As the nexus between the Wizard World and the Dream World, the Astral Lab had always been the place Leylin valued most. He had even taken the trouble to deploy a large number of defensive formations and install a Formation Spirit under the unified control of the Chip.
After all, if the Astral Lab were destroyed, Leylin would not only lose his passage to the Dream World — he would be trapped here forever.
"Impossible! Before I set out, I specifically set up concealment sigils and defensive formations for safety, and I even left behind…"
Leylin's mind raced. He was confident in his arrangements, but the alert from the Chip certainly wasn't false.
"Could it be some kind of anomalous creature that happens to see through my illusion formations, or could it simply be… an Evil God?"
This possibility caused Leylin's expression to darken instantly. He abruptly accelerated and arrived at the region where the lab was situated.
"That's…"
The sight that greeted him made his pupils dilate.
Before his eyes, a spider of mountainous proportions was hovering in midair, layer upon layer of silk streaming down to envelop the entire lab.
Runes around the lab flickered continuously, radiating brilliant light as a defensive membrane and the spider's silk wore each other down.
On the spider's abdomen, a mass of markings formed the twisted image of a man's face, its mouth gaping wide as it wailed.
[Warning! Warning! Formation Spirit energy reserves below 10%, critical threshold reached. Immediate action recommended!]
The Chip's red warning box popped up once more.
"Can you scan its data?" Leylin asked quickly.
[Task established. Attempting scan now. Initiating field breakthrough!]
"Squeak squeak!" As the Chip's mechanical voice sounded, the enormous spider in midair seemed to take offense at something. Its massive compound eye swiveled over and locked directly onto Leylin.
Such a forced scan carried immense malice and aggression, and it often provoked the target's hostility — something Leylin had long anticipated.
"Wooooo…"
Accompanied by the wailing of the man's face on the spider's abdomen, a terrifying wave of sound swept across the area where Leylin stood. The earth's crust was torn away, exposing thick layers of rock beneath.
Leylin had been on guard the moment he ordered the Chip to scan. Now, a layer of Komodo Dragon Scales covered his body, and several blood-red shields materialized before him.
Crack! Crack! The blood-red shields made contact with the soundwave and began to groan under the strain, cracks spreading across their surfaces before they shattered entirely.
The soundwave swept past, bringing searing pain from the Komodo Dragon Scales on Leylin's body.
"Hiss… such power!" A flicker of joy appeared in Leylin's eyes.
At the very least, through this attack, he could now confirm that his opponent was not a Rules-level existence — and that was more important than anything else.
Otherwise, the only option would be to turn tail and flee, abandoning the laboratory to wander alone within the Dream World.
【Ding! Due to encountering resistance and interruption, the full data was not acquired from this scan. Display results?】 the Chip asked mechanically.
"Display!" Leylin commanded without hesitation, of course.
【Ding! Unknown creature. Strength: over 200. Agility: over 100. Constitution: Insufficient data. Spirit: Estimated over 2000. Abilities: 1. Detection: Possesses acute perceptiveness towards fluctuations within its domain. 2. Unknown. 3. Unknown.】
The Chip responded instantly, projecting a largely incomplete data panel in front of Leylin.
"This detection ability… it's likely how the creature found my meticulously hidden laboratory!" Leylin sighed, feeling a familiar sense of plans rarely matching outcomes.
He had observed this place for a long time, only venturing out to explore after confirming no terrifying creatures were nearby. He hadn't expected that during his absence, he would attract the attention of such a monstrous beast.
"Judging by this level, the opponent is at most a six-level creature. There's still a chance!"
Leylin's figure flickered continuously, dodging the snow-white spider silk in mid-air, his mind racing.
The Dream World naturally didn't follow the Wizard World's classification system. Furthermore, the unpredictable fluctuations of Dream Power made level definitions very vague.
But through the Chip's detection and his own observations, Leylin had already confirmed that the opponent was a formidable beast at least six levels strong.
"Logically speaking, such a terrifying creature should have its own territory. Why would it leave for no apparent reason?"
Leylin immediately shook his head. "I'm being foolish! This is the Dream World—why would it follow any logic?"
"Woo woo!"
Right at that moment, the spider's rear sac in mid-air violently swelled, expanded, and finally burst open!