It didn't take long before Kane could finally notice that he would spend a really long time in that dungeon. After walking for just five more minutes, he found another intersection, and before him, he saw three more paths… left, center, and right. Although he wanted to make good use of his extra energy right at that moment to level up himself and his skills, things wouldn't be so convenient for him.
"I guess it will be easier to find a bat on dead ends… while that is good since it will be less likely for me to get ambushed, it will be somewhat troublesome if I find more than one at a time."
Kane got lucky the first time by going to the left first, so he decided to go toward that direction again… even though the chances of him having the same luck were quite dim. Suddenly, Kane stopped because he heard something ahead of him. By the type of sound, a battle wasn't happening near him. It was something else, but Kane couldn't say what that was precisely…
"It is risky, but I have to check it. The sooner I discover the things I will have to deal with here, the better. Besides, I need to level up as fast as I can and while I can. If the enemy is beatable, I have to defeat it and probably eat it… I didn't see a single sign of plant here so far, so it isn't like I have any other choice."
After approaching carefully, the sound became more audible. Kane concluded that it was the sound of something being rolled… by the look of things, it was the sound made by something, and that something was hectic. So, Kane didn't hesitate to take a peek… only to find a big-ass spider making a stock of food by using its thread. Kane could see a fallen bat being enveloped by the thread, and he also could see two balls. Most likely, those were other bats that had fallen at the hands of the spider.
After focusing his eyes a little more, Kane saw the spider with more detail. It wasn't much more significant than himself, but the monster was inside a fortress made of thread. Most likely, the bats tried to challenge her and died thanks to it.
"It shouldn't be much faster than me… but I can't really confirm that without seeing its level. If that thing killed three bats, then it certainly isn't at the level one anymore. Still... I wonder if only monsters that have human minds can store energy by eating a lot. That spider certainly isn't a human since someone like me would have noticed that it would be more convenient just to eat the bats. That spider is probably acting by obeying its instincts..."
Some spiders were poisonous, so that would make things even more complicated since that one certainly was poisonous. The fangs of that thing were purple, so that was more than enough for Kane to think that was the case. Fighting the spider near her fortress was impossible, but if Kane could lure that thing out of it… no, it was impossible. Even monsters wouldn't leave their nests when they had a supply of food.
"Maybe if I learn Fireball…"
In the end, Kane discarded that idea. Some spiders could make really powerful threads, and considering his magic, one or two Fireballs wouldn't help him. It was better to conserve his mana and spend it by using the skills he could actually use effectively, given his status.
That being said, the spider wouldn't starve to death. If Kane manages to kill every single bat that approaches, the spider will get weakened and be forced to leave her nest. Kane wondered if it was a good idea to wait a few days for that, but he wanted to unlock that spider.
"Since she is making a stock of food, then this place is visited by bats quite frequently… maybe it isn't a bad idea to stay here for a while."
Kane already knew what would happen if he rushed ahead without thinking, so he had to be patient and grind some levels and reincarnation points. However, he couldn't just wait for enemies in the open… after finding a soft area in the walls, Kane started to dig using his legs and claws... weirdly enough, that also felt like second nature for him. That wasn't that surprising since he was an ant…
The hole was just three meters long and one meter tall. It wasn't all that good, considering that Kane now belongs to a species of monsters that specializes in speed and surprise attacks. However, at least in that space, he wouldn't be attacked by something larger than him.
"Well, this will be a temporary hideout… if I hear the sound of humans, I will run for my life. Although I defeated some of those kids, the difference in power between teenagers and adventurers who explore dungeons should be stupidly big."
Kane was determined to stay hidden and attack first whenever they approached that hole. However, it would be difficult to lure the bats there. So, he decided to use himself as bait. If he hears the noise of more than one bat, he will hide. If only one monster approaches, he will fight it. He managed to defeat two of them before, but he couldn't get ahead of himself since he defeated them while they were busy and thanks to a surprise attack.
Given that the advantage of that spider was its nest, such a creature wouldn't join the fight even if Kane made a little too much noise, but if that happened, he would be forced to end things quickly by going all out. Again, saving energy wasn't an option against an enemy of unknown abilities.
"There are no human footsteps around here, so I'm probably safe from their attacks for the time being… However, maybe I should make the hole even deeper. That way, it will be darker, and the chances of someone or something finding me while I sleep will decrease a lot... instead of an ant, by acting like that, I look more like a bat."
(Congratulations! You survived for one hour. You received one reincarnation point.")
In the end, even though it looked like Kane's new life would be a bit more complicated, he wouldn't receive more points just for that. In any case, he was thankful that he could obtain those points only by surviving, so he couldn't ask for more. Kane started to increase that hole while waiting for some targets to appear.