Syl

Chapter 193: The Spider and the Slime

I cut off her head! Why is she still alive!? The spider frantically panicked.

She stepped in and felt whatever was leaking onto the floor, burning the tips of her paws.

And now the floor is lava! Not literally, but why is it burning? What is this blue goop? What is going on? This is far too strange! Does nothing make any sense?

Using her thread manipulation, she ascended up and off the surface. The spider silk was almost invisible due to its thinness, so it nearly looked like she was flying, not unlike an actor performing wire-fu. Normally, she would avoid using such measures as it made her feel a little queasy and preferred to have all eight of her legs firmly on the ground, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

The elf smirked, seemingly increasingly amused by the situation. It looked like she was melting, yet her size didn’t diminish at all.

Can all elves do this? What kind of horrific world is this? That stupid voice called her an elf.

Again, something reached out to her mind; it felt alien and wrong, so she instinctively slapped it away. The elf claimed it was to talk to her, but she wasn’t about to start believing an elf that could clone itself, survive decapitation, and melt.

I bet that’s how she puts the brain parasites into me! Nope. No. Rejected!

And that was when the tentacles appeared. The floor was growing tentacles reaching out to grab her! It was absolutely horrific, and the acrobatic maneuvering required to keep out of their grasp made her want to hurl.

But dodging wasn’t all she was doing; as she grappled around the room, she was layering wires of [Rift Thread] to collapse into a constricting trap when she was done. Hopefully, even the elf couldn’t escape a straightjacket made of [Rift Thread] if it didn’t outright kill her.

She tried again to [Blink] to a better vantage point to avoid the slimy tentacles. However, her Mana was still completely empty, so she was forced to defend herself by bisecting the tendril with some of the [Rift Thread] she was keeping close on hand for offensive usage.

Mana: Drained

Why has it still not recovered even a little bit!?

She wanted to cry. What was once her domain had somehow become a living nightmare. The floor was attacking her, tentacles were everywhere, and a smug elf was mocking her right in the middle of it all.

Well, we shall see who has the last laugh!

Feeling newfound confidence in her network of interlinking threads, she snapped one of the supports, which caused a cascade of the threads to collapse inward. An all-encompassing net, allowing nowhere to run unless the elf could instantly dig down.

Victory is within my grasp! The spider thought hopefully.

Even the elf seemed surprised by the sudden turn of events; she finally reacted and began unleashing a barrage of spells in all directions at the inwardly collapsing web. But it was all for naught! Fire, Lightning, Water, Earth, and even Air all disappeared into the void of the web!

The spider had thought she had seen it all when spikes of bronzed metal burst outward from the elf in various shapes and sizes as if trying to puncture or cut the thread. But once again, it was futile.

The elf even used a new form of magic. A neon-green spell that sizzled as it flew through the air, but it also was swallowed up. With each failure, the spider felt more and more confident.

Eight magical shields suddenly apparated out of nowhere, surrounding the elf and providing it an almost complete hemisphere of protection.

It’s useless! Quit struggling so much already, you damned monster elf!

When the enclosing net touched the shields, she had expected them to immediately eat through them, but clearly, her overconfidence was showing. When the [Rift Thread] met the unknown spell shield, magical sparks discharged from the contact point in a hodgepodge of everchanging impossible colors.

She could feel the tension on the threads; the elf had somehow stopped her trap!

No! No, you don’t!

She rapidly repositioned herself and assumed some more direct control over the trap with [Thread Mastery]. It was mentally fatiguing, but at least it cost no Mana, so it was something she could still do. Who would win? These magical shields or her net?

Cracks started appearing in the eight shields, and the spider felt glee bubbling up. She exerted even more mental will upon the threads; the crushing enclosure was her ultimate victory!

The sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the den. The shields had lost. The constricting web surged forward unimpeded and enclosed entirely upon the elf.

Victory!

Squelch!

The entire elf’s body became like paste being forced through a strainer. The spider nearly vomited at the sight; it was utterly gruesome.

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That’s what you get for messing with me! She cheered while swaying from her thread.

But something felt... Wrong.

Where are my level-ups? She asked, then immediately realized. She’s not dead!

The elf’s head grew from the sludge on the ground, away from the web net. She rose up as if emerging from a swamp. The spider wanted to scream.

"That was pretty scary!" The elf spoke. "If I was caught off-guard, that might have been the end for me! And then I’d find myself in that void, sitting on a chair and having a very awkward conversation with Gramps."

Gramps? Who the hell is that? Wait... Void? Is that?

Her thoughts were interrupted when tendrils from out of nowhere suddenly grabbed her. She wondered how she hadn’t noticed them until it was too late and noted that they had taken on a texture and coloring, almost mimicking the dark, rocky environment they were in perfectly.

"Finally got you!" The elf replied.

The spider freaked out, trying to rapidly adjust her size from big to small in an effort to escape, but the slimy tendrils were gripped on tight and accommodated appropriately for her size adjustments.

No, let me go, you evil sludge monster!

"You know... Even if you are a fellow [Experiment], I’m sure they won’t mind me taking a few nibbles, right?" The elf asked.

Nibbles!? She freaked out, barely registering the other words.

She had to do it, her last resort. It was a trait called [Phase Out], another she had gained from her most recent evolution. Rather than use Mana or any other communal resource, the trait had a total duration it could be used for per rest. You could do it as small as even a single second of an increment if you wanted, but if you ran out of time, you would be forced back to reality—whether you were ready for it or not.

She hated it.

The reason was simple; every time she used it, she couldn’t help but feel existential dread that she would fall through the world or get stuck in something and turn into a dimensional smear.

But she had no other options. And so she reluctantly activated the trait as her body seemed to shift in place to another plane of existence. Her stomach immediately churned, and she felt her previous meal trying to say hello.

She slipped through the restraints with ease and began plummeting towards the floor. She reached out for a thread to grab her, but it phased right through her.

Shit! I forgot it’s literally everything! I can’t use my web or anything to catch myself!

"Oh gods, not more ghost bullshit! Is this purely to stop me from eating another [Experiment]? I feel like you gods have a grudge against me now!" The elf started ranting.

She only half paid attention to it as she needed to cancel the trait before she fell through the ground. When she shifted back to reality, her stomach lurched.

Oh no... I can’t...

She collapsed on the ground and vomited. The slimy floor even retracted away from her puke as if not wanting to touch it.

"That’s... Eww... I didn’t even know spiders could vomit," the elf commented.

Stupid ability... Stupid elf... Stupid... Everything...

She was feeling drained. The constant state of being at zero Mana was clearly not healthy, and losing her entire stomach contents had clearly been enough.

"Last chance, or I swear to Gramps I will just eat you even if they offered me a core on the spot!" The elf threatened.

Once again, she felt something mentally reach out to her.

Fine, I give up. Brainworm me...

"Finally!" The elf exclaimed. "Gods, was that so difficult? The last [Experiment] was at least willing to talk to me before he went all blood magic on me."

[Experiment]? That sounds familiar...

"Oh, you’ve got a cute mental voice. I guess you’re a girl spider?" The elf asked. "And good, if [Experiment] sounds familiar, then I’m guessing it’s one of your Emblems, and you’re also one just like me."

Wait! She’s reading my mind? The spider panicked.

"Not mind reading... [Telepathy]," the elf corrected. "Though apparently, if you habitually talk to yourself with your inner voice, it can basically be called mind-reading. I certainly ran into that issue."

Oh balls...

The elf giggled. "At least you had the mental strength to cut off our connection. Try being forced to talk to a pixie who could sneakily intrude without you knowing."

I don’t care about that; why are you trying to kill me!? The spider demanded.

"Well, you tried to kill me first, technically..." The elf pointed out. "Unless you want to say most people survive losing their legs and arms when they walk into this mine."

I guess that’s true... The spider admitted.

"As for why, well, this mine belongs to a dwarven family I work for. They want to get back to business, so they employed me to make you leave."

The spider gulped.

"Non-lethally was an option," the elf shrugged. "As long as you leave their mine, they are happy."

That’s a relief.

"Plus, I might anger Gramps or whoever is the god you’re assigned to if I just eat a fellow [Experiment]. Although I will say after seeing your abilities on display, I’m certainly tempted..."

Don’t eat me! The spider shrieked back mentally.

"Ow!" The elf flinched. "That was loud... How the heck did you make my ears ring? I don’t even have ears. Anyway... I currently do not have plans to eat you, even though it is tempting. Assuming you’re going to stop the hostilities."

I gave up already, didn’t I? I have no Mana to do anything and no more stamina to spin more threads...

"Huh, so it does use stamina..." The elf replied, then began going on a tangent. "It just uses Mana for me; I have always wondered about that. I guess since I don’t have that as a resource, it just taps the closest substitute?"

Uhh... Miss... Elf? I have no idea what you’re talking about.

"Oh!" The elf snapped out of it. "Sorry about that, I have a tendency to get... Distracted. Also, the name is Syl."

I’d say it was nice to meet you, Syl, but honestly, you kind of ruined my day.

"Sorry about that..." Syl apologized, looking a little sheepish. "But like I said, the dwarves want this mine back."

I guess I’ll have to pack up and leave then... Better than being eaten. I can’t believe what a scam this life was. I get born a spider, and you get born as some elf demon. How is that fair?

"I’m frankly surprised you still think I’m an elf after everything you already witnessed," Syl replied with a shrug. "No, I’m a monster just like you. A slime, actually..."

You’re a slime?

"Yes?" Syl replied, astonished.

Really?

"First Trixie, and now you, too?" Syl replied, looking rather annoyed. "Why does everyone not believe me? I can maybe understand normal people not believing it, but surely a fellow [Experiment] shouldn’t find it that strange?"

Sorry if I offended you... Just... The few slimes I ran into weren’t exactly... She waved one of her front legs in a gesturing manner as she pointed to Syl. All of this... Everything... They were kind of useless blobs?

Syl sighed deeply and shook her head. "Okay... I do understand a little. Although, in defense of slimes, I’ll say that I’ve fought a lot of spider monsters before, and most of them were underwhelming, too."

I watched a slime fall into magma. Did any of the spiders do something that stupid?

Syl paused and then reluctantly shook her head, looking oddly depressed. "No..."

What a strange... Slime? The spider couldn’t help but think.