บท 23: Apex Predator (4)
Since Kane already had enough reincarnation points to become a Bloody Ant again, if he dies, he decides to resume his hunt. It would be a pain to die and lose all his progress. Still, if that happens, at the very least, he would reincarnate as another Bloody Ant, and he wouldn't be hunted down so fiercely by that spider.
"The better places to ambush that spider are in the intersections. Even if that monster doesn't stop studying its options, I will still have plenty of time to ambush it. If things go well, I will be able to damage one of its legs, and that will make me even faster than the spider… but if that monster reacts on time… I don't even want to think about it. Anyway, it is not like I have a better option in this situation. I shall kill the monster before it wearies my body even further with this unstoppable chasing."
Maybe it was just a coincidence, or maybe it was because that damn spider had a terrific sense of smell, but Kane began to hear the monster's approach. Although hearing that creature so suddenly wasn't good for his heart, he didn't have to prepare because he had already studied the next intersection.
As usual, he would find a spider's nest on the west and another two intersections on the north and south. The spider was coming from the east, so he decided to hide on the south side of the intersection.
Weirdly enough, at some point, Kane began to worry less about the possibility of failure. He didn't know if it was because he leveled up a few times and became a bit faster or if it was because he grew used to dying. Either way, both options weren't that good. A lack of fear could be deadly, just as arrogance. Regardless, those thoughts disappeared when the spider was about to appear at the intersection. Although Kane felt that his speed alone would be enough, he still activated the dash the very moment he saw one of the spider's legs.
When the spider saw Kane, it was already too late, his claws were already about to cut one of the spider's legs, and the momentum of his charge increased his slashing power… Kane cut off one of the legs quite easily but lost the chance to jump thanks to it, so he ended up hitting the creature's head.
Kane felt a sharp pain in his butt, but it soon disappeared when he and the spider collided against the wall… Even though he was lighter, the charge made his body become heavy enough to run over the spider like a truck. Kane got up quite fast, but the world was still spinning… Fortunately, the spider wasn't in the best state, and it was even upside down.
The very moment Kane recovered from the shock, the spider also got up. After shaking its head, the spider saw Kane already about to reach the next intersection north from there. He didn't want to face a mad spider; that being said, he couldn't let the creature recover much of its health.
"Man… that scared the crap out of me. Although the momentum can help me somewhat, I'm not used to that speed… Let's see, running at my top speed. I spend one point of stamina per second. It isn't that bad; after resting for a few minutes, I can try again and repeat it three to four times per hour."
Kane didn't know how much the health, mana, and stamina of that spider grew, but he was also counting that its regeneration speed increased a little. So, he had no other choice but kept attacking until the beast lost all its mobility.
Kane also had to watch the spider from afar because the spider could recover fast if he ate a bat or two. He couldn't imagine that, but maybe the monster could even regenerate a lost limb. That could turn the tide of the battle quite easily.
"What a scary thought… Still, a monster just evolved like Pokémon, so what the hell is supposed to be impossible?"
In a world of magic and monsters, it was hard to say what was possible and wasn't possible. In any case, it was time for Kane to see some of the monsters' physical capabilities. Although it would be troublesome if the spider could regenerate a lost limb, that kind of information could help him quite a bit since he was a monster as well. He was from a different species, but he was a monster.
In the end, when Kane found the second intersection, he hid in the west part of that one. It would be in his best interest to attack the spider on the same side, even though the spider might be expecting that Kane didn't have any other choice but to accept that risk. If that thing loses another limb on its left side, its balance will become messed up, and the offensive capabilities of the spider will decrease as well. Kane was accepting the risks now to avoid them later.
Although Kane readied himself for the possibility that the spider might run away and hunt an easier target, the thing still came out looking for Kane. That caused quite a bit of pain, but Kane didn't hesitate to charge at max speed again and to collide himself against the creature after cutting off another leg of the spider. As it turns out, the sharp pain he felt was thanks to his own claws. It wasn't because the spider had bitten his butt. Although that also caused a bit of damage, it was better than being bitten and poisoned.
After recovering from the collision, Kane got up only to see the spider staggering on the ground. The creature was too massive for only two legs on its left side to support it. The spider could barely move, but it still was looking viciously at Kane with its multiple eyes.
"Well… what now? It can't chase me anymore. So, shall I kill it once and for all? The same tricks won't keep working forever, even against a dumb monster, so I guess I shouldn't waste this chance."
In the end, Kane only had a few days of fighting experience, so he couldn't really tell if that was the right moment to kill the spider. However, even if it was a stupid monster, it was a predator that chased him for several hours even when Kane didn't leave a single trail behind… Before that thing became even more dangerous, it had to die.
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