Chapter 3 Mongolian Arachne
【Nephila Jurassica LV13】
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【Nephila Jurassica】
Though the body length is about 7 cm, the leg span exceeds 15 cm, making it a gigantic spider.
It primarily preys on insects, lizards, or even small dinosaur hatchlings and is an ancient hunter adept at using webs.
It is also known by another name, Mongolian Arachne.
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Mongolian Arachne?
Mongolia?
Does that mean this place is Mongolia?
No, that didn’t mean anything. This world has both Oviraptors and gecko lizards existing together.
What’s important is that there was a spider bigger than me right in front of me.
I acted calmly. Despite its appearance, it might be warmer inside than anyone else.
Hello, Mr. Spider.
Let’s get along well.
I nodded my head in greeting.
“Kieeek!”
The spider clashed its two front legs together.
There’s no way it’s just 15 cm, it looked at least twice that size.
It didn’t seem to be an exaggeration that it could eat small dinosaur hatchlings.
I prepared to escape while glaring at it.
Just in case it attacked, so I could react quickly.
But the spider just glanced at me and then turned its head away, as if it wasn’t interested.
“Kieek.”
What’s this?
Was it intimidated by me?
Was the Green Gecko species actually a natural enemy of spiders?
I had a brief delusion, but the truth was soon revealed.
【Calligramma LV3】
【Calligramma LV1】
【Calligramma LV1】
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【Calligramma】
It is about 5 cm in length. Unlike its butterfly-like appearance, it is classified as a dragonfly.
It does not eat meat and sucks nectar from flowers with its long proboscis like a butterfly.
Its wings have patterns resembling the eyes of other creatures, helping to repel predators.
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The spiderweb was full of prey. It didn’t need to bother with me.
I had heard that spiders like tarantulas might attack directly, but those that use webs rarely do. Besides, I wasn’t that small either.
Though I wasn’t fully grown, I seemed to be about 10 cm. There was no reason to fight to the death unless I got caught in the web.
So, it decided not to care about me. I just needed to not care about it.
Still, being in the same space was a bit uncomfortable, so I decided to move a bit.
It wasn’t because I was scared.
Pababat.
I climbed onto a nearby branch.
I moved cautiously towards the cluster of leaves.
There were no previous occupants here. It meant I was somewhat assured of safety.
Since hatching, I hadn’t had the luxury to look back. Now that I had some time, I needed to gather and use as much information as possible.
Let’s organize my situation.
I had reincarnated as a gecko lizard.
Given that I had HP, MP, skills, and a status window, I could tell this was a different world from where I used to be.
Right, skills.
If there was a status window, there must also be a skill window.
‘Skill window!’
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【Skills】
「Tail Cutting LV1」「Wall Climbing LV1」「Cold Blood LV1」「Predation LV1」「Wild Eyes LV1」「Tail Cutting LV1」
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There were more than I expected.
「Wall Climbing LV1」
Climb walls with the feet of a gecko lizard.
「Cold Blood LV1」
Reptiles are cold-blooded. They have resistance to mental attacks and can remain calm in extreme situations.
These were quite typical gecko lizard skills.
Still, the ability called Cold Blood seemed quite good. I didn’t know what mental attacks were, but being able to stay calm in any situation was advantageous.
It might be thanks to this skill that I was strangely calm despite turning into a lizard overnight.
「Predation LV1」
Devour enemies. You can consume food beyond the limit. The excess is converted into experience points.
「Wild Eyes LV1」
Observe the opponent closely.
Predation and Wild Eyes.
They were like beginner pack skills for an isekai reincarnation.
I was disappointed they weren’t attack skills, but they still seemed useful.
But why were there two Tail Cutting skills?
There was no difference in the skill description.
Cut your tail was all it said, which was unhelpful.
…Is it a bug?
One hypothesis was that Tail Cutting was a skill inherently given, like Wall Climbing.
In such a situation, the reincarnation perk skill I got was also Tail Cutting.
….
Ridiculous.
If I was going to be reincarnated as something like a gecko lizard, shouldn’t I at least get some good skills? Like Heavenly Demon Divine Art or Dragon Breath. Something cool like that.
What’s with Tail Cutting, and it’s duplicated.
I was annoyed.
[Cold Blood effect activated.]
Calmness came over me arbitrarily.
This also annoyed me, but I knew it wasn’t the time to get angry.
In this relatively peaceful moment, I needed to decide what to do.
The immediate problem was this.
[HP is insufficient!]
My remaining HP was 1.
Even a slight touch could be fatal.
I needed to recover my HP.
Though I didn’t know the exact method, I could guess.
One of the skills I had, Predation.
It felt like eating something would restore my HP.
Even if it didn’t, there was mention of gaining experience points. If I gained enough experience points, I would level up, and leveling up would definitely restore my HP.
I wasn’t hoping to level up.
The urgent priority was to restore my HP.
What should I eat?
I lightly touched my tongue to the leaf beside me.
Hoping that maybe I was a herbivorous lizard.
What I felt was the very bitter taste of chlorophyll.
I wasn’t even sure if chlorophyll had a taste.
Anyway, I knew I couldn’t eat these leaves.
Just as I learned by closely observing, I had to catch and eat small bugs.
Small bugs.
….
I slightly poked my head out and looked towards the Nephila-whatever.
Delicious-looking bugs were dangling from the spiderweb.
With so many there, it shouldn’t hurt to take just one.
I swallowed my saliva.
Should I try talking to the spider?
“Gegegegek.”
I just moved into the neighborhood, could I have one of those bugs?
“Kieeek!”
The spider waved its long legs wildly. It seemed to be in a bad mood.
I gave up cleanly.
Of course, giving up meant abandoning the thought of getting food justly.
So much for good neighbors.
It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
I approached its web very carefully.
Spiders might have eight eyes, but they have poor vision. Especially those that use webs.
They detect prey by sensing vibrations in the web, not by sight.
In other words, as long as I didn’t touch the web, I could get close without any problem.
I crawled slowly.
Stealthily approaching was my forte now.
Before I knew it, I was right in front of the web. The spider still hadn’t noticed.
I stared at my tail intently.
It had grown plump and looked quite appetizing.
…Wait, what am I thinking?
With my HP so low, all kinds of thoughts crossed my mind.
Even if spiders have poor vision, they will eventually notice.
My goal was to steal the butterfly stuck in the web, so it was inevitable I would be caught.
If I was going to get caught anyway, it would be better to decide the timing myself.
‘Tail Cutting!’
As my tail was cut, I felt my body lighten.
HP wasn’t consumed, but I felt a slight hunger.
I carefully picked up my tail.
My tail wriggled wildly.
And I threw it into a corner of the web.
“Kieeek!”
The spider reacted immediately.
Even though it was stuck in the web, my tail wriggled frantically.
Good job, my tail.
“Kieek?”
The spider tilted its head.
The more my tail struggled, the more the web shook.
The spider was crouching, assessing the situation.
Spiders rarely attack immediately, even if prey gets caught in their web.
They might get injured by the wild thrashing.
Their hunting method was to wait until the prey exhausted its strength, then wrap it in webbing.
The spider’s attention was now entirely focused on my tail tangled in the web.
…Phew, but I still felt uneasy.
‘Tail Cutting!’
Just in case, I used the skill once more.
Then something surprising happened.
The already cut tail split into two.
I felt my body lighten even more.
In other words, the effect stacked.
The spider was bewildered. It must have mistaken the movements of my tails as those of a predator capable of destroying the web. It wouldn’t last long. The more they moved, the more the web would entangle them.
But now I had plenty of time.
Pababat!
I quickly snatched a butterfly from the edge. It came off the web more easily than I thought. Holding the butterfly, I ran away without looking back.
Pababak!
Mission accomplished.
【Green Gecko LV1】
HP: 1/7
MP: 0/3
Successfully using Tail Cutting twice had been crucial.
Even without it, I would have succeeded, but it would have been riskier.
[MP is completely consumed. You receive a penalty to all activities.]
The status window gave a warning.
I should keep at least 1 MP.
With no HP and no MP, I looked at the insect wrapped in the web.
I wasn’t keen on eating insects.
But to survive, I had to.
Chomp.
I took a big bite.
Crunch.
The crunchy texture was impressive.
I had thought it would be mushy, but surprisingly it wasn’t.
Being in the web for so long had naturally mummified it, making it perfect to be called insect jerky.
The texture was much better than something mushy. It was hard to say it was delicious, but at least it filled me up.
Though I didn’t check, I felt like my HP and MP were recovering. Probably because I was full. When I finished eating the entire butterfly, the status window brought good news.
[Level has increased!]
Oh.
I had expected it, but actually leveling up felt different.
Crack.
My skin itched.
Rip.
A white membrane formed over my body.
…This is molting?
I shed my skin quickly. The molting speed of lizards I saw in videos was quite long, but I completed mine in a blink.
【Green Gecko LV2】
HP: 9/9
MP: 5/5
I was no longer Green Gecko LV1. I had been reborn as Green Gecko LV2.
Naturally, my cut tail had regrown and I felt slightly larger.
[Amazing achievement: Survived using Tail Cutting twice!]
Huh? An achievement?
Is it praising me? Hey, what did I do so well.
[Tail Cutting is the last resort before death. You used it twice and survived.]
Thanks to my tail.
[It’s surprising you had such a weak skill duplicated, and you achieved a level up!]
Yeah, thanks.
…Wait, something’s off.
Is it teasing me?
“Gek.”
I muttered lowly, expressing my displeasure.
It gave me duplicate skills and reincarnated me as a weak gecko lizard, so I had plenty to complain about.
It kept poking at me under the guise of rewarding achievements.
The status window was quite annoying.
If the design was bad, it should at least be kind.
[Congratulations. You’ve gained 「Sprint LV1」 as a reward.]
…Whoever designed this status window, it’s amazing.
The best, status window!