Chapter 26

[System: Level measurement will now commence.]

[Time remaining: 03:00:00]

I quickly read the message.

‘Is this how they measured levels?’

Of all things, it was a part I couldn’t remember, so I couldn’t be sure.

As I furrowed my brow, a new window opened before my eyes.

[Quest: Eliminate the boss and secure its core.]

[Success: Obtain Memory Fragment (1/7)]

[Failure: The death of Alex Ruthius]

“…What?”

“Did you see the message too? It says they’re starting a level measurement.”

Alex sneered beside me. It seemed he hadn’t received an additional quest.

Oblivious to the quest I’d received, he grinned to himself.

“You said you were stronger than me, right? Let’s see about that.”

Alex chuckled and stepped out from under the awning. He looked triumphant as he drew his sword.

I ripped off my veil.

“Why do I have to deal with that damn idiot!”

If I had my way, I wouldn’t have cared whether he lived or died.

But failing the quest would be a loss.

I needed to get the Memory Fragment, and the boss’s core was too valuable to miss.

‘It would sell for a hefty price. How could I pass that up?’

I sighed in annoyance and glared at the gate.

Hunters had gathered around the gate, drawing their weapons with tense expressions.

Roughly three hundred of them.

Even considering the hunters who weren’t present and those from other countries, it was a small number.

‘And there probably aren’t many real powerhouses among them…’

Johan, Kaiel, Alex. Are they the only ones I know?

As I scanned the hunters, my eyes landed on an unexpected person.

Dante.

He stood motionlessly, a step away from the other hunters.

‘The Second Prince was a Hunter?’

For the hunters, this was their first gate raid.

With a level measurement on top of that, it was natural for them to be nervous.

But he showed no sense of crisis or tension.

He hadn’t even drawn a weapon.

With his hands stuffed in his pockets, he simply tilted his head as if he had no interest in the gate.

His expression was one of languid boredom.

“It’s coming out!”

From within the gate, which had only been emitting light, eight hairy legs suddenly jutted out.

Next came a head with twelve eyes and pincer-like jaws, followed by a body as hard as armor, and finally, a brilliantly yellow-striped abdomen emerged.

It was a giant tarantula, its body over ten meters long.

As soon as it exited the gate, it began to spray silk into the air.

A large web formed between the banners meant to commemorate the victims.

Positioning itself in the center of the web, it wrapped its body tightly in silk.

Something rained down from an opening at the bottom of its now cocoon-like form.

About fifty eggs, each slightly larger than a fist.

Just as a few hunters approached the eggs.

The shells cracked, and dark things tumbled out.

What first looked like marbles rapidly swelled.

Soon, eight long legs extended out.

They were spiderlings, each about a meter long.

The boss, enveloped in a protective barrier, simply clung to its web, showing no sign of attacking.

The hunters snickered, seeing it was weaker than they’d expected.

“Heh, is that all?”

“What the hell, I was nervous for nothing.”

“I thought a level measurement would be really tough… but it looks like we can take it easy.”

Tsk, tsk, tsk. I clicked my tongue.

‘It’s too soon to judge by appearances. Its true power is proliferation.’

That monster has a trait of laying eggs two or three times as a test run right after emerging from the gate.

The spiderlings born then are used to clear obstacles and secure the area.

Only after that does it begin to lay eggs and attack in earnest.

‘That’s the only window to attack.’

Even in my past life, whenever one of these appeared, the entire nation went on high alert.

Because no matter what they did, they couldn’t prevent casualties.

Kieek!

The spiderlings scuttled forward and opened their jaws wide.

White silk shot out from their mouths, wrapping around the ankles of people lying on the street.

“You dare!”

A nearby hunter struck the silk with his sword.

Clang! But the silk, far from being cut, repelled the sword.

The hunter staggered back from the powerful recoil.

“H-How is this…”

“Ugh, ugh, ahhhhh!”

In that moment, the person whose ankles were bound shriveled up like a deflated balloon.

Their skin wrinkled and their hair fell out in clumps.

Bones became visible and their stomach caved in. The desperate screams finally ceased.

“It multiplies by feeding on human bodily fluids! We need to evacuate the people first…”

Before someone could even shout a warning.

The spiders that had sucked the bodily fluids quivered and then burst.

A foul-smelling, yellowish liquid exploded everywhere.

“…!”

In the instant no one could react to the sudden self-destruction.

From the remains of each dead spider, ten more crawled out.

The fifty-odd spiders had multiplied to over five hundred in the blink of an eye.

The whole process was incredibly fast.

At this rate, it was impossible to even guess how many more there would be.

And that wasn’t all.

The biggest problem was not knowing how many more eggs the mother held.

The hunters’ faces hardened.

“Kyaaah!”

“Hngh! No! Let me go!”

“Please, please, save me!”

The hunt had begun for the B-rank monsters, the spiders that fed on human fluids to multiply.

People who had fallen behind while fleeing, the injured, those who were too afraid to run and had hidden.

Even hunters with weak offensive power.

The grand plaza was littered with prey needed for proliferation.

The spiders gleefully sucked humans dry and burst their bodies to increase their numbers.

Standing in the middle of it all, Johan reached a hand toward the sky as if in supplication.

Woooong, a great vibration echoed from somewhere.

The wind gently caressed Johan’s soft blond hair as it passed.

Soon, a brilliant light poured down from the sky, enveloping Johan in pure white.

People stared, mesmerized by the noble and sacred scene.

In an instant, a tremendous light radiated out from him, encircling the grand plaza.

Johan opened his closed eyes and murmured. His blue eyes, moist and shimmering, wavered.

“Ultimate, Light’s Cope.”

Light’s Cope, an ultimate skill exclusive to the priest class that trapped monsters within a specific area.

‘He already got that item?’

I remember it cost quite a lot of points to exchange for it in the shop, so how…

‘Ah! One of Johan’s constellations must be a big spender.’

In any case, it was a smart decision.

The priority right now was to stop the spiders from escaping the plaza and multiplying infinitely.

‘But it won’t last long.’

Wide-range abilities tend to have short durations.

Besides, there were still people who hadn’t managed to escape the plaza.

The spiders, having finished their first proliferation, were in a position to multiply at least once more.

The 500 or so could increase to 5,000.

The hesitant hunters regained their momentum and charged at the spiders.

Just then, on one side of the plaza, Kaiel rose into the air.

As he chanted an incantation, the wind began to blow like mad.

His robe whipped about as if it would tear, and an eerie energy spread in all directions.

Just as goosebumps rose on my skin, feeling as if even the light in the plaza had died down, he pointed at the ground.

“O, Flame, burn away all that lives.”

A great flame erupted where he pointed, swirling like a vortex.

It was a hellfire that sucked in everything around it.

The nearby spiders were helplessly drawn in.

It was the prelude to war.

Chimeras summoned by summoners roared, and flames and lightning flashed everywhere.

The battle cries of swordsmen tore through the plaza.

Everyone fought desperately to eliminate the monsters before the Light’s Cope disappeared.

After assessing the situation, I grabbed Zenia’s face and met her gaze.

Zenia’s eyes were shaking wildly with terror.

“Zenia.”

“W-what do we do…”

“Zenia!”

“Yes? Y-yes, Princess…”

“Get out of the plaza now and hide somewhere enclosed.”

“…”

“Zenia, are you listening? Get a grip! Do you want to be caught by a monster and die like that?”

“N-no! B-but Kun… my little brother must be here somewhere. I can’t hide by myself!”

Tears welled up in Zenia’s eyes.

I bit my lip.

People were tangled together like a swarm of ants on a cookie. Finding a child in that mess was impossible.

‘So what?’

I was planning to let the world perish for all I cared anyway.

So I shouldn’t care who dies.

If I keep giving in little by little, I might end up being a pushover again. But…

‘Would you like some?’

‘Sister! Run! Quickly!’

My head throbbed again. I took a deep breath to endure the headache.

“Hoo… Does anyone know the child’s location.”

“Yes?”

“Not you. Everyone, please help me. I’m begging you.”