Nova began to drag himself toward his backpack, where he kept his potions and antidote.
His legs were completely paralyzed, so he used his hands to grab at the soil and grass, pulling himself forward. Traces of sweat and blood were left behind as he moved.
"Ahhh! Shit! My left hand is in so much pain," Nova cursed, gritting his teeth as he pressed on.
The deep wound on his left hand—inflicted when he caught one of the spider's claws—agonized him.
In his fading, blurry vision, Nova finally saw his backpack, which had been thrown aside before the battle—only ten meters away.
One meter, two meters, three meters...
Little by little, holding back his pain and the urge to scream, Nova inched toward his only lifeline.
As the seconds ticked by, the poison in his body grew more potent. Along with his legs, Nova's breathing became hard, and he struggled to lift his neck.
"Ah, fuck!" he groaned, his face crashing into the ground. Dust and debris scattered from his heavy breathing.
Despite everything, Nova didn't lose hope. He finally reached his backpack.
He turned over to face the blue sky and immediately began searching for the antidote before his hands became paralyzed. Fortunately, the poison hadn't affected his memory.
He found the antidote and drank it in a single gulp. It was formulated to neutralize the venom of nearly every Stage 1 monster, so Nova was confident he'd survive.
Then he dragged himself into a bush, hiding from prying eyes. Though the antidote would work, it needed time to take effect. In his current condition, anything could kill him with ease.
It wasn't pleasant lying in the bush, but Nova wasn't in a position to worry about comfort.
---
After an hour, Nova finally emerged from the bush. He had wrapped his left hand with a black cloth to prevent infection.
Grabbing his backpack, Nova approached the spider's corpse.
"Seems like luck isn't with me," he murmured, disappointed at finding no core inside.
Monster cores were a major source of income for explorers, used to craft potions that granted special abilities. They also served as premium currency for trading valuable items.
Nova sighed and decided not to harvest any parts from the spider. No one would be interested in a highly toxic monster capable of paralyzing with a single cut. Keeping the parts would only take up space in his backpack.
Just as he thought his journey would finally smooth out, he noticed another spider about fifty meters away. It looked identical to the one he'd just fought.
Although he couldn't make out the finer details from a distance, Nova sensed this one was more dangerous.
Unlike the previous aggressive spider, this one kept its distance. It carefully maintained a safe space and didn't attack. Instead, it emitted strange noises and stared directly at him.
Even though Nova didn't understand spider language, he got the message.
The spider was warning him not to enter its territory and urging him to leave.
"I regret to inform you, but I've chosen your kind to be my first ingredient."
With that, Nova seized his whip and stepped into the spider's territory.
---
The moment it realized Nova was ignoring its warning, the spider launched a swift attack.
As Nova moved in to strike with his whip, he saw the spider wave its leg in the air.
"Arghh!"
Nova roared in pain. An invisible force slashed into his shoulder, tearing his combat suit and spilling blood.
'What just happened?!'
Before he could react, the spider waved its leg two more times. Another invisible cut appeared near his ankles. This one didn't break the skin, but it rattled him.
He noticed a slender white thread moving at blinding speed whenever the spider flicked its legs. Thanks to his sturdy boots, his ankles were unharmed—otherwise, he'd be in trouble.
Realizing he was surrounded by the spider's threads, Nova lashed his whip around him. He felt slight resistance, but as expected, the whip cut through the threads.
Judging by the number of threads, Nova's face darkened. If he had walked just five more meters, he wouldn't have escaped.
He lashed his whip over and over, slicing every string around him.
The spider became furious at seeing its hard work destroyed. It jumped down from the tree and charged at Nova. In a flash, it was right in front of him.
But Nova had learned his lesson from the previous fight—he avoided close combat altogether.
The moment the spider leapt from the tree, he had already left its territory. After retreating twenty meters from his original position, Nova stopped.
The spider, fueled by rage, pursued him with great momentum. As it approached, Nova struck its two front legs and shattered them with a single blow.
"You've fallen into my trap!"
Nova had known since discovering the threads that he couldn't defeat the spider within its own webbed territory. So he taunted it—destroying its setup to lure it outside, where the odds favored him.
Maybe it was luck, or maybe it was the experience of defeating the same species once, but this time, Nova handled the fight perfectly—without injury.
The spider's movements slowed. Its black-and-white body turned black and red, smeared with blood and whip marks.
Seeing it weakened, Nova decided to end the fight.
Sensing its impending death, the spider fired a massive web, like a net, to block Nova's path and fled without looking back.
"You think I'll let you go after all this?"
Using his injured hand, Nova drew his katana and slashed through the web. A small hole opened—just enough for him to slip through.
Dropping the katana, Nova sprinted after the fleeing spider.
The spider wasn't as fast as before. Nova easily caught up and grabbed its tail. Before it could accelerate, he struck its hind legs with his whip.
The spider tried to dodge sideways—it managed to avoid the blow partially, but one leg snapped, causing it to collapse.
Before it could recover, Nova whipped its head. The attack didn't deal as much damage as expected.
Instead, the spider let out a piercing scream.
*ACEEH!*
Then something unexpected happened—Nova felt a sharp, searing pain in his skull, as if someone had struck him with a hammer from the inside.
The pain froze his body. He lost balance and fell.
Both his eardrums burst, and blood poured like a waterfall. He dropped his whip.
Nova lay on the ground, completely defenseless.
Luckily, the spider couldn't reach him easily because of its broken legs. But unlike Nova, who was paralyzed, the spider could still crawl.
"Move! Move, you idiot!" Nova cursed. He could hear something crawling toward him.
But his body refused to obey.
As the spider drew closer, Nova clearly heard the gasping and creaking of its strained movements.
When one of its broken legs brushed against his hand, a shiver ran down his spine.
"Damn it! Move! Move!"
The spider, utterly exhausted and nearly drained of life, made one final push toward Nova's face.
Feeling its breath on his ear, Nova bit his tongue in despair. Regret filled him—regret for not teaming up with Ryan and the others, regret for ignoring the spider's warning.
Blood from his tongue trickled down his throat. Coupled with the desperate situation, it triggered a sudden adrenaline rush.
Just before the spider could sink its fangs into his neck, Nova rolled aside. He pulled a short knife from his thigh and plunged it deep into the spider's eye.
Blood sprayed across his face, but Nova didn't flinch—he kept stabbing.
He only stopped when he no longer had the strength to raise his hand.
Fortunately, the spider died before he did.
"Somehow, I survived."
Nova muttered, rolling away from the corpse. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the sky, resting for a few moments.
"I have to leave here as soon as possible."
The commotion from this fight had been greater than the last, and Nova didn't feel safe just hiding in a nearby bush.
When he turned around, he saw the spider's head glowing brightly.
"Core!!"