Today, I continued staying at home to train my skills.
Even though I was starting to get bored and wanted to go out, I figured it was still safer to stay here. For now, I kept playing around with my spider silk, but there was still something nagging at me.
That chaos from yesterday...
It definitely had something to do with the tremors I sensed. I kept wondering—what could it have been?
Since I'd picked up those tremors twice already, it was safe to assume whatever caused them wasn't too far away from here.
What kind of being could trigger such fear that hundreds of creatures would flee like that?
I looked back at my little home and noticed a big problem—it had no emergency exits. I hadn't thought that far ahead when I first built it, so now I was running into complications.
Currently, the only way in or out was the front entrance. The back was just a wall, which made it incredibly dangerous if I ever needed to escape quickly.
At first, I thought the tremors might've been caused by an earthquake or some natural disaster, but the more I thought about it, the less likely that seemed.
These creatures had probably lived here for years. Even if it were an earthquake, they should've been able to handle it. What I felt was an air pressure fluctuation—shifting, unpredictable. That's not something nature typically causes.
That meant only one thing: some powerful creature must've been responsible.
Was it hunting?
No, that didn't seem right either. If it were just looking for prey, it wouldn't have let so many of them get away. And it wouldn't have caused such destruction.
Maybe… it was a fight?
Hmm... that made much more sense.
So, two powerful monsters were battling it out?
If so, that's terrifying. The first time I sensed the tremor, I was over 70 meters away—and they fought all the way here.
That means… they could very well reach me next.
Nai wa!
I need to set up an emergency escape route!
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There was no time to celebrate. I had to act now. I decided to dig an emergency tunnel.
Let's go with the back wall.
But how could I destroy it? I didn't have any tools, and my body certainly wasn't tough enough to do the job. I had to rely on the skill shop again.
Eventually, I found a skill called [Drill Leg]. I bought it immediately.
<<200 Skill Points spent. Skill [Drill Leg Lv1] acquired>>
As soon as I activated it, one of my legs transformed into a drill—not too big, but just right for tunneling through the wall.
Perfect.
I moved to the wall and gave it a try. It worked! But the skill was still only Level 1, so the drill broke quickly.
I didn't give up. I regenerated it and continued working.
After a while, I had to stop and eat to recover.
This cycle of work, rest, and eating repeated for several hours. I ended up using more than two-thirds of my stored food—this was way more exhausting than I expected. I had to keep replenishing my stamina constantly.
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After nearly ten hours of work, the effort paid off. The skill leveled up twice, and my digging became significantly more efficient.
Soon enough, I'd made a tunnel over 20 meters long.
Still not enough.
A powerful creature could easily unleash an attack covering that distance. I needed to keep going.
I resumed my work.
After a few more hours, the tunnel was now 35 meters long. Throughout the digging process, I constantly used [Sensing] to monitor my surroundings, and thankfully, everything remained quiet.
Finally, after pushing a bit more, I hit the 50-meter mark. Satisfied, I headed out, ate a meal, and went to sleep.
Over the next few days, my routine was simple: dig, eat, sleep, train.
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Along with that notification, I had finally finished digging a tunnel over 100 meters long. I started expanding the area at the end and used my spider silk to decorate it a bit. My emergency shelter was finally complete.
I felt proud of my work—but I hoped I'd never have to use it.
Then again, something still felt off. If those two creatures were fighting for this long, they had to be insanely powerful. Just a few of their attacks could destroy this entire tunnel.
Maybe I was being overly cautious, but hey—better safe than sorry.
So, without resting, I started digging another escape tunnel branching off from the first.
This time, thanks to my higher-level [Drill Leg], the work was much faster. Within a day, I had carved out a 30-meter tunnel and built a second emergency nest using my silk.
I felt a bit hungry, so I returned to eat.
When I came back, everything seemed normal. My traps hadn't caught anything—well, that made sense. Most of the local creatures had probably fled.
As I bit into the first chunk of meat, [Sensing] picked up a massive vibration.
The shock made the meat fall right out of my mouth.
But there was no time to worry about that.
I focused my senses immediately.
The source was still far—just entering my 30-meter range—but I couldn't stop the anxiety welling up inside me.
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The pressure was immense—so intense that my skill leveled up on the spot.
Whatever it was, just being within my sensing range made my whole body shake. If I came face to face with it, I'd probably die from a single breath.
A guaranteed death flag!
I knew it was coming, so I hurriedly finished my half-eaten meat and dashed into my tunnel to resume digging.
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This time, I didn't just dig one route—I created a branching network of interconnected tunnels. It took me another two exhausting days.
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Faster!
I need to be faster!
All my legs kept spinning and digging non-stop.
Finally, after constructing a full-on underground maze, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Let's see... I'd intended to live lazily off my food stash for a while, but here I was—working nonstop for six days straight.
If it were my previous life, I never would've pulled this off.
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Oh, the irony.
I never thought I'd one day obtain a skill like this—especially as someone who loved sleeping.
No… I'm a spider who loves sleeping now.
I returned to my main nest to finish off the rest of my food, just in case I wouldn't survive long enough to eat it later.
The meat was as awful as ever—but somehow, it tasted a little better today.
Maybe it was a small comfort before disaster struck.
With all my preparations complete, I decided to do nothing but wait.
As for why I didn't just flee—well, I did run!
But no matter how far I ran, those terrifying tremors always found me. Without knowing what I was up against, I was constantly living in fear. So, I figured I needed to at least see what I was dealing with.
While I waited, I managed to hunt a few remaining creatures nearby—easy experience.
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Oh, I leveled up.
Guess I can count this as a small win before the incoming disaster?
The leftover food was running low, so I ate quickly.
Not to mention, the meat had gone stale.
Not that it ever tasted good, but now it was even worse. Still, I forced it down—I couldn't afford to be picky now.
<
Ugh, not only did it taste bad, but it was also poisonous.
After eating, I felt sleepy and was about to close my eyes when [Sensing] detected something.
I snapped awake and checked the situation.
Nai wa!!
It's getting closer!
30 meters… 26… 19… 11...
Too close!
Way too close!!
I panicked and tried to flee into the tunnel, but then—
BOOM!
An explosion behind me shook the entire area.
I stumbled but still tried to escape—
Only to see my tunnel blocked by a pile of rocks.
Nai wa!!
I stomped in frustration—
But before I could react further, another explosion erupted behind me.
I turned around slowly—
And there they were.
Two massive figures now loomed before me.
A blue dragon on one side, and a purple serpent on the other.
Both were gigantic and clearly injured—they didn't look to be in top shape.
They must've been fighting for a long time.
Out of reflex, I used [Appraisal], but what came up only made me freeze in terror.
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Level 49…??
They were dozens—maybe hundreds—of times stronger than me. Even without seeing their exact stats, I could tell.
I looked around.
The cave, once spacious, was now even larger—because so much of it had been destroyed.
But none of that mattered.
All I felt was sheer terror.
Every cell in my body trembled.
I had to hide!
But where?
The tunnel I made was now sealed shut.
I couldn't even breathe too loudly, much less run.
As those two monsters stared each other down, I could only cower behind a boulder, trembling.
<
I quietly activated [Stealth] and tried to sneak away, but—
BOOM!
The serpent suddenly whipped its tail and destroyed everything in its path—including me.
Nai wa!!!
I was flung through the air, but luckily a large rock absorbed most of the impact. I was only slightly injured.
But now… I was even farther from the emergency tunnels!
I frantically looked around for another escape route.
Aha! There!
I spotted a narrow passage to my left—
But when I turned to move—
My face turned pale.
Blocking that path…was the gigantic serpent.
Seriously—how unlucky could I possibly be...?!