The giant spider was retreating as Sief advanced. He hurled one of his arrows, striking the spider's face, but it ricocheted off, producing a heavy, dull sound as the arrow fell to the ground.
'Tough one...'
Scanning his surroundings, Sief spotted another spider with stone-like legs leaping toward him. Swiftly, he twirled the arrow in his fingers and drove it into the spider's face, piercing its head. The creature shrieked and collapsed, thrashing on the ground.
Sief watched intently, but more spiders approached across the forest floor. Though he could fend them off with his strikes, they kept coming. One leaped onto his back, but he quickly disposed of it—only for three more to latch onto his arms, biting fiercely. Sief grunted in irritation, retaliating quickly by stabbing the spiders in the face with his arrows.
'They're similar to the Shaman's creatures and those bush monsters, but different.' He cut down a few more leaping at him, but a bite to the back of his leg caused him to stagger. He clenched his teeth and struck back. 'Far more numerous than in the Shaman's village. They attack blindly, almost as if it's some kind of strategy.'
His eyes glowed, and Sief stepped forward, launching himself toward the giant spider as several others fell off his body from the movement.
Reaching a tree, he grabbed onto a branch, but even there, a spider lunged at him, forcing him to leap down to the ground and sprint at full speed. He saw something coming and blocked it with his hand, realizing it was another web sticking to him.
'These web-spinning spiders have normal bodies, but the ones with stone legs are hard to kill. If I don't hit their bodies, even my blade can't destroy those legs in a single strike.' Sief's eyes darted around, spotting a path cleared by the giant spider's massive form. 'Looks like its entire body is made of that material. I'll need to find a weak spot... or...'
He glanced over his shoulder at the hilt of his dagger but also noticed the spiders closing in on him in the clearing. Despite some leaping at his face, Sief dodged them and concluded:
'This won't work—I need something more.'
He looked back at his legs and resumed his sprint, his glowing eyes focusing on the retreating giant spider that crushed trees in its path. Its colossal form made him grit his teeth, wondering how he'd kill it.
But then, something surprised him. In the middle of the spider's back, a red eye opened, pulsating and emitting a loud sound. A crimson aura spread out, making the smaller spiders screech as their cries echoed through the forest.
In the dim forest light, Sief saw countless red eyes rising, accompanied by increasingly rapid and heavy footsteps. The resemblance to the Shaman's powers made him scowl as he kept running, his arrows now enveloped in a green aura.
'It's like the Shaman, but without the weaknesses he had. If that were all, I'd have killed it already.' He leaped, hurling a green-aura-infused arrow at the red eye. It closed just as one of the spider's stone legs deflected the arrow, which bounced off as if striking a wall. Sief frowned deeper, closing the distance. 'It's as if it has no weaknesses.'
Again, Sief propelled himself forward, but the sound of slicing wind alerted him. Arrows flew rapidly toward his face.
'Too many!' He spun, trying to block with his bracer, but his eyes widened as he realized: 'They're too fast.'
With force, Sief threw himself downward, narrowly dodging the arrows. The abrupt movement caused him to lose control, slamming his face into the ground.
He rolled, his body spinning until his back hit a tree. Gritting his teeth, he quickly noticed the stone-legged spiders leaping toward him.
Sief sprang to his feet, seeing five spiders rushing him.
He clenched his fist, summoning his blade, and dashed forward, slicing through three spiders' abdomens as they screamed and fell. But even as their weight dragged them down, they bit him first. Sief groaned, his fury twisting his expression as blood spurted from his leg and arm.
Once again, he heard the slicing wind. Veins bulged on his face as he quickly turned, throwing the spiders into the path of the arrows. They pierced the creatures, and Sief noticed glowing red eyes hidden among the bushes between the trees.
His glowing eyes flared with anger as he turned toward the giant spider. It had stopped running and was staring back at him. Sief took an aggressive step forward, surprising the spider, which began closing the red eye on its back. In a split second, Sief launched an aura-poisoned arrow, piercing one of the spider's eyes. The monster roared, the red eye reopening and releasing its crimson aura.
Sief gritted his teeth, enduring his injuries as the monsters' cries grew closer. The spider resumed its retreat.
Shadows leaped toward Sief, who clenched his teeth, his eyes glowing brighter as he ducked low and surged forward, evading the spiders in pursuit.
He swiftly altered his path, entering the dense forest. Arrows pierced trees around him, making him scowl as his trembling fist tightened, veins bulging.
'It's not just the spiders—it's even those bushes.' Lowering his head, he maintained his glowing eyes. 'She got too close when the giant serpent nearly finished me, but she also stopped when she thought I'd struggle. Even poisoned, it's only a matter of time before the monsters overwhelm me...'
Sief's breathing grew heavier as his vision blurred, realizing he couldn't last much longer. He broke into a full sprint, his fastest yet.
'This messes with my focus, but if I stop chasing, I'll never escape this.' He swung his arms forward, positioning his fin dagger in front of him. 'All or nothing. If another serpent appears or there's another trap, it might be my last. It has to be like earlier. If I fail, no one will save me this time.'
Preparing to defend himself, Sief leaped into the path carved by the spider. Arrows flew toward him, but he leaned further forward, his glowing eyes intensifying as his legs moved faster.
'Faster!'
He gritted his teeth, eyes wide, the surrounding forest blurring as he pushed through branches and debris. One arrow struck him, making him growl in fury. 'Still not enough!'
Sief channeled more mana into his legs, his body tilting dangerously forward. The spider's massive back drew closer.
'Just a little more.' His lips tensed and quivered, the distorted scenery passing by in a blur. 'You're not getting away.'
Stone-legged spiders leaped at him, only to be trampled. Spider webs struck his body, binding his arms, but he kept running at an astonishing speed, faster than his previous descent.
'This is it!'
Mana surged into his fingertips as Sief leaped high, reaching the spider, which looked up to see the assassin's glowing green eyes leaving a trace in the air.
The spider let out a monstrous roar, shaking the trees as it continued its retreat. Sief twisted midair, his body coiling as he wrapped his wooden arrows in poisonous aura.
He hurled several arrows at the spider's eyes. Some ricocheted, but those that struck pierced through, eliciting screeches as only two eyes remained functional.
Sief landed, his eyes wide, advancing as the disoriented spider crashed into trees, its head shaking violently.
'If I can't take out that big eye...' His glowing eyes reignited as he charged at full speed, leaping again and drawing his fin dagger, aiming for the spider's head. 'Then I'll take its head!'
The spider's head loomed closer as Sief drove the blade into its eye. The dagger pierced through the stone-like protection, startling him but keeping him determined.
Half of the blade embedded itself in the spider's face, eliciting more screeches as it barreled through trees, shaking violently. Sief held firm, pushing the blade deeper.
The spider's mandibles lunged for his right leg. Sief reacted by propelling himself upward, forcing the blade slightly downward as the spider roared.
Landing on its head, his hand glowed with a green and purple aura.
"You'll love this." Sief gripped the dagger, pushing it deeper as the spider screamed. Its front legs, tipped with sharp stone, swung wildly. Sief dodged, pressing harder on the blade while raising his other hand. "Swallow the Miasma."
He thrust his glowing hand into the wound, releasing the purple aura in liquid form. It spread within the spider's flesh before violently exploding outward.
The spider's colossal form slowed, its legs ceasing movement until it collapsed, sliding for a few meters. Sief, breathing heavily, stood atop the defeated beast and exhaled a hot breath.
'It only took a few strikes for this spider to die. It really was like the Shaman, but still…' He gritted his teeth, feeling his body grow heavier, forcing him to kneel while using the dagger as support. 'It was too strong. It wasn't just the alpha—it was the entire territory... and I think there are far more monsters out there. This is just part of the forest... if it belongs to the spiders and not the spider itself... I can't imagine what to expect from the giant's lair...'
Sief felt his body gradually cooling down. However, a low sound, similar to the giant spider's, echoed, making his eyes widen.
When he turned, the giant spider remained motionless, clearly dead, yet the frequency of the sound didn't decrease. Instead, it intensified. Sief heard rapid steps behind him, forcing him to whirl around. He saw the crimson eye still wide open, exuding its menacing red aura as countless glowing red eyes emerged from the forest.
Along the path carved by the giant spider, Sief could now clearly see numerous stone-legged spiders approaching, accompanied by web-spinning spiders leaping between the trees for support.
Even faster-moving glowing eyes darted through the flanks, causing Sief to grit his teeth and tighten his grip on his dagger, now radiating a green aura.
"It's not over yet!?"