Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 54 – The Spider Nest

—–CROW—–

Dusk Spiders are trickier and stronger than other 7th-floor monsters.

They have considerable movement speed, a special pattern where they shoot webs to restrict movement, and fairly high defense.

Since their basic attacks inflict poisoning, strategy guides recommend hunting them in parties of three or more.

The fact that such Dusk Spiders are swarming in what appears to be a massive number is, naturally, an abnormal situation.

This isn’t a difficulty that an ordinary 7th-floor challenger party can handle.

Of course, I have a hunch about the cause of this Dusk Spider outbreak.

“Don’t go out there and stay behind me!”

The presence of Dark Elf Lizmel, who told me to hide behind her despite saying she wanted to see my skills.

The difficulty must be set assuming the presence of an elite NPC companion.  Like a story mode.

Perhaps Dusk Spider nests in other towers have their difficulty lowered after being cleared once by an NPC like this.

Of course, that has nothing to do with me. I far surpass the specs of an ordinary 7th-floor challenger.

“You stay back.”

I pushed past Lizmel and charged towards the swarm of spiders. The Dusk Spider at the front reacted swiftly and spat a web.

Since she said she wanted to see my swordsmanship, should I focus on sword and shield combat this time as well?

That web is hard to escape once you’re caught in it, but in exchange, its firing speed and range aren’t that great.

– *Tap!*

I lightly tapped my foot to dodge, leaped high, and boldly landed on the spider’s head.

The size of Dusk Spiders varies, but even their basic size is almost that of a wild boar.

And due to the spider’s anatomical structure, once you mount its back or head, it loses any effective means of attack.

It’s mentioned as one of the strategies for dealing with Dusk Spiders in the guides, but apparently, not many challengers actually try it.

Well, who would actually try a tactic like rushing towards a poisonous spider the size of a wild boar and mounting it?

“Oh, god, this is so gross.”

The fuzzy hairs on the spider’s body surface are incredibly disgusting. I grimaced and immediately swung my sword down.

– *Thwack!*

The Dusk Spider’s exoskeleton is quite hard, but it’s easily pierced by my Strength stat.

Translucent green fluid spurted out from the spot where I struck with my sword.

Dusk Spider fluid is mildly poisonous and highly corrosive in itself.

That’s why I heard that stabbing a Dusk Spider with an ordinary sword rapidly decreases the weapon’s durability.

But Ebony Steel equipment has high corrosion resistance, so my sword’s durability wasn’t affected at all.

As expected of Dark Elf weaponry. Their performance is reliable.

– *Whoosh!*

As I was admiring the performance of the Dark Elf sword, a shadow suddenly fell over the area.

I looked up to see a large Dusk Spider leaping and falling towards my head.  It has quite the jumping power.

I stepped on the head of the spider I killed and jumped onto another spider’s head to dodge the attack.

– *Thwack!*

But just before the leaping Dusk Spider landed on the spot where I had been, it was hit by something and flew away.

“You, you dangerous idiot!  You’re not even afraid of spiders…!”

Lizmel shouted, holding the bow she had on her back.  I wondered what hit it, so it was an arrow.

Considering its size, a Dusk Spider must weigh a lot, but to be pierced and knocked down by a small arrow…

As expected, elite NPCs are different. The power of a single arrow was ridiculously strong.

There’s a reason why there are so many spiders.  She’s really strong.

“Hurry up and come here! You’ll get hurt!”

“Didn’t you want to see my skills?”

I chuckled, cut down another spider head, and charged straight at another spider.

**

Seeing that I had no intention of backing down, Lizmel actively joined the fight and focused on reducing the number of spiders.

Lizmel’s archery skills were amazing, but her swordsmanship was even more amazing.

I can subdue most spiders in one or two hits, but Lizmel cut down two spiders in the time it took me to kill one.

I didn’t expect such a skill gap to be evident in just mob hunting, not even in PvP.

It’s a difference in movement, I suppose.  The speed and flexibility with which she dealt with the attacking spiders were on a different level from mine.

“I think we’ve pretty much killed them all.”

In any case, Lizmel and I wiped out almost all the Dusk Spiders that were swarming at the entrance.

There were so many that a small puddle of the spiders’ green fluid and venom had formed on the ground.

“Now I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Why did you do something so reckless…!”

“You told me to show you my skills.”

“I never told you to rush in so recklessly, you foolish human!”

Lizmel yelled, rummaged through the bag at her side, and took out a small handkerchief and something that looked like a potion.

Judging by the color, it’s a type of antidote potion. Lizmel soaked the handkerchief in the potion and beckoned me closer.

“You’re covered in spider fluid. Are you trying to get sick? You’re filthy, show me your face!”

And then she grabbed my face with the handkerchief and started scrubbing.  Hey, who gets sick from this much?

“You wouldn’t know since you’re a brat, but it’s a big deal if it gets in your eyes, nose, or mouth.  Don’t be a burden even if you can’t be of help!”

“Mmph, mmph.”

“Stay still!  I’m wiping your face, can’t you keep your lips still? I’ll rip them off!”

Now I’m starting to understand her personality.  She’s just tsundere, no different from other Dark Elves.

I took Lizmel’s hand off my face, waved it away, and said it was fine.

“Hey, you don’t know how scary spider poison is, do you? This stuff gets even stronger when mixed with their bodily fluids.”

Lizmel started explaining how Dusk Spider poison can mutate.

Listening to her, I could understand why she was so wary, although it seemed a bit exaggerated.

“Is it really that dangerous?”

“Yes, it is! Why won’t you listen!”

Hmm, but if you say that, I can’t resist.  There’s a puddle of venom cocktail over there.

Ignoring Lizmel’s warning, I scooped up a handful of the venom from the puddle and drank it.

– *Gulp.*

The burning sensation unique to corrosive venom went down my throat.

“Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing, are you crazy? Spit that out right now!  Yuck, yuck, spit!”

Lizmel made a fuss, but after tasting it, it wasn’t that potent.

It’s about the same level as the 6th-floor zombie’s blood cannon. This much doesn’t work on me.

**

Lizmel was horrified to see me drink the poison, but when I told her I was immune to poison, she seemed to understand to some extent.

“Even if you’re resistant to poison, don’t ever do that again!”

She still nagged me, asking why I would drink something like that, but at least she stopped trying to stick her fingers down my throat to make me throw up.

“So, is the spider hunt over with this?”

I asked, sheathing my sword. Lizmel shook her head and took out the note she showed me earlier.

Now that I look at it, it’s not just a note, it’s some kind of order form.

“No, there were too many spiders than expected.  There must be a reason for this outbreak, so we need to investigate further.”

Lizmel added that there might be a special mutated Dusk Spider.

According to the strategy guides on the open community, the inner part of this Dusk Spider habitat is treated as a dungeon, but there’s no boss.

But in my experience, this kind of situation usually means there’s a unique boss that doesn’t respawn once defeated.

“Originally, this isn’t a mission to take on with a human brat… Ah, really.”

Lizmel muttered and glanced at me.  Despite her complaints, she seemed to acknowledge my skills to some extent.

“Hey, human. Why did you say you wanted to join our reconnaissance team?”

“To do this kind of thing.”

“This kind of thing? Do humans like playing with poisonous spiders?”

She’s saying strange things because I gave a vague answer since it’s hard to explain.  Why would humans like poisonous spiders?

“I said I wanted to improve my skills. I need real combat experience. And if I can help you with your work at the same time, that’s even better.”

Lizmel listened to me, narrowed her eyes for a moment, and then made a humming sound as if she understood.

“Hmph, you’re saying commendable things.  I see why Eleanor brought you here. You’re totally that girl’s type, brat.”

The way she patted my back while saying that made me feel strange.

“But, Eleanor isn’t doing anything weird to you, is she?”

Then she suddenly brought her face close and whispered.  Weird things, what?

“Like asking you to sleep with her, or touching you in strange places?  If she does, you have to firmly tell her no.  Got it?”

The way she talked about the Dark Elf princess was a bit strange, but I just answered that I understood because it was too bothersome to question her.

Right now, the boss that might be in that nest is more important.

—–CROW—–