On the third day, just when I was thinking about getting some sleep, I received a message from the Voice of Heaven (provisional).
<Proficiency has reached a certain threshold. Skill 'Pain Resistance LV9' has become 'Pain Nullification'> <Condition met. Skill 'Pain Reduction LV1' has been derived from Skill 'Pain Nullification'> My Pain Resistance went up again.
And it seems like it had silently climbed from LV8 to LV9 without me noticing.
It probably leveled up while I was sleeping again.
The level display in the name disappeared, replaced with "Nullification."
It really gives off that max-level vibe.
Pain Nullification is the second skill I've maxed out, after Dark Vision.
Since Dark Vision was apparently born at a high level, this is the first skill I've brought to what's effectively LV10 on my own merit.
Whether all the suffering was worth it is debatable, though.
Well, I think the derived skill genuinely eases real pain.
I mean, Pain Resistance isn't exactly fake either.
But at LV1, there's barely any difference.
The pain in my back is still asserting its presence just as strongly as ever.
If I can raise the skill level, maybe that pain will ease up too, so here's hoping it levels up while I'm sleeping.
And with that, goodnight.
Day four.
My stamina has been slowly draining, so I figure it's time to get moving.
My target is the stragglers — the bees separated from the swarm.
Going after a whole squad would be too risky.
I don't think I'd necessarily lose, mind you.
I think that, but it's better to play it cautious here.
When the opponent is a group, unexpected things can happen.
Stragglers, on the other hand, are much easier to deal with.
Since stragglers aren't under the command of a squad leader bee, their decision-making is ambiguous.
From what I observed yesterday, there were even individuals that darted into narrow side passages that a full squad would never enter.
The one I once caught in my nest was probably a straggler that wandered into a strange corridor and ended up lost, eventually stumbling into my territory.
Of course, I doubt that individual could make it from here all the way to where I used to have my nest, so there must be a different swarm of bees living near there.
Stragglers didn't seem very bright, from the look of them.
Maybe that's why they didn't get assigned to a squad and had to settle for being stragglers.
Anyway, if I taunt a straggler, it might charge right at me.
That said, I don't intend to rely on such an uncertain, luck-based strategy.
I pulled out the new weapon I came up with yesterday.
A thread with a ball of hardened adhesive silk attached to the tip — I call it the Spider Morningstar!
Heh heh heh.
I'll use this in combination with my strength and Thread Manipulation to hurl it at the bees in the air.
Probably — no, almost certainly — it won't hit.
But that's fine.
As long as it makes them recognize me as an enemy, that's all that matters.
After that, they should come charging at me on their own.
If it hits, great. If it draws their attention, that's a success.
And if I'm lucky, a straggler will end up near the nest.
Based on yesterday, stragglers came to check on the nest pretty frequently, so this should work.
<Proficiency has reached a certain threshold. Skill 'Pain Reduction LV2' has become 'Pain Reduction LV3'> While I was waiting, my Pain Reduction skill leveled up.
Huh?
It's leveling up way slower compared to Pain Resistance.
I thought it might have jumped to around LV5 while I was sleeping, but it really hasn't gone up that much.
Hmm?
Maybe the conditions for accumulating proficiency are different?
Or could it be that different skills require different amounts of proficiency to level up?
I have no idea.
But the level did go up, so at least that confirms it.
Pain Reduction is definitely a skill that eases pain.
Thanks to it, the pain in my back has become much more bearable.
The wound on my back is pretty bad.
On the first day, I used Thread Manipulation to wrap thread around the wound as emergency first aid, but it had burst wide open.
It's the kind of severe injury that would kill a human for certain.
The only reason I'm still alive is because I'm a spider — or maybe because I'm a Monster.
Either way, it's such a grievous wound that it's a miracle I'm still living.
When I used Thread Manipulation to clean out the wound — partly to scrape out what I believe was injected poison — the pain nearly killed me.
I need to level up as fast as possible and do something about this wound.
If I leave it as is, it'll definitely get worse soon.
Festering, necrosis, bacterial infection.
Even though I cleaned it with Thread Manipulation, I didn't exactly wash it with clean water or disinfect it.
I need to deal with it before all sorts of complications set in.
And then, my chance arrived.
A single straggler was heading my way.
There were no other bees around.
If there had been other bees nearby, they might have rushed over to help their companion in trouble.
With that worry off the table, this was a perfect opportunity.
I swung the Spider Morningstar around and around.
Focus, focus.
Line it up carefully — there!
<Proficiency has reached a certain threshold. Skill 'Focus LV1' has been acquired> Oh, I hit it.
That thought and the notification about gaining a new skill came at the same time.
Wow.
I really didn't expect to hit it.
The Spider Morningstar I flung landed squarely on the bee's body.
I immediately used Thread Manipulation to wrap threads around the bee.
Then I escorted the thrashing bee into the nest.
A meal for Poison Fang.
Yep.
Things couldn't have gone better right from the start.
This is looking like a promising beginning.
No, no, no.
I mustn't get ahead of myself.
That's exactly how I ended up in a terrible situation before.
I'll stay humble for now.
For the time being, I've taken my first step, so let me enjoy a meal for the first time in a while.
Well then, time to eat.