We had both finished defeating a catfish each, and by the time the meat had cooled enough to eat, we were nearly ready to dig in.
The catfish Kumoko-chan defeated had died beautifully, since she used a synthesized spider venom created with [Poison Synthesis] to finish it off. Meanwhile, the one I defeated had its head blown off with the final blow, making it pretty grotesque to look at.
While waiting for the meat to cool, we each spent our time doing different things.
From how Kumoko-chan stared into the air and made tiny movements with her forelegs, I figured she was looking at her [Appraisal] results.
As for me, I was training my [Magic Power Operation] while experimenting with spells.
That catfish, despite its goofy appearance, is actually a fire-element monster—more than that, it's part of the dragon species, and anything belonging to that race tends to grant troublesome skills to me.
That skill is: [Dragon Scales].
Because of this skill, the effects of magic get dampened, making it hard to deal full damage—and that realization sent a chill down my nonexistent spine.
Since most of my offensive capabilities lean heavily on magic, if I ever run into an opponent that can nullify magic entirely, I’ll be nothing more than a helpless, mossy lump—just a useless Kokedama.
So what can I do about that? Honestly, not much.
I do have a strong [Paralyzing Attack] skill, but unlike Kumoko-chan, I can’t move quickly, and my only melee options are body slams or bites. Close combat is just hopelessly stacked against me.
Even if my defense and resistance are slightly better than Kumoko-chan’s, it’s a negligible difference. If I take a direct hit, I’m done for, and dodging is nearly impossible.
That means I need to acquire some kind of ranged attack that doesn’t rely on magic. But so far, I haven’t found anything promising. The only idea I’ve come up with is tearing off bits of moss and throwing them—but I have no way to launch them, so that’s practically useless.
It’s a bit late to be thinking this, but while I look like a yellow-green oval clump of moss, my actual body is more like a small caterpillar inside. I have neither arms nor hands to throw things, which I’m now painfully aware of again.
I’ve gotten pretty used to this body by now, but when I first reincarnated, I was utterly disoriented and overwhelmed by the strangeness of it all.
All I could do was writhe and crawl, and even now, the lack of limbs still clashes with my memories of being human. Sometimes, it’s hard to bear.
That’s why discovering a magic-based method of movement was such a blessing.
With it, I don’t need to focus on my body—I can lose myself entirely in the act of using magic. As long as I concentrate on the spell, I can drown out the rest and let magic fill me completely.
…Yeah, in the end, magic is all I’ve got.
No matter what happens, all I can rely on is magic. So even if it gets nullified, I have no choice but to force my way through it somehow. I swore it to my soul.
Maybe I overdid it a little, because the spell I was constructing began to creak under the pressure—but I adjusted it immediately and produced a stone bullet.
Because it has physical mass, earth magic is harder to suppress, but even then, [Dragon Scales] will still reduce its effectiveness. And the Earth Dragon I encountered in the lower layers had the skill [Terrain Nullification].
That skill seemed to completely nullify both Earth Magic and its higher-tier variant.
If I want to beat that Earth Dragon, I need to master a different elemental magic that can pierce through [Dragon Scales].
With that goal in mind, I pushed myself to the limit—casting multiple spells at once, pouring MP in until the spell formations were on the verge of breaking—just to find a breakthrough.
I was so focused that I didn’t even notice all the skill level-up announcements, or that the catfish had cooled to the point of being edible. I didn’t even realize Kumoko-chan had already started eating, completely absorbed in devouring her meal.
She had completely finished one of them before I knew it, and was now eyeing the catfish I defeated, sneakily trying to take a bite.
(…Kumoko-chan??)
With a start, Kumoko turned toward me awkwardly like a rusty robot, mouth drooling uncontrollably.
She looked guilty, but the drool wouldn’t stop, and her lingering craving was written all over her.
(…Was it that tasty? The catfish?)
She shook her head so fast it left afterimages, and despite being a spider, began flailing around in a ridiculously cartoonish display of joy.
(…Well, I guess you can have some.)
The moment I gave her permission, her eight eyes sparkled with joy as she dove back in and began munching on the catfish.
She was eating with such ferocity that I hurried to start eating too, before she finished the whole thing.
And then—
—Wha…!? It’s delicious!?
This was the first time I’d tasted proper meat since reincarnating. Up until now, eating had been more like enduring—chewing down bitter, hard, barely-edible somethings. But now, I finally tasted happiness in its true form.
The meat was like tender, bouncy white fish. Its own flavor was light and not overpowering, but it was packed with rich fat that complemented it perfectly. When eaten together, the combination filled my mouth with exquisite taste.
The springy texture gave it a satisfying chew, not too tough and not too soft—just right to feel like you were really eating something.
The meat was still piping hot, almost enough to burn, yet juicy and tender, like sashimi with a twist. As the heat brought out the umami, the softness of the texture created a truly unique sensation.
Before I knew it, I had taken a huge bite out of the catfish. That’s how absorbed I had been.
And despite saying she’d just have a bit, Kumoko-chan had already devoured a third of my catfish. Only a small portion was left now.
(Ah—hey! That’s too much!)
I tried to catch up, but by the time I did, Kumoko-chan had already eaten nearly 60% of it. I was left feeling a little unsatisfied.
(…………………Kumoko-chan.)
Kumoko-chan lay on her back, belly round and full, rubbing it contentedly. I sent her a telepathic message laced with resentment.
She twitched, froze up, and then—I tackled her.
We were nearly the same size, and I wasn’t that heavy, but with the momentum, I squished her pretty good. Kumoko-chan gagged like she was struggling to breathe.
I pressed down harder while continuing the telepathy.
(Ku—mo—ko—chan~? Don’t you think you ate a bit too much??)
Kumoko-chan looked away, as if she felt bad—but that didn’t change the fact she stole most of my catfish. So I decided it was time for punishment.
Sensing a shift in the mood, she tried desperately to escape, but it was too late.
——[Enhanced Paralyzing Attack]!
What followed was a punishment session: I hit her with [Discomfort] from my [Heretic Magic LV1] at random intervals while she was immobilized.
As Kumoko-chan twisted in discomfort, unable to move, I expanded the detection range of [Omniscient].
Filtering out the countless sea horse-like creatures and the more dangerous monsters, I searched for the catfish.
Most of them were hiding deep in the magma, out of sight—but that didn’t matter to [Omniscient].
After all, this powerful detection skill let me hit targets with magic without ever seeing them. Basic stealth doesn’t work against it.
Once I had memorized the locations of all the nearby catfish, Kumoko-chan finally recovered from the paralysis. Her resistance levels to [Paralysis] and [Heretic] magic had apparently increased, but she looked completely worn out.
Even so, I didn’t show mercy.
(We’re going catfish hunting!)
She didn’t look too energetic, but she still raised a foreleg weakly—probably in agreement. Feeling a little bad for overdoing it, I healed her with magic and fussed over her a bit before we set off.
Together with the revived Kumoko-chan, we fished out catfish hiding in magma, and continued hunting them down to near extinction over the next several days.
Catfish sashimi.
Catfish grilled in magma.
Catfish crusted with herbs (or moss)... Kumoko-chan??
Enjoying all these different styles of catfish cuisine, we made our way through the mid-layers of the dungeon.
Leaving no catfish behind.
Ah, catfish is so goooood………
***
While we were grinding through the catfish hunt and both of us had finally reached levels 9 and 8 respectively—just one step away from evolving...
That’s when we noticed a discrepancy.
Even though we’d been defeating the same number of monsters, there was still a level gap between us. It turned out that was due to a skill Kumoko-chan had called [Pride].
And then—
A new enemy appeared before us.
Elroe Gunerave – LV2
Status
HP: 1001/1001 (green)
MP: 511/511 (blue)
SP: 899/899 (yellow)
971/971 (red) +57Average Attack Ability : 893
Average Defense Ability : 821
Average Magic Ability : 454
Average Resistance Ability : 433
Average Speed Ability : 582Skills
Fire WyrmLV4 / Dragon Scales LV5 / Fire Enhancement LV1 / Hit LV10 / Evasion LV1 / Probability Correction LV1 / High-Speed Swimming LV2 / Fire Immunity / Vitality LV3 / Instantaneous LV1 / Persistent LV3 / Strength LV1 / Solidity LV1 / Overeating LV5
The monster looked like an eel—with a long body and head like a giant snake, covered in rugged scales, and short limbs poking out awkwardly from the sides.
When I checked its name further, I learned it belonged to the mid-tier dragon category, was omnivorous, and had a tendency to prey on other monsters.
Thanks to my sensory ability, [Omniscient], I was the first to notice it approaching. I managed to keep my distance and identify it with [Appraisal], but the downside of that skill—causing discomfort to the appraised target—meant that the eel-thing immediately became alert and started scanning its surroundings.
While it was still searching for us, we huddled up and discussed what to do.
(What should we do?)
Kumoko-chan seemed unsure after seeing how strong it was. But me? I had this nagging feeling—I wanted to test how far we could go with our current strength.
(I wanna fight it), I told her.
That seemed to settle it for her, and Kumoko-chan agreed.
We quickly came up with a basic plan and moved into position.
I started by creating a fortified zone—multiple layers of cover made out of thick materials. We then hid behind makeshift rocky formations and launched our first attack, sniping at the eel from a distance while it was still cautiously scanning the area.
A high-speed beam hit it right in the head—but the damage was minimal. Just a small scratch. It didn’t even flinch, only got pissed off.
(So plain magic only does this much…!)
Yeah. I hadn’t used light magic much lately, but this made it clear—it lacked firepower. Still, that was just recon.
The real fight started now.
(Then… how about this!)
This time, a compressed, ultra-dense chunk of rock—my own handmade bullet—was launched straight into its head, making it rear back violently as its HP dropped.
This move was one of the best I had—a physical projectile with enough mass and velocity to punch through even skill-hardened targets.
If magic didn’t cut it, I’d go with raw mass.
Because unlike pure spells, a physically manifested magic attack like this didn’t lose its destructive impact, even if the magical side got nerfed. The sheer weight and speed did the job—it ripped through the eel’s outer skin and carved into the flesh underneath, causing a solid chunk of real damage.
And maybe I even took out one of its eyes, because now it was thrashing around in a rage, firing off fireballs in all directions and flailing its head in a frenzy to flush out the one who hurt it.
While warning Kumoko-chan to stay hidden, I started forming the next shot.
Creating another dense rock shell took time—and a ton of MP—but it was worth it for the raw power.
The eel's erratic thrashing made it hard to hit the head again, so I aimed for its torso and fired.
The projectile hit, scraping off more scales and tearing into its muscles before finally shattering.
That seemed to clue the thing in on where the attacks were coming from. It started weaving its body from side to side to throw off our aim and began swimming straight toward us at a speed I hadn’t expected in magma.
With that speed, I only managed to land a few more hits before it got too close.
(Kumoko-chan, it’s coming!)
It reached the rock formation where we were hiding and started smashing through everything in its path with that massive body, while shooting fireballs at distant rocky outcrops just in case we were hiding there too.
But coming up to the surface and leaving the magma? That was exactly what we wanted.
(Kumoko-chan, now!)
She shot out from the rocks, getting right up in its face.
Dodging its wild swings by a hair’s breadth, she targeted the wounds I had opened up—where the scales had been torn away and the flesh was exposed—and hurled venomous globs into the raw wounds.
The poison seeped straight into its open flesh, rapidly draining its HP. Its movements began slowing almost immediately.
Sometimes it tried to breathe fire to knock her away, but I would intercept with another rock strike to the face, knocking its aim off course.
When that didn’t work, it tried to engulf itself in flames to burn off the poison and shake off Kumoko-chan—but it was already almost out of MP.
The one-time fiery burst drained the rest of its magic, leaving it reeling and gasping in the fading firelight.
It was on the brink of death, and yet that intense will to fight hadn’t left its eyes. The eel glared at us, and suddenly, its HP started to recover at an alarming rate.
I was shocked—until I remembered that part of the [Fire Wyrm] skill included something called [Life Exchange]. That had to be the trick.
We had to finish it off now, before it recovered any further.
If it got back up and rampaged again, it could destroy the terrain we had the advantage in—or worse, dive back into the magma and escape.
Without even needing to coordinate, both of us attacked at once.
I crushed its limbs, taking away its mobility, while Kumoko-chan leapt into the air and unleashed a storm of deadly venom right onto its face.
And finally—
The barrage proved too much. Its HP ran out in an instant, and the huge body slumped to the ground.
Then, multiple level-up notifications rang out in my head, signaling not only that we’d won—but that we’d both reached the max level, ready to evolve.
(...Phew. Nice work, Kumoko-chan.)
Still soaking in the thrill of victory, I turned to offer my thanks.
Kumoko-chan raised a front leg in response, and all at once, the exhaustion hit me like a wave.
We pulled through somehow, but—
I was painfully aware of just how far I still had to go.
—Still not strong enough, huh.
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