[You have entered a Field Dungeon]
[Kill ‘Woodland Spider Queen’ to escape]
—
SKKKKRREEEEEEEE!!
Sylas’ icy glare stared into the maw of the enormous spider queen. The violent shift in the root system had allowed the light of the sun to peek through as large amounts of sand fell from above, giving him enough to see the creature before him.
It must have been at least 20 meters from its fangs to its large abdomen. Patterns of brown, green, and violet spotted its body, and when it opened its mouth to roar, sizzling, acidic beads of venom fell from its fangs.
However, this was the least of Sylas’ problems, ironically enough.
The first issue was that a Field Dungeon wasn’t something that was supposed to be inescapable.
Field Dungeon BOSSes were often locked to certain regions by circumstance. These circumstances could be a pending evolution, pregnancy, or the inconvenience of movement.
For this Woodland Spider Queen, its body and this nest of roots seemed to practically be one. If Sylas was correct, this root system was created by it, which meant that it had put a lot of effort into getting things absolutely perfect.
It couldn’t move freely as a result, which was why it was a Field Dungeon BOSS.
The fact he wasn’t allowed to escape was purely the system antagonizing him. The issue of his Demerits was already rearing its ugly head. And yet, this was still just the first issue.
The secondary issue was the fact that this Woodland Spider Queen wasn’t alone.
The moment its cry echoed out, a large number of spider babies, each one about a meter or so in length, manifested.
There were a dozen of them in a flash, and hearing the call of their mother, they scurried forward with menace, venom dripping from their fangs as well.
—
[Woodland Spider (FF+)]
[Level: 11]
–
[Physical: 163]
>[Strength: 225]
>[Constitution: 250]
>[Dexterity: 84]
>[Speed: 93]
[Mental: 144]
>[Intelligence: 198]
>[Wisdom: 39]
>[Charisma: 194]
[Will: 187]
—
Even as they scurried toward him, Sylas didn’t seem to be willing to do anything but take slow, steady breaths.
The odd actions of Bloom had forcefully canceled his Fusion stat, and now it seemed to be on an odd cooldown.
There was no way that Bloom could truly suppress his Profession completely. It seemed that he had lost access to Fusion for the rest of the 128-minute duration he would have had it for. However, other than that, all the other aspects of his Profession were still very much there.
‘They’re still not acting… I guess it wouldn’t be that easy…’
Sylas wasn’t looking around, but his visualization was probing for where Ragnar and his companions were. He was also looking out for the Sylphs. But they were all nowhere to be seen.
He was certain that this was the BOSS they wanted to lure him in to fight. There was no way they would just leave well enough alone and hope he died. They were certainly in the shadows somewhere waiting to see if they had to act or not.
It seemed that things wouldn’t be so easy… all he could do was fight.
‘The spider queen is untangling herself. I have no idea how long it will take, but these waves of lesser spiders will likely keep going in the meantime. I have no choice but to try and find a way to kill it before it can free itself from its web.’
—
[How do you remove a Fugitive Status tied to Affiliation?]
[Fugitive brandings tied to Affiliation are inextricably linked to Genes. As such, the only way to remove them is with a Counter Gene Skill, a Template, or the aid of a special Profession]
—
Sylas read the notification in a flash as he took a step forward. His breathing even and his gaze firm, he punched out and the head of the first spider shattered, a glow of green amplifying the strength of his fist.
…
“There’s something wrong.”
The voice came from an unexpected source. It definitely wasn’t the voice of Ragnar, Britt, or Germaine. Instead, it was a fourth party who seemed to appear from nowhere, his body wrapped in a bubbling violet aura as though his skin was shining itself.
Ragnar and the others, though, didn’t seem surprised.
Ragnar was hurriedly trying to heal himself, but his expression was quite ugly when he saw the state of his body. All of his tattoos would have to be redone. Thinking of the amount of resources he had poured into this, and realizing that he would have to do it again, he couldn’t help but grimace.
“Someone else seems to be targeting him as well. We are getting some outside help,” a fifth voice echoed.
“Yes, but…” the Sylph with the violet aura peered forward through the countless branches and roots, trying to see something but not quite able to grasp it. “… There’s also been a change to the Field Dungeon itself. There are restrictions that shouldn’t be there. If we enter, we won’t be able to get out.”
A silence fell. This wasn’t part of their plan either.
“Is this because of this unknown third party?”
“Most likely. But whatever the reason is, we cannot afford to be trapped with that beast. Once it breaks free of its web, its stats will increase further and it will enter a new phase. Anyone trapped in there during that time will be finished.”
“Then let’s take it as a good thing. He can’t escape and we can simply watch from the sidelines. No need for all the contingency plans we had to stop him from escaping the Field Dungeon.”
“Yes…” the violet Sylph said slowly. “… Whoever has trapped him like this is truly sinister. They may be no less of a danger. We will need to watch out.”
“There is no need to guess.” Ragnar suddenly spoke, not opening his eyes. “It’s almost 100% Lucius.”
“The Grimblade?”
“Yes. He does not like variables he cannot control, and this Sylas is certainly not someone he can control. He probably wants him dead more than we do.”
“In that case… this man is certainly dead.”
