Demon King
chapter-30

2F Entry (3)

If there’s one thing better in 2F than in 1F, it’s that the food is delicious.

Wolf meat is very chewy and tastes like beef. I thought it would be better if I tried roasting it, but monsters were sensitive to odors and may flock to me once they smell it.

The spiders tasted exactly like shrimp. I never thought I’d like eating spiders, but at this level, I enjoyed eating them.

Is the food getting tastier the higher the level goes?

Perhaps it’s only the Werewolf and the Battle Spider that tasted special, but even with just these two, I can’t get enough of their taste.

A presence…

As I was eating up a Battle Spider, there was something that caught my senses. I stood up quietly. Left passage, 25 meters away.

A monster was clinging to the ceiling.

It’s another Battle Spider. It’s not a high-level species.

I walked without making any noise, making my way to the passage, melting with the surroundings.

With its eight eyes shining, the Battle Spider was stalking the ceiling. He doesn’t notice me.

My Intermediate Surprise and my advanced skill, Fairy Tale, were active.

For the Battle Spiders so far, the high ceiling of the cave gave them a perfect advantage over their natural enemies… but not over me.

Now!

I fired a black lightning bolt at the monster’s torso. I could jump in and plug my sword instead, but that would be putting me at risk against the Battle Spider’s trap. My first attack should be a long-range one.

“Kyaaa!”

The spider had no chance to escape; the black lightning bolt hit it squarely, sending it crashing to the ground.

However, it quickly turned around and shot a spider web at me.

I quickly formed fireballs with my empty hands and threw it against the incoming spider web.

One is not enough. Another one, and another one… I threw fireballs in quick motions.

The fourth fireball did the trick, burning the web in front of me. I succeeded in destroying it before it could pin me to the wall.

“Kiyi!”

As soon as the web turned to ashes, I saw the spider was rushing at me, aiming to tear off my helmet and armor with its giant legs.

My sword was faster. The Blood Colossal Sword cHobped off its head before his legs were able to touch my helmet or armor.

[You gained 3,400 experience.]

[You obtained 2 silver 10 bronze.]

I quickly bit off its head and laughed. The Battle Spider was easily taken care of.

It was just like rock-paper-scissors.

Now, I can beat the Battle Spider with magic. Werewolves can be defeated with surprise attacks.

But I shouldn’t be satisfied.

I continued eating thoughtfully.

Time is passing by.

The pocket watch Rain gave me was actually helpful. If you don’t miss the ticking sound it makes when the hour hand turns, you can grasp the passage of time.

Since I entered the 2F, the hour hand had turned three times, meaning 36 hours had passed.

In those 36 hours, I had adapted to fighting Werewolves and Battle Spiders.

Adapting means I can settle on a place and eat in peace, knowing I could quickly destroy any monster that comes near.

[Predation of hunted Battle Spiders 138/2,000]

[Strength has risen by 1.]

[Predation of hunted Werewolves 100/2,000]

[You acquired the Beginner Beast Charge Lv 1]

[Beginner Beast Charge Lv 1]

[Rush at a speed exceeding your abilities. Effective for both attack and evasion, but consumes stamina.]

I paused as I reached for a second corpse.

A Beast Charge gained after eating my one-hundredth Werewolf.

I knew very well what this skill was. Werewolves always speed up the moment they are critically attacked, and the pace was incredible.

Even the first Werewolf I encountered had this and was able to seriously injure me with the Beast Charge.

Of course, after that, I have prepared for it. I have faced a hundred Werewolves already. The moment I had an opening, I should kill them right away, or prepare a strong defense for the charge if they do not die at one blow.

Nevertheless, the Werewolves’ charge was strong. It was one of the factors that always kept me on my toes in 2F.

But now I have it. It took predating 100 of them to get it, but I have it now.

Then maybe…

I turned to look at a Battle Spider corpse on the floor.

Maybe I could get their skills, too?

The Battle Spider’s skill of spitting out spider webs to trap and constrain enemies is very powerful.

I would have had trouble with their spider webs due to their ridiculous strength and durability if I didn’t finish the Battle Spiders by surprise.

Of course, I had no problems in the 2F so far, but as in 1F, if there is going to be a mass appearance of spiders, it will be hell for me.

A spider web.

If I had this skill, I didn’t know how I could spit it out, but I still wanted to get it if I could.

The chances of surviving increase dramatically whenever I acquire a new skill.

The pocket watch’s hour hand had six more turns.

At that moment, I was eating my 500th Battle Spider. Suddenly –

[You have acquired the skill of Beginner Spider Web Lv 1.]

[Beginner Spider Web Lv1]

[Nutrients from eating raw materials are converted to spider webs through a spinneret. The higher the skill level, the higher the strength and elasticity of the spider web.]

Yes.

I have no spinneret.

A goblin body does not have a silk-weaving organ.

Therefore, it was impossible to make a spider web.

Damn it.

It doesn’t seem to be a flexible skill. I thought that the Ebon Heart could change it to something that I could handle, like shooting spider webs off my sword.

On the other hand, I had no problems using the Beast Charge. It was still at the Beginner level, so the speed increase wasn’t that overwhelming, but being able to speed up during a critical moment had a huge impact on the battle.

The one drawback was that it consumed a large amount of stamina, but my predation made it seem like there was no drawback, and the consumption of stamina was gradually decreasing as the skill level increased.

Therefore, the Beast Charge was becoming an essential skill for me in many ways, especially when used with Leap.

But this useless skill!

As I stood there frustrated with the Spider Web skill, I suddenly felt a strange presence with my Detection.

My Lower Detection Lv 9 had a range of about 40 meters.

The presence was not for a high-ranking species. I’ve never encountered one of them so far.

In 1F, the higher species mingled with the lower ones, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

This presence…

My Detection allows me to sense as far as two passages away, allowing me to hide or leave before they got closer.

I thought this would happen…

I sensed thirty-two Battle Spiders.

And twenty-five Werewolves.

They were all coming in my direction at once.

A mass appearance.

I knew that this was possible, but I was Hobing it would not happen.

I checked my condition urgently.

[Kang Si-ha (Fate)]

[Hob Goblin Assault Lv 45]

[Strength – 239 Stamina – 212 Magic – 115 Luck – ???]

[Skill-Ebon Heart, Predation Lv3, Lower Martial Arts Lv4, Lower Armor Defense Lv8, Lower Regeneration Lv7, Lower Flame Magic Lv6, Lower Black Lightning Lv2, Lower Power Attack Lv7, Lower Leap Lv9, Intermediate Surprise Lv2, Lower Leadership Lv3, Beginner Fairy Tale Lv6, Beginner Beast Charge Lv4…]

Due to the increase in stats and my Predation, I have grown stronger than a Werewolf or a Battle Spider. In particular, the growth of Flame Magic was great. I can now burn spider webs without difficulty.

But it was a different story if I will fight against dozens of them at the same time. My sword took a while to cut them dead.

They have strong defenses, and my attack was also a problem as it is not that strong.

What’s more, my strongest skill is Intermediate Surprise.

In a situation where I am surrounded by monsters, it would be impossible to hide again after completing an attack.

Maybe if I could increase the level of both Surprise and Fairy Tale, disappearing after an attack right before multiple enemies’ eyes would be doable, but right now, it is simply impossible.

I need a stronger weapon to survive.

Something sharper and easier to wield than the Blood Colossal Sword.

A weapon that could kill in one blow and end the battle faster.

There is no time. I need it now.

I have been in 2F for several days and earned a total of 36 gold, 70 silver. 26 gold and 70 silver were from hunting four hundred and fifty Werewolves and Battle Spiders, while completing the last quest gave me 10 gold.

It was a big sum for me, but I actually wanted to collect more. I wanted to be equipped with something that’s worth 50 gold before the mass appearance.

However, it was out of my control.

I need to do it now.

Before they get any closer and the combat begins.

I opened the door of the dedicated store.