Realizing his conventional attacks couldn't deal any meaningful damage, Greg decided to change his strategy.
Relying on his nimble footwork and anticipation, he narrowly dodged swift strikes, broad sweeps, and broad-coverage sprays of venom, before experimentally casting Dark Pulse.
The unassuming little dark orb shot forth once more, striking the joint of one of Lady Eight-Legs' legs.
It worked!
A system notification flashed, showing that Lady Eight-Legs had been inflicted with debuffs such as 【Sluggish】 and 【Weakness】.
However, the effect was far less pronounced than it had been against the Goblin Shaman, and the duration was significantly shorter. Moreover, Greg could clearly feel that casting it this time consumed far more mana.
Just as he had expected, a large-scale Lord with a high level, high resistances, and Divine Protection possessed immense resistance against negative status effects.
If he tried to chip her down this way, his mana pool would run dry long before she died.
“I can't keep dragging this out...”
Greg's mind raced as his gaze swiftly swept over the complex terrain around him.
Since he couldn't use the webs in the Boss room for an environmental kill, could he exploit other elements of this deep area's terrain instead?
An idea flashed through his mind.
He stopped fighting Lady Eight-Legs head-on, switching to distracting her with Fireballs to draw her attention while fighting a retreat toward a specific direction in his memory.
Lady Eight-Legs let out a furious hiss and pursued him relentlessly, her eight long legs thundering against the stone.
She seemed determined to tear apart and swallow this tiny bug who dared provoke her and scorch her with fire.
Unusually, they encountered no interference from other monsters along the way.
With an Area Lord personally out hunting, other monsters had long since fled far away in terror. None were foolish enough to cross her path right now.
Greg quickly reached his destination.
This was a relatively narrow cavern stretch. The ceiling was somewhat lower than the surrounding area, and embedded in the rock walls were numerous angular crystals emitting an unstable dark-red glow.
Explosive Rock Crystals.
This was a malicious trap left behind by the game developers.
When triggered by a certain amount of fire or impact, these crystals would explode violently, triggering a chain reaction that would cause a massive collapse.
Originally, this was designed to stop players from relying too heavily on fire magic on this layer.
As a result, during the Boss battle, players would subconsciously be afraid to use fire magic against her.
But now, for Greg, this was no longer a trap—it was his catalyst for a comeback!
He took a deep breath, calculating Lady Eight-Legs' pursuit speed and distance. He abruptly halted, turned around, and faced the colossal beast charging menacingly toward him.
Just as Lady Eight-Legs entered optimal attack range and raised a front leg to deliver a fatal thrust—
Greg did something that any onlooker would find utterly baffling.
Standing right where he was, he neither dodged nor parried, dropping every offensive and defensive posture. Then...
He activated 【Whimpering LV4】!
Effect: As long as you do not resist, your enemy will be unable to bring themselves to attack you for four seconds. (Can only be used on the same target once per day.)
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
Lady Eight-Legs, brimming with murderous intent, froze mid-attack, her sharp front leg halting abruptly in midair.
In her eight cold compound eyes, a remarkably clear trace of... human-like bewilderment and confusion flickered.
The tiny creature's behavior and vocalization clashed violently with its former image as a nimble prey that harassed her with fire, causing a momentary meltdown in her relatively simple predator logic.
Now!
A brilliant light flashed in Greg's eyes as all shame and awkwardness were instantly tossed to the wind.
Mana had already gathered in his raised right hand. A scorching Fireball flew out—not toward Lady Eight-Legs, but curving in a precise arc straight into the dense cluster of Explosive Rock Crystals directly above her head!
BOOM—!!!!
The moment the Fireball struck the crystals, blinding red light erupted! Immediately after came a deafening, cascading roar of explosions!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!!!
The detonated crystals suffered a terrifying sympathetic explosion. Wild flames and shockwaves swept across the cavern ceiling, sending countless jagged rocks of all sizes raining down like a meteor shower onto Lady Eight-Legs, who was briefly immobilized by the 【Whimpering】 effect!
“Skreeee—!!!”
Snapping out of the skill's effect, Lady Eight-Legs' immediate instinct was to flee.
But the stacked debuffs from Dark Pulse took effect right at that moment—one of her legs suddenly lost sensation, making it impossible to maintain her balance amidst the falling rocks, causing her to collapse to the ground.
She only had time to let out a shriek of shock, rage, and agony before being completely buried under countless burning, rolling boulders!
Heavy thuds, cracking carapaces, and snapping limbs echoed incessantly. Smoke and fire billowed upward, completely obscuring the entire cavern section.
As for Greg, the moment the Fireball left his hand, he had activated his newly acquired skill without hesitation—
【Insubstantiality LV1】!
His body instantly turned blurry and translucent, resembling a shadow without physical form.
Whether it was falling debris from above, the blast wave's shockwave, or spraying flames, everything passed straight through his body without causing any damage.
Like a ghost, he darted toward the area outside the explosion.
Five seconds of invincibility was just enough for him to sprint out of the dangerous core falling-rock zone and take cover behind a massive, fallen stalactite.
Rumble...
The collapse lasted for over ten seconds before gradually subsiding.
Smoke and dust hung thick in the air, refusing to dissipate, filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder and burning flesh.
The cavern's original structure was now unrecognizable. A massive pile of rubble had formed a small mound, burying Lady Eight-Legs' massive body completely, leaving only a few broken, faintly twitching spider leg tips exposed outside the rock pile.
Leaning back against the stalactite, Greg panted heavily, cold sweat drenching his forehead and his mana virtually depleted.
He stared intently at the ruins, not daring to relax for even a second.
Although dense smoke usually means no damage in tropey logic... with this many rocks, she had to be dead, right?
He clenched his fists, his heart pounding like a war drum.
Right at that moment—
In the corner of his vision, a long-awaited system notification emitting a faint golden light emerged clearly and steadily:
【Redemption of the Villainous Noble: Stage 1 Completed! Stage 2 Pending Unlock.】
Rate on N.U.
