189 Physical Function Verification

Transferred to the lower level.

Three earth dragons stood before me.

Kaguna, Gere, and Futo.

According to鉴定, all three remained at the same level.

No significant stat growth.

Only two or three stats had increased by one point.

Though considerable time had passed since the last check, progress was negligible.

No change in skills.

This suggests not that the earth dragons grow slowly, but that my growth rate is abnormal.

I thought I had no other cheat-like advantages besides Vedanta, but in terms of growth potential, I may have been significantly overpowered.

In any case, whereas I once fled before the duo of Kaguna and Gere, I can now defeat this trio—Kaguna, Gere, and Futo—without difficulty.

Indeed, it is effortless.

The primary reason I once fled from this trio was insufficient firepower and inadequate defense.

I could not deal meaningful damage to Kaguna due to insufficient offensive capacity, and my defensive capabilities were so weak that a single hit from Gere was enough to place me in immediate danger. That is why I was forced to retreat before the combination of Kaguna’s defense and Gere’s speed.

But now, having evolved further and integrated the Queen, my stats and skills have increased dramatically. There is no longer any factor that could lead to my defeat.

Therefore, this time, I will engage the three Earth Dragons using only close combat—without utilizing magic.

This is not an act of underestimation.

My current body, having evolved into Arachne, operates differently from my previous fully arachnid form.

This engagement serves as a trial run. I must assess my current capabilities.

In that sense, one might say it is underestimation.

There is no risk of losing against an opponent of inferior rank. But if I fail to clearly grasp the difference from past encounters, doubt will remain when facing an opponent of equal or greater strength.

To avoid that, I must properly verify the arachnid form in actual combat.

That leaves only these three earth dragons as viable candidates.

The lowest-tier earth dragon is currently engaged with the Demon King.

The Demon King is out of the question.

The others are too weak—too weak to survive even a preliminary test.

The Water Dragon is sufficient in power, but its performance depends entirely on the special environment of the sea—unsuitable for thorough verification.

Thus, the only option is an opponent of moderate strength, unaffected by environmental factors.

The earth dragons paused, startled by my sudden arrival, then settled into combat readiness.

Hmm.

I sense the futility of victory, yet still detect resolve in their stance.

Like Alba before, the earth dragons seem permeated by a general code of martial honor.

I can't comprehend it.

Centered on Kaguna, Gere is in the vanguard, Fuito positioned in the rear guard.

Gere, fast and consistently strong, is designated as the physical attacker. Kaguna, specialized in defense, acts as a wall. Fuito, neither fully strong nor weak, assumes a support role.

A better balance would have existed if Fuito were purely a rear guard type.

Looking ahead, Fuito will eventually become a type like Alba, but currently, his strength feels scattered—adept at many things, yet proficient in none.

Gere lunges first, swinging a blade grown from his hand toward me.

Yes.

Fast, certainly. But from my current status, evasion is effortless.

With thought acceleration and future prediction, the motion appears to freeze.

Dodged the strike aimed at the humanoid segment without difficulty.

Considering the objective this time, I did not merely barely avoid it. I moved with sufficient speed and avoided with deliberate ease.

The humanoid segment trembled.

Ah.

At the moment of acceleration, my body was pulled in the opposite direction of motion, then shook upon stopping due to recoil.

Ugh... dizzy.

Ah, must brace properly when moving.

Failure. Failure.

As I reflected, Kaguna's breath closed in on me.

This time, I focused force at the junction between the humanoid and spider forms to move.

Yes.

This time, my body did not waver. Movement was stable.

At that moment, my arms extended sideways for balance, but judging from the current sensation, balance could be maintained without that effort.

Geele desperately pursued me, launching attacks.

Geele's speed: 4123.

Not comparable to ordinary monsters, but my speed—orders of magnitude higher—cannot be matched.

I draw the approaching blade in, just barely, and evade.

No issue.

I deflect the blade aimed at the humanoid segment’s neck with a counter-slash, bending only the humanoid part.

Hmm.

The humanoid segment has considerable flexibility.

Whether it rivals ballet dancers or gymnasts is unclear, but it is flexible enough to move freely atop the spider body.

If desired, it could lie supine on the spider body.

In that state, movement would feel nearly identical to full spider form.

Of course, doing so would negate the advantage of being Arachne.

I catch Geele’s blade with my hand.

Standard technique: blade interception.

I let force carry it, and snap the blade in half.

I extend a thread from my fingertip, wrapping around Geele, who freezes in shock.

I swing Geele like a weapon, then hurl him forward.

He lands directly into Kaguna.

The two dragons collide, entangling as they roll.

Before they can rise, I close in on Fight, who has done nothing until now.

The dragon, unaccustomed to my speed, cannot react. The piercing hand strikes deep into its body.

Hmm.

Even through scales, the piercing hand can deliver damage—confirmed.

From there, I extend threads inside Fight’s body.

The threads dismantle it from within, severing its life force.

This is... cruel.

Efficient.

Geele writhes, still trapped in threads. Kaguna stirs to his feet.

I wrap threads around Kaguna.

I pull the thread imbued with slashing property.

Nn… hard.

As expected—defense-oriented, after all.

Yet, it was only slightly rigid—gradually, the thread severed through the scales, pierced the flesh, and finally split Kaguna’s body open.

I struck the remaining Gerele with fists, taking advantage of its immobility.

One, two.

Right straight.

Hook.

By the time I realized, it was already dead.

Yes.

Conclusion.

Having hands is quite convenient.

I also discovered a drawback: during full-speed movement, one must brace properly. Still, the test yielded fairly meaningful results.