episode_0028

It was said that people cannot fully demonstrate their abilities when they are too tense.

Dodging the spider silk spewing out from the bushes with all sorts of acrobatic moves was no exception.

At first, she was frantically struggling with her ankles tangled in the spider silk, but now she skillfully cut through the silk as if to say, “When did that ever happen?”

Feeling like my help was no longer needed, I turned my gaze towards the bushes where the spider silk was emanating from.

No matter how well you cut through the silk, if you don’t deal with the entity that’s spewing it out, it won’t end.

Swish! Swish!

Cutting through the spewing spider silk, I dashed towards the bushes.

And with my sword, I cut through the bushes entirely, revealing the identity of the creature lazily shooting spider silk from within.

“Ugh….”

I involuntarily paused at the sight of a more shocking visual than I had anticipated.

The Arachne hiding in the bushes was unbelievably huge, to the point where it was hard to believe it was a spider.

Well, it wasn’t just a spider to begin with; it was a monster.

A plump and large body with orange and black stripes mixed together.

Multiple eyes resembling a grotesque version of salmon roe.

Eight hairy, creepy legs.

The plump belly that seemed to be filled with bodily fluids was terrifying to even think about.

In short, a creature that was a collection of disgust.

“The spider-type monster Arachne shoots spider silk from a distance to capture prey.

The captured prey is turned into cocoons and stored inside the nest.

The prey that has been cocooned could be preserved for about a year without decay.”

A narration in my head provided information about the Arachne.

It wasn’t particularly helpful information in the current situation.

Whether the prey’s expiration date was a year or a month, what does it matter?

I just want to deal with these creatures quickly.

I immediately struck the creature’s head with my sword.

Splat!

“Ugh….”

The Arachne, with its head split by the sword, collapsed, oozing purple liquid.

If this much happens from hitting the head, I should avoid attacking the plump belly if possible.

If I were to cut that and the bodily fluids were to spill out… just thinking about it is dreadful.

Meanwhile, our party leader Nigel was taking down the Arachne one after another.

He, like me, dodged the spider silk and entered the bushes, slashing at the Arachne with his sword.

“Whoa-! Ugh!”

However, as the Arachne’s belly burst, purple fluid covered Nigel’s body.

Wow, that must feel really disgusting.

Thinking about how I almost ended up in that situation is dizzying.

Anyway, we successfully exterminated a group of Arachne.

The grotesque remains of the Arachne covered in bodily fluids writhed horrifically.

But the mission was not over yet.

The mission was clearly to subdue the Arachne Queen.

The creatures that attacked us were the offspring of the Arachne Queen.

Even regular Arachne, with such a horrifying appearance, made me a little worried.

How much more repulsive could the Arachne Queen be?

Feeling tired from the battle, we lit a fire to take a short break.

I sat down next to Sylphy, not because she was cute and I wanted to sit next to her.

It was because I didn’t want to sit next to Nigel.

Nigel, seemingly annoyed from using the Arachne’s bodily fluids in the fight earlier, sat there with a scowl on his face.

He roughly washed himself with the nearby puddle of water, but there was a smell when you got close.

The subtle, pungent smell of the disgusting Arachne bodily fluids…

“Darn it! What the heck were you guys doing? You should have done your fair share properly so that we could write the evaluation report! If you keep doing things like this!”

Nigel yelled at me and Sephi as if he was venting his anger.

He’s really narrow-minded and his skills are mediocre.

In the recent battle, Sephi and I did our fair share excellently.

Although there was a moment of danger when a spider web was tied around my ankle at first, after getting used to the situation, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Sephi was more helpful than Nigel.

Sephi’s flashy and agile movements attracted the attention of the Arachne, causing the spider web to focus on Sephi.

Thanks to that, both Nigel and I had an easier opportunity to defeat the Arachne hiding in the bushes.

But it seemed like Nigel couldn’t see any of that, as he was upset, flipping out and blaming us for his frustration.

“Especially you! You, getting dragged around by a spider web! Didn’t I tell you before I left? Don’t get in the way!”

“I’m… I’m sorry……”

“What, these guys think they can get promoted for real.”

“I’m sorry…… I apologize……”

Sephi bowed his head apologetically under Nigel’s scolding.

There are always guys like that.

I tried to endure it as much as I could, but it was too humiliating to bear.

“Listening to you is just too much. We did what we could.”

“What did you say? What did you just say?”

“You’re pathetic. Really. Why do high-ranked adventurers exist in the first place? Isn’t it to protect us bronze adventurers from danger and kindly teach us what we don’t know? Are you really Silver?”

Well, I’ve done it now.

In my mind, the Silver adventurer badge evaporates and flies away into the sky.

But I didn’t regret it.

Rather than being evaluated by such trash and becoming a Silver adventurer, I’d rather not get promoted at all.

“You were like that earlier too. What did you do when Sephi was caught in the spider web? In the end, I had to save him. Look at you now. You’re the only one reeking of Arachne bodily fluids. Is it because of your mediocre skills? And yet you’re evaluating us?”

“You brat! You don’t want to get promoted?”

Nigel stood up in anger.

Sephi looked back and forth between me and Nigel with an anxious expression, trembling like a wet cat.

“Now you’re threatening each other with evaluation reports? How pathetic. Fine, I won’t get promoted. I won’t. If I’m going to be on the same level as you after all the hard work to get promoted, then I won’t do it. You’re not even close to Silver level with your skills. Do as you please.”

I spat out everything I had been holding back to Nigel.

This might be a bit risky.

No matter how humiliating it may be, Silver is still Silver.

Moreover, physical fighting among adventurers during a mission was strictly prohibited.

It seemed like Nigel couldn’t control his emotions well, and when a person gets extremely angry, rational judgment becomes impossible.

I’ve said what I wanted to say, so maybe I should stop scratching the wound.

“Pl… please stop, both of you! I was wrong! Please don’t fight!”

At that moment, Sephi stood up, blocking the space between me and Nigel, with his eyes tightly closed, and shouted.

I never had any intention of fighting in the first place.

But Nigel was still not calming down, still looking angry.

“Get out of the way! I won’t let that bastard off easy!”

“I-I heard that adventurers who fight each other get kicked out of the guild!”

Silphy shouted desperately, her voice trembling.

I feel a bit sorry for her.

Because of me, her evaluation got messed up, and as a result, her promotion went down the drain.

“Hmph.”

Nigel glanced at Silphy and me, then sheathed his sword again.

Silphy’s words about getting kicked out of the guild seemed to cool his head a bit.

“From now on, you might as well not exist. Whether you get eaten by the Arachne Queen or die, I won’t care, so do as you please.”

Nigel said bluntly and left us behind, heading forward.

“W-what should we do? He seems really angry…”

Silphy looked worriedly at Nigel’s retreating figure and asked me.

I, on the other hand, thought it was for the best.

If it were up to me, I would have given up the quest and left Nigel behind, but I couldn’t do that.

If Nigel wrote the evaluation report so poorly that I couldn’t get promoted, that’s just how it is.

Giving up the quest and leaving would be another issue.

That would mean paying a fine to the guild and losing trust.

“Well, we have to follow him for now.”

I took Silphy and followed behind Nigel towards the depths of the Arachne’s nest.

* * *

Nigel seemed thoroughly upset.

He had walked more than ten steps ahead, never once looking back.

It was as if he was trying to treat us like invisible beings.

“I’m sorry. It’s all because of me.”

“I-it’s okay…”

Silphy was completely dejected.

Understandably so.

Because of my fight with Nigel, she couldn’t expect a silver promotion.

But even if I had stayed still, that bastard would have still written the evaluation report like trash.

The problem was meeting someone like Nigel in the quest in the first place.

“Silphy, you did well earlier. Thanks to you drawing the attention of the Arachne, it was much easier.”

I praised her to encourage the dejected Silphy.

“O-oh, it’s nothing. I’m actually grateful for you saving me earlier…”

“That was a move I’ve never seen before. It was impressive. Don’t pay attention to the trash up ahead.”

Silphy nodded quietly.

Even subconsciously calling Nigel trash was a positive sign.

We had already entered quite deep into the Arachne’s nest.

The floor, ceiling, and walls were all covered in spider webs.

It was now so forested around us that we couldn’t tell what it was.

Then, a voice echoed in my head.

“Yunoa and her party were getting closer to the innermost part of the Arachne Queen’s nest.

However, they were unaware that the Arachne Queen here had mutated under the influence of the Demon King.”

Mutated under the influence of the Demon King…?

“Creatures much stronger than ordinary monsters were appearing all over the continent as the Demon King’s power continued to awaken.

The Arachne Queen, the target of Yunoa’s party, was no exception.

Unbeknownst to them, they were walking into a dangerous situation, simply moving forward.”

Upon hearing the narration, I abruptly stopped in my tracks.

Isn’t this dangerous?

And as I had that thought…

“W-what, what is this? It looks different from what I know?”

A giant spider with bright red stripes appeared in front of Nigel, who was leading the way.