"Well…its official…I think god…hates spiders." Kumoko said as she was running around on fire the moment she entered the middle stratum. It was at this moment that a large seahorse like dragon emerged from the lava.

"Whoa…the heck is that?" Subaru asked.

"Elroe Gunerush. A Fire Wyrm. Danger Level D. Should also be noted…it's got crazy strong fire resistance." Ivy said.

"So in short, a lot of fire resistant monsters or otherwise fire based monsters live here." Chrome said. "Makes sense, since this place is mostly hot lava."

"Actually, when its under the earth, its called magma." Kanade said.

"Still the same stuff." Chrome said. "Still, our spider mascot friend is at a major disadvantage here in this place."

"Yeah. Webs and poison are her own ways of attacking. And threads would easily combust the moment they make contact." Naofumi said.

They soon kept watch as she retreated back to the lower stratum as she mulled over her options. But without much options, she went and focused on her next evolution. Her options were Taratect and Small Poison Taratect, the latter interesting her.

"Small Poison Taratect: A rare subspecies of the Taratect type of spider monster. Possessed with incredibly potent venom. This one! Small Poison Taratect! Evolution please!" she said making her choice before spinning herself a sleeping bag as she evolved.

It didn't take long before she evolved. Her appearance was also changed as small pink balls covered her little body and her frill had a pink rim.

"Wow! I can definitely see the results!" she said before checking her stats. "Whoa! Everything tripled! I can even see my Skill Points now! Next will be to grab some new skills."

She skimmed through the list before one skill caught her eyes.

"Pride?" Theo said as he was spying on her list.

"Oh…that's…one of the ruler skills!" Rista said.

"Ruler skills?" Kazuma asked.

"In this world, there are 14 titles with matching skills. 7 from the Seven Deadly Sins, and 7 from the Heavenly Virtues. Only one person can hold a ruler title at a time." Rista said. "They…they do tend to alter your personality a bit."

"What's the big deal with pride?" Cobalt asked.

"Well, if she gets it, she'll get a big boost in the EXP department. Same with proficiency. In fact, it'll improve the growth of all her skills." Rista said. "But in exchange, the user with that title ends up seeing others as EXP and desire to become stronger."

"Yup, that's pride in a nutshell." Kazuma asked.

"So if she gets it, it's a double edged sword for us. We'll be getting a mascot who can get really strong, really fast… but then there's the risk of her attacking us to level up, right?" Ethox asked.

"She has no reason to attack us since we aren't going for her." Theo said.

"Besides…she just got it." Ivy said.

"What?!" they all said.

Obtained the Skill Pride

Taboo risen from LV2 to Lv4

Skill Points: 100

Obtained title Ruler of Pride

Acquired Skills Abyss Magic Lv 10 and Hades

"She seems to be pretty strong already, no harm done, but…" Rista said. "Taboo was leveled up."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. Haven't we heard before that Taboo should never be leveled up?" Aqua asked.

"Yeah. The other gods and goddesses say Taboo should never be maxed out." Rista said.

"Really? Why?" Theo asked.

"Not sure. They never gave a reason." Aqua said. "Only the gods of this world know, and they won't tell anyone. "It's a secret," they said."

"Well… it's not maxed out yet, so we don't have to worry." Ethox said.

"Let's hope it stays that way." Mirror Match added.

As soon as she saw her new Magic skills, Kumoko attempted to use them in a unique casting method by trying Hades, but yet again failed. So instead, she resorted to training herself up before going to take on the Middle Stratum once more.

"She made a good choice picking up Heat Resistance." Theo said.

"Yeah, but her HP is still taking a hit even with the resistance and auto-recovery." Ristarte said. "Not gonna lie, I'm sure we're all feeling the heat, right?"

"So hot… why don't I have Heat Immunity yet?" Maple asked, a bit tired from the heat and abysmal speed.

"You'll have to talk to the devs of this world for that one." DJ chuckled to distract himself from the heat. "Hoo boy…"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I prefer the Baker Estate to this." Kazuma said. "At least we could do something about the mold monsters."

"Quit your complaining." Seiya said. "She's bound to be scared at the first sight of us if your complaining gives us away."

"Seiya has a point. I mean, we saw how she was when she encountered those humans that tried to murder her." Ultra said. "Plus the incident with her web."

"Good point. Let's leave introducing us to the spider off the table…at least for right now." Theo said.

It didn't take long before the seahorse monster rose up from the lava and started attacking Kumoko. Thanks to her dodging, she made it waste its MP before crawling out, allowing her to kill it due to its slow speed.

"Ugh, gross…it's meat is so hard and it feels like I'm chewing on an unseasoned tire." Kumoko groaned, shedding tears at the meal before a giant catfish-like creature surfaced in the magma, getting her attention. "And now it's a catfish this time?"

"Uh…what is that?" Theo asked.

"Elroe Guneseven. Another fire wyrm. It likes to swallow its prey whole. Danger Level C." Ivy said.

"Catfish…that's a kind of delicious meal we could all use." Kazuma remarked.

"Oh…and just our luck." Theo said seeing there were not one but two of them.

"We let her battle and then we nab the spoils." Subaru said. "One for her, one for us."

Kumoko immediately got into the swing of things as she coated her webs in poison as one of the catfish bit into it. It then lunged right at her.

"Oh no. Oh…wait…it can swallow anything!" Kumoko said as she created poison and forced it down the fish's throat. "Sorry…but thanks to my training…Spider Venom has evolved into Deadly Spider Venom!" she said as it struggled in pain. The other one was slowly backing off before it suddenly vanished. "Huh…where'd it go?"

The other catfish was soon finding itself facing the guild.

"Sorry big guy…you're dinner tonight." Theo said.

It looked in fear as the others ganged up on it. It didn't take long before it was lying dead and chopped up and cooked.

"Now…" Theo said having some as the others did as well with their eyes watering.

"Incredible!" they all said.

"Ah, that hits the spot." Kazuma sighed in satisfaction. "I can't believe we managed to get it out of there without Kumoko finding us."

"That's skilled adventurers for ya." Nemo said.

"It was only because of mine and Kasumi's speed that we managed to nab that big fish." Sally said.

"Won't deny that. Who knew you had a skill that revolved around fishing?" Ethox asked.

"Wasn't really fishing but…we still got a whopper." Sally said.

"Oh, we gotta remember to grab a few more of these bad boys before we leave this world." Theo said. "We can share them with the other groups as gifts of good faith."

"That's a great idea! I love it." Ethox said. "Here, I'll see if any more have surfaced…" he said as he poked his head out from the small alcove the group was in… and found himself staring at Kumoko now in combat with a giant eel.. "...Or, we can watch Kumoko kill a giant eel. That works to."

"Hmm…I think that's an Elroe Gunerave. It's an eel-like wyrm monster. Danger Level B." Ivy said.

They watched as the eel went after Kumoko as it spewed fire after her before she jumped and dealt the death blow to it.

"Yep. Another win. Now she'll…" Theo said before the eel started moving. "What the?"

"It's the Life Exchange Skill. It's using up SP to regain its health." Rista said.

"It can use that skill even when it's dead?!" Kazuma exclaimed in shock. "Where do I get that?!"

"I gotta move before he's mobile…and before my webs burn up!" Kumoko said as she sprayed a web around the eel's head, before following up by hurling multiple poison globs at it. The spider fell to the ground. "If this doesn't work, then I'm…"

The silence that followed was all the answer she wanted.

Experience threshold reached

Lv7 to Lv 10

That and the level up notification.

"Yes! That was way too close!" Kumoko cheered as she danced over her victory and level increase.

Conditions have been met!

Small Poison Taratect can now evolve!

"Whoa…she can evolve again. What are the options?" Theo asked.

"Poison Taratect and Zoa Ele." Ivy said.

"Uh oh…If she picks Zoa Ele, that might spell bad luck." Aqua said. "She'll be more adept at combat sure, but Zoa Eles are revered by humankind in this world as harbingers of misfortune."

"But she wouldn't evolve out in the open like…whoa what is she…" Ethox said as they saw her coil the eel's body to make a shelter.

"Smart. The monster's scales will act as defense." Theo said.

Kumoko then crawled into the dome as a glow was seen before she emerged with her two front legs having changed into scythes as armor covered her lower half as she started cutting through the scales. "Whoa…am I even allowed to get this strong? These things are cutting through like nothing!" she said.

Once Kumoko was done shaving the scales, she then cooked the Elroe Gunerave's meat using the heat from the magma. All it took was one bite… and then the next thing she knew, she had eaten the whole thing without even realizing it.

"Whoa…did I eat the whole thing during a blackout? That eel…is scary. Now…let's see what skills I can grab." she said looking through her list.

"Hmm…oh…looks like she's eyeing Perseverance this time." Rista said, spying on her.

"Sounds like a Survival Skill like my Dead or Alive." Chrome guessed.

"It's one of the Seven Heavenly Virtue skills. She'll be able to survive with minimal health as long as she has MP. As for the mental effect, it makes the holder want to live above anything else." Rista said.

"That doesn't really sound virtuous if you ask me…" Kanade sweated.

"It'll also open a whole can of worms…she'll have access…to the Evil Eye skills." Rista said. "And she went and bought it…oh…and Taboo's up to Lv7 now."

"Uh…what Class is this world, again?" Aqua asked.

"It's supposed to be A-Class, but in practice, it's SS." Rista answered.

"...Are we watching a potential origin story for a Demon Lord?" Aqua asked.

"I wouldn't worry, Aqua. This world is only allowed one Demon Lord and Ariel is the current one with the title." Rista said. "Oh…looks like she's getting the bonuses too. Heresy Nullification and Conviction."

Heresy Nullification helped Kumoko better handle Detection, too well in fact, as she was able to see so much that she was moved to tears.

"Wow…these skills leveled up. Amazing." a voice said inside her head.

"What the? Who said that?" Kumoko said as, inside her mind, she saw another of herself. "Who are you?"

"Isn't it obvious? I am you and you are me. I was brought into existence through the new skill we've acquired: Parallel Minds Lv1." the other Kumoko said.

"How is this a big deal?" the original asked.

"Cause we have two different consciousnesses now. So from now on, you handle the info…and I keep the body moving."

"We'll work well together, Body Brain!" the original said.

"Same to you, information brain." Body Brain said as the actual one spun around in joy.

"With all these skills, no hero or demon lord could beat me now!" Kumoko said cheerfully.

Images of Ainz, Rimuru, and Maple flashed through the group's heads. "(Yeah…no one…)" they all thought with a simultaneous sweatdrop.