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Chapter 34: Forest of Spiders (2)

It was a Forest Spider that was purple from its head to the tip of its hair! Generally, spiders from the Forest of Spiders resembled real-world spiders. Moreover, its size was comparable to a motorcycle, intimidating enough to frighten women and even men with weak stomachs just by looking at it.

Of course, that didn’t apply to Kai though.

Would it give lots of XP?

Kai, who was scared of ghosts, wasn’t afraid of bugs. He charged at the creature with all buffs activated except for the Supernova.

"Kraa!"

As Kai suddenly came out from the bushes, the surprised spider hastily spat out its venom. A single attack could lead to a fatal poisoning!

"Ew, watch where you\'re spitting!" Kai yelled, easily dodging the venom and diving to get up close to the spider.

Let’s aim for its weak spots!

It was common knowledge that attacking key areas like the head or heart could inflict 1.5 times more damage!

Kai slashed at the spider’s head with his iron sword.

Swoosh!

"Kreeeek!"

The Forest Spider screamed. However, Kai\'s expression did not brighten as expected after a successful hit.

Huh, that barely did any damage.

He had hoped to reduce the spider\'s HP by at least 10% by targeting its vital point, but after checking, only about 4% of its HP had decreased.

"Ugh, can\'t deal with this."

Eventually, Kai declared surrender with an expression that said he was happy to do so.

Huey was right.

There was nothing Kai could do with his current power, which was often the result of people who hesitated in their choices.

"This won\'t do."

Kai\'s ambition was to become strong quickly and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the rankers. However, if he became nervous over just a single creature in the Forest of Spiders like now, he would never be able to face stronger monsters in the future.

"...Let\'s do it."

Making up his mind, Kai immediately opened his stat window.

"Let\'s invest all the remaining stat points into Strength."

[You have 50 stat points. Would you like to invest them all in Strength?]

"Yes."

[The recommended stats for Clerics are Holy Power and Stamina...]

"Ignore advice. Invest all in Strength."

[+50 Strength]

It was uncertain whether this choice was wise. Posting this on the community could likely earn thousands of comments calling him insane!

A full-strength Cleric, huh.... Definitely sounds crazy enough.

However, as the French writer and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre said, life was a series of C (choices) between B (birth) and D (death)! It was the same now. Kai faced one of the many choices in life and simply chose what he believed was right.

"Well, if things go wrong, I can always make up for it with the Benevolence stat."

The 50 stat points he had started gathering from Frica Village were now fully invested in Strength. A surge of overwhelming energy boiled up within him!

As Kai closed his eyes for a moment to fully enjoy the feeling, he let out his realization, "Wow, now I see why there are so many Warrior players."

It felt almost addictive. It felt like his muscles had turned into rubber bands as they tensed and loosened quite easily. The sword felt so light it was noticeable! He felt like he could split the spider in front of him in two at any moment.

"No way, can it actually work?"

There was only one way to find out. Kai charged at the spider again.

"Kreet, Kraaaak!"

The creature opened its mouth wide and let out a screech! Turning its body around, it shot webs from its rear.

"Supernova!"

Boom!

A skill that consumed 1,000 Holy Power per second and was a Unique-ranked skill that increased all stats by 30!

"Sorry, but I have nothing to be afraid of right now!"

Supernova, though only for a brief moment, elevated him to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with players above level 30. It was power and speed that a level 54 Forest Spider could never handle!

Kai poured all his strength into his sword, and the sword emitted a sound of breaking air that was different from any until now.

Swooosh!

"Kreee!?"

By the time the spider realized something was wrong, three of its left legs had already been severed!

[Opponent afflicted by Slow status effect.]

[You did 4,485 damage.]

[You did 4,542 damage.]

"Nice!"

The damage was beyond what he imagined! Kai cheered. Even when attacking non-vital points, the spider\'s HP rapidly drained by 15%!

Kai\'s hand movements became faster with excitement.

"Kreeet!"

The spider, having lost its mobility, was in a situation where it couldn\'t escape. The attacks of the cornered creature became more fierce.

Fwit, fwit, fwit!

The spider\'s poison continuously shot out.

"You think that’ll be enough?"

With just a small movement of his ankle, Kai’s body moved smoothly like a breeze, dodging all attacks. As he dodged everything, the iron sword extended refreshingly easily!

Slash!

The sword passed by, severing two of the spider\'s right legs.

At the same time, a pleasing message appeared.

[Opponent afflicted by Immobilize status.]

"YESSS!"

In battle, attacking the opponent\'s eyes to cause blindness and the legs to cause a slow status were the basics of basics.

Cutting off one leg results in Slow, but attacking both results in Immobility.

Kai\'s heart raced. It was because he was putting into practice what he had only learned in theory through the community and streams.

This euphoria, this thrill!

The adrenaline and liberation he could never experience while only giving heals and buffs to party members engulfed his entire body. Kai felt a burst of exhilaration, as if a dam was suddenly broken, allowing water to flow through.

Even if I swing only once, let\'s swing it the best I can!

The sword strikes naturally became a habit when he learned swordsmanship at the Training Grounds of the Dawn because the quest wouldn’t be completed there if he didn’t concentrate properly while swinging the sword.

Slash! Slash!

[Swordsmanship of the Dawn Proficiency +2.]

[Swordsmanship of the Dawn Proficiency +1.]

[Swordsmanship of the Dawn Proficiency +1.]

The Proficiency of Swordsmanship of the Dawn, which had been stagnant for a while, began to rise rapidly. It was the difference between swinging a wooden sword at the training ground and cutting down an enemy in real battle.

"Kreee...re."

[+5,542 XP.]

“Phew, it\'s over."

It was a miraculous hunting field that raised his XP by 5% just by killing one creature!

Kai didn’t stop the corners of his mouth from naturally rising.

***

"Holy Explosion!"

Boom!

The white beam that struck the Forest Spider knocked down nearby trees and the ground for quite sometime before its power was finally exhausted.

"Phew.... It is powerful but certainly not discrete."

Especially in a dark place like the Forest of Spiders, it was even more pronounced.

Then Kai shrugged his shoulders, and a pleasing message appeared before him.

[+5,817 XP.]

[Level increased.]

[Acquired 5 stat points.]

"Finally, a level up."

Kai had been devoted to hunting non-stop for half a day. Other Warriors would need to take breaks to restore their Stamina, but Kai didn\'t need to.

"Spring of Restoration."

As he cast the skill, a small fountain appeared in front of him! Kai sat down around it as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

[Restores HP every second.]

[Restores Stamina every second.]

With every blink, his HP and Stamina began to rise. Through the Spring of Restoration, Kai quickly restored his Stamina and repeated his hunting.

"Hmm, a Cleric learning close combat skills makes solo play quite comfortable."

Kai hadn’t known until now, but a Solaric Cleric surprisingly suited solo play well. Unlike other classes that needed to consume expensive potions or bandages when their HP dropped, Clerics didn\'t need to.

A full-strength Cleric... Maybe I really should consider it.

Kai’s confidence had greatly increased after two days of hunting.

[Beginner\'s Swordsmanship of the Dawn LV.6. Passive.]

[Dealing damage with a blade does 160% damage.]

[Proficiency 12/100]

By only using his sword to defeat enemies, his swordsmanship skill level significantly increased, as well as his practical experience.

The only problem is falling behind in Proficiency with Holy Explosion....

Even though he used it occasionally, as he had just done now, it still wasn’t quite comfortable for him to use Holy Explosion while fighting with a sword.

However, his hunting speed was unmatched now, so his XP gain rate was faster than typical parties.

"Now that I\'ve leveled up, maybe it\'s time to stop hunting. I should also look for Rody now."

Kai opened the mini-map.

I\'ve finally made it close to the center of the Forest of Spiders. It wouldn\'t be strange to find Rody anywhere around here.

The spiders near the center were at least over level 60, so Kai couldn\'t take them lightly.

Stay sharp and focused.

A single hit from the spiders could result in a fatal injury.

Kai walked slowly along the path with his caution heightened.

Rustle.

While walking, Kai heard the sound of bushes shaking behind him!

His well-used iron sword was drawn in an instant. However, what Kai faced, fully prepared, was not a monster.

"Please, help me!"

A man, looking like a typical Archer in leather armor holding a crude bow, stood there.

But Kai, having already experienced PvP in the field with the Crimson Sunset guild and knowing that the Crimson Fist guild\'s members were also around, asked with a tense expression, "What is it?"

"Please help! My party is in danger right now!"

Only then did Kai take another look at the man\'s attire. His clothes were stained with dirt and dust, and the areas around his knees were even torn.

But getting into danger is something you should be prepared for when you go hunting.

When hunting in areas beyond one’s capability, one should always be prepared for the risk of annihilation!

It could be to be harsh, but Kai felt no need to rescue the man\'s party.

"I\'m sorry, but failing to defeat a monster is entirely your party\'s fault...."

"It\'s not a monster!" The man shouted, his expression desperately showing his frustration and anger, "It\'s the Crimson Fist guild\'s doing. They attacked our party...!"

"...Huh?" Kai\'s eyes, which had been dull with disinterest, glinted. "What happened with them?"

As Kai suddenly began to show interest in his words, the man sensed an opportunity and started explaining very eagerly, "First off, my name is Hugo, and I’m an Archer. Though small, I lead a little party. We\'ve been on a quest for a few weeks now. It was about the ruler that rules the Forest of Spiders.... To cut to the chase, we discovered the dungeon."

"Dungeon...!"

"We were thrilled. Of course, we were. It\'s a dungeon, after all. It felt like all our hardships were washed away." Hugo bit his lower lip hard as he continued, "But the problem was... we ran into members of the Crimson Fist guild at the entrance to the dungeon."

"...I see."

Kai remembered an old saying that his ancestors used to say about these kinds of situations.

Even though I wasn’t there, it’s too obvious.