After getting all my items from my home, I started the search for the Consoles that the dungeon bosses should protect. 

I keep on repeating to myself while I walk, that this is just a scouting trip. I'm not gonna challenge either the T-Rex nor its colleagues. They should have stats for at least over 500 all over the board, or maybe they have specialized in one or two stats, like with the T-Rex.

Anyway, this tunnel is strange when compared with the rest of the dungeon. There are no water leaks anywhere, making the ground crisp and dry to walk on. Even the air tastes dry, like walking in the wasteland. It's not a wasteland though, but a cave.

In the ceiling, some glowing crystal-like things give off a dark-blue light. Must be the dungeons answer for light bulbs. I remember seeing some crystals like these at the underground lake, but those were at the size of lampposts. 

Then wouldn't the chance for the Console, that controls a small part of the dungeon, be at this place with less equipment than where the dungeon master? Did I hit the jackpot at the first try?! Ah, calm down, calm down. Don't start getting too excited, me.

I mustn't forget that the fancy equipment means that I'm coming closer to the Dungeon's important areas. Keep an eye out for enemies, me. Okay, me. Just kidding.

=====================================================================

SYSTEM MESSAGE

Proficiency has reached the required amount:

Skill [Parallel Thoughts LV39] has become [Parallel Thoughts LV40]

0.3 skill points obtained

=====================================================================

Gwaaah! Don't scare me like that! Geez, what if someone heard it? Huh, the system message or the shout? Both of them! Not that I can talk or such. Even the moments when I make a sound unconsciously, I only make a 'khakakhak' sound, and nothing more.

Wasn't this skill at LV37 the last time I checked? Must be because I've put [Magic Sense] and [Sense Foe] into overdrive so that I'll spot any possible monsters. Not having any guards at one of the dungeon's most important spots is just stupid at a record level.

But man, this tunnel is long. There are lots of smaller tunnels as well, so I have to stay on my toes in case of an ambush from those holes. 

---

There they go. Ah, a patrol of spiders just passed by, in case you were wondering. I get that they are spiders, but do they need to go in groups of eight? There's no space for me to hide, nor to bypass them in this tunnel when they crowd it like that!

I managed to hide inside the small side tunnels, but I can't keep doing that. 'Why' you ask? Because these tunnels work as bedrooms for countless Glavras spiders!

Guess I've picked the spider route. Then the boss spider should be just up ahead. Or was it queen spider? I get queen ants, but spiders ain't insects, right? 

First thing first, I need to slip through the patrols. The only hiding spots in the tunnel are the spider bedrooms, and there's the chance that some of them have to go to the little spider's room. 

Even [Stealth] can't help me become intangible, only invisible! If I want to slip through those spiders without getting noticed, I would've needed a skill that turns me into a ghost, without dying of course.

'Turn into'...? That it! [Transformation]!

*Poof*

Ha-ha! Why didn't I think of this before? I look like a Glavras spider from every point of view now. Blue body, regular spider legs, eight eyes (the new six are just for show), and a nasty mouth. I even overwrote the white pigment due to the [Albino] skill.

The spiders have shown that they live and work together, so why not take advantage of that? [Transformation] may weaken me, and transforming into something I'm not familiar with will fail, but I'm practically a spider all ready! Transforming back in case of emergency will take just a flash, and most of my skills are still working. Only the poison ones are turned off.

I'll keep [Stealth] going while transformed, and if I come in contact with one of the spiders, I'll just pretend to be the sleepy, unnoticeable, office worker spider on its way to bed. This could work, or not? No, it will work! 

I could try to assassinate the spiders, but they are the loudest species in fights. Especially the water blasts. And if the spiders get to know that something was able to sneak into their lair, they will start a massive manhunt, no, demon hunt, after me. This transformation plan is the best plan I have at hand right now.

If something goes bad, I'll just use all my smoke bombs and dash outta here before the spider cavalry awakes. The bombs have some poison in them, not at the level of Vengeful, but enough to keep the spiders busy till manage to escape, and go into hiding in the lower-layer tunnels.

Just walk calmly and gently, don't let them notice anything strange.

---

So far, so good. I can see the end of the tunnel now. There were no other patrols after the first one, and the few spiders that went back to work after their naps didn't even look at me. I don't know if it's the transformation or my skills, but I hope it will stay that wayyy..., yeah, a new patrol.

Okay me, act natural and spidery. No haste and..., hii! I bumped into their legs! S-s-s-st-stay calm, d-d-d-don't panic!! And you, don't look at me, please!

*Bow*

Huh? Ah, yes, good day to you too.

...

That was a strange experience. After just taking a look at me, the spider lowered its head and just left. It must have not noticed me because of [Stealth], and when we came in contact, it must have been a little surprised for overseeing me. The bow must have been as an apology for that.

These spiders are more courteous than I thought. They would have just blasted me with water if I didn't look like one of them, though. 

Moving on, the end of the tunnel is close now. Before I knew it, the moisture in the air has returned. If the Consoles are for producing that super-compressed, aether-boosted water, then they should be located close to reservoirs of water. If that's the case, I've finally found my... first... Consoleeeehhh!

I found it! The Console! It looks like a huge, crystal pillar. At the bottom of the pillar, there's something that looks like a computer terminal that's carved out of some crystal that sticks out of the pillar. At the top of the pillar, I can see tons of water running through some transparent pipes. The pipes are connected to the pillar, so it must be the Console.

And why am I surprised over finding the Console? Because there's something crazy just beside it!

=====================================================================

Nameless   | Sub-boss of [The Water-Knot of Glavras]

Race: [Glavras Queen Aquaect]   | Level: 56

Skills: 11

Titles: 2

 

HP: 602/602   | MP: 51/51   | SP: 990/990

STR: 33   | VIT: 651   | MAG: 43

RES: 650   | SPD: 4   | DEX: 5

INT: 66   | LUC: 91

=====================================================================

It's the boss spider! And it's nasty as hell! It has the appearance of a spider, with its eight legs, body, and head, but the abdomen is the strangest thing of all. It's red as bloodied flesh, and it pulsates like a heart.

Its main body is just a little bigger than the regular spiders, which is around half the height of an adult man, or a little more. The queen's main body is about three-quarters of an adult man in size, but the abdomen part is the size of a two-story house.

There are countless eyes all over its body, even on the pulsating abdomen. Human eyes, not the sphere-like spider eyes. And they're looking at random, different directions.

It's the grossest thing I've seen in my life. And I'm even counting the sci-fi movies that I've seen in my previous life. Seeing it with my own eyes has just doubled, no, tripled, no, quadrupled the impact. And this thing is a complete stamina freak. What's this thing's skill?

=====================================================================

SKILL LIST

Ability Skills: [HP High-Regeneration LV99 (MAX)] [SP Reinforcement LV50 (MAX)] [SP Auto-Regeneration LV50 (MAX)]

Active Skills: [Fortress LV50 (MAX)]

Resistance Skills: [Water Resistance LV22] 

Perception Skills: [Omni-directional View LV50 (MAX)]

Leadership Skills: [Queen of Kin LV50 (MAX)] [Royal Command LV50 (MAX)]

Racial Skills: [Massive Breeder LV50 (MAX)] [Pure Water Dependency LV31]

Elements: [Greater Water Element LV50 (MAX)]

=====================================================================

Wha-what a royal parade of skills. A support skill that lets you command over your kin, and a skill that boosts your power to control those who see you as their king, or in this case, queen.

This queen is using its leadership skills to control the smaller spiders, its kin, to do its dirty work, while kicking it back and creates new spiders. That's the reason for it being selected as a guardian, or more likely, it has those abilities because it's supposed to be a guardian.

That [Omni-directional View] skill, which gives you eyesight similar to my [Magic Sense], without the overload to the brain. It's perfect for looking after intruders, and that [Fortress] skill will attract attacks to yourself while boosting your defense. A taunting skill, in other words. 

The queen is doing something now! What is it... eww! The abdomen split itself open! Ugh, nasty! I've killed many monsters till now, but that wasn't close to this grotesque. Geh, its laying eggs.

The eggs look like membranes made of water, and you can see the undeveloped spiders growing in them. Some spiders come and take the eggs to some holes in the wall. There are tons off spider eggs there already, waiting to hatch, or to be born, or whatever it's called. This place looks more like a hive than a nest right now.

Back to the queen, its water dependency skill is on the low side, I think it's even lower than to the T-Rex, and that's a second, or of an even newer, generation sub-boss. Either this queen is a new generation like the T-Rex, or it's just not able to train the skill.

Probably the latter, since there's no way it can move with that body. And that HP regeneration skill is too strong for a monster that hasn't been alive since the dungeon's creation. Not that I know when it was built, but, you know, it's that kind of feeling.

Said skill also kills any idea I had to poison this thing. The dependency skill level is also low, so the damage won't be that big if I try to poison it with the poisons I have on me. Tch, and as a bonus, the spider army behind me won't just stand and watch me poison their queen. Then what can I do?

"Ksshaaa!" - ???

Huh?! What was... crap! A spider!

"K-ksa... (I-I forgot...)" - Me

I forgot about [Stealth]! The shock of that grotesque queen made me turn off the skill!

"Sha? Kshsha? (Forgot? Forgot what?)" - Spider

Huh? Did I just get what that spider said? How?

"Sshsaa Kshakaka? (Well, what did you forget?)" - Spider

Oh, crap, it's starting to get suspicious.

"Ka, shakakhasha, kakasha. (Well, I forgot what that huge thing in the middle of the room was again, and I was so curious that I came back.)" - Me

"Shu? Shashakakha. Shuhukasha. (That? It is the treasure that Mother is protecting for the master. Guess you must be a young one if you don't know that.)" - Spider

Phew. I think I tricked it. If 'Mother' refers to the queen, then the 'Master' must mean the dungeon master dragon. Hey, isn't this a golden chance?

"Shakakaksha? Kakasha? (Then why does Mother protect it? Is it important?)" - Me

"Susha. Kalakakkusashak, Kakaklashak. (That's right. It is thanks to this treasure that the water that Master collects gets compressed so that it becomes better water that the Master can enjoy.)" - Spider

Jackpot! I found the Console, and what it can do in one big swoop! Now, time to retreat. Just need to lose this guy...

"Shak, SHAHSAKAK! (If that's all, GET BACK TO PATROLLING THE CAVES!)" - Spider

"Sh-, shaak! (Ye-, yes sir!)" - Me

I couldn't ask for more! I don't want to be here a second more than necessary! And this Console is useless for me anyway. Even if I could use it, the only outcome I can predict is me drowning from all the decompressed water.

Now then, since I have the excuse, and disguise, for running away from here, let's do that post-haste!