The SSR Spearman (Doesn’t) Hide His One-Shot Damage - Chapter 36

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 36

* * *

For a while, silence settled over the Labyrinth.
Ever since they had found the third arm, Rian and Ailin had not said a word.
Both wore expressions of utter disbelief.

‘I suppose I’d thought limbs might keep turning up one by one after the right and left arms…’

But not legs.
Arms again?

Three arms, no less?

“…Hold on a moment.”

I approached the severed arm.
Then I bent one knee and studied it closely.

“Hmm…”

Judging by the arrangement of the fingers, it’s a left arm.
The left arm on the side where Patroclus hadn’t worn the Ruby Ring.

A thought flashed through my mind all at once.
What if this isn’t Patroclus’s arm at all?

‘Let’s check.’

I quietly drew out the left arm I’d collected earlier and set it down beside the other.
…Thud.
Now two left arms lay side by side on the cold Labyrinth floor.
Giving off the fresh smell of blood.

“…”

For now, the skin tone is similar, and the build isn’t much different either.
As for the shape of the fingers…
Ah, the nails are clearly different.

‘What? So it was just someone else’s arm?’

“Everyone, don’t be alarmed! I don’t think this is Mr. Patroclus’s arm.”

I immediately informed the party of this.

“…!”

At my words, Ailin’s eyes widened briefly, then settled back into a puzzled expression.

“Then which of the two is the arm of the mansion lord who helped us? Wait… perhaps neither of these two left arms belongs to the mansion lord.”
“Oh, that could be. Patroclus’s arm had already begun to rot, but these are still fresh.”

It was certainly a plausible deduction.
After all, this Labyrinth can’t be holding only us and the three from the Rom Federation.

‘The Imperial soldiers and knights who were on the scene must have been dragged in too, and in considerable numbers.’

So the right arm, at least, belonged to Patroclus.
The other two left arms might have belonged to other Empire citizens who had been abducted by the Labyrinth.

‘…Besides, since they haven’t mutated and still keep their human form, these must have been units with fairly high Resistance values.’

So they can’t be the arms of ordinary soldiers.
At the very least, they’d have to belong to someone on the level of an Imperial Knight.

For instance…

“W-we’re, we’re going to die… All of us, devoured by this Labyrinth…!”
“…Hm?”
“A-aaah, aaaaaaaaah-!”

‘…Surely that isn’t James’s arm?’

Just as the thought surfaced, I remembered the wail James had been letting out, like a deer being slaughtered.

Screech-.
Kkiiiiing-!

“…!”

A sharp metallic screech suddenly rang out.
It sounded like a heavy chunk of iron being dragged across the stone floor of the Labyrinth.

‘So it’s finally here.’

I drew a spear instead of the longsword.

“Setanta, this is…!”
“Shh. Everyone, keep your voices down.”

Quiet.
I pressed my index finger to the tip of my lips.

Whirr-.
Then I turned the spear shaft around and gripped it in reverse.
My legs crouched low, ready to spring at any moment.

“…Setanta?”
“We’re standing in an unusually dark spot, so it shouldn’t spot us right away. Plus, the Presence Reduction buff is active.”

I gave Rian and Ailin a quiet warning.
From here on, they had to be especially careful.

Kik, kik…
A bone-chilling metallic grind grazed my ears.
The vibration of that enormous chunk of iron, drawing closer, kept hammering against the floor without a pause.

“Ailin, if I give the signal, can you draw its attention? Wrap yourself in mana so you stand out.”
“…I shall follow your lead.”

[The target Hero has reached a sufficient level of trust.]

…Ding!

[Ailin will follow your words!]

‘Alright, behavior pattern is set.’

Thankfully, Ailin agreed without much fuss.
She could have been forgiven for suspecting I meant to use her as bait and then bail, but she didn’t.
Maybe we’ve built enough trust over the past while. She seems willing to draw aggro and trust that I’ll follow through.

“But Setanta, once I’ve got its attention, what do you plan to do?”
“I’ll strike in an instant. I’ll hit the one spot on its back that’s most vulnerable.”
“Oh! Setanta, in that case, let me cast a suitable spell for you…!”
“No, that’s fine. Save your mana for later.”

I shook my head slowly.
There’s no need for a spell that takes ages to cast.

‘Well, this monster that’s about to show up…’

A sneak attack.
I plan to finish it off in a single blow.

Dreuk, dreudeuk-.
Kkiiiik!

Then, with a tremor rippling through the stone floor.

[Powerful Foe appears!]

The culprit who had severed Patroclus’s arm revealed itself.

* * *

Steel Scorpion.
A special monster that appears with a certain probability in the Second Labyrinth.

‘Its whole body is armored in steel, so it’s a real pain to land damage on.’

On the other hand, its heavy armor makes it fairly sluggish in its movements.
…Though that’s only by my standards, of course.
Most newbies who ran into this thing were usually torn to pieces.

‘Its attack power is absurd. One single mistake and you’re dead on the spot.’

Overwhelming defense, terrifying offense.
One slip means Game Over, which makes it a seriously high-difficulty Powerful Foe.

‘There are two things I need to watch out for from here on.’

First, a pair of toothed pincers. They aren’t sharp, but their grip is brutal.
If a Hero’s arm or leg gets caught in them, it’s usually crushed and torn off.

Second, the stinger at the tail, carrying a deadly paralysis venom.
One sting from this Poison Needle and even an SSR Hero starts going numb right away, unable to keep their body steady.
It leaves you completely incapacitated for a set period, so you must never let that stinger hit you.

By the way, this Steel Scorpion has a peculiar habit.

And what would that be…?
It’s the habit of paralyzing its prey and then dragging it back to its Nest.

[The Hero, while exploring the Labyrinth, has discovered the Steel Scorpion’s Nest.]
[Would you like to investigate inside the Nest? Y/N]

▶ [YES]

[Investigating…….]
…….
[Investigation complete!]
[Inside the nest, his comrades lay gathered, their arms and legs hacked off.]
[The Hero falls into a mild state of panic!]

Looks like it’s been gathering people to use as hunting practice for the young it’s going to hatch…… Maybe?

So this scorpion Demonic Monster, if it judges its prey to resist fiercely, or to be strong enough to harm its offspring.
Crunch, snip!
It would always sever the prey’s limbs one by one with its pincers before dragging them off.

[The Hero in question is suffering from severe trauma.]
[Following [Body Loss (-)], the trait [Mental Derangement (-)] has been acquired!]

If the Hero dragged into the nest is left unrescued at this point, the outcome tends to be grim.
Losing limbs while still alive, on top of everything else……
Half-paralyzed, they become practice targets for the young scorpions to hunt.

‘But it should still be fine for now.’

In Chapter 2, the Steel Scorpion’s young hatch exactly three days after entering the Labyrinth.

[Special Gimmick in effect!]
[Due to Time Distortion, an error of 1 to 48 hours has occurred in the entry time.]

……Even if we entered 48 hours late because of the Time Distortion gimmick.
We still have a full day to spare.

[Warning! – A Powerful Foe is nearby.]

Skreeeak-.
Ddeuk, deudeuk…….

‘……We’ve finally gotten close.’

The screech of metal scraping across the Labyrinth’s stone floor rings in my ears.
I signal Rian and Ailin to wait, then poke my head out and gauge the distance.

Far ahead, I spot a scorpion, its entire body sheathed in steel armor, dragging its heavy tail behind it.

‘It really doesn’t look like the young have hatched yet.’

A scorpion raises its young on its back the moment they’re born.
But that one now? As you can see, there’s nothing on its back at all.
Which means the humans kidnapped for hunting practice in the nest are probably still relatively unharmed.

Ggeuk-.
I grip my spear shaft tighter.

Ddeudeuk, deuk…….
Every time the scorpion moves, the tail scraping the floor sends a grating screech past my ears.

‘……It’s exactly as I saw it in the game.’

Its carapace is forged from heavy steel, so it usually drags its tail along the ground.
But the moment it takes a battle stance, that tail shoots straight up with a jolt!

And as this tail rises…
The beast’s fatal weakness is also exposed, if only for an instant.

‘Strike at that moment, stab straight into its rear in one blow, and it can be taken down easily.’

-Chapter 2 guide: how to crack a Steel Scorpion easily with a spear (video link)
└????????????
└?? What on earth happened
└Scorpions have their anus on the tail side, so only that spot has no armor. When the tail lifts, stab precisely at that spot with a spear and it’s a one-hit kill (author)
└With the Great Strength trait plus a spear, it’s more than enough. Everyone try it (author)

└Are they seriously going this far with anatomy in a game
└Wait, though
└What kind of control is that? How is anyone supposed to copy that? Aiming on top of that timing, how
└????????Mom, what did I just see

Of course, if you miss the timing, it becomes extremely dangerous.
The scorpion, nearly stabbed from behind, goes completely berserk.

That is why this guide demands the Great Strength trait, razor-precise WASD timing, and delicate mouse control.

Just 0.1 seconds.

In the attack-point selection scene, which flashes into magnified view for an instant…
A guide that only succeeds if you click the scorpion’s hole with not even a single pixel of error.

‘But honestly, it isn’t that hard.’

Not for me, that is.

“Ailin, now. Head that way and draw its attention.”
“….”

Ailin gave a brief nod in answer to my signal, then immediately dashed out toward the scorpion.

Whoosh!
Next, a dazzling golden flame rose up along the iron wood sword.

“…Krk?”

The scorpion turned toward Ailin.
Its steel tail, which had been lying limp all this time, began to sway sideways little by little, scraping across the labyrinth floor.

Swish.

I quietly closed the distance behind the scorpion.
Perhaps its gaze had been stolen by the golden fire blazing before it, because it seemed utterly unaware of me.

“….”

Thump, thump.
Then, as the scorpion’s plump tail slowly rose upward and its tiny opening parted in a momentary spasm of excitement…

‘…Now!’

Tadat!

I leapt.
And with everything I had, I drove the spear straight down into that spot.

Squelch!

A vivid tremor climbed up the shaft of my spear.

“Kieeeeeek!”

Crack!
Immediately, I stomped down on the poison needle at the tip of its tail and shoved it aside.
…Crunch!
Even as it thrashed, I drove the spear deeper with brutal force, as if skewering a scorpion on a stick.

Crunch, crrunch!

Pierce straight through, all the way to its guts.

Krrrrunch!

Pushing the spear in.

…Snap!

Its nervous system was utterly wrecked.

“Guuurk, gurgle…”

Then, with a last death rattle that shuddered through the air—

[The Labyrinth’s powerful foe has been slain!]
[Your level has risen.]

The thing now skewered on my spear quivered violently and went still.

…Ding!

[A hidden item has dropped.]
[Special Judgment – Reward grade raised due to High-Difficulty Dungeon!]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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