Inside this mysterious and dangerous labyrinth, Ash, as usual, finished a simple meal and some water, then began his daily magic training.
As for Spider, she was lying beside him with nothing to do.
Of course, with her restless personality, she couldn't stay still. She scratched at the ground with her sharp claws while staring at Ash without blinking, her eyes full of confusion.
'This doesn't make sense! Why? He's seriously injured, right? Why isn't he getting food? Doesn't he get hungry? Even I'm hungry already.'
Spider kept muttering to herself. Her little head was filled with huge question marks. She simply couldn't understand why the situation in front of her was so strange.
Even she, a monster, was starving.
Yet Ash remained completely relaxed. There wasn't the slightest sign of hunger on him, nor did he seem interested in going hunting.
It was as if he didn't need food at all.
'Ah! Could he actually be a robot? A robot made of gold, which is why he looked golden at the start? Maybe he doesn't eat at all!'
Spider suddenly felt as though lightning had struck her.
An idea flashed through her mind.
Once the thought appeared, it immediately took root. She unconsciously moved closer and narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she stared at Ash.
At first, she couldn't tell anything from a distance, which only made her more anxious.
So she simply climbed onto him using all her legs.
Then she struggled to lift her spider head and brought her face close to his, wanting to see whether he was breathing and confirm her theory about him being a realistic robot.
Ash was focused on training his magic.
When he felt his clothes being tugged, he already knew who it was. Forced to open his eyes and prepare to scold her... The first thing he saw was Spider's terrifying eight eyes and pale spider face.
Even though he had been mentally prepared, he still got startled.
It felt as though countless alpacas were stampeding through his mind.
His fist tightened instinctively.
He almost punched her on reflex and turned this face-climbing spider into juice.
"Just a pet. She can't understand. It's fine. Don't get angry. Treat it as self-training..."
Ash silently repeated those words to himself.
Then he took a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying to calm down while constantly reminding himself not to get angry at a spider that understood nothing.
After all, even if he wasn't human anymore, arguing with a pet was beneath him.
Besides, he knew this spider was only a little strange and a little scary-looking.
At least she was good at roasting meat.
The problem was that she was obviously too lazy.
And too smart.
She simply wanted to wait for him to feed her and had no intention of hunting herself.
'Huh? Looks like he really is breathing? And he seems warm too?'
Spider's face was practically touching Ash's.
Her eyelid-less eyes stared at him without blinking.
As she raised her face and carefully observed him, she clearly felt his breath.
Then she reached out with a front leg and touched his face, feeling the warmth of his body.
Now she was even more confused.
Six legs clung to Ash's clothes while the other two crossed in front of her chest.
She tilted her head dramatically and fell into deep thought.
'This shouldn't be right~ Why wouldn't someone look for food when they're hungry? Could humans in this world be different? Maybe they can endure hunger really well?'
"..."
Ash chose to ignore her.
He continued training his magic as though Spider didn't exist.
'But I'm hungry... I really am hungry! Please! Try a little harder! I've never begged anyone in my life! You're the first one! Can't you put in just a little effort?'
Spider couldn't hold it in anymore.
She squeaked continuously, trying to communicate her hunger and dissatisfaction.
However...
"The weather today... Hmm, seems pretty good. Time to keep training."
No matter how much Spider shouted, Ash ignored her.
He merely used his magic perception to check the outside world, adjusted his mood slightly, then closed his eyes again and immersed himself in magic training.
'Aaaaah~ Don't do this! You should work a little harder too! Stop being so lazy! You're injured! How can your body handle it if you don't eat? And if you don't eat, I can't eat either!'
Seeing Ash completely ignore her, Spider rolled around on the ground anxiously like a child throwing a tantrum.
She kept making a scene, hoping to attract his attention.
But after all that effort, not only did Ash ignore her completely, she herself eventually got bored.
And after all the rolling around, she felt even hungrier.
So she silently turned around and started headbutting the wall, as though wondering whether things could really continue like this.
Her tiny figure looked somewhat lonely beside the wall.
The way she repeatedly bumped her head against it carried a deep sense of helplessness.
Ash secretly opened one eye to observe her.
Looking at Spider's back as she headbutted the wall, he somehow sensed overwhelming sorrow from it.
And found it extremely funny.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
But he quickly suppressed the smile and resumed training as though nothing had happened.
———
After hitting the wall a few times, Spider finally stopped.
Filled with resentment, she secretly glanced back.
But that heartless human didn't seem to have noticed her at all.
She tilted her head while all eight legs fidgeted.
'I'm so hungry I could eat an earth dragon, but this guy is sitting there meditating like a monk? Could it really be that a calm mind keeps hunger away?'
She stomped around in circles angrily.
Her eyes darted about as she continued making guesses.
But in the end, she came up with nothing useful.
So she stared at Ash.
The stubbornness inside her grew stronger and stronger.
'Don't underestimate shut-ins! I refuse to believe you're not hungry. Let's see who gives in and goes hunting first!'
With that thought, she flopped down somewhere nearby and fixed her eyes on Ash as though they had been nailed there.
Ash had long since figured out what Spider was planning.
The corners of his mouth were already twitching.
Then... as evening approached and Spider started getting sleepy, he quietly took out another piece of preserved food from his storage space while she wasn't paying attention and carefully ate it.
He didn't want Spider discovering that he was secretly eating.
That would ruin the fun.
Time slowly passed.
Spider's stomach began growling.
Well... there wasn't actually any sound, but she felt embarrassed anyway.
She shifted slightly.
Yet her gaze remained firm, and she kept encouraging herself in her heart.
Meanwhile, Ash felt a little overfull and watched with amusement to see how long this little spider could hold out.
Looking at Ash's calm appearance, Spider once again started rolling around on the ground in an attempt to distract herself from her hunger.
Unfortunately, she only ended up covered in dust.
And the exercise made her stomach feel even emptier.
As for Ash, watching Spider struggle like this made him want to laugh.
He never expected a spider to stubbornly compete with him over something like this.
Still, he quietly stood up and walked toward the distance.
The sight instantly filled Spider with joy.
"Finally going hunting? I knew it... Hmm? Wait a second?"
Her happiness lasted only a moment.
She discovered that Ash had merely gone to a corner outside and turned his back to the wall to relieve himself.
'Y-You! Why are you taking off your pants? Taking off your pants in front of a girl, unbelievable! Pervert! Creep! Hooligan! Someone's being indecent over here! A spider's being harassed!'
"Good grief. I'm just going to the bathroom. Why did you follow me over here? What are you yelling for? Want to help me pee or something?"
The whole thing felt weird.
Ash silently pulled his pants back up halfway through and glanced sideways at the spider.
'This thing...'
'Really is a pervert.'
He couldn't even use the bathroom in peace.
Left with no choice, he lightly stomped the ground.
Rock walls rose around him, completely blocking Spider's view.
By the time Ash returned, Spider felt as though she was about to faint from hunger.
Yet Ash still showed no intention of hunting.
'Could this guy really be made of iron? Or... maybe he has some hidden problem? Like being so badly injured that he can't use magic very much?'
Spider started wondering about another possibility.
She even felt a little guilty.
Slapping her own head, she regretted her behavior.
'That's true! He's seriously injured, yet I've been waiting for him to find food for me... I'm such a terrible person! Though I'm not actually a person.'
After serious reflection, Spider finally stood up under Ash's curious gaze.
She gave him a salute.
Then, with apology in her heart and tears in her eyes, she hurried out to search for edible monsters.
At that moment, Ash temporarily stopped training magic.
Instead, he started practicing skills and studying magic.
Actually studying magic.
The system seemed to provide a huge number of spells.
Just looking at them made his head spin.
He needed to research them properly.
———
During this period when both of them worked hard to improve themselves, they grew at astonishing speed.
Especially Ash. His progress could only be described as terrifying.
Even ignoring his physical abilities, his magic alone already made him a max-level boss in this place.
Simply standing there was enough.
No monster could break through his magic protection.
In fact, he didn't even need defensive magic.
The eight murderous magic spheres floating around him allowed him to sweep through the twisting dungeon with ease.
Wherever their light reached, even the thickest stone walls were pierced as easily as paper.
Every beam struck with enough force to shake the ground.
Several times, parts of the dungeon even collapsed.
It was basically a cheat for farming experience and killing monsters.
Yet even while endlessly hunting and exploring, Ash's magic perception remained focused on Spider.
After all, in his eyes, this little spider was a very rare and entertaining pet.
Every time Spider went out hunting and returned, Ash would always get back to their base first and pretend he had never left, quietly waiting for her return.
As the days passed, he found himself thinking that jade must be polished to become useful, and spiders must go hungry to develop talent.
The two gradually formed a strange understanding.
Ash stayed home as the shut-in and handled the fire.
Spider risked her life hunting outside.
Their days were surprisingly peaceful and happy.
At least Ash was happy.
"Spatial movement, teleportation magic, abyss magic... Hmm, not bad. Ah, spatial magic only costs 500 skill points? That's basically free."
After finishing the meat Spider had roasted, Ash looked at the system panel before him and nodded repeatedly while considering what to study first.
Ordinary healing magic seemed unable to heal his wounds.
However, he was gradually beginning to understand the nature of the holy power attached to them.
As long as he spent enough time slowly driving it out, healing afterward would be easy.
Meanwhile, Spider, the hardworking hunter and little cook, lay beside him, staring gloomily at him.
'This guy... Why aren't his wounds getting better? And... wasn't the plan for me to be the shut-in? Why did he become the shut-in instead? Seriously! Seriously!'
She kept complaining in her heart.
Her eight eyes were full of helplessness and grievance.
She looked like a hardworking wife who had accidentally married a lazy husband and couldn't do anything about it.
Even though she was unwilling, after complaining about her miserable life and poor luck in meeting people, she still went back out to work.
In other words, hunt.
Then, while Ash was concentrating on spatial magic, he suddenly sensed something unusual from Spider's side.
More precisely, through his magic perception, he discovered that after Spider had just killed a monkey, she ended up being chased by a huge group of furious monkeys.
The moment he noticed this, Ash immediately put aside his magic research.
Using the teleportation spell he had recently learned, he instantly moved to Spider's location to watch.
No, to witness and protect Spider's shining moment.
———
When Ash arrived, he happened to see an incredible battle.
Spider was using her tough and sticky webs to skillfully deal with a large number of monkeys.
These monkeys were not easy opponents.
They were agile and their eyes were filled with anger and hatred.
They were determined to avenge their dead companion.
Among them were three higher-ranked individuals.
Their appearance was strange.
They looked like a mix between sloths and monkeys.
Yet their huge mouths resembled crocodiles and were filled with sharp fangs.
Just looking at them was unsettling.
These crocodile-mouth monkeys were twice the size of ordinary monkeys.
They had thick bodies and bulging muscles, giving off a fierce presence.
Their arrival immediately made the already difficult situation even more dangerous.
Led by the crocodile-mouth monkeys, the huge troop advanced toward Spider with the determination to kill her no matter what.
Although Spider fought back with all her strength, there were simply too many monkeys.
Before long, she was forced into higher ground.
Even then, the monkeys refused to stop and continued surrounding her.
She was pushed into a dead end.
Using her intelligence, determination, and webs, she continued fighting and maneuvering against them.
But the monkeys also displayed remarkable teamwork and intelligence.
They cooperated with one another.
Some even willingly hung themselves on the webs, creating a path for the crocodile-mouth monkeys to reach Spider.
And so, after a fierce battle, Spider somehow managed to defeat the strong while being the weaker side.
She used her webs to control most of the monkeys and successfully defeated two crocodile-mouth monkeys.
But while she was nervously searching for the third one, she suddenly felt intense danger coming from above.
The moment she looked up in panic, the crocodile-mouth monkey's fang-filled mouth was already tearing through the air toward her.
It was right in front of her.
Its jaws were about to bite into her rear.
'I'm done for!'
Spider's pupils shook violently.
Despair appeared in her eyes.
She could already see the image of half her body being bitten off.
But at that critical moment...
BOOM!
A black-purple beam as thick as a bucket suddenly shot through a wall.
Its speed was unbelievable.
Carrying overwhelming force, it directly swallowed the upper half of the crocodile-mouth monkey.
In an instant, its upper body and head vanished completely.
Only the lower half remained.
The corpse dropped helplessly to the ground, kicking up dust.
The severed body, still unaware it was dead, continued spraying blood and twitching instinctively.
'W-What? What happened?'
The final powerful enemy had died without warning.
Although relieved, Spider was also stunned by the change.
She looked around.
Then, through the hole blasted in the rock wall, she spotted a familiar figure.
It was the very person she constantly thought about and complained about.
That heartless lazy man. Ash.
'Oooh! You really were worried about me! You dragged your heavily injured body here just to save me? I knew you were actually a good person! Even if you're lazy, your heart is still kind!'
Spider was so touched that tears filled her eyes.
With an excited "Squeee!" she rushed through the opening.
In the blink of an eye, she jumped onto Ash and continuously rubbed her pale spider face against his cheek while making cheerful squeaking sounds like a child acting spoiled.
"So weird... Is this thing actually a facehugger?"
Ash had no idea how to deal with Spider's sudden enthusiasm.
Compared to her excitement, all he felt was that her hard spider face hurt against his own.
After all, he still had wounds on his face.
So he casually pulled away the spider who was repaying kindness with trouble.
'What's wrong! You're already this old and still getting embarrassed? What an innocent young man~'
Spider landed lightly on the ground and giggled while poking the back of his leg with her front limbs.
Watching her continue hopping around beside him, making happy squeaking sounds and occasionally reenacting parts of her battle with her front legs as though showing off her bravery, Ash smiled helplessly.
Then he casually patted her head as a reward.
———
With the last enemy capable of moving already dealt with by Ash, all that remained were the many monkeys trapped in webs and unable to move.
Still alive.
In a good mood, Spider walked over.
Opening her mouth and revealing her venomous fangs, she pounced on the nearest monkey.
Her fangs pierced its body precisely.
Venom was quickly injected.
The monkey immediately began convulsing.
Not long afterward, it stopped moving.
Spider proceeded to kill the trapped monkeys one by one with her venomous fangs.
There were simply too many monkeys.
Eventually, she and Ash had to stop midway and roast some of them for food to recover their strength.
Whenever Spider approached the monkeys trapped in her webs, they would make threatening noises.
Though unable to move, which made them seem somewhat pitiful.
But Spider had no intention of feeling sorry for them.
In her view, if someone provoked her and wanted her dead, they should be prepared to be killed in return.
If they didn't fight from the start, that would be one thing.
But crying for mercy only after death was about to arrive?
If she forgave that easily, she'd become a joke.
So she spared none of them.
Instead, Ash watched the monkeys, who were already begging for mercy with their expressions and eyes, and commented from the side, "Ah... My spider is so cruel... Not even a trace of my noble sense of righteousness. If it were me, I'd probably use them as cannon fodder. Yet you're killing them directly... Truly cruel."
'What, are you praising my attitude toward life?'
Spider bit into a monkey's neck and looked up at him suspiciously.
Then she proudly snorted and continued her repetitive work.
And during that process, she finally heard the notification that her level had reached 10.
She could once again choose a new evolution path.
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