82 Spider vs. Fire Dragon ③

The catfish was delicious.

It was most delicious.

At that time, taste enhancement reached level seven.

Wanted to give oneself a sharp comment on how intensely focused on eating one was.

What else can be done about it?

I’ve been eating nothing but unpleasant things this whole time!

One should savor and eat delicious things, should one not?

Gluttony also reached level eight.

Stock remains sufficient, but as level increases, total capacity should scale accordingly. No downside to leveling up.

The level 10 threshold is coming into view. The衍生 or evolved skills of Gluttony are beginning to draw interest.

A skill this useful—there's considerable promise here.

Moreover, there is something I find slightly concerning.

What concerns me is the skill of Pride.

Pride, as in the Seven Sins.

Among the Seven Sins, one is gluttony.

Gluttony and Overindulgence.

The sound of the words is similar. The meaning is similar too.

Perhaps Gluttony’s evolution path leads to Overindulgence?

The thought persists.

Pride’s effect is absurdly powerful. If Gluttony evolves into Overindulgence, it might gain an effect comparable to Pride within the same series.

Still, in that case, the same anxieties would inevitably follow, as with Pride.

Still only level eight.

Too early to worry.

Besides, skill levels rise on their own anyway. Worrying about it ultimately changes nothing.

Now then, time to resume exploration—seeking the next Catfish.

Nar-ma-zu—!

Roaming the mid-levels in search of Catfish.

No sign of Catfish.

Mmm.

Can’t detect them if they’re submerged in magma, after all.

Even the first time we encountered him, he popped up from within the magma.

Discovery would become difficult if they typically remained submerged in magma.

Judging by it, my innate reconnaissance ability—unaided by my skills—is remarkably high.

Didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back, it wasn’t just a lucky guess.

I’ve never been ambushed since I was in the upper or lower class. Whenever I sense danger, it usually hits me.

This—probably—was something inherently present from birth, as a spider.

Even if not consciously aware, she senses the flow of air and interprets it from that.

Considering that, it makes sense I didn’t notice the catfish was in the magma just nearby.

If you're detecting via airflow, you can't sense anything while inside magma.

Surprise attacks from within water or earth—those may be unpredictable.

Thus, proximity to magma is dangerous.

If suddenly attacked and pulled into the magma, death is certain.

Even without that, approaching magma is inherently risky, so I’d been keeping a safe distance.

From now on, I must prepare for the possibility of monsters emerging directly from the magma.

Like this.

A creature burst forth from the magma and appeared before me—difficult to describe, but it resembled an eel?

Yes.

An eel with scales and limbs.

『Eelogenereve LV2

Status

HP: 1001/1001 (Green)

MP: 511/511 (Blue)

SP: 899/899 (Yellow)

ATK: 971/971 (Red) +57

Average Attack: 893

Average Defense: 821

Average Magic: 454

Average Resistance: 433

Average Speed: 582

Skills

"Fire Dragon LV4, Dragon Scale LV5, Fire Enhancement LV1, Accuracy LV10, Evasion LV1, Probability Adjustment LV1, High-Speed Swimming LV2, Gluttony LV5, Heat Immunity, Life LV3, Explosive Speed LV1, Endurance LV3, Strength LV1, Fortitude LV1"

This is bad.

This eel is way too strong.

"Elrogenereave: A mid-tier dragon species inhabiting the middle layers of the Elro Great Labyrinth. Omnivorous, but exhibits a preference for consuming other monsters."

A mid-tier monster with this power level.

Or rather, judging by the skill composition, is this eel also an evolved form of the catfish?

— But now isn't the time to worry about that.

The distance between us and the eel is roughly fifteen meters.

It has already noticed us and locked on.

Speed-wise, we have the advantage, but all other stats are hopelessly inferior.

The worst part is that red stamina is already behind, including Gluttony's consumption.

Even if we flee, the risk of being caught due to stamina depletion is high.

It would be better if they gave up before that happens...

Even without that, my yellow stamina is low, and I can only maintain top speed for a short time.

There's a possibility of being caught if yellow gauge runs out completely.

Can I escape?

Just as I think this, the eel's form blurs into double.

Prediction has activated.

The blurred image shows the eel performing a motion as if expelling something.

Immediately after, the eel spits a fireball, just like the blurred image.

Same basic tactic, as expected.

But this fireball is vastly larger and faster than those of the takanohotoshi or catfish.

I dodge hastily.

Thought Acceleration is active, but the fireball comes too fast to feel its benefit.

The fireball struck the spot where I had been, detonating with force.

Even with foresight and thought acceleration, evasion was barely possible.

I thought I’d have more margin—what is this?

‘Probability Correction: Positive adjustment applied to skills involving chance.’

Is this skill responsible?

Perhaps the hit rate has increased due to this skill.

If so, continuing to evade may become difficult, even with my evasion ability.

This might be serious.