So I’m a Spider, So What?, Vol. 4

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So I’m a Spider, So What?, Vol. 4 Page 5

by Okina Baba


  I don’t know if there’s a moon yet.

  I’ll probably find out when night falls, but I can’t help but wonder if there’ll be two moons, like an honest-to-goodness sci-fi/fantasy world.

  Now, that I’d like to see.

  The stars are probably different from Earth’s, so I’m a little curious about that, too.

  Man, I’m looking forward to nighttime.

  In my old life, when all I did was play games, I could never have imagined being this interested in nature.

  Speaking of nature, Appraisal works really well on the flowers around here.

  I was kind of surprised that it showed the names of every single plant.

  If my Appraisal level was still low, it’d probably just label the whole mess “grass.”

  Anyway, since I spent a long time curiously Appraising everything, I haven’t gotten as far as I expected.

  But I guess it’s not like I’m in any rush.

  Enjoying my leisurely walk, I eventually pass through the plains and reach the forest.

  The second I get close, I notice that all of the living creatures in the forest start fleeing immediately.

  Yeah, yeah.

  Almost forgot—I’m a dangerous monster who crawled out of the labyrinth and all that.

  I guess it makes sense that normal animals would want to run away from me.

  Kinda feels like I’ve been brought back down to earth for a second.

  Okay, that takes the wind out of my sails a little.

  Oh well. I shake it off and start exploring the forest.

  The animals may have run away, but the plants are obviously still here.

  Discovering some kind of fruit growing in the forest, I Appraise it, then try a bite.

  Mm!

  So sweet! So tasty!

  Thanks, Mother Nature!

  Oh man, I’m sooo happy.

  Maybe I can just live in the forest, eating fruit, until I evolve into an arachne.

  Hmm?

  Did the ground shake a little just now?

  Like a magnitude-3-ish earthquake?

  Seems like there are earthquakes in this world, too.

  I never felt any shaking while I was in the Great Elroe Labyrinth, so I had no idea.

  Maybe it doesn’t happen as often here as it does in Japan?

  I guess Japan probably has shakes a little too often.

  My thoughts are interrupted by Danger Perception going off alarmingly.

  My whole body stiffens, warning me that I’m in danger.

  I haven’t felt fear like this in a long while.

  This particular sensation seems familiar.

  It’s the same fear I felt when I was first born.

  Huh? You’re kidding me, right?

  I mean, that thing could never come out of the labyrinth.

  But the alarm bells in my head are growing louder by the second.

  My senses are screaming that I can’t stay here.

  Dash!

  I run away at full speed, trying to put as much distance between the source of danger and myself as I can.

  Immediately, I sense a huge amount of power converging on me from far behind.

  This doesn’t look good.

  I change my course, veering to the side.

  Using my Skanda skill, which I’ve had since birth, I continue gaining speed, running away with all my might.

  Seconds later, the forest I was just standing in…is gone.

  At the edge of my vision, I see a torrent of black energy.

  It resembles Araba’s breath attack but with a different attribute and far more powerful.

  I’m guessing that was the Dark attribute.

  And it was even stronger than Araba’s full-powered breath attack.

  Not to mention, this was launched from miles away. Yet it managed to destroy a section of a forest, then still had energy to spare to shave off a fragment of the distant mountain I was heading toward.

  Araba’s breath was powerful enough to destroy my home, sure.

  But this isn’t even on the same level.

  I’ve seen this insane amount of power only once before.

  In the Middle Stratum, when I saw a swarm of wyrms led by the fire dragon Rend all but wiped out by a single attack.

  I look back to see what created this attack.

  It’s the same giant beast I expected to see.

  This is my third time seeing it with my own eyes.

  The first time was when I was born.

  The second time was when I saw that fire dragon get beaten down.

  And the third time is now. My mother, the queen taratect, is aiming her fearsome power right at me.

  Run!

  Run!

  Run awaaay!

  I don’t know how she got out of the labyrinth or how she knew where I was, but there’s no time to worry about that right now! Just gotta escape!

  The instant I saw Mother in the flesh, I became acutely aware that I didn’t stand a chance.

  I didn’t think it would be possible at this distance, but I manage to Appraise her somehow. Maybe it’s because my Parallel Minds are still connected to her.

 
  Status: HP: 20,557/20,557 (MAX 24,557) (green) +0 (details)

  SP: 19,097/19,097 (MAX 23,097) (yellow) (details)

  Average Offensive Ability: 20,439 (MAX 24,439) (details)

  Average Magical Ability: 17,977 (MAX 21,977) (details)

  Average Speed Ability: 20,400 (MAX 24,400) (details)

  MP: 18,301/18,301 (MAX 22,301) (blue) +0 (details)

  : 19,991/19,991 (MAX 23,991)

  (red) +0 (details)

  Average Defensive Ability: 20,286 (MAX 24,286) (details)

  Average Resistance Ability: 17,946 (MAX 21,946) (details)

  Skills:

  [HP Ultra-Fast Recovery LV 4] [MP Rapid Recovery LV 10] [MP Lessened Consumption LV 10] [Magic Divinity LV 3]

  [Magic Power Conferment LV 5] [Magic Power Super-Attack LV 1] [SP Rapid Recovery LV 10] [SP Minimized Consumption LV 10]

  [Destruction Super-Enhancement LV 5] [Impact Super-Enhancement LV 6] [Cutting Super-Enhancement LV 3] [Piercing Super-Enhancement LV 5]

  [Shock Super-Enhancement LV 5] [Status Condition Super-Enhancement LV 10] [Battle Divinity LV 9] [Energy Conferment LV 10]

  [Ability Conferment LV 6] [Energy Super-Attack LV 3] [Divine Dragon Power LV 6] [Dragon Barrier LV 2]

  [Deadly Poison Attack LV 10] [Enhanced Paralysis Attack LV 10] [Heretic Attack LV 7] [Poison Synthesis LV 10]

  [Medicine Synthesis LV 10] [Thread Genius LV 10] [Divine Thread Weaving] [Thread Control LV 10]

  [Psychokinesis LV 3] [Throw LV 10] [Expel LV 10] [Dimensional Maneuvering LV 10]

  [Kin Control LV 10] [Egg-Laying LV 10] [Concentration LV 10] [Thought Acceleration LV 9]

  [Future Sight LV 3] [Parallel Minds LV 9] [High-Speed Processing LV 10] [Hit LV 10]

  [Evasion LV 10] [Probability Super-Correction LV 10] [Stealth LV 10] [Concealment LV 2]

  [Silence LV 10] [Odorless LV 1] [Emperor] [Heretic Magic LV 10]

  [Shadow Magic LV 10] [Dark Magic LV 10] [Black Magic LV 4] [Poison Magic LV 10]

  [Healing Magic LV 10] [Demon Lord LV 5] [Satiation LV 10] [Destruction Super-Resistance LV 4]

  [Impact Nullification] [Cutting Super-Resistance LV 4] [Piercing Super-Resistance LV 4] [Shock Super-Resistance LV 4]

  [Flame Resistance LV 2] [Flood Resistance LV 1] [Gale Resistance LV 1] [Terrain Resistance LV 2]

  [Bolt Resistance LV 1] [Holy Light Resistance LV 9] [Earth Resistance LV 8] [Heavy Super-Resistance LV 1]

  [Status Condition Resistance] [Acid Super-Resistance LV 3] [Rot Resistance LV 8] [Faint Resistance LV 5]

  [Fear Resistance LV 8] [Heresy Resistance LV 9] [Pain Nullification] [Suffering Nullification]

  [Night Vision LV 10] [Long-Distance Vision LV 1] [Five Senses Super-Enhancement LV 10] [Perception Expansion LV 8]

  [Divinity Expansion LV 2] [Ultim
ate Life LV 10] [Ultimate Magic LV 10] [Ultimate Movement LV 10]

  [Fortune LV 10] [Fortitude LV 10] [Stronghold LV 10] [Deva LV 10]

  [Sanctum LV 10] [Skanda LV 10] [Taboo LV 10]

  Skill Points: 164,500

  Titles:

  [Kin Eater] [Foul Feeder] [Poison Technique User] [Monster Slayer]

  [Thread User] [Assassin] [Human Slayer] [Fearbringer]

  [Merciless] [Monster Slaughterer] [Wyrm Slayer] [Dragon Slayer]

  [Champion] [Monster Calamity] [Lord] [Human Slaughterer]

  [Wyrm Slaughterer] [Human Calamity]

  >

  What kind of beast is this?

  Her stats are all higher than 20,000!

  Mathematically, that means she’s around five times stronger than Araba.

  How am I supposed to win?

  Seriously, those stats are even worse than I imagined.

  I was prepared for them to be more than 10,000, sure, but double that?

  I guess the one silver lining is that her stats have been reduced for some reason.

  They’ve all lost about 4,000 points each.

  Maybe that’s thanks to the hard work of my Parallel Minds?

  That would mean that I’m the one who reduced her stats this much.

  Man, am I amazing or what?

  Unfortunately, that still doesn’t mean I stand a chance of winning.

  Even when she’s weakened, her lowest stat still far exceeds my highest.

  I have to run away.

  Jumping into a fight I can’t win is tantamount to suicide.

  And I definitely don’t want to die like that.

  If I’m completely backed into a corner, then sure, I’ll go down fighting my hardest, but right now I still have a chance of surviving if I run away.

  There’s still a lot of distance between Mother and me.

  Because her speed is higher than mine, she would catch me eventually in a chase, but it’d still take her a while to close the gap.

  Also, that powerful breath did manage to reach my position in spite of the huge distance between us, but I’m sure I’ll be able to tell when she’s preparing a huge attack like that.

  It shouldn’t be impossible for me to escape the blast radius in time, either, I think.

  Anyway, while I’m running away from Mother, I’d better start putting together a Long-Distance Teleport spell in a hurry.

  Unlike Short-Range Teleport, Long-Distance takes time to prepare.

  Even with my Height of Occultism skill, I still need a few minutes.

  And since I have to concentrate on constructing such a complicated rune for it, I can’t use any other magic at the same time.

  Generally speaking, it isn’t something I can use during battle.

  But it’s the perfect spell for escaping.

  I can teleport to anywhere that I’ve been before, no matter how far away.

  As long as I can complete the spell, my retreat back into the Great Elroe Labyrinth won’t take even a second.

  Right now, the pleasant scenery of the outdoors seems far more dangerous.

  Better to hide in the complicated labyrinth, safe in a narrow passage that Mother can’t easily enter.

  I just have to last a few minutes until the Teleport spell is ready.

  But now I sense Mother chasing behind me at a frightening speed.

  So damn fast!

  How can such an enormous body be this speedy?!

  I glance backward for a moment.

  Wow. She’s basically causing natural disasters just by moving.

  Wherever her feet land, huge chunks of earth go flying. The areas she’s passed through are completely wrecked, like a huge tornado just hit.

  The wind generated by her speed alone is enough to mow down everything in her path.

  You know those monster movies where the monster stomps around, destroying streets and buildings? Yeah, this is worse.

  Mother is basically the incarnation of destruction right now.

  Just running by is enough to wreak havoc on the world around her?

  This is no joke!

  If she so much as steps on me, my little body is gonna get decimated!

  But now is no time to be frozen in fear.

  That’s ’cause, like, judging by Mother’s mouth, it kinda seems like she’s charging up another breath attack.

  While moving toward me at full speed.

  Um, wait a second.

  Can you really shoot that breath while moving?

  Don’t you normally have to stop to charge a big attack like that, never mind fire it?

  This doesn’t seem fair!

  Panicking, I change direction.

  I’m trying to get out of the straight line where I assume the breath is going to hit.

  But Future Sight kicks in, showing me a horrifying scene.

  Oh crap!

  I switch gears again, abandoning my sideways movement to take to the sky with Dimensional Maneuvering.

  Immediately, Mother jumps up high.

  She fires her breath through the air I just leaped from.

  Then sweeps horizontally.

  The breath attack devastates a wide swath of land in seconds.

  Even in the air, I still get slammed by the shock waves, sending me into a tailspin.

  Still, at least the damage is minor.

  If I’d stayed on the ground, I would’ve taken a direct hit from that breath.

  Compared to that, I prefer losing about 30 percent of my HP any day!

  If the shock waves alone cause that much damage, a direct hit would’ve freaking vaporized me!

  I manage to gain control in the air and keep fleeing.

  I don’t want to waste precious seconds getting back down to the ground.

  In fact, the ground’s been blown to bits anyway, meaning I couldn’t even if I wanted to.

  If this is what it’s like when she’s weakened, I would hate to see Mother’s full-power breath when she’s in her normal state.

  I glance back at Mother.

  She lands on the ruined ground like it’s no big deal, raising an enormous cloud of dust.

  I’m pretty sure I saw the earth literally shake when she hit.

  Then, ignoring the impact of the landing, she goes right back to running toward me.

  A part of me can’t help thinking that she looks pretty badass, charging toward me with a cloud of dust rising in her wake.

  It really is like a scene out of a movie.

  Just much, much scarier.

  Jumping with that giant body, landing, and breaking into a run again without a second thought? How aggressive can you be?

  This ain’t some CG animation. It’s reality, and it’s coming for me.

  Why do I have to deal with a situation that would make a Hollywood director wet themselves?!

  The distance between us is already around half of where it started a minute ago.

  In other words, she’ll catch up to me in another half a minute.

  The Teleport should be ready just seconds before that.

  As long as I don’t screw this up, I’m gonna make it!

  But seriously, I better not screw this up.

  Mother starts activating magic spells as she runs.

  I’m working on a spell while I run, too, so I guess I can’t complain this time.

  I can’t, but I want to!

  Judging by the looks of it, Mother is using the Dark Magic spell Dark Bullet.

  It’s a very simple spell, the weakest level of Dark Magic.

  That’s all well and good, but the amount of shots and their range are definitely not normal.

  The greater the range of the magic, the weaker it becomes.

  If Mother wants to damage me from several miles away, she’d have to use a huge amount of MP.

  And have the magical prowess to perform it, too.

  It’s no surprise that Mother can do something like that, of course.

  But I still think it’s unfair that she can fire so ma
ny that it’s like a rain of bullets!

  I dodge and weave around the fusillade as I push forward.

  As a result, my speed slows down, and Mother is catching up to me that much faster.

  I did consider simply tanking the hits as I run.

  My magic defense is pretty high, and I’ve got Dragon Power to dispel magic, too.

  I might not even take damage at all if I get hit.

  However, the problem isn’t the damage itself but the time I’d lose.

  When an attack hits you, besides the damage, it has a certain impact.

  What if that slowed me down?

  Or worse yet, if it caused me to lose my balance and fall, it’d all be over in an instant.

  Dodging is the best option to keep unknown variables out of the equation.

  I thought that was the right decision.

  However, it was based on incorrect assumptions.

  See, I thought this magic barrage was meant to slow me down.

  But I was wrong.

  It was meant as a distraction.

  By the time I notice, it’s too late.

  A third breath attack has been charging up in Mother’s mouth.

  I have no time to take evasive action before the breath shoots forth.

  My body is about to be swallowed up by an oncoming wave of destruction.

  Just before it hits, my teleport magic is complete.

  I activate it immediately and escape into the Great Elroe Labyrinth by a hairbreadth.

  I made it.

  If the teleportation had been even one second later, I would’ve died.

  As it is, about a quarter of my body was annihilated.

  Two of my hind legs are gone, and even a piece of my abdomen.

  The fact that I’m still alive must be thanks to either my nature as a spider or the grace of my skills and stats.

  At any rate, I can’t just leave things like this.

  I have to use Healing Magic to fix myself up right away.

  As soon as that thought flashes through my mind, I check my surroundings again.

  This area is a sort of midpoint between the Middle and Upper Stratums.

  I teleported here, since I’d built a home here once.

  Now, it’s where a massive army of spiders has been lying in wait for me.

  NAVIGATING THE GREAT ELROE LABYRINTH

  I don’t know where I am.

  A vast, empty space.

  And a lone woman is there with me.

  Her body is disappearing, like it’s melting into the space, leaving only part of her upper body behind.

 

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