บท 49: Dread Widow

Pressed with no option but to follow their leader, Isolde and Ragnar entered the Boss's room.

"How did you know them, if I might ask," said Ragnar to Isolde.

"I met Ren when I attempted Thunder Cave. He warned me not to enter, but I still did and got wiped out in the end. And the rest was history."

"So he's a beta tester then?" That was the only explanation Ragnar could think of why Ren knew so much and why he was confident in taking on the Boss that otherwise, ten players who probably have double digits ATP couldn't defeat.

"Is that a problem?" Isolde turned cold, eyes squinting with threat. Ren and Leonel were nothing but nice to her, and she would not have someone exploit them, even if it was Ragnar.

"Not really. I really didn't care," Ragnar said, eyes on Ren. "I just don't want to die in the hands of some stranger I just met all because he was too overconfident.

"I wanted to make sure that he knew what he was doing. And assuming that he IS a beta tester put my mind at ease, at least."

Isolde looked to the side and clicked her tongue. "Then you shouldn't have joined our group in the first place," she grumbled under her breath.

When everyone was inside, the giant door closed and cobwebs formed on its frame, locking it from inside and out. Debris fell on the ground, and specks of dust settled when the wall shook.

When everything quieted, torches burned a blaze and illuminated the area. The large empty square space was covered in decaying cobblestones, moss, vines, roots, and thons and thons of thick cobwebs.

[Warning! You have stepped into the domain of Dread Widow!]

Everyone looked over the ceiling when the dust fell from above.

Hanging on the ceiling was a giant spider whose eight legs were six meters in length, deadly and pointy. Its body was the size of a one-story house. It had two glowing red orbs at the center of its bulging stomach. Its eight eyes glinted like fresh blood, and its large mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth.

ScCreEch!

Leonel's eyelid fluttered, and he wobbled from where he stood while Ren steadied him.

"Focus."

Isolde gulped and used her [Monocle].

[Used Monocle x1

Remaining number of Monocles: 1]

ǁ D R E A D W I D O W ‖

Location: Gargantuan Cave

Description:

These horrific creatures spawned from the darkest pits of the Fiendweb, perfectly engineered to serve its master's agenda.

With venom that can slay dragons, unsettling stealth, and unshakable loyalty to the [Mother of Spiders]. Dread Widow spread their webs far and wide in pursuit of their mistress's enemies.

‖ A T T R I B U T E ‖

HP: 2 400

MP: 200

STRG: 16 +3 [Domain Bonus]

DEF: 20 +10 [Domain Bonus]

MDF: 10

INT: 19 +4 [Domain Bonus]

AGL: 25 +5 [Domain Bonus]

LCK: 8

‖ D A M A G E

R E S I S T A N C E S ‖

❶ Bludgeoning [Non-Magic]

❷ Piercing [Non-Magic]

❸ Slashing [Non-Magic]

‖ C O N D I T I O N

I M M U N I T I E S ‖

❶ Poison

‖ W E A K N E S S ‖

❶ Fire

‖ S K I L L S & S P E L L S

Passive Skill:

❶ Death Throes

When the Dread Widow dies, it explodes in a 10-meter radius sphere of poisonous ichor.

❷ Razor Webweaver

The Dread Widow leaves razor-sharp webs on its trail, even ones suspended in the air. Anyone who comes into contact with the web suffers damage equal to the Widow's regular damage.

❸ Shadow Stalker

The Dread Widow could hide in dark places and became invincible until it initiated an attack.

Active Skill:

❶ Multiattack LV.2

–– the Dread Widow could make three leg attacks and a single bite attack.

–– 50% hit if LCK is higher

–– Cost –50 MP

❷ Bite LV.3

–– 50% chance of Poison upon a successful hit

–– 50% hit if LCK is higher

–– Cost –20 MP

‖ E N D ‖

Isolde's face was white as a sheet. No wonder those players before them got wiped out. Its passive skills alone were enough to kill them.

Was this cave really a newbie dungeon that just four players could clear? Worse, her damage was mostly none magical attacks as well as Ragnar. The only one who could probably reduce the Dread Widow's HP was Ren.

In contrast, Leonel drew a blank look. He was clueless at the Dread Widow's information that appeared on his screen. He didn't even look at it since he would just have a headache from the numbers and descriptions.

As long as a single member within a group used Monocle, all the information would be spread to the other members as well. The same with mapping the dungeon. As long as a single member was doing it within a group, all the members would also benefit from the information on the map.

It was the reason why Guilds first sent out their support team to map the dungeon and gather the information about the Boss and the enemies lurking inside before they attacked with their main squad.

At the side, Ragnar was in deep thought. His brain was already formulating ideas on how to defeat the Dread Widow within the small time frame they were given.

Currently, his STR was well over +20, and his DEF was in the +17. He deduced that Leonel could keep the aggro on him for five minutes before his skill would run out, and only his defense was left.

With Ren's help, he could keep Leonel's health for about another five minutes, giving them ten minutes tops to defeat the Dread Widow before its attention was focused on Ren.

With Isolde and his combined attacks, they could land damage of about +20 since the Dread Widow had Damaged Immunities to non-magical attacks. But if the two of them used their skill, they might land +30 depending on their position and aiming skills.

Ren could probably use his spell against it and land another +100 and [Critical Hit] with his [Fire]. And as long as Ren had something in his list of skills to conserve his manna while Leonel didn't die in the fight, they could definitely win the war.

Ragnar only knew now the importance of a tank in a group. Without one, the Dread Widow would surely come after the damaged dealers first.

Ragnar made mental calculations and preparations within just seconds. He had already planned out his attacks and predicted his enemy's movement.

Ragnar tightened his hold on his axe and was ready to take his stance when the Dread Widow gave a loud cry.

SHhHrReEkK!

Everyone was caught off guard when out of the blue, multiple burst of Fire erupted out of nowhere. Two fires cleared the thick webs about an area of 100 sq. meters giving the group breathing space to move and attack, while one Fire directly hit the Dread Widow straight on its gaping mouth.

–542 Critical Hit!

[ Dread Widow suffered from BURN

–5% HP every minute ]

–27 (BURN)

"What the?" Ragnar was shocked to see the flash of damage that appeared on top of the Dread Widow's Head. His cool was shattered, and his head whipped in Ren's direction.

For that insanely amount of damage, Ren must have leveled his INT around in the thirties . . . no! Maybe even higher! Ragnar thought.

But what baffled Ragnar was the multiple attacks Ren made.

Could he shoot multiple fires now? Ragnar thought to himself? Or did he copy one of the skills of the Dread Widow?

Ragnar was curious about Ren's class and skills. But he wasn't that curious enough to inquire. It was a good thing that someone in their group was powerful enough to probably solo the Boss.

And besides, Ragnar had a feeling that Ren didn't want others to question his skills and ATP. Understandable since they were strangers. And Ragnar wasn't really interested enough to know. His policy was always to mind his own business and left the others alone as long as they left him alone.

Ren's INT was indeed high, and with the Dread Widow's low MDF, it was guaranteed serious damage against its weakness with an additional [Critical Hit] and [Burn] damage.

Moreover, Ren copied the Dread Widow's skill [Multiattack] and saved it to his [Mind Palace].

It was a powerful skill when paired with him since he was able to make four attacks in total. The only downside was the low percentage of success.

It only had a 50% chance cap when LCK is higher than your enemies. If it was 70%, Ren would have made a successful four attacks. And since his copied skill couldn't be leveled up, Ren made a mental note to erase it if another skill appeared just like it with a high percentage success rate, or better yet, no restrictions at all.

----

A/N

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