8. A spider without wisdom is merely a spider.

zzz.

fahaa...

ah, slept well.

slept so much it's almost painful now.

still, being able to sleep without worry is remarkable.

how long was it?

my average sleep duration in my previous life was about four hours.

feels the same as when I collapsed from anemia due to sleep deprivation and slept all day.

but spiders and humans likely perceive time differently, so I can't be certain how much time has passed.

hmm, I wish I had a clock.

moreover, how long has it been since I was born?

my internal sense says two or three days.

in the dungeon, day and night are indistinguishable.

I don't know this world's calendar, nor can I confirm that a day lasts twenty-four hours.

a year is the time Earth takes to orbit the sun, and a day is the time Earth takes to rotate once.

The idea that this world is exactly the same size as Earth, with the same orbital period, seems statistically improbable.

Still, that’s a matter of physical interpretation. If one were to claim this is an occult parallel world, or a realm governed by different laws than our own universe, then such a possibility isn’t impossible.

There’s no way to verify it, though.

One day, perhaps, I’ll leave this dungeon. But for now, I’ll indulge in this idle existence.

Still, merely lying around isn’t ideal. I should think a little about the various mysteries I’ve left unresolved.

First: why did I die?

No—upon reflection, I only believe I died.

I assumed I died and was reborn as a spider, but I have no memory of dying myself.

Hmm?

The last memory I have—was it the classical literature lesson?

Was it during the time the teacher nicknamed Okama was reciting classical literature?

I had been dozing off, and then suddenly experienced an intense, overwhelming pain. After that, no memory remains.

If I died, then the mysterious pain at that moment was likely the cause. But the cause of the pain itself remains unknown.

The most plausible explanation is that I died from the pain at that moment and was reborn as a spider.

Another possibility is that I did not die—only my soul was transferred into a spider.

My original body might now be in a vegetative state in a hospital bed.

Even more implausible: perhaps I am merely an imposter who only possesses my memories.

The real me might still be attending class normally right now.

Hmm.

Once the thought arises, there is no end to it.

If I am not truly myself, how would one prove it?

I mutter something incomprehensible, like “I am me because I am me.”

The very fact that reincarnation is the most plausible explanation renders common sense obsolete.

For now, set this matter aside.

Adopting the principle of “I think, therefore I am,” I will proceed under the assumption that I am myself.

Next, regarding my current body.

The spider form is quite practical.

Eight legs move with ease. I can move more nimbly than when I was human.

I can climb walls. With sufficient risk, I can even walk on ceilings.

The main drawbacks: the absence of hands, and the need to rotate my entire body to look behind me.

The lack of hands is a significant inconvenience.

While I can use my front legs as makeshift hands, they lack the precision of human hands.

After all, the tips of my legs are sharp, single claws—this is to be expected.

Such a precarious construct could not substitute for human fingers.

Inconvenient, yet manageable for now—there is no alternative but to accept it.

But there is another significant issue.

The rear is invisible.

This is a substantial risk.

The spider’s head is fused directly to the thorax, eliminating the ability to turn the head backward.

Visually, the abundance of eyes on either side provides a wide field of view.

But the inability to see behind means vulnerability to ambushes from the rear.

To counter this, I intend to use silk threads.

Since visual perception of the rear is structurally impossible, reliance must shift to other senses.

Specifically, I will maintain threads constantly extended behind me, using tactile feedback to detect what lies in the blind spot.

Of course, it is not as simple as it sounds.

This will require practice—postponed until later.

Staying at home would prevent sudden ambushes, but preparedness eliminates worry.

Finally, regarding skills.

Many small questions remain, but this will be the last major one for now.

What are skills?

From a game-like perspective, skills are akin to talent or technique.

Skills expand what one can do.

However, the nature of skills in this world remains unknown. We will proceed without considering that.

The important points are the skills I currently possess and those I may acquire in the future.

The skills I currently have are confirmed: 'Assessment LV1', 'Acid Resistance LV2', and 'Poison Resistance LV2'.

Assessment was acquired by spending skill points.

Skill points themselves remain a mystery.

Spent all the points on assessment, but don’t know how to increase them.

In games, you’d get them on level-up, but it’s unclear if this world even has a concept of levels—can’t rely on that.

Maybe they increase over time, or through consumption of something.

Worst case, they don’t increase at all.

Skill points are soul-based, innate, and vanish once used.

That’d be a severe blow.

Hope it’s not like that.