Chapter 52

Chapter 52

[Translator – Proks]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 52: Human-faced Spider (3)

Seo Yerim looked at Kim Minwoo.

He was always a man who went beyond her imagination.

She thought he would offer some comfort, but he straight away told her to pick up a bow.

She was taken aback.

“Are you serious?”

“You’ve never held a bow, have you?”

His eyes were full of such certainty that her words got stuck in her throat.

She was born in the Sword Sect and awakened with a sword in her hand.

It was true that she had never held a bow as Kim Minwoo said.

There was no need for her to do so in the first place.

“That doesn’t mean I have talent in that area, does it?”

“Seo Yerim, don’t you want to be stronger? Than you have to try everything.”

Seo Yerim fell silent.

Of course, what he said wasn’t wrong.

If she tried, she might be able to find a new talent in a different area, as Kim Minwoo said.

It didn’t matter if she didn’t find it.

She could just continue her sword training as she had been doing.

But what if, just by chance, she found another talent?

‘What will become of my life?....’

A life she had been training for all her life.

That would mean that her whole life was pointless.

That’s why she didn’t want to try to change.

If she couldn’t find talent in the other area, that was a problem in itself.

But finding it was a problem too.

“I know it’s burdensome. But Cedric’s words are not a lie. You might be able to raise your level and learn a few more skills, but that’s as far as you can go.”

Kim Minwoo said nonchalantly.

That’s what they called a “canned S-rank.”

High level but no substance.

‘Of course, Seo Yerim wasn’t at the level of a can, but...’.

He had to make her pick up a bow.

He had to make her realize it now, while her mind was still clear.

“Now, think about what you really want. Is it to end with a sword, or is it the recognition of the Sword Saint? Either way, neither of those are goals you can achieve with a sword.”

Seo Yerim lowered her head.

If an intermediate awakened had said something like that, she would have immediately refuted it.

But Kim Minwoo was different.

He was a swordsman who even her grandfather asked for direct guidance.

When he spoke with such conviction, she couldn’t refute him at all.

She stared intently at her sword.

Was it her goal to end with a sword?

‘....Maybe not.’

It was her goal to gain her grandfather’s approval.

That was her goal.

The sword was merely a means to that end, so to speak.

Her grandfather used a sword.

Her profession was a swordsman.

She had been training with this all her life.

That’s why it was a weapon she couldn’t let go of.

“Let’s leave it at that for now. We should head out to attack the Human-faced Spider soon.”

He didn’t expect her to pick up a bow overnight.

Just reminding her that there were other options besides a sword was meaningful enough for this conversation.

‘This is enough for now.’

She needed time to think about it.

He looked at Seo Yerim.

“Can we go?”

“....I guess I’m mentally ready for this much? Let’s go.”

Even so, she didn’t look like a professional awakened person who had lost her mind in the gate.

She looked at the towering mountain in front of her.

A mountain full of fog.

It was time to head towards that place.

* * *

Seo Yerim drew her sword and looked at him.

“Do you have any plans?”

“I’ve roughly planned it out.”

“I guess you know a lot about the Human-faced Spider? All I know is that it looks like a human face.”

A monster with a human face.

It was characterized as a very cunning and intelligent hunter.

‘The average level range is roughly between 351 and 400.’

It was an A-rank monster that usually appeared as an intermediate boss, and he had killed it a few times.

Of course, if he answered like that, it would be a bit strange.

“I read a lot of strategy guides. It was mentioned there.”

“Strategy guides? You read books too?”

“....Yes. I read books too.”

This person can read books.

And she’s suspicious of that.

It’s not cool to lie.

“Then let’s go in.”

“It’s dinnertime now, isn’t it?”

“The Human-faced Spider is active at night. If you go in the morning, you won’t be able to catch it. It won’t come out because it’s hiding.”

The Human-faced Spider usually makes a large mountain its stronghold.

The spiderwebs it spews from its tail spread out in all directions, sticking to every corner of the mountain.

This is how its hunting ground is completed.

‘If you go in without knowing, you’ll be a corpse.’

Thin, transparent spiderwebs.

It is very difficult to identify with the naked eye.

Is that all?

The stickiness is enough to cut through an attached body, and even poison flows between the spiderwebs.

If you touch it, you’re dead.

Before climbing the poison-filled mountain.

The first thing he did was take an antidote.

He shared a top-rank antidote with Seo Yerim, one bottle each.

This should be enough to not have any problems with the airborne poison for thirty minutes.

“The plan is simple. I’ll make the Human-faced Spider come here.”

“How?”

“Like this.”

He summoned a group of skeletons.

The armed skeletons began to roam the mountain without hesitation.

Immediately after.

Clang!

[Skeleton 356 was caught in a sticky spiderweb!]

[Deadly poison is spreading!]

[Skeleton 543......]

Swoosh!

A massive amount of poison poured towards Seo Yerim.

[Seo Yerim uses Moon steps (A)!]

Dodging backwards.

[Seo Yerim uses Sword Dance (A)!]

‘She’s dodging well.’

She’s also drawing aggro well.

Thanks to that, he was able to work comfortably.

He kept hitting the same spot.

[You have attacked the same spot! Damage increased by 11%.......]

[You have attacked the same spot! Damage increased by 22%.......]

[Same.......]

Same.

It meant attacking the exact same spot without a single inch of error.

This level of play is something he can do even while picking his nose.

Especially in this situation where the aggro is focused on the other side.

The damage started to skyrocket due to the multiplication.

The outer shell, which was gradually turning blue, finally shattered.

A large hole was created.

It was time to deliver the final blow.

Seo Yerim and Kim Minwoo exchanged glances.

[Title: ‘Single-minded Striker’ acquired!]

The Human-faced Spider, which had been screaming, turned its gaze towards them.

He threw the skeletons he had been holding in front of the creature’s gaping mouth and immediately jumped back.

“Cedric!”

[Cedric uses Mini Breath!]

Cedric, who had approached with his mouth wide open, shot his breath into the pierced outer shell.

Even though it had fire resistance, that only applied to the outer shell.

Its internal organs and blood had no resistance to the breath.

Sizzle!

The poisonous blood boiled in the breath, creating a massive cloud of smoke.

―......!

The Human-faced Spider jumped up in pain as its flesh was cooked.

However, it couldn’t shake off Cedric, who was shooting his breath into it.

This was because he had already grabbed hold of the broken outer shell and was practically shoving his face inside.

He would be recalled soon due to the intense poison, but it was still an advantage.

‘It’s worth it.’

He’ll be revived anyway.

And for free.

[Cedric is recalled.......]

[The effect of Death Lord is activated!]

His exhaustion was short-lived.

Cedric was revived with full mana once again.

He shot another breath.

―Kieeeyyyy!

The Human-faced Spider screamed in pain after being hit directly by two blasts of breath.

On top of that, it started to stumble on all fours.

Then, its tail rose up.

Spiderwebs shot out in all directions.

He retreated with Seo Yerim.

The slow-reacting skeletons were all recalled.

Then, the Human-faced Spider turned around and started running like crazy.

“Let’s chase him!”

He ran with Seo Yerim.

He tried to block its path by summoning skeletons in front of it, but they were no match for the Human-faced Spider’s breaking power.

Cedric breathed fire and Seo Yerim unleashed a flurry of sword strikes.

It took all of this, but it still charged forward relentlessly.

The chase continued.

Soon, they could see a cave in the distance.

The entrance was covered in spiderwebs, so it seemed like that was its lair.

‘It looks like it has about 10% of its health left.......’

It would eventually hide inside the cave.

He could feel it.

They couldn’t catch it like this.

It was time to take a gamble.

He rummaged through his inventory.

Then.

“Catch this!”

He threw her a quiver of arrows and a bow.

It was a level 51 magic item that the skeletons had made.

He had originally intended to use it to draw aggro, but he had to use it for something else now.

She took it in a daze and looked at him.

“What are you doing? Shoot!”

“I’ve never held a bow before!”

“Just shoot! Quick! It’s going to go inside if we don’t!”

She was about to say something, but she grabbed the bow.

Seo Yerim awkwardly took a stance, imitating what she had seen in the media.

She pulled the arrow back to the string.

The string stretched taut.

She narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath to concentrate.

At that moment.

Time slowed down to a crawl.

Her stance, her breathing, her weapon, her distribution of power – everything was a mess.

Yet, she felt a strange sense of certainty.

She knew that if she shot now, she would hit.

A terrifying amount of mana gathered around her arrow.

She could see the Human-faced Spider heading towards the cave.

[Brilliant Talent blooms!]

[Showtime!]

[Overwhelming talent creates a skill!]

[Skill: Precision Shot (A) is created!]

[Title: ‘Experienced in Nothingness’ acquired!]

[Title: ‘Late Bloomer’ acquired!]

Thwack!

The mana-infused arrow flew away.

The arrow, slicing through the air, pierced the Human-faced Spider’s head in one breath.

[Level up.]

[Title: ‘Divine Marksman’ acquired!]

The Human-faced Spider fell limply to the ground, dropping a skill book.

“.......”

Seo Yerim.

She stared blankly at the bow.

[Translator – Proks]

[Proofreader – Gun]