Chapter 78 – Floor 12. The Invisible Spider Howled

Floor 12. I’m still walking along the rails of the dark abandoned mine.

After slaughtering lone apostates and catching mining spiders as I progressed for about a day.

True to this area’s food scarcity, I could visibly see the food sleeping inside the mimic rapidly diminishing.

‘I have enough water for six drinks… and thanks to the emergency rations from Maria, I have about two days’ worth of food.’

Of course, a couple of emergency rations might come out of boxes found during exploration, but since it’s not certain, I need to reach Floor 14 within two days to be safe.

Is that even possible?

I couldn’t help but make an ambiguous expression.

The size of each floor is always randomly determined, so if I’m lucky and many floors are generated smaller, it might be possible, but if they’re large or very large, it migbt tke that mch time to explre jst one flr.

‘Shld’v pckd more bfre cmng up.’

I moved my feet reluctantly, regretting not cramming supplies to the limits of modern textile technology.

I need to find Naud’s alcohol, meet the mini-bosses, so I don’t have time to waste.

‘And I stll need to meet Mteo… can’t afrd to wste tme skppng thrgh the map.’

I’ll have to move quite breathlessly in this area.

This abandoned mine is deep. No, it will be deep.

Not knowing the exact entrance, I could only assume this from the heavy, headache-inducing old air.

That’s probably why the apostates chose this place to hide.

Or maybe they’re just perverts who like darkness.

Kieeee─ Kiek─

“Ugh! Just! Stop! Coming! At! Me!”

Thwack, Crack! Squelch!

As I brought down the axe, a hairy head with eight glowing red eyes split in half, bursting with body fluids.

As if waiting for that gap, I swung the mace horizontally at the one rushing from behind, embedding metal fragments into its waist and sending several leg joints flying through the air as they broke.

I wanted to hold my nose against the unpleasant fluid and disgusting smell of intestines, but unfortunately, both hands were full with weapons, making it impossible.

Crunch, Thwack! Crunch!

I crushed its head by stabbing it with the mace.

“Arrrgh! Fuck, it’s so creepy!”

Spiders. Spiders. And fucking huge ones at that.

I thought I’d already received a preventive vaccination in the sewers, but spiders the size of a human torso were still fucking creepy.

The government should immediately release quarantine vehicles in this crazy mine!

A spider with black body and sparse hair showed me its abdomen, preparing to fire spider silk.

“Slime!”

Splurt!

A golden mucus mass immediately summoned in front of me.

Whoosh─ The sticky spider silk shot from the spider’s abdomen was blocked by that mucus mass. The spider silk that was briefly stuck to the surface gradually sank into the slime’s inside, disappearing as if being digested.

After the slime served as a physical shield, I re-summoned it and rushed toward the spider that was still exposing its abdomen to shoot silk, embedding the mace into it.

Thwack─!

Kieeee─!

“Does it hurt! I find you disgusting!”

Along with the sensation of soft intestines bursting, I stepped on the black intestines pushing out from its abdomen, kicked the creature away, and immediately ran.

Who has time to collect drops or anything!

There are already more than six living spiders in sight!

Kieek-!

Kihik-!

I heard crying sounds behind me, as if telling me to come back immediately, but I ignored them. If you’re so upset, why don’t you try fighting six of me.

Even past masters of combat said that running away from odds of four-to-one is not shameful.

Conversely speaking, up to three is manageable.

But twice that? If these bastards catch me, they’ll clearly prove they have no conscience.

“Insects don’t understand human feelings─!!!”

Are all beasts with sharp teeth and bushy hair this vicious? I ran wildly through the abandoned mine’s passages, thinking that threats existing in this world are too inhuman-friendly, trying not to get caught.

Tap- Tap- Tap-

But running for a long time carrying the heavy mimic and armor is quite burdensome. Moreover, the uneven floor of the abandoned mine made it even more difficult.

But to stop now…

KIEEEEEEEK─!!

“AHHHHHHH!!! I’D RATHER FIGHT THE HARLEY QUINN VERSION OF CHAINSAW MECHA JAWS!!!”

At least that’s somewhat cool! This multi-legged, unnecessarily creepy, wriggling giant insect is too much!

I was certain I would faint if I turned my face to look at them.

Plus, they’re really fucking disgustingly creepy, just like the Facehuggers from the movies.

Thud thud thud thud─

How far had I run? I felt my face heating up and changing color.

“Hnng, eek, hnngik..!”

I tried gritting my teeth and running as words wouldn’t come out properly, but these crazy spider bastards showed no sign of dropping off; if anything, they seemed to be increasing.

Don’t they ever get tired?

Halt-

This won’t work. I need to find another method besides running away.

I stopped running, feeling my legs trembling as if they might collapse, and turned around to see more than ten mining spiders spread out behind me. I swallowed hard.

“Severa-dochi! Help me!”

When outnumbered, use area-of-effect magic!

Slide─ Severa appeared from the darkness, soaked with mimic’s fluid, and though she didn’t look particularly happy, I had no time to care about that.

“Mmm… ugh, I don’t want to go back in there…”

Since the incident on Floor 11, Severa couldn’t meet my eyes.

At least I didn’t insert a plug, so she didn’t go into heat immediately upon being summoned.

That would’ve been more fun though.

Kiii- Kiek- Kyaaak─!

I hid behind Severa as I watched more than ten mining spiders lifting their front legs threateningly.

“Do something! They don’t even respond to the pollen!”

Alraune’s pollen doesn’t work on mining spiders. Using Kali might catch a few instantly, but I would be counterattacked and re-summoned in that gap. Slime’s damage is weak.

Even for ordinary enemies, such numbers would inevitably cause significant damage, even at mini-boss level.

Of all times to step into a summoning trap…

If so, the last remaining option is the magician!

“Ugh… even for me, handling this many at once…”

“Use anything and just get rid of them!!”

Like a department head grabbing the server team by the collar to fix some spilled tteokbokki on the server, I shook Severa shake-shake-shake-, and after contemplating for a while, she took out a potion from the mimic as if she had thought of something.

“Here goes!”

The potion, flying like a shot put, fell into the center of the spider crowd.

Clang!

With the sound of breaking glass, a pop-! and the spider crowd disappeared like a mirage.

I marveled at the sight, as if they had evaporated. But did I have an item that instantly erased enemies?

“Phew…”

“That’s our Severa-dochi!”

I patted Severa vigorously as she wiped her forehead as if it had been tough, and she puffed out her chest as if pleased, going ahem-.

“Wow, you cleaned them out perfectly. What did you use?”

“Invisibility potion!”

Aha! She used an invisibility potion to make the spiders invisible and erased them!

“You fucking bitch!!!”

***

Crack─

“Huff… huff…”

After crushing the head of the last screaming transparent mining spider that went “ARRGHH,” I took a rough breath.

I desperately wanted to cast the thirty-six-step “Let’s run away from this crap” spell from the Goguryeo Watermelon Field, but how terrifying is it to run away from something you can’t see?

“Y-y-y-you fucking bitch!!! Do you think they’re dealt with just because they can’t be seen?!”

“Teehee.”

The invisible spider swarm that I barely managed to handle after using『Prodigal Son Returns』that I had bought on the floor just above.

It was fortunate I had『Prodigal Son Returns』; otherwise, I would have really been fucked.

‘Fuck. This fucking skill always becomes useless or triggers in weird situations.’

There’s an item with a similar effect to『Prodigal Son Returns』called『Lizard’s Tail』, and one of its jinxes is that it becomes useless or is used strangely.

Unfortunately, it seems I couldn’t escape that jinx either.

I made Severa kneel with her arms raised as punishment for throwing invisibility potion at the spiders.

“Ugh… I feel like something’s stuck to me, but I can’t see it so I don’t know if I’ve wiped it off.”

Body fluids got splattered everywhere while bursting the spiders, but even the fluids might have turned invisible, so I couldn’t tell if I had properly wiped them off despite rubbing.

The invisibility potion works well, for sure.

Anyway, since『Prodigal Son Returns』triggered, my hunger and thirst were all recovered, so if I push a bit, I could probably roam around for one more day.

“Sigh… so, did you do wrong or not?”

“…S-sorry.”

“Do you also stuff dust and garbage under the bed when cleaning your room and say you’re done?”

“Cleaning is something maids…”

“…”

Fuck, that’s right. She’s a noble, so she had people to do it for her.

I could only press my forehead and shake my head as it throbbed.

“Fine, let’s deal with it later. We have a lot to do right now.”

Without being able to grasp whether this was good or bad, I decided to put Severa, who had been holding up her arms, back inside the mimic and resume exploration.

With 70% of the map uncovered and still no encounter with the mini-boss or apostate party, my luck couldn’t be worse.

Tug.

“Huh.”

A thin thread caught on my nose.

I reflexively waved my hand to brush it away, but with a chilling sensation running down my spine, I creakily raised my head.

White silk-like spider webs hanging from the ceiling like decorations.

Something looking down at me from the center.

A woman’s upper body, with her face covered as if wearing a transparent black veil like a bride at a wedding, and long black hair that seemed to merge with the veil.

Any man would swallow seeing the beautiful female body displayed, but most would be terrified seeing what was below.

Spider legs treading precariously on the web. Eight legs and a massive spider body beyond that.

A heteromorphic being in the form of a bride.

“Uh… hello?”

“Hehe.”

The being smiled.

『Black Bride Spider』Level: 20☆

Health: 302/302 ■■■■■■■■■■

【A heteromorphic being with the upper body of a beautiful bride. It uses its beautiful appearance to lure men. Whether it’s for a happy wedding or just for predation is left to interpretation.】

The appearance of Floor 12’s mini-boss, the Black Bride Spider.