What the Church Taught You to Love Was...

Elena did not immediately have them charge straight into the spider nest.

The Elves were more cautious than Silver Wolf had expected.

She first fetched several long arrows engraved with Moon-White Runes, then had a ranger bring over a small pouch of pale green medicinal powder.

"The Thunder Spider Matriarch's silk carries a paralysis toxin."

Elena tossed the powder to Vernacular Poet.

"Sprinkle it on a wound, and it can temporarily suppress the thunder toxin."

Vernacular Poet caught the powder. "How long, usually?"

"One hour."

"Enough."

"If it isn't, drag them back to the tribe."

Windchaser raised her hand. "I think we could just kill it faster."

Elena looked at her. "Talk less."

Windchaser silently lowered her hand.

Silver Wolf sat on a tree root outside the house, looking down at her gloves.

It still hurt, as though a thin thread ran from her fingertips to her shoulder.

Looks like the 999 Cartridge can only be a pie in the sky. I can look at it, but not eat it. No cheating...

Vernacular Poet was already redistributing potions. Sunken Crow checked his daggers and short blades, while Windchaser wiped the mud off her sword sheath. Elena stood at the front and glanced at Silver Wolf.

"Are you sure you know the way?"

"Mm."

The group left the Elf Tribe.

The closer they got to the Moonshadow Vine growth zone, the darker the rainforest became.

The moon-white sheen on the leaves was gradually replaced by blue-violet arcs of electricity. The air carried a damp, scorched smell, like tree bark struck by lightning and soaked in water. Broken spider silk began appearing on the ground, tangled around tree roots and vines. Some strands were still trembling faintly.

Silver Wolf walked in the middle of the group, her goggles pressed over her eyes.

She saw electricity spreading outward in layers across the silk.

[Thunderstriate Spider Silk]

[Paralysis Toxin: Moderate]

[Residual Charge: High]

[Toughness: High]

"Don't touch it."

She spoke.

Windchaser had been about to go around it, but immediately stopped.

Vernacular Poet lowered his head to glance at his terminal. "The mana fluctuations ahead are chaotic. Sunken Crow?"

Sunken Crow crouched and touched the muddy ground with his fingertips. "It came through recently."

Windchaser lowered her voice. "That thing?"

"Mm."

Elena raised a hand.

Everyone stopped.

Ahead lay a depression wrapped in spider silk.

Massive trees had been bent by the webbing, with layers of white-and-purple nets hanging between their canopies. Moonshadow Vines should have been climbing those trunks, but they were now tightly bound in silk, with only a faint dark-silver gleam peeking through the gaps.

Something was moving slowly at the center of the nest.

First came eight long legs.

Then a huge abdomen covered in thunder patterns.

Finally, a head covered in compound eyes.

Data popped up in the goggles.

[Thunder Spider Matriarch]

[Level: 71]

[Status: Alert]

[Carapace: High Defense]

[Weaknesses: Compound Eyes / Leg Joints / Abdominal Thunder Sac]

Silver Wolf looked at the level.

"Seventy-one."

The air fell silent for a moment.

Windchaser spoke softly. "Higher than expected."

The smile faded from Vernacular Poet's face. "That's troublesome."

Elena drew her bowstring. "It consumed the Moonshadow Vine's mana."

Sunken Crow pressed his fingers against a short blade. "A straight fight won't be easy."

Silver Wolf understood completely. The highest level in their team was only 68, while the three members of the Boundarybreaker Squad were all around level 60.

I'm only LV50 right now, but that's the Cartridge level... I don't know whether it counts as an equivalent level.

Vernacular Poet spoke quickly. "Chasing Wind will hold aggro. Sunken Crow, target the compound eyes first. Don't get greedy. Elena, I'm counting on you to break its armor. Wolf Venerable, assist as needed."

Windchaser gripped her sword.

"Go!"

Elena released the bowstring, and the first moon-white arrow shot through the rainforest.

The arrow did not fly directly at the Spider Mother's head. Instead, it embedded itself in a gap in the thunder-patterned armor at the base of its left foreleg.

The Moon-White Rune exploded.

The Spider Mother's shell let out a piercing crack.

The second arrow arrived immediately afterward.

This one pierced through the split in its armor.

Purple-black blood sprayed out.

The Spider Mother jerked its head up, its shrill scream shaking leaves down in sheets.

Vernacular Poet's voice remained steady. "Control aggro!"

Windchaser had already rushed forward.

Air currents whirled beneath her feet. She did not charge at the Spider Mother in a straight line, instead skirting its side to pull away. The Spider Mother's compound eyes turned at once, and its enormous body lunged down from the center of the nest, moving at a speed utterly disproportionate to its size.

The first attack was a bite.

Windchaser raised her sword to block.

With a boom, she was knocked backward several meters, her feet carving two deep trenches through the mud.

Vernacular Poet raised a hand.

[Holy Radiance Shield]

A pale golden shield descended in front of Chasing Wind.

The Spider Mother's mandibles bit into the shield, and the shield instantly cracked.

Windchaser gritted her teeth. "It's so strong!"

"Don't take a second hit head-on!" Vernacular Poet shouted.

The moment he finished speaking, the Spider Mother's other foreleg stabbed down from the side.

Too fast.

Chasing Wind had just blocked the mandibles and had no time to fully evade.

The spider leg pierced through the left side of her abdomen, blood spraying out at once.

"Chasing Wind!"

Elena's pupils constricted.

Windchaser let out a muffled groan, her face turning pale in an instant, but she did not retreat.

She swung her sword backward, trying to sever the spider leg that had pierced her.

The blade struck the spider leg's shell.

Sparks burst out.

It did not break.

It did not even leave more than a shallow mark.

"Can't cut through it!"

Vernacular Poet immediately raised his hand. "Don't pull it out! Don't pull it out!"

Windchaser had just begun to exert force when her movement abruptly stopped.

"I know!"

The Spider Mother opened its mouth again and bit toward her head.

Sunken Crow vanished.

His figure sank into the shadows of the trees, then emerged from the shadow beside the Spider Mother's head the next instant.

His short blade stabbed into one of its compound eyes.

Purple-black fluid exploded outward.

The Spider Mother let out a second shriek, its bite missing by an inch.

Seizing the chance, Windchaser twisted sideways and rolled away with the spider leg still lodged through her, forcibly tearing her body halfway free from the puncture.

The blood flowed even faster.

Vernacular Poet's healing light descended.

"Poet! Your heals aren't enough!"

"Stop playing so recklessly!"

Silver Wolf stood at the rear with her hand cannon unfolded.

She did not fire immediately.

Windchaser and Sunken Crow were too close. A careless shot might hit an ally.

She narrowed her eyes as streams of data continued jumping through her goggles.

Leg joint.

Rear leg.

Thunder sac connection point.

The Spider Mother had just been stabbed in the compound eye by Sunken Crow. Its body instinctively tilted to the right, shifting its weight onto its rear legs.

Now.

Silver Wolf raised her hand.

A silver-blue beam compressed into a single line and blasted into the joint of the Spider Mother's right rear leg.

Bang!

The Spider Mother's body suddenly lurched sideways.

Taking advantage of that instant, Chasing Wind tore herself completely free from beneath the spider leg. She dropped to one knee, blood pouring endlessly from the left side of her abdomen.

Vernacular Poet's Purifying Light and healing magic descended together.

"The thunder toxin got in! Fuck, that health drain rate..."

Windchaser braced herself on her sword and stood up. "Keep healing. If it loses aggro later, we're done."

She raised her hand and held her sword horizontally before herself once more.

Air currents spiraled beneath her feet, blood running down her leg armor.

The Spider Mother locked onto her again.

Windchaser actually smiled. "Come on."

Vernacular Poet clenched his teeth. "Sunken Crow, can you be faster?"

Sunken Crow emerged from the shadow on the other side. Spider silk had scraped across half his shoulder, slowing his movements slightly.

"CD."

Silver Wolf paused when she heard that word.

CD.

Her gaze swept over Sunken Crow.

Vernacular Poet immediately continued:

"Then stay alive first and wait for the next round. Elena, keep your distance. Break its second leg."

"Got it."

Elena fired three arrows in succession.

The first arrow pinned down spider silk, exploding the web wrapped around Sunken Crow's shoulder.

The second arrow shot into a gap in the Spider Mother's armor on its left side.

The third arrow grazed past Windchaser's sword edge and struck another of the Spider Mother's forelegs.

Blood sprayed out again.

The Spider Mother went completely berserk.

It no longer guarded its nest and instead charged into the group.

All eight long legs drove forward at once like a massive meat grinder. Tree roots snapped beneath it, spider silk tore apart, and electrified webs crashed down from above.

Windchaser stood at the very front.

She no longer tried to block every attack head-on. Instead, she constantly used wind-element movement skills to drag the Spider Mother's attention toward herself.

As Vernacular Poet layered shields onto her, he gave rapid commands:

"Fall back left!"

"Don't step into the web!"

"Chasing Wind, don't lose aggro!"

"Sunken Crow, switch to the eyes in three seconds!"

The words fell into Silver Wolf's ears one after another.

Silver Wolf raised her hand and quickly fired another shot.

This time, she targeted one of Spider Mother's other hind legs.

Spider Mother's charge was forced off course, and it crashed into a tangle of tree roots.

Sunken Crow seized the chance and vanished again. His shadow spread beneath Spider Mother's abdomen, and his short blade thrust out, slicing across the edge of its abdominal thunder sac.

Arcs of electricity exploded.

Sunken Crow was blasted backward, his arm going numb in an instant.

"Sunken Crow!"

"I know!"

Vernacular Poet cursed as he flung Purifying Light toward him.

Windchaser drew Spider Mother's attention again, the wounds on her body growing more numerous.

The piercing wound in her left abdomen was barely suppressed by Vernacular Poet's healing light, but the bleeding had not truly stopped. Lightning venom spread outward from the edges of the wound, blue-violet veins beginning to appear across her skin.

Silver Wolf saw it.

Windchaser saw it too.

But she did not retreat. "Again!"

She forcefully stepped on the wind and charged out, her sword slashing along Spider Mother's mouthparts.

The blade could not cut through its shell, but it could force it to raise its head.

Elena's arrow followed close behind, shooting into a split in its armor.

Spider Mother's movements finally slowed a little.

It was beginning to tire.

Not because they had dealt enough damage, but because they had kept attacking its joints, compound eyes, and armor gaps. None of the attacks were fatal, but each one made its movements a little more sluggish.

Vernacular Poet's voice was hoarse. "Drag it out for one more round."

Sunken Crow said quietly, "Five seconds."

Windchaser panted. "I can hold it."

Vernacular Poet immediately said, "No."

"Can't you heal a little harder?"

Silver Wolf looked at her.

Windchaser's HP status had been constantly fluctuating.

Green light, red health bars, and blue-violet poison marks flashed in turn.

Windchaser was already in grave danger, yet she was still holding the line.

Spider Mother suddenly stopped moving.

It lowered its body.

Seven of its eight compound eyes remained, all locked onto Windchaser.

Silver Wolf's expression shifted slightly. "It's going all out."

Spider Mother suddenly shrieked.

The spiderwebs overhead dropped at the same time.

They were not targeting Windchaser.

They were going for Elena.

Elena had just drawn her bowstring to its limit when electrified spider silk wrapped around her feet and arms at once. She coldly used her dagger to cut through the web, but the paralyzing current slowed her movements by a beat.

Sunken Crow rushed out from the shadows, his short blade stabbing toward Spider Mother's leg joint.

This time, he hit it.

Spider Mother's front leg buckled.

But it was not enough.

It forcibly supported its body with its remaining legs, its opened mouthparts already pressing down above Windchaser's head.

Windchaser raised her sword horizontally to block.

Its mouthparts clamped onto the blade, producing a piercing scraping sound.

Her arms were trembling.

Vernacular Poet's healing light continued chasing her dwindling health.

"Windchaser!"

"This old lady isn't dead yet!"

Spider Mother's head pressed lower and lower.

Windchaser's knees sank into the mud, and her sword began to bend.

Silver Wolf's fingers tightened. If she waited any longer, Windchaser's head would be bitten off.

Silver Wolf immediately brought up the control panel only she could see and used Aether Editing.

"Tch."

She raised her hand.

Silver-blue pixel blocks burst from her fingertips.

Streams of data instantly spread toward Spider Mother's position.

The space around Spider Mother seemed forcibly dragged by an invisible hand, its edges briefly misaligning. Its massive head, descending toward Windchaser, suddenly stopped.

Windchaser froze for an instant.

The next second.

Spider Mother vanished from where it stood, then reappeared in midair.

Its enormous body was forcibly shifted several meters into the air. Its legs lost their support, and all its joints were exposed in the gaps of the rainforest canopy.

Elena's expression changed, but she did not ask what had happened.

The Moonwhite Longbow was drawn full in an instant, and the arrow flew out.

It pierced through the curtain of rain.

It accurately nailed Spider Mother's crucial right leg joint.

Crack.

That leg finally broke.

Spider Mother crashed down from midair.

Sunken Crow added another strike beside the landing point, stabbing into the second cracked joint.

Windchaser forced herself to stand, wind currents carrying her toward Spider Mother's head.

Her sword pierced along the armor gap Elena had opened.

Vernacular Poet's Holy Radiance fell upon the blade.

Silver Wolf raised her hand one last time, her hand cannon blasting Spider Mother's already cracked abdominal thunder sac.

Then Sunken Crow delivered the finishing blow.

Boom—

Lightning exploded.

Spider Mother's enormous body convulsed violently, the light in its eight compound eyes gradually fading away.

The rainforest finally fell silent.

Only the residual current in Spider Mother's abdomen continued to crackle intermittently.

Windchaser stood beside the corpse, her sword still embedded beside Spider Mother's head. She lowered her head and looked at it.

"Oh my God... we killed something above our level."

Vernacular Poet did not answer. He rushed over and grabbed her shoulder.

"Sit down and wait for me to heal you!"

Windchaser was stunned by his shout.

The next second, her legs gave out, and she dropped straight down.

Silver Wolf also took half a step back, her fingers trembling slightly. That move just now had been too much of a strain.

Why does my head hurt again... I only used my ability once. Does it really have to put me through this?

She hid her hand inside her sleeve, and no one noticed.

That was also because no one had time to notice right now.

Elena freed herself from the spiderwebs and came to Windchaser's side immediately. Looking at the piercing wound in Windchaser's left abdomen, her expression darkened.

The edges of the wound had already turned purple.

Lightning venom spread outward in vein-like patterns.

Vernacular Poet's healing light fell upon it, but the wound did not close.

Blood was still flowing.

Windchaser lowered her head for a look, her tone somehow still fairly relaxed. "Is this a little serious?"

Vernacular Poet looked awful. "Can't you fight a little more normally when you know the enemy is higher level?"

"You're always pressuring me!"

Elena raised her hand. Moon-white healing magic covered the wound, while medicinal powder was scattered over it. But she discovered it was already useless; the injury was simply too severe.

The poison marks paused for an instant, then continued spreading.

Elena's expression changed.

She increased her magical output, fine sweat quickly beading at her temples.

It still did not work.

Vernacular Poet swiftly pulled several bottles of medicine from his backpack. He first shoved one into Elena's hands. "You're losing HP too. Drink it."

Elena frowned. "I'm fine."

"Your hands are covered in lightning venom burns."

Vernacular Poet opened another bottle of blood-red potion and held Windchaser's chin down, pouring half of it into her mouth.

Windchaser choked. "I'm at low health, not disabled!"

Vernacular Poet tore open the remaining packet of medicinal powder and sprinkled it around the edge of the piercing wound.

The instant the powder touched the wound, purple arcs of electricity burned it into a puff of white smoke.

He kept his voice low.

"Your HP is dropping too fast. Don't move around. I'll see if I can slow it down."

Windchaser finally stopped joking.

She looked at Vernacular Poet's expression and slowly nodded.

Sunken Crow stood nearby, his short blade still dripping blood as his gaze settled on Silver Wolf.

He had seen that move just now.

Elena had seen it too.

Vernacular Poet was busy saving someone and had not seen everything clearly, but he would definitely ask.

Silver Wolf chewed flavorless bubble gum, her face expressionless.

She looked at Spider Mother's corpse, then at the three members of the Boundarybreaker Squad.

Some of the words they had said lined up in her mind one by one.

She had originally thought they were simply local rules of this world.

Now, it did not seem like that.

Silver Wolf lowered her eyes.

Could they really be players?