Chapter 1: Starting with the Hairy Spider
Ancient Tree Forest, a place serene yet bustling.
The Male Fire Dragon, having nothing better to do, dove towards the ground, its roaring breath carrying warm air that tore through vast swathes of leaves, turning the forest’s tranquility into chaos—a way to vent its excessive energy.
The Thief Dragons strolling beneath the trees cautiously raised their upper bodies, but the Fire Dragon had already vanished.
However, this story isn’t about the Male Fire Dragon or the Thief Dragons. It’s about the colossal Hairy Spider perched on a treetop, angrily waving its pincers at the sky.
Jié Jié had been transported here three days ago—not as a mighty monster, not even as a human, but as an easily overlooked hairy spider. At least, that was how it seemed on the surface.
Yet he found joy in his existence as a spider. There was no pressure like when he was human. With four pairs of eyes and a low vantage point, the already expansive world took on fantastical hues—even if his vision wasn’t great.
Until today, when the net he used to catch birds was destroyed by some flying predator, leaving behind uneaten bird carcasses that fell to the ground, only for them to be swallowed whole by passing Thief Dragons.
Indeed, the ragged web ahead of him was meant for catching birds, and the spider itself was nearly as big as two human heads.
He remembered reading about the Ghost Puppet Spider from a new Monster Hunter game. Hunters could use it and its silk to pull monsters into mountain walls. Compared to that game mechanic, surely it made more sense for a giant hairy spider in the New Continent to hunt birds?
After venting his frustration into the air, Jie Jie leapt around on the treetops, seeking a new spot to weave his web—since all the birds nearby had been scared away.
Of course, if something better came along, he’d abandon his bird-hunting plans.
Like now. Through a combination of pheromones and visual cues, he spotted a flowering plant swaying gently.
Spider silk emerged from his silk gland, wrapped expertly around his pincers, and instinctively coiled around the plant, forming a trap designed specifically for honey insects.
But the trap wasn’t complete yet.
Instinct guided him to dig into the moist soil with his pincers, then bury himself partially under foliage while maintaining a connection via silk threads to his trap, ensuring he’d know instantly if prey entered.
The hunter waited patiently. It wouldn’t take long.
The rustling wind carried the sound of insect wings flapping, bringing with it the pheromones of potential prey.
Then came the violent vibrations of his web.
Jié Jié lunged forward, retreating back into his burrow with a fat honey insect caught securely in his front pincers.
After dispatching the creature, he began feeding ravenously. For a spider whose staple diet consisted of birds, these insects were merely dessert.
Before Jié Jié could contemplate his next move, subtle tremors in the ground caused all the fine hairs on his body to stand on end.
He knew such vibrations could only mean one thing: a Large Monster was approaching. The pheromones confirmed who it was.
The Poison Demon Bird.
This time, instead of acting purely on instinct, Jié Jié thought carefully about what he knew about Poison Demon Birds.
By size alone, they were fearsome enough to challenge even the Golden Lion. They consumed plant fruits and spread undigested seeds via excretion, contributing to lush vegetation wherever they roamed.
And wasn’t the sweet grass he used as bait part of their diet too?
Realizing this, Jié Jié quickly scrambled up a tree, avoiding being trampled during the Poison Demon Bird’s mealtime.
From above, he watched as the magnificent large avian dragon extended its tongue, wrapping around the sweet grass and savoring the nectar, inadvertently taking his web with it.
His precious web—
Jié Jié bared his poison fangs in irritation but soon calmed down, focusing intently to identify whatever had detached from the Poison Demon Bird.
He needed to know.
Surely it wasn’t droppings?
Exercising patience, he waited until the Poison Demon Bird left before moving closer. Confirming it was feathers, he swiftly approached, touching the few Poison Demon Bird feathers with his pincers.
As the feathers dissolved upon contact, Jié Jié imagined the close-up visuals he’d see in video games from another life.
Poison Demon Bird, feathers, P15 points.
But no investigation report or system pop-ups appeared in his field of vision.
Jié Jié simply shook off the experience, returning to the treetops to begin tracking the Poison Demon Bird, occasionally descending to collect traces left behind.
Tiny glowing green bugs also lingered on the trail.
These were Guide Insects, which hunters used to track ecological patterns of Large Monsters. But they held no allure for Jié Jié—they were far too small.
Back on the tree, Jié Jié paused, sensing danger.
Though small, the Hairy Spider avoided many conflicts between Large Monsters. However, it still had natural enemies.
Up ahead, a flock of Jungle Ancestors Birds gathered among the branches. No amount of webs could effectively restrain them, and his poison fangs couldn’t penetrate their feathers, scales, or keratin layers. If spotted, he’d likely end up torn apart and eaten.
Jié Jié suppressed his innate fear, slowly retreating.
Despite making no sound, one of the Ancestor Birds tilted its head toward him.
He’d been discovered.
With a powerful thrust from his front pincers, Jié Jié leaped backward, shooting out silk mid-air to latch onto a tree trunk, propelling himself further away.
Ripping apart the tough silk with delicate hairs on his rear pincers, he prepared to repeat the maneuver—but the Ancestor Bird reacted, flapping its vestigial wings to assist its jump, aiming to catch the nutritious-looking spider.
Panic must be avoided. Movement must continue.
Reason warned Jié Jié, but his eight eyes could only focus forward, leaving him unsure of what lay behind. His movement range depended entirely on his distance from the nearest tree.
Unfortunately, this displacement proved ineffective, leaving him trapped in a less-than-ideal corner.
Unable to widen the horizontal gap, he severed the silk and plummeted, attempting to create vertical distance.
But the leading Ancestor Bird also flapped its wings, abandoning pursuit from the treetops in favor of gliding directly toward Jié Jié.
Locked onto by the eight eyes of the Hairy Spider, the Ancestor Bird grew increasingly clear. Jié Jié felt the oppressive weight of its ecological niche. The air seemed to thicken, and the world momentarily froze in tension.
Of course, only the spider was powerless. Jié Jié, possessing the intelligence of a hairless primate, remained calm.
Before Jié Jié could reveal his secret weapon, the Ancestor Bird faltered mid-glide, breaking the intense moment.
The ancient bird landed gracefully on the ground, turned, flapped its wings, and climbed back into the trees, retreating with its flock.
Startled by this unexpected turn, Jié Jié realized the cause: another potent pheromone signal. Two quick leaps brought him back to safety among the leaves.
A group of Thief Dragons rushed past, perhaps the same ones he’d seen earlier?
Jié Jié paid them little mind, instead focusing on evading the Ancestor Birds. He dug a hidden burrow beneath dense shrubs near tree roots, using rocks to fortify his shelter for the rest of the day.
Once secure, he returned to the treetops, weaving an extensive web both as a precaution and preparation for snacks later and breakfast tomorrow.
Draped in silk, the Hairy Spider descended from the treetops, wrapping numerous strands around his pincers before retreating to his nest, eyes open but resting.
When the glow faded from his spider eyes, he saw a blocky world filled with familiar monster totems.
One shadow disappeared, while a hint of color emerged on the dim Poison Demon Bird emblem, though it remained incomplete.
In another direction, the Thief Dragon emblem glowed brightly with full color.
Jié Jié rubbed his front pincers together—this was his trump card.
Beyond the Thief Dragon, another wall of emblems shone brightly.
They represented environmental creatures like birds and insects, all prey he had consumed. Among them stood the initial form of his spider species, named Scabanjella.
Exploring in his dreams, Jié Jié summoned the Honey Insect emblem, which floated before him.
His spider body compressed, twisted, and transformed, finally unfolding into the wings of a Honey Insect he had devoured earlier.
Honey-Jié-Jie-Insect flapped its wings and soared through his dream.
The instincts of the Honey Insect flooded his mind—”knowledge etched into DNA”—but were quickly subdued by his human consciousness.
Honey-Jié-Jie-Insect experimented briefly, then dismissed the emblem, summoning the Thief Dragon emblem.
Yesterday, Jié Jié had feasted on a decaying Thief Dragon corpse, gaining the ability to transform into one.
Better to prepare in advance.
The Honey Insect body distorted and expanded, sharp spines piercing through its spine, vibrant yellow-green colors surging forth, and sharp vertical pupils adjusting focus.
Thief-Jié-Jie-Dragon shook his head vigorously, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of instincts compared to those of the Honey Insect.
Dreams blurred into clarity. Clearly, Thief Dragon vision surpassed that of environmental creatures. Recalling the earlier encounter with the Ancestor Bird, imagine if a harmless spider suddenly transformed into a Thief Dragon several times larger…
The roles reversed, the Ancestor Bird would surely feel the world freeze.
Jié Jié examined his new form, finding it quite handsome by Thief Dragon standards.
After testing jumps and runs, the Thief Dragon body deflated rapidly like a punctured balloon. Eight pincers protruded, and Jié Jié reverted to his terrifying Hairy Spider form.
Adapting to spider vision, the cave showed no signs of damage. Everything that happened seemed like a dream.
But Jié Jié knew it wasn’t. To transform into stronger monsters, he needed to eat and gather traces—lessons learned over the last three days.
