As soon as I jumped into the hole, I prepared to use my web since I thought it would be necessary, but the hole wasn't that deep. It wasn't very deep, and after that there was a path that continued straight ahead.

  The hole is rge, maybe three times my size. This pce is basically a corridor of the byrinth, but a "secret" one.

  Excited, I moved forward at a run and noticed that the amount of magical power in the area had decreased.

  'I thought there was something interesting here. What a disappointment.'

  The magical power in the environment was almost nonexistent, but the path continued. I thought about going back, but decided to keep moving forward.

  I noticed that the path I was following was sloped downward, so I'm descending. Maybe I'll actually reach the Lower Stratum if I keep going.

  The path started to curve a few times, and I finally managed to see something interesting.

  The magical power in the environment also became stronger.

  'Finally!'

  Excited, I finally reached the end of the path. The moment I stepped outside, I felt a heat I had never felt before in my life. It was as if my skin was burning.

  Instinctively, I increased my defense, but even that didn't help.

  'What an unpleasant feeling!'

  Because of the heat, I know where I am.

  I'm in the Middle Stratum.

  I really wanted to find a direct path to the Lower Stratum, but that's fine.

  Exploring one "area" at a time might be interesting. It's like exploring areas in an RPG game—zones that gradually become harder.

  'Well, I guess that's the whole point of a byrinth.'

  Kumoko had terrible luck falling straight into the Lower Stratum. Well, that helped her evolve faster, so whatever.

  'But this pce… isn't it impressive?'

  The entire environment was red because of the light coming from the massive va pits scattered everywhere. The sound of bubbling va was extremely bizarre.

  'I don't even want to get close to those pits of —'

  [ Skill proficiency achieved ]

  [ The skill "Fire Resistance LV3" has become "Fire Resistance LV4" ]

  Just stepping into this pce was enough to increase the level of my skill.

  I smiled in satisfaction and started walking. The ground was hot, but I could endure it.

  'Urgh, so much heat.'

  I absolutely hate heat.

  Where I lived before I died, there was no air conditioning. During summer I suffered a lot.

  My legs moved quickly as I began walking across the floor of this yer. However, I didn't get too close to the va pits.

  If I fall into one of those, I doubt even a defense of 10,000 would save me.

  Actually… maybe it would.

  But I don't want to test that.

  'The monsters on these floors… didn't Kumoko say their meat tastes better? Or was it a specific monster? I can't remember.'

  Well, I'll just have to try the meat of all of them!

  I kept exploring until I finally saw the first monster.

  It jumped out of a va pit and flew toward me. It looked very simir to a catfish.

  I managed to dodge its attack, and it smmed into the ground. Before I could kill it, it slid back into the va pit.

  'What the hell was that? It was like a dolphin jumping out of the water. And that monster is really big.'

  Next time it tries to attack me, I'll kill it!

  ####

  I waited for the fish to attack after editing my speed and strength. I didn't even edit my defense this time.

  However, even after several long minutes, none of those monsters attacked me again.

  'Did it give up? Did it realize I'm much stronger than it or something?'

  But no monster has ever run away from me after I edited my status. It's as if monsters can't notice the edits I make, so they still think I'm weak.

  Then it happened.

  The giant catfish jumped out of the va pit, spshing va everywhere. Its enormous open mouth came straight toward me, trying to swallow me whole.

  I smiled and disappeared.

  The fish didn't look surprised or anything.

  It crashed into the ground and began "running" back toward the va pit.

  But before it could reach the va, I punched it with my leg.

  I felt a sharp pain in my leg since I hadn't edited my defense. My HP even dropped.

  The fish flew through the air and spun around near the va pit. It tried to throw itself back inside, but I didn't allow it.

  I attacked it again, and this time I killed it.

  It wasn't difficult to kill that thing. It was easier than I expected.

  Well, I did increase my strength and speed a lot.

  That fish probably didn't even know what was happening.

  'Now, it's time for my feast.'

  I'm not hungry, but my mouth filled with saliva.

  Will I finally be able to eat something good for the first time since arriving in this world?

  But… how am I going to cook its meat? Can I use the va for that?

  But it's a monster that lives in va…

  'Well, let's try.'

  I dragged the fish's body close to the hole I used to reach this pce. It's not as hot here.

  Then I thought:

  'How am I supposed to cut this? I don't have a knife.'

  Also, my legs aren't sharp like those of that race called Zoa Ele.

  'Maybe I can use my legs like some kind of karate chop?'

  After editing my strength, I swung my leg to try to cut the monster's body.

  I crushed its dragon-like scales and flesh. I didn't cut anything—I completely mangled the meat. Blood started leaking out as well.

  'Well, I guess this will work.'

  I kept delivering karate-like strikes until I managed to separate a decent chunk of meat from it. A fillet almost the same size as my body.

  It's badly cut and partially destroyed, but who cares?

  'How am I going to roast this? Should I cut it into smaller pieces and make meat skewers?'

  My mouth watered as I stared at the meat.

  Then I decided to bite a piece of the raw flesh.

  'Huh? It tastes a bit like salmon? A very low-quality salmon, but it's not bad.'

  It feels like I'm eating sushi.

  My eyes filled with tears.

  Finally… something that doesn't taste like vomit.

  ####

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