The path I'm following is pretty wide.
Well, it has to be. It's the kind of space where bees with bodies two and a half meters long can fly around freely, and a giant mantis that looks to be around five meters long can move about in every direction.
『Elro Grashigard — Level 7 — Appraisal of Status failed』
The giant mantis intercepts the swarming bees with the scythes on both arms. Unlike a normal mantis, it has six arms.
It's like an Ashura.
The bees are trying to attack from the air, but they can't quite break into the range of those scythes, so the battle's in a stalemate.
I observe the whole thing from the shadow of a rock.
Neither side seems to have noticed my presence.
The power of Stealth is working better than I expected.
While I'm peeking, I Appraise again.
『Elro Grashigard: A mantis-type Monster inhabiting the Lower Layer of the Great Ello Dungeon. Excels in powerful physical attacks using its scythes.』
Oh — one of the bees just got bisected by a scythe.
Whoa, one-hit bisect? That's some insane sharpness.
With cutting power like that, it might even be able to slice through my threads.
Well, it doesn't seem to have noticed me, so I'll just sneak right on past.
Actually, there's another impossible-to-ignore word in those Appraisal results.
『Great Ello Dungeon Lower Layer: An area situated between the Middle Layer and the deepest layer of the Great Ello Dungeon. Numerous powerful Monsters inhabit it.』
Oh, huh. So that's how it is.
This is the Lower Layer.
And there's even more below it.
With a bunch of powerful Monsters.
…Maybe I didn't want to know that.
Incidentally, I also tried Appraising the Middle Layer and the deepest layer, but since "Elro" wasn't connected to those terms, I just got results like "a middle layer" and "the layer situated at the very bottom among all layers."
Useless.
But anyway — here I was thinking this was the bottom, and apparently there's even more below.
The deepest layer of what's supposed to be the world's largest Dungeon — I can only imagine a nightmarish swarm of insanely powerful Monsters down there.
Think about it. In any Dungeon, the deeper you go, the stronger the enemies get. So if this Lower Layer already has a ton of powerful Monsters, that assumption seems pretty spot-on.
Earth Dragons and the like just lying around everywhere.
Just imagining it sends shivers down my spinnerets.
But then again — thinking about it more carefully — the area I was in before was probably the Upper Layer.
It was the kind of place humans could venture into, and it connected to the surface.
If that's the case, maybe the exit wasn't that far away.
Ah, I avoided humans while I was there, but maybe I should have followed their tracks instead?
But then again, even if I got out, I'd still look like this.
Even outside the Dungeon, since I'm a spider, I'd have to live like a Monster — hunting and all that.
Well, none of that matters right now.
I need to escape from this Lower Layer first.
And even after that, the Middle Layer's still in the way.
For all I know, this path might not even lead to the Middle Layer.
I'd really rather not go to the deepest layer.
Oh — another bee just went down.
Yeah, the bees are losing this one.
That mantis is no joke.
Wait, isn't it obviously stronger than the snake?
That's weird — in my mind, the snake was supposed to be the boss-level threat.
Okay, compared to an Earth Dragon it's nothing, but that mantis is still seriously strong, right?
My internal snake ranking just took a massive nosedive.
Could it be that the snake isn't actually that strong down here in the Lower Layer?
Well, I'm probably jumping to conclusions.
Maybe the mantis is just abnormally strong.
I used to think that way too.
The moment it bisected the third bee, something unexpected happened to the mantis.
Out of nowhere, a giant spider's fangs bit into its body and tore it apart.
Huh?
No, no, no.
Seriously?
『Greater Taratect — Level 18 — Appraisal of Status failed』
Whoa.
That's my ultimate evolved form.
Seriously?
『Greater Taratect: An evolved form of the spider-type Monster Taratect species. Carnivorous, with powerful venom in its fangs.』
Oh my.
So that's what I'd become if I kept evolving.
Compared to the super-giant spider I first saw — My Mother — it's still smaller, but it's still gotta be about ten meters long.
The mantis looks tiny by comparison.
And it killed the mantis using nothing but its fangs — it didn't even use threads.
Its physical stats are absurdly high, aren't they?
My Status is only at 21, you know?
How many times would I have to evolve to become that?
Anyway, I'm slipping away before it spots me.
There's no way I could beat something like that.
Yep, but I've learned something important.
This Lower Layer is dangerous.
What do I mean by dangerous?
Exactly what you'd expect!
I'm surrounded by enemies at a level where I'm not even sure I could win if I built a nest.
My life really does depend on Stealth, huh.
Was it a mistake to come here?
Maybe I should have just forced my way through where the bees were?
But then again — so far, I haven't felt that overwhelming, no-escape sense of danger like I did with the Earth Dragon.
Besides, there are Monsters that are weak enough for me to take on, like the bees. It's not completely hopeless.
The mantis and the big spider look tough, but other Monsters might actually be manageable.
Well, if I find something I can handle, I'll use it for food. Otherwise, I'll stick to Stealth for the most part.
Right now, the red total stamina gauge still hasn't gone down.
If I can trust that display, there's no need to panic. I should size up my prey carefully before making a move.
The last thing I want is to accidentally attract something at the Earth Dragon's level.