WHFIO17

Episode 17

“Ruti?”

In response, the nearby thicket rustled, and a rabbit doll, covered in leaves, popped out.

“Human!”

With a beaming face, it clutched an enormous, pitch-black egg in its arms.

“Where have you been? And what’s that?”

Elses eyed the egg suspiciously.

It wasn’t hard and solid, but soft and rubbery to the touch, coated with some kind of thick, sticky fluid. Its appearance resembled the egg of an insect or a fish far more than that of a beast.

But Ruti shouted excitedly.

“You said people make egg tarts with chicken eggs, didn’t you? Then let’s make a giant egg tart with this one!”

“Whose egg is that? Where did you even get it?”

“Found it. It was just lying on the road.”

Elses stared at Ruti in disbelief, then snatched the egg from his hands. She carefully set it back down in the brush where he had picked it up.

Ruti tilted his head, puzzled.

“Why leave it there?”

“Abandon it.”

“What? But the egg tart—!”

“Who in their right mind would make an egg tart out of something that looks like an insect egg? It’s obviously some kind of monster egg. Let’s leave before we cause trouble.”

“My egg tart…”

Even as Ruti cast one last longing glance at the egg, Elses stuffed him back into her inner pocket.

At that moment—

“Aaagh!”

A man’s scream rang out from not far away.

Elses instinctively turned her head toward the sound, then quickly looked away again.

‘Probably just some beginner caught up against a monster.’

Such things happened all the time in a novice hunting ground.

She was about to ignore it and move on, but—

“P-please! Please, somebody help me!”

The cries turned desperate. Soon the man was sobbing, his voice soaked in panic. Clearly, this wasn’t just a scrape.

Elses clicked her tongue, then pivoted on her heel, heading toward the sound.

She sprinted quickly, arriving at the source—or where she thought it should have been. But the place was empty.

‘Strange. It should’ve been right here…’

She scanned the area, when something clattered against her boot.

“A sword?”

It lay on the ground—likely dropped by the man whose voice she had just heard.

Elses bent and picked it up.

The moment she did, a muffled cry came from above.

Looking up, she found a man strung upside down, wrapped tightly in silken threads. His face was familiar—it was the guild member who had been pestering her earlier.

“Mmph!”

His mouth was gagged shut by webbing, his eyes wide with soundless pleas.

Elses smirked, her voice mocking.

“A man, huh? So much for going on quests. Just hang there quietly, and maybe I’ll save you.”

The guild member realized instantly she was throwing his own earlier words back at him. Still, in this dire moment, he had no choice but to cling to her mercy.

Then Ruti’s urgent cry rang out:

“Human, behind you!”

A streak of web shot from behind.

Elses twisted her body just in time, dodging, and snapped her gaze toward the source.

Up in the branches, a massive spider—about the size of a six-year-old child—crouched with its many eyes locked on her.

“So you’re the one that egg belongs to?”

The spider hissed, as if confirming her suspicion.

Elses gripped the sword tighter, bracing herself.

The monster struck first, spitting another web straight at her.

But Elses channeled mana into her legs, weaving through the barrage with swift footwork. She vaulted up the trunk of a tree, vanishing into the dense canopy.

For a moment, only the rustle of leaves in the wind remained.

The spider’s eyes darted in every direction, searching.

Then—a shadow fell across it.

Elses dropped silently from above, ready to strike.

But just as she lunged, every one of the spider’s eyes flicked toward her. Web shot upward like a net.

‘You lured me in…!’

Caught in the trap, Elses couldn’t avoid it.

The sticky strands slapped onto her wrist, pinning her arm against the trunk of a tree.

“Damn…”

Dangling awkwardly, she struggled. The spider then fired another web, knocking the sword from her grip. It clattered to the ground.

Slowly, the spider crept closer, intent on cocooning her like the man before.

It had just reached striking distance when the mana pooling in her bound arm suddenly blazed with blue light.

Before the spider could react, her fist tore free, smashing into its abdomen.

“My specialty,” she growled, “is fists.”

It reeled backward, shrieking.

Elses gave no quarter. She hammered it again and again until the two of them came crashing down from the tree together.

Boom!

The ground shook with the impact. The spider lay sprawled, motionless.

Its body looked intact, but Elses knew better. Multiple blows from her reinforced fists would’ve pulped its insides beyond repair.

‘Still… this kind of monster shouldn’t be anywhere near a beginner’s hunting ground. Why is it here?’

Her thoughts were interrupted by muffled cries from above.

“Mmmpf!”

The guild member still dangled, wriggling frantically.

Elses sighed, climbed up, and sliced through the webs.

But even free, the man struggled helplessly inside the cocoon.

With a roll of her eyes, she ripped the strands open for him.

At last, he stumbled out, pale and trembling.

“Th-thank you. You saved me.”

“Sure. Be more careful next time.”

Her blunt tone made him hesitate, but under her sharp gaze, he thought better of arguing and lowered his head.

He retrieved his dropped sword while she turned to leave.

Then—Elses froze.

A chill gust swept past, carrying with it an ominous energy she had felt once before.

‘This… I know this feeling.’

A premonition of danger.

She glanced back at the guild member.

“Hey. I’ve got a bad feeling. Maybe we should call it a day and pull out.”

“What? No way. I finally killed this thing—I’m not leaving empty-handed.”

Sword in hand, he approached the spider’s corpse, intent on extracting materials before it vanished.

Elses narrowed her eyes, unease prickling.

Then she saw it—the spider’s jaws twitching.

Her heart dropped.

‘Damn it. I didn’t finish it off!’

The creature lunged at his leg.

Elses barreled forward, shoving him aside, snatching his sword, and driving it straight into the spider’s head.

But even as she did, sharp fangs sank into her calf.

“Kh…!”

Another spider, one she hadn’t spotted, had bitten her.

With a snarl, she pummeled it to death.

When she turned back, the guild member stared at her with wide eyes.

“A-are you alright?”

Elses didn’t answer. Her brow furrowed as she studied the bite.

‘Paralysis venom.’

The wound itself wasn’t fatal, but the venom would gradually stiffen her body. Without treatment, it would take hours to recover full mobility.

She shot the guild member a glare that made him flinch.

“…Got any status-healing potions?”

“N-no.”

Of course not. Such potions were expensive, and this low-level hunting ground wasn’t supposed to have monsters that inflicted abnormal statuses anyway.

The man fidgeted, then stammered:

“Should I… carry you?”

“Forget it.”

She would rather crawl than be carried by someone weaker—especially this fool who had spent the day pestering her.

‘The quest’s done. If I can just make it out before the venom fully sets in—’

Her thoughts were cut short.

Boom!

A deafening blast erupted nearby, shaking the very ground beneath their feet.