It might be too late now,
but my luck's really bad.
To the point where I think God hates me.
In the first place, I was reincarnated as a spider.
Up until now, I've had a tumultuous life as a spider.
I've tried my best.
I did so much, but…
What?
You can't repay my suffering with this!
It's hot! I can't stay here!
My spider thread's on fire!
I have to extinguish it!
Otherwise, just cut it off!
I literally almost burnt my behind.
Something appeared!
I can see all its stat values now!
Did my Appraisal skill increase?
I can see every single detail about it.
This is so convenient!
Wait, it can swim in magma? That's crazy!
What?
"Fire-resistant"?
No!
It's despicable to attack me from the magma!
The second strike's coming!
I must attack before it does!
Launching threads!
I knew it. It's catching fire!
A spider who can't use its spider threads
is like natto beans without its fermenting bacteria!
Actually, it'll just be rotten beans!
No! The Middle Stratum is so scary!
This is seriously bad!
I came down to the Lower Stratum to seek refuge for now.
According to their stats, they aren't unbeatable opponents.
But if I can't use my spider threads…
Obviously outclassed
Lost by geographical edge
I am so ashamed
I tried expressing my thoughts in a haiku poem,
but I can't figure out a way to overcome that hellish magma.
What should I do?
Is it possible to reach the Upper Stratum without clearing the Middle Stratum?
Should I try climbing up the hole where the bees fell from?
I forgot about Mr. Araba!
No way! I'm not doing that!
Then should I find another hole instead?
Is there even another hole in the first place?
Although it's not impossible,
it's still just a possibility.
Now then, what should I do?
For now, let's put this situation aside
and evolve first!
My level increased after defeating those monkeys.
I'll evolve, go grind some levels,
and then get stronger.
Then I'll challenge the Middle Stratum seriously this time!
Okay, that's the plan!
So my choice of evolution is…
Not bad!
It's a rare species, and is very venomous!
I'll evolve into this, thanks!
Good night.
EVOLUTION
Good morning. Revealing the results!
SMALL POISON TARATECT, LEVEL 1 NAMELESS
Oh, I've evolved!
They're all three digits!
My stats have increased so much!
I can put up a good fight against that seahorse now.
And as usual, my speed stat value has shot through the roof.
And it even displays my skill points now.
Ms. Appraisal is doing such a good job!
What's this? Is this because my level's higher now?
I have a whole list of skills to browse!
There are so many of them.
I guess this list shows the skills I can redeem with my current skill points.
Ms. Appraisal is so awesome.
Let's see if there are any useful skills I can use
to clear the Middle Stratum
since I can't use my spider threads.
What?
"Pride"?
Pride…
Pried, tried, guide, died.
What's up with that aggressive-sounding skill name?
"N% of the power to reach godhood."
"Upon acquiring, experience points and proficiency will greatly increase,
along with improved growth capacity for every ability."
"In addition, the user will gain the ability to override the W system
and intervene with the MA field."
I see.
I don't understand at all.
What does that mean?
You'd need a movie ticket to watch movies!
RIGHT TO INTERVENE RIGHT TO WATCH MOVIES
Even if I make a cold joke,
no one's here to make a jab.
This is my lonely daily life.
Well, let's put that aside for now.
I know that increased experience and proficiency
will be useful for my growth.
That's great.
However,
everyone knows that pride is one of the seven deadly sins.
It's the most heinous sin
and a title that only the strongest devil will have.
If this title appeared in a game,
it'll be used for the final boss
or the name of a cursed weapon.
It's not a good thing…
I think I've seen "n%" and "W" somewhere.
This is it!
It's that mysterious skill.
This must be relevant to that.
It has to be relevant,
even though I'm not entirely sure.
I have a hunch!
I must get this skill!
You may learn the skill Pride with 100 skill points.
Would you like to learn the skill?
Yes!
Learned the skill Pride.
I got it!
You have attained sufficient skill proficiency.
The skill Taboo has increased to level 4.
What? "Taboo"?
Right, I have that skill.
That's the skill I got after eating one of my own relatives
and obtaining the Kin Eater title.
Wait, this dangerous-looking skill increased in level!
I've gone and done it!
You have fulfilled the pre-requisites.
Obtained the title "Ruler of Pride."
As an effect of the title "Ruler of Pride,"
you have learned the skills Abyss Magic Level 10 and Hades.
I did it!
I'm getting lots of awesome things here!
"Abyss Magic"?
It obviously sounds like some high-level magic!
For now, let's check out what's new!
It seems like my stats have increased by 100 points each.
What's this? Could this also be the effect of Pride?
I mean, I don't really mind if my stats increase!
Good going, Pride! Nice, Pride!
Next, Abyss Magic.
Wow, the skills all look so strong with "Hell" in it!
It has nothing to do with magic at all.
Who created this skill?
Forget it. "Hades"?
This screams dangerous to me.
But if it's dangerous, then it could be useful to me.
Let's just give it a try!
Show yourself,
Hades!
Nothing happened at all!
My excitement dropped all the way into Hades instead.
I can't even imagine how it'll show me Hades.
Forget it.
In short, if I want to clear the Middle Stratum,
I must practice my new skills quickly
and learn how to live with that scorching magma!
After all, I have so many skills…
Wait, "Demon Lord"? I have a skill with this name?
I didn't know I had a skill like this!
Demon Lord and Pride…
It feels like I'm becoming the final boss.
No! My goal is to clear the Middle Stratum first
and train my skills!
It's time for some training!
With this, I can really…
call myself the Demon Lord, right?
I am the Spider Demon Lord!
Just kidding!
Heave-ho…
It hurts.
Don't climb up on me so suddenly.
I'm sorry.
But somehow, it feels like
you've grown bigger.
That's because I've evolved.
My size is still considered small.
If I evolve again,
I'll grow even bigger.
Then wouldn't you'll be bigger than this room?
That would be bad.
Can I use Appraisal on you?
Go ahead.
Your stat values are at an average of 700.
You've surpassed me.
I'm a monster,
so my stats increase faster than humans.
I'm still considered weak among the dragons.
If I keep evolving,
then my stats may exceed 1,000.
Just by looking at your stats,
you might have surpassed Julius the Hero.
Fei, you're not an ordinary monster.
As a reincarnation, you possess the perseverance of humans.
If all the monsters in the world were like you,
all human beings and demons might go extinct.
That's no compliment for a girl!
If there's another monster like you
that possesses the wisdom of a human…
Well, there can't be too many of them in the first place.
Since you've grown,
maybe we should have a chair and desk made for you.
I've reincarnated as a dragon,
yet I still have to go to school.
The reincarnation makes no difference.
Good morning, Your Highness!
-Good morning. -Good morning!
-Good morning. -Morning.
-Good morning.
Ever since you defeated the Earth Dragon,
everyone has been gazing at you with admiration.
But Fei saved all of us in the end.
I am proud of you.
You've done a great service to the school.
No, you are the hero!
Stop that, Sue.
But there's someone who's jealous of you.
Maybe he holds a grudge towards you,
but he has a dangerous look in his eyes.
You must be careful.
I'll just ignore him.
Good morning, Shun.
-Good morning-- -Will you join the Word of God Religion?
That again?
"Improve our Skills so that we may
hear the Word of God."
That's their creed, right?
That's right!
I heard God's voice many times yesterday!
Ever since I joined the religion, the Word of God has been important to me.
You have many skills, right, Shun?
You must improve them
in order to hear God's voice all the time!
-Well… -You can use Appraisal as well, right?
Then if you find someone with the skill "Taboo,"
you have to tell me!
"Taboo"?
This is because it's unforgivable
to possess skills that God deemed as forbidden!
They're unforgivable,
and they don't deserve to live!
They should be killed.
"Killed"?
So you must tell me.
It's our promise.
It's called "Taboo," okay? Remember that.
Sure…
So want to join the Word of God Religion now?
That's too close.
-Well… -Will you?
Sorry, but I'm an atheist.
You shouldn't say things like that, Shun.
The Word of God Religion supports Heroes as well, you know.
Heroes?
That's right.
That means Mr. Julius, whom you respect so much,
is under the protection of our religion too.
Hero…
Julius is with them too?
Let's talk next time, okay?
It's called "Taboo." Don't forget!
Tell me when you find them.
I'll kill them.
Okay, I'll remember it.
Yuri… No.
Hasebe wasn't someone like that.
Perhaps this is the result of her growth environment.
I heard she was abandoned as a baby
and brought up in the church.
She had memories of her previous life
and was later abandoned by her parents.
Growing up in such a situation,
obviously, she'd distrust humans
and would rather place her faith in a religion.
Today's class is about the physical effect of magic.
I want to use magic!
If someone asked me to become a magical girl,
I think I'd definitely say yes.
Kumoruru…
Mira-kumoru!
After training, my HP Auto-Recovery skill increased to level 5.
If I can improve my Fire Resistance skill,
I should be somewhat able to endure the heat damage in the Middle Stratum.
But the problem is that I have to fight the monsters inside the magma.
If I can use magic,
I may be able to fight without my spider threads.
But first, I need the pre-requisite skills to use magic.
Are there any plausible skills…
What?
I have to perceive magic, then learn how to operate it.
I'm sure I can't use magic without these two skills.
Should I learn them?
No! I had a bad headache when I used the Detection skill.
It made me empathize with the Monkey King when his headband was tightened.
Since then, I've semi-permanently sealed the Detection skill,
so it'll be pointless to learn that if that happens again.
But that being said,
it's also pointless to have Abyss Magic
and other magic skills if I don't learn it!
I'm getting nowhere with this!
I've been thinking too much that I'm getting hungry!
Let's go for a round of hunting first!
What?
EARTH DRAGON KAGNA, LEVEL 26
What?
It's a different kind of Earth Dragon compared to Mr. Araba!
Crap! It's coming again!
All its stat values have four digits!
No way I can defeat it!
This is bad! What should I do?
There's only one place to go!
Run!
I'm here, the Middle Stratum!
Okay!
Now I'm going to clear the Middle Stratum!
Okay!
I don't think I can do this if I don't try to get myself excited.
As I thought, I can deal with the heat damage
with Fire Resistance and HP Auto-Recovery.
But it doesn't change the fact that it's hot!
This fireball…
It's that seahorse I came across a while back!
You won't be able to hit me with that speed!
See? I'm much faster.
Even this game character can't keep up with my evasion skill!
But I can't go in the magma.
If I can't use spider threads,
there's no way for me to attack.
Both players are engaged in a deadlock match.
What? Its MP is almost empty!
Seems like those fireballs use MP.
It's going to be emptied soon…
It's shooting again!
It has no more MP.
So what will it do now?
It's coming out of the magma!
What?
It's so slow!
It's so dumb.
If it were me,
I would retreat before my MP is used up.
Easy dodge!
My ultimate skill, venomous strike!
It's hot!
First battle, clear!
It tastes horrible…
It's so hard.
It's as if I'm eating a tire.
Is that another seahorse?
This time, it's a catfish?
It's so strong.
AN OMNIVORE THAT SWALLOWS EVERYTHING WITH ITS ENORMOUS MOUTH
I guessed as much…
It's so strong…
I shouldn't push myself.
While I'm gaining momentum from my first victory,
I might suffer if I get carried away.
I'm sorry that I didn't finish you up, Mr. Seahorse.
I learned my lesson, you know.
Don't notice me, you hear?
Wait…
That's not how it's supposed to be.
I didn't get carried away,
yet I still ended up in a crisis!
Backstep!
That was close!
What's up with that monster? It has limbs!
That hurts.
No way! That's the one I saw earlier!
At least tell me if you're getting out of the bath!
Pincer attack! I'm surrounded on both sides!
Now that things have come to this, I'll defeat you immediately, Number One!
Venomous threads!
They're useless here since they burn off almost immediately, but…
Please, just get some of it into your mouth!
I knew it, the threads burnt off instantly!
But their HP has decreased a little.
I learned how to inject poison into threads during my training.
The venomous threads will chip off your health over time!
Great! Now for the second step!
SWALLOWS EVERYTHING WITH ITS ENORMOUS MOUTH
Right, it swallows everything!
Activate Poison Synthesis!
Then do a backstep!
I nearly lost my life there!
How's that?
This spider venom was capable of defeating those apes,
and now its potency has further improved after my training!
But still, I didn't expect it to be this strong.
Even I'm afraid of my own powers.
Wait, now's not the time!
I forgot there's one more to deal with!
It looks like it's scared.
No wonder, since it saw how horribly its comrade died.
Aren't I quite powerful?
It's fine to boast about it for a while, right?
First, let's deal the finishing blow!
It's hot…
All these consecutive victories should increase my stats, right?
Oh, since my Appraisal skill level increased,
I can view details about my title now!
What are these "ruling class privileges"?
What is this? Can I use that now?
Currently, there is no authority you may exercise as the Ruler of Pride.
I have none yet?
But this monster's meat looks softer than the seahorse's.
It would be better if it had a milder taste…
It's so tasty!
It's so good!
Catfish tastes good, indeed!
This is awesome!
It tastes better than all the monsters I've eaten so far!
Simple white meat with the perfect amount of fat.
On top of that, the tender fish skin
and the meat complements one another,
giving off a harmonious taste when eaten together.
This is truly a labyrinth of food!
This is awesome!
It's making me so excited. I want rice with this!
A bowl of hot rice with catfish!
I can eat five bowls of rice easily!
If there's no rice, bread will do too!
Catfish burger…
Catfish spaghetti…
Catfish with soba noodles!
Darn, I messed up.
If I had known how good it tastes, I wouldn't have let the other one escape!
I'll just enjoy this catfish for now.
It's so delicious!
I'm so glad to be alive!
All right, let's go catfish hunting!
Who cares if they're strong?
I'd risk my life for it!
Catfish…
Hooray, catfish!
Hooray!
Wait for me, catfish.
I'll eat every last one of you!
Catfish! Hooray! Let's shout together.
The path ahead
leads to the Middle Stratum of the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
Things will start to get more dangerous now,
Lord Julius.
STAY TUNED!