Hey, Why Are My Skills so Weird!?

The main difference between humans and beasts is the ability to use our brains when we meet a difficult problem.
Unlike beasts and monsters, that only know how to use brute force, humans rely on their wisdom to advance forward. It has been the key to human development for thousands of years.
Thus, when the Awakened sent by the government discovered the danger of the spider nest, they started to think of ways to exterminate it.
Due to their limited manpower, they needed a method that did not require a lot of people; and it did not take them long to think of one.
Fire.
With fire, they could drastically decrease the number of spiders and force the remaining spiders out of the nest.
Luckily, this dungeon had appeared in the middle of the city, and dungeons always replicate the outside world. It meant that if they searched carefully, they should be able to find something to burn the nest.
And as they expected, they soon found a gas station. After that, the rest was simple.
Creating Molotov cocktails.
They were portable and easy to use. Moreover, anyone could make them. Thus, in four hours, the group managed to create as many as one hundred Molotovs.
And once John gave the order to use them.
*Swoosh!!!*
A flaming hell devoured the nest.
Dozens of Molotovs flew through the sky, falling over the nest and exploding into puddles of flames.
The flames quickly spread through most of the nest. The spider webs that made the nest worked as combustible that helped to spread the flames, intensifying the fire as the spiders shrieked and wailed in pain and fear.
Under the intense flames, many spiders were turned into charcoal while others hurried to escape from the burning nest.
The scene was majesty. The hot flames seemed able to burn every spider to ashes.
This made the Awakened cheer. Seeing the effect of the Molotovs, their morale soared.
Now they could see hope to annihilate the spiders.
But unlike them, the Awakened over Tier 4 had solemn expressions.
“Unfortunately, this fire can only kill the weakest spiders,” Mary said with a disappointed look.
“Huh? Do you mean that this is not enough to annihilate the spiders?” One of the Awakened in our group was surprised.
Mary sneered. “You underestimate the vitality of monsters. A fire of this level can only kill Tier 0 and Tier 1 monsters. Anything stronger than that can survive the fire easily.”
I nodded with a heavy expression.
There was a reason why firearms were useless against high-tier monsters and Awakened.
Mana.
Mana could be used to create a protective layer around the body, and at Tier 2, this layer was strong enough to defend against a couple of shots made with a small-caliber munition.
At Tier 4, only powerful firearms could break the mana layer. Trying to use a handgun to kill a Tier 4 monster was a pipe dream even if you shot it in the eye.
At Tier 7, you needed to use anti-tank rounds if you wanted to cause damage to a monster. Furthermore, even if you used anti-tank rounds, some agile monsters and Awakened were able to avoid it.
And to kill Tier 8, 9, or 10 monsters, it was necessary to use weapons of mass destruction, and it did not guarantee the kill!
As for the monsters above Tier 10? Humanity had never killed one of these. Only the Protector Duke had managed to accomplish that feat. Existences at this level could treat nuclear explosions like big fireworks.
Mana had that much potential, and the swarm spiders were creatures able to use it.
Tier 0 and Tier 1 spiders were unable to survive under the high temperatures of the flames, but the flames caused by the half-baked Molotovs weren’t a threat against spiders above Tier 2.
Even so, the flames created by the Molotovs managed to kill a great number of spiders.
Virtually all the spiderlings inside the nest died under the flames, and hundreds of Tier 1 spiders perished as well.
Even though this spider nest had over two-thousands spiders, most of them were Tier 0 and Tier 1 spiders. Only a third of the spiders were Tier 2 or above.
And almost two-thirds of the Tier 0 and Tier 1 spiders perished under the flames!
For several seconds, the shrieks of pain coming from the spiderlings being burned by the flames spread throughout the entire battlefield.
But all of sudden–
*SCREEEEEECHHHHH!!!!*
A loud wail filled with pain, sadness, and hatred sounded from the depths of the nest.
The wail was so powerful that it instantly erased the flames. At the same time, it forced several Awakened to crouch down and cover their ears in pain.
Andrew, Karime, Jessica, and I were like that as well. The sorrowful wail seemed to resound in our brains. For a second, I felt as though my brain was going to explode.
But then, a powerful wave of mana surged out of one of the Awakened leading the attack, John.
The wave of mana pushed the sound waves away. It then confronted the powerful aura that appeared in the depths of the tunnel.
“… A Tier 6 spider. It looks like the queen of this nest is stronger than we expected.” John said with a grave expression.
Serena, the only woman among the Awakened sent by the government, nodded. “Fortunately, the government sent two Tier 7 and one Tier 6 Awakened. We should not have a problem killing it.”
“Yes. The problem is…” John furrowed his brows as he looked at the spiders exiting the nest.
Hundreds of spiders came out of the burning nest. Every one of them was glaring at the Awakened with red eyes filled with hatred and malice.
“… There are too many spiders,” John said. “The Molotovs were more effective than we expected, but it only killed a few hundreds of spiders.”
“I fear that a lot of Awakened will die today.” Serena’s expression was complicated.
At that moment, another shriek came from the depths of the nest.
This shriek was like an order to the spiders. As soon as it sounded, the spiders became berserk and charged towards the intruders.
Over one thousand spiders advanced like a flood towards the forty-five Awakened. The Awakened seemed like a small island that was about to be devoured by the sea.
“Casters! Release your attacks!” Serena shouted.
In the next second, ten Awakened released their skills towards the swarm spiders, including Karime and Jessica.
Every one of these Awakened wielded skills that allowed them to perform area attacks from a distance, just like Karime’s [Ice Creation] or Jessica’s [Ignite].
The attacks of these Awakened were like colorful fireworks that rained on the swarm. Dozens of spiders perished instantly, most of them were spiderlings.
Even so, compared to the size of the swarm, the spiders killed were like a drop in the sea.
But at that moment, Serena made her move.
In an instant, mana gathered on her palms. She then waved her right hand towards the swarm.
In the next second-
*Boom!*
a powerful shockwave was shot towards the spiders, crushing dozens of them instantly.
It was Serena’s Skill, [Shockwave].
A simple and versatile skill, but in the hands of a Tier Seven Awakened like Serena, it was more destructive than a tank's shell!