Deep within the forest, the spider woman lay on the ground, half-dead, barely breathing. Her consciousness was hazy, her senses dull, completely unable to think clearly.
After enduring hellish suffering during her battle with the humans, she had miraculously managed to escape with her life. However, the price was devastating.
Her advancement had failed, everything she had worked toward for years had collapsed, and worse still, her vitality had been severely damaged.
Her Rank had dropped drastically, leaving her strength equivalent to only D-Rank. Nearly all of her mental energy was depleted, her mana reserves completely empty, she was currently in the worst state imaginable.
"Ah…"
She let out a faint groan and cursed the humans in her heart. She hated them, wished for nothing more than to kill them all.
Her hatred ran deep, this wasn't the first time she had faced them. Long ago, when she had still been a small spider living alongside her mother, humans had attacked them.
If her mother hadn't protected her and carved out a path for her escape, she would have died that day.
'I'm in pain… I'm cold… Am I going to die?
No… no, I don't want this.
I want to live.'
Little by little, the chaos in her mind faded. The pain disappeared, as did the intense hunger, even the unfamiliar cold.
Her consciousness slowly drifted away, and in the end, she completely lost all awareness of her surroundings. All that remained was darkness and vague, scattered thoughts.
And within that eerie yet comforting silence, she suddenly felt something heavy crash down hard onto her back, forcing her face deep into the dirt.
This sudden strike awakened her, restoring sensation to her body and clarity to her thoughts.
Her senses returned, she could hear strange sounds and smell something delicious.
She gathered every ounce of strength she had, and even before opening her eyes, she released some of her silk threads. They moved at her command, swiftly ensnaring the nearby creatures.
She slowly lifted her head and immediately fixed her gaze on the three largest, most well-fed wolves, muttering:
'Food.'
She canceled her semi-human transformation, returning to her original monstrous form, which was noticeably smaller than before, now no more than five meters tall, nine meters long. Yet the fear she radiated sent the four wolves around her trembling in terror.
The wolves struggled to break free, biting at the threads with their saw-like teeth and twisting in desperation, but it was useless.
The threads were sticky and rigid like metal. The more they struggled, the tighter they were bound, their movements further restricted.
In reality, her lower Rank didn't mean she had become completely powerless, her skills still retained traits of a high-Rank monster.
However, her miserable condition prevented her from sustaining that power for long.
She didn't waste time, she pulled the first wolf, which let out a pitiful scream, and sank her massive fangs into it, injecting her venom. It turned into a soft pulp, which she absorbed like juice from a container.
Eating some of the fresh meat restored a bit of her vitality. Swiftly, she grabbed the second wolf and did the same, then the third. Finally, she turned to the emaciated, meatless wolf.
Although it wasn't much, she had no intention of leaving it behind, she wasn't in a position to be picky, and every piece of meat would help.
…
Arthur stared into the spider's terrifying eyes, his face pale. Watching the other wolves melt into slurry and get devoured made every part of his body tremble.
He realized it immediately, this was the end. This time, he had crashed into a wall he could never overcome. An unbeatable final boss.
He had already seen the spider fight humans before and felt her absurd power back then, so he knew resistance was pointless—assuming he could even try.
His human intelligence? The "Primal Predator" skill? They felt like nothing but a bad joke in front of her.
Finally, after hours and hours of struggling and fighting just to stay alive, he reached his breaking point.
The faint hope that had always lit his path vanished, replaced by crushing despair.
" No… I don't want to die like this. Why? Why am I suffering through all of this? Am I cursed?
Did I do something wrong? Wherever I go, I run into madness, into death. Why was I even sent to this damned world? Does someone want me dead? "
All the anger and resentment he had bottled up exploded out of him.
He screamed everything in his heart, and at the same time, he cried, like a weak human crushed by life. As a final hope, he begged the system, the only thing still by his side.
" Please… help me. Do something. Anything. "
But nothing happened.
No legendary skills. No hidden effects. Not even a single word of comfort. Just a disappointing silence.
" So that's it… you're useless after all. "
He laughed softly like a madman, then let out a sigh, releasing his frustration.
A bitter smile formed on his face as he looked at the spider. He wished he could raise his middle finger at her, and coldly said:
"Fuck you."
The spider stared at him in confusion. His crying and strange growl had caught her attention, yet she didn't really care.
She didn't understand a word he was saying, and the difference in their species made communication nearly impossible.
Even if she did understand, she wouldn't pity him, he was just food, and food isn't argued with, it's eaten.
She slowly pulled him closer, opening her massive mouth, ready to bite him and inject her venom.
Arthur saw everything in slow motion, getting a clear glimpse of his killer. He saw her ugly eyes locked on him, her black, scythe-like teeth heading straight for his body, and noticed how her large head was covered in deep wounds.
In the final moments of his life, he mocked her:
'Damn insect… despite her great power, she wants to eat a near-dead monster like me? Doesn't she have any pride?'
Suddenly, a strange idea flashed through his mind.
'Food… yes, that's what she needs.'
Before he could act on his crazy idea, her fangs pierced his body, puncturing his organs.
He screamed, but without letting the unbearable pain stop him, he focused entirely on the "Dimensional Storage" and pulled out part of its contents.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, ten fresh corpses of massive wolves appeared in front of the spider, falling to the ground.
The spider was shocked. She spat him out, stepped back a great distance, and stared at him in disbelief.
Even in her weakened state, she could feel that he was the one responsible for the sudden appearance of the corpses.