Looking at the corpse of her fellow spider, Shiraori hesitated. As a reincarnator with a complete human mind, eating the body of one of her own kind wasn't something she could stomach easily.
But then she remembered Eriri, somewhere out there, waiting for her protection. In an instant, her resolve hardened—she would eat her sibling.
Just as she opened her mouth to bite into the corpse, that mysterious voice echoed in her mind again:
[Tip: You can use Predator to consume prey. Doing so will fill your hunger and allow you to freely choose whether to experience the prey's flavor.]
"Eh? So Predator isn't just about biting straight in?"
Puzzled, she stopped her attempt at chewing and decided to try the Predator skill instead.
Suddenly, wisps of black smoke emerged from her body, weaving into black threads like a spider's web. These shot toward the corpse, enveloping it completely.
Along with the process came a wave of unbearable bitterness flooding her taste nerves through the black threads.
"Uwah! So gross! Way too bitter! I should've chosen not to taste it…"
"Sorry, brother—thanks for filling my stomach, but I still have to say, thanks for the meal!"
The process didn't take long. By the time her inner grumbling was over, the Predator's work was done. When the black smoke returned to her body, the corpse had completely vanished.
[Successfully consumed Small Lesser Taratect. Acquired skills: Thread Manipulation LV3, Poison Fang LV4… Duplicate skills merged and leveled up. Skill Points gained…]
She was already used to these mental announcements, focusing instead on the satisfaction of her gains.
But then, another voice spoke in her mind.
This one wasn't the gentle, familiar voice from before—it was cold and mechanical, startling her.
[Condition met. Title acquired: "Kin Eater."]
[Based on the effects of the title "Kin Eater," acquired skills: Taboo LV1, Heretic Magic LV1.]
"Eh?! Another voice? And what's with this 'Kin Eater' title? Just the name sounds bad! If humans could see it, I'd be doomed."
"Still… I'm a monster anyway. Humans wouldn't treat me differently without it. I just hope Eriri won't hate me for it."
"Besides, I did get two skills for free—can't complain."
After a short round of overthinking, she tossed aside her worries about the title and the second voice. As long as it didn't cause trouble, she could treat it like another background broadcast.
She then examined her two new skills—but couldn't figure out how to use them. In her eyes, they weren't nearly as practical as Predator.
"Predator, forever number one!"
With that thought, she set off to explore more of the labyrinth—not to find the exit, but to train herself. At the very least, she wanted to evolve into a Jorogumo before leaving.
Otherwise, even if she found Eriri, she wouldn't know how to face her. And with her current strength, heading to the human world would be suicide.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Upper Layer of the Elroe Great Labyrinth, Mirei Shinohara was having a miserable time since her reincarnation.
Because she was reincarnated, Mirei Shinohara had a complete consciousness even before hatching. Yes—she had reincarnated as an egg. Although her body inside was fully developed, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break free of the shell.
She also quickly realized she had become something non-human, which left her feeling dejected.
At first, she thought she'd been kidnapped—after all, she was surrounded by pitch-black darkness. But after some time, she finally understood she had transmigrated.
Like Shiraori, upon realizing this, Mirei became deeply worried about Eriri's situation. Her desire to reunite with Eriri was no less urgent than Shiraori's. Unfortunately, she couldn't even manage to be born yet.
While passing the time by recalling her happy moments with Eriri from her previous life, she suddenly heard a clear voice from outside the egg.
She couldn't understand a word—they were speaking the local language—but judging from the tone, whoever it was seemed excited.
Then, she felt herself being lifted—no, rather, her "home" was lifted—and carried somewhere.
She was being taken away by someone from this world!
Panic set in. She feared she might be eaten or sold as a pet. She had read plenty of light novels with similar scenarios. She had no desire to be anyone's pet—unless it was Eriri's pet.
After an unknown amount of time, still trembling in fear, she felt herself come to a stop. A far stronger jolt than before followed, as if she'd been thrown to the ground.
"Is this someone's lair? Am I about to become food? No—I haven't even seen Eriri again yet!"
Unable to speak, she could only voice her panic internally.
Soon, she noticed something odd. Outside, the person who had brought her seemed to be screaming in fear—alongside strange squeaking sounds.
"Could it be they were attacked?" she thought, puzzled.
But she quickly dismissed it. Whatever the outcome, it was unlikely to be good for her—unless both sides destroyed each other, or the attackers simply had no interest in her egg.
It wasn't long before it seemed the fight ended with the human fleeing.
Before she could relax, the squeaking sound drew nearer until it reached her side…
...
Shiraori, watching the terrified human male run away, had no intention of giving chase. As a former human, she wasn't ready to harm humans.
She had been using her webs to catch monsters, but somehow had caught a human instead—what rotten luck.
Her attention then fell on the object the man had left behind. It reminded her of an "egg" from her past life—except this one was far too big.
Still, it was her spoils, and she wasn't about to abandon it. As for what it was, she only needed to appraise it.
She quickly skittered up to the egg and cast her Appraisal:
[Name: Unnamed / Mirei Shinohara (Reincarnator)]
[Race: Pureblood Dragon (Unhatched)
[Hatch Condition: Tap the shell ten times with front legs.]
"Ohoho! Jackpot—it's… it's Mirei!"
Seeing the appraisal result, Shiraori's eight legs practically danced in excitement.
In her memory, although Mirei always clung to Eriri, argued with her, and fought for Eriri's attention, she was still a trustworthy ally—at least when it came to anything involving Eriri.
"So Mirei reincarnated as a monster like me. Is the chance of becoming a monster actually this high? Could it be Eriri too…? No, no way! Absolutely not!"
"Still, why did she get to be a powerful dragon while I ended up as a spider?!" Shiraori's envy nearly overflowed.
"Well… whatever. Who says a spider can't be stronger than a dragon? My evolution path ends with becoming a god!"
That thought eased her jealousy.
"She's unnamed… maybe because she hasn't hatched yet? And no skills are showing either—probably also because she hasn't hatched. Makes sense; I only got my skills after hatching too."
"But really, hatching just by tapping the shell ten times? How is she still inside?"
After a round of silent grumbling, Shiraori decided to help Mirei hatch. The thought of meeting her first familiar face filled her with anticipation.
She raised her front leg and struck the egg shell.
Inside, Mirei tensed at the sound. She could only watch helplessly as the shell she could never break on her own began to crack under the strikes of some unknown creature.
Thud… thud… thud…
After the tenth strike, the shell finally split open, revealing a large gap—through which a newborn white hatchling dragon and an eager white spider finally met eyes.
...
"Wait—you're Wakaba Hiiro? Wakaba?" Mirei looked at the terrifying white spider before her, surprise lighting her eyes.
Just moments ago, she'd been terrified this spider would eat her. But then a voice had spoken in her mind, claiming to be Wakaba Hiiro.
Seeing the spider's strange, flailing movements, she quickly realized the voice came from it.
"Eh? You… you can hear me?"
Hearing Mirei's voice in her mind, Shiraori froze, instantly becoming awkward and hesitant.
"Of course. Can't you hear me too?" Mirei replied curiously. She wasn't actually speaking aloud—like Shiraori, she couldn't physically talk yet. She'd simply thought the words in her mind, assuming it was a form of monster communication.
Meanwhile, Shiraori was internally panicking.
"Aaaah! Why can she hear my thoughts? Does that mean all my inner monologue is exposed to her?! This is so embarrassing! I want to run away! Wait—did she just hear that too?"
Her body instinctively began backing away, but when she met Mirei's beautiful blue dragon eyes—full of confusion, not mockery—she stopped.
If she could hear all my thoughts, she'd definitely tease me by now. But she hasn't said anything…
"Wait, I haven't heard any of her thoughts either. She must be thinking something! And when I first saw her, I desperately wanted to tell her who I was—that's when she heard me."
"Case closed: she only hears what I want her to hear!"
Relieved, Shiraori calmed down, her embarrassment fading, and decided not to flee.
Still, compared to her noisy internal thoughts, her actual communication was painfully shy.
"Yes… I can hear you. Long time no see, Mirei."
"Also… my name now is Shiraori."
After those two sentences, she fell silent again. If not for her memories of Mirei, she might not have managed even that much.
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