Sword Art Online: Moonlight Swordman.

"About five of them..." Ren thought quietly, then shot toward the open gap in the encirclement.

His speed tore through the air, light like a breeze skimming across the forest's surface.

In a blink, he was out of attack range, leaving behind clumps of damp webs that missed their mark, each strand glistening with paralyzing fluid under the dim light.

Ren didn't stop. In his mind flashed the words from the most recent update guidebook he'd read:

Land Spiders usually live in nests, each with around four to five individuals. Typically, only two or three leave the nest to hunt, while the rest guard the surrounding area.

But if the number of encounters and spawn frequency suddenly spikes like this... it could mean he'd stepped into a larger cluster of nests. Multiple hives packed closely together, forming a rare kind of colony.

Or worse...

Something had driven them out of their original territory.

That thought passed like a cold arrow, embedding straight into Ren's mind, causing him to grip his sword hilt even tighter.

He couldn't afford to stop. Not now.

He picked up speed, each footstep pressing hard into the wet grass, tracing faint streaks of water through the mist. Ren wasn't planning to run forever, he was luring them along at his own rhythm.

Ren's strategy was simple: divide the swarm.

The weaker, lower-leveled spiders would soon be left behind in this high-speed chase.

Only the stronger ones would manage to keep up. Ren calculated every turn, every narrow gap between branches, gradually stretching the spider formation thin.

The skill [Stealth] had been rendered useless the moment he picked up speed, his body slicing through the forest like a streak of motion, loud and restless.

But perhaps... he didn't need it anymore.

As expected, when Ren glanced back briefly, only two spiders were still in pursuit. Their eyes glowed faintly through the fog, eight legs sharp as hooked claws clinging to the trees as they moved at surprising speed.

[Land Spider – Lv.10]

[Land Spider – Lv.11]

Ren smirked. That was enough.

He immediately calculated his next strike, his mind spinning through speed, distance, and terrain, and then he saw it.

A large tree had fallen across the path, as if someone had placed it there intentionally. Its roots were torn out, trunk covered in damp moss, standing about waist-high, enough to form a natural barrier between Ren and the chasing monsters.

Without hesitation, Ren pushed off the ground and leapt. He glided over the tree like a breeze, light and graceful as a cat, and landed silently on the damp ground beyond.

At that exact moment, one of the spiders, the Lv.11, had already climbed to the top of the fallen trunk. Its front legs folded, head lowered, ready to pounce...

But that was also the moment its furry head entered Ren's strike range.

Slice!

Windslash was drawn with a flawless swing. The blade slashed across its neck, striking right at the joint between head and torso, instantly dropping the spider's HP by nearly a third.

The spider shrieked and plunged downward like a hairy lump of meat, but Ren had already twisted aside, dodging within a hair's breadth. One sharp leg slashed past his face, carrying the chilling scent of venom.

Right then, the other Land Spider, Lv.10, arrived. Four legs gripped the fallen trunk tightly, ready to leap down...

Ren sprang back, eyes sharp as blades, mind instantly shifting tactics.

Both spiders lunged at the same time, springing from their perches like living spears, front legs like sickles thrusting toward Ren's chest.

In a moment that seemed impossible to evade...

Ren leaned back, his torso nearly parallel to the ground. His sword traced a powerful crescent, the sharp clash of metal rang out coldly, a precise slash deflected both simultaneous thrusts.

[Phantom Arc.]

Before the blade even stopped moving, a faint violet glow flared along its edge. The skill activated, his counterattack was lightning-fast.

The sword curved into a reverse crescent, slashing into the still-extended front legs of the left spider.

CHAK! A soft hiss. Two legs were cleanly severed, dropping to the ground, trailing a burst of red pixels like shards of glass.

The spider staggered and fell, its body thrown into chaos from the loss of balance. It flipped onto its back, rear legs flailing wildly, struggling to get up, but it had no chance to strike again.

Ren wasted no time. He pivoted to the side, cutting off the approach angle of the second spider as it landed and tried to press forward.

He aimed for the remaining spider, before it could flip its abdomen to shoot webbing, Ren's sword sliced through its thick chitin, disrupting the web shot.

The spider had no time to react.

[Vertical Arc]

The blade spiraled upward in a V-shaped arc, slashing into the soft underbelly still facing the ground as the spider dropped.

Two cuts crossed like shears, ripping open the entire lower abdomen. The spider screamed, its whole body convulsing, front legs twitching instinctively. It wasn't dead, but more than half its HP vanished in an instant.

Moments later, the injured spider staggered to its feet. Despite losing two legs, its predatory instincts remained, and Ren knew that all too well.

He stepped back half a pace, reversed his grip, and took a defensive stance.

Right then, both spiders lunged simultaneously.

"Smart move," Ren muttered, lips curling into a faint smirk.

No more gaps, this time, they were working together.

The spiders began to spread out, circling from both flanks. Their long legs brushed against the soft earth with a whispering rustle, like murmurs beside his ear. Ren stepped back slowly, eyes locked on the pair of creatures ahead.

And then—thud.

His back suddenly hit something solid.

His entire body froze for an instant. His heart pounded like it was being crushed.

But it wasn't an enemy. Just the fallen tree from earlier, covered in soft moss like a thin blanket over rotting wood. Still, his escape route was gone.

The two spiders seemed to sense his vulnerable position. Their bodies reared up, tense and ready. Their eyes locked on their prey. And then...

They charged.

Faster. More aggressive. Two black shapes crisscrossed through the air, fine strands of web glinting between their legs like blades.

Ren couldn't dodge.

He couldn't leap over the trunk without momentum.

Yet... his face remained utterly calm.

He reached back and grabbed a broken branch jutting from the log. Just as those piercing limbs bore down on him, Ren launched himself into the air.

His whole body spun like a sawblade, using the branch's momentum for lift and balance.

A graceful arc, razor-sharp.

Immediately, his sword lit up.

[Stap]

The blade glowed faint blue, then plunged downward like lightning cutting through the dark.

It pierced straight into the nape of the spider whose front legs were already broken.

[CRITICAL HIT]

A shattered screech escaped, dissolving into colorful shards of glass.

[You have defeated Land Spider – Lv.11]

[You gained: 52 EXP]

[You received: Blade-Leg Spider (common) x1, Toxic Web (common) x2]

No time to check the system messages, Ren spun around. His blade lashed out instinctively behind him.

Some of the sticky web flying toward him was sliced clean through, but a few strands still clung to his sword, slimy and cumbersome, throwing off its balance.

Ren frowned. His foot turned sharply, knee dipping as he slid half a step to the left, just enough to avoid the incoming spider's lunge.

The sword flashed in the mist like a streak of silver. From his left shoulder, it slashed downward, cutting through the bristled chitin armor like it was paper.

A deep gash split open the spider's belly. Dark red pixels sprayed out like a waterfall, scattering in the air.

The spider screeched hoarsely, body staggering. Only a quarter of its health remained. It began to retreat, dragging itself away by instinct, but too late.

Ren didn't let it escape.

He lunged forward like a gust of wind. Windslash flared again, delivering the finishing blow.

A clean, cold strike down the spine.

The spider's body froze, then crumpled to the damp ground. Its jagged legs twitched one last time before shattering into glass-like fragments.

[You have defeated Land Spider – Lv.10]

[You gained: 50 EXP]

[You received: Blade-Leg Spider (common) x1, Toxic Web (common) x1]

Silence returned to the forest.

Only Ren remained, breathing softly among the dissolving pixel dust in the cold air.

A quiet notification appeared on the system interface:

[Quest Progress: 3/20]

Ren glanced around cautiously. Behind him, far beyond the trees and drifting mist, the remaining three spiders seemed to have given up the chase. They scattered, vanishing into the darkness and tall, dense grass in the distance.

He exhaled.

"Damn it... what the hell are these webs made of?" Ren hissed through clenched teeth, narrowing his eyes at Windslash.

Strands of web still clung to the blade, slick and sticky like glue. They were so thin they were nearly invisible, yet stuck to the metal with absurd tenacity. Despite his powerful swings, they hadn't completely come off.

Worse, his weapon's durability had dropped by over four points after the fight. Even more than when he'd battled three Dire Wolves at once. Likely due to the webs coating the blade...

Ren gritted his teeth. This was a serious nuisance. Not just annoying during combat, but if not dealt with quickly, it would wear down his weapon in no time.

He stepped back and scanned the area. A rotting tree trunk, rough and moss-covered with fungus, lay a few paces away. Ren walked over, broke off a piece of dry bark, and began scraping the webs off his sword like a wooden scraper.

Snap... snap...

Each web strand stretched and snapped with a dry sound, like tearing skin.

He didn't dare use his hand. Even a light touch on the toxin-coated silk could paralyze his arm for several minutes. In battle, even a few seconds could be fatal.

Ren inhaled quietly, eyes fixed on the gradually-cleansing blade.

"Can't let my guard down," he murmured.

Not ever.

Not in a place like this.