Chapter 72: Knowledge is Power (1)

Though tinged with the aura of a Weapon Master, Iratu now firmly held the position of Tanker Skeleton.

Truth be told, his Holy Attribute weapons were largely ineffective against anything other than the Undead.

The Tanker Skeleton immediately slumped at my curt reply, but obediently followed my command.

Clatter!

Dropping its Longsword and wooden shield, it sprinted down the hill. As it ran, it scraped its ribs like strumming a guitar.

Screech!

A spine-chilling sound, like fingernails scratching a chalkboard, echoed through the dungeon. Then, something astonishing happened.

Screech?

The Giant Spiders and Void Spiders, which had been charging up the hill with terrifying momentum, abruptly changed course and began pursuing Iratu, as if mesmerized by his “Bone Rattle.”

”…So that’s what ‘Insignificant Bone Rattle’ is.”

Iratu’s area-of-effect taunt skill: Insignificant Bone Rattle (C). I had always thought the name was peculiar for a taunt skill.

The naming was truly faithful to the underlying mechanism.

“You pathetic insects! I, Iratu, will personally deal with you!”

As Iratu began herding the spiders around like a Pied Piper, uttering cheesy taunts, I thought, “Alright, let’s check this out.”

I immediately tapped the encyclopedia icon on my Status Window.

Launching MonMonWiki…

A new Status Window materialized before me moments later.

The user interface was strikingly simple.

At the top, in green letters, was “MonMonWiki.”

In the center of the white background was a search bar with a magnifying glass icon.

Below the main text were some explanatory notes.

Indeed.

This felt like a product of collective intelligence, much like the information retrieval websites I knew.

Figuring out the basic mechanism wasn’t difficult.

The problem was:

“Looks like you need to know the name to search.”

I didn’t know the name of this endlessly regenerating Giant Spider.

The only one who might have known, Ellikroid, was currently deflated and out of commission.

[…] Ahem.

Manager Mi simply coughed awkwardly in silence.

Well, this guy always feigned ignorance at the most crucial moments.

Though perhaps it wasn’t his personal choice, but rather a matter of company policy.

In any case, my dilemma was quickly resolved.

Another notification window appeared, previously hidden behind the acquisition of MonMonWiki.

And the upgraded Status Window function is…

At first glance, the reward seemed rather underwhelming.

But…

“It all fits together perfectly.”

Not anymore, now that I’d acquired this new function.

I immediately activated the QR Code Reader and aimed it at the Giant Spider pursuing Iratu down the hill, locking focus.

The QR Code Reader has been linked to MonMonWiki.

Retrieving information for this entity…

Soon, a MonMonWiki search bar overlaid the status window, which resembled the QR Code Reader’s camera interface.

After a brief loading screen:

The familiar information window appeared.

The information was neatly categorized into sections like “Overview” and “Detailed Information,” interspersed with nonsensical lines that had been struck through.

As I continued reading:

“A swarm queen?”

So there’s another monster hidden inside that giant spider?

The swarm queen commands the Swarm Lord’s legions and controls the Swarm Lord itself. In essence, the Swarm Lord is merely a protective shell for the queen.

However, eliminating the queen is exceedingly difficult for the following reasons:

“Ah-ha.”

Just as I suspected—the true body lies elsewhere.

I skimmed the “Weaknesses” section before closing MonMonWiki.

Then, I checked the gauntlets equipped on my hands.

Perfect.

This might be the perfect opportunity to test the fully refined power of the Dragon Spirit Iron Wire.

“Iratu.”

Below, the skeleton, preoccupied with herding the swarm of Void Spiders, looked up.

Upon closer inspection, he was a complete mess.

His skull was cracked, and one of his shoulder blades was dislodged. His entire body was drenched in poison, and a glance at his Status Window revealed his Stamina had been significantly depleted.

He must have taken quite a beating while I was engrossed in MonMonWiki.

Yet the voice that reached me telepathically carried only a hint of petulance, showing no sign of pain whatsoever.

Truly, this Tanker Skeleton’s durability was unparalleled.

“Well done. Now, drag it over here.”

“That’s right.”

Obeying the command, Iratu immediately veered uphill.

Clatter, clatter!

He roughly scraped his ribs like strumming a guitar, producing a dissonant chord.

Screeeeeech!

The spider swarm, led by the Swarm Lord, swiveled their eye-stalks and surged after Iratu.

Time for me to move too.

Thud!

I lunged forward, legs churning like a sprinter.

Was it the newly acquired stats from equipping the Dragon Spirit Iron Wire, or simply my imagination?

My body felt impossibly light, as if I’d sprouted wings.

Iratu struggled up the hill, frantically waving his arms, pursued by a dense swarm of Void Spiders.

Screech!

Leading the charge, the Swarm Lord emerged—a towering monstrosity whose house-sized legs crushed the grassland as it roared.

Three hundred meters ahead.

I glanced at the golden gauntlet on my arm.

Fist Energy Forging Gang.

Did this ability require a specific activation condition?

Whoosh.

As if in response, the Dragon Spirit Iron Wire transformed. Golden mana flowed from a tiny hole on the back of my hand, enveloping the entire gauntlet.

“So it activates on its own, huh?” I muttered with a smirk.

“Master, are you alright?!”

The Skeleton’s voice echoed through the air, this time not through telepathy, but in a spoken voice. The Void Spiders were closing in fast, now just 200 meters away.

I picked up the pace.

The wind whistling past my ears grew fiercer, and in an instant, as the distance between us narrowed to inches…

“Iratu, use Hardening.”

“Huh?”

“I said, use Hardening.”

Despite his obvious confusion, the Skeleton activated the skill without hesitation.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A layer of tough, bark-like bone armor enveloped his entire body.

Just as Iratu was about to be overtaken, I said, “You’ve done well, Iratu.”

I aimed for the center of his chest and unleashed:

I unleashed a fist strike as sharp as a drill, imbued with the power of Fist Energy Forging Gang and overlaid with golden mana.

Thud!

The punch landed squarely on Iratu’s ribcage.

“Huh?”

A hollow hiss escaped the skeleton’s jaw.

KABOOM!

A deafening explosion tore through the air, violently distorting the skeleton’s form.

This skeleton, whose durability rivaled that of an A-Rank Hunter, was shattered into smithereens with a single blow.

Simultaneously, behind Iratu…

Splat! Splat! Splat!

“Kreeeeeeee!”

The Void Spiders pursuing Iratu collapsed, their viscous fluids splattering across the ground.

Iratu’s shattered bone fragments exploded outward like shrapnel, piercing deep into the bodies of the spiders behind him.

Their carapaces were so tough that ordinary weapons could barely scratch them. But the bone fragments of the Tanker Skeleton, specialized in defense, tore through the Void Spiders like fragmentation grenades.

Of course, I felt bad for Iratu, who had suddenly been hit with a 50% armor-ignoring kick.

“Masteeeeer!”

The Skeleton Warrior shattered into pieces, his skull flying backward.

I’m sorry, Iratu.

I apologized again.

But this was the best way.

The most effective way to clear a path to the Swarm Lord.

I focused straight ahead.

The Void Spiders, felled by the bone-fragment bombs, collapsed in droves, parting like the Red Sea.

That fleeting opening was all I needed.

Thud!

I surged forward, trampling over the corpses of the Void Spiders.

“Kreeeeee!”

The Swarm Lord’s war cry, the squelching of my boots on the ichor-soaked prairie, and the howling wind all blended into the surrounding chaos.

Boom!

The ground trembled.

The Swarm Lord, having seen me charging straight toward it, stumbled backward.

It had finally realized what I was after.

Screech!

A few Void Spiders, still relatively intact, scrambled to block my path.

Crush!

A golden mana-enhanced kick shattered them like toys, sending their mangled bodies flying.

Even before, dealing with Void Spiders using the Soaring Dragon Divine Fist had been child’s play.

But this was different. This Skill, infused with Fist Energy Forging Gang, felt like cutting tofu with a sword—utterly effortless.

Crush! Crack!

The Swarm Lord watched helplessly as its swarm was reduced to straw dolls littering the ground.

With less than a hundred meters separating us…

Whoosh!

The Swarm Lord bared its Venomous Fangs and sprayed a thick, purplish liquid in my direction.

Naturally, I didn’t evade.

Splat!

I took the full blast head-on, casually flicked my head to shake it off, and grinned.

“Refreshing.”

According to MonMonWiki, this Acid Toxin could dissolve human bones. But to me, it was merely a cool shower to wash away the sweat.

Thank you again, Ilcheon Dangsa.

Offering silent gratitude to my first mentor, I looked up at the Swarm Lord, now looming right in front of me.

Of course, it hadn’t given up the fight.

Screeeeeech!

Its massive foreleg, as thick as the pillar of a skyscraper, shot out at me, aiming to crush the human crawling up its body.

Naturally, it missed.

Whoosh!

I smoothly dodged sideways in a graceful arc.

Damn it.

I climbed onto the Swarm Lord’s outstretched foreleg and continued up its massive body.

Wading through the thick leg hair that reached my waist, I struggled to maintain my grip as the creature writhed violently, desperately trying to shake me off.

Kwaaang

As I climbed further up its writhing body, I recalled the Swarm Lord’s weakness, which I had checked earlier on MonMonWiki.

Establishing a queen was exceedingly difficult for one simple reason: the parasitic queen resided within a small abdominal pouch hidden beneath the Swarm Lord’s carapace.

An abdominal pouch beneath the carapace.

I could see it clearly—the section of the carapace connecting the Swarm Lord’s chest to its abdomen. There was an unusually dark patch with a slight gap.

Balancing precariously on its violently shaking leg, I focused.

Kiiiieeeek!

The Swarm Lord thrashed violently again, determined to dislodge me as I reached its torso.

On the undulating mass of its body, I pinpointed my final target one last time.

And then…

I unleashed the skill against the armored leg beneath my feet.