# 013. The Era of Great Awakening (6)
“Run!”
With Jeongwoo’s shout, they frantically rushed outside. Since one wall had been torn away when Cheonsan-jiju destroyed the ceiling, getting out wasn’t difficult. What was more frightening was the possibility of the building collapsing.
Jaehee ran behind Jeongwoo. There was no time to look around to see where they were going. Cheonsan-jiju, which had been tilting its head, turned its body and leisurely began to chase after the two. Its unhurried appearance made it seem more like it was playing rather than hunting.
Every time Cheonsan-jiju moved, black hair flew in all directions.
Whenever Jaehee tried to look back to check on Jeongwoo while running, Jeongwoo would yell at him to keep his eyes forward. Cheonsan-jiju, as if playing, would occasionally stop and poke at surrounding objects with its legs before moving again. Each time it did this, cars would crumple with a crunch.
“Kieeeeeek.”
Cheonsan-jiju let out a strange scream. It stopped in place, seemingly displeased about something, flapping its legs and stomping the ground.
“W-what’s happening?”
“The Cheonsan-jiju stopped because it saw water. Cross the stream! I’ll hold back the Cheonsan-jiju!”
“What? Hey! What about you? If it doesn’t like water, you should cross with me!”
“We can’t solve this by just running away. Besides, even if it dislikes water, Cheonsan-jiju can cross a stream this small. It’s better for you to cross quickly.”
During their frantic run, they had arrived in front of a small stream. There wasn’t a bridge, but it wasn’t too deep to cross. When Jaehee hesitated at the edge without crossing, Jeongwoo pushed him from behind.
“Are you worried I’ll be caught by that spider? Don’t worry and go! When you find a suitable spot, prepare to shoot! Since it’s your mission, you need to deliver the final blow!”
“Damn it! Don’t get hurt!”
Though annoyed, it was better to get out of the way than to linger and become a hindrance to Jeongwoo. Even though he knew this, it made him incredibly frustrated. He felt so powerless compared to Jeongwoo.
Jaehee bit his lip tightly and continued rushing forward, resisting the urge to look back. He didn’t stop until he crossed the stream and climbed onto the road on the opposite side. His breath caught in his throat, and there was a sweet taste in his mouth.
Due to Cheonsan-jiju’s enormous size, it was easily visible even from a considerable distance.
Jeongwoo was darting around between Cheonsan-jiju’s legs. It seemed that because of the spider’s excessive size, it was difficult for it to target the smaller Jeongwoo. Cheonsan-jiju frantically swung its long legs trying to stamp on Jeongwoo. But each time, Jeongwoo quickly dodged in various directions. Eventually, with its legs tangled, Cheonsan-jiju wobbled and fell to the side.
“Kieeeeeek.”
Cheonsan-jiju’s cry was similar to the sound of fingernails scraping across a chalkboard. Forcibly suppressing the urge to vomit, Jaehee tried to concentrate. Even now, Jeongwoo was busy running away. Suppressing his growing sense of urgency, Jaehee looked around. He noticed an abandoned passenger car on the shoulder of the road. After briefly considering the direction of Cheonsan-jiju, he climbed onto the car’s roof.
The enraged Cheonsan-jiju swung its legs at a much faster pace than before. Every time its eight legs pounded and tore up the ground, everything around vibrated. Just one hit would make it difficult for Jeongwoo to survive. Moreover, Jeongwoo’s speed seemed to be slowing, possibly due to fatigue.
Jaehee bit his lip tightly and took a deep breath.
Even while attacking Jeongwoo, Cheonsan-jiju continuously checked Jaehee’s position, confirming what Jeongwoo had said—that he was being targeted.
Just then, Jeongwoo slid under Cheonsan-jiju’s belly and swung his knife. In that instant, one of Cheonsan-jiju’s front legs was severed and its lower abdomen was split open.
“Kieeeek, kieeeeeek”
Cheonsan-jiju twisted its body and thrashed about. Each time, the ground was torn up and objects, including cars, rolled all over the place. Cheonsan-jiju trembled and began to spew silk.
Milky-white silk, incomparable in thickness to that of ordinary spiders, extended from Cheonsan-jiju’s sides. In an instant, the surroundings were covered in Cheonsan-jiju’s silk. Now Jeongwoo could only move in a much more restricted space. The good news was that with its leg severed and belly pierced, Cheonsan-jiju also couldn’t move well.
Jeongwoo darted beneath Cheonsan-jiju and struck its hind leg. One of the massive legs snapped, causing the huge body to tilt precariously. If Jeongwoo hadn’t rolled on the ground at that moment, he would have been crushed under Cheonsan-jiju.
Jeongwoo rolled several times on the ground to distance himself from Cheonsan-jiju. Then Cheonsan-jiju shook its body. In that moment, so much spider hair flew that it clouded the view.
“Ah… if it does that…”
Jaehee inhaled. He took a few slow breaths, trying to create the most stable state possible.
Even though he had shot a bow before, he had only hit stationary targets. Aiming at a violently moving, hideous spider was an entirely different matter.
His arms trembled as he pulled back the bowstring. His mouth went dry, and his vision kept blurring from tension.
He closed his eyes briefly to calm himself. Even with his eyes closed, he could still see Cheonsan-jiju.
Until now, Jeongwoo had been too close to Cheonsan-jiju for Jaehee to dare shoot. But now that Jeongwoo had distanced himself from Cheonsan-jiju, and the spider’s movements had slowed, it was the perfect opportunity. It would be hard to imagine such an opportunity coming again. Since Cheonsan-jiju wasn’t that unintelligent, its alertness would surely increase after an arrow was fired.
Therefore, he needed to aim carefully and hopefully end it with one shot.
*I can do this.
That spider is much bigger than a target, right?
I’ve hit targets much smaller than this.*
He stabilized his breathing, murmuring to himself several times.
In the moment his mind became calm, the spider’s movement seemed to stop.
It felt as if time had stopped, as if sound, movement, everything had ceased.
And not missing that moment, he released the bowstring.
The arrow cut through the air with a sharp sound and embedded itself into Cheonsan-jiju’s head with a thud.
[Congratulations! Mission Clear! You have defeated Cheonsan-jiju! ෆු(*˃ர்˂*)ෆු
Many subjects have gained safety and peace thanks to the Minor Sovereign’s courageous action.
As expected of a Royal Road! The system’s choice is never wrong!
Reward: The King’s skills are activated!]
Bright letters sparkled before his eyes as he let out a long sigh of relief. Seeing the excessively cheerful emoticons, Jaehee felt a surge of irritation and anger.
*Who said I wanted to participate in this king game thing, why are you doing this to me!*
While Jaehee was getting annoyed looking at the system window, Jeongwoo was slicing open Cheonsan-jiju’s belly. Because of its enormous size, its internal organs were also enormous. Jaehee screamed as he watched Jeongwoo search for something with his hands in the foul-smelling belly of Cheonsan-jiju.
“Ugh, what are you doing?”
“I’m looking for the core. It doesn’t matter for normal mobs, but boss mobs have cores. Since this is a spider with a name, it should have a core. Ah, found it.”
After searching for quite a while, Jeongwoo pulled out something covered in sticky substances. When Jaehee recoiled in disgust, Jeongwoo took out water from his inventory. After washing what he had retrieved, a small stone-like object became visible.
“Here, take it.”
“Ugh. Do I really have to take it?”
“Hmm. Actually, what usually comes from spiders is poison resistance items, but since you’ve already taken Moon’s Grace, you probably won’t need it much. Still, it’s the first real monster you’ve killed, so why not absorb it as a memento? If you’re lucky, your health or other stats might increase.”
Though initially disgusted, Jaehee became curious after hearing Jeongwoo’s words. As Jeongwoo said, since it was the first monster he had killed, it could be memorable. When he extended his hand, Jeongwoo chuckled.
“How cute. Were you that scared of the spider?”
“Ha, that’s rich. Who was the one running away earlier saying ‘I’m also not good with bugs’?”
Irritated by Jeongwoo’s words, Jaehee grabbed Cheonsan-jiju’s core.
[Cheonsan-jiju’s Core: The core of the giant spider Cheonsan-jiju. Absorbing it grants resistance to spider venom. Random attributes increase slightly.]
“H-how do I absorb this?”
Cheonsan-jiju’s core, with a faint red color, was a smooth stone just the right size to fit in his palm. After turning the core over several times, he looked at the smiling Jeongwoo.
“Just think about absorbing it.”
“Ah…”
The moment he thought about absorption, Cheonsan-jiju’s core on his hand smoothly disappeared. At the same time, a cheerful notification sound was heard.
[You have absorbed Cheonsan-jiju’s core. Luck increases.]
“How is it? What increased?”
“It says luck increased.”
“Oh. Since it’s early in the game, it would be good if health increased, but luck is originally the most difficult attribute to raise, so it’s good that your luck increased.”
After exchanging a few casual conversations, the two walked along the road with their disheveled appearance. Walking along the empty, silent asphalt road, it felt like they were the last people remaining in the world.
