Chapter 11: 1.10 Food for Thought

The pain was unbearable. I felt as if everything was on fire. I ran circles, trying to douse the flames that weren’t there until, at last, the pain subsided.

Note to self: Do not enhance that many abilities at the same time. 

I took another look at my available enhancements to check how many Evolution points I would need to enhance all my current evolution’s skills.

Enhancement

Cost in EP

Regeneration

5

Improved Regeneration

10

Very Weak Magic Resistance

5

Weak Magic Resistance

10

Jaws and Teeth

5

Improved Jaws and Teeth

10

Improved Leg and Pedipalp Strengthening

10

Weak Spider Thread

3

Weak Toxin Resistance

3

Oh, my goddess, I would still need a whopping 25 points.

I better start earning more of those.

I also noticed that I needed quite a bit more experience in order to gain more levels.

This really wouldn’t get any easier, would it?

Anyways, Elysa, please show me what my other evolution’s specific skills would have been.

The evolution options for ‘Green Forest Jumping Spider’ were:

Venom

Improved Venom

Very Weak Paralytic Venom

Weak Paralytic Venom

Paralytic Venom

Improved Paralytic Venom

Weak Toxin Resistance

Toxin Resistance

Improved Toxin Resistance

The evolution options for ‘Purple Jumping Spider’ were:

Spider Thread

Improved Spider Thread

Extremely Weak Fireball

Extremely Weak Ice Lance

Very Weak Mana Reserves

Very Weak Mana Regeneration

Weak Mana Regeneration

Magic Resistance

Extremely Weak Physical Barrier

I had to admit, the Purple Jumping Spider abilities looked better than I imagined. The spells looked to be weak, but I didn’t know how they measured up against my possible opponents. I imagined they would be good enough to take down whatever I could take down without magic.

There was even a physical barrier skill. It was interesting because I already knew how to make a physical barrier with magic from my old life. I just didn’t have the mana to perform such an action at the moment.

The Green Forest Jumping Spider… Seemed to be a strong improvement for me because I had something I could measure it against, my own venom. My venom at the moment was considered ‘Weak’. With the Green evolution, I would be able to elevate it all the way to ‘Improved.’

I made a mental note to strongly consider getting the green evolution if it was offered to me again. 

For now, it was time to explore the forest and build up the remaining enhancements that I would be able to get.

I removed the webs from the opening of my hideout and noticed that I barely fit through the opening. If I had to guess, I would say I was now the size of a thumb.

I was certain I was at least three times as big as when I was just reborn as a spider.

Being bigger would certainly make things easier… right?

Actually… hiding would be much harder. I barely fit through the opening of my current hideout anymore. I think with my next evolution I wouldn’t be able to enter it any longer.

I was going to have to plan for that in advance. I hadn’t found any bigger nooks or crannies in this cave that could serve as a proper hideout, so I’d likely have to find something outside the cave.

Or… perhaps deeper inside the cave?

I wondered if I was able to beat something like that snake.

How could I tell what I could and could not beat?

So far, I’d only preyed on creatures that I was certain I could beat. I imagined because of the way my experience worked, I would eventually have to start taking larger risks.

That was one of the reasons why I had opted into some more defense as well.

I just had to make sure to grow stronger so that nothing around me would be a threat anymore.

I found a centipede and decided to dispatch it quickly. 

You have killed a Cave Centipede:  EXP+10

That looked like these creatures would give less experience now. The experience was still not terrible, but the problem with these centipedes was that they didn’t appear in large numbers like the spiders.

I skittered over to the cave exit. From what I could see, it was morning. The sun was still rising, and I could see drops of dew on the grass, even from here.

This sight was really something.

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I crossed the gap between the cave exit and the long grass that would hide me. I had marked the location of the nearest tree in my mind and ran through the grass in a straight line.

The fact that the grass was tall certainly helped out in hiding me from birds and the like. Orange wouldn’t be hard to spot. I hoped tree bark would at least offer some kind of camouflage,

I was wrong.

When I reached the tree trunk, I noticed the distinct difference in colors between me and it. If anything, I was an easy-to-spot target. 

I noticed a beetle run down the tree’s trunk. This one was of a completely different species. It possessed large mandibles that looked like they’d be painful if they could pinch me. Its armor seemed to be tough as well. 

At least I knew where its weapons were.

I waited until it reached the ground before jumping on its back. There was no way it would be able to use those mandibles against me.

I found a weak spot in its armor behind its head, where its exoskeleton plates overlapped with the plates on the next part of its body. I sank my fangs between the plates after pulling them apart slightly with my pedipalps and injected my venom.

It took a while for it to die, but it did so in the end.

I would love to get a stronger venom…

You have killed a Forest Stag Beetle:  EXP+31

Level Up!

Kealyna has reached level 2!

You have been awarded 4 EP.

Oh.

That was some nice experience gain from that creature.

That armor had been quite tough, though. I had to pin the creature down for a full minute or two before it killed the beetle. I was lucky to have stronger limbs to sever the plates, albeit slightly. Otherwise, I didn’t know if I’d have been able to inject my venom into it.

Maybe I should enhance my strength further and rely on just using my strength in order to overpower my opponents instead of my venom, at least until I get stronger venom.

I left the creature behind and looked around to make sure I was still safe. That creature died too slowly for my liking. I’d have to speed up my killing outside in the forest to remain safe.

That’s how I saw it at least.

It would probably be a good idea to look for a new hideout here in the forest, both for now and for the future.

I climbed up the tree as fast as I could, looking around to see if there were any proper hiding spots. Maybe there was something here?

I finished my tour quickly as I found nothing that would serve me. I also noticed a bird approaching the tree and quickly hid from it by running to the other side of the trunk and making my way down. I then jumped into the grass where I knew it wouldn’t be able to spot me.

I made my way to another tree through the grass. And noticed its roots provide the exact cover I was looking for. There appeared to be a hole under the roots already that looked to be of excellent size to house me.

I looked around to see if anything was approaching me. When that wasn’t the case, I entered the hole, carefully to not disturb its current inhabitants if there were any.

I slowly crept my way deeper inside the tunnel and noticed it end with a larger room where I saw another creature… wait, there were multiple.

I could see… Three mice.

They were currently sleeping.

Each of them was about my own size.

I reckoned a sleeping mouse would not be an issue for me. Three, however, I wasn’t so sure about.

Yet I wanted this burrow of theirs. It was just too good to pass up on.

And to make that happen I would have to take out these sleeping mice.

I got to the conclusion that I was going to have to use my threads and set up a trap.

I carefully walked back to the tunnels to get out of sight of the mice and asked Elysa to show my enhancement options.

Currently Available Enhancements

Enhancement

Cost in EP

Regeneration

5

Improved Regeneration

10

Very Weak Magic Resistance

5

Weak Magic Resistance

10

Jaws and Teeth

5

Improved Jaws and Teeth

10

Improved Leg and Pedipalp Strengthening

10

Weak Spider Thread

3

Weak Toxin Resistance

3

I opted into enhancing my Spider Thread to the next level to increase my chances of success.

As soon as I’d picked it, I found energy flow into the tip of my rear, where silk exited my abdomen.

After I was sure the enhancement was applied, I started creating threads that covered the entrance. I made sure to make a thick layer of silk that would be strong enough to hold all three of them, perhaps two if I could take one out before the others could even react.

Once I was finished with my web, it was time to put this plan into motion. 

Alright, let’s do this.

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