196 Not a spider, but an ant.
Busy digging holes.
The drinking party left me wasted for an entire day.
Passed out, woke up to find the battle between the Demon King and the Earth Dragon already over.
After wandering the lower levels for a while, the Demon King began moving upward.
Route-wise, likely to encounter the Queen's designated target.
That warning has already been relayed. He'll evade properly.
The Queen's designated target should have recovered enough to use teleportation by now.
In any case, while keeping an eye on the Demon King's movements, I resumed the preserved food preparation that had been disrupted—by Guryu Guryu.
Fishing.
After Guryu Guryu's warning, no Water Dragon was caught.
A large number of Water Dragons were caught, though.
That's right.
Previously, only Water Dragons and Sea Dragons had been caught. But upon reeling in a large quantity, some pure sea creatures that were not Water Dragons also surfaced.
Water Dragons appear to be carnivorous and readily take bait, but ordinary fish exist as well.
The hit rate remains low.
The large catch was then smoked using fire magic.
A makeshift smoke cure, essentially soaked in seawater and lightly smoked.
No real experience with proper smoking. No knowledge of the method.
Only made it look the part.
It’s acceptable.
Preservation is more important than taste.
As long as it lasts a little, the effect of the "Bad Eater" title should prevent stomach upset.
Replace it whenever it begins to spoil.
Thus, the improvised smoked goods were placed haphazardly at the base camp.
The number of bases already exceeds two digits.
Seven were constructed haphazardly by digging holes in various locations.
One beneath the city.
Three within the Elro Great Labyrinth.
As for the Elro Great Labyrinth, the logic was self-evident.
The city had chosen that location deliberately, for reasons known only to itself. The others were truly random.
Just dug a hole here, there, wherever—no particular plan.
Now, expanding the number of bases, we are currently in the process of digging.
However, this time, something has drawn attention. The digging is not random.
The current location is just beyond the Elro Great Labyrinth, straight ahead, continuing forward.
Extending our range, we ventured into a direction previously unexplored.
Searching for a suitable site to establish a base, the detection system registered an anomaly.
A cavity had formed beneath our feet.
Depth was considerable. Length appeared substantial as well.
The detection system, unable to penetrate earth directly, could not specify details.
Curiosity piqued, I proceeded to dig deeper toward the hollow.
Yet, revisiting the utility of the detection system—convenient, indeed.
The target this time is a void, but depending on application, this could also yield a hot spring.
Ah, that might work.
Previously, when in full spider form, I had not noticed. Now, with humanoid form integrated, the desire to bathe has arisen.
Reason: scent.
No odor emanated from the spider form. The humanoid form, however, emits scent.
Likely, metabolic processes differ between the two forms.
Thus, despite prior indifference, I now feel inclined to bathe.
Did not expect olfactory enhancement to be useful in this situation.
The spider form does emit scent, but it differs from the humanoid form.
A normal human would not detect such scent, but someone with canine-level olfaction might notice the difference.
Assuming, of course, that they can locate it.
No convenient hot spring, unfortunately.
Heading toward the mysterious hollow now. Let’s go.
Though we’ve already arrived.
The hole I was digging pierced through, connecting to the hollow.
Inside, a circular tunnel approximately three meters in height.
Then, countless gazes piercing through from above as I appeared from the ceiling.
Alder.
Well, expected as much.
I knew something was inside through detection while digging.
This place appears to be an ant monster’s nest.
An ant over two meters long looked up at me.
The鉴定 result indicates these creatures belong to a species known as Efegiogat.
A name reminiscent of the bees encountered within the Elro Great Labyrinth.
The bees were called Finjigat, if memory serves.
Their status parameters appear similar.
However, these creatures lack venom stingers and flight capability.
Instead, they possess a skill involving acid attacks.
Additionally, they demonstrate the ability to use earth magic—arrogantly, it seems.
Well, so what, one might ask.
Regardless of numerical advantage or terrain advantage within their nest, the disparity in autonomous capability is too great.
If such creatures appeared in large numbers on the surface, humans would face difficulty.
Efficient elimination. And suppression complete.
Deeper within the nest, evolved individuals resembling elite guards, and queen ants, were present. All were dispatched collectively.
Having sampled a few, and considering the substantial food supply acquired, I have decided to designate this location as one of our operational bases.
The queen ant in the spacious chamber at the rear pushes the corpses of ants into the nest and lays eggs there.
Food supply here is now secure.
No need to construct a base manually. Resources and experience points are both accessible.
Not just a two-for-one, but a three-for-one.
If another nest of similar ants is encountered, initiate aggressive raids proactively.