I managed to brush off my sibling's attack without any trouble.
Man.
Thank goodness that one was an idiot.
If it had been a real fight, I could've been in danger.
I have a decent grasp of my own characteristics.
I can't check my Status like in a game, so it's been a lot of trial and error, but I think I've been able to judge my abilities with some degree of objectivity.
Judging from that, my greatest weapons are thread and Poison Fang.
Restrain them with thread, then finish them off with Poison Fang.
This golden combo is my go-to strategy for staying undefeated, and conversely, when it doesn't work, that's when my defeat is sealed.
For me — or rather, for us spider Monsters — thread and Poison Fang are simply that important.
And this idiot attacker didn't understand that at all.
I had predicted the outcome of the fight based on the assumption that, since we're the same species, whoever restrains the other with thread first wins.
So I figured the core of the battle would come down to the mind games of trying to attach thread to the opponent — and yet the result was this.
Did you really charge in with no plan whatsoever? Are you stupid? Are you an idiot? Are you trying to die? Oh wait, you're already dead.
I'm actually more impressed that someone that stupid managed to survive this long.
I still can't beat the Monsters outside My Home, so how did that guy make it this far?
Well, no point dwelling on it, and he's already dead anyway.
So what happens to someone who dies inside my territory, you ask? Well, you can guess, right?
I'm starving.
Looks gross, sure, but I tossed aside any squeamishness the very first time I ate that frog.
Sibling?
So what?
We're a species that eats each other, so this is nothing new.
Right then, bon appétit.
Phew.
That was a good meal.
It looked terrible, but it was actually tastier than the frog.
I guess that makes sense?
The frog had both poison and acid, which is what made it so unpleasant.
Well, this one was poisonous too, so it wasn't exactly delicious, but it was still better than the frog.
And just as I was feeling settled and content, I heard that mechanical-sounding voice from the Voice of Heaven — tentatively named.
《You have met the conditions. You have acquired the Title "Evil Eater."》 《As a result of the Title "Evil Eater," you have acquired the Skills "Poison Resistance Lv1" and "Corrosion Resistance Lv1."》 《"Poison Resistance Lv1" has been merged into "Poison Resistance Lv3."》 《You have met the conditions. You have acquired the Title "Blood Kin Eater."》 《As a result of the Title "Blood Kin Eater," you have acquired the Skills "Taboo Lv1" and "Heterodox Magic Lv1."》 What?!
Wait, what is this?
Every time I hear the Voice of Heaven — tentatively named — I get surprised, but this time it wasn't so much surprise as sheer bewilderment.
Title? What now?
Is it getting a little too crowded in here?
Times like these call for what I do best — let's spin some thread and relax.
I casually spun out some thread and wound it around and around, making a fluffy white ball.
Phew, that calmed me down a bit.
Okay, so, Titles.
So this is how it works?
You get them when you meet special conditions?
That's probably it, but the ones I got are both incredibly dishonorable and grotesque...
"Evil Eater" isn't a Title, it's an insult!
"Blood Kin Eater" — you can tell just from the kanji that something's wrong!
Other people can't see these, right?
If your Appraisal level is high enough, maybe they can.
Ugh.
If anyone saw these, it'd be game over on the spot.
Well, I'm a Monster, so technically the moment anyone sees what I look like it's game over anyway, but still.
That said, if you ignore the naming, aren't these Titles actually huge?
I mean, I suddenly gained four Skills.
I already had Poison Resistance, so that one's whatever, but based on what the Voice of Heaven — tentatively named — said, it probably got added to my Proficiency instead.
Not being able to view detailed info at times like this is really inconvenient.
I want my Appraisal level to go up faster.
But what concerns me more are the other three Skills.
Corrosion Resistance — I can more or less guess what that does.
If I eat something corroded, my Proficiency might go up.
I wouldn't seek it out willingly though...
The problem is the remaining two.
Taboo is a Skill with a sketchy-sounding name, but I have no idea what its effect is.
I literally can't even imagine.
Come on, description please.
I can't use a Skill if I don't know what it does.
Heterodox Magic is the same.
I have no clue how to use it.
What, do I just chant a spell or something?
But even if I could, I'm a spider — I can't talk.
All I can make is that clicky-clicky sound, or teeth grinding or whatever you'd call it...
Well, even if I could talk, I wouldn't know any spells, so I still couldn't use it anyway.
I tried mentally saying "Heterodox Magic" in my head.
...
...
... .
Nothing happened.
It doesn't work.
Huh?
I thought I'd stumbled into some easy Title and Skill gains, but in reality the only useful one is Corrosion Resistance?
Well, I guess Poison Resistance probably got added internally too...
Thinking about it, the only Title that actually served a purpose was "Evil Eater," wasn't it?
"Blood Kin Eater" is completely useless, isn't it?
Ah, now that I think about it, if the condition to earn the "Blood Kin Eater" Title is simply to eat a blood relative, then there should be plenty of siblings running around with the same Title.
But the only one who's come this far was the idiot I just ate.
Which means earning the "Blood Kin Eater" Title doesn't really change your combat ability at all.
If you can't use it, there's no point.
I see.
Easy conditions come with a reason.
Looser Titles come with weaker effects.
Still, just knowing that Titles exist is a big deal.
If I can collect Titles, maybe I can efficiently gather Skills too.
Maybe I should try experimenting with different things to see if I can earn new Titles.