The Appraisal skills of these two weren't high enough to detect the specific stats of the big guy in front of them, but that didn't stop the author from knowing. And if the author knows, the readers know.
"First battle in another world. You ready?" Shirazawa asked softly, his voice tinged with excitent.
"Hmph, of course. You think I'm scared of it?" Wakaba let out a cold snort as she crawled out of the web-net and took a combat stance.
"Watch out for its venom. Let's go!" Shirazawa let out a low growl, his eight spider legs blurring as he charged toward the frog monster at high speed.
Not to be outdone, Wakaba charged right alongside him.
*Strange, our speeds are almost identical. Could my Innate Skill also be ?* Shirazawa wondered to himself.
Reincarnators are born with two Innate Skills. One is , which automatically restores HP, MP, and status to full upon leveling up. In non-combat mode, it allows for slow HP recovery at the cost of SP and grants the ability to understand the world's languages. Essentially, it is a bridge between the soul and the System.
The second Innate Skill varies from person to person—a gift from Evil God D to help them survive. Wakaba's was , which boosted her speed growth to ten tis that of a normal person, making it the absolute ceiling for speed-type growth. It was this skill that allowed her to survive the deathtrap of the labyrinth.
Shirazawa wasn't sure what his was yet. With Appraisal only at Lv1, he couldn't see his own hidden stats. However, based on his current speed, it seed to be a speed-type skill similar to .
*Splut!*
While Shirazawa was distracted by his thoughts, he failed to notice a glob of "phlegm" spat out by the frog. The black orb of venom, imbued with acid attributes, slamd directly into Shirazawa's small body.
"Crap!" Shirazawa dodged sideways, but a chunk of his flesh was still corroded. He hissed in agony, "Ow, ow, ow, ow..."
"Shirazawa!" Seeing this, Wakaba's anger flared. She accelerated, pouncing fiercely toward the frog.
The frog imdiately spat another glob of venom. She twisted her body to dodge, but the splashing liquid still scorched a patch of her skin.
"Hiss—" The intense pain made Wakaba gasp.
[Proficiency reached. Obtained Skill: ]
The System notification echoed in both of their minds simultaneously, and the stinging pain of the corrosion imdiately dulled.
"That really hurt..." Shirazawa endured the pain, his crimson eyes flashing with a murderous light. "Damn you... you're just a lunch box, how dare you fight back!"
He growled through gritted fangs, "Unforgivable! Wakaba, bite it!"
He pointed toward the frog. Upon his command, Wakaba leapt into the air and sank her fangs deep into the frog's neck.
"Gribbit—"
"Trying to spit again? In your dreams!" Shirazawa turned his back and raised his rear.
*Thwip—!*
A massive spray of white silk shot out, sealing the frog's large mouth shut.
Wakaba's eyes lit up with joy as she let out a sharp cry. "Die!"
Her sharp venomous fangs pierced the frog's throat. Foul green ichor flowed from the wound, instantly staining its face black. The frog let out a muffled, agonizing shriek as its massive body shook violently. Wakaba held on tight, refusing to let go.
Finally, the creature crashed to the ground, twitched a few tis, and fell still.
"Yay! We got it!" Wakaba hopped up and down in excitent. Seeing this, Shirazawa smiled to himself.
*Hopefully, my presence will an she suffers a little less.*
With that thought, he looked at the puddles of venom scattered around and, without hesitation, scooped so up and began saring it on his own body.
"Hey! Are you crazy?!" Wakaba jumped back, trying to stop him.
"Hiss—" The thick venom imdiately began to corrode his skin, making his body twitch.
[Conditions t. has risen to .]
Shirazawa grinned, revealing his sharp fangs. "Hehehe... Just as I thought. The 'Bai-style' training thod is viable."
"..." Seeing his transformation, Wakaba shuddered. She suddenly felt that this guy was terrifying. A total savage!
"Don't just stand there. Co over and put so on to level up your skills."
Shirazawa beckoned her over. Wakaba hesitated for a mont but eventually crawled toward him. From Shirazawa's frantic actions, she understood the logic behind it. She wasn't about to be squeamish. Everything was for the sake of getting stronger and surviving. That was all that mattered.
"You... be gentle."
Shirazawa was busy saring venom on his face when he heard Wakaba's small mutter. He turned to see her eyes squeezed shut, her brow furrowed in anticipation of the pain.
"Just endure it a bit, it'll be over soon," he said softly, patting her head.
"Mm."
Scooping up a small amount of venom, Shirazawa gave Wakaba a "full-body spa." While the application was painful, it was much more controlled than being hit by a direct attack. Wakaba gradually began to adjust.
[Conditions t. has risen to .]
Both of them had successfully pushed their innate to Level 3. Only then did Shirazawa stop the "Kumoko-style" training. It wasn't that he didn't want to continue, but a sense of profound weakness told him he would die if he pushed any further. His invisible HP bar was likely near zero.
But that was fine—they had a fresh frog right there to restore their health.
"Itadakimasu!"
"Awoo!"
The two of them cheered and pounced on the frog.
"Munch munch... BLEGH—"
"Why are frogs so gross? The spicy dry-pot frog from my past life was so delicious!" Wakaba lay on the ground, vomiting repeatedly, completely ignoring Shirazawa's complaints.
Ultimately, the two of them managed to choke down the remains of the frog. Though the process was unpleasant, their HP recovered and their SP felt significantly replenished. That was enough.
As they rested on the ground, Shirazawa suddenly rembered sothing. "Hey, Wakaba. Did you really trust that much back then? I told you to pounce and you just did it. What if..."
Wakaba froze for a second, then gave a light hmph. "That was just a reflex. It had nothing to do with you."
"Is that so..."
"Let's go, let's go! Back ho to sleep!" Wakaba stood up and grabbed his leg to pull him along.
Shirazawa rubbed his nose and followed. "Does this count as us living together?"
"You're so annoying..."
"..."
Shirazawa smirked. *I raised you for over a month, and now you're being this cheeky with your owner? Truly...*
At that thought, a smile of genuine amusent played across his face.
***
Kumoko Style Training thod is nothing but Shirazawa's brand of "hardcore efficiency" based on how Kumoko 'levelled' in the story. Since he has ta-knowledge of the world's chanics, he knows that the quickest way to level up resistances is through controlled self-harm.
Basically, it's the "What doesn't kill you makes you level up" philosophy.
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