by Okina Baba
She went to a university with a strong history program because of her interest in manga about the Warring States period, and she became a teacher mostly out of a desire to meet a younger man.
Overall, a pretty sad excuse for an educator.
However, her pathetic nature actually made her rather popular with the students.
“All righty, then, how about you? The one pretending to be a pet over theeere?”
“Huh?! How did you know?!”
“It’s obvious, you knooow! Really, now, I would think you’d already know that, since we made sure to invite you, toooo.”
Fei looked extremely displeased about this. Probably because she used to misbehave in class a lot and got more than a few reprimands from the teacher.
Maybe she felt a little sheepish about it.
“Uuugh. I’m Feirune.”
“Yes, yes, verrry good.”
The teacher patted Fei on the head.
Fei grimaced a little at this treatment.
“So? Why are you here, Ms. Oka?”
“Why, because I knew you three were here, of cooourse! You’ve become quite the hot topic, you knooow? The young prodigies born of the Analeit kingdom are the talk of the town!”
As we spoke to our teacher for the first time in so long, we all ended up using Japanese.
Soon, we told her our names from our previous lives.
The moment she heard Katia’s old name, her eyes widened, and she murmured something like, “Sooo cute!”
“So you came just to see us?”
“That’s riiight.”
“Okay, I understand how you knew these two oafs were here, but how’d you find out about me? I thought I was blending in pretty well as a pet.”
“Then you don’t realize how unusual you are, my deeear. There are rumors, you knooow? That the prince’s pet is a genius, toooo.”
“What, really?”
“That’s riiight. A normal monster wouldn’t listen to the commands of a person who doesn’t have the Creature Training skill, not to mention working out and training alongside them, you knooow!”
“Ah, I guess that makes sense. How stupid of me.”
It was disconcerting that the information could leak outside the castle so easily, but I guess there was no stopping the rumor mill.
“But that’s not the only reason I’m here, my deeears. I’m still a teacher, you knooow? I have to at least make sure my students are safe, you seeee. As safe as you can be after being reincarnated, anywaaay!”
She said it jokingly, but I think she actually meant it, and I was kind of impressed.
It hadn’t even occurred to me to worry about anyone’s survival but my own in this world.
I did suspect that my other classmates might be here, too, but I had never considered actually looking for them.
“This world is far more dangerous than Japan, you knooow? If I can ensure your safety, I’d like to do it as soon as I caaan.”
I’d never thought about that, either.
It should have been obvious, given I knew there were monsters and stuff in this world, but since I was safe, I had just assumed that my other classmates would be, too.
Fei had even told me how she nearly died, but at the time, it had seemed to me like a story from far away.
“So you came to protect us, then?”
“Oh, goodness, nooo. Considering your positions, I can hardly just take you away with me, you knooow. But if any of my students wish it, I’ll gladly take them to the village of elves for protection, you seeee.”
“Does that mean you’ve already found others?”
“Oh, yesss. There are eleven students in the elf village, and I’ve managed to contact six others, including the three of youuu. And I’ve located two more, so I’ll be off to visit them next, you seeee.”
There were twenty-five students in our class.
Which would mean there were still six more whose whereabouts were unknown.
But to put it another way, that meant only six students hadn’t been found.
In a vast world like this one, it must’ve been no small feat to find that many reincarnated students.
“You’ve really been looking out for us, then, Ms. Oka.”
“It’s my duty as a teacher, of cooourse. Besides, most of them were living as humans in human territory, you knooow. So it wasn’t as hard as all thaaat.”
“Mostly humans…”
Fei was stunned by our teacher’s words.
“Don’t worry about it” was the only comfort I could muster.
Despite Ms. Oka’s light tone, it was clear she’d been working hard to find everyone.
I bowed my head toward her in thanks again.
“All righty, then. There’s sooo much more we should talk about, but I’ll be off to enter the school of this kingdom soooon. We can discuss everything then, all riiight?”
Katia and I would be attending that school soon, too.
We were allowed to bring pets, so I was planning to bring Fei with me as well.
A whole new life was dawning on the horizon.
BATTLING THREE HUNDRED FEET UP
Ahhh, so tired. I’m not gonna be able to keep my eyes open much longer.
I didn’t realize camping without a simple home would be such a pain.
I thought I could stick it out a little longer, but now I might be in real trouble if I don’t come up with a good method of getting some restful sleep soon.
Then again, if it were that easy, I wouldn’t be forcing myself to keep exploring until exhaustion threatened to knock me out.
The earth dragon probably isn’t going to show up at this point, but now my problem is that I’m in the middle of an area chock-full of other strong monsters. There’s no guarantee that one of them won’t just break through a basic web with ease.
But that doesn’t mean I can go ahead and build a more elaborate shelter here.
I don’t want to put down roots in this place. I want to get out of here as soon as possible. It doesn’t make sense to spend a ton of time on a new home.
In which case, it makes more sense to build a simple one, but I have no way of knowing whether that’ll be enough to keep out the monsters that inhabit this area… I’ve been going over the same thoughts again and again and now I’m stuck in a mental loop.
I rack my exhausted brain, trying to figure out what to do.
A simple home might work depending on how I make it, right?
Like, instead of setting it up wherever, I could hide it in a hard-to-find nook or something.
I mean, the rocks around here are pretty angular, but they don’t necessarily make for the safest hiding spots.
Hey, wait a minute. Maybe I don’t have to hide at all?
As long as other monsters can’t mess with me, anywhere is fine, right?
In which case, I might know a good place after all.
So I head there right away. “There” being the ceiling, by way of climbing the wall.
Phew… So high! Man, that was scary. Can I really sleep soundly here?
But I haven’t seen any monsters around these parts that can fly or climb walls.
Aside from the snail-bugs, anyway.
I haven’t seen any bees since coming out into this big space, either, so I figure it might be safe to set up a little home between the ceiling and the wall and sleep there.
And so, without further ado, I start building my web.
Wow, this is seriously high, though. Probably about three hundred feet in the air… How many skyscraper floors would that be?
If I fall, I’ll definitely die.
I mean, I have a lifeline, so there’s probably nothing to worry about, but it’s still scary to work out in the open like this. C’mon, Fear Resistance, get to work already!
Okay, I’m sorry. I spoke too soon.
So don’t sass me like tha
t, all right? Man, that startled me.
Anyway, now the outer frame is complete.
Hmm. This is totally obvious from the outside, though, isn’t it?
If it takes a hit from a long-distance attack like that earth dragon’s breath, it’ll go down, won’t it?
It’s probably best to hide a little somehow.
Maybe I can use the rocks lying around on the ground.
I lower myself back down for a bit and look at the rocks. Hmm. These are way too big.
Can I break them down somehow? Maybe with Cutting Thread or something?
I fasten a thread to the rock, activate Cutting Thread, and pull. Hmm… It scores it a little bit but not enough to do much good.
Maybe I can move it like a saw? Ooh, that seems to work, a little at a time.
My skill level goes up in the process, making my work more efficient.
All right, now I have some diced rock.
I guess I can apply it to the surface of my web as camouflage.
First, I stick thread to the rock firmly, then I climb up the three hundred feet to the nest with the thread still attached.
Okay, now all I have to do is pull it up, and…
Oof! Oh man, that’s heavy! Urrghh… C’mon, put your back into it! Heave-ho!
My Strength skill level increases along the way. Even with the extra level, this thing is still a struggle.
Whoof, this is consuming my immediate stamina and my overall stocked stamina at the same time! What a pain!
I gained some skills, but I don’t have time to check them out right now!
C’mon, pullll!
Huff…huff… Whew.
Finally, I manage to lift the rock into place.
Whoa, on closer inspection, my red stamina bar actually decreased past the Overeating reserves I had.
So that’s why it was so painful.
Huh? I thought I had come up with a quick method of getting a good night’s sleep, but in retrospect, I actually ended up giving myself more work.
Aw, man, seriously? So much for that. Oh well.
But all the hard work was worth it, since the rock I dragged up and stuck to my nest seems to be hiding me quite effectively.
Now I just need to make a bit of bedding, and…
Done!
Phew. Now, this is paradise.
Ahh, being surrounded by silk makes me feel so much safer. This is the life. Without it, I just can’t sleep soundly.
Oh, gotta check the effects of those new skills before bed.
Ah, so these are the SP versions of Solidity and Strength.
My SP stats, which were 40 each, have increased to 41. Stamina is important, so that’s a sweet deal.
Well then, now that I’ve checked out my new skills, it’s time to sleep off all that hard work!
Since it’s been so long since I had a chance to really bed down, I’ll take this opportunity to snooze to my heart’s content.
And so, good night!
Ahh, what a nice rest. Yep. I sure slept, all right.
But what’s this, now?
I planned on sleeping a little more, so why do I suddenly feel so wide awake?
Hmm? It feels like all the hair on my body is standing on end. That can’t be good.
I stick my head out from behind the rock to peer down below.
LV 8
Status:
HP: 165/168 (green)
MP: 38/38 (blue)
SP: 127/127 (yellow)
: 109/118 (red)
Status Appraisal Failed
>
A group of monkeys has gathered in battle formation right below me. I’d say there are about fifty of them.
Huh? You’re kidding me, right?
These guys are definitely aware that I’m up here.
Why?!
I thought my rock camouflage was perfect. I even looked at it from the ground myself to be sure.
At a glance, it looks like nothing more than a bit of rock that’s slightly jutting out from the wall.
So why?!
The only reason I can think of has to do with the monkey of the same species I defeated before.
Did it do something to me? Like leaving a special scent on me or something? I have no idea.
But either way, those monkeys are lying in wait for me.
Some of them are even getting ready to climb up the wall. In fact, they’ve already started.
Oh, shit!
Climbing a sheer rock wall is apparently difficult even for the monkeys, as their ascent is pretty slow.
At this rate, I should have a few minutes before the first ones get to me. I have to take action while I still have the chance.
The best move here is probably to escape along the ceiling.
There’s obviously no way I’m going to beat such a large group of monkey monsters.
All right, time to head for the hills, then.
Huh? The color of the ceiling is different here? No way! Why is it so slippery?!
My thread is barely even sticking to it! Oh no…
The nature of the rock that makes up the ceiling changes drastically just a few feet away from the wall. It’s so smooth and slippery that not even my stickiest threads stay attached, never mind my legs.
At this rate, the ceiling won’t work as an escape route.
I’ll just have to run sideways along the wall, then.
They’ll probably try to chase me, but that’ll just be a contest of persistence.
Okay, let’s— WHONK! Huh?! What was that?! A rock?!
Crap, these guys are throwing rocks at me?!
Wait, how’re they even able to reach when the ceiling is so high up?!
Whoa, another one?!
I quickly take refuge behind the rock covering my home to escape. Another stone hits the place I was moments ago.
Considering how far they had to come, the rocks don’t have too much power behind them by the time they reach where I am.
However, if one of them hits me while I’m clinging to the wall, it’ll probably knock me down.
Judging by the fact that the projectiles always land where I just was, those monkeys probably have the Throw skill, the Hit skill, or maybe even both.
A cold chill of dread runs through me.
I can’t get away like this. What am I going to do? Really, I only have one option. I have to fight back.
Luckily, even though it’s a simple one, I do have a home base here.
My only choice is to strengthen it as much as I can before the first monkey arrives and stave them off from within.
If we all have to cling to the wall during the fight, unlike the time with the bees, my opponents won’t have any advantage.
If anything, since I have my web to serve as both a foothold and a fortress, I’m the one with a leg up this time.
I have no choice but to try.
First, I scatter more threads. Then I stick them to the wall with Thread Control.
It’s a basic tactic, but it should make it harder for them to climb.
Since I have to keep avoiding the stones hurtling at me, it’s hard to get much work done. And in the process, the first wave of monkeys has made it about halfway up the wall.
Shit. They’re climbing fas
ter than I expected.
There’s no way I can stop all of them with the threads I’ve just set up.
Now what?
Ah, maybe there’s something I can use to attack them first?
I do have Throw and Hit, so if I have anything to throw at them…
Oh! There is one thing. I can’t throw it, but I can drop it!
I poke my head out from behind the rock and activate Poison Synthesis.
Obviously, I’m not making Weak Poison. I use the toxin I’ve been honing throughout my whole life as a spider: my ultra-potent Spider Poison.
A sphere of venom appears before my eyes, and gravity pulls it down.
The monkey climbing the wall can’t avoid it.
The poison hits it right in the face, and it shrieks in agony as it falls.
This could work!
Quickly, I confirm my MP consumption. It only used up 1 point. In other words, I can launch up to 40 shots with full MP. With the amount I’ve already spent on Thread Control, that leaves me about 25 shots.
If they all hit, I could take out around half the monkey forces!
I immediately drop a second shot. Another hit, another monkey down.
Time to move onto the next one. Now this is a strategy I should count on whenever possible.
My skill level just rose, but I can’t check on that right now.
Spider Poison is probably stronger than whatever new venom I just got, anyway.
I succeed in knocking down a fair number of the monkeys, but they’re starting to react accordingly. They’re avoiding the area directly below my nest and climbing up on either side instead.
I shower them with as much poison as I can before they all make it out of my range.
Nice, nice. The monkeys are dropping like flies.
But a lot of them have still escaped to the sides. The poison bombs aren’t going to work anymore at this rate. I’m worried about how little MP I have left, anyway, so maybe this is for the best.
I extend some silk toward the monkeys that shifted sideways.
This fight is only just getting started.