Rumble—
The Astral Express fleet broke through the boundary of the universe one after another and entered a shattered expanse of nothingness.
There was absolutely nothing between universes. Even the concept of time did not exist.
Looking in every direction revealed only boundless void.
The various train crews remained in close contact with one another.
"Ooooooh! We broke out of our original universe!"
"Is this the space between universes? Where are we going?..."
"Here."
Setsuna marked out a vast region on the hyperdimensional star chart.
"Judging from what I can sense, the universes in this region generally aren't very powerful. Nothing as absurd as Gurren Lagann exists here, so you may explore freely."
"Understood."
The fleet quickly dispersed in every direction to explore different universes.
Himeko piloted the Astral Express forward by instinct. This method of blindly uncovering the map carried the thrill of opening a mystery box. No one knew what sort of world they might stumble into.
Rumble!—
The train trembled faintly beneath the impact.
The unstoppable power of Trailblaze pierced the once-indestructible barrier of the universe.
At the same time, excited cries rang through the internal communication channel.
Some of the faster crews had already reached their destinations.
"Ooooooh—we've arrived in another universe!"
"The solar system! Earth! Humans! Is this another human world? It looks like the twenty-first century."
"...Wait, Commander, what does it mean that Otonokizaka Academy is facing closure? Should we give them an alien invasion crisis instead?"
"Reporting in. This place seems to be in the steam age. The entire island nation is overrun with zombies, and only a few armored steam locomotives travel between fortified stations. Uh, where are we?..."
"Hoori Town? A divine sword no one can pull out? Huh?! Ciallo~(?)..."
The assortment of bizarre reports made Setsuna laugh. He could guess which worlds those crews had encountered.
"Do your best. After completing your conquest of one world, you may either continue onward or return to the Starsea Empire for supplies."
"Call for reinforcements whenever necessary."
Hum—
Before long, the Astral Express he was riding also broke through the boundary.
Clack—
The train dipped downward and entered an unfamiliar universe.
As usual, the Sophons scanned the entire universe and found no interstellar alien civilizations.
After entering one of its planets, they discovered that the scenery resembled Frieren's world to some extent.
Endless forests and grasslands stretched across the land. Human settlements clustered around castles and cities, monsters roamed the wilderness, while heroes and parties of adventurers hunted them.
Cold weapons and magic. A classic fantasy world.
However, its power level was considerably higher than Frieren's world, and major disturbances occurred here from time to time.
Whoosh—
A region lit up on the hyperdimensional star chart.
[New World Discovered]
[So I'm a Spider, So What? (Tier III Magical World)]
This world possesses widely used magical abilities and rigorous systems governing races, skills, and levels. Some monsters possess intelligence.
Gods capable of interfering with the world through the power of rules also exist.
Comparison of Strength:
Military Strength: Like an Ant.
Technological Level: Like an Ant.
Economic Power: Like an Ant.
"Ha~"
Setsuna found it rather amusing.
"White, huh..."
He was fairly familiar with this world. It was another classic fantasy setting filled with magic.
It had heroes, a demon lord, and human civilizations resembling those of the classical era.
The main difference was that the protagonist of this world was actually a "spider."
The story began on Earth in a parallel universe.
A hero and demon lord from another world challenged a god. The resulting magical backlash erupted inside a high-school classroom in an island nation, directly striking and killing twenty-six students and their teacher.
The unfortunate teacher and students were reincarnated into another world by "Evil God D," becoming new life-forms.
Most of them reincarnated within the human faction and became chosen ones such as heroes. Only one small spider, who had been implanted with Wakaba Hiiro's memories, crossed over in a form nearly identical to her original body.
In other words, she became one of the weakest spider monsters.
Relying on sheer determination, the spider struggled to survive in the Great Elroe Labyrinth. She steadily raised her level and strength while investigating the secret of her birth and the truth of the world.
Compared to the human faction, the spider herself was much more interesting.
"Commander, are you leaving this universe to us?"
Jibril asked.
Silver Wolf was even more eager to try out the new dungeon world.
"Mm. You can handle the world below."
Setsuna tapped several times on the holographic interface.
"There's plenty to do here. Should any troublesome gods emerge to cause trouble, I'll deal with Them."
"Understood—"
Boom—
Jibril took the lead, spreading her wings and swooping down from the sky.
...
Inside the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
A white-and-pink spider monster swung through the underground labyrinth on a strand of silk.
She had a round head and body. Although she was only a monster, she looked somewhat adorable.
Several days had passed since she reincarnated into this world, and she had roughly figured out the situation around her spawning point.
This was deep inside the Great Elroe Labyrinth, while she herself was merely a lowest-level spider monster.
At first, all kinds of monsters had chased her all over the place. After desperately killing a giant snake and several frogs, she had finally accumulated enough experience to qualify for evolution.
[Required Proficiency Reached. Appraisal has risen to LV6.]
After killing yet another frog monster, the spider grew excited upon hearing the system announcement.
"Appraisal leveled up!"
"Assuming the skill cap is ten, useful functions should start appearing one after another now, right?"
"Ooooooh, my dreams are expanding!"
She imagined all the possible uses of the skills she possessed, then activated [Appraisal] on herself.
Whoosh—
A status panel opened.
[Small Lesser Taratect: Nameless LV2]
[HP: 36. MP: 36. SP: 36.]
[Average Offensive Ability: 19]
[Average Defensive Ability: 19]
[Average Magical Ability: 19]
[Average Speed Ability: 348]
"Ooooooh! I can finally see my ability scores!"
The spider grew even more excited.
Although her pitiful two-digit scores were genuinely tragic and she was merely a level-two small fry, her speed stat was at least fairly respectable.
From now on, whenever she encountered an enemy, she could appraise their stats first and decide whether to fight or run.
"Ah, leveling up really is wonderful~"
She wandered leisurely through the underground labyrinth.
"Anyway, I should find something to eat first. At my current level, it feels like none of the monsters around here are a match for me."
She had only taken a few steps when...
"Hm?"
Suddenly, she sensed murderous intent behind her.
"I've got... a bad feeling about this?!"
She turned around and saw a fully armed party of six or seven humans behind her.
There were warriors in refined-steel plate armor, mages holding staffs, thieves carrying bows... They were searching the labyrinth by torchlight.
Upon seeing the spider, everyone froze before drawing their weapons and surrounding her.
"Huh?!"
"Are they here for me?!"
The spider raised one of her forelegs.
"Appraisal."
[Human (LV29). Name: Gordo.]
[Failed to Appraise Abilities.]
"Like hell I can fight that!!—"
She let out a wail and fled deeper into the Great Labyrinth while the humans chased her relentlessly.
No matter how far she ran, the human party remained right behind her.
"What the hell?! My speed is 348, so why are they getting closer?!"
"Humans are terrifying!!"
Faced with the approaching enemies, she exerted every ounce of strength and sprinted wildly on all eight legs.
"Someone save meee?!—"
"Aaaaaah—"
Tap, tap, tap.
Bang!!!
The moment she rounded a corner, she ran headfirst into three half-lizard monsters.
"You've got to be kidding me! Why did I have to run into three more monsters now?! Aaaaaah—"
"What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?!—"
"I'm doomed! Aaaaaah—"
Just as the spider racked her brains for a way out...
Rumble—
The depths of the labyrinth suddenly shook.
A hole burst open in the cavern ceiling, allowing dazzling sunlight to pour down.
"The sun? Aren't we underground?..."
Before she could think any further...
An angel with long pink hair slowly descended from the sky.
Her appearance was dreamily beautiful, and wings glowing with faint radiance extended from her waist.
"Wow, this world really has quite a lot of races..."
"A mere human race, and a spider monster even lower than humans? Why would Master take an interest in you? Are you a Demonia? Hm?"
Jibril surveyed the situation below and glanced at the spider.
From her current perspective, the spider was pitifully weak, no different from a small fry that might drop as loot in a labyrinth dungeon.
"!"
Under the pressure of her overwhelming aura, the humans, monsters, and spider all stopped moving at the same time.
They raised their heads and stared at this incomparably powerful being.
"Wh-What is that? An-an-an-an angel?!"
The spider retreated repeatedly in fright, then tremblingly extended one foreleg.
"Appraisal."
[Unknown Otherworldly Life-form (Level: ???)]
[Offensive Ability: ???]
[Defensive Ability: ???]
[Possessed Skills: ???]
Jibril was not a life-form from this world, so the system created by D naturally contained no information about her.
"Huh???"
"No way! That's ridiculous!"
The spider was horrified and tumbled frantically to the side.
"Could she be one of those legendary question-mark monsters whose level and abilities are so high they can't even be expressed numerically?!"
"Why is a monster like that inside the underground labyrinth?! Aaaaaah!!—"
"I'm finished. Ah, I'm dead."
"Whaaaaaat?!—"
When Jibril descended from above like a divine warrior, both the humans pursuing the spider and the monsters ahead froze.
The aura emanating from her was so dangerous that they could hardly bring themselves to look directly at her.
"An angel?! Who are you?!"
The human warrior at the forefront drew his sword and cautiously observed the beautiful Flügel.
She did not belong to any species of monster they had ever seen. Even the records of the Word of God Religion contained almost no accounts of angels personally descending into the world.
Jibril wasted no words and raised a hand.
Boom!
Rumble!—
A burst of energy exploded ahead, shaking the entire Great Elroe Labyrinth.
"Whaaaaaat?!—"
The spider was swept away by the shock wave and rolled across the ground several times.
First, she slammed into the cavern wall. Then she bounced back and tumbled another dozen times before finally staggering upright in a daze and looking up.
She had rolled to a stop directly beneath Jibril's feet.
A gigantic crater had been blasted open nearby, and the humans and monsters had been reduced to ashes in an instant.
"Huh?!"
"What kind of magic was that?! Angel magic?! She really is some kind of legendary hidden boss, isn't she?!"
"Wait, isn't this supposed to be the beginner village?! Why is there a monster like this here?! Aaaaaah—"
Although the spider did not move outwardly, she had already started rapping to herself inside her head.
Ah—I'm doomed!!—
Smack—
Jibril pinched the spider between her fingers and lifted her up for a closer look.
"Master, is this the person we're looking for?"
"She's the protagonist of this world? Uh... doesn't she look a little too unusual?"
As a monster, the spider was much larger than an ordinary spider, though still far smaller than a human.
She waved all eight of her stubby legs in agitation.
Now's my chance! Take this!
Pfft—
The spider twisted her body and sprayed a strand of silk at Jibril, hoping to hinder her movements and seize the chance to escape.
Snap.
Jibril caught the silk with one hand, rolled it into a ball, and tossed it aside.
Jibril gave her an exceedingly kind smile.
"Keep misbehaving and I'll beat you up."
"Eek!—"
The spider curled into a ball.
Whoosh—
Setsuna's holographic image appeared nearby and examined the little creature.
"That's right. It's her."
"Hm... Did we arrive a little too early?"
Judging by the spider's current form, she was still only a recently evolved Small Lesser Taratect. She remained a long way from transforming into an Arachne, much less attaining her divine form.
The timeline of this world was still extremely early. At present, the spider and her classmates had only recently reincarnated here.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot. Inject her with a synesthesia beacon, or we won't be able to understand each other's languages."
Jibril gave the spider an injection.
She shook her head and stared at the people before her in confusion.
Whoosh—
Several other members of the train crew descended one after another.
Silver Wolf lifted the spider and poked her.
"She looks like a trash mob heroes would farm for experience in the beginner village. Probably around level five to ten."
"Left alone, she'll probably get eaten by a larger monster or accidentally killed by some unidentified area-of-effect attack one day."
Who are you calling a trash mob?! I've already evolved, okay?!
The spider protested loudly inside her mind.
For the first time since reincarnating into this world, she had an opportunity to communicate with other people.
After realizing that the group bore her no hostility and showed no immediate intention of attacking her, she secretly used [Appraisal] on them.
[Unknown Otherworldly Life-form (Level: ???)]
[Name: ???]
[Offensive Ability: ???]
[Defensive Ability: ???]
The status screen was still filled entirely with question marks.
"Who are you people?!"
The moment the little spider voiced her question, inspiration suddenly struck her.
"Wait! Since you're all so powerful, could you be reincarnators too?!"
"What?! Why did all of you get reincarnated as beautiful humans and angels while I had to become a spider monster?! Aaaaaah—"
Bonk—
Jibril rapped the spider on the head as she rolled all over the ground, overwhelmed by her own inner dramatics.
"We come from another world. We represent the Starsea Empire and have come to trailblaze through this world."
"To put it in terms you can understand... we're otherworlders, not reincarnators."
"Oh!"
The memories retained by the spider belonged to Wakaba Hiiro's previous life, and she had been a thoroughly dedicated gaming otaku.
Reincarnators were people who had been reborn on this planet and had mostly received the "system," which was essentially a cheat granted by Evil God D.
Otherworlders, meanwhile, were genuine visitors from another world.
It did not take her long to understand the situation.
"Ah, this world has reincarnators and otherworlders now? Isn't that way too many tropes at once?!—"
"Wait, aren't otherworlders supposed to be the real protagonists?! Why am I the one suffering so much?! Aaaaaah—"
After rapping to herself for a while, the spider finally calmed down.
"Trailblaze through this world?"
"It means conquering this place and bringing the entire universe under the rule of Master and the Starsea Empire."
Jibril's explanation was concise.
"You're fortunate enough to be on Master's list. As long as you behave, we won't make things difficult for you."
"Huh—"
A little spider monster who was still struggling to survive in a labyrinth and worrying every day about filling her stomach had suddenly encountered a boss-level party intent on conquering the world.
The spider felt like a complete novice who had run into a group of max-level veterans in the beginner village.
"Come with us. Otherwise, you might accidentally get eaten by a monster later, and the Commander will blame us."
Silver Wolf said as she held her up.
"Seriously? A party invitation?! I'm only a little spider. I won't be much use to you, will I?..."
"You can act cute."
"Huh?!"
After thinking it over, she realized that she was merely a low-level spider monster whom the other party could crush with one foot. They clearly had no need to go to such lengths to deceive her.
A mysterious powerful backer was still a powerful backer. It was certainly better than being chased all over the labyrinth on her own.
Besides, she did not have much of a choice.
"Fine!"
The spider extended one stubby little leg and bumped fists with Silver Wolf.
"I know there are tons of monsters around here, but I can't defeat them by myself. If we kill them, we'll get lots of experience and loot!"
"Experience? We don't really need that... Still, we may as well take a look. Lead the way."
...
At the same time, in another world...
A god who had been slacking off observed everything happening below.
She noticed the problem the instant the visitors from another world arrived.
These people did not exist within the framework of the system she had created. They were neither native life-forms of this magical world nor reincarnators from another world.
"Hah? What is this? Otherworlders?!"
The evil god calling herself "D" found it rather amusing.
If this other world were regarded as a game, then she was its administrator.
Every person's soul was connected to the "system" she had created. Whether it was the spider or the other reincarnators, the system and cheats they saw had all been crafted by her.
Every one of their actions was also under her observation.
"Wait, did I overlook someone? Or is this a bug?!"
Evil God D urgently analyzed the system's status and scanned the personnel records but found no problems.
"Twenty-five people and one spider... That's correct, isn't it?"
"They really are otherworlders?!"
D could not see through them at all. The Astral Express in particular was enveloped by another, even greater power, and an even more powerful existence stood aboard it.
He did not interfere with this world. Like her, he merely watched the situation below in silence.
"Are you a god too? I don't remember having a colleague like you."
"Are you looking for entertainment? Or..."
D stared at the Astral Express for a long time.
Ordinary otherworlders were unimportant. She cared far more about what the "god" standing on the same level as herself intended to do.
Bzzzt—
At the same moment, Setsuna received a communication request from D.
"Hello, new guest!"
"May I ask what you and your tourists intend to do after barging into my amusement park?"