Chapter 52: Bird-Face vs. Clown Spider

[STATUS]

• PN: Sunraku
• LV: 31
• JOB: Mercenary (Dual Wielder)
• Money: 200 Mani
• HP: 30
• MP: 10
• STM: 60
• STR: 17
• DEX: 20
• AGI: 70
• TEC: 20
• VIT: 1 (6)
• LUC: 72

[SKILLS]

• Rush Slash
• Spiral Edge
• Knuckle Rush
• Slide Move
• Repel Counter
• Loop Slash Lv.5
• Edge Climb
• Accel Lv.6
• Eight-Boat Leap
• Quick Spin

[EQUIPMENT]

• Right: Vorpal Chopper
• Left: Vorpal Chopper
• Head: Gazing Bird Mask (VIT+2)
• Body: Curse of Lycaon
• Waist: Belt of Severing Blades (VIT+4)
• Legs: Curse of Lycaon
• Accessories: None

My skills have increased, and I'm as broke as ever, but that doesn't matter anymore. Since I've only been raising my basic physical specs lately, I decided to dump some points into Luck (LUC) for the first time in a while. Though, I didn't have the guts to go all-in, so I allocated the 12 points I got from the Rabbits plus the 5 points from my recent level up—17 points in total—and now my preparations are complete.

"Well, since a new player entered, I guess it fully healed."

The Clown Spider that greeted us swayed its gaudily colored body—painted in what looked like pierrot makeup depending on how you looked at it—and took an intimidating stance. Naturally, since it's a newly respawned Clown Spider for our entry into the boss area, it showed no signs of fatigue or damage.

"...Hmm, I knew it."

Looking around, I was convinced. Just like the Voracious Great Serpent and the Mud Digger... this guy is also quite the 'first-sight killer' (noob killer). I wonder if that trio of swordsmen realized it? If not, this boss is going to be a huge pain. If I run at full speed, the Clown Spider uses its phenomenal jumping power to move to the spider web stretched across the upper part of this tree hollow... this cavity space. But I wasn't running towards you.

"Blending into the inside of the tree to make it hard to spot... that's nasty..."

Protruding from the inner walls of the tree hollow like a spiral staircase was the path to Gekokujo (the lower overthrowing the higher)—a staircase to drag down the Clown Spider from its position of absolute superiority. In this area, the ground is merely an extension of the entrance. The real battlefield is... up there.

"Emul, wait at the edge... no, wait in the middle of the spiral staircase! You don't need to attack, and definitely don't die and scatter the luggage I gave you!"

"Y-Yes sir!"

This time, I won't let Emul participate in combat. This is a matter of principle... no, let me be honest. I'm the type who cuts out assist NPCs when playing purely solo, that's all! I don't know how many laps of the inner tree wall I ran, but around the time Emul looked like nothing more than a white dot, I reached the spider web stretched across the top. The Clown Spider must have noticed me; it approached across the spider threads—thick and sturdy enough to support its bulk... but as expected, its pace was slower compared to its movement on the ground.

"Normally, the correct answer would probably be to have someone with ranged attacks stay here and shoot it down to the ground, but..."

It's not on fire, it's not swaying in the wind, and it's not just a single rope. With conditions this favorable, there's only one thing to do. I switch from the Marsh Daggers to the Vorpal Choppers and lightly tap the thread with the flat of the blade. As I thought, the vertical threads aren't sticky. As long as I don't step on the horizontal threads, it's sufficient footing. I place one foot on it, test it with my weight a few times... and dash right into the bosom of the approaching Clown Spider.

"Tightrope walking isn't just a privilege for you!"

Because I'm wearing shabby sandals—inferior to starting gear and closer to being barefoot—I can feel the center of gravity on the thread more directly. Still, I would have at least preferred some boots!

"Hard to brace my legs but... First Strike!"

If I brace my legs normally, I can't put full power into it, and there's a risk of slipping. In a situation like this, a bouncing upward slash that utilizes the deflection of the rope from below deals the most damage.

"Whoops, haven't done that in a while, almost fell. Close one, close one... I guess if I want to brace myself, I should stick to the center."

It seems I landed a critical hit on a vital spot. The Clown Spider, its face slashed open, bent backward so far it flipped over and fell from the web it had spun itself.

"Hope that fall damage applies to enemies too..."

Hearing a wet Splat!—a sound I'd rather not get used to—in the distance, I ignore the Clown Spider writhing on the ground and bounce across the web like an acrobat. I see. Logs are suspended by threads from the ceiling to drop through the gaps in the web. It uses these to attack the ground by cutting them loose. I really don't want to get hit directly by one of those... so, let's see if I can cut the thread with the Vorpal Choppers. Obviously, if I cut the thread I'm standing on, I can't avoid falling to my death (scattering into polygons), so carefully... ah, there.

"Mm, tough."

It took two hits to cut. If it takes two critical hits to cut, I might be able to use them, but before that, the furious homeowner is returning. I see, it wasn't just jumping power; it was shooting threads into the air and using a reverse-bungee method to climb back up the web. It has surprising elasticity. It's a spider monster with no facial expressions, but the way it's swinging its front legs around conveys its anger better than words. It rushes toward me faster than before, but I've already positioned myself in the center of the web where the vertical threads are most dense. Having secured the topographical advantage, I feel twice as strong as before, you know? Note: According to my own research.

"Repel Counter!"

I stomp hard on the center of the web with my left foot, step forward with my right to stabilize my stance, and parry the Clown Spider's front leg attack. Forced into a knockback animation, the Clown Spider is open. I dive into its guard again, unleashing two strikes with the dual Vorpal Choppers followed by a Spiral Edge-enhanced blow.

Once again, the Clown Spider falls toward the ground. It clearly took more damage than just the face hit; fall damage is definitely active.

"I, see, how, it, is...?"

Ah, I bet I have a really evil look on my face right now.

Now then, let us record the chronicles of Clown Spider-kun's Challenge to Return Home.

Return Home (Attempt 3)

The first time was when it climbed up initially, the next was the return... so this is the third time. It extends a thread to the ceiling for its third return. It sticks to the ceiling, and to gain propulsion, the Clown Spider hangs completely suspended by the thread. Right at this timing, when the thread is fully stretched...

"Yes, two critical hits."

Snap. The cut thread cannot support the Clown Spider's weight. Seized by the giant hand of gravity, the Clown Spider flails its legs wildly as it falls to the ground.

Return Home (Attempt 4)

"Oh, this position is..." As the thread stretches and I go to cut it, I notice a log hanging right nearby.

"Whack-a-Mole? Mouse Trap? Well, whatever. Hammer of the Log!" Gravity pulls the log down. It acts as a battering ram from above. Unluckily for the spider, just as it was about to reverse-bungee, at the moment the thread was most stretched, the log smashed directly into its butt. With a reaction that seemed to say "Oof," the thread extending from its rear snapped, and it fell to the ground along with the log...

Return Home (Attempt 5) Fall.

Return Home (Attempt 6)

Hit directly by something wrapped round and round in mysterious webbing. Fall.

Return Home (Attempt 7)

The reverse-bungee with spider threads succeeded, launching it upward, but just before it could return to the top of the web, I kicked it back down. Fall.

Fall, fall, fall...

"Man, I didn't think I could cheese it this perfectly..."

In games where players control characters, there is a technique that lies on the boundary between a glitch and normal gameplay... that is the Hame-waza (Cheese Strat/Stunlock). It is a technique for the weak to defeat strong bosses, a demonic technique that denies the boss everything and turns it into a punching bag. Seeing it try to return to the web so earnestly despite being slammed into the ground over and over makes me feel pity... No, actually, it looks like a gag from an old cartoon, so it's hilarious. Just kidding. Really.

"Well, looks like it's near death."

I mean, I knocked it down ten times. No matter if it's a monster or even an Area Boss, falling from this height repeatedly is bound to bring it to death's door. As for the Clown Spider's condition, several of its legs are bent in strange directions from the repeated impacts, its whole body is dented—likely from the shock of falling—and instead of bodily fluids, polygons are leaking from various parts of its body. If I took enough damage to die ten times over and looked like that, it must have been a formidable enemy indeed.

However, compared to the time I defeated the dying Quad Beetle, this feels... lacking in excitement. No, it was fun. It was fun, but something is different. How should I put it... right, it lacks thrill. Pulling off a cheese-like fall combo is one of the reasons—or rather, mostly the reason—but I want to fight a battle that's more like... extreme "Owata-shiki" (One-hit-death mode).

"In that regard, the Quad Beetle was nice and straightforward with its physical attacks..."

The Clown Spider was a strong enemy, but it's the type of boss where solving the gimmick is the main challenge. Therefore, once the trick is exposed, it's weaker than the Quad Beetle. Even if I went down to the ground and fought it man-to-spider, I'd probably win with almost no damage. That's why this feeling of incomplete combustion, the frustration of not being able to go all out, casts a shadow over the sense of accomplishment in finishing off the Clown Spider.

"I'm gonna disrespect (BM) you a little bit, but forgive me."

Because it is a Boss, because it is the master of this tree hollow, the Clown Spider moves its battered body and leaps at me one last time. Slide Move activated. I slide across the unstable thread—though it's as thick as a tug-of-war rope—avoiding the Clown Spider's suicide attack. At that timing, I activate a newly learned skill... Quick Spin, which cancels the knockback generated by a sudden 180-degree stop and allows for an instantaneous turn. Immediately after turning, I activate Eight-Boat Leap, a skill that purely enhances jump distance(・・・・), unlike evasion skills that apply corrections to stats.

The spider thread sags, and my leaping body lands behind the Clown Spider, which has entered the stiffness frame of its attack animation. Normally, there's no need for such acrobatics. I could just parry with Repel Counter and slash it to end it safely and quickly. That's why this is disrespect; it is truly play(・・).

"Overkill, maybe?"

Using the momentum of the jump to increase the power of the thrust... In other words, I thrust out with Spiral Edge, layering the momentum of the dive—which could be called a forced STR buff via AGI—on top of it. The Vorpal Choppers pierce the Clown Spider's butt (I didn't have the courage to stab the part that produces the silk), emitting a spiral effect. Like a rock drill, it causes polygons to spew out from the Clown Spider. The Clown Spider twitched once, went rigid, and then its body burst vigorously into polygons.

"Whoops-a-daisy."

Pushed by the momentum, I almost fell off the web, but falling to my death after coming this far would be too embarrassing, so I held on out of sheer stubbornness. I caught a sphere of some kind that dropped (fell) from the polygons toward the ground.

"Hmm... Well, No Damage, No Continue. I guess that's good enough."

A perfect play and the optimal result, yet somehow an unsatisfying victory.

Author's Notes:

Our Clown Spider-kun was defeated in a terrible way, but the correct way to fight is: Mages knock the Clown Spider down from the top of the area, and firepower jobs waiting below beat the fallen Clown Spider to a pulp. Either way, it's a pitiful guy who gets cheesed to death or ganged up on. Also, due to this strategy, the Tank's presence becomes somewhat thin. Light Warriors have the role of fighting on the web like the protagonist did, so perhaps they are better off.

Translator's Remarks:

• Eight-Boat Leap (Issou-tobi): A reference to the legendary samurai Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who was said to have jumped across eight boats at the Battle of Dan-no-ura.
• Owata-style (Owata-shiki): A term from Japanese difficult gaming culture (like "I Wanna Be The Guy") referring to gameplay where a single hit kills you.