“In the end, all those pieces of black bread still ended up in Niu Niu’s stomach. Su Ling gnawed on them with tears in her eyes, hypnotizing herself:”
“A gold coin’s worth of black bread is so delicious… boohoo… even better than grass cake.”
Of course, Sevitis was just scaring her; she never intended to actually ask for the money.
As the heir of a duke, she wasn’t that poor. She purely wanted to mess with her a little.
After eating and drinking their fill, the two of them lay down directly on the huge, soft mushrooms to rest.
It wasn’t until the sky was just barely beginning to lighten that Sevitis forcibly woke Su Ling, who was still in the middle of a dream, nibbling on a mushroom cap.
Today was the last day of the exam. If they could just get through it, this year’s entrance exam for Kantaier Academy would officially come to an end.
While Su Ling was rubbing her eyes, Sevitis inventoried the magic cores in her space pouch.
From sweeping through this entire route, she had accumulated 82 first-tier magic cores, 26 second-tier, and 5 third-tier. In total, that came to 842 points.
Even if she split it fifty-fifty with Su Ling in the end, each of them could get 421 points.
For ordinary examinees, this score was definitely enough to safely pass the passing line. But in Sevitis’s eyes, this score still wasn’t impressive.
After all, a single fourth-tier magic core was a solid one thousand points.
If some lucky idiots teamed up and chanced upon a fourth-tier demon, her score could be overtaken at any time.
‘It seems I need to hunt a fourth-tier demon.’
As for the saint candidate lady she’d left behind, Sevitis felt absolutely no guilt in her heart. She could consider it as working for free for her yesterday.
‘Sorry, isn’t it common knowledge across the continent that demons don’t keep their word?’
‘Oh, come on, no way, no way? Is there really such a naive idiot out there who expects to talk about the spirit of contract with a vampire?’
‘Besides, didn’t I kindly compensate her with a pack of fourth-tier demon wolves? Those are worth a lot of points. Whether she has the skill to take them down or not, that’s none of my business, Sevitis.’
“Get moving, pack up. It’s time to start today’s hunt.”
Sevitis put the space pouch back into her clothes, clapped her hands, and prepared to move.
“Haah—okay, boss.”
Su Ling yawned, stretched with effort, and muttered indistinctly, “Chew chew… what’s this in my mouth… it’s pretty good…”
/
After a morning of painstaking combing, the two finally arrived at the foot of a cliff and stopped in front of a deep cave.
“Finally found it.”
It wasn’t in vain that Sevitis had dragged Su Ling around so painstakingly.
Along the way, they’d seen third-tier and lower demons and deemed them a waste of time, simply choosing to ignore them.
Sevitis stood at the cave entrance, squinting as she carefully observed the surrounding traces.
The area near the entrance was eerily quiet. Not only was there no bird song, but there wasn’t a single demon footprint on the ground.
Hanging at a corner of the rock wall were several gray-white translucent sticky threads that were barely perceptible to the naked eye.
Combining that with what she’d learned about demon habits, Sevitis could almost conclude that this place was the lair of an adult [Cave Venom Spider].
And after examining those sticky threads with her Soul Vein, Sevitis could even determine that this spider was at the fourth tier.
Now, as long as she went in and took down this spider, her entrance exam would be completely perfect.
“No time to waste. Let’s go straight in. The sooner we finish, the sooner we’re done.”
Without much else to say, Sevitis raised her longsword and led the way into the dim cave. Su Ling hurriedly pulled in her neck and followed behind.
“Um… boss, let me confirm one last time.”
Su Ling clutched her stomach, still uneasy about the safety of breakfast. “That green mushroom I was chewing earlier… it really wasn’t poisonous, right?”
Sevitis ignored the stupid cow’s muttering. Just as her form was about to be completely swallowed by the darkness, she casually turned her head, the edge of her slit pupils catching a glimpse of a patch of bushes far outside the cave.
Then she let out a light laugh, withdrew her gaze, and disappeared into the depths of the cave.
/
The moment the two stepped into the cave, the stench of damp rot assaulted their noses.
The space inside was unexpectedly vast. The uneven rock walls were covered with clumps of gray-white viscous matter.
Although Sevitis and Su Ling had already prepared defenses and cautiously felt their way forward, the cunning of the fourth-tier demon still exceeded their expectations.
Drip.
A drop of murky mucus fell from above, landing squarely on the stone slab between them, emitting a pungent white smoke.
“Above us!”
Sevitis snapped her head up. Her blue-violet slit pupils lit up instantly, locking onto the dark shadow hanging directly above them.
“Get back!”
She shoved Su Ling away, at the same time using the momentum to roll to the side.
Almost the moment they dodged, a bloody wind descended from above.
Boom!
Eight sharp, spear-like limbs pierced through the ground they had been standing on. Stone chips flew in all directions.
It was a [Cave Venom Spider] the size of a carriage. Its eight emerald-green compound eyes gleamed with a fierce light in the darkness.
“Holy crap! That’s a huge spider!”
Su Ling was startled by the sudden giant beast, but her hand movements were anything but hesitant.
Purple lightning instantly spread over the ox demon girl’s entire body.
“Big bug, take this punch!”
Su Ling took a deep breath and charged straight ahead, meeting the spider’s swinging front limbs head-on.
What happened next surprised even Sevitis, who had been about to move in to support.
In the instant Su Ling’s seemingly clumsy and voluptuous body came into contact with the spider’s attack, she twisted with a rhythmically infused step.
Boom! Zzt—Boom!
Her steps never stopped, her punches never ceased. Every movement Su Ling made carried the explosive sound of thunder.
The spider’s storm-like barrage of attacks all missed as she evaded each beat perfectly.
Su Ling’s eyes were wide. She tilted her head to avoid a spider leg, then immediately planted her stance, twisted her body, and threw a punch that slammed into the spider’s torso.
Sevitis had already seen Su Ling’s Soul Vein ability from the panel.
She had originally thought that even with the Soul Vein, this “bust but brainless” ox would just mindlessly charge.
She never expected the actual effect to far exceed her expectations.
Under the unending thunderous vibrations, even the fourth-tier spider’s movements began to slow.
The Soul Vein named [Thunderclap Rhythm] forcibly dragged the enemy into her own battle rhythm.
“Nice work!”
A nearly fanatical smile hung on Su Ling’s face. Clearly, she had already sunk into her own rhythm.
Sevitis naturally wouldn’t miss the perfect opening Su Ling had created. Like a black phantom, she slid along the rock wall’s shadow to the spider’s side and rear.
Mana surged around her, and a translucent panel appeared before her eyes:
[Status Window]
Name: (None)
Race: Cave Venom Spider
Rank: Fourth-tier, Mid
Description: A limb-type demon that inhabits the dark caves of Blood Burial Forest. It likes to lurk in the shadows and spin silk. An irritable male spider in its breeding season.
Weakness: Fire-element magic, gaps in its carapace, and its eight eyes.
Her blue-violet slit pupils locked onto the joint gap on the spider’s abdomen. Sevitis’s wrist, gripping the longsword, flexed and twisted with force.
Swish!—!
A flash of silver light passed. The longsword pierced precisely along the gap in the carapace.
The spider let out a shrill screech, and dark green blood gushed out.
After the successful strike, both young girls unconsciously loosened their nerves and slowed their movements by half a beat.
But they had underestimated the frenzy of a fourth-tier demon at death’s door.
The injured spider instantly flew into a rage. Ignoring Sevitis behind it, it suddenly straightened its upper body, its abdomen swelling.
“Su Ling! Watch out for its web!” Sevitis shouted.
But it was too late. Su Ling, completely immersed in her own rhythm, couldn’t dodge the attack that covered the entire cave.
Pffft—!!
A huge gray-white web shot out, wrapping Su Ling up tightly.
“Whoa! So sticky! What the hell is this thing!”
The web wasn’t just sticky; it also carried a strong paralytic toxin. Su Ling’s lightning dimmed instantly, and her previously agile steps became as sluggish as if filled with lead.
A predator like the spider wouldn’t miss this opening. Its thick right forelimb rose high, whistling as it tore through the air, and swept viciously toward Su Ling’s chest.
Boom—!!
The ox demon girl screamed as she was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the distant rock wall. She went still.
“Damn it!”
Sevitis gritted her teeth and immediately pulled her sword back to defend. Now, the entire cave was left with only her facing this enraged fourth-tier spider.
Without Su Ling’s frontal distraction, Sevitis couldn’t find an opportunity to strike the spider’s weak point.
The rank difference was now fully apparent. All Sevitis could do was rely on her small stature to clumsily dodge between the spider’s attacks.
Clang!
She finally found an opening and swung her sword, but the impact numbed her tiger’s mouth. The fine steel longsword failed to leave even a scratch on the spider.
‘No, if this continues, I’ll be worn down sooner or later. I need to find a way to break through its shell.’
Sevitis rolled, dodging splattering venom while activating her [Seven Sins Eye] to scan her surroundings.
Suddenly, her peripheral vision caught the ceiling of the cave.
There, hanging down, was a thick, sharp stalactite. More importantly, under the continuous electrical vibrations from Su Ling earlier, the base of that stalactite was riddled with fine cracks.
And the spider’s eight gleaming compound eyes were exactly below that stalactite.
Sevitis’s lips curled.
‘The killing move is set.’
But the problem was that the spider moved too fast. She couldn’t find the right timing to bring down that spike.
Her stamina was running low. The spider opened its jaws wide and lunged again. At that life-or-death moment—
“Don’t touch me with your dirty legs again… I hate bugs the most!”
A figure covered in webbing and blood suddenly charged out from somewhere.
The ox demon girl forcibly tore off the sticky silk clinging to her, and like a mad bull, slammed headfirst into the spider’s flank.
“Roooar—!”
The spider was thrown off balance from the impact. Before it could stabilize, Su Ling spread her arms and locked her grip around the spider’s two thick forelimbs, pinning it in place.
Purple lightning arced across her blood-soaked face.
“Boss… now! I can’t hold it much longer!” Su Ling roared through gritted teeth, her voice hoarse.
Without any hesitation, Sevitis exploded with force from her legs. Like a black lightning bolt, she ran straight up the adjacent rock wall.
In midair, she performed a reverse one-eighty, planting her feet on the cave ceiling.
Using the momentum of the rebound, she twisted her waist and threw the longsword in her hand toward the base of the stalactite.
“Fall—!”
Crack!
The already swaying stalactite was snapped cleanly by the longsword. The multi-meter-long sharp stone plummeted vertically.
The spider, tightly locked by Su Ling, had no way to dodge.
Thud—!!
The huge stalactite spike precisely pierced through the spider’s fragile compound eyes, nailing its entire head firmly to the ground.
“Skree—!”
The spider let out one final shriek. Its massive body convulsed wildly in its death throes, and the tremendous force flung Su Ling, who was still holding it, away.
“Su Ling!”
Sevitis landed steadily, leaped over the now-dead spider, and rushed straight toward the pile of rubble.
Su Ling lay in the rubble, blood and spider silk mixing at the corners of her mouth.
Hearing the commotion, she struggled to lift her eyelids, looking at the black-haired girl who had hurried to her side.
She managed to squeeze out a weak, silly grin:
“Hehe… boss… after all this effort I put in… the debt I owe you for the rations… can you knock some off…?”
Before she could finish, her cow head tilted to the side, and she fainted completely.
Watching this stupid ox, who was still trying to haggle even while hurt this badly, Sevitis finally relaxed her tense nerves.
“You’re such an idiot. I never planned to actually take your money in the first place.”
She let out a long, heavy breath and curled the corner of her mouth helplessly.
“So, when you wake up, think of a different request instead.”