'Look! Look! Look~ Ah! This one's pretty good! A rare species! Small Poison Taratect!'
After only a quick glance, when choosing between becoming a growing-stage spider monster or advancing into the juvenile form of another higher species, Spider immediately chose the advanced juvenile form of the other higher species without any hesitation.
Ash only glanced at Spider, who had suddenly turned into a cocoon. After checking with Appraisal and seeing that she was evolving, he quietly went back to looking through information.
Because while going out to grind levels, he had discovered that killing enemies who begged for mercy would earn him the title "Merciless." Based on the effects of the title "Merciless," he could also obtain the skills Heretic Magic and Heretic Resistance.
Besides that, there was a huge pile of magic available for him to choose from. Even titles could be selected. While constantly browsing interesting magic, he also noticed that he had obtained many titles through slaughter.
And now, by spending another 100 skill points, he could obtain the Seven Deadly Sins titles and even the Seven Virtues titles.
There were limits, though. For example...
"Wrath, Greed, and Charity... How strange. Can something obtained this easily really be good?"
Even though he complained like that, Ash could still see notes beneath those titles.
[Power equal to % of the path to godhood, and transcends the system, granting authority to interfere with the M Domain]
The effects differed for each title, while terms like %, and M Domain sounded completely strange.
But the path to godhood sounded very tempting, so he didn't think much about it and selected all of them without hesitation.
Because Greed allowed him to obtain part of another person's strength, abilities, and titles after killing them. As for Wrath, abandoning reason could rapidly increase combat power... not very practical, so he didn't plan on using it, but there was no reason not to take it. Charity could grant Miracle Magic, which should be very useful for healing himself.
After confirming his choices, various system notifications sounded beside his ears. Ash didn't pay much attention to them and quietly moved elsewhere, beginning to experiment with killing monsters to steal skills, titles, and attributes.
———
While Ash was using the title ability of Greed to plunder a dazzling number of titles and skills during his slaughter and returning fully loaded, Spider also welcomed her evolution and broke out of her cocoon.
Many red cysts resembling poison sacs had grown on her originally clean white abdomen. Those swollen lumps bulged outward, carrying a strange color that looked... pretty disgusting.
But Spider herself was completely unaware of that. Instead, she was extremely excited and even hopped around beside Ash.
Her tiny body seemed filled with endless energy as she ran around him nonstop.
All eight eyes shone with excitement, clearly showing off her new appearance to Ash.
After showing off for a while, though, since she couldn't understand anything Ash was saying, Spider simply pulled him and headed upward.
The middle layer above the lower layer was a complete lava region.
Scorching lava flowed through massive cracks in the rocks, giving off intense heat and dyeing the entire area red.
But there was an unexpected discovery here, giant catfish and eels swam through the lava. Their bodies had adapted to the high-temperature environment, and their scales reflected the lava's glow with a metallic shine.
The discovery of this new species brought huge changes to their lives.
Their days of eating insects, apes, and snakes were suddenly upgraded to enjoying giant catfish and eels from the lava.
For Ash, this change was simply wonderful. As a shut-in, the quality of his meals improved greatly.
Now he only needed to occasionally go out and grind levels each day, stretch his body a bit, and spend the rest of his time practicing magic. He didn't even need to make fires anymore, because the lava here provided enough heat to roast delicious fish.
But for Spider... things were not nearly as easy.
Spiders were naturally weak against fire, yet every day she still had to struggle through soot and dust, fighting in this dangerous area to obtain food.
In Spider's eyes, Ash gradually became someone who did nothing and only moved when it really mattered (according to Spider).
'Though moving during important moments isn't too bad. Male lions are kind of like that too... but when exactly are your injuries going to heal? I've always wanted to rely on you! Why did you become the shut-in I wanted to be while I turned into the worker supporting you? At least put in some effort. Please put in some effort. Hurry up and recover!'
Spider looked at Ash, who had just finished an eel, sat cross-legged in satisfaction, and started researching magic again. Resentment surged up inside her like a tide.
She didn't know how many times she had started waving her limbs around beside him, trying to "encourage" this lazy guy through her actions.
Her tiny body bounced constantly. All eight eyes swayed left and right with her movements while she let out squeaking noises filled with dissatisfaction and urgency.
Because she now fully understood that Ash wasn't refusing to eat. If he wanted to fight, he probably could. Being injured was an issue, but more than anything, he simply didn't want to hunt for food himself. Just like her... he wanted to freeload. To live off someone else.
This discovery filled her with bitterness because she felt like an overworked laborer, running around every day to support both of them, while Ash lived in complete comfort.
"What's wrong with you now? Is it mating season again? I'm not going to use my finger to poke your butt for you."
Looking at Spider dancing around and making noise beside him, Ash simply shook his head helplessly. He had no intention of imitating some pet owners and helping animals through mating season. He directly raised his hand and flicked Spider's forehead.
The flick looked light, but Spider immediately let out a "Chi!" and flipped backward.
Her tiny body rolled several times across the ground before stopping. Two front legs covered her forehead while the remaining six waved in the air as if protesting.
All eight eyes stared fixedly at Ash, filled with grievance, as though saying, 'How could you do this to me?'
Seeing Spider like this gave Ash a strange feeling.
It was as if he had somehow gotten involved with a resentful wife, while he himself was a heartless man who toyed with people and lived off others.
"Must be my imagination."
He muttered quietly and looked away. Ignoring Spider, who lay on her back staring at him with all eight eyes, he turned around and decided not to pay attention to her anymore.
He thought that if he ignored her, she would calm down eventually.
However... she got up from the ground, ran in front of him, and started her "performance" again.
First she circled around Ash several times.
Then she tugged at his clothes with her front legs, trying to attract his attention again.
When Ash still ignored her, Spider simply climbed onto his back, rested her chin on his shoulder, and stared at him from the side of his face.
'You're a grown man! Is it really okay for you to live off me? I'm supposed to be the one freeloading. Why did you get there first? Pull yourself together and support me! Please! Support me! I want to live off someone else! Let me live off someone else!'
Spider continued squeaking nonstop, the noise echoing throughout the vast lava region and sounding especially annoying.
In reality, though... no matter how much Spider complained, Ash couldn't understand a word and didn't even bother turning around. He thoroughly carried out the principle of ignoring her.
In the end, Spider lost all motivation and was forced to give up, silently taking on the responsibility of hunting and supporting the household.
———
Because she had accumulated a great deal of experience from the apes in the lower layer, Spider soon underwent her second evolution in the middle layer and became a Zoa Ele.
Though she was still a small spider-type monster, her foremost pair of limbs had become a set of scythes, and the rear half of her back had turned completely black.
From Ash's perspective, this was worth complaining about.
After all... not only had her back turned black, it had also grown spikes, making it impossible to sit on her anymore.
Spider herself, however, was very happy and proud. Because now she wouldn't be turned into a chair anymore.
But...
'Right. Even though I can't become a chair anymore, my belly is still soft when I'm flipped over. I knew this would happen...'
Suddenly flipped over and used as a cushion, Spider stared at the ceiling, feeling thoroughly aggrieved.
By now she was more or less used to this treatment.
And... when her Appraisal finally reached max level, she was finally able to see Ash's status and learn his name, but.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
— Race: ???
— Level 79
— Name: Ash
— Stats: ??????
— Skills: HP Ultra-Speed Recovery 10, MP High-Speed Recovery 10, Great MP Consumption Reduction 10, Precise Magic Control 10, Demon God Magic 10, Magic Enhancement 10, Great Magic Strike 10, JP High-Speed Recovery 10...
— Titles: Glutton, Merciless, Kin Eater, Assassin, Poison Master, Dragon Slayer, Dragon Butcher, Calamity of Dragonkind, Dragon Slayer, Dragon Butcher, Fear Spreader, Monster Killer, Monster Butcher, Calamity of Monsters, Human Killer, Human Butcher, Calamity of Humanity, Ally Killer, Savior, Medicine Master, Commander, Conqueror, Lord of Madness, King, Guardian, Saint, World Savior, Greed Ruler
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
The skills were an unbelievable mess, and the titles were equally bizarre.
She even wondered if there had been a mistake.
'Did Ash eat people too?'
'And how could someone have a title like World Savior?'
Even with maxed-out Appraisal, she still couldn't determine his race, which gave Spider a headache.
She even started suspecting that he wasn't human at all.
At the very least, he was completely different from every human she had ever encountered.
The only thing she could be certain of was that she could never defeat him.
They weren't even on the same level.
'Forget it, forget it. Being humiliated a little normally is acceptable if it means staying alive when it matters...'
With that thought, she reluctantly accepted reality.
After resting for a while, Spider started hunting again, searching for new prey and striving for the day she could finally turn things around.
'One day I'll definitely pin Ash underneath me and make him my cushion! I'll make him understand the humiliation I've suffered today!'
Although she had become accustomed to being a wife forced to handle housework and overtime, Spider still swung her twin scythes and strode forward full of spirit, her heart filled with hopes for the future.
Unfortunately... Ash wasn't paying attention to her at all.
Not long after leaving home, he also left the nest and used Greed to harvest all kinds of strange skills and titles.
But while they were away, a group of humans entered their temporary home.
They even... completely burned away Spider's web.
———
"Oh dear~ I accidentally used too much fire and burned the whole web down. The owner is definitely going to be angry when they come back~ Haha!"
The white-haired old man holding a staff was none other than humanity's strongest mage, Ronandt.
As he spoke, he looked at the massive spider web being consumed by flames. There was not a trace of guilt or concern on his face. Instead, he looked oddly pleased.
The gem atop his staff reflected the firelight, sparkling with colorful brilliance as though celebrating this "accident."
"If the owner of the nest were here, they'd definitely be furious! Couldn't you have shown a little restraint?"
Standing beside Ronandt, the vice-captain of the subjugation force, a middle-aged summoner who also stood near the top of humanity, looked at the fire-covered cave and sighed helplessly.
He knew exactly what this sea of flames meant.
Even originally docile monsters would become completely enraged after suffering this kind of intrusion.
They had originally hoped to tame the monster that had been causing trouble in this region and seemed quite powerful.
But now everything had been ruined by this blazing fire.
"It's fine~ No matter what happens, I'll work hard to protect you~ So relax, relax. As long as I'm here, there won't be any problems! Just leave everything to me."
Ronandt confidently patted the summoner's shoulder, possessing absolute confidence in his own strength.
After all, the title of "humanity's strongest" wasn't something he had earned for nothing.
In his view, no matter what monster appeared, he could handle it.
However, the moment he finished speaking, a chill suddenly ran down his spine, as though a pair of icy eyes were watching him from the darkness.
At the same time, a series of squeaking sounds echoed through the cave.
Amid the flames and the smell of burning, the noise felt especially eerie.
Ronandt swallowed nervously and slowly raised his head toward the source of the sound.
The moment he looked, his face turned pale.
A white spider was clinging to the ceiling of the cave.
An indescribable pressure radiated from her body.
Her eight eyes stared coldly at everyone below, and obvious anger could be seen in her gaze.
Her two scythe-like front limbs swung wildly through the air as if warning these uninvited guests:
'I'm angry! Really angry! This is ridiculous. What is this? Seriously, what is this? Breaking into someone's house while they're out getting food! And setting it on fire too? What is this supposed to be now? And where did that deadbeat Ash go? Why isn't he here? Did he run off somewhere to play again?'
"This thing is very dangerous..."
Ronandt's voice shook as he spoke, unconsciously saying what everyone was thinking.
Because from the presence coming off the white spider, they clearly realized they had absolutely no chance of defeating her.
Spider suddenly dropped from above.
With a loud bang, she landed on the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust.
She waved her limbs around while complaining, looking exactly like an enraged beast.
Then, out of habit and caution, she immediately used Appraisal to see just how capable these humans who dared invade her territory really were.
After checking their stats, however, Spider discovered...
They were genuinely weak.
Completely insignificant.
'Weak, yes, you're weak! But being weak doesn't give you the right to do whatever you want! Do you think everything can be forgiven because you're weak? Don't you feel even a little sorry for what you did?'
Spider shouted furiously.
However, several soldiers beside Ronandt couldn't understand a word.
Fear had already overwhelmed them.
Unable to endure the tension any longer, they drew their swords and charged directly at Spider.
This only made Spider even angrier.
'Ahhh! Is that how it is? So that's how it is? You got caught breaking into someone's home, and now you're escalating to robbery and murder, right? Then I don't need to hold back either, right? This counts as self-defense, right?'
As she roared, an invisible power spread from Spider's eyes.
Through the Evil Eye skill she had just obtained, several soldiers at the front suddenly went limp and collapsed without warning, as if their souls had been ripped away.
This sudden scene shocked everyone in the subjugation force.
They were terrified by the strange attack.
Fear filled every person's heart.
Their legs trembled uncontrollably, and some had already turned around and started running.
Ronandt, the old mage leading the humans, was the only one who didn't panic like the others.
He stared at Spider.
A strange light flickered in his eyes.
Especially after using Appraisal Magic to view Spider's information, his gaze became even more intense.
That look made Spider extremely uncomfortable.
As if... She were some treasure he coveted.
Soon after, the battle erupted once again.
Or rather, another one-sided massacre began as the humans launched the attack first.
Ronandt quickly punched the summoner beside him to bring him back to his senses.
Only then did the man snap out of it.
Ronandt immediately began activating a large-scale teleportation spell, attempting to escape with his companions.
The summoner hurriedly called forth powerful monsters, and together with the remaining soldiers who could still move, rushed forward to buy time for the teleportation spell.
But their resistance was completely ineffective against Spider.
In a single exchange, Spider wiped them out like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
The soldiers and monsters were as fragile as dolls before her attacks.
She didn't even need close combat.
Using only magic, she easily killed more than half of them.
But at that very moment, after using teleportation magic to go outside, enjoy a good meal, and even buy some tasty things to bring back for Spider, Ash estimated that Spider should be returning to the nest around this time.
So he used teleportation magic and came back.
However, the moment he returned, he discovered, things were a little different from what he had imagined.
For some reason, there were a lot of humans here.
And, the gazes of both the humans and Spider all focused on him.
More than ten corpses lay scattered across the ground.
"Hm... Did something happen?"
Not expecting Spider to return so early today, Ash looked at the bodies lying everywhere, then looked at the angry Spider.
Completely confused, he muttered to himself.
Then he turned around to avoid Spider's gaze and quietly wiped some sauce from the corner of his mouth that he hadn't cleaned off completely.
[🎉 Shoutout to Justin for joining p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]