On the first day, I built the bare minimum of a lair and went to sleep.
Saying I got a good night's rest would be a stretch, what with the pain in my back, but nothing attacked me while I slept, so at least there was that.
Beyond just being attacked, there was also the risk of dying from my injuries, so when I woke up safely, I genuinely felt relieved.
Checking my HP, it was still 6, the same as before I went to sleep.
Should I be disappointed that it hadn't recovered, or relieved that it hadn't dropped further? Hard to say.
On the second day, I spent the whole day expanding my lair.
The pain in my back made construction harder than I expected.
Every time a bee came close, I'd stop working and go on high alert, which didn't help either.
Unlike before, having to stay vigilant while working really wore on my nerves.
Between construction sessions, I nibbled on the bee I'd captured the day before, bit by bit, making sure my stamina didn't run dry.
In a situation like this, letting even one resource hit zero could tip the scales in an instant.
I was especially dependent on stamina.
Spinning thread required stamina. Even basic movement required stamina.
On top of that, I had to keep enough stamina in reserve to fight at least one battle.
And who knew whether I'd be able to secure more food after this? If I was going to be in this for the long haul, I had no choice but to manage my stamina carefully.
Also, something I discovered on this day — the level of my Pain Resistance had shot up dramatically.
The last time Pain Resistance had leveled up, I was pretty sure it was only at level 2, yet the Voice of Heaven (tentative) I heard while building my lair announced: "Proficiency has reached a certain threshold. Skill 'Pain Resistance LV6' has become 'Pain Resistance LV7'."
It had skipped straight to level 7.
I wondered what had happened, but I figured the level must have gone up while I was sleeping.
I'd been tossing and turning in agony all night, and since Pain Resistance's proficiency increase condition was presumably "feeling pain," it made sense that proficiency would have accumulated even while I slept.
Thinking back, I had a vague memory of hearing the Voice of Heaven (tentative) in a half-dreaming state.
And here's what I realized — Pain Resistance wasn't the skill I'd assumed it to be. I'd assumed it would reduce the pain I felt, but that wasn't the case at all.
Even though the level had gone up to 7, the pain hadn't budged, which tipped me off. Apparently, this skill was the type that let you "endure pain and keep moving."
Honestly? It's underwhelming.
It still hurts just as much, and even with the skill, there are limits to how much I can move.
When I first got the skill, it felt like the pain had lessened, but I think that was just my imagination.
After that, it took one more day for Pain Resistance to reach level 8.
Day three.
The captured bees were all eaten.
The lair had been expanded to a decent degree, and it was time to move on to the next phase.
Namely, hunting — to level up.
The problem was figuring out how to catch prey.
The bees came close enough, but they seemed wary of me and never attacked outright.
If they'd just charged in blindly, that would've made things so much easier, but of course it wasn't that simple.
For now, I waited for an opportunity and kept watching the bees.
I tried subtly provoking the ones that came near, but they still wouldn't take the bait.
Observing the bees taught me a few things.
First, they operated in teams of roughly five or six.
These teams split up and went about their business independently.
Each team had a leader.
"High Finjigoat LV1 — Appraisal of Status failed."
A High Finjigoat, apparently.
Judging by the name, it was an advanced species — possibly an evolved individual.
Its level was around 1, so that seemed likely.
Among the regular bees, there were a handful at levels 8 and 9 that looked like they were on the verge of evolution. Once they evolved, they probably became team leaders.
The leader bees were slightly darker in color than the regular ones.
That was about the only visible difference — same size, same shape.
I couldn't read their Status since Appraisal had failed, but as an advanced species, they were probably stronger than the regulars.
Even so, I didn't think any of them could break through my web.
They must have understood that too, which was why they didn't come poking around.
Thinking about it that way, those bees were actually pretty smart.
The teams moved as a group, vanishing down the passages at the bottom of the vertical shaft.
After a while, they'd return carrying their kill.
They hunted in organized squads like that for efficiency.
Definitely smart.
There were a few stragglers that seemed to wander off on their own, though.
But more importantly, the fact that there were monsters hunting bees down here at the bottom was significant.
It meant not everything down here was some freakish monster like that earth dragon.
Just knowing that gave me a lot more peace of mind.
Still, some teams didn't come back, so I couldn't let my guard down entirely.
Not coming back meant they'd been killed.
Some returning teams were even carrying the corpses of their fallen comrades, so this was undoubtedly a dangerous area.
I continued watching the bees intently.