Chapter 1 (2/2)

Weaver Princess

Personal Skills:

Charm, Thread, Soft Thread, Evasion Rate Up (Large), Escape Rate Up (Large), [Tactile Thread]Sensor Web, Web s.h.i.+eld, Sewing, Weaving, Predation, Human Transformation, Detect Presence, Regeneration, 4 Strikes Combo (Unavailable in Human Form)

Equipment:

Arachne Silk Dress

Arachne Silk Pack

______________________________________________

This is a rare skill that I can use instinctively. Of course, I can also use it on other people or on inorganic substance.

It also tells me if there's poison or not in what I eat, so this is probably the skill that has helped me the most during my one month of wilderness survival.

Seems like the reason the information shows up like a game status window is because the skill tries to match up with my perception. According to my sisters, even when they try to use the same [Tactile Thread]Sensor Web skill, the information they get is a lot rougher and lacking in detail.

…Well, leaving that aside.

What's this [Cla.s.s: Dressmaker] thing? … Ah, was it because I made a dress?

Also, I have this [Sewing] and [Weaving]… With these skills, I can probably make my living in the town somehow.

Oh yeah, if I remember correctly, according to Earth's mythology, Arachne took pride in being able to ”weave more skillfully than the G.o.ds”, and then was turned into a half-human half-spider monster.

There's probably a relation with my skills.

”[Evasion Rate Up (Large)], [Escape Rate Up (Large)] were probably because I kept running away from my sisters all the time. And what's [Predation]…?”

I don't really understand how it work, so I tried to focus my attention on [Predation], which created a window showing more details. Ooh, convenient.

Oookay, let's see…

[When eating creatures with magic inside their bodies, your status will rise by a certain amount (permanent effect). Furthermore, it's possible to learn new skills. Eating preys with stronger magic will grant a better chance of raising stats.]

Oooh… This ability totally sounds like a cheat.

So that's the reason… This is why my sisters are so much stronger than me…

They ate ones of their own race… Cannibalized those arachnes with bodies filled to the brim with magic. Of course they'll get strong…

Ah, but I also have a little bit of bonus on my stats from predating.

…Which means those animals I ate weren't just normal birds and rabbits like I thought, and they're probably some sort of magical creatures.

Well, if I'm going to live in a human town, then I probably won't have many chances to eat magical creatures anyway, so ignoring this is fine.

And then… [Regeneration], just as it says in the name, is an ability that heals my wounds as time pa.s.ses. Looks like I can grow a new arm given enough time.

Indeed a half-spiderArachne. It's convenient to not have to go to the doctor.

The problem is, how many of my abilities remain when I turn into human form?

”Well, trying it out would be the fastest way… Aaaand there.”

As I chant in my mind ”Tuuuurn into a human, tuuuurn into a human…”, my lower body gradually shrinks and turn into a pair of smooth human legs.

Furthermore, the 6 eyes twinkling like rubies on my forehead (I'm a spider, so in total I have 8 eyes!) also sink and disappear inside my body with a *plop*.

”Whoooooaaaaaa… So narrow! Have humans always had such a narrow field of vision? And the legs… Feel kinda unstable…”

Looks like I got way too used to an Arachne's body after that single month, more than I expected.

”So, my status. [Tactile Thread]Sensor Web… Hmm… So Detect Presence and 4 Strike Combo aren't usable in a human body. These skills probably depend on my spider eyes and legs, so no way around it, I guess. Other than that… STR and VIT drops from 25 to 18… Wow, it goes down by quite a lot… But well, a human female would be like this, I suppose.”

I keep on mumbling to myself while checking out my status and continue walking in the forest at the same time.

From the viewpoint of a person in my past life, I'm totally a suspicious person right now.

And so, it would take another 10 minutes for me to hear that sound.

”…This is… swords clanging?”

The sound of steel striking steel rings from afar.

There's not likely to be a blacksmith in the middle of the forest, so it must be a battle between some sort of humanoids.

”Ummm, what do I do… Maybe I should intervene?”

This form of mine doesn't have claws or any sort of weapons, so if I'm going to intervene, the only thing I can do is to use threads to restrict and tie them up… And it's not like I know their situation.

For now, I guess I'll come closer and check out the situation…

”The sound was coming from this direction… Yeaah, it's hard to walk with my human legs when I'm barefoot… I'll need to make shoes with my threads later… Gah?!”

While I was walking with such idle thoughts in my mind, suddenly, a brawny arm reaches out from the thicket and grab my neck.

And like that, the arm's owner pulls me close to their body.

”Boss! There's even one hidin' in this place!”

The man who caught me shouted and waved his hand at the direction of the road.

That's right, a road. I don't know since when, but I've come close to the road pa.s.sing through the forest.

Still, these guys… Deep voices, thick smell of meat wafting from their mouths, tattered leather armor, and the shortsword currently pointing straight at my eyes.

Got it, they're totally some sort of bandits or kidnappers.

And if so, then this 'Boss' guy who this man waved at must be the bandit chief, or someone similar.

”Yeah! Good job! A bit of a brat, but guys with that sort of hobby would prolly fork over a bunch for this cutie!”

”P-Please stop! She's innocent!”

The person who tried to cover for me was a beautiful brown-haired lady wearing some high-quality clothes. She looks to be just over twenty.

Like me, that pretty lady's right hand is being seized by a large, stocky bandit.

A quick look tells me that… there are around 5 bandits.

Around the woman are three armed men lying on the ground. They must have been her escorts.

”Umm… So I'm just confirming the situation here. You're some sort of bandits or kidnappers, and right now you're in the middle of kidnapping that lady over there?”

I need to at least confirm what's going on here. I'm not really the type to judge people just by their faces.

”Haha… Gwahahahaha! Little la.s.s, you sure got some nerve there! Or perhaps you got too scared and went crazy in the head instead?”

”…Please answer. Am I right?”

”Heheheh… That's right! We're the bandit group Doye! Kids wet their pants just from hearing our names! So if you understand who we are, better give up and stay quiet. If you do, I'll do you a favor and kindly sample you myself… Gahahahaha!”

”Tch, Narjin. Your hobby never changes.”

”Then, 'dis b.i.t.c.h over here iz mine.”

Instead of the so-called 'boss', the guy who captured me generously spilled all the beans, so I got what I wanted to hear.

This means I can retaliate without worries, then.

And so, let's not waste any time. I let out a string of thread from my fingertip and wrap it around the neck of the man who's holding me.

”Ack?!”

It looks like he doesn't understand what just happened. He chokes, his fingers scratching his throat.

In the first place, my threads are so small you can't see them unless you really squint, but at the same time they're even stronger than steel wires.

There's no way you can tear them off with just your bare hands.

Well, if I really want to, I can just slice his head off… But since I don't want this to turn into a splatter film, I made the thread softer and intentionally blunted its cutting edge.

I constrict his airway and carotid artery, and take his consciousness in one go.

”Agghh… Ugghh…”

*thud*.

I throw the man, his face blue and his mouth filled with frothing bubbles, on the ground, and move towards the remaining four bandits.

”Ah, eh? The f.u.c.k are you… Gakh?!”

”*Wheeze, wheeze*”

”I-I khan't brea.s.ss…”

”s.h.i.+t! You f.u.c.ker! Eat this!”

Indeed, the boss wasn't so dumb as to not realize that I've done something to take down his men. At the moment I took down the fourth one, the only remaining bandit boss immediately slashed at me from behind with his longsword.

Unsurprisingly, I flew off from the impact of the sword… But it wasn't as painful as I'd thought.

I casually stand up and turn toward the bandit boss. His face transformed from one of a man sure of his victory into an expression of shock.

”Why…Why weren't you hurt?! This sword can cut even iron armor!”

The bandit boss shouted in confusion.

In this world, Arachne monsters are considered quite the high rank monster in the first place.

Those like my mother even retaliate against high level adventurers and turn them into food. They're that strong.

And it looks like clothes made from arachne threads has rather high defense.

But even with that, what I'm wearing is just clothes, so they can't absorb the force of the blow. I still feel pain to a certain extent.

And so, I decisively punish mister bandit boss by constricting his carotid artery and airway with my thread, sending him to meet his partners.

”Eugh.”

Oh, he fainted… d.a.m.n, I had wanted to torture him a bit more before letting him faint.

”Umm, excuse me… Thank you very much! Lady Magician!”

Ah, there was a woman who got kidnapped. I forgot.

”No, no, please don't mind it.. Also, I'm not a magician, just a humble dressmaker!”

”Miss dressma…ker? Huh?”

She got confused by my introduction. Well, I guess normally, dressmakers don't go and defeat bandits.

After those bandits, the woman was the next one in line to get dumbfounded.

<script>