Surprisingly, an hour has elapsed since Shye began his meandering journey through the misty forest, seeking an escape route.
Despite the lingering sensation of being watched, no assailant had made a move.
Still, Shye couldn't calm down.
If anything, the alarm bells ringing inside his head had never been so loud, seemingly desperate as it tried to warn him of the impending yet unknown danger.
He could do nothing but remain vigilant as he braved the unsettling mist.
A few minutes later, he stumbled upon an area that sent shivers down his spine.
The harrowing sight of what appeared to be hundreds of purple cocoons hanging on trees, infested with thousands of irregular flesh growths, gnawed at his sanity, while the repulsive smell of rot assaulted his olfactory senses.
Trembling in distress and fear, Shye carefully took a few steps back.
At this point, he yearned to return to where the darned Boarger was at. He would rather fight the flying tiger pig than go through this mental torture.
'Crap, Crap, Crap...I shouldn't have walked deeper into the mist...' lamented Shye as he resolved himself to go back from whence he came.
However, just when he was about to turn back, he saw a glimpse of what seemed to be the continuation of the safe path he was initially walking along, only, it was a bit far from where he stood.
If the...thing...that was watching him decided to attack, he was unsure if he could come out alive.
The cocoons were definitely not simple decorations after all.
Gnashing his teeth as he struggled to make a decision, Shye looked at the path with a yearning look.
'The longer I stay here the more dangerous it will be for me, I have to take my chances!' Shye thought, courageously passing through the cocoons—vigilance raised sky high.
Anticipating an imminent attack, he stood prepared to deploy his trump cards, aiming to break through the area and, with luck, encounter a few fellow adventurers willing to assist him on the journey to safety.
He did not believe that the creature watching him this entire time would allow him to return to the safe path without attacking him.
Therefore, he needed to employ cunning in his efforts to flee.
Pretending to still be lost and trembling in fear, Shye walked, one foot in front of the other as he slowly decreased the distance between him and the safe path.
Upon reaching the optimal distance, Shye's fearful expression dissipated like thin smoke, giving way to a fiercely determined gaze as he bolted towards the path with reckless abandon.
[Back] [Exit System]
'F*CK, F*CK, F*CK!!!' Shye inwardly cursed, struggling even more desperately as the Arachne drew nearer and nearer.
Out of all the creatures he encountered, a spider would be his last preference if he were to be considered as a meal.
That creepy, hairy thing eating him as a meal? No freaking way!
Unfortunately, the web was too tough and sticky for him to get out of, hence, he decided to struggle for the sake of it but his mind was already thinking of a plan.
He would never give up on his life.
A few moments later, the spider was right in front of him smiling at him with its underdeveloped and distorted "human face".
Although the thing shockingly didn't have a mandible, imagining himself being mauled by that eerie face sent chills down his spine.
Shye didn't know what the spider was up to and he could only watch what it would do to him.
Unbeknownst to the spider, what seemed like Shye's desperate struggle was actually him forcefully pressing certain buttons on the system, acquiring skills that would aid in securing the opportunity to execute his escape plan.
[Congratulations! You've learned [Poison Resistance Lv.1(Uncommon)]]
[Congratulations! Your skill: [Poison Resistance Lv.1(Uncommon)], leveled up to >> [Poison Resistance Lv.2(Uncommon)]]
[Congratulations! Your skill: [Poison Resistance Lv.2(Uncommon)], leveled up to >> [Poison Resistance Lv.3(Uncommon)]]
[Congratulations! Your skill: [Poison Resistance Lv.3(Uncommon)], leveled up to >> [Poison Resistance Lv.4(Uncommon)]]
[Congratulations! Your skill: [Poison Resistance Lv.4(Uncommon)], leveled up to >> [Poison Resistance Lv.5(Uncommon)]]
[Congratulations! Your skill: [Poison Resistance Lv.5(Uncommon)], leveled up to >> [Intermediate Poison Resistance Lv.1(Rare)]]
Shye was saving up points to purchase an epic talent, however, he would never have the chance to purchase one should he die today so he used most of his remaining points earned from the grand finals of the Adventurer Academy Competition to decisively purchase a poison resistance skill.
Before he did so, he used the [Adventurer Encyclopedia Lv.2] to check for information regarding the spider and found that it uses some sort of poisonous gas to incapacitate its prey before wrapping them up in a cocoon.
He was quite lucky that the spider was playful, giving him ample time to implement countermeasures.
Shye didn't know how potent the poison gas was so he purchased and upgraded the poison resistance skill as much as time allowed him to.