Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Taboo
Thoughts in italics
Monologue in normal text
Bolded skills
System in bold normal text
sounds in bold italics
[] Karada-chan
{} Miho chan
() Akira-chan
I made a mistake, a few chapters ago I put Dimensional Magic instead of Spatial Magic, it was my mistake since Dimensional Magic is the evolved form of Spatial Magic, I apologize for my mistake.
If you are wondering why I was late, I was reading volumes 15 and 16 of the novel and I also had work to do.
This story and the Overlord are connected.
nice day/afternoon/evening/night
WARNING:
This fanfiction will contain spoilers from the Light novel, read at your own risk.
Leave your comments, it would help me a lot
thanks for reading
my pat reon: pat reon . com (slash) thenewshinka
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I eat
And eat.
And eat.
This spicy
"It's sour, so sour."
I look towards the voice, to see Shiro looking at me only to quickly go back to eating.
The proficiency has reached the required level. The skill of the individual known as Shiroe [Taboo Lv 8] has become [Taboo Lv 9].
We have been progressing through the Middle Layer without any noteworthy incidents since our encounter with the self-proclaimed "evil god" D.
I still can't believe what happened a few days ago.
To think that D would go to the trouble of screwing up my perception to not notice shiro without his interference seems silly to me.
What fun was it to trick my senses into believing that I had merged with shiro?
Or rather, why did she turn me into a spider instead of a human or some other species? does she have my memories? does she know what will happen in the future?
Ugh, so many questions and so few answers.
I look at shiro.
Things were a little awkward after D left us but we made do.
Although right now he seems to be having an existential crisis, overthinking things.
Honestly, I don't blame her.
I too am having a bit of a mental breakdown with what has happened.
Knowing that D just played with my life so easily without me even realizing it... it's scary.
I look towards shiro, who is still eating but more slowly.
He is most likely listening to my internal monologue while he eats.
"Ugh, knowing that D is so powerful scares me."
Honestly, just like me.
With everything I remember, I know D is a high-level administrator, but that's all I remember.
I don't understand what the administrators are doing at all.
The only thing I can say with some certainty is that you control the skills that exist in this world.
But that's just a guess. And even if it's true, I don't know what the significance is.
Before acquiring Wisdom, it crossed my mind that all these skills and stats were very game-like, but I didn't really care that much.
This was a parallel world, so I just assumed that's how things go here.
But I had forgotten about the existence of these "administrators" who control the skills system, there must be some purpose behind it.
It's not that I thought skills existed as a natural phenomenon of this world, but when you give them to beings with intentions of their own, I have to assume there is a deeper reason.
Otherwise, why would anyone create such a large system?
"Ugh, no idea."
Exactly.
"If D really is an administrator, I suppose it's not impossible that she did all this for the sole reason of entertainment."
True, that would explain a lot of game mechanics, too.
But no, there must be a much deeper goal beyond our comprehension!
Otherwise, that means this whole world exists as a sideshow for D's amusement.
"I don't like the sound of that."
Nor me.
"Who would just give in and accept it if they found out they were just a toy!"
Well, this toy story...
"Ugh, you're not helping."
Sorry.
But there is one thing I am sure about D.
"Did you notice it too?"
Yes, the smartphone, the dominance of Japanese... several clues that point directly to Japan.
"D must be somehow connected to the earth."
Exactly.
"Then... D should know why we reincarnate in this world."
Yes... I also want to know why I was reincarnated in this world.
D must know the reason or at least have some clue as to why he reincarnated as Wakaba Hiro.
If there really is a "next time" maybe try asking about it.
Although I have no idea if D will give me a clear answer.
Other than that, I don't have enough information to do anything more than speculate.
"So, we have to conclude with that you don't have to rack our brains about "D", "Administrators" and all that stuff."
Honestly, it's not like we can do anything about it anyway.
If the beings who can control the skills system want to mess with us, I doubt we can put up much resistance.
Trying to go against an administrator would be like trying to stop a meteorite from destroying the earth.
This is not something we can win against yet.
"nai wa, I doubt we can ever against them."
Don't be pessimistic shiro.
"I am a realist!"
Whatever you say.
"It's also not just D. The dark boy who appeared in front of you earlier seemed much more powerful than us as well."
We also have to worry about learning that mysterious language that I have never heard before, it must be the native language of this world.
"Although since Appraisal didn't work, I couldn't confirm if it was human.
I doubt it was.
"There's always someone stronger and there's no limit to how far that goes, I feel like I've become even more aware of that now. "
Don't be so pessimistic shiro, if we continue to level up-.
"No! No matter how much we improve our skills or level up, all of that is just a transitory power granted to us by the "administrators". If they felt like it, they could take it all away from us at any time."
When you put it like that...
"Let's not talk about a strength competition. We can't even qualify for the game."
Ugh, no point in worrying about all that now.
"You're right. We should also forget about evil gods, administrators and everything else unless they bother us again."
In the meantime, we will continue to concentrate on escaping from the Middle Layer.
And it's not like we're suddenly going to lose all our skills and levels unless I get involved with those guys (I doubt anyone would bother with us/hope you're right), plus it doesn't do any harm to upgrade them anyway, so we might as well keep doing that.
"Not that I can do more than take away a little anxiety, but that's all I can do, so I'll have to do the best my skills will allow."
You are very eager shiro-chan, D wants entertainment so I doubt it will take away our skills.
"Yes, but D is not the steward of this world."
I- in that you are right, I have no idea if there is another administrator besides D and Güli-Güli.
"nai wa, I don't want to think about it, we'd better be on our way."
Sure, no problem.
So, we continued walking through the Middle Layer.
I inspect my skills as I proceed.
We have almost the same skills, except for some that are different, so we should have obtained the same skills after killing.
"yes, what a coincidence that we have the same skills."
Was it the work of D?
"Ugh, I don't want to think about her."
Ugh, me neither.
The new skills we got after we defeated our respective fire dragons - Dimensional Maneuvering, Dragon Power, and Spatial Magic - are super useful.
"It was as I guessed, Dimensional Maneuvering allows me to perform double jumps in mid-air, when I activate it almost invisible footholds appear in the air, and I can run around propelling myself with them."
"Since he is now level 1, the footholds are too fragile for him to run at full speed."
But once we level up, we should be able to move freely both in the air and on the ground.
Almost like flying.
By the way, have you thought about getting the Flight skill?
"I had thought about it at first, but with this skill I don't think I need it."
Ugh, I'll have to be the flight support in this group. Nai wa, what a slacker.
Maybe I should get Sloth...
Next time.
Anyway, as far as I have been able to observe, the skill uses red resistance, but considering its effects, it is not surprising.
Ugh, if only there was a skill that could recover from red Sp.
"What don't you have Sp Rapid Recovery?"
Hey, now that you mention it, it's true, I forgot about it.
But the problem with Sp Rapid Recovery is that it only works on yellow Sp, red Sp does not recover with this ability.
"Really?! Ugh, I thought that would be resolved when I evolved to the skill you have now but it looks like it's not!"
Maybe he will start to recover when he moves up a level but it seems unlikely.
If I may say something, with the new features implemented, new skills can be created.
Eh?
"Eh?"
""EH?!""
Since when can I do that?!
"Can you do that divine voice (temporal)?!"
...
"Eh?! Why don't you answer me?"
Maybe because System-chan is different from the divine (temporary) voice, so it doesn't answer you for that.
Anyway, can you do that System-chan?
Yes, with your current level of authority you can create low and intermediate level skills, one new skill per day.
That's great! Create Sp Recovery Speed (Red) please System-chan!
Skill [Sp Recovery Speed (Red)] is being constructed
Construction completed
Conditions met. Skill [Sp Recovery Speed (Red) Lv 1] was acquired.
Through the skill [Twin Link], the individual known as Shiro has obtained the skill [Sp Recovery Speed (Red) Lv 1].
Huh?
"Eh?"
[Twin Link] What is that?
Twin Link: allows cooperative mode.
That doesn't tell me anything!
Ugh, that must be D's thing.
When did you put it on? Was it hidden until now?
Shiro-chan, do you have it too?
"Uh, Mmm let me check... yeah, I got that too."
So, thanks to this is that we always got the same skills except for the ones we got from the skill points.
"Uwah, how scary to know I had this skill all this time and didn't know it."
Grrrr, this D.
In any case, we should continue to inspect our skills.
"Mmm, the next one is Dragon Power, it's the evolved form of Wyrm Power."
When I activate it, it consumes Mp and Sp to temporarily increase my stats.
Also, when active, I can use some abilities of a dragon.
Specifically, the effect of magical obstruction and breath attacks.
"With Dragon Power activated, we can cover ourselves with the same magic dispersion power seen in the dragon skill scales."
"Testing aside from the breath, we discovered that it produces some kind of dark attribute attack."
But even so, Dragon Scales is still more powerful and most likely the breath as well, but they are still quite strong.
Since Spatial Magic is still at low level, I can't cast any useful spells yet.
Once she levels up, I'm sure she'll be useful, so I'll try to level her up over time.
"Unfortunately, both Dimensional Maneuvering and Dragon Power consume Sp."
As the monsters still avoid us like the plague, even more than the 2 of us together, we have trouble getting food.
"That means we can't recover Sp, so I have to avoid using it whenever possible."
Although we now have Sp Recovery Speed (Red) so we won't starve right away but we do need to hunt delicious monsters to use it.
"Ultimately, that means that even though we got these nice new skills, we can't level them up at all!
We are loaded with Mp, however, so we can concentrate on the skills that use it for now.
"Hmm, you're right, various types of magic, Poison Synthesis, Magic Warfare, Evil Eye skills, and all that. "
"My Shadow Magic skill reached level 10."
The consequent skill we got as a result was Dark Magic.
Even at maximum, Shadow Magic was still a bit imprecise, so I plan to work on Dark Magic better.
"We also managed to maximize Poison Synthesis and Poison Magic. For some reason, both produced a class of unexpected skills: Medicine Synthesis and Healing Magic, respectively."
"I guess it might be true what they say that some people's poison can be other people's cure or whatever?"
Which also produced something even more unexpected, Heal and Cure merged with Healing Magic and is now at level 6.
"Hey, now that you mention it, mine is also level 6, could this be because of the hidden skill we had, [Twin Link]?"
Most likely, it seems that now that it is not hidden, the shared experience will be more obvious, so we should be able to upload skills faster than before.
"In any case, this means I finally have the means to heal myself. Until now, my recovery depended on my level-up and Hp Auto-Recovery, so being able to heal my wounds whenever I want is great."
Eh, I didn't use it much so I never managed to max Heal and Cure before, now I regret it, if I had I probably would have had Healing Magic at max level by now.
We also have a problem; we don't know how much it heals and what its effects are and we can't test its effects at the moment because our Hp bars are full.
"Maybe we can test its effects when we manage to make a new house."
We can also use it to heal ourselves from the effects of Ice Magic when we are going to increase our resistance to ice.
"We also managed to maximize Heretic Magic."
Although you can't imagine the terrible skill that resulted from this.
Taboo.
"Fortunately, it didn't go up a level, but I thought my heart stopped for a second."
We both have it now at level 9, one more level and it will be maximized.
"I didn't even realize when it was maximized, this could be really bad."
Some evil eyes were also maximized.
Cursed Evil Eye evolved into Jinx Evil Eye.
"This evil eye transfers the Hp and all that is reduced by the curse to me."
It also causes more damage than before, so it is definitely an improvement over the first form.
"We can't absorb stats or anything, but being able to absorb Sp is pretty cool."
Combined with Gluttony, I can now get even more Sp from enemies!
"Huh? What's Gluttony?"
The evolved version of Satiation is a skill that basically allows me to eat anything and gives me Hp, Mp and Sp in return.
"Huh?! Really? How broken, why don't you use it to fill your Sp (red) bar?"
Just because you can eat anything doesn't mean it tastes delicious.
Lately food that isn't monster food has started to lose its flavor and taste more horrible.
As if I was missing some kind of blessing or skill that made me savor everything with a good taste.
Shiro-chan nodded in acknowledgment.
"Hmm-Mmm, I get your point."
Anyway, Paralyzing Evil Eye evolved into Inert Evil Eye.
"Instead of simple paralysis, this one apparently inflicts an attribute similar to being frozen in time.
With the paralysis the monsters could still twist and shake a little, but now they will be completely frozen.
I'm guessing this is a combination of paralysis and some attribute I'm not yet familiar with.
"We can't say for sure either, since no such attribute appears in the list of skills."
Well, either way, we're still winning as soon as that kicks in, so that just means we've gotten a lot stronger.
Heavy Evil Eye and Petrifying Evil Eye leveled up, but I got it a little while ago, so it's not maxed out yet.
"Now that I look at it, it looks like I got Petrifying Evil Eye, looks like the shared experience kicked in again."
Really? what are the limits that can be shared with this skill?
"We'll have to try to check it out later."
Well, let's continue, thanks to the continuous use of Heavy Evil Eye on myself I got Heavy Resistance, which negates a bit the effects of the Heavy state.
"Unfortunately, that skill is reducing the effectiveness of our muscle training."
""Damn.""
Last but not least Telescopic Sight.
"This one ended up evolving into Clairvoyance."
Enhances the effects of Telescopic Sight and adds an X-ray effect.
"Now we can see through the walls to the panorama on the other side."
However, it's not as cool as the "see anywhere in the world" effect you think of when you hear Clairvoyance.
"In the end, it's just an extension of Telescopic Sight."
But thanks to Clairvoyance, I've started to notice something.
A long upward slope.
"I can do the monologue."
Sure, the next one is mine.
"thank you"
"ahem, it's been a long trip."
A long trip, no doubt.
"We've been through a lot of trouble along the way."
Too many, I think God hates us
"But now we can finally calm down."
We can go back to sleep peacefully.
"And leave this horrible hell behind."
And go in peace
"It's good to see you again, Upper Layer."
Goodbye Middle Layer, I would say it was a good trip but it's not good to lie.
"We fell into the Lower Layer, encountered a terrible beast and ran for our lives."
Wait, Did we even live the same experiences?
"I think so, nai wa, don't tell me I have to repeat my monologue!"
Uwah, I really don't know, umm, for now let's say that we did it, continue please shiro-chan
"Uwah, ok, um what was I on, ah yes, ahem, we traveled all over the horrible hell so hot I was constantly wasting my Hp."
I remember when I went to Hermosillo, Mexico to visit a cousin I had there, it was also quite hot.
"I came close to death many times."
But in the end we came back.
"We made it, we survived!"
Yay!
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I eat.
And eat.
And eat.
And eat.
Like draw on a thread.
Slowly and carefully.
More than chewing, I'm slurping.
The proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Satiation Lv 2] has become [Satiation Lv 3].
The proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Divinity Expansion Lv 4] has become [Divinity Expansion Lv 5].
The proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Divinity Expansion Lv 4] has become [Divinity Expansion Lv 5].
Ugh, this bonding thing is going to kill me someday.
If you just heard about a skill I don't have and a repeated evolved skill, it's not a mistake.
Since we have the [Twin Link] link every time one of our skills levels up, I hear it too.
The worst thing is that it does not specify whose skill was uploaded, so sometimes it becomes confusing to know who owns the skill.
Uwah, what a hassle.
Anyway, I will continue with my narration.
Where was I? Ah yes, ahem, upon arriving in the Upper Layer, we immediately found a place and built a new home.
There is a nice, large space quite close to the entrance to the Middle Layer, so we decided to make it our territory for now.
"In the Middle Layer, my yarn was burning so fast I couldn't even make a simple home, so this is the first one since the Araba earth dragon swept through the Lower Layer."
Same for me, even if my threads didn't burn, I didn't feel safe in the Middle Layer, so I didn't make any homes because I wanted to get out of that living hell.
"Ahhh, nothing beats this feeling of security!"
Umu, it's good to be able to sleep soundly again.
"Hmm, it was extremely hot in the Middle Layer, and I didn't have the protection of my yarn, so I was a long way from being able to get a restful sleep."
"Now, compare that to the incredible comfort in the Upper Layer!"
Very true, the temperature is nice and cozy, neither too hot nor too cold.
We can put in as much yarn as I want, without having to worry about putting in more than a little resistance of all kinds, since the monsters are weaker than the ones we had faced before.
"Exactly! There are no strong monsters here, so I can sleep soundly!"
Ah, this is the life.
So, shiro-chan spent a couple of days wallowing in idleness.
"Hey, I've worked really hard all this time and barely made it out alive, so I'm allowed to take a little vacation."
I also went through the same thing, and I keep raising the level of my skills.
"..."
You know I'm right shiro-chan.
Anyway, the main reason I do it is out of boredom.
I will continue with my monologue, while shiro-chan was resting I used Ice Magic to increase my resistance to ice, I also managed to test the effects of Healing Magic.
Now I understand the reason why Heal and Cure were integrated to Healing Magic, being at level 6 it heals 55% of my total life and heals the affected state.
I also tested it by taking my own poison, and while it didn't completely undo it, it did reduce it enough so that my current resistance eliminated the remaining effects.
It's strong but the downside is that it slows down my training a bit to raise my skills, but it helps me not to die from the ice.
I'm weaker to ice than I thought, even when I had it almost maxed out I almost accidentally killed myself with a level 4 spell when I didn't correctly measure the damage it was inflicting on me.
On the positive side, my Ice Resistance finally maxed out and evolved to Freeze Resistance, it is currently at level 2 and Ice Magic went up to level 7.
"Also because of that, I gained 4 levels of Ice Resistance and 3 levels of Ice Magic."
This twin bonding thing we have is both helpful and annoying.
"Ah~, this is the best."
Well, it's your turn to monologue.
"Okay~, anyway, we can't go on like this forever."
"Unlike before, since I now have the wonderful combo of Intimidation and Fear Bringer-"
Double!
"-monsters don't come near us."
"And since no monster is trying to lunge at our house, we don't have any food."
In order to secure food and gain experience, one of us goes hunting or both of us go.
It is not really necessary for both of us to go, but considering the amount of food we both eat, it is better if we both hunt at the same time.
"Not to mention, we want to expand our map of the Upper Layer and find a way out."
It's funny, but thanks to [Twin Link] we have an automatic mapping of the area that the other there saw.
Seriously, this skill is well broken.
"We haven't made any preparations to go outside yet, but it really wouldn't hurt to at least find our way out."
"But considering how big the Upper Layer is, I doubt we'll find one easily, so I'll consider it a stroke of good luck if either of us 2 stumble upon one."
"The primary objective of hunting is to secure food, followed closely by gaining experience."
Once we gain one more level, we will be level 20, which means we will be able to evolve.
"Then we hunted quietly through the Upper Layer for a few days."
But there are no monsters I can find around here.
"Apparently, this strange phenomenon is the work of some mysterious monster."
We have this information from one of the few surviving frogs in the Upper Layer.
"He said and I quote, "Yeah, they're 2 dangerous creatures with a super scary aura that use tons of poison and wouldn't we run from that?""
Makes sense if you ask me.
"The Upper Layer Monsters of the Great Elroe Maze union is taking the situation very seriously and plans to establish a nearby operations center to deal with the problem soon."
Pfft, just kidding. Hahahahahaha.
"The "dangerous creatures" are us, of course. Jijiji."
"THERE IS NOT A SINGLE MONSTER! THEY HAVE ALL FLED!"
The moment we started setting up in this area, those cowards got up and ran for the hills!
"At first, we thought it would be easy to catch monsters here, since it's not like they can escape the magma like in Middle Layer or something. But even we have our limits, you know?"
We have to travel several days away from home in order to find monsters! What the hell is this?!
"Thanks to that, we've been traveling for a few days, building simple nests instead of returning to my base!"
What do they think we are, nomads?
Well, when you think about it, what we're doing makes us look more like hunter/gatherers than nomads, but still.
"Ugh... Unreal. Seriously, noooo waaaaay."
"Making the trip back to our home over and over again is a pain."
So, we decided to increase our Spatial Magic level to maximum speed.
And thanks to our combined effort we were able to raise it to level 9.
"Spatial Magic Lv 9: Long Distance Teleportation.
A wonderful spell that allows you to be instantly transported to any place you have been before.
Since we learned this spell, the problem of not being able to return home easily has been solved.
"In addition, now that we can instantly move anywhere we've already been, the scope of our exploration has expanded accordingly."
As part of one of Shiro-chan's trips, he managed to find the huge corridor that even Oka-sama could walk through.
He also found an earthen wyrm.
When he called me through the link we had, I was surprised to see an earthen wyrm.
"It looked more like a dinosaur than a dragon, and it was almost as strong as the Middle Layer eels.
But an eel-class monster is no big deal to me now.
"Kuro-chan easily caught him with his thread and I sucked the life out of him with my Evil Eyes."
Of all his stats, only his stamina was absurdly high, so it was only enough to replenish Shiro-chan's Satiation reserves.
And considering that I had Sp Recovery Speed (Red), which was now at level 4, I didn't have to worry too much about my red Sp either, it even started to fill up my Gluttony reserves on its own.
"So, since we didn't really need to eat after that, we built a simple house on the site to keep it nice and preserved."
It became our wyrm's dumping ground, as I occasionally go to marry some wyrm's to the Lower Layer, of course being cautious and careful not to run into some dragon or some super strong wyrm.
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Today, while I was hunting, I didn't expect to get a call from Shiro-chan telling me that there are some humans.
I was super-surprised.
Without thinking, I teleported to Shiro-chan's side and stood next to her watching the humans, she seemed to freeze at the sight of them.
I looked at who I was seeing and it was an older guy who seemed pretty smug, kind of stoic, looked like the type you'd see smoking a cigarette.
Being the little angel that I am, I was thinking of giving them a quick and merciful death with one of my evil eyes, but I stopped when they suddenly screamed and came out.
I mean, they would have died eventually with one of my evil eyes but it seems that the double intimidation of shiro-chan and I was too much for them.
Hmm, at least they didn't attack me or burn down my house, that would have ended very badly for them.
And I refer to them in my stomach, of course.
I've never tasted a human before, although I think I'm only about a year old.
No, wait, how long have I been living in this world?
It feels like decades.
Nai wa, don't tell me I'm already an old woman.
No-no, you're exaggerating Kuro-chan, you're still a cute little spider girl, you can't be an old lady yet.
...right?
Uwah, I'd better leave that for now.
Anyway, I was disappointed when these gentlemen fled.
They were dressed as some sort of knights, so they should have been quite capable warriors, right?
But they were frightened by the combined intimidation of shiro-chan and me and ran away.
Is it just me, or does that mean we're going to cause a big panic if we leave the labyrinth?
I mean, if this is how strong warriors react to us, are the common people going to faint at the sight of us or what?
I am beginning to get the feeling that, even if we evolve in Arachne, my efforts will be in vain.
I just want to eat good food and live in peace, is that too much to ask?
Either way, I can't imagine things are going to go very well.
"It's fitting for me that those warriors ran away, but what if they had tried attacking me or something? "
What do you mean shiro-chan?
"I mean, they probably ran away because they weren't super strong, but if I meet some humans who are confident enough in their own strength, they might try to conquer their fears and challenge us."
Then we kill them and eat them.
"But it could be possible that he is a stronger human than both of us."
I don't think so, judging by the knights, humans seem to be much weaker than we imagined.
"Don't assume that, it's dangerous to just assume things like that. We both started out really weak, and look at us now. It's not impossible that a human being could do the same thing."
When you put it like that...
"In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a wide range of strength among different humans. I'm sure the average villager and a soldier have completely different stats, for example."
You are right, we know nothing about the humans of this world, so we should not assume that one race is less dangerous than another.
"The best way to get more information would be to establish contact with humans, but the problem is that we can't do that in the first place."
True, even if I tried to use Telepathy, we would not have been understood, if I heard well by your shouts and by the black knight, the language of this world is different from ours.
"Yes. I have a feeling that communication with humans will be next to impossible."
A few days have passed since our encounter with the gentlemen and we still have not evolved.
Man, there are veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery few monsters around here.
It feels like we stalled just before the finish line, you know?
So of course, I'm starting to get a little bit pissed off at how few monsters there are.
I'm still baffled that I haven't leveled up after hunting about 5 more wyrm's but I'm sure I only need one monster (I think) and I don't want to risk hunting any wyrm at the Lower Layer again, the last time I went I almost got eaten by a praying mantis.
I don't know how she managed to get behind me without me noticing, even Detection didn't notice her, but thanks to my high reflexes I was able to dodge her sneak attack and kill her.
Man, the Lower Layer is very dangerous.
That's why I decided to suspend the search for wyrm's until I evolved.
My home defense is impeccable, and I still have some earth and fire wyrm's to eat, so all I need are experience points.
The table is set, where is my EXP!
Oh, wait, I found it easily enough.
EXP, or rather, a monster.
It is a snake.
That thing is one of the strongest monsters in the Upper Layer, so if I beat it, I should be able to level up and be able to evolve.
But there is just one small problem.
The snake is fighting against some humans.
There are two humans facing the snake face to face.
Then two more wounded lying a short distance away.
One more person is healing these two humans.
So, five humans in total, quite a party.
Judging by the view of the situation I get with Clairvoyance, they are probably adventurers who were attacked by the snake, is it possible?
Hmm.
I can't use Clairvoyance and Appraisal at the same time, but at first glance, does it look like the snake is stronger?
So those two people alone can't beat the snake, huh...?
Oh, since there are already two less people, I think they started out as five people.
Man, I think humans are really weaker than I thought.
Ahh, what should I do?
I will call shiro-chan.
Moshi mosh shiro-chan
"Are, what's wrong Kuro-chan?"
We have a situation here.
"I see, I'll go right away...magic girl kumoko reporting for duty~"
Look in that direction, there are some humans fighting with a snake.
"Oh, a snake, let me see...yes I see."
What should we do?
"hmm, on the one hand it would be painful if they got scared like those knights did before, but if we leave them as they are, those humans could be exterminated."
But that's okay, isn't it? Why don't we just wait for the snake to finish them off, and then defeat it on our own?
That way we wouldn't need to get involved with humans at all.
"...You know we can't do that, right? You're an ex-human and all that, plus me sharing your memories and the feelings just doesn't feel right."
Ugh, how come you're more "human" than me, if you're the one who was a spider before.
"Yeah, I know, it's not like we have exactly the nicest personality, but I do understand about basic morals, you know? Whether he acted according to those principles is another story, though."
Umu.
"It's just, I don't know. I can't let them die just because they'd be a nuisance, so I guess I might even have a tiny shred of a conscience."
Well, at least one of us should have it.
"I guess we're going to save them, then."
They are lucky that the amazing shiro-chan is so incredibly selfless.
Dash!
We're not going to put on a show of rescuing them or anything like that.
"We're just going to kill that thing and we're going to get out of here."
I don't want to stick around in case things get ugly.
"Then, Mr. Snake, I'll have to ask you to leave."
It only takes a moment to get to the place I've been watching with Clairvoyance.
I use Dimensional Maneuvering to jump directly over the snake's head.
Then I use my scythe. I've added Cutting Enhancement, stat boost, and Deadly Poison Attack.
Just like that, the snake's Hp is instantly reduced to 0.
The huge head of the snake collapses.
I draw my scythe from the snake and drink the blood.
It tastes curiously like an apple sangria.
Another one bites the dust.
I can't believe I used to think these guys were boss monsters.
Experience has reached the required level. The individual Zoa Ele known as Kuroko has risen from Lv 19 to Lv 20
All basic attributes have increased
Skill proficiency bonus for leveling up has been acquired
Proficiency has reached the required level. The Skill [Faint Resistance Lv 3] has become [Faint Resistance Lv 4].
Proficiency has reached the required level. The Skill [Sp Recovery Speed (Red) Lv 4] has become [Sp Recovery Speed Lv 5].
Proficiency has reached the required level. The Skill [Freeze Resistance Lv 2] has become [Freeze Resistance Lv 3].
skill points acquired
Experience has reached the required level. The individual Zoa Ele known as Shiro has risen from Lv 19 to Lv 20
All basic attributes have increased
Skill proficiency bonus for leveling up has been acquired
Proficiency has reached the required level. The Skill [Faint Resistance Lv 3] has become [Faint Resistance Lv 4].
Proficiency has reached the required level. The Skill [Sp Recovery Speed (Red) Lv 4] has become [Sp Recovery Speed Lv 5].
Proficiency has reached the required level. The Skill [Ice Resistance Lv 5] has become [Ice Resistance Lv 5].
skill points acquired
Conditions met. Individual Zoa Ele known as Kuroko can now evolve
There are multiple options to evolve. Please choose one of the following.
1- Ede Saine
2- Teratect Major
3- Orthocadinaht
Conditions met. Individual Zoa Ele known as Shiro can now evolve
There are multiple options to evolve. Please choose one of the following.
1- Ede Saine
2- Teratect Major
3- Orthocadinaht.
"Great, we finally moved up a level! "
Yay!
"Now we can finally evolve."
Alright, looking at the adventurers (or whatever they are), they still seem to be paralyzed by shock.
"Well, I can't say I blame them."
I guess we'll just grab this cute little snake and go off on our own via teleportation, then.
"Ah, but... it looks like the two unconscious humans back there are going to die. The poison is taking its toll on them."
"The healer is doing the best he can, but his speed and power are too low, at this rate they will die faster than he can heal them."
So?
"Hmm. Well, since I've come this far. If I'm going to do it, I might as well do it right."
You are very merciful.
Shiro-chan teleports to the side of the two fallen humans.
The man doing the healing is so surprised by shiro-chan's sudden arrival that he messes up the incantation halfway through, but it's not like he's doing that well anyway, so whatever.
Oh, he's going to use Healing Magic.
"It is the most effective for this situation, using state recovery magic and Hp on each of them."
As we use it a lot we managed to take it to level 9, almost to level 10, so the degree of injuries and poison it is healing is not a problem.
Watching shiro-chan's work, the man who was doing the healing, his eyes popped out of his orbits.
"Ahh, I really don't want to get involved beyond this."
Just let them go on their own.
I see shiro-chan coming back, looks like we are finally leaving.
Then I see shiro-chan stop and look at something, I turn and look at what he is looking at.
Fruit.
A bag full of fruits, they look like some kind of dried persimmons.
"Oh-hooooooooooooo!"
Sweets?!
That's candy, isn't it!
"Did these guys just drop them while they were fighting!"
Can we take these?! We can, right?! I don't care, I'll take them!
"Finally, we have candy!"
Woooo! I might even be happier about this than about leveling up!
I am so excited that I put aside the snake carcass.
The adventurers (or whatever they are) are still stunned, so I grab the snake and really transport us this time.
"Home sweet home."
All right, we have to try this fruit we just got.
Evolution? You name it, it can wait.
"First I must concentrate all my energy on enjoying the very first dessert of my life as a spider!"
And we have 20! 10 each! Huraaaaay!
"Taste Enhancement, full power!"
And Olfactory Enhancement while we're at it!
We must savor this moment.
"So, first we'll look at our respective fruits appreciatively for a while."
Hmm, maybe we could use Appraisal on it, too.
Dried Krikta fruit
Krikta: a plant that grows widely throughout the continent of kasanagara. It flowers regularly and produces fruit. The fruit has a sweet taste and restores a small amount of Mp.
Oh. So, this fruit is no ordinary snack.
"It also recovers our Mp."
"If those humans had it on them for Mp Recovery Speed, then it might have been a bad action on my part to take them."
But we don't really care, shiro-chan healed them when they were about to die and all, so I don't think they can complain if we have a couple of fruits.
"All right, all right. I'll just think of it as payment for my services."
Yay, shiro-sama!
"Now then, I have to take a deep breath."
"Huff... Whew. Okay!"
Time for tasting!
...Yum, it's sweet.
"Ah, it's sweet."
"It's so, so sweet."
Compared to the fruits I ate in my previous life; it is a bit rough and not particularly delicious.
And since it's dry, it's obviously not very juicy.
"But still, it's sweet."
This is the first time I've tasted anything sweet since I became a spider.
The other monsters tasted delicious, but they didn't taste sweet, there's a difference.
"For me, it's the first time I've tasted something sweet in my two lives."
So sweet.
"So tasty."
""Soooooo happy!""
We eat slowly and carefully.
Savoring the aromas.
Until the last bite.
"Whew. That was pretty good."
There really is nothing like the right dessert.
"You should definitely appreciate how delicious it was, no questions asked."
It does no good to be in a strange mood about it.
"If we get out of the maze, we'll be able to get more tasty food like this. We really need to get our act together about the goal of evolving Arachne."
So, while that stage may not yet be within my reach, it's time to get one step closer by evolving now.
We will save the other fruits for after our evolution.
Unlike when we evolved in the Middle Layer, this time we are fully prepared.
"We are safe and secure, and we have food supplies."
No problem there.
However, if there is one thing that worries me, it is that I fear Taboo will peak with this next evolution.
"Taboo... Ugh."
I have a feeling that something is going to happen when I maximize it, and I feel it will have something to do with my first life, but even with Wisdom-sama's power, I have no idea what it could be.
"It's probably bad, right?"
Who knows?
Well, I don't think we can avoid it for long anyway, so I guess we'll just have to accept it, whatever it is.
"I just hope it's not instant death or some irreversible penalty or anything like that."
Hmm.
"Well, it's certainly scary, but I don't think it's anything that bad."
What do you mean shiro-chan?
"I mean, our other mystery skills like Pride and stuff have worked really well so far."
"Maybe it will end up being a big power increase with no downside at all."
Even you don't believe that's going to happen, sister.
"You're right, I don't think that's going to happen. But since D seems to enjoy watching us fight around so much, I doubt it will be a sudden death penalty."
That's true, I think D would rather leave me alive so I can continue to provide him with entertainment.
He also seems to have a certain affection for us.
"Huh? Wait, what if that means we'll meet a fate worse than death?"
...I prefer not to think about it shiro-chan.
"...yeah me too."
Not that there's anything we can do about it anyway.
We'll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it. There is no other option, really.
This time, we have three options for evolution.
Teratect Major would return me back to the original Teratect line.
"I saw one of those in the Lower Layer."
Umu, me too.
I suppose they are probably strong, but I have no intention of taking that route.
"neither would I, I would get bigger but I wouldn't meet the conditions to become Arachne."
Right, one of the evolutionary conditions for Arachne is that you have to be a small to medium sized spider type monster, so if I evolve into a big old Teratect Major, I won't be able to evolve into Arachne anymore.
"Therefore, Teratect Major is out."
That leaves us with two options, Ede Saine and Orthocadinaht.
Ede Saine:
Evolution requirements: Zoa Ele Lv 20.
Description: A small spider-like monster feared as a harbinger of death. It has incredibly high combat and stealth capabilities.
Orthocadinaht:
Evolution requirements: spider type monster with stats above a certain amount, magic type skill/s.
Description: A spider-like monster that specializes in magic. It has high intelligence and is capable of advanced strategies such as setting traps.
Basically, Orthocadinaht is a magical type and Ede Saine is the highest evolution of Zoa Ele.
But I don't think it's very useful.
"yeah, I don't think so either."
Most likely it will be unlocked because we have Height Of Occultism and Divine Power, but to be honest, I think it's a bad choice.
Sure, he's supposed to be smart, but that's by monster standards.
"Right, we've been using traps since the moment we were born, you know."
In addition, Orthocadinaht does not evolve.
So that would be the end of the line.
Looking at my evolution tree, it doesn't seem to be a particularly powerful monster, so I'm not exactly thrilled.
"Now, Ede Saine, that's another story."
"It's not the end of her evolutionary line, but judging by the tree, it appears to be only one step below Mother's great power."
The evolution tree is organized in such a way that you can tell what a monster's rank is to some extent according to how high its name is.
And this name is just one step away from an evolution that seems to be almost on par with the queen Teratect, which I think it's safe to assume is my mother's species.
Ede Saine.
It is much higher in the monster power ranking than the other two evolution options.
So, obviously, Ede Saine is the only way to go.
"Man, without Wisdom showing me the evolution tree, we might not have known what to do."
Very true, thank you Wisdom-sama.
By the way, since the Arachne is a special evolution, it is separate from the rest of the tree.
"Hmm, their evolutionary conditions are to be a small or medium-sized spider monster, have the Pride skill and be level 50 or higher."
That's pretty crazy.
"So, I guess we're crazy enough to try to catch up."
The individual Zoa Ele known as Kuroko will evolve into Ede Saine.
The individual Zoa Ele known as Shiro will evolve into Ede Saine.
Very well, the evolution begins!
Good night, shiro-chan.
"Good night, Kuro-chan."
The proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Taboo Lv 9] has become [Taboo Lv 10].
Condition met. Activating the Taboo effect. Information currently being installed.
Installation complete.
Restoration of memories in progress.
Restoration of memories completed.
The proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Taboo Lv 9] has become [Taboo Lv 10].
Condition met. Activating the Taboo effect. Information currently being installed.
Installation completed.
...Good morning, shiro-chan.
"...Good morning, Kuro-chan."
Well... I feel like crap now.
Taboo, huh?
I understand that knowledge of what is happening to this world would be considered taboo.
I mean, if a native inhabitant found out all this information, they'd probably go crazy, right?
However, why drag me into all this?
Why drag us into this?
And why block my memories with Taboo?
--------
"Hey son, get up you have to go to school."
But mooooooooom, I don't want to go to school.
"I know mijo but you have to go, come on get up, I made you your breakfast."
*Yawn* very good mom.
--------
Shit, this has to be a D thing.
That is the only explanation.
Man, what an idiot.
It is D's fault that I was reborn in this world that is on the verge of collapse.
--------
"Hey Rodrigo, do you want to play soccer?"
No thanks my friend, you know I don't like soccer.
"As you wish bro."
--------
But why block my memories?
--------
Hey Valentina, what are you watching.
"An anime."
Oh, anime, what's it called.
"Boku no pico, I think you'll love it."
Sounds just like boku no hero, let me see.
--------
They are not even my memories of this world.
Well, yes they are but that I still remembered them, a little bit but I remembered them.
My past life, the times I spent with my mom, my friends, my siblings in everything but blood.
And they bring me to a world on the verge of collapse.
Were there no other options in which to be reborn?
I mean, technically I was reborn as Wakaba Hiro, then D tries to take my body and soul and then...
So, what happened?
Why am I still here if D wanted to take my body? mercy?
Ugh...
No wait, here is a memory when I was reborn in the other world.
--------
"Wow, this is interesting, this is the first time in a long time that a soul was not subdued by my power."
It's... D, she was holding my soul in my hands, it seemed as if he was admiring my soul.
"Now, what should I do with you... ummm, oh I know, I'm going to send you to one of the worlds I watch, I wonder how much you can entertain me."
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but I can't let you do that."
"Oh, and who is... but if it's not Clide-sama, what can I do for you?
"That soul is under the chief's protection, so you will not do anything to that soul."
"I see... and what's in it for me?"
"Well, I won't kill you, I might even let you reincarnate him on one of the worlds in your jurisdiction when he dies, on certain conditions of course."
"Oh, how generous you are Clide-sama but-"
"You have no other options administrator D, it's either that or I send you to the boss and believe me the boss will not be happy if he sees you interfering with his project."
"...very well, Clide-sama, I accept your 'offer'."
"I knew you'd do the smart thing D-chan."
--------
Clide...
Where have I heard that name before?
Ugh... I can't remember.
So, that's why D did nothing with my soul, but why send me to this world?
convenience? or something else?
Ugh... you've been quiet shi-
"Who in their right mind would imagine that a stupid gaming system like this is really created to save this world?"
...
"D must be a damn great player to do something like this, now that I know all this, I can't go on as if nothing has changed."
Um, shiro-chan?
"I have to take action."
Shiro-chan.
"But what can I do, slaughter a bunch of humans and monsters?"
Shiro-chan!
"Wah!"
Phew, when you get into a monologue like that, you don't listen to anyone shiro-chan.
"I'm sorry Kuro-chan, but this information Taboo gave me made me go crazy."
Yes... you were not the only one.
"But what should we do Kuro-chan, we can't slaughter humans and monsters alike to save this world we currently live in, as the administrator Güliedistodiez would never allow it, although he would never have wanted to anyway-"
Calm down shiro-chan!
"...ugh, sorry Kuro-chan."
Don't worry, I understand, I'm very upset about this too, in fact I'm very angry with D right now, but there's nothing we can do but get stronger by improving our skills.
"...You're right, stats and skills are nothing more than temporary powers that are granted as part of the system but-"
-We will find a way to turn that temporary power into real power.
"...In the end, I guess we'll be doing exactly what D wants."
But there is no other option, it is the only way we have.
D reincarnated us into this world knowing that this would happen, that's why we have skill "n=W".
"We'll have to keep doing everything according to the annoying plans of D. To be honest, the fact that I'm doing D's game really bugs me."
Yes, me too.
The proficiency has reached the required level. Skill acquired [Anger Lv 1].
The proficiency has reached the required level. Skill acquired [Anger Lv 1].
Ugh, I'm too upset to think rationally.
I hate it when someone forces me to do something I don't want to do!
"Ugh, I'm so angry right now!"
But despite our anger, we have to do exactly what D wants.
"If not, we will be committing double suicide with this mess of a world falling apart."
We'll pass on that, thank you.
The road ahead is quite difficult, we know that, but we cannot simply give up without doing anything.
We live in this world now, and who knows if there is a next life after this, so we have to at least try.
"Besides, the world may not collapse as soon as we think."
But we can't risk that faint hope, we would only be moving away from our path to move forward.
Even if it's something set up for me by someone else.
"Maybe we should even thank D for setting me up on a course like this."
NO!
Knowing that bastard, he's probably watching us and laughing at our misfortunes.
Besides, if I wanted to save this world, I would have done it already.
D is a horrible evil god who enjoys playing with people's minds.
Phew.
Very good, I feel a little better now.
But there is still a lot of pent-up stress inside me.
I guess I'll be blowing off some steam with some Lower Layer monsters.
Are you coming, shiro-chan?
"Sure! I'm not going to complain about being scared of some stupid earth dragon anymore."
We're going to level up for all we're worth.
"That way, I can accumulate enough power to be able to bid her farewell to this world."
One way or another, we will save this world.
It seems that our ultimate goal has moved from Arachne to a step beyond.
--------
Information that saves lives.
Ede Saine.
A spider-like monster feared as a harbinger of death. It is said that the moment you encounter this terrifying creature, your fate is sealed. Because there are so few eyewitnesses, it is difficult to assess its exact level of danger. It is estimated to be at least level B.
--------
I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Any error or doubt you may have, please ask me
Bye-Bye.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone