"Wait, could it be because...!"
A flash of insight struck Greg's mind, and he whipped his head around to look at the cooling corpse of the Spine-back Lizard not far away.
"Dammit! I knew it! Just because my Luck stat isn't below zero doesn't mean I'm actually going to be lucky!"
He figured out the reason instantly.
It had to be the malfunctioning Screech magic conduit prototype inside that lizard's stomach, which was continuously emitting that specific frequency of noise.
While that noise could drive away low-level monsters, to a territory-conscious area lord with sharp senses, it was nothing but a constant, unbearable provocation and noise pollution!
That cursed thing had forcibly lured Lady Eight-Legs out of her nest when she should have been staying put!
Greg didn't hesitate. He raised his hand and fired several Fireballs, igniting the lizard's corpse along with any potential remains of the magic conduit inside, burning them to ash.
However, the heavy footsteps and the thunderous sound of crushing rock approaching from the depths of the cavern showed no signs of stopping.
The expression on Greg's face became completely grim.
His original plan had indeed been to kill Lady Eight-Legs.
But that plan was predicated on the Floor Boss being inside its Boss room—a specialized nest filled with tough spider silk and unique terrain.
The strategies he remembered—using the flammable silk for fire attacks, using specific terrain to kite and avoid lethal skills, and even utilizing the Boss room's traps...
All of them relied on that specific battlefield environment.
Now that Lady Eight-Legs had left her nest and come to this relatively open and complex section of the deep area, those clever strategies that relied on the Boss room were essentially useless.
Although he still held the trump card of dark magic, both his Bracers of Darkness and Dark Pulse were only at LV1 proficiency.
Large monsters, especially elite individuals acting as area lords, generally possessed high base resistance to various negative status effects in the original game's settings. Combined with the Divine Protection of the dungeon itself...
Trying to stack a lethal amount of debuffs to curse it to death with a LV1 Dark Pulse, like he did with the Goblin Shaman, had a minuscule success rate. He would likely run out of mana while the boss was still perfectly fine.
"It looks like... I'll have to find another way to deal with it."
Greg quickly made a decision.
He had no way out.
If he didn't defeat Lady Eight-Legs here, he wouldn't be able to complete the quest to conquer the first layer. Once the plot of Chapter One ended, he would still die.
Rather than waiting for death, he might as well take a gamble.
Having made up his mind, he ripped off the mask that had lost its purpose as a disguise and might instead hinder his vision and breathing, tossing it aside.
When that impeccably handsome face was fully exposed to the air, the pupils of Alvin, Leonard, and Leah—who were staring in terror at the source of the vibrations—constricted violently once more. Their last shred of doubt vanished.
Though his temperament and strength were worlds apart from the rumors, this face was undeniably that of the former Duke's son who had been missing for days after being exiled by his family!
Greg had no time to worry about their shock.
He quickly issued commands to Silvia.
"Silvia, give me every buff you have, then immediately take the three of them and retreat toward the entrance of the middle layers at top speed! Go back the way we came, and if you hit a fork, take the path with our markers! Move!"
"But, Greg-senpai! You're alone..."
Silvia's face was pale, and her pink eyes were filled with worry. She clearly didn't want to leave him alone to face an enemy that sounded so terrifying.
"Trust me."
Greg interrupted her and turned his head. His amber eyes looked directly at Silvia, his voice steady and firm, carrying an unquestionable power.
"Taking them to safety is the greatest help you can give me right now. I have a reason I must stay... and a way to handle this."
Silvia met his gaze and saw no panic or despair, only a settled calm and determination.
She bit her lower lip and nodded heavily. "I understand! Greg-senpai, you must be careful! We... we'll wait for you near the entrance!"
She no longer hesitated and immediately waved her wand, casting Strength Augmentation, Agility Boost, Light Barrier, and every other buff and protective spell she could think of onto Greg in one go. Then she turned around and told the dazed Alvin and the others to follow her immediately.
Perhaps it was the strength Greg had just displayed and his current decisive posture that were persuasive, or perhaps the instinct for survival overrode everything else, but Alvin and the others finally snapped out of it. They scrambled to follow Silvia, fleeing frantically back toward the direction they had come from.
Soon, only Greg remained in this area where a battle had just ended... No, perhaps not quite alone.
His shadow stretched long under the faint light of the cave fungi, twisting slightly.
Nightmare's voice echoed in his mind with a strange sense of calm.
"There is no need to be overly tense, my other half. This is merely the first decent challenge you must face as you truly take that step forward. Besides, no matter what happens, I will be here by your side. After all, our fates have long been intertwined; we live and die as one."
Greg knew this was Nightmare's way of comforting and encouraging him.
The corner of his mouth quirked up, and he actually managed to squeeze out a smile, replying in his mind.
"You're just a Hajimi who doesn't even walk on legs. How would you know how much the knees hurt for someone standing on their own two feet while taking a beating?"
Seeing that he still had the heart to joke at a time like this, Nightmare seemed to relax a bit and fell silent.
Greg could feel the faint but clear divine connection in his shadow becoming more stable, as if silently offering him support.
Immediately following that, the vibrations in the cavern reached a peak.
At the corner of the largest passage ahead, the rock wall shattered with a roar, sending debris flying!
A massive, suffocating shadow slowly emerged from the falling dust.
Lady Eight-Legs had arrived.
It was a giant spider-like monster beyond imagination.
Its main body was as large as a small house, covered in coarse, stiff black-and-white bristles that stood up like steel needles.
Eight segmented legs, their ends sharp as spears, were each thicker and longer than a broadsword. They supported its mountain-like body, leaving deep pits in the ground as it moved.
Its head was relatively small compared to its body, but it featured eight compound eyes flashing with a cold, cruel red light. Below them were two pairs of terrifying, snapping chelicerae, dripping with thick, dark purple venom.
Just its presence alone radiated the terrifying pressure of a LV35 area lord, mixed with the faint aura of the dungeon's rules, making it difficult to breathe and turning one's legs to jelly.
"So this is... the pressure of facing it in reality..."
Greg took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
The battle began.
Using his familiarity with Lady Eight-Legs' attack patterns, he managed to barely hold his own during the first few minutes.
A LV3 Water Arrow hitting its thick carapace and bristles didn't even leave a white mark, sliding right off.
The LV2 Fireball could at least exploit the fact that hairy monsters were weak to fire; it charred a small patch of bristles on impact, causing a series of hissing sounds and a faint burnt smell. However, the actual damage dealt—even with Silvia's buffs and the 20% damage bonus from Dungeon Explorer—was like scratching an itch compared to Lady Eight-Legs' massive health pool.
Rate on N.U.
