〖The influence of the contamination source is ever-present.〗
〖Even without direct intervention, it quietly, subtly bestows a will that shouldn’t exist onto everyone nearby; and [Envy] together with [Greed] can demonstrate this erosion of thought to its absolute limit.〗
〖Isn’t that right?〗
…
…
Waaah, how did it end up like this…
I walked through the labyrinth feeling utterly lost.
All that mental preparation I’d worked so hard to build up…
Only to accidentally set the language transmitted by [Telepathy LV.2] to the otherworld language, causing Kumoko to miss my carefully crafted “opening line”…
Damn it!
It’s all those adventurers’ fault from earlier…
If I’d known, I wouldn’t have wasted so many words on them, which threw me completely off balance!
Sigh, once your resolve gets interrupted, it really is tough to pull off the same act a second time…
Speaking of which, killing those three adventurers boosted my skill levels and EXP quite a lot.
The EXP from adventurers really is ridiculously high!
Then again, it makes sense.
Humans as a race can’t evolve.
The levels they temper through grinding accumulate right from birth, and their base stats are naturally weaker, so they can only rely on constant training and learning skills to power up.
And this kind of massive, walking “experience pack,” paired with the extra plundering effect of [Ruler of Greed], naturally yields self-evident results.
So, I pulled up my level to take another look.
“Small Elroe Petrotort”
“Name: Little Lizard”
“Lv.
18”
Looks like I’m just one final push away from my next evolution…
Go hunt low-level monsters again?
No, no way, that’s way too slow.
Ah, if I could just run into another adventurer, I might be able to scrape together enough to hit Lv.
20!
Where am I supposed to go find another adventurer, anyway…
Oh right, if I remember correctly, soon enough, an adventurer clutching an Earth Dragon egg will get snared by Kumoko’s spider thread, only to throw a Molotov cocktail to burn through the web and escape.
I recall that guy ended up burning himself to death in the end, didn’t he…?
Well, in that case, going over to steal the kill shouldn’t be much of a problem, right!
I really don’t mean to kill him on purpose, I’m just helping him end his suffering earlier!
Hehehe!
Alright, guess I shouldn’t wander too far off for now.
Still, I’d better try my best not to disturb Kumoko.
In the original story, it was precisely all those hardships and setbacks that forged her strength!
I’ll just settle down nearby for the next few days.
Hmm, is there any glowing moss around here?
Preferably somewhere a bit damp…
…
Over the past few days, the low-level monsters in the Upper Stratum around here have decreased quite a bit.
Mmm…
Looks like it should be about time?
I wagged my tail behind me in anticipation and rested my claw against the wall…
…
“Haah…”
“Haah…”
A man was slumping against the wall, his body covered in burns from fire.
He panted heavily, trembling continuously from the pain.
I slowly crawled out from the darkness of the labyrinth, my eyes staring coldly at the man before me.
“Wh-What…?”
The man noticed me, first taken aback, and then a look of deep despair flared from the depths of his eyes.
“Damn it…
A Basilisk…”
“My injuries were already so severe to begin with…”
“I don’t have the strength to fight back at all…”
He threw his head back and let out a deep, heavy sigh.
“Am I really going to meet my end here?”
“To think that after all this, the mission failed, and my life is gone too…”
Hmm…?
Mission?
This man coming over to steal an Earth Dragon egg—was it a task assigned from above?
I narrowed my eyes slightly, tilting my head as I fell into thought.
He wasn’t a solo adventurer, but rather a member belonging to some kind of organization.
Since he was sent to steal something like an Earth Dragon egg, the person pulling his strings definitely wouldn’t be simple.
Is that so?
I remember…
Kumoko once saved a party of adventurers who almost died in a snake’s jaws.
Not only did she kill the monster, but she even healed the severely injured member of that party.
Yet as a result, word spread to the outside world that a unique spider monster existed in the labyrinth.
The Empire then dispatched a specialized team into the labyrinth, their goal being to tame or hunt this unique spider monster—a team that even included humanity’s strongest magician!
Though he wasn’t actually that strong…
Still, this was enough to prove how attractive the existence of a special monster was to the Empire.
If…
I save this man right here, he’ll definitely take this news back to his superiors.
When that time comes, even more adventurers will come to the labyrinth wanting to make a move on me.
In that case…
won’t I have even more EXP?!
Even though this evolution will be delayed a bit, the next evolution can come even faster!
Heh, I really am a genius!
I have no grudge or enmity with this guy, so I might as well let him off the hook~
As for those later guys though, they’re the ones harboring ill intent toward me!
So I’ll just be acting in self-defense!
Finished thinking, I approached the man.
I walked up to him, stood up, and gently placed a small claw on his body.
Instantly, a soft green light enveloped the man’s entire body.
The injuries on him began to slowly heal, his gaze gradually shifting from terror, to confusion, to utter shock.
From start to finish, his eyes never seemed to leave me.
Phew…
That should do it, right?
Even though my Healing Magic isn’t very proficient, these are just external injuries after all.
I don’t need to neutralize poison or regenerate lost limbs, so it’s well within my capabilities!
After completing these actions, I took two steps back to clear some space.
The man stood up from the ground in disbelief, looking at himself and then at me, unable to believe his eyes.
I merely watched him in silence, pointing my claw toward the labyrinth passage on the other side, signaling that he could leave.
Just as I turned around to leave as well, a voice completely beyond my expectations echoed in my mind:
“[Naming] failed.”
“This creature already possesses its own name.”
I stopped in my tracks, freezing for a moment.
Right after, a surge of rage rushed straight to my heart.
What…?!
I saved you, I let you walk, and you actually tried to tame me?
I turned back around, locking eyes directly with the man.
He seemed thoroughly perplexed and bewildered.
“Strange…?”
“This monster already has a name?”
“How is that possible…”
While he was still standing there muttering to himself, I could no longer hold back.
A churn of murderous intent erupted from my body in an instant, sweeping toward the man.
He also sensed the change in me, becoming somewhat panicked.
Yet after a moment of hesitation, he glanced at the other side of the passage, pulled out the weapon in his hand, and prepared to fight.
I watched this scene with icy eyes.
With a flash of movement, I dashed in front of him and lightly tapped my claw.
The weapon in his hand dissolved into a pool of waste liquid.
Amidst his incredulous gaze, I extended my other claw—
Pfft!
It brutally impaled his neck.
Before a single groan could even escape his mouth, a scarlet flower of blood exploded in the labyrinth.
With a sideways tear, head and body were severed.
…
I extended my hind foot, stomping the head on the ground into crushed pulp like a rotten watermelon.
Licking the blood splatter near the corner of my mouth.
Hmph.
How pathetic…
➔ For 50 adv chapters.