Episode 2.
“Keeeeeek!!”
A terrifying roar that echoes throughout the dungeon.
When I looked at the place, I saw a crowd of Arachnes, giant spider-like monsters about 2 meters tall.
“Keeeeeek!”
“Keeeek! Kieeek!”
The surrounding arachne began to react one by one to the arachne’s scream.
There are ten Arachnes gathered in total.
Dozens of pairs of spider eyes opened, flashing a bright red light as if painting over the darkness.
“As you can see, arachne live in groups like this.”
And then a soft voice is heard.
Where the voice came from, there was a man and three people standing.
“They look like spiders to anyone, and they are actually classified as a spider species. However, they are completely different from spiders that live on Earth. For example, they hunt rather than fight… .”
“Keeeeeeeek!”
A terrible scream erupted at that moment, cutting off the man’s words.
Soon, ten arachnes began to rush at him at once.
“What the… all of a sudden.”
The man was greatly surprised by Arachne’s sudden actions.
But that was only for a moment.
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
visor!
The man walked forward without hesitation toward the group of arachne who were charging at him with their weapons drawn.
Following the man, three other people also drew their weapons.
A fight of 10 vs 4.
Although they were significantly outnumbered, the men and people did not hesitate.
Crunch!
Arachne was the first to be cut in half by the sword swung by the man.
Crunch! Crunch!
The attacks that followed that man.
In an instant, half of the arachnes fell to the ground.
“Keeek?”
As their compatriots fell helplessly, the Arachnes began to panic.
And then the man ran into the midst of the bewildered arachnes.
Crunch! Crunch!
An eerie cutting sound and a crashing sound were heard one after another.
Every time I hear that sound, thump! thump!
The arachnes collapsed to the floor, oozing dark green blood.
A battle that was almost a massacre.
And how much time passed?
There was only a man standing there blankly.
A man who jumps in without hesitation to protect his colleagues.
The man, drenched in the blood of the Arachnes, was panting and looking relieved.
That moment.
“Cut!”
A shout was heard, interrupting the flow.
At the same time as that shout, the man’s expression suddenly turned sour and he frowned.
“Ha, shit.”
And the curses that were spat out.
“Arachne starts spraying spider webs?”
The man looked down nervously at the Arachne’s blood covering his entire body.
“It really smells like shit.”
The man swore repeatedly with a frown on his face.
And a place some distance away from that man.
A camera mounted on a tripod and a man standing behind it holding the camera.
The man looked up and looked at the man with annoyed eyes.
“Hey. Maeng Si-woo.”
“……”
“Aren’t you going to answer?”
“…… sorry.”
At the man’s cold words, the man holding the camera, Si-woo, lowered his head.
But was Siwoo’s reaction unfavorable?
“I told you to answer. Who told you to apologize?”
The man walked briskly towards Siwoo.
And bang!
He kicked Siwoo in the stomach with his foot.
“Cough!”
Siwoo bursts out in anger and bang!
It was thrown carelessly onto the floor.
“I don’t know how to get rid of it.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Siwoo quickly straightened his posture.
Although I couldn’t even breathe properly due to the pain, I forced myself to get up without showing it.
“Aren’t you going to investigate properly?”
“that is….”
“Arachne spits out webs at first, right? Do you know how much equipment we bought to film the scene where she prepares for the webs?”
The man growled and shouted.
Siwoo had nothing to say to the man’s words.
Of course, I had a lot to say inside.
Because Arachne’s personality analysis was absolutely perfect.
The typical fighting style of Arachne was not ‘fighting’ but ‘hunting’.
So, Arachne first spits out a web to ensnare her opponent.
It injects venom into its victims, who are then tied up in webs and rendered helpless, slowly killing them.
Unlike common spiders that just wait to be caught in their webs, Arachne literally hunts.
That’s why there was no case of rushing in blindly like before.
This is when the spider web doesn’t work.
In short, it was a fighting style that was only used in desperate situations.
But as soon as you meet your opponent, you rush in like a sledgehammer?
“I’ve never heard of a case like this before….”
This was a completely unheard of case.
I could really say with certainty.
Because I knew more about monsters than the Association.
Because that was the weapon that allowed Siwoo to survive in this hunter industry.
“So it’s not your fault?”
“That’s not what I meant….”
“Then it’s fucking my fault?”
“…… sorry.”
Siwoo had no choice but to bow his head towards the man once again.
The analysis and investigation were perfect, but somehow the unexpected happened.
Of course, it wasn’t Siwoo’s fault.
But now the man with the glaring eyes is Kang Do-cheol.
Do-cheol was a B-rank hunter and the actual owner of the ‘No Strategy (I’ll help you with anything)’ channel.
In a word, Do-cheol was Si-woo’s employer.
Do-cheol goes first. Si-woo goes second.
It didn’t matter what Gap said.
Eul had no choice but to bow her head.
“….. sorry.”
“Who would say he’s not blind? He’s blind.”
Do-cheol frowned and clicked his tongue.
“Okay. Grab your camera and follow me. I’ll go in deeper and take out the video angle again.”
“Yes? Are you saying you will proceed further?”
“Then. Shall we go back from here?”
In fact, that was what Siwoo had hoped for.
That would be the case, because Arachne’s behavior just now was so strange.
It was an action that had never been reported before, without any exaggeration.
It’s not even a rare phenomenon.
Behavior that has literally never been seen before.
This was never something to be ignored.
About 100 years ago, a dimensional gate suddenly opened on Earth.
Humanity was on the verge of destruction due to monsters they had never seen before, but they were able to overcome it with the power of the Awakened.
After that, new knowledge about monsters and mana began to take root.
This is called the 5th Industrial Revolution and it has changed the world into a new paradigm.
However, the dungeon was still a space full of the unknown.
A place like the bottom of the abyss.
The dungeon was full of things that humanity had yet to discover.
So, just now, Arachne’s strange behavior.
It could also be interpreted to mean that something unknown was lurking within this dungeon.
I didn’t know what it was, but I didn’t need to take the risk.
But Do-cheol’s thoughts seemed different.
No, I doubted whether I was even thinking.
“I have to pull out the video angle.”
Well, in some ways, it was like the fate of a YouTuber.
“And I’m just scared of Arachne’s dungeon.”
Arachne was a monster classified as C+ grade.
And Do-cheol is a B-class hunter.
Here are three C-class hunters with Do-cheol.
It was a force that was fully capable of dealing with any dangerous situation.
Didn’t you handle the sudden situation just now without any problems?
“It would be better if you uploaded the battle from a little while ago as a video this week… .”
“Who would want to see me struggling against a mere C+ rank monster?”
Honestly, that was it.
“First of all, this kid doesn’t fit with my channel concept.”
Also, Do-cheol’s channel and concept did not match.
Do-cheol’s channel, ‘Mugongyak (I’ll help you conquer anything)’, was a channel that taught how to conquer monsters.
If it was a video of slaughtering monsters, then maybe that would be different.
The classic did not fit the concept in many ways.
Honestly, if you want to watch massacre videos, go to the channel of the A-class hunters called Celestial Realm.
Or maybe you’ll watch a video on the S-class Hunter Channel, which is considered the pinnacle of humanity.
“And the cost of the equipment you bought. If you’re not going to take responsibility for it all, then shut up and follow me.”
Do-cheol made that unilateral announcement and left.
Siwoo ended up not saying anything.
At that moment, Siwoo was about to pack his equipment.
“Maeng Si-woo, that kid. I told you, it’s frustrating if you just sit there and do nothing.”
Another voice came to Siwoo’s ear.
Other hunters who are creating a non-strategic channel along with Do-cheol.
There was quite a distance between me and Siwoo as I was trying to frame the camera.
Even though it was a distance where it would be impossible to hear if you whispered, their voices were clearly audible.
It was a sound that was deliberately made loud so that people could hear it.
“Well, what would an ordinary editor know?”
“But he woke up. That’s because he has no personality.”
“Oh, right. That’s right.”
Typically, upon awakening, each character is given a special ability.
And it was different for everyone.
Because each person was different, like a person’s fingerprint, they were called ‘unique abilities’ or ‘individualities’.
Siwoo was also an awakened being.
However, the awakened ability is without individuality.
It literally had no personality.
A being that is no different from an ordinary person.
It was of no use in the hunter industry.
So Siwoo desperately analyzed the monsters.
By doing so, he was able to survive by clinging to the hunters.
“You idiot.”
A mocking laughter was heard.
But Siwoo tried hard to pretend not to hear.
I just gathered up my camera and equipment one by one.
* * *
The exploration of the dungeon to film Arachne’s strategy video continued.
And how far into the dungeon did it go?
‘It’s strange?’
Siwoo couldn’t shake off the feeling of discomfort he had been feeling since earlier.
Almost 30 minutes had passed since entering the dungeon.
‘There aren’t any?’
I have never met an arachne before.
Of course, this situation was not uncommon.
It was a rare but occasionally occurring situation.
But the situation just now.
Arachne’s strange behavior has never been reported before.
Again, Arachne hunts, not fights.
That’s why the first action must be to spray spider webs.
Arachne’s last resort is to pounce on her prey.
It was something you would do only when the situation was dire.
Nevertheless, Arachne rushed at them as soon as they met.
Strictly speaking, it is not impossible.
But that was only when considering possibilities.
It was just like thinking of it as a behavior similar to a right-handed person suddenly starting to eat with their left hand one day.
It’s not like that’s impossible, is it?
At first glance, it seems like a trivial matter.
But it was clear that this was something that couldn’t just be overlooked.
My wife, who used to eat with her right hand every day, suddenly started eating with her left hand one day.
Others may not feel any discomfort.
But my husband won’t be.
The husband would feel a sense of discomfort, as if his wife had become a different person.
Because a husband knows his wife better than anyone else.
The sense of discomfort that Siwoo was feeling now was similar to that.
At first glance, it seems like a trivial matter.
But it’s something that can’t just be overlooked.
It’s different from the Arachne that Siwoo knows.
The Arachnes’ behavior is so strange.
But what if special circumstances arose?
Then the story is different.
A situation where the wife cannot use her right hand.
A situation where the right hand is injured or has a cast.
Then it’s not at all strange to use your left hand.
That’s natural, if not expected.
therefore….
‘What if the Arachnes were already in a desperate situation?’
Then all the previous actions make sense.
Verification is required.
Siwoo hurriedly took out his camera and played the recorded footage.
-Keeeeeeeek!!
As soon as the video started playing, ten arachnes rushed in.
A flash of red light and an erupting roar.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but I could tell for sure when I saw it on video.
‘Are you scared?’
The arachnes in the video looked terrified.
That’s why it wasn’t a rush.
It was as if he was trying to run away from something.
In the process, Do-cheol’s group was just blocking the road.
The Arachnes, that is.
I don’t have time to deal with the likes of you, so it was just an action to tell you to get out of the way right away.
in short.
The arachnes were terrified.
‘Does this make sense?’
But this makes even more sense.
That would be the case, because monsters don’t have the emotion of fear.
Prey that must be eaten.
Monsters only have instincts left.
Still, there were cases where monsters trembled in fear.
To be exact, there is only one case.
An overwhelming fear that stimulates your deadly instincts.
Or when you encounter such a being.
That is why Arachne was terrified.
It was nothing more than suggesting one case.
Somewhere deep inside.
Where Siwoo is heading right now. Somewhere inside.
It means that there is a truly overwhelming fear that stimulates fatal instincts.
‘I have to run away.’
Siwoo made a quick decision.
An overwhelming fear that forced the Arachnes to flee.
I don’t know what it is.
But at least S-class. Maybe even higher.
The moment we face each other.
It’s the end.
I don’t know why such a being exists in Arachne’s dungeon.
It is questionable whether such a being can really exist.
But there is no room for doubt.
Shihu suddenly raised his head.
And he shouted at Do-cheol and the people walking ahead.
“Everyone run─!”
But before Siwoo could finish speaking.
Gurrrrrrung…!
With a loud vibration that resonated throughout the dungeon.
“Keeeeeeeeeek!!!”
A terrifying scream erupted from the darkness ahead.
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fantasy,
