Silas, who had sliced open the spider's carapace, took a large bite out of it. This was his first time trying raw meat. If he had still been in his human form, he wouldn’t have dared, but now, in his current state, it felt okay.
He took a bite, and to his surprise, the flesh tasted pretty good—better than even the Wagyu beef he’d once tried. As he swallowed, Silas felt the nether energy within the meat being purified when it reached his stomach. A soothing energy began to spread slowly throughout his body.
“Consumed flesh of Giant Arachnite = 0.85 Evolution Points obtained.”
“Consumed flesh of Giant Arachnite = 0.75 Evolution Points obtained.”
...
“Consumed flesh of Giant Arachnite = 0.12 Evolution Points obtained.”
After over a dozen bites, Silas realized the notifications had stopped—he had already hit the daily limit of 1 Evolution Point. His body, which was already more than 42.75 meters long, grew by another 10%, reaching 47.5 meters. His muscles became even more well defined. With 31 Evolution Points in total, Silas was now a lot bigger. If his growth rate kept up, he worried he might soon outgrow most places. However, he knew every problem had a solution.
Silas had heard about skills that could shrink or enlarge a person’s size. Such abilities were incredibly rare and highly sought after, but he was confident he could obtain one eventually. He even remembered a skill book he already had. If he kept making progress, he was sure he could find more. If not, he could trade for one. As for buying one with money? That was laughable. Who would sell something as valuable as a skill book for mere money? Items like that could only be traded for things of equal worth. Even if someone were desperate enough to sell one, the price would be so high only the wealthiest could dream of affording it.
Silas finished consuming the Giant Arachnite's meat. Although the notifications had stopped, he didn’t mind—the taste alone made it worthwhile. Only the shell of the arachnite remained. Looking at the legs, an idea struck him. The legs were sturdy and could easily serve as spears. With these, he could attack enemies from afar, giving them no chance to retaliate.
Collecting the eight legs, Silas tore a thick vine and tied the spears to his back. Though he lacked hands for delicate tasks, his tail served as an excellent substitute—flexible and precise. Feeling proud of his ingenuity, Silas imagined himself hurling the spears with deadly precision using his tail.
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With his preparations complete, Silas moved forward, searching for his next victim. He was cautious enough to avoid the direction of the subterranean willows—those pests weren’t worth the trouble. Despite his massive size—47 meters long and nearly 28 meters tall—he didn’t feel out of place. The colossal trees around him made his enormous body feel perfectly proportioned to his surroundings.
As night fell, Silas hesitated but decided to forego sleep. He couldn’t find a safe resting spot, and nighttime was when spiders were most active. Already, he’d encountered more than a dozen new species.
Silas was rather pleased. Encountering more species meant he could hunt more efficiently. Previously, he had to spend a lot of time searching for prey, but now, they were practically coming to him. He also noticed his night vision had improved, allowing him to see almost as clearly as during the day.
His Universal Points had already surpassed 600. The main reason was his encounters with Bronze-ranked monsters, which let him accumulate points faster. Despite this, Silas held off on purchasing an inventory. His top priority was acquiring a personal assistant. He had too many questions and didn’t dare ask outsiders for answers.
The night passed with Silas continuing his relentless hunt. Suddenly, while scanning for his next target, he felt something and turned around. Seeing nothing, he grew wary and moved forward, keeping his senses on high alert.
Moments later, a black spider emerged from the shadow of a nearby tree. Its pitch-black eyes and dark body gave off a sinister vibe. The spider leaped silently from one shadow to another, closing the distance between itself and Silas.
Silas, without even looking back, instinctively grabbed one of the spears strapped to his back and launched it.
Gotcha.
The spider, which had been confidently stalking Silas like a mantis stalking a cicada, panicked and tried to retreat into the shadows. But it was too late. The spear nailed it to the ground before it could escape.
“Killed Bronze-ranked Shadow Terror = 10 Universal Points gained.”
Silas waited for a moment, but no skill book dropped. He felt a pang of disappointment. This wasn’t the first Shadow Terror he’d killed. The first time he saw its abilities, he was thrilled by the prospect of acquiring its cool assassin-like skill. Since then, he’d been deliberately luring them out, hoping to get lucky. So far, no dice.
He didn’t know what the exact drop rate for skill books was, but he wasn’t overly worried. He had already obtained one and knew their rarity was part of what made them so valuable. If skill books were easy to get, they wouldn’t be in such high demand.
With this final kill, Silas’s Universal Points finally reached 1,000. Without a moment’s hesitation, he opened the shop icon and pressed the purchase button.