Chapter 31: Never a Peaceful Day

A situation where criminals are roaming Moss Flower Cave.

This is on a different level from the western barbarian Kardun trying to seize a stronghold or the avengers attacking pioneers.

As long as you don’t mess with the strongholds Kardun has occupied, you don’t necessarily have to clash with him.

And only some of the avengers are die-hards.

Most of those die-hards were arrested by the regular army after killing innocent people.

What they wanted to avenge was the still-unidentified killer, not indiscriminate killing.

However, criminals are a different story.

Those who committed heinous crimes to the point where they had to flee to the 2nd World.

It’s also uncertain whether it’s one person or multiple.

If a criminal group approaches pretending to be pioneers, nothing could be more troublesome.

And to top it off, even the usually docile avengers could go wild.

They might attack people indiscriminately, considering the possibility that the No-Name Killer is included in the criminal group.

The worst brings out the worst.

The worst, chained together, turned Moss Flower Cave into a lawless zone where no one could be trusted.

“This isn’t good.”

Even the usually calm Kallen had beads of sweat on his forehead.

That’s how bad the situation was.

“Let’s go back.”

So, we have to make a decision here.

Although the entrances to Moss Flower Cave are all different, the exits appear in the same place.

If the criminal group finds out that it’s connected to the 1st World, they will definitely try to occupy the exit.

We need to get out before that happens, or at least survey the situation.

“Pingle, can you guide us along the shortest route?”

Kallen agreed without hesitation.

There wasn’t even time to hesitate now.

“It’s quite far. To get there quickly, we have to go through a habitat of phantasms in the middle.”

“Let’s move as much as possible for now.”

“Aish, this has become a headache.”

As he said, it became a headache.

There was a risk, but who knew this would happen as soon as we entered the 2nd World.

I knew my life was disgustingly unlucky, but I can’t help but sigh.

While they were talking, I quietly approached the corpse.

Then, I secretly took one of the fingers that had fallen off.

Just in case I could revive it and it could become a clue.

It wasn’t bad to have some insurance.

“Let’s go! Let’s think while we run!”

As Pingle started running, we hurried to follow him.

“What’s the situation?”

Then, Barbieyen, who had been watching the situation next to me, asked a question.

She had a look on her face that she didn’t understand what was going on.

“There are criminals roaming Moss Flower Cave. And there’s a high probability they’ll try to occupy the exit.”

“Huh? How can criminals occupy the exit?”

It was a reasonable question of how criminals could occupy the exit.

“Barbieyen, Black Dawn is also a criminal.”

“I know that, but the criminals who fled to the 2nd World are the ones who thought they would be caught in the 1st World, right?”

Substandard criminals.

That’s what Barbieyen was saying.

“It would be fortunate if that were the case.”

However, the dwarf Bandal had a completely different impression.

He swung his short legs with a thick axe on his shoulder.

“They’re the ones who survived in the 2nd World. Maybe they’re the ones who were exiled to the 2nd World because they couldn’t be handled.”

In the past, during the Great War.

There were several monsters that were not easy to execute at that time.

An operation to drive those guys into the 2nd World and wait for the entrance to change.

There were rumors that such an operation was carried out.

The criminals Bandal was talking about were those guys.

Of course, the possibility that such guys are still left is extremely low.

But the fact that there is a possibility is the problem.

“More than anything, pioneers are a rough job, but it’s not a job where you fight people. We are a job that hunts phantasms.”

Pioneers try to avoid killing as much as possible, even if disputes arise.

Because if they do that, they will be kicked out of the Pioneer Association.

However, criminals are the opposite.

They are experts at dealing with people more than anyone else.

They will not hesitate to use despicable tricks and know what people’s weaknesses are.

“And the pioneer bastards are basically individualistic, so they have no intention of cooperating.

If they think fighting is more of a loss, they won’t bother fighting criminals.”

The criminals’ goal is already set.

They will either be pardoned for their crimes and return to the 1st World, or receive a reward equivalent to that.

Pioneers are just hostages.

Hostages that don’t need to be killed.

Pioneers are good at calculating in their heads.

The criminals know that fact well.

“They’ll either wait for the regular army to come, or just wait for their Pioneer Association to pay their ransom.”

“……Wh-what if the Pioneer Association doesn’t pay?”

Then, Horizon, who was following behind, asked carefully.

What happens if the Pioneer Association doesn’t bother paying the pioneers’ ransom?

“War.”

Pioneers and criminals.

A war will break out between them.

“More than anything, the moment the regular army grasps the situation and enters the 2nd World, the war is already confirmed.”

Kallen is right.

War between the regular army and the criminals is already confirmed anyway.

So, the best option was to get out before getting caught up in it.

“Everyone, stop.”

Pingle, who was walking ahead, stopped everyone.

As everyone stopped, holding their breath, pioneers passing by at the crossroads could be seen.

Their faces were all gloomy.

They drooped their shoulders and moved their steps, holding only their weapons in their hands.

Whoosh-

At that moment, one of them looked this way.

Just as Pingle recognized, they also recognized us.

Their bloodshot eyes stared at us for a moment.

A tense atmosphere came and went.

While Kallen secretly placed his hand on the scabbard.

“Let’s go. That bitch wouldn’t be moving around with that many people.”

Fortunately, it passed.

They didn’t give us any more attention and moved away with slow steps.

As the suffocating atmosphere that had been silent for a moment was broken, everyone wiped the sweat from their faces.

“……Those are the avengers.”

Kallen quietly conveyed the message.

Avengers.

Their families or colleagues were murdered by a killer, and they were all out of their minds.

With those kinds of things walking around, it wasn’t for nothing that people were told to be careful.

From the looks of it, they didn’t seem to have noticed that there were criminals in the cave yet.

Thank God.

“Pingle, please guide us again.”

“Hoo, it’s all walking on thin ice. Alright.”

As Pingle started guiding again, there were fewer words between us.

It was because we were more nervous because of the avengers from before.

“We’ll be at the spider bastards’ nest soon!”

Just then, everyone’s faces brightened a little at Pingle’s shout.

Everyone knew that the exit was right after passing the spider cave.

Still, we have to move forward without colliding with the spider phantasms as much as possible.

That was the most important thing to be careful about.

“Wa, wait a minute.”

At that moment, Horizon suddenly grabbed my arm and stopped me.

My body floated forward due to the sudden action, and I barely landed.

I knew that Aran-seol said she was good at fighting, but Horizon was stronger than I thought.

“Horizon?”

If she stopped me in this situation, it must mean something was up.

Sure enough, Horizon’s face was stiff.

“What are you doing? We need to hurry!”

Then, Pingle, who was walking ahead, shouted while looking back.

It was a reaction to what was taking so long when we had a long way to go.

“It’s, it’s better not to go this way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah, it’s, it’s hard to explain, but that’s, well.”

Horizon looked around, rambling.

She seemed to have sensed something.

“Pingle, it seems like Horizon is bothered by something. How about another way?”

“What?”

Pingle frowned.

Pingle was very sensitive after meeting the avengers.

But fortunately, Kallen stepped in appropriately.

“Pingle, try exploring first.”

“Aish, the spider bastards are good at sensing things, so it’ll be a headache if we dawdle!”

Pingle stomped his feet, but faithfully followed Kallen’s words.

He did various things such as knocking on the wall and groping the floor, and soon raised his head.

Then, he took out a dagger from his chest and started cutting the moss.

“Shit, fuck.”

A curse came out of Pingle’s mouth.

It meant that something ominous had happened.

“Pingle.”

At Kallen’s call, Pingle held a handful of moss.

“The reason why spider phantasms grow naturally in Moss Flower Cave is because one of their staple foods is moss.”

The moss held in Pingle’s hand was very crumbly.

“So, the moss that the spiders have eaten becomes crumbly like this. But all the moss around here is crumbly. It’s too much, even if it’s their staple food.”

Oh, shit.

My face froze as I had also learned about Moss Flower Cave from Bulldog Ajusshi.

The others still didn’t know what the situation was.

“Just the conclusion.”

“Damn it, the eggs have hatched. It means that the spider queen, Arachne, laid her eggs a while ago!

But the problem is that the spawning season isn’t supposed to be at this time!”

Pingle threw the moss in his hand to the ground.

“It’s the criminals’ doing, it’s those bastards. I don’t know what those bastards did, but Arachne started her spawning season earlier than before.”

“……Then Arachne, who has finished her spawning season, must be very hungry.”

“The Saint Magic-sa-nim knows.”

Pingle made a hollow expression with a bloodless face.

“Arachne originally only entrusts hunting to her offspring, but only when she finishes her spawning season does she go hunting herself.”

Pingle finally leaned against the wall and collapsed.

“She’ll eat everything in the cave, leaving nothing behind.”

Weekly phantasm, Arachne’s meal time.

It was the worst disaster to come to Moss Flower Cave.

* * *

The grade of phantasms is divided into seven colors of the rainbow.

In addition, there are white and black grades.

Unmeasured white grade.

Black grade that has been judged impossible to hunt.

Therefore, it is a separate grade from the previous grades.

There are also eight grades of pioneers.

Iron (Self-sufficient grade) – Copper (Ultramarine grade) – Silver (Azure grade) – Gold (Green grade) – Platinum (Yellow grade) – Mithril (Scarlet grade) – Orichalcum (Crimson grade) – Adamantite (Black grade).

The eight grades are divided according to the level at which phantasms can be hunted.

It was safe to say that the Adamantite grade practically did not exist.

And now, Arachne of the Scarlet grade is roaming Moss Flower Cave.

The grade required to catch Arachne is Mithril grade.

Of course, as the grade of pioneers goes up, the number constantly decreases.

Even Platinum grade pioneers are rare.

Mithril grade means those who have made a big name for themselves in the country.

Arachne is what those people can barely hunt.

From the perspective of current pioneers, it was nothing short of a terrifying existence.

“……The phantasm that Master hunted for the last time when he was young must have been Scarlet grade.”

Barbieyen muttered to herself as if she was reminded of the Lord of the Crimson Flames.

The money-crazed Lord of the Crimson Flames seemed to have also done pioneer work if she was paid.

So, it was a famous anecdote that she was at least a Mithril grade pioneer.

I saw the Fire Whore (Lord of the Crimson Flames) with my own two eyes.

A monster who didn’t even blink an eye while shooting out high-heat rays without a care.

Considering that even that was not her full power, she was an existence that could not be dared to be opposed.

A Scarlet grade phantasm that is worth hiring such a Lord of the Crimson Flames.

As much as that value, its strength could be easily known.

“Going towards the spider cave like this is suicide. Because there will be swarms of offspring.”

Now I know why Horizon stopped me at Pingle’s words.

She can see through the wall through shadows.

As such, she must have seen something very crowded.

“Then that means we have to go back.”

Pingle covered his face as if he was going to tear it off.

“I can’t guarantee that we can move forward without running into Arachne.”

Moreover, it will take a lot of time as we have to go back.

We all fell silent.

Not only the dwarf Bandal, but also the human woman Miren had a dark face.

In Kallen’s case, he was racking his brain to overcome the situation.

I slowly raised my head and looked at Horizon and Barbieyen alternately.

In addition, I also took in the crumbly, dry moss.

“……If it is certain that Arachne is staying in one place, can’t we somehow get out?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to me.

A difficulty that has come upon us.

We can only live if we overcome it somehow.

Something came to my mind.