can turn this area into your advantage. After all, the quest never mentioned you being unable to kill hatchlings.]

"Oh? Are you implying what I think you are?" Apollo asked with a hint of realization surfacing. A small smirk appeared on his lips as glanced at the approaching spiders.

[Precisely. As long as you kill something, it will apply towards your kill counter.]

"It looks like a pyrrhic victory won't be on the menu today," Apollo grinned before meeting their movements with a dash of his own. However, while moving he also needed to remain wary of his surrounding.

There were numerous green puddles littering the floor from the presence of the eggs. If this was the same liquid, then it was toxic as well.

Nevertheless, being sufficiently agile, Apollo was able to avoid the nearby puddles and withdraw the Dark Cutter to begin the battle. The moment it was drawn, Apollo instantaneously entered a focus state.

As a result, his bloodlust bolstered and put the spiders on edge. Surprisingly, despite the metallic luster of their legs, the material the Dark Cutter consisted of while being coupled with Apollo's strength eclipsed the sturdiness of their physique.

So, Apollo's knife cut through their legs with ease!

However, the sheer number of foes put Apollo at a disadvantage, resulting in him being on the constant move. Frequently, he was forced to dodge the spider legs doused in toxins.

At the same time, he caught a glimpse of their information from the system.

「Monster Name: Dark Venom Iron Widow

Cultivation: Early Stage Rank 1 Spirit Beast

Health: 1,650/1,650」

"Hmm? That's odd. It has a lot less health than the cub I faced off against yet it's mature," Apollo expressed while spinning his body and slamming an Iron Widow into another.

A surprising scene took place as they began stabbing each other while attempting to regain footing.

[That's simple. Not every beast possesses the same strengths and weaknesses. Hence, the values the system determines will all be different. Interpret it as each beast being unique just like a person.]

"I see. But their actions seem as if they are oblivious to each other's existence and simply strive to survive on their own. Could they only possess the basic instincts of spiders?" Apollo wondered while raising the Dark Cutter to defend against another blow.

Sparks and a drawn-out screech appeared as their legs dragged against the knife's surface.

All of sudden Apollo's eyes widened when he took note of two particular spiders. Their eye colors and leg thickness differed from the original type, as for the rest of their feature, they were still similar. 'They're not all the same! Some of their bodies are stronger than the rest.' 

[Variants.]

Unlike the others who possessed green eyes, the newcomers possessed blood-red ones as well as cyan ones. It was clear their statuses were above the ones Apollo was currently embroiled in battle with.

[Hmm, these newcomers seem more intelligent than the others. I don't think they appeared her of their own accord.]

"So you mean to say their queen should be somewhere nearby," Apollo responded. Straightaway he thrust his arms three times, puncturing the eyes of 3 nearby spiders. There was a collection of severed legs in his vicinity, so Apollo took advantage of those as well.

Squeals of rage echoed while the spiders spat a vat of greenish liquid towards Apollo, who dodged effortlessly. His Agility eclipsed the weakest spiders, so their firing speed was far from enough. If they sought to damage him, they'd need to do better than that.

'Hmm?!'

Apollo's eyes widened abruptly as he jumped away from his previous spot. A sensation of danger had overwhelmed him causing his immediate reaction. He had felt this before. It meant that whatever aimed at him could've been potentially fatal.

It was then he noticed the eyes of a larger spider beast fixated upon him as its fangs opened and close as if viewing him as prey. At the same time, the behavior of the spiders changed. If they were disorderly before, then now they were like a trained military division. In waves of 3s, 4s, and 5s, the spiders confronted Apollo.

[Either that is their queen or at the very least their second in command. ]

"I know that already, but I don't have time to worry about it!" Apollo exclaimed as he spun abruptly, smashing one of the spider's skulls into the ground. 

Apollo stalled for a moment and took the time to search for a proper target before locating a nearby cyan-eyed spider. Arriving next to it in the next second, Apollo slaughtered the beast before cutting one of its legs continuously.

He only stopped once it matched the length of his Dark Cutter, then eyed his targets viciously.

A few seconds later he began his assault while navigating through the corpses within a small radius.

Rapidly, he slashed, punctured, and kicked the crowding beasts. Instead of moving everywhere, he remained rooted in a general area and only made pivotal movements reactively.

While his Agility was high and an advantage over his foes, he would be left in a perilous situation if he exhausted it too fast. With that in mind, Apollo continued his murderous actions against the endless streams of spiders.

1...10...50.

The carcasses stacked into a small pile as Apollo's violet eyes shined through the blue liquid covering his body. Flicking his wrist, he abandoned the unusable spider leg in his hand.

Instead, he locked his sights on a new target. When fighting it, he found its exoskeleton to be leagues above the others infinitesimally on par with the Dark Cutter.

Its owner was one of the spiders with blood-red eyes.

However, a large moment took place the moment he claimed its leg.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEECH!

The largest spider emitted a loud screech that riled all of the surrounding spider beasts. Especially, the ones with reddened eyes.

"Tch…" Apollo clicked his tongue.