Chapter 159: Spider King (1)

[ *Ping* Evolved life form detected. ]

[Kingdom: Animalia]

[Phylum: Arthropoda]

[Class: Arachnida] 

[Order: Araneae]

[Infraorder: Mygalomorphae]

[Family: Theraphosidae]

[State: Evolved]

[ Abilities: … *Ping* Generating nomenclature… ]

[ Venomous Touch: Tier 8 Black Grade venom detected. This venom has been infused with every fiber of this creature's being. ]

[ Rebounding Web: Spider silk with astonishing elasticity. ]

[ Sturdy Web: Spider silk Tier 7 Black Grade toughness. ]

[ Weakness: Between head and abdomen ] 

[ Evaluating power… *Ping* ]

[ Evolution Stage: Elite Tier 7 Black ]

Leonel's brow furrowed. He had been very worried about the webs of these spiders when he charged, but he didn't expect that the matter would be even more troublesome than he originally thought. 

To make matters worse, this still wasn't considered an SS-grade threat? Tier 7 Black, that translated to S-grade. But, what was with the 'Elite' tag, what did that mean? Now that he thought about it, Leonel remembered that the octopus was classified as Peak Tier 7 Black. So there were separations like this?

No matter how curious he was, Leonel knew that this wasn't a time to ask this question. All he needed to guess was that this spider was a greater threat than the octopus. Knowing this, he had to ask questions that could help him keep his life. 

"Can my chain necklace block the toxicity?"

[ *Ping* Replying to Seed, the energy shield can block about 80% of the venom's toxicity. ] 

Leonel's frown deepened, but his footsteps didn't stop. 

He dashed toward the spider, but when it seemed they would clash, he suddenly changed directions, headed off to the side with all the might he could muster. He knew that the spider would chase after him because all along the way, his spear had never stopped. He continued carving a path forward, out pacing the spider by a measure. 

Leonel could tell by the spider's stats that its speed was actually much higher than his own. However, it's agility was very low. Making it navigate a battlefield like this, especially when it had to be careful not to poison its own legion, was about the best thing Leonel could do at this moment. 

"Is there no other way to deal with the spider's venom?"

Leonel knew he needed to be incredibly specific when asking questions to the dictionary. It wouldn't simply offer him up answers based on the situation. So, Leonel had slowly learned to keep an open mind and ask things he might not usually ask. 

In his mind, he didn't have anything else that could deal with venom. But who knows if this was really true? 

Outside of his expectations, it seemed he was correct to ask. 

[ *Ping* Light Elemental Force has a strong healing effect and is the bane of many toxins. Seed's Light Elemental Force is still too low to be considered immune. ]

Leonel's eyes widened. "Too low? There are levels to Light Elemental Force?"

Leonel really didn't expect this. He thought that a Force Strengthening Deviation was as advertised. He didn't expect for there to be more. 

[ *Ping* Yes.]

Even in the midst of the battlefield, Leonel couldn't help but curse under his breath. Couldn't this damned dictionary be a bit more forgiving? Why did every answer need to be so short and to the point. It really never touched on anything he didn't directly ask it, Leonel couldn't help but wonder how many things he had missed out on because of this. 

'Forget it, now isn't the time to ask this. That damned spider is hot on my heels.'

Leonel knew he couldn't put too much effort into running away from this spider. Though he felt he could escape on his own, he was meant to be acting as a vanguard currently. If he strayed too far, instead of opening up a path, he would be allowing the other youths to get swallowed up. 

The youths who had come to this Hunt still number about 80 or so. With such a number, even though they were still vastly outnumbered, it was definitely better than going in alone. Leonel needed them as much as he didn't have the heart to leave them here to die. 

So, he could only hope that the combination of his Light Elemental Force and his energy shield was enough to hold out. 

Leonel's spear flickered forward, leaving after images in the air as he pierced another spider through. Compared to the massive three meter long spider to his back, the ones before him were barely half a meter long. But, were still far larger than what one would expect. 

The gross creatures sent a chill up even Leonel's spine, but he still pushed them down his spear like a kabob before turning back and whipping them toward the quickly approaching spider. 

CHIIIIIIIIIIIICHIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!

The spider leader's leg lashed out, slicing the soaring corpses in half with a single strike and causing a rain of green guts to fall from the sky. 

In that moment, its vision was obscured, allowing Leonel to rapidly close the distance.

Leonel ducked down and slid across the grey gravel, trying to get beneath the spider's body to attack its weak point. But, just as he was going to succeed, the spider leader seemed to realize that something was off. 

Its mouth opened, its mandible-like protrusions snapping as a violet fog fell from its mouth. 

Leonel quickly held his breath, explosively retreating. 

'Damned dictionary. It said venomous touch, it never said anything about venomous fog.'

At that moment, a white strand of silk shot out like a bullet. No, it wasn't completely white. Beneath the sunlight, it reflected a slight hint of fluorescent purple. It was so subtle that even with his senses, Leonel almost didn't catch it. 

Leonel immediately recognized that this was the spider's true ability, he had wrongly accused the dictionary this time. Venomous Touch was described as a venom infused into every fiber of the spider's being… that would include its breath!

'Damn…'

Leonel rolled out of the way in a sorry state, just barely managing to dodge the bullet of silk. But, the insect beast behind him's cry of pain made it obvious that it wasn't so lucky. 

Leonel turned back to find it quickly turning purple, then black, then erupting into a cluster of dark fog and ash. If he didn't know better, he would think that it had been burned in a furnace…

It was now that Leonel suddenly realized that maybe the other five legions of beasts hadn't made a mistake just sending the spider king here.