A spider's web, strong yet fragile.
When starting a new online game, receiving a friend request from an unknown player typically means one of two things.
First, they could be a griefer who preys on newbies—a common online gaming nuisance. You'd hold off on accepting, gear up, level up, then accept to see their true colors. If they attack and ditch, they're that type. Reporting them to the game's admins to prevent further victims is always an option.
Second, they might genuinely want to connect, no ulterior motives. These players are rare, and even veteran gamers struggle to spot them. Right now, the player before Pepper—Laser Kajiki—felt like the latter, intuitively. How he handled this could shape his Shangri-La Frontier journey.
(I can't read Laser Kajiki's intentions… but I can't brush him off either. Not this type of player.)
"Sure, I'll accept," Pepper said. "But I've got somewhere to be right now. If you need info, send a Messenger Bird email. I can only share so much."
With that, he tapped OK on the friend request, mentally noting to consult Pencilgon if anything went awry.
"T-thank you… so mush—uh, much!" Laser Kajiki stammered, blushing.
He's way too nervous, Pepper thought, amused. "Alright, I'm off," he said, bowing slightly and turning to leave the Enhance Guild.
"Wait! Um, Pepper-san, take this!" Laser Kajiki called, offering a dozen MP Potions as a gift—perhaps a thank-you or something more calculated.
(I'm not a mage, but I'll take it as goodwill,) Pepper thought. "Thanks. Here's something for you," he replied, gifting an Empire Bee Larva from his inventory. He then dashed out, using movement skills to weave through Thirdrema's back alleys and slip through a gate to Senchibankou's Jungle Hollow.
As an aside, when Laser Kajiki showed the Empire Bee Larva to the Enhance Guild clerk, it turned out to be a rare ingredient from Empire Bee nests, used for potent tonics. He sold it for 20,000 Mani.
Arriving at Senchibankou's Jungle Hollow with Aitoile, Pepper moved briskly toward the withered giant tree where the area boss, Crown Spider, resided. He relied on the High Beat skill to mitigate its drawbacks and manage skill cooldowns.
"Pepper-han, that jester spider up top drops stuff from above—boom!" Aitoile whispered from under his cloak.
The Crown Spider likely perched at the tree's summit, weaving a web to trap prey with falling objects—a crush-to-death tactic.
"So, watch for falling stuff. If we can drag it to the ground, we'll have the upper hand," Pepper reasoned.
"Also, Pepper-han, its 'fine thread' is a rare drop. Used for weaving or armor," Aitoile added.
"Nice, a rare drop. Wonder how much Mani it'd fetch," Pepper mused.
Their casual chatter continued as the giant tree came into view. Moonlight filtered through the jungle's gaps, glinting off countless white threads. A dark, hollowed-out cavity gaped at the tree's base, exuding an eerie aura, with webs crisscrossing the air, amplifying the tension.
Pepper crept toward the entrance, peering up into the hollow's upper reaches. The darkness was stifling.
"Man, without a torch or lantern, moving's tough until my eyes adjust…" he muttered.
"My Drunken Breath can light things up, but the real issue's where that head spider's hiding," Aitoile said.
"Yeah, we need its position first. Aitoile, hit it with Drunken Breath," Pepper instructed.
"Got it!" Aitoile hopped from his cloak onto his shoulder, gulping from her gourd flask and spewing a 45-degree flame of Drunken Breath.
The fire illuminated the darkness, revealing rocks and logs tangled in the web above, with four glowing red eyes—two large, two small—peering from the depths. A whistling sound followed as a withered log plummeted toward them. They dodged, and it shattered into polygons where they'd stood.
"Instant death if that hits," Pepper said, wincing. His low HP and Endurance meant a direct hit was fatal. Then he noticed a glow to his right. Glancing up with his left eye and rightward with his right, he saw Aitoile's Storm Naginata: Tiger Roar, with a Demon Flame Peach Lantern dangling from its handle, swaying gently.
"We've got a light source—whoa!" Another falling object, then another in quick succession. Dodging, Pepper barked, "Aitoile, the Peach Lantern's giving away our position! Douse it!"
"Got it, but won't it be tough to move without light, Pepper-han?" she asked, worried.
"It will, but your Drunken Breath and the Peach Lantern showed me something. This tree's structure is… unique," Pepper said.
As Aitoile extinguished the lantern, plunging them back into darkness, Pepper pieced together what he'd seen. Whether by design oversight or intentional, the tree's inner walls had protruding ledges forming a spiral staircase.
"They're practically begging us to use it!" he grinned.
Activating Quintuple Jump and Moon Jumper, Pepper's enhanced leap launched him to the tree's fourth tier in one bound.
(My eyes are adjusting to the dark. I can see the spider's threads now!)
"Pepper-han, what's the plan?" Aitoile asked.
"Weave through the threads, storm its fancy nest at the top, and drag it to the ground!" Pepper declared.
Using Accel for speed, he temporarily unequipped his Traveler's Cloak for mobility, sprinting up the spiral ledges, dodging falling attacks and navigating the web's gaps with reflexive precision.
"When facing spider monsters, the worst move is disturbing their webs," Pepper explained. "Nest-building spiders hunt by sensing vibrations from trapped prey."
"So we use that to trap it in its own web?" Aitoile asked.
"Exactly. We turn its strength against it… There!" Pepper spotted it.
At the seventh tier, they glimpsed the Crown Spider: white-furred body, black eight legs, four red eyes of varying sizes, and a massive clown face on its abdomen.
"Showtime!" Pepper said.
"Earplugs, Pepper-han!" Aitoile warned.
From his inventory, Pepper pulled a Sonic Prototype Throwing Orb, a key item from the Marsh Digger fight. Gripping it with Grip Strike for power, he layered Throw and Boom Throw to hurl it at the nest's side, then dashed toward the summit.
The orb detonated on impact, its sonic blast shaking the web. The Crown Spider reacted, scuttling toward the source.
"Another!" Pepper shouted, throwing a second orb to the right, its blast further rattling the nest.
"Spiders rely on their webs, but if the nest takes irreparable damage, they always do one thing," Pepper said.
The dual sonic shocks loosened the web's cross-threads, snapping audibly. Unable to bear its master's weight, the nest began to collapse.
Sensing this, the Crown Spider twitched its spinnerets, shooting a thread upward to escape, rearing its abdomen.
"Predictable, Crown Spider. But someone's waiting for that move!" Pepper taunted.
Boosted by High Beat's agility, he kicked off the wall, clinging to the spider's abdomen. Drawing his Marsh Dagger in his left hand, he layered Stick Piece for piercing damage and Thrust for Strength-based amplification, stabbing the spinnerets with pinpoint precision.
"GIIIIIIIII!" the spider screeched.
"Aitoile, now!" Pepper shouted.
"On it!" Aitoile replied, unleashing Drunken Breath to burn the surrounding threads.
"Crown Spider, you're hitting the ground alone," Pepper declared, delivering a Climb Kick to seal its fall.
With no footing or threads to save it, the Crown Spider plummeted from its burning nest, crashing far below…
Drop the Giant Spider to the Ground
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