RTGR 56

Chapter 56 …

Once the rumors spread, she drew a lot of attention.

One day, a massive spider was spotted desperately calling a woman’s name?

It was impossible not to be intrigued.

“Surely it’s possessed by a demon. I’ll go and kill it.”
“It’ll fetch a lot of money. Bring it here.”
“If I raise a creature like that, everyone will look up to me, won’t they?”

Each of them harassed her for their own various reasons, and many seasons passed as well.

Having endured all those days, she became a field boss, with all sorts of fearsome titles following her.

Eliza… Eliza.

There were many difficult moments, but every time, Eliza repeated her name.

She remembered her master, calling warmly as they looked at her.

And then, after another 50 years passed, now…

Riza! Rizariiza!
Elizaaa!!

After long suffering, she finally reached the moment she had longed for.

…And that’s how it happened.

Huuuuuh! Elizaaa!
Rizariiza!!

So that’s why the two of them couldn’t bear to be apart.

The first emotion Dohyeon felt upon hearing this tearful melodrama wasn’t sadness, or anything similar.

Well, yes, it was sad. But before that, absurdity came to mind first.

“Wait… so, in simple terms, you abandoned Eliza and left, didn’t you?”

Flinch.

Jihad froze at the harsh truth being thrown at him.

Huuuh, Eliza!

Then, feigning ignorance, he hugged Eliza again.

Seeing that ridiculous sight, Dohyeon delivered another sharp truth strike.

“No, Eliza was the one who got abandoned. Why are you the one sad? She spent 150 years waiting—you shouldn’t feel guilty.”

Uh, uh-huh! N-No! I couldn’t help it either…

It seemed Jihad couldn’t ignore that either, and tried to defend himself, but Dohyeon was not about to accept excuses.

“You couldn’t help it, my foot. You didn’t even recognize her when I was beating you up. You just forgot and only remembered when you heard her name, didn’t you?”

……

“Seriously, is this right? What if Eliza had never called out your name? You’re cruel, cruel.”

……Yeah. It’s all my fault.

Did he even feel sorry for Eliza?

Sulking, Jihad couldn’t meet Eliza’s bright, sparkling eyes and turned his head.

Riza…

Then, Eliza herself pouted.

Seeing someone devoted to their master like a puppy made Jihad’s heart ache even more.

Yeah, you’ve always been like that. Always waiting for me.
Riza!
Sorry for making you wait so long, Eliza. I won’t leave again.
Rizaaa!

He was such a foolish creature.

Rubbing sound

It had been 150 years.

Despite the long years of being forgotten, Eliza rubbed her face happily, without ever showing anger, purely glad to see him again.

Even after waiting more than ten times the years they had spent together.

To think I lived forgetting you like this…

He hated himself.

And yet, he felt puzzled.

‘Strange. There’s no way I could have forgotten Eliza.’

It wasn’t an excuse; it was genuinely strange.

At first, he was curious because she looked unusual.

As they spent more time together, that feeling grew. Eventually, Eliza became Jihad’s closest friend.

To forget such a friend?

‘Impossible.’

While hiding, he’d felt like he was forgetting something important.

And now he realized it was Eliza.

The moment he recognized her, memories with her flooded back as if a switch had been turned on.

What was strange was that it didn’t end there.

Why couldn’t I go home? I clearly found a clue and discovered something… chased… Huh? A clue? What clue was it?

His head was a mess.

“Why were you hiding, anyway?” Dohyeon suddenly asked, watching the confused Jihad.

Huh?

“Why? I mean, why would you stay hidden somewhere for such a long time?”

Ah…

He had always wondered.

Jihad seemed to have many secrets, but leaving that aside, why would he stay underground for centuries?

Considering their connection, he was genuinely curious.

That’s…

Jihad stopped speaking mid-answer. Slowly, he shook his head.

I can’t tell you that, Master. It’s beyond my ability right now.

“…? What do you mean?”

Sorry, Master.

Dohyeon didn’t press further, seeing Jihad’s unnecessarily serious expression.

Instead, he muttered to himself.

“Not like saying it would kill anyone… what does ‘beyond your ability’ even mean?”

Pretty much.

“? Pretty much?”

Hearing that, Dohyeon muttered incredulously.

“Not Voldemort or anything, what…”

What is it, Master?

“Something like that. Copyright issues, so I can’t say.”

……?

Though the conversation ended with neither understanding the other, they shared the same concern next.

“What do we do now?”

……Right, Master.

No words were needed; Jihad understood.

The reason Dohyeon came here in the first place…

‘It’s the graduation quest, so I can’t just not kill her…’

To clear the quest, he had to defeat Eliza. But after hearing her story, he couldn’t bring himself to kill her.

She was even Jihad’s loyal little pet, annoying as she might be…

‘And I can’t even take her away systemically.’

If she died, she wouldn’t appear as a card like Jihad did.

It was a troublesome situation.

Riza! Rizariiza!
Huh? What’s that?
Rizaaa!
What? No! What are you doing!?

Eliza waved her massive body wildly to express herself.

Seeing this, Jihad repeatedly tussled with her.

“What’s going on?”

N-No, Master.
Rizariiza!

Ignoring Jihad, Eliza moved forward. Then, suddenly, she bit her own leg with her fangs.

[Field Boss of the Western Forest ‘Queen Spider Eliza’ has been poisoned.]
[HP is below 10%.]

“What the…?”

Before Dohyeon could react, Jihad shouted.

Eliza, what are you doing!?
Rizariiza!
Huh? Really?

Then, she said something he finally understood.

Dohyeon wanted to jump in curiosity.

“Wait, what are you saying? Don’t just leave it to her, tell me too.”

Ah… She wants you to stab her, Master. She’s okay with it.

“…Really okay?”

Yes. No time to explain, but it’s fine. So please do as Eliza wants, Master.

“Well… if that’s what she wants.”

Though it felt awkward, there was no reason to refuse if they said it was fine.

“Stab her?”

Riza!

Eliza nodded as if understanding.

With hesitation, he plunged the training sword deep, draining her HP rapidly. Using Striking helped finish it faster.

After repeating several times…

[Field Boss of the Western Forest ‘Queen Spider Eliza’ has been defeated.]
[First-time bonus: Essence Orb strengthened.]
[Do you want to harvest the strengthened Essence Orb of Queen Spider Eliza?]
[Recorded in Adventure Log.]
[You defeated a new type of boss on first encounter.]
[Predation effect: All stats +6.]

Finally, Eliza’s eyes dimmed as she collapsed.

“…Is this right?”

Yes.

While Dohyeon panicked, Jihad remained calm.

It took a few seconds for Dohyeon to understand why.

Pop!

Riza!

“Hmm?”

Something popped out from the massive body.

Small, about 5cm. At first glance, it looked like a little white cotton ball—but it was Eliza.

Eliza! Long time no see!
Rizariiza!

Jihad’s delighted voice was interrupted by a cheerful notification.

Ding!

[Hidden Named Boss ‘Eliza’ parasitizing Field Boss ‘Queen Spider Eliza’ discovered.]
[Guardian ‘Jihad Black’’s loyalty and intimacy with ‘Eliza’ is MAX.]
[Conditions met.]
[Do you accept ‘Eliza’ as a subordinate of Guardian ‘Jihad Black’?]

“……Whoa.”

…This is possible?

Sometimes, there were bosses like this in Demroc.

Special bosses parasitizing monsters.

They rarely died in one go, moving between hosts and bothering players.

After all, players often had to defeat tough bosses multiple times.

‘I had my troubles with them too.’

The worst was Finalea, parasitizing a Zombie Dragon.

Even a lesser version of a dragon was hard enough to kill once; he had to defeat it multiple times.

Rewards were better, but it was frustrating nonetheless.

The memory was so vivid that he’d confirmed it during the tutorial in God of SeSe.

Riza!

The reason he retold this was simple.

“Could it be that the field boss was the host…?”

Eliza was that type.

Who could have imagined it?

A field boss-level entity was actually just a shell.

‘No wonder it felt weird.’

Non-named bosses simply respawned.

They had fixed residual behaviors due to their boss settings, but nothing like deep stories or memories.

‘But a 150-year story… that says it all.’

Named bosses were different.

They were true residents of God of SeSe.

[Guardian ‘Jihad Black’ Subordinates List]

Eliza

Now his guardian… no, Jihad’s subordinate. Opening her info revealed a flashy interface.

[Accessing Eliza’s information]
[Eliza]
[Title: Named Guardian]
[Type: Spider]
[Loyalty: MAX]
[Traits: Sky Web, Parasitic]
[Guardian Traits: Sunflower, Patience, Gluttony, Sleepiness]
[Description: Mysterious white spider, presumed rare. Despite long life, has not matured. Extremely devoted to her master; the silk she produces is very strong.]
[Most abilities sealed due to ‘Jihad Black’’s low level.]
[Stats scale with ‘Jihad Black’’s growth.]
[Available Skills: 1]