Chapter 45   - 45: Losing Hope

Van’s heartbeat grew faster as he realized that no matter how much he tried, he was no match for the Portal Boss. He only had a total of 39 SP, and if he was going to use all of it trying to penetrate the armor of web that felt like it was made of steel, then he would surely die.

His only option now was to run and try to find out what happened to the 7-Headed Cerberus guild. Exiting the Portal was also an option now since the Explorers have arrived, that would mean there were already people waiting outside in case the monsters broke through the Portal. He didn’t have to risk his life anymore.

And so, with this thought, Van quickly turned around and ran towards the exit. But his steps quickly faltered and his breath momentarily paused as he slightly gasped. The doorway that was previously wide open was now blocked by a thick layer of web.

"...Oh", Van did not even see the arachnaea doing anything with her web, and yet without him knowing, his path to salvation was already cut off. "...I’m... dead"

Van ran behind the nearest pillar, in the hopes that the arachnaea couldn’t see him hiding due to the armor of web that covered her entire head. And so, with a heavy breath, he turned off his [Time Perception] skill.

And as soon as he turned it off, a series of taps and grunting noises echoed throughout the room full of pillars and cobwebs, it would seem that the arachnaea was trying to find him. ’Good... she didn’t see me hiding’, Van whispered in his mind. But it was a temporary relief, his problem still remained.

Should he swallow all the crystals he has?

Van was about to get his pouch from his pocket, but as soon as he grabbed his pouch, he noticed that something was wrong... it was too light.

"!!!"

Did Nisha and the others steal his crystals!? Wait, did they actually leave him here to die? Was that why Nisha was always staying close to him?

Numerous thoughts were echoing throughout Van’s mind as he shook his empty pouch.

’F*ck. F*ck. F*ck!’, Van could not help grit his teeth. How would he even defeat something like this with his current level? His speed was useless if the Portal Boss could cover herself with armor in a blink of an eye, instinctively.

Van slightly leaned his head over the pillar, it would seem that even with its human body, the Portal Boss still had the mind of a beast as it didn’t try to find Van behind the pillars. It just mindlessly rotated around, snarling with every turn.

After a few seconds of thinking, Van finally noticed something. His foot was previously bound to the arachanaea’s sling of web. Did... it become loose when she tried to protect herself and summon the web of armor?

Should he... test it? Van could not help but gulp as he tried to muster up the courage to go again. However, he quickly shook his head. What if that wasn’t the case and the arachnaea corners him instead?

What would the 7-Head Cerberus do in this kind of situation? They would probably distract the spider, and before it could even notice them, Nisha would climb on top of the pillars and push herself down straight towards the arachne’s head.

They would probably do something like that, right?

Right. Right. Van let out a tiny breath, his jaw unknowingly trembling from what he was about to do.

And so, after calming himself down, he took off his shirt and wrapped it around a piece of debris he picked up from the floor. He then threw his shirt, and as soon as the arachnaea turned her head, he quickly turned on his [Time Perception] skill and rushed behind her from the other side.

He wanted to climb a pillar so that he could attack efficiently from above, but he opted out of it. Without practice, there was a chance that he might fall and jeopardize his plan altogether. Instead, he just used his [Air Step] even if it meant using his precious SP.

He ran straight towards the ceiling, and imitating Nisha’s movements, he pushed himself down with all his might, descending straight towards the back of the arachnaea’s head.

’This is it!’, Van bellowed in his mind as a smile quickly crept on his face.

"!!!"

Sadly for him, as soon as his weapon reached the arachnaea’s head, it completely stopped moving. No, the arachnaea’s head was so hard that his weapon could not even pierce even a millimeter of its scalp.

Van quickly let go of his weapon before it could snap in two and break his arm again. While falling to the ground, Van realized something that made him instantly stop breathing.

The arachnaea slowly turned its head towards Van, their eyes meeting as Van continued to fall to the ground. And then, a smile slowly formed on the arachnaea’s face as he watched Van land on the ground.

"!!!", as soon as Van’s feet reached the floor, he quickly ran away without any delay and hid behind another pillar. Van’s ears felt like it was ringing as the feeling of helplessness covered his entire body completely.

His [Time Perception] skill was on. How was the arachnaea even able to follow him with its eyes?

’Is it... playing with me?’, Van’s whole body began to tremble. He already knew that he was no match against the Portal Boss, but for their strength to be this different? Could the 7-Headed Cerberus even defeat this monster!?

Once again, his thoughts clouded his mind, but there was one thought that stood above the rest-- Was he going to die here?

’No.’, Van quickly shook his head as his eyes were suddenly filled with resolution. For the first time in his life, he had friends, he had freedom... but most importantly, he had money.

He wasn’t going to give it up just like that, never. Van grit his teeth as resolve gathered in his entire body, instantly drowning the helplessness that previously wrapped it tightly. And so, with a slight breath, he resolutely ran from the pillar, he was done hiding.

But before he could even take a single step and turn on his [Time Perception] skill, he could not help but instantly back away, his butt falling flat on the floor. The arachnaea was already beside him, her eyes staring straight at his eyes.

Van was about to back away, but then he heard something that completely made him freeze altogether, even his stuttered breaths.

"Quite a cute little one, aren’t you?"

"..."

The arachnaea spoke.