So I’m a Spider, So What Vol 2 — Part 5 of 8

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Part 5 of 8

[Foul Feeder] [Kin Eater] [Assassin] [Monster Slayer]

[Poison Technique User] [Thread User] [Merciless] [Monster Slaughterer]

[Ruler of Pride]

Huh? Hmm? Wait a sec.

Let me look at this again. Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me.

I carefully review my status numbers.

Huh? Wha—?! Wh-whaaaaaat?! Wh-wh…what?

They went way up. WAY, waaay up!

Is this for real? Did my stats improve that much?

Wow. That description wasn’t kidding around when it said “high combat capabilities”…

Uh, can I really get away with this?

Is it really okay for me to get so strong so fast?

You know I’m gonna get really cocky if I get this powerful, right?

That’s okay, yeah? It is?

…Heh, heh-heh-heh. I’m in the prime of my liiiiife!

This solves the conundrum of my once-terrible stats all in one go!

They’re still low compared with big game like the eel, but now I’m finally strong enough that a lone poke from the local small-fry won’t be enough to do me in!

All this time, I’ve had to assume that a blow from a single attack would be the end of me.

But now, finally, FINALLY I have respectable stats!

Heh, heh-heh-heh. Hee-hee-hee-hee.

This means I’m stronger than the sea horses in terms of stats—and even the monkeys—doesn’t it?

My skill levels increased a lot, too. Looking good, looking good.

Wait, Taboo went up again?!

Hey! What do you mean, level 5?!

Does that mean I’m halfway to maxing it out?!

If my prediction is correct, I’m pretty sure something big’s gonna happen if it reaches level 10.

Crap.

Well, it’s still only halfway. I’m okay for now. I think.

Let’s see, what else? I also gained a few new skills.

Rot Attack? Seriously?

By “Rot,” you mean that attribute, right?

The one that was way scarier than I expected when I Appraised it?

I can use that now? Damn, I’m talented.

The next unfamiliar skill is Silence.

I feel like I can more or less guess what that does, but maybe I’ll Appraise it just to be sure.

<Silence: Suppresses the creation of sound>

Yep. That’s what I thought.

Awesome! My ninja skills are on the rise!

Maybe I’ll be able to defeat things with a single ambush now?

There’s also a very strange skill situation here.

Spider Thread and Cutting Thread have disappeared. Instead, there’s a new skill called Utility Thread.

It’s probably an evolved form of Spider Thread, but where did Cutting Thread go?

Now I can add more attributes and stuff than with Spider Thread.

It looks like Cutting probably has the same effect as Cutting Thread, Impact adds the Impact attribute, and Shock adds the Shock attribute.

Impact just means a normal strike.

And apparently, Shock can briefly generate some sort of shock wave in the thread.

If an enemy touches the thread while it’s in that state, it’ll get shocked and take damage.

Man, if I weren’t in the Middle Stratum, this would be super-useful!

Ugh, I really wanna get outta here fast so I can try it out!

Anyway, I finished de-scaling the eel while I was checking all that.

Okay, time to see if this eel meal is the real deal.

Let’s take a little bite.

…It’s delicious.

The flavor is totally different from the catfish.

I’ll say it again: Delicious!

This time, when I evolved, I didn’t lose my SP.

Instead, it drained most of my Overeating stock.

That just proves that Overeating functioned perfectly.

Given that, as long as I keep building stores with Overeating, I’ll be fine even if I don’t have a bunch of food on hand when I evolve.

So I’ll just have to eat a ton so I can save as much as I can.

Judging by my previous amounts, it seems like I can stock about 100 SP per skill level, so right now I should be able to stock about 800.

Well, speak of the devil.

Now I can stock up even more!

Speaking of stocking, I suddenly have way more skill points than before.

I thought they rose by 20 per level, but I have 280 more than last time I looked.

If 60 of those came from leveling up three times, what’s the deal with the other 220?

Does evolution come with a bonus or something?

If so, that would explain why my skill point calculations didn’t make sense before.

Well, I’ll certainly take however many I can get.

I’ve got a whole 500 now, so maybe I can find a really good skill.

I’ll have to take a good look at the list of acquirable skills later.

Before that, though, there’s something else that concerns me.

My body shape has changed a little. I noticed as I was pulling off the eel’s scales.

The two legs in front, which used to be shaped like sharp claws, are more like thin scythes now.

And these sickle things happen to cut extreeemely well.

It took me forever to get the scales off that snake a while back, but this time, I made quick work of it.

I can’t cut the scales themselves, but I was able to slice between the scales and the skin.

Is it because my attack power went up or because these scythes are so sharp?

In addition, my body is black now. It was always pretty dark, but now it’s black for sure.

I’m telling you, it’s pitch-black! The kind of black that doesn’t reflect light at all.

I can’t see the rest of me, since I don’t have a mirror, but I’m guessing those are the biggest changes.

I don’t feel like my size is any different or anything.

But I bet there are some little details that have changed that I’m just not aware of.

So far, since I was sticking with the taratect species, my shape didn’t seem to change at all when I evolved.

But with this evolution, my species has changed.

If I could get a good look, I’d be willing to bet that there are lots of differences.

At times like these, I really wish I had a mirror. I can’t even find out what I look like.

As far as I can tell from moving around, though, nothing feels particularly off.

The overall makeup of my basic parts doesn’t seem to have changed much, so I should be able to move as usual without a problem.

I never really felt any bodily changes before evolving anyway.

So it’s a relief that I don’t seem to have changed much this time.

I guess these scythes are a pretty big change, though.

They kinda look like they’d make a noise like ka-shing! or something when you swing them around.

Come to think of it, they definitely bring the grim reaper to mind, huh?

The description of this species did say something about an “ill omen” or whatever, and now I have Rot Attack and stuff, so that makes sense.

I definitely still have a ninja-style thing going on, but in extreme cases, I could probably pull off the grim reaper image, too.

I’d better check in on the skills that leveled up, as well.

I’m always glad to see Herculean Strength and Sturdy improve.

That’ll add a bonus to related stat growth from now on, too.

My stats have definitely gotten a lot stronger, but they’re still pretty low compared with an opponent like the eel.

Let’s see… Poison Synthesis, Poison Magic, and Shadow Magic all leveled up, too.

I still can’t use the magic skills, but I do want to check if I gained anything for Poison Synthesis.

What? Wh-wh-wh-what’s this, now?!

I think I might’ve just gotten something really wild!

Poison Synthesis, the skill that’s worked so wonderfully for me here in the Middle Stratum, just took another huge step forward!

Oh man. I’ve gotta try this out right away.

So, I want to experiment with adding the Paralysis attribute to my Deadly Spider Poison.

I’ll see what kind of effect it has as soon as I get a chance to test it out.

Ah, but Deadly Spider Poison will probably kill most enemies instantly…

Okay, let’s add the attribute to Weak Poison, too.

Next time I find an enemy, I’ll have to start by using this Paralysis-infused Weak Poison on them.

Aah, I can’t wait!

As for magic… Well, who cares? Not like I can use it anyway.

Huh? No, wait a minute. Can I really still not use magic?

My Parallel Thinking and Arithmetic Processing skills both rose quite a bit.

Doesn’t that mean I might be able to use Detection right about now?

It’s been a while since my last attempt, so I guess I’ll give it a try.

Huff… Whew. All right!

Detection on!

Gah! Hnnnngh! Oof!

Off!

Whew. That was rough.

But I was definitely able to endure it longer than before.

It takes all my concentration just to deal with it, but that’s still a big step forward.

So it looks like my approach wasn’t wrong.

It may be a while yet until I can really master it, but I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, maybe?

I’ve been wandering around in the Middle Stratum.

I’m pretty full after eating the eel, so it looks like I don’t need to worry about passing out from hunger or anything.

Since I don’t need to actively hunt for more prey right now, I can proceed at my leisure.

I’m feeling pretty good right at the moment. I can even deal with this stupid heat.

Ugh. The climate still sucks, though.

There aren’t any monsters around just now, so maybe I’ll check in on my skill point situation.

I got quite a few points with this evolution, so maybe I’ll discover a cool skill or two.

All the skills I’ve acquired so far have been killer except for Detection, so hopefully, I’ll keep lucking out.

So far, aside from increasing the level of Taboo, Pride doesn’t seem to have any drawbacks.

And even Taboo isn’t doing any harm at the moment, so really, it’s like there are no downsides at all, right?

Considering how crazy its effects are, the positives vastly outweigh any negatives.

Why I was able to get this skill for 100 points is a total mystery to me.

With these effects, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was worth 1,000 points, easy.

It’s probably too much to expect to find another awesome bargain like Pride, but if there are any skills that look good, I might as well take ’em.

There’s no point in trying to save skill points too much, after all.

These things really burn a hole in your pocket.

Saving up even more and waiting for the bigger skills to be unlocked seems incredibly inefficient anyway.

All right, Appraisal, do your thing!

First, I double-Appraise my skill points.

Then I take a look at the list.

Hmm. There are still lots of skills I can get for 100 points.

I haven’t taken any of them because they don’t look particularly important, but maybe I should try to raise my proficiency for some of them when I have some free time?

But I guess if I have time for that, I should spend it improving more-useful skills.

Ah, but wait, there may be some skills like Prediction that suddenly turn into something more useful when they evolve…

Hmm. I dunno.

Oh, but first, I should really take a look at the skills that cost more than 200 points, since I couldn’t see them last time.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I found one. A broken skill like Pride.

Another skill chock-full of mysterious terminology…

And then there’s that ridiculous, almost laughable ability.

Does this work by constantly consuming MP, or what?

I don’t know how much MP it uses, but does that mean you can keep attacking like a zombie as long as you have MP left?

I don’t get it. Sounds pretty freaky.

Well, I’m not gonna hesitate this time. Boop.

Yes, please.

<[Perseverance] acquired. Remaining skill points: 0.>

With Pride already under my belt, I no longer know the meaning of the word “retreat”!

I’ll take every one of these skills I can get!

Come on, Taboo or whatever it might be, do your worst!

Okay, I’m sorry. I definitely didn’t want you to do that much.

Man, so Taboo rose, just like I figured. Two times, even. Well, what’re you gonna do?

Letting it level up this way doesn’t seem like a good thing, but it’s not like I have any means of countering it.

So don’t insta-kill me or strike me with lightning or anything, okay?

Ugh, the worst part about not knowing is that it makes my imagination run wild, know what I mean?

More importantly, take a look at that title.

I’ve got no time to be standing around worrying! I gotta check out this title right away!

Uh-huh. I knew it. This is another one of those cheat titles.

My defense and resistance increased!

Both went up 100 points, so now my defense is 351 and my resistance is 380.

Man, really, what’s going on here? Isn’t this a little too much like cheating?

The fact that my resistance-type skills will improve more easily now is huge, too.

Since I specialize in evasion, I hardly ever get hit by attacks, which means my resistance skills don’t really change much.

But now this’ll compensate for that weak point. I’m pretty psyched.

How did I earn proficiency for the resistance skills I gained during my training, you ask?

My theory is that the proficiency of resistance skills for attributes that I possess get better every time I level, or something like that.

I mean, I gained Dark Tolerance without doing anything, so that pretty much proves it.

Yep. It makes sense, since I have Abyss Magic and all.

The other resistances I gained by using threads and stuff to injure myself.

I mean, if you knew you could gain a skill just by whipping yourself a little, anyone would do it. So that’s what I did.

Huh? What do you mean, that’s just me? C’mon, that’s not true. It’s totally normal.

I’m also intrigued by this “Evil Eye” stuff.

I waaant it.

I mean, with an Evil Eye–type skill or whatever, wouldn’t you get to say lines like “My right eye…it burns!” or “You’re already trapped in my illusion!” or whatever?

Man, I’d be like some kind of badass video game villain.

Ugh, I want it, but now I’m out of skill points!

Oh well. I’ll just have to hurry and level up so I can save more skill points for it.

Last but not least, I got the skills Heresy Nullification and Conviction.

Heresy Nullification seems to be the highest form of Heresy Resistance.

Heresy Resistance increases your defense against attacks that directly influence the soul, so I guess Heresy Nullification must cancel them out entirely.

So now, even if I run into an enemy that uses Heretic Magic or something like it, I should be just fine.

<Conviction: Against targets that have in-system sins in their souls, deals nonresistable damage in proportion to the total amount of guilt>

Wow. So it’s an attack that does more damage against guilty parties? The “nonresistable” part is pretty scary.

Hmm? Wait a sec.

Is this maybe connected to Taboo?

Like, the higher the Taboo level, the more damage you take?

That’s gotta be it!

Yikes, if anyone else has this Conviction skill, I’ll be in it deep.

Hmm, but this wasn’t on the list of skills obtainable with skill points, so…

If it’s a special skill that can only be obtained with a ruler title, maybe there’re only a few others besides me who have it.

This is all wishful thinking, but I hope it’s true.

If so, then I’ve got a pretty valuable skill here.

But this reminds me of that Hades skill. I bet I can’t even use it.

I give it a shot, but nothing happens.

It might’ve just misfired because I didn’t have a target, but I get the feeling that I just can’t use it at all.

Well, even if I can’t use Conviction, this was still a net positive.

Sure, Taboo went up again, but I don’t see any way around that at this point.

As long as I don’t die instantly or run into any “game over”–type scenarios like that, I’ll just have to accept whatever the penalty is.

Man, though. My stats improved a ton, and so did my skills.

Am I totally strong now or what?

SCHOOL LIFE

My school life is going well.

I already know most of the stuff they’re teaching in our classes, but I pay close attention anyway as a way of reviewing it.

When it gets too boring to bear, I can always pass the time by discreetly working on raising my skill levels.

If you were to look just at my classes, it’d seem like everything’s going great, but I’m having quite a few problems with my interpersonal relationships.

This has a lot to do with my social status and that incident during the magic lesson from the other day.

Since I am technically royalty and all, even though that shouldn’t have any impact on my standing at the school I attend as a student, it’s still a bit of a problem.

No matter how hard I encourage them to relax, people from this kingdom can’t seem to help acting reserved around me.

Even nobles from other countries have a hard time speaking to me casually.

Seems like only royalty or a close equivalent, like a duke’s heir, can approach me on even footing.

Among those, there were a few who were just trying to curry favor with me, but Katia took care of them in no time.

Honestly, since I tend to be a bit of a pushover in situations like that, I’m grateful to have someone like Katia around.

That said, between that and the magic lesson incident, I’ve been feeling a bit lonely.

Hugo, on the other hand, has picked up quite a few followers since that lesson.

Already, nearly half the boys in our year are supporters of his. He’s becoming their self-appointed leader, just like in his previous life.

And just like in my previous life, I’m doing my best to avoid getting involved with that group.

It’s obvious that Hugo regards me as an enemy ever since the magic incident.

I don’t see any reason to try and get close to someone who already hates me.

Why make more trouble for myself?

So right now, I mostly spend my time with Katia, Sue, Fei, and now Yuri.

Katia and Sue understand me, and while Fei can be a little much, we’ve spent a lot of time together.

As for Yuri, well, I don’t know.

Sure, we’re fellow reincarnations and all, but sometimes I have a hard time dealing with her, albeit in a different way from Natsume.

Hasebe’s new name is Yurin Ullen.

Apparently, her surname is the name of the church that took her in instead of an orphanage.

Hasebe, or Yuri, was left to fend for herself as a child.

As it turns out, that’s commonplace in this world.

Of course, orphans existed in our old world, but here, where civilization hasn’t developed as much and monsters run rampant, it happens all the more frequently.

Lots of children end up being abandoned as babies and raised in a church.

However, Yuri’s circumstances are different from those of other orphans.

She’s had her memories of her previous life since shortly after birth, so she was fully aware of what was happening around her.

Imagine suddenly waking as a baby.

It happened to me, too. It was pretty shocking.

It’s completely confusing and, most of all, frightening.

Did I die? What’s going to happen to me now?

And what happened to my previous life?

That alone was enough anxiety to last a lifetime.

But on top of that, Yuri was abandoned in that state. The shock I experienced can’t possibly come close.

To be honest, I can’t even begin to imagine how Yuri felt at the time.

In the midst of all that distress, Yuri had only one thing to rely on.

That was the Word of God.

The Followers of the Word of God are the religious group that took Yuri in, and it is one of the most widespread religions among humans.

To give a rough explanation, their basic creed is “improve our skills so that we might hear the Word of God.”

The Word of God. I still don’t really know what it means.

It’s sort of like system messages in a video game, but in this world, everyone is accustomed to hearing it.

We reincarnations are probably the only people who find it strange.

It’s natural to hear this voice. Having skills is normal, too. Here, that’s just commonplace.

The Followers of the Word of God preach that the voice is truly God’s and that raising one’s skills and level so that the voice speaks to you more often brings one closer to God.

From my point of view, it sounds like a load of nonsense, but for whatever reason, it’s common wisdom in this world.

And Yuri, despite being a reincarnation just like me, is totally hooked.

“Shun, your skills are quite high, are they not? I think that’s just wonderful. Let us continue to raise our skills that we might hear the Word of God in plenty.”

“Shun, you aren’t raising your level? That just won’t do! When you raise your level, the Word of God speaks to you at great length, you know. We must keep leveling up to listen to God’s voice.”

“Shun, you can use Appraisal, can you not? Well then, if you should ever see someone with a skill called Taboo, please tell me at once. It’s simply unthinkable to have a skill that God has dubbed Taboo. You must not let it pass, no matter what, for the Taboo skill means that the holder has committed some act that even God dares not to name. There is no reason to let such an individual live. It is our holy duty to slay them. So be sure to tell me, okay? Promise me.”

“Shun, today one of my skills leveled up, and I heard God’s voice! Ah, the divine voice of God has spoken to me. Today is sure to be a blessed day.”

I can’t do it. I just can’t.

I mean, I’m sure Yuri can’t help the fact that her eyes glaze over when she talks about this “God.”

But I don’t think she was like this before.

She was just an ordinary high school girl.

It must have been her unique circumstances that changed her so much.

The terror of being reincarnated. The despair of being abandoned by her parents.

The anxiety of being forced to live in a new world.

Given all that, it’s not surprising that the Word of God, speaking in our dearly missed language of Japanese, would bring her comfort.

Not to mention that she was surrounded by people who worship that voice.

It might’ve even been inevitable that she would latch on to the teachings of the Followers of the Word of God.

Though, I’m not sure I understand getting obsessed to the point of becoming a candidate for sainthood.

Also, I wish she’d stop harassing others about converting.

I mean, her way of saying hello is asking, “Have you opened your heart to the Word of God?”

Sorry, but I’m not really the religious type.

No matter how often I politely turn her down, though, Yuri shows no signs of surrender.

If anything, she just comes at me even more aggressively.

This has been going on for so long that I’ve gotten used to the sight of Sue swooping in furiously to fend her off, then Katia arriving to mediate.

Speaking of Sue, she’s been acting pretty strange herself.

It seems like she wants to ask me something but doesn’t know how to bring it up.

That being said, I do have an inkling of what her question might be.

Or rather, I’m pretty sure I know, because Katia told me all about it.

“Sue tried to ask me about our relationship.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You know…our past lives. She probably guessed something was strange when she saw us talking with Ms. Oka.”

“Ahh… I guess we were speaking Japanese in front of her, huh?”

“Yeah, exactly. I mean, if you had an older brother who you’ve been together with basically since birth and one day he suddenly started speaking to total strangers in some unfamiliar language, of course you’d be weirded out.”

“Right… Crap.”

“Well, if she asks you, it’s up to you whether to tell her the truth or think of a convincing lie.”

“Huh? I can’t tell her the truth, can I?”

“I’m saying that’s up to you. Do you want to keep lying to your little sister or be forthcoming? Whatever you decide, you’d better be ready to fully commit to your response. It’s the least you can do for her, don’t you think?”

“Urk… All right, I got it.”

So I guess Sue wants to ask me about my relationship with the others.

To be honest, I’m not ready at all.

Tell Sue the truth?

We may only be half siblings, but we’re still siblings.

But my previous life had nothing to do with Sue. The old me is a total stranger to her.

I’ve always seen Sue as my real sister, but once she knows the truth, will she still see me as her older brother?

On top of that, I’ve had the advantage of my memories and experiences from my previous life while maturing in this one.

For Sue, who’s come all this way without any such advantage, it might seem like cheating.

Will she look down on me when she finds out about that?

I don’t think she’s that kind of person, but…just imagining it makes me afraid to tell her.

Which leaves the option of making up some excuse, but the idea of deceiving her like that hurts, too.

Considering how much my younger sister is struggling to ask me about it, it wouldn’t be right to just lie to her when she finally works up the courage to approach me.

If I’m going to lie to her now, I have to be prepared to keep lying for the rest of my life.

I still haven’t decided what I’m going to do.

But I know that if and when she does ask me, I have to consider my answer very seriously.

If it weren’t for what Katia said to me, I might’ve just played it off without thinking too deeply about it.

I have to thank her for giving me advice beforehand.

So basically, I have all kinds of problems to worry about right now.

Hugo despises me, Yuri is trying to indoctrinate me, and I have to figure out what I’m going to tell Sue.

On top of all that, Ms. Oka is still as mysterious as ever.

At times, she’ll be absent for so long that we assume she went off somewhere, and that’s exactly when she casually attends class.

When I try to ask her about it, she usually just dodges my questions.

I feel this is especially the case when I ask her about Kyouya’s whereabouts.

Kyouya is a friend with whom Katia and I were particularly close in our past lives.

But Ms. Oka won’t tell me a thing about him.

It definitely seems like she knows something, but he doesn’t seem to be in her care.

I want to know where he is and what he’s doing, but it doesn’t look like she’s going to tell me anytime soon.

Everyone’s changed so much in this world.

Yuri’s become a religious fanatic.

Hugo’s already strong ego has gotten even more intense, and his desire for the spotlight seems to be running unchecked.

Ms. Oka has lost her grip on things.

Maybe this was inevitable.

It’s a very different environment from Japan, and we’ve been here for a long time now.

In fact, it might be harder to stay the same. But I’m afraid to change.

I mean, look at what happened to Yuri and Hugo. It’s almost like they’ve gone mad.

“Katia, promise me you won’t change.”

Preoccupied with these thoughts, I accidentally made a weird comment to Katia.

But when I imagine even Katia changing from the Kanata I know, it scares me.

Honestly, I think having Katia here to keep me connected to my previous life has played a huge role in my ability to remain stable.

So it’s only natural that I don’t want Katia to change, either.

THE DUKE’S DAUGHTER AND THE FUTURE SAINT

“Ooshima, why are you changing clothes with the girls?”

“Huh? …Oh, right. Sorry. It’s been so long, I don’t even think about it anymore. But if it bothers you, Hasebe, I can wait until after everyone else is done or change somewhere else?”

“Oh, um, well…”

“C’mon, what’s up?”

“Oh, well… I guess I didn’t expect you to respond so calmly. Wouldn’t you normally panic and apologize in this kind of situation?”

“I dunno… I don’t really feel anything about girls’ bodies since being reincarnated. It’s hard to believe I was so crazy about them when I was a guy, honestly. But I don’t feel a thing when I see girls now, so I don’t really feel guilty or anything.”

“Really? You don’t find it embarrassing at all?”

“I mean, since I was reborn into a duke’s family, I’ve had maids helping me change clothes and bathe since I was a baby, y’know? I got over being embarrassed pretty quickly.”

“I…see… That sounds hard, in its own way.”

“I guess. I certainly feel a lot better living in a dorm where I don’t have to deal with that. If anything, I find it hard to believe the other girls complain so much about not having their maids.”

“Oh yes. I agree.”

“Right, ’cause you grew up in an orphanage, huh…? Between that and having memories from Japan, doesn’t that make it hard to hit it off with all the nobles here?”

“Well, yes, to be honest.”

“Yeah, I figured. Even I have trouble dealing with it at times.”

“Ha-ha. Sounds like we’ve both had it tough, albeit in different ways.”

“Uh-huh. But I don’t think my struggles are a big deal compared with what you’ve been through.”

“No?”

“’Course not. I mean, it was hard, but it’s not like my life was in danger.”

“I suppose that’s true. But nonetheless, I’m happy with how my life has gone.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Very much so. That’s how I learned the importance of God’s voice!”

“O-oh yeah.”

“Don’t you agree? God sees everything, you know. The Word of God is omnipotent and all knowing. The fact that the voice has chosen to speak to us in Japanese is proof of that. As long as you follow God’s voice, all will be well!”

“R…riiight. I guess so.”

“Of course it is! That’s why you should join the Followers of the Word of God, Ooshima!”

“Ah… Uh… Sorry. I can’t choose my religion because of my family circumstances.”

“Is that so? What a shame. But if you change your mind, please do let me know.”

“Yeah, sure. Oh, right, what did you want me to do? Should I change clothes somewhere else?”

“Ah, well, let’s see. I think perhaps talking with you has made me feel a bit better about it. I’m sure I’ll get used to it in time.”

“You sure?”

“Of course. In fact, when I think about it, seeing you here doesn’t make me uncomfortable in the least.”

“What d’you mean?”

“Well, you don’t seem like a man. You’re perfectly feminine in just about every way.”

“I dunno if I should be happy about that or not…”

“I’d say it’s a good thing, no? After all, you’ll have to keep living as a woman from here on out.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Well, it’s my mission in life to guide others. So if you have any issues with womanly matters, feel free to come to me about it!”

“…Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“So Shun doesn’t want me to change… That’s asking way too much. How am I supposed to stay the same in this situation? …And Yuri thinks I’m feminine… I wonder if Shun doesn’t see me as a woman, then. Huh? Wait, what am I saying? That doesn’t mean anything… Right?”

THE ADMINISTRATOR’S SHADOW

Oh, since Heresy Resistance turned into Heresy Nullification, maybe using Detection won’t hurt my head anymore?

It is a Heresy Attribute attack, isn’t it? Is it cool if I call it an attack?

I mean, there’s no way that pain so strong it busts right through my Pain Mitigation could be a normal headache, right?

So if I can cancel out the Heresy attack that normally accompanies Detection, maybe it won’t hurt my head anymore?

It’s worth a try.

Huff… Whew. Here goes!

Detection on!

…Whoa. This…this is seriously incredible.

I could never tell before, since I was too busy dealing with the pain, but…is this what Detection is like when it doesn’t cause a headache?

This time, my head didn’t split wide open when I activated it.

Well, technically, I guess there’s a little throbbing, but thanks to Pain Mitigation, it’s hardly even worth mentioning.

I think what I’m feeling now is just a normal headache from using my brain too much.

That’s how much information Detection provides all at once.

Looks like I got some new skill. I’ll check it out later, though.

Right now, I want to relish this feeling for a bit.

I’m psyched that I finally succeeded at using Detection.

But even more than that, I’m overwhelmed by the amount of information Detection provides.

It’s like it gathers all the data available on everything within my present range of perception.

The flow of magic, the material makeup of things, the flow of air… All of this streams through my brain.

It almost feels like I’m omniscient.

I understand everything around me.

Even information I wouldn’t normally be able to understand makes sense to a certain extent when I use this skill.

But even that in itself feels like a sea of information. Like I’ve stolen a glimpse at some cosmic truth.

And this is all just from the tiny space I’m currently aware of.

It feels like I’ve learned anew the vast scope and grandeur of the world around me.

Oh man, I even feel like I’m gonna cry for some reason. Although, I don’t know if spiders can actually cry.

Okay. Let’s turn Detection off for a minute.

Whew. That was crazy. I don’t even know where this feeling is coming from.

If I had to compare it to something, I’d say it was kinda like getting emotional from looking up at a starry sky. That sorta thing.

Ah, I wanted to stay immersed in those feelings for a little longer. I’d better get a move on, though.

So. Detection is a success.

Does that mean I should keep it active all the time from here on in?

Hmm. The thing is, I’m worried that it’s so high-performance that it might actually be inconvenient.

I mean, it’s so much input at once that it might distract me and make it harder focusing in battles or something.

But maybe I can just get used to it?

Sure, it’s overwhelming when I activate it right now, but I used to feel a little drunk from using Appraisal at first, too. If I got acclimated to that, I’m sure I could adapt to this easily enough.

So I think I’ll keep Detection active all the time, even if it might be a bit dangerous at first.

It’ll raise my other skill levels, too, so I think it’s for the best.

All right, then. Detection on.

Whoa. This really is crazy.

But I can’t get emotional again.

Guess I’ll start by checking out the skill I just acquired.

…Or maybe it’ll level up first…

What is this skill, exactly?

The description of Perseverance said something about a divinity field.

I think Perseverance expands that, too, doesn’t it? So this is on top of that?

Does that mean my divinity field or whatever is spreading out all over the place now?

At any rate, I’d better Appraise it.

You don’t say? Thanks a lot.

This is where you really get to strut your stuff, Appraisal! Double-Appraisal, puh-leeeze!

Hmm? I still don’t get it.

Well, I get that it’s an important part of the soul or whatever, but what happens when you expand that?

Hmm. So I still don’t know what it does.

More is usually better, but it doesn’t have any actual effects so far as I can tell…

Whoa, they really go up so fast!

I already maxed out Arithmetic Processing, huh?

And now it’s evolved into High-Speed Processing. Definitely sounds like an upgrade to me.

Anyway, I originally got Detection in the hopes of perceiving enemies, didn’t I?

But my natural ability to identify threats is high enough that I’ve managed pretty well without Detection so far.

I gotta say, combining that innate ability with the power of Detection will make my enemy-spotting skills pretty much perfect.

No one’s ever going to get the jump on me now! I’d like to see them try!

Okay, so next, I’d hoped Detection would give me Magic Power Perception.

If my predictions are correct, then if I combine this with the Magic Power Operation skill, I should be able to finally use magic. I think.

That means I’ll finally be able to bust out the skills I’ve been sitting on for so long, like Abyss Magic and Heretic Magic!

But…I don’t have any skill points! Dammit!

I don’t regret picking up Perseverance, but it still sucks that I’m out of skill points.

Aw, man, and I was hoping to use my next batch for Evil Eye!

What am I gonna do? I want them both! Aaargh!

I know this is kind of a dumb problem, but even so, which should I get first?!

Huh? For real? Detection’s maxed out already?

Huh? But it doesn’t evolve or add new skills or anything?

Aw, come on. What’s up with that?

After all the trouble I went through to get it to work…

I mean, it definitely paid off, but to be honest, I kinda wanted even more.

Even if I can’t get strong enough to defeat an earth dragon, I wanna at least be able to run away safely!

I really don’t get anything?

<Fzzt……fzzzt…>

Hmm? What was that?

…Maybe I’m just imagining things?

Well anyway, no use whining about it.

The simplest solution is to keep getting stronger.

If I just keep working on that, I might at least reach the point where I can escape from exceptionally strong enemies. So I’ve decided: I’ll make a sincere effort to get stronger.

Step one is leveling up.

I’ll start actively hunting monsters from now on.

Step two is skills.

I seem to be able to level up skills just by moving around.

Like Appraisal, Detection, Foresight, and Thought Acceleration.

I did max out Detection, but using it trains other skills, too.

So I’ll keep it active until all those skills are maxed out.

At the same time, I should start working on other skills that I can level up as I move.

The safest bet is probably the five sense-enhancement skills.

If I squint my eyes or sniff around a bit or whatever as I walk, they’ll probably go up in no time.

I have a few skills that seem close to the max, so I’ll start with those.

And there’s one other thing.

I don’t want to do this while I walk. I want to stop somewhere and devote my full attention to it.

That would be practicing Magic Power Operation.

Thinking about it, it’s definitely possible for me to get skills without paying skill points if I just build enough proficiency.

In which case, I should save my skill points for Evil Eye, since I have no idea how I’d go about increasing proficiency for that, and try to practice Magic Power Operation on my own.

Thanks to Mr. Detection, I can perceive magic now.

If I concentrate on it enough, I can grasp the flow of magic power.

As long as I can figure out a way to manipulate that somehow (or at least try to for long enough), I should be able to acquire the skill by naturally accumulating proficiency. I hope.

Once I accomplish that, I can finally start practicing magic.

All that being said, I have to remember that my main goal is still to get through the Middle Stratum and return to the Upper Stratum.

Leveling up and improving skills and stuff are just things I’m doing along the way.

So I shouldn’t actually stop moving just to work on that stuff.

Whatever I do, it has to be something I can do on the go.

I’m not putting down roots in the Middle Stratum. I’m just passing through.

I can’t forget that.

Nice, nice. Thanks to my Ruler of Pride title, my mental skills are leveling up really quickly.

Just gotta keep it up.

Since I have the Ruler of Perseverance title, too, my resistance skills should also improve relatively easily, but most of them aren’t the kind of thing I can level up on the move.

Technically, I’m sure I could gain proficiency in a lot of them with self-inflicted attacks: Deadly Poison Resistance and Paralysis Resistance with Poison Synthesis, and Cutting Resistance, Impact Resistance, Destruction Resistance, Rot Resistance, and Shock Resistance (which I’m sure also exists) using Utility Thread. But I should probably save that until I’ve settled down somewhere for a while.

The Middle Stratum, where my recovery is slow and there’s no decent place to rest, is no place for that sort of thing.

I’d like to raise my stat-enhancement skills as quickly as possible, but that’s something else better done when I can stop someplace.

They’ll probably level up in battle, but other than that, I’d have to do muscle training and the like if I want to level them up on my own.

If I have the time and strength to do that, I’d be better off using it to keep moving.

For the time being, better to focus on those five sense skills that I can raise passively.

Vision Enhancement is at level 9, almost the max, so I’ll start with that.

It’s been a while since I evolved and started making my way through the Middle Stratum.

I’ve been wiping out every monster I lay eyes on, so my level’s skyrocketed.

No one would believe how quickly my stats grow now.

The description really wasn’t kidding when it said I have “high battle capabilities.”

On average, they rise about twenty points apiece each time.

Even if you take into account the growth rate enhancement from Pride and the individual stat-raising skills, the rate at which my stats are increasing is still wild.

If I keep improving like this, my low stats will be a total thing of the past.

Besides my level and stats, my skills have also been progressing quite a bit.

That said, I’ve been trying to focus my eyes on various things, but my Vision Enhancement skill still hasn’t budged.

I guess raising a level-9 skill is bound to take some time.

I’ve been killing it on my other skills, though!

First of all, Silence is level 3 now. Ninja power up!

Thought Acceleration and Foresight both reached level 5, so my evasiveness gets a power up, too!

Even Fire Resistance finally made progress, putting it at level 3.

In theory, Perseverance should be making it easier to gain proficiency for resistance skills, but it still feels like it’s taken ages.

Just how weak am I to fire anyway? Actually, is that still the case, since I’m a different species now?

I wonder if my other resistances besides fire have changed…

But I have no way of finding out, so there’s no point speculating.

Anyway, since I’m not exactly a defensive tank to begin with, my resistances changing a little probably wouldn’t make much of a difference.

Still, since my defense is starting to improve, it might be good to know my resistances well.

After all, it’s possible I have other weaknesses besides fire. Not that I have any way of finding that out…

Last but certainly not least is Parallel Thinking.

This one reached level 10 and evolved.

Its new form is called Parallel Minds!

Now this is a super-convenient skill.

As the name implies, it’s basically like I have multiple minds now.

With Parallel Thought, it was like I was using one brain to think about several different things at the same time, but with Parallel Minds, it’s like my brain actually split into segments. Almost like split personalities.

Both of them are me, but each is a separate body of consciousness with its own set of thoughts.

And that’s on top of what Parallel Thinking already allowed me to do.

It’s functionally doubled my cognitive ability. Super-convenient.

This skill is like a partial realization of the wish kids often make, the same one adults do when they’re really pressed for time: “I wish there was another me…”

You know, so one “me” can work and study and stuff while the other plays.

Though since they’re both equally me, whenever one wants to slack off and play, the other’s gonna get mad.

Still, that means I can divide the work I was gonna do alone between two of me, so it’s still way better.

As the skill level rises, it’s possible I’ll be able to make more, too.

However, only one of them can control my body at any given time.

That’s why I’ve decided one half will be in charge of my body while the other half processes information from Appraisal and Detection and so on.

By delegating like this, I can reduce the amount of work each half has to do, so each can concentrate on its responsibilities that much more.

You know how, when you’re fighting, your vision gets a whole lot narrower? People who’ve done martial arts know what I mean, right?

Personally, I think that’s a consequence of extreme tension and concentration.

However, now that I have a separate mind for processing information, I no longer have to deal with it.

That way, I can focus on picking up information and leave the hard work to the body brain.

I’m counting on ya, body brain!

You got it, information brain!

See? Now I can even have conversations with myself.

And since they’re both me, we’ve got data sharing on lock.

There’s no main unit or subunit in this setup. Both of them are me. I’m me, therefore I’m me!

Yeah, I know. It makes no sense.

Like, I’m getting by all right, but I bet some people would start questioning their definition of the self if they did something like this.

You know, like losing track of which is the real them and going crazy or whatever.

I can totally see that happening. If anything, maybe that makes me super-special for being able to handle it normally? Okay, probably not.

Wow. While my information brain was thinking about all that stuff, my body brain beat a monster.

Good job, me.

No biggie, me!

This time, I tried out my new Rot Attack, but I can’t really use it.

I mean, it wasn’t useless. The attack power itself was amazing.

Like, way too strong for level 1.

It was excessive. I mean, it turned the monster to dust in a single hit! Isn’t that freaky?

Is that really what “rot” means? It’s not, like, corrosion or whatever?

This goes past food going bad, straight into disintegration territory. No way do I want to mess with an attribute that “regulates the decay of death.”

It’s already overkill at level 1.

What in the world happens when it levels up more?

Anyway, there are two reasons why I can’t use it.

First, it doesn’t leave behind any remains. In other words, no food.

Sure, I can still gain experience like this, but it totally renders half my motivation for hunting monsters moot.

It doesn’t feed the beast. Literally and figuratively.

The other problem is even worse.

I take damage from it, too.

Take a look at the scythe-leg I used for the Rot Attack. The blade is falling to pieces! And I’ve lost HP…

This attack is like a suicide bomb!

So while its power is really high, so’s the backlash.

If I ever get into a situation where I’d be in big trouble if I don’t go all out, maybe I’ll use it, but beyond that, it doesn’t make much sense to waste it on small-fry.

Especially while I’m in the Middle Stratum, where my automatic recovery is slower.

Ugh, I wonder when this scythe will heal?

I’ll probably level up soon, so I’m sure it’ll fix itself then, but in the meantime, I won’t be able to use this leg in my next battle.

I do still have Poison Synthesis, at least, so it’s no big deal as long as I don’t run into some big game like the eel.

I only started using my scythe-arms recently anyway. My main weapon in the Middle Stratum remains Poison Synthesis.

After all, just making contact with Middle Stratum monsters injures me.

If I use my scythes, I can raise skills like Cutting Enhancement, but that still means taking damage.

Besides, when I cut monsters with the scythes, their insides fall out, making them harder to eat.

So, body brain, make sure you use Poison Synthesis for the next prey, all right?

Yep, roger that, information brain.

Man, Parallel Minds sure is convenient.

If I had two bodies to go with it, I could even have a shadow clone! Now that’s the dream.

Oh, but since they’d both be my main body, it’d hurt if either got destroyed.

Aw, man, that sucks.

As long as one was left, I’d still survive, but wouldn’t that mean I’d basically experience death?

Hmm. That’s not something I really want to try.

Actually, I guess I technically have experienced it once already, but as I have no memory of it, that doesn’t count.

So don’t do anything that’s gonna get us killed, okay, body brain?

Come on, information brain. You know I wouldn’t do that!

You’re right, you’re right.

All right! I finally maxed out the Vision Enhancement skill.

So the reward was a new skill, huh?

May as well Appraise it right away to see what it does.

Okay, so pretty much what the name says, then?

Hmm. Not sure if I get it.

The five sense-enhancement skills are pretty basic improvements, but the derived skills seem pretty plain, too.

Well, I guess I’ll try it out.

Okay, body brain, activate Telescopic Sight!

Request received. Telescopic Sight activated!

Oh? Ooh? Ooooh?!

Whoa, this is amazing. I’m sorry for calling it plain before.

My field of vision now displays a magnified telescopic image as well as my original range of vision at the same time.

I was expecting my entire field of vision to be enlarged, like looking through a telescope, but it seems like I can activate it in just one eye.

Normally, it’d be pretty confusing to get two completely different views at once, but who do you think you’re talking to? I’m basically a two-in-one package deal already.

If I split the work between the two units, it’s not confusing at all.

Since it’s still only level 1, the range and extent of magnification is pretty low, but it could be pretty useful once it levels up some.

For example, I could use Detection to figure out where an enemy is hiding, then use Telescopic Sight to zoom in on that location while still keeping my other eyes on what’s in front of me.

Yep, yep. And this seems to be another passive skill, ’cause it’s not consuming MP or anything.

I’ll keep it active all the time to level it up, then, since it may have a lot of potential in the future.

Hey, information brain, sorry to interrupt while you’re on a roll, but…

What is it, body brain?

Spotted some prey in the Telescopic Sight view.

Would you look at that! The newbie’s already earning its keep.

Wanna take it down?

Doesn’t that go without saying?

Aye, aye, sir!

I sneak up on the enemy right away.

Since I can’t use one of my sickles after the suicidal Rot Attack, I’ll just drench it in Deadly Spider Poison using Poison Synthesis.

The monster’s HP drains in an instant. As usual, my poison is terrifyingly strong.

Oh, perfect, I leveled up.

Which means I get to molt, so now my scythe is back to normal!

Plus, one of my stat-increasing skills finally evolved.

Do your thing, Appraisal.

<Longevity: Raises HP by 10x the number of the skill level. Also, growth of this stat at each level-up increases by the number of the skill level.>

Just as I figured, it’s in the same category as Herculean Strength.

So if the rest of my stat skills evolve, their growth rates increase, too?

That really makes me want to level them up right away, but it’ll just have to wait until I get through the Middle Stratum.

I definitely want to get somewhere secure as soon as possible.

And hey, wait a minute!

Leveling up means I have 100 skill points now! Yay!

Since I evolved, the number of skill points I gain per level increased to 50.

It was only 20 before, so that’s a big upgrade.

That means that after evolving just twice, I already have 100 points.

Part 5 of 8

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