To recover the stamina that had dropped to nearly empty thanks to the evolution, I just keep on eating.
First up, what's left of the snake.
The remainder of the snake I'd struggled so hard to finish off gets lapped up and slips into my belly without so much as a fuss.
《Proficiency has reached a certain threshold. Skill 'Poison Resistance LV6' has risen to 'Poison Resistance LV7'》 My Poison Resistance skill leveled up right around the time I finished off the snake.
Thanks to that snake, my Poison Resistance went up by two whole levels.
Sweet.
Before the evolution, eating this much would have blown my belly up like a balloon, but now it doesn't inflate even remotely — it's like the food vanishes into some other dimension the moment I swallow it.
It really does seem like everything I eat is just disappearing.
Meanwhile, in inverse proportion, my red overall Stamina Gauge is recovering like crazy.
Hmm.
I've encountered all sorts of strange phenomena since coming to this world, but what's going on inside my belly right now might honestly be the weirdest.
What is even happening in there?
Well, no point overthinking it.
This is just that kind of world — gotta accept it.
Leave the deciphering of mysterious phenomena to the scholars.
So anyway, the snake is gone and my belly still isn't full.
Not full, not satisfied.
And my red overall Stamina Gauge is still far from topped off.
Fortunately, right now inside My Home there's a mountain of Monster corpses.
It's the exact pile I'd been agonizing over how to finish before the evolution.
Surely this amount should be enough to satisfy even this interdimensional stomach of mine.
Right then — time to eat.
I eat.
I eat.
I eat.
I just eat.
In my previous life I was actually a pretty light eater, but in this one I can totally pull off the glutton character.
I don't think I'd lose to any competitive eater right now!
Seriously though, what is up with my belly?
I've clearly eaten more than my body's entire volume, and there's still room?
Are you telling me my stomach is literally connected to another dimension?!
I know there's no point thinking about it, but when it comes to my own body, I can't help but care.
And not knowing the answer just makes it itch in the back of my mind.
Enough!
No more thinking!
Right now, just keep eating with a clear mind and nothing else!
I eat.
I eat.
I eat.
I eat — oh, wait, there's nothing left.
Huh?
Did I just eat every last bit of food I had?
…Yeah, I did.
Nothing's left.
You've got to be kidding me.
I'm only at about eighty percent full, though.
My Stamina Gauge is about there too.
Even eating all that didn't fill me up?
Please tell me this isn't going to be like this forever.
This time is just special because the evolution burned through all my energy, right?
Because otherwise, I'm pretty confident I'd starve to death.
That would be a problem.
A massive problem.
No way, right? No way, no way?
If that were the case, Evolution would be an absolute death trap.
Actually, come to think of it, isn't Evolution kind of a trap even without that?
You lose consciousness, your energy drains to almost nothing.
I have no idea how long I was out, but that means I was completely defenseless the whole time.
I was inside My Home so it wasn't a problem at all, but for other Monsters, Evolution has to be pretty much life-or-death, doesn't it?
I really am absurdly lucky.
And even after a successful Evolution, ending up running on empty afterward is dangerous too.
If you didn't have reserves like mine, you'd have to go hunting for prey while running on fumes.
In that state, one wrong move and you'd get killed instead.
I really am absurdly lucky.
Is this what people call protagonist privilege or plot convenience?
Well, there's no way a spider is the protagonist, though.
It's not like my life as a spider has been all smooth sailing up to this point either.
If the next Evolution also triggers at LV10, I should probably start preparing around LV9.
This time I happened to be in perfect condition when I evolved, but normally there's no way it would go this smoothly with zero preparation.
Ah, man, I'm really glad I managed to take down that snake.
Without that snake, I never would have set up this home or stockpiled all this food.
Thank you, Mr. Snake!
Alright, I've recovered to some extent, but my belly still isn't satisfied.
I've digested every last bit of food, and now there's no reason to stay in this home.
Time for hikikomori graduation!
So, farewell to this home that's served me so well. Time to set off on another aimless journey.
Thank you, My Second Home.
It was supposed to be just a temporary shelter, but I ended up staying longer than expected.
Farewell!
I set off in high spirits.
First priority — find some prey to fill this belly.
After that, well, I'll probably wander around aimlessly as usual, but if possible I'd like to head toward the Dungeon's exit.
If there's another Evolution coming, I think my body is going to get bigger.
This last Evolution didn't even change my appearance and it still had this much impact, so it's not impossible that the next one could cause a massive growth spurt right after evolving.
If that happens, this corridor I'm in now is a bit worrying, size-wise.
I'd like to end up in a bigger passage if I can.
The best option would really be to get outside.
If I grow too large inside the Dungeon, there's a chance the exit could be too small and I'd be stuck inside.
I really don't want to spend my entire life living in this Dungeon.
Yeah.
Anyway, first let me find some prey.
We'll figure out the rest from there.