Easing into a swift dash, he vaulted over the scurrying spiderlings. Mid-air, he cast a fleeting glance at the murderous swarm below, wishing he had an AoE skill to cull their numbers and ease the burden on the knights. Zephyr's Emberstorm would have wiped them out in an instant.
SZZZREEEK!
The Armored Arachnid let out a bone-rattling screech that sent a jolt through the air. Daisuke's eyes snapped upward just in time to see a glob of acid hurtling toward him. With no room to maneuver, he reacted instantly—materializing a volley of luminous cones via Magic Missile.
The projectiles shot forward, colliding with the acidic blob in a sizzling eruption that sent droplets of residue splattering across the frozen ground.
But the beast wasn't finished.
The moment his feet touched the ground, a fresh barrage of corrosive spit rained down upon him. Daisuke darted in a tight arc, the acidic projectiles hot on his heels, pursuing him like heat-seeking missiles. His movements were sharp, and he didn't slow. Instead, he lashed out a magic chain, coiling it around one of the creature's armored legs and yanking himself forward in a burst of momentum.
But the fiend had seen this move before.
Anticipating the tactic, the spider spun around and fired off a thick webbing straight into the path of its prey.
Daisuke's pupils shrank.
Shit!
Time seemed to crawl as his instincts took over.
Twisting his body mid-air, he arched backward, executing a seamless Fosbury Flop over the sticky mass. He felt the web graze the ends of his hair as he narrowly cleared the obstruction, flipping upright in a fluid motion just as he closed the distance.
His dual daggers flashed.
Daisuke struck fast and hard, targeting the creature's exposed cranium and the gaps between its armor-plated legs. His blades moved in a blur—relentless, ruthless, precise, like the merciless sting of a hundred giant hornets.
Each slash carved deep into flesh, spilling thick, dark ichor onto the icy ground. The arachnid shrieked and thrashed, its monstrous body convulsing under the onslaught.
Desperation flickered in its beady crimson eyes. With a sudden violent lurch, it threw its massive weight sideways, trying to crush the silver-haired nuisance against a tree.
Daisuke barely twisted out of range, rolling under the fiend's body before it could pin him. Then the creature lunged, jaws widening in an attempt to devour him whole. Daisuke leapt back, but instead of focusing entirely on retreat, he flicked his wrist. A Frost Prism materialized between his fingers, and with pinpoint accuracy, he hurled it straight into the monster's gaping maw.
The crystal lodged deep inside its throat.
A heartbeat later, it detonated.
Sharp, ice-laced spikes erupted outward in a formation akin to a sea urchin, skewering the beast from within. The arachnid let out a garbled screech, ichor oozing from its mouth as its body convulsed violently.
[Situational Damage!]
[62,946 damage dealt.]
Situational Damage? Daisuke frowned in shock.
Before he could mull over this new enigma, the spider shattered the icy mass in its maw and hurled itself forward, bladed front legs slicing through the air, aiming to carve him into fillets. But the monster had made a fatal miscalculation—its back legs were bound.
The moment it surged forward, the tension in the magic chains snapped into place. Its front legs became ensnared in additional chains that had been strategically set up within the trees, forming a convenient pulley system. The sudden force of its own momentum triggered the trap—its hind legs were wrenched upward, hoisting its massive frame into the air.
The arachnid flailed wildly, screeching as its entire body was yanked backward and slammed against the tree trunk, leaving its underbelly completely exposed.
Daisuke's eyes gleamed.
Got you.
He had already noted the creature's greatest weakness—its soft, unarmored underbelly. With it fully exposed, the Critical Hit multiplier would undoubtedly skyrocket and allow him to deal maximum damage. But a quick glance at his interface made his lips tighten—his MP was draining fast, running down like a broken dam.
DING!
[The Magic Chains skill effect has been activated, inflicting Confusion and Silence. The target will be momentarily disoriented and unable to cast any mana-dependent skills.]
DING!
[The Armored Arachnid has resisted both debuffs.]
Tch. Stubborn bastard.
Daisuke ignored the notification windows. He had no time to waste—Meteor Smash didn't specify how long the attack bonus lasted, but it was certainly not indefinitely.
His hands tightened around his daggers as he launched himself at the writhing fiend, his attacks a blur. Each strike tore deeper into its exposed body, his speed increasing with every slash.
The spider shrieked, its massive legs flailing, but it couldn't reach him—it was trapped, completely vulnerable to the violent march of destruction. Ichor splattered across the tree bark and the frozen ground as Daisuke relentlessly carved through its soft flesh, his eyes burning.
DING!
[Lightning Edge has been activated. Your weapons will be enveloped in electricity for 25 seconds, sharpening your blades and adding elemental damage to your Physical Attacks.]
Crackling arcs of electricity engulfed his daggers, illuminating his fierce expression in a yellow glow. Daisuke exhaled sharply, bracing himself. Then with a battle cry, he drove both blades deep into the monster's underbelly and ripped downward. A deafening screech tore from the arachnid as its abdomen split open, spilling its gelatinous, steaming innards in a gruesome cascade.
[Situational Damage!]
[94,528 damage dealt.]
Ichor gushed from the gaping wound, coating the ground in a dark, viscous pool. The beast convulsed violently, its cries tapering off into choking gurgles. Then with a final, spasmodic twitch, its body sagged against the tree.
Motionless.
Slain.
"Just who the heck is this kid?" Blazin murmured.
DING!
[Haxks has slain the Field Boss «Armored Arachnid».]
[284,000 Experience Points have been acquired.]
[The title «Situational Battle Expert» has been acquired.]
[The active skill «Mana Flare» has been acquired.]
[Bladed Knuckle Duster x2 has been acquired.]
[Runetablet has been acquired.]
[Celestial Cube (Blue) x2 has been acquired.]
[Flare Stone has been acquired.]
[Stellar Antidote x5 has been acquired.]
[Large HP Recovery Potion x4 has been acquired.]
[Medium MP Recovery Potion x7 has been acquired.]
[Armored Arachnid's Venomcore Gland has been acquired.]
[Armored Arachnid's Chitinous Plate has been acquired.]
[Armored Arachnid's Mandibles has been acquired.]
[20,877 gold has been acquired.]
[Situational Battle Expert]
[Rank: Unique
Lvl: 1
Proficiency: 0%
A title granted to those who inflict far greater damage upon foes by exploiting unconventional attack methods. Strikes that would typically be fatal in reality instead deal immense damage by bypassing conventional combat limitations.
Title Effect:
▪︎ Increases damage dealt to enemy weak points by up to 500%.]
Daisuke stroked his chin in thought. So basically, if by some miracle a weakling manages to drive their sword into the eye socket of a level 900 boss and fry its brain, instead of instantly killing it despite its massive HP, the System compensates by dealing extra damage.
In other words, Situational Damage is just a way to reward players for landing critical, otherwise fatal hits. Makes sense—imagine level 1 noobs eye-stabbing mobs in the eye from here to Timbuktu and skyrocketing to level 200 overnight. We'd never see noobs begging rankers for p-leveling ever again.
I probably never picked up on this mechanic because I had the HUD disabled for my own sanity. Honestly… I'm tempted to turn it off again.
"That was incredible!" Blazin exclaimed, his armor clattering as he dropped a hand on Daisuke's shoulder. "You took down that massive spider all on your own. How are you so strong at such a young age?"
Daisuke sighed inwardly, already bracing for the barrage of follow-up questions as he stored the Field Boss in his inventory before it could vanish.
"No way!" Blazin's eyes went wide with awe. "You've got a magic bag too? That's insane! And how did you know those cocoons would have spiders in them before they even hatched?"
"Trade secret," Daisuke replied flatly, brushing the man's hand off his shoulder.
Sensing that he was on guard, Leopold opted to ask a different question instead. "You have our thanks," he began with a nod. "We certainly wouldn't have walked away from that fight unscathed if we'd faced that beast alone. By the way," he continued, sheathing his sword. "What brings you all the way out here?"
"I was training in the Mammothgrove Forest," Daisuke lied.
"Mammothgrove?!" Blazin blurted out, clearly surprised. "Seriously? All by yourself? You're definitely cut from a different cloth, aren't you?"
Leopold studied his response closely, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
"Well," Daisuke said, shrugging nonchalantly, "that's what adventurers do, right? We explore and face danger head-on. I was just heading back from a supply run when I came across your skirmish with the bandits."
"And I'm guessing you inexplicably deciphering our wagon's contents is a trade secret, as well?" Leopold asked with a stern twist of his lips, even as he studied the curious energy radiating from the boy.
Daisuke smirked. "You're quick on the uptake."
Leopold's echoing smirk was a mix of intrigue and annoyance.
"Anyway," Daisuke said dismissively, sparing a sidelong glance as he turned to leave. "I should be going now. Safe travels."
"Oh!" Blazin called eagerly. "Before you go, would you mind telling us your name?"
Daisuke shrugged indifferently. "Why bother? I highly doubt we'll be crossing paths again anyway."
He left.
"Well, he's rude," Blazin murmured with a hint of petulance. "But he did save our lives."
"Mmm…" Leopold's gaze remained sharp, narrowing as he watched the boy's retreating form.