Chapter 31: Home... Burned Down Again
"According to the information provided by the adventurers, this should be the habitat of those two monsters."
The group arrived at a cavern within the labyrinth.
"There don't seem to be any signs of a nest being constructed. Did they move away?" Master Ronandt concluded after observing the surroundings.
"There's a passage nearby leading to the Middle Stratum. Could they have headed down there?" a guide traveling with the army speculated.
"Impossible," Buirimus denied flatly. "Spiders are monsters weak to fire. How could they possibly go to the Middle Stratum, which is overflowing with magma?"
Just then, a startled cry interrupted everyone's thoughts.
"What's happening?" Buirimus looked toward the sound and saw a soldier frozen in place, unable to move.
"I—I don't know! I just walked in here and suddenly became like this!" The soldier trembled with fear. He struggled desperately but found it was useless. "Lord Buirimus, save me..."
Buirimus frowned and moved to check his status, but Ronandt stopped him with a firm grip.
"Wait!" With that, the old man raised his oil lamp, casting light into the dim tunnel ahead.
"Spider silk?!" Buirimus muttered in shock.
Countless transparent threads of silk were spread across the cave; if one didn't observe closely, they were completely invisible. Ronandt nodded, pointing to the webs illuminated by the lamp.
"It seems we've found the right direction."
*Clang!*
A longsword was unsheathed as Buirimus raised his sharp blade and slashed at a strand of transparent silk no thicker than a hair.
*Ting!—*
"What?!"
"I couldn't cut it!"
Buirimus's sword collided with the silk and was instantly repelled. The powerful force transmitted back through the strand actually made the webbing of his thumb ache! How could there be spider silk this resilient in this world? Buirimus gritted his teeth, refusing to believe it, and slashed again. This time, the silk stuck to the blade, preventing him from pulling the sword back.
"Don't be impulsive. The best way to deal with silk is fire."
"Hey, young lad, bear with it for a moment."
Ronandt raised his staff and instructed the soldier entangled in the silk. "I'm going to burn it all!"
"Ha!"
Accompanied by Ronandt's chanting, a fire magic circle manifested in front of his staff.
*Fwoosh!*
Searing flames erupted from the circle, however...
"Nani!"
Even magical flames were completely ineffective against the resilient silk. Ronandt's eyes widened; he had never heard of such a thing! "How is this possible..."
He muttered, increasing his mana output. The basketball-sized flame swelled until it was as thick as a water barrel.
*BOOM!!*
Under the terrifyingly high temperature, the silk finally began to melt slowly, revealing the bound soldier inside.
"Th-thank you, Master Ronandt!" the soldier gasped, deeply grateful.
The ignited silk flared into a massive blaze, and the fire began to consume everything.
"Whew—"
Watching the silk being reduced to ash by the inferno, the group let out a long sigh of relief, their hearts still pounding. If not for Master Ronandt, they would have been buried in this area.
"Master Ronandt, you're amazing!"
"Yes, if you hadn't helped, we would have been in big trouble..."
Several knights nearby praised him, but the old man's expression remained grave. He felt as though he had done something irreversible; an indescribable sense of dread weighed on his heart. Instinct told him that something huge was about to happen.
The group followed the direction the fire was spreading. As they went deeper, the silk became denser, emitting a chilling, eerie aura.
"Is this thing... really a monster?"
Ronandt picked up a half-burned wooden sign from the ground. Some characters seemed to be written on it.
[Home... of Shiro...]
With a "might as well try" attitude, he cast
"What does this mean?" He was puzzled, but then it clicked. "Could it be... that a monster wrote this?" The old man fell into a silent daze looking at the sign.
*Shasha—*
Right then, two horrifying auras rapidly approached, making his hair stand on end. A drop of cold sweat slid down his temple, and the old man whipped his head around.
"Buirimus!"
"The masters of the nest... are back!"
Under the terrified gazes of the group, two pure white, massive shadows slowly emerged, becoming clear. They were two monstrous spiders, entirely white and terrifying in appearance. Eight scarlet compound eyes flickered with bloodlust and madness, locked onto the crowd—specifically on Ronandt, who stood in the center.
*Gulp—*
It wasn't just the ordinary soldiers; even Buirimus couldn't help but swallow hard, his body trembling as if his courage had been shattered. Only Ronandt remained relatively calm.
No! To be precise, the old man's eyes were filled with a fanatical glow.
"This... this is..."
"Master Ronandt?"
"These two monsters... even in a natural state, they are continuously maintaining a terrifying number of skills simultaneously."
"Impossible! How can such powerful monsters exist in this world?!"
The old man's tone was filled with disbelief and excitement; he looked like he was about to start dancing. Suddenly, one of the spiders fired a green beam of light toward Ronandt.
"Ugh!"
The old man felt his chest tighten, and his body shook as he fell backward. He lost his grip on his staff, and it fell to the ground. If Buirimus hadn't caught him from behind, the old man would have collapsed.
"This..." Buirimus grabbed Ronandt's arm nervously. "Master Ronandt, are you alright?"
"I'm fine... *cough*, fine." Ronandt clutched his chest, coughing violently. "That move just now, was it...
"No way! A monster using
Ronandt shook his head, slowly stood up, and cast
[Monster]: Ede Saine (Nameless)
[Level]: 24
[Status]
[HP]: 3890 / 3890
[MP]: 13441 / 13441
[SP]: 3413 / 3413 (3241 / 3241)
[Average Attack Ability]: 3398
[Average Defense Ability]: 2363
[Average Magic Ability]: 12887
[Average Resistance Ability]: 11659
[Average Speed Ability]: 7840
[Skills]: (Three screens of skill descriptions.jpg)
...
"What terrifying values, and such an exaggerated number of skills... Wait,
"Subarashii... Nanto Subarashii!"
The old man muttered incessantly, his gaze becoming intoxicated as if he had lost control.
"Master Ronandt, pull yourself together!" Seeing things going south, Buirimus reached out to shake the old man awake. However, at that moment, the old man cried out again.
[Appraisal Blocked]
"They can actually block
"This... this, this..."
As he spoke, the old man reached out his right hand toward the monsters ahead, as if he had discovered a priceless treasure.
"Master Ronandt!" Buirimus yanked him back, stopping his mad gesture.
"I cannot comprehend it at all; this far exceeds this old man's knowledge and power! Let go of me, Buirimus! I must get closer to the Masters! I must observe this power more closely!!"
"..."
...
"Shirazawa, what is this guy babbling about? Can I kill them?"
"Leave the naked old man. Do as you like with the rest..."
"Got it!"