Alex and Tereza enter their house and find it… completely empty.


    Rishi is obviously in his room, sleeping, and Menchi is nowhere to be seen.


    “Hehe, looks like we have the place to ourselves. You know what I’m thinking,” Tereza says in a sheepish voice, moving closer to Alex and pulling out another Blood-Flavored Lollipop, licking it playfully.


    “Yeah, it’s time to… take care of my darling,” Alex responds, walking toward Tereza. But instead of stopping, he walks right past her, pulling out his [Royal Thornback Matriarch (Mutated) Egg], igniting the fireplace, and settling down in a chair in front of it.


    “...This really stings, Alex. Is my CHA stat reduced by something hidden?” Tereza questions, pouting just a little.


    Alex takes out the bottle containing the four spiders he picked up from the cave. Despite the day’s adventure, his body begins to shiver again.


    It takes Alex a lot of willpower and time, but he manages to pick up each spider from the bottle, touch it briefly, feed it with a bunch of meat taken from his own world, and then put it back.


    After repeating the process a few times, Alex is able to handle the spiders without freaking out.


    As instructed by Hagrid, Alex carefully strokes the egg in front of the fireplace.


    “You’re really taking Hagrid’s advice seriously, Alex. I’m getting jealous,” Tereza says, clearly bored.


    After a few minutes, Alex sits back on the old, creaky couch, probably decades old, right next to Tereza, letting the egg rest on the chair.


    Tereza smiles, lays her head on Alex’s lap, and says, “My turn!”


    “Sure, my sweet little pet bat,” Alex jokes, patting her head softly, making her let out a fake moan.


    “Your hair feels really soft. Now that I’m looking at it, it’s back to its usual color. Looks like the changes were only temporary, and the same goes for your hazelnut-colored eyes,” Alex observes.


    “You don’t like it? Did you prefer the slightly reddish version?” Tereza asks curiously.


    “No, I love your hair color; the same goes for your eyes. It suits you perfectly,” Alex replies, making Tereza smile warmly at him.


    Suddenly, both Alex and Tereza tense up. They sense movement.


    “The egg!” Tereza exclaims.


    Alex immediately stands up and grabs the egg, but it shows no signs of activity. “Maybe I should just hold onto it?”


    “This damn egg is jealous, I tell you,” Tereza accuses.


    “Now that’s just silly,” Alex says, nearly laughing.


    “Remember what you said about the treasure!” Tereza reminds him.


    “Nothing comes to mind,” Alex says playfully, stroking the egg from time to time. He notices how the egg constantly absorbs his heat, remaining cool to the touch.


    “Maybe feed it blood? Or spit on it? Remember what Hagrid said, he even told you to sleep with it,” Tereza suggests.


    “Are you insane? That would be disrespectful! Especially the spitting part. Imagine how you’d feel if you were trapped in a tight, inescapable egg, and someone spit on your shell.”


    “I wouldn’t care, especially if it helped! Besides, it’s a spider, it won’t even know. You’re lucky if it behaves like a dog. If you’re unlucky, you’ll get an individualistic cat that just demands food and full-time maid service from you. Worst case? It goes completely rogue,” Tereza says.


    “Yeah… At least betrayal shouldn’t be possible. According to the system, it’ll be soul-bonded to me. Sure, it could fail, but I’d probably know about it. The worst-case scenario would be if the spider backstabs us during a battle… but that shouldn’t happen,” Alex says, analyzing the situation.


    [Royal Thornback Matriarch (Mutated) Egg]


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    Alex and Tereza spend a few hours recovering, the sun slowly setting. Tereza, as always, loves to talk about anything and everything, but keeps most things about herself hidden, even when Alex asks for vague details.


    Alex, someone who has no problem lying to strangers, especially for profit, hates lying to his friends and family. He has no problem telling Tereza almost everything about himself, only skipping the more embarrassing stories from his past while generally being open with her.


    The two are interrupted by a knock on the door.


    Alex and Tereza exchange a look, then open it to find a group of players outside. There’s a woman from one of the female teams and a young man from the team made up almost entirely of younger players.


    Both players look at Alex nervously, clearly unhappy to see him at the door. His reputation precedes him—almost legendary for being hostile even to characters like Dumbledore and for blatantly intimidating other players, almost going past the allowed limit.


    “Good evening; how can I help?” Alex says, dropping his usual aggressive act. With Roja and Perlah no longer in the picture and his name already famous enough, he’s tired of keeping it up.


    “We, you’re not alone!” Tereza chimes in with a mischievous smile.


    “We… wanted to invite you to a player gathering,” the young man says, his tone cautious. “We’ve begun exploring the forest, and we’ve all come to the same conclusion. The Acromantula nest, it can’t be taken down by just a single group, no matter how strong. The only solution is to team up.”


    “We’ve already seen it,” Alex replies, his voice steady. “And just going by the sheer amount of corruption, I agree with you—and I also disagree. At its current strength, no single group can take it down, sure. But you’re mistaken if you think teaming up will be enough. Even if we had twice as many players, we wouldn’t stand a chance. Obviously, we can’t take down the nest.”


    “You… are you someone else?” the woman, who looks to be in her late thirties, asks, clearly surprised by Alex’s calm and practical response. “This is… unexpected. A few of us actually agree with you, but we all thought you’d try to tackle it alone. Turns out you’re as pessimistic as some of us.”


    “Anyway, we gladly accept your invitation,” Alex says. “If it’s about sharing information, we’re on board if it’s an equal deal. And, of course, we’d demand a contract to be involved.”


    “Great!” both players say at the same time, as if they’d expected these terms. “How about tomorrow morning at 8 AM?”


    “Sounds great. See you tomorrow,” Alex replies with a friendly face.


    He closes the door as the players walk away, visibly relieved, and he and Tereza return to the couch.


    “You sure this is a smart idea, Alex? You made that decision on your own, Rishi might be pissed,” Tereza says.


    “My mind is as clear as it can be. Menchi’s meditation exercise is working wonders. It’s time I started acting a bit more proactively. Besides, Rishi will agree with me,” Alex says, clearly without a care in the world.


    “Oooh, proactively you know what I’m thinking,” Tereza teases, repeating her earlier phrase with a mischievous smile.


    Alex hugs Tereza, grabs his egg from the couch, and heads toward his room. “Good night, Tereza,” he says with a smile, leaving her slightly stunned and pouting behind him.


    Alex finally lays down, the egg in his arms. Its sturdy surface reassures him that it won’t break.


    Alex gathers a bit of saliva in his mouth. Instead of spitting it disrespectfully onto the egg, he carefully uses his fingers to rub it on the surface.


    Using Gyo, Alex waits for a few minutes, seeing nothing happen. He feels a bit silly, but then notices slight movement. The liquid begins to absorb into the egg, little by little.


    Not being someone as tough as Killua or Silva Zoldyck, Alex doesn’t just bite into his finger. Instead, he pulls out medical supplies (which are unrecognized by the system) and carefully draws 100 milliliters (around 3.3 fluid ounces) of blood, pouring it into a sterilized bottle.


    He immediately eats a successful dish to restore his HP and give his body the sustenance to recover the lost blood.


    Alex slowly drips a small amount of blood from the bottle onto the egg. The blood takes a few minutes to absorb but eventually stops.


    Feeling a bit lightheaded, Alex lies down with the egg, holding it close. As he relaxes, he faintly feels a slight vibration coming from the egg before drifting off to sleep, intending to recover before the player meeting tomorrow morning.