Chapter 38

This mission was simple.

Infiltrate the spiders’ cave. If a Rift Core was present, stab it with the spear consecrated by Morian’s followers and purify it.

Unfortunately, each time the spear was used, the sacred power within it would dissipate. That meant this magnificent weapon could only be used once—at the final moment.

‘It’s a shame I can’t use this against demonic beasts…’

It would surely feel incredible in his hands, but he had to restrain himself. If he wasted its sacred energy and lacked the strength to purify the Rift Core, they would have to repeat the entire ritual.

So without hesitation, Woojin wrapped the spearhead tightly in bandages. The radiant glow it emitted was far too conspicuous.

‘…That should do.’

After winding several layers around it, the light was no longer visible. Now he could infiltrate the cave without drawing the spiders’ attention.

He could have stored it in his relic—a bag imbued with a shrinking enchantment—but placing a weapon filled with powerful sacred energy too close to the relic risked destroying the spell woven into it. It was troublesome, but safer this way.

Woojin hooked the spear onto the harness at his back. The long weapon rested securely.

It was time to move.

Just as he stepped toward the cave entrance, the back of his neck tingled. He turned around.

Rows of soldiers and knights stood watching him.

It felt like he ought to say something before entering… but no suitable words came to mind. Posturing over something like this felt embarrassing, so he skipped it.

He stepped into the familiar darkness.

‘Nothing particularly unusual.’

There wasn’t a single demonic beast near the entrance. Likely the spiders had retreated deeper inside, wary of the expedition force.

After descending a short distance—

He encountered a sheer drop.

A circular chasm, like the throat of some enormous creature.

Woojin leaned forward and peered down. Spider webs were spread across various levels, and large and small spiders crawled over them.

‘I’ll have to go down.’

Rolling up his sleeves, he began his descent.

Supporting his weight with his hands and stepping onto protruding rock, he climbed down. Rock climbing was second nature to him.

Then—

He sensed something below.

Twisting his body, he looked down. A spider was approaching the cliff face. It was nearly the size of a wild boar.

‘Did it see me?’

Woojin froze completely.

The spider began climbing up the cliff. The distance between them narrowed. Close enough that he could kick its head if he extended his foot. Its black, button-like eyes stared in his direction.

Soon, one of its front legs reached out—

Crunch!

The spider’s claw gripped his shoulder firmly. Using him as a foothold, it shifted its weight and pulled itself upward, climbing past him.

It brushed by him and continued toward the top.

‘As expected… poor eyesight.’

Most spiders had weak vision.

It must have mistaken Woojin’s motionless body for a jutting rock and stepped on him without a second thought.

‘If I let them pass like this, I can infiltrate deeper.’

He continued descending.

The underground space he encountered next was far larger than expected. What he had seen from above was only a fraction.

Tunnels reminiscent of a massive anthill sprawled in all directions. And with such space came numbers—more spiders than seemed natural. At a glance, at least twenty were visible.

‘Good thing I didn’t kill that one earlier.’

Had he made a disturbance, every spider here would have swarmed him. It would have been worse than the ordeal in the leech-rat cave.

The population density was unnatural.

‘Maintaining such numbers requires food… Where are they getting it?’

Spiders were ambush predators. In that sense, they were closer to fishermen than hunters.

And fishing depended on location.

Even a skilled fisherman would catch nothing in a poor spot. And this cave was the worst imaginable.

There were scarcely any creatures suitable as prey. How many animals lived this deep underground? Perhaps bats—but such small beasts wouldn’t sustain spiders of this size.

Were they resorting to cannibalism?

‘Let’s gather information first.’

Reaching the ground, he moved forward. The floor was carpeted with webbing, forcing him to step carefully.

Still, he was used to this.

He had a long history with spider-type demonic beasts.

‘…This brings back memories.’

Deep within the Demon Realm, he had once fought an immensely powerful spider monster—a queen commanding countless subordinates.

The Spider Queen had wanted to preserve him in her webbing. Woojin had sought to hunt her instead.

After a brutal battle, neither side had gained a satisfying outcome. Even now, it left a bitter taste.

‘If I faced her now, would I win?’

Hard to say. As he had grown stronger, she likely had as well.

Regardless, the training he had gained from that encounter proved useful now.

He advanced deeper. The spiders didn’t notice him at all.

…But complacency was dangerous.

He suddenly stopped and concealed himself behind a boulder.

His gaze fixed on a small spider perched atop a stone pillar.

Large-eyed. A jumping spider.

Its eyes glimmered faintly in the darkness.

‘Those types have good eyesight.’

Like sentries, the jumping spiders monitored their surroundings.

How to avoid them?

Just then—

He spotted a large spider like the one from earlier. It moved toward one of the tunnels.

Woojin casually approached and slipped behind its massive body, using it as cover as he walked alongside it.

What came into view—

A vast chamber.

Cocoons wrapped in webbing hung from the walls like fruit.

‘What’s inside those?’

He moved to check.

Rrrrip!

Waiting until no spiders were watching, he tore one open.

Inside was a rabbit-type demonic beast.

‘Still alive.’

Its eyes were glazed, but faint life remained. Likely paralyzed with venom and preserved for long-term storage.

This was a food warehouse.

Contrary to his expectations, the spiders had abundant supplies.

‘The more I think about it, the stranger it gets…’

Something about this defied logic.

What was the source of this unease?

‘…I’ll think about that later. First, find the Rift Core.’

Rather than satisfying his personal curiosity, completing the mission took priority. Once he reached that conclusion, he began moving quickly.

As soon as he committed himself to the search—

He found the target sooner than expected. That part was fortunate.

The problem was its location.

‘This is ridiculous.’

Woojin looked up, suppressing a sigh.

Near the ceiling. At the center of an enormous web, the Rift Core had been placed. It was practically suspended high in midair.

When he had descended the cliff earlier, he’d thought the web’s structure looked strange… but he hadn’t imagined it would be arranged like this.

‘How am I supposed to get up there?’

As he scanned the surroundings, he spotted several strands of web stretching upward.

For a web structure to hold, its foundational threads had to anchor to the surrounding terrain. He selected one and stepped onto it.

With practiced ease, Woojin began walking along the strand. He looked like a tightrope performer balancing in midair.

He had done this countless times before, so adapting came quickly.

The only concern was the jumping spiders acting as sentries below.

‘Thankfully, they’re not looking this way.’

Perhaps they had never considered that an intruder might use the web itself. Not once did they glance upward.

Reassured, he continued his delicate ascent.

Higher up, the strands became densely intertwined. He chose the sturdier ones and stepped carefully, advancing toward the target.

Then—

‘…What is this?’

He felt a sudden jolt of confusion.

Because someone had arrived before him.

A man stood before the Rift Core.

A frail frame draped in a black robe. The hood was pulled low, and a brass mask concealed his face completely.

Yet Woojin could feel the gaze hidden behind it.

He stared back and spoke.

“Who are you?”

At the question—

The man moved his hands silently.

Swish, swish.

Both hands moved busily.

It resembled sign language. Woojin couldn’t decipher it and was about to speak again—

Kiing—!

Suddenly, both of the man’s palms glowed red. An instant later, a blazing orange sphere shot toward him.

Woojin immediately ducked.

Boom!!

The fireball missed and slammed into the cave wall.

‘Strange technique.’

It was a good thing he had watched the hand movements closely. The man appeared capable of casting spells through gestures alone.

This complicated matters.

The distance was too great to simply rush him. And Woojin still hadn’t reached the web platform. He was balancing on a single thin strand.

One hit, and he would fall.

Swish.

The mage moved his hands again.

Something about his posture felt wrong.

Sensing danger, Woojin leapt sideways to another strand.

At that exact moment, the mage slashed his hand downward.

Screeech!

A blade of wind tore through the air. The web Woojin had just been standing on snapped cleanly in two.

He had tried to remove the footing and make him fall.

‘…I need to hurry.’

Not only was his opponent cunning, but the spiders had begun noticing the intrusion. From the tunnels below, countless shapes were emerging.

He needed to finish this quickly and leave.

Woojin began sliding along the web strands, moving faster.

The mage rubbed his palms together.

Crackle— crackle!

Blue sparks burst between his hands, like someone gathering static electricity. Then he thrust his arm forward.

KZZZAAANG!!

A streak of blue lightning shot toward him.

Woojin switched strands mid-motion to evade. But this time, the attack didn’t stop at one.

Crack! KZZZT!

The mage hurled lightning repeatedly.

It seemed he could keep casting until whatever charge he’d built up was exhausted.

Woojin was forced into constant motion.

He leapt, caught a web with an outstretched hand, used the strength of his wrist to swing himself onward. He moved like a nimble monkey traversing branches.

Even amid the chaos, the distance between them steadily closed.

He advanced while evading.

‘Wash your neck and wait.’

The web platform was within reach. Once there, he would have stable footing—and could personally deal with this irritating mage.

Snap!

The mage flicked his finger sharply.

Woojin braced to dodge—

But nothing came.

‘What did he just do?’

As confusion flickered across his mind—

Sssssrrrk—

From a massive opening in the ceiling, two enormous spiders descended along thick strands of silk.

They were larger than full-grown bulls.

The leaders of the spider swarm.

They positioned themselves on either side of the mage.

“…Well, well.”

Woojin bared his teeth in a savage grin.