Chapter 84: A Powerful Spider

The beast was a giant spider with milky eyes that glowed with an otherworldly light, making it seem even more menacing. Its body was covered in dark brown hair, and it had multiple long, spindly legs ending in sharp claws that looked capable of tearing steel.

"This is pretty normal," Jack commented as he approached the spider. He wasn't alone; other people, wielding all sorts of weapons, came to the front.

With a glance, Nox could tell all of them were Awakened.

'Master didn't tell me about this. Did she forget, or did she want me to find out myself?' Nox thought as he watched Jack lead the charge, his odachi scraping the ground.

"Eat this, you overgrown spider!" Jack roared, charging forward with his sword flashing with electricity. The spider raised a leg to block the attack, but Jack's sword sliced through it, severing the limb with a shower of sparks.

"Everyone spread out and attack from every side to confuse it!" Jack shouted, and for some odd reason, the older Awakened obeyed his order without question.

'Something is wrong…my attack connected too easily. That's troubling.' Jack's eyes flashed with worry as he gripped his odachi and charged in again, joining the Awakened who were now attacking from all sides.

'Not bad…he's not that shabby,' Nox thought, impressed as he watched the fight. 'It seems my help won't be needed.' He stepped back, joining the crowd.

Meanwhile, the giant spider screeched loudly when Jack severed another of its limbs. It became furious and did a wide sweep with its leg, knocking off most of the Awakened. Jack leaped up, dodging the spider's attack, and struck with his odachi again.

However, this time the spider scurried back in time, causing the odachi to slam into empty space, creating a horizontal slash.

'Dammit!' Jack cursed, pulling out his sword and attacking again. But the spider dodged, and one of its clawed hands shot forward, aiming for Jack's head. He parried with his sword at the last second but was pushed back, his legs digging into the ground.

Jack frowned, looking at the others. They were all attacking the spider, but it seemed to sense each attack in time, retaliating with devastating moves that sent dozens of Awakened flying.

'I knew something was wrong…usually, there are two types of beasts in this tunnel: ones with tough skin and weak skills, and ones with weak hides and powerful skills. Since this spider's skin is easy to penetrate, does that mean it has a powerful skill to compensate for its low defense?'

'Spider sense.' Nox, who could see the spider's skills, narrowed his eyes. 'This spider has heightened senses that allow it to detect any attack, even from the slightest vibration.'

He would have warned them, but that was a double-edged sword. It might help them with the beast, but it would surely raise a lot of questions afterward. 'The fight seems to be under control; they should be able to get rid of it without my help.' Nox decided to just watch.

The Awakened warriors clashed with the spider with determination, but the beast easily dodged their attacks and retaliated. Jack's odachi nearly bit into the spider's skin, but it was always faster, making Jack's frown deepen.

Thus far, the fight had been proceeding smoothly, even though the Awakened were failing to land a hit. The fact that they hadn't lost anyone yet made Jack even more worried.

Suddenly, one of the Awakened felt his hair stand on end. He stiffly raised his gaze to look at the spider's milky eyes and became paralyzed. He tried his best, but he couldn't move a muscle. A moment later, the spider opened its jaws and shot a web that wrapped around the stunned Awakened, then dragged him into its open mouth.

That death spelled doom!

The onlookers stared in horror. If not for the strict rule, they would have run back and exited the tunnel, but the people in charge of this place would never allow them to leave, fearing exposure of the location.

Jack's expression turned grim; his intuition was right…this beast had a powerful skill to make up for its defense.

Before his eyes, the same scene that happened with the first Awakened repeated itself.

"Help! Somebody help us!" a woman with kids screamed with tears in her eyes.

Even the boy who had attempted to steal from Nox was shaking in his boots.

"No matter what, don't look at its eyes!" Nox warned Jack. "I think it has some sort of paralyzing effect!" he added, hoping they would think it was a guess.

Jack, who had a grim expression, relayed the message to the others. While some obeyed, others were skeptical.

"How does he know about the spider's skills?" one of the Awakened commented. "He's just standing there, watching, and suddenly he's an expert on the spider's abilities?"

A few seconds later, one of the skeptical Awakened fell, and the faces of non-Awakened contorted in fear. Three Awakened had died in the span of ten minutes, and the others who were battling the beast were not faring well.

In fact, the only one to have successfully landed an attack on the giant spider was the scared boy wielding the lightning odachi, but even he had trouble fighting against the spider's multiple legs.

"Bastard!" Jack shouted, leaping up and slamming his sword down on the spider's leg, hoping to sever it. However, before the attack reached its target, the spider swiftly moved its leg out of the way, avoiding Jack's attack by mere inches.

'Shit!' The force of Jack's swing sent him stumbling forward, off balance, and the spider seized the opportunity, striking Jack with a swift swipe of its pedipalp. Jack barely dodged, but the spider's attack sent him flying like a rag doll through the air.

Immediately after he was slammed out of the way, another person was killed.

***

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