Original Translation: APM
Editing: Legit-rikk
Additional thanks goes out to Kubor. Join our discord

Food. Food! Foood!

Slowly and careful to not slurp, I chew what my threads have reeled in.

<Skill proficiency reached. Skill [Satiation LV2] has become [Satiation LV3]>

<Skill proficiency reached. Skill [Divinity Area Expansion LV4] has become

[Divinity Area Expansion LV5]>

<Skill proficiency reached. Skill [Taboo LV8] has become [Taboo LV9]>

Over the next several days I increase my pace and continued to advance. While looking at the automapping of Lady Wisdom, I can see that I have traveled a considerable distance. It seems like the middle layer covers the undulating and meandering space between the upper and lower layer, like it is covering the whole place fully. Unlike with the Upper Stratum, it’s nice that the whole thing is one long path, but it’s stupendously long.

There were several vertical Mother sized pits along the way that She probably uses, but I stayed away from all of them. Don’t be conceited now, just because you killed a Fire dragon, me! I have a hunch I still can’t beat mother right now.

I’ve started thinking about that mysterious attack that Mother threw out during her fight in the Middle Stratum; I mean, that had to be the same [Dragon Power]-[Breath], right? It’s hard to get a concrete guess, but it would be no surprise if she had it.

That would mean she’s already slayed dragons.

Oh man…

There’s no way I can win against her.

That’s why I won’t go near a place where she might be loitering around.

I proceeded along the Middle Stratum without any trouble after that.

Fire dragons? Not even a fire Wyrm appeared. As you all know by now, the Middle Stratum monsters are vastly lower in level then Lower Stratum ones. That is probably why there are so few strong Monsters.

I have detected some fish that could be eels, but they don’t ever come out of the magma. If I shoot them with my breath or spells, they just withdraw further into the magma. It’s the same story with catfish.

In fact, even the seahorses, which so troublesomely charged me at the beginning, run the moment they see me. I can one-shot them with my breath before they realize it, but as evaporating them doesn’t give any food in return, it’s just a huge waste in terms of consumption. Even if there was, it would sink into the magma.

So I can’t eat anything, so what?

It still gives exp, but its cost-effectiveness is very off-turning. So, I’m only going after the monsters who actually go on land. If I don’t consume SP meaninglessly then it’ll last me a while. 

Since my fight with the Fire Dragon I’ve also gained a little exp, compared to back then I am halfway done. But that still means I have half the levels left, so it looks like evolution is still a long way off. I’m constantly trying to conserve my SP, all of the relevant skills are leveling super slowly.

Welp, I guess it can’t be helped.

If I could eat as much food as I want, I wouldn’t need to regulate it so much, but I want to have some SP in reserve should I meet another Fire Dragon class enemy. And even if I don’t, if I’m not careful then I may just straight up starve to death. That’s why I can’t squander my SP away.

In exchange for that, my MP related abilities have grown considerably. 

[Poison Synthesis], [Magic Combat Act], and various types of evil eyes have all risen.

In the magic department, [Shadow Magic] reached level 10. And as expected, the derivative skill was [Dark magic]. Even after hitting the Countermark, [Shadow Magic] still gives me the same delicate feeling as ever, that’s why I am going to focus on leveling [Dark Magic] first.

[Space Magic]’s level has been rising fairly well, but I still don’t have access to teleporting. Its level rises steadily, but the slow growth rate compared to the other magic makes me a bit anxious and excited.

Unsurprisingly, [Poison Synthesis] and [Poison Magic] levels also hit max. However, what was surprising, or rather unsurprising, was that the derived skills turned out to be quite similar to each other: [Medicine Synthesis] and [Treatment Magic]. Does it have something to do with the fact that good medicine always tastes bitter?

Anyhow, I finally obtained a way to recover! Until now I’ve relied on level ups and [Automatic Recovery], so it’s great that I’m now able to heal myself instantly.

Well, its level is quite low, and I couldn’t confirm the strength of the effect because I hadn’t had a situation where my HP was reduced. One of these days, when I can afford it, I am going to reduce my own HP and try it out.

[Heresy Magic] also reached max level. But its derivation turned out to be quite the problem child.

It’s [Taboo].

Thankfully the level didn’t rise but I thought my heart stopped when the announcement came.

Well, it didn’t rise at that time, but over the past couple days it went all the way up to Level 9 before I knew it. Level proficiency is working against me now! Only one more to go.

Some of my evil eyes have also evolved.

[Cursed Evil Eye] gave me [Jinx Evil Eye]. To my surprise, the drained HP and other things are now returned to me. In addition, its power also increased, so it’s a definitive improvement to before. It cannot absorb status, but absorbing SP in itself is huge. So now I can first drain them with the evil eye, and then slurp them up for increased nourishment.

[Paralyzing Evil Eye] also evolved into [Inert Evil Eye]. It’s not normal paralysis anymore, it seems to inflict the enemy with some kind of time stop like attribute!

Even with paralysis the monsters were still able to move slightly; but with this upgraded version they literally can’t move. I guess that this [Stasis Evil Eye] uses a mix of paralysis and another attribute that I haven’t come across yet.

However, even when looking at the skill list, I can’t see any suitable attributes for it…

Ah well, I still win if my opponents are ever caught by it, so it simply means that I’ve become stronger.

[Heavy Evil Eye] also went up a level, but didn’t go all the way up to the max. To make up for that, I got [Heavy Resistance] instead. However, acquiring it means my weight training efficiency dropped a sharp bit.

And finally, [Telescopic Sight]. It derived a skill named [Clairvoyance].

It’s a broken skill which not only expands the effect of [Telescopic Sight] but also adds the effect of clairvoyance. Which means I can now see through walls and beyond.

But when I hear [Clairvoyance], I expect something like being able to see everything throughout the world. This feels more like an extension of [Telescopic Sight].

There’s a certain something that I’ve been able to see with this skill for a while though.

A long slope to the top.

It’s been a while.

I had to go through a lot, but with this I will finally be released.

Goodbye and good riddance, you hot magma filled place.

I’m finally home, Upper Stratum.

Looking out from the shadow of a rock,  Still a bit ahead of where I am, about 7 Monsters gather. A valuable source of food and experience points.

A pack of red dogs. Fortunately, they have nothing to do with a certain admiral of the Marines.

The dogs spend their time sleeping and play-fighting. Being dogs, they must have a sharp sense of smell, so they’ll notice me if I try to get closer.

First of all, [Intimidation] off. Though only barely, I notice that some of the effects of [Stealth] return even if only slightly.

Well, as long as I have the [Fearbringer] title, I can’t hide completely anyways, so it just makes it a bit harder for the other party to notice you. It’s a level of intimidation that would prevent sneaking in unnoticed.

They have a high level searching ability, thus I need to spy on them with [Telescopic Sight] from far away so they don’t notice me. If I were to get any closer they would notice me eventually.

Then they would naturally run away.

Being rare in the middle stratum, the Red Dogs do not possess any magma swimming skills. But, it’ll be troublesome if they scatter in all directions. Even though I am going to hunt every single one of them anyways, that would just mean extra work. That’s why I am going to do this right the first time.

Hmm. This is actually a great opportunity to test out that skill I got the other day.

Well then, [Dragon Power] boot up! By the way, [Magic Power Attack] is already active. My stats immediately skyrocket. I start running towards the red dogs with my newly enhanced speed.

They notice me on the way but it’s already too late! I brandish my scythes and cleanly decapitate the first two dogs, then go around the two trying to run and do the same to them.

The last three dogs run in the opposite direction.Without a moment’s delay I spit my breath at them. Just as planned, the breath causes a violent explosion as it hits the ground in front of the dogs.The red dogs get overturned by the impact, and not missing the opportunity, I quickly finish them off.

Mission complete!

Hehe, this kind of thing is easy for me. Oh, I better eat while it’s fresh. Fufufu.

As expected of a skill named [Dragon Power], the power boost is on a whole other level compared to [Wyrm Power].Furthermore, this skill has two additional effects:

One is [Breath], which I can only use when the skill is active, which is further broken down into a fireball-looking single shot, and a wide annihilation type breath, though the power isn’t super high. It’s a far cry from a true dragon’s breaths and it’s only a small part of the skill. Even so, it’s still approximately Eel-strength. That’s why I never hit the dogs directly, they’d disintegrate, and I would never waste food like that!

By the way, this [Breath] seems to automatically become whatever attribute the user is most proficient in. In my case, it’s a combo of ‘Poison’ and ‘Darkness’. The ‘Dark’ attribute brings forth destructive power while the ‘Poison’ attribute erodes my opponents. Although it would lose to real dragons in terms of destructive power, it might win in terms of nastiness.

The second effect of [Dragon Power] is the power to interfere with magic, certainly a cousin of the nasty [Dragon scales] effect. Though it’s certainly much weaker than the original.

But I can’t test it right now because I don’t have any magical creatures on hand.

[Dragon Power] is a great skill which helps everything: raises stats, grants a strong attack method, and even helps with defense. But I can’t use it.

It’s such a wonderful skill but it uses both SP and MP, just like [Wyrm Power], but at a faster rate. MP is okay but SP is the real issue. I used it in this fight as a trial run but it costs too much for small fights, it’s another skill only to be used against boss-class monsters.

Hmm. In the recent days I’ve already barely been scraping by with my SP usage. It’s fine for my normal activities, but not enough if I want to grind levels and gain more proficiency.

[Spatial Maneuvering], [Magic Power Attack], and now even [Dragon Power]. It’d be great if I got a [SP Automatic Recovery] skill or something. At the moment I can only recover it through eating.

Comparatively, I have a surplus of MP. Even with activating [Magic Power Attack] and having Magic Brain 1 and 2 continuously strike me with magic, it only depletes slightly faster than it recovers. No matter how much effort I put in to try and deplete it I just wake up everyday and see it fully recovered.

Although I can use powerful spells like [Abyss Magic], I’d probably cause a natural disaster inside the labyrinth.Which is… bad. a total death flag.

Besides, I’m concentrating on raising the level of [Spatial Magic] right now. It even became level 2. As expected of a skill taking up that many points, its proficiency is earned a lot slower than most other magic skills.

The magic I learned from level 2 turned out to be [Coordinate Fixation]. This magic just fixes the space selected by the level 1 magic [Coordinate Designation]. Even if it’s called ‘Fixation’, it has no material influence at all.Just a line that appears and specifies the position in space, the same as with the level 1 version. This might be the same as just specifying coordinates, but it is a requirement to use high level magic. Now I can shoot other magic and skills at the fixated position, and I’ll have a 100% hit rate.

Now that I’ve developed the [Hit] skill it doesn’t seem very useful, but it’s better to have than not!

I want to learn teleport as fast as possible, and I’ve got plenty of MP to acquire it. So start working, Magic brain 1 and 2!

Editing/Standardisation: kubor04
Formatting/Extras: APM
Original Translation: Blastron
Additional thanks goes out to mae and Legit-rikk. Join our discord

---

Name	Small Lesser Taratect
Level	1
HP (Green)	26/26
MP (Blue)	26/26
SP (Yellow)	26/26
SP (Red)	26/26
Average Offense	8
Average Defense	8
Average Magic Power	8
Average Resistance	8
Average Speed	8
Skill Points	–

We are the spider’s initial species.

Weak.

The subjugation danger degree that the human determined is the lowest, F. Because it’s weak in status, it will only charge foolishly. That’s why, the subjugation is easy. However, there’s also individual that rarely makes nest. In that case, the danger degree springs up. It is said that a person got caught in the nest without any preparations, the worst, it can be said that it’s the end for that person. Therefore, destroying the nest in top priority when discovered it is the adventurer’s basic. The thread and the main body are vulnerable to fire.

Name	Small Taratect
Level	1
HP (Green)	36/36
MP (Blue)	36/36
SP (Yellow)	36/36
SP (Red)	36/36
Average Offense	18
Average Defense	18
Average Magic Power	18
Average Resistance	18
Average Speed	18
Skill Points	–

The spider’s normal species. Still, it’s weak as usual. It’s property is also about the same with the deteriorating species.

Name	Lesser Taratect
Level	1
HP (Green)	85/85
MP (Blue)	36/36
SP (Yellow)	85/85
SP (Red)	85/85
Average Offense	42
Average Defense	42
Average Magic Power	18
Average Resistance	18
Average Speed	42
Skill Points	–

The grown form of the deteriorating species.

It grows up to approximately 5 meters in length, and physical-related status improves. Still, it’s weak. However, the probability to meet it is very low because it’s rare that a hatchling of the deteriorating species can evolve to this.

Name	Elroe Frog
Level	1
HP (Green)	６５／６５
MP (Blue)	４５／４５
SP (Yellow)	５５／５５
SP (Red)	５５／５５
Average Offense	３５
Average Defense	３５
Average Magic Power	２８
Average Resistance	２８
Average Speed	３０
Skill Points	–

It’s approximately 1 meter in length and it has a rainbow-colored body surface.

It uses the strategy where it shoots the droplets that has weak poison created by “Poison Synthesis” and the acid attribute from the “Acid Attack”. Even if it the opponent gets closer, the opponent might receive an unexpected counterattack because of its stable physical ability.

Danger degree, E.

Name	Elroe Randanel
Level	1
HP (Green)	１２５／１２５
MP (Blue)	２５／２５
SP (Yellow)	１２５／１２５
SP (Red)	１０５／１０５
Average Offense	７８
Average Defense	６５
Average Magic Power	２２
Average Resistance	３４
Average Speed	７７
Skill Points	–

Also known as the three intimate friends. A small dinosaur-like monster measuring about 1.5 meters in length.They always act in 3 and make fun of their enemy with skillful cooperation.

They corner their opponent into poisoned condition with “Poison Fang” and “Poison Claw”. They are good at cornering their opponent slowly.

Danger degree, D.

Name	Elroe Pekatot
Level	1
HP (Green)	155/155
MP (Blue)	46/46
SP (Yellow)	180/180
SP (Red)	125/125
Average Offense	58
Average Defense	39
Average Magic Power	32
Average Resistance	32
Average Speed	100
Skill Points	–

A monster with a strange figure that has the body of a fused penguin and pelican and the arms of a monkey.

Although it only has 4 skills, it’s a troublesome monster that can jump around at high speed in the small cave and it attacks from every direction.

In the story, it was caught in the nest and was quickly eaten.

Danger degree, D.

Name	Elroe Basilisk
Level	1
HP (Green)	138/138
MP (Blue)	126/126
SP (Yellow)	46/46
SP (Red)	65/65
Average Offense	58
Average Defense	52
Average Magic Power	108
Average Resistance	105
Average Speed	58
Skill Points	–

Also known as petrifaction lizard.

A gray-colored lizard-like monster measuring just a little over 1 meter in length. It petrifies its opponent with the basilisk inherent skill, “Magic Eyes of Petrifaction”. In addition, it has poison. Furthermore, it can use “Earth Magic”, although there’s no opportunity to show it in the story. It uses the strategy where it shoots the soil made by the “Earth Magic”, but there’s no time to do it because it was caught in the nest.

Taking the troublesome petrified condition into account, the danger degree is C.

Name	Small Rock Turtle
Level	1
HP (Green)	180/180
MP (Blue)	10/10
SP (Yellow)	25/25
SP (Red)	100/100
Average Offense	108
Average Defense	236
Average Magic Power	8
Average Resistance	58
Average Speed	6
Skill Points	–

Also known as turtle.

The turtle-type monster that carries a rock shell on its back. It’s very slow-witted, and it has high defensive ability, but the other abilities are altogether low. Although it only has the ramming attack, the power of the rush can’t be underestimated.

Danger degree, D.

Name	Elroe Ferect
Level	1
HP (Green)	25/25
MP (Blue)	15/15
SP (Yellow)	15/15
SP (Red)	15/15
Average Offense	5
Average Defense	5
Average Magic Power	4
Average Resistance	4
Average Speed	90
Skill Points	–

Also known as centipede.

A insect-type monster that has brisk feet growing on it. Most of the status is low. Only the speed is strangely high. However, it can be subdued easily if there’s only 1 because it doesn’t has the “Night Vision” despite being the endemic species of the Elro Great Labyrinth. The terrifying part of this monster is that it spring forth in large quantities and it lives as a colony.

Although the individual’s danger degree is F, the colony’s danger degree is considered to be B.

Name	Elroe Baradrad
Level	1
HP (Green)	350/350
MP (Blue)	100/100
SP (Yellow)	350/350
SP (Red)	350/350
Average Offense	320
Average Defense	320
Average Magic Power	100
Average Resistance	280
Average Speed	300
Skill Points	–

Also known as snake.

A huge snake-type monster that seems to be able to swallow a person wholly. Physical status is high. It has the skill that can be seen in the dragon species called the “Dragon Scale”. By the effect of the “Dragon Scale”, it has a high defensive ability for both physical and magic.

Danger degree, C.

Editing/Standardisation: kubor04
Formatting/Extras: APM
Original Translation: Blastron
Additional thanks goes out to mae and Legit-rikk. Join our discord

---

The [Appraisal] ceremony finished without a hitch, apart from that little commotion. It seems that what had everyone talking wasn’t just the fact that Sue’s stats and mine were both abnormally high. Thanks to my enhanced sense of hearing, I was able to eavesdrop a little on the nobles’ discussions. It seems that skill points are normally only supposed to be granted when you level up, so starting with a hundred thousand at level one isn’t normal at all. Sue, now that I think about it, has zero. I’d bet that this is because I’ve reincarnated, but what’s interesting is that I keep overhearing that “the duke’s daughter” also was born with skill points.

From what these nobles are saying, it sounds like the duke’s daughter was Appraised a few days ago. They found that not only did she have phenomenally high stats, she also had skill points she wasn’t supposed to. On top of that, they’re saying that she also has the same skill with the strange, glitchy name that I do.

I come to a sudden realization: if what I’m hearing is correct, I absolutely must meet this daughter of a duke. My chance, luckily, arrived quickly.

After the [Appraisal] ceremony, we were led to a different assembly hall, where a small party was being held. Accompanied by the king, we went to meet a group of young nobles that had lined up in the center of the room. These children are generally around my age or slightly older; it seems that this is a way for the younger generation of the nobility to introduce themselves to each other. There, I got a chance to meet the duke’s daughter.

“It is a great pleasure to meet you, my lord. I am the daughter of Duke Anabald, Karnatia Seri Anabald,” she says.

She is beautiful, with bright red hair like a raging flame and a fierce face that reveals her strong-willed disposition. Her presence captivates the attention with just a single glance. Not only that, I can see through my Mana Perception the huge mass of magical energy that billows around her. She has as much as Sue and I do.

Duke Anabald, incidentally, is among the country’s most renowned members of the aristocracy. House Anabald has served the country for many generations, and their proud lineage has produced royalty and heroes. Every child born to the House of Anabald is supremely gifted, and their talents are finely honed by rigorous education so that they may be raised as the finest servants of their country.

Even so, the girl before me is abnormal. She seems to have already surpassed her father, the red-haired man who stands next to her.

“Greetings,” I reply, “I am Schlain Zagan Analeit. 宜しく (Nice to meet you)”

To test my realization from earlier, I said the last part in Japanese. For an instant, her eyes went wide, and I knew at once that I had been completely right.

“Father, may I speak with this girl?” I ask. “Eh?” replies the king.

He seems a little puzzled by my actions. The duke and his daughter, after all, were at the head of a long line of other children, brought in to meet me. However, I couldn’t let this chance slip past me.

“Should I not?” “Hmm…“

The king glances at me, then at the duke, then at the other nobles still waiting in line, contemplating his options. Finally, he opens his mouth to speak.

“I don’t mind. Don’t be gone for too long. Come back in a little while.” “Yes, Father. Thank you.”

I grab the duke’s daughter’s hand and run off, like a little kid. Behind me, Sue started sulking incredibly, but I paid it no mind.

We left the assembly hall and found a private chamber off of the waiting room. Rooms such as these were set up near the assembly halls so that any nobles who needed to slip away to conduct private transactions could do so. This room is tightly soundproofed, and a guard stationed at the door outside adds additional security. “Ahh, this’ll do,” I say, talking in Japanese now that I have nothing to hide.

“I would have never guessed that the prince would seriously be another reincarnated person!” says the duke’s daughter, also speaking in Japanese. “Oh maaaan, it’s been so long since I heard Japanese coming out of another person’s mouth! I’m getting a little emotional here.” She still looks as strong-willed as ever, but her tone is light.

“So, I’d like to know… do you remember Heishin High School?” I ask, referring to my old school.

“Holy crap, yeah! We’re seriously both from the same school and reincarnated in this world, huh?”

As I feared, this young woman was, just like me, caught up in that mysterious mid-air crack in the classroom and transported here; a former classmate.

“My old name was Shunsuke Yamada,” I say. “What was yours?” “Bwha?!” As soon as I say my old name, her eyes practically fly out of their sockets. “Ahahahahaha! H… hahaha! Y… you’re… Shun! Shun, a prince, haha, as fucking iiiif!”

The young woman lets out an enormous roar of laughter. What’s with this deja vu? The girl in front of me looks nothing like anyone I know, but this style of speech, these mannerisms, I remember them.

“Are you… no way, are you Kanata?” I ask, incredulously. “Yeah!”

Now it’s my turn to laugh. Kanata, the guy I used to play games with all the time, my best friend, is now a young woman. I don’t know if it would have been possible for him to have been reincarnated as anything less like his old self.

“Man, don’t laugh! I was seriously depressed about this for a while after I was reborn, you know?” “Ahaaa, my bad. You were laughing at me just now though! Let’s call it even.” “Yeah. I’m so glad I met you again, though! It’s been rough so far, dealing with this all on my own.” “Ahh, yeah, I totally understand. I’m glad we met too.”

Kanata and I bump fists.

Immediately, an ear-splitting sound roars through the soundproofed door. “What the?!” yells Kanata, panicking. I also panic for an instant, but as soon as I realize who was on the other side, I calm down. Or, rather, I started panicking for a different reason.

With another roar, the door flies off its hinges and crashes into the room. On the other side, I see Sue, her body strengthened with [Magic Warfare] and [Magic Conferment] readying her fist for another strike. She peers at the two of us, then locks on to Kanata.

“Sue, no! Stop! Stop!!” I dive between them, just barely before Sue was going to blow Kanata to pieces.

Sue runs forward and clings to me tightly. “I won’t let anyone else have you,” she mumbles.

“お前の妹、こええ(Your sister’s scaaaary…)” says Kanata.

On that day, I met my first classmate.

Editing/Standardisation: kubor04
Formatting/Extras: APM
Original Translation: Blastron
Additional thanks goes out to mae and Legit-rikk. Join our discord

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HP Auto-recovery: Gradually restores lost HP. Allows for recovery of injuries that would not heal naturally.}

{Poison Fang: Grants the Poison attribute to the user’s bite attack.}

{Poison Synthesis: Consumes MP to customize and purify poisons. The kinds of poison that may be synthesized are dependent on skill level. Available poisons: Weak Poison – LV 1}

{Spider Thread: A unique skill possessed only by spiders and spider-like organisms. Produces customizable silky threads. Attributes available to customize: adhesion, elasticity, resilience, texture, strength, and size.}

{Thread Control: Allows the user to freely manipulate thread.}

{Throw: When throwing something, increases the strength and accuracy of the throw.}

{Concentration: Increases the ability to concentrate.}

{Hit: Increases the user’s accuracy rate, in every circumstance.}

{Appraisal: Displays information about various things.}

{Detection: A composite skill that encompasses every perception skill in the system. Skills included: [Magic Power Perception], [Technique Perception], [Material Perception], [Presence Perception], [Danger Perception], [Motion Perception], [Heat Perception], [Reaction Perception], and [Space Perception].}

{Stealth: Conceals the user’s presence.}

{Night Vision: Provides a sense of sight even when no light sources exist.}

{Vision Expansion: Widens the band of frequencies that the user is capable of perceiving.}

{Poison Resistance: Increases the user’s defense against the Poison attribute.}

{Paralysis Resistance: Increases the user’s defense against the Paralysis attribute.}

{Petrification Resistance: Increases the user’s defense against the Petrification attribute.}

{Acid Resistance: Increases the user’s defense against the Acid attribute.}

{Rot Resistance: Increases the user’s defense against the Rot attribute.}

{Fear Resistance: Stifles feelings of terror.}

{Pain Nullification: Completely negates the restrictive effects of pain on the user’s mind and body.}

{Pain Mitigation: Lessens the sense of pain, while preserving the sense of danger pain would ordinarily provide.}

I appraise the remaining skills in one go. Generally, everything’s as I thought it was going to be, but there was a bit of new information in there as well.

The [Vision Expansion] skill, for instance, has finally been explained. This will let me see infrared and ultraviolet radiation… right? I can’t really see anything, though… Oh, I guess I only have one level in it, so it’s not going to do all that much. It’s also totally possible that there isn’t much infrared or ultraviolet radiation bouncing around inside a dungeon. Well, it hasn’t been bothering me so far, so I guess I don’t really care!

I also analyzed the various attributes in the resistance system, and, uh, found something kinda terrible. Most of the attributes are pretty much exactly what they say on the box, but… one of them doesn’t really quite match up.

{Rot Attribute: Encompasses the breakdown and collapse of matter, such as that associated with death.}

What the heck? Scary. I thought it was just a skill that made it okay for me to eat meat that was a little rotten, but this is a really weird attribute. My [Rot Resistance] went up when I ate one of those snail-bugs… do they have this attribute? Whoa. That… explains that terrible, unearthly taste. Ugh. Eating those things is absolutely the last resort.

The next thing that I got curious about was [Detection]. It’s way, way more high-power than I had originally thought. “Every perception skill in the system”? Shouldn’t I have had to spend more than just 100 points on that? Can I use them one at a time? Noooope. Man, seriously, I want to figure out what each one of these things does individually, but it looks like I have to activate everything simultaneously. My options are “on” and “off”, nothing for the individual skills. I really want to use [Presence Perception] and [Danger Perception], but when everything is activated simultaneously I can’t tell the bits of information I want from all the rest of the information that’s coming in.

There’s no way my tiny little brain can process all of that; if I try, a headache will be the least of my worries. On top of that, when I turned it on just to test it for a little while, the level went up again! Now it assaults me with even more useless information! Until I find a skill that makes my brain work better, I can’t use this at all. This skill is awesome because it’s so high-power… but it’s also basically impossible to use.

‘Twas caviar to the general, pearls cast before swine, [Detection] for a spider. Ugh.

Well, onto the last thing, the skills that have the highest chance of having their true potential unlocked through [Appraisal]: my three magic skills. The skills that I’ve had to leave aside all this time because I had no idea how to use them. The skills that would be infinitely more useful if I knew how they worked. If I knew that, I’d be able to truly call myself a magician. Yeah! d, if you would?!

{Heresy Magic: Magic that directly affects the soul. The spells that may be cast are dependent on skill level. Available spells: Discomfort – LV 1, Phantom Pain – LV 2}

{Shadow Magic: A low-rank Darkness magic that manipulates shadows. The spells that may be cast are dependent on skill level. Available spells: Dark Shadow – LV 1}

{Poison Magic: Magic that manipulates poison. The spells that may be cast are dependent on skill level. Available spells: Poison Touch – LV 1}

Oh? Ohh? Hmm… Questionable. Well, don’t get me wrong, compared to when I knew absolutely nothing this is a night-and-day difference… but I still have no idea how to use it. [Heresy Magic]… these are mind-affecting spells, right? [Shadow Magic] and [Poison Magic]… well, they’re pretty obvious. Some of these even look like they might be useful even at level one! They might be useful… but how the heck do I activate them? Should I just try doing it like I did with [Appraisal], just kinda chanting the name to myself.

Right. Now then… [Discomfort]!

…

Nothing happened. Ah, well, maybe it was a misfire because I didn’t aim it at a target. Let’s try a different spell. [Dark Shadow]!

…

Nothing there either. [Poison Touch]!

…

Nothing’s happening! My mana isn’t even being drained. Forget misfiring or targeting errors, I don’t think I’m even firing anything to begin with. Seriouslyyyyyy. I got my hopes up a little, but I guess it was useless after all. Ah, wait up a bit? Maybe if I try appraising “magic” by itself, it’ll give me a little hint…?

{Magic: A phenomenon where a user may channel Magical Power through a skill, producing an effect.}

Yeeep, no good after all. Uuughhh, I still can’t use any magic!! Well, shit. My magical-girl debut as “Mahou Shoujo Magical Kumoko” is still a long way away, isn’t it. Fuck.

Editing/Standardisation: kubor04
Formatting/Extras: APM
Original Translation: Blastron
Additional thanks goes out to mae and Legit-rikk. Join our discord

---

I move stealthily, keeping close to the wall. So, ever since I ate those three monsters a little while ago, my red stamina meter has once again gotten stuck at its maximum value. Hmmm? Sure, it was a lot of food; eating just one of those things was almost enough to max me out, but… Now that I think about it, could this maybe be the result of my [Overeating] skill? If I eat more than I need, does the excess get stockpiled somewhere? This effect did start happening after I acquired that skill, after all… Hmm, this doesn’t seem like such a wild guess.

<Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Appraisal – LV6] has become [Appraisal – LV7]>

Oh? OH?! OHHHH?!?! [Appraisal]!! Miss [Appraisal], you came!! What a glorious day!

Is it okay if I get my hopes up a bit, since you got way more awesome last time? It’s okay, right? You wouldn’t let me down, right? We’ve cleared that hurdle already, getting this high, right? You’re not going to crash into it, right? Now, the results are…?!

Name	Nameless, Small Taratect
Level	3
HP (Green)	38/38
MP (Blue)	38/38
SP (Yellow)	38/38
SP (Red)	38/38
Average Offense	21
Average Defense	21
Average Magic Power	19
Average Resistance	19
Average Speed	369
Skill Points	?

Eh? Really? Seriously?! I’m not seeing things, right?! Oh. Oh! Ohh! WHOOOOOAAAHHHHHH?! Skills!! My skills showed up!! Miss [Appraisal], you do excellent work! You cleared that hurdle splendidly! Yahoo! You’re really making something of yourself!

[Appraisal], you’re seriously amazing! Thank you so much. Seriously, thank you! With this… with this, I can finally double-Appraise all of the skills I know nothing about and get a description! So… whoooo’s… FIRST?!

Right, first up is [Overeating], since I was just thinking about it.

{Overeating: A skill which makes it possible to eat beyond one’s normal capacity. The stamina that would have been gained from the extra food is stockpiled for future use; however, this causes the user to become fat. As the level increases, the amount that may be stockpiled increases.}

Ah, aaaah… Oh ho! It’s just as I thought! In other words, it’s a skill that, after I eat a ton, stops my Stamina from going down for a while. I’ll get fat, though, huh? Am… am I fat?! I don’t know how I feel about that. I mean, I’m a spider, so is it really that bad? If I were human, of course, it would be a huge drawback.

Next is… this, I guess!

{Strength: A skill which applies an increase to your physical offensive capabilities, proportionate to its level.}

Huh. Is that what that is? Just a basic stat-boosting skill. Oh that’s right, after I leveled up, this skill leveled up too. When I leveled up my offensive power went up by 2 instead of 1 like some of my other stats did; maybe that’s thanks to this skill. So that must mean…

{Solidity: A skill which applies an increase to your physical defensive capabilities, proportionate to its level.}

Aha, just as I thought, this skill’s the defensive version of [Strength]. Umf, the effect might be a little weak, but since my stats are such garbage, I’ll take every tiny little boost I can get.

Let’s keep going! Next is… this one, that I’ve never seen before. It’s level two, so it must have leveled up at some point… did I miss something the “Voice of Heaven” said?

{Skanda: A skill which applies an increase to your speed, proportionate to one hundred times its level. In addition, when leveling up, this skill increases your base Speed statistic by ten times the level of this skill.}

Huh? Ahh… uh… huh? Ah… is that why my speed was so ridiculously fast, huh… right… right… WHAAAAAAAT?!

Wh… what the heck is this ridiculous skill? I thought for sure that my entire species was this fast, but it was this?! Whoa. [Skanda]… is this the special privilege of a transmigrated soul?! Oh! Is that it?! Thank the gods! An amazing rare skill, bestowed upon me at birth? Transmigration privilege is awesome! I didn’t earn the nickname Idaten in that MMO for nothing! Hee! I’m getting pretty hype!

Now… what’s this other skill I haven’t seen before?

{n% I = W: Impossible to appraise.}

Uh? “Impossible to appraise”? What the heck? …Huh. After all that, a fumble. Well… just from the name, this kinda looks like a bug. I don’t really like not knowing what it is, but if I can’t Appraise it I guess it can’t really be helped. I just hope it doesn’t have a detrimental effect, that’s all.

I take a moment to collect my thoughts, then check the next skill.

{Taboo: A skill earned by breaking taboos. You must not raise this skill.}

Whoa. This is a profoundly mysterious description. It seems kinda obvious, though, that this is some kind of penalty, like a curse. Ugh, I don’t want this. “You must not raise this skill,” it says, but it’s already level 2… Seriously? Maaaan… that killed my hype.

Editing/Standardisation: kubor04
Formatting/Extras: APM
Original Translation: Blastron
Additional thanks goes out to mae and Legit-rikk. Join our discord

---

After all this time following this long, dangerous tunnel through the lower depths, I’ve finally, finally, found it! A fork in the path! …uh, the path?

Yeah. An impossibly large cavern stretches out into the distance before me. Here, the path forks… er, here, the path opens wide… uh, here, the path disappears…? If you asked me to tell you how big it is, I couldn’t; even with my ultra-powerful night vision cutting effortlessly through the darkness, I can’t see the other side.

Uhhhh… which way should I go now? I couldn’t get lost while I was following a single straight line, but in this enormous, empty space, I’m kinda worried. It’s kinda like… suddenly finding yourself in a desert with no path or landmarks to guide you. I don’t even know which way I should be facing! This is dreadful.

I heard that if you keep constantly walking forward in a place where the scenery doesn’t change, you’ll subconsciously wander in a huge arc and eventually wind up back where you started. Of course, I’m a spider, not a human, so I actually have no idea how true that is for me. There’s not really much around here that I could use as a landmark, just crags and pillars scattered here and there. I can’t really find anything unique about any of them, so using them as landmarks isn’t really possible. There’s snail-bugs around here, so even in the worst case scenario I’m not going to die of hunger, but there’s going to be no way for me to notice if I’m getting lost.

Well, it’s time once to break out the most basic maze-solving skill: follow the wall. I’ll keep the wall on my right side as I advance.

But, man, this place is huge. It’s not just extremely broad, horizontally, but it’s ridiculously tall as well! The pillars holding up the ceiling have to be over a hundred meters tall. What a spectacular height. Even though I’m still stuck in this dungeon, I don’t feel like I’m cooped up anymore. How do I say this… even though there’s nothing here but rock, this cavern exemplifies the glory of Mother Nature. In here, I am reminded of how small I truly am.

In my previous life, I saw a TV show that talked about the unexplored parts of the world. Honestly, I can’t say that I felt moved at all when I was watching it back then. No matter how beautiful the images on the screen were, in the end they were just figments of a distant world that had absolutely nothing to do with me. I felt no excitement, no wonder; just indifference. I honestly don’t even know why I was watching it.

But now, I’m here. This is the world I’m living in. This isn’t irrelevant. I can’t be indifferent! Being this moved by my surroundings is something I had never experienced when I was a human. I probably wouldn’t have ever been able to come here, too, if I had kept myself cooped up in the nest I called my home. I really should thank that pyromaniac human for forcing me out into the outside world.

…Ah, but even just thinking about it still makes me mad. Yeah, right. Like there’s any way I could be grateful to a jerk like that. Next time I meet him, I’ll roll him up nice and tight in my [Spider Thread], drag him around the dungeon for a while, and then finish him off with a [Poison Fang].

Hoooof. That’s an unpleasant memory to drag up. Let’s put that aside, gaze once more at the grandeur of nature, and be calmed.

{Bagragrach – LV 14 – failed to appraise status}

A giant monster lumbers into view. From its build and attitude, it looks kinda slow and lazy, and a little bit stupid too… but that mouth shatters that impression immediately. That giant, crocodile-like mouth, bursting with countless jagged teeth. The monkey-like body attached to that terrible maw looks kind of unbalanced, but brutal.

This isn’t calming at aaaaall…

Yeah, that’s right. This is a dungeon. This isn’t nature; this is danger. Comprende? Yeah.

And, so, I slip away into the murk and make my escape.

Somehow, I made it out without being seen. You know, I just had a really terrible thought that I really wish I didn’t have. Could this enormous cavern be, uh, could it maybe be the Bottom Stratum?

I don’t really know how far apart layers are supposed to be, but it’s not unthinkable that I could have gone down a level while following that extremely long road. With such a long, straight tunnel, if it had just a tiny little slope to it, I could easily have gone up or down a fair way without noticing anything at all. It’s a possibility, right…?

No, no, no. It can’t be, right? That’s just an ordinary huge cavern. Yeah. Or maybe it’s part of the Middle Stratum! Aha, let’s go with that! This is definitely the Middle Stratum! Haha, oh man, it was way easier to get out of the Lower Stratum than I had expected!

{Bagragrach – LV 8 – failed to appraise status}

{Bagragrach – LV 4 – failed to appraise status}

{Bagragrach – LV 11- failed to appraise status}

Man, what are these guys doing in the Middle Stratum? I make like the Invisible Man… wait, no, the Invisible Spid… ah, forget it. I sink into the shadows and sneakily scuttle away.

After I put a bunch of distance between me and them, I remember that I haven’t actually gotten around to appraising their species yet.

{Bagragrach: A monster with a giant, deformed jaw. They work together, bringing down their prey as a pack.}

Uh-huh… so they’re not just strong, they hunt in packs, huh… I’ve really got no chance, huh…

Yyyeah. It’s starting to look like this isn’t the Middle Stratum after all. How could it be, with this kind of difficulty level? Ugh. I really, really hope this isn’t the Bottom Stratum.

Editing/Standardisation: kubor04
Formatting/Extras: APM
Original Translation: Blastron
Additional thanks goes out to mae and Legit-rikk. Join our discord

---

Another day after another day of sneakily, sneakily scuttling along. The labyrinthine zone from the upper area had a billion twisty little passages, but this has just been one long, unbroken passage. I mean, it’s great that I can’t get lost, but… if this passage happens to connect to the Bottom Stratum, I’d be stuck, right…? Aaagh, let’s not start imagining the worst. This road leads to the Middle Stratum! Yes! I believe this completely!

Well then, my red meter’s about to run out. I… did eat one of those snail-bugs earlier, but that is really, really an absolute last resort. Even now, I can see a few of them crawling around on the walls, but I can’t really imagine myself willingly eating any of them. That’s right! These things are atrociously awful to eat.

So, while I’ve still got a few points left in this meter, I should try to find a more normal meal. …Let’s not worry about whether highly poisonous monsters are “normal” or not. Ah, well, it’s not like I haven’t eaten a bunch of them alreadyyy… Ugh, and now there’s these guyyys… Why can’t I find something tasty for ooonce! I really miss instant ramen.

Right, right! Front: clear! Rear: clear! Perimeter is clear of external threats! Perfect, perfect.

{Elroe Randanel – LV 8 – failed to appraise status}

{Elroe Randanel – LV 7 – failed to appraise status}

{Elroe Randanel – LV 7 – failed to appraise status}

Look at that, they’re in a group of three, just like last time! What a friendly bunch. Their levels are way higher than the last group, though, as expected for things down in the Lower Stratum. That level eight one might even evolve soon, if level ten’s their evolution threshold. Ah, what a bright future… that they will never see, heh.

I circle around behind them, hidden in the gloom. And then I deploy my brand-new weapon: Casting Net!! …Huh? The name’s kind of boring? Haha, it’s fine, it’s fine. Sometimes nothing really clever comes to mind, you know! “Ku-morning star” made me grin as soon as I thought of it, but coming up with names of that caliber every single time would be a huge pain!

So, without further ado, Casting Net: GO!

Please do not be mistaken: this is no ordinary throwing net. This new weapon… argh, this really does need a name, hm… oh, what? An explanation? Right, right! This net collapses into a ball as I throw it, then springs open wide as soon as it reaches its target! This is my amazing new combination attack, mixing the precise craftsmanship of my [Spider Thread] and the dextrous control of my [Thread Control].

All three of them are wrapped up tightly in an instant! Ha ha hah! A great catch, a great catch! Now, as usual, let’s end things with a little [Poison Fang]… chomp!

<Condition satisfied. Acquired Title [Poison Technique User].>

<Acquired skills [Poison Synthesis – LV1] [Poison Magic – LV1] as a result of Title [Poison Technique User]>

Oh? Ohhhh?! I got another tiiiiitllllllle!! It’s a poison one? It’s a poison one!! Man, I have been using nothing but poison since I was born, and this is only finally showing up? These must be some strict requirements! Hm, now that I think about it, though, all of my titles have had some pretty harsh entry conditions… maybe they’re just hard to earn in general? Ah, well, I’ve got this one now so it’s not a problem.

Now, the skills, [Poison Synthesis] and [Poison Magic], huh… Well, I’m going to just ignore [Poison Magic] because I still have absolutely no idea how to use it at all. Throw it on the magical garbage heap I’m accumulating. [Poison Synthesis], hmm, might share the same fate. How do I use this thing? “Synthesis” huh, so, do I use this to make poison? I’m a spider, though, I can make my own poison already.

Ah, no, no, let’s not waste time messing with my skills. I still have work to do! There are still two more of these things that need to be disposed of. So, with my [Poison Fangs]… chomp!

<Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Poison Fang – LV 7] has become [Poison Fang – LV 8]>

Oh? Ohhh?! OHHHHH?! What’s today’s forecast, poison with a chance of more poison? This is great, this is great! If level ten is the maximum skill level, my poison should be getting way stronger now that it’s at level eight. It already could take down those wasps, who I assume were venomous themselves. This is way easier than getting titles, hah.

Right. Let’s take these three dead things and hide amongst the crags. Ergh, man, with my terrible physical stats, carrying three of these at once is extremely difficult! Man, if I’d carried these things one at a time, I might have had an easier time but… huh? Didn’t I complain about this exact same problem a while ago, you ask? Didn’t I come up with exactly the same solution the last time, you ask? Hmmmmm? I know nothing about anything like that! I don’t remember that at all, and my memory is nowhere close to bad, so it can’t have happened. You got that? Good.

Well, while I’m stuck here eating, I might as well play around with [Poison Synthesis] some. Of course, I have no real clues about how to begin, so, uh… I’m basically just going to take a wild guess. So, deep in my heart, I silently whisper, [Poison Synthesis].

Huh, and something actually popped into my head. Just like with [Appraisal], I can see a status window floating in my mind’s eye.

Poison Synthesis Menu:

Weak Poison
Spider Poison	Lv8

What the heck? Oh, well, if it’s displayed like this, let’s try using [Appraisal] to read up on it…

{Poison Synthesis Menu: From here, you may synthesize poison.}

{Weak Poison: An extremely weak poison.}

{Spider Poison – LV 8: A lethal venom secreted by spiders. At level 8, it is extremely potent.}

Umf. [Spider Poison] is undoubtedly my own poison. This [Weak Poison], is it what a level one [Poison Synthesis] can normally make? To try it out, I select [Weak Poison]. As I watch, a ball of liquid bubbles into being in mid-air, then suddenly drops to the ground with a splash. Whoops. I really should find a container for this, shouldn’t I? Just to be sure, I appraise the puddle.

{Puddle of Weak Poison}

Yeah, that’s weak poison, all right. I see… it looks like [Poison Synthesis] is a skill that can conjure up poison without needing any materials at all. If I was a human, this would be super useful, but I’m a spider, you know. Well, I might be able to come up with a use for it anyway. Yeah, a no-cost way of generating poison is pretty awesome, after all.

Ah, no, wait, my mana’s gone down a bit. Looks like it’s not completely free, after all. That’s another big strike against it. I guess that if I keep leveling it up I might gain access to a larger variety of poisons, but I’ve already got my super-powerful spider venom! This isn’t very appealing at all. I’m glad that I figured out how to use it, though. This is, at the very least, way more useful than the completely incomprehensible magic system.

Editing/Standardisation: kubor04
Formatting/Extras: APM
Original Translation: Blastron
Additional thanks goes out to mae and Legit-rikk. Join our discord

---

I stealthily move along. If I kept watching these guys fight, after all, I’d definitely have gotten dragged into it, so getting out of there immediately was the best idea. Maaaan, this lower stratum… That praying mantis… I thought it was ridiculously strong, but it’s really just kind of average down here. There’s not only the spider that devoured the mantis, but also winged lions and even a giant serpent that is probably the evolved form of one of those snakes from earlier. Truly, a peerless collection of monsters. Nai wa.

I’ve been sneaking along, trying to avoid drawing attention to myself, and so far I’ve been able to slip past everything without being detected. Well, if I had been detected, it would have been all over, anyway.

For a while, I forced myself to keep moving constantly, not even stopping for sleep. After a while, my red stamina meter finally started to decrease again. I still have no idea what was keeping it maxed out before, but it seems like there’s some kind of time limit on whatever it was. Before these thirty-eight points disappear, I’m definitely going to need to find myself some food.

I couldn’t find a target that I could actually defeat, though, so I tried to force myself to sleep. Let’s be clear. I couldn’t sleep at all. Obviously. Before, I could guarantee my safety while sleeping by building a basic home and sleeping in there. In a monster lair like this, though, I’d need more than just a basic home to guarantee my safety and, of course, anything more sturdily built would be way more conspicuous. I don’t want to stand out at all.

If you have to ask me why, it’s that the Earth Dragon is terrifying. If I build a decent nest, the Earth Dragon is probably going to come straight for me. What’s that? I have a persecution complex? I don’t know… The Earth Dragon is terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. Nope, nuh uh, no can do.

And, so, for the first time in my life, I slept without the comfort of a home. This was waaay too stressful! Until I tried it, I never could have imagined sleeping in the open was going to be so terrifying. Every time I started to nod off, the slightest sound would shock me awake, and then I’d start to nod off again. I got basically no decent sleep like that. Next time, I’m going to make a simple home, just for the peace of mind. It’s not bad now, but if I wind up super sleep-deprived, something bad might happen. Ah, well, in my previous life I only really got four hours of sleep a day, so this might be okay after all.

Well, that’s just my sleep problems. The real issue is food. I need to find a way to secure some food in this monster lair. This might be me being overly enthusiastic, but I think there’s a simple enough way to make this happen. After all, there’s a kind of food that I can obtain without breaking a sweat.

I thought it was a little odd, earlier. The strength of the monsters here is ridiculous! But, mixed in with those are some monsters that are way weaker, comparatively, the kinds that I saw back in the upper levels. Take the snake, for example. Ahaha, I never thought I’d be calling the snake weak!

Well, if there’s weaker monsters, what do they eat? After all, the weak don’t eat, they get eaten. That’s the law of the jungle, and this dungeon follows it to the letter. But there’s a tiny stream of weak things down here, the kinds of things that the wasps focus on as their main target.

So, after spending some time observing these weaker monsters, I’ve realized the common thread between all of them.

They’re all extremely poisonous.

It’s so obvious once you realize it. I was born with a little bit of [Poison Resistance] skill, so I didn’t mind eating poisonous meat very much, but an ordinary person wouldn’t want to eat poison! These guys might be weak, but any stronger monsters that don’t have [Poison Resistance] would avoid eating them. This might even work in my favor; if I get spotted, they might leave me alone because of my poison! Well, I say that, but it’s really better not to be spotted to begin with, so I really should keep sneaking around.

So, what do these weak monsters eat? There’s two kinds of food, as far as I can tell. The first is, of course, other weak monsters. This is the big one. The weak monsters have to compete with other weak monsters. If I stumble across one, and I know there’s no weak monsters nearby, I can easily finish one off with a sneak attack.

The other one… well, it’s what the weak monsters eat when there’s literally no other choice.

{Elroe Gestruch – LV3 – failed to appraise status}

These things look like flat, black bugs that somehow remind me of snails. They cling to the dungeon walls and slowly creep along them, exactly like a snail. Let’s call them… snail-bugs. These snail-bugs are abundant down here. No matter where you look, you’ll see at least one, stuck to a wall. That’s how many there are. After learning about these things, I foolishly wondered why none of the other monsters were eating snail-bugs when they were so omnipresent.

This was before I actually ate one.

Yep, that was foolish. My mind was made up, fighting this thing was inevitable and, well, this isn’t the kind of thing I can take back. It was only after I ate it that I realized why the other monsters used it as an absolute last resort.

Yep, I ate one. I really ate one. Killing it was easy; I yanked it off the wall with a thread and finished it off immediately with [Poison Fang]. I had yet to uncover its true horror, however. “Time to dig in,” I blithely thought. Ugh, why did I do that?

Snail-bugs are un-freaking-believably disgusting.

So, yeah! That taste was not of this mortal world! Sure, I’ve eaten a ton of rather gross things since I was reincarnated as a spider, but those flavors pale in comparison. It was so disgusting that I lost a few points of health! That was not food. My [Rot Resistance] skill went up! Under any sane criteria this is not a good thing for your food to do! If “waste not, want not” wasn’t such a deeply-held personal belief, I wouldn’t have taken another bite.

So, as you can see, there is food that I can easily obtain without breaking a sweat… but it comes bundled with such extreme pain. Well, if I had to pick between starving to death and eating food that merely makes me wish I was dead, I’d have to pick the option that doesn’t involve actually dying. So, if I am out of literally every other option, I’ve got snail-bugs to eat. Let’s pray it does not come down to that.

Editing/Standardisation: kubor04
Formatting/Extras: APM
Original Translation: Blastron
Additional thanks goes out to mae and Legit-rikk. Join our discord

---

The vast assembly hall stretches before me as I pass through the door. At the end of a long, red carpet, a man waits behind a pedestal, while a crowd of people watches us quietly from their rows of seats along the walls. Everyone in the audience is a high-ranking member of the nobility.

Sue and I proceed forth along the red carpet, walking majestically like we had been taught for this occasion. I can feel the pressure of every eye in the audience as they watch us, but I ignore it as best as I can.

After what feels like a lifetime, we stop before the pedestal, then kneel. The man behind the pedestal, who is in reality our father, the King Meiges Derra Analeit, turns to face us.

“Let us commence the rite of [Appraisal],” intones the King, his majestic voice reverberating through the hall.

This man may be my father, but I haven’t met him more than a few times, so he does not feel very much like a family member. Instead, he gives off the air of a powerful ruler. It would be a serious understatement to say I’m nervous right now. The King has been continuing to speak, but I’ve barely heard a word he’s said.

“…Schlain Zagan Analeit, rise.” “Yes, my Lord,” I reply, rising to my feet. “Begin the [Appraisal]”

I step up onto the small stool in front of the pedestal. With my height, I wouldn’t have been able to reach the top without the stool to help. Set within the pedestal is a flawless black gem. This seems to be the [Gem of Appraisal], but it’s smaller than I thought it was going to be, small enough to fit in an adult’s palm. I shake off my unexpected thoughts and place my hand on the gem. I concentrate on the word “Appraise”, just like I had been taught. In an instant, my stats are revealed.

Name	Shun, Human
Level	1
HP (Green)	35/35
MP (Blue)	348/348
SP (Yellow)	35/35
SP (Red)	35/35
Average Offense	20
Average Defense	20
Average Magic Power	314
Average Resistance	299
Average Speed	20
Skill Points	100.000

My stats appear in my mind’s eye. Simultaneously, they are also projected high on the wall, like a screen, for the entire room to see. This screen is linked together with the [Gem of Appraisal], so results can be displayed easily.

The crowd behind me begins to murmur. The King commands everyone to be silent, but the talking still continues. Based on that reaction alone, it looks like my stats are outside the norm. Quite honestly, this is the reaction I had been expecting.

My magic-related stats are, of course, quite high, as Anna could attest. In contrast, though, my physical stats are about where they should be for a child my age. Well, that’s not quite accurate; they’re definitely on the high side compared to my peers, but nowhere near the same extent as my magic stats. Hmm, my stats have become really unbalanced.

As for my skills, though, I know that there’s some sort of Voice of God. If I understand it correctly, it alerts you whenever your level rises or you gain a new skill. However, I have two skills that I wasn’t told of at all: [Divine Protection] and one whose name looks garbled. I’m a little curious about both of those, so I try Appraising them.

{Divine Protection: Blessed by the protection of Heaven. Any outcome you desire is made easier to obtain.}

{n% I = W: Impossible to appraise.}

What the hell? [Divine Protection] is amazing. It’s OP! Although, it does only say “easier to obtain”, so it’s not like the world will move exactly as I wish. This is an amazing skill, but I shouldn’t lean on it too heavily.

The other skill, though, is much stranger. Not only is its name cryptic, the appraisal result is even worse! I have no idea what this skill could possibly be. Even a [Gem of Appraisal] of the highest quality can’t glean any insight as to what this might be and, if [Appraisal] can’t tell me anything, I have no idea how to explore it any further. I know nothing about this at all.

“Oh, that looks just like the one the Duke’s daughter has!” says someone in the crowd. “That amazing prodigy, right?” asks someone else. “Yes,” adds a third, “but it would appear that the Prince is just as talented… maybe even moreso!”

I’ve been catching snippets of conversation from the murmuring nobles behind me, usually comparing me to the daughter of a Duke. Is there seriously another child out there who is as gifted as I am? I thought Sue was the only one…

“Silence!!” thunders the King. The room quiets down immediately. The King presents me with a sheet of paper, on which my stats have been recorded by the magical writing device linked with the [Gem of Appraisal]. I respectfully accept it, bow deeply, and step back. My part of this ceremony is complete.

Next, Sue steps forward. Her results are roughly the same as mine, which causes the crowd to erupt into noise once more. The important difference, though, is that Sue lacks both [Divine Protection] and that mystery skill.