I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 330

I had seen a picture like that once a long time ago.

A photo taken in the countryside where someone moved a wardrobe, only to find a colossal spider waiting in the corner.

At first, seeing it made me wonder if that could even be a real spider, but it turned out to be genuine.

A huntsman spider—despite its terrifying size, it was classified as a beneficial insect because it hunted cockroaches.

Even a spider that size was horrifying, yet here was one massive enough to cover an entire cavern ceiling.

In the Korean Peninsula, insects struggled to survive due to the miserable four-season weather extremes.

I assumed the Forest of Four Seasons would be similar, but since this was an isolated cave, conditions were clearly different.

"Chrreureuk."

The spider stared intently down at us, emitting a low hiss. Mandible-like appendages twitched subtly.

To be precise, extra limb-like structures protruded near its mouthparts—a gruesome sight that wasn’t pleasant to look at.

"...Everyone, slowly back away."

I quietly issued the command to the group. Fighting it brought zero benefits.

In particular, fitting for a queen spider, its physical scale was terrifyingly massive.

It wasn’t quite on the level of a dragon or Nidhogg, but perhaps just a tier below the giant crab and giant crayfish from the lake.

Battling a creature like that yielded an abysmal win rate. Above all, this was its home turf.

Right now, it was merely observing us calmly, but if things went sideways, we’d be in serious trouble.

’There’s no reason to take unnecessary risks.’

While I was intensely curious about what lay inside this cave, curiosity was infamous for killing the cat.

Thus, the party began tiptoeing back toward the entrance we came through.

Fortunately, the little ones instinctively sensed the danger and faithfully followed my instructions.

Just as we were stealthily retreating so as not to provoke the queen spider—

Pwujik!

A squishing sound echoed loudly across the cavern. The sound originated from right behind me.

Glancing back, I saw Cain raising his foot and staring at the sole of his boot.

Crushed beneath Cain’s foot was a newly hatched spiderling, squashed into a gooey splatter.

"...Ah, shit."

-Keeeeeeeeik!!!

Before I could even finish cursing, the queen spider erupted in rage.

Regardless of the species, every living creature cherished its offspring.

Moreover, as depicted across various media, spiders possessed fiercely protective maternal instincts.

In short, the queen spider now viewed us as irredeemable bastards who deserved death.

Pwak!

Suspended from the ceiling, the queen spider spat something from her maw.

The whitish vomit spread wide in midair, taking the form of a massive web net.

’Spider silk?!’

Following the queen’s lead, the surrounding spiders also began shooting silk from their mouths.

However, theirs didn’t spread into wide net shapes like the queen’s.

"Kuh-euk!"

"Kkyuuuu! Kkyuu!"

[Why is this so insanely tough...?!]

The net-like spider silk engulfed the entire party in an instant.

Lackey tried to burn it away using the torch, but the clearing speed was far too slow.

’It’s so sticky that cutting through it does nothing...!’

Even though I hacked away furiously with the Sword of the Heavenly Demon, more silk clung to the blade than I could sever. No matter how incredible the sword was, getting coated in thick webbing dulled its efficiency.

Trying to tear it off by hand only caused it to stretch out like melted taffy without snapping.

Tuu! Tu!

To make matters worse, the queen spider launched consecutive volleys of web nets.

Left utterly helpless against the onslaught, our entire bodies were soon wrapped tight in sticky webbing.

Even the flame on Mistilteinn was smothered by the dense silk and naturally extinguished.

Ssssek— Ssek—

In a state where we were completely immobilized, I felt my body floating upward into the air.

It seemed the spider silk had wrapped around us so thoroughly that we had been encased into cocoons.

It was clear the queen was hoisting those cocoons up to devour us at her leisure.

"Is anyone still alright?"

"My body is sticky."

[I am unharmed.]

Fortunately, amidst the misfortune, everyone was still alive.

Though the sticky webs restricted our movements, we hadn’t been suffocated yet.

I racked my brain for a way to break free before the queen spider began eating us.

’Fire alone won’t suffice. She can just keep spitting webs endlessly.’

The queen’s web-shooting speed far outpaced Tyranno’s breath attacks.

As for using frost energy, it was doubtful whether cold would be effective against silk.

’First, we need to break out of these cocoons.’

I logged into the Gallery and purchased flasks of lamp oil.

My arms were restricted, but I could still navigate the interface with my eyes.

Afterward, rolling my eyes toward Tyranno, I asked.

"Tyranno-ya, can you move your mouth?"

"Eub-eub! Eub!"

Regrettably, his jaws were clamped shut by webs.

I had initially planned to blast our way out using Tyranno’s fire breath.

Since that route was blocked, I had to formulate an alternative plan.

’A heat source... Ah!’

There was exactly one option. I hurriedly shouted toward Cain.

"Cain-ssi! Can you move?"

[It is difficult. The silk is tangled too tightly.]

Only a pessimistic response returned. Still, another method remained.

"Then can you release the chains binding your iron coffin?! Even if you can’t undo them completely, just deactivate their function!"Follow the newest chapters on novelpi​ng.com.

That method was to release the chains sealing the Dullahan’s iron coffin.

Even if he couldn’t unwrap them, suppressing their enchantment would remove the frost cooling effect.

[That should be possible... Ah! I see what you are aiming for.]

"Hurry! We don’t have time!"

What I needed was the raw heat radiating from the coffin.

Without the chains suppressing it, the coffin would rapidly overheat.

The spider silk wouldn’t be able to withstand that extreme temperature and would melt away.

Chiiieeeek!

Just as expected. The moment Cain deactivated the chains’ cooling function, terrifying heat radiated from the iron coffin.

It was so scorching that I could feel the blistering heat even from a distance.

"Keeek?!"

I felt the queen spider falter in confusion as she hauled up the cocoons.

Meanwhile, Cain utilized his superheated coffin to break free on his own.

Following his escape, he swung the heavy coffin like a wrecking flail, just as the original Dullahan had done.

Chwaak!

Rather than targeting the spiders directly, he prioritized severing our bindings first.

With the main support web snapped, we plummeted straight back toward the ground.

Kwoong!

"Kuh-euk!"

Thank goodness I deployed Body-Protecting Gangqi in time; otherwise, the impact would have been severe.

Additionally, being wrapped in thick spider webs helped absorb a substantial portion of the kinetic force.

"We’ll handle our own escape, so please keep her occupied!"

[Understood!]

With the coffin radiating intense heat, even the queen spider couldn’t approach Cain easily.

While Cain drew her attention, I worked to unravel the tangled webbing around myself.

Once my hands were somewhat free, I doused the silk in the lamp oil I had purchased from the marketplace.

Tik!

Finally, pulling an ignition stone from my pouch, I struck a spark.

Flames immediately swept across the oil-drenched webbing.

While this risked inflicting minor burns on the team, remaining tied up meant certain death.

"Kuhl-uck! Kuhl-uck! Phew..."

"Kkyuuuu..."

Several party members gasped heavily for air, their mouths having been covered by silk.

Furthermore, burning the webs off left soot marks across their bodies.

If we had been a moment later, someone might have suffocated to death.

"Everyone, pull yourselves together and spread out! Before she shoots more webs!"

At my command, everyone scattered in all directions.

Though Cain was suppressing the queen spider, he couldn’t hold out indefinitely.

Besides, the more the iron coffin overheated, the stiffer Cain’s physical movements became.

[I have reached my limit!]

"That’s enough! Cool it down now!"

Chiiieeeek!

As the chains’ frost aura reactivated, the coffin rapidly cooled down.

I quickly splashed oil everywhere around us to prepare for the next web attack.

"Lackey! The stick!"

"Here it is!"

Hwareuk!

I reignited Mistilteinn as a torch. The more fire sources we had, the better.

"Keeek!"

Tuu!

However, the queen spider firing web nets was significantly faster.

Her target was Lackey, who was holding the torch.

Hwaaaaak!

Yet Tyranno was one step faster.

Refusing to be caught off guard twice, he unleashed a stream of dragon breath.

Thanks to his intervention, Lackey safely received the lit torch.

’Does she realize fire is the spider silk’s weakness?’

She seemed to stubbornly target whichever companion held fire.

To be more precise, it looked like she feared ’heat’ rather than light itself.

When we were breaking out of the cocoons earlier, hadn’t she focused exclusively on Cain who was swinging the scorching coffin?

Was it biological instinct, or was there another reason?

I knew the most definitive way to test this hypothesis.

"Cain-ssi! Overheat the coffin again!"

[I do not know what you are planning, but very well!]

I decided to overheat the coffin once more.

Before long, blistering heat radiated from the Dullahan’s iron coffin again.

"Keeek!"

Tuu! Tu!

Just as expected, the spider launched volleys of webs directly toward the heat-emitting coffin.

Sensing a threat, she didn’t stop at webs—she unleashed massive sprays of acidic venom as well.

However, simple venom couldn’t affect the sturdy metal of the Dullahan’s coffin.

’Just as I thought.’

Earlier with the minor spiders, and now with the queen—they weren’t sensitive to ’light’.

They were hyper-sensitive to fire, or more specifically, ’heat’. Even now, her entire focus was locked onto the coffin.

Given that this cave was relatively cold, their thermal sensitivity must be absurdly high.Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping . com.

Their eyes hadn’t degenerated; rather, they had evolved to detect thermal signatures.

In that case, what would happen if the entire cavern radiated intense heat?

I decided to put my plan into action immediately.

"Lackey! Ludwig-ssi! Splash this oil everywhere!"

Handing out oil flasks to my companions, I ordered them to douse the surroundings.

During that time, the queen spider remained fixated solely on the heat-radiating coffin.

However, leaving the coffin overheated for too long risked permanently damaging it.

"Once it’s spread, light it up with your torches! Cain-ssi, bind the coffin with the chains now!"

Hwareureureuk!

We set fire to the oil scattered across the ground.

Virtually the entire cavern floor erupted into a sea of flames.

I could endure the temperature using frost internal energy, though the others might struggle.

However—

"Keeeeeeeeek!"

The queen spider’s sensory overload came first.

Unable to distinguish us from the surrounding inferno, she shrieked hysterically.

She spat webs and venom frantically in an attempt to douse the flames.

Yet it was entirely useless against the spreading fire.

"I’ll give you more oil, spread it further!"

"Catch fire! All of you catch fire!"

"Pppeeeek!"

Our arson pace was far faster.

Furthermore, because spider silk was extremely flammable, any web she shot instantly turned into ash midair.

With the queen spider’s thermal vision completely blinded by the firestorm, only one task remained:

Bring that hideous spider clinging to the ceiling crashing down to the floor.

Nocking an arrow onto my bowstring, I aimed straight at the queen spider.

’I’ll take out her legs.’

With that thought, I slowly channeled internal energy into the shaft.

Causing too massive an explosion might collapse the entire cavern structure.

What I wanted was a controlled blast—specifically one strong enough to destroy her leg joints.

Piiiing!

Before long, the arrow left the string with a sharp whistle.

Cutting through the hot air, the shaft struck one of the spider’s thick legs with absolute precision.

Kwagwagwang!!!

The instant it struck, a localized explosion erupted.

A spider’s physical durability was relatively low compared to its size. Naturally, holding out against such a concentrated blast was impossible.

"Keeeeeeeeek!"

Out of her eight legs, three on the left side were completely blown away by the blast.

No matter how adept a spider was at climbing, clinging to the ceiling after losing nearly half her legs was impossible.

Kwooong!!!

Along with falling rocks, the massive queen spider crashed heavily onto the stone floor.

The impact sent a violent tremor reverberating through the cavern.

"Now’s our chance! Beat that bastard up!"

"Wooooaaah!"

"Kkyaaaaak!"

We charged toward the flipped, struggling queen spider.

Just to be safe, we neatly severed her remaining legs on the other side before systematically breaking down her defenses.

I blasted her facial region with aura, while Ludwig severed her venomous fangs.

Lackey, an expert in heavy blunt strikes, focused entirely on her soft abdomen. Every single punch unleashed a sickening squelch.

Finally, Cain....

[Ah, dear. My body won’t move.]

His suit was severely overheated, so he quietly rested on the side.

Systematically dismantling the helpless queen spider, we ultimately secured a hard-fought victory.

"Huuuu...."

"Master. Extinguish the fire."

"Got it, man."

I wanted to rest too, but under Lackey’s persistent glare, I put out the fire first.

Using my frost energy, I extinguished the flames blanketing the cavern floor.

Afterward, I gazed at the queen spider lying upside down in death.

’Thank goodness she had such a clear weakness.’

Approaching her corpse, I realized anew just how monstrous her scale was.

A spider’s head took up a relatively small portion of its overall body, yet even her head alone was significantly larger than my torso.

’Besides, what on earth did this thing feed on to grow this big?’

Leaving the cleanup to the rest of the team, I explored the queen spider’s inner nest.

There had to be a concrete reason why she had grown to such absurd proportions.

And I found that reason before long.

Swaaaaaa—

Deep inside, there was a pool of water. A pool with distinct, flowing ripples.

However, the color of the liquid inside was a bit—no, extremely unusual.

"...Why is it milk-colored?"

It was because the pool shone with a vivid, milky-white hue.

Staring silently at the liquid, I muttered softly under my breath.

"Is it lime water?"

↳ Heavenly Demon) Don’t tell me that is Empty Sky Stone Milk?

What the hell is that supposed to be?