《Proficiency has reached a certain threshold. Skill "Acid Resistance LV2" has become "Acid Resistance LV3"》 My Skill level went up.
Next time I fight a frog, it should be a little easier.
In fact, without that resistance, the damage probably would have exceeded my tolerance threshold.
That was close.
My body was already battered.
Two hits from the saliva attack, one hit from the tongue attack — that alone was enough to put me on the brink of death.
Especially that tongue attack. Brutal.
My torso was nicely caved in where it took a direct hit, and the shock alone had wrecked several of my legs.
I wasn't being careless. I'd expected that if I fought another monster head-on without using my Spider Silk, my odds of winning would be low.
Still, somewhere in the back of my mind, there was that naive thought that things would probably work out somehow.
Honestly, it was tougher than I'd anticipated.
Anyway, with injuries this severe, there was no way I could move properly.
For now, I'd have to set up a temporary My Home at this location and focus on healing.
I left the frog I'd finished off and started spinning web.
Ngh.
Every movement sent searing pain through my body.
《Proficiency has reached a certain threshold. Skill "Pain Resistance LV1" has been acquired》 Oh?
A new skill?
Hm, I do feel like the pain has eased up a little.
Still hurts like crazy, though.
But this seems like it'll be a handy skill to have.
If I keep surviving, the skill level should go up naturally on its own, so thanks in advance.
Phew.
Finally, the temporary My Home is complete.
Now I can take a break.
If I got attacked by some other monster in this state, I'd be a goner.
Ahh.
Well, anyway — I worked hard to take down this prey, so let's eat.
My first real battle ended in a narrow victory.
Eh?
My fight against my siblings?
You can't really call that a battle.
No-count, no-count.
So, having experienced my first real fight, here's what I've figured out.
I'm weeeeak!
Hm.
It's not so much that I personally am weak — I think the entire Small Lesser Taratect species is weak.
Well, we are the inferior variant, after all.
Our attack power is pathetic, our defense is fragile.
The only thing we've got going for us is speed, but even that's not enough to dodge a frog's rapid-fire saliva attacks when it's your first time seeing them.
Our base stats are inferior even to a low-level frog.
The only reason I'd been taking down Monsters without much trouble up until now was because I had my Spider Silk web traps.
Fight head-on, and this is what happens.
It really shows how much I'd been relying on the power of My Home.
Either way, this much is clear: direct combat is not an option for me.
When I do have to face an enemy head-on, whether I can restrain them with my silk — that's everything.
There is the option of just biting them with my Poison Fang, but with these pathetic stats, I'd get taken out before I could even land a bite in a frontal confrontation.
Outmaneuver the opponent with speed, exploit an opening, or set up traps like I did this time and restrain them with silk.
That's going to be my core combat strategy.
Or I could set up traps in advance and lure them in.
Come to think of it, frogs might actually be a really bad matchup for me.
They were the stationary turret type that sniped me from a distance.
They don't move needlessly, so they don't wander into my traps.
Not having any ranged attack options of my own hurts too.
I could shoot my silk, but the range is short, and more importantly, it might make them guard against my trump card.
I'd rather keep that card in reserve.
I need to come up with a countermeasure for ranged attacks sooner rather than later.
Sigh.
So many things to work on.
I can see my weaknesses now — or rather, I'm practically nothing but weaknesses.
But I can't just give up here.
If all I wanted was to survive, I could just build a new My Home and call it a day.
But that's not enough.
I've decided to live with pride, so I can't cling to that easy escape route.
But for now, just let me rest.
How long until these injuries heal?
Or... will they even heal at all?
Ahh, I'm so jealous of game characters who just sleep for one night and fully recover.
Anyway, let me sleep.
It's been an exhausting day.
I'll rest up and recharge my strength for the sake of recovering my body.
So then — goodnight.
zzz.
Hm?
Ah, I slept well.
Well, I don't know if I'd call it sleeping — it felt more like I'd passed out.
Ugh, my body still hurts.
Well, obviously. There's no way injuries this bad would heal in a single night.
Yaaawn— Owwwwww!
Out of habit, I stretched, and a jolt of agony shot through my bent legs.
Oof, especially the two middle-right legs that got hit the worst.
Am I going to dislocate something at this rate?
I'm genuinely starting to worry whether these injuries will even heal.
Tap tap.
Hm?
I'm feeling vibrations from the silk — wait, huh? A monster got caught in the temporary My Home's web.
Usually I'd wake up the instant something triggered the web, but I must have been in a deeper sleep than I realized.
Probably because the damage to my body was just that severe.
『Eiro Basilisk LV4』
Whoa.
A basilisk.
Somehow I managed to snag another troublesome one.
What should I do...
That thing has the Petrification Mystic Eye — even caught in my web, it can petrify me just by making eye contact.
On top of my current injuries, getting hit with a petrification attack would be really bad.
But letting prey this valuable slip away would be such a waste...
Glance.
Ah, crap — we made eye contact.
Ngh—!
The tips of my legs are starting to petrify!
Ugh, fine!
If that's how it is, then so be it!
Chomp!
Thanks to my Petrification Resistance, the petrification speed is considerably slow.
But losing the use of my remaining functional front legs would be really bad.
It might even make walking impossible.
Please, just go down before my legs stop working!
Thud.
Maybe my prayer reached it — the basilisk finally collapsed just as my legs were halfway petrified.
Mmm, I can probably still walk, but this is rough.
《Experience Points have reached a certain threshold. Individual "Small Lesser Taratect" has leveled up from LV5 to LV6》 Oh?
Ohhh!
Divine timing!
《Various base stats have increased》 《Skill proficiency level-up bonus acquired》 《Proficiency has reached a certain threshold. Skill "Poison Fang LV4" has become "Poison Fang LV5"》 《Proficiency has reached a certain threshold. Skill "Petrification Resistance LV1" has become "Petrification Resistance LV2"》 《Skill Points have been acquired》 OK, OK.
Having two Skills level up is great.
But there's something even more exciting right now!
Skin is peeling off my body in one big sheet.
It's a molt.
One of the benefits of leveling up — a full recovery through molting!
I was worried the caved-in wound on my torso might not heal, but even that has been completely restored.
Yeehaw!
Thank you, Basilisk!
And now — time to eat!
A night at the inn won't get you back to full health, but a level-up sure will.