Leopold's jaw clenched, fingers tightening around the hilt of his sword. "What's it doing?"
Daisuke's eyes narrowed, golden light flaring as he zeroed in on one of the eggs. "You two deal with the spiderlings," he commanded authoritatively. "I'll take care of the ugly mother."
Both men glanced at the silver-haired boy with an expression of absurdity, but when he effortlessly materialized a pair of daggers in his hand, they didn't bother to question his sanity.
As Daisuke had anticipated, moments later, dozens of baby spiders began emerging from their silken cocoons. But these creatures were far from the harmless, endearing image of a puppy or even a baby Horned Rabbit. They were a mirror of their mother—fierce, predatory eyes, fangs dripping with green acid, and mandibles and front legs sharp as razors.
Thankfully, their exoskeletons had yet to fully harden, offering a small window of vulnerability. However, their lack of armor was of little comfort when faced with their overwhelming numbers.
"I'll slow them down for you," Daisuke muttered as he activated a particular skill for the very first time.
[Glacial Dominion]
[Rank: Rare
Classification: Active Skill
Lvl: 1
Proficiency: 0%
Unleashes a powerful wave of icy energy that encases the caster in a five-meter radius of frigid air. Enemies caught within the aura are significantly slowed and face a high chance of sustaining cold-inflicted damage.
Skill Effect:
▪︎ Reduces the movement speed of all foes within a five-meter radius by 50% for 40 seconds.
▪︎ 35% chance to inflict the «Frostbite» Status.
Mana Cost: 35
Skill Duration: 25 Seconds
Skill Cooldown: 15 Minutes]
Daisuke's cape billowed as he blinked his eyes open, a white aura rolling off his body in stark contrast to his dark leather armor. The air crackled with an unnatural chill, and the very space around him seemed to shimmer with frost.
Leopold and Blazin flinched back as the aura intensified. The grass at Daisuke's feet crystallized in an instant, and even the microscopic organisms in the soil succumbed to the creeping frost. A wave of icy tendrils spread outward, leeching the warmth from the landscape.
The dozens of spiderlings hurling toward them faltered mid-charge, their movements sluggish as frostbite overtook them. Some skidded to a stop, their limbs locking up before they crumbled under their own weight. Others, too slow to escape the spreading cold, became frozen statues, their menacing forms locked in place like eerie sculptures.
Suddenly, the two knights seized the opening and surged forward. Leopold let out a battle cry, his claymore cleaving through the brittle bodies of the frozen arthropods. The blade struck like a sledgehammer, shattering exoskeletons in bursts of black ichor and frost.
A spider lunged at him from the side, its fangs bared, but he twisted mid-swing, reversing his grip and driving his blade through its face before it could reach him. He ripped the sword free and pivoted, cleaving another in two before kicking its twitching remains aside.
Blazin moved as quicky as he could in his heavy armor, weaving between the creatures with impressive footwork. His broadsword was a blur as he swung it in wide arcs. Unlike Leopold's calculated strikes, the former lieutenant's style was raw and explosive, each swing fueled by sheer force. He brought his blade down, cleaving through a spiderling's head in a single stroke.
Another fiend lunged at him from the side, its fangs bared and dripping with venom. Blazin shifted, raising his broadsword just in time to block its attack. Sparks flew as the creature's fangs scraped against the steel, but the man didn't hesitate.
With a deep growl, he shoved the spider back and spun, his sword carving an arc through its abdomen. The beast let out a screech before collapsing, its twitching legs curling inward.
The battlefield was a storm of ice and steel, the spiderlings falling one after another, unable to match the onslaught. Suddenly, in a blur of motion, Daisuke vanished. A streak of black and silver shot across the battlefield, ice fracturing beneath each of his steps as he dashed toward the mother spider.
DING!
[Armored Arachnid | Lvl 37 | Field Boss | HP: 2115064/2115064]
The monstrous creature loomed like a hill, its horrid form towering over the battlefield. Its eight massive legs, thick as tree trunks, bore into the ground as it let out a piercing screech that rattled through the frozen air. Crimson eyes, gleaming with malice and greed, locked onto Daisuke's approaching form. The fiend lunged, its massive fangs gleaming with venom.
But Daisuke didn't slow.
In the blink of an eye, he was airborne, his daggers glinting as he aimed for one bulbous eye.
SWISHH!
The exposed organ exploded in an eruption of blood and gel-like tissue, wringing a strident cry from the arachnid.
[Critical!]
[13,882 damage dealt.]
A microsecond later, Daisuke activated the Meteor Smash skill and brought his fist down in an earth-shattering punch that sent the spider's head armor scattering in all directions like broken clay.
[Critical!]
[11,182 damage dealt.]
Then he leapt upward as the fiend reared its massive frame in sheer agony, and time slowed to a crawl as his eyes narrowed in pure combat-readiness, the Sixth Sense skill distinguishing his target's weak points by a golden glow.
A typical level forty-six player would have around 460 Stat Points. But Daisuke was anything but typical. He commanded an astounding 933 Stat Points at the same level. Even when excluding Special Stats, he still had an overwhelming 664 points at his disposal thanks to the flexibility granted by his Stat Reset skill.
For comparison, a standard level forty-six warrior build would allocate roughly thirty-seven percent of their stats to Strength—around 170 points. Daisuke, however, had funneled a staggering 699 points into Strength alone.
Strength: 664 (+35) | Stamina: 0 (+47) | Agility: 0 (+71) | Intelligence: 0 (+21) | Dexterity: 0 (+95) | Composure: 0 | Indomitable: 0 | Perception: 0 | Stealth: 0
To offset his reduced speed and dexterity, he lashed out with a magic chain, coiling it around one of the creature's legs. Time righted itself as he rocketed downward like a missile, then slowed again as his daggers plunged deep into the spider's now-exposed head.
The fiend's defense sat at a staggering 1,400—that's 500 points higher than the Dismal Lich. But unlike the reaper, the arachnid had multiple weak points, each one ripe for exploitation.
Factoring in his Attack Power, Strength, Critical Hit Rate, and various other modifiers, Daisuke's Base Attack Power totaled 3,821. Activating Meteor Smash and gaining the 300% Attack Power bonus tripled that, spiking it to 15,282. After deducting the monster's 1,400 defense, the final damage landed at a devastating 13,882.
Daisuke's eyes gradually narrowed with a murderous glint, the daggers inching deeper into the creature's skull as time twisted slowly.
DING!
[The One-Hit Kill title effect has been activated, unleashing an additional 200% damage on the enemy.]
[Critical!]
[27,764 damage dealt.]
DING!
[The Lipanthyer's Fang option effect has been activated, inflicting the Bleed Status. The target's health will decrease by 0.5% per second for 30 seconds.]
DING!
[The Salamander's Claw option effect has been activated, inflicting the Burn Status. The target's health will decrease by 0.4% per second for 40 seconds.]
As the final spiderling crumpled to the ground, Leopold and Blazin drove their swords into the ground, dropping to one knee as they struggled to steady their ragged breaths. Blazin wiped the sweat from his brow, then instinctively followed his comrade's gaze—expecting to see the silver-haired boy in desperate need of their aid.
But they were wrong.
Both men gawked, their jaws slackening as Daisuke effortlessly danced around the fiend like a leaf caught in a wayward breeze.
The creature's massive legs plowed large craters into the earth as it maneuvered to crush or devour its annoying prey. Each strike sent debris hurtling through the air, the sheer force reshaping the battlefield into a land of ruin, but Daisuke didn't waver or retreat.
His daggers traced dazzling arcs as the Sixth Sense skill guided his hands. His blades sought out the chinks in the creature's formidable armor, piercing through its vulnerable points with lethal accuracy.
The monstrous fiend shrieked in fury, its patience unraveling. In a desperate act of self-preservation, its aura erupted outward in a violent shockwave. The sheer force sent Daisuke hurtling through the air, his feet skidding across the ground until he came to a halt within the ranks of the other two men.
"Are you alright?" asked Blazin as he lowered his hands from his ears.
But the fiend gave them no respite. Its bloated silken sack convulsed before splitting open, unleashing another horde of ravenous spiderlings. Their shrill chittering filled the air, a harbinger of the fresh carnage about to unfold.
[Armored Arachnid | Lvl 37 | Field Boss | HP: 1169038/2115064]
Daisuke clicked his tongue in irritation. Is it normal for a Field Boss to spawn its underlings twice in one fight? Dammit! Glacial Dominion is still on a fifteen-minute cooldown—I can't use it again.
Brushing the thought aside, Daisuke tossed an HP and MP potion to each of the exhausted men. "Can you hold out for another minute or two?"
Leopold eyed him warily. "What are you planning?"
Daisuke's expression darkened. "Isn't it obvious? I'm going to rip that thing apart."
Blazin let out a strained chuckle. "Try to do it in under a minute, will you?"
Daisuke smirked. "No promises—but I'll give it my best shot."