Chapter 27 - 26

In front of me, there was a spider-type monster called Lesser Tarantal looking at me cautiously. Apparently, this was the monster I would need to overcome to survive in this match. Though to be honest, this was one of the monsters that I really didn't want to end up fighting. Of course, it wasn't as if I was scared of this monster. Because if push comes to shove, I won't hesitate to fight it like in this situation for one. It was just that…

'I am clearly at a disadvantage…'

After watching my fellow prisoners fight for quite some time, I now had a slight grasp on their fighting styles and capabilities. And based on what I had seen so far, two monsters had stood out. One was that Bear type monster called Savaga and the second one was this Lesser Tarantal. Of course, in terms of pure brute strength and power, the Savaga undoubtedly has outmatched the other monsters so far. But what I found the most problematic with this Lesser Tarantal wasn't its strength and power, instead it was the monster's incredible versatility in a fight that I was cautious about.

For one, the Lesser Tarantal also mainly used its speed when fighting just like me. And that speed wasn't something to sneeze at either. Because if my estimation was correct, this thing should be as fast or maybe even faster than that Glydon. On top of that, it also had the same ability as that Winset to completely ignore its momentum which made it incredibly agile. Then, as if having all of that wasn't enough already, the annoying thing also had three weapons at its disposal.

First, there was the clearly obvious one which was its poisonous fangs. Of course, because I had the skill Antibodies, I had little to worry about that poison. Still, I wouldn't want to be bitten by those sharp-looking fangs because that would surely inflict some heavy injuries on me. Besides, if the Lesser Tarantal's poison was a fast-acting one, the side effect of my skill Antibodies would surely fire back at me.

Secondly, for some reason, all of the Lesser Taratal's legs were also weaponized. And when I said weaponized, I meant literally because all of its eight legs were incredibly sharp. Seriously, those things were so sharp to the point that even just a light step from the Lesser Tarantal was enough to dig a small hole into the ground.

And finally, the most dangerous and vicious weapon at the Lesser Tarantal's disposal; the Lesser Tarantal's web.

To be perfectly honest, that web was the main reason why I didn't want to deal with the Lesser Tarantal. If it was just those fangs and sharp arms, I could probably deal with it. But it was another story when it came to those webs. For one, those webs were incredibly sturdy. And even though it might be possible for me to cut one using my fangs, doing that would only increase the risk of being caught in it. Because based on what I had seen so far, aside from being sturdy, those webs were also awfully sticky to the point that it was pretty much impossible for me to break free once I got caught. Fortunately, the Banobos that were guarding the ring would destroy some of the webs before it was thoroughly scattered all over the ring. Probably, even those Banobos would have a hard time capturing the Lesser Tarantal once it managed to completely scatter its webs.

'Seriously, why am I so unlucky?' I sighed.

'Wha—'

Surprised by the monster's speed, I immediately activated haste and bailed out from that position. Unfortunately, without even landing on the ground, the Lesser Tarantal managed to chase after me while seemingly gliding into the air.

Seeing that, I continued to run away in panic while screaming inside. 'What the heck is that?! A flying spider!!'

In truth, I already expected the Lesser Tarantal to be fast. The problem was I didn't expect it to be that fast and not to mention have an ability to seemingly fly into the air. Of course, upon calming down, I instantly realized that the Lesser Tarantal wasn't flying but was instead using its web to glide into the air. It was actually kind of similar to that fictional heroic character who was a spider person. Though, in this case, it was as if the monster's web had a will on its own which made it seem like the Lesser Tarantal was just riding on its flow. Actually, it was also kind of annoying because the webs were coming after me so I had to dodge every single one.

'This is completely different from how you fought before!! And if you can do this all along, why are you only using it now against me damn it!!'

Based on how the Lesser Tarantal had fought before, I had been under the impression that it had the habit of overwhelming its opponents using its raw speed. Essentially, the monster's fighting style was supposed to be somewhat similar to mine. And honestly, with all that weapons under their disposal, I actually thought that it was better than me when it came to using that tactic. But now, for some reason, the monster had chosen to fight at long range using its webs. Though most likely, this monster had probably decided to employ this tactic against me after seeing my fighting style.

'Looks like I am not the only one watching the fights… But damn, this thing is quite intelligent.' I thought while feeling truly impressed.

Of course, the Lesser Tarantal didn't let me off and kept on firing its webs towards me. But with the assistance of haste, I managed to swiftly avoid all of those attacks. Unfortunately, I was also slowly losing some grounds because the webs were starting to get scattered all over the place. Well, the Banobos would surely interfere if the webs got out of hand, but still, I couldn't just simply hope for that. That was why I began to change my approach.

After deciding my course of action, I stopped running momentarily while acting all exhausted. Taking advantage of that, the Lesser Tarantal shot some webs towards my direction without any hesitation. But when the web hit me, I activated Haste and dodge the web only by an inch while also making sure to catch the web using one of my paws. Then, a split second after the web completely stuck into my leg, I pulled the web with all my might.

Because the web was still connected to the Lesser Tarantal, the monster was instantly pulled back towards me. Of course, even then, the Lesser Tarantal wasn't shaken. In fact, it even pointed its claws in my direction while flying towards me. Unfortunately, it had been long since I noticed the weakness of those pointed legs.

Time seemed to slow down as I carefully dodge and parried some of those pointed legs. When I finally found an opening, I immediately bit one of the Lesser Taratal's defenseless legs on the side effectively avoiding its pointed end. Once I made sure that my grip on the leg was tight enough, I quickly reactivated Haste and ran away before the monster managed to bite me. As a result, one of the Lesser Tarantal's legs was ripped off from its body and was now sitting on my mouth.

Of course, I didn't get away without any injuries either. Because in the middle of our short exchange, the Lesser Tarantal actually managed to pierce one of its legs in my body. Seriously, the injury wasn't something to sneeze at because it was actually quite a heavy one and it was continuously bleeding. Well, it was also the same for the injury of the Lesser Tarantal. Though, unfortunately for the monster, my plan worked out perfectly.

I smiled. 'Watch this!'

At that, I started munching on the Lesser Tarantal's severed leg. A few moments later, the wound on my body completely stopped bleeding as if the wounds finally closed on their own.

'How do you like that huh?!' I grinned triumphantly.

Of course, as you had probably guessed, it was the effect of my skill Devour. Though, to be perfectly honest, this was actually the first time that I used Devour in this way. Yes, I had it in the back of my mind for quite some time now that I could probably use the Devour skill in this way, but still, that was just a simple theory. And even though there was actually quite a large chance that this strategy would work, I still tried my best to avoid resorting to this. After all, it was a really savage strategy that involved letting myself be injured in exchange for eating an opponent's flesh. Then, there was also this problem that it only managed to stop the bleeding of the wound instead of completely healing it. Besides…

'Man, this is basically the same fighting style as those crazy Hellhounds.'

That was right, much as I'd like to deny it. I was basically doing the same thing as those Hellhounds. Well, I actually had no choice in this situation, so I had to resort to this. But even then, the simple thought of being placed in the same category as those monsters really disgusted me. Though probably, those monsters must have been using this tactic because they also had the Devour skill. After all, based on those monster's behavior, it wouldn't be a big surprise if they received the Predator title. Unfortunately, that possibility only made my apprehension much worse.

After swallowing the last bits of the Lesser Tarantal's legs, I grinned with self-deprecation. For some reason though, the Lesser Tarantal's expression turned from sheer shock into that of anger.

But without caring the least bit about it, I gazed straight into the monster's eyes. 'Looks like the table has turned?!' I asked with a growl.