Chapter 1: Classroom
(Note: The plot unfolds through interspersed flashbacks of the human storyline alongside Rimuru and Spider Child's story. The human storyline won't be extensive; the focus is more on the growth of the one spider and the one Slime.)
(The cover art was drawn by Teacher Ray—it's fantastic! They are a close friend of the author!)
A young woman in a magnificent fiery red gown held a wine glass filled with crystalline liquid. The slender stem was elegantly pinched between her thumb, index, and middle fingers, exuding an air of grace and luxury, though she seemed to be lost in thought.
After two or three seconds, the girl sighed helplessly, muttering to herself, "Ah~ I didn't expect it to be even more boring here. I should've just stayed with Spider Child instead of coming."
After a brief pause, she continued, "Oh well. It's not like there was much to do over there anyway—Spider Child was handling everything. Might as well take a walk."
This back-and-forth resembled a conversation, yet she stood there alone without interacting with anyone else in the banquet hall, creating an eerie impression.
The girl brought the glass to her rosy lips, taking a delicate sip of the wine. Unbidden, memories of her initial transmigration surfaced—it had been quite interesting, she mused.
As her thoughts drifted, the scene rewound fifteen years.
A pale blue, watery orb-like object materialized out of thin air inside a classroom. A large pile of desks and chairs was heaped in the corner. At a glance, it seemed unremarkable, but a closer inspection revealed that only about a third of the furniture was intact; the rest was broken.
Moreover, a thick layer of dust coated the teacher's desk and blackboard. It was immediately obvious this was an unused classroom, repurposed as a storage room.
"Oh? A cute little thing has appeared~" Suddenly, a playful, slightly mischievous girl's voice echoed through the abandoned classroom.
The next moment, a schoolgirl in uniform appeared out of nowhere in the room. She crouched down near the watery orb on the floor, reaching out to touch it.
"Hmm, an outsider. Your power system is completely different from ours. So, you two outsiders, what brings you to my world?"
The girl seemed to enjoy the sensation, continuously stroking the orb, even using both hands to knead and squeeze it.
"I want to go to that otherworld where you sent your classmates to improve my strength. Is that okay?" The orb's voice was pleasant, fairly neutral, though upon reflection, it leaned slightly feminine.
Seeing the girl remain silent, the orb continued, "I won't disturb your vacation plans, and I'll keep your secret. You don't need to give me any special treatment. Just send us two over; we can handle the rest ourselves.
This isn't a threat, just a negotiation. If you disagree, we'll simply leave."
The orb likely understood this girl's temperament and knew her name: D, the Evil God who controlled this world, also known as the high school student Wakaba Himeiro. Her current state was merely an escape from her own duties.
Wakaba Himeiro watched the little orb with keen interest. Her long bangs, which usually hung down, were pinned back with a hair clip, fully revealing her bright, beautiful face.
How amusing~ I was initially just curious to see what fun that Little Spider I designed to take my place might stir up, but something even more entertaining has delivered itself to my doorstep.
"Alright~ I agree. But I *will* give you preferential treatment. You can make small requests, and I'll consider granting them." Wakaba Himeiro reached down, picked up the orb from the floor, and cradled it in her arms, gently stroking it.
The orb fell silent, conferring with another presence within its consciousness. Shortly after, it spoke again, "First, don't deliberately create trouble for me, as I'll inevitably seek it out on my path to getting stronger. Second, I need human souls from that world to enhance myself.
Therefore, ensure the souls I obtain are relatively powerful. The strength of the soul makes a significant difference in my growth.
Those are our only two conditions. Nothing else."
"Fine~ I agree to both~ I hope you'll provide me with some entertaining scenes~" Wakaba Himeiro's hand continued to stroke the top of the orb. Her tone suddenly brimmed with mischief, as if she was already anticipating the amusing sights the future might hold.
"I don't want another body. Just send me over as I am, to the place where the Little Spider using your name is."
The orb added.
"It seems you know quite a bit~ But, I'm looking forward to it~" With that, Wakaba Himeiro opened a portal and tossed the watery blob she was holding right into it.
After the blob was swallowed, the portal vanished. Wakaba Himeiro was also gone from the classroom. Having dispatched the orb, she had returned home to embrace her life as a shut-in.
"Main God, Wakaba Himeiro was quite reasonable, wasn't she? Not nearly as fierce as you made her out to be?" the orb said within the teleportation channel.
"That's only because you, Rimuru, piqued the Evil God D's interest in seeking amusement. Otherwise, I would have had to activate the emergency escape protocol to get us out of there."
The voice answering Rimuru was clear and pleasant, like the chime of wind bells, yet its gender was indistinguishable.
"Well, that's good too. At least we didn't make an enemy, right?~" Rimuru's voice sounded rather carefree.
This orb was not *that* Rimuru, but a transmigrator—a recent university graduate who had become a corporate drone for just one year.
Age?~ Twenty-three. The first half of her life had been utterly ordinary: an ordinary upbringing, ordinary grades, an ordinary college entrance exam, an ordinary university, and an equally ordinary job.
As for gender? She was a Slime now. Did it matter? Not really.
The cause of death was overwork—consecutive overtime shifts without sleep for days, leading to sudden death at the company.
Being an orphan, she figured the company's heartless boss probably saved a hefty sum. At best, any compensation might go to the orphanage where she grew up.
It didn't matter anymore. Her brand-new life was about to begin!
However, upon exiting the portal, she didn't hit hard walls or floor, but landed in a soft embrace. As a Slime, she couldn't smell, but she could imagine this embrace likely carried a pleasant fragrance~
"My~ What an unfamiliar, adorable little creature has appeared~" The sweet, soft embrace was accompanied by a voice that was gentle and lovely, perfectly matching Rimuru's image of a kind, mature older sister.
The person wore a maid outfit, yet even that couldn't suppress her voluptuous, explosive figure. With an oval face, willow-leaf eyebrows, and round almond eyes narrowed into slits, her eyes were hidden from view.
"Hello, big sister. I was pulled into this world, but I won't do anything to harm it," Rimuru proactively spoke up, trying to sound well-behaved.
The woman's lips curved into a smile as she stroked Rimuru's soft body, seemingly sharing Wakaba Himeiro's fondness for soft, pleasant-to-touch things.
"Harming it wouldn't matter anyway. This world is already on the brink of shattering. In fact, losing it might be better—one less world for me to manage."
Chapter 2: Meido
The woman before her eyes was Meido. She was a subordinate of Wakaba Himeiro, or rather, the Evil God D. She was also the person Wakaba Himeiro was hiding from; because of Wakaba's departure and hiding, all those administrative duties could only fall upon her shoulders.
Thus, she was processing those affairs while simultaneously searching for Wakaba Himeiro's location. She intended to bring her back and make her handle the duties that should have belonged to her in the first place.
The texture of this little thing was truly wonderful, and stroking it was very stress-relieving. It would be great if she could take it back and keep it by her side to pet every day, but looking at the situation, that seemed quite unlikely.
Meido suppressed the urge to take Rimuru back. After a few more pets, she placed the Slime Dumpling in her arms onto the ground. "Just live well in this world. Don't worry about being an outsider; there are plenty of outsiders already anyway."
"Goodbye, big sister." Rimuru, now on the ground, extended a small tentacle and waved at Meido, who had already entered the portal to leave.
With Meido's departure, this area returned to its original silence.
"Whew~~ Can I be considered to have truly joined this world now? Great God." Rimuru let out a long breath. Even though the dumpling only had two bean-like eyes, it unexpectedly gave off a sense of relief written all over its face.
"Yes, we are now truly part of this world. Now, I shall give you the foundation for your survival here." The Great God said, bestowing various abilities, items, and such upon Rimuru.
A virtual screen appeared before Rimuru's eyes, listing everything she had obtained.
"Acquired: All skills and strength prior to the consumption of the Orc Disaster and obtaining the Demon Lord Species, including special skills, passive skills, and the hippocrates grass and magic ores stored in the Stomach." (Excluding Veldora and Unlimited Imprisonment)
"Notice: Acquired Unique Skills: Great Sage, Predator. Intrinsic Skills: Absorption, Self-Regeneration, Dissolve."
"Ah~ so satisfying!" Hearing the Great Sage's voice, Rimuru felt a wave of pleasure from the top of her head down to her heels.
Before transmigrating, she had watched the Rimuru anime. Because there were too few episodes, she had also read the novels, so she was quite familiar with the elements of Rimuru's world.
As for Spider Child, she had only seen the first season of the anime. She knew some things, but wasn't very familiar with it. But that didn't matter; the unknown is what makes it fun.
The system's name was Great God, a name it gave itself. It was born out of thin air in an unknown world. However, because it hadn't been long since its birth, it needed to find a host. It just so happened to encounter her at the moment her body had died suddenly while her soul still remained.
The person and the system thus fused together.
After the fusion, the Great God asked her what kind of body she wanted. After some thought, she said she wanted a body just like Rimuru's.
That was why, when she appeared, she was directly a pale blue Slime Dumpling.
As for why she trusted the Great God so much—she was already dying anyway. Even if she was being tricked, even if the Great God had a conspiracy, so what? It would just be returning to death. Besides, she had no relatives; whether she lived or died didn't really matter~
The things in the system were also similar to the web novels she used to read out of boredom during school. It had everything it should, including a shop, though she hadn't seen any quests or anything like that.
Rimuru had asked about it once, and the Great God seemed to exude a vibe of disdain at the time, saying, "You're already my partner, the Great God's partner! Why the hell would you do quests!"
The currency required for the shop was star gold coins. This was chosen by Rimuru herself when the Great God asked what to use for the system currency. The Great God didn't refuse and set it up that way.
Because there was no quest system, the method to obtain star gold coins was based on system time—she would fixedly receive ten every day.
Furthermore, some items deemed unimportant by the Great God did not cost star gold coins, such as the currency of the current world or snacks and street food from the modern world. However, those snacks and food items were currently grayed out and unavailable for purchase.
Perhaps it was because she had no sense of taste that they were grayed out.
There were a great many things in the shop, but Rimuru couldn't afford them. Since fusing with the Great God until now, she had only received a total of one hundred from the system—oh, now it was one hundred and ten.
In other words, it had only been eleven days since she fused with the system.
According to the Great God, the items in the shop were all collected while it was searching for a host and passing through various small worlds.
Her reminiscence ended, and Rimuru looked back at the noisy banquet hall. At the same time, because of her eye-catching dress and exquisite appearance, she drew the attention of some students.
The young girl possessed waist-length silver-blue hair which contrasted with the fiery red dress she wore. This not only made the girl look even more beautiful but also made the dress more striking.
Her face was very beautiful, with a bit of baby fat that made her look quite cute. Her eyes were primarily amber, and when caught by the lights of the banquet hall, they seemed to sparkle.
A golden starlight swirled within her eyes, as if she could see through people's hearts.
Her eyelashes and eyebrows were not the black of a normal person, but an icy blue. Both appeared alongside her spiritual eyes, making those eyes breathtakingly beautiful.
Her features were exquisite, like a fairy descending to the mortal realm.
On her left earlobe hung a small metal disc that reflected the light. That small disc looked very strange; it wasn't a perfect circle but more of an oval, and it had two small black dots on it.
Whether it was because of the male-style dress or because the girl's figure was simply unsatisfactory, she appeared somewhat meager. If compared to the other women in the banquet hall, she looked even flatter.
Out of politeness, Rimuru raised her empty glass toward those people. Saying nothing, she turned to the table, swapped her empty glass for one filled with wine, and cast her gaze not far away. She took small sips of wine while continuing to watch the show.
Not far away, a man, a woman, and a female elf were huddled together, whispering about something.
Based on the few plot points Rimuru knew, she recognized these as several important characters from the human line. The man was named Shurein Zagan Anale, the prince of the Anare Kingdom where Rimuru was currently located, and also one of Wakaba Himeiro's classmates.
The woman was named Kanadeia Seri Anabald, the daughter of a Duke of the Anare Kingdom. She was also a classmate and had been male before transmigrating.
As for that elf, she was the teacher of their class, now named Filimes.
Chapter 3: Encounter with Spider Child
There were, of course, other Reincarnators in the banquet hall.
One was Yugu Bann Renxandt, the Crown Prince of the Renxandt Empire; another was Yuri Uren, a candidate for Saint of the Church; and then there was the Earth Wyrm Frieren perched on Shurein's shoulder, who was also a classmate, though she had reincarnated as a monster.
And then there was Sue, the royal princess who wasn't a Reincarnator but simply a brother-con.
Rimuru finished the last sip of wine in her glass and looked at the Reincarnators who had gathered together with a smile; the fun was about to begin~
Setting down the wine glass, she left quietly alone. Only Shurein seemed to sense something; he turned his head toward the direction Rimuru had left, noticing this classmate with silver-blue, waist-length hair.
However, his attention was quickly diverted by the classmates beside him, and he didn't take this classmate to heart; after all, they would meet in class tomorrow anyway.
That's right, this banquet was a freshman orientation for a school within the Anare Kingdom.
Rimuru didn't know how long the banquet lasted; she had left midway to return to her assigned dormitory to rest. But it seemed she didn't rest well because she wasn't used to the bed, and she felt a bit drowsy.
Rimuru rubbed her eyes as she walked into the classroom, yawning as she went.
Slightly lifting her eyelids, she scanned the classroom before closing them again. Then, with unerring precision, she found a seat in the middle of the classroom where she wouldn't easily be targeted by the teacher, sat down, slumped over the desk, and continued sleeping.
The students here were relatively well-behaved; there wasn't anyone who actively approached to flirt just because they saw Rimuru's beauty, which was just as well.
If such a person appeared in a century-old noble family, it would be truly shameful and tragic; if they couldn't even educate their descendants properly, what great things could they be expected to achieve?
Thanks to this, Rimuru slept very comfortably. Perhaps because the surrounding environment was too peaceful, she actually dreamed of when she first entered the Elro Great Labyrinth.
That time was two hours after Hades had departed.
As a Slime, she had no sense of hunger, so she just hopped around the entire first floor of the labyrinth looking at everything, a total curious baby.
Back when she watched the anime, the labyrinth was already large, but she didn't expect it to be even bigger after entering it in person. It truly lived up to its reputation as the most dangerous Great Labyrinth in the world.
Thanks to this Slime body that didn't look very tasty, Rimuru's progress through the labyrinth could be described as smooth and unimpeded, without encountering any obstacles.
Familiarize with skills? Hey now, are you looking down on Great Sage? She believed Great Sage would definitely provide the most correct guidance during battle.
As she walked, Rimuru's gaze was drawn to a large crystal embedded in the dirt of the labyrinth passage, emitting a faint glow.
Although a Slime's body has no eyes, everything she saw was due to Mana Perception, which she radiated outward to serve as eyes.
Actually, this world didn't have magicules; she was able to use them only because the Chief God had slightly modified them.
Rimuru could sense magicules in any world, even if the power systems were different. She could absorb the power systems of any world, such as Mana, Chakra, or Battle Qi.
Before being absorbed into her body, they had different names and couldn't be merged, but as soon as they were absorbed by Rimuru, they would all instantly convert into an equivalent amount of magicules.
"Great Sage, analyze this thing. It looks similar to the Magic Ore in my Stomach." As Rimuru finished speaking, a cold, mechanical female voice echoed in Rimuru's consciousness.
«Notice: Analysis result—completely useless.»
"Ah~ that's a truly merciless analysis result, but I've taken a liking to it! So it's mine!" As Rimuru spoke, her soft body suddenly turned into a curtain of water, storing an entire block of Elro Labyrinth Crystal into her Stomach.
"Pui pui, it tastes terrible, I ate some dirt. Although Slimes have no sense of taste, ehe~" She just started entertaining herself on the spot like that; should one expect anything less from Rimuru?
However, she could only talk to herself for entertainment, since Great Sage was still just Great Sage and not Ciel. As for the Chief God, it seemed to find Rimuru's silly behavior a bit repulsive, so it didn't chime in.
Thinking to herself, she hopped forward. Suddenly, Mana Perception detected a hidden blue-skinned Frog. She remembered this seemed to be the most common animal in the Upper Stratum; it had a specific name, what was it? She forgot.
Anyway, it was the first animal to die at the hands of Spider Child, and the second thing she ate.
Rimuru pretended to be completely unaware and continued hopping forward. Mana Perception was already relaying the Frog's bodily reactions to her in real-time; seeing its tensed muscles, she knew it was prepared to pounce on her.
Taking another hop forward, the Frog also jumped out. Rimuru was prepared to use Water Blade to deal with the thing, but unexpectedly, because it was so large, it got stuck on an unsightly-looking spider web.
"Eh? A spider web? Why didn't Mana Perception sense it?" Rimuru was a bit curious; from her perspective just now, she really hadn't seen such a thing.
«Notice: Constructed by an unknown small spider monster. It contains no magicules, therefore it was not detected by Mana Perception.» Great Sage's explanation appeared at the right time.
"Hmm?? If it's not something created by magicules, it won't be detected by Mana Perception? Hiss... then if this happens again, won't I be attacked? No, no, I have to check the shop; I must make up for this weakness! But for now, I still have to deal with this big Frog."
Given Rimuru's current size compared to this Frog stuck on the web—which was at least a meter long by visual estimate—it could indeed be called a big Frog.
She was already prepared to use Water Blade when Mana Perception sensed a spider walking over.
Then, she came eye-to-eight-eyes with the spider. Well, that's right—the Slime had no eyes, and the spider had eight.
"Wh-what is this thing? Wait, it doesn't look like an animal; instead, it looks a bit like the lowest-level monster, a Slime, from the games in my past life. Souka souka, so this isekai has these things too?"
Spider Child's internal monologue was heard clearly by Rimuru.
The Frog stuck on the spider web, seeing two small prey ignore it completely, opened its mouth and spat out a tongue containing acidic venom. Its target was that small white spider, Spider Child.
Rimuru spat out the Water Blade she had prepared long ago, cutting the tongue in half. However, Spider Child failed to react in time and was hit in the face by the falling Frog tongue. Half of her face was immediately corroded by the acidic venom, and she could no longer see out of half of her eyes.
"Ah!! My eyes! My eyes!!!" Spider Child felt the pain and rolled around on the ground a few times before enduring the pain on the right side of her face to stand up.
Using her only remaining half-set of eyes, she looked at the blue Slime that had just spat out the curved Water Blade. Not far away, the Frog stuck on the web was bleeding incessantly because its tongue had been cut off.
"That thing just now was clearly a skill, right?! Even the weakest Slime has an offensive skill, but I don't. All the skill points I had were spent on that useless [Appraisal].
And I'm not sure if this Slime is friend or foe. If it attacks me after dealing with the Frog, it'll be bad. No, I have to escape!"
Chapter 4: Fellow Countryman, Let's Travel Together!
After a brief brainstorm, Spider Child made the decision most beneficial to her current situation. However, she didn't just turn around and run—that would make her too big of a target. Instead, she just began to retreat with small, subtle movements.
"That's it, that's it. Slime, Big Frog, you two just fight it out. Don't set your sights on a tiny Little Spider like me."
"Hey, you're being way too noisy talking to yourself over there. I'm not some kind of bad Slime that has to fight everything." Rimuru's voice appeared within Spider Child's mind. Spider Child instantly widened her remaining four eyes, looking at the nearby Slime Dumpling with a gaze full of shock.
"It, it, it, it, it spoke!! As the weakest Slime in an isekai, it actually spoke! And it seems like it can even hear my internal monologue?!"
Spider Child was so shocked by this news that she began to stammer.
"How rude of you! Who are you calling the weakest? Oh, well, that is indeed the setting in games, but I'm definitely not the weakest!"
Spider Child instantly caught the key terms in Rimuru's words: [Game] [Setting]!! Could it be a classmate?! If that were the case, it would be wonderful!!
"Are, are you a student from Class 2-3?! I, my name is Wakaba Himeiro!" Spider Child's tone was filled with anticipation, hoping it was a classmate!
"A student? No, I'm not. I've already been working for a year," Rimuru said truthfully. "But I am indeed a reincarnator, just like you."
Rimuru hopped over to the front of Spider Child, looking at the white spider. A small tentacle, acting like a hand, extended from the right side of his body and then rested on Spider Child's injured face.
In the next moment, Spider Child felt a warm sensation. The feeling came quickly and left just as fast, vanishing in an instant.
Then, Spider Child was amazed to find that her eyes could see again! Although he wasn't a classmate, having a fellow reincarnator as a companion was great! This was simply fantastic!!
"You trust me just like that? Aren't you afraid I'm a bad person?" Rimuru looked at Spider Child with interest, teasing her.
Seemingly reminded by Rimuru, Spider Child suddenly froze in her happy hopping and then looked over with a cautious gaze.
"Pfft~ You're a fun Little Spider. Don't worry, while I'm not exactly a 'good' person, I'm not bad enough to go around killing people." Rimuru couldn't help but laugh out loud, reaching out with a small tentacle to pat Spider Child's head.
Spider Child also breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly noticed the Big Frog behind Rimuru. It had already broken free from her Spider Silk and was hopping toward them.
"Look out!!"
As Spider Child shouted her warning, the Big Frog suddenly fell to the ground, torn into pieces. Blood, chunks of meat, and shredded internal organs were all mixed together, looking rather disgusting.
"Wha—What just happened?!" Spider Child stared blankly at the carnage not far behind Rimuru.
"It's my skill~ Wire." Rimuru's voice carried a hint of a smile as he used a small tentacle to pluck a thin thread that Spider Child hadn't noticed at all.
As Rimuru plucked it, Spider Child finally saw that these threads had already filled this small area of space. However, the gaps between the threads were quite large—at least for small monsters like them.
"Wire?? Threads?" Spider Child reached out a claw to touch one, her eyes full of wonder.
"It's a skill I got from devouring a spider, along with Sticky Thread." As Rimuru spoke, he released white silk that looked no different from Spider Child's silk, though his control over it was slightly better than hers.
"Wow, you're so amazing." Spider Child looked at the Slime before her with eyes full of admiration.
Although the Frog wasn't killed by Spider Child, she had provided crowd control, so Spider Child leveled up. Her attributes increased a bit, but the amount could only be described as better than nothing.
Spider Child's stomach let out a growling sound, and she looked at Rimuru with some embarrassment.
"That Frog... can I eat it?" she asked tentatively.
"You want to eat it? Go ahead and eat. Slimes don't have a need to ingest food." Rimuru waved his small tentacle, completely indifferent to the thing.
Spider Child ran over and, enduring the disgust, began to gobble up the Frog meat on the ground.
Rimuru had already retracted the Wire in this area, so there was no risk of accidentally injuring his teammate.
After Spider Child finished eating the Frog meat, she brought Rimuru back to her simple little home. The spider and the Slime began to converse.
Listening to what she said, it wasn't much different from what Rimuru had seen in anime and novels. Rimuru also shared bits of his own experiences with Spider Child.
For example, before reincarnating, he was an ordinary college graduate who had just been working for a year. He had died from overwork after successive overtime shifts. When he opened his eyes again, he found he had become like this.
Then he briefly explained his skills, though the main one was Predator.
"Wow! That skill of yours is way too broken! You can actually obtain the skills of targets you swallow." After listening, Spider Child cried out that it was unfair! Dammit, why didn't she have a skill like that!!
She lay on the platform made of Spider Silk and started rolling around everywhere.
Rimuru looked at Spider Child with a smile in his eyes; she really was cute. He reached out a tentacle to poke her. Spider Child stopped her rolling and tilted her head up to look at Rimuru.
"Then let's move together from now on, how about it? Even though we weren't from the same school, we're fellow reincarnated countrymen, and we both turned into monsters. We can look out for each other."
After a brief moment of thought, Spider Child decisively agreed. Rimuru's skills were much more powerful than hers; the two of them could cooperate to hunt.
The prey they caught could also be split equally. Wait, Rimuru said he didn't need to eat? Didn't that mean she was getting a huge bargain?!
"Don't worry, when we catch new prey, I'll ask you for it, use Predator to eat it, and gain the skills. So don't worry too much."
Rimuru spoke with a hint of a smile after hearing Spider Child's thoughts. Having finished, he reached out and rubbed Spider Child's head.
She really was so cute~~
And so, a tiny monster alliance was formed! Two little guys in the Elro Great Labyrinth who would eventually make outsiders tremble with fear had come together—though, of course, they were far from having that kind of notoriety yet.
For now, the most important thing was to survive!
Chapter 5: Humans
Although Spider Child had Rimuru's help to kill the Frog with Wire and level up, she had only gained levels by leeching experience. As for her skills, only her Spider Silk, used for control, had increased by one level and was now Lv.2.
Lying in her crude nest, Spider Child seemed to notice this as well. "Rimuru, if we run into those Frogs or anything later, please let me fight them myself. I want to improve!"
"Hmm? Sure~ then let's make a deal~ When we encounter prey, you go up to fight first, and I'll stay by your side as insurance to make sure you don't die. How about that?~"
As Rimuru spoke, a small tentacle extended and was placed in front of Spider Child. Understanding Rimuru's meaning, Spider Child extended her left front leg and placed it on the tentacle.
Suddenly, a strand of Spider Silk connected to the nest vibrated. Spider Child instantly became excited. "I caught some prey! Let's go!"
After saying that, she ran out along the vibrating Spider Silk. Rimuru followed behind with a hop and a skip, the two of them moving at comparable speeds.
Before long, they arrived at the spot. On the way, Spider Child had been praying for some monsters other than Frogs to practice on, but once they arrived, she didn't feel so good.
"Wait, I didn't want a Frog, but you give me a whole human?!" While Spider Child was complaining, the human caught in the web had already noticed Spider Child and Rimuru approaching.
Seeing the monsters, the human immediately pulled a bottle out of his pocket and threw it directly at his feet. The bottle shattered, and the contents spilled out.
It was completely unclear what was inside, but it actually burst into flames without any spark. The Spider Silk binding the human was instantly burned to a crisp.
The human soldier dropped the Dragon Egg in his hands and scrambled away on all fours.
It couldn't be helped; this was the Elro Labyrinth, the largest in the world. Even the smallest spider monster was not to be underestimated. It was perfectly normal for that human soldier to run away in such a panicked state.
Seeing the fire start, Spider Child immediately ran up to stop it. However, she currently had no fire resistance. Not only did she fail to stop the flames, but she almost got burned herself.
Rimuru had already landed on the Spider Silk where the fire was about to spread. While preventing the fire from reaching their home along that strand, Rimuru sprayed fresh water to extinguish the flames.
"Ah~! Thank goodness you're here! Rimuru!!" Spider Child suddenly lunged at Rimuru, rubbing her face against Rimuru's soft body while wrapping her front legs around Rimuru, refusing to let go.
"Of course! With me here, there are no accidents!" On both sides of Rimuru's body, two small arm-like tentacles rested on the hips, looking extremely proud.
"But I didn't expect there to be humans in here?" Having been released by Spider Child, Rimuru looked curiously in the direction the human soldier had fled.
"Yeah, there are traces of humans. One of my siblings—I don't know if it was a brother or sister—was hacked to death by a human weapon. But thanks to that, I was able to survive."
Using her two front legs like a dung beetle rolling a ball, Spider Child pushed the Dragon Egg left behind by the human soldier, heading back to their "home" with Rimuru.
The reason she took the Dragon Egg was that Spider Child wanted to have it for dinner; she wanted to taste what a Dragon Egg was like.
"I see. Then we'll have to be more careful to avoid being targeted by humans. We aren't humans anymore, after all."
"Eh? I thought you'd give me a little lecture for eating my siblings."
"Lecture you for what? We're monsters now. Even if you ate a person, I wouldn't react."
Spider Child blinked. That was true, but having been human before reincarnating, she wouldn't actively go out of her way to attack humans.
After pushing the Dragon Egg back to the nest, the spider and the slime sat facing each other with the Dragon Egg standing in the space between them. They were both pondering how on earth to open this egg.
They had already tried everything when they first got back. Whether Spider Child used her teeth to bite it or smashed it with a rock, nothing could open it. When she used a rock to hit the egg, the rock just shattered into dust.
Rimuru also tried wrapping the Dragon Egg with Wire to crush the shell, but the Wire snapped and the egg didn't even crack. Later, Rimuru tried using Water Blade and Mimicking monsters like the Armored Lizard and the Venomous Centipede to open it, but all attempts ultimately failed.
That was why this situation occurred, with the spider and the slime staring at each other in silence.
"Ah!! It won't open! Why is the shell so hard? Chicken eggshells are so fragile!" Spider Child fell backward, rolling around on the platform made of Spider Silk like a child throwing a tantrum on the floor of a mall because their parents wouldn't buy them a toy.
"Maybe because it's a Dragon Egg?" Rimuru wasn't sure either and gave a tentative answer. Of course, that was just what was said aloud; there were things left unsaid.
'This is the future protagonist's pet. If the two of us just opened it like this, the future plot probably wouldn't be able to proceed~'
However, she really wanted to try if using Predator would digest the egg. After thinking about it, she decided against it; there was no need to fixate on this thing.
Besides, it was just a pet. As long as she developed herself, she could kill it whenever she wanted. It was zero threat~
"Stop worrying about this useless thing. Let's think about what to do next, Spider Child." Rimuru casually swept the Dragon Egg into a corner and looked at the Little Spider who had stopped rolling and was lying on her back.
"Spider Child? Hmm~! I like that name!" Spider Child used her Spider Silk to make a thumbs-up emoji and gave it to Rimuru.
"Stop playing around. That human escaped; he'll surely gather his kind and come looking for us." Rimuru picked up the Spider Silk thumbs-up, tossed it up and down, and spoke of the matter.
"Ah?! Then, what do we do?! And it was his own stupidity for getting caught in the web! What does that have to do with us!" Spider Child expressed her lack of understanding.
"Sigh, looks like we'll have to move." After complaining, Rimuru gave a helpless sigh.
But just as the spider and the slime were preparing to leave, they could already hear clear footsteps. Judging by the sound, there were quite a few people.
Accompanied by the rising flames, they jumped out of the spider nest together and left at maximum speed.
Whether it was because the white spider was too conspicuous or Rimuru's hopping movement was too loud, they were noticed by the humans. In any case, a group of humans carrying torches and longswords headed straight for them.
Chapter 6: Elro Labyrinth Lower Layer
Under human pursuit, the spider and the Slime could only flee in panic. At this stage, they couldn't resist humans yet—well, actually, it seemed Rimuru could still fight back, but there was no need. It was better to fall to the bottom with Spider Child and level up properly!
Rimuru and Spider Child, running at the very front for their lives, had no fire to light the way. They just blindly kept fleeing forward, but as they ran, the two of them fell off a cliff.
As she fell, Spider Child let out a scream while grumbling to herself in her head, thinking things like how she had only just been reincarnated and was already going to die, and in such a pathetic way at that.
Rimuru ignored Spider Child's scream and moved closer, using their body to completely wrap Spider Child inside. While Spider Child was still dazed and confused about the situation, the Slime containing a small white spider crashed into the Bottom Layer of the Elro Labyrinth.
Because their body was so elastic, they bounced like a ball upon hitting the ground. After several bounces, they finally landed, spitting out the Spider Child wrapped within.
"Rimuru, are you okay?!" After being released by Rimuru, Spider Child immediately reached out with her front legs and began feeling all over Rimuru's body with a worried expression.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I have the skill [Pain Immunity]. Even if I fell from space, nothing would happen to me." Rimuru reached out a small hand and patted Spider Child's head.
"Whoa!! I'm so jealous! Why do you have such a broken skill! I want it too!!" Spider Child cried out at the unfairness.
But she only vented a little because of this skill and didn't do anything else. Instead, she tilted her head and leaned against Rimuru.
"Waaaah!! I'm so frustrated! It's so bitter!! Even though it was the home we worked so hard on, those humans burned it down and drove us to this place we don't even know! We could only run; we didn't have the power to protect our home!!"
Spider Child suddenly pounded the ground hard with her front legs, making a firm resolution. She would definitely, definitely get stronger! Strong enough to protect her own home!
"Then let's work hard together to get stronger! Strong enough to rule the world!" Rimuru reached out to hug Spider Child's head while gently stroking the top of it with a tentacle.
"Yeah!" Spider Child gave a forceful nod, as if using this response to prove her determination to become stronger.
While the Slime and spider at the Bottom Layer were making their resolution, the humans at the Top Layer had already collected the remaining Spider Silk that hadn't been burned, winding it together like balls of yarn.
Also taken away was the Earth Dragon Egg that Rimuru and Spider Child had struggled so hard to bring back for dinner.
Originally, Rimuru didn't know much about the plot on Spider Child's side. Now, they weren't aware that their appearance had advanced the plot of Spider Child falling to the Deepest Layer early.
After Spider Child calmed down, the spider and the Slime sat face-to-face, discussing where exactly they were now.
"I think we're still in this strange place, but we fell from a higher layer to a lower one. However, I'm not sure if the monsters here are strong or weak."
Rimuru offered a bit of analysis. Upon hearing it, Spider Child nodded vigorously, fully agreeing with the result of Rimuru's analysis.
Just then, Spider Child's stomach let out a growling sound. Not only had she missed dinner, but she had also been chased by those humans and fallen down here. Now she was even hungrier.
"Let's go hunting! Let's fill our stomachs, Rimuru!" Spider Child rubbed her rumbling belly and stood up to go hunting with Rimuru, while also checking to see if the monsters here were strong or weak.
The spider and the Slime thus entered the pitch-black, unknown path ahead together.
Rimuru, who had been sleeping face-down on a school desk, woke up and lifted their head, letting out a big yawn while grumbling internally.
"Haaah~~ I dreamed about what happened back then. Compared to being so idle now that I've come to the human side to play, I feel like exploring the Elro Labyrinth with Spider Child and getting stronger was more fun."
"This student seems to have slept very comfortably. Could you please come and answer this question on the blackboard?~" A male teacher in his fifties joked in a teasing tone, asking Rimuru to solve the problem on the board.
The other students chuckled softly, their eyes falling on Rimuru.
Rimuru looked at the question on the blackboard, thought for a moment, and answered it accurately.
"Hmm~ As expected of a student who can sleep so soundly in class, impressive. However, next time, I hope you'll pay attention to the lecture."
The teacher nodded with satisfaction at Rimuru's answer but didn't forget to continue teasing them.
"Ah~ hehe, I'll try my best to get used to the beds in school." Rimuru also showed the humility a student should have, scratching their head and sitting up straight.
The teacher smiled and continued the lecture.
Rimuru propped their cheek with their right hand, appearing to listen intently, but in reality, their thoughts had already drifted far away.
"Ah~ I didn't expect that after reincarnating into another world, I'd be able to find that feeling of being in school again... It's not bad. Coming to the human side isn't completely boring.
But I should notify Spider Child and have her make me a mattress out of Spider Silk. The mattresses here are really hard.
Of course, it's also possible that because I've been using mattresses made from Spider Child's Spider Silk these past few years, I've gotten used to them and my tastes have become spoiled."
Even though they were awake, this certain Scummy Slime wasn't listening to the lecture at all, instead letting their mind wander and think random thoughts.
Soon, the bell rang, and Rimuru snapped out of it, preparing to go out for some activity. Unexpectedly, they were stopped by Shurein, who took the initiative to start a conversation.
"Hello, my name is Shurein. May I ask what your name is? Could we get to know each other?" Shurein's actions and behavior were very gentlemanly and polite, perfectly in line with royal etiquette.
"Hello, my name is Rimuru Tempest. Nice to meet you." Rimuru also responded with appropriate etiquette and a proper answer.
After answering, they nodded to Shurein and left the classroom to go out for some activity.
"Why the sudden approach to that young girl? Do you have your eye on her? Then again, she really is beautiful. Even her eyebrows and eyelashes are frost-blue, and her lashes are so thick."
After Rimuru left, Kanadeia, who was standing beside Shurein and had long fiery-red hair, suddenly spoke up, her tone full of teasing for her best friend.
Oh right, this red-haired girl had been a boy before reincarnating. She was good friends with Shurein and they often joked around with each other like this.
"Don't talk nonsense. I just noticed her leaving early during the Banquet yesterday." Shurein raised his hands in a "give me a break" gesture.
Chapter 7: Monsters of the Lowest Stratum
"Ho~ So you already had your eyes on me since last night~ You pervert." Kanadeia continued to tease relentlessly, while Shurein's face was full of bitter smiles.
Rimuru, who had gone out, was unaware that he had become the protagonist of their banter. He simply took a stroll and, a second before the school bell rang, dashed into the classroom at extreme speed and returned to his seat.
Propping his head up with his hand, he let out a huge yawn. He still looked like he was listening intently, but in reality, his mind was wandering far away, reminiscing about the glorious days he spent with Spider Child in the Elro Labyrinth.
The Slime and Spider Child, having plunged into the darkness, searched together for a place that could serve as a home—a temporary shelter—while also looking for dinner for Spider Child.
They didn't find a temporary shelter, but they first encountered a monster they couldn't beat. It was a snake with a white belly and the rest of its body entirely cyan.
The name obtained through Great Sage's Appraisal was also [Snake].
"How about it, Spider Child? Do you want to fight?" Rimuru asked. However, before Spider Child could respond, the snake had already launched an attack on the spider and the Slime. Fortunately, their reactions were not slow, and they dodged the snake's pounce, though the movement was by no means easy.
This was the strength of the monsters in the lowest stratum of the Elro Labyrinth. They were just two of the weakest little guys who had fallen to the lowest level because they were chased by humans.
"Fight! I absolutely cannot run! I've made up my mind! I won't run anymore! If I keep running, I won't be able to protect myself, my friends, or my home!"
As Spider Child spoke, she repeatedly fired webs at the cyan snake. With the cyan snake's attributes, breaking through these webs would normally be quite simple.
Also, because the level of the webs was too low, they didn't have much effect on the cyan snake.
Seeing that Spider Child was struggling, Rimuru didn't plan to just watch from the sidelines. He used Mimicry to transform into an Armored Lizard, lunged forward with force, and used his front legs to pin the cyan snake to the ground.
The cyan snake resisted, turning its head to bite the Armored Lizard's front legs to control it. Unfortunately, with the cyan snake's attributes, its power was too low to break through the Armored Lizard's defense.
After searching around, Rimuru finally found its vital spot—the seven-inch mark—and called for Spider Child to bite it there, while he firmly controlled the cyan snake's thrashing body.
Spider Child pounced in the direction Rimuru indicated, opened her mouth to bite the snake's vital spot, and injected venom into it.
At first, the snake was still whipping the Armored Lizard's back with its tail. It didn't do much, but that didn't stop the snake from resisting. As the venom injected by Spider Child spread, the snake's struggling movements grew smaller and smaller until its life force vanished and it collapsed completely on the ground.
Confirming the death, Rimuru deactivated Mimicry and turned back into that bouncy, soft, water-blue Slime Dumpling, hitting the ground and bouncing twice.
"Spider Child, you eat first. For now, we'll prioritize you. I can get my skills whenever I want." Rimuru hopped over to Spider Child's side and reached out to pat her belly.
"Wu~ Rimuru, I'm so moved!" Tears appeared in the corners of Spider Child's eyes. These tears appeared instantly, truly a very anime-like moment.
"Go ahead and eat, weren't you hungry?" Rimuru waved his hand, telling her to eat while he stood guard nearby.
Spider Child nodded vigorously and began to feast. As she ate, she gained experience, and her Poison Fangs and Spider Silk also leveled up. Not only that, she also obtained quite a few new skills; although their levels were relatively low, she did indeed acquire them.
About thirty minutes passed, and the entire huge cyan snake had been eaten clean by Spider Child, leaving only a pile of snake bones on the ground.
But there was no need to worry. Surely there were monsters in the Great Labyrinth that fed on bones; otherwise, if there were only meat-eating monsters, the ground would be covered in bones. It certainly wouldn't be as clean as it was now, so there must be monsters that eat bones.
"Wa-kaka! Rimuru!! I got so much experience! I'm already Level 9 now! Just one more monster kill and I can level up!!"
Spider Child ran excitedly to Rimuru's side, hugging Rimuru tightly with her front legs and refusing to let go, rubbing her face against his soft body.
"Okay, okay~~ Then let's keep working hard! Let's make Spider Child even stronger!"
"Oh!!" Spider Child raised her right front leg high and shouted loudly.
Now that Spider Child was full, they could specifically look for a temporary shelter! Since they were definitely going to leave and wouldn't live here forever, it was just a temporary shelter—a place where they could rest safely and store hunted food.
Later, the spider and the Slime found a place very suitable for small monsters like them. Not only was the entrance very small, but there was only one entrance.
The space inside was also very large. Spider Child used Spider Silk to decorate the home, while Rimuru went out to find monsters to eat with Predator. After gaining skills, he wouldn't have to compete with Spider Child for prey and could let her fill her stomach.
Several types of monsters around the home were also eaten by Rimuru using Predator. Aside from obtaining a Petrifying Gaze skill from a Basilisk, he didn't get any other new skills.
When he got this skill, Rimuru even complained to himself, "Doesn't this make me Medusa?" The Main God didn't respond, perhaps because it didn't know about Medusa, or because Rimuru's self-deprecating joke was too silly and it didn't want to speak.
No other new skills were obtained beyond that; his existing skills only received minor boosts—roughly the difference between Level 1 and Level 2.
Additionally, the total amount of magicules in his body and attributes like strength had all received slight enhancements.
Before returning, Rimuru used Sticky Thread to drag a large pile of hunted monsters back home. Because the cave entrance was small, he dragged them to a spot not far from the entrance, used Wire to cut them all into small pieces, and then worked with Spider Child to transport them to the food storage area she had specially made.
"Wow!~ Rimuru, you're amazing! You actually brought back so much meat! Even if I don't go out to train, this is enough to last me for a while."
"But not going out to train is impossible! I don't want to be chased again with no power to fight back!"
Rimuru rolled back and forth on the Spider Silk carpet Spider Child had made. "Remember to balance work and rest, don't stay too tense."
Chapter 8: Spider Child Beast, Digivolve!
"Rimuru, did you clear out the monsters around our home a little too thoroughly? We've walked so far and haven't seen a single monster yet."
Because Spider Child had consumed too much Spider Silk, she had eaten quite a few of the prey Rimuru brought back. After filling her stomach, the spider and the slime went out to continue searching for monsters. The main purpose of this outing wasn't for hunting, but to let Spider Child kill one more monster to raise her level to 10.
Usually in games, reaching an integer level like this comes with some kind of reward, right? So they came out to give it a try. Even if there were no special rewards, raising her level and skills would still be a good thing.
How could anyone pass up a situation where every outcome is a good thing? Right~
However, perhaps because Rimuru had cleared out too many monsters around their home at the beginning, the two of them had walked quite a distance without seeing another monster.
"This... I'm not too sure either, but I don't remember killing that many monsters." Rimuru was also a bit uncertain. After all, those monsters were all consumed into the stomach using Predator and then analyzed by Great Sage to obtain skills; Rimuru hadn't really kept track of exactly how many monsters had been killed.
"Answer: Predator has consumed a total of five types of monsters. The number of hunted monsters is eight. Among the eight hunted monsters, five types were analyzed this time, and the remaining three were consumed and analyzed in the Upper Stratum of the Elro Great Labyrinth."
The voice of Great Sage echoed in Rimuru's mind.
"Only eight, huh? Even counting the extra ones analyzed using Predator, it's only thirteen. In the Lower Stratum, there shouldn't be such a large vacuum zone. So, maybe another monster that's incredibly powerful passed through here and scared all those monsters away."
After hearing Great Sage's voice, Rimuru muttered internally. Just as the muttering ended, a long tongue suddenly lunged from the shadows.
This tongue was extremely familiar to both Spider Child and Rimuru. Wow, it's a 'Jeanne d'Arc eating mud duck'—an old acquaintance, the blue-skinned Frog. While exclaiming internally, they both dodged to their respective sides, avoiding the Frog's attack.
Rimuru didn't need to help with this kind of thing. With Spider Child's current stats, she could handle it herself.
Upon seeing her old acquaintance, Spider Child was also very excited, letting out a strange cry as she rushed forward. She dodged the Frog's tongue—which was covered in acidic saliva—with extreme speed, then launched a spider web to wrap up the Frog's mouth.
But because the tongue was still out, the mouth wasn't completely sealed. The Frog also controlled the muscles in its tongue, quickly retracting it, hoping to launch another attack with the tongue before its mouth was sealed shut.
After all, the Frog's most lethal weapon was its tongue with its acidic attribute.
However, Spider Child wouldn't give it any chance. She released spider webs in succession, and the tongue was sealed outside just like that. But because the spider webs didn't have any attribute resistances yet, the saliva on the tongue gradually dissolved the webs around it.
Spider Child also knew she had to end the fight quickly. Exerting force with all eight spider legs, she pounced directly onto it, opening her mouth to bite the Frog's neck. The toxin on her teeth was injected into the Frog's body.
With the injection of the toxin, the Frog collapsed to the ground, its life completely gone.
After killing the Frog, Spider Child gained the last bit of experience. She heard a voice in her head saying she had leveled up to level ten, and several other skills had also received level increases.
But most importantly was this final sentence: "Conditions met. Individual [Small Lesser Taratect] can evolve. Multiple evolutionary paths exist. Please select from the following list."
After seeing the evolutionary paths, Spider Child decisively ran to Rimuru's side to discuss it together.
"The evolutionary paths are Lesser Taratect and Small Taratect. Rimuru, what do you think I should choose?" Spider Child's two front legs poked back and forth on Rimuru's body. After poking a few times, she felt it wasn't enough and pressed her entire upper body against Rimuru.
"Ah~ so soft~~" Spider Child marveled in her heart, subconsciously narrowing her eyes with a cozy cat-like expression on her face, looking quite cute.
"Emmm... my suggestion is to choose the second one, Small Taratect. Although it's still small, the base stats should be very high. As for that Lesser Taratect, its maximum level probably only goes up to that Mother you told me about before."
Rimuru thought back to the original plot, but unfortunately, it had been too long. Rimuru only remembered the protagonist Spider Child and some major events; small details like this had been forgotten.
"Oh! Base stats! I know about that! It's an important thing in Poke*mon. Yeah, I think you're right, and I don't really want to become too big; that would affect my speed."
"Besides, since I'm evolving, who wouldn't want a better evolutionary path?"
Spider Child immediately understood what Rimuru meant and even gave the most accurate description.
"Yoshi! Since we've both chosen the second one, then let's evolve into the second one, Small Taratect!" Spider Child raised her front leg and, as if touching a touchscreen electronic product, tapped the [Small Taratect] option on the right.
"Evolving into Small Taratect." After that system-like voice spoke in Spider Child's mind, she suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness that she completely couldn't control.
"Evolution... start..." Before she could even finish her sentence, she collapsed onto Rimuru and fell asleep.
Rimuru decisively mimicked the form of an Armored Lizard, coiling like a snake to protect the cute little white spider in the center, facing outward with the hard carapace, waiting for Spider Child to finish her evolution and wake up.
Having Great Sage stay alert to the surroundings, Rimuru opened the Lord God's System Shop and searched through it to see if there was an item that could allow Mana Perception to sense everything.
Rimuru remembered very clearly that when first meeting Spider Child, Mana Perception was unable to sense the web Spider Child had made with silk that didn't contain a single trace of magicules.
This matter had been remembered until now. There hadn't been much time before, but now that Spider Child was evolving, Rimuru took the chance to look for items to perfect her skills. She couldn't accept her skills having a weakness!
Looking very seriously at every item in the System Shop for a long time, Rimuru finally fixed her gaze on one particular item.
Chapter 9: Huge Power-Up!! (Mario eating a mushroom sound effect)
What Rimuru saw was exactly the skill [Metamorphosis] that the original Rimuru obtained after merging with Miss Shizue's body. After buying this and another detection skill, Rimuru had the Great Sage fuse and evolve the existing Mana Perception, the Bat Ultrasound obtained from the Master God, and the newly purchased detection skill.
So now, a perfect version of Magicule Detection had been obtained. Now, whether there were magicules or not, they could be detected. Before turning into a human, Rimuru would rely on this skill to survive!
After buying Metamorphosis and the detection skill, ninety star gold coins remained. Counting what was already there and what the Master God had given in the last few days, a total of fifty star gold coins had been spent.
In the mall, Rimuru saw more than just [Metamorphosis]; there were also items and skills like the Orc Disaster Geld's [Gluttony], the [Demon Lord Species], Miss Shizue's magic resistance mask, and the Storm Crest protection bestowed by the Storm Dragon.
With the current star gold coins, Rimuru could buy [Gluttony] and the magic resistance mask, leaving thirty star gold coins. After thinking for a moment, Rimuru decisively made the purchase.
Then, Rimuru had the Great Sage fuse and evolve [Gluttony] with [Predator], obtaining the new skill [Gluttony] and three additional effects: Corrosive, Receive, and Supply.
The three newly obtained additional effects were all capable of acquiring more abilities from analyzed targets.
As for the Demon Lord Species, it wasn't unaffordable, but after buying it, nothing else could be bought. Moreover, for the time being, buying it would be useless and it would just sit in the warehouse, so why waste those star gold coins? It was better to upgrade other things first.
Furthermore, being in the Elro Great Labyrinth, where would one find twenty thousand human souls? Calculating it that way, it was even less worth it.
The magic resistance mask, wasn't that Rimuru's iconic item? For now, it was stored in the Stomach, to be taken out later.
There were a great many things in the mall; there were many items from Rimuru's series alone. It was just that they couldn't be afforded yet, but there was no rush. It was just the Elro Great Labyrinth; with Rimuru's current stats, it could be completely swept.
As long as Spider Child's Demon Lord grandmother, Ariel, didn't personally appear.
Speaking of which, Rimuru looked at the mall full of magic skills with great envy! Especially skills like Black Flame Thunder, which looked cool and were powerful.
Unfortunately, with the remaining star gold coins, not even a scrap of Black Flame Thunder could be bought. *Sigh.*
Money is like that; when you don't spend it, you feel like you can buy anything, but once you start spending, all sorts of shortages appear. The road to becoming stronger is long and difficult!
Rimuru closed the Master God Mall and was still lamenting when Spider Child, who was protected in the inner circle, shouted loudly, "Full recovery!! Ah, seriously, why didn't you tell me beforehand that evolution causes a coma, Miss Voice of Heaven? If I didn't have friends around, I probably would have been eaten during the evolution."
Mm, as expected of Spider Child, so energetic right after waking up.
Rimuru also canceled the Mimicry, turning back into that cute Slime Dumpling that looked like it would feel good to the touch. Spider Child's body didn't seem to have changed much, her size was still very small, but her internal racial stats should have increased significantly. The future looks promising! How wonderful, how wonderful!
"Well, well, now you know. Just find a safe place next time you evolve. Besides, I'm here by your side, and I definitely won't let anything happen to you, so don't worry, don't worry~" Rimuru extended a tentacle to pat Spider Child's arm, speaking words of comfort.
"Hehe! It's so good to have you! Rimuru!" Spider Child smiled and pounced on Rimuru, hugging the soft little dumpling with her front legs.
"I'm telling you, Rimuru! My skills have improved a lot!" Spider Child excitedly told Rimuru about the changes in her skills after evolving, especially the detection skill, which could now see specific numerical values.
Rimuru just listened quietly until Spider Child felt a wave of hunger. She opened her status panel and found that her red bar, the hunger value, had dropped by three-quarters. No wonder she was so hungry.
She also noticed that her level had returned to Lv.1. It seemed to be the kind of setting where the level resets after evolution. However, even if the level was reset, the ability stats had indeed increased, so it was still good!
The first to suffer was the Frog that had allowed Spider Child to level up. Moving her eight spider legs, she walked over to the Frog and began her first meal after evolving.
While eating, she didn't forget to secretly use Appraisal on Rimuru, wanting to see her specific stats. But whether it was obscured by the Master God or because of a different power system, she couldn't see Rimuru's stats at all.
It was impossible for the Appraisal level to be too low, because it was already at level ten, the maximum level. Whatever, if she can't see it, she can't see it. If she did see it, she might be even more jealous of Rimuru.
If for nothing else, just the setting of only needing to devour one monster to obtain a skill, and having that skill be at max level, made Spider Child incredibly envious!
While her mind wandered, she ate the Frog. In front of the evolved Spider Child, it was eaten clean in a matter of minutes, leaving only a skeleton.
However, her hunger value didn't increase much. Well, not only did her other stats increase, but this one had also increased. In that case...
"Rimuru! Let's start hunting!!" Spider Child raised her small hand and shouted loudly.
"Oh!~" Rimuru also cooperatively raised a tentacle and followed behind Spider Child to hunt together. However, most of the time Rimuru was just watching from the side, since Spider Child's skills needed to be used to increase proficiency for leveling up.
But whenever Rimuru saw a monster that hadn't been eaten before, Rimuru would still take the initiative to ask for it.
Predator had already evolved into Gluttony, and skill acquisition had become even easier. Previously, devouring one creature might only yield one skill, but now, at least two could be obtained.
Thus, the spider and the slime began hunting everywhere. Recently, the monsters in the area around their home had almost all been cleared out by these two.
But because their appetites had also greatly increased after evolving, it resulted in not having much stored food at home.
"Rimuru, how about we move our temporary residence? Let's give up on this place, because the monsters nearby are about to be completely cleared out by the two of us. If we stay any longer, I won't be able to get enough to eat."
Spider Child said to Rimuru in a pitiful, coquettish voice.
Chapter 10: Getting into Big Trouble!
"Rimuru, we are currently in a place called the Elro Great Labyrinth, specifically in the Lower Stratum. The stratum we're in now is ranked second in terms of danger level, and there are many dangerous monsters."
After inspecting a Mantis Monster, Little Spider learned some information about this area and immediately relayed it to Rimuru.
"I see. Then we should probably move carefully to avoid being targeted by those particularly powerful monsters," Rimuru replied, pretending to be ignorant.
Little Spider nodded vigorously and began devouring the Mantis Monster she had just killed with her venom. Her cheeks puffed out like little steamed buns, making one want to poke them.
The spider and the Slime had been away from their temporary shelter for three days, fighting monsters, leveling up, and eating along the way. Rimuru would only take the initiative to ask Little Spider for a monster if he saw one he hadn't analyzed yet, using it to gain skills and boost his stats.
Over time, he had gained thirty more star gold coins. Adding those to the remainder from his previous shopping trip, he now had sixty. If he saved for four more days, he could purchase Black Flame Thunder and a series of derivative magic. Alternatively, he could save for two more days to buy the Protection of the Storm Crest, which cost one hundred and twenty star gold coins.
Rimuru had a rough guess about the effect of this protection: it would likely grant direct elemental control over an entire attribute, enhance the power of magic of that attribute, and reduce its mana consumption.
Overall, it was a good thing.
However, as for what specifically to exchange for, he would wait and see when the time came.
Little Spider had finished eating the mantis and the Red Bee it had killed. They could continue their journey to hunt and level up!
The two of them seemed to be moving from the edge of the Lower Stratum toward the center. They encountered more and more monsters, and each one was incredibly strong.
Even with Rimuru by her side, Little Spider didn't ask him to help her deal with those monsters. She wanted to become stronger too!
Rimuru also disappeared from time to time, using his evolved Gluttony to devour and analyze all the monsters that hadn't been processed yet.
During their journey, Little Spider noticed a pattern: the Lower Stratum also contained monsters from the Upper Stratum, and all of these monsters were venomous.
Previously at the edges, she had only seen snakes and Frogs and nothing else. As she explored more of the map, Little Spider discovered this characteristic.
As they walked, they suddenly encountered a group of insects clinging to the wall that looked like Endermites. "There are so many of these things; why don't any monsters eat them?"
Little Spider curiously asked Rimuru. Rimuru didn't know either, so he used Gluttony to eat one. He didn't feel much; the Acid Resistance it provided wasn't significant and was useless to him.
Seeing that Rimuru got nothing from eating the insect, Little Spider reached out, pulled one down, and took a huge bite. Her HP immediately started plummeting, and she began to gag.
"Ugh, what kind of garbage is this? It tastes awful! No wonder nothing eats it!" Little Spider angrily threw the Endermite on the ground, looking absolutely fuming.
After catching her breath, she realized her Acid Resistance had unexpectedly leveled up from Lv.2 to Lv.3. It was a silver lining to her misfortune.
Little Spider had a principle of not wasting food. Even if something tasted terrible, she couldn't violate her principles. Looking at the Endermite before her, Little Spider ate the insect through her tears. Her Acid Resistance went from Lv.3 to Lv.4; one could only say these bugs were truly something.
Wanting nothing more to do with the wall full of Endermites, Little Spider dragged Rimuru toward another tunnel, truly never wanting to see those things again.
Fortunately, the Goddess of Luck had not abandoned this cute Little Spider. Before long, the spider and Slime encountered a monster that looked like a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Little Spider defeated it easily and had a grand feast.
Not only did her level rise significantly, but her skill levels also increased. Due to the skill upgrades, she earned a title and subsequently obtained new skills, all of which were related to poison.
Having filled her stomach, Little Spider continued forward. Although she wasn't sure where the path led, she couldn't stay in one place for too long. After all, the goal of the spider and Slime was to leave the Lower Stratum and return to the Upper Stratum.
With no sun, there was no way to calculate how much time had passed, but Rimuru could figure out how long they had been traveling based on his star gold coin acquisition.
The time interval at which the Great God gave him star gold coins was roughly one day in this world. He had already obtained another thirty coins, meaning another three days had passed.
Speaking of which, the Lower Stratum didn't have monsters everywhere, but it didn't matter. Little Spider's stamina bar had increased her appetite, but it also allowed her to last longer.
After walking for a while, they saw a monkey. Seeing it was alone, Rimuru used Gluttony to eat it. He didn't gain any new skills, only a slight increase in his total magicules.
"Well, this monster has no skills." After so many days and analyzing more than one monster, he had roughly figured it out.
If only the total magicules increased, it meant the monster had no skills. If stats increased, it meant the monster had skills, but he already had higher-level versions, so only attributes and magicules were added. The final case was obtaining a new skill or upgrading an existing one, which meant the monster had a skill similar to his own.
"Don't go any further! There are tons of those monkeys ahead!" Rimuru took Little Spider and hid, leaving through a small passage.
"Phew, safe. No wonder only the magicules increased; they're social monsters that live in groups." Rimuru breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to lead Little Spider forward, but his Magicule Sense detected another monkey in a corner. Looking at Little Spider beside him, he released a Sticky Thread Trap to bind the monkey, letting Little Spider bite it to death and eat it.
"Yay! Food! Rimuru, you're the best!" Little Spider happily bit the monkey cub to death and ate it.
Before the monkey cub died, it let out a roar. Little Spider didn't pay it any mind, thinking it was just a normal cry; she was used to hearing them.
«Report: The Elro Revenge Ape infant has released a death cry, summoning its companions.»
The Great Sage's voice echoed in Rimuru's mind. Rimuru blinked, looking at the half-eaten monkey cub—now identified as a Revenge Ape infant. He felt it didn't matter; as long as he was there, nothing would happen to Little Spider.
After finishing the Revenge Ape infant, Little Spider found a safe high spot and used her webbing to create a guardrail to keep herself from falling. Then, she lay down on Rimuru to rest.
"Rimuru, keep watch for a bit. I can't go on. I haven't slept in days; I'm exhausted."
After saying that, she fell into a deep sleep. Rimuru obediently acted as a body pillow for Little Spider, waiting for the arrival of the Revenge Apes. This would be a massacre for Little Spider, and an excellent place for her to level up!