Volume 7, Chapter 9 – The Frost Spider

Following the six adventurers led by Dominic, they delved into the deepest part of the twelfth floor. When Yisi’s group arrived before a massive, open stone door, they all stopped in unison.

Although the interior of the stone gate was pitch black, the sounds of a fierce battle could be heard with exceptional clarity, and the sparks from clashing weapons could be seen from time to time.

“We finally found it.”

Dominic let out a sigh of relief.

Although Dominic’s party was planning to subjugate the twelfth-floor guardian tomorrow night, it didn’t mean he had memorized the path. They had taken several wrong turns along the way, spending nearly half an hour, and only finally arrived at the guardian’s room with Yisi’s guidance.

“Cardinal Yisi, even though it’s your first time here, you seem to know the route quite well.”

“We took this path when we escaped from the guardian’s room earlier, so I remember it clearly.”

Brushing it off with a casual excuse, Yisi began to peer into the room.

The guardian’s room was about the size of a football field, but the twelfth-floor guardian alone occupied a sixth of that area. It was a giant spider made entirely of ice, called a [Frost Spider]. Every time its stone-pillar-sized legs landed on the ground, they left an ankle-deep crater. If someone were hit directly, they would surely be crushed to death on the spot.

“So this is the guardian.”

The Frost Spider also appeared in [Ragnarøk] and was one of the easy bosses that players encountered early on. Generally, players could easily defeat this boss just by following the main quest and clicking through the story. It could be said that for every player that appeared, a Frost Spider got beaten up.

“Speaking of which, I never really felt it before, but is Pepe that much better than me at close-quarters combat?”

Pepe was fighting the Frost Spider in a way she could never have imagined.

Due to the vast difference in strength, Pepe avoided a direct confrontation, instead using her agile body to weave and dodge beneath the Frost Spider’s massive frame. Although a vampire’s wings couldn’t allow her to fly, Pepe was able to use their power to balance her body. Every time Yisi thought Pepe would surely be hit by a spider leg, Pepe would flap her wings to evade at a hair’s breadth, her movements filled with a dancer’s grace. Yisi was certain that even the most technically skilled player in [Ragnarøk] would be filled with admiration and humbly ask for instruction after seeing Pepe’s current movements.

I should try practicing this wing control technique of Pepe’s when I have time. I’ve been treating these wings as mere decorations; I’ve really underestimated the Blood Clan race.

The dwarf named Axis patted his short-handled axe, his expression tense.

“Dominic, should we charge in?”

“Rushing in recklessly will just get us killed too. The people inside are probably struggling because it’s too dark to find the exit. Let’s light a torch at the entrance so they can run towards the light.”

“Yes, I think that’s a good idea.”

Pepe would surely be displeased if such an exhilarating battle were interrupted. Standing behind Dominic’s group, Yisi tried to stop them.

“Um… could you wait just a little longer? My companion seems to be enjoying her fight with the guardian.”

“What are you talking about? Do you have no sense of danger?” one of the adventurers looked at Yisi as if she were crazy. “The twelfth-floor guardian is at least level 30. Even for a Mithril-rank party like us, rushing in would get us wiped out. If someone says they want to fight the guardian, they must be insane.”

Wait.

Yisi tilted her head in confusion.

The adventurers led by Dominic were not exceptionally outstanding, but they were certainly skilled among ordinary people. The highest level, Dominic, was level 28. The dwarf and the elf were level 23 and 25, respectively. With the other four members being close to level 20, they should be able to defeat the guardian after a tough fight, if not win outright, by overwhelming it with numbers. Yet they were saying they would be annihilated.

Dominic held up a hand, signaling his companions to be quiet.

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“Cardinal Yisi, I also think it’s too dangerous to let your companion fight the guardian alone. This is not a monster that just a few of us can handle.”

“Miss Edith will surely be very angry…”

With a worried expression, Mary’s gaze flickered between Yisi and Dominic. Perhaps having thought of something, Dominic asked Mary.

“Is the person inside named Edith? Is she a Crimson Gold-rank adventurer?”

“No… Miss Edith is level 25…”

“Level 25 and she’s held on for this long!? If it were me, I’d have been turned into food in minutes,” the female elf exclaimed.

“That’s because Miss Edith is very good at fighting. She knows all sorts of different magic.”

“Traveling with Cardinal Yisi must mean she’s a member of the Church, right? Is she a Hunter? I’ve heard that Hunters have a lot of resources at their disposal, unlike us adventurers who have no one to guide us and only know a few common spells.”

With a look of sudden realization, Dominic nodded.

The one who also had a sudden realization was Yisi.

Switching from the [Omniscient Map] to her God’s Eye view, Yisi glanced at Dominic’s party.

Just as Dominic had said, apart from himself, these adventurers, despite their high levels, had only learned three or four spells each. One of them was level 19, yet his skill bar had only a pathetic two spells. For comparison, Mary already had [Charge], [Shield Counterattack], and [Power Strike] at level 13.

Have I been subconsciously using my companions’ strength as the standard because their talents are so high?

Looking closely, one could also see that Dominic’s party’s equipment was very simple. The female elf wore only light armor woven from some unknown leaves, and her bow was only slightly better than a standard-issue one. Although the dwarf wore sturdy plate armor, it was covered in battle scars, and the two short axes in his hands were chipped in many places.

Yisi had a feeling that the combined strength of these seven people was probably only equivalent to her own companions. And if Pepe were to join the fray, the battle would end in a landslide. The two groups were not on the same level at all; the difference in both the spells they had learned and the equipment they wore was more than just a little.

She had originally thought that her method of leveling up her companions was too simple and crude and would affect their skill acquisition. But now it seemed that they were already quite formidable compared to ordinary people.

Of course, she wouldn’t be satisfied with this. Since she could make her companions even stronger, it was better to stick to the original plan, slow down their leveling speed, and have them learn more spells.

While Yisi and Dominic were talking, the other adventurers had already gathered some dry branches from the surroundings. After piling them together, they struck a flint stone over and over to create sparks. In a world without fire magic, this was how people usually made fire.

“Dominic, the fire’s lit!”

“Good!” Waving a torch, Dominic shouted into the large hall where the battle was raging. “The exit is over here! You can escape this way!”

Hmm…

There was an indescribable sense of awkwardness.

If possible, she wanted to get out of the labyrinth immediately.

“Refina! Get those people outside to scram!”

“Yes—Viel, watch your back!”

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Bang.

The momentary distraction made Edith a beat too slow. Before she could turn her head, the Frost Spider seized the opportunity, its foreleg sweeping across her chest.

The sound was less like hitting soft flesh and more like kicking an extremely hard wooden plank. At the same time, an orange glow lit up on Edith’s body—it was [Fortitude], which hardened her skin. However, hardening her skin couldn’t change the fact that she was far weaker than the Frost Spider. Struck by the immense force, Edith was slammed into a corner of the hall.

“Ugh… damn it.”

The Frost Spider’s attack didn’t end there.

“Kaka-kaka-kaka—”

A strange sound she had never heard before entered Edith’s ears.

Edith was sure she had heard this sound before, but it had been so long that she couldn’t recall what it was. But she knew that this sound was definitely not something to be happy about. The spider before her had likely used some kind of magic.

Then, Edith quickly realized what the magic was.

It was the sound of an object being frozen in a short amount of time.

The last time she had heard it was when she encountered a Frost Dragon in the far north.

Her wings and feet were frozen to the ground.

This was the worst possible outcome.

The only reason she could fight a guardian stronger than herself was that its massive body made it difficult to deal with an agile target like her. So, once her movements were restricted, let alone continuing the fight, even escaping safely would be a problem.

To make matters worse, the Frost Spider had already turned its body towards her. Its mandibles, formed of solid ice, were gradually approaching. A little closer, and they would be at her waist.

“Close your eyes.”

Yisi’s voice suddenly reached her ears.

Before Edith could react, Camilla’s sharp voice echoed through the hall.

“[Flash].”

—!

A light so dazzling it could almost burn the retinas. For a mere instant, the hall was illuminated as if it were broad daylight.

The guardian, its attention drawn by the light, froze. At the same time, a magic-infused arrow struck its back.

Since Edith hadn’t come out for a long time, Dominic had suggested they switch from waiting to actively rescuing her. His party would attack the Frost Spider to draw its attention, while Yisi’s group would be responsible for getting Edith out.

The one who had shot the arrow was the female elf from Dominic’s party.

“Damn, I missed!”

“Please, try to aim better next time.”

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“It’s a miracle I hit it at all from this distance. Ugh, it’s turning around! Let’s fall back! No, no, no, it’s too late!!!”

Supporting its body on its hind legs, the Frost Spider turned towards Dominic’s party, its eyes glowing red. It raised its forelegs and lunged forward like a praying mantis.

A crushing pressure, like a mountain collapsing, descended upon Dominic’s party.

“Nana, get out of the way!”

“Let me take it!” The dwarf with the two short axes pushed the elf aside, crossed his axes, and raised them above his head. The same orange glow that had flashed on Edith appeared again. “[Fortitude]!”

BOOM.

Like a nail being hammered into a wall, the dwarf’s feet were instantly driven into the ground.

It looked painful, but his HP didn’t actually decrease. The dwarf’s body was surprisingly sturdy.

Glancing at the [Omniscient Map], Yisi felt relieved. She shattered the ice restricting Edith’s movement with a hand-chop and handed her a magic potion.

“Are you okay?”

Edith unceremoniously took the potion and drank it in one gulp.

“Hmph, how did you know I was here?”

“Tiffany told me. If it weren’t for her, you’d be in a bad spot right now, Pepe.”

“Before that, if those meddlesome people hadn’t disturbed me, I would still be toying with my prey.”

“Yes, yes. But let me say this first, you can’t defeat the guardian alone, Pepe. If you want to challenge it next time, bring me along. I’ll just watch from the sidelines until you can’t hold on anymore.”

Although Pepe had already worn down nearly 20% of the Frost Spider’s health through a cycle of [fight-rest-fight], according to Yisi’s memory, the Frost Spider had a double-berserk passive skill. The first time was when its health dropped to 50%, its strength, defense, and speed would double. The second was when its health dropped below 10%, it would cast a full map area-of-effect frost spell, freezing the movement of all those hit. If the total HP of those hits was lower than the Frost Spider’s remaining HP, they would be instantly frozen solid, which meant a one-hit kill.

However, because the Frost Spider was considered an easy monster in [Ragnarøk], most players rarely ever saw it go berserk. It would usually be killed by the player in two hits long before it had a chance to.

“Master, I found Tiffany!”

“It’s cold.”

Even though she was only slightly taller than Tiffany, Mary was able to carry her in a princess hold. And because she was cold from the area-of-effect spell the Frost Spider had cast earlier, Tiffany, seeking warmth, proactively wrapped her arms around Mary’s neck and pressed herself tightly against her.

Following closely behind Mary, Camilla also returned with a slightly disheveled Refina.

“Onee-sama, Refina is back too.”

“I’m sorry… for making you worry, Miss Yisi.”

“You don’t need to blame yourself, Refina.”

She must have come underground because she was following Pepe anyway.

Yisi glanced at Dominic in the distance, who was currently holding back the Frost Spider. Due to the disparity in their combat power, Dominic’s party was in a tough fight, and their line could collapse at any moment.

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“Camilla, Mary, you all wait for me outside the room. I’m going to help Dominic’s group.”

“Understood, Onee-sama.”

After confirming that Camilla’s group had left, Yisi quickly moved to the front line where Dominic was.

“Dominic, you can retreat now!”

“I know! Nana, Axis, you go first! I’ll be right there!”

“Okay!”

“Hyaah!”

His longsword struck heavily against the Frost Spider’s leg, but it only sent a few ice chips flying. Clicking his tongue at the poor quality of his weapon, Dominic began to retreat towards the entrance.

However.

“Screeeech—!”

Realizing it had been tricked, the frenzied Frost Spider chased after Dominic. With reckless momentum, it lowered its head like a charging bull and rushed at him with its eight legs.

The speed was like an arrow released from a bowstring.

Before Dominic could react, the Frost Spider was already upon him.

This is bad.

Alarm bells rang in his mind. Dominic tried his best to dodge to the side, but the Frost Spider’s size was far greater than the range he could move. He had no time to evade.

If I get hit, I’ll die.

He could even imagine his spine breaking, his chest cavity turned into a pile of mush.

However.

An immense force, as if to rip him in two, pulled Dominic to the side.

“Cardinal Yisi?!”

“No time for talk. It’s coming after us. You go fir—” Before Yisi could finish, the Frost Spider charged at her. Yisi frowned slightly. “Tsk, you asked for this.”

With that, Yisi threw Dominic aside. She extended her left arm in front of her to block the Frost Spider, then raised her right hand high. The moment the Frost Spider’s house-sized head rushed before her, her left arm stopped it dead in its tracks, and her right hand, formed into a hand-chop, swung down with force.

Crack.

Half of the Frost Spider’s head was instantly gone. Like an earthworm sprinkled with salt, it thrashed wildly, letting out shrill, piercing screams, its blue body quickly stained a vivid red.

—It was enraged.