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Arachne, King Of The Cave [1]
As we approached the hall, I confirmed with hand signals.
We repeated this process multiple times, pointing at this and that, ensuring we understood each other.
"I'll draw the target's attention, but be cautious. The enemy will call its Human-Faced Spider companions. It won't be just one. Stay alert. Their abilities are more formidable than a wild boar's."
"Y-Yeah...!"
Arachne was one of the early bosses in the game, the kind that changed the background music during battle.
I could see that the narrow corridor ahead opened up into a larger space.
That's where it was.
"We are partners in this, so we hold each other's fate in our hands."
"Yeah, my lifeline is Minato-kun and Minato-kun's lifeline is me..."
"That's right. It won't work if either one of us is missing, so let's do our best."
"Yes!"
With a bright smile, Ao-chan responded.
We lightly high-fived each other and steeled ourselves.
As we stepped into the hall, a putrid odor filled the air.
As we grimaced, three yellow eyes locked onto us.
It appeared to be a woman, with long hair hanging limply.
Her arms were unnaturally thin and long. Her lower body resembled that of a massive spider.
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Arachne, King of the West Cave
Level 14
HP: 178
SP: 43
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"This is even creepier and more exhausting than I thought...!"
"For those below the same level, it's an extremely tough opponent. - Let's go!"
As I ran toward Arachne, it used all its legs on her lower body to climb up the wall.
I followed her using Eternal Silk Hookshot.
I attached silk to the ceiling and contracted it, swiftly closing the distance.
"Gyaaaah!"
Arachne bent her lower body with a mottled pattern like a scorpion, launching a clump of silk.
If that hit, it couldn't move for a while.
I immediately moved to a different spot and circled Arachne's side.
I signaled with hand signs, and the effects of [Heavy Curse] and [Modulation] enveloped Arachne.
It was a combo of the misfortune-inducing [Heavy Curse] and [Modulation], which extended the effect range and duration.
As a greeting, I used [Plunder] at the closest range, and the sound of success rang out.
<Arachne took 10 damage>
<Shiozaki Minato stole some silk>
My skill proficiency had increased, so I attempted it again, but this time it failed.
"Let's follow up with an attack!"
I attacked with my dagger.
<Dealt 6 damage to Arachne>
It seemed like a decent hit, but it was just a scratch for the enemy, so there was no significant reaction.
While managing my SP resources, I dodged the silk Arachne was shooting at me.
I skillfully moved around, avoiding her physical attacks, which she delivered by flexing her long arms like whips.
But even though she wasn't a brute like a wild boar type, a boss at level 4 or higher could deliver a fatal blow to a thief like me if hit directly.
I couldn't afford to get hit.
As I moved around while using the silk for mobility and surveying the hall, I noticed several cracked cocoons with what appeared to be adventurers' bags and clothing inside.
They get wrapped up in silk, and their fleshy parts get consumed.
Suddenly, about 10 Human-Faced Spiders emerged from the shadows with a screech.
"Kishaa!"
"Oh no, they're here!?"
The Human-Faced Spiders gathered around Ao-chan, who had cried out.
Ao-chan was in danger!
I needed to take their aggro away from her and onto me.
When I was about to move, Ao-chan shouted.
"I'm okay! Minato-kun, focus on the boss!"
Ao-chan ran gracefully, keeping her distance from the enemies. When they lunged at her, she used her staff to fend them off, and her shielded staff blocked the incoming silk.
"Thanks to my boots, it seems pretty easy to dodge!"
Her increased agility was starting to pay off.
Seeing Ao-chan, a beginner player, grow like this was always a sight to behold.
But now wasn't the time for sentimental thoughts.
Ao-chan made sure to keep an eye on me.
So I couldn't let her down as she bravely faced the creepy Arachne.
I closed the distance to Arachne once again.
I swung my dagger, attacking, but my attacks were much slower than the silk projectiles.
As long as I watched for her poisonous stinger, close-quarters combat wouldn't be too difficult.
First, I needed to chip away at her.
I slashed and slashed with my dagger.
<Dealt 5 damage to Arachne>
<Dealt 4 damage to Arachne>
<Dealt 7 damage to Arachne>
<Dealt 5 damage to Arachne>
<Dealt 5 damage to Arachne>
<Dealt 6 damage to Arachne>
<Dealt 4 damage to Arachne>
"Gyaaaoooo!"
Arachne let out an enraged scream and tried to catch me with her hands and extra legs, but I eluded her grasp.
I moved constantly in ultra-close quarters to avoid getting captured.
I always stayed out of her line of sight, continuously moving away from her.
During a momentary glance, I locked eyes with Ao-chan.
We were perfectly synchronized.
I signaled to her, and she used [Heavy Curse] and her newly learned skill [Dissonance].
――――――――――
Dissonance
Made an unpleasant sound, lowering the target's abnormal resistance.
――――――――――
As I circled the enemy, the effects of two debuff skills get triggered simultaneously.
I also activated [Pyrotechnics].
The flames enveloped my dagger from hilt to tip, and with [Heavy Curse] and [Modulation] used simultaneously, the abnormal status occurrence rate increased to 37%.
That meant that for every 3 hits, the target would get afflicted with a burn.
With the dagger engulfed in flames, I swung it down from Arachne's blind spot.
"Gyaaaah!?!"
<Dealt 12 fire damage to Arachne>
<Arachne is Burned>
<Arachne takes 5 damage from Burn>
It landed perfectly!
Arachne, turning around, puffed up her mouth.
I recognized that motion.
What she unleashed from her mouth was a fine mesh-like silk. But I dodged it.
Knowing the motion and having increased agility, those wide swings were unlikely to hit.
I heard the announcement <Arachne takes 5 damage from Burn>, every ten seconds.
That meant 30 damage in a minute.
I could only chip away at her with regular attacks. So this was significant.
However, the duration of the burn effect was random, and it could disappear as quickly as 20 seconds.
Arachne turned upside down and descended to the ground.
It seemed she was trying to escape from me, but Ao-chan was in her path.
That was bad.
I quickly used silk to fly over to Ao-chan and grabbed her upper body, making an emergency escape.
I also snatched the adventurer's bag and flew up into the air.
"Minato-kun!"
"The boss was getting too close."
"Thank you! I'm sorry, I'm out of SP."
"It's okay. We've done quite a bit of damage, so if we keep this up—"
We landed on a protruding rock, and when I checked Arachne, she had already recovered from her abnormal state.
Its Burn status had been removed.
"That was faster than I expected..."
Ao-chan took two small vials from the bag.
"Minato-kun, these were in here!"
――――――――――
SP Recovery Potion
Restores 20 SP.
――――――――――
We understood each other's words and took a sip, determined.
"Let's go all out!"
"Roger!"
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