Chapter 362: Let's Go
“You two stay here and defend the Dungeon entrance. I’ll go kill that Mountain Spider. If that thing dies, I doubt these smaller spiders will have any reason to continue attacking us,” Alex said, glancing toward the approaching swarm.
“…That’s your plan?” Samuel asked, turning toward Alex with a strange expression. “You’re going to kill the Mountain Spider by yourself?”
“If you have a better plan, I’m all ears,” Alex replied with a shrug.
Samuel opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing. Matthew didn’t look particularly convinced either, although neither of them could suggest a better solution to their current situation.
After considering the matter for a moment, Matthew sighed. “Alex is right. We can’t keep defending this place forever, so killing the Mountain Spider might be our only option. The problem is whether we can actually defeat something that powerful.”
“We can. We were already planning to kill all four Mountain Spiders within four days, remember? We’re simply going to finish one of them ahead of schedule,” Alex replied calmly.
However, despite his confident words, Alex wasn’t entirely certain whether he was being overconfident. After witnessing the strange abilities possessed by the smaller spiders, he had realized that monsters belonging to powerful high-Rank species were considerably more dangerous than he had previously assumed.
Initially, Alex had estimated the Mountain Spider’s strength by comparing it to the Adult Basilisk he had killed. However, after fighting its underlings, he was beginning to suspect that the Mountain Spider belonged to an entirely different level of strength.
‘Even if both are high-Rank species, that doesn’t necessarily mean their combat abilities are comparable,’ Alex considered.
He remembered reading on Dwitter that animals such as chimpanzees and gorillas were classified as low-Rank species, just like humans. However, the difference between an ordinary human and a gorilla in terms of physical strength was enormous, despite both belonging to the same Rank.
‘I shouldn’t have assumed the Mountain Spider would be comparable to the Adult Basilisk just because they’re probably both high-Rank species,’ Alex realized.
Nevertheless, that didn’t change his decision. He had already intended to fight the Mountain Spiders eventually, and bringing that confrontation forward wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Besides, it wasn’t as though Alex had always entered his previous battles knowing exactly how he would win. He had faced stronger enemies before, and although some of those encounters had nearly killed him, he had ultimately managed to overcome them.
‘I’ll figure something out this time too,’ Alex thought, looking toward the distant mountain.
“Alright, then. Let’s go,” Matthew suddenly said, interrupting his thoughts. “Samuel can hold the defensive line while I accompany you. You mentioned that some stronger spiders might be waiting to ambush you once you’re exhausted, right? I’ll deal with those monsters while you concentrate on the Mountain Spider.”
Alex looked at Matthew with some surprise. His confidence was considerably greater than Alex remembered, which made him curious about what exactly had happened during Matthew’s Trials.
However, this wasn’t the time to investigate. Alex turned toward Samuel, wondering whether the Priest would be capable of defending the Dungeon without their assistance.
“Can you really defend this place alone? You’re a Priest, after all, and there are still hundreds of spiders outside,” Alex said.
“I can manage for half an hour, provided nothing too ridiculous shows up. The real question is whether you can defeat the Mountain Spider within that time. Didn’t you say reaching its location took you almost half a day last time?” Samuel questioned.
Alex noticed that Samuel had conveniently avoided explaining how he intended to defend the Dungeon entrance. Nevertheless, Alex wasn’t particularly bothered, since from what little he had witnessed earlier, Samuel appeared considerably stronger than before.
‘He really doesn’t like revealing his abilities, does he?’ Alex thought, although he had no intention of questioning him about it.
“We won’t need that long to reach it. I’ll fly us there,” Alex explained.
“Then you should get moving. I’ll take care of things here,” Samuel replied, turning toward the approaching spiders.
Alex nodded before rushing out of the defensive position alongside Matthew. Once they had moved a short distance away, he extended his hand toward his companion.
“Come on, I’ll carry you. It’ll be much faster than running through the forest,” Alex said, preparing to lift them both into the air.
“Hahaha! I’d prefer not to be carried around by another man, no matter how much I like you,” Matthew replied with a wink.
Before Alex could respond, Matthew’s body suddenly disappeared. His voice echoed from multiple directions, making Alex unable to determine exactly where he was speaking from.
“You just concentrate on flying. I’ll be right behind you, so don’t worry about me,” Matthew said.
Alex frowned slightly, wondering whether Matthew could actually keep up with him. However, considering the strange abilities he had demonstrated earlier, Alex decided to trust him.
He immediately jumped toward an approaching spider, landing directly on its head before using it as a foothold to propel himself upward. With Superior Body Reinforcement enhancing his strength, the force of his jump crushed the monster’s head completely.
As Alex rose above the surrounding trees, he activated Mana Vortex Spell once again. Almost immediately, numerous invisible threads began disappearing around his body, confirming that the spiders had already attempted to trap him.
‘These damn webs are everywhere,’ Alex thought, releasing some of his stored Kinetic Energy.
His body accelerated toward the distant mountain, quickly leaving the battlefield behind. Since he was using accumulated Kinetic Energy to propel himself, he could maintain his flight even while Mana Vortex remained active.
Alex continued increasing his speed, pushing himself faster with each passing moment. Before long, the pressure against his body became so intense that even his reinforced bones and muscles began protesting.
However, he didn’t slow down, since Samuel had only promised them half an hour. Alex had no intention of wasting most of that time traveling.
Occasionally, he deactivated Mana Vortex to construct another Mana Shuriken, accelerating its rotation before absorbing the accumulated Kinetic Energy. He then resumed his flight, using the additional energy to maintain his rapidly increasing speed.
‘This would be much easier if I flew far above the forest,’ Alex considered, glancing toward the open sky.
At a greater altitude, he wouldn’t need to worry nearly as much about the spiders’ invisible webs, allowing him to concentrate entirely on maintaining his flight. However, he remembered the warnings Pipi and Hoot had given him about the dangers of flying too high.
‘I’m already going to fight a powerful high-Rank monster. There’s no reason to invite another dangerous creature into this mess,’ Alex thought, deciding against increasing his altitude.
Alex continued flying for another five minutes before his instincts suddenly warned him of danger. He immediately absorbed the Kinetic Energy of his movement, forcing himself to stop so abruptly that the resulting inertia made his reinforced body protest.
Through Mana Vortex Spell, he sensed an enormous wall of energy directly ahead of him. It appeared almost completely solid, and judging by its density, crashing into it at his previous speed would probably have killed him.
‘What the hell is this?’ Alex wondered, frowning as he examined his surroundings.
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