Chapter 14: [Arc 1] Chapter 8: Growth Through Trials

Zzz... ZZZ... zzz... huh? I'm awake! *Yawn* Is breakfast ready? Wait just a sec... I don't even have a kitchen! Or someone that makes my food! Aww, now I went and made myself depressed...

"Ribbit!" - Frog

And what's Froggy Mc Idiot doing here!? No... all the webs are filled with small fries! 

Good thing I installed those webs, or I've would have been small-fry-food. Note to self, get a better base when evolving next time,

*Grrrrr...*

Oops, Was that my stomach? So embarrassing... oh wait.

"! RIBBIT-RIBI-RIBI-RIBBIT!!" - Frogs

"SQUEAAAAK!!" - Rats

Oh, shut it! Chomping time!

---

*Burp* 'Scuse me. But man, I was hungry. Three rats and two frogs had trapped themselves, but now they're only bones.

While eating, I had a look at my current body.

A jet-black spider. That's the best way to describe me. Still, my back's smaller than what you could expect from a spider, and I have a neck for some reason, and only two, ruby-colored eyes. Am I a spider, or an ant?

No matter which one it is, it's not an explanation for my black hole appetite.  Evolution's supposed to only take half of your max stamina and mana reserves at most.

Something's off here... the System Message should tell me something. The icon in the left corner of my sight's been blinking all the time I've been eating. A living HUDHeads-Up Display.... handy.

Huh? Most of the stuff here's what the Kigal-Note told me when I looked up evolution. An increase of Skill Points you get from level-ups, gaining skills of the new race... but all this "Extra Race-bonuses" stuff is unexpected... 

Damn [Discern]. It let some of the most crucial information slip! Not that it was too bad, but I need to secure large amounts of food if I wanna Extra evolve again. Having to become a food fighter for some extra skills and stats... wait. My stats increased? More than expected, I mean.

They seriously increased more than I expected!! 

Extra evolutions rocks! I gotta keep on earning those. 

DEX and SPD went up by 40-or-so points, while RES and MP got around 30. MAG, HP, and SP all upped their scores by 20, and the rest, meaning STR and VIT, got around 10 points.

Maybe not that much for something called an "Extra Race" evolution, but hey, it was from a G-rank to an F-rank. I can't expect that much improvement.

Rogue's "100 DEX requirement" is still not achieved yet. I guess I should focus on getting used to this new body first. Luckily, I'm on the weakest floor of the Dungeon. I can farm weaklings easily! Both for EXP, personal experience, and to get those ten stealth-kills for the Rogue class!

Kukuku. I'm itching for action.

---

Yeah... the itch isn't getting scratched so much.

Don't take me wrong here. I've taken out rats and frogs here and there... but my level hasn't increased even after all these. Also, the monsters make such loud noises, that I can't expect that they count for Rogue's stealth-kills either.

My M.O. is to make webs in tunnels and tight spaces, then wait for some prey to get trapped. Kinda standard, but it works. If those pests weren't so noisy, then I wouldn't need to remove the web each time in case a cobra came by!

Ah, and my skills are like this now.

The only things I get to train are my string theories. And even they aren't going up even after all this time! Do I need to use it on stronger guys to get more EXP? Maybe being of a higher rank means you have to do more to gain levels? Yeah, that must be it. Tsk.

Maybe it's time to graduate to cobras..., that's a bad idea. The cobras are magic users, meaning they could probably tear through my webs with their spells. Even if [Spider Thread] has become my highest leveled skill. 

*Tug* *Tug*

That's the alert thread. I've made several small threads connected to the different webs that lead to my base. This one is...

I forgot to tell you about this, but I've made a base on top of one of the walls of the Dungeon. It's better to call it a small hill though. There's a small cave located there, which I've made into my bedroom. Due to that, I invested in the [Climbing] skill. Should have gotten that one earlier...

As the only creatures that can reach this height on this floor are me and some bouncy frogs, I've placed sticky threads all over the floor of the hill to catch any frogs and their big feet. There may be some cobras that can climb up like that first snake I encountered, but they're gonna have a harder time than the frogs with the sticky threads.

My bedroom's also covered with a cover and several webs, so there are no worries even if there's something that can slip through the threads. Not that I think there's something like that on this floor. Oh, and I'm still making threads outta my hands and mouth. It's not limited to making it out of my butt as with normal spiders. Is it cause I was a Grey Demon before, or is it a trait of this race?

Oh, right. The trap. A rat is struggling in the web I made there. Seriously, don't make so much noise! I need to rethink my fighting style a little...

The rat's useless for me, since it's probably got parasites again, so I used it as a practice target for [Cutting Thread]. With it, my treads can cut through stuff as if they were blades! Or, maybe it's more true to say they all became piano wires?

No matter, the rat got cut up in the end. Since the skill is so low-leveled, I needed to cut the rat's throats to finish them off. Thanks to [Thread Manipulation], I could move the thread as if I was using some psychic powers on it, allowing me to direct it flawlessly towards the points where I wanted to cut. It also works wonders when making webs.

The skill's compatibility with [Cutting Threads] is awesome even without the example I just gave. While [Thread Control] uses MP as fuel, [Cutting Thread] needs SP, meaning I won't go low by using both at once. 

I left the rat to bleed out, not caring about its filthy corpse. I've got two whole frog corpses in my [Spatial Storage], plus tons of weeds. Not that they are any good, but they taste better than the rats. And yes, I can taste stuff again! Or, it's the first time in my (second) life that I can taste stuff? You get the idea.

Even if they're easy kills with this strategy, I've yet to gain a new level. I need to find a better way to hunt these monsters without alarming the rest of the Dungeon. That, and even the stupid rats and frogs are starting to learn that this area haunted by death screams is bad news. I need to set up shop somewhere else or start to actively hunt down monsters. As in not using webs. Or, what about...

---

I was lying in wait on a ledge over a small path. There should be one coming soon... there!

A cobra. If I take care of this guy, then...

The cobra slithered closer and closer, with no care in the world. From the looks of its face, I think it's in such a good mood that it would whistle if snakes could do that. That didn't last for long. 

Right when the cobra was just below me, it stopped dead in its tracks. The cobra was confused, but before it could do anything, I had thrown my readied web over it. The web covered in a black aura landed on top of the cobra and sliced it to pieces.

Success! A brilliant success! And the Aura finally reached Lv.10! What a bonus!

Using a small amount of MP to use [Thread Control], along with some help from [Throwing], then using the rest of the MP to use [Aura of Darkness] and some SP to grant cutting attribute to the threads with [Cutting Thread], and you got a shredder that weakens and cuts the unfortunate monster trapped in it.

With this, anything that isn't too big or too durable, like those turtles, is mincemeat in front of me! Am I right? Ri-... right... no one to answer...

... I'm not lonely. Not lonely. If I wanted to, I could have ditched this place at any time. I found the exit to this place, but then I would probably miss out on the Chain Quest. I'm choosing to be a loner on my own. It's not that I was ostracized into becoming a loner! It's that freaking goddesses' fault that I'm stuck in this nightmarish Dungeon! 

Argh, why did she have to reincarnate me into this hellhole!? It may be good with the thought of not getting slain by human adventurers, hunters, mercenaries, knights, or whatever, but even so! There are limits to isolation, I tell ya!

I need some more monsters to slay! Gotta shave off some of this aggression!

I got the cobra after leveling up when testing my new "Shredder"-strategy on a bunch of rats before. I'll reach lucky number Lv.3, then I'll go to the next floor. I mean, there's no way I wanna miss this Quest out:

A Skill has been added to the rewards! Not sure if it's any good, but hey, take what you can.

Now, where are those cobras?

---

Still have not found any cobras. When you don't wanna see them, a big-ass snake pops up, but when you're looking for them, then no~. They are too important to be some no-name demon's EXP~.

I'm farming frogs instead. The rats are having the luckiest break of their life now. As for the froggies, not so much.

The rumors were true. Frogs do taste like chicken. But in my case, it's cold, soggy grill chicken. Still better than those nasty, bitter weeds. And they're cut in perfect eatable shapes thanks to the shredder! It's a little messy in retrieving the meat though. And all the blood's ruining the taste.

*Crunch* *Splash* *Crack* *Kreaaak* *Splosh*

... Some seriously disturbing noises came from that natural alleyway over there. Either there's a man-eating tiger with really bad table manners... or something that will reduce my SAN points if I take a look.

Well, disturbing some... thing, when they're eating is just bad manners on my part. Let's run!

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*Throw* *Splat*

Something came flying out of the alley. It's... the dedicated head of a cobra? Wait, what!? And what happened to this guy!? It looks like the meat was forcefully wrenched out, making it look like something from a splatter movie combined with a horror one! And, ugh, is that his brains? They're coming outta his mouth! As if it was trying to force itself outside from the cobra's skull.

!? What's that!?

Yeah, I agree. Something way too crazy just showed up. It looks like a tar-black something that's a cross between a skeleton and a zombie. Not to mention it's floating while covered in a grey haze. 

Iiik!! It's looking over here! What's up with those abyss-like black eyes!?

I-I'm not tasty! D-d-don't float closer... help me!!

I ran away the moment that... thing, came too close. No way I'm gonna end up like that cobra! I'm not gonna be tortured to death like that! And why's this thing just ignoring [Stealth]!?

I ran into tunnels, quickly climbed up the walls, dashed through open roads, but I never shook that thing off my trail! Seriously, work for me here, [Stealth]! Even doing a Tarzan-swing with my threads didn't work! What's with this thing! Scary, scary, scary, scary...

Ack! Rats! You guys can't see this thing behind me!? Wait, this is a chance! 

I ran towards the rats with the ghost behind me. The rats didn't see me 'cause of my stealth-skills (work on the guy behind me, not only the trash!), but they could see the ghost. They stiffened up a sec out of fright, but they tried to escape right after that. Something I didn't allow, as I spat globs of sticky thread on them. 

I passed the rats, and just as I hoped, the ghost stopped to kill the rats first. Now I've got the time to-

*Pop*

-to... to... escape? Wait, not even a sec!? The ghost simply stabbed the rat with its long, pointy skeleton hands, and the rat burst like a water balloon! The other five rats that saw this turned hysteric, but the ghost simply went to pop the next guy, er, rat.

*Pop*

These rats can't even be used as a good distraction! Even if I ran away now, I won't get the lead I need to flee this fiend. Ah, that was kinda good.

*Pop*

NO TIME FOR JOKES! But only running around won't help me! This thing's 1.1 times faster than me, and it doesn't look like this guy knows the meaning of the word tired.

*Pop*

Then what? I'm unsure if [Aura of Darkness] would work on that thing, and that's the most fantasy-ish move I've got now! Wait, that's it!

*Pop*

No time to waste!! "Initial Skills"! Something to beat this guy!

Alright, the best-sounding one's always the one on the bottom, so-!

Got it!

*Pop*

Wawawawa! It comes! Skill, work! Work, work, work, work! AAAAAHH!!

I didn't even have the time to close my eyes as the finger of the ghost came closer to me. 

And then, right before it touched me, a strange barrier appeared with me as its center. The ghost disappeared in a puff of grey smoke the moment the barrier touched it.

I-I-I-I-I'm saved! Hahahaha...

I couldn't do anything except for collapsing on the spot, listlessly laughing and crying, as if my soul had completely broken. That was, that was too scary!

---

Alright. I'm back to normal. Even so, I needed two days to recover from the shock. But don't judge me. I was just a few millimeters from dying in the worst way possible. Speaking of which, I need to give the rats a prayer. Thank you, meat shields.

Now then, the question is, what the heck was that!? I got some title called... "Dread Spirit Slayer"? Then the "ghost" must have been something like a "Dread Spirit". However, when I looked in the Kigal-Note, I only got this piece of information:

What the heck's that supposed to mean!?

This gotta be that freaking goddess again! Don't mess with me! She's gotta be hiding something here! 

Phew. I needed that. After crying myself to a mess of tears and snot, including a light mental breakdown from the fear, I mean.

Now then, onward to my next course of action. I'm not staying on this floor, as there could be more "Dread Spirits" lurking here. Then, I've got two options here. Go to the next floor, or escape the Dungeon right now.

I'm not too keen on advancing through the Dungeon after witnessing that thing, especially when thinking about the fact that the ghost has the same [Magic Sight] reading as for those things in the lake cave and on the sixth floor...

On the other hand, there are four floors between this floor, Floor 1, and Floor 6. Meaning, the chance of this "spirit" having wandered down here from Floor 6 is pretty low. It may have come from the outside... which kills my mood to go outside.

Let's try to change my gears. I used up one of my last two initial skill slots on something that insta-killed the "spirit" in one blow. What was it... it's too tedious to try to remember when I'm still this mentally exhausted. [Identification].

? EEEEHH!? My stats! They're like, 10 points too high! Only the Strength Stats, but even so!

Could this be that title's fault? I'll look it up later. But for now:

That's the one. [Heresy Modification]. The Kigal-Note tells about this one at least. It's a skill that allows you to change the status of a Heretic attribute-induced status ailment, either to remove it, strengthen it, or change it to a different status ailment that the Heretic attribute can inflict.

Also, any type of energy that includes the Heretic attribute can be manipulated to a certain extent. That's the skill's main feature. The ailment-thing is just a secondary way of usage.

I tried to use the skill again, and a barrier appeared with me as the center. I looked at my stats, but neither my MP, my SP, even not my HP went down. So I can use this thing indefinitely without any costs? Sweet!

To be honest, when against the Heretic attribute, this thing's more impressive than [Heretic Immunity]. Against anything else, this skill's useless though. Or, maybe not? My [Heretic Resistance] went up a level, even when I only used it for a little moment against the "spirit". Then, can't I use it all the time to farm levels with both itself, Resistance, and Immunity? Let's do that!

Ah, but the barrier's shining. Monsters will notice me if I use it all the time on this dark floor. But on Floor 2 and 3...

N-no matter. What else do I need to reflect on? 

... The panic attack I had from before. I had barely any time to think about my options before, so skills that improve my mental abilities? 

Yeah, I should go for stuff like that. My only potential card against the "spirit" was [Aura of Darkness], but what about situations later in the future? When my skill list is filled even more? I need to become better with "thinking on my feet". It won't be always that I only need to place a trap. I need to be prepared in case I fall into one myself.

... And [Fear Resistance]. A skill like that could be useful.

...... Fine. Fine, I say! I'll clear at least the floors before the sixth one! They're too delish to say no to. Are you happy now? Even if you aren't I'm still gonna do this! But no more ghost spirits, please?

Description:

A snake monster that originates from the Dungeon: "The Water-Knot of Glavras". This monster works as both a guardian for the Dungeon's entrance and the royal guard that defends the area right before the Dungeon's final floor.

Due to the lack of information about "The Water-Knot of Glavras", more detailed information about the Glavras Ophiagya is limited. 

Appearance:

The Glavras Ophiagya is a cobra snake with a length of approximately 11 meters. Their scales have a beautiful pattern in marine colors.

Abilities:

The strength of the Glavras Ophiagya lies in their prowess in using magic.

Due to the lack of information about the snake monster, there is no more detailed information about it, however, one is to believe that this creature specializes in Water attribute magics.

As shown with its Venomous Reptile trait, it is believed that the Glavras Ophiagya has some sort of venom or a relationship with Poison attribute skills. There is no proof yet.

Order's comment: The first article about that Dungeon's inhabitants! Get this out to the world, now!!

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