[Nephila Jurassica LV13]
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[Nephila Jurassica]
A giant spider with a body length of about 7cm, but with legs exceeding 15cm.
It is an ancient hunter that primarily preys on insects, lizards, or the young of small dinosaurs, and is a master of using its web.
It is also known by another name: Mongolian Arachne.
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Mongolian Arachne?
Mongolia?
Does that mean this place is Mongolia?
No, that didn't mean anything. This was a world where Oviraptors and geckos coexisted.
The important thing was that there was a spider bigger than me right in front of me.
I acted calmly. Maybe its appearance was just for show; it could be warmer than anyone on the inside.
Hello, Mr. Spider.
Let's get along.
I tried greeting it with a nod of my head.
"Kieek!"
The spider slammed its two front legs together.
15cm my ass. It looked at least twice that size at a glance.
The part about it eating baby dinosaurs didn't seem to be an exaggeration.
I prepared to flee while glaring at the creature, ready to react quickly if it attacked.
However, the spider only glanced at me before turning its head away, as if uninterested.
"Kiik."
What?
Was it scared of me?
Was the Green Gecko species actually a natural enemy of spiders?
I indulged in a bit of wishful thinking, but the truth was revealed soon enough.
[Calligramma LV3]
[Calligramma LV1]
[Calligramma LV1]
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[Calligramma]
Its body length is about 5cm. Despite its butterfly-like appearance, it is classified as a lacewing.
It is not carnivorous and, like a butterfly, sucks nectar from flowers with its long proboscis.
Its wings have patterns resembling the eyes of other creatures, which helps to ward off predators.
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Its web was full of prey. So much that it didn't need to bother with me.
I'd heard that web-using spiders rarely attack directly, unlike tarantulas. Besides, I wasn't that small either.
I wasn't an adult yet, but I seemed to be about 10cm long. There was no reason for a life-or-death struggle. Unless I was caught in its web, that is.
In other words, it had decided to ignore me. All I had to do was ignore it too.
Still, sharing the same space was a bit much, so I decided to yield a little.
It's definitely not because I was scared.
Pababak.
I climbed onto a nearby branch. I crept toward a cluster of leaves, remaining vigilant of my surroundings.
There were no prior occupants here. This meant I was guaranteed a certain degree of safety.
I'd been chased around since the moment I hatched, with no time to think. Now that I had a moment to breathe, I had to gather what information I could and make the most of it.
Let's assess my situation.
I've been reincarnated as a gecko.
The presence of HP, MP, skills, and a status window told me this was a different world from my own.
Right, skills.
If there's a status window, there must be a skill window.
'Skill Window!'
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[Skills]
「Tail Sever LV1」「Wall Climb LV1」「Cold Blood LV1」「Predation LV1」「Wild Eye LV1」「Tail Sever LV1」
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There were more than I expected.
「Wall Climb LV1」
Climb walls with a gecko's feet.
「Cold Blood LV1」
Reptiles are cold. You gain resistance to mental attacks and can maintain composure in extreme situations.
A very gecko-like skill.
Still, the Cold Blood ability seemed pretty good. I didn't know what mental attacks were, but being able to maintain composure would be an advantage in any situation.
The fact that I was strangely calm despite becoming a lizard overnight might also be thanks to this skill.
「Predation LV1」
Devour your enemies. You can eat beyond your limit. The excess amount consumed is converted into experience points.
「Wild Eye LV1」
Allows you to observe a target in detail.
Predation and Wild Eye. They were like skills from a beginner's pack for isekai reincarnators.
It was a shame they weren't attack skills, but I couldn't deny they would be very useful.
But why were there two Tail Sever skills?
Reading the skill descriptions revealed no difference.
It was just the unhelpful text, 'Severs the tail.'
…A bug?
I could only infer one thing: Tail Sever was a basic skill, just like Wall Climb. And in that case, the skill I was given as a reincarnation perk was also Tail Sever.
….
You've got to be kidding me.
Seriously, if you're going to reincarnate me as a gecko, at least give me a decent skill! Like the Heavenly Demon Divine Art or something. If not that, then something cool like Dragon's Breath.
What the hell is Tail Sever? And it's a duplicate! I'm pissed.
[The effect of Cold Blood has been activated.]
Composure was forced upon me.
That pissed me off in its own way, but I knew this wasn't the time to get angry.
In this moment of relative peace, I had to decide what to do next.
The most pressing problem was this:
[HP is low!]
My remaining HP was 1. A single scratch would be a fatal blow.
I needed to recover my HP.
I didn't know the exact method, but I could guess.
One of the skills I was given: Predation. I had a feeling that eating something would restore my HP.
Even if that wasn't the case, the description mentioned gaining experience points. Gaining experience would lead to leveling up, and leveling up would surely restore my HP.
I wasn't even aiming to level up. Restoring my HP was the top priority.
What should I eat?
I lightly touched my tongue to a leaf next to me, hoping I might be a herbivorous lizard.
All I tasted was the bitter flavor of chlorophyll. Though I wasn't even sure if chlorophyll had a taste.
In any case, I knew I couldn't eat plants like this.
As the descriptions I'd seen suggested, I had no choice but to hunt small insects.
Small insects…
….
I peeked my head out and looked toward the Nephila-something.
Appetizing insects were dangling from its web. With so many, would it really mind if I took just one?
I gulped. Should I try talking to the spider?
"Gek-gek-gek."
I'm the lizard who just moved in next door. Would it be okay if I had just one of those insects?
"Kieek!"
The spider thrashed its long legs about. It seemed to be in a bad mood.
I gave up cleanly.
Of course, what I gave up on was receiving the food legitimately.
What are neighbors for?
It's always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
I approached its web with extreme caution.
One might be mistaken because spiders have eight eyes, but their eyesight is actually poor. This is especially true for web-spinning ones.
They don't rely on sight, but rather on the vibrations of their web to detect prey. In other words, as long as I didn't touch the web, there would be no problem getting close.
I crept forward stealthily. Moving without a sound was my calling now.
Before I knew it, I was right in front of the web. The spider still hadn't noticed.
I stared at my own tail. It had already grown back, plump and appetizing.
…No, what am I thinking?
My low HP must be making me have all sorts of strange thoughts.
No matter how bad its eyesight was, I would eventually be discovered. My goal was to steal the butterfly trapped in the web, so getting caught was inevitable.
If I was going to be caught anyway, it would be advantageous to decide when.
'Tail Sever!'
The moment my tail detached, my body felt lighter. It didn't consume HP, but I felt a slight pang of hunger.
I carefully picked up the tail with my hand. It was thrashing wildly.
Just like that, I threw it onto a corner of the web.
"Kieek!"
The spider reacted immediately.
Even caught in the web, my tail thrashed about.
Good job, my tail.
"Kieek?"
The spider tilted its head. The more the tail struggled, the more violently the web shook.
It crouched, assessing the situation. Even when prey was caught, it rarely attacked immediately. It could get injured by the frantic movements. Its hunting method was to wait until the prey exhausted itself before wrapping it in silk.
Its attention was now focused solely on my tail caught in the web.
…Tsk, still, I'm a little anxious.
'Tail Sever!'
Just in case, I tried using the skill one more time.
And then, something amazing happened.
The already severed tail split into two.
Moreover, my body felt even lighter. This meant the effect had stacked.
The spider was completely bewildered. It must have mistaken the movement of my tails for that of a predator capable of destroying its web. It wouldn't last long. The more they moved, the more tangled they'd become.
But for me, it was more than enough time.
Pababak!
I snatched a butterfly from the edge of the web at high speed. It came off more easily than I expected. Grabbing the butterfly, I fled without looking back.
Pabak!
Operation successful.
[Green Gecko LV1]
HP: 1/7
MP: 0/3
Successfully using Tail Sever twice in a row was huge.
I might have succeeded without it, but it would have been much riskier.
[MP has been fully depleted. You will receive a penalty on all activities.]
The status window warned me.
It seems I should leave at least 1 MP.
I was out of both HP and MP.
I glanced at the insect wrapped in spider silk.
I had no hobby of eating insects.
But to survive, I had to eat.
Chomp.
I took a big bite.
Crunch.
The crispy texture was impressive.
I expected it to be mushy, so this was a surprise.
Having been tied up in the web for so long, it had naturally mummified, becoming what could best be described as jerky—no, insect jerky.
It was much better than a mushy texture. I could hardly call it delicious, but it was filling.
I didn't check, but I could feel my HP and MP recovering. It was probably because my stomach was full. Just as I finished eating the entire butterfly, the status window brought good news.
[You have leveled up!]
Oh.
I had expected it, but actually leveling up felt strange.
Crackle.
My skin tingled.
Rip.
A white film formed over my body.
…Is this… shedding?
I shed my old skin with incredible speed. The lizards I'd seen in videos took quite a while to shed, but I managed it in the blink of an eye.
[Green Gecko LV2]
HP: 9/9
MP: 5/5
I was no longer a Green Gecko LV1. I had been reborn as a Green Gecko LV2.
My severed tail grew back as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and I felt a bit bigger too.
[Achievement Unlocked: A Feat to Surprise a Raptor! You have survived using Tail Sever twice in a row!]
Huh? An achievement?
Is it praising me? Aw, it was nothing.
[Tail Sever is a last resort used on the verge of death. You used such a move twice and survived spectacularly.]
It's all thanks to my tail.
[It's amazing enough that you have two of such a crappy skill, but you didn't stop there and even managed to level up!]
Yeah, thanks.
…Wait, something about that sounds weird.
Is it making fun of me?
"Gek."
I let out a low croak to show my displeasure.
Giving me a duplicate skill, making me be born as a weakling gecko... I had more than a few complaints.
And now it was using an achievement as an excuse to poke at me again.
This status window thing, I really didn't like it.
If the design is going to be this crappy, it should at least be polite.
[Congratulations. As a reward, you have acquired 「Sprint LV1」.]
...I don't know who made it, but this status window design is killer.
You're the best, Status Window