The Healing Solaris Cleric

Chapter 37: The Nest of Fermi (3)

Having received good news, Kai continuously hummed a little tune.

It was the third day since he had entered the dungeon. After the fight with the Crimson Fist guys, Kai had leveled up three times and was now level 61. This was possible because he hunted while sleeping only three hours a day, just like during the Tomb of the Gnolls. That was the reason for Kai's good mood.

"Oh no, did our cutie get covered in blood?"

He was talking to the Long Sword of the Enlightened One he could equip as he reached level 60! He couldn't stand how adorable it was.

After each battle, Kai would take out a clean cloth to wipe his longsword.

Hehe, I can’t believe my attack power would increase so much just by changing one piece of equipment...

By swinging the Long Sword of the Enlightened One, it took less than five minutes to deal with Fermi’s Spawn. Naturally, hunting speed increased as monsters died faster. Moreover, unlike the previous iron sword, the Long Sword of the Enlightened One was a custom item made exclusively for Kai by Solid.

"It fits my hand perfectly."

Holding the sword's handle made him itch to swing it immediately. In other words, it felt exactly how a sword made just for him should feel.

"Now, then...."

Kai, who set up the Spring of Restoration, began to calculate.

It's about time for the Crimson Fist guys and the Archer’s party to start reviving.

The three-day penalty for revival had passed. While increasing his hunting speed, Kai was always wary of being attacked from behind. Unlike the Tomb of the Gnolls, two parties knew of the existence of the Nest of Fermi.

Hugo's party is one thing, but the Crimson Fist is quite dangerous.

It would be troublesome if they ambushed him while he was hunting. Of course, he had given a warning, but Kai couldn’t be sure if they would listen.

"Well, if they don't come after me to get revenge after that beating, then are they even men?"

Moreover, it was likely they thought they lost due to bad luck, when in reality, they were ambushed by Kai when their health and mana were severely depleted.

"I have two options here."

One was to leave the dungeon right now and go look for Rody again. As long as he didn't use Holy Explosion, there was no way they could find him when he was soloing in this vast Forest of Spiders.

But...

Kai's gaze kept shifting toward the inside of the nest. Just a little further, and he would encounter the nest's owner, Fermi. The second option was to defeat Fermi and take all the rewards. Although a level 70 monster would be difficult to fight, he was sure it would have tempting rewards.

I may not be the first to discover this dungeon, but I'm the first to attempt hunting Fermi.

The boss monsters in MID Online dropped the best items the first time they were defeated and Kai didn't want to see the Crimson Fist guild take that opportunity.

"Level 70, huh...."

Kai was still investing all his stats in Strength. He had belatedly started to focus on developing as a full-strength Cleric. Unless there was a significant need for other stats, he planned to continue focusing on Strength for the time being.

Fortunately, thanks to the buff skills, the damage output is good.

Moreover, for a moment, the Supernova skill allowed him to possess stats close to level 90. Despite this, Kai was skeptical about hunting Fermi.

"Hunting a boss is like a marathon."

Meanwhile, Kai's current maximum effort was suitable for a hundred-meter sprint. Logically, it made sense to leave this place right away.

"Well..."

Kai swallowed his regret. Even without hunting Fermi, he had plenty of tasks to do.

I need to find Rody’s family, visit the Orc village, and also take on the Trial of Hanox.

Even just one of those tasks was enough to give him a headache!

Kai, standing up, rummaged through the pile of polygons of Fermi’s Spawn he just defeated.

[Corroded Dagger acquired.]

Low-grade Poison acquired.]

[Rody's Bloodstained Handkerchief acquired.]

"...Huh?"

Kai's eyes widened as he checked the looted items.

[Rody's Bloodstained Handkerchief]

[A handmade handkerchief given to Rody by his grandmother, Deva. Soaked in blood, it now looks like a rag.]

"...What?"

Why would Rody's handkerchief appear after hunting Fermi's Spawn?

After thinking for a moment with a stunned face, Kai's expression suddenly soured.

"Damn it..."

Kai, having roughly understood the situation, ran his hands over his face.

How can I be this unlucky!

In MID Online, there were no outcomes without causes. This meant everything interacted with each other! Simply put, the presence of Rody's handkerchief here meant there was a reason for it.

"The only reason for the missing person's handkerchief to be here is..."

This was the place where Rody went missing.

***

At the end of the dungeon, at a dead-end where no further progression could be made, Kai's gaze turned to two entrances.

The right one is obviously the boss room, right?

The huge entrance wrapped in spider webs looked dangerous to anyone.

On the other hand, a crack in a broken wall next to it was narrow enough for an adult man to barely crawl through.

If Rody is safe, he would have hidden himself here.

Even though Kai explored the entirety of the Nest of Femi, he hadn't been able to find Rody, which meant Rody had to be in one of these two places.

"Please, let it not be the boss room. Please stop my life from getting complicated. Please..."

Murmuring almost as if he was chanting a spell, Kai crawled into the crack in the wall.

"Sacred Flare."

Flash!

The space that the bright light revealed was much smaller than Kai had expected. It was a cramped space, similar in size to a room at an orphanage.

After finding a boy lying there, Kai let out a sigh of relief and helped him up.

"Rody! You’re Rody, right? Are you okay?"

"Eugh..."

As he lifted the boy presumed to be Rody, the boy weakly opened his eyes.

“Oh..."

Blood came out from Rody's dried and cracked lips, and he didn’t seem in a condition to talk.

Kai immediately raised his hand. "Sunlight’s Warmth, Bless."

They were skills that healed and buffed the target!

That wasn't all. Kai took out a bottle of cool water from his inventory and poured it between Rody's lips.

"W-water!" Rody gulped down the water eagerly, and only after finishing the bottle did he regain his senses and look up at Kai. He then asked very cautiously, "But... who are you?"

"I'm an adventurer who was asked by your grandmother Deva to rescue you."

"Oh...!" Rody finally relaxed and his eyes welled up with tears!

Kai smiled and patted his back. "It's okay now, let's go out together. I'll take you safely back to the city."

"Oh, no!" Rody shook his head and bit his lip. "I can't go back alone."

"What do you mean?"

"My parents are captured inside! Not just my parents, but people from the village too!"

Rody's small hand gripped Kai's chest tightly.

"Please mister adventurer, I beg you. I know it's shameless of me but... please...!"

"..."

Kai looked down at his chest. He couldn't feel the touch because of the armor, but his heart ached, perhaps because of Rody's sad expression with tears streaming down his face.

It's the same approach, but really different.

Kai suddenly remembered the Crimson Fist guild members he met at the entrance to the Forest of Spiders a few days ago. Both they and Rody had touched him without permission, but the emotions he felt in the two situations were different, and Kai knew the reason.

Because I can feel the sincerity.

It was the dirty desire to use him versus the earnest desire to save loved ones. Which one would stir a person's heart was clear.

Kai gently swept his through Rody's hair.

"A-adventurer?" Rody blinked his swollen eyes and looked up at Kai.

Kai, looking at him, smiled and said, "First, there's something I need to correct. I'm not a mister, I'm a Cleric."

"What's a Cleric...?"

"Hmm. Do you know the Church of Solaris that serves Helik, the god of mercy and judgment?"

"I know that."

"I'm a Cleric sent by Helik to help those in need on the earth... you can think of me like an angel."

"...An angel?" Rody's eyes quickly scanned Kai from head to toe. "You don't look much like an angel..."

"..."

Kai's grip on Rody's head slightly tightened.

"What did you say?"

"N-nothing, Cleric who's like an angel."

"Right, good."

Kai regained his smile!

He then put Rody down on the ground and checked his equipment. Honestly, even if he only brought Rody back, Deva's quest would be completed. However, the moment he saw Rody's tears, all thoughts of quests and rewards were washed away.

It's been a while since I've felt this way.

He felt the desire to genuinely help someone without expecting a Benevolence stat or reward. It was almost the first time he had felt this way since his job change to a Solaris Cleric.

Gently, Kai patted Rody's head once more and smiled. "Just wait a little. I'll save everyone."

***

"Phew..." Kai, holding a torch, sighed deeply.

He had confidently told Rody he would save everyone, but his confidence dropped after seeing the massive entrance before him.

Honestly, I don't want to go in.

The thought of possibly facing a game over didn’t leave his mind. A three-day death penalty was something neither Kai nor any other player would welcome. But once again, he thought of Rody's tears. It was the heart of a child who could lose his beloved parents.

Thinking of those sad eyes, Kai brought the torch to the spider webs.

The fire quickly spread to Fermi's greasy spider webs.

Whoosh!

The webs were instantly cleared, revealing the boss room filled with numerous cocoons.

The inside is quite spacious.

The interior was as vast as a baseball stadium. Despite torches fixed on the walls here and there, it was still a dark space.

As Kai looked inside, a message appeared.

[Warning: Entering the boss room will disable logout and return until the battle is over. Would you still like to proceed?]

"No..."

[Entry canceled.]

"No, no. I’ll go in."

The force that was pushing Kai away instantly dissipated.

The moment Kai drew his sword and took a step inside, the ground rumbled.

"...Why is the ground rumbling?"

Anxiety surged up inside of him like a geyser! Kai forcibly suppressed his negative thoughts.

"I-it must be just a simple earthquake."

However, Kai's thoughts were spectacularly wrong, and soon a huge shadow loomed over him.

Even though it was a vast interior space, an even larger shadow covered more than half of that vast interior!

Kai's head slowly tilted upward.

“....”

What came into his view was a grotesque black spider with lumpy protrusions sticking out. But what was truly frightening was its size.

Kai, with an awkward smile, politely asked the spider the size of a house, "Ha... haha... Perhaps you are Fermi...?"

The polite inquiry was met with a loud screech.

"Kriiiiiik"

"Damn it!"

Kai grimaced at the loud noise and covered his ears. The battle state was initiated in an instant, and information about the spider appeared.

[The Savage Queen of the Spiders, Fermi. LV.75]

"It really is Fermi!"

She moved her eight legs, which were as thick as building columns and charged at Kai in an instant.

"And I thought they said it was level 70!"

Kai screamed, but it was not the best time to complain!

The Staff of the Undead Gnoll Chieftain in his hand shook.

"Ten! Ten! Ten! Oh god, please, ten!"

Kai, with his hands respectfully joined, bowed his head toward the vigorously spinning wheel. And the number the slowing wheel pointed to was...

[Zero! That is unfortunate. Better luck next time.]

"Z-zero!? This is crazy! Why is there a zero!"

No wonder the spinning wheel had eleven slots!

What can't be done, won't be done no matter what, was the law of this world!

Kai made a face as if he wanted to cry and ran away.