126 Real tag — the demon is a spider

Eating.

Eating.

Eating.

Little by little.

Without being noticed.

Slowly peeling away.

[Proficiency has reached threshold. Skill 'Heretic Attack LV1' upgraded to 'Heretic Attack LV2'.]

It is a spider.

Danger.

Being slowly cornered.

What should I do?

The monsters are gone.

Seriously?

Why is there nothing here?

Not caught in the web. Not a single thing out on the streets.

What is going on?

Well, I have a vague idea, but...

Problem here!

A monster has arrived from the middle tier!

It radiates overwhelming pressure, scatters curses and paralysis, and constantly unleashes magic—high-risk entity!

If such a crazy being appears, what do you think happened to the monsters originally living in the upper tier?

The answer is obviously to run away, idiot!

Hahahaha!

Isn't that crazy me?

Ah, yes.

Objectively speaking, I’m utterly crazy, aren’t I?

Of course the monsters would flee.

Besides, being caught by me equals being eaten.

Ah.

What am I supposed to do about this?

Prey is not available without traveling a distance beyond the upper levels.

The middle layer is not secluded within the magma.

There is still surplus food stored, so immediate starvation is not a concern. But if no measures are taken now and action is delayed, it may already be too late by the time desperation sets in.

Ah, well, there's no complete lack of options.

In truth, that might be the only option available.

Spatial Magic Level 9, Long-Range Teleportation.

This magic is a dream-like ability, capable of transporting me to any place I know.

Moreover, I can synchronize this with Lady Sophia’s map, allowing precise destination setting.

I can teleport to any location I have traveled through since birth.

Using this magic to go somewhere at random would mean prey is selectable at will.

But— I think I’ll refrain from that.

I’m beginning to feel it’s time to search seriously for an exit.

Thus, I’ll proceed while expanding my range, returning to this base when fatigued.

I intend to repeat this process.

With this base as a hub, I can continue raising my fire resistance level.

If things get dire and no prey is found, I might descend to the lower levels.

There, I’d encounter monsters simply by walking a short distance.

Given my current strength, I doubt I’d lose unless a earth dragon appears.

Saying that, an earth dragon might show up, so I’d rather not go too deep.

So, I unfolded the map and set out on campaign!

And while I’m at it, I’ll grab some food too!

…The monsters up top taste terrible, though.

I wander the upper levels, grow bored, and return to base via transfer.

That’s the routine I’m following, slowly and aimlessly.

The upper-level map has expanded considerably.

Even if it’s only about one-tenth of the mid-level area.

Really, the mid-level was long.

I didn’t encounter many monsters on the way.

Well, they’re running from me, so it’s only natural.

As a result, I’m not getting much experience or food.

Still, once I did get a good haul—both in experience and food.

I emerged into a wide corridor, similar to those in the mid-level, and there I encountered an earth dragon.

It looked like a dinosaur.

It felt familiar—then I recalled it was one of the monsters from the swarm I’d seen shortly after birth.

The distance between that place and here is considerable. Likely a different individual of the same species.

It was strong.

Ah, it was strong.

I restrained it with threads, immobilized it with the Eye of Stillness, then drained it completely with the Eye of Curse. It was strong.

It had to have been strong.

That’s right.

Me, the one who slays dragons—dragons are no match for me.

Considering it, I defeated a fire dragon with ease.

There is a barrier of strength between dragons and dragons that cannot be crossed.

Defeating this one increased my SP stock. The experience gain was substantial.

Regrettably, the taste was not enjoyable.

Thanks to the Eye of Curse, my SP stock reached maximum capacity without eating.

SP surplus was significant.

This made the starvation path considerably less likely.

Unused corpses were cordoned off with thread and left in place. When SP began depleting, transfer to them incrementally to consume.

Experience gain was also substantial.

Comparable to the Fire Dragon, level-up progress had increased noticeably.

Still not sufficient.

However, with this pace, level-up seemed imminent.

Once achieved, evolution would finally be possible.

Evolution would not end the process, but would mark a milestone.

Targeting smaller, incremental goals appeared more efficient.

Current priority: achieve evolution.

Enhance fire resistance.

Locate an exit.

Exit search could proceed at leisure. No urgency. Simply seek it when opportunity arises.

Encountering humans would complicate matters unnecessarily.

Humans...

What if I actually encountered one?

I wouldn’t go out of my way to kill, but if I were in danger of being killed, I’d defend myself.

Honestly, I don’t feel the same aversion to killing humans as I did in Japan.

Actually, maybe I didn’t feel it that strongly back then either.

It was just inconvenient. No point in doing it.

Thinking about it, killing humans here might be inconvenient too.

Being targeted by someone’s attention is unpleasant enough.

Yeah.

If I meet a human, running away is better.

I don’t know how strong they are in this world.

I don’t want all humans to be dragon-class level.

But since they haven’t broken through the mid-tier, they probably aren’t that strong.

Either way, I’ll just pray I don’t encounter one.