Defense-specialized and thread spider.
"Aah! No good, no good!"
Sally tenses her abdominal muscles and writhes her body.
The spider's thread缠绕 her right leg, not loosening, yet not fully immobilizing her.
"Better than expected...?"
If so, she must simply do what she always does, to avoid dying so easily.
But there is no time to think further.
The spider climbing up the tree trunk, wrapped in thread, is nearly upon her.
In past similar situations, Sally had simply died and returned.
"Aah, like this, like that... can't think like this! [Ice Pillar]!"
A series of ice pillars pierce the spider's body, inching closer along the web.
"Damage won't be significant... but it's here."
The spider, altering its path to cling precisely to an ice pillar, entered Sally’s field of view.
Larger than Sally, it did not aim directly at her—ideal target.
“[Fireball] [Wind Cutter]!”
Sally’s magic, though weak, accumulated damage steadily.
“[Mirage]”
Sally created a false image in another direction. The spider was deceived perfectly.
Confirming the spider had moved away, Sally tested the thread with magic, checking for breaks.
Nothing changed in the thread.
Sally hovered above the spider that had descended to the ground, watching its HP bar.
Eight and a half tenths remained.
“…Only one strike when it comes near.”
Sally had concluded that the damage already dealt would not be enough to defeat the spider with ranged attacks alone. She decided to strike without pause the moment it reached her reach.
“Use the doping seed? Still one chance to nullify damage. Might avoid surrender.”
The spider, having defeated Sally’s illusion, climbed back up the tree trunk in the same manner.
Sally quickly retrieved the doping seed and placed it in her mouth.
She raised her STR and lowered her VIT, boosting her damage output. She gripped the dagger tightly. She practiced rising from the ground several times. Then she remained still, waiting.
The spider reached directly above her. It descended along the thread connecting to Sally.
“Double Slash!”
Sally forced her body upright with a recoil. She slashed at the spider’s face and legs, still near her right knee, with her dagger.
The attack was too unstable a position to land cleanly. Several strikes missed. The spider’s health remained at around two-tenths.
Of course, a counterattack followed.
The spider’s body flashed white for an instant. Threads burst forth in a sudden surge.
The threads floated upward in a soft, brief rise, then shot toward Sally.
“Gh….”
Sally could not avoid it completely. She blocked with her left side and threw her dagger with her right hand. Her right arm remained free.
“[Shock Fist]!”
A skill that fired a compressed blast of air, the same one used to strike Maple with a giant squid.
The attack struck the spider’s face. Crimson damage effects burst from around its multiple small eyes.
Instead, purple threads returned from the spider. Sally noticed.
All her skills were sealed.
It extended even to her equipment. Even Hikari could no longer be summoned.
It would have mattered little if the spider had fallen. But it did not.
“Not falling? Serious?”
The spider’s HP bar lingered by mere millimeters. One more hit from Double Slash, and it would have fallen.
The spider wrapped Sally in threads, dragging her forward until its mouth—sharp like a fang—reached her neck.
“Something… ”
A sharp point near the spider’s mouth sliced through Sally’s throat as she searched for a way out.
【Kūzen】 activated. The damage canceled. But no defense remained for the next strike.
“……!”
Sally twisted sharply, the thread trembling.
The spider brought its fangs close again.
A moment later, red damage effect scattered. HP reached zero.
“Fufu… such a shame…”
Sally murmured.
She opened her mouth and smiled, softly.
Her tongue rolled a tiny eye back and forth.
The spider dissolved into particles of light.
At that moment, Sally felt as though she had met the spider’s gaze, the damage effect spilling from her eyes.
“If you bear hatred… hate Maple.”
The spider’s body cracked with a sharp snap and crumbled.
“Haha… well, that’s rough.”
A cold, lifeless voice echoed inside Sally’s head.
Undeniably, the sound of a skill acquisition.