Chapter 212: |
Dungeon Stampede 2.0 Deadly
The second coffee cricket released was immediately caught by a giant black spider that jumped with a ‘whoosh!' and its life was instantly taken away…
[(squelch… slurp slurp)]
(That was close… If we had come out thinking ‘It's safe because it's eating,' we would have ended up like that cricket.)
"Wow… that was dangerous."
Serai-san, too, gasped as she watched the giant black spider sucking on the second coffee cricket. Yes, it was the right decision to release the cricket just in case.
"…But coach, why do spiders get intoxicated when they drink coffee?"
"Ah, that's because of the caffeine in the coffee, Ruu. In humans, caffeine acts on the brain's arousal system, but in spiders, it seems to paralyze their central nervous system. That's why they appear intoxicated. Moreover, it affects them more strongly than stimulants like LSD or marijuana."
"Wow, it's that potent? Then it should definitely work on that big spider."
And so, from within the store, we stealthily observed the giant black spider.
The giant red scorpion was also a powerful monster that exerted tremendous pressure. But the pressure from the giant black spider far surpassed that.
Both are arthropod-type monsters. However, the giant red scorpion is like a reckless berserker.
In contrast, the giant black spider in sight feels like a sniper with persistence and patience, willing to wait days to capture its prey.
Looking closely, it doesn't have just eight eyes but twelve. Moreover, its body is covered with thick, spiky hairs. Some spiders use poisonous hairs as weapons, so we need to be cautious about that too.
…..
[Thud…!]
The third coffee cricket slowly and wobbly passed in front of us. Yet, the giant black spider collapsed with its belly on the ground as if it had lost its strength…
About 40 minutes after eating the first coffee cricket, the caffeine finally started to take effect.
"Wow, it really looks drunk…"
"It can't even walk, it's completely wasted."
Serai-san and Nina-san couldn't hide their surprise at the abnormal state of the giant black spider.
(Alright… It's finally here! I've been waiting for this moment!)
The time has come! It's time for a full-on attack! From here on, it's like the scene where Susanoo beheaded the eight-headed serpent in one go!
I dashed outside and immediately activated my skill.
"Super Hard Mucus!!"
First, I enveloped the giant black spider entirely in a cocoon-like ball with the carefully accumulated magic. Special attention was given to the dangerous head.
"Serai-san, the coffee ball!!"
"Yes, I'm bringing it now, kyaah!"
But contrary to her enthusiastic response, Serai-san seemed to have lost her balance after tripping over some products.
Well, it was big enough that she couldn't see her feet. However, the coffee ball wrapped in mucus she was carrying rolled towards me.
"Sorry, Edzuki-san!"
"It's fine, I've got it! Now to make some adjustments… Take this!!"
I combined the super sticky mucus enveloping the giant black spider with the coffee ball using magic manipulation. Then, what appeared next was… a red glowing eerie magic circle summoning vicious Maggot from some other world.
[Whooosh… glug glug glug!!]
Take this. ‘Today's special, maggot-infused coffee, enjoy!'
Fufufu… Yes, battles are ruthless.
No matter how gigantic and powerful a monster may be, as long as it’s a living creature, covering it with mucus will inevitably lead to suffocation.
And the skill [Maggot] from the Fly Queen. No matter how tough its scales or exoskeleton, nothing can survive with this inside its belly…
As proof, the giant black spider, though covered in mucus and hard to see clearly, was trembling violently.
With its nervous system paralyzed by the caffeine, the giant black spider was helpless.
Just like a drunken person slipping unnoticed into a bath and dying… Like someone infected with tapeworms, writhing in unbearable abdominal pain…
Without any means to resist, let its life be drained away…
[Twitch…! Twitch, twitch…!!]
Using coffee and all my magical power, I poured in the highest-quality mucus and Maggot. This was undoubtedly the most powerful combo I had ever executed. Adding salt and acid would only weaken the Maggot, so I refrained from using them simultaneously.
Please, just die like this…
…..
[Twitch… twitch…!]
Thirty minutes had passed since I unleashed the deadly combo. The giant black spider’s reactions had significantly weakened.
Yet, the fact that it was still clinging to life surprised me. I had assumed it would be dead within twenty minutes at most…
However, the giant black spider was now at death’s door.
If we had fought it head-on, it would have chased us down relentlessly, no matter how many cars we threw at it or how much fire we used.
Such a monstrous creature was now utterly helpless. This strategy, used by Susanoo to defeat the eight-headed serpent, was indeed perfect.
"Coach…"
"It's still not dead…? Such incredible vitality."
"Yeah, but it's over now. Let's finish it off."
"But since we've gone this far, you're going to use that [Ursupation] again, right? …What do we do?"
"…Like this! Hyper Lotion! & Red Slime… Here we go!"
Even though it was near death, this creature was several levels above the giant red scorpion. We couldn’t afford to be careless. So, I flipped the mucus-covered spider with a ‘spin’.
[Thump! Splat…!!]
Even a giant monster could be flipped easily if covered in a high-lubrication mucus cocoon. The Red Slime played the role of a rubber band, allowing us to flip it with ease.
"Phew… As always, your methods are absurd, coach…"
"No, this is proper physics. If you don’t calculate the fulcrum, load point, and action point properly, it won’t flip so smoothly."
"Oh, stop the excuses. Let's finish it off before anyone interferes!"
Sigh, as always, Sekai-san was cold to me…
"Well, I intended to do that anyway. Where did I drop the golden crowbar… There it is! Ruu, let's activate [Ursupation] together and finish it off!"
"Me too!?"
"Of course! You also have the [Ursupation] skill now, so it would be a waste not to use it. Plus, the success rate should be higher if we both activate it."
"Okay, I’ll try…!"
Encouraging the hesitant Ruu, we both activated [Ursupation] on the giant black spider.
I couldn’t acquire any new skills since I had reached my skill limit. But if Ruu used [Ursupation], we could obtain the powerful skills of the giant black spider as a party.
So, manipulating the mucus covering the spider, I exposed just the thorax—the area around its legs—without approaching the dangerous head or abdomen.
"Nah, if we’re going to finish it off together, let's all bathe in its life energy at the end!"
"Yeah, we should finish it together."
Sekai-san and Nina-san also wanted to join in for the final blow.
"Hmm…"
"We've come this far together, so let’s finish it as a team, coach…!"
"Alright, let’s finish it off together!"
"That’s the spirit!"
Thus, we formed a circle on the dying giant black spider.
For the finishing blow, we chose the golden crowbar of Longinus. Even though it was twisted and bent, it should work for stabbing. Everyone gripped the golden crowbar with both hands, ready to strike with all our might…
"Ready, and… go!"
""""“Offer everything…! Final Attack!!”""""
[Thud! …Clang!!]
"Ugh!? What!?"
"Ouch!? What’s this…"
Despite our combined power, the golden crowbar failed to penetrate the spider's thorax, bending and warping instead.
"What the…!?"
"It hurts! What is this…"
But it wasn’t just physical resistance. A visible white light membrane spread out in ripples around the spider.
"Is it some kind of magical protection…?"
"No way…! That was an incredibly strong attack!?"
As Ruu said, the attack was meant to be the finishing blow, powered by all our strength… It should have penetrated if it were just ordinary skin.
"Damn… I didn’t expect the spider to have such protection…"
"Does that mean we can’t defeat this spider…!?"
Ruu’s voice was filled with anxiety… No, we’ve cornered it this far. There must be a way…
Despite being suffocated and ravaged by the Maggot, the giant black spider hadn’t died yet. It had to be protected by some defensive magic or skill…
"Hey, Edzuki-san. In games, doesn’t this mean you need a different attribute or a higher-level weapon to deal critical damage…"
"Hmm… That might be it. Our current attributes are the non-attribute magic of Excalibur+1 and the holy attribute of the skill [Salt]… If physical attacks are repelled, maybe we should force-feed it a lot of salt as a poison?"
"Well, how about using that shoehorn instead? It's made of a magical metal, right?"
"Yeah! Even the soldiers wanted it, right? Let's try using it!"
"Oh… really!?"
Once again, we gathered on the dying giant black spider.
This time, instead of a circle, we formed a cross with the shoehorn. Since the weapon was much shorter, we all held the handle with our right hands, forming a line…
"Alright, let's channel our magic into it…"
[Zzzzzing…]
As we poured magic into the mithril shoehorn, it emitted a blue-white light and a high-pitched sound, vibrating slightly.
"Me too…!"
"Me too…!"
"I’ll join in too…!"
[Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…!!]
Wait, with everyone pouring magic into it, isn't this overkill!?
[Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…!!]
But as we synchronized our magic, the vibration changed to a high-pitched, ultrasonic-like sound…
[…Swoosh!]
""""“Ah!?”""""
In an instant.
The mithril shoehorn, glowing white and vibrating with fine tremors, slipped from our grasp and pierced the giant black spider's thorax, sinking in smoothly.
[(Whiiiirrrr…!)]
"Now, everyone! Now’s the time!"
""""“Offer everything! Final Attack!!”""""
We had lost our main weapon before the final blow…
But in an attempt to claim the kill, we all slapped the area around the hole. The giant black spider’s body began to glow.
It seemed our clumsy mistake had dealt the finishing blow.
