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Surviving in a F*cked-Up Fantasy World Chapter 41

Cave

First of all.

 

While others were preparing for battle at the rear, I charged forward.

 

Then, I shifted the purpose of the Track technique I had been using to enhance my vision.

 

As a result…

 

The world gradually darkened, and everything seemed to slow down.

 

Still, thanks to the squad leader shining light on this area, I could make out what was ahead and immediately activated Fleet.

 

Moments later—

 

Crack!!

 

The Rock Spider at the forefront was split cleanly in two.

 

Its hard carapace shattered rather than cutting neatly due to its toughness. It was harder than I anticipated, so I might need a different method for this.

 

It’s too hard to take down with slashes.

 

I’ll need to prepare another weapon for situations like this.

 

Still, Gareth’s longsword is heavy, large, and sturdy enough to manage.

No matter how much I bash creatures like this, the blade won’t dull.

 

Anyway.

 

My gaze shifted to the next Rock Spider.

 

Since there are other combatants besides me, I don’t need to rush too much.

 

I dashed toward the nearest Rock Spider and brought my sword down.

 

Crack!

 

Its back dented and cracked as the blade struck it.

 

Thud! Crack!

 

A few more strikes later, its back shattered, and it died.

 

“Whew.”

 

They’re tough. Would make good armor material… Oh.

 

Come to think of it, this was on the materials list.

I glanced at the shattered fragments of the Rock Spider.

 

…This would be a hassle to collect.

 

If it were something small and valuable, like fangs, maybe. But this… Forget it.

 

Anyway.

 

I swung my sword at the other Rock Spiders closing in.

 

Why are they this big and tough?

 

“Lorenz! Are these mutated monsters?”

“They seem larger than usual.”

 

As I suspected, Lorenz confirmed it.

So these are mutated spiders, huh?

 

Mutations that increase size… It’s absurd that someone with such an ability used it for devil worship instead of livestock farming.

 

If we could capture the devil worshipper responsible for this and harness their power, the kingdom’s food shortage could be solved.

 

With such idle thoughts, I retreated slightly.

 

“What’s the matter?”
“They’re too tough to kill with a sword. Do we have a hammer?”
“As a matter of fact, we do.”

 

Lorenz gestured to one of his subordinates.

 

It was a man armed with a massive hammer—someone I recognized from the last sewer investigation.

 

“Mind if I borrow that weapon?”
“Uh… Sure. Here you go.”
“Thanks. Use this in the meantime.”

 

I tossed Gareth’s sword to him and took the hammer.

 

The weight was immediately apparent as I held it.

As expected, even a heavy sword couldn’t compare to this.

 

Whirr—whoosh—

 

I swung it a few times to get a feel for its weight.

 

Of course, I’d used a weapon like this before.

The Colosseum made you use all kinds of gear.

 

Weapons were often old and worn, so if they broke during a fight, you’d grab whatever was available, even those lazily planted in the arena’s floor by the organizers.

 

Alden had taught me a variety of techniques as well.

 

At the core, most weapons are similar.

 

Short ones are for stabbing.
Long ones like this are for—

 

Boom!!

 

—Smashing.

 

One strike with the hammer crushed the head of a Rock Spider charging toward me.

 

Yeah, that’s the feeling.

 

Crunch, scuttle—

 

Even though I killed another Rock Spider, countless more were pouring in from the other side.

 

Seeing them cover the ground, walls, and even the ceiling was downright chilling.

 

…That’s a lot of them.

 

“I’ll back you up. Take care of them.”
“Understood.”

 

Still, it wasn’t unmanageable.

Besides, Lorenz was here.

 

For now, he seemed to be conserving mana and only using it to assist team members in critical situations.

 

“All right, I’m going in.”

 

After all, mages need to conserve mana, so it’s up to physical fighters like me to run around like a dog.

And I’m not the only one doing the work.

 

Bang! Crack!

 

The leader of Search Unit 2, who had introduced himself earlier, was taking down Rock Spiders left and right.

 

His name… right, it was Locke.

We exchanged names when we first entered this area.

 

Kieeeek-

Kwak!

 

With every swing of his arm, a spider burst apart, spraying ichor.

 

I noticed something peculiar—large spikes extended from the back of his sleeves.

Were those weapons?

Pretty unique.

 

Not that it mattered, as long as he was killing spiders effectively.

 

With my hammer ready, I charged back into the fray, where the spiders were swarming.

 

Scuttle, scuttle—
Screech!!

 

The Rock Spiders accurately tracked my movements as I leapt into the air, gathering beneath me.

 

They probably wanted to rip me apart with those legs and that disturbingly small mouth.

 

However—

 

‘Rush.’

 

What landed on the heads of the gathered spiders was the hammerhead, brimming with Aura.

 

BOOOOM!!

 

With a thunderous impact that caused the cave to shake slightly, the clustered spiders were instantly smashed to pieces.

 

“Phew.”

 

That was satisfying.

Though for a moment, the trembling cave made my heart sink.

 

It’s fine to strike the floor, but I’d better avoid hitting the walls or ceiling.

 

Scritch, scritch—

 

More spiders skittered in, filling the spaces I had cleared on the floor.

 

Creepy creatures.

 

Still, these mutated monsters weren’t as overwhelming as they could’ve been.

 

I’d much rather deal with these oversized, hard-shelled Rock Spiders than a six-armed Orc Champion.

 

The real issue was their sheer numbers…

 

Bam!! Crack!

 

If I worked hard alongside that squad leader, Locke, we could probably handle them all somehow.

 

He’s quite strong.

About as good as Darren or Kaiden, maybe?

 

Honestly, those two are supposed to be the prodigies of the Boyd family, but they don’t seem that special to me.

 

They’ve even been caught up to by someone like me, who hasn’t been training in Aura for long.

 

Anyway.

 

While we steadily cleared out the spiders and made progress through the cave—

 

Thud—!

 

A vibration, similar to the one I felt when I smashed the hammer earlier, reverberated through the cave.

 

“What’s that…?”
“Up ahead.”

 

Lorenz replied from the rear.

 

Using Track to pierce through the darkness of the cave where the spiders kept crawling from, I saw it.

 

Thud, Thud, Thud, Thud, Thud—!!

 

A massive spider, large enough to fill half the cave, was lumbering toward us.

 

“The boss, perhaps?”

 

Its appearance was drastically different from the other Rock Spiders.

 

Its legs were even more numerous, thicker, and sturdier.

Sharp protrusions jutted out of its hard, spiky carapace.

 

…This one is definitely mutated.

 

“It’s the Queen.”

 

Locke said, suddenly standing next to me.

As an Aura user, he must have used Track to confirm it.

 

“What’s the plan?”

 

I sought his advice on how to deal with it.

 

Judging by its size, I’d need to land a precise Rush to make any impact.

 

But with its speed and the horns jutting out of its body, it wouldn’t be easy.

 

“I’ll handle it.”
“Do you have a method?”
“Yes. Please buy me some time to concentrate.”

 

I wasn’t sure how he intended to deal with it alone, but…

 

Well, he probably has his own strategy.

 

I had grown a subtle trust in him after seeing him fight earlier.

I grabbed my hammer and charged forward, aiming to hold off the other spiders so Locke could focus.

 

Whoosh—Bam! Bam!

 

I diligently smashed through the approaching spiders with my hammer.

 

Thud, thud, thud—!

 

Meanwhile, the Queen Spider steadily closed the distance.

 

I glanced back briefly.

 

Lorenz was calm and steady, a massive magic circle spread out in his hands.

 

Just seeing that was reassuring. While he seemed to be conserving mana, I was confident he’d use magic if we were in danger.

 

Still…

 

Screeeech—!!

 

As the Queen Spider drew closer, it was undeniably terrifying.

For a spider, it was far too menacing.

 

“It’s ready.”
“Understood.”

 

I’d bought enough time, so I retreated a great distance.

 

And then—

 

Thud—!

 

A sound of powerful acceleration behind me. I activated Track.

 

There it was.

 

Locke, using Fleet, shot forward like an arrow.

 

His posture was low, and his movements were sharp and precise, cutting through the air with incredible speed.

 

Impressive.

 

The speed of Fleet varies between Aura users, but Locke’s speed is definitely in the upper ranks.

 

At the very least, he’s faster than Darren or Kaiden.

 

With that—

 

Locke dashed to the front of the Queen Spider in an instant.

Facing its enormous frame, he stretched his right arm forward.

 

Then, the spike attached to his right hand expanded significantly.

 

And then—

 

BOOOOM—!!

 

With a thunderous explosion, the Queen Spider’s head was blown clean off, and the remaining body was crushed, impaled into the shape of a spike.

 

“Oh…”

 

Was that a Rush?

The power was astonishing.

 

Unlike the Boyd family’s Rush, which involves embedding Rush into projectiles for devastating precision, this one had a satisfying directness to it.

 

Honestly, I’d love to learn it myself.

 

Anyway.

 

Thud!

 

The headless Queen Spider collapsed onto the ground.

 

Scritch, scritch, scritch—

 

The remaining Rock Spiders, having lost their queen, lost their aggression and scattered.

 

“Amazing work.”
HuffHuff… It’s nothing special.”

 

Locke, who had taken down the Queen Spider in one blow, looked visibly drained.

Such immense power must come at a high cost.

 

It really was a literal “ultimate move”.

 

“No, you’ve been a tremendous help.”

 

Though it seemed to leave him vulnerable afterward, it was undeniably impressive.

 

“You were of great assistance as well.”
“Well then, perhaps we can spar sometime if the opportunity arises.”

 

This felt like the start of a connection.

 

As we exchanged a few words to build camaraderie, I couldn’t help but think of how useful it would be to spar with Locke in the future, especially with Darren and Kaiden absent.

 

He worked in the capital, so visiting him for practice seemed plausible.

 

“Save the chatter for later; we’ve got cleanup to do.”

 

Afterward—

 

Lorenz and his subordinates began the follow-up work.

 

They harvested the Queen Spider’s bodily fluids and carapace and rescued survivors who had been tied up in spider webs, unconscious but alive.

 

“They’re Silver-ranked mercenaries.”
“They must’ve been trapped here for days.”

 

Though the rescued mercenaries were gaunt, they didn’t appear to be in immediate danger.

It seemed the spiders had been preserving them as food.

 

“Well then, shall we leave?”

 

Having achieved satisfactory results, we prepared to exit the cave.

 

But then—

 

Rumble…!!!

 

The entire cave began to tremble violently.

 

At the same time, an intense warning surged through my entire body, sharp enough to make my brain tingle.

 

“Lorenz!”

 

Startled by the alarming sensation I hadn’t felt in a while, I called out to him.

Lorenz was already staring toward the cave’s entrance.

 

“It seems there’s a problem at the entrance.”

 

The cave shook as if it were about to collapse entirely.

It was clear that someone had tampered with the entrance.

 

Those damn devil worshippers.

 

Unable to defeat us outright, they were resorting to cowardly tricks like burying us alive.

 

“The cave is going to collapse!”
“No…”

 

Despite the dire situation, Lorenz remained calm.

His composed demeanor naturally drew everyone’s attention, mine included.

 

“It would—if not for me.”

 

Speaking with a tone of quiet arrogance, Lorenz raised his hand toward the cave entrance.

 

What happened next left me completely stunned, even forgetting to make my escape.

 

And for good reason.

 

Whoosh.

 

A massive, exquisitely intricate magic circle materialized in Lorenz’s hand. The sheer beauty of it was mesmerizing.

 

Crack, Crack, Crack—!!!

 

The cave floor froze over in an instant, and enormous ice pillars shot upward, stabilizing the collapsing ceiling.

 

“This is…”

“Phew. Let’s get out of here.”

 

Lorenz dusted off his frost-covered hands and headed toward the entrance, leaving us all in awe.

 

…Magic truly is the greatest.

 

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Surviving in a F*cked-Up Fantasy World

Surviving in a F*cked-Up Fantasy World

Surviving in a Damned Fantasy World, 망할 판타지 세상에서 살아남기
Score 7
Status: Ongoing Type: Author: Released: 2024 Native Language: Korean
The world I was reincarnated in was too f*cked up to be a fantasy world.

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