Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 6

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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.

<Zoa Ele

LV 1

Nameless

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?

That’s okay, yeah? It is?

…Heh, heh-heh-heh. I’m in the prime of my liiiiife!

This solves the conundrum of my once-terrible stats all in one go!

They’re still low compared with big game like the eel, but now I’m finally strong enough that a lone poke from the local small-fry won’t be enough to do me in!

All this time, I’ve had to assume that a blow from a single attack would be the end of me.

But now, finally, FINALLY I have respectable stats!

Heh, heh-heh-heh. Hee-hee-hee-hee.

This means I’m stronger than the sea horses in terms of stats—and even the monkeys—doesn’t it?

My skill levels increased a lot, too. Looking good, looking good.

Wait, Taboo went up again?!

Hey! What do you mean, level 5?!

Does that mean I’m halfway to maxing it out?!

If my prediction is correct, I’m pretty sure something big’s gonna happen if it reaches level 10.

Crap.

Well, it’s still only halfway. I’m okay for now. I think.

Let’s see, what else? I also gained a few new skills.

Rot Attack? Seriously?

By “Rot,” you mean that attribute, right?

The one that was way scarier than I expected when I Appraised it?

I can use that now? Damn, I’m talented.

The next unfamiliar skill is Silence.

I feel like I can more or less guess what that does, but maybe I’ll Appraise it just to be sure.

<Silence: Suppresses the creation of sound>

Yep. That’s what I thought.

Awesome! My ninja skills are on the rise!

Maybe I’ll be able to defeat things with a single ambush now?

There’s also a very strange skill situation here.

Spider Thread and Cutting Thread have disappeared. Instead, there’s a new skill called Utility Thread.

It’s probably an evolved form of Spider Thread, but where did Cutting Thread go?

Now I can add more attributes and stuff than with Spider Thread.

It looks like Cutting probably has the same effect as Cutting Thread, Impact adds the Impact attribute, and Shock adds the Shock attribute.

Impact just means a normal strike.

And apparently, Shock can briefly generate some sort of shock wave in the thread.

If an enemy touches the thread while it’s in that state, it’ll get shocked and take damage.

Man, if I weren’t in the Middle Stratum, this would be super-useful!

Ugh, I really wanna get outta here fast so I can try it out!

Anyway, I finished de-scaling the eel while I was checking all that.

Okay, time to see if this eel meal is the real deal.

Let’s take a little bite.

…It’s delicious.

The flavor is totally different from the catfish.

I’ll say it again: Delicious!

This time, when I evolved, I didn’t lose my SP.

Instead, it drained most of my Overeating stock.

That just proves that Overeating functioned perfectly.

Given that, as long as I keep building stores with Overeating, I’ll be fine even if I don’t have a bunch of food on hand when I evolve.

So I’ll just have to eat a ton so I can save as much as I can.

Judging by my previous amounts, it seems like I can stock about 100 SP per skill level, so right now I should be able to stock about 800.

Well, speak of the devil.

Now I can stock up even more!

Speaking of stocking, I suddenly have way more skill points than before.

I thought they rose by 20 per level, but I have 280 more than last time I looked.

If 60 of those came from leveling up three times, what’s the deal with the other 220?

Does evolution come with a bonus or something?

If so, that would explain why my skill point calculations didn’t make sense before.

Well, I’ll certainly take however many I can get.

I’ve got a whole 500 now, so maybe I can find a really good skill.

I’ll have to take a good look at the list of acquirable skills later.

Before that, though, there’s something else that concerns me.

My body shape has changed a little. I noticed as I was pulling off the eel’s scales.

The two legs in front, which used to be shaped like sharp claws, are more like thin scythes now.

And these sickle things happen to cut extreeemely well.

It took me forever to get the scales off that snake a while back, but this time, I made quick work of it.

I can’t cut the scales themselves, but I was able to slice between the scales and the skin.

Is it because my attack power went up or because these scythes are so sharp?

In addition, my body is black now. It was always pretty dark, but now it’s black for sure.

I’m telling you, it’s pitch-black! The kind of black that doesn’t reflect light at all.

I can’t see the rest of me, since I don’t have a mirror, but I’m guessing those are the biggest changes.

I don’t feel like my size is any different or anything.

But I bet there are some little details that have changed that I’m just not aware of.

So far, since I was sticking with the taratect species, my shape didn’t seem to change at all when I evolved.

But with this evolution, my species has changed.

If I could get a good look, I’d be willing to bet that there are lots of differences.

At times like these, I really wish I had a mirror. I can’t even find out what I look like.

As far as I can tell from moving around, though, nothing feels particularly off.

The overall makeup of my basic parts doesn’t seem to have changed much, so I should be able to move as usual without a problem.

I never really felt any bodily changes before evolving anyway.

So it’s a relief that I don’t seem to have changed much this time.

I guess these scythes are a pretty big change, though.

They kinda look like they’d make a noise like ka-shing! or something when you swing them around.

Come to think of it, they definitely bring the grim reaper to mind, huh?

The description of this species did say something about an “ill omen” or whatever, and now I have Rot Attack and stuff, so that makes sense.

I definitely still have a ninja-style thing going on, but in extreme cases, I could probably pull off the grim reaper image, too.

I’d better check in on the skills that leveled up, as well.

I’m always glad to see Herculean Strength and Sturdy improve.

That’ll add a bonus to related stat growth from now on, too.

My stats have definitely gotten a lot stronger, but they’re still pretty low compared with an opponent like the eel.

Let’s see… Poison Synthesis, Poison Magic, and Shadow Magic all leveled up, too.

I still can’t use the magic skills, but I do want to check if I gained anything for Poison Synthesis.

What? Wh-wh-wh-what’s this, now?!

I think I might’ve just gotten something really wild!

Poison Synthesis, the skill that’s worked so wonderfully for me here in the Middle Stratum, just took another huge step forward!

Oh man. I’ve gotta try this out right away.

So, I want to experiment with adding the Paralysis attribute to my Deadly Spider Poison.

I’ll see what kind of effect it has as soon as I get a chance to test it out.

Ah, but Deadly Spider Poison will probably kill most enemies instantly…

Okay, let’s add the attribute to Weak Poison, too.

Next time I find an enemy, I’ll have to start by using this Paralysis-infused Weak Poison on them.

Aah, I can’t wait!

As for magic… Well, who cares? Not like I can use it anyway.

Huh? No, wait a minute. Can I really still not use magic?

My Parallel Thinking and Arithmetic Processing skills both rose quite a bit.

Doesn’t that mean I might be able to use Detection right about now?

It’s been a while since my last attempt, so I guess I’ll give it a try.

Huff… Whew. All right!

Detection on!

Gah! Hnnnngh! Oof!

Off!

Whew. That was rough.

But I was definitely able to endure it longer than before.

It takes all my concentration just to deal with it, but that’s still a big step forward.

So it looks like my approach wasn’t wrong.

It may be a while yet until I can really master it, but I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, maybe?

I’ve been wandering around in the Middle Stratum.

I’m pretty full after eating the eel, so it looks like I don’t need to worry about passing out from hunger or anything.

Since I don’t need to actively hunt for more prey right now, I can proceed at my leisure.

I’m feeling pretty good right at the moment. I can even deal with this stupid heat.

Ugh. The climate still sucks, though.

There aren’t any monsters around just now, so maybe I’ll check in on my skill point situation.

I got quite a few points with this evolution, so maybe I’ll discover a cool skill or two.

All the skills I’ve acquired so far have been killer except for Detection, so hopefully, I’ll keep lucking out.

So far, aside from increasing the level of Taboo, Pride doesn’t seem to have any drawbacks.

And even Taboo isn’t doing any harm at the moment, so really, it’s like there are no downsides at all, right?

Considering how crazy its effects are, the positives vastly outweigh any negatives.

Why I was able to get this skill for 100 points is a total mystery to me.

With these effects, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was worth 1,000 points, easy.

It’s probably too much to expect to find another awesome bargain like Pride, but if there are any skills that look good, I might as well take ’em.

There’s no point in trying to save skill points too much, after all.

These things really burn a hole in your pocket.

Saving up even more and waiting for the bigger skills to be unlocked seems incredibly inefficient anyway.

All right, Appraisal, do your thing!

First, I double-Appraise my skill points.

Then I take a look at the list.

Hmm. There are still lots of skills I can get for 100 points.

I haven’t taken any of them because they don’t look particularly important, but maybe I should try to raise my proficiency for some of them when I have some free time?

But I guess if I have time for that, I should spend it improving more-useful skills.

Ah, but wait, there may be some skills like Prediction that suddenly turn into something more useful when they evolve…

Hmm. I dunno.

Oh, but first, I should really take a look at the skills that cost more than 200 points, since I couldn’t see them last time.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I found one. A broken skill like Pride.

Another skill chock-full of mysterious terminology…

And then there’s that ridiculous, almost laughable ability.

Does this work by constantly consuming MP, or what?

I don’t know how much MP it uses, but does that mean you can keep attacking like a zombie as long as you have MP left?

I don’t get it. Sounds pretty freaky.

Well, I’m not gonna hesitate this time. Boop.

Yes, please.

<[Perseverance] acquired. Remaining skill points: 0.>

With Pride already under my belt, I no longer know the meaning of the word “retreat”!

I’ll take every one of these skills I can get!

Come on, Taboo or whatever it might be, do your worst!

Okay, I’m sorry. I definitely didn’t want you to do that much.

Man, so Taboo rose, just like I figured. Two times, even. Well, what’re you gonna do?

Letting it level up this way doesn’t seem like a good thing, but it’s not like I have any means of countering it.

So don’t insta-kill me or strike me with lightning or anything, okay?

Ugh, the worst part about not knowing is that it makes my imagination run wild, know what I mean?

More importantly, take a look at that title.

I’ve got no time to be standing around worrying! I gotta check out this title right away!

Uh-huh. I knew it. This is another one of those cheat titles.

My defense and resistance increased!

Both went up 100 points, so now my defense is 351 and my resistance is 380.

Man, really, what’s going on here? Isn’t this a little too much like cheating?

The fact that my resistance-type skills will improve more easily now is huge, too.

Since I specialize in evasion, I hardly ever get hit by attacks, which means my resistance skills don’t really change much.

But now this’ll compensate for that weak point. I’m pretty psyched.

How did I earn proficiency for the resistance skills I gained during my training, you ask?

My theory is that the proficiency of resistance skills for attributes that I possess get better every time I level, or something like that.

I mean, I gained Dark Tolerance without doing anything, so that pretty much proves it.

Yep. It makes sense, since I have Abyss Magic and all.

The other resistances I gained by using threads and stuff to injure myself.

I mean, if you knew you could gain a skill just by whipping yourself a little, anyone would do it. So that’s what I did.

Huh? What do you mean, that’s just me? C’mon, that’s not true. It’s totally normal.

I’m also intrigued by this “Evil Eye” stuff.

I waaant it.

I mean, with an Evil Eye–type skill or whatever, wouldn’t you get to say lines like “My right eye…it burns!” or “You’re already trapped in my illusion!” or whatever?

Man, I’d be like some kind of badass video game villain.

Ugh, I want it, but now I’m out of skill points!

Oh well. I’ll just have to hurry and level up so I can save more skill points for it.

Last but not least, I got the skills Heresy Nullification and Conviction.

Heresy Nullification seems to be the highest form of Heresy Resistance.

Heresy Resistance increases your defense against attacks that directly influence the soul, so I guess Heresy Nullification must cancel them out entirely.

So now, even if I run into an enemy that uses Heretic Magic or something like it, I should be just fine.

<Conviction: Against targets that have in-system sins in their souls, deals nonresistable damage in proportion to the total amount of guilt>

Wow. So it’s an attack that does more damage against guilty parties? The “nonresistable” part is pretty scary.

Hmm? Wait a sec.

Is this maybe connected to Taboo?

Like, the higher the Taboo level, the more damage you take?

That’s gotta be it!

Yikes, if anyone else has this Conviction skill, I’ll be in it deep.

Hmm, but this wasn’t on the list of skills obtainable with skill points, so…

If it’s a special skill that can only be obtained with a ruler title, maybe there’re only a few others besides me who have it.

This is all wishful thinking, but I hope it’s true.

If so, then I’ve got a pretty valuable skill here.