A few miles from the spider’s nest, Arthur stood near his den. He stared at the distant horizon with a kind of anticipation, and waited for what was going to happen next.

Then suddenly, the ground shook hard, a loud explosion rang out, and after a few seconds the sky above the spider’s area filled with smoke.

"It has begun. As I expected, the humans are not here for a stroll." He let out a long sigh, and felt a little tightness in his chest.

He understood the nature of his former kind well, and unfortunately it was not always benign. They were cunning, greedy, and savage in their own way.

Yes, the opposite was true as well, there was good inside them, but he did not expect to see it. He was a monster that represented a threat in their eyes, and if he met them, they would greet him with spears and torches.

The bitter truth in all of this was that, sooner or later, he would clash with them, and when that time came, he would have to act decisively.

If it came to it, he would not mind killing anyone who threatens his life, not only as a monster, but even his human side would show them no mercy.

He drifted away in his thoughts, but suddenly returned to reality, because his senses picked up the presence of several creatures running toward him, many of which he recognized by their scent.

His lips twisted into a wicked smile, and without any hesitation he hid in a nearby place, and silently waited for the group of prey to reach him.

Rustle!

After a few seconds, a large herd of terrified monsters appeared, burrow squirrels, rabbits, hedgehogs, and many others. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

They were all fleeing from the battlefield, oblivious to their surroundings, unaware that they were heading toward another kind of danger waiting to devour them.

Arthur bared his fangs, and the moment they got close to him, he pounced on them. He grabbed a large rabbit and finished it off quickly, then moved to another victim.

Since most of them were unranked, he hunted them with extreme ease. He was like a cunning fox that had entered a chicken coop, wherever his fangs and claws passed, carcasses fell.

[ +2XP ]

[ +1XP ]

[...]

The system notifications came one after another, and even though the amount of XP he obtained from each kill was not large, he made up for the lack of quality with sheer quantity.

Within a short time, the ground around him was filled with blood and carcasses. He stood proudly in the middle, staring at his spoils.

’Like taking candy from a child, this is not bad, not bad at all. Easy gains truly have a special taste.’ He let out a satisfied growl, and stored all the carcasses in the Dimensional Storage.

This amount of meat was enough to provide him with food for a week, or more.

But it didn’t end there. Again his senses picked up the presence of a second group of creatures running toward him, and this time the number was several times larger.

’There is more? Well, this is very good.’ The wicked smile on his face widened, making him look more savage. He hid quickly, and prepared himself to pounce with his full strength.

But this overwhelming feeling of excitement did not last long. As the fleeing monsters got closer, he noticed something suspicious.

’Wait, something is not right.’ The scent he was smelling, and the sounds he was hearing were unfamiliar, and did not belong to any of the weak monsters he knew.

His smile shrank little by little, then disappeared entirely when he realized what the approaching creatures were.

"I changed my mind, this is not good."

In the distance before him, hundreds of spiders appeared, no, thousands, if we count those very small ones, which covered the ground like a carpet.

His eyes swept the large insect herd, then stopped on a massive spider the size of a truck.

[ Tarantula — Uncommon — D-Rank — Evolution Path: Iron Tarantula ]

"Oh, crap." Arthur did not find enough time to read all the information, for the moment he saw D-Rank, he felt intense panic.

He looked left and right, and searched for an escape, but found nothing but more spiders, which unfortunately were very fast.

’What will I do?’ He hesitated to flee, not out of cowardice, but because he did not sense any killing intent coming from the powerful spiders.

As long as their intentions remained unclear, he had to wait, for moving randomly might only make them hostile.

SKITTER! SKITTER! SKITTER!

The ground shook faintly, the small spiders reached him first. They avoided his feet, and passed beneath him. They did not slow down or show any hesitation, all they were thinking about was escaping.

This gave him an idea. Quickly, he headed toward the nearest tree and climbed it. Ordinary wolves are unable to climb, but he was not just a wolf, his control over his claws was similar to that of felines.

He secured himself well on a high branch, and with obvious anxiety, waited for the spiders to pass. His idea was simple, which was not to block their escape route, so as not to provoke them.

Fortunately it worked, the D-Rank spider passed without paying him any attention, then another, and another, many powerful, terrifying-looking spiders.

With every passing second, and every passing spider, his tension grew, and had it not been that wolves do not sweat in a way similar to humans, his back would have been soaked by now.

In the end a massive spider passed, flames burning across its entire body, it screamed in pain as it fled, slamming into the trees in its path.

"Shit." It hit the tree Arthur was standing on, and it shook hard, and leaned slightly to one side. Arthur gripped the branch firmly, and did not relax until he saw it move away.

"Well, that was a terrifying experience." He took a deep breath, then raised his head, and looked at the area where the spider’s nest was located.

Since he was standing at a high point, the view was better, and because of that, he saw a faint shimmering mist, spreading slowly in the nest’s area. He was far from it, yet his senses became unsettled. He felt a little dizzy.

He contemplated the mist that resembled cosmic dust, and muttered with a kind of uncertainty: "Nullscent flower?"

The mist’s appearance and effects were identical to those of the rare flower that had exploded in his face a few days ago.

At that time, his mental state had been very bad, so he had not taken a moment to think of a way to pick it safely, and benefit from it, but now, he had witnessed a glimpse of ways to use it.

’The cunning humans, it seems they came in full preparation, that terrifying spider will have a hard time this time. Most likely it will die.’

He could only sigh, and watch in silence. Weak as he was, he did not have the right to interfere in the battles of the powerful.