Chapter 66

00066 Mage and Alchemist (Rare) (2)

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An Hyun was glaring at the spider with a highly guarded expression. An Sol silently raised her staff, and Yoo-jung, gripping her dagger, was emitting a chilling aura. Their faces looked as if they were about to pounce at any moment.

In contrast, the anthropomorphic spider, or Vivian, had an air of ease. She smiled softly, as if watching a child’s tantrum, and then chuckled, speaking with renewed vigor. Of course, her target was me.

“Laughing? You’re laughing! Do you think the same, human male?”

“It makes sense from your perspective. Female spider.”

“Yohohoho! Female spider, huh? Hahaha. You really crack me up. You do seem different. I like it! It’s been a while since I’ve been generous. I won’t kill you… hmm… I’ll capture you alive!”

Vivian looked genuinely generous. She crossed her front legs and tilted her head, which made her look even more amusing. The kids weren’t amused, but they seemed stunned, and I could hear them gasping.

To me, she was quite an entertaining monster. I smiled lightly and spoke with a playful tone.

“I have a question. Since you’re being so generous, why not be a bit more generous?”

Vivian’s eyes widened as if she understood my intention.

“Sure, what is it? Do you want me to spare the others too?”

“No, not that. On the way here, I saw two user corpses… did you kill both of them?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the spider nodded.

“Yeah, I did. Why?”

“Even as an alchemist, you might need human bodies for experiments, right? It’s hard to understand why you’d just leave them there. Don’t you think, Vivian?”

“Eh. Torn to pieces like that… Oh? How did you know I’m an alchemist?”

After seeing Vivian’s reaction, I forced a smile and maintained a calm expression. She seemed quite cheerful and had a certain level of intelligence, but that was it. The sophisticated thinking she might have had in her alchemist days seemed to be gone. Since I had confirmed the reaction I wanted, there was no need to hold back.

Vivian jumped around happily, delighted that someone recognized her. (Incidentally, each jump made the ground tremble, and I worried the dungeon might collapse.) Based on my guess, Vivian probably wanted to live longer and had either modified her body or delved into intentional infection. This was a tragic end for a magician or alchemist who wasn’t skilled enough to become a lich. If she was satisfied, there was nothing to say. Still, it was a rare case.

“Other humans, females, came in first. Despite being lowly, a few of them seemed capable. Thanks to them, I lost a lot of useful subordinates. You guys, did you pass through the clearing with the goblins? It wasn’t originally their clearing. The original inhabitants were all wiped out, so I had to fill the gap quickly… Ugh! So frustrating!”

Vivian’s cheeks puffed up in anger. She then spat out venom from her chin to prove her anger, took a deep breath, and continued in a high-pitched voice.

“Did I just stand by and watch? I thought I had to do something, so I acted immediately. But it was quite a sight. As soon as I revealed myself, one of them ran away with just a little force. The one with the bow! He abandoned the others and ran for his life, which made me so angry. Well, at least the others lost their will to fight.”

“So what happened?”

“To be honest, I wanted to kill that one first, but the other humans didn’t let me. Especially that male priest. I liked him, but he kept mentioning his god, which was annoying, so I killed him first. While taking care of the others, I followed one and cut off a leg, then sliced his waist in half. Hmm. But then I thought about it and immediately chased the first one who ran. I didn’t confirm if he died.”

Vivian spoke very quickly. She seemed to really enjoy talking. The kids were just watching, surprised that I was chatting so casually with Vivian. Then An Hyun suddenly made a serious face and signaled to the others, probably thinking I was buying time for them to recover. I was just really curious, but…

Still, this misunderstanding wasn’t bad, so I nodded and answered Vivian’s question.

“Yeah, he’s dead. So that archer user was also killed by you?”

“Hehe. It’s been a while since I’ve had such a fun conversation. Yeah! You know, I didn’t really like those kinds of people. So I chased him to the end. He screamed as I twisted and pulled his neck. Did I do well? Hahaha.”

Vivian looked genuinely happy. She closed her eyes, savoring the memory. Meanwhile, An Hyun was calmly catching his breath. This kid was unpredictable; he was silent when it came to Sol, but in moments like this, he showed his true potential. Pushing and pulling, sometimes he pleased me, sometimes he didn’t.

After a while, Vivian opened her eyes and pointed excitedly.

“Hey! Ask me something else! I’m really enjoying this conversation with you~ Hehe.”

“…Sure. What happened to the female user hanging from the ceiling?”

I asked in a gentle voice. The spider twisted her body and blushed, then spoke. I could hear Yoo-jung mutter a curse from behind. Yoo-jung, are you jealous of a monster?

“Kyaa. The female hanging up there… Yeah, I didn’t like her from the start. She looked down on me with those haughty eyes, which really annoyed me. Why be so arrogant when you’re going to end up like that? I didn’t like her at all.”

“No matter how much you dislike someone… that’s a bit too much.”

Speaking as if we were having a casual conversation, Vivian giggled and closed her eyes again. She seemed to be in a nostalgic mood. I had dozens of chances to kill her, but I found it entertaining to listen to her talk. Of course, I was also getting impatient and planned to deal with her soon.

“Hehe. You would have found it funny if you were there. At first, she glared at me sharply even while tied up. I really wanted to crush her. So I did. I made her have sex with Renga, the goblins, and the human who turned into a Lamik after running away first. And finally, she had sex with the spider drones. The sight of that proud woman losing her virginity to the monsters she despised is still vivid. She screamed and struggled… that haughty and calm face turned into one of tears and snot, begging for mercy. It was so amusing. She eventually lost her mind, got pregnant, and laid eggs. Hahaha! Stupid woman. If she had been like that from the start, I might have kept her alive like the other males and females.”

“…So there are still living users?”

“Yeah. I’ve kept them tightly wrapped. They should survive for a while. But I’m not sure what to do with them. Should I feed them to the kids… or make a chimera? Hmm. The latter sounds more appealing.”

The kids’ breathing had become quite steady. I decided it was time to end the conversation and subtly raised my sword. Seeing me point my sword at her, Vivian pouted.

“Eh… are you going to fight? Let’s not make things difficult, okay? I won’t do anything bad to you.”

“It’s a bit troublesome, but I think I need to take you down. My kids don’t seem to like you either.”

“Hmph. Whatever. If you insist. But I like you, so I won’t kill you. And… oh well. I’m being generous again. I’ll spare the cute male next to you.”

An Hyun’s face changed strangely. As the atmosphere between Hyun and me became more tense, Yoo-jung and Sol’s anger grew stronger. After wiping some sweat, I cleared my throat and continued.

“What about the other two?”

“Hmm… honestly, the priestess seems more suitable as a host. She looks rich in mana. But she seems too young. Hosts like that often commit suicide before they can be used. So I’ll use the one who looks more aggressive.”

“Crazy woman.”

“Yeah, I’m a crazy woman.”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

“I don’t have a penis?”

“@#%$^&*(&^%$#@!”

Vivian’s casual response made Yoo-jung shout in an unknown language. Listening to Yoo-jung’s curses with a smile, Vivian suddenly changed her expression and emitted a killing aura. Seeing her mood swing so quickly, I chuckled. She was definitely not a normal spider.

Yoo-jung stopped cursing as soon as she felt Vivian’s changed aura. Seeing the kids’ serious expressions, I slowly gathered my mana. However, relying entirely on them seemed too risky. This time, I decided to show my true strength and step in. Just as I took a step, the spider’s lower jaw opened wide, and a waterfall of silk gushed out.

“Since I’m capturing you, it would be a waste to hurt you. I’ll capture you all at once. Hehehehe!”

With Vivian’s laughter, silvery threads spewed from her lower jaw. They were much thicker and in much greater quantity than any spider silk I had seen before. The threads spread out like an umbrella and then shot towards us like arrows.

The speed was so fast that I was momentarily taken aback. The silk reached our bodies in an instant. Soon, the sticky threads began to wrap around us. However, I didn’t move at all. A thought flashed through my mind. If there was no immediate threat to our lives, it would be better to let her take us to her secret lair and then escape.

“Surprised? Hehehe.”

I didn’t resist much, but the kids were desperate. Even though I was relaxed, the speed was too fast for me to react. An Hyun was frantically swinging his spear to clear the threads, but it was futile. The thickness and stickiness were problems, but the sheer quantity made it overwhelming. An Hyun was struggling, and Yoo-jung and Sol had no better options. Despite their efforts, Vivian laughed and taunted them.

“Hahaha. It’s futile. My threads aren’t that weak. Don’t underestimate them. Just accept it calmly. Like the male in front. Your eyes, mouth, and ears will be covered, but at least your nose won’t be.”

…Huh?

“Hey, wait a minute. Everything except the nose?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

I perked up, and Vivian’s eyes widened in surprise. After a moment, she nodded, and I subtly turned my head. The threads were wrapping around the kids’ bodies at an incredible speed, making them look like cocoons.

Bending my head, I saw the threads quickly wrapping around my body. If my senses were blocked, it meant the kids wouldn’t be able to see or hear what I did inside the cocoon. I realized I didn’t need to go inside if my secret was safe.

Deciding, I immediately awakened the dormant power within me.

============================ Author’s Note ============================

Hello, I’m Ro Yujin.

I’ve just returned from the funeral.

A person turned into a handful of ashes and was placed in an urn.

Holding the hot urn, I had many thoughts.

I’m truly grateful to all the readers who left comforting comments. Your comments were a great source of strength.

I came home at 10 PM today.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be able to write in just two hours, but I had some material prepared, and being in a corner (deadline), I managed to produce something. I announced a break from February 2 to February 3, and I wanted to keep my promise. Some readers might not be satisfied with the quality or quantity of this chapter, but please understand my situation today.

The alchemist’s dungeon is almost over. I plan to wrap it up in 3-4 more chapters and return to Muel. If you find it boring, please bear with it a little longer. I’ll strive to make the content more interesting and fulfilling.

I also plan to resume the live reactions tomorrow.

Thank you for your continued interest and support.