Chapter 38

38-1
Ronandt manages to teleport himself and Buirimus to a border fortress of the Renxandt Empire. Calling out to the soldiers, Ronandt tells them the rest of the unit are dead and calls for healers. As Rondandt and the healers desperately try to save Buirimus, his journal falls open.

Flashing back to before the expedition into the Great Elroe Labyrinth, Buirimus reflects on the poor timing of his mission when his child has just been born. His mission is to investigate the appearance of a mysterious monster which is causing many monsters to flee their habitats, while at the same time a benevolent spider that helps people has been discovered.

The objective to either tame of destroy the monster.

The expedition is underway but Ronandt's casual attitude towards the mission is vexing Buirimus. The expedition sets up a base camp and then Buirimus and Ronandt, along with some soldiers, head to where the monster was first seen. They arrive to confirm the previous group fled without fighting but there is no other evidence to be found.

The expedition searches the labyrinth for several days. As there supplies are dwindling they decide to check one last area. The labyrinth guide tells Buirimus that they have searched all the likely areas, although one was excluded as it leads to the Middle Stratum, which spider monsters avoid due to being weak to heat. Buirimus calls for the men to check this one last site before going home.

Heading towards the site, one of the soldiers gets caught on something. Ronandt tells everyone to stay still and uses magic to highlight hidden spider threads. Unable to cut the soldier freee, Ronandt uses magic to burn the web, having to increase the power of the magic to burn the resistant thread, and accidentally igniting the nest. Warning the others any residents are likely to be enraged, the party moves into the nest.

38-2
Entering the nest, the expedition discovers the corpse of a giant spider. Appraising it they discover is is an Arch Taratect, and S Class monster. Ronandt goes on to point out that the beast was not only killed, but is partially eaten.

Realising they are in the lair of something that preys upon S Class monsters, Buirimus calls for an immediate withdrawal. However, because they packed up the base camp, they have too much luggage and cannot withdraw quickly. At that moment, Kumoko teleports home. Kumoko's mere presence paralysis those present with fear, as Ronandt is amazed by the sheer number of skills active at once.

The soldiers begin to panic and try to attack but eight of them instantly drop dead on the spot. Kumoko drops from the ceiling and moults in seconds, something Buirimus had never heard of before. Ronandt uses [Appraisal] since Kumoko is already hostile so the discomfort it would cause is no longer a concern. Reviewing Kumoko's skills, Buirimus is shocked by the sheer volume of unknown and high level skills.

Kumoko blocks [Appraisal], to the shock of both and Ronandt freaks out wanting to see more of Kumoko's skills, having become fixated by [Height of Occultism]. While Buirimus strikes Ronandt to snap him out of his momentary madness, one of the soldiers charges but is killed by a rock spike. This baffles Buirimus as [Earth Magic] wasn't on the skill list. Ronandt theorises the spell was built from scratch and Buirimus asks him to use a long range teleport while he and the others buy time for the spell to activate.

38-3
Buirimus activates calls his most powerful summons to aid them and has them start attacking but they can barely cause a scratch even with a direct hit. Seeing the tiger summon killed with another earth spike, Ronandt confirms the spells are being made by scratch, something people don't do as it is terribly inefficient compared to skills. Buirimus realises this means Kumoko can use any type of magic. While getting Ronandt to focus on the teleportation spell, two more summons are killed when Kumoko returns fire with the spells they were using.

Ordering Rock Turtle to protect them, Buirimus is mortified when it dies in moments despite having a solid defensive capabilities. Realising there is no choice, Buirimus calls forth every summon he has to buy time to escape. As Kumoko starts firing off Black Spears, Buirimus can only muster the magical defences to protect himself and Ronandt. As the soldiers begin to flee, Buirimus wonders if he made a mistake not calling a retreat immediately, reflecting they should never have entered here.

Suddenly, Kumoko begins to flank them so Buirimus turns to keep the shield between them, but it is an illusion. Realising Ronandt is the true target, Buirimus pushes Ronandt aside and takes the shot himself while apologising to his family.

Back in the present, Buirimus wakes up, having been successfully healed. Thanking Ronandt for saving him, Buirimus comments Ronandt is the 'worlds greatest mage', but Ronandt laments he couldn't do a thing.

Quick References

 * 1) An expedition was sent to investigate the strange happenings in the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
 * 2) Ronandt is vitally important to the Renxandt Empire.
 * 3) The expedition find the targets home in a corridor leading to the Middle Stratum.
 * 4) Ronandt has the [Apraisial] skill at Level 8.
 * 5) Buirimus has the [Apraisial] skill at Level 3.
 * 6) Humans use enchanted [Apraisial] stones.
 * 7) [Appraisal] causes discomfort for the target.
 * 8) Ronandt is considered the world's greatest mage.
 * 9) Ronandt and Buirimus both survived.

Chapter Notes

 * 1) This chapter is from the perspective of the human Buirimus.

Characters by Appearance
Ronandt Buirimus Kumoko