Chapter 100: Facing The Spiders (1)

Both goblins fixed their eyes on the forest ahead.

The skittering sounds grew louder and louder, mixed with the occasional crack of branches and a low rumble that seemed to come from the ground itself. Meanwhile, the sky kept darkening, almost like someone was turning down the lights.

Then, suddenly...

A gigantic shadow burst out of the darkness.

A piercing screech tore through the clearing.

I didn’t even wait for a proper look. I just activated the skill.

"Blessing of Protection! Activate!"

A golden glow wrapped around both Gopuro and Gopuran.

[Blessing of Protection]: Prevents new negative effects from being applied. Reduces the effectiveness and damage of existing negative effects by 50%!

With both of them protected, I could at least stop panicking quite so hard about that terrifying aura.

And sure enough...

The monster that stepped into view was exactly what I’d been dreading.

A Dark Giant Spider.

Its body was pitch-black and enormous, front legs ending in sharp, blade-like points. It reared up as it came closer, lifting those deadly limbs high like it was trying to intimidate the two goblins standing in its way. Crimson eyes glowed, and another shrill screech ripped out of its mouth.

Haha...

Unfortunately for you...

Your little intimidation trick isn’t going to work on my citizens!

Gopuro didn’t waste a second. He charged straight at the spider, his massive two-handed axe already raised above his shoulder.

He was fast. The spider wasn’t exactly slow either.

The creature lunged, bladed legs slicing through the air. Gopuro barely managed to dodge the first strike. The sharp limb swept past his shoulder, close enough that I felt my nonexistent heart nearly stop.

But he didn’t back off.

He planted his feet, twisted, and swung the axe with everything he had.

VZZZZT!

SLAAASH!

The blade slammed into the spider’s head with a heavy, meaty impact, cutting deep into the black carapace!

Black blood sprayed across the ground. The monster staggered back with a piercing shriek.

KIEEEEEEEEK!

"Come on, what the hell?!"

For a second I thought he’d actually split its head open.

But the spider was still very much alive.

Its body lurched sideways, and one of its front legs shot toward Gopuro’s axe. The bladed limb slammed against the weapon, blocking the next swing.

CLANG!

The impact nearly tore the axe out of his hands. He staggered backward, arms trembling. Before he could steady himself, the spider thrust another leg straight at his chest.

"PURO! WATCH OUT!"

"Gah!"

He twisted aside just in time, but the attack still clipped his shoulder and sent him stumbling.

Shit.

This thing was tougher than I’d expected. Even with a massive wound in its head, it could still fight back hard.

Fortunately, Gopuran was already moving.

She darted in from the spider’s flank, staying low as she slipped past its thrashing limbs.

SHING!

Her sword flashed toward one of the front legs. The blade bit into the joint... but didn’t sever it completely.

Seriously? How tough is this thing?

Gopuran gritted her teeth and yanked her sword free before the spider could turn on her. One of its rear legs swept toward her, forcing her to leap backward to avoid getting impaled. She landed awkwardly, almost losing her footing, but managed to recover just in time.

Now the spider was caught between the two of them, its wounded head dripping black blood.

Gopuro tightened his grip on his axe.

Gopuran steadied herself, adjusting her stance.

Neither of them looked particularly relaxed anymore.

Well... I’d known they were saving their skills in case something even scarier showed up. Or, considering what this forest seemed to be like, in case more spiders appeared.

But looking at the monster in front of them...

Yeah, I don’t think we can afford to hold back anymore.

"We need more damage output! Use your skills!" I ordered right away.

Both goblins understood.

"And Puro, I’ve got an idea!"

I quickly explained the plan. He didn’t hesitate.

Instead of charging in for another direct attack, he ran straight at the spider with his axe held firmly in both hands. The creature reacted immediately, raising one of its wounded front legs to block him.

But Gopuro wasn’t trying to attack just yet.

At the last moment he ducked under the sweeping blade, rolled across the ground, and sprang back to his feet a short distance away.

The spider let out a shrill screech and lunged after him, its huge body surging forward as it tried to close the gap.

Nice.

That was exactly what we’d wanted.

Gopuro wasn’t aiming for a hit. He was just drawing the spider’s attention, forcing it to focus on him instead of his sister.

And apparently the creature had taken the bait. Its crimson eyes stayed locked on Gopuro as it raised the wounded front leg again, preparing to strike.

"PURAN! NOW!"

His sister didn’t hesitate.

She darted in from the side, moving quickly beneath the spider’s other limbs. For a moment the monster seemed too focused on Gopuro to notice her.

Then Gopuran raised her sword.

"WIND BLADE!"

Mana surged around the blade as she slashed at the joint of the raised front leg with everything she had.

SHRAAAAK!

This time the attack landed exactly where it needed to.

The enhanced blade tore through the joint, severing the leg in a spray of black blood.

KIEEEEEEEEK!

The monster shrieked and lurched violently. With one front leg suddenly gone, it couldn’t keep its balance. Its enormous body tilted sideways and crashed heavily onto the ground.

The impact shook the clearing.

"NOW! FINISH IT!"

Gopuro seized the chance.

He stepped forward, raised his axe high above his head, and poured mana into the weapon. Energy gathered around the blade.

"RAAAAAARRRGGGG!!! BIG SLASHHHH!!!!"

He brought the axe down with a tremendous roar.

KRAAAAAASH!

The blow struck the spider’s already-damaged head, tearing through the carapace and splitting it apart. Black blood splattered everywhere as the monster’s body jerked violently.

KIEEEEEEE...!

The screech cut off halfway through.

The remaining legs twitched and scraped against the dirt for a few seconds before finally going still.

And just like that, the Dark Giant Spider was dead.

...

NICE!!!

I practically wanted to cheer.

That was amazing.

Well... the fight had been a lot messier than I’d hoped. For a moment there I genuinely thought Gopuro might get skewered, and Gopuran had nearly been caught too.

Still, they’d managed to work together and bring the thing down.

That was what mattered.

And now that I’d seen them fight one of these things firsthand, I had a slightly better idea of what we were dealing with.

The spiders were dangerous, no question. Their bladed legs were fast, and their bodies were tough enough to tank attacks that would’ve killed plenty of other monsters.

But if we could protect ourselves from that fear-inducing aura, fighting them might actually be manageable.

Assuming we don’t get surrounded by more than three of them, of course.

I wasn’t about to get too confident just yet, though.

Because while we’d gotten a kill, something else was bothering me.

During the fight, the spider’s black blood had splattered all over both Gopuro and Gopuran. And given how the blood hissed when sunlight touched it earlier... it could be poisonous.

I immediately checked their conditions again.

Their HP was stable. Neither seemed to have taken any damage from the blood. [Blessing of Protection] was still active too, so even if the blood had some unpleasant effect, the skill should help keep them safe.

Still, better keep an eye on them.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to worry about it.

Because before I could even finish checking their statuses...

CRACK! CRACK!

Branches snapped in the forest ahead.

Two more enormous shadows burst into the clearing.

This time it wasn’t one.

It was TWO!!!

A pair of Dark Giant Spiders.