Chapter Text
The spider in the room was starting to get irritated, no one there had any right to judge her, and yet they were.
Normally she vents her frustration in heated rants in her own mind, but she doesn't feel safe doing that in this room, not when there is someone who can read your thoughts and show them to everyone
Shiro can't decide if this being is worse or better than D, since both of them put her in uncomfortable and equally inescapable situations.
At least for the moment, she thinks she's safe, but she's being forced into human interactions… yuck
She's once again grateful to Wrath, as he's able to read her and answer for her, calming things down, but even he's starting to get frustrated, she can tell.
As I continue working on the egg in my home, one of my web starts vibrating again. It’s a special occasion: my second catch. Perfect timing! I was just getting a bit hungry.
"Ooohhh, second capture, how exciting, I wonder what it will be" Kusama interrupts jumping on the sofa
“It's a good thing the trap is working and relatively fast, I think, because either I'm losing track of time or using its abilities takes a lot of energy, and I don't think this egg will crack any time soon”
“You forget, Kunihiko-kun, that babies need more nutrients than adults and generally eat at shorter intervals, the same applies to spiders, even with a web full of prey, the little ones need to eat every two to three days and we don't know what the metabolism of this species is nor the conditions of this tunnel" Oka remembers even more of her research on spiders
“Also, even though she's adapting well to her spider instincts, she was still a human just a short time ago, so it makes sense that she'd want to eat at least one meal a day.”
“We're assuming this spider monster follows the same instincts as earth spiders, as Oka-chan said we don't know the metabolism of this species, from what I saw of the master she may be eternally hungry”
Everyone grimaces, this seems like a horrible curse to have.
I skip a little as I head towards my prey
...It’s kind of surreal for a spider to skip, even for me.
Last time, I let down my guard and took a surprise attack to the face, this time I approached with caution.
Now, I wonder what kind of prey I’ve caught this time…?
<Elroe frog>
A collective groan fills the room
It’s another frog. You again! Why, dammit?! There are monsters in this dungeon! What are the odds of catching the monster twice in a row?!
"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! The frog again?! What are the odds? This game's spawn rates are totally broken!”
“We already said that life is not a game, man, stop it, it's not that kind of Isekai" Ogi complained to Kusama while hitting the back of his head
“How do you know? It could be one that no one here has played, besides I already said I won't stop" Kusama said with a pout, except for the last part, which he bit back.
“But Kusama, if we follow game logic, she may have found an exclusive frog spawn" Shun Interrupted
“This is supposed to be the labyrinth, various monsters are supposed to roam around, but we know that each part houses different types, so it makes sense” Katia agreed
Ha...ha...
Whoops, I got a little carried away there.
Splat! Noooooo!
“Shiro…” Wrath started disappointing, but on second thought he continued "Do you happen to have attention deficit disorder?”
Shiro shrugged, how was she supposed to know? Could spiders have it? Could the Wakaba avatar that D implanted in her mind have it? Could D herself have it? Could administrators have it? She doesn't know. More importantly, is there anyone qualified in this world who could give a diagnosis?
Are there any psychologists and psychiatrists in this world?
While I’m preoccupied with a one-man comedy act in my head, the frog aims a spit attack right at me. Never in both of my lives have I been so shocked! I’m such an idiot!
The pain brings me partially to my senses. This time, my resistance doesn’t level up. Must not have enough proficiency yet. Well, whatever.
I wrap the frog in thread so it can’t fight back.
Then I bite down on it from above. Chomp!
“To be able to hunt like this" Asaka sighed dreamily “It seems so easy.”
“Ah? I didn't know you were so eager to eat a poisonous frog," Kunihiko teased.
“Shut up.” She retorted, laughing
The first frog didn’t die after one bite, so this one probably has some resistance, too.
Still, if I immobilize it and bite it once, that should weaken it significantly.
I quickly bring the frog bundle into my house, then go back and immediately rebuild the broken web.
Last time, I left the webbing as it was and ate my prey right on the spot. But thinking about it afterward, I realized I left myself totally defenseless in the meantime.
If other monsters or even humans had arrived right at that moment, I would’ve been under attack without a complete web for defense.
So this time, I’ll restrict the frog’s movement first, repair my web, then finish it off and eat it once I’m fully prepared.
Smart decision, normally in the maze there's always someone covering your back, but since you're a monster, I think you need a safety net.” Shun comments
‘You think?’ Shiro repeats sarcastically.
“You're right, so where is that man's company?” Katia agrees, ignoring the spider.
"Probably dead” Ugio cheerfully suggests
"You don't steal from a dragon and get away with it that easily.” Fei adds
“I wouldn't say it was that easy, the guy looked all bruised and like he was going to pee himself.” Kusama points
But apparently he got away more easily than his companion.”
"We're assuming he had company, so for all we know he could just be a stupidly brave guy," Sophia scoffed.
"I don't think anyone would be foolish enough to steal a dragon egg alone, but he may have run off with the prize and left the others as bait” Wrath disagreed.
"Why are we discussing this?" Hugo interrupts.
When I return to the frog, I see it wriggling around in an attempt at escape, despite being all wrapped up.
Hmm.
I guess one bite didn’t have that much effect.
Chomp! I bite it again.
The first time, I’d beaten the frog by biting it over and over, but that probably wasn’t necessary. All I need to do is sink my teeth into it and keep injecting poison through my fangs.
<Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Poison Fang LV 1] has become
[Poison Fang LV 2].>
Oh! I totally leveled up a skill! This is the first I’ve heard of this one. At the same moment my skill levels up, the struggling frog gives one last spasm and stops moving. It’s so sudden that I’m a little startled.
"Starled with just that?" Sophia murmured.
‘Shut up’
"Holy shit, that was a huge boost!" Ogi exclaimed.
"I'm a little envious that you were born with skills” Kusama confessed.
‘Would you have liked to switch places with me?’
“No, I wouldn't”
‘So shut up you too’
"And Kusama... I don't think any of us can complain about being born without skills," Yuri scolded quietly.
Oh, but that probably meant that leveling up my skill increased the potency of my poison. Nice!
<Experience has reached the required level. Individual small lesser taratect has increased from LV 1 to LV 2.>
Hmm? Hmmm? Ah, my body feels strange!! Huh?! What’s going on?!
My skin’s peeling off?!
it molting? Am I molting?!
“Aghh”
“Why, my goodness? Why?”
“My eyes”
“What are we watching?
“Better question, why are we watching this?”
“What agony!”
‘Weak, all you are weak”
The demonic side couldn't be less impressed.
"Do you remember that even on Earth, all arthropods, or at least most of them, go through this?" Oka asked doubtfully.
“Yeah, but normally we don't watch it.”
"Does this happen every time you level up?”
"Imagine if humans shed all their skin.”
<All basic attributes have increased.>
<Skill proficiency level-up bonus acquired.>
<Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Poison Resistance LV 2] has become [Poison Resistance LV 3].>
<Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Spider Thread LV 2] has become [Spider Thread LV 3].>
<Skill points acquired.>
Wh-whaat?! W-wait a second!!
Did I just get a whole bunch of important information at once?!
Say it again! One more time, please!
The Divine Voice (temp.) remains silent, ignoring my wishes.
I have to calm down and remember. Did it say I leveled up? It did, didn’t?
Argh, I was so distracted by the sudden molting that I didn’t catch everything!
“It's justified” Fei agreed.
No, wait, there’s no way I’d just randomly start molting for no reason, right?
Maybe my body renewed itself because I leveled up? At any rate, the old skin is still stuck to me, so I peel it off. Wow, a few areas, like on my back, are pretty messed up. That was where the frog’s acid got me. I wasn’t able to see it until now, but it looks like a pretty bad wound.
Hmm? Speaking of which, the part of my vision that was busted is all back to normal!
Ooh! So if you level up, you make a full physical recovery and everything? Very fancy! Okay.
So this is definitely a level-up. My body feels kind of light and refreshed, too.
"This type of recovery is madness" Asaka stated.
“Yeah, like, Imagine you assemble a party to beat a high-ranking monster. Everyone is doing their best, and the monster is weakened, but you're all exhausted, and it manages to kill one of you. Coincidentally, the monster was just a little short of evolving, and therefore this makes it… you wouldn't stand a chance," Kunihiko agreed.
“So… technically, a phase two boss fight?” Kusama asked
.
.
.
He was right, and nobody knew what to say about it.
It probably happened because I beat that frog and gained experience points, right? I decide to start eating the frog while I process what happened.
Now, let’s see if I can remember it one at a time.
I think the first thing it said was that my level went up. The molting started right after that, and while I was freaking out, I think the Divine Voice (temp.) spouted off a whole bunch of other stuff.
Let me see... Skills? That’s right—wasn’t there something about skill levels going up?
And it was more than one, right? Did two go up at the same time? Why?
Right, I think there was something else before the bit about skills.
Uh... “Skill proficiency level-up bonus,” maybe? That’s it! It did say that!
In other words, when I leveled up just now, bonus points were added to my skill proficiencies!
So that’s why multiple skill levels went up at once.
The skills affected were Poison Resistance and...Spider Thread, right?
Huh, so thread handling is a skill, too. I didn’t catch what level it is, though.
But if I keep making spider thread, the skill should improve easily enough, right?
Well, that’s handy information.
And at the end, wasn’t there something about skill points?
So I guess you get more of those by leveling up, then.
In summary, when I level up, I completely recover health. I think my stats go up, too. Plus, I get skill points.
I can probably test out how much I earned later.
And the most important part is that I received a skill proficiency bonus.
I don’t know exactly how many points that entails, but since it raised two skills at once, I bet it was a ton.
So leveling up might be a good way to enhance skills effectively.
Levels, huh...
Since skills and titles exist, I kinda figured levels would, too, but still.
I’ve been trying not to think about it too much, but boy, this world sure is gamelike.
I was afraid that if I took that view, I might start acting as if I’m just playing a game, but I guess it’s too late for that. I have to admit, though— I’m already getting a little excited.
I can’t help it if I have the soul of a gamer, all right?
“You're my new best friend” Kusama stated, pointing at her.
Ogi, looking tired, groaned through his hands.
Yuri, equally tired but still amused, let out a few giggles.
Shiro ignored him.
For now, my current goal is to break that egg. It seems impossible at the moment. The shell’s just too tough.
Wrapping the rubber threads around it didn’t do a thing, it seems.
But if I keep raising my level and improving my stats, I should be a
ble to crack it eventually.
Heh-heh-heh. Just you wait, egg!
I’m gonna break you open and eat you if it’s the last thing I do!
Shiro pouted; she couldn't eat that egg.