“I am a spider. As yet, I have no name.”
What, did that sound like it came out of nowhere? Don’t be surprised! I just wanted to see how it sounded out loud. After all, it seems like I really don’t have a name. What’s that? Why don’t I have a name? Ahhh, oops, I think I skipped ahead too much. Let’s rewind a little bit so that I can explain.
I am dumbfounded by how unbelievably large I am. That’s a normal reaction, right? I was already in shock from realizing that I had been reborn as a spider, and then I had to discover I’m a monster as well. This is overwhelming! Anyone would be in despair! Anyone would be driven to suicide!
Haha, well, it’s not like I’ve actually been thinking about my own death.
Well, I don’t really have time to be overwhelmed. After all, I don’t know where I am! This world is very different from the Earth I know, so I have no idea what sort of danger I could be in. Couldn’t there be other monsters out there that are just as scary as that enormous spider?
That spider, though. If I’m about one meter long, then that thing has to be around… thirty meters? Can a human even handle a spider that big? I really hope the people who left these bootprints don’t have to fight it. Ah, no, wait! Perhaps if they had heavy weapons they could have a chance! This is a fantasy setting, right? Maybe they’ve got some sort of high-powered attack magic! That would work, right?
Hmmm, I don’t know. I should definitely think of that spider as a boss monster, though. If I don’t, I probably won’t live very long.
I was just thinking that it wouldn’t be so bad if those people fought that giant spider… but isn’t that kind of wrong? After all, it seems like, you know, that monster is my mother. I’m her widdle monster baby!
Ahhh, yeah, this is no laughing matter. I’m a spider monster! If those people found me, wouldn’t they try to kill me?
Yeahhh, probably. Definitely. What should I do? I want to know more about those people, but I know that if they find me I’m definitely toast.
Yeah, this is bad. I have way too little information about, well, everything. What kind of world is this? What are the people like? What kind of treatment do monsters like me tend to get? I want to know so many things but have no way to find them out.
Ugh! If this were anything like a novel, this is where the protagonist would start looking around using his [Appraisal] skill! That would be so conveni―
“You currently possess 100 skill points. The skill [Appraisal – LV 1] can be acquired for 100 skill points. Would you like to acquire it now?”
What.
A mechanical voice suddenly started talking to me in my head. Ah, yeah, that makes sense. Complete sense.
Ahahaha! Of course! Of course this parallel world that I’ve been reincarnated into has such things! System messages! An Appraisal skill! This is great! I’m hype! I’m maximum hype! Yes! Yes! My answer is YES!
“You have acquired the skill [Appraisal – LV 1]. You have 0 skill points remaining.”
I just spent all of my skill points in one go without any hesitation whatsoever. After all, I’ll get more when I level up, right? This is fine. This is fine!
Because! Right! Now! I shall use my precious [Appraisal] skill to pull back the curtain on the mysteries of this world! …
Ah, ahem, hold on. How do I use this thing? Let’s, uh, let’s try the standard method. I face a suitably interesting rock, concentrate, and think to myself, “Appraise”.
Mmm! It feels like it’s working! Information is streaming into my head!
{Rock}
……Uh. Huh? Is that it? No, no, no, that can’t be right. I must have screwed it up somehow, it was my first try, after all. I clear my mind and try again.
{Rock}
……No. It can’t be. That’s it? That’s really it? No, no, no, no! There has to be a better explanation. Perhaps this is merely an ordinary rock! Perhaps there is nothing useful to know about this rock at all! Let’s try appraising the wall next. Perhaps doing so will tell me more about the place that I’m in! Even if it only says something like “The Cave of ______” or whatever, even that would be a relief!
{Wall}
……I have no words.
Perhaps I should have thought this through more. It’s right in the name, isn’t it? “Appraisal, level one.” It explicitly states, level one. What did I think was going to happen? I have just witnessed, first-hand, how useless a level one skill is. This might be useful if I managed to level it up… but, of course, I’ve spent all my skill points.
Aaaaagh! I’m an idiot! I’m a wasteful idiot! I blew all of my skill points on Appraisal without even bothering to check if there were any other skills! What if there’s one that’s actually usable at level one?
Wait, no, let’s not beat myself up here. If Appraisal is this weak at level one, then none of the other skills should be any better. I’m going to assume that this is the case and move on. Yes, I’m moving on.
Ahhhh. Nai wa. Almost as an afterthought, I use Appraisal on myself.
{Spider – no name}
Huh? It says “spider” like I expected, but “no name”…?
And, that brings us back to the top. So, that’s the gist of it. I don’t have a name. Well, I have a name from my previous life, but the spider that I am now was never given a name.
For now, let’s put aside this worthless [Appraisal] skill. Well, it’s not quite worthless; it has revealed a bunch of new mysteries.
“Skill Points”. These are probably points that I can save up to buy new skills. However, I have no clue how to earn them. Do creatures have levels in this world? Maybe if I raise my own level, I’ll earn more skill points. This is just a theory, though.
Levels, skills, points… this world is just like a game, isn’t it? Isn’t it?
Regardless, I’m now a monstrous spider. Living a normal life is going to be completely impossible. Well, maybe I shouldn’t think of a “normal life” in human terms, since I’m in such an unbelievable situation. I’ve been reborn, as a spider, into a video game world! I’m a gamer, right? This will be fun! I’m going to enjoy this.
…First things first, though, I really do need to eat.
APM - Translation 