Chapter 89 - Exploited

Upon entering the Dungeon, Aldrin found out that the interior was almost the same as the first dungeon he conquered. Furthermore, the objective and reward were the same.

10,000 IDLE Points and a Grade 2 Weapon.

There's still no indication what kind of weapon he would get but if it's the same grade as Winterthorn then he'd welcome it for his or his Dimensional Clones' use.

Seeing how the difficulty dropped from Impossible to Very Hard, Aldrin's confidence in completing the Dungeon easily rose.

The only challenge he could think of was the Survival after locating the Broodmother that should be residing in the depths.

One hour into the dungeon, the Guardian Ant remained invincible against the enhanced Black Spiders spawned in the Dungeon. Even if the Black Spiders used their spider silks, they still dropped like flies against it.

Aldrin was extremely satisfied with it. The IDLE points he spent for it were worth it.

Even the traps that could hinder Aldrin were either smashed or dismantled.

By the time the Guardian Ant emptied the passages, Aldrin already amassed 2000 points, not counting the points he acquired from the insects they killed on the way.

In a sense, the capital he invested for the Guardian Ant has finally returned. He began to rake in pure income in the current run.

[Level 21 Spider Sentinel]

[Level ? Spider Sentinel Egg]

[Level ? Spider Sentinel Egg]

Upon reaching the first area's boss. A huge black spider awaited him. It's huge enough to stand toe to toe against the Guardian Ant.

What's unique to it was the skull-like pattern on its head and abdomen. 

Unlike the Royal Ants, the Black Spiders weren't using any weapons. They all relied on their versatile spider silk that seemed to have different uses.

Some could produce silks that could harden instantly before softening a few seconds later. The spiders he encountered with that kind of silk were equivalent to Soldier Ants. Most of them shoot it as projectiles while some could even use it as blades.

There were also spiders that could produce sticky spider silks. Although it could easily be cut, it's somewhat acidic that once an enemy gets wrapped in it, it'd feel like he's being cooked. Using that opportunity, the spider would deliver a final blow by biting off its prey's head

Although they're trickier than the Royal Ants, Aldrin found out that they're fragile creatures. That's the reason why the Guardian Ant dominated them with ease.

However, with the size of the Sentinel in front of them, the Guardian Ant might've met its match.

"That's normal. They're both Area Boss in their respective dungeons. What I don't understand is those eggs. If there's a Broodmother, why does this Sentinel have eggs surrounding it? And it's even named after it."

The same as before, Aldrin stopped outside the supposed 'Detection Range' as he analyzed his upcoming opponent.

He still hadn't swung his Winterthorn yet so he's slightly excited to use it against the hulking mass of terror among those with arachnophobia

To test it, he once again produced two Shadow Clones and sent them inside. Furthermore, Aldrin and his three Dimensional Clones switched their weapons to a bow.

Back during the first Dungeon, Hitter managed to hit those Giant Head Ants even when it was outside their range.

However, Aldrin couldn't be sure that it was effective considering he took the aggro and threw in the Essence Grenade right after.

"If it can be damaged by long-ranged attacks outside of its Detection Range then I won't need to risk the Guardian Ant from getting damaged or risk ourselves from damaging our cheap Battlesuits," Aldrin smirked as he began pulling the bow alongside the three clones

Exploiting lousy game mechanics was something he had already done before. It's a piece of common knowledge among players. That way, the developers would be forced to fix their games.

It will never be the players' fault, in his opinion. In fact, he even looked at themselves as some kind of 'Warriors of the Truth' for exposing those.

And this time, with the same mindset, Aldrin would show the IDLE Database that if it copied those games, it should also make sure that there are no game-breaking scenarios.

As the two Shadow Clones entered the Spider Sentinel's detection range, the eight eggs behind the Spider Sentinel broke open, sticky clear liquid exploded along with its shell.

From inside those eggs, spider spawns the size of a cat crawled out and instantly charged towards the Shadow Clones aiming for the still-unmoving Spider Sentinel.

Although they're small, the spider spawns' legs were producing some kind of faint whistling sound as they quickly moved, traversing the distance quite easily.

Even before the Shadow Clones reached halfway inside the supposed 'Combat Area', the little spawns swarmed the two Shadow Clones.

Naturally, the two could easily cut the spawns down but with the number of produced spawns per egg, it became inevitable for the two Shadow Clones to be overrun.

[Level 3 Spider Sentinel Spawn]

Looking at the information about those little spawns, Aldrin somehow found it unbelievable. With that kind of level, it's actually stronger than the huge Caterpillars existing in the Lower Dimension.

With the Shadow Clones distracted by the small spawns who kept on biting them on every part they could jump on, Aldrin watched as the Spider Sentinel made its move.

It raised its gigantic body before shooting silk webs from its spinneret. The silk it produced was somehow red in color, something he's seeing for the first time.

Aldrin tried to command the two Shadow Clones to dodge, however, with the number of spider spawns surrounding them, they became one step too late from dodging.

Before Aldrin's eyes, his clones that even tried to use Concept got around the reddish silk along with the spider spawns sticking to their bodies.

A few seconds later, Aldrin saw how the reddish silk cast a yellow hue and smoke began to be produced from the wrapped-up Shadow Clones.

Soon afterward, flames rose from the middle. The Shadow Clones along with the spider spawns were burnt to a crisp by the Spider Sentinel.

As soon as the fire started, the gigantic spider cut the silk from its spinneret.

In less than 30 seconds, the reddish silk burnt completely and Aldrin's shadow clone disappeared along with it.

"… Alright. That's an interesting silk. My Shadow Clones were kind of incompetent, eh? To be wrapped up by it easily. If one of them managed to dodge, it's probably possible to free the other one before the Spider Sentinel set it aflame. But still, the Sentinel is using its spawns as a sacrifice, huh?"

Aldrin completely analyzed that short bout as he watched the Spider Sentinel begin sweeping away the broken eggs before producing more as a replacement.

The remaining spider spawns that weren't caught by the burning silk dried up one by one until they also disappeared like ashes in the wind.

"They're short-lived. No wonder I haven't encountered that type of spider outside. Then it's the unique ability of this Spider. Spawns and Burning Silk. The Guardian Ant also possessed some abilities. The Fatal Shriek and the Furious Stomp which could create holes in the ground despite its legs was that of an insect."

"Well, now that I analyzed it, it's time to see if there's a glitch in this dungeon system created by the IDLE Database."

The Shadow Clones' demise was just a small part of the show.

This time, Aldrin would try to clear the area without receiving any damage.

As he commanded the three Dimensional Clones to step before the 'Detection Range', Aldrin soon followed.

With their bows raised, it all aimed at the Spider Sentinel that had returned to its spot after laying more of its eggs.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

With their huge target not moving from its spot even though they're just in front of it, the whistling Energy Arrows shot from their bow accurately hit the Spider Sentinel's head and carapace.

"Did it work?" Aldrin wondered. By the time the arrow made of energy disappeared, he found out that the Spider Sentinel remained unmoving, its head and a part of its carapace oozing out its insect juices. "Of course, it is!"

Aldrin almost shouted from that discovery.

Soon after that, a barrage of arrows rained down the Spider Sentinel. Although it's moving slightly whenever it would be hit by an arrow, there were no other subsequent actions after that.

From Aldrin's analysis, he likened it to someone who got hit by a rock. That someone would look around to search for the culprit only to find out that no one was around him who could have thrown it. In the end, that someone dropped the notion of looking for the culprit before returning to what he set out to do.

As arrows upon arrows hit the Spider Sentinel, its wounds continued to accumulate but even then, it remained unmoving. Its life was dedicated to standing guard in that position. It was programmed to become this Dungeon's first Area Boss

And as a living being, there's a limit to how many attacks it could take. Even if the arrows couldn't fully penetrate its carapace, with its head becoming filled with holes, it's only a matter of time before it drops dead.

A few moments later, Aldrin stopped flicking the bowstring as a wide grin blossomed from his lips. In front of his eyes, notifications piled up.

[You defeated the Spider Sentinel]

[IDLE Points +200]

[You received Spider Sentinel Core]

[Spider Sentinel Core has been sent to Idle Storage]

[Spider Sentinel Corpse has been sent to Idle Storage]

[The next are has opened]