Chapter 7: The Abyssal Dweller Queen
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It was just another day in the life of the B Rank Hunter, Adam Woo. After hunting for monsters, he would take the rest of the day at his department, drowning in alcohol and cigarettes until he was to get a call from his guild for new jobs. Sometimes, such jobs also included hunting not only monsters but people. As someone with a secret identity as a hitman for the Demonic Underworld Society, he hadn’t received a job offer to hunt some humans in a while.
And his last hunt ended in the death of two of his three disciples by the hand of a detestable “Super Rookie” that has been growing stronger at an insanely fast pace, Jack, the now A Rank Hunter, mostly known as the “Lone Wolf”. Just by pure luck, he managed to escape from him by utilizing an Escape Stone, a special item that allows a person to teleport outside of a Dungeon…
However, it has now been a month since then, and he has yet to find any more clues about his weakness or anything he could abuse… well, aside from the little sister he protects with all his might. A grin appeared on Adam’s face as he gave a swift glance at his TV, showing the news about the Dungeon Break that had happened just some minutes ago in Stronghold City.
“Another Gate… Hah.”
Ring! Ring!
“Huh?”
His phone started ringing and he immediately responded.
“What do you want? You know I’m taking a break, right?”
Adam's face showed some slight annoyance, he had been rather traumatized ever since Jack beat the shit out of him and had been mostly hunting monsters while hiding from society until things cooled off, yet his face immediately changed into a grin after he heard what the person in the other side of the phone proposed to him.
“Hoh, you want me and that idiot of Han to go there?”
He continued hearing what his contractor had to say, his grin growing larger. After a month since his failure, he was finally given a new job offer, and it revolved around the bastard he hated the most.
“This would be the perfect opportunity to get back on that bastard of Jack, you’re right… And you say his little sister got caught? If we can catch that little brat, he’ll probably go nuts!”
Adam continued nodding while smoking, as he glanced back at the city, setting his eyes at the faraway hospital.
“Good, alright then. As long as we go as Hunters that just want to clear the Gate, nobody’s going to bathe an eye anyways.”
After having that arrangement, he quickly got ready to go, equipping his armor and weapons. A red-colored tattoo with the pattern of a snake started to glow brightly from within his right hand. It was itching a lot, but this pain only made him smile with an even sicker grin.
“Calm down, I’ll soon feed you all the blood you want.”
Now that he finally acquired this power, he might stand a better chance at killing the bastard that has been inside of his head this last month.
.
.
.
Ding!
[You’ve been spotted by the [Abyssal Dweller Queen (D Rank)]!]
[She seems furious you’ve defeated her entire colony and seeks your blood!]
[The Constellations spectate what you will do!]
[If you win this impossible fight, the Constellations say they will reward you greatly!]
[Do your best!]
I just slain over two hundred bugs and now you want me to beat that damn thing all by myself?! Constellations are utterly insane; do they have nothing else to do than watch a girl trying to survive?
“Chuu!”
Well, I am not alone I guess. But what can this little guy even do? He seems just as weak as his siblings, or maybe even weaker.
Ding!
[Displaying Status of {Friend} is possible once a name is bestowed.]
“A name? Then-”
“SHAAAH!!!”
Ding!
[The [Abyssal Dweller Queen (D Rank)] furiously declares you will become her dinner for tonight!]
[She begins moving right away!]
The sound of the entire cave trembling interrupted my thoughts, as I saw the gigantic Queen moving directly towards me. She resembled an oversized version of her children if it wasn’t for the two massive scythes that adorned her upper body segments.
CLASH! CLASH! CLAAASH!
Her enormous scythes began hitting the ground, as she started to attempt to crush me with them! Each scythe was as big as five meters and was heavy enough to shatter the floor with ease!
“Shit…!”
Ding!
[The Special Effect of [Little Rabbit’s Fearlessness (F Rank Privilege)] is being activated!]
[Your AGI Stat has Increased by +50%!]
FLASH!
A pink aura encompassed my entire body, making me feel incredibly nimble and athletic out of a sudden. The power of this Privilege was no joke, even with the dumb name. I moved at the fastest speed I could, evading the monstrous Queen’s attacks while trying to find some sort of opening. But I honestly couldn’t. Her chitinous armor covered almost her entire body. The only place I could probably attack was her eyes, but even if I did, her Health Points would most likely not deplete even after that.
“Kyu!”
Suddenly, I saw the little bug about to be smashed by his own mother.
“Nooo!”
I tried to go catch him, but the enormous scythes reached the tiny bug before I could even grasp it! The feeling that I had just lost a friend I just made shattered my heart.
BOOOM!!!
The impact of the queen’s furious scythe made the entire floor tremble, as countless cracks spread across the ground. I glanced at the place where I saw the little bug last time, expecting its tiny body to be torn to pieces.
“Wait, what?”
However, to my great surprise, there was no corpse, not even blood. The little thing had completely disappeared. There was no way his mother pulverized him to a subatomic level, right?
FLASH!
And like a purple-colored blur, the bug appeared right behind me! It scared me slightly, the little guy I thought was a defective child of the Queen, had more talent than I imagined.
“What sort of speed is that?”
“Kyuu!”
Ding!
[Displaying Status of {Friend} is possible once a name is bestowed.]
“A name? Violet, then!”
Ding!
[You have named your new pal as {Violet}!]
[All of {Violet}’s stats have increased thanks to the effects of the [Let’s be Friends! (F Rank Privilege)]!]
[Their Special Talents are being improved the most!]
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[Monster Name]: [Violet]
[Monster Race]: [Rare Abyssal Dweller Pill Bug]
[Monster Rank]: [E+ Rank]
[Title]: [Friend]
[Level]: [4/10]
[HP]: [36/36]
[MP]: [65/65]
[STR]: [17]
[VIT]: [16]
[DEX]: [67]
[AGI]: [220]
[INT]: [52]
[WIS]: [22]
[LUC]: [100]
[CHM]: [150]
[Innate Skills (3/3)]
[Rare Breed (E): Lv5] [Silk Production (E): Lv5] [Venom Fangs (E): Lv6]
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What’s wrong with this bug’s stats?! They’re higher than mine! Is it because of the Privilege powers taking effect? But I never thought it would result in Violet having over 220 Agility.
“SHAAAH!”
Meanwhile, the Queen’s scythe seemed stuck in the ground when her attack impacted the floor with her tremendous strength. She was now struggling to get it out. This boss was big and strong, but its movements were rather clumsy, is it because it is not accustomed to fighting? I have to somehow win this if I don’t want to become this bug’s meal. And I think Violet has now become a crucial part of my survival plan.
“Violet! Can you understand what I am saying?”
“Kyu!”
Violet seemed to nod, his eyes shining brightly. This bug was much more brilliant than I imagined! To be expected of my child. Sorry Queen, but I’ll be adopting your rejected son.
“Alright then! Use your Silk Production Skill to trap the Queen’s legs! Don’t allow her to move!” I commanded. “I’ll find a way to kill her after her movements are restricted!”
“KYU!”
FLASH!
Violet didn’t even doubt my words, immediately rushing towards the Queen with his 220 points of Agility and catching her attention once more. Her giant eyes started chasing his movements.
“GRRRHH..!”
The Queen furiously freed her scythe arms from the floor and then started chasing Violet, constantly trying to crush him with her powerful scythes or the tip of her long tail.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
Each impact made the whole caverns tremble so much several rocks were beginning to fall from the ceiling. Was she trying to bury us alive or something? She has little sense of self-preservation!
“KYU! CHUUU!”
However, Violet began producing a transparent white thread from his mouth, beginning to wrap it around the queen’s scythes and legs as he evaded her attacks. It was working, and the queen was too savage and clueless to realize our plan. However, I wasn’t just standing there watching, I was busy doing my own thing… And of course, that was crafting! What better way to raise my shitty stats than by abusing the equipment system to its limits? And I had plenty of materials to pick from!
Ding!
[You’ve combined: [Dungeon Stone (F Rank)] x30 + [Rotten Heart Rose Roots (B Rank)] x12 + [Rotten Heart Rose Crystal (B Rank)] x3 + [Abyssal Dweller’s Carapace (E Rank)] x55!]
[Due to the quality of some materials, the resulting item quality has automatically increased!]
[You’ve created the [Abyssal Dweller’s Armor Set (C Rank)] x1!]
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[Abyssal Dweller’s Armor Set]
{Item Type}: [Armor Set] [Insect Armor]
{Item Quality}: [C Rank]
{Item Requirement}: [None]
{Item Durability}: [2500/2500]
{Item Effects}
[DEF]: [+500] [HP]: [+100] [MP]: [+10] [STR]: [+25] [VIT]: [+50] [DEX]: [+10] [AGI]: [+10] [INT]: [+10] [WIS]: [+20] [LUC]: [+5] [CHM]: [+25]
{Item Abilities}
[Abyssal Dweller’s Armor]: A full set of armor made utilizing Abyssal Dweller exoskeleton as its primary ingredient. It grants immunity to Poisons with intensity below C Rank and decreases damage taken from Insect-type monsters by -25%. Intimidates Insect-type monsters.
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It’s perfect.
“Equip!”
FLASH!
The armor quickly appeared all around my body, as I was finally not half-naked, and was wearing a regal and rather beautiful, purple-colored insect-themed armor, it even included boots, gloves, and a helmet. And of course, all those bonus stats added were ideal. The benefit of equipment in this fantasy world was the bonus stats and abilities they could add to someone. Even if you were weaker than an ant, if you equip some legendary armor, you can slay a dragon.
Ding!
[You have equipped the [Abyssal Dweller’s Armor Set]!]
[Due to the dreadful presence you provoke upon Insect-type monsters, the [Abyssal Dweller Queen (D Rank)] seems frightened of your new presence! All her stats have dropped by 10%!]
[She panics and quickly directs her attention towards you!]
“SHAAAH!”
“Here it comes…!”
[The [Abyssal Dweller Queen (D Rank)] activated the [Twin Cutter (D Rank)] Skill!]
SLAASH! SLAASH!
The queen’s scythes ignored Violet this time, as they attacked me at the same time, unleashing a deadly slashing attack. Two waves of black-colored energy capable of cutting through anything chased after me.
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