The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 82

Shh- Shh- Shh-

An enormous number of spiderwebs madly swept through the place the Jewel Spider was looking at.

The spiderwebs, which had grown to nearly 50M, tore through the air and plowed the ground.

It had grown to a point where it couldn't be compared to when it had just come up from the ground.

But it was a natural thing.

Just as a child who was crawling starts to walk upright after taking its first steps as the clock hand turns.

In the battle with Lee Shin, the Jewel Spider had leveled up and had become more proficient in handling the abilities it had.

If the current Jewel Spider were to face itself from when it had just come up from the ground, she would be able to easily kill the self that had come up from the ground.

Kkirigigik-!!!

Therefore, the Jewel Spider could not understand the current situation even more.

Despite pouring out all the power it had gained from growing, why on earth...

"Hmm, it's certainly interesting that it has a characteristic, not just being a general whip."

Why on earth couldn't it reach the human in front of it? The Jewel Spider was confused.

From the beginning, there was a difference between her and Lee Shin that was meaningless to compare.

Even at the moment she came out of the cocoon and finely ground the rocks using her spiderwebs.

Even when multiple senses were paralyzed by the attacks of Lee Shin and Baek Hyun-woo.

Even at the moment Lee Shin first cut her spiderweb and presented a strategy against it.

She had never once doubted her victory.

Because there was a gap in power between her and Lee Shin that made it impossible to doubt.

To put it simply.

Hwoooong-

What was happening in front of her eyes right now was something that shouldn't be happening.

"By the way, I'm a little disappointed. You've gotten too weak, maybe because I poured too many attacks on you at the beginning."

Lee Shin said, and swung his spear.

Hwareureuk-

Pajijik-

The [Flames] and [Lightning] that wrapped around Lee Shin, who was swinging his spear, repeatedly flickered and disappeared and appeared.

Even while the spear was being swung once, the [Flames] and [Lightning] on it changed places several times and cut the spiderwebs that were coming at him.

In other words, the answer was simple.

"Well, still, I think I've completely mastered switching between [Flames] and [Lightning] while playing with you."

Kkyuuuu-

Just as she had grown in the battle, Lee Shin had also grown in this battle.

No, his growth was so steep that he had eaten up everything she had gained from growing and had accepted it as his own.

That was the whole reason.

Kkigigik-!!!

The Jewel Spider also vaguely noticed that.

But she continued to struggle as if she were dying.

The moment the Jewel Spider thought of giving up even a little or loosened its attack.

Kkaang-!

"Struggle a little more."

Kkirikrikigigik---!!!

Because Lee Shin, as if whipping a horse's buttocks, hit the steel pipe stuck in her belly and stirred the organs inside.

Kkikigigik--!!!

Feeling the terrible pain of her internal organs being twisted, she once again struggled with all her might.

And she attacked him madly.

Hoping that he would die.

Kkang-!

But in the end, what had happened in the past just repeated itself.

Kkang-!

A bug caught by a human goes into a collection box.

Kkang-!

And to live, it struggles with all its might to get out of that small collection box.

Kkang-!

The children watch the bug's appearance as if watching a funny comedy.

Kkang-!

Then, the moment the bug gives up on escaping or uses up all its strength and stays still in a corner of the box.

Kkang-

The bored children shake the box containing the bug with all their might, as if to say 'try a little harder'.

Kkang-!

Then, the bug, while its body is slowly being broken by the impact, burns its remaining life force and struggles with all its might once more.

Kkang-!

And watching that, the child becomes happy again.

Kkang-!

This repeats.

Kkang-! Kkang-! Kkang-! Kkang-! Kkang-! Kkang-! Kkang-! Kkang-! Kkang-! Kkang-!

The tough life force peculiar to insects maintains this tough cycle and continues to rotate.

Kuuung-

Until the bug completely collapses, having lost the strength to resist.

Kkang-!

"Huh? Is it over now?"

Until the child who was shaking the box loses interest.

Lee Shin, as a test, stepped on the steel pipe in the Jewel Spider's belly once and greatly stirred its internal organs.

Kkigigi-

But the Jewel Spider, despite the terrible pain, just twitched its body slightly and let out a cry, showing no other movement.

Because it was too tired.

Teobeokteobeok-

Lee Shin walked in front of her, who was lying down, and looked at her four remaining eyes.

The flames that had been continuously burning were completely extinguished.

Seeing that, Lee Shin, who had instinctively felt that this was the end, slowly raised his spear.

'Still, should I finish it with a special move?'

The spear in Lee Shin's hand was dyed with a brilliant radiance.

Seeing that, she was happy.

Because she had instinctively felt that she could now escape from the continuously rotating treadmill.

-Flame Lightning Divine Spear

-Lightning

-100 Branches.

Pajijik-!!!

Feeling her head being shattered, she quietly escaped from the treadmill.

"Well, it was a little less than I thought, but it was fun."

Lee Shin smiled broadly and retrieved his spear.

***

Teobeokteobeok-

Baek Hyun-woo, who was sitting on a nearby rock, looked at Lee Shin with a dumbfounded expression and said.

"You really won?"

"I know, right."

Lee Shin leaned his back against the torso of the Jewel Spider, whose head was gone, and answered in a voice that was drained of strength, as if he were relieved.

'If you let a mad dog that was running wild at home out for about an hour and then listen to its voice, it would probably make this kind of voice.'

Baek Hyun-woo, thinking such trivial thoughts, sprinkled a few potions on Lee Shin, who was sitting still.

There were two types.

A potion that healed wounds and a potion that cured poison.

Although the battle was Lee Shin's victory, it was not a perfect victory where he had not sustained any wounds.

Honestly, in Baek Hyun-woo's view, his condition also looked precarious.

Because his flesh was torn here and there from being cut by the wire-like spiderwebs, and in some places, his skin was thinly cut as if it had been filleted.

'Well, seeing him smiling so brightly, it doesn't seem like he's going to die. But it would be good to take at least some minimal measures.'

Thus, Baek Hyun-woo continued to sprinkle the potions he had on him and looked at the corpse of the Jewel Spider that he was sitting on.

"Hmm, it's a little disappointing."

"What do you mean?"

Lee Shin asked, brushing his hair, which was wet with potion and antidote.

"Well, if this were a dungeon, this corpse wouldn't have remained as it is, but would have turned into an item."

"I guess so."

Lee Shin answered, checking his own physical condition.

"If that were the case, an item made from the corpse of a LV.3 monster would have come out, and if so, I don't know for sure, but it would have been at least a high-grade to top-grade rare item."

-Ah, what, was that what you were talking about?

At Baek Hyun-woo's words, Lee Shin answered with a telepathic message.

'He's a hyung who is always beyond common sense.'

Baek Hyun-woo, who saw Lee Shin's appearance, chuckled in disbelief.

He controlled the poison that had spread throughout his body through ki circulation and at the same time sent a telepathic message to his opponent.

Although it might sound like a similar difficulty to brushing one's teeth while talking on the phone, it was a high-level technique that would make a person who was asked to do it say, 'how can I do that'.

Because it felt like his mind would be split in half.

'To use such a technique to chat with me.'

As Baek Hyun-woo was looking at Lee Shin with a dumbfounded expression, he continued his telepathic message.

-The reward is sufficient. No, rather, I should say that since I caught this guy outside the dungeon, I can get a bigger reward.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

At Baek Hyun-woo's words, Lee Shin told him the plans he had in his head one by one.

In any case, this plan also needed his assistance.

Since they had to match their actions, it was a good opportunity to give a simple explanation.

"Hoo~ Now, did you get it?"

Lee Shin, who had driven out most of the poison that had entered his body by operating his cultivation method for a full 30 minutes, looked at him and asked.

Baek Hyun-woo was looking at him, swallowing a hollow laugh.

"Hyung... hmm... you're a very bad person."

"I'm a great adult who lives in society."

At Baek Hyun-woo's words, he said with a smiling face.

It was the kind face he often used when deceiving someone.

As the two were talking, a sudden system message pierced his ear.

[Your stats have increased.]

[You have reached the limit of your level.]

[A level-up quest has occurred.]

"Hmm, I thought it would happen soon."

"Ah, is it a stat increase?"

"I guess so."

Lee Shin, finding it annoying to speak, answered with a suitable word and then looked at the new messages that appeared one after another.

[You have already met sufficient conditions.]

[The quest will be automatically cleared.]

'Hmm, this part is also the same as what I saw before. Well, since I'm already handling the materialization of ki, it's natural if you think about it.'

[Your level has increased.]

[The limit that was blocking you has disappeared.]

[You have taken one more step towards the path.]

[The path grows by absorbing what you have experienced.]

[Your skills grow as the path grows.]

Lee Shin, after confirming all the messages that had appeared in front of him, took out the carrier from his inventory.

Although he was curious about his stats, skills, and various other things, there was something he had to do first.

Lee Shin tapped the smartphone he had put in his carrier and called someone.

Ttururu- Ttururu-

While the phone was ringing, he looked at the blackened sky with a blank expression.

Against the backdrop of the night sky, a crescent moon was positioned with the stars.

It was as if it were smiling at him, so he also smiled at the night sky.

Ttururu-

"Yes. This is Kim Jae-hyun, the acting guild master of [Wonderland]."

"Yeah, it's me, Lee Shin."

"Ah, yes."

Even though it was over the phone, he could roughly guess Kim Jae-hyun's condition from his voice.

It wasn't that he had any insight or anything like that.

It was just that his voice was dripping with a deep fatigue that even a fool could tell.

But he didn't feel any particular sympathy.

Because...

"Seeing that you've called, it seems you've succeeded in the subjugation. I was a little worried because there was no call until this time."

"Ah, fortunately, Hyun-woo and I were able to subjugate the steel spider's nest safely without dying. The request was a success."

"That's a relief."

"But... there's something I want to talk about regarding that request."

Because he had called to add more burden to Kim Jae-hyun's back.

"There was a difference from the information you gave me."

"Yes? What is it?"

"A LV.3 monster appeared."

Baek Hyun-woo's expression of disbelief deepened as he saw Lee Shin lying so boldly without any change in his expression.

Well, a LV.3 monster did appear.

But it was more accurate to say that he had created it than that it had appeared.

But for Kim Jae-hyun, who had a relatively normal way of thinking, it was unimaginable to intentionally create a LV.3 monster.

"Yes?"

That's why he was speaking in such a surprised voice.

Grin-

"The contract clearly stated that it was a LV.2 monster, right? So I think we need to adjust the reward a little more. Ah, and it's difficult to deal with the monsters I caught and the monsters in the mountains, so I'd like you to send a few trucks."

Lee Shin thought for a moment and then added.

"With 100 servings of beef."

"......"

Kim Jae-hyun, without saying anything, just looked up at the sky.

It felt as if the blue sky and the warm sunlight were cleaning his tired eyes, brain, and heart.

Kim Jae-hyun, who had purified his mind and body with a short meditation, once again confirmed the guy in front of him.

Jewel Spider.

A power strong enough to pierce through steel, a poison strong enough to kill a hundred people with a single drop.

Moreover, the guy in front of him now was much larger than the one he had seen in Pantheon.

But in the current situation, those were all trivial information.

There was only one important piece of information now.

That the Jewel Spider was a LV.3 boss-level monster.

In other words, at this point, the value of the Jewel Spider was so enormous that it was difficult to properly appraise it.

'Haa, I'll be back to the hell of overtime for a while.'

Kim Jae-hyun felt a small sense of disillusionment with his own situation, where he should be bursting with laughter but was about to burst into tears.

But he was not a fool to leave such a guy behind.

Kim Jae-hyun raised one hand and moved his aura.

Woooong-

The moment he moved his hand, not only the body of the Jewel Spider but also the fragments of the Jewel Spider that had fallen on the floor and even the soil that had turned black from absorbing the poison all floated into the air at once.

"Wow..."

"To move such a heavy thing so easily..."

As the other guild members were surprised by the mysterious sight, he moved his other hand and unfolded a specially made bag to prevent the poison from leaking out and put the corpse of the Jewel Spider in it.

After repeating that process several times, he put the corpse of the Jewel Spider on the truck and fixed it firmly so that it would not shake.

Kim Jae-hyun, who had finished all the processing, looked at the member of the recovery team who was standing stiffly with a tense expression.

"Since it contains a very dangerous level of poison, please drive more carefully than usual. It doesn't matter if you're late, so please pay attention to safety."

"Yes! I understand!"

The person from the recovery team answered in a voice full of spirit and then, as he had instructed, carefully drove the car and disappeared from the mountain.

He watched the truck leave for a moment and then checked the surrounding situation.

"What is this all of a sudden?"

"I know, right. I think it would be more comfortable to fight a monster."

The people from the support team who had come with him were spread out all over the mountain, collecting the spiderwebs on the trees and the ground and the fragments of the steel spiders that had fallen on the ground.

Since this kind of thread-type resource was useful for making cloth-type items, it was worth a lot, so they couldn't just leave it on the mountain.

'I've brought along people who can fight in case of an unforeseen situation, so those people should be fine. Then, the place I need to pay attention to is...'

Chiiik-

"There it is."

Before coming here, he had prepared two groups.

One was the people from the guild who would collect and recover the things in the mountain.

Dalgeurak- Dalgeurak- Dalgeurak-

And the other was the staff of the cooking shop that he had hired by raiding three nearby shops.

Ten chefs were each cooking their own parts on the barbecue grills that were set up in their respective positions.

And people in formal attire were putting the cooked meat on plates and serving it.

"This is the flower sirloin part."

"This is the rib part."

"This is the brisket part."

Towards the place where there was one table.

Various parts of the cow were continuously moved onto the table.

They were all high-quality dishes that had brought out an amazing taste despite going through a simple cooking process.

But what was really surprising was not the state of the food.

Chew- Chew- Chew-

"You eat a lot more than I thought."

"It's not like you're in a position to say that to me, hyung."

It was the existence of the two who were clearing the dishes in an instant.

'Damn it, it's empty again!'

'What kind of monsters are these!'

'Uooo!!! I've met a rival who will burn my 20 years of cooking career!!!'

"By the way, it's kind of fun to be eating meat while they're working hard in front of us."

"I've never seen a villain like you, hyung."

The ten chefs were each grilling meat with all their might, and the two were chatting leisurely while quickly clearing the meat on their plates.

Kim Jae-hyun looked at that with a somewhat empty feeling.

While they were working in the hot sun, that side was almost a festival.

'Aigoo... well, considering what those two did, this is probably not enough.'

Watching the two eat, he thought for a moment.

He wanted to hear about their experience as soon as possible, if possible, right away.

But it didn't seem like the two who were eating so fiercely would obediently agree to a conversation.

'I have no choice.'

In the end, he decided to walk around to other places and wait a little longer until the two had finished their meal.

-Wait.

But before he could turn around and go somewhere else, Lee Shin caught him using a telepathic message.

-I know it's rude, but is it okay if we talk like this? In any case, I think you'd want to hear about this as soon as possible.

It was a voice that didn't feel sorry at all.

Kim Jae-hyun, who had heard the telepathic message, looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

Lee Shin, while meeting his eyes, sent a confident telepathic message.

-Even if I have great abilities, I don't have the confidence to speak properly with my mouth full of meat and alcohol. So I have no choice but to speak with a telepathic message, is there a problem?

"...No, there's no problem. I'd welcome it if we can finish the story quickly."

Kim Jae-hyun said, and sat down at the table where the two were sitting.

"First, could you explain what happened here?"

At his words, Lee Shin lightly tapped Baek Hyun-woo's knee to signal him to shut up and just eat quietly.

At that, Lee Shin, seeing him nod as if he understood, sent a telepathic message to both him and Baek Hyun-woo at the same time.

Although it was a high-level technique, it was simple for him, who had previously sent different telepathic messages to Eun Yeon-woo and Lee Hyun-seok at the same time.

-First, I'll just briefly explain the general events, so if you have any questions, ask after I'm done with the story.

"Understood."

Kim Jae-hyun nodded, eating a piece of meat that was on his plate.

The chefs, seeing that, despaired at the fact that one more person had been added, but the three didn't care whether they did or not.

-I arrived here yesterday morning and immediately started hunting the Metal Spiders, the steel spiders. As I continued to hunt, I went deeper and deeper into the mountain, and then I met this guy and we started acting together.

Baek Hyun-woo nodded slightly at Kim Jae-hyun to convey that his words were not a lie.

-As we continued to hunt, we found the entrance to the cave where the Jewel Spider was, which we had confirmed a little while ago, and we fought it and barely won. After that, I called you.

"...Then you brought the Jewel Spider that was in the cave up to the surface?"

At his question, he nodded.

-After burying it alive once, I ambushed it at the timing it came out from under the ground. Ah, for reference, try digging up the crater in the middle of the mountain.

"Yes?"

-The number of buried spiders easily exceeds a thousand. You might get a lot of LV.2 top-tier magic stones. Well, most of them might be broken.

"Heo..."

Kim Jae-hyun looked at Baek Hyun-woo with eyes that said, 'is this real', and

Nod-

Baek Hyun-woo, with eyes that said, 'it's hard to believe, but it's true', nodded his head heavily.

Lee Shin, who had noticed the surprise and doubt that had risen in his eyes, added an explanation.

-The reason my clothes are clean is because I washed them roughly in a nearby river and then changed. I didn't want to eat with blood and spiderwebs all over me.

"Hmm... that's not the part I wanted an explanation for. Well, for now, it's fine."

He didn't try to dig deep into his words.

Because he had learned from his past experiences that if he started to care about this and that while talking with him, he would only get tired.

"First, I've heard the story well."

Saying so, he took out a cool beer from the ice box and drank it little by little.

Although it was a very impolite appearance, the other two in this place were not people who cared much about etiquette.

Moreover, he had even started to speak informally to him so naturally that he hadn't even noticed.

-I thought you might find it hard to believe, but you believe it more easily than I thought.

"Because I know well that you are strong enough to easily surpass the limits of your level."

He said to Baek Hyun-woo in a slightly relaxed tone.

At that, Lee Shin, thinking that this was the right timing, opened his mouth, which had been chewing on meat.

"Then, from here on, I'd like to talk about something else. To be specific, about the contract we made."

"I have a rough idea of what it is, so feel free to talk."

At his cool answer, he said with a broad smile.

"The content written in the contract we signed was to clean up the mountain that was occupied by LV.2 monsters."

"Nom- to put it simply, yes."

Since he had come expecting this kind of development, he readily affirmed without any particular resistance.

At that, he also comfortably continued the formal words.

"Nom- but as a result of coming here and checking, there were too many things that didn't match what was written in the contract. So I would like to request a fair additional reward for that."

"Is the last part in formal language..."

He muttered with a small sigh, and Baek Hyun-woo looked at him with eyes that said, 'this human really said it'.

Seeing his eyes, he added a word.

"Of course, including both me and him."

"Yes?"

(End of Chapter)