From a mile away, the spider crashed heavily into the ground, smashing every tree in its path.
The moment she stopped and straightened herself, she coughed up a large amount of blue blood.
'Damn it, my vitality has been severely damaged. Those bastard humans ruined everything. All my efforts were wasted. I'll kill them.'
Flying into a rage, she slammed the ground violently, her killing intent flaring.
Even so, she had no intention of returning to the humans to exact her revenge, she had barely escaped them in the first place.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Some human-like features returned to her savage face.
After treating her minor injuries, she quickly fled, desperately hoping not to encounter any more enemies.
But she wasn't that lucky.
After barely covering two miles, she sensed imminent danger.
She leaped backward just as a beam of light passed right in front of her, destroying everything in its path and carving a massive line of debris through the forest.
'This is the end, you evil monster.'
From a nearby spot, two armored men appeared. One was a tall, dark-skinned man carrying a large metal bow, wearing a wide leather hat on his head.
The other was short and stocky, wielding a hammer, with numerous rings adorning his fingers.
The spider's features twisted, and her legs trembled. Fear, frustration, and dissatisfaction surged within her.
She couldn't accept what was happening. She cursed her luck and spat the vilest words she knew at the humans.
She knew lamenting was useless. Desperate, she poured out every ounce of strength and determination left in her, preparing to fight for her life.
There was no escape, and her situation worsened as she sensed more humans approaching.
…
A few minutes earlier, several miles away, Arthur ran swiftly toward his den, a single thought echoing in his mind.
'Humans! There are humans in this world.' Excitement bubbled up, and he couldn't stop himself from smiling. Finally, he was certain he wasn't alone in this unfamiliar land.
Yes, he was a wolf, but he knew his true belonging wasn't among beasts or in the wild.
Even if he couldn't return to human society, merely knowing that life existed outside this forest brought him relief.
Still, his excitement didn't make him forget one crucial truth: humans were also his enemies.
If necessary, he wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who threatened his life and safety, not just as a beast, but as a human too.
Boom!
As he drew close to his lair, the ground beneath him suddenly shook. A loud explosion echoed, followed by a violent wave of air loaded with dust and fallen leaves.
His eyes widened in shock. "What's happening?"
He stopped in his tracks and quickly looked back. From the area where the spider's nest was located, thick clouds of dust and smoke were rising.
Not only that, he saw a gigantic translucent axe and white spears as thick as pillars flying everywhere.
His mouth fell open in disbelief, his mind going blank for a moment. He had expected the humans to fight the terrifying spider, but he couldn't accept just how absurd their power was.
Even the modern, advanced weapons from his previous world didn't possess this level of destructive force.
"This is insane… they're… they're monsters."
That was the only word he could think of. After witnessing the destruction caused in just their first clash, he now saw himself, and every beast he had faced so far, as nothing more than small, harmless animals.
Boom!
The explosions kept coming, and the ground continued to tremble. Arthur remained where he was, watching in fascination.
Even though he knew this was dangerous, he couldn't bring himself to leave or miss a sight like this, one that might never repeat.
His heart pounded. He swallowed hard and muttered,
"So this is true power… I want it."
His eyes filled with determination as he thought about how incredible this was. Power meant freedom, the freedom to go wherever he pleased and do whatever he wanted.
At this level, many of the ambitions from his past and current life would literally become meaningless.
Just imagining it made him tremble with excitement. But before he could get carried away in daydreams, he quickly regained his composure, he heard the sounds of many footsteps running toward him.
'Huh?'
A little astonished, he didn't panic. On the contrary, he felt joy. From the scent, he could identify the approaching creatures.
He bared his fangs and claws, then hid and waited patiently for the group of prey to reach him.
Squeak!
Seconds later, a terrified group of burrow squirrels of various sizes appeared, fleeing the battle zone without regard for their surroundings.
As soon as they came near, he blocked their path and pounced on the largest squirrel, sinking his fangs into its throat.
Without even spitting it out, he shredded another with his sharp claws. Like a fox in a chicken coop, wherever his fangs or claws landed, blood splattered and bodies fell.
[ +3XP ]
[ +2XP ]
In reality, the XP he gained from each hunt was small, but he didn't mind. Every kill mattered, even if it was minor.
Moreover, the quantity made up for the quality. Before the rest of the terrified group scattered and fled in all directions, he had already killed nine squirrels.
He growled in satisfaction and stored all the corpses in his "Dimensional Storage," then chased the largest fleeing group. Within seconds, he managed to catch three more squirrels.
That wasn't all, he also came across more creatures: deer, rabbits, and ordinary boars, most of which were unranked.
This made sense. Only ordinary, weak monsters would dare to live near the lair of the terrifying spider.
The spider itself didn't care about them, they were merely prey, unworthy of attention. This created a semi-safe environment in the midst of this terrifying forest.
The same applied to Arthur. If this place wasn't relatively safe, and if he had run into stronger monsters when he first arrived in this world, he'd be dead by now.
In a way, the spider had helped him survive, or at least, that's what he thought.
Enjoying his unexpected feast, Arthur hunted as many monsters as he could within a few minutes. When no more appeared, he left and returned to his den.
The moment he reached the entrance, his body froze. His pupils shrank, and an incredible fear coursed through him, stiffening his limbs and draining the color from his face.
He slowly turned his head and looked far up into the sky. It was covered with thousands of spears, and in the midst of them flew a massive black spider.
Then, all the spears fell to the ground like meteors. The earth exploded, sending debris flying everywhere. Amidst his shock, Arthur saw countless stray strikes falling toward him.
'damn.'
He fought his fear and ran at top speed. Behind him, a few spears struck, destroying a vast area of the ground and everything on it, including his den.
- - - - - - - - - -
If you'd like to read 10 advanced chapters or support my work, feel free to check out my Patreon.
Pa tre on.co m/Umbryth
Your support means a lot!