Unlike [Taboo], however, [Heresy Magic] was a major combat skill that could seriously boost his fighting power.
This skill had an incredibly powerful soul-damaging effect. It bypassed physical defenses and HP entirely, directly attacking the target's soul. It was almost impossible to defend against.
This skill, when leveled up to LV 10, could inflict all sorts of nasty debuffs on enemies. It was seriously messed up.
Basically, it didn't care how high your armor was or how much health you had. You could say this skill was the ultimate counter to tanky races like Earth Dragons.
In the original story, Kumoko used this very Heresy Magic, at only Level 25, to slowly wear down and kill a Level 30 Earth Dragon.
To defend against [Heresy Magic], you needed the skill [Heresy Nullification]. And to get that skill, you first needed to have [Heresy Magic] yourself.
With his Earth Dragon base stats, Elliot wasn't afraid of most abilities. But this Heresy Magic? That was something he absolutely needed to watch out for. Naturally, he had to get this skill for himself.
Whoosh!
Just then...
From behind them, they heard the sound of monster footsteps. The sound was complex, suggesting a creature with many legs.
Immediately following was the sound of something cutting through the air. An unknown attack shot towards them incredibly fast.
The attack was so quick, Elliot had no way to dodge it.
"[Earth Core]!"
Without a second thought, Elliot activated his defensive skill. The [Jade Shield], inscribed with glowing golden characters, rose up around him. The attack slammed into it, making a sound like metal striking stone.
Bzzzz...
The Jade Shield shuddered violently but didn't break.
However, Elliot's expression changed slightly. Judging by how much the shield's durability dropped, the attacker's power was higher than his own defense!
Meanwhile, Kumoko, possessing perhaps the highest base speed in the entire game world, instantly leaped away, easily dodging the surprise attack. She landed neatly on a nearby cave wall, then turned to look. Using [Appraisal], she identified the monster that had attacked them.
Iron Pincer Spider (Elite, Evolution 1)
Level: 8
HP: 1089/1090
Monster Info: A mutated spider with giant iron pincers. Enjoys using its pincers to snip off the heads of any creature it finds.
Seeing the purple "Elite" tag above the spider's name, Kumoko sucked in a sharp breath.
An Elite Monster!
….
Staring at the creature in front of them two meters tall, built like a small tank, with a pair of massive iron pincers at the front Kumoko was completely stunned.
A purple-named Elite!
Elite monsters were exceptionally strong individuals within their species. They had much better stats, stronger racial talents, and sometimes even unique skills exclusive to Elites. A single Elite monster of a certain race could probably take down ten normal monsters of the same kind.
You could tell just by looking at this Elite Spider's HP. Kumoko, with her pathetic base 30 HP and terrible health growth, would probably only have maybe two or three hundred HP by the time she reached Level 8.
But this thing? It had a whopping 1090 HP! That was easily five times more! Okay, maybe it didn't look like much compared to an Earth Dragon, known for its massive health pool, but stats like these could easily crush any normal monster of the same race.
And its Attack power? 291! That attack stat was already higher than Elliot's current Defense.
As expected of an Elite, its stats were impressive all around.
What was even worse? Unlike most low-level monsters, this Elite actually had a skill.
[Pincer Throw]: Hurl a pincer forward, dealing damage to enemies in its path. Can also grab objects weighing less than 300kg and pull them towards the spider.
Clearly, the attack that just hit Elliot was this [Pincer Throw] skill. Elliot, being a massive Earth Dragon covered in heavy rock, definitely weighed more than 300kg, which was why he wasn't pulled in. If that attack had hit her, she probably would have been yanked right next to the Elite and killed instantly.
"Careful! It's an Elite, and it has a skill!" Kumoko shouted a warning.
Hearing her, Elliot nodded grimly. An Elite monster this big? It would be pretty lame if it didn't have any skills. Elites had to have some tricks up their sleeves, right?
He'd already figured out roughly what the skill did too. Based on the pulling force he felt when the pincer hit his shield, it was probably like a claw machine arm, meant to drag prey closer. If he hadn't been so heavy, he'd likely be right next to it now, waiting to be slaughtered.
Thinking about it the other way... if the spider couldn't pull him, maybe pure strength wasn't its main advantage? He still had a fighting chance.
Having its attack blocked seemed to surprise the Iron Pincer Spider. Its disproportionately small head twitched, as if confused about why its attack failed. Normally, any food it encountered should have been killed in one hit.
Of course, its tiny brain probably couldn't figure out the reason. But that didn't stop it from staring at the two 'little snacks' with amusement in its multiple eyes. As far as it was concerned, this little spider and the Earth Dragon were already its lunch. Game over.
It knew the smaller spider wasn't much of a threat, so all eight of its eyes fixed intently on Elliot. Its giant pincers twitched eagerly.
Then, it moved. Scuttling towards Elliot with surprising speed. Even though it wasn't as fast as Kumoko with her Godspeed skill, being a spider, it was naturally quick. It dashed up to Elliot in moments and snapped its pincers right at his head!
Its iron pincers dripped with a dark green, highly toxic liquid capable of corroding almost anything. Even an Earth Dragon, famous for its defense, would likely suffer badly if poisoned.
Before evolving, an Earth Dragon's speed was painfully slow. This Elite monster clearly had some intelligence. It knew the Earth Dragon's weakness and was using its superior speed confidently!
But that didn't mean Elliot was helpless.
"[Starfell Stone]!"
Rocks gathered from deep within the earth, forming a construct that erupted from the ground, instantly enclosing Elliot within a protective barrier.
The giant pincers slammed into the rock construct, corroding a large hole, but the stone pillar was thick enough that the venom couldn't eat all the way through.
The Elite's attack was higher than his defense; he couldn't afford to trade blows directly. This was the best counter he could think of in the heat of the moment.
An attack like that always caused a brief moment of recovery lag a window of opportunity when the Elite was vulnerable. Elliot immediately used [Starfell Stone] again. Another rock construct burst from the ground beneath the Iron Pincer Spider, launching it high into the air!
Despite its scary size and speed, the spider's soft underbelly was its weak spot. Once flipped over or airborne, it couldn't defend its underside easily.
With the Elite tossed into the air by the pillar, Elliot instantly used his other skill.
"[Rock Burst]!"
Two explosions rocked the cave. The [Starfell Stone] pillar protecting Elliot and the one lifting the Elite Spider exploded simultaneously.
Yes, he'd inevitably get caught in the blast himself, but comparing monsters, spiders were generally much squishier than Earth Dragons. His Magic Resistance was much higher than the Elite Spider's. Even though he was hit by the explosion, he'd take less damage.
-233, -61! (Elite Spider's damage taken)
-13, -49! (Elliot's damage taken)
Vastly different damage numbers appeared. The first set was the damage the Elite took; the second was the damage Elliot took. Because his [Jade Shield] absorbed part of the first blast wave, it only dealt 13 damage to him. The second blast hit him without shield mitigation, dealing the full 49 damage.
Seeing the damage numbers, Elliot felt a small wave of relief. Good. Trading damage like this, the Elite Spider would definitely be the one to fall first!
This was the advantage of being an Earth Dragon. High defenses meant that even in a mutual-destruction type of attack, the enemy would always lose more health than him. Even an Elite Spider had pitifully low resistances compared to him. Taking the same explosion, Elliot simply took less damage.
Thank goodness he was an Earth Dragon. If he were any other monster, getting caught in explosions like that? Forget trading damage with the Elite; he'd probably die before it did.
One combo dealt nearly 300 damage to the Elite Iron Pincer Spider. Even with over a thousand HP, it couldn't take many more hits like that! Too bad his critical hit rate was so low early on. If that had been a crit, doubling the damage, he might have taken off half its health in one go. Oh well, he could just slowly grind it down.
Off to the side...
Kumoko watched the clash between these two massive monsters. The visual impact was incredible, like watching a 3D blockbuster movie totally intense.
Seeing this, a sense of helpless frustration washed over her. She was too weak right now. She didn't even qualify to join the fight. A single stray attack from either of these giants could kill her instantly.
Resentment bubbled up inside her. She had teamed up with the Earth Dragon, but she was still just running away.
It felt pathetic! So utterly pathetic! All she could do was scramble to survive. She was just too weak.
What would she do if they encountered a monster that even the Earth Dragon couldn't beat?
….
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