Alexia

After a split second of staring back at the creature, I identify it. Which leads to a rather big surprise.

{Clark – Spider of Cataclysm – Level 500}

Huh. I’m… not sure which I’m more surprised by.

The fact that it’s the same level as me, or the fact that its name is just Clark. No grandiose long name, no fanciness. Just Clark.

Well then.

Clark lets out a loud hiss, following which some sort of purple mist suddenly begins filling the forest around us and rising into the air. I don’t really notice it doing anything, and I’m pretty sure most poisons are considered status effects anyways, so I should be immune to it.

And the fact that it doesn’t appear to be doing much of anything likely proves that.

I continue watching the spider for a bit as the spider continues staring at me. Then the spider begins to show both confusion and impatience, moving back and forth like it’s waiting for something.

Yeah, it’s probably expecting that poison to hurt me. Maybe paralyze me, maybe weaken me, or even try to kill me.

I study the creature a little bit more before teleporting straight down to it, startling the creature when I disappear only to reappear while piercing my polearm straight into its limb. And unlike the turtle, this creature’s limb is actually pierced.

Hmm. Looks like the monster specializes in magic and stealth, unlike the defense and regeneration that the turtle specialized in.

At this point I’m pretty sure most of the Cataclysm Class monsters have two areas they specialize in. One being a simple ‘stat’ area like their magical offensive power, defense, physical strength, or speed, and the other area being a power. Or maybe a specialization. Like stealth, regeneration, or that dragon’s breath attack.

All in all, this Cataclysm Class monster isn’t really much trouble.

I begin teleporting all around the creature, attacking it one time after another, only briefly pausing at one point when I notice something in the corner of my vision, near the edge of the poison mist. But I quickly focus on the spider again while making sure to keep one eye on the new visitor.

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There he is.

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Somewhere Nearby

Lord Seraphis Venomcrest had been rather surprised when he received the System Message about The Reaper’s visit. Especially when one of the delegates those dryads serving him sent out for the elves came back with news of her going after the spider.

Surprised enough to head towards that creature’s lair himself.

All the way till now, no one had managed to so much as find the creature. Everyone who was sufficiently powerful enough to be a threat to the creature would enter the cobweb-infested woods and leave again, never to find the spider no matter how hard they looked.

Even Seraphis himself tried to find it. But he wasn’t able to.

Meanwhile anyone that stumbles into its territory that the creature deems not to be a threat is either eaten right away or captured and taken somewhere unknown.

So Seraphis was genuinely curious as to whether a quantum being like The Reaper would be able to find the creature.

As he now stares at the battle occurring between the two though, he feels more than a little stunned. Because not only did she find it, but from what he sees, she’s slaying the creature with little trouble.

Of course, now that the naga sees the spider himself, he understands that the creature isn’t all that strong for its level. Even Seraphis could kill it with ease just like The Reaper is doing.

But he couldn’t detect the thing himself, no matter how long he tried. And The Reaper found it within seconds of arriving.

That stings a little bit at his pride. That a newly born Class S species – and he assumes she’s a newly born quantum being since he’d never heard of a role called The Reaper before – managed to do what he couldn’t so easily.

Seraphis continues watching as The Reaper slowly tears the spider apart one limb at a time until it reaches just half of its limbs remaining. At which point it begins to flee, trying to hide multiple times. And it does manage to hide from Seraphis, as he loses track of it each time.

But it fails to hide from The Reaper, who somehow manages to track it like a bloodhound.

No matter where it goes, she just teleports to it and continues her onslaught.

All the way till the spider itself finally dies.

Then she proceeds to narrow her eyes at the corpse, dismissing her soulbound weapon in the process, before turning to look straight at Seraphis.

The naga grits his teeth in his humanoid form, and for a brief second ponders over if he should attack her for daring to enter his Block and steal his prey. But he quickly throws that thought out when he remembers that she purposefully avoided his territory. Not to mention that he knows he’d never be able to find the spider, and if he couldn’t find it, he couldn’t kill it.

This way the spider won’t be a problem for those pesky dryads serving him, so they won’t bother him about it anymore.

Most importantly though, above all of the other reasons, he understands just what sort The Reaper is. A quantum being. His natural enemy.

A creature nearly immune to physical damage, making a battle between the two completely pointless. Especially when The Reaper likely won’t be able to sever one of his heads to kill him either. Not with the physical strength he saw her using to fight.

The girl teleports in front of him and the both of them end up staring at each other for a good few seconds.

Eventually the naga just snorts out a puff of green smoke from his nose before turning around and transforming into his true form – that of a three headed snake – and slithering away through the trees without a word.

Those dryads better not enter a conflict with this brat’s Block any time soon.