Part 10
She must have smelled the blood.
They had spilled plenty of blood while dealing with the Raiders outside.
The Queen was already starving. With the stench of blood filling the air right beneath her nose, she wouldn’t be able to restrain herself.
SKITTER.
SKITTER.
SKITTER.
An unpleasant noise came from the ceiling.
It was the sound of numerous legs rapidly scuttling along the walls.
Yugeon stopped walking and looked up.
Hmm…? Why can I already sense the Boss?
Something was strange.
The Queen wasn’t supposed to appear immediately.
“Come down. I already know you’re hiding up there.”
As though his words were a signal—
WHOOSH—!
A white ball of thread shot from the darkness like a bullet.
SWISH!
CLANG!
Seeing it approach, Mincheol raised his shield a step ahead and protected Yugeon.
HMMMM—!
The Indomitable Bulwark unfolded.
An opaque blue barrier began shielding the surrounding area.
HISS!
TAP.
SIZZLE—
It wasn’t an ordinary spiderweb.
Highly acidic poison was contained inside the webbing wound into a ball.
The poison was so corrosive that it melted the stone floor and sent smoke rising into the air.
“SKREEEEEE!”
At the same moment, an enormous shadow dropped from the ceiling.
THUUUD!
The ruler of Floor 20 revealed herself amid the rising dust.
【Lv. 35】 Sedria
Her upper body resembled a pale woman, while her lower body was that of a spider as large as a house.
The Arachne Queen.
All eight of her eyes were bloodshot.
Prey had appeared before her while she was starving, and no sacrifice had been offered to her.
She had essentially entered a berserk state in which all reason had vanished.
“Ugh… She looks disgusting.”
Mincheol grimaced at the Boss Monster.
He had already imagined what she might look like.
However, seeing her in person was far more repulsive than he had expected.
“Humans… Humans.”
Drool streamed from the Queen’s mouth as she let out an eerie laugh.
She raised her front legs as though she might charge at any moment.
An ordinary Awakened would have been overwhelmed by her killing intent. Their legs would have given out, causing them to collapse on the spot.
Yugeon, however, raised the corners of his mouth.
Those damned Raiders…
After checking the Queen’s level, Yugeon frowned.
The Arachne Queen was normally Level 30 at most.
Yet the Boss before him was Level 35.
Why was her level so high?
It was because the Raiders had repeatedly provoked her with their clumsy schemes.
They probably kept pretending to feed her a human, only to snatch the victim away at the last moment.
They had intended to starve her so that offering the sacrifice later would be easier.
Their idiotic, simplistic reasoning was that her hunger would make her focus entirely on the sacrifice instead of attacking them.
Instead, the Raiders’ actions had only enraged the Queen.
“She devoured the General Spider she gave birth to.”
That explained it.
No wonder the Queen had appeared immediately.
This actually worked in Yugeon’s favor.
He had already intended to corner the Queen and force her to devour the General Spider.
“Mincheol.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Defeat the Boss without using any skills—and don’t let her hit you even once.”
Smiling, Yugeon gave Mincheol a difficult mission.
***
SLASH!
SLASH!
Standing behind Mincheol, Yugeon swung the Godslaying Sword and cut down the smaller spiders.
This place should be good for leveling.
【Lv. 10】
That was his current level.
He had gained exactly nine levels since his regression.
Why had he gained only nine levels despite defeating Boss Monsters such as Baroden and Drogas?
Because the difference in our levels was too great.
The level difference between him and the Boss Monsters he had killed had been enormous.
That was why he was still only Level 10.
Even so, his current growth rate was remarkably fast.
It hadn’t been long since his regression, yet he had already gained nine levels.
Levels aren’t an absolute measure of strength…
Nevertheless, they couldn’t be ignored entirely.
SWISH!
SLASH!
SHRRAK!
Recalling his memories, Yugeon cut down the smaller spiders swarming toward him.
My martial arts may have disappeared from my skill list…
However, they hadn’t disappeared from his memories.
WHIRL!
SLASH!
Yugeon executed the Plum Blossom Sword Art.
Without Inner Arts, he couldn’t properly perform its movement art, and even his sword path wavered.
Still, it was sufficient to kill a few spiders.
Yugeon had reached the pinnacle of the sword.
Furthermore, he had learned every martial art in existence.
Ordinarily, learning martial arts with conflicting natures would cause someone to suffer Qi Deviation or be consumed by Madness.
With the System’s assistance, however, Yugeon had been able to learn them all.
At least I was grateful to the System for that.
Before fighting the gods, Han Yugeon had mastered every martial art.
He had even created a signature martial art of his own.
WHIRL—!
BOOM!
When Yugeon switched from the Plum Blossom Sword Art to the Supreme Ultimate Wisdom Sword, dozens of spiders exploded simultaneously.
Hmm. As expected, things are gradually becoming easier as my attributes increase.
His body had risen from the level of an ordinary human to that of a low-ranked Awakened.
DING—!
[Your accumulated growth has been reflected in your attributes.]
Strength +1
Agility +2
Stamina +1
Perception +1
Technique +1
Oh!
Yugeon smiled when every attribute except his maxed-out Willpower, Inner Arts, and Feat increased.
As expected.
Training apparently had to be arduous and painful.
BOOM!
THUD!
CLANG!
Mincheol looks like he’s gradually becoming exhausted.
Yugeon continued steadily cutting down the spiderlings while observing Mincheol’s face.
It was growing increasingly pale.
The poison was gradually spreading through the air, making it harder for him to breathe.
He’s working hard without showing any displeasure at the mission I gave him.
Defeat the Boss without using any skills.
Even though Mincheol was Level 50, defeating the Queen with basic attacks alone was difficult.
No, to be precise, he could have defeated an ordinary Queen without much trouble.
However, the current Queen had devoured the General Spider and entered a berserk state.
Furthermore, she had reached Level 35.
Several unfavorable conditions have overlapped.
Yugeon, however, was pleased with these unfavorable conditions.
Cha Mincheol needed to break through the wall of Level 50.
He inevitably needs a battle that takes him across the boundary between life and death.
However, he couldn’t be consumed by rage during that battle.
If that happened, Cha Mincheol’s Heavenly Killing Star would begin to bloom.
That was also why Yugeon had personally intervened when Mincheol was captured by the Guseong Gang.
“SKREEEE!”
WHOOSH—!
CLANG!
“Urgh!”
After deflecting the Queen’s front leg, Mincheol gritted his teeth.
Although he had blocked it perfectly, the impact still traveled up through his hammer.
Her hide possessed the durability of steel.
My boss is watching me!
Mincheol tightened his grip on the hammer.
Until now, he had done nothing but receive Yugeon’s help.
The Guseong Gang.
Drogas.
Even his mother’s rescue and treatment.
From their first meeting until now, Yugeon had constantly helped him.
This is a mission Boss entrusted to me.
He had to complete it, no matter what.
At the very least, he couldn’t allow himself to become a burden to Yugeon.
GRIP.
HMMMM—
Finally,A faint light began flowing from Mincheol’s hammer.
Yugeon’s eyes gleamed.
That wasn’t a skill.
It’s a phenomenon that occurs when someone breaks through their wall.
HMMMMM—!
The faint light flowing from the hammer began spreading throughout Mincheol’s body.
“SKREE?!”
“I can’t let myself be held back by something like you if I want to be of any use to Boss!”
HMMMM—!
The light radiating from Mincheol’s body pushed away the poison in the air and began strengthening him.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
CRACK-CRUNCH—!
His movements became smooth and light, as though he were wielding a dagger rather than a hammer.
Mincheol’s hammer began shattering the Queen’s tough outer shell.
Then—
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
After breaking the joints of her legs, Mincheol immediately climbed onto the Queen’s back.
“This is the end!”
WHOOSH—!
KABOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!
A frenzied barrage followed.
It was as though he were carving away a boulder with his hammer.
The hardest section of the Queen’s shell shattered into countless pieces that scattered in every direction.
“SKREE! S-spare me…”
With the shell on her back completely destroyed, the terrified Queen trembled.
Mincheol immediately moved his hammer with an indifferent expression.
“Hup!”
WHOOSH—!
CRAAAAACK!
A tremendous impact traveled through her body from her back.
BANG!
The force ultimately tore through the Queen’s body and erupted from the other side.
THUUUD!
With her heart and every other organ ruptured, the Queen’s eyes rolled back as she collapsed.
“Haa… Haa…”
After the Queen died, Mincheol drew ragged breaths.
He hadn’t known defeating a Boss Monster with nothing but basic attacks could be so difficult.
That was despite the considerable difference between their levels.
“Mincheol.”
“?”
WHOOSH.
GRAB.
Mincheol caught the object flying toward him.
“Good work.”
“Haha… Thank you, Boss.”
Yugeon had thrown him a bottle of water.
Mincheol smiled with satisfaction as he drank it.
A level indicator appeared above his head.
【Lv. 52】
He had gained two levels at once.
As expected of someone destined to become the leader of Genocide.
To become the leader of Genocide, an organization filled with powerful Awakened, one had to be exceptionally strong.
No, merely exceptional strength wouldn’t be enough.
One had to be overwhelmingly powerful.
A genius among geniuses.
That was Cha Mincheol.
***
[The seed of the Heavenly Killing Star has begun to grow.]
[Its growth is deviating from the foretold path.]
[The Sanctuary discusses the Blooming.]
[The Outer Realm ignores it.]
[The Sanctuary discusses the Blooming.]
[The Outer Realm ignores it.]
[The Sanctuary is enraged by the Outer Realm’s attitude.]
***
CRUMBLE—
After the Queen died, her enormous body began turning to powder and scattering through the air.
From within the pile of ashes—
A radiant red jewel about the size of a golf ball fell to the floor.
TAP.
GRAB.