Level Up! x15
The notifications blazed through my mind like comets streaking across a starless sky—each one a pulse of raw power surging through my veins. My muscles twitched. My bones hummed. Even my very cells shivered as the system's energy rewrote my limitations.
"Origin…"
The word slipped from my lips in a whisper, heavy with awe.
That casual manipulation of the world's threads… had catapulted me forward. No grinding. No slow accumulation. Just pure, unfiltered ascension.
I flexed my fingers, watching as cyan strings danced over my knuckles.
"I just skipped fifteen levels."
My entire body surged with raw vigor, pulsing with newfound strength. For the first time in this damned world, this body tasted strength.
I grinned coldly. Time to seize that cave.
I marched forward. The cave's gaping mouth loomed ahead, hollow and uninviting. But it didn't matter. I was going to claim it.
---
The entrance yawned like the throat of some sleeping beast. Its darkness was thick—almost physical. The air that wafted out was dank, laced with the scent of wet stone and something else… something sharper. Something alive.
Cil hummed in my grip, its blade catching what little light filtered through the trees behind me.
At first, there was only the sound of trickling water and the skitter of tiny legs.
Then—movement.
Eight luminous threads, each tethered to a pulsing purple flame, darted toward me through the gloom.
"Spiders."
Not the tiny kind.
These were monsters—each the size of a dog, their black carapaces glistening, their many eyes gleaming like polished stones.
My grip on Cil tightened. The slaughter began.
The first lunged, body uncoiling with terrifying speed.
I moved on instinct.
Cil flashed.
The spider split cleanly down the middle, its innards splattering wetly across the floor.
Then the rest came.
Hundreds.
They surged from the darkness—a tide of fangs, limbs, and venom. Their weight slammed into me. Their fangs pierced flesh.
Poison burned through my veins. My vision blurred. Limbs numbed.
But Dark Communion ignited, and the world sharpened.
Each spider I killed fed me. Their souls surged into my core, pushing back the venom. Weakness gave way to strength.
Eventually, I stood alone.
The swarm was dead.
And I was starving.
I crouched, grabbed a corpse, and bit down.
The meat was tough. Bitter. Laced with toxins. But underneath it all, a strange gamey richness clung to the flesh.
Green blood smeared across my mouth as I chewed.
Level Up!
Poison Resistance +5
Poison Resistance +5
Poison Resistance +5
Poison Resistance +5
Poison Resistance +5
+3 Origin
\[Skill Gained: Web Control]
\[Skill Unlocked: Web Production] (Locked)
\[Skill Unlocked: Poison Fangs] (Locked)
"I gained Origin... because I ate?"
I gorged on more flesh. The system remained silent.
"Origin seems capped at 100... Interesting."
I checked my wounds. Already sealed. Scarless.
Another gift of Origin.
---
Further in, a strange glow pulsed.
As my eyes adjusted, a surreal sight unfolded—a massive tree wrapped in ancient webs, bathed in a green, eerie light.
Screeeeech!
\[Abnormal Power Level Detected]
\[Cave Dweller Queen – Lv. 45]
\[Power Level: 900]
"An Arachne..."
She stood tall, radiating dominance. I noticed it—energy leaking from the tree, seeping directly into her form.
"You're looking down on me..."
Eight albino spiders emerged from the shadows—each the size of a horse. Their bone-white carapaces gleamed like polished ivory. Their glowing eyes locked onto me with cold hunger.
\[Lv. 20 Cave Spider – Power Level: 400]
"This is new."
\[Yes, Master. Power Scale System Activated. You can now identify stronger enemies instantly.]
\[Dax – Lv. 23 | Power Level: 600]
I smirked.
"This will be fun."
They moved as one.
Four lunged, fangs dripping venom.
Four burrowed, vanishing into the earth.
Air Step – 5 Mana
Wind surged under me. I launched into the air.
Too slow.
Webs exploded from the ground, snagging my legs.
I was yanked down.
Boom!
Blood sprayed from my lips. I coughed violently.
"They're… intelligent."
Another Air Step—flicker. I vanished from sight and reappeared before the nearest spider.
Then I synced my Mana Core to Wind.
Double output.
Cil carved through the creature effortlessly, severing limbs like ribbons.
"Wind Blade."
Six ethereal blades shimmered to life around me.
Then—an idea.
"Touch."
My fingers brushed a green thread. The blades howled, transforming into miniature tornadoes.
The air cracked.
The cave shook. Loose stone rained from the ceiling.
"Be gone."
The wind screamed.
The moment I released the spell—
BOOOOM!
The concussive blast hurled me backward. I slammed into the cave wall, digging my fingers into the stone to avoid being flattened.
Level Up!
Level Up!
When the storm cleared, only ruin remained.
The Cave Dweller Queen was gone from her perch.
She had hidden within the tree's lush crown—trembling.
In my world, Arachne weren't beasts. They were ancient. Intelligent. Like humans.
"Cree tri reja."
(Come out.)
Silence.
Then—
"Rili trala…"
(Please spare me.)
A soft, feminine voice.
"And why should I?"
"I'll serve you. Use me however you want…"
I stared into the leaves.
"You're worthless to me."
I raised my hand—a bluff, but her fear was genuine.
"Please!"
"Spare me, Lord..."
"Beneath this tree lies a treasure—I'll show you."
My eyes gleamed.
"How can I trust your words?"
Without hesitation, she slit her wrist and whispered.
Black chains burst from the ground, coiling around her limbs.
\[The Cave Dweller Queen wishes to submit.]
\[Bless her with your blood.]
Something ancient stirred inside me.
A presence surged through my soul, burning beneath my skin.
My body moved on its own.
She knelt—head bowed low, body shaking.
Strings of Origin spiraled around me like silk spun by gods.
-1 Origin
-1 Origin
-1 Origin
-1 Origin
-1 Origin
-1 Origin
The cave shook.
I pressed my thumb into an indentation. Blood dripped.
I walked to her and placed it gently in her mouth.
My vision warped.
Stars spiraled across my sight.
The strings of Origin enveloped her—wrapping her like a cocoon, embedding themselves into her flesh. Rewriting her existence.
Then—darkness.