Opening the Gift - Kumodesu

Good morning.

Or at least, I think it's morning since I have no idea what time it is outside. I just feel like I've had a long nap, and my spirit's back to its starting point.

Alright, time to check what I've got going on.

Huh?

How do I even check my own stats?

I try making a few noises, but nothing happens.

Oh… [Appraisal]!

So, I use [Appraisal] on myself.

Nani?

That's it?

Another scam?

I stomp my feet in frustration.

Is it because the skill level is too low? How do I level it up, then?

Oh, I see.

Since Skill Points can also buy new skills, I won't use them for leveling.

Guess I'll just keep using it.

So, I start using [Appraisal] on everything I can see.

[Elbrinat Wall from the Great Elbrinat Dungeon]

Oh, so this place is called the Great Elbrinat Dungeon.

That's some useful info.

[Ordinary Spider Silk, has adhesive properties]

That's my silk.

By the way, while I was building my nest, my [Spider Silk] skill leveled up.

[Ordinary Vine]

[Elbrinat Stone from the Great Elbrinat Dungeon]

I keep appraising everything in sight. After nearly a whole day of this, a system notification finally pops up.

Nice.

Excited, I check my info again.

<< Inferior Small Arachneda Lv3>>

Still nothing new!

Damn it!

I really want to see my current stats, but grinding [Appraisal] is exhausting since I've already appraised everything around here.

Does that mean I have to leave?

Nah.

I'm too lazy.

But staying here forever won't work either—I'm out of food.

Nah.

I'll set a trap and wait for prey to come to me.

So, I open a path to one of the two routes. After checking the terrain, I decide to set a laser-style trap.

The path looks normal, but it's covered in my ultra-thin silk, invisible to prey. If anything wanders in, I'll know immediately, and with a light tug, the silk will tighten around them.

Muhahaha.

I'm so smart.

Now, I just wait.

…

Damn it!

Waiting is so boring.

I've been here for hours, and not even an ant has shown up.

While waiting, I've been practicing my skills. Since using them increases proficiency, I've turned this entire cave into a silk-covered fortress.

Making silk doesn't take much energy, so I've coated the place. By the end of the day, my [Spider Silk] skill reached level three. Of course, I still haven't caught any prey.

I've also been training my [Sensing] skill. It'll help me detect dangers around me, so I need to level it up fast. I've sensed a few creatures nearby, but I don't know what they are or how close they are. Still, this skill's pretty useful.

I tried using [Stealth] by moving back and forth, but it didn't do anything. I guess it only works if there's a target, so I gave up on it for now.

Besides my existing skills, I also tried other things to see if I could unlock new ones.

Starting with resistance skills—since I have [Poison Resistance], there might be others, right? The first thing I thought of was fear.

In future hunts or fights, I need to overcome fear to make decisions more decisively.

Hmm, let's see.

Since coming to this world, nothing's truly terrified me. I mean, I've been scared, but it's just fleeting moments—not enough to trigger a skill.

Mother Spider?

Nah.

I'm scared of her, but it's mostly awe.

The snake?

Nah.

I haven't gotten close enough, and I've seen snakes before, so it's not that scary. Plus, it's way less terrifying than Mother Spider.

The lizards?

Nah.

Chasing them just made me tired.

So, I have no fears in this life?

What about my past life?

I suddenly remember my past life, when I was cramming for high school entrance exams. I barely slept for days, and when I tried to rest for a bit, I woke up in a hospital. My body had no strength, and I couldn't even open my eyes.

I wanted to speak, but I had no energy.

I could hear people talking outside. The doctor told my parents I was exhausted and needed rest.

I was like, "Hey, you kidding? I look like I'm dying, and you call it exhaustion?"

I wanted to scream, but my mind started fading.

That's when I was truly terrified—terrified that if I fell asleep again, I wouldn't wake up.

I was afraid of death.

That's it!

Death is humanity's most primal fear.

I've found it.

Thinking about it over and over feels weird, but it's for a new skill.

I keep dwelling on it, even imagining different scenarios to make it feel more real.

Eowww.

I keep shivering.

The notification snaps me back to reality.

Even now, thinking about it makes me tremble—it felt so real. But I got the skill, so it was worth it.

It's kind of funny. I was so scared of dying back then, but I ended up dying suddenly and got reincarnated here without a moment to feel fear.

I'm not sure if I actually died or what happened, but if I did, it was a quick and gentle death, from my perspective.

Maybe God knew I was scared of death, so he made it fast.

I've thought about how I might die before, but out of all the ways I imagined, I died in the most unexpected way—one I still don't fully understand.

I can still picture that blinding light.

Oh, speaking of life and death, I remember I still have that compensation gift I haven't opened. If it's compensation, it might explain why I was reincarnated here, right?

Yes.

A goddess?

Jackpot!

As I'm celebrating, a hazy figure appears before me. I can't see their face clearly, but they're clearly no ordinary being.

"Hello, my little child."

I'm startled and back away as a female voice speaks.

Nai wa!

Another mother?

"Let me introduce myself. I am the Goddess Aeonmyrus. The reason you're here is due to my mistake. During one of my experiments, I lost control of an energy source, and it shot out."

Oh, oh.

"To avoid destroying this world, I used spatial magic to redirect it, but I couldn't control where it went."

Uh-huh.