Level Up The Colony
Chapter 80: Head and Abdomen

Chapter 80: Head and Abdomen

That, however, didn’t kill it.

The thing about having armor as tough as stone was that while it protected your body, it left you painfully exposed to torment.

And for someone like Timothy, who had no problem dishing out agony without remorse, you might as well wish for death.

Miebaka had already leaped off the spider’s back as it began thrashing wildly, trying to shake off the swarm of flies.

But that was its own problem now.

Both of them understood what came next.

The spider would attempt to flee, leap out of the encirclement, retreat to the safety of the canopy above, regenerate, and then glare down at them again.

But neither of them had any intention of letting that happen.

For the first time since the fight began, Miebaka revealed what Timothy could only assume was his true ability because no one could wield a sword like that without some kind of power behind it.

Timothy finally got a good look at the weapon: a long, curved blade, almost like a tachi now soaked in spider blood.

The same blade that had pierced one of the creature’s eyes.

It moved as though it had a will of its own, parrying each flailing limb that came at Miebaka with fluid ease.

Timothy watched, stunned, as the blade sliced clean through another limb on the spider’s far side.

That left it with only six legs.

But Miebaka didn’t stop there, he moved with impossible grace, his reflexes like something from an action movie.

Now Timothy understood why he was the team’s leader.

Still, he didn’t stand idle.

He jumped into the fray again, making sure the spider couldn’t regain balance.

Armed in both hands, he relentlessly disrupted its footing every time it tried to stand.

His machete clashed against limbs, and though not strong enough to slice through the armored shell, it kept the beast off-kilter.

His silk cloth darted between them like a living thing, latching onto two of the three legs on his side.

It weaved and slid through gaps, improving his mobility in the chaos.

Thirty seconds later, Timothy smashed its face into the dirt, ripping off another limb.

But that gave the spider just enough time to reposition itself for one last desperate trick, a web sling.

Unbeknownst to it, that was exactly what they’d been waiting for.

Before the spider could launch its web, the silk cloth shot forward and wrapped tightly around its spinnerets, completely sealing them shut.

No web would be coming out.

Now, only two legs remained on Timothy’s side and that was more than manageable.

Normally, this chance would never have come.

The creature was sentient, cunning, and full of tricks.

But with each setback, its desperation grew.

The spider abandoned finesse and lunged with raw instinct, using every part of its body.

Its mandibles, usually ineffective due to its towering height, now slammed down in every direction, hoping to snag flesh.

All it caught was dirt.

That gave Timothy the opening he needed.

With a flick of his wrist, he drove his dagger into the last of the spider’s three eyes on that side.

The beast screamed, rearing back in a wild frenzy.

But as it tried to flee, Miebaka was already on it, severing another limb with a clean, precise strike.

Now it was down to four misaligned legs, but still, it tried to run.

But neither Timothy nor Miebaka had fought this hard just to let the spider escape and regenerate.

That would only lead to another fight down the line, one they might not survive.

This had to end now.

Timothy saw the opportunity.

If you’ve never seen a spider lose balance, just strip it of half its legs, blind two of its eyes, and disable its ability to shoot webs.

Then you’d see something closer to a crawling corpse than a predator.

He glanced at his machete.

The green glow surrounding it showed how much energy remained in his Kinetic Pounce skill.

There was just enough for a final, fancy move.

The spider began crawling toward one of the large tunnels they had emerged from.

That was when Miebaka landed in front of it, tachi in hand, glowing red with energy.

His eyes were locked, focused like a predator.

Timothy moved.

He ran, leaped into the air, and stretched his hand toward the scarf.

Unfortunately, it couldn’t fly on its own, it needed something grounded to move across.

Still, since part of it remained wrapped around the spider’s web duct, it served as a solid anchor.

A section of the scarf extended toward him, and once he caught it, he pulled himself forward with all his might.

The force yanked the spider back slightly.

Had he applied Armament to the scarf, he might’ve pulled it farther, but he had another plan in mind.

As he flew toward the beast, its legs dug into the earth, trying to resist, but that only exposed them further.

Timothy spun mid-air, machete in hand, becoming a whirlwind of momentum.

A green aura swirled around him and then burst outward in the form of a spinning crescent blade.

This wasn’t like the previous ones.

It was faster, larger, and infused with both Armament and amplified velocity.

For the first time ever, his mana not only activated Kinetic Pounce, but it remained bound to the blade even after leaving his body, continuing to empower it as it spun toward the spider’s legs.

The spinning crescent of green energy lingered in the air for a heartbeat before shooting forward at blinding speed.

It carved through the final two limbs on one side of the spider and dug a deep gouge into the earth.

But it didn’t stop there, like a whirling blade, it continued spinning, ricocheting up the dungeon walls before vanishing into the darkness above.

Timothy, still mid-air, caught the flicker in the spider’s eyes, the delay between the severed limbs, and the realization of pain.

It would’ve been tragic if they weren’t fighting for their lives.

The screech that followed lacked the vigor of its earlier cries.

It sounded... defeated.

Now, the monster had only two limbs left, both on the same side of its body.

Timothy landed heavily, knees buckling slightly under the impact.

A wave of dizziness washed over him, but he straightened, refusing to show weakness.

Maybe I added too much mana and force... he thought, feeling the drain seep into his bones.

The technique was flashy, sure, but it left him empty.

It wasn’t something he could refine in theory alone.

No amount of physics knowledge would perfect it.

He needed more battles.

More experience.

After all, he was just a high school graduate, not a magic scholar.

When he looked up, Miebaka was unfazed, showing no reaction to the technique Timothy had just unleashed.

The others, though, he noticed them now stood on the periphery of the battle, eyes wide with awe.

Apparently, the fight had drifted dangerously close to their position.

The spider still squirmed in the dirt, but with just two misaligned limbs, it could barely move.

"You did that flashy move, almost got us killed, and still missed the target?" Miebaka asked dryly.

"What do you mean? My accuracy was perfect. It can’t run anymore. It’s crippled," Timothy shot back.

Miebaka studied him for a moment.

"So, what’s the plan now?"

"I can’t kill it yet. Gray’s still in there. A safe extraction would be better," Timothy said, his gaze scanning the spider’s battered form.

"Isn’t that more reason to kill it fast and get your companion out?" Miebaka asked, raising a brow.

"Maybe. Maybe not," Timothy replied.

"Suit yourself," Miebaka said with a shrug.

"But like I told you, our contractor needs something from the boss monster. I don’t know why, but I have to fulfill that contract."

With that, he walked to the spider’s other side, sword still glowing.

Timothy tensed, watching closely.

Was Miebaka going to finish it off? Would that harm Gray? Something about the termite felt... changed since it entered the spider.

He couldn’t explain it, but a gut instinct made him hesitate.

Besides, the spider was his only guaranteed reward from this mission.

A level-up.

He’d already forfeited his loot share for a better weapon, one with increased penetration force.

If someone else landed the final blow, he’d lose everything.

His mind buzzed with thoughts as he watched Miebaka raise his blade.

With a single calm motion, Miebaka brought the glowing tachi down.

A massive red aura burst from it, surging forward like a wave.

It ripped across the battlefield, tearing through the dirt in a clean, expanding arc.

It eventually crashed into the massive tree stump and dispersed harmlessly, as if the stump had absorbed the force or healed faster than they could see.

So he has a flashy move too? Timothy thought, blinking.

Does it outshine mine?

His technique had sliced up the dungeon wall and shot upward out of sight.

That had to count for something, right? Ten points, at least.

But Miebaka’s attack was calm, beautiful, and controlled, with less raw force and more refinement.

He couldn’t decide which was more impressive.

Then the spider screeched again.

Now, only its head and abdomen remained, yet somehow, Timothy knew, it wouldn’t die so easily.

He turned in time to see Miebaka gathering the severed legs, even attempting to extract the ones Helen had trapped in the cooled magma.

But they were too firmly embedded.

The red glow faded from Miebaka’s body as he completed his task.

Now, only Timothy and the spider remained.

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