There were several bodies on the floor . They were from the Alpha Class parties of the Hebrion Academy . The Clothes Lines that boast such strong defense were torn and blood leaked from lacerations that covered their entire bodies .
But these weren’t fatal wounds . The wounds themselves were not that deep .
*Splash*
The reason they had died from such shallow wounds was from the poison that the Tyrant-Tula injected into their bodies .
The poison of the Tyrant-Tula, which was definitely classed as belonging to a monster of the highest level, was powerful enough to paralyze and melt the inside of the body on contact .
Due to the power of such a poison, they were immediately eliminated and marked to return to reality…
However, something had gone wrong .
*Splash*
The noise easily echoed throughout the desiccated passageway .
One of the bodies rolled over . Black legs sharp as blades ripped into it as the beast ravenously devoured it .
*Splash* *Splash* *Splash*
There was a loud sound of filthy water spilling onto the ground .
This process was repeated several times . Each body was meticulously wrapped into a spider web . The figures of each quickly disappeared as they were sealed within the spider’s silk . Before long, the bodies that once littered the hallway were securely stowed within their new silk cocoons .
The silk that was once visible started to turn transparent and before long the grisly scene was no longer visible . The sharp, knife-like legs were also concealed in spider silk and became transparent .
The blood and bodies that were strewn everywhere had disappeared, as if they had never existed . There was only an empty passage leading into the distance .
Not too long after, the presence of people could be detected and the passage that was completely silent up until then was filled with the echoes of a voice .
“The reason why Tyrant-Tula is dangerous is due to the poison on the edge of its legs . There is also a special gimmick related to its spider silk . ”
The source of the noise was none other than Desir’s party .
Desir moved forward carefully . The filthy water on the ground splattered everywhere as the party traipsed through it .
“Tyrant-Tula’s web has the effect of making anything that it wraps transparent . ”
Most people knew this but Desir explained it for the sake of anyone who didn’t .
*Tap*
Desir stopped .
[Create Water]
Water droplets were suspended mysteriously in the air .
“Yes . It’s literally invisible . Tyrant-Tula has transparent webs everywhere like this and wraps itself in them . That’s why nothing is visible . To unknowing prey, there’s nothing in this passage . ”
Given how empty it was, believing such a monster existed in the passageway they were currently standing in was rather difficult .
“If we go fast and get caught in a spider web, we will get attacked by an invisible enemy . This is why people avoid Tyrant-Tula’s nest . ”
“What do we have to do then? Is there something special? ”
Freechel asked with curiosity after Desir’s explanation .
Desir nodded .
“The principle of the spider’s webs in this passage is simple: Tyrant-Tula uses the webs to sense and attack its prey . So, how should we overcome this?”
“Well… don’t touch the web at all?”
“That’s impossible . ”
Desir pointed at the passage extending straight ahead .
“You can’t see them, but from this point on, there are countless spider webs . As soon as you touch any of the webs, Tyrant-Tula will come running . It’s incredibly fast and invisible . You have no chance of coping . What can we do?”
After no one could offer a suggestion, Adjest opened her mouth .
“What about sabotaging the spider’s perception? Since we have to touch the web, we need to make it so we can break through without being detected . ”
Desir clapped .
“That is the correct answer . Tyrant-Tula’s perception is restricted to the spider’s web . In other words, if we irritate several spider webs at the same time, its perception will be confused . That’s the opportunity that we have to aim for . ”
Its limited perception was Tyrant-Tula’s only exploitable weakness .
“Hit the web with magic and shake Tyrant-Tula’s perception . Of course, we can’t just invoke random magic . ”
Desir opened his palms .
“To induce a stimulus strong enough that masks other human movement at the same time, we must hit at least five magic spells of at least the Second-Circle at the same time . This will give Tyrant-Tula no chance to recognize us . ”
“Let me take that role, Desir . ”
Adjest hurriedly suggested .
“It’s possible for me to arrange more than five spells at the same time at my level . ”
“You can arrange five spells but the problem is landing them at the right time . That kind of accurate magical arrangement is something only I can do . ”
No mistakes were allowed . At the same time, the magic had to hit a thin spider web .
“I’ll distract Tyrant-Tula from a little bit further away . You break though in that chance . Once you do, I’ll be right behind you . ”
“Is this a guaranteed method for success?”
“… Of course . ”
In the strange gap between the question and answer, Romantica frowned .
“Are you sure?”
“I’m serious . I’m sure of this . ”
Eventually, Romantica sighed and allowed the plan .
After getting everyone’s consent, Desir began preparation for his part in the plan .
“Even though Tyrant-Tula’s perception via its spider’s web can be avoided, be careful not to get stuck in its webs . They still have great adhesive force, so proceed with caution . ”
“I know that much . ”
“Good . ”
They got ready to run after exchanging a few more pieces of advice with each other .
“One… Two… ”
Five spells were formed in front of Desir .
“Three . ”
As soon as Desir invoked the spells, all party members except Desir began to run .
Pram swung his sword forward, cleaving open a webless path for the party to traverse .
Desir watched them escape quickly .
After that, the magic arrangements in front of him stopped and faded away .
‘Did it work?’
Desir checked that all of them had escaped and sighed in relief .
‘They would never allow me to do this if I told them the truth . ’
It was true that Tyrant-Tula’s weakness was disrupting its perception, but the way Tyrant-Tula perceived its prey was very different to what Desir had explained .
Desir had to deceive his party again since the actual method did guarantee the safe escape of the bait .
‘The real way it perceives people is… ’
Desir reached his hands forward and felt something on his fingertips . He caught the web .
Entangling it, he brought it to his heart .
‘Bio signal . And amongst them, it responds the most to heartbeats . ’
Tyrant-Tula’s favorite food was ‘live prey’ . Inevitably, it responded the greatest to bioreactions .
Desir stopped breathing and began to concentrate .
‘Recognizing changes in environment:’
‘Detect the slightest changes amongst this absolute silence . Nothing seems to have changed on the surface . ’
Silence .
*Tap*
After a moment or two, dust and debris began to fall off the walls .
Desir smiled .
“How many monsters do you think I’ve killed? Hundreds? Thousands?”
*Frack*
Tyrant-Tula appeared out of nowhere and ripped through the air, aiming to skewer Desir through the back with its leg .
Although there was the expectation that it could only make a small wound to the Clothes Line of a single ranker, it was still incredibly dangerous due to its terrible poison, able to kill its opponent with just the slightest cut from its leg .
So far, no student had ever been able to attack it, since it was able to appear out of nowhere .
At least so far .
However, Desir naturally reached towards his back as if expecting such an attack .
And with the spell that formed behind him –
***
When Desir opened the gate, his eyes and ears were immediately assaulted by Romantica’s loud displeasure .
“What took you so long, Desir?!”
Desir smiled and replied .
“Ah, I made a mistake and failed to disrupt its perception . Fortunately, I ran as well . ”
“You idiot!”
“Well, what’s our ranking anyway?”
“Yes, our ranking!”
Everyone in the party turned on their communication pads and checked the leaderboard .
The leaderboard on the communication pad was as follows:
—
1st: Unknown Party . Leader: Desir Arman
Progression Points 2350, Party Points 1900
2nd: Blue Moon Party . Leader: Argeria G Roglan Nimbias
Progress Points 2320, Party Points 1850
3rd: Red Dragon Party . Leader: Radoria von Dorice
Progression Points 2200, Party Points 1700
—
The party looked at each other in a mixture of surprise and joy .
“OH-YEAH!”
They had succeeded in taking first place .
They had surpassed the Blue Moon party .
“Let’s continue on with this momentum and clear it all at once . ”
“I agree!”
“I will do my best . ”
“Well, you should . ”
While everyone merrily continued down the passage, Desir noticed a scratch on his finger .
‘Hm… It may be from the debris . ’
‘It’s pretty painful for a simulated 30 percent pain limit… am I just imagining things?’
Desir kept his thoughts to himself . He couldn’t give them anything else to worry about . Desir entered the fifth zone while rubbing his bloody finger on his lapel .