The Garbage Collector Who Stumbled Upon Mythical Weapons! - Chapter 23
“Where is Macaus!?”
Maria shouted as she looked around and spotted a man lying in the darkness.
“Macaus!!”
Maria cautiously approached Macaus, keeping an eye on their surroundings. She quickly placed her fingers on his neck to check if he was still alive.
“He’s okay. He’s still breathing!”
“I see… Thank goodness,” Calvan sighed in relief, but the danger hadn’t passed.
Rose, Celeste, and Calvan remained on high alert, standing protectively around Maria while keeping the spiders at bay.
“What happened, Macaus!? You’re not someone who would go down so easily!”
Macaus let out a weak groan.
“Maria… No… You have to run. These things are too strong…”
“Can you move?”
“I was poisoned… I don’t think I can…”
Hearing Macaus’ frail voice, Maria felt anxiety creeping in. She shook her head, trying to push aside the fear.
“What about the others!? What happened to the Albatross members!?”
At Maria’s question, Macaus, his eyes filled with terror, looked up at the ceiling.
Maria turned and followed his gaze—men wrapped in silk hung from the ceiling, unmoving.
“They’re all… defeated?”
Maria’s face twisted in despair.
—If the entire Albatross party, all B-rank adventurers, had fallen, then the monsters here were too strong to handle without an A-rank adventurer. And there were so many of them…
Maria hesitated. Should they retreat immediately or try to save Macaus and the others?
That moment of hesitation cost them—spiders started descending from the ceiling, cutting off their escape route one by one.
A dozen white spiders surrounded Minazuki, clicking their fangs in warning.
“Rosa, we’re getting out of here! Take the front!”
Maria stood up, giving orders to Rosa while slowly drawing her sword.
“Are we leaving them behind?”
“We have no choice! As adventurers, they should be prepared for this! Our lives come first!!”
Celeste snapped at Rosa, who spoke in a quiet, pained voice. Everyone knew that danger was part of an adventurer’s life.
“Let’s go!!”
Maria sprinted toward the exit, and the others followed.
Celeste raised her staff, casting a light spell. The glow enveloped Maria’s sword, blessing it with the power to cut through darkness.
Calvan also lifted his staff, gathering powerful magical energy.
He released a spell toward Maria, surrounding her with magic. It was Earth’s Blessing, enhancing her physical abilities.
Rosa charged toward the exit with her shield raised, and the others followed behind. But the spiders wouldn’t just let them go—they all lunged at once.
Maria’s eyes widened at their incredible speed.
In an instant, they dodged Rosa and went straight for Maria. These creatures were far stronger than any insects they had encountered before.
One spider leaped at Maria from the ground. She swung her sword at it.
The blade struck its back, but—
Sparks flew, and with a loud clang, her sword was deflected.
“—What!?”
Maria stared in disbelief.
She was under the effects of a physical enhancement spell, and her sword was imbued with light magic. Even so, her attack hadn’t even scratched it.
As she stood in shock, two spiders lunged at Rosa.
She raised her shield, but the impact was too powerful—she was sent flying backward.
“What… are these things!?”
Still on the ground, Rosa looked up in horror.
“Rosa!!”
—Even Rosa was overpowered!? That meant they weren’t just tough; they were incredibly strong too.
“AAAAAHHHHHH!!”
Celeste’s scream made Maria whip around. Celeste was hanging upside down, wrapped in a white silk thread around her right leg.
“Celeste!!”
“Help me, Maria…!”
Celeste sobbed, her voice trembling with fear.
Before they realized it, countless spiders had surrounded them.
“What the hell are these things!?”
“They do not seem like ordinary monsters,” Calvan said, standing back-to-back with Rosa. Their faces were pale as they took in the hopeless situation.
They had faced danger before, but never anything this bad.
Maria kept slashing at the spiders that leaped at them, but she couldn’t cut through them.
Strength, speed, and an impossibly hard exoskeleton. These creatures were in a league of their own. And there were hundreds of them.
Right now, only a few were attacking, but if all of them joined in, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
Maria desperately searched for a way out—but then she saw something unbelievable.
A glowing magical pattern appeared on the forehead of one of the spiders.
It was casting magic.
“Watch out!!”
Maria shouted and reached out, but her warning came too late.
The spider launched a fireball straight at Rosa and Calvan.
A deafening explosion filled the space.
Flames erupted before Maria’s eyes, swallowing her two companions.