Chapter 11 · 8 min
Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Part 10
‘It must have smelled the blood.’
They had dealt with the raiders outside, filling the area with the stench of blood.
It was already starving, and with the smell of blood right under its nose, there was no way it could endure it.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
An unpleasant sound began coming from the ceiling.
The sound of multiple legs rapidly moving along the walls.
Yugeon stopped walking and looked up at the ceiling.
‘Hmm...? Why can I already sense the boss?’
Something was strange.
Normally, the queen did not appear immediately.
“Come down. I know you’re hiding.”
As though those words were a signal.
Swoooosh!
A white bundle of thread shot out of the darkness like a bullet.
Whoosh!
THOOOM!
Seeing the bundle of thread flying toward them, Mincheol raised his shield a step faster and protected Yugeon.
Bzzzzzz!
Then Indomitable Barrier unfolded.
An opaque blue shield began protecting the surroundings.
Hiss!
Tap.
Sizzle.
It was not merely spiderweb.
Highly acidic poison was contained inside the spiderweb wrapped into a ball.
The poison was so potent that the stone floor melted and began giving off smoke.
“Kyaaaaaak!”
At the same time, a gigantic shadow dropped from the ceiling with a thud.
BOOM!
Amid the rising dust, the ruler of the twentieth floor revealed itself.
【Level 35】Sedria
A monster whose upper body resembled a pale woman, while its lower body was that of a spider as large as a house.
Arachne Queen.
Its eight eyes were bloodshot red.
No sacrifice had been offered, and prey had appeared while it was starving.
Right now, it was practically in a berserk state with all reason gone.
“Ugh... It looks disgusting.”
Looking at the boss, Mincheol frowned.
He had already roughly imagined what it would look like.
But actually seeing it, it was even more grotesque than he had imagined.
“Human... A human.”
The queen drooled from the corner of her mouth as she let out a grotesque laugh.
It raised its front legs as though ready to charge at any moment.
An ordinary Awakened would have been crushed by this killing intent, their legs giving out until they collapsed to the ground.
But Yugeon instead raised the corners of his mouth.
‘Those damned raiders...’
After checking the queen’s level, Yugeon frowned.
Originally, the Arachne Queen’s level was at most 30.
But the boss before him was level 35.
Why was its level so high?
It was because the raiders had repeatedly provoked the queen in a half-baked manner.
‘They probably kept pretending they were going to feed it humans, then snatching them away before it could eat.’
They must have thought it would make feeding it a sacrifice later easier.
A simple-minded, stupid idea that because it was hungry, when they later offered a sacrifice, it would target only the sacrifice instead of them.
But the raiders’ actions had instead ended up provoking the queen.
“So it ate the General Spider it gave birth to.”
No wonder.
The queen had appeared immediately.
If anything, this worked out well.
He had already planned to drive the queen into a corner and make it eat the General Spider anyway.
“Mincheol.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“Defeat the boss without taking even a single hit, and without using any skills.”
Yugeon smiled as he gave Mincheol a difficult mission.
_____________
Slash!
Slash!
Behind him, Yugeon moved the Godslaying Sword and cut down the small spiders.
‘This place should be good for leveling.’
【Level 10】
That was his current level.
Since regressing, it had risen by exactly 9 so far.
Baroden, Drogas.
He had killed bosses like those, so why was his level still only 10?
‘Because the gap was too large.’
The level difference between him and the bosses he had killed was far too great.
Because of that, he was still only level 10.
Even so, this speed was already extremely fast.
It had not been long since his regression, yet he had already gained 9 levels.
‘Numbers aren’t absolute...’
But he could not completely ignore them either.
Whoosh.
Slash!
Slash-slash!
Yugeon recalled his memories while cutting down the swarming small spiders.
‘My martial arts disappeared from the skill list.’
But that did not mean they had vanished from his memories as well.
Whirl.
Slash!
Yugeon performed the Plum Blossom Sword Art.
In truth, without internal energy, he could not properly execute the footwork, and even the sword path wavered.
Still, it was enough to kill a spider.
Yugeon was someone who had reached the pinnacle with the sword.
He had even learned every martial art in the world.
Normally, learning martial arts with differing natures would cause qi deviation or drive one mad.
But with the help of the system, Yugeon had been able to learn every martial art.
‘At least for that, I was grateful to the system.’
Before fighting the god, Han Yugeon had learned every martial art.
And had even created his own unique martial art.
Whirrrrrl!
Boom!
When he switched from Plum Blossom Sword Art to the Supreme Ultimate Wisdom Sword, dozens of spiders burst apart all at once.
‘Hmm, things are definitely getting easier as my stats rise.’
He had now gone from the body of an ordinary person to roughly the level of a low-rank Awakened.
Ding-!
[Accumulated growth has been reflected in your attributes.]
Strength +1
Agility +2
Stamina +1
Senses +1
Technique +1
‘Oh!’
When every stat except his maxed Will, Internal Energy, and Feat increased, Yugeon smiled.
As expected.
Training apparently had to be difficult and painful.
Bang!
Boom!
THOOOM!
‘Mincheol seems to be getting more and more exhausted.’
While steadily cutting down the young spiders, Yugeon looked at Mincheol’s face.
His face was gradually turning pale.
That was only natural, because the poison was spreading more and more, making it difficult for him to breathe.
‘He’s diligently carrying out the mission I gave him without showing any sign that he dislikes it.’
Hunt the boss without skills.
Even though Mincheol was level 50.
Hunting the queen with only basic attacks and no skills was difficult.
No, to be precise, if it had been an ordinary queen, he could have hunted it easily.
But the current queen had devoured even the General Spider and was in a berserk state.
On top of that, its level had risen to 35.
‘Several unfavorable conditions are overlapping.’
But Yugeon actually liked these unfavorable conditions.
Cha Mincheol had to break through the wall of level 50.
‘He inevitably needs a battle that crosses the line between life and death.’
However, he could not be in a state consumed by rage.
If that happened, Cha Mincheol’s Heavenly Slaughter Star would awaken.
That was why Yugeon himself had stepped in when Mincheol had been captured by Guseongpa.
“Kyaaaaak!”
Whoooosh!
THOOM!
“Ghk!”
Mincheol gritted his teeth after knocking aside the queen’s front leg.
Even though he had deflected it perfectly, the impact traveled up through his hammer.
Durability like striking steel.
‘Brother is watching!’
Mincheol gripped his hammer tightly.
Until now, he had only ever received help from Brother.
Guseongpa, Drogas.
And even his mother’s rescue and treatment.
From their very first meeting until now, he had continuously received nothing but help.
‘This is a mission Brother trusted me with.’
So he had to accomplish it no matter what.
At the very least, he could not hold Brother back.
Clench!
Bzzzzzz.
‘Finally.’
When a faint light began flowing from the hammer Mincheol held.
Yugeon’s eyes gleamed.
That was not a skill.
‘A phenomenon that appears when one breaks through a wall.’
Bzzzzzz!
The faint light flowing from the hammer began spreading across Mincheol’s entire body.
“Kyaak?!”
“I can’t let myself be held back by someone like you if I’m going to be of any help to Brother!”
Wooooong!
The light flowing from Mincheol’s body began pushing away the poison spread through the air while strengthening his body.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
CRAAAAACK!
Smooth and light movements, as though he were wielding a dagger.
Mincheol’s hammer began destroying the queen’s hard carapace.
Then.
Thoom, thoom, thoom, thoom!
After breaking the joints of its legs, Mincheol immediately climbed onto the queen’s back.
“This is the end!!”
Whoooooosh!
KRAKAKAKAKAKAKANG!
And then came a mad barrage of blows.
As though chiseling away at rock with a hammer.
The hardest shell on its back shattered into pieces and flew in every direction.
“Kyaak! S-Spare...”
Once the queen’s back shell had been completely destroyed, the terrified queen trembled.
But Mincheol moved his hammer again with an indifferent expression.
“Hup!”
Whoooooosh!
CRAAAAACK!
A tremendous impact transmitted from its back.
BAM!
In the end, the impact that began at its back tore through the queen’s body and burst out the other side.
BOOOOM!
With its heart and all its other organs completely ruptured, the queen rolled back its eyes and collapsed.
“Haa... Haa...”
Once the queen died, Mincheol panted heavily.
He had not known killing a boss with only basic attacks and no skills could be this difficult.
Even though there had been a considerable difference in level.
“Mincheol.”
“?”
Whoosh.
Grab.
Mincheol caught something flying toward him.
“Good work.”
“Haha... Thank you, Brother.”
When Yugeon tossed him a bottle of water, Mincheol smiled in satisfaction and drank it.
And the level floating above Mincheol’s head.
【Level 52】
It had jumped by two levels at once.
‘As expected of someone with the talent to become the leader of Genocide.’
To become the leader of Genocide, which was filled with powerful Awakened.
One had to be extremely strong.
No, beyond merely strong, one had to be overwhelmingly powerful.
A genius among geniuses.
That was Cha Mincheol.
_____________
［The seed of Heavenly Slaughter Star has begun to grow.］
［It deviates from its predicted growth.］
［The Sanctuary discusses blooming.］
［The Outer Realm ignores it.］
［The Sanctuary discusses blooming.］
［The Outer Realm ignores it.］
［The Sanctuary grows angry at the Outer Realm’s attitude.］
____________
Rustle.
When the queen died, its enormous body began turning to powder and scattering.
And from within the pile of ashes.
A red gemstone about the size of a golf ball, shining brilliantly, dropped to the floor with a tap.
Grab.