Of course, a side from their silk, the hanging spiders also possessed several types of venom, but they needed to capture their prey and inject the venom through their fangs, a process that was rather slow.
With Saelran's speed, these hanging spiders could not even get close to him.
The iron sword continuously sliced through the air, and the slime stuck to the blade evaporated rapidly under the high temperature, making the stench in the air even stronger.
Time passed slowly.
The sound of the sword cutting through the air and the hissing of the hanging spiders intertwined without end.
A moment later…
Saelran panted heavily as he stood on the ground, one hand resting on his knee, surrounded by severed limbs of hanging spiders.
He had killed about two-thirds of the nearly one hundred hanging spiders in one go. The rest had scattered and could no longer be tracked in the forest environment.
What a pity.
Saelran let out a long sigh.
It was inevitable that he failed to kill them all. His current techniques lacked wide attack range.
Saelran estimated that these hanging spiders were around level three or four.
Do not be fooled by what seemed like a low level, this was the level of a trainee soldier in the Kingdom of Avendele.
In other words, a single hanging spider was equivalent to a trainee soldier.
Of course, if both sides appeared in equal numbers in the forest, one hundred soldiers facing one hundred hanging spiders would most likely be slaughtered.
Even Saelran himself could not outrun these spiders in the forest.
Saelran suspected that this group of hanging spiders was probably the strongest group of magical beasts in the outer region, likely located between the territory of the Forest Guardian Karaman and the territory of the Grunnfang.
He finally understood why people in this world would drastically change their expressions, filled with fear and anxiety, at the mere mention of the Arkenwald Forest.
This was only the outer edge of the forest. The three rulers of its depths all possessed power on the level of the heroic realm. Aside from the Forest Guardian, the other two commanded large numbers of subordinates.
And the entire Kingdom of Avendele only had two S-rank adventurer teams.
Saelran did not dare to breathe too deeply, since the foul smell in the air was overwhelming and nauseating.
The heated iron sword was indeed useful, but the smell of blood and severed limbs after being burned was suffocating.
[Experience Points: 2985/1000]
Ignoring the terrible smell, Saelran immediately checked the experience points on his attribute panel.
"I should be able to level up twice," Saelran thought happily.
"Level up."
[Ability List]
Innate Ability: [Player]
Overall Level: Lv 9
Experience Bar: 685/1500
Classes:
Basic Class: Genius Lv 1 (Warrior, Priest, Alchemist, Magic Caster, Thief)
Intermediate Class: Sword Saint Lv 8
Skill Points: 13
Passive Skills: Inventory Box, Slash Damage (8%)
Active Skills:
Warrior: Instant Reflex, Light Consecutive Slash, Ralid Slash
Magic Caster: Paper Creation (Tier 1), Heating (Tier 1), Minor Healing (Tier 1), Magic Arrow (Tier 1), Odorless (Tier 0)
Class Skills: Potion Crafting, Alchemy
…
"Finally, I am level nine now." Saelran looked at the information in the ability list.
Overall Level Lv 9.
A joyful expression appeared on Saelran's face. He immediately took out the second-tier spell scroll "Item Appraisal" that he had bought from the Sorcerers Guild.
Just as he was about to open the scroll and use it to obtain the skill…
He suddenly noticed that the two upgraded tier zero spells in his skill list did not have the "↑" mark.
Saelran paused, then realized what was going on and slapped his forehead.
"I was too focused on my level. I almost forgot that my magic caster level is still far from enough."
The excitement on Saelran's face faded, replaced by a hint of helplessness, and he put the spell scroll away.
His recent level-ups had mainly increased his Sword Saint level, which belonged to the Warrior class, while his Basic Magic Caster level remained at Lv 1, the same as his Genius level.
"I will raise my Warrior level first."
Saelran sighed as he looked at the many broken bodies hanging spider bodies on the ground.
He remembered that these spiders had venom sacs in their abdomens.
Saelran crouched down and dissected the abdomens of several dead hanging spiders, taking out relatively intact venom sacs.
However, most of the spiders had been severely damaged by his attacks, and it took quite a bit of effort to gather only twenty intact sacs.
After handling them, Saelran left the foul-smelling area but did not go too far. He stopped near a large tree about seventeen or eighteen meters away.
After dealing with the hanging spiders, he needed to recover his strength, and this was the center of their territory.
The remaining spiders had been driven away, so he did not need to worry about other monsters attacking him.
Moreover, based on Saelran's deduction, this place should not be far from the Grunnfang territory. Saelran casually picked up a handful of leaves from the ground.
Using them as a cloth, he wiped the hanging spider blood from his iron sword.
The effect of the Heating spell had long faded. Remembering how he increased the sword's damage by raising its temperature during battle, the method felt quite effective.
Almost like some sort of spell.
However, raising the sword's temperature also affected him.
Saelran's gaze rested on the iron sword. He easily lifted it with one hand, gripping the handle, and swung it a few times casually.
The blade cut through the air, producing quick, sharp sounds.
With each increase in the level of his Sword Saint class, his overall strength rose significantly. Even if these changes only appeared as numerical values…
Saelran found that with each level increase, his sword handling became more skillful, as if he had learned new techniques he had never practiced.
It felt natural, yet also as if he had trained for a long time.
Such a remarkable change.
Saelran was amazed.
In the game "Oblivion Gate," job level-ups only made a character stronger. But in this world, leveling a job felt more like gradually mastering its abilities.
For example, when he was attacked by poisonous insects in the forest, Saelran could easily kill them with his sword purely by instinct, without even looking.
Even when facing the black-green snake, he naturally used various defensive techniques.
Before his getting Isekai'd, Saelran had been an ordinary human, and mastering such skills would have been impossible. It was clear that all of this came from the Sword Saint job.
After resting for about half an hour, Saelran felt sufficiently recovered. He picked up his sword again and continued heading east.
Throughout the journey, Saelran no longer encountered beasts, let alone magical beasts. Instead, he saw more birds.
Some strangely shaped birds with darker feathers that he had never seen before occasionally flew past or perched among the dense leaves, chirping.
Saelran furrowed his brows and continued forward, but his movements became much lighter.