Next day when I was contemplating on various things I got really weirded out with my extensive knowledge. I mean how a spider living in a forest could know about a thing like a bath? It occurred to me while I was eating the bird and got dirtied with leftover blood that I would want to get into a bath. I’m not really sure anymore if I really was a spider since the beginning or if maybe I was the human whose skeleton I saw earlier. Well, I probably wasn’t one but still, everything I know can’t be coming from a spider. When I search my memory, I can’t find anything about any events happening before I found myself in the cabin in the middle of the forest with skeleton near me.

 Next weird thing was the fact that no matter how much I strained my poor brain I could never find any info about humans except things like “tasty” and “kill on the spot”. Where did this obsession come from? I really wanted to know. But then I though about what I am now doing. If my past memories existed would they change my current position in any way? I didn’t think so.

Then what’s the point in overthinking if it wasn’t going to change anything? I can’t be worrying about the past, when I have present time to live. I had to concentrate on my survival, and find a way to get out of this scary forest or maybe get strong enough to be able to fight local monsters.

Now, I think I need to move, my food reserves are almost gone and I wasn’t able to catch anything here. I separated the rest of the meat from the bird and then strapped it to my back. It wasn’t heavy but it was because it was only a small portion. With it equipped I started to march towards the same direction I was earlier running away from monsters. I got sure that I remember it when I start to travel again.

There wasn’t really a reason why I choose this direction, just the fact that I ran a lot this way and I may be getting closer to one of the forest’s edges. Or I may be wrong and I already was on the edge and am currently heading towards a center part. It was scary to think what I could meet there.

I was marching between trees trying to sniff out some weak monsters or at least some wild fruits or berries, but luck wasn’t on my side. What I found was a flock of giant crows, a whole flock, not just one bird. They actually worked in groups! That giant bird that scared me earlier but ended up in my stomach. I stealthily sneaked away before they could find me. Last thing I wanted was for them to get revenge for one of their brethren.

My second finding was a perfectly round pond. It’s water was so calm than it was scary. I hesitated to come closer and later found out it was good idea. When I was observing the pond, a snake was slithering close to it, and it was visibly terrified. What happened seconds later made me realise just how insignificant I am. The whole pond was a monster. Giant tentacle in the size of hundreds of snakes, completely made of this weird water with the motion faster than I could perceive grabbed the terrified monster and dragged it into the pond.

Just how many times I will be slapped in the face by reality when I start to think I can get stronger and survive without breaking myself in the process. My environment now was too harsh to make half-hearted efforts and hope it’s possible to live just by finding food.

Scurrying away from the dangerous place I picked familiar scent. Not familiar because I smelled it earlier, but because something in my memory stirred. I knew this smell, and I had to find whoever emitted it. Because this smell belonged to something that I wanted to eat the most in the world.

I saw them not far from me, four humans traveling through the forest. They carried small lamps that gave enough light for them to see between the trees and not enough for them to be spotted by dangerous monsters. But too bad I already saw them.

I rushed with all my might, wanting to bite into ripe flesh of a human. My mind was taken over by bloodlust and hunger. I could no longer find any reason to not jump on them. It was seconds, they detected me when I was in the air already close to landing on one of them. I knocked the guy on the ground shooting some web to immobilize him, then I tackled the guy to the right, but he dodged my attack. That was bad, I managed to defeat one of them, but the rest had already locked on me. I heard a loud bang and something grazed one of my legs. I knew what it was, a weapon that’s attack was far scarier than any of mine. A gun. I panicked a bit, and tried to knock out the guy who shoot at me, but the rest of the group made it impossible by attacking me with their swords. Seriously? Swords when one of them had a gun? I had to at least kill the guy who I immobilized earlier, but just when I was about to pierce him with my fangs something unexpected happened.

[Warning! Unauthorized violence against protected species detected. Restraining system support to individual [Small inferior albino Tarantula (Young)] ]

I felt like strength was leaving me, and I am pretty sure it did, judging from what mysterious voice said. Protected species? Was that a joke made especially for me? It wasn’t good to begin with, I was at disadvantage and now my system support was cut off? Why did I even jump into this fight to begin with. I was so scared now that if I had pants I was pretty sure I would pee them. I was going to die, and it was going to be a stupid death caused by me losing control over hunger for human meat. I was waiting for one of humans to slash me or shoot to death but nothing like that happened.

Instead I saw humans pick up their immobile comrade and run away with all their strength. I was staring at them dumbfounded as they disappeared between the trees. I didn’t know what caused them to run away that fast, but then I heard something rustling behind me. I slowly turned around and saw something breathtaking.

Hundreds, maybe thousands of spiders, size of human fist were swarming the area, with bigger individuals between them that rivaled me in size. And in the middle of the swarm, was her. Just looking at her made me bow my head in awe. The royal aura she emitted was so overwhelming that I had no choice just to marvel her. Even though she was looking at me, I didn’t feel any fear, it was the opposite, I felt relieved. I was looking at her, while having my head bowed to the ground, when a strange sense of dizziness came over me. It wasn’t long until I lost my consciousness.