by Okina Baba
As far as I know, only a handful of supremely accomplished humans have obtained that.
And Fei is still a lesser dragon, too.
If she keeps evolving like this, those numbers may even exceed 1,000.
In terms of stats alone, she could even catch up to my brother Julius, the hero.
On top of that, even though her skills are still developing, they’re already quite strong.
The main reason humans are able to fight monsters whose stats outrank theirs is that our skills give us an advantage.
Monsters don’t generally train their skills, after all.
An ordinary monster usually only has a small amount of skills to boot, but that doesn’t apply to Fei.
It’s like she has the advantages of both a monster and a human.
If all the monsters in the world were like Fei, humans and demons would probably be extinct by now.
I mean, she was born much later than I was, and she’s already this strong.
Not to mention, this is all the result of training hard for just a few days.
If she had been born earlier than me and spent more time leveling up…
For example, if she had hatched in the Great Elroe Labyrinth where she was originally found and had been fighting to survive in there all this time, I doubt anybody could have defeated her.
That, or if there was another monster with the intelligence of a human in similar circumstances…
Well, I guess there’s no use worrying about a hypothetical like that. I doubt there are any other exceptional cases like Fei.
THE DUKE’S DAUGHTER AND THE EARTH WYRM
“Boy, you got big.”
“You’re telling me! If I get any bigger, I’ll end up having to live outside.”
“So does that mean you’d rather not evolve any more?”
“You’ve got that right. Why, is that a problem?”
“I wouldn’t say that, but…you live in Shun’s room right now, don’t you? I know you’re a dragon now and all, but are you really okay sleeping in the same room as a boy?”
“Do you really think that matters to me now that I’m in this form? Frankly, I’m a different species now, so that sort of feeling wouldn’t even occur to me. You don’t have some kind of weird thing for reptiles, do you?”
“’Course not!”
“If you do, keep it to yourself. But it’s the same way for me. I’m not really interested in human men anymore.”
“Oh really?”
“Certainly. I can recognize good looks and all, since I used to be human myself, but a normal earth dragon wouldn’t even be able to distinguish between human faces, you know?”
“Ah, I guess I get that. I can’t tell the difference between animals’ faces and stuff, either.”
“Well, I’ve never met any other earth dragons, so I don’t know what would make one attractive or not, but my point still stands.”
“Yeah, I can’t really picture that myself.”
“Although I’ll admit, I got excited for a minute after I was born when I saw that princely Shun.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, he totally looks like a handsome prince in this world. And I still felt a bit like a human being back then.”
“Hey now…”
“What’re you getting worked up about? Well anyway, once I found out who was inside, I changed my mind about that in a hurry.”
“Oh, did you?”
“I mean, it’s Yamada, you know? He never really had much going for him.”
“Hey. Isn’t that a little harsh?”
“Oh, don’t be angry. I respect him now, in a way. I mean, he managed to stay thoroughly average even after being reborn in a new world. That’s got to take some real dedication.”
“Wow, I can’t tell if you’re complimenting or insulting him.”
“It’s a compliment, more or less. Man, aren’t you overprotective, though! Sensitive much?”
“I am not.”
Well, he doesn’t like me living with Shun, got all worked up when I mentioned possibly having feelings for him, and was totally relieved when I said I don’t. It’s obvious what’s going on here, isn’t it? But it’ll be more fun if I don’t say anything about that.
ZOA ELE
Huff… Wheeze…
I’m so excited, I can barely breathe. Guess I got a little carried away celebrating my victory over that tough opponent.
Whew. All right, that’s enough of that. What should I do now?
First of all, I leveled up a whole bunch at once.
Thanks, eel. I guess you aren’t considered a dragon species for nothing.
By stats alone, it was way out of my league. Combine that with the effects of Pride, and it’s no wonder I maxed out my level in one go.
My skills grew quite a bit in this battle, too. What a windfall of experience points.
Although honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was gonna win for a minute there.
If I’d made a single mistake or misstep, I’d probably be cinders by now.
That’s how strong that eel was.
Really, strictly judging by our stats, no one would think I had a chance in hell of winning.
Between that and those monkeys, I think I might get in over my head in battle a little too often…
Anyway, I think the skills I’m happiest about leveling up are HP Auto-Recovery and Fire Resistance.
So far, my recovery rate has been just enough to cancel out the damage from this scorching-hot terrain, but now it should exceed it enough to heal me at least a little.
I can’t check right now, though, since my HP fully recovered when I leveled up.
Hopefully, though, I’ll be able to recover with time if I take a bit of damage from now on.
It was pretty rough avoiding even the tiniest injury this whole time, but now I should be able to relax a little.
Although, I’ll still probably bite the dust if I take a direct hit from a single attack.
Also, I’m level 10.
That means I can evolve again.
But should I? Is it really safe to evolve in a place like this?
I mean, evolving comes with a bit of risk in itself.
For one thing, when I evolve, I totally pass out.
That leaves me completely unprotected for a while, so if another monster attacks me or something, I’ll be screwed.
Last time—and the time before that—I spun myself a web to give myself a safe place to evolve, but that’s not an option this time.
I can’t use my silk here, after all.
If I try to construct a web in this magma-drenched hellscape, it’ll burn up before I can even finish it.
Evolve in the middle of a fire? No thank you.
That’s not all, either.
Since evolution requires a lot of energy, my MP and SP will be totally drained.
MP’s not that big of a deal, but if I run out of SP, I might be too hungry to even move.
Worst-case scenario, I could starve to death.
So far, I’ve always had a big stockpile of food to pig out on after I evolved, but my current situation is a bit different.
Well, there is the eel, but I don’t think even this monstrosity would be enough to fully recover my SP.
I don’t have to worry about starving, but I think I’d have to actively hunt for prey for a while.
Oh, but what happens to my stock from Overeating?
I didn’t have any Overeating stores the first two times I evolved…
I did use some in the battle with the eel, but there’s still a good amount left over.
If I can use that stock to fuel my evolution, maybe I won’t be running on empty afterward.
Hmm. But I probably shouldn’t act based on wishful thinking, huh?
On a purely emotional level, I definitely want to evolve—but from a safety perspective, maybe it’s better not to just yet?
But I’m worried that if I don’t, I won’t level up anymore.
Are small
creatures limited to level 10?
If that’s the case, all the experience I gain in this form will go to waste, and I’m pretty sure I still have a ways to go in the Middle Stratum.
Yeah, I really don’t like that.
In which case, maybe I should just evolve after all? Hmm.
At any rate, it looks like I have multiple options for evolution again, so maybe I’ll investigate first.
All right, Appraisal, I’m counting on you.
Hmm? Poison taratect is no surprise, but what’s this Zoa Ele thing?
It’s not even a taratect?
Ooh, Appraisal!
You added evolution requirements, too! For me?
That’s my Appraisal for you! Never misses a beat!
Hmm. So I can evolve into this because my stats exceed the requirements.
Which means they were lower than the requirements until now, probably.
And wait, titles are involved in evolution?
I wonder if I was able to evolve into a small poison taratect because I had the Poison Technique User title?
That definitely seems like a possibility.
So that’s my other option: poison taratect.
But if I’m going to evolve, I’d probably have to go with door number one.
Zoa Ele. The conditions for evolving into that are pretty tough, and as my precious Appraisal informed me, it has high combat capabilities to boot.
The fact that it’s apparently “small” is a big plus, too.
Although I guess I am a little nervous about it, since judging by the name and description, it seems to be a different line from the taratect species.
If I keep evolving as a taratect, I’ll definitely get stronger.
I know this because I witnessed that evolved form with my own however-many eyes.
The gigantic spider presumed to be my mother, the one I saw in the Lower Stratum: the greater taratect.
It’s hard to imagine judging from how weak I’ve been so far, but I know for sure that if I keep evolving, I’ll reach that level eventually.
I know that, but at the same time, it also means I’ll get bigger.
I know bigger is better and all, but in the end, I think all cutting-edge technology aims for miniaturization.
Small size, but high performance. That’s what I desire!
And more importantly, if I get too big, I won’t even be able to move anymore.
I mean, how far can my mother really get around at that size?
I’d rather not suddenly lose the ability to maneuver in passages that never posed an issue before.
Besides, can you imagine being that big here in the Middle Stratum?
It’d be way too easy to miss a step on a narrow passage and stick your foot right into the magma!
It’s not like stepping in a puddle, you know! I’d die!
I don’t know how big I’d get as an adult, but in my case, there are some major downsides to getting too big.
Not only in terms of ability to move, but also with regard to battle.
I mean, dodging is my specialty, here. Being bigger just means being a bigger target.
For someone who relies on evasion, being small is a good thing.
Besides, if I get bigger, I’ll get heavier, too.
Being heavy would only slow me down.
You’re telling me, a speed demon, that I have to slow down? Yeah, right.
All of this adds up to me not wanting to evolve along the taratect line anymore.
So if I have a choice now that looks like a different path, of course I wanna take it.
It’s not that I’m without reservations, of course.
The evolved forms of the taratect line are definitely strong, but I can’t say that for sure about the Zoa Ele.
In the worst-case scenario, Zoa Ele might even be the end of that evolutionary line.
If that’s the case, I’d have been better off sticking with the taratect species.
But if that happens, well, so be it, I suppose.
I can still increase my stats by leveling up and train my other skills and stuff, too.
Even the weakest monsters can be strong if they’re raised with care. Take me, for example.
I mean, really, compared with where I started, I’ve gotten pretty damn strong.
When I remember what it was like to be so weak that anything could kill me with a little shove, most other problems seem a lot more manageable.
So I guess I’ll evolve into a Zoa Ele.
The problem here is how to do so safely, but I think I have an idea.
I can’t quite say for sure it’s totally safe, but it’s better than nothing.
So… C’mere, Mr. Dead Eel!
It’s time for today’s three-minute recipe.
What I have here is the corpse of an eel. Only the highest quality.
First, we’re going to stretch this out.
Next, we’ll coil it around, starting from the tail.
Be sure to make a nice, even coil all the way around.
Now, we’re gonna want to leave some space in the center here.
Once you have a basic circle, pile the eel on top of itself and make another coil.
Instead of from the outside in, we’ll work from the inside of the coil out.
Repeat this process a few more times, then place the head over the middle.
Voilà! Our eel shelter is done.
Wow, this is looking great!
All right. Since the eel has Dragon Scales, it should be pretty sturdy.
It may not be as nice as a web, but I think it’ll do pretty nicely as defense goes.
I should be safe if I evolve in here, I think.
All right, let’s give it a shot.
Yep. And with that, my consciousness slips away.
Good morning.
Although I don’t know if it’s actually morning.
Well, looks like I managed to wake safely again. That’s good, at least.
I think this round of evolution was a record high for riskiness.
I’m glad I didn’t wake up in heaven or anything like that.
Huh? What do you mean, hell?
As if an honest, upstanding citizen like me would ever go to hell! Ha-ha-ha.
Anyway, time for my usual self-Appraisal… Er, after I ensure my own safety, that is.
The eel shelter seems to be intact, but it’s possible that I’ve been surrounded by monsters outside or something.
All right, let’s take a liiiittle peek outside.
Sweet. Looks like we’re all clear. Nice, nice.
All right, let’s just snack on this eel while I… Aw, man, wait.
Just like the time with the snake, I can’t eat the eel until I pull its scales off.
Damn. Oh well.
I’m not so hungry that I can’t move or anything. Maybe Overeating had my back like I hoped?
All right, guess I’ll do some de-scaling while I check my status.
Status: HP: 195/195 (green) 100UP MP: 1/291 (blue) 100UP
SP: 195/195 (yellow) 100UP) : 195/195 (red) +43 100UP
Average Offensive Ability: 251 118UP Average Defensive Ability: 251 118UP
Average Magical Ability: 245 100UP Average Resistance Ability: 280 101UP
Average Speed Ability: 1,272 100UP
Skills:
[HP Auto-Recovery LV 6] [MP Recovery Speed LV 4 1UP] [MP Lessened Consumption LV 3] [SP Recovery Speed
LV 3]
[SP Lessened Consumption LV 3] [Destruction Enhancement LV 2 1UP] [Cutting Enhancement LV 2 1UP] [Poison Enhancement LV 4 1UP]
[Mental Warfare LV 2 1UP] [Energy Conferment LV 2] [Deadly Poison Attack LV 3] [Rot Attack LV 1 NEW]
[Poison Synthesis LV 8 1UP] [Threadsmanship LV 3] [Utility Thread LV 1 NEW] [Thread Control LV 8]
[Throw LV 7] [Spatial Maneuvering LV 5] [Stealth LV 7 1UP] [Silence LV 1 NEW]
[Concentration LV 10] [Thought Acceleration LV 3] [Foresight LV 3] [Parallel Thinking LV 5]
[Arithmetic Processing LV 7] [Hit LV 8] [Evasion LV 7] [Appraisal LV 9]
[Detection LV 6] [Heretic Magic LV 3] [Shadow Magic LV 3 1UP] [Poison Magic LV 3 1UP]
[Abyss Magic LV 10] [Destruction Resistance LV 2 1UP] [Impact Resistance LV 2] [Cutting Resistance LV 3]
[Fire Resistance LV 2] [Dark Resistance LV 2 1UP] [Deadly Poison Resistance LV 2] [Paralysis Resistance LV 4 1UP]
[Petrification Resistance LV 3] [Acid Resistance LV 4] [Rot Resistance LV 3] [Faint Resistance LV 3 1UP]
[Fear Resistance LV 7] [Heresy Resistance LV 3] [Pain Nullification] [Pain Mitigation LV 7]
[Vision Enhancement LV 9] [Night Vision LV 10] [Vision Expansion LV 2] [Poison Resistance LV 8]
[Olfactory Enhancement LV 7] [Taste Enhancement LV 7] [Tactile Enhancement LV 7 1UP] [Life LV 9]
[Magic Mass LV 8] [Instantaneous LV 9] [Persistent LV 9] [Herculean Strength LV 4 1UP]
[Sturdy LV 4 1UP] [Protection LV 4 1UP] [Skanda LV 3] [Pride]
[Overeating LV 8] [Hades] [Taboo LV 5 1UP] [n% I = W]
Skill Points: 500
Titles:
[Foul Feeder] [Kin Eater] [Assassin] [Monster Slayer]
[Poison Technique User] [Thread User] [Merciless] [Monster Slaughterer]
[Ruler of Pride]
>
Huh? Hmm? Wait a sec.
Let me look at this again. Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me.
I carefully review my status numbers.
Huh? Wha—?! Wh-whaaaaaat?! Wh-wh…what?
They went way up. WAY, waaay up!
Is this for real? Did my stats improve that much?
Wow. That description wasn’t kidding around when it said “high combat capabilities”…
Uh, can I really get away with this?
Is it really okay for me to get so strong so fast?
You know I’m gonna get really cocky if I get this powerful, right?