Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? Volume Chapter 24

Dragon shock!

I know it sounds ridiculous, but I’m totally in post-dragon shock.

Once I got back home, the terror sank in, and it took me a whole half a day to recover.

Seeing two earth dragons together when they’re already strong on their own…yeah, that had some impact, but I was still fine.

But earth dragon Araba is another story.

How am I ever gonna fight that?

That giant snake, which I already thought was too strong for me, got totally crushed with virtually no effort when it fought Araba.

What’s so scary about that? All of it.

The effortless movements that easily dodged all of the serpent’s attacks.

Sure, those movements were pretty fast, but even more dangerously, they were precise.

It enacted the optimal evasive action at every given moment, smoothly incorporating its skills along the way.

Unlike the way I bulldoze through everything with the sheer power of my skills, this was more like watching a martial arts master who’s honed his movements for many years.

Those magnificent moves had nothing to do with skills or stats. It was pure artistry.

On the flip side, there was the nasty attack method that worked in time with those movements.

Attacking at the same time as dodging.

Not only that, but on top of the flawless “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” strategy, there was the nightmarish assault of magic chasing the opponent down at the same time.

Isn’t it kind of unfair to use Earth Magic inside a labyrinth?

A labyrinth has earthen walls and ceilings, not to mention the ground, you know?

If all that was weaponized and came after you all at once, there’s no way you could dodge it.

Since I have Foresight, I might be able to get by, but I’m not confident I would last very long.

So attacks that come from all sides and leave you no place to run, coupled with flawless evasion based on sheer technique.

Most importantly, there’s Araba’s own judgment, which commands all that power.

Not to mention, I have no way of telling, since the snake never landed a single attack, but because it’s an earth dragon, I’m sure its defensive power is ridiculous.

There’s not a single weakness to be found.

How am I supposed to beat that?

I just can’t picture myself winning a fair fight against that thing.

Hmm.

In that case, maybe I should come up with a way to make it an unfair fight?

I continued leveling up for several days in the Lower Stratum as I tried to think up strategies to beat Araba.

Right now, I’m in my home, lying in wait.

A group of monsters my Detection picked up on is heading directly this way.

Considering most Upper Stratum monsters run away as soon as they see me, it’s very unusual for some to be approaching me.

They’re clearly coming this way on purpose, targeting me.

But I suppose I know why.

And I know exactly what they are, too.

The group appears.

Leading the way is an incredibly huge monster.

LV 31 Status:HP: 4,466/4,466 (green) +1,400

SP: 4,267/4,267 (yellow)

Average Offensive Ability: 4,399 (details)

Average Magical Ability: 3,004 (details)

Average Speed Ability: 4,237 (details)

MP: 3,182/3,182 (blue) +1,400

: 4,262/4,262 (red) +1,288

Average Defensive Ability: 4,315 (details)

Average Resistance Ability: 3,101 (details)

Skills:   [HP Rapid Recovery LV 5][MP Recovery Speed LV 7][MP Lessened Consumption LV 7][Magic Power Perception LV 7][Magic Power Operation LV 7][SP Rapid Recovery LV 2][SP Minimized Consumption LV 2][Status Condition Super-Enhancement LV 3][Destruction Super-Enhancement LV 2][Cutting Super-Enhancement LV 4][Piercing Super-Enhancement LV 8][Impact Super-Enhancement LV 3][Shock Super-Enhancement LV 1][Magic Power Attack LV 6][Magic Warfare LV 4][Mental Warfare LV 7][Deadly Poison Attack LV 10][Poison Synthesis LV 5][Threadsmanship LV 5][Utility Thread LV 3][Thread Control LV 10][Telekinesis LV 2][Dimensional Maneuvering LV 8][Hit LV 10][Evasion LV 10][Probability Super-Correction LV 2][Danger Perception LV 10][Presence Perception LV 10][Motion Perception LV 10][Heretic Magic LV 10][Poison Magic LV 10][Healing Magic LV 4][Destruction Super-Resistance LV 1][Cutting Super-Resistance LV 2][Piercing Super-Resistance LV 2][Impact Super-Resistance LV 4][Shock Resistance LV 9][Status Condition Super-Resistance LV 8][Rot Resistance LV 6][Heresy Resistance LV 5][Pain Nullification][Pain Super-Mitigation LV 2][Vision Enhancement LV 10][Clairvoyance LV 2][Night Vision LV 10][Vision Expansion LV 7][Auditory Enhancement LV 7][Olfactory Enhancement LV 2][Tactile Enhancement LV 7][Ultimate Life LV 2][Magic Hoard LV 8][Ultimate Movement LV 1][Fortune LV 1][Fortitude LV 2][Stronghold LV 2][Monk LV 7][Talisman LV 8][Skanda LV 1][Satiation LV 4][Taboo LV 7]Skill Points: 34,500

Titles:

[Foul Feeder][Kin Eater][Monster Slayer][Poison Technique User][Monster Slaughterer][Thread User][Monster Calamity][Human Slayer][Champion]      >

So strong?!

Why does this SPIDER have higher stats than an earth dragon?!

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Okay, well…yeah.

I guess I was expecting this.

This thing looks like a pale, smaller version of Mother. It’s probably just one step away from becoming another one of her, so of course it’s not gonna be weak.

That’s right.

The group of monsters coming to attack me are spiders, just like me.

Technically, since my species has changed via evolution, we’re not exactly the same family. But I was originally a taratect, too, so I guess they’re sort of like close relatives.

Behind the arch taratect, there are three greater taratects, which are about a size smaller than their leader.

LV 29 Status:HP: 2,845/2,845 (green) +189

SP: 2,833/2,833 (yellow)

Average Offensive Ability: 1,766 (details)

Average Magical Ability: 2,099 (details)

Average Speed Ability: 2,744 (details)

MP: 2,101/2,101 (blue)

: 2,839/2,839 (red) +786

Average Defensive Ability: 2,710 (details)

Average Resistance Ability: 2,102 (details)

Skills:   [HP Rapid Recovery LV 1][MP Recovery Speed LV 2][MP Lessened Consumption LV 1][Magic Power Perception LV 6][Magic Power Operation LV 5][SP Rapid Recovery LV 1][SP Minimized Consumption LV 1][Destruction Enhancement LV 8][Cutting Enhancement LV 8][Piercing Super-Enhancement LV 1][Impact Enhancement LV 5][Status Condition Enhancement LV 9][Mental Warfare LV 4][Deadly Poison Attack LV 5][Threadsmanship LV 2][Spider Thread LV 9][Thread Control LV 5][Cutting Thread LV 5][Poison Synthesis LV 2][Dimensional Maneuvering LV 2][Hit LV 10][Evasion LV 10][Probability Correction LV 5][Danger Perception LV 10][Presence Perception LV 10][Motion Perception LV 10][Heretic Magic LV 10][Poison Magic LV 8][Destruction Resistance LV 6][Cutting Resistance LV 6][Piercing Resistance LV 8][Impact Resistance LV 9][Shock Resistance LV 5][Status Condition Resistance LV 8][Rot Resistance LV 3][Heresy Resistance LV 1][Pain Nullification][Pain Mitigation LV 8][Vision Enhancement LV 10][Telescopic Sight LV 7][Night Vision LV 10][Vision Expansion LV 5][Auditory Enhancement LV 4][Olfactory Enhancement LV 4][Longevity LV 6][Magic Hoard LV 2][Instant Body LV 6][Endurance LV 6][Herculean Strength LV 6][Sturdy LV 6][Monk LV 1][Talisman LV 2][Acceleration LV 6][Overeating LV 9][Taboo LV 4] Skill Points: 29,500

Titles:

[Foul Feeder][Kin Eater][Monster Slayer][Poison Technique User][Thread User][Monster Slaughterer]     >

This one’s probably the strongest of the greater ones.

Sure, after seeing the arch’s status, this seems like no biggie by comparison, but it’s still rather strong.

Its stats are lower than the fire dragon from the Middle Stratum, but it’s got way more skills.

If they fought one-on-one, the fire dragon would probably have the advantage because of spiders’ fire weakness, but overall, I’d say their power’s on roughly the same level.

And the other two are similar in stats, so basically, I’ve got four dragon-class monsters on my hands.

On top of that, they’ve got a ton of small taratects and some adult taratects milling around, too.

Ah, and even a few of the rare Poison variety.

Ooh, there’s a few small lesser taratects, too! Now, that takes me back.

They’re sooo weak.

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I feel like just a light push would be enough to kill them.

Gazing off into the distance, I think about how far I’ve come from being one of those.

Oh, right.

Sorry, I got sidetracked for a second there, since I wasn’t really expecting this big of a crowd.

But I did know this would happen.

That a bunch of taratects would come to attack me eventually.

Why?

Because I’ve been picking a fight with their boss.

It all started when I was fighting the fire dragon and was surprised to find myself thinking of it as “irritating.”

So when all my Parallel Minds teamed up to search for the source of this oddity, that’s when I found it.

Basically, I was being controlled.

To be more exact, it was more like the preliminary stages of control, or like I was unconsciously being fed thoughts that weren’t my own.

Apparently, since Mother is a “queen” and all, she has a skill that lets her control her children.

And so, I started to feel the effects of that skill, if only a little.

As it turns out, she doesn’t control all her children, just the ones that reach a certain level of strength. And I guess I crossed that line somewhere along the way.

I think the reasons she couldn’t completely control me are my high resistance stats and the fact that my race is no longer taratect, probably.

Honestly, I would never have noticed if it weren’t for the weird feeling I got while I was fighting the fire dragon, and I had no awareness that I was resisting it, so I’m not really sure why it didn’t work on me.

Those are just my best guesses.

Anyway, basically, she was trying to manipulate me.

So of course I couldn’t just let that slide.

That’s right. I decided to launch a little counterattack.

Since Mother was trying to control me, that meant there was sort of a mental path there, connecting us ever so slightly.

So I used that path to do some reverse-engineered hacking.

I figured I’d try it with Parallel Minds, and what do you know, it worked.

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So now aside from me, the main brain, the other Parallel Minds are all hard at work reverse-attacking Mother, to rave reviews.

How should I put it?

Sorta like a spirit parasite or a soul virus or something.

Well, you get the idea.

I’m basically crunching away at my mother’s soul.

So obviously she’s not just gonna sit there and take it.

Which means that as my Parallel Minds continue their intense mental battle against Mother, she’s dispatched something like a SWAT team to take me down in the physical world.

I seem to be winning this sorta soul-ish battle against her, but if she showed up in person, I’d definitely lose.

That’s why I built my home in a space between the Middle and Upper Stratums where Mother can’t enter.

She’s strong enough to stomp a fire dragon without even thinking about it, but because she’s so huge, she can’t enter such a small area.

The arch taratect that’s before my eyes right now is damn big, too, but apparently, it can barely squeeze through this passage somehow.

Now then, we’ve got a huge spider army here, with four dragon-class hotshots in the lead.

From the outside, you’d probably assume I’m in hot water.

But think about it. If I knew these guys were coming, do you really think I’d just sit here waiting without making any preparations?

These guys are spiders.

And I’m a spider, too.

These days, I tend to wander around in the labyrinth, but deep down, I’m still the type who likes to set up webs and wait for prey to get caught in them, y’know?

So of course I’m not gonna sit here and not set up any traps!

The arch taratect slowly shifts into action.

I predict its movements with Foresight.

Then dodge.

The arch’s fangs pass right through the spot where I was a millisecond ago.

Yikes!

So fast?!

Well, I guess this is the monster with the highest speed stat I’ve ever Appraised.

Plus, its Hit is maxed out, and Probability Super-Correction is at level 2.

Without my quadruple combo of Thought Acceleration, Foresight, Evasion, and Probability Correction, those fangs probably would’ve gone right through me.

Damn, that’s scary.

But no matter how fast it might be, it’s still slower than me.

Even with the arch using Magic Warfare and Mental Warfare to increase all its stats, I’m still much faster.

Plus, my Magic and Mental Warfare skill levels are higher anyway.

In fact, my Magic Warfare has even evolved into Magic Divinity.

Magic Divinity is a way more powerful version of Magic Warfare, of course.

On top of having a stronger effect than its weaker version, it even increases the rate at which magic stats go up.

Thanks to that, my already ridiculously high magic-related stats are now at truly unfathomable levels.

When I activate Magic Divinity and Dragon Power at the same time, my magic attack power and resistance easily reach the ten thousands.

Heh-heh-heh.

The arch’s physical power is a threat, sure, but not if it can’t even hit me.

The arch taratect makes some thread.

Oh, better not touch that stuff.

I know all about that.

Spider thread is bad news.

If you get caught, it’s all over.

Well, even if I did get caught, I could use Teleport to get away if I had to, but still.

A web of thread flies toward me.

As I dodge it, I see the greater taratects starting to move out of the corner of my eye.

Ah, I guess I should probably take this more seriously.

Knowing that the traps I set up all but guarantee my victory, it’s a little hard to feel any tension.

Plus, I’ve gotten strong enough at this point that I no longer have to worry about getting obliterated if a single attack hits me.

My raw physical stats are already high now, and I’ve got Magic Divinity, Mental Warfare, and Dragon Power all pushing them even higher, sooo…

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If I really wanted to, I could make them even higher with Wrath, but that seems like a little much, y’know?

I mean, the Wrath skill increases my physical stats by a huge amount.

How huge, you ask? Well, at skill level 1, it already raises them just about as much as my level-9 Mental Warfare skill does.

And it doesn’t even consume MP or SP.

However, when I use it, I automatically take on the status condition Madness.

Thanks to Heresy Nullification, Madness doesn’t totally take over me or anything, but I still don’t really want to use it ever again.

I’m plenty strong without it, and when it comes down to it, I’m a magic type anyway.

Why would I throw away my magic to get into some stupid physical fight?

Anyway, taking Perseverance into account, my real HP easily surpasses 10,000.

Nothing could possibly destroy all that with one blow, or at least, I’d like to think so.

Anyway, this arch definitely can’t.

Its strongest attack has to be Deadly Poison Attack level 10.

And it uses Utility Thread to make sure its target can’t escape.

It’s a vicious combo. If I didn’t have Teleport, even I might be doomed if I got caught.

And I know what I’m talking about, since I’ve used that kind of combo plenty of times myself.

But like I said, I have Teleport, so I can get away easily enough.

Sure, physical attacks from a giant monster like that are scary, but since I’ve got the upper hand in speed, it’s not even gonna graze me.

Other than that, the only real threat is if a big group attacks me all at once, but I’ve got my traps to take care of that.

Now, let’s test out my new trap, “Welcome to the Sauna.”

The arch is stepping into it right now.

There, the thread I set up in advance stops it in its tracks.

Heh-heh. I made the thread so thin it’s practically invisible, then stuck it to the ground so you’d never notice it!

That’s what I call a sticky trap!

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All I had to do was guide my victim there.

But this is just the beginning.

With stats as high as the arch’s, it could probably break out of the thin thread spread across the floor with sheer brute strength.

And even if it can’t escape, it still has magic to make long-distance attacks.

The arch’s weapon of choice is Poison Magic, one of my own favorites.

Depending on the situation, it could even become a fixed turret.

Although in my case, my poison resistance is high enough that it wouldn’t do much damage anyway, so it’s no big deal.

In a normal fight, yeah, a dragon-class monster is horrifying.

But this time, it messed with the wrong opponent.

After all, I know most of this thing’s attack patterns already.

Think about it.

Think of all the strategies I’ve cultivated over time.

Setting up thread, fighting with Poison Fang, firing magic.

That’s exactly what my fighting style looks like.

I’m sure this spider’s no different.

We’re both spider monsters, and I used to be a taratect, too.

It’s only natural that our strategies would overlap.

“I already know your every move before you do it!” Like that kinda thing.

I might have even been able to win in a fair head-to-head battle.

Not that I would bother risking something that dangerous.

I brush against the arch, rendered immobile by my thread.

Then I use Dimensional Magic: Range Teleport.

This is a trap I came up with to use against Araba.

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Ultimately, I decided it wouldn’t work on a dragon’s high resistance and Imperial Scales.

But an arch taratect doesn’t have that skill.

And its resistance isn’t nearly as high as my magic is powerful.

The arch is teleported along with me.

Our destination: above the magma lake in the Middle Stratum where I fought the fire wyrm.

Welcome to the hot, hot sauna.

Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

How do you like the view of the fiery red-hot magma?!

Must be awful for a spider whose weakness is fire!

Even I’m uncomfortably hot!

But this should be much worse for the arch than it is for me.

Below is the ocean of magma, so falling would undoubtedly mean certain death.

I’m small in size, so I can land on one of the little islands scattered about.

But the arch’s body is around fifty feet long.

None of the rocks down there is big enough for something so huge to land on.

On top of that, this environment will drain its HP just by being here.

I spent a long time building up my Fire Resistance skill, but the arch doesn’t have it at all.

Since it has HP Rapid Recovery, its HP’s not really going down, but it’s still gotta hurt.

So now its HP Rapid Recovery is essentially useless.

Sure, it’s using Dimensional Maneuvering to support its huge body in midair, but now it has to face off with me, a highly disadvantageous opponent, in a field of flames, its biggest weakness.

Talk about a checkmate.

Heh-heh-heh. Regret your foolishness for challenging a clearly superior spider as you perish!

Now, time for the Repellent Evil Eye!

Repellent Evil Eye is the evolved form of Heavy Evil Eye. Now, instead of just dragging an opponent down, I can pull it in any direction I choose.

And not only can I pull—I can also push with it.

If I use this pushing power on the space surrounding me, I can even make a sort of barrier around myself.

Although, since the air and stuff also get pushed away from me, I can’t use it that way for very long.

Also, it may have evolved and gained more functions, but its strongest forte is still pushing downward.

So I aim that downward force at the arch and push with all my might.

As if it weren’t struggling enough to keep its huge bulk in the air already, now I’ve added even more gravity.

You can fall if you want, okay?

C’mon, the worst that could happen is that you’ll die.

Now then, hurry up and fall so you can serve as EXP for me, please.

The arch taratect somehow holds out with its Dimensional Maneuvering.

Then it makes a thread and shoots it toward the ceiling.

Really? Can’t you just fall?

It’s not like I’m gonna let you get away.

I use a Black Magic spell, Black Bullet.

Black Magic is the even more evolved form of Dark Magic, one step below Abyss Magic.

It’s not as powerful as Abyss Magic, but it’s certainly easier to use and has a simple but effective attack spell.

Namely, this one—Black Bullet.

It’s the enhanced version of the Dark Magic spell Dark Bullet, and as the name implies, it fires a jet-black ball.

Along with the Dark attribute, it also seems to have the Shock attribute, so it explodes when it hits its target and does extra damage.

By the way, since it’s a high-class magic, it’s much more powerful than it looks.

The Black Bullet hits the arch’s butt as it produces thread.

The shock sends the thread flying in the wrong direction, and the arch’s HP decreases.

All right, let’s wrap this up.

I fire a barrage of Black Bullets without mercy.

Will it fall into the magma first?

Or will it run out of HP first?

What’s it gonna be?

The arch is doing its darndest to survive.

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Oh yes, it’s trying hard.

It withstands my attacks, uses Healing Magic to fix itself up, and even acquires the Dark Resistance skill.

I gotta admit, this thing has guts.

Good effort, buddy.

Now die already, will ya?

My Black Magic reaches level 3 from the constant barrage, so I use the new spell.

This one’s called Black Spear.

It’s the spear version of Black Bullet, so it also causes Piercing attribute damage.

The Black Spear goes right through the battered body of the arch taratect.

Finally, the giant spider, whose stats exceed those of an earth dragon, breathes its last.

My level goes up by 4 all at once.

I peel off my molted skin.

All right, all right. Better collect the corpse before it falls.

I grab the falling arch and teleport back.

Honey, I’m home!

I’ll have to enjoy this meal later.

Well, “enjoy” is probably a stretch. The body is poisonous, so it’s definitely gonna taste awful.

Yep, that’s right. Your captain disappeared with me and came back as a corpse.

I can understand the remaining spider troops’ panicked reactions.

Okay, you there, my good pal Greater.

Sorry, I know you’re busy being scared stiff right now, but would you like to go to the sauna, too?

One greater taratect, into the sauna!

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From there, I simply repeat the same strategy I used on the arch.

The Middle Stratum, which once caused me so many hardships, now serves as the key to my greatest trap yet, eliminating the spider troops without mercy.

I finish off all three greater taratects with the same method, then wipe out the rest of the bunch by firing magic at random.

The stats of the adult taratects and stuff barely crack a thousand.

As I am now, they’re nothing but small-fry to me.

Huh? Small lesser taratects?

They died just from the shock waves of my other attacks, so what?

The arch, the three greaters, the grown taratects, and miscellaneous extras all go down before you know it.

Between the handful of bigger game and the large number of small-fry, I end up making out with a huge amount of EXP.

Thanks to that, I’m leveling up like crazy over here.

Ba-ha-ha! I can’t stop chuckling.

With a nasty trick like this, I can beat all kinds of bigger game without a problem.

Well, I guess I had some extra advantages this time, but still.

It’s just like the old saying goes, really.

You can never be too prepared!