Chapter 663 Phase Spider

A keen Perception was vital for any adventurer's journey.

But in most cases, if an adventurer possessed outstanding Perception without at least average capabilities in other areas, the benefits of that attribute would severely shrink.

Take those half-elves, for instance, whose bloodline naturally blessed them with physical charm, delicate features, and tall, fair statures. Their racial gifts meant that with just a little effort in relevant fields, they could easily become excellent diplomats and silver-tongued persuaders.

But if they foolishly dreamed of gaining a foothold on the Aifala Continent through their looks alone—harboring wild ambitions and refusing mediocrity while remaining too lazy to study and train...

...they would only end up as highly sought-after commodities for slave traders and brothels across major towns.

The same held true for an adventurer. If they had exceptional Perception but lacked corresponding experience and knowledge, it would be difficult to make accurate judgments based on the subtle clues they discovered.

Xia Nan had experienced this truth quite profoundly.

Because of this, he had laid out a clear, targeted improvement plan, executing it with unwavering persistence.

Limited by the sheer rarity of attribute points and the restrictions of his profession's growth, Xia Nan simply couldn't find an opportunity to invest points into "Intelligence," even if he wanted to.

Under these circumstances, Xia Nan opted for the most basic yet effective method to maximize the advantage of his Perception during adventures. Between quests, he spent massive amounts of time and energy learning any necessary knowledge about this world that he didn't already know. His methods ranged from sitting in taverns listening to other adventurers boast, to memorizing the Monster Compendium through sheer, brute-force cramming. He even spent Points and gold coins at the Adventurers' Association and upscale bookstores to purchase authoritative texts...

Sometimes, if he heard a street Bard strumming a lute and recounting a mythological epic he hadn't heard before, Xia Nan would stop, listen intently to the entire song, memorize the key details, and toss a few coins before leaving.

Naturally, compared to the near-infinite wealth of knowledge spanning the continent's long history, what Xia Nan had learned in the two years since his transmigration was but a drop in the ocean.

But as his adventuring career continued and his store of knowledge grew, there would eventually come a day when he could put it to use.

...That day was today!

When Xia Nan followed the shepherd to the Sheep Pen, his extraordinary Perception finally clicked with the knowledge accumulated in his mind. The complete lack of footprints or drag marks on the ground, combined with the absence of any wing-flapping sounds, meant the attacker likely possessed some form of silent flight, instant teleportation, or specialized stealth.

The suspicious scratches and faint, silvery-gray spiderwebs on the side canopy of the Sheep Pen allowed Xia Nan to drastically narrow down the attacker's identity in his head.

Factoring in the reason he had come to this valley—the suspected entrance to the Underdark exposed by the earthquake...

As he pondered, the name of a specific monster sprang to mind:

Challenge Rating 3, Phase Spider!

Similar to the banshee and the Petrification Lizard, it was a pure mechanic-based monster.

Its core ability was called "Ethereal Jaunt." It allowed the Phase Spider to travel freely between the "Material Plane" and the "Ethereal Plane." Because of this, the monster's hunting process often played out in a terrifying sequence: a "flash out of thin air, sudden attack, instant disappearance." Ordinary prey couldn't react in time. Even if someone luckily dodged the Phase Spider's strike and tried to counterattack, the creature only needed to slip back into the Ethereal Plane to easily avoid all damage. Whether it chose to retreat directly or prowl around waiting for another chance to strike, the initiative remained entirely in its hands.

The near-instantaneous visual effect of its planar shifting, the physiological web-spinning traits of an arachnid monster, and the Phase Spider's biological habit of nesting in places where planar boundaries were weak—such as the Underdark or underground mine shafts—all fit perfectly.

It flawlessly matched every clue Xia Nan had uncovered.

Furthermore, under normal circumstances, unless a powerful individual like a "Phase Spider Queen" was present, these creatures were generally solitary, forming at most small clusters of three to five.

This was within Xia Nan's ability to handle.

He turned to the deeply worried shepherd beside him and said, "I understand the situation here. It's still within a controllable scope."

"So, I'll stay with you for a few days to see if I can ambush it."

"If I can resolve this, that would naturally be best."

"But if things escalate beyond expectations... you probably won't be able to keep these sheep, but I will get you out of here safely."

Hearing this, the shepherd nodded profusely, gratitude written all over his face.

In truth, he had never expected Bloodcast Keep to offer much help.

The only reason he had asked a passing merchant caravan to deliver a message was because his situation had reached rock bottom, and he simply had no other solutions.

He had coincidentally heard that the border was currently dealing with monsters, so he decided to try his luck.

He never expected that the black-haired adventurer sent by Bloodcast Keep—young in appearance yet inexplicably reliable—would be so surprisingly friendly, lacking any of the overbearing arrogance of the adventurers he had encountered in the past.

The fact that this young man was willing to stay the night to solve the problem proved he was taking it seriously, rather than just brushing it off. While thanking him profusely, the shepherd solemnly declared that he would follow Xia Nan's arrangements to the letter.

He even wanted to slaughter a sheep to host a feast, and only dropped the idea after Xia Nan repeatedly refused.

Truthfully, Xia Nan did want to taste the flavor of these specialty sheep from the Calm Peaks Province.

But on one hand, the shepherd's setup was rudimentary. He lacked both adequate cooking utensils and necessary spices. Even if he cooked the meat, it would likely be overwhelmed by a strong gamey stench and be hard to swallow; there was no need to waste the ingredients.

On the other hand, these sheep were the precious livelihood the shepherd's family relied upon. Right now, there was still a chance to save them. If a sheep was slaughtered and served just to satisfy a momentary craving, Xia Nan would inevitably feel a pang of guilt, even if the actual impact was small.

In the end, he took Winter Wolf Fanny into the woods next to the valley and caught a few plump snow hares, which served as dinner for the two men and the wolf.

The Phase Spider's abilities were unique. Even when hunting, it rarely left enough traces to be tracked, forcing Xia Nan to lie in ambush inside the shepherd's hut and wait for the monster's next night raid.

Naturally, he couldn't wait indefinitely; Xia Nan's mental limit was three days.

For three full days, he would guard the Sheep Pen at night, and during the day, he would head toward the source of the tremors the shepherd had pointed out, to see if he could find the entrance to the Underdark specified in his quest.

If there was still no progress at the Sheep Pen after three days, he would retreat and bring the shepherd back to his village along the way.

Deep into the night, staring at the rabbit meat roasting over the fire pit, Xia Nan asked the shepherd sitting across from him, "How far is the place where your family lives from this valley?"

"Normally, if I were traveling with the flock, it might take a week. If I travel alone and light, three days is enough."

Hearing this, Xia Nan gave a slight nod, his mind clear on the matter.

A three-day journey for an ordinary person would take him less than a day if he sped up slightly, given his ability to ignore most terrain obstacles. It wouldn't delay him too much.

"Haha." Seeing the slightly heavy atmosphere in the room, the shepherd feigned lightness and joked, "Actually, this might be a good thing."

"After all, my little girl just turned five. It's the exact age when she needs her father around."

"In the past, I spent almost half the year away from home. I wouldn't even know if something happened to her."

"Now, at least, I have a chance to..."

"Get some sleep early. I'll take the night watch," Xia Nan suddenly interrupted.

It wasn't that he didn't want to hear about the man's family; it was just that bringing up family in a moment like this triggered an inexplicable sense of déjà vu. It felt like a bad omen for the shepherd.

For the shepherd's sake, it was better to speak less.

With his robust physical constitution, staying awake for a day or two was completely manageable.

Xia Nan sat quietly by the fire pit with Fanny, keeping watch.

Limited by his environment, he couldn't conduct his regular training. Furthermore, he needed to reserve enough mental energy to deal with the enemy that could arrive at any moment, so he didn't practice [Gravity Control]. Instead, he simply cycled the ember energy within his body, training [Ember Echoes] in a meditative state. At the same time, he pondered his development plan for self-created combat techniques.

As an inspiration-driven fighter, actual combat naturally facilitated the development of combat techniques. On the other hand, if he solely wanted to develop techniques and didn't care about quest profits, he could perhaps try partying up with other adventurers more often.

That way, he might find some useful inspiration from the combat techniques others used...

"Whoosh—Buzz!"

The sudden sound came from outside the hut.

A blast of energy that felt exceptionally abrupt in the silent night interrupted Xia Nan's thoughts.

Winter Wolf Fanny, who had been dozing at his feet, instantly snapped her eyes open, her ears pricking up sharply.

He rubbed Fanny's furry head, signaling her to stay quiet.

Xia Nan stood up wordlessly. Using crude but effective stealth techniques, he shifted his feet and crept to the door.

He pushed the door open just a crack and peered outside.

Entering his sight was a gigantic, terrifying spider perched atop the canopy next to the Sheep Pen, illuminated by the moonlight.

Its entire body was a blue-gray hue, and it was far larger than Xia Nan had imagined. From a distance, its span seemed to exceed three meters. Four pairs of long, sturdy legs sprawled outward, their razor-sharp tips piercing the roof; their flexing and shifting left behind the rhythmic scratches Xia Nan had seen earlier that day.

Unlike ordinary spiders, its head and abdomen were connected in a relatively smooth, natural manner without any obvious segmentation. Several watery-blue compound eyes dotted the top of its head, shimmering faintly. Two pitch-black fangs extended ominously, their tips glinting with a chilling light.

But what caught his attention most was the layer of silvery-white energy swirling across its body like mist.

It was likely a type of magical particle. Under the shroud of the silver mist, the spider's body flickered in and out of existence, shifting back and forth between solid and translucent. It looked as though it would vanish from the Material Plane at any second and dive into the Ethereal Plane.

His comprehensively developed physical constitution granted Xia Nan a degree of night vision. With a single glance, the image of the spider before him merged with the illustration he remembered from the Monster Compendium.

It was exactly what he had guessed earlier in the day—a Phase Spider!

"Ugh..."

A gust of cold wind slipping through the crack in the door woke the sleeping shepherd.

Bleary-eyed, he saw Xia Nan standing by the door. He opened his mouth to say something but instantly realized the situation and silenced himself. He froze on his bed, not daring to move a muscle for fear of alerting the monster outside.

Whether it was because the terrified bleating of the sheep drowned out the shepherd's sleepy mumble, or because it had hunted here multiple times and simply didn't care about the noises from the adjacent hut, the monster paid him no mind.

The Phase Spider was entirely unaffected by the shepherd. Its terrifying, emotionless compound eyes reflected the flock of sheep huddling together in fear.

After a brief appraisal, it locked its sights on the ram at the very front of the flock, which was feigning composure like a true leader.

Without the slightest warning—

"Whoosh—Buzz!"

A blinding flash of silvery-white light erupted in the dark.

In the next second, the Phase Spider that had been perched far away on the canopy roof appeared directly above the ram as if teleporting.

It plunged down!

There was no time to react. The ram didn't even get out half a bleat.

The two razor-sharp fangs pierced straight into its cranial cavity. Pinned beneath the massive spider, the ram's body twitched a few times before it died completely.

Such was the chillingly efficient hunt of a monster possessing a Challenge Rating against an ordinary animal.

Long accustomed to this, its cold compound eyes still showed no emotional fluctuation. It didn't care in the slightest about the other sheep scattering in panic around the Sheep Pen. The Phase Spider's legs tapped lightly against the ground as its two fangs dug deeper into the ram, securing the body in place.

On its blue-gray, fuzz-covered body, the silver mist rippled. Brilliant silver light radiated outward; it was on the verge of using its "Ethereal Jaunt" ability to end this hunting trip.

But right at that moment, seizing the absolute perfect window when the Phase Spider's body was stiff and unable to move just before its planar shift—

A dagger, wreathed in condensed, ochre-red light, suddenly shot out from the hut next door.

Howling through the air.

His masterful application of Strength allowed the dagger to strike with absurd precision, landing dead-center on the vital spot between the Phase Spider's head and neck. And then...

"Booooom!!!"

The hallmark of forcefield energy.

Accompanied by a terrifying, pain-filled shriek and the resounding explosion of energy in the air—

A brilliant, blinding cluster of ochre-red fireworks bloomed in the depths of the night.