Chapter 39 : A Shocking Change

It was a premonition that something was about to appear. The girl tightly gripped her staff, her heart pounding like raindrops, as if it would break through her chest at any moment.
“Hoo… hoo…” Perhaps because the atmosphere was too oppressive, Shirley placed her hand on her chest and took deep breaths.

Shirley couldn’t help but swallow. As the only mage in the team, her natural senses were much stronger than the others.

Especially when sensing danger, this feeling was the same as when she first met Gavin, and now.

That aura was simply too abnormal.

A huge roar interrupted her thoughts. A black shadow leaped in front of everyone at an extremely fast speed.

The violent tremor made everyone stagger a few steps before they steadied themselves.

“That is!”

Everyone’s gaze quickly snapped back from the distance. After seeing the true form of that shadow, Shirley couldn’t help but be speechless.

“The Mist Lord!”

“How could it be…”

“The one just now was just… a minion?”

It was a spider larger and more majestic than the one they had just killed. Compared to it, the one they had just killed could probably only be called a spiderling.

Gavin and Evelyna’s eyes widened at the same time, their bodies stiff, as if they had never expected this outcome.

‘What silver-ranked adventurer! Even a gold-ranked adventurer would probably be helpless against this thing.’

The spider’s huge compound eyes seemed to be sizing up everyone. The next second, it had already leaped high, pouncing towards them without giving them any time to react.

Gavin quickly wrapped his sword in mana, intending to use it to block the spider’s damage head-on.

The cyan sword light and one of the spider’s legs burst with a dazzling light, but under the immense force, Gavin was forced to retreat step by step.

“Damn… this is not good at all!”

He bit his lip, his body already understanding that this was not an opponent they could deal with.

“Hah!” Evelyna attacked from the side, their swords clashing. The two of them teamed up to deal with one of the spider’s front legs, but even so, they still couldn’t hold it off.

The spider didn’t give them time to react. The patterns on its face were like a smile, and its wide-open mouth actually sprayed out webs.

“Ugh!”

“What!”

“Evelyna! Gavin!”

The webs quickly wrapped the two of them into bundles. Then it lifted its leg and plunged it deep into Gavin’s thigh, blood flowing down the white webs.

“Ah!!!” Gavin’s miserable cries echoed around, and only a moment had passed.

The two had clearly become the spider’s playthings. It unhurriedly hung them up, seemingly wanting to take them back to its nest to torture them slowly.

However, it also watched Shirley with a wary eye, as if on guard against her attack.

It is said that high-level monsters mostly have intelligence, and there are even top-tier, disaster-level monsters that can transform into human form and mingle among humans without being discovered.

And this spider clearly possessed intelligence.

Although it was only a brief exchange, the outcome was almost decided.

And Shirley was simply stunned by the sudden scene. She had never seen such a one-sided battle.

Despite her fear, she still raised her staff.

“I’ll help you!”

“Oh, flames sleeping in the heavens and the earth, roar, show your wrath!”

[Fire Blast]!

Her target was the webbing connecting the two of them.

Flames spewed out from the staff straight towards the spider. To increase the power, she had to perform a three-part chant.

This was almost the most powerful magic she could use. The flames wrapped around the spider’s web, instantly burning the threads to ashes, and the two of them fell towards the ground.

“Roar!” The spider, seemingly anxious because its web was burned, roared and rushed towards Shirley.

“Ophi!” Shirley called out to Ophelia while maintaining her magic output.

“Okay!”

She wanted to wait until the last moment to dodge. At this moment, both Evelyna and Gavin had lost their fighting ability, and she was the only one who could continue to fight.

If she stopped her attack, the team would be wiped out in an instant.

“I will protect everyone!”

The girl resolutely increased her magic output.

And the spider, at a distance of ten meters from her, no, from Ophelia, strangely changed its direction. It seemed to have been startled and jumped back to its original position.

“?”

Ophelia moved quickly and arrived at Evelyna’s landing point.

“I, I caught you!”

Feeling a slight impact, Evelyna touched her nose and smiled at her.

“Thanks, Liel! Love you, Shirley!”

She unabashedly expressed her affection for Shirley.

“St-still in battle!”

And on the side, Shirley shyly wiggled her hips.

“Eh…” Ophelia looked at them, feeling as if some flower was about to bloom.

“Where’s Gavin?” Only when Evelyna asked did Ophelia remember that there seemed to be another person.

On the other side, Gavin was not so lucky. He fell heavily to the ground.

‘Let Ophelia catch Gavin? Don’t joke around… she wouldn’t want to touch that kind of man with a ten-foot pole.’

She didn’t want to breathe the same air as him.

“Ugh… my leg!”

After Evelyna landed, she quickly dragged Gavin back. Gavin clutched his bleeding thigh, constantly groaning. Fear, pain, and various complex expressions formed on his face.

Seeing the spider had stopped its attack, Shirley quickly ran to Gavin’s side. Her forehead was covered in cold sweat. She had just truly experienced the feeling of death.

If the spider hadn’t stopped.

She looked at Gavin with some concern. His mouth twitched, but he didn’t say anything.

“Are you okay?”

“Heal!”

Gavin’s wound gradually healed, but his hands were still trembling, as if he had just walked through the gates of hell.

The situation was instantly reversed.

What they thought was a successful hunt was just a prelude, and they had barely touched the main course before almost being wiped out.

“What should we do?” Seeing Gavin fall silent, Shirley had no choice but to take on the role of team leader.

She wouldn’t blame Gavin for clenching his teeth in silence at this time. People were fragile, and everyone should prioritize their own lives.

‘We definitely can’t win a fight. If we run…’ The girl constructed an escape route in her mind. Not only did they have to escape the spider’s control, but the forest at night was also dangerous. The cold and wild beasts could also take their lives.

But, if she had to choose between Evelyna and herself, she would probably choose Evelyna without hesitation. Gavin… choose Gavin?

A voice whispered in her ear.

Shirley felt that familiar trance return. She slapped her face, driving the strange feeling away.

“We’ll try again. This time, we’re not aiming for victory, but to cut off one of its legs… This way, our chances of escape will greatly increase.”

“If you’re injured, return to me quickly. We can fight a battle of attrition (total war)!”

Only then did Gavin support himself with his sword. He nodded at Shirley:

“Shirley’s right. I’m sorry, I troubled you. I lost my composure just now.” He bowed his head in shame to everyone, then, the face he lifted was filled with high fighting spirit.

Shirley looked at Gavin, momentarily dazed.

“Gavin… it’s okay…”

“Cough, cough!” A deliberate cough interrupted their eye contact. Evelyna, displeased, poked Gavin’s side. “Aren’t you a big man? Acting all shy…”

“I, I will strengthen everyone!” Ophelia gently touched the cross. Although she didn’t remember any magic formulas, she seemed to be able to reach the “root” of magic through it.

“[Blessing]!” Holy light sprinkled on everyone, restoring their strength.

“Let’s go! Our second battle!”

“Oh!!”

The two of them quickly rushed towards the spider. Evelyna stood on the right, her black hair flowing in the wind, like a swordswoman from a painting, slowly chanting the name of the magic.

“[Frenzied Dance]! [Wind Blade]!” A combo from Evelyna. Her sword was like an afterimage, attacking the spider’s weak underbelly. The spider roared, blocking with its clumsy feet.

Each blow was like cutting through steel, heavy and hard.

Gavin was on the left. He slowly took a breath, filling his greatsword with mana.

“[Cleave]!” He swung his greatsword, forming a pincer attack with Evelyna, vowing to saw off one of the spider’s legs.

“We can do it!” The two exchanged a glance. The next second, they attacked one of the spider’s legs at the same time. Blood splattered on Gavin’s face, and they cut off the leg.

He was about to report the good news to the girls, but then he heard Shirley’s cry of despair.

“Roar!!!!!” The spider let out a huge roar. The sound was like a demon’s voice, forcibly interrupting their actions.

“Not good!” Then, it leaped high and landed again. Gavin had just dodged and gotten up when he was sent flying into the air by the huge impact. Then, the web spat out by the spider pierced his abdomen, and he fell heavily to the ground.

“Ahhhhhh!” Gavin clutched his bleeding abdomen, his mouth letting out inarticulate sounds.

‘How could this happen, how could this happen, how could this happen, it hurts, it hurts.’

And Evelyna was not spared either. Although she had already rolled over and hidden on the other side, she found that there were webs there—she was entangled in them and couldn’t move. Although she struggled with all her might, the spider’s leg still mercilessly pierced her thigh.

“Ugh!” She covered her mouth. She knew well that if she cried out now, it would be Shirley and Ophelia who would be anxious.

“Quick, come back!” Shirley, in a panic, raised her staff again. Just now, to save mana for healing magic, she now didn’t care about conserving it. She unleashed a barrage of firepower at the spider, barely managing to save the two of them.

“Heal!”

“Heal!”

Cyan light appeared around them, but Shirley knew well that her mana was almost depleted. But, fortunately, their goal had been achieved—now they just had to run with all their might!

Gavin’s terrified voice interrupted Shirley’s thoughts.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” The spider was slowly growing a new leg.

Shirley froze in place for a moment. She couldn’t think of a way out. Was this where they would be buried?

“Don’t, don’t be afraid, if we all work together, there must be a way!” Shirley still hadn’t given up.

It should have been like this.

“There’s no other way.”

“I don’t want to do this either, but I have to live, I must live.” Gavin clutched his head, suddenly breaking into crazed laughter.

“That’s right, I have to live!”

“Hey, Shirley, you’re the only one with magic. Attack it from a distance to create time for me!” Gavin commanded her.

“Aren’t we supposed to be running?”

In other words, Gavin still wanted to fight the spider? Although reckless, that was Gavin for you, Shirley thought.

She heard the words she least wanted to hear.

“Yes, we’re running, but I’m running! Shirley, you cover my retreat!”

“What’s wrong? Don’t you like me? Show some action!”

Gavin roared, his body trembling uncontrollably. It seemed the spider’s blow had completely destroyed his will to fight.

“If you like me, then give your life for me!”

At this moment, he no longer cared about his gentlemanly image, but revealed his true colors.

“What are you talking about… you’re just kidding, right?” The color drained from Shirley’s face. She never expected to hear these words here.

Shirley felt as if her entire world had collapsed. The person she liked, her reason for existing, everything lost its color.

‘Without him, I might as well die.’

‘Wait, is this really my own thought? When and where did I fall in love with Gavin?’

Countless thoughts flashed through the girl’s mind, but they all disappeared, vanished without a trace.

‘Strange, this is too strange. I can’t even imagine the reason why I fell in love with him!’

Ophelia watched Shirley. She could clearly feel the dark shadow on her.

[Shirley]

Status: Hypnotized (Low)

Suggestion: [Purify]