Cha Jin-Hyeok’s heart pounded. ‘Finally, a strong monster!’

It was undoubtedly a monster that fought on instinct, rather than reason or skills. That meant the Silver Thread Tarantula could likely use most of its inherent abilities to their fullest.

Lessefim slightly frowned. “Are you really going to fight it?”

“I have to try, you stay back.”

Lessefim slowly backed away. She did not say anything like ‘You are not a combatant-class Player either! Let’s run away together.’ She knew.

‘If someone has to fight that monster, it makes sense for Kim Chul-Soo to do it, not me.’ A Navigator getting in his way would only hinder his chance of winning the fight. ‘Instead, I will secure an escape route in advance.’

As she searched for an escape route, she bit her lip. ‘I was too complacent.’

She had been too immersed in her routine. The Players she Played with were always among the top rankers in Arvis, so they naturally breezed through such crises.

‘I should have analyzed Chul-Soo’s capabilities more carefully before coming here.’

As if she were possessed, she had been too excited about Playing with Chul-Soo. However, it was too late to reflect and regret now. She had to give her sincere best from this moment on.

“Chul-Soo, just hold on for fifteen minutes. I will create an escape route so that we can get out of here.”

***

Jin-Hyeok smirked. A battle against a Level 300 monster was definitely going to draw attention, so he decided to start his livestream.

03. Crisis

The first part of the storyline was the Declaration of War; the second was The Trap; and now, it was the turn of the Crisis. These three parts seemed perfect for a teaser for this content.

Silver webs from the Silver Thread Tarantula sprayed out above Jin-Hyeok’s head.

‘So fast!’ The tarantula was incredibly swift, having moved to the ceiling before one could even notice. ‘Activate Absolute Barrier.’

His Absolute Barrier blocked the silver webs. Some of the webs instantly melted upon contact with the barrier, while others were deflected off course. From that single clash, Jin-Hyeok realized something. “Directly facing a Level 300 monster is too much.”

No matter how much he tried to cover the gap between their abilities with his skills, the fundamental Level difference between him and the spider was too great. “I will try to find a strategy by properly using Absolute Barrier and Thief’s Step.”

Fortunately, despite its overwhelming Level and power, the monster lacked intelligence. The tarantula was fast, but its patterns were quite simple. Mixing Thief’s Step with Absolute Barrier, Jin-Hyeok managed to hold on somehow.

“But the situation is not that great.”

The silver webs were scattered all over the palace. Some melted into toxic liquid, while others stuck to the walls like sticky webs. Although Jin-Hyeok did not need to worry about the poison due to his poison resistance, the webs sticking to the walls were literally like spider webs, hindering his movements.

Of course, Jin-Hyeok was not just blocking attacks. Whenever he got a chance, he swung Miri at the tarantula’s head.

“Its skin is incredibly hard.”

Jin-Hyeok managed to hit the Level-300 monster several times, but the monster’s skin was thick and hard. The attacks did not penetrate it properly. Moreover, the tarantula’s aggressive attacks left no room for him to prepare for powerful and large-scale attacks.

“A direct one-on-one fight is not the solution here,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Just then, he heard Lessefim’s voice from a distance.

“Chul-Soo! Just seven more minutes! You need to hold on for seven more minutes!”

“Moreover, those massive legs are dangerous weapons themselves,” Jin-Hyeok said.

The legs of the Silver Thread Tarantula were covered in small spikes. They were sharp and rough, resembling saws. Clearly, any contact with them would result in him being torn apart.

Screech!

The tarantula’s foreleg hit the wall, tearing apart the wall as if it were paper.

“Just as expected, the monster is really strong,” Jin-Hyeok said.

Lessefim was desperately creating an escape route, and her senses remained focused on Jin-Hyeok. In case he got seriously hurt, she would have to rescue him and hide immediately. Yet, Lessefim felt a strange sensation. ‘Why… does he seem so relaxed?’

The situation appeared dire from her point of view. ‘He knows that he can’t beat the monster, right?’

Chul-Soo was barely holding on at the moment. Yet, he seemed oddly at ease. It was peculiar.

***

Swampland No.1 exulted. ‘You have made a mistake, Lady Harkoen.’

He vowed to someday get his revenge on that madwoman. ‘Thank you, Chul-Soo. Your timely arrival has allowed me to look forward to the future.’

In truth, he had never fully trusted Lady Harkoen. He knew there was a high chance of him being double-crossed. Moreover, he was already well-informed about Harkoen’s collections and had taken many precautions, one of them being the undergarment he was wearing, which protected him from various kinds of corrosion. They had cost a whopping one billion Dias but proved to be worth every penny.

‘My senses are returning.’ As the Silver Thread Tarantula and Chul-Soo fiercely fought, this was his only chance. ‘I need to melt these silver webs.’

Swampland No.1 discreetly spat out a small orb he had been holding in his mouth, called the Orb of Tainted Flame. This orb, which contained the flame of the Spirit King, was an artifact worth ten billion Dias. Without hesitating, Swampland No.1 activated the artifact. “Activate, Tainted Flame.”

Black flames sprouted from the artifact. While they were modest and weak compared to the hellfire handled by the actual Spirit King, they were capable of slowly melting the silver webs.

‘It’s a bit of a waste to use such a powerful artifact for melting silver webs, but it’s cheap in comparison to the value of my life.’

Since he had already received a down payment of one hundred billion Dias, all this had been worth it. After having melted some of the silver webs, Swampland No.1 twisted himself to escape. The skin on his fingertips and toes had melted away, with his bones being visible.

‘At least I survived.’

***

Jin-Hyeok said, “I see that there is no chance of winning in a direct battle against a Level 300 monster.”

He had known this from the start, but experiencing it firsthand only excited him even more.

‘To think there was such a strong monster… But then, the top rankers of Arvis can slice through it with a single attack.’

The world was vast, and there were many strong beings in it.

“Even if I try to use Instant Kill, the monster is not giving me enough time to do that.” Its attacks were so fierce that using the Song of the Black Tiger was hardly feasible. “Then, what about using my taming Skill?”

You have activated the Skill ?Taming (Physical)?.

Taming was not easy either. The Level difference between him and the spider was too vast, due to which the Skill was outright rejected.

“Oh no, I have been ensnared.” Jin-Hyeok’s foot was caught. A sticky mass of silver webs wrapped around his left ankle. “It feels like I am stuck to the ground.”

The mass of webs was so sticky and tough that not even a knife could cut through it. “This time, my right ankle has been ensnared.”

Thinking it had successfully caught its prey, the tarantula slowed down. It slowly approached Jin-Hyeok. Standing right in front of him, the monster opened its mouth wide, ready to swallow him whole.

“It seems to be trying to intimidate me.”

This was Harkoen’s doing, as she wanted him to tremble in fear. She wanted to see his beautiful face adorned with fear and terror, to have such an expression for her collection.

“Its mouth is really big.” He took something out of his pocket and threw it at the monster. The object went right into the tarantula’s mouth. “Thankfully, the monster opened its mouth wide, due to which I could easily put the Control Bug in its mouth.”

Jin-Hyeok changed the title of the livestream.

04. Counterattack

“This will be the end of the livestream.” Jin-Hyeok was very satisfied.

‘I just created a perfect teaser!’

***

Before Jin-Hyeok had gone to find Swampland No.1’s hideout and just before he was released from the holding cell, Liling had come looking for him, having finally woken up.

“Mr. Chul-Soo, are you okay?” Liling was on the verge of tears. “It’s all because of me… You’re here because of me…”

She burst into tears with a loud sob. Though it was hard to know how much pain she was in, the horn on her face had turned pitch black.

“It’s not your fault,” Jin-Hyeok said. He had just been acquitted on the grounds of self-defense. Seeing Liling crying so hard made him feel uneasy. “So, don’t cry. You’re making me sad.”

Liling burst into even louder sobs, hugging Jin-Hyeok with her bulky frame and wailing like a baby.

After experiencing a torrent of tears, Jin-Hyeok said, “There is still a Control Bug inside you. We need to get that out.”

He had tried to tame it but failed. This Control Bug was, so to speak, only halfway tamed. “Right now, Swampland No.1 is in a tight spot, so it seems he can’t pay attention to this Control Bug… But once he has the chance, who knows what he might do with it.”

“Okay!” Liling consistently treated everything Jin-Hyeok said as if it were the absolute truth.

“It might hurt a bit. My taming Skill is…” Suddenly, he remembered the words of Park Terse, who had said that taming based on violence was not true taming.

‘Back then, I thought as long as taming works, it doesn’t matter.’

However, he now realized that Terse’s words had a point. Jin-Hyeok did not really feel like hurting Liling.

“I know about your Skill. It involves physical taming, right?” Liling, whose horn had turned pink, smiled brightly. “Go ahead and hit me all you want. My skin is really tough!”

“I will make it as quick as possible.”

“You can take your time. I trust you, Mr. Chul-Soo!”

“…”

Looking into her pure eyes, he felt something for the first time. ‘My physical taming is effective, but… it’s not omnipotent.’

For the first time, he thought that perhaps he might need another taming Skill in the future. Nonetheless, there was no choice for now.

Liling cooperated without a single scream, and eventually, she was able to expel the Control Bug hidden inside her.

‘Maybe it’s because I tried to tame it once, but the Control Bug survived the Skill…’

This was why practice was important. The Control Bug was still alive.

***

“I once believed that violence could accomplish everything. If it didn’t, it was simply because there was not enough violence. How foolish that was,” Jin-Hyeok murmured. Terse’s words were partly correct. Violence was not everything. “There are many ways to tame.”

If violence did not work, one had to find another way. “Using a tamed Control Bug is one method.

The object that he had thrown inside the tarantula was that Control Bug, which was under Jin-Hyeok’s full control now.

“This kind of taming is new to me, so it seems I will need to concentrate a bit.”

Jin-Hyeok closed his eyes with the tarantula right in front of him. Normally, this was not something a Player could do in front of a Level 300 monster.

“Fortunately, I have experienced various mental connections and bonds.”

It was the case with the Golden Guardian Tree, Miri, the Thunder Dragon, and Elly. Having accumulated much experience and practice, Jin-Hyeok found the connection with the Control Bug much easier to handle and more natural than expected.

“Now, the Silver Thread Tarantula is mine.”