«Why are you running?!» Sensei's voice cut through my hysteria. «You just beat a LV19 monster, what are you doing quivering from mere LV5 spiders?»

"They're hairy and gross! And don't ignore that big LV12 one right there!"

Sensei scoffed. «Stop acting like a girl. Get back there and kill them!»

"No way!" I refused without any hesitation.

Also, I am a girl, snake or not!

But that's not the point. The thought of any of those things touching me with their hairy legs - even to brush up against them - made me shudder.

«You've dealt with spiders in the hive, so what's the problem now?»

"That's different. They were unconscious and just a few in number. And they didn't look anything like that!"

All the hair, on top of the creepy crawling feeling - and the mandibles going SNAP SNAP. It was just too much for me.

«Fight them even if you have to do so with your eyes closed!» was Sensei's unhelpful advice.

Like I would really listen to him.

But even as I ran, the sound of multiple legged creatures fast on my heel did not let up. When I looked back, I saw multiple flashes of yellow eyes and the noisy drumming of multiple feet pelting the ground.

They seemed to be intent on following me - are you freaking kidding me?

"Why are they all chasing me?!" And where was the damn lizard when I needed it?

«Fleeing prey makes for easier pickings.» Sensei scoffed, unsympathetically.

I decided to use my new skill to escape towards the flickering lights of the smouldering forest where flames were still burning.

Unfortunately, the massive spider wasn't far behind. It shot out a web with startling accuracy that struck my curls to the ground in a woven lattice. But they couldn't hold me back, so I paid it no mind and continued to flee.

Yet the longer I ran, the more vine tendrils and fragments of ground vegetation stuck to me. Initially malleable and soft, the webs seemed to solidify like rubber once in contact with the air.

It was just sticky now, but if it continued to harden, it would succeed in slowing me down.

I halted for just a moment and twisted around to free myself from the sticky stuff – but I felt the tremor of legs pelting the ground, followed by the large spider who appeared in front of me. That second of delay was all it needed to catch up!

I shrieked in horror as the large spider leapt towards me with speed. The sharp claws of its legs stabbed the ground around me like pegs, stopping me by shirking my moving space even further.

After preventing me from escaping again, its snapping mandibles drew ever so close to my face. I was hit by a wave of foul stench as droplets of acidic fluid dripped onto me, stinging my scales and I felt my body shiver from sheer revulsion.

I had to look away! If I didn't, I would surely faint! And I couldn't – the smaller spiders were here! There was only one thing left to do. I lurched forward with my eyes closed, and aimed a jab at its face.

There was a wet squelch as I came into contact, followed by a shrill screech. I opened my eyes to see the huge spider had been impaled. I had intended to do a head butt, completely forgetting I had very sharp and pointy horns!

So, I pulled my horns out and stabbed again.

The spider wriggled, but with its own legs planted firmly in the ground, it had nowhere to dodge. While it struggled in pain, I slipped out and evaded the small spiders before speeding towards the nearest tree.

I found a burning branch and grasped it between my teeth before turning back with a wicked grin.

Weapon acquired! Round two, begin!

I drove the burning branch straight into the large spider's body, and watched with delight as its hairs burst into flames. It writhed in agony and soon became a screeching mess of blackened contorted limbs.

〚You have defeated LV12 Melior Karhkkov!〛

Not satisfied, I turned my attention to the rest of the spiders and swung the burning branch in a wide arc around me as they tried to come close and multiple spiders caught alight at once. And I watched with relief as they fell after one by one.

HAH! That's what you get for chasing after me. Hmph!

〚You have defeated LV5 Novus Karhkkov!〛

〚You have defeated LV4 Novus Karhkkov!〛

〚You have defeated LV6 Ivenium Karhkkov!〛

〚You have defeated LV5 Novus Karhkkov!〛

〚You have earned 178XP〛

The series of alerts rang true, but I wasn't satisfied.

First I burned off the webs holding me back, and with renewed vigour and courage... and an evil grin, I chased after the remaining spiders with manic glee, intent on burning them all. Those that were lucky enough to arrive late - all took off running without a backward glance, but that didn't stop me chasing after them with my new speed.

In a daze of smells and sweet colours, the flames licked deliciously at their hairy behinds as they escaped through the trees. Sensei was right! Fleeing prey was far more exciting to hunt and I wouldn't be satisfied until I saw them all turn to ash.

Ahahahahaha! I'll have you all burn for me!

I waved my flaming stick like a baton and a spider caught fire wherever it went. The smaller ones were slower, and I burned half in a single wave.

Some of the fleeing spiders climbed up the trees, and out of my reach but I went on to burn five more on the ground before the spiderling's escape path diverged. The line of trees opened up, bringing me to a wide space with a larger group of spider monsters and six huge ones, each carrying monsters wrapped up in thick webbing.

Was I led into an ambush? These damn spiders!

Rather than feeling scared, I was actually ravenous with glee. What were a couple more insects against the wrath of my flames?

The thought of the carefully wrapped bundles and the free food they contained just waiting to be taken spurred me on, and I ran into their midst without hesitation.

But I heard a sizzling noise as something hot touched my body. The smaller spiders weren't much of a problem but the large ones, along with shooting out webs – seemed to have an acid spray as well.

It wasn't enough to hurt me but… it was extremely annoying!

I swung the burning branch, aiming mostly for the large ones and managed to burn two out of the six.

〚You have defeated LV12 Melior Karhkkov!〛

〚You have defeated LV13 Melior Karhkkov!〛

The rest didn't need much incentive before taking their wrapped cargo to flee. Those that escaped into the trees had long fled, and I pursued in a frenzy until the spiders on the ground were either dead or rushing forward in a chaotic stampede.

〚You have defeated LV8 Ivenium Karhkkov!〛

〚You have defeated LV5 Novus Karhkkov!〛

〚You have defeated LV3 Novus Karhkkov!〛

〚You have defeated LV4 Novus Karhkkov!〛

〚You have earned 248XP〛

Run, run! Don't let me see you here again!

Once they fled past the forest edge, I stopped chasing - pushing them out of the area was good enough.

The thought of the hairy things crawling into the cave while I slept was enough to give me nightmares. With them gone, I returned to the lake to look for the lizard and collect the fallen spiders.

But alas, when I arrived I was met with disaster.

The burning spiders that fled into the trees had managed to set a portion of the forest ablaze and now the lake was surrounded by burning trees! Also the lizard was nowhere to be found.

Not good.

I searched through the burning parts of the forest anyway just to be sure.

As for my prize?

The bodies of the large spiders were all burnt to ashes and the webbed bundles they dropped were also crisp.

I placed the charred remains into [Dimensional Box] with a sigh. However awful they may taste, I still hoped to gain an ability from their corpses. If I was lucky, they would taste better than the wasps.

Unfortunately, the flames were spreading and getting worse. My vision got hazy from too much smoke, and there was still no sign of the lizard, so I left the forest to take a breather.

Knowing the lizard's nature, he probably escaped so I wasn't too concerned. I only wished there was a way to track his whereabouts.

As I cooled off, I heard the system ding.

[Warning]

[Quest: Train Nest Mates. [Time Remaining: 53 Hours]]

[Failure to complete the quest will result in a penalty.]

Ah, I had completely forgotten.

But a penalty? Pfft…what a joke!

I had a little over two days left, but what could an incorporeal Sensei even do to me?

"What's the penalty for failure?" I asked innocently. It was likely a scare tactic.

Still, considering the quest was initially my idea – it seemed pathetic to fail it.

«If you fail the quest, I shall laugh at you.» Sensei replied.

What?

«And remind you of your failure forever.»

This... I didn't like the sound of that at all! I hate being teased! By this Sensei even more so.

I was about to rush back to the cave when I heard the sound of crushed leaves and saw the lizard jump out of the bushes, dragging an unburnt spider corpse.

I was pleased to see him alive, but that happiness quickly died when he refused to share. What an insolent and selfish pit member!

Still, I had a lot of things stored in my [Dimension Box]. One spider wouldn't matter much. In my system's view I could see the dimensional box's growing list of random items and figured it would take a while before I could go through them all.

My wealth was as follows:

Hive Debris [36], Hestehoria Core [1], Hesperia Corpse [134], Feligre Corpse [1], Karhkkov Corpse [5], Ostium Nervorum [42], Funus Amanita [42].

There would be some spare left even after I distributed them between all the nestlings. I expected the cute noodles would be very pleased with my return and my large bounty.

I only hoped the fire would burn out quickly and not spread any further.