[Arc 1] Chapter 3: My Home and Web Creation
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The next set of tunnels are bigger than the ones leading to the lake. Due to the size, which was around that of a highway, made it possible for several monsters to pass each other without entering their personal spaces.

But even this place was too big for me to do a surprise attack on the monsters.

What to do. Let’s try out those side-tunnels. They look smaller than the main tunnels. In there I could create something like a trap.

Trap! That’s it! Don’t you underestimate a former human’s intelligence!

But how should I build one? I don’t have any rope or anything else that's needed to make a trap.

Let’s do some scouting first, then worry about the missing tools afterward.

Despite it being a pain for my mental stomach, the combo of that crazy-sight-skill and [Concentration] is helping me notice monsters before they can see me.

Most of the monsters look like they don’t have night-vision related skills like me. That, combined with the tunnels don’t have a source of light, makes it the perfect cover for me to go unnoticed.

There’s probably due to [Stealth] though. I don’t have the confidence to say that I’ve mastered the way to go unnoticed on my own.

---

Okay, how long have I walked in these tunnels yet?

I’m going on lost-mode like in the previous tunnels. Aren’t there some landmarks or signs that tell you where you are here? Maps are also welcomed.

Despite being clueless about where I was going, I managed to reach a T-junction. From the lack of tracks on the floor, this place is pretty far off course from the usual monster-traffic. At the cross point in the junction, there is an empty cave that fits me just fine but is too big for any of the other monsters to crawl inside.

Hey, couldn’t I try to make a trap here in this tunnel?

There aren’t that many monsters in this area, which makes it a good training ground for making traps. I could hide inside the cave while waiting for someone to trigger one of the traps. If they survive it or breaks through, I can just hide in the cave till they leave again.

Okay, then it’s settled. I’ll make my base here! Or should I say nest? Anyway, I’ll make this place my home while I grind EXP so that I can evolve to something less goopy.

The first thing on the list is making traps.

Hmm? ‘Shouldn’t you take care of food, clothes and a place to rest first’, you say?

Because I have a safe place to sleep in the cave, food is no problem as aether-filled water is leaking from the cracks in the dungeon, and lastly, I’m a ball of goop. I don’t need any clothes from the beginning!

Therefore, the last piece before having a safe place to live is security. There are no police in a dungeon right. You have to survive on your own down here. Since I don’t have the muscle power to fight monsters head-on, I’ll invest in making traps.

Still, how should I make the traps? I don’t have any rope or…, anything. Maybe I could set up something on that wall, like a…

*spit**splat*

Boulder…trap…? What? Something came out of my ‘hand’. It’s white and sticky… no! It’s not something obscene! Hmph.

This is... thread? Sticky threads? Like the threads a spider produces?

Why am I able to shoot threads from the parts of my body that I use as hand-replacements?

I’m not that famous superhero that was bitten by that radioactive spider and…, spider?

The dead spider by the lake! That’s it! That spider must have been my parent!

I must be a monster that’s born from the aether or mana or whatever, that leaks out of mega-class monsters when they die. That must be why I can use threads! I’m made by the essence of the world’s greatest thread-weaver!

That does sound legit. Fantasy stories and manga uses that setting many times, so there has to be some truth in that. That the result is some low-grade thrash is pissing me a little off. Give me some of that monster-power, not just low-level skills!

Then that spider monster was my parent? Now I’m starting to feel a little bad about it. Sure, it has itself to blame for challenging the snake, but to end in that tragic state…

In this place, it’s the rule of “survival of the fittest” which is the law. And this time, the snake came up as the winner. I should take this to heart and try not to pick a fight I cannot win.

Moving on, this means that including the bonus skills, I got some sort of omnidirectional sight skill, plus skills inherited from that monster spider.

Wonder what other skills I have. Do I have any more at all? Damn, I seriously want a skill-list by now. Let’s move on with the skills I have at the moment and try to look for the skill-list later.

These threads are a godsend right now. Spiders are Mother Nature’s trap specialists. With those spiders' threads in my arsenal, then there’s nothing I can’t trap! Okay, maybe the snake’s impossible, but regular mobs should be fine, right?

I should experiment with the threads first before I start hunting monsters. The best way to start the experiment is the classic spider web.

How do I start? Maybe one thread up in that corner… huh? It didn’t attach to the wall. Wasn’t the first thread sticky as chewed gum?

After some tests, I found the answer: this spider thread skill can produce the threads while also customize them, during the creation and afterward.

I’ll gain some proficiency in my [Throw] skill from throwing all these threads to the wall at least, so let’s continue at this pace!

---

Finally!

My first trap, the [Spider Web] is complete!

Huh, what do you mean by ‘that name is too on point’? Don’t blame me for my bad naming sense. I’m just a bag of goop!

Well, let’s forget the name part. But I’m still proud of creating this web. It took some time to get used to weaving the threads in a web-pattern.

I managed to tangle myself with the thread countless times. Thank God I managed to get out of the mess with the customization-ability. With it, I remade the threads with zero adhesiveness and durability, allowing me to just break them of me.

The result is worth all that mess. The web is perfect! I tested it by throwing some rocks at it; forget about tearing, it was completely unfazed!

Talk about a secure web. The rocks ended up in being stuck on the web as if they were glued on it.

Hey, that’s not a bad idea. I have to think more about that later.

Now that one passage is finished, let’s start on the remaining two. I just have to admire my work a little more first.

……… How can I escape in case of an emergency? The web blocks the whole passage.

… Let’s make a rift small enough for me to escape in the other two webs. Good thing I’m the smallest monster I’ve seen in this dungeon till now.

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