by Okina Baba
If I trained, the numbers for whatever skill or stat I was working on would go up accordingly.
Like Katia had said when we were skimming through the skill encyclopedia, if I powered up my basic stat skills, their levels would rise.
The most efficient way to increase basic physical status skills was simple exercise.
So I practiced running and weight training on the grounds. By my side, Fei exercised in a similar way. Whether she was just imitating me or was actually training herself was a mystery to me.
Fei was very clever, though, so she probably was trying to train with all her might.
“Whew.”
Once I’d worked out every part of my body, I took a break.
I drank some of the water that I’d prepared earlier.
Fei didn’t drink any, though. I didn’t really understand the physiology of monsters, but I had never once seen Fei drink anything.
As I took a breather, I hummed absentmindedly.
It was a song from Japan, not this world. I used to sing it at karaoke with Kanata and Kyouya…
The thought made me nostalgic.
“I know that song.”
Maybe that was why the sudden comment in Japanese made me homesick. Even when Katia and I hung out, we didn’t speak Japanese very often.
Surprised, I looked around, but I couldn’t find the source of the Japanese voice.
“Down here.”
The voice spoke again, and I felt a tug on my arm at the same time.
Looking down, I saw Fei play-biting my arm and pulling on it lightly.
“So, Fei, you’re…Shinohara?”
“That’s right.”
Once I’d calmed down a bit, I listened to Fei, aka Shinohara, tell her story.
To be precise, she wasn’t actually speaking but using a skill that allowed her to communicate telepathically. Apparently she’d noticed it when we were looking at the skill encyclopedia, and she’d acquired it using her SP.
“Ah, but you can just keep calling me Fei, of course.”
“Right…sure.”
I couldn’t help feeling somewhat awkward.
I mean, this creature that I’d been treating as a pet this whole time was actually my former classmate.
Since I was a kid again, my sexual maturity and such had been reset to zero, so I didn’t see it in a weird way, but it was still embarrassing.
“Aww, I can’t believe you turned out to be a prince, though, Shun. I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed.”
“Uh, excuse me?!”
What a terrible thing to say right to my face.
“I mean, I was reincarnated as a baby dragon, not to mention I wound up as a prince’s pet. Obviously the logical course from here would be to eventually turn into a human and become a princess, right?”
“No, not really.”
“Oh, come on. A girl can dream.”
That’s dreaming a bit too much, if you ask me.
“I mean, how am I supposed to go on without one? You can’t imagine what it’s like to be reborn as something other than a human.”
I hadn’t realized it until she said that.
That’s right. When I was reincarnated as a baby, even a human one, I still panicked.
What must she have felt all this time, being reborn as something else entirely?
Shinohara was right. I couldn’t even begin to grasp it.
“Yeah… You’re right, I’m sorry. That must’ve been hard for you.”
“Yes, I suppose it was. I was able to hear outside sounds while I was in that egg, you know. So I latched on to that with all I had and tried to learn the language.”
“Oh, yeah, I did that, too, when I was a baby. Wait, does that mean when you were cozying up to me whenever I was reading, it was because you were trying to study?”
“Yes, that’s right! Ahh, I was disappointed at first, but it’s a relief to have a friend here.”
A friend, huh?
“Oh yeah, I guess I can tell you, then. Katia’s actually a reincarnation, too.”
“What? Seriously?”
“Yeah. It’s Kanata Ooshima.”
“Are you kidding? But Ooshima was a guy.”
“I know, right? Her gender changed when she got reincarnated.”
“For real? That’s hilarious!”
“I don’t think it’s a laughing matter for Kanata.”
“Ah, I suppose not. Okay, I won’t laugh in front of…her, then.”
Those words surprised me a little.
To be honest, I didn’t have a very flattering impression of Shinohara. In her previous life, she was practically a bully. She constantly picked on another classmate named Wakaba.
The root of the problem was that Shinohara liked an upperclassman who had a crush on Wakaba. Though Wakaba herself had no idea. But apparently, when Shinohara confessed her feelings to him, he rejected her and stated who he liked instead.
Wakaba was the prettiest girl in class…no, in the whole school.
As a result, she became the target of a lot of jealousy.
And Shinohara was the ringleader.
She would harass her almost every day—deliberately saying rude things about her while she was in earshot and hiding her personal belongings, among other things.
Wakaba never gave any sign that she was bothered by it, so it never came to a head, but it was still basically bullying.
“Surprised?”
My thoughts must’ve showed on my face.
“Kinda, yeah.”
I answered honestly. I thought it was probably better that way.
“Well, I had a lot of time to think while I was stuck in the egg. It didn’t take long to realize that I wasn’t human anymore, you see. I thought maybe I was being punished.”
Fei’s telepathic words berated herself.
“But like it or not, I’m a pet now, you know? So once I was born, I figured I might as well try to serve my owner as best as I could. It’s not like I was intentionally trying to atone for my sins, since that seemed like the most likely chance for my survival. But it’s a fitting penalty that my ‘master’ would turn out to be a former classmate.”
“Sorry you got stuck with me as a penalty, then.”
“Ah-ha-ha! Did that bother you? I was only joking.”
“Didn’t sound like a joke to me.”
“Now, now. Let’s just try to stay friendly from now on, right, Master?”
Her voice was dripping with so much sugary sarcasm that I could only sigh.
And so, I had been reunited with my second fellow reincarnation.
Yes, the second one.
When I first met Katia, I began to have a slight suspicion.
But now that I’d met another one, that suspicion turned into conviction.
I believed the rest of the members of my old class might have reincarnated here, too.
I’M EVOLVING!
Man… Centipedes are scary. Seriously, what the hell? I never wanna see that many insects again in my life.
Wow. I’m exhausted.
My legs are trembling. Probably because I ran for so long after depleting the yellow stamina gauge—my immediately available energy.
It’s definitely time for a rest.
I look back one more time to check whether the centipede army is following me. Sweet, no sign of them.
I lay out some webbing to make a simple home.
The moment I finish the web to ensure my relative safety, all the strength drains from my body, and I collapse.
Wow, I might’ve gotten a little traumatized.
Those centipedes may be weak individually, but that enormous horde was a major threat.
If that many of them came at me at once, there’d be nothing I could do.
Plus, those guys can inflict paralysis. If I got bitten even once, I’d probably be totally immobilized prey.
After that, all I’d be able to do is wait for them to gobble me up.
The thought alone makes me sh
udder.
I should’ve thought more carefully about why there were so many centipedes in that area.
Or maybe what I should’ve noticed was the lack of other monsters around there.
I mean, on their own, the centipedes are crazy weak.
In retrospect, it was odd that there weren’t any other predators around when there was so much prey to be had. I’d considered that maybe other monsters didn’t want to eat them because of their paralyzing venom, but in a dungeon chock-full of poisonous monsters, that seemed like a flimsy reason.
More likely, the other beasts either avoided the area, knowing a swarm of centipedes lived there, or wandered in accidentally and got eaten.
Considering that even my speed was barely enough to let me escape, it may simply be impossible for slower creatures. They’d try to run but get overtaken in no time, and once they were bitten and paralyzed, tons of centipedes would swarm around them and…
Scaaaaary.
I guess even lesser monsters have ways of compensating for their vulnerabilities.
In terms of pure fighting ability, I’m on the weaker side, too, but if I make a web, I can entrap and defeat monsters stronger than myself.
So just because something seems weak doesn’t mean you can let your guard down.
Let’s just say this little encounter drummed that lesson into me very thoroughly.
I was able to stay alive, anyway, and I did make a snack of more than a few centipedes before that incident.
I earned some levels and stuff, too.
Although, despite all the level-up molting I’ve been doing, I don’t feel like I’m getting any bigger.
Molting normally helps an animal grow larger, doesn’t it?
I mean, technically I am growing in a sense by leveling up, but the size of my body hasn’t changed. After seeing my gigantic mother when I first hatched, I got the idea that I could eventually be that big, too…
But so far, there aren’t any signs of that happening.
Since this world has levels and all, maybe evolution exists, too, or something?
Oh, right, speaking of levels…
After I Appraised that whole army of centipedes, my Appraisal skill level went up.
Is this what they call a lucky break?
For the time being, I take a fresh look at my continuous self-Appraisal results. I didn’t really have time for that during my pursuit by the centipede army, obviously.
What do you mean, “Status: Weak”?! That’s way too vague!
Plus, calling me weak is… Well, I suppose I realized that already. But couldn’t you sugarcoat it at least a little?
The fact that my Appraisal said I’m weak is just more proof that I’m small-fry by this world’s standards.
Sigh… That sucks.
No, wait. Didn’t I just decide that you can’t dismiss something just because it’s not very strong?
I have my thread, after all.
Even if my body is frail, as long as I have my spider thread, I’ll never be defeated, probably. Maybe.
If you look at it that way, I’m not really weak at all, right?
I mean, I’m biased, but I would say I’m actually kinda strong…
I can trap monsters with my thread, gain the upper hand with ambushes, and bite with my poison fangs once my target is immobile.
Yeah. I have to admit, I play dirty. But I don’t have much of a choice, since I’m at such a disadvantage in a fair fight. So basically, I take any help I can get.
I just have to make sure I’m the one setting the pace, playing to my strengths.
Man, if things went that way all the time, I’d never have any problems.
Ugh, so tired. It’s time for sleep.
I’m awake.
I don’t even feel fully rested yet. But my eyes suddenly pop open.
What’s this feeling? I don’t know why, but my intuition is waving huge red flags.
Quickly, I get up and add more threads to my web. Then I notice the source of my premonition.
It’s a massive snake.
It looks thick enough to swallow a human whole without a hitch, and its body is at least thirty feet long.
Basically, it seems strong. Not to mention, level 9.
Up until now, the strongest monster I’ve seen is a level 4. So this is a big jump.
Species-wise, the advantage is clear. That, combined with its superior level, means that if we fight fair and square, I don’t stand a chance.
I break out in a cold sweat. I’m like a frog caught by a snake. Except I’m a spider.
My body is stiffening in fear, but I force it to move somehow. Slowly, I retreat in an attempt to put some distance between us.
But the snake isn’t having any of that.
Heedless of the web between us, its head thrusts forward!
Naturally, it winds up caught in the web. But then, the snake thrashes around and breaks through!
I turn around and dart away, fast as a frightened rabbit. I make my escape through the emergency exit of my hastily built web right as the snake bursts through the first barrier and attacks where I just was.
My instincts warn me to run away. But I don’t.
I see it. The snake is tangled up in the webs.
It could rip up the threads, but it couldn’t manage to free itself completely.
The intact web and the busted one are now tangling together around its body.
This could work! This is the advantage I need.
I latch on to the body of the snake as it writhes around.
The moment I bite down on it, I start producing more threads from my butt. Somehow I break through its hard scales and drive my poison fangs into its body! The snake thrashes more violently as the pain of the venom sets in.
As I entrap it with more thread, it struggles even harder.
The serpent slams my body against the walls and floor time and time again, but I hang on with all of my might and determination!
My yellow stamina gauge is running low. Every time I get hit, my green HP bar goes down, too.
And whenever I make thread, the red general-stamina bar decreases as well.
Once the red gauge runs out, I probably won’t be able to produce any more thread.
If that happens, it’s only a matter of time before the snake escapes its bonds.
I have to beat this monster before that happens. I pour all my energy into biting down and pumping out thread.
The snake’s resistance starts to weaken, slowly but surely.
When my yellow stamina bar is long gone and the red bar is down to only 10 percent, the snake finally lies still.
That’s what happens when you underestimate a weakling!
Wow, that was a lot of stuff.
I guess gaining a ton of experience points when you beat an enemy that’s out of your league holds true in any world.
I even rose two levels.
>
The snake sure was a strong opponent. If I fought it head-on, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.
It had a strong body and had a strong defense with its protective scaly covering. Judging by the way it burst through my web, its speed was probably high, too. It might’ve even been faster than me.
Plus, snakes equal venom. No doubt that guy was poisonous, too.
Frankly, even when it was caught in my net, the odds of me winning were probably about fifty-fifty.
All my wounds healed when I leveled up and molted, but before that, my HP was dangerously low. I almost ran out of stamina, too. That was close.
But all that risk makes for great rewards.
When I was overhunting the centipedes, I figured I was getting close to level 8, but I never expected to reach level 9 in one fell swoop.
I’m really pleased about leveling up, but my skill levels have risen a lot, too.
It definitely doesn’t hurt to have more Pain Resistance, and Poison Fang is one of my trump cards along with Spider Thread.
When my Poison Fang skill powers up, that means my attack power increases by the same amount.
Or, to put it another way, Poison Fang is still my only method of attacking.
That could come back to bite me if I run into an opponent with high Poison Resistance. No pun intended.
But what caught my eye the most in this round of leveling up was the Night Vision skill.
Yeah. Come to think of it, it did make sense that I would have that skill.
That must be why this dungeon only seems a bit dim to me despite the total lack of light sources.
Now my skill level for that has gone up, and the scenery around me has become totally visible.
So 10 must be the highest level available. There’s no other explanation for this clarity.
Unless 10 just happens to be the max level for the Night Vision skill specifically and not other skills, of course.
Plus, I got a Vision Expansion skill, I think as a bonus for getting Night Vision to level 10. That’s great and all, but to be honest, I have no idea what it actually does.
Judging by the name, you’d think my field of vision would be much wider now, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Well, this isn’t the first time I’ve gotten a skill whose effects I couldn’t understand from the name alone.