Caelan hadn't expected that, by sheer accident,
he would end up inside a spider nest.
However, he wasn't worried about these small spiders at all.
Once again, he swung his longsword, moving swiftly through the swarm of [Thousand-Eyed Spiders].
At this moment, Caelan was like a war god incarnate. Every time his blade swept out, a [Thousand-Eyed Spider] would burst apart, splashing large amounts of green blood.
In the sky above, golden blades of light were still raining down.
Before them, the gigantic spider web was as fragile as paper.
More and more adventurers fell from the web onto the ground.
Fortunately, adventurers' bodies had been enhanced; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to withstand falling from dozens of meters in the air.
"Damn, that hurts! Where the hell is this place?!"
"This is weird—wasn't I just enjoying the beach? How did I end up underground?!"
"Brothers, can someone help me? I think I'm tied up!"
These adventurers weren't idiots.
Monsters capable of inducing hallucinations weren't exactly rare.
After only a few breaths, they realized what had happened here!
"So we almost got wiped out this time?!"
"If that handsome kid hadn't stepped in just now, would we have died here?!"
"Damn it, I knew I wouldn't get skunked—it had to be something wrong with the sea!"
As the adventurers were cheering over their narrow escape, someone suddenly noticed something was off.
"Hey, look! Why is that spider boss running away?!"
In the next instant, nearly all the adventurers focused their gaze on the enormous [Thousand-Eyed Spider] scrambling in panic across the web.
[Name: Thousand-Eyed Spider (Lord Rank)]
[Level: 199]
[Skills: Demonic Web Domain, Demon Eye Dreamweave, Silk Bind]
[Description: The king of the Thousand-Eyed Spiders. It possesses abilities beyond imagination and holds dominion over the entire species.]
On the other side, Caelan—
In just a few short minutes, he had slain over a hundred [Thousand-Eyed Spiders].
However, because he hadn't completed the [Class Mutation Quest], his level couldn't increase any further.
Still, the experience he gained wasn't wasted; it was all stored in his experience pool.
[You have gained experience: 30,862]
[You have gained experience: 30,862]
…
More and more [Thousand-Eyed Spiders] began gathering toward Caelan.
But at this point, Caelan was getting annoyed.
He lifted his head and looked toward the fleeing [Thousand-Eyed Spider (Lord Rank)].
"Hey, does what you said earlier still count?"
"Whatever I want—you'll give it to me?"
The [Thousand-Eyed Spider (Lord Rank)] paused, then leaped directly in front of Caelan.
Its eight powerful legs stabbed firmly into the ground, and in an instant, thousands of eyes locked onto Caelan.
"What… do you want?"
Caelan's expression remained calm as he casually raised a single finger.
"One billion gold coins."
At those words, countless red lights flared in the eyes of the [Thousand-Eyed Spider (Lord Rank)]!
"You dare toy with me?! Do you believe that—"
Before it could finish speaking, Caelan snapped his fingers with a look of disdain.
In the next instant, a golden sword ray fell from the sky, striking the [Thousand-Eyed Spider (Lord Rank)] in the blink of an eye!
The moment the sword light made contact, a blinding white radiance erupted, illuminating the entire underground space!
"Familiar recipe, familiar feeling—so the big shot has personally stepped in!"
At this moment, the adventurers on the ground looked at the familiar little sun and all let out relieved smiles.
As long as a powerhouse made a move, there was nothing that couldn't be solved!
However, just then, one adventurer couldn't help but speak up.
"Wait… aren't you forgetting something?"
"Don't forget, this is still an Unstable Zone—it counts as an instance. There's no teammate protection here!"
Hearing this, the adventurers' faces instantly turned pale with terror!
"Holy crap, how did we forget something this important?!"
"Big boss, have mercy! There's no teammate damage reduction right now!"
"Stop talking—run for your lives!!"
…
Half a minute later,
thousands of little suns erupted with dazzling light throughout the underground world!
[Congratulations on clearing: Unstable Zone. Overall Rating: SSS!]
[Congratulations! You have successfully defeated the Thousand-Eyed Spider (Lord Rank) and completed Class Mutation Quest Part 1.]
[You have obtained a common-grade item: Demon Spider Greaves]
[You have obtained a rare-grade material: Demon Spider's Eyes]
[You have obtained an epic-grade material: Demon Spider's Heart (Lord Rank)]
…
Epic-grade material?
Caelan froze for a moment. This was the first time since he started running instances that he had ever obtained an epic-grade material.
This stuff was incredibly valuable!
According to current market prices, any single epic-grade material could sell for several million—or even tens of millions—of gold coins!
He hadn't expected to make such a tidy profit this time.
Just as Caelan was about to pack up all the loot and store it in his inventory, planning to sell it to Marov later—
A sudden notification appeared before his eyes.
[Detected material that can be devoured by Sacred Armor. Devour?]
Caelan was taken aback.
He knew that his [Sacred Armor] was currently incomplete and couldn't be equipped.
But what exactly did this devour mean?
After some thought, Caelan ultimately chose "Yes."
In the next instant, the [Demon Spider's Heart (Lord Rank)] vanished from his storage space.
At the same time, a brand-new entry appeared in the item panel of the [Sacred Armor].
[Repair Progress: 0.1%]
When he saw that number, Caelan was completely stunned.
Wait—he had consumed a precious epic-grade material, and it only repaired 0.1%?!
Even on the low end, an epic-grade material was worth several million gold coins.
That meant repairing 1% would cost tens of millions—possibly even over a hundred million—gold coins.
So 100% would be…
Ten billion gold coins?!
At this thought, Caelan couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
Expensive. Absurdly expensive!
And that didn't even account for the fact that epic-grade materials were practically unobtainable on the market.
At this moment, Caelan felt his mental state starting to crumble.
With his existing savings of over a billion gold coins, plus the one billion gold coins awarded by the Ranked Match school, he had thought he wouldn't need to worry about money anytime soon.
But now…
It looked like he'd still have to live frugally!
As for giving up on repairing the [Sacred Armor]—was that even a question?
With such an overpowered effect, it was practically a life-saving divine artifact!
Caelan clenched his teeth.
Earn gold coins.
Earn more!