In a silk web among the oak trees on the opposite bank of the river, a large, round, eight-legged monster curled up, its jointed legs resting as it took a nap.
It was a Spider Monster!
Natsuyu’s eyes lit up.
In his vision, a golden exclamation mark appeared above the Spider Monster’s head, rapidly enlarging.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations on unlocking the achievement “Monster Discovered!”!
Recite the incantation “I want to be a Monster Hunter!” aloud to claim your rewards: Information Appraisal, Exp +10.]
A golden exclamation mark!
Natsuyu had encountered a golden exclamation mark before when he opened his inventory and unlocked the Basic Achievement Tree.
Relying on the Basic Achievement Tree, he significantly improved his Physique and obtained powerful gear.
Finding a golden exclamation mark now meant unlocking an entirely NEW achievement tree!
Yukino stared at the black Spider Monster for a moment, then whispered into Natsuyu’s ear:
“Confirmed: the monster in the forest is a giant spider, estimated to be about half a meter long.
It is not a terrestrial Earth species and does not seem easy to deal with.
Since it has a nest, it should be a social creature.”
“We’ve found the water source and completed the scouting mission.
As agreed, let’s turn back and regroup with Sakuraba-san and the others.”
She strongly agreed with Natsuyu’s careful, safety-first stance.
“No,”
Natsuyu disagreed.
Yukino’s face was full of question marks:
“Wasn’t this your own rule?”
Natsuyu pursed his lips:
“Plans change.
Yukinoshita-san, when you’re playing a game and see a red dot notification for a claimable reward, can you resist clicking it?”
“I can.”
Yukino’s expression was calm:
“I rarely play games.”
Natsuyu’s smile vanished.
‘I forgot…
rich, refined ojou-samas like Yukinoshita rarely play video games.’
‘I kinda miss a normal gamer girl like Kikyo Kushida…’
‘Well, the tea-drinking, cold-noodle-faction Kushida isn’t exactly normal either.’
‘Emma and Kiana are also the type of girls who love stepping on landmines.’
‘Is there a single normal human left in this team?!’
Natsuyu said solemnly:
“I need to meet the condition to unlock a new ability.
Don’t leave just yet.”
Yukino smiled and nodded:
“I already knew that.”
Natsuyu widened his eyes slightly, staring at the beautiful, haughty girl:
“Were you just teasing me?”
Yukino tilted her head, playing dumb with an innocent smile: This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“What are you talking about?
I have no idea.”
‘Wait a minute!
Isn’t Yukinoshita supposed to be a lonely, sharp-tongued tsundere?’
‘Where did this black-bellied sadist trait come from?!
Your character setup is collapsing!’
Natsuyu facepalmed in annoyance, waving his hand:
“Anyway, fall back with me for a bit first.”
“Alright.”
Yukino nodded obediently:
“Yes, Captain.”
Natsuyu stared in surprise at the gentle, Yamato Nadeshiko-like aura Yukino radiated for a split second.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
Yukino glared and asked.
Natsuyu let out a relieved smile:
“I was just thinking of ways to improve everyone’s situation.”
‘Phew, she really is still the sharp-tongued tsundere.’
If Yukino had admitted she was teasing him, Natsuyu wouldn’t have been angry; he would have been happy, seeing it as proof that their relationship had improved to the point where they could banter.
Instead, Yukino chose to play dumb and then snorted at him.
(Silent Yukino is T0 top-tier, while talking Yukino is bottom-tier…
does anyone get what I mean?!)
Seeing Natsuyu turn to leave, Yukino quietly let out a sigh of relief, following behind him with light steps.
‘Why did I want to tease Natsuyu-kun just now?’
‘It’s DEFINITELY not because Natsuyu calls Emma by her first name more familiarly!
I’m not that petty, nor do I care at all who Natsuyu is close to!’
Meanwhile, Natsuyu walked a short distance away.
Once he made sure the Spider Monster was out of sight, he shouted out loud:
“I want to be a Monster Hunter!”
[Reward claimed: Information Appraisal, Exp +10!]
[Information Appraisal]!
Whether in games, novels, or manga, Appraisal was the most universal, essential god-tier skill!
Analyzing enemy stats allowed one to avoid death and exploit weaknesses, drastically increasing survival chances.
Appraising item properties revealed hidden side effects and buffs, maximizing resource efficiency.
Furthermore, if a monster disguised itself as a teammate, a single Appraisal would instantly expose the imposter, perfectly countering illusions and shapeshifters!
In short, this was an absolute GOD-TIER skill!
Natsuyu happily accepted [Information Appraisal].
[Natsuyu Rurikawa — Level 3 (Exp: 20/25)]
Only 5 more Exp needed to level up!
Most importantly:
[Unlocked Combat Achievement Tree!]
[Combat Achievement Tree:]
[Monster Discovered!
(Kill 1 monster) ➔ ?]
[You can unlock hidden achievement trees through exploration and discovery.]
Natsuyu originally thought unlocking hidden achievement trees would be insanely difficult.
He didn’t expect that just sighting a monster was enough to trigger the second tree!
Furthermore, this second tree was combat-focused, meaning it would upgrade Natsuyu’s fighting capabilities!
‘I was wondering why swords and armor were held back; so the system was waiting for this!’
Swords could be replaced by axes for now, but ARMOR was essential.
A solid set of armor vastly increased courage and error margin in lethal combat.
In ancient warfare, armored troops dominated unarmored troops completely—they weren’t even on the same level!
Plus, once he could craft armor, Kiana and the girls wouldn’t have to stay naked while doing laundry.
They could wear armor to cover up, and while their clothes were drying, they could go commando under the armor…
Natsuyu looked at Yukino following behind him, subconsciously fantasizing about the commando-under-armor situation, then quickly shook his head to clear his dirty thoughts, averting his eyes as he said:
“Come on, let’s head back to the riverbank.”
“…”
Yukino, who had just stopped, stared at Natsuyu’s back in confusion:
“Why are we going back there?”
“To leave some path markers so it’s easier to navigate back next time.”
Yukino trusted him, following Natsuyu back step by step.
(In reality, that was just an excuse Natsuyu pulled out of his ass).
The ability to view stats via Appraisal could be seen as an invasion of privacy.
He didn’t want to tell Yukino and the others right away to prevent unnecessary paranoia.
Anything that might hurt team trust shouldn’t be blabbed carelessly.
Natsuyu’s real motive for returning was to use [Information Appraisal] on the Spider Monster!
Anyone who unlocked Appraisal and saw an unknown monster without scanning it was a monster of self-restraint!
Natsuyu quickly returned to the rock outcropping, ducked behind cover, and peeked his head out.
Looking at the Spider Monster napping in its nest across the river, he shouted in his heart:
‘Appraisal!’
[Round-Headed Spider (Low-Level Monster)]
[Physique: 0.7]
[Soul: 0.3]
[Charisma: 0.3]
[Evaluation: Possesses tissue-dissolving venom.
The tips of its eight legs are sharp but brittle.
Chitin defense is average, skin defense is weak.]
[Drops: Spider Silk, Poison Gland, Monster Meat]
[Spider Nest — Level 1 (Unleveled)]
[Physique: 0.4]
[Soul: 0.0]
[Charisma: 0.4]
[Evaluation: A web nest housing Round-Headed Spiders.
Small size, accommodates up to 3 Round-Headed Spiders.]
[Drops: Spider Silk]
‘Huh?!
The Spider Monster only has 0.7 Physique?!’