The Black Snake felt truly challenged by the ginormous spider.

  I’m starting to understand the irrational hatred some humans have for spiders.

  The gargantuan spider began to approach her, yet Sun Yuying felt its weak points were its absurdly long legs.

  Sun Yuying's human memories were scattered, yet she could recall odd details, especially when she saw a creature resembling a super-sized spider.

  She knew that spiders extend their legs using hydraulics. All eight of the ginormous spider's leg joints are relatively vulnerable compared to its more rigid exoskeleton.

  I need to hinder its mobility.

  The Black Snake angled around and pounced on the ginormous spider's back legs.

  She bit into the leg and felt a satisfying crunch, causing it to hiss loudly, as she felt a deep vibration from the spider.

  Sun Yuying had grown to over eleven feet long in her latest period of growth and was far bulkier, longer than a typical Common krait; she could elongate her jaws further, and her jaw strength was far more potent than a snake her size had any right to be.

  Spiritual Energy has tampered with my physical qualities; I can do things impossible for typical snakes, just as a super-sized spider like this one should be impossible.

  The monstrous spider was not one to remain still; it tried to bite her as absurd power was generated, and it almost clamped down on her serpentine body with its jaws, but supercharged from the burst of Spiritual Energy from consuming many spiders, she narrowly wiggled out of the way.

  She crunched harder as she found its back leg give way, and she once again narrowly avoided the crushing chomp of the ginormous spider before making her way to another limb.

  Sun Yuying knew she had to avoid its crushing bite, yet that was not the only threat it posed.

  The Black Snake swiftly found out how the spiders caught the Death Chameleon.

  It began to release a dense thread, swift and silent. The Black Snake found the sneaky spider was actively baiting her towards it.

  The web was sticky and absurdly strong, and she wanted to avoid it at all costs. She barely managed to power her way through when she was caught by it slightly, in a burst of explosive strength that surprised the ginormous spider as it thought it finally caught her.

  Though the ginormous spider had weaknesses, there was a cost for its enhanced size: it was not scaled from a typical spider; otherwise, it would be even swifter than her, as similarly sized spiders are usually faster than snakes, yet she was able to outmanoeuvre it and frustrate it greatly.

  Hissing loudly, the Black Snake realised she was a terrible opponent for it, the Death Chameleon proved the easier prey, and the ginormous spider found itself struggling to carry its ginormous bulk as she snapped and crunched into its fragile legs.

  Its eight eyes began to move frantically; the Black Snake proved far more troublesome than it expected.

  She did not move like a typical member of her species. Sun Yuying did not know that, despite being classed as mortal by the system, she processed Spiritual Energy in ways impossible for most beasts.

  It led to the ginormous spider underestimating her, and it cost it dearly. The Black Snake found the ginormous spider vulnerable enough to bite into it and release her poison.

  The ginormous spider seemed to slacken and stagger, and Sun Yuying watched as it began to collapse its remaining legs, too weak to carry its heavy carapace.

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  Victorious, the Black Snake approached its hateful eight eyes and ended the creature with a crushing bite to the head.

  Finally, that thing was different. Though she instinctively knew it did not have a Spiritual Core, she felt it was unique, that the spider seemed to have abnormal intelligence, and that it was likely on its way to becoming a spiritual creature until she put an end to it.

  Now, she has the laborious task of consuming it. She did not intend to waste anything.

  Though from her human perspective, the thought of eating a creepy, ginormous spider might have seemed unappealing, her snake-like instincts found the raging Spiritual Energy emanating from it irresistible.

  The Black Snake and others like her in this world have an intuition to distinguish whether things are good and harmful; to her, the ginormous spider was the most delicious thing she ever smelled.

  Elongating her mouth, she slowly began her work of eating the spider. After working around the carcass that was slumped in the thick branches, she finally consumed the last morsel of spider, working her way from the creepily long legs to its thorax and head.

  You have consumed Nascent Spirit Giant Forest Spider, gaining +30 Spiritual Energy.

  Wow, that is a lot of spiritual energy! Nascent Spirit? Is that what she would be?

  After all, she had maxed out her Spiritual Energy capacity and could evolve now if she didn't want to achieve an advanced evolution to enhance her options.

  The Black Snake felt she was correct to seek these opportunities. Her instincts felt that such evolutionary opportunities do not come by often.

  Not all forest denizens are the same. She wanted to make the strongest possible choice and felt that evolving now would limit her potential.

  Additionally, she was likely about to complete the first additional objective in acquiring additional units of spiritual energy, as she had a Death Chamelton waiting for her to consume that was trapped in the spider's web alongside the windfall of fruits and spiders.

  Slithering her way back, she soon found the Death Chameleon was still struggling in the webs.

  Flicking her tongue about in an attempt to smell for more spiders, she did not detect any, so she began her approach to the Death Chameleon.

  Sun Yuying did not feel sympathy for the helpless creature as it struggled in panic, seeing the greedy eyes of the Black Snake hungrily approaching it.

  Her instincts did not allow her to do so.

  Not giving it a chance to retaliate, she sank her fangs into its flesh whilst it was still trapped and unable to evade. She injected heavy doses of venom, which had significantly recovered from the burst of spiritual energy from the ginormous spider.

  The Death Chameleon swiftly slackened and stilled before long, her venom more potent than ever from being enhanced by the Wicked Tossian Fruit, and the Black Snake began to remove it from its binding as she went to work consuming it.

  You have consumed Death Chameleon, gaining +12 Spiritual Energy.

  Current progress: 5/5 in assimilating the trait Adaptive Camouflage from Death Chameleon.

  Would you like to receive the trait Adaptive Camouflage? Yes/No.

  Recalling the previous time she received a trait, she paused and dismissed the prompt. She would find shelter to complete the resulting acquisition of the trait.

  The Black Snake moved a fair distance from the webs and began her descent to the Forest floor once again. She had acquired both the Death Chameleon trait and the benefit of the Wicked Tossian Fruit, so no longer required to stay high in the Forest trees.

  Sun Yuying's serpentine body felt the forest floor once again and swiftly slithered about to find a deep burrow, finding it spacious enough to contain her new bulk, she forced her way in and found it empty.

  Covering the entrance with leaves, she closed her eyes and clicked yes. Once again, she felt herself losing consciousness as a new wave of metamorphosis filled her.

  The Black Snake began the process of acquiring her second stolen trait.

  Meanwhile, deep in the forest, where a dense formation of webs lay, a spider of freakish proportions made its lair.

  If the Black Snake thought the Quasi Spirit Giant Forest Spider was large, then this one was colossal. A wave of pure power emanated from it; the spider was no quasi-spirit creature but one that had begun cultivation and formed its core.

  The Giant Forest Spider Matriarch let out a hiss in rage at the death of its brood.

  It had sent countless of its kin to begin subjugating the Great Forest; its need for resources continues to grow.

  It poses the risk of enraging the other Spirit Beasts, yet it was so close to breaking through that it was worth it.

  Though losing one of its brood that was on its way to forming its core was hurtful, the Giant Forest Spider Matriarch could not afford to be distracted.

  It remembers those who kill its brood. The Matriach will avenge them after it breaks through.

  The kin will continue to gather resources and bring them to it. So close. Soon.