abcnovels
Chapter 38: The Nest of Fermi (4)
Chapter 38: The Nest of Fermi (4)
Chapter 38: The Nest of Fermi (4)
Kai started to run away toward the entrance, but it was already blocked by Fermi's webs. Losing his options, Kai immediately turned and ran to the left.
Thud, thud, thud!
With every stretch of Fermi's leg, the cave crumbled!
"This is your house! Why are you wrecking it? Haven't you thought about the repairs later!?"
Though Kai was kind enough to worry about Fermi's financial situation, there was no way she would understand!
Instead, Fermi, angered by Kai running around, tilted her head back.
“Hwaaak...”
It sounded like a twenty-four-year smoker clearing their throat!
Kai instinctively jumped away, anticipating something dreadful coming his way.
Splat! Fshhh!
Fermi's lethal poison melted the ground!
Kai's face turned pale after seeing this.
I don't want to be hit by that!
It was the extreme poison of a level 75 boss monster. It was obvious he would fall into a critical state before being able to detoxify. Above all, it smelled horrendous.
"Damn it, I have no choice!"
Kai opened his inventory and took out three types of potions. They were the potions made using the blood of the Wyrm Lizard at the Wizard’s Tower!
[Potion of Resistance Lv.3]
Increases all resistances for 5 minutes.
[Potion of Speed Lv.3]
Increases Speed for 5 minutes.
[Potion of Power Lv.3]
Increases physical and magical attack powers for 5 minutes.
Kai called this the Triple Doping Set!
Dang it, these could easily bring 50 silver at the auction!
However, with his life on the line, Kai boldly invested.
Now I have only nine bottles of each potion left.
If he drank all those potions during this battle, it would be like spending 500,000 won!
Alright, even if I have to drink them all, I will surely defeat you!
Kai's movements became more agile. Not only because of the potion's power but because he was determined to lay that giant spider at his feet.
I've identified four attack patterns so far.
Kai wasn't just running away without a plan. He analyzed Fermi's attack patterns while running.
Boss monsters typically used a few patterns exquisitely depending on the situation.
Spraying poison, body slam, furiously smashing the ground with all eight legs. Lastly, a barrage of webs, is that all?
It wasn’t much different from other spider-type monsters! The only difference was that while other monsters' attacks could be laughable, getting hit by this one meant screaming instantly.
"And..." Kai's eyes sparkled.
It was because Fermi's head was tilted back significantly!
That's the motion before spitting poison!
The moment Kai realized this, he dashed forward.
"Supernova!"
His speed noticeably increased!
Caught off guard, Fermi spat out her poison a bit faster than usual.
Splat!
I can dodge this!
Confident in his thought, Kai slid across the ground.
Sssss...
The venom barely grazed the top of his helmet as it passed by!
Arriving right under Fermi's belly, Kai extended his hand.
"Take this! Holy Explosion!"
Boom!
A white beam precisely struck the spider's vital point, her belly.
"Kreeeek!"
For the first time since the battle began, Fermi screamed, and her massive body was momentarily suspended in the air at the strong force.
Her HP, what about her HP?
He checked Fermi's HP, and his face darkened.
***
Not only was Holy Explosion the skill with the highest attack power Kai could use at the moment, but it also targeted a weak spot for 1.5 times the damage, so it was unbelievable that it only reduced Fermi's health by 1%.
"Kyaaaak!"
Thud, thud, thud!
Furious to be struck in the belly by Kai, Fermi stabbed the ground with her eight legs.
Dodging her movements that looked like a tap dance, Kai sought a way out of this situation.
Something is strange.
Even if Fermi was a level 75 boss monster, it didn't make sense that his attack with Supernova only cut off 1% of her health. There was only one reason for this.
She has a specific weak point.
Boss monsters of this kind sometimes appeared in dungeons.
Unlike regular boss monsters that you could dodge attacks and hit anywhere for damage, there were some boss monsters that didn't take damage from randomly placed hits. Instead, they required precise timing and location for attacks to be effective. In short, finding the location of the weakness quickly was the key point!
Kai scanned her entire body.
Weakness, weakness, weakness...
However, given her enormous size, the weak point wasn't immediately apparent. Kai first deactivated Supernova and glanced at his remaining Holy Power.
I have about 7,200 Holy Power left...
He could push it to use Supernova for about seven more seconds.
Kai focused all his attention on dodging her attacks.
"Kraaaaak!"
Thud, thud, thud!
Fermi charged with enough intensity that it seemed like she was willing to bring down her own nest!
Kai threw himself around, barely keeping himself alive every time. Of course, he was getting some damage in the process.
[You have been crushed by a falling rock. You’ve received 2,500 damage.]
[You have fallen into a poison puddle. You’ve received 800 damage per second.]
[You have been hit by a stone. You’ve received 200 damage per second until the bleeding stops.]
Though it wasn’t much, the damages were annoying in various ways!
Kai repeatedly reset himself with Sunlight’s Warmth every time he was afflicted with a status effect.
"Damn, things will never end like this!"
Even at a glance, Fermi didn't seem tired at all.
Keep calm, keep calm.
Kai forced his mind to be calmer as much as he became impatient.
They wouldn't have made an unbeatable boss.
Of course, this being a dungeon, it could have been designed with party play in mind. However, that didn’t mean they would create a dungeon that solo players could never beat!
After dodging attacks for a while, Kai reached a conclusion.
I can't find a weakness from below.
He had attacked the legs and the abdomen, but no damage was done. That left only one place!
...It’s on top!
The weak point was above the giant body of the creature, a place his sight didn’t reach! Kai believed the creature's weak point was there.
How can I climb onto its body then?
He quickly thought of two or three methods. One was to climb up its legs, and another was to make all eight of its legs kneel.
“...No, I don't necessarily have to climb up.”
Kai immediately ripped off one of the torches from the wall. His gaze was fixed on the countless cocoons hanging from the ceiling.
"Everything usable must be used!"
The torch he threw with all his might shot toward the webs on the ceiling.
Fwoosh!
Just as he had noticed it before while clearing the boss room entrance, the webs were particularly vulnerable to fire. The fire quickly spread across the ceiling, turning it into a sea of flames.
"Kyaaak?"
Fermi raised her head as it got hot! Then cocoons started to fall down on her.
"This is what I call a cocoon strike!"
Of course, Kai wasn't entirely safe as the falling cocoons didn't discriminate against their targets! However, Kai was small and could easily dodge the falling cocoons, but Fermi could not and started to get hit by them.
She’s getting damaged!
Kai's eyes lit up because Fermi's HP dropped by 40% from being hit by hundreds of cocoons.
“Kyaaaak!”
Screaming, Fermi crouched down, and Kai quickly climbed on top of her.
"That’s what I thought!” Kai shouted in joy.
While the legs and abdomen were protected by a hard shell with all sorts of protrusions, the back and head had skin no different from other spiders.
"Supernova."
Using a buff, Kai planted the Long Sword of the Enlightened One firmly into Fermi's back, held the sword in a reverse grip, and ran forward.
Slaaash!
Like cutting paper with a utility knife, Fermi's back was sliced open like tofu!
In overwhelming pain, Fermi twisted and turned in agony.
Thud, thud!
Each time her body hit the wall, rocks fell from the ceiling! However, they also helped reduce Fermi's HP.
I might be able to finish things off now.
As Kai focused his attacks on Fermi's back and head, her HP quickly dropped to 30%. It felt like victory was within reach!
However, Fermi also had a hidden move.
Fwoosh!
Purple smoke spewed from her back! The poison gas quickly spread through the air, poisoning Kai.
"Eugh!"
[You have been poisoned. You receive 1,500 damage per second.]
"Sunlight’s Warmth!"
He barely managed to neutralize the poison effect, but by then, Fermi had shaken Kai off.
"Damn it."
Realizing that it was dangerous for Kai to be on top, Fermi kept her distance, spitting only webs and venom. Additionally, since the sword was stuck in her head, Kai's only way of attacking was Holy Explosion.
To damage her with Holy Explosion...
He needed to attack the top of her body. However, the straight path of Holy Explosion couldn't act out such an attack. It was a situation where others would have given up, but instead, Kai's eyes shone.
***
"Holy Explosion!"
Boom!
Another white flash illuminated the dark boss room.
"Kreeeek!"
Fermi mocked Kai's attack, which missed her. But interestingly, Kai was smiling too.
“There.”
Kai had embedded twenty Holy Explosions into the ceiling! A single player couldn't possibly bring down a ceiling similar to terrain in one go.
But what if not once but dozens of times?
Kai aimed for the collapse of the ceiling. He didn't dream of bringing down the entire ceiling, only a part of it! Therefore, his Holy Explosions hit the ceiling in a circular dotted line.
Now I just need to strike near its center.
Deciding on his next move, Kai used Supernova.
His body's temperature rose as if he were in a sauna. Despite this, Kai didn't lose his smile and charged at Fermi.
"Kreeeee!?"
Startled by Kai's charge, Fermi stepped backward! Even as she retreated, she fired venom and webs nonstop.
This is the final hurdle!
Kai dodged all incoming projectiles with incredible focus.
Flash, flash, flash!
Fermi's attacks barely missed Kai's body! Kai, having barely evaded all her attacks, slid across the ground.
As he slid, he extended his right hand as he shouted confidently, "Holy Explosion!"
Boom!
The Holy Explosion struck right at the center of the circular dotted line on the ceiling.
Rumble, rumble.
The accumulated damage to the ceiling burst. Rocks poured down as if a dam had burst!
Hiding under Fermi's belly, Kai used her as a shield while using a heal skill on himself.
"Sunlight’s Warmth, Sunlight’s Warmth, Sunlight’s Warmth!"
Unintentionally, Fermi ended up protecting Kai!
“Kyaaaaak!”
She immediately tried to move her body to kill Kai, but the rocks falling from the ceiling prevented her from doing so.
Thud, thud, thud!
If the previous cocoon drops were jabs, the rocks now hitting her weak spots were heavy straights!
Fermi's HP rapidly began to decrease.
20%, 15%, 10%...
When the barrage of ceiling rocks ended, only 1% of her HP remained.
"Finally!"
Kai made a big smile and extended his hand toward Fermi's belly.
"Holy Explosion!"
Boom!
The beam tore through Fermi's belly.
"Kyaaaaak!" Fermi, letting out a sorrowful scream, slowly turned into polygons from her legs up and gradually dispersed.
Left alone in the chaos of the cave, Kai dusted off the dirt covering his body and slowly stood up.
"I... I won, right?"
He had caused a major disaster yet he couldn't believe it! However, the feast of messages that dazzled his eyes and ears confirmed that fact.
Ding!
[Fermi, Queen of the Spiders, has been defeated.]
[+250,000 XP.]
[Level increased.]
[Level increased.]
[Level increased.]
[+15 stat points.]
[You single-handedly defeated the ruler of the Forest of Spiders, Fermi. +3,000 Fame.]
[Special title acquired: Queen Slayer.]
"Wow!"
They truly were magical sentences that made him forget his fatigue! Among them, the grand finale was a special title.
"Title book."
Kai immediately opened the summoned book.
[Queen Slayer]
Rank: Special
Description: A title given to players who defeat the Spider Queen Fermi on their own.
Effect:
+3 All stats
+30 Poison Resistance
Receives no damage from spider-type monsters.
(This effect persists even when title is not equipped.)
"Yes! Amazing!"
A hearty exclamation came out of Kai’s mouth as if he had just drank a bowl of Korean rice wine.
Even though it was the same special title, the title of Wyrm Lizard Slayer was incomparable with Queen Slayer!
Dancing a little shoulder dance, Kai looked at the newly added stat points.
"Oh, of course, it's going into Strength!"
His Strength went up by 15 points in one go!
Kai felt a robust strength running through him and smiled contentedly.
"Indeed, a full-strength Cleric is the best."