Game of the World Tree

Boxlunch’s expression turned grave as he swiftly pivoted and started sprinting away the moment their presence had been discovered.

As he passed Nightingale, he deftly grabbed the hand of the dazed elven maiden, before pulling her along with him and activating the skill [Sprint] to quicken his pace.

His teammates also snapped out of their own stupor and quickly joined behind him.

Having covered a significant distance, they found themselves relentlessly pursued by dozens of crypt spiders that’s been drawn to the commotion their making like moths to a flame.

“F*ck! How did we end up in a spider’s lair?”

“We’ve got to flee fast! Goddammit, we’ve brought so much loot this time, but it’ll all be wasted if we died here!”

Their scalps tingled with apprehension as the players run forward whilst cursing fervently amidst their hurried steps.

Nightingale while being pulled along by Boxlunch, also felt a shiver of unease as she slightly angled her head sideways to take a peek behind her.

“Eek! S-So many spiders!”

They raced along the winding mining path in a mad dash as packs of crypt spiders chased them in hot pursuit.

Thankfully, several members of the team had initially come prepared, donning either purple or blue class footgears that’s imbued with the special properties of [Acceleration]. It proved just enough to keep the spiders from overtaking them.

Nevertheless, their relentless pursuers refused to be shaken off entirely.

“Bash! How many are still chasing us?” Boxlunch, leading the way with Nightingale in tow, called out to the team’s mage.

Calabash cast his spell, [Detection], scanning behind him before exclaiming, “T-There are quite a few, perhaps… sixty or seventy, n-no… seventy or eighty little buggers! All seem to be juveniles!”

Seventy or eighty small spiders…

Boxlunch’s eyes gleamed with determination. “We can still face them! We’ll execute Plan C at the sharp corner up ahead!”

With those words, he released Nightingale’s hand, before gently nudging her forward as he gradually slowed his own pace.

“You go ahead and climb out first.”

Observing Boxlunch’s resolute expression, Nightingale hesitated briefly before nodding in agreement.

She sensed that these chosen ones had a plan in mind.

The elven maiden with ashen locks sprinted to the front, occasionally stealing glances backward to see how these chosen ones intended to confront the situation.

In that moment, Nightingale watched as a fellow team member suddenly decelerated, before taking position at the rear. He then pulled out a bulging leather pouch from his backpack and upon opening it, began to scoop a fine black powder onto his hands before scattering it down on the ground…

“…What is that?”

Nightingale blinked in surprise.

Some other members also did the same thing and they continued on to scatter the black powder while sprinting until they reached a corner of the mining path.

This area was an open space, serving as an intersection that connects several other mining tunnels. At its ceiling, a towering hole several dozen meters high revealed a glimpse of the sky and along the walls, there were intricately carved stone staircase that allowed people to climb up.

This place… marked one of the mine’s exits, leading to the surface of the ruins above them.

“Climb up!”

From a distance, Boxlunch shouted to his team.

Nightingale nodded and swiftly ascended the stone staircase. She soon reached the top, sthen quickly turned around to assist her teammates.

The remaining players followed suit and climbed up as well.

Just as everyone successfully reached the top of the stairs, the pursuing spiders finally arrived and swiftly began scaling the cavern walls.

Boxlunch’s eyes flickered as he retrieved an identical bulging leather bag and emptied its contents, scattering the black powder into the air before it drifted down onto the floor below.

The other players also followed his lead and also threw their remaining black powder down the hole.

“Calabash, ignite it!”

Boxlunch exclaimed.

“Very well!”

Calabash nodded eagerly, grasping his wand and channeling his mana into his hand. A fireball several dozen centimeters in size then materialized as he cast the [Ring of Fireball] spell.

At that moment, when the fastest spider was about to crawl out of the hole—

“Get down!”

—Calabash quickly turned around after hurling the fireball he created downwards and immediately took cover.

“Lie down and cover your ears!”

Boxlunch shouted to his teammates.

Nightingale hesitated for a moment, but upon seeing the others lying down and covering their ears, she also swiftly followed suit.

A mere second later, a deafening explosion reverberated through the entire mine.

“Boom!”

With the ground slightly shaking, a several-meter-high pillar of fire erupted from the floor below the hole, accompanied by thick black smoke billowing out.

The entire mine trembled!

Such… such a powerful explosion!

Feeling the aftershocks, Nightingale instinctively gripped her elongated ears more tightly.

S-Such intensity… How could a mere fireball rival the power of a third-tier magic!?

What on earth had just happened?

If she hadn’t been mistaken, that mage had merely used a first-tier fireball.

Wait…

Could it be because of that black powder they had scattered beforehand?

Nightingale finally tentatively opened her eyes and looked towards the chosen ones in astonishment.

Wha… what had they created?

They had managed to elevate a simple first-tier fireball spell to possess power similar to that of a third-tier magic!

Furthermore, that black powder…

Could it be… some kind of alchemic concoction?

After the aftershocks subsided, the noise produced by those crypt spiders could no longer be heard.

Instead, a cloud of dust billowed around them, carrying a distinct noxious smell that Nightingale found utterly unpleasant.

“Cough, cough…”

Nightingale coughed several times before reaching into her pocket, retrieving a water flask. She then took a few sips to regain her composure.

At that moment, she also noticed the chosen ones gathering around the edge as they gazed down the hole with looks of excitement.

“Are they all dead?”

“Maybe? I couldn’t hear any of them anymore.”

“Behold the might of technology!”

“Tch… Unfortunately, this method doesn’t grant us any experience points, and all those spiders died in vain… Sigh, it’s a shame since we killed at least a dozen of them.”

“Well, you win some, you lose some. At least there should still be some spider legs left. We’ll just gather them all and take them back with us later.”

Curiously, Nightingale approached the group whilst listening to the strange conversation they were having. She then looked upwards as thick smoke partly blocked out the skies, as grayish fumes continues to pour out from the hole.

The smoke prevented her from seeing the situation on the floor below, but fortunately, there was no longer any metallic sound emanating from beneath them.

Are all those spiders that were chasing them truly dead?

Nightingale was slightly taken aback.

After the smoke dissipated, Boxlunch called everyone to descend the stone staircase once again.

Nightingale followed suit and descended alongside the group.

The noxious smell lingered in the air, causing Nightingale to furrow her brow involuntarily, but she persisted and reached the bottom of the hole.

Looking around, she discovered that the landscape had undergone a complete transformation in the aftermath of the explosion.

The nearby mining tunnel had been utterly destroyed by the blast, and the charred bodies of many small crypt spiders were scattered everywhere, with some still emitting smoke…

Scarcely any intact exoskeletons could be found anywhere, but instead, all the crypt spiders lying around had been shattered into many broken pieces.

Such… such incredible power!

Nightingale covered her mouth in astonishment.

Meanwhile, the players eagerly began collecting the spider legs scattered around thr vicinity.

These spiders often fed on ores, and their exoskeletons were composed entirely of metal. Elder Carlos, the renowned elven blacksmith, had mentioned that crypt spider legs could be used as exceptional forging materials.

So, even though the players couldn’t gain any experience points from slaying these spiders using the black powder method, the silver lining was that they could still collect these legs and trade them with Carlos for a handsome reward.

“How… how did you manage this? Was it because of that black powder?” Observing the scattered remains of the spiders, Nightingale couldn’t help but ask.

“Hehe, you haven’t seen it before? That powder is called gunpowder!” A player proudly replied.

“Gunpowder?”

Nightingale was stunned.

“Hehe, we owe it all to our ingenious leader, Boxlunch! He made it for us!”

“That’s right, that’s right! I’ve never seen anyone who can gather the right materials and produce gunpowder like Boxlunch. It makes me wonder what our dear leader does in real life…”

The players energetically conversed amongst themselves.

“…Real life?”

Nightingale tilted her head in confusion. She didn’t fully comprehend what these chosen ones were saying, but she understood one thing:

“The mysterious powder that caused such a massive explosion was made by this dummy?” She exclaimed in surprise, pointing a finger at Boxlunch.

He knows alchemy too? Isn’t this guy simply just too amazing?

Nightingale’s eyes sparkled with wonder.

The intense adoring gaze from the NPC girl sent a flurry of strange emotions coursing through Boxlunch’s body. Consequently, he turned his face sideways and glared at his chattering teammates before commanding them,

“Collect the loots quickly.”

Observing the uncharacteristic awkwardness of their typically composed leader, the players glanced at Boxlunch before redirecting their gaze towards Nightingale. Finally, they looked at each other and erupted into a burst of laughter.

Boxlunch: “….. “

This time, they managed to eliminate more than eighty juvenile spiders that chased after them.

After gathering all the spider legs, the players awkwardly realized that the backpacks provided by the Rageblaze Clan couldn’t contain them all.

“It sucks… but my bag is already full.”

“Tch… these backpacks are just too small. Maan, why can’t the devs implement a system storage?”

“Should we make two trips to take them back?”

“But is it safe to just leave them here? What if someone else comes and takes them while we’re away?”

“Hmm, maybe we could send them directly to the goddess by creating an offering circle here. Since these legs are made of metal, the magic circle might actually accept them.”

Seeing the players’ distress, a smirk formed on Nightingale’s lips.

“I’ll take care of it.”

She stepped forward, grabbed a handful of collected legs from the players, and then, to their sheer astonishment, the items she was holding faintly shimmered before completely disappearing!

“What the heck! How did you do that?”

“Whoa… they’re gone?”

At that moment, a lightbulb lit up in Boxlunch’s mind.

“Dimensional storage?”

Nightingale raised her head, a proud smirk curling upon her lips.

“Hmph~ So… I can still be of help, right?”

Upon hearing the elven girl’s words, all the players regained their excitement.

“Wow, impressive! She actually has dimensional storage!”

“Good job, Captain! You’ve brought us a living storage box!”

Boxlunch: “…..”

Soon, the players whilst talking excitedly, took out their own respective looted items out from their backpacks and eagerly handed them to Nightingale.

“Miss Nightingale! Please help us store these too!”

“Yes, please! They’re too heavy to carry around!”

Nightingale: “…..”

Boxlunch didn’t join his teammates. Instead, he furrowed his brow and pondered by himself as a vague idea began forming within his mind.

Soon, his silent behavior eventually caught the attention of the other players, as they gathered around him.

“Captain, what’s the matter?”

A curious player halted their actions and asked.

“… Can spider legs be used as an offering?”

Boxlunch asked in return.

“Of course! They’re made of metal, after all! The magic circle will surely absorb them! It’s just that offering them doesn’t yield many contribution points…” a player replied.

“Let alone spider legs, didn’t we also once used animal bones as an offering before?”

Another player chimed in.

Boxlunch’s eyes then flickered before nodding as if he thought of something good.

“I suddenly had a bold idea…” He declared, pausing for a moment to gather the attention of all his companions before continuing,

“If it works…then I might just discover a way to open the entrance to the underworld.”