Lucien had decided, so the first thing he did was...

Playing a stunt.

"Haa..." Lucien let out a long sigh, as if bored.

He pretended to look at the thing underground— even though he saw nothing but the soil.

Underground, the wounded worm moved cautiously, trying to find another weak point.

"Playing hide and seek, huh." Lucien shook his head, his tone was like scolding a playful child.

"You see, my breakfast is waiting." Lucien mumbled again, his voice loud enough for the hunters to hear.

The hunters flinched.

I-is the monster angry at them?

B-but they really can’t defeat that worm!!

Just when the hunters were fidgeting, feeling nails and needles on their buttocks— Lucien waved his hand.

"Forget it. Play time is over."

Lucien imagined a dark cave with an endless chasm.

White threads hanging from the ceiling.

A huge web stretched in the middle, the bottom endless—

And that gigantic figure with a ballooned belly.

It’s the spider dungeon.

Shaa....

The void behind Lucien twisted and flickered.

The hunters felt the air suddenly became heavy.

Faint, prickling pain stabbed all over their bodies, the exact same feeling as when they passed through an unstable gate.

"W-what..."

The hunters covered their mouths tightly, all eyes on the flickering void behind Lucien.

The hot wind stopped blowing.

The temperature sharply dropped and a damp, cold wind washed over.

The hunters subconsciously rubbed their arms, teeth chattering.

The worm underground felt the sudden temperature change.

An oppressive aura descended like a knife, carved a piece of its territory and claimed it.

Woongggg.

The aura descended from above, bypassed the ground and aimed at the worm.

"Hisss!!"

The wounded worm shrieked.

Its careful movement instantly became erratic.

Shhrkk.

It wriggled out of the way and without thinking, it pierced out of the ground.

Burst!

The ground exploded.

The hiding worm with its shell cracked burst out, its mouth opened and closed.

"Hissss!!"

A trembling, high-pitched shriek blasted everyone’s ears as the worm slowly coiled its body, its head pointed at....

Lucien.

In the worm’s eyes, a purple aura suddenly twisted, covering Lucien’s figure entirely.

Grrkkk.

Behind Lucien, a towering jagged wall slowly materialized from thin air.

"Hisss!!"

The worm’s mouth opened and closed threateningly.

Thump. Thump.

It slapped its tail to the ground and the ground cracked.

But despite that...

Tremble.

The worm’s body trembled slightly.

Its small eyes darting around, its aching body stood stiff, hissing menacingly without a move.

"Haaa. What a noisy guy." Lucien mumbled as he slowly...

Walked towards the towering worm several meters away.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

As Lucien walked, threads stretched out of the void, weaving a giant web under his feet.

Lucien could feel the sticky feeling—

It was real.

It wasn’t an illusion like before.

Shaaa...

Under the giant web— a bottomless chasm swallowed the ground, so dark that the light couldn’t pierce through.

A pebble rolled into the chasm and fell in.

"Ah!"

A hunter close to the chasm almost slipped, his feet dangerously dangled in the dark chasm.

Thud.

The hunter fell on his back before scurried back with tears, his legs still trembling.

I-it is real!

T-that...is a real thing!

As the hunters huddled together, their faces pale, the system chimed.

DING! [Territory Descent (E-rank)]

[Skill Duration: 2 minutes]

[Estimated skill usage recovery: 24 hours]

[Description: The landlord is bringing his territory to invade another territory.]

[A native can be summoned in the ten meters radius range.]

In that moment, Lucien’s mind flashed with a certain creature and the voice cracked.

A blurry silhouette slowly came out.

Shaaa...

Simultaneously, Lucien’s landlord aura enveloped the thing behind him and the system rang.

DING! [Potential tenants will see the native just like how they see the landlord!]

A mysterious aura covered the huge thing and everyone suddenly felt a huge pressure slamming down like a mountain.

"Ugh!" The hunters clutched their chests and plopped on their knees.

"Hisss!!"

The boss worm wriggled, a prickling pain stabbed its nerves.

Sha....

Long, sharp legs twice Lucien’s height landed in front of Lucien, shielding him in between.

Shrkkk.

A huge belly was dragged out of the twisting void.

Throb.

It throbbed, breathing.

Kiikkk.

Countless things stirred inside the belly, threatening to come out.

Crack.

The crack of the void grew larger and the figure’s silhouette slowly rose.

Shrkkk.

Ten meters.

Wongggg.

Twenty meters.

"Hisss!"

Even when the worm wasn’t smaller than the shadow, it subconsciously cowered, wriggling agitatedly.

Thirty meters.

The hunters stiffly raised their necks.

The sky darkened.

A black shadow loomed over everyone’s head.

Drip.

Saliva dripped down from above, landing right next to Lucien’s feet.

Then—

Blink.

Four pairs of green eyes snapped open—

And stared right at the worm.

In that instant, a sense of dread washed over the worm.

It suddenly felt small.

Like a caterpillar in front of a spider.

Helpless.

Just a prey.

The worm’s survival instinct kicked in and a murderous aura exploded.

Kill!!

The worm’s trembling body twitched, its tail kicked the ground and—

"Hisss!!"

The worm lunged at the thing behind Lucien, its jaw opened wide.

Swooosh!

Lucien didn’t even blink.

He only mouthed,

"Spider queen."

The thing behind Lucien slowly opened its mouth.

"Scream."

The wind stopped.

The air trembled.

Then—

"Kiikkkkk!!!"

A sharp cry pierced through the entire dungeon.

An invisible wavelength spread out, like a hammer against everyone’s brain.

Boom!

"Ahhh!" The hunters’ ears bleed, blood spurt out of their noses as they collectively slumped on the ground, faces pale.

The worm felt something hitting its head, bypassing its cracked shell and its flesh.

Then, something tore its consciousness, turning it into a mush.

"Hisss— "

The worm’s body stiffened mid-air and collapsed, blood pouring out of its flesh, its body twitching.

"H-hissss...hiss..."

The worm felt the world spinning around.

Its inside churned.

Tap. Tap.

The sound of leisure footsteps crept closer.

The worm subconsciously twitched, its mouth hanging open as it tried to raise its head.

Shaaa...

In front of it, a tiny humanoid figure stood against the sun.

Shrrkkk.

A shadow loomed behind the tiny figure, slowly blocking the piercing sunlight.

The worm vaguely saw the tiny figure’s mouth moving.

"Play time is over."