Chapter 54
Do-hyeon froze at the sudden message.
For a moment, he couldn’t grasp the situation.
‘Slayer? Location?’
After a brief pause, he quickly pieced things together.
It was the second ability of the Slayer trait.
He recalled the effect that allowed him to pinpoint the location of monsters classified under the Slayer title type.
It had been so long since it had last activated that he had forgotten about it.
It wasn’t the method he had hoped for, like the Eye of Truth, but it still worked to reveal a location.
‘But why?’
The message’s sudden appearance was puzzling.
The Slayer title only applied to certain types of monsters, and he didn’t possess a Slayer title related to spiders.
There was only one possible explanation that came to mind.
‘Could it be...?’
The only Slayer-related title Do-hyeon owned was the legendary title, “The First Slayer.”
‘Does this apply to all bosses, not just the ones devoured by me?’
When he discovered hidden information during the Jihad, he had assumed the effect only applied because he had consumed the goblin.
That interpretation seemed more balanced, after all.
...Yes, that made sense.
‘What kind of unbalanced game is this? Even for a legendary title, this is ridiculous.’
If he had acquired more legendary titles, he might have understood sooner.
In DemRock, legendary titles were incredibly rare, so he hadn’t expected such overwhelming performance.
‘Or is it? Considering you need the Slayer trait for it to work properly...’
It was like a synergy effect.
When viewed individually, the Slayer trait and the First Slayer title were understandable.
But when combined, they became an absurdly overpowered ability.
It could be justified as conditionally overpowered in terms of balance...
‘Hmm, maybe. But it’s still broken.’
Even with the reasoning, a cheat was still a cheat.
No matter how much one tried to sugarcoat it, it was a cheat—a cheat that was remarkably beneficial in this situation.
[Do you wish to confirm the location of the field boss, “Spider Queen Elisa”?]
‘Yes.’
As soon as he agreed, the minimap at the bottom of the screen changed.
Previously, the small square map only displayed Do-hyeon’s position as a blue dot.
Now, a large crimson dot was added.
‘Huh?’
However, its location was strange.
‘Why is it overlapping with mine?’
The blue dot representing Do-hyeon’s position.
The crimson dot was overlapping with it.
And then he saw it.
[The Eye of Truth activates.]
A twitch.
Beneath the ground, where there had been nothing moments ago, a massive red silhouette began to stir.
It was unmistakably in the shape of a spider.
The massive red form slowly moved to the left.
‘No way.’
Driven by instinct, Do-hyeon activated a skill.
‘Backstab.’
[You have used Backstab.]
The moment the skill activated, Do-hyeon’s figure disappeared.
“Huh? What the?”
“What’s wrong?”
A Warrior player standing nearby flinched, prompting a Mage player next to him to tilt his head in confusion.
The Warrior glanced around cautiously before speaking.
“Well... There was a guy standing next to me just now, but he suddenly disappeared.”
“Probably gave up and logged out. If he was standing alone here during a field boss hunt, he must’ve failed to find a party.”
“Maybe... Oh, now that I think about it, there was a kid next to him earlier.”
“A kid? This game is rated 18+. It was probably just a short woman. Anyway, focus. There are only 30 seconds left.”
“Y-yeah, got it.”
In the highly competitive Raven field boss hunt, dropouts weren’t uncommon.
Shrugging off their curiosity, the players refocused on the spiderweb.
Only 10 seconds remained.
Perhaps it was the sight of her shouting “Elisa” over and over like someone under the influence that heightened the eerie feeling.
[HP: 40,000 / 40,000]
‘Forty thousand, huh... Enough to test things out.’
Her HP was a good enough amount to gauge the performance of his new skills and items.
Grinning, Do-hyeon swung the Bastard’s Training Sword in the air.
The sharp slicing sound as it cut through the air was satisfying.
‘This feels more familiar.’
Although Do-hyeon could wield any weapon, he had always been most comfortable with quick swords of this size.
– Elisa!!
The Spider Queen Elisa made the first move.
Simultaneously, she slammed down her two front legs from her eight pairs, their speed and power immense.
Crash!
Do-hyeon sidestepped, and the legs pierced the ground like drills.
Using the embedded legs as support, Elisa lunged her massive body forward.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Sharp, spear-like legs continuously stabbed at Do-hyeon, but he remained unperturbed.
He was calm enough to analyze her status window.
[Spider Queen Elisa]
– Title: Elite Field Boss
– Type: Spider
– Traits: Steel Web, Deadly Venom, Spider Sense
– Description: Ruler of the western forest, Spider Queen Elisa.
A cunning predator, she drives her prey to her desired location and eliminates them instantly.
Her potent venom, webs stronger than steel, and sharp spider senses make her difficult to capture alone.
‘So, this is her sharp spider sense.’
Indeed, her reflexes were exceptional.
Unlike other bosses, Elisa was dodging the strikes Do-hyeon occasionally aimed at her front legs.
Her agility seemed high, but it wasn’t just about speed.
She was predicting the attack paths and evading them.
With reflexes like this, most melee damage dealers would struggle to land proper hits in a one-on-one fight.
Still, at best, it meant she was slightly better at dodging than other bosses.
Whoosh—Crunch!
– Elisa, Elisa, Elisa!
However, she hadn’t landed a single hit on Do-hyeon.
If he advanced, she bared her venomous fangs, and if he retreated, she stomped with her spear-like legs.
Yet, he didn’t allow a single clean hit.
As the two exchanged attacks without landing any, Do-hyeon made up his mind.
‘This should do.’
Glancing around briefly, he nodded.
Then, he activated a skill.
[The mark disappears.]
– ...Elisa?
The sudden disappearance of Do-hyeon from her view made Elisa freeze.
Her senses reacted quickly, detecting an attack coming from behind and attempting to evade.
Thud.
But she was blocked by the low ceiling before she could fall.
Leaping into the air, Elisa bounced off the ceiling and tumbled to the ground, looking utterly disoriented.
Seeing her state, Do-hyeon smirked.
‘Just as expected.’
Why hadn’t he engaged her in full combat earlier?
To exploit the terrain.
Unlike the high ceilings of her lair, this tunnel was narrow and low.
Moreover, the size of the passage varied.
The spot where they first encountered each other had seemed high enough, so he had deliberately lured her here to limit her movements.
In other words, Elisa was now a rat in a trap.
– Elisa, Elisa, Elisa!
Realizing her predicament, Elisa roared in frustration but soon fell silent.
Behind Do-hyeon, a golden dragon shape materialized.
[You have used Rising Dragon Kick (Seung-Ryong-Gak).]
[The set option applies an additional 6% damage.]
The dragon coiled around his leg, and in a flash, his spinning back kick sent Elisa’s massive body flying.
It was the devastating power of the Rising Dragon Kick, supported by tremendous strength.
Smack—Boom!
Elisa’s body flipped midair and crashed into the wall, stirring up a cloud of dust.