Ch.6161. Trilobite Evolution

Seol Ji-yeon. The youngest girl in the family was already separated from them before Jun-hoo could devise a plan for his older sister.

The store itself was large, and an entire floor of the department store was dedicated to clothing shops. They would have found her quickly if she had stayed inside, but the child’s curiosity was unfortunately drawn to the escalator.

Just like how children find joy in small things, she went to the escalator to play.

Once outside, the child didn’t know what was what, but she ran toward whatever looked appealing.

In truth, this alone wouldn’t have been a problem. After all, the strengthened Seol Yu-hwa could use Brisingamen to search the area.

The problem was the Monster Break. The appearance of monsters was supposed to be extremely rare.

“A spider…?”

Seol Ji-yeon innocently stared at the spider’s legs that had pierced through space.

Soon, a drooling spider began to emerge from that spot.

Ji-yeon, like any child, started crying at the sight of the massive spider.

She was simply scared.

But the problem was that the space around them suddenly darkened.

Rock formations began to appear, gradually eroding the surroundings.

And between those rocks, spider webs were visible.

There were traces of bound objects scattered throughout the webs, and about ten spiders were moving within the massive web structure.

As the little girl cried pitifully, death spirits approached from around her.

The spiders simultaneously began shooting webs.

People near the girl were swept up in an instant.

“Aaaagh!”

In a flash, the webs touched people’s bodies, binding them.

But unlike the spiders we commonly know, they didn’t shoot from their rear ends, but from their mouths.

Indiscriminately, from inside those vicious jaws that resembled cutting tools.

People caught in these sticky webs collapsed one after another.

“Guhk…”

The fallen convulsed and trembled. The rock spiders’ webs invariably contained poison.

This scene was terrifying enough for a child to witness.

The spiders were forcing their way through the space, approaching Seol Ji-yeon.

“Unnie… Unnie!”

Ignoring Seol Ji-yeon’s cry, the spider charged fiercely.

As the child closed her eyes slightly, pressed down by the dark shadow, the place became quiet again.

The voice she heard next was like a godsend to Ji-yeon.

“Ji-yeon!”

“Un… nie!”

A strong force lifted the crying girl’s waist.

Seol Yu-hwa had rushed in front of her.

“Come here!”

Yu-hwa picked up Ji-yeon and retreated backward.

Using Brisingamen, she controlled a spider monster larger than a human and sent it back in reverse.

As she was about to take Ji-yeon away, she saw people buried in spider webs.

Normally, she would have wanted to just run away.

[A Jaeger must always stand against monsters to protect people. That’s our goal. Our guild master once deeply regretted not being able to do that.]

The teachings from the White Dragon Guild prevented her from running away.

If she fled, who would protect these people?

‘I’ve grown stronger in the White Dragon Guild.’

Yu-hwa held Ji-yeon and said:

“If you go behind here, you’ll find Do Jong-hyun. Go quickly!”

“What about you, unnie?”

“I’m a Jaeger. That’s why I fight.”

Yu-hwa smiled brightly as she put Ji-yeon down. At that moment, Jong-hyun came running.

“Come here!”

“Jong-hyun, please take care of our kids.”

“Will you be okay? There are two types of spiders living in rocky areas: rock spiders and burrow spiders. Plus, they’re nest dwellers, so there are many of them, and the webs themselves contain poison.”

“That’s enough information. Just watch over my siblings. Don’t fight the queen spider. We need to save people first!”

Without an enhancement suit, Jong-hyun couldn’t provide direct help. Especially against S to A-rank rock spiders.

“If you can hold out a little longer, the guilds will come. The response time has improved this time.”

Jong-hyun left after reassuring Yu-hwa.

But they were unaware of the situation outside.

That other guilds were also fighting outside the gate due to the Monster Break.

*

No one knows how gates are created. What’s certain is that a rift occurs, and the space itself becomes a doorway to the gate.

The spatial rifts and distortions are so severe that there are stories of people entering a gate in Korea and ending up in America.

Usually, when a gate appears, a restricted zone is established to prevent access to the surrounding area.

However, it’s impossible to manage the millions of gates spread across the world individually, so they simply set up restricted zones and prohibit entry.

In other words, the fact that a gate was generated in this building itself wasn’t a problem.

It was just incredibly bad luck.

Inside the store, I heard the commotion around. In this place filled with rock spiders, the most dangerous ones to watch out for are the burrow spiders.

They dig through rocks and ambush Jaegers from below.

“Stay right here, okay?”

I moved to the farthest corner. I deliberately gathered the children in a remote, narrow place and hurriedly searched for clothes.

[Rock spiders and burrow spiders have better sensory organs in their legs than in their eyes. They sense vibrations to catch prey, but if you camouflage with protective coloration, you can at least block the next attack even if you’re poisoned.]

This is a clothing store. I found as many earth-colored clothes as possible and covered the children with them.

I can’t transform because I need to protect the children, and I can’t leave them alone.

I know better than anyone how much Yu-hwa cherishes her family.

If Yu-hwa doesn’t encounter the ‘Queen’ here, she should be able to handle this well.

I put on an earth-colored jacket and placed my ear to the floor.

If a burrow spider infiltrates this area, it will make a distinctive sound as it approaches the floor.

And I heard the sound in my ears.

Tick-tick. Tick-tick.

Hearing the sound of a burrow spider infiltrating, I cautioned the children:

“No matter what happens from now on, don’t be surprised. Understand? Monsters are appearing now.”

“!”

The children nodded silently.

Soon, human screams erupted from outside.

“Monster… Aaaaargh!”

It’s here. Minutes after the loud noises and screams were heard from outside.

The noise and screams from outside remind us that this is reality. In my position of protecting the children, I can only hope for Yu-hwa’s quick return.

But the queen of the burrow spiders will be tricky. And if you get caught in those webs…

I can’t summon cards next to the kids. Is there anything I can do in advance?

First, I need to cut through the sticky, tough spider webs.

The queen and her close associates are S-rank. The only monsters that can face them are insects with all stats raised and adult dinosaurs.

Moreover, the opponent has dominated the airspace of the rocky area with spider webs.

But there’s one problem. I can’t transform into an adult form today, right? So I’ll give up on the adult dinosaur.

Then I need weapons that allow comfortable and free movement in the air, along with sharp weapons.

As my mind was racing, I suddenly heard the distinctive sound of a burrow spider.

And it was close to us!

“Shh!”

I signaled the children to hide deeper.

Not long after, the ground collapsed about 5 meters away from me, and a burrow spider extended its tentacles.

I gripped my main card.

Ready to transform immediately. I could see the spider’s numerous eyes turning toward us.

I hoped the earth-colored jackets and jumpers would be effective, but I wasn’t sure.

As my heart raced, the burrow spider’s unusually rough front leg moved.

The leg stabbed right in front of me.

“…”

I thought I was going to die. The leg was raised again in front of me, then stopped.

Its eyes moved back and forth, examining us.

“…”

That brief moment made me think a lot.

The burrow spider turned around and began moving elsewhere.

“Phew…”

I thought I was going to die.

Turning my head, I saw Jun-hoo covering the mouths of the rest of his siblings, including young Ji-yeon.

Smart kid.

The other children were crying.

“Don’t worry. It’s gone now.”

I comforted the anxious children in the smallest voice possible.

We can’t let crying sounds escape here either.

As I was spending time waiting for the children I was holding to calm down:

“Ah…”

At that moment, Jun-hoo suddenly stood up.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hyung… Noona… Save noona.”

I was confused by his sudden words.

“I hear bad sounds. Noona…”

“Bad sounds?”

[Let’s go!]

At that moment, Jun-hoo’s voice echoed in my head.

“What is this…”

“I can hear it. Please don’t. Please save noona.”

“You can hear it?”

“Please!”

Jun-hoo shouted strongly. Could it be that Jun-hoo has also awakened?

But there was no time to think about that. Jun-hoo looked at me desperately, and I needed to move urgently.

“I’ll be back. Stay still. Understand?”

“This time, I really won’t let go.”

After hearing Jun-hoo’s determination, I rushed out.

[Main Card]

-Evolution (difficult to evolve adult cards)

-Half-insect Sura

[Sub Cards]

-Evolution, Terrain, Fire Gauntlet Level 10, Output Limit Release Device

At this moment, I had to do what I had been postponing.

[M-Point Summon]

I know that while other spider webs might not be an issue, the queen spider’s webs are as tough as whale tendons.

I need a card that can enhance my attack power somehow.

[Fire Gauntlet Level 10]

-Can only be equipped by insect and machine types

-Stores attribute energy to deliver a powerful ranged strike to enemies.

This card is for intercepting the main body, but cutting one spider web won’t collapse the entire web structure.

I need a weapon that cuts sharply.

Starting with a 10-pull, the gacha results began to appear one by one.

“There’s speed and enhancement.”

But as always, the first 20 pulls were a series of trash cards. That’s okay.

I’ll use card synthesis.

And then the final, fateful 10-pull. A yellow card appeared.

[Liquid Metal]

-Coating weapons with liquid metal increases attack and defense by 1 rank.

At least I got this. I synthesized the remaining cards again.

It would be nice if something good appeared, but unfortunately, the rest were either duplicates or useless cards.

The only decent one was an absorption card.

[Absorption]

-Absorb defeated enemies to increase stamina and magic power by 1 rank

-Only works on insects and fish

Still, that’s fine.

I equipped only the liquid metal card as a sub card and flew toward where Yu-hwa had been.

Before my eyes, I saw collapsed buildings and numerous spider webs.

Yu-hwa wasn’t there.

I know well how these spiders capture and kill people in their nests.

They probably gather food toward the queen spider at the end of the rocky area.

Picturing this in my mind, I immediately used a technique.

[Terrain]

-Forest

-Stat increase

Using adaptability to snipe spiders in a short time.

Just as I was about to depart, my compound eyes noticed something trembling below.

It’s coming. The distinctive sound of a burrow spider.

As I hovered slightly in the air, two sturdy legs jumped up from where I had been.

A burrow spider that had dug through and appeared as if stamping where I had been.

But I was behind the burrow spider.

[The advantage of burrow spiders is surprise, but if you know their location, attacking from right behind their eyes is easy. Initially, burrow spiders ambush, and if they don’t see their prey, they stop to observe the situation.]

Following the strategy, as the burrow spider stood still, I split its head with a Wind-Cutting Slash.

[Burrow Spider defeated!]

-1,400 points!

-Insect DNA acquired!

One down. After dealing with it, I spread my wings.

I was going to pass by, but just in case, I switched the Absorption card with Fire Gauntlet Level 10.

Hoping that absorption might extend the duration.

[Stamina and magic power increase.]

-Your body is recovering.

“As expected, nothing else.”

Don’t expect the unexpected; focus on fighting in this moment.

As I exited the building, what I saw before me was a space of layered spider webs. Spiders were moving across them.

[Wind-Cutting Slash]

I cleanly cut through the spider webs and sliced through everything blocking my path as I ascended.

Then, under the gray sky, I saw towering rocks.

Spider webs stretched between these rocks.

[The queen spider gathers food in her webs.]

If Yu-hwa were in danger, she would have moved already. The problem with spider nests is the unpredictable attacks from spiders that can appear from anywhere.

And the most important thing:

[It depends on how much the queen spider has grown. If a queen spider has grown sufficiently, it can directly control other spiders. That makes it one of the worst natural enemies for Jaegers specializing in mental confusion or distraction. The compatibility is poor.]

The queen spider is one of the natural enemies of Jaegers like Yu-hwa.

With its sticky webs and the ability to instantly drive those who control spiders to their deaths.

Before me stands a tower of spider webs hundreds of meters tall. Aren’t those people tied up with only their faces exposed?

Where’s Yu-hwa?

As I worried, spider webs rained down from above me.

[Wind-Cutting Slash]

I cut through them and continued ascending the web tower, but my body was suddenly restrained.

A faint spider web had caught my body.

I swung my arm again, but suddenly it wouldn’t cut well.

That means?

“The queen’s nest!”

I switched my sub card again. I replaced Absorption with the Output Limit Release Device and activated its power.

[Liquid Metal]

-Strength and resistance increase.

With the newly acquired card, I swung my arm.

At that moment, the tough web was cut, and I ascended again.

Just as I was about to reach the top of the spider web spread like a vast network.

The queen’s webs grew more numerous and eventually covered my body.

[Terrain effect disappears.]

-Stats decrease.

As the terrain effect disappeared, this crude insect’s stats returned to normal. This situation is hard to cover even with increased output.

“Ugh!”

From this point, the spider webs that had been cutting easily no longer did.

It’s more extensive and wider than expected. With such a large web, the queen must be…

And soon, the queen’s webs began to pile up on my body.

Looking up, a giant spider over 5 meters in size was rapidly descending.

“Ugh!”

I struggled, but the spider webs became increasingly sticky.

What should I do? I can’t transform into an adult form?

At this moment, I selected the evolution card again.

[Adult transformation not possible]

-More energy needed.

“Damn it!”

I struggled as the distance closed. To win, I must evolve. But dinosaur form is impossible!

Wait, what about insects that are physically weak but focus on special abilities?

In that brief moment, an opportunity crossed my mind.

I examined the available evolution routes.

[Adult Evolution Routes]

-Half-dragon Half-insect (13,000 DNA points) – Not possible

-Half-dragon Half-machine (14,000 DNA points) – Not possible

-Half-dragon Half-human (13,000 DNA points) – Not possible

-Half-dragon Half-fish (13,000 DNA points) – Not possible

-Dinosaur (12,000 DNA points) – Not possible

-Insect (11,000 DNA points) – Possible

-Machine (12,000 points) – Not possible

-Fish (11,000 points) – Possible

There are exactly 2 options for adult evolution. So?

Adult insect.

I have to bet everything on this.

But darkness loomed before me. Shit.

In my violently shaking vision, a giant spider was approaching with its long poison sting extended.

Just a little more time… At the boundary between life and death, at that very moment, the poison sting suddenly shot upward.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, the spider seemed to lose control and slip on the web.

Lost control? Could it be Yu-hwa?

My compound eyes spotted Yu-hwa struggling with only one arm extended, entangled in the spider webs.

So she’s there.

Yu-hwa has given me an opportunity.

Then I’ll take it.

[Insect Sura]

-11,000 points consumed for evolution!

My vision began to change. I could see the genes I had accumulated and the insects influenced by them.

What I needed to do here was find a powerful insect with the cutting power to slice through these webs.

Silhouettes passed by, and before me appeared a being with the jaws of a giant stag beetle.

“Yes, you.”

I chose the evolutionary possibility shown by the silhouette.