After resting for a while, I fully recovered. It took longer than I expected, even with "HP Auto-Recovery" and "SP Recovery Speed" at decent levels.
I tore down the webs of my own house and left.
Fortunately, I'm not hungry yet. I don't have to taste that horrible monster meat again just yet. I removed all the edits from my stats and began calmly exploring the labyrinth.
'Why?' So my SP wouldn't drain too quickly—and because it might be fun to fight "normally." The monsters around here aren't that strong anyway. I'll use the Editing skill only when necessary.
Now that I've realized the skill doesn't level up just from repeated use, there's no reason to keep it active all the time. It only leveled up when I evolved. It'll probably level up again at my next evolution.
Luckily, that evolution is close. I'm level 8, after all.
Small Taratect LV8
Skill Points: 1,300
Nameless
Status
HP: 154
MP: 147
SP: 189
Average Offense Ability: 154
Average Defense Ability: 137
Average Magic Ability: 125
Average Resistance Ability: 131
Average Speed Ability: 179
Skills
Stat & Ability Skills
HP Auto-Recovery LV7 • SP Recovery Speed LV5 • Strength LV7
Active Skills
Poison Fang LV8 • Spider Thread LV8 • Thread Control LV6
Perception Skills
Appraisal LV7
Magic Skills
Heretic Magic LV4
Resistance Skills
Poison Resistance LV9 • Acid Resistance LV8 • Pain Resistance LV8
Passive Skills
Night Vision LV8
Other Skills
Editing LV2 • Taboo LV2
Titles
Kin Eater
Oh… I had completely forgotten that I received this title—and also the "Heretic Magic" skill. I probably got it when I ate one of my siblings and didn't even notice.
Interesting. It might be fun to use this magic.
How should I use it? If I remember correctly, it's magic that directly affects the soul. I need to test it. I started moving my legs at high speed in search of an enemy. As soon as I found one, I smiled.
It was a poor frog.
If I recall correctly, this magic can be used to create "Phantom Pain," which attacks the soul directly.
And that's exactly what I did.
As soon as I cast the spell, my MP was slightly drained, and the frog began jumping and writhing in pain, completely ignoring its surroundings. I approached and bit it to poison it.
My "Poison Fang" is level 8 now, so the venom is quite potent against an enemy like this, even if it has low-level poison resistance. After I bit it, it kept writhing in agony and then became paralyzed.
After a short while, it died.
I thought about eating it, but since I wasn't hungry, I ignored the body.
I wonder if cooking its meat would make it taste better. I'd like to get fire magic to try that… but first I need fire resistance.
So I opened the shop to deal with that problem.
After searching for a bit, I found the skill I was looking for. The price? 400 points.
That's way too expensive. It costs the same as SP Recovery Speed. Hmmm… Well, whatever.
[ The skill "Fire Resistance LV1" has been learned ]
Well, it'll only level up once I reach the Middle Stratum.
####
I continued exploring the labyrinth and passed through many places I never imagined I would. I went through narrow, difficult tunnels, crossed enormous empty chambers, and of course, encountered plenty of monsters.
But I still haven't reached level 9.
During all this time, I didn't even need to use my Editing skill to fight. I'm already much stronger than most of the monsters I encounter. Normally, I just use my poison.
My venom alone is enough to kill almost all of them, even if they have resistance.
And when they don't die immediately, I just tear off a few chunks of them or strike them with my legs to finish them. They can't withstand my attacks—their defense is too low.
But seriously, where is the path to the Middle Stratum of this labyrinth?
I started thinking and remembered the place where Kumoko fell straight down to the Lower Stratum. She fell directly to her death… if she hadn't been the protagonist.
If I find that place, I might be able to reach the Lower Stratum too. There are very strong monsters there, right?
I remember that dragons live there. Honestly, I kind of want to encounter a dragon. If it's just a normal earth dragon, maybe I could kill it.
But if it's Araba, I would definitely die if I tried to fight him.
Still, even though there are extremely strong monsters down there, there are also just strong ones. A great source of experience for leveling up.
I remember there are monkey-type monsters that move in groups.
They're hard to deal with, but since there are so many of them, they're perfect for gaining levels.
After destroying the finjicote nest, I feel like facing another group of monsters.
It's fun.
Huff~~
I let out a sigh and kept exploring. After several long minutes, I decided to build a new house to rest. I'm a little tired—not physically, but mentally.
After searching for a suitable place, I found a hole in the labyrinth wall, similar to my old home.
I approached and looked inside.
It's deeper than I expected.
After squeezing into the somewhat narrow hole and sealing the entrance, I went all the way to the back. But when I reached the end, I was shocked to find a monster.
A spider.
However, its front legs looked like scythes.
Startled, I used my "Appraisal" skill.
Zoa Ele LV7
Stats
HP: 313
MP: 344
SP: 356
Offense: 235
Defense: 256
Magic: 197
Resistance: 234
Speed: 378
Skills
Spider Thread LV8 • Poison Fang LV8 • Rot Attack LV9 • Cutting Enhancement LV7 • Stealth LV7 • Silence LV6 • Poison Resistance LV9
'Shit!'
Suddenly, the "scythe" swung toward me—and I couldn't react.
####
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