Chapter 48

Hya-ha! Posting every day! In return, it's a bit shorter, around 3,500 characters. But, compared to when I first started the series, this is still a lot, you know.

Nord, having overcome his fear, peered out from the cliff once more, gazing at the scene before him.

A swarm of over a hundred spiders and a massive nest, which could be called a palace made of spider silk, where the spiders roamed. Inside the nest, large forest animals were captured as food.

And there, seated majestically, was a giant spider the size of a small hill.

It was clear that the strange occurrences in the forest were caused by the spiders before him.

However,

(What are these things...?)

A fundamental question arose from within his chest.

As far as Nord knew, monsters like Knight Spiders and General Spiders lived solitary lives, hunting alone. They would build nests by weaving webs in trees or caves, storing their prey in these nests—essentially food storage. During breeding season, males would court females, mate, and lay eggs. That was their known ecology.

But almost all the information before him deviated from what Nord knew about monsters.

The shape of the nest, the number of spiders, the existence of the giant spider, and the act of offering tributes—everything was unknown.

Nord took out his favorite black leather-bound notebook from his pocket.

It was the same notebook he had used since his days as an adventurer, containing all the knowledge and experiences he had gathered.

He flipped through the pages and stopped at one. It was a page filled with detailed information about the Knight Spiders and General Spiders he had fought before.

He compared the characteristics written there with the spiders before him.

(On closer inspection, their body color is a bit different...)

Under the moonlight, the color of the spiders' bodies was a bit hard to discern, but it seemed different from the usual ones.

The body color, illuminated by the silver moonlight, was darker overall compared to the Knight Spiders and General Spiders he had fought before. The usual ones had white body hair in some areas, but these were completely black.

The way their legs were attached and their distinctive eyes were still similar to the Knight Spiders, so they weren't entirely different monsters, but that made their true nature even more elusive.

At that moment, the giant spider moved again in Nord's field of vision.

With a slow, deliberate movement, it extended its massive, tree-like front legs, grabbed the live prey piled up by the Knight Spiders and General Spiders, and brought it to its mouth.

The live prey, still wrapped in spider silk, was crushed by the giant spider's sharp, large mandibles and swallowed into its stomach.

(That giant spider is eating... The other spiders are feeding it?)

Occasionally, the giant spider would eat the prey brought to it, but otherwise, it remained motionless. The live prey was diligently brought by the other spiders. From this, it seemed that the giant spider did not hunt on its own.

It didn't move on its own, but sat majestically in the palace made of spider silk, while its subordinate spiders acted.

(This giant spider is leading the swarm... It's like a king.)

The word that came to mind.

Nord, trying to gather as much information as possible, wrote down the scene before him in his black leather notebook and drew the giant spider, labeling it "King."

(...Something feels off. What is this feeling?)

He had a sense of déjà vu.

What was he feeling this about? Nord, lost in thought, forgot his current situation.

Was it the appearance of the Knight Spiders and General Spiders? It made sense to have a sense of déjà vu, as he had even fought them before. But it didn't seem to be that. Was it the scene before him? No, that wasn't it either. There was no sense of déjà vu, only surprise. Then, what was it...?

In the accelerating flow of his thoughts, Nord sought the answer. He knew intuitively that it was very important.

The source of the déjà vu—what was it?

Nord's gaze fell softly on his black leather notebook.

He focused on the drawing of the giant spider he had made.

(That's it. The déjà vu is in this drawing. I've seen this drawing before.)

Where...?

Nord searched his memory. From his days as an adventurer to when he became a dragon knight apprentice. Before that, after that. Commissions, adventures. Training, battles. Companions, monsters. The knight order, family. Colleagues, friends—!

(...That's right, in Elyseo's room.)

He whispered the word that had stuck in his mind.

The name brought back another word from Nord's memory. A book, the title was... "Legendary Monsters." The monster described there, which was said to have existed in the past, was neither a giant spider nor a king spider.

"...Empress Spider."

He muttered the name, and it reached his ears clearly, as if the night wind had carried it.

As if reacting to the name, the giant spider's front legs moved again, cruelly dragging the pitiful prey piled up before it into its jaws.

§

(...What is this?)

Nord had discovered the true identity of the cause of the forest's strange occurrences, but his face was not one of relief.

If he had to describe his current state of mind in one word, it would be "worst."

When he recognized the form of the giant spider, Nord was instantly overwhelmed by fear.

He was prepared to die.

Nord had once ventured alone into the mountains where flying dragons lived and collected a flying dragon egg, which later hatched into Neut.

At that time, he had seen a flying dragon up close.

He still remembered the fear from that moment. In the dragon's lair, with no escape route, the dragon returned, and Nord frantically dove into a pile of droppings.

From within the pile, he saw the dragon's face up close and thought, "This is what despair feels like."

The premonition of death brought by an absolute superior—Nord had experienced overwhelming fear, to the point where the stench didn't even bother him.

And Nord had become much stronger than he was a year ago.

Although his rank in the Adventurer's Guild was still Crystal, his strength far exceeded that, reaching the realm of Bronze adventurers.

However, even Nord could not defeat a flying dragon alone. No matter how strong he had become, he was still equivalent to a Bronze adventurer. If a flying dragon, a monster that Silver adventurers would face, were to confront him, he would be torn apart, crushed, or devoured, and death was certain.

But there was one thing Nord understood.

– The Empress Spider is stronger than a flying dragon.

Only Nord, who had seen both with his own eyes, could make this judgment. And it indicated that the village of Alba was in grave danger.

Nord vaguely remembered the legend of the Empress Spider he had read in Elyseo's room.

"In times of chaos and fierce battles, the Empress descends. When mountains burn and grass withers, armies arrive. People, never fight. If you forget peace and start a great war, the country will be ravaged by the army of monsters once again."

This was not from the book of legendary monsters but from an old document Elyseo had found. The document was written in ancient imperial language, which Nord couldn't read, but it was a modern translation by Elyseo.

He hadn't heard of any battles in the Alba forest. However, something must have caused the Empress Spider to return to the Ilva continent, and with it, its army.

– Army.

Nord felt goosebumps on his back.

That's right. The army of spiders serving the Empress Spider. What are they doing now?

– Feeding.

They are offering the live prey they have caught to the Empress Spider, which devours them one after another with its voracious appetite.

Where did they gather this prey?

– From the Alba forest.

The army of the Empress Spider must have gathered prey from all over the Alba forest. So much so that the forest's life signs have almost disappeared. Perhaps, except for Nord and Neut, there might be no living beings left in the Alba forest. The palace of spiders was piled high with live prey, enough to suggest this.

Then, when the prey runs out—no, before that, what will the spiders do?

– They will gather more prey. If the prey is gone from the Alba forest, they will go beyond it!

What lies there... is, of course, the village of Alba.

So, this is another update following yesterday's.

I'm not sure if the writing is flowing or not, even I don't know.

And, as with the previous chapter, here's an announcement (same content).

The first volume of "The Adventures of the Poor Noble Nord" will be released on February 15th (Saturday).

For more details, check the activity report!

Also, I didn't really promote it, but as an addition, all the bonus short stories in the first volume are about Elsa! A must-read for Elsa fans?

Furthermore, in the short story at the end of the volume, there is a brief mention of Elsa's origins!

That's it for the promotion! Court is adjourned! Dismissed!

See you in the next chapter.