ã€ŠElania, Arachne in a different worldã€‹


 1.1 Spiders, why did it have to be spiders?

    Faragi

    I have been told the first chapter is quite a chore to read through to get to the easier to read, better flowing later parts. as such, I will be looking into rewriting chapter 1 maybe 2 later on, eventually...

    There are probably too many errors for some people early on. I pushed these chapters out without any editing/proofreading. There is a sharp improvement starting at chapter 43 and then close to zero or zero errors after that.

    Also, make sure to check out the glossary!

    Black. Why is everything black?

    Everywhere I looked I saw the same, black, black, and more black,

    up, down, anywhere I looked an endless abyss stretched out before me. It was as if I was looking at the night sky except that it was lacking stars. An annoyance that was behind my eyes flared up into a sharp pain.

    Ugh, and this headache is killing me, what the hell happened last night

    I recalled the events that happened the night before, or rather, I tried to. I could only get to the part where I went to bed, anything before that was gone. How drunk did I get? Wait, no, I''m pretty sure that didn''t happen. While I did enjoy the occasional alcohol, I didn''t drink it for the alcohol per se, I just liked fruity mix drinks and I highly doubt I got drunk off of that, I never did.

    So, what did happen?

    Knocking me out of my reverie came a certain numbness from below my waist. You know that feeling in your legs when you sit in a certain position for too long and it screws over your nerves or something? That feeling can only be described with what old TVs showed on screen when there was static on the screen. Cosmic background radiation I believe it was called, an interesting remnant from the big bang almost 14 billion years ago. Yikes, my unlimited supply of useless science facts surfaced again.

    Well, basically that feeling was all that I could feel down there, increased tenfold, to the point where it actually hurt. Is this what they call a lucid nightmare? Where you are in fact dreaming but you can still feel pain and fear?

    I had become interested at some point in the concept of Lucid Dreaming and tried out certain techniques to induce them as a way to escape the boredom of reality. Being able to fly and slashing people in half with a sword seemed a lot more attractive than winning imaginary arguments in the shower.

    I had read this could also backfire completely and get you in a state where you lost all control of your body and inherent panic would set in. I wasn''t sure if that was what I was experiencing now but it was the only thing that could explain what was going on right now. At least I wasn''t panicking... yet.

    God, I hope the boogeyman doesn''t show up.

    I regretted my thoughts almost immediately as I felt a cold trickle down my spine, like a drop of water or a finger gliding down my back.

    fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck I jinxed it.

    Panic started to set in as much as I tried to suppress it, I knew fear would only make this worse, I had to think rationally in face of the irrational, ironic.

    Okay, let''s try to wiggle my toes.

    Nothing, no luck.

    What? Where were my toes?

    I read that toes were one of the few things you should still have control over when in sleep paralysis. Internet, you have failed me!

    ''Okay, backup plan, try to think very hard of a place where you want to be and will yourself to that place, this is your world you can do anything you want.'' I tried to reassure myself.

    I needed to get a grip on this godawful nightmare to get out. I tried to think of the playground across the street from my apartment building. It was a simple place, a wooden seesaw, a swing set, and some tunnels in an artificial hill for small kids. I tried to imagine what it looked like but all I got was a blurry image, I knew the objects that were there but it seemed as if I was unable to visualize them.

    Okay, What is actually going on? I was damn sure I knew what it looked like, I saw it so many times in a day when walking to the kitchen, how could I not see it right now?

    I was getting frustrated. I was not necessarily panicking, I always managed to suppress that emotion fairly well. I was just getting incredibly annoyed that whatever I tried didn''t seem to work. I sighed in resignation; the next step would be to try to relax fully.

    And so, I did. I tried emptying my head of any and all thoughts and just let my mind play out whatever it wanted to. This turned out to not be a whole lot of things.

    Nothing happened whatsoever besides this killer headache continuing to wreak havoc on my brains.

    After what felt like an eternity, but I guessed would be closer to an hour, maybe a bit more, hell I had no idea if the concept of time applied here, I decided I had enough of waiting. I opened my eyes slowly, secretly hoping to just wake up in my bed. To my disappointment, but not to my surprise, I was still drifting in this endless void.

    ''Fuck'', I simply thought in the maddening silence, for lack of better words to describe the madness I found myself in.

    I jerked my head back and was met with a jolt of pain from the back of my head.

    Right, seems we''re doing this the hard way.

    I repeated the motion and felt the pain getting worse.

    After all, what''s the worst that can happen?

    Again, I jerked my head back and I swear I could actually see a speck of light in the distance. After another jerk and load of pain, I saw it get closer and expand into a small beam.

    Gods, I hope I''m not dead or dying, if I am, please let there be something else than this. An eternity of floating around in space with the worst headache in the history of headaches did not seem to be a kind fate, after all. After I jerked my head back yet again the pain shot forward and merged with my headache into an explosion of pain and my vision went dark.

    I did not know when I did regain consciousness. This killer headache never seemed to have gone away, however. For some reason my eyes did not open as easily as I was used to, my eyelids seemed to have been shut tight with some kind of light adhesive. When I did get them to open my vision was all blurry, lots of black to the left and a ray of light coming in from the right side as if someone was looking for something in a dark room with a flashlight from above.

    Ugh, at least I was back, or well, I thought I was. When I did not feel my mattress under my back but instead a hard, damp, rocky surface I knew something was amiss. When I combined that with the fact that I still had this infuriating headache and the fact that I still could not feel my legs, or arms for that part, I concluded that something was wrong, very wrong.

    This time I did actually start to panic, I could only suppress it so much. Did I get drugged? All clues I gathered led me to believe I did. Memory loss, pain, loss of sensation. Then again, logic so far has failed me. The real questions were: How did I get here, and how do I get out of here? Also, where the hell was I in the first place?

    My hearing was the first sense that seemed to work normally, as I heard all kinds of sounds that I was not used to in my semi-urban life. Songs of birds came from the distance and reverberated in whatever chamber I found myself in. Mixed in between I heard the hooting of an owl.

    Directly to my right, I could hear the drip, drip, dripping of water on a rock, I assumed some had got on my shoulders and hair too since I felt a sticky mess of my long hair on my shoulder and back.

    I quietly waited as my vision got less blurry over time. Most of the blackness remained, however, confirming that I found myself in an actual dark chamber.

    While waiting I was silently praying that the worst thing I could imagine had not come to pass. A gust of warm wind rolling over me interrupted my thoughts and confirmed what I had feared. My body was fully exposed, naked, and left for dead in some damp cave in a random forest.

    I had been drugged and most likely raped afterward. I could not feel my arms or legs, had no idea where I was, and would actually risk dying if I could not find a solution to my immobility issue. Perhaps the only blessing in my situation was that I could not remember a damn thing.

    I wasn''t someone to easily break down and cry, but I actually felt broken at this moment. The psychological stress combined with the physical pain and numbness, the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness made tears form in my eyes.

    The ray of sunlight had snapped me back to reality when I felt it warm up my shoulder. This allowed me to see part of my body for the first time since waking up in this dark place and what I saw shocked me. Even with my still slightly blurry vision, I could see blood all over my shoulder and breast. Parts of it had dried but there was still a lot of fresh red liquid sending me into further panic mode.

    My long hair that used to flow down and stop at the bottom of my shoulder blades, which I took care of and pride in, was stained with the color. It had been blonde once but now all I could see was red literally dripping from it.

    I was not yet finished freaking out over all the blood when I saw something move in the corner of my eye. Turning my head left I tried looking at what was going on in the direction of my lower body. Surely enough, something moved?

    I squinted my eyes forcing myself to see through the blur, when I did my vision became much sharper than it had been up until now. Some long black shadowy ''''thing'''' was raised in the sky. After adjusting to the dark after few moments and focusing even harder I saw more shadowy black things raised to the sky, then another.

    One of them suddenly twitched and I felt my heart sink as I started to get a clearer image of what it was. It was a spider leg, a massively oversized hairy spider leg. My mind screamed, my mouth would have too, but no sound was produced.

    I FUCKING HATE SPIDERS, my mind went blank with pain and fear. The blood started to make sense to me now,

    IT FREAKING ATE MY LEGS. Oh god please, no, don¡¯t let me die like this.

    Another sudden twitch from multiple of those nightmare-inducing limbs made me bash my head against the wall behind me in shock and knock me out.

    I was floating. Was this the end? Drugged, kidnapped, raped, left for dead, and eaten by Australia''s Ultimate Lifeform? What a shitty fate this was.

    I wondered if my family would miss me. Thinking of it, I couldn¡¯t picture my family. I couldn''t remember who my family was. I couldn''t remember names, anything. Hell, now that I thought about it, what was my own name? When did I forget? Was this my soul being stripped of my memories?

    When I opened my eyes, I found myself back in what I initially thought of as a nightmare. The same black abyss that was hell for me earlier now seemed to be preferable over what I had experienced just now.

    Confused. I was utterly confused as to what was going on. Was this still a dream? Was what I experienced a dream in a dream? What kind of inception shenanigans were these?

    A false awakening, I had read about those before, where it would feel like you woke up but you were still actually in a dream. Did that mean this was a dream in a dream in a dream? My confusion knew no bounds, it made my head spin. Spin, but not hurt, it seemed my headache had disappeared, a small light in this darkness.

    I sighed in annoyance.

    ''Now what?'' I thought in fear and desperation. I didn''t care anymore; I had no idea what was real and what was fake. Everything seemed to blend together to create one completely messed up dream, or rather, nightmare scenario. I didn''t know what to feel anymore, and honestly, I didn''t care. I just wanted this to end, one way or another. It seemed my wish was soon granted as I felt myself grow numb and my focus slipping away. I wished I would never have to go through this again.

    I seemingly awoke in the same place that I did earlier, except this time I felt... fine? No headache, no static in my legs, no numb arms, no blurry vision, it made me wish and hope what I had seen earlier was just a hallucination, there was no way spiders that big existed anyway, right?

    Was I actually awake? What should I do if I was? It seemed my only pressing issue was figuring out where I was and figuring out how to get home. Home... now that I thought about it, where did I live again?

    I seriously seemed to have a severe case of amnesia; I could not manage to put simple things together in my mind such as where I lived and who my family was. I was from the States, I knew that much, which State specifically was lost to me at this time. I guessed I would have to get out of this hole, wherever this was, find civilization, and work my way from there, somebody was bound to know where I lived, whether it be police or people familiar with me.

    I let out a long, audible yawn. I had never woken so messed up before, which was not a hard thing to state given the extraordinary circumstances that I found myself in. I rubbed my eyes and started thinking of what I could do to get back to my life.

    While rubbing something felt... odd. I took my hands away from my face and looked at them. Sure, they were caked in streams of dried blood, I was still alive so I guessed wherever the blood came from was not lethal. No, what really struck me was that in front of my face, in the very dim light of this dark place, I saw two pairs of hands. No, I wasn''t drunk. Was I having a stroke?

    I followed the dark shapes, from the hands to my shoulders, and found out that they did indeed connected to my body.

    The fuck?

    I grabbed my right wrist with my left hand and I was sure this was not an illusion. I then grabbed the other wrist on my right side and surely, I felt that as well, but somewhere else entirely.

    WHAT THE FUCK?

    I stared in a dumbfounded manner at two sets of arms, MY two sets of arms. What the actual F happened to me? I could open and close them, I could move them, I could feel them. I was shocked, I did not know how to feel, sure I had four arms which wasn''t natural in any way. I may have been slightly freaked out but not overwhelmingly so.

    What happened? That was all I could ask myself.

    I grabbed a strand of my hair and held it in front of my face. Sure, there was blood mixed in between but I could not deny the fact that my hair was red, through and through. It was blood red where I expected it to be light blonde.

    I looked at what had become of me from top to bottom. Hair as red as blood, then my shoulders with arms, beneath that was another set of arms. Tracing further along I noticed my chest, were they smaller? Now that might be the first thing that actually could have had me smiling if only I could.

    They had been too large before, at least in my opinion, to the point where my back actually hurt. People would be surprised to know that extra-large generally isn''t preferred by the wearer. They were by no means small right now, though.

    Moving down I could not help but notice an incredible itch down my waist. I had to squint my eyes again to be able to see what hid in the dark. Shock struck me again when I saw the faint outlines of what literally drove me into the wall before. I no longer felt pain or panic. heck, nothing could surprise me anymore, after all.

    I sighed as I felt my mind take on a way too nonchalant attitude towards my predicament.

    ''I am so not okay with this, I repeated to myself, but found no meaning in those words, as if it were a lie, my mind playing tricks on me.

    Right on cue, I could see a twitch happening. I have to say somewhere deep inside I felt comfortable with it this time around, eerily so, I obviously shouldn''t be, I knew this. What was wrong with me?

    ''''Fuck, this isn''t happening.''''

    I managed to speak for the first time and noticed my pitch had changed, it sounded much more feminine and softer than what I was used to. This definitely wasn''t me, or at least, not before.

    After hearing my voice, and quite honestly admiring it, I bent over and ran my hands down my exposed body. When I almost got to my waist, I felt tough hair poke into my hands like needles. I gritted my teeth and allowed my hands to go down further until my skin stopped being skin and was replaced by the same hair that poked into my hands a few centimeters earlier. I mindlessly tried to find the skin under the hairs and found a hard smooth surface beneath.

    I exhaled slowly and was lost in thoughts. I kind of knew what was going on, but still refused to believe it, I mean, who would? It''s not every day that your arms get replaced by double the number and your legs by quadruple the number. At least that''s what I supposed had happened, I hadn''t counted them yet, and quite frankly, I wasn''t looking forward to it.

    I fucking hated spiders.

    Faragi

    NEW WIP Art

    If you got this far and are new to the story, please consider joining my discord server at: https://discord.gg/TqFjdv8uaE

    I will eventually be rewriting a bunch of the earlier chapters so interactions etc. make more sense. There''s going to be a great deal of editing grammatical/spelling errors too.

    Your input on the questions about flow/interactions will be of huge importance!

 1.2 How do I walk?

    Faragi

    Keep in mind this chapter also received minimal editing.

    ''I''m not actually doing this am I?'' I thought as I dragged myself backwards into the area of the cave that was actually illuminated by sunlight.

    I am not actually going to believe this is actually real, am I? I mean, I had done everything that would have woken me up if this had been a dream, a lot of that included hurting myself. My right hand, or rather, my top right hand (I can''t believe I had to specify this) still hurt from when I had hit the wall earlier. My senses were all sharp, nothing was dulled, no blurry vision, my hearing was fine, I was able to think rationally, as far as I could, anyway.

    I had tried some math in my head, simple multiplications and additions and concluded that I did get the right answers to those too. The only thing that I had left would be to read numbers or words and see if they made sense. I looked outside into a lush, green forest filled with life and sound of birds and critters. That won''t happen anytime soon it seems.

    The sun warmed my blood-caked body as I dragged it to the entrance of what was now officially marked as ''''hellhole'''' on the map in my mind. Bit by bit my large extra parts came into view. It started with two slick, black ''''legs'''' coming into view where my legs would normally be if I were sitting in a chair.

    Then eight long, black, spidery legs, all attached to a chitinous body segment that was in turn attached to my waist followed. Basically, my waist was where the spider''s eyes would be? I could feel a tugging sensation somewhere when I dragged my ''''knees'''' over the grass, the short black hairs located there sent all kinds of signals to my brain.

    How do you even call a joint in a spider leg anyway? Why did I even care? Maybe I should actually care, not for the name, but for how they work. Because for now, it seemed that that would be the way I had to move myself, to anywhere, really.

    Great, I''m going to have to learn to walk on those. The thought alone sent shivers up my back, or was that the wind? I need to find something to cover myself as well...

    For a moment I became self-conscious of my body, with literally everything on display. For the moment, I was at least thankful that I appeared here completely isolated. I wondered what somebody would do if they saw something like me in the first place. If this was still the States, I would probably be filled with holes in no time, and honestly, I couldn''t blame them. Imagine your worst nightmare, something that couldn''t, shouldn''t exist, covered in blood standing in front of you.

    I shuddered at the thought, I had not planned to die anytime soon, at least I hadn''t before all this happened. Suicide may have been the easy way out, but it wasn''t for me. I would at least try to live first.

    After I had counted my legs, all eight of them (ten if you counted the ones that looked like they were meant to grab into whatever was in front of me) several times just to make sure, I dragged my body further into the sun.

    What awaited my vision was a large black spider abdomen also covered in short hairs. And when I mean large, I mean huge. What was the length of my body from the waist up, was basically dangling on the other end as well as a huge black bulb.

    ''''Great, spider-man''s got nothing on me.''''

    I tried to distract myself by making a joke, I hoped it would calm me down a bit. Guess I am spider-woman now? Or spider-girl, I wondered for a moment if I could shoot webs. That in itself didn''t seem so bad until I realized where webs actually came from. I looked at my new bulbous abdomen and felt my face flush with embarrassment. I decided to push ''''finding out whether I can shoot webs'''' down my list of priorities, like all the way down, to the bottom, perhaps even lower than that.

    Speaking of priorities, since I have no idea where I am or how vast this forest is, my first priority should be to find water. And for that I had to learn how to walk on these things. Looking outside the cave I could see a clearing in front of the cave, covered by grass. The sun was not far above the trees closest to the clearance, which I would guess was about 20 meters away.

    The temperature had gone up over the past half an hour so. This led me to believe it was still morning and somewhere in summer judging from the fact that it was actually pleasantly warm so early in the day.

    My second priority would be food, obviously. I would have to keep my eyes peeled for anything edible. Thirdly, depending on whether I could get out of this forest quick, I might have to find a way to create fire. A fire would help cook anything that looked like it needed cooking and to keep unwanted predators at bay.

    I hoped that watching those survival shows on TV all those years ago would come to fruition. At least I had some knowledge, I signed in slight relief. Guess it''s better than nothing.

    I needed to get these most important things going first, there would be plenty of time to think about the other stuff that had been bothering me later, which honestly was a lot.

    And so, I dragged myself onto the grass in front of the cave. Whenever I touched something with my extra appendages, I could feel the sensations of touching but I did not know how to exert control over them yet.

    Turning around so my belly was down proved to be more of an issue than I anticipated. Even with four arms, the rest of my limbs not cooperating with me was an issue. Is this how a tortoise felt when it was laying on its back?

    Alright, change of plans, to use my extra legs I would have to recognize and feel them, right? Maybe from there I could send signals to them properly. I sat up as far as I could, grabbed one of my legs and held it up. Touching the hairs on them sent a somewhat ticklish feeling to my head. I ignored it and started inspecting and bending where it could be bent in the hopes my brain would be able to replicate whatever I did. Who knew spider legs had this many joints? I had never thought about it before and always simply thought they had one or two, but I counted three? Or was it four?

    It seemed to create a click somewhere deep in my mind when I moved and felt the new sensations flooding my brain. After registering it I tried to mimic the movements with an internal input this time.

    Soon enough I had one twitching leg. I did not know how to feel about this, to be completely honest. On the one hand, having moving legs was essential to survival but on the other hand, well, look at them.

    Ugh, fucking spiders, I never understood how anything could find charm in those nasty creatures. Sure, they were useful for keeping mosquito populations at bay, which were probably my number one annoyance when trying to sleep in summer days, but some people went as far as keeping the larger species as pets. I mean come on.

    One of those people had been my grandma, although I couldn''t remember her face or name, I could remember her passion for exotic animals, though. She used to have a large terrarium that housed a tiger python, a very docile, very large one at that. I must have gotten my thirst for odd knowledge from her I assumed. She knew everything there was to know about snakes, their diets, temperature requirements, humidity and a whole lot of other things that were needed to house them successfully.

    Hell, she even knew most Latin names. The creepier part about her deviation from normal pets was the fact that she had a smaller terrarium in the living room with a tarantula. She had dubbed it ''''Grijpstuiver'''', which apparently was a Dutch expression for something ''''cheap''''. I believe she told me that it would directly translate to something such as ''''grab five cents''''. Speaking of grabbing, thanks to her I now remembered what these two front limbs were called, pedipalps, and they were indeed used for grabbing.

    Despite the fact that I always sat as far away from that oversized spider as I possibly could, I was still happy I at last learned something from its owner. She had been the first person I could somewhat remember. I was still at a loss for any other family members, I truly hoped I would regain my former knowledge soon.

    Meanwhile, I had been moving my one leg, contracting and releasing, I could somehow move it the way I wanted to now.

    ''''Off to a great start, one down, seven to go.'''' I sighed as I started working on the next.

    I have no idea how long my experimentation took, probably hours, which worried me a bit with regards to the timeframe I had to get water. I would rather not wander this forest at night. Who knew what lurked in the darkness, besides me that is.

    I would probably need some kind of weapon, just to be on the safe side of things as well. I pushed the thoughts away for now and for the second time, tried to roll over to my belly. My extra weight didn''t make it easy. I had no idea how much I actually weighed at this point and I doubted I would find out without industrial scales. Never ask a lady her weight, okay? The added support from my legs eventually got the job done and I landed on the grass with a thud.

    Alright, let''s see what we can do.

    I planted all my legs in the ground and exerted pressure to lift myself up. When I actually felt myself rise, I must have smiled a little because I found myself correcting my facial expression. This was not something to smile about.

    I managed to keep myself balanced fairy well, I felt myself wobble a bit but managed to correct myself every time I was about to fall over.

    ''So far so good'', I praised myself.

    I tried taking a step, and not actually taking into account I did not have my old human legs, I was stupid enough to raise ALL my right legs. What happened was nothing short of disaster. As soon as I lifted all my right legs off the ground, I lost balance and face planted the grass.

    I guess that was not how you did it.

    The next part of my physical therapy proved to be even harder than the first. I soon found out I needed two legs on either side to remain on the ground in order to keep my balance, I could stand on one for a few seconds but would ultimately fall to the ground.

    Maybe that would be possible later if I had better control? After some more trips and falls I managed to get a basic understanding of how this body worked. I can''t say I wasn''t surprised by how strong these new sets of legs were, they had to support quite a bit of weight after all (Don''t ask).

    Soon I was able to take my first, albeit wobbly steps. It took all of my mental capacity to focus on so many moving parts at once that I soon felt exhausted from the strain on my mind.

    Holy shit, if this doesn''t get any easier, I''m as good as dead.

    I cursed at my situation, and let myself drop to the grass slowly. I gave my brain a rest from the eight spindly appendages that caused it such stress and took a look at my pedipalps.

    And then there are these two as well, I sighed. This was going to be a long day.

    I reached down to grab these frontal limbs without looking and while I did so, I touched something smooth and hard. I instinctively knew what it was but with my mind racing I still bend over to look, moving the pedipalps to the sides.

    There, hidden beneath the grabby legs at the sides, under my main body I could very clearly see silver fangs at the tips of two more protrusions. The shiny fangs curled inwards slightly and actually scared me.

    I would probably have run a world record if those had belonged to anything that wasn''t me. Now this had piqued my interest despite my disgust, was I actually venomous? The thought was a weird one, but it also would mean that I had some means of self-defense if things took a turn for the worst.

    Overcoming my fear, I took a hold of one of the protrusions and as if on reflex I could feel something pushed out of my body. You know that feeling when you pop a pimple and feel the relief of pressure? That was basically what I felt as I watched a green liquid spurt out and then drip from the tip of my fang.

    I shook my head. So, venomous it is, going to have be careful with those. It didn''t take long for me to learn how to retract them back under my body.

    I rested for a while, just leaning back on my huge abdomen (which made for a great cushion). The weirdness of laying comfortably on something that shouldn''t even be part of me soon faded as I emptied my head of thoughts. I closed my eyes and heard the sounds of the forest enter my ears.

    Laying in the sun like that, thinking about nothing really seemed to revitalize me. After a while I decided I couldn''t postpone my objective any longer, I mean, without water I would die right?

    I stretched my arms, neck, heard a few popping noises and tried to get up on all eight again. I managed to stand up quite easily and walked (skittered?) a bit to warm up. Walking straight lines went okay as far as I could tell, besides the occasional misstep. When I tried to turn however, I found out I would actually have to make a large circle or I would simply lose balance on one side and fall to the ground.

    ''''I can''t believe I actually have the turning radius of an SUV.''''

    ''Two right, two left, other two right, other two left'', I kept repeating in my head, like a mantra.

    After a while I decided it was time to head out. There was bound to be a source of water somewhere. My only other choice would be waiting for rain and judging from the skies above, there was no chance of that today.

    I had barely set a step outside of the clearance and felt the temperature drop in the shade of the trees, it was still warm enough to justify not wearing clothes until I had fixed my other priorities, but I would have to get working on it soon.

    The trees didn''t look anything out of the ordinary though. Sure, I didn''t recognize any of the trees, they mostly seemed deciduous, no evergreens in sight, at least not the ones that I knew of.

    I then realized that I almost made a huge mistake, this place seemed pretty safe, I had yet to see anything coming close to the cave and it would provide shelter if needed.

    I should mark my path so I don''t get lost.

    I walked back to the cave entrance and searched the stones scattered around and looked for one that I could mark trees with. When I found one that looked like it wouldn¡¯t be hard to carry around, I lowered my body and picked it up and I was surprised. I mean, the stone was about the size of a can of soda but it weighed no more than a pebble.

    I tried looking for a larger one and found a smooth rock about the size of a football. I tried lifting it, expecting it to be somewhat heavy and almost tossed it into the air when I did so. Okay, so either these rocks were made of cardboard, I got super strength or, if this isn''t earth, whoever created this world put the gravity slider to ''''extremely low''''.

    I picked up the largest rock I could find which turned out to be a ragged rock the size of a skippy ball, lifted it above my head with ease, even when only using two hands and threw it as hard as I could. It flew a considerable distance, more than would humanly be possible, I would guess about ten, fifteen meters?

    If I had to guess, I would pick super human strength. I picked up one of the smaller ones and decided to see how far I could throw one of those. It got far, really far; it didn''t stop until I hit one of the trees on the other side of the clearing where it dispelled my dream. After hitting the tree, the rock shattered into thousands of pieces, leaving a small cloud of dust behind where it had impacted. It turned out these rocks were actually made of cardboard after all, damn.

    ''''No cheat skill for me I guess'''', I referenced the many works of fiction and series in where the protagonist would be reincarnated or teleported to another world after receiving some kind of skill that made them completely broken characters. I was disappointed, but not surprised at this point.

    At this point I envied those characters, but I also pitied them. Having skills like that surely would make things a lot easier, but it also meant they hardly had to put in any kind of effort.

    I skittered over to where the rock had impacted the tree''s bark. White particles from the stone painted the place of collision, the stone in question was nowhere to be found. I thought for a moment until another idea came to mind. Making my fangs appear before me I took one in my hands and clenched something. I don''t exactly know what, but I succeeded in not leaking any venom. I carved it across the tree horizontally, creating a line.

    ''This would work'', I mused, ''now, off to find water, I''m starting to get thirsty''.

    And so, I ventured forth, violating every fifth tree or so as I went in a straight line for as much as possible. It seems I must have scared all the wildlife away since I couldn''t spot anything besides the birds flying high above through the small openings in the treetops. Most of them had vibrant colors that I hadn''t seen with my own eyes before. They reminded me of the species you would find in tropical areas and rainforests such as toucans and macaws.

    Oops, almost forgot to mark a tree, I quickly pulled out my nightmarish fangs to mark an exceptionally large tree when something shot up the tree in a flash.

    When I tilted my head to see what had made its way up the tree within the blink of an eye, I looked into the eyes of a squirrel. Its eyes were fixated on me as it held something resembling a walnut in its paws.

    I froze for a second before slowly backing away from the tree. Cute as it was, I would prefer not to get bitten and get some nasty infection for desecrating its home. After I had taken a few steps back, the curiosity of the critter seemed to have diminished as it turned around and continued climbing up the tree.

    When its tail, or rather tails came into view I realized that this was unlike any species from Earth. This animal possessed two tails each shaped like pine cones, for lack of better comparison. It reminded me of the outer tip of a rattlesnake''s tail except it was magnified significantly. So, either that meant this was an undiscovered species, or my intuition had been right and I was no longer on Earth.

    I marked tens of trees and was starting lose hope of finding a source of water. Hours went by and the sun was already starting its descent. I was positively parched at this point and would need to find something soon or I would be in trouble.

    My relief when I found a group of standalone palm trees (don''t ask me what they were doing in the middle of a forest) that bore ripe coconuts was immense. I scanned my surroundings and noticed that the scenery had changed quite a bit, I had been too preoccupied with water, and marking to even take note.

    In between the usual trees, stranger species had started to appear; conifers and pine trees were scattered around, and then these completely out of place palm trees grouped together neatly made me wonder how this ecosystem worked.

    I picked up a coconut that looked like it had fallen down not too long ago, skittered over to a sturdy looking oak, the tree that I marked most recently, and smashed it against the trunk. After a few hits I managed to see some cracks. I sat down, pried my fangs in the cracks and carefully pried out a piece, creating a hole. I paused for a moment, wondering if it could possibly be toxic when the sweet aroma of strawberries hit me.

    ''''What?'''' I asked no one in particular, ''''how messed up is this world? Like for real''''.

    I spilled a bit of the liquid inside in the palm of one of my hands and sniffed. That was strawberry, alright. There was no mistaking the sweet smell of one of my favorite fruits. Death by strawberries didn''t seem such a bad way to go, I decided for myself and licked up the moisture.

    I was in heaven. This was literally and by far the best tasting strawberry smoothie I had ever tasted before. It was so rich and sweet in flavor that I drank the contents of the fruit in seconds without even thinking.

    Who would have thought that the best strawberry would be disguised as a coconut? If I had these back on Earth, I could make a fortune! The possibilities were endless, Smoothies, desserts, mix drinks, ice cream. Hell, I would put those fake Italian ice salons out of business in no time! Yay for capitalism.

    For the first time since coming to this world (I would just assume this from now on) I felt... Happy. It was wonderful what a good drink could do, maybe I could eat these things too? Oh, that would be two birds with one stone.

    I pried it further open until it snapped in two halves. The flesh on the inside even had a pinkish red color. Jackpot! I inwardly cheered as I sank my teeth in. Strawberry flavor mixed with a hint of mint which made for a delicious combo was now making love to my tongue.

    It took quite a bit of effort to eat the insides but it was very well worth it. Bliss filled me as I ate. When I was done, I was hungering for more and decided to see if I could get one of the coconuts hanging above. I don''t know what pushed me to do it but before I knew I was trying to climb up a palm tree.

    I had no idea how to climb trees properly before but it turned out that having four hands surely helped out with that. It took quite a bit of effort to find my footing and had to hang on for quite a few times when I slipped but I soon reached the top of the tree at about 5 meters high. I raised one of my front legs to slap the coconuts as they seemed to reach farther than my arms and soon I had about six fruits down on the ground.

    It must have been hilarious to see me climbing a tree in this body but I didn''t care. A feast was waiting for me down below and I carefully lowered myself.

    I picked up one of my new favorite fruit and repeated the process I had done before. When I had the hole pried open an unexpected smell entered my nostrils. Banana? Oh yes, this gift just keeps on giving.

    This one tasted just as rich in flavor as the strawberry counterpart. This delicacy went beyond simply opening a store, I could lay the foundation for an empire with this! After consuming three I came to the hypothesis that any that were harvested from the tree itself tasted like banana, and any that been on the ground for a while tasted like strawberry. I also decided I would save the other three.

    Lastly, these coconuts, if not split, would be ideal containers for large amounts of water and could be carried around, I could turn them into makeshift canteens quite easily.

    I looked up to the sky again, and couldn''t find the sun. It was still very bright, but I had to make my way back. I was quite happy with planning this out to a decent degree when I followed the marked trees back.

    At least my immediate problems were solved, for now.

 1.3 Tricks of the Trade

    Faragi

    I was surprised when I got back to the cave and it was still not getting darker. The sky had shifted color slightly towards red, but this wasn''t the usual day/night scenario I was used to. Perhaps I could get a fire going before nightfall?

    That sounded like a great idea, but there was a problem. The method that attracted me the most required some tools, like a hatchet or knife, or preferably, both. That method was known as the ''''bow drill''''. Basically, what it entailed was to create a bow, find a good straight, round stick. Wrap the string around in and use the bow like a tree saw, while using a rock to push the stick down from the top. This would create heat through friction that could then be used to make en ember to set a ''''nest'''' on fire.

    The main advantage of this method was that it was a lot less labor intensive than the dreaded stick rubbing way of basically doing the same. It didn''t seem I had much choice without tools, so unfortunately, I had to resort to using the good ol'' caveman method.

    Thus, I went out to look for anything that would help me start a fire. Dried leaves, branches, sticks and nest material were found along the edges of the clearance in abundance. It seemed opportunity was aplenty, shame I had to get everything done in such an inefficient manner. How nice it would be to just have a lighter. Or those magnesium sticks they used in those survival shows that were apparently insanely easy to start fires with.

    ''Cheaters'', I thought in spite.

    After gathering and setting up all that I needed it was time to see if I could beat my ancient ancestors. Surely, they had to have high expectations of me? I guessed four hands would make this easier than two?

    I had found a soft-wood tree trunk that had been stripped of its bark and split in multiple sections by what appeared to be tooth marks. This would be ideal if I could get one of the parts split in two, vertically. Once again, I brought out my sharp fangs, as creepy as they were, they were the closest thing to anything that could at least somewhat function like a knife. I hoped that using them to carve into wood wouldn''t damage them. Alas, I could only carve so deep so I had to finish the job another way. I walked around the small cave to see if I could find anything that I had in mind. It took a while, but ultimately, I found a sharp rock pointing up to the sky.

    ''''Here is to hoping that this is not stone made in China'''', I placed the edge of the rock into the carve that I had created, held it in place with my hands, and brought my front four legs down on it with force.

    That did the trick, the log was neatly split in half as I intended.

    ''Yes, plus one point for'', I started a mental cheer, ''Spider lady, I guess?

    Crap, I still don''t remember my name.

    I got frustrated for a moment but dismissed the thoughts of it, I would get to that later, right now it was time to try to get a fire going. I uprooted some grass and placed the halved trunk down so that the flat surface was on top, then I made somewhat of a dent near the edge where I would be placing a stick I found. I rubbed the stick for a while to hollow it out further so that it would fit perfectly and would stay in position while trying to get an ember going.

    When I was satisfied with that part, I carved out a triangle to the dent. I also made sure to clear out a small area of grass to prevent actually starting a forest fire, wouldn''t want the authorities to go after me, would I? Assuming there were any in the first place.

    Maybe this forest had some freaky spirits that would seek vengeance if I burnt down trees? I shuddered at the thought. It may actually turn out to be real, too.

    Preparations complete, it was time for the worst part to get underway. I kept the top of the stick in place with a nicely dented rock I found, it didn''t matter that it was the porous kind for this purpose, I just needed it there to not drill a hole in my hand.

    I placed a slab of bark below the hole to scoop up the heated dust and got to work rubbing.

    This actually didn''t go as bad as I had expected, whenever I felt my hands get sore, I could simply pull a good ol¡¯ switcheroo to my other pair. I swore I would never have had any success otherwise.

    I started out slow and was elated what I saw some smoke rise up. Just in time too because it seemed evening was actually setting in now with the light slowly getting dimmer. More smoke started to rise up from the small pile of blackened sawdust under the hole at the edge, and I started to work faster in excitement.

    I knew I couldn''t stop too early or the ember would die out. When a lot of smoke continually rose up and my hands started to hurt from rubbing so fast, I decided to give it a go. I grabbed my bundle of tinder and dropped the ember in it. I packed it together tightly and watched as the smoke increased in intensity. I blew in air to supply oxygen to the ember. After the third lung full of hot breath, my tinder caught fire!

    I had done it! I couldn''t believe I had successfully started a fire! I quickly gathered all the dried-up materials I had collected to keep the fire going. It started with small twigs and leaves but soon I had a proper fire going. I collected some more wood from the outskirts of the clearing and started to move the fire to the inside of ''''my cave'''', not too deep though, or I would actually kill myself by draining all oxygen from the surrounding area.

    Soon, I had a nice stack of wood in the back of the cave and a cozy fire burning in front. After putting the coconuts that I collected earlier next to the stack of wood, I decided it was time to finally relax. I let myself drop down to the stone cave floor and simply enjoyed the warm radiance of the fire that contrasted to the now quickly darkening sky.

    With light now dispelling the darkness of the cave I could look around clearly. One of the walls had a large blood stain that trickled all the way down and covered parts of the floor as well. I guessed that was from my bashing my head against the wall? Now that I thought about it, how badly wounded was I?

    I had not noticed any of the symptoms that would normally be associated with blood loss. I pulled my long red hair to the side and felt around the back of my head, nape and shoulders but couldn''t find any semblance of a scab or scar. Weird, how long had I been out for? It couldn''t have healed fully in that time, right?

    I added some of the thicker logs I found to the fire and decided to call it a day, I didn''t want to admit it but I was exhausted. I hoped it would keep the fire going until morning, or at least until I woke up again, I''d hate to go through the process of making one again. I leaned back against my abdomen which seemed to be the most comfortable I could get for lack of a proper bed.

    God, how I longed for a soft mattress.

    ''How would I even sleep on one now'', I wondered. ''And how is my butt so comfortable, the hell?''

    I took one last look at my body, still covered in blood. It was sad I didn''t get to find any water; I could really have used a shower.

    I reflected back on the day and everything that had happened so far, I could only describe it as the worst day in my life. Waking up as nightmare fuel, having to go through the process of learning how to walk (again), walking miles to find water all while thinking you could get killed at any moment by predators. Okay, the food I got so far had been pretty damn good but still.

    Getting a fire going had also raised my morale, but there was still a whole load of issues that I had to take care of. One of those would be to find or make some kind of clothing. I guess I would have to find some more food, then start working on that.

    My kingdom for a good steak! I was actually dying for some meat, probably another side effect of being half spider. I cursed myself for somewhat looking forward to hunting. I didn''t have any kind of weapon yet. I should not hunt unprepared, for all I knew whatever I was hunting could shoot laser beams from their eyes or spray acid that melted your skin.

    ''Yikes'', I reacted at the mental image of such creatures existing.

    Okay so, tools, weapons, clothes, then hunting? I actually didn''t know what the most logical order would be. Maybe it would actually be better to find a steady supply of water first, these coconuts wouldn''t last forever, or maybe they would? I shrugged, who knew? For all I knew, they grew back overnight, this world was seriously messed up.

    I laid back again and secretly hoped I would just wake up in my bed again tomorrow.

    -----------------------------------

    I must have fallen asleep, because the next moment I tried to untangle the mess of hair in front of my face as I was waking up to heap of coal and ash and the sky once again bright.

    ''''Oh shit, my fire, noooo!''''

    I quicky grabbed some dried leaves and twigs, put them into the smoldering coals and blew. Under the silver ash I was happy to see the coals were still glowing red. I moved the red coals together with a stick and continued blowing. Soon enough, I got a new fire burning.

    Relief flooded through me as rebuilt it. I put some bigger pieces of wood on the fire again and took note that I would have to find some more of those as I went, an axe would be great to have, I could get them myself instead of having to specifically find long dead trees.

    I went outside and noticed the distinct difference in the atmosphere today. It was still quite warm but far more humid, in the distance I could see clouds start to form, I hoped it wouldn''t rain. Actually, thinking about it logically, rain would be a blessing. I changed my mind, I hoped it would rain.

    I gathered as much wood as I could find and brought it inside the cave if it was going to rain, I''d better have dry wood stocked up. I had to venture a bit into the forest to find some more. I didn''t mark the trees this time as I was not planning to go far.

    About five minutes out from the cave I came across something... unusual. I found a fairly large tree judging from the radius of its trunk. It was chopped down and severed into several large logs, some seemed to have gone missing, as did the crown and branches. From a distance I watched and scanned the surroundings. This seemed to have been caused by humans after all. I could not risk being seen.

    When I saw no movement after a while of waiting, I decided I could not let this golden opportunity slip away. I came out of hiding and snatched four large logs. Whoever did this surely wouldn''t mind? After all, they had the tools to get more anytime they wanted. I felt guilty, but I also felt I had no choice but to benefit from the situation. Maybe I could find whoever did this later on and repay them?

    Pressure started to build up in my lower human body and I knew I had to hurry back, I knew what it was but was confused as to how in the world that worked. I found out I could move at a decent pace now without being all wobbly and without focusing on it as much as before, which in this case was a huge boon.

    When I got back to the clearance, I made a beeline to the cave, dropped a log onto the fire and hurried outside behind the cave. My bladder was about to burst and I had no idea where I would have to release it, so before I just let it go and cause a stinky mess I searched (don¡¯t ask).

    I found out that in between my fangs, hidden under black hairs that obscured it from vision I still possessed my lady parts. Embarrassment flooded through me,

    What kind of pervert came up with this shit, are you kidding me?

    I cursed at whatever cruel god forced me to put up with this mess. With no time to think, I brushed the hairs out of the way to not soak myself, lowered myself and just let go.

    After my ''''toilet break'''' I felt disgusted, I had no toilet paper to clean myself and no sink to wash my hands, my many hands.

    Yikes, at this rate I would have to dig a well and cook ground water in coconuts to wash myself to get some semblance of hygiene.  I started walking back around the cave. I halted just before I went around the bend as I saw movement in the clearance. I quickly dashed behind one of the rocks and hoped I wasn''t noticed. I peeked from the side and saw a small green humanoid crossing the clearing.

    ''''Goblins, why does it always have to be goblins, goblins or slimes'''', I whispered.

    I knew exactly how this played out. Slimes or goblins would always be first creatures one would have to fight after being transmigrated or reincarnated in another world. I was thankful that my new life so far at least followed that bit of ''''logic'''' from Earth''s works of fiction.

    I didn''t want to imagine what would happen if the very first thing I ran into would be ''''Krxy''vrxxa the Supreme Overlord Gatekeeper Boss Dude of the Primary Realm of Demons'''' or something like that. I would probably be swatted like a mosquito, yikes!

    I watched as it came closer, its green skin, pointy nose and pointy ears confirmed my suspicion, this was a stereotypical goblin. He wore a simple cloth around his waist and walked around in a bare torso. He had a large silver-colored ring through the middle of his right ear that also had a chip missing near the top, as if a rat nibbled on his ear and took a large bite. His small frame would give me an advantage in combat but the bad part was that he had a weapon.

    He had a spear drawn as he came to the cave entrance where it eyed my fire. He also had a metal hatchet and a knife strapped to a utility belt which caught my eye, I could surely use those, but would I resort to stealing?

    I climbed up above the entrance to the cave, I was not expecting things to go as easy as they did, it appeared the ends of my legs really did seem to stick to any surface. From here I would be in an excellent position to ambush when he came out, I''d hate to have a spear pierce my body after all.

    After a while I saw him exiting the cave with a log under his one arm, his spear still in hand. Guess I found out who I got those from, and... were those two of my coconuts under his other?

    My eyes shot with rage. And here I was thinking about not stealing. I mean, I technically stole his wood too but that was different! I had worked hard for those coconuts alright, I had to walk for miles and then climb some weird tree. Besides that, I needed them to not actually die of thirst or starvation, he could miss a few logs and it wouldn''t affect him too much.

    He stood there for a while, just outside the cave. He seemed to be looking around, but he forgot to check one direction, up.

    ''Hah, gotcha'', I praised myself in my mind before I covered my breasts with two of my hands. Didn''t want to look indecent while jumping on somebody from above after all. Wait, that sounded terribly wrong.

    I quickly regained my composure and took the leap.

    He quickly turned his head around as I was descending on him, but it was already too late. Before long I had him pinned under my legs as he dropped what he was carrying and his spear fell from his grasp. Victory.

    ''That has to be a skill up in my eye-leg coordination'', I mused as I rolled the spear away with one of my legs.

    His sudden movements caught me almost by surprise as he started reaching for his belt.

    ''''Oh no, you don''t'''', I quickly rolled his small frame over so his back was on the grass and pinned his hands down.

    Of course, I was no expert in goblin behavior but the way I felt him shaking beneath my legs as his eyes fixated upon my fangs (At least I hoped it was my fangs, I did cover everything else up properly again, right?) must have had him scared to death. I mean, for all he knew, I ate goblins for breakfast, maybe all this blood didn''t help my case.

    Did goblins even have red blood? I actually was not keen on finding that out. It probably was not a good idea to start a fight with goblins, they always lived in tribes or groups in novels and I would very much not like an angry horde of goblins chasing me down.

    He muttered a lot of words way too fast in an incomprehensible language. Great, there was that as well.

    ''''Don''t worry I have no intention to eat you'''', I calmly said, retracting my fangs under my body.

    ''''How about a trade? Your hatchet and spear'''', I pointed to his hatchet, then to his spear laying in the grass with one of the hands that I was not using to cover my decency, then back to me.

    ''''For my coconuts.'''' I pointed to the coconuts at the side, then back to him.

    I knew full well I was ripping him off, but then again, I had the position of strength in this trade. Besides, I had one more thing up my sleeve that would even out the scales some more, and it wouldn''t cost me any additional effort.

    His fear seemed to diminish slightly as he nodded wildly after swallowing. Who would have known that having your life on the line could be such an effective persuasion method? I gestured the hands down signal that would usually mean ''''calm down'''' and slowly let go of his limbs.

    I took up his spear and he slowly unstrapped his axe and threw it to the floor, picked up the coconuts and prepared to leave in a hurry.

    ''''Wait'''', I called out in my new soothing voice, it did so not fit this monstrous body.

    He came to an abrupt halt and looked behind him, his eyes still wary. I smiled slightly and motioned for him to follow me back to the cave. He seemed to get the message and followed me slowly, I wondered why he didn''t try to run off in a hurry. Did he think I would be able to catch up to him? To his credit, I probably could have, if I had had more time to acclimate to this body. Right now, I probably stood no chance of catching up.

    ''Joke''s on him'', I quietly thought.

    I led him in my cave, dropped the spear, and handed him another of his own logs, which he happily accepted. I could always get more myself now, anyway. I then grabbed the last of my coconuts and walked outside, motioning him to follow me once more.

    I walked up to the closest tree that I had marked with a line and pointed at the coconut in one of my hands. I then pointed to the marking on the tree. He didn''t seem to have any idea what I was trying to explain.

    I pointed to the marking, then the coconut, then to the marking again and then motioned him to follow me. I walked over to the next tree with a marker and pointed at it. I then pointed in the direction of the next tree with a marker and made a gesture with my hand that utilized my index and middle finger to indicate ''''walking'''', then pointed to the coconut again.

    I think I saw the metaphorical light bulb turn on in his head as he nodded. I hoped the information on where to find them would make me seem less of a monster when it came to trade deals, I was no monster after all.

    I sighed as he walked off and walked off on my own, back to my cave, picking up the hatchet that was still laying around.

    When I got to the entrance, I looked around to make sure the goblin was gone and finally let go of my hands that had been covering my chest all this time. I really needed to get some clothes...

 1.4 A buckload

    I was getting frustrated; I needed some kind of clothes soon or I would go crazy. I kept getting pushed back by having to do other things first all the time, and now I had no food remaining. Yet again, I would have to postpone in order to get more of those coconuts.

    I had taken the spear and axe with me, there was no way I was going to leave my most precious possessions back in that cave where they could easily be stolen. I had thought about trying to hunt instead but this seemed like the safer option, especially since I would be able to get something to drink at the same time.

    I shook my head at my lame excuse, judging from the sky it would rain somewhere in the evening, the clouds had gained in density and they were coming this way. At least I would be able to stock up on some water which would give me time to hunt.

    A fur coat would be a great thing to have, comfortable and warm if it got colder, shame I had no idea how to cure furs. I guessed if I was able to at least clean them, somebody would know, right?

    I reached my destination much faster than yesterday thanks to my added experience when it came to walking. I knew it still wasn¡¯t anywhere close to the speed a legit spider could run at but it was already far better than when I started.

    To be fair, even the smallest spiders on earth could run away at ridiculous speed, which they showed very clearly when they were in my room. Sometimes they even ran towards me for reasons unknown to mankind, and I had to jump away or they would touch me.  If I were to translate the speed of those small ones to my current size, would that mean I would leave all those Olympic athletes in the dust? I should study small spiders to see how they moved and then try to mimic them. I wasn''t looking forward to it, but I imagined it would help with survival. Another thing to add to my list of priorities, I took a mental note.

    I arrived at the palm trees again and found two fresh ones on the ground. I stabbed one with my spear and drank its contents. I really needed that; I hadn''t drunk anything this day yet. I looked at the coconut in my hand and made a decision.

    I had to climb again and had a bit of an easier time wiggling the fruits loose with the spear that I had acquired. I was about to climb down when a large deer came into view.

    Like all life I have encountered so far, this was no ordinary deer. This one in particular had a large set of antlers, a tail like a racoon but of course there had to be more. I could see one of those stereotypical TV sales channels in my mind; ''''But wait, there is more''''. This deer, I assumed it was a buck because of the huge set of antlers ALSO had a spiraled horn growing out of its forehead.

    ''''What the hell'''', I let out.

    Apparently, the buck didn''t like the sound of that as almost immediately it charged and hit the tree with one of his antlers. Fuck, did this animal have something against spiders or what? I am innocent, leave me alone!

    It charged again and the tree shook, several coconuts fell down and two of my legs slipped, I quickly put them back. And prepared for impact again. When the impact came, I didn¡¯t lose my footing, it didn¡¯t matter though as the charge had literally snapped the tree in two and I was falling down with it. What is this guy''s strength? this is unfair.

    I let go of the tree and managed to somewhat break my fall but still ended up face down on the ground. I tried to get to my feet but I was already being charged at, I barely managed to roll out of the way. That horn didn¡¯t look like it was intended just for show, I''d be screwed if I get hit by that.

    I got behind another palm tree for cover and held out my spear in front of me, I hoped this would work. I was counting on the animal to charge me, hit the tree and then me stabbing it. It sounded like a good plan but I had no experience hunting or killing for that matter.

    My plan succeeded, although partly. It slammed its antler into the tree and I thrust my spear forward, aiming between the antlers and the scary looking horn. Its skull was far tougher than I thought and before I knew it, it had knocked the spear out of my hands. I didn''t get time to grab it as it aimed its horn straight for me once again.

    No longer under cover of the tree I did not have a choice but to jump to the side. I wish I had practiced jumping because I only half-assedly succeeded in my acrobatics. I managed to avoid the attack but landed on my back.

    ''''Fuck, I''m screwed'''', I let out as I saw it charging at me once more from my right side.

    I shook off the fear and focused, I still had one chance. One chance was probably all I would get, if I missed it, I might truly be done for. its head was low, ready to skewer my side and coming in fast. I pulled my right legs down low, ready to spring. When the horn was within my reach, I pulled my legs up with all the strength I could muster and prayed it wouldn''t pierce me.

    I felt the wind from its head, the antlers and then the rest of its body as it quite literally flew over me. Brought out of balance, it couldn¡¯t stop itself, its front legs collapsed and the side of his body crashed into one of the palm trees. I got up as quickly as I could, skittered over to my spear too it firmly within all four hands and charged it into the side of the dazed buck. I managed to get through the skin but it didn¡¯t seem to go any deeper. I thrust again but the same thing happened, what''s worse, my spear got stuck. The buck let out a roar of pain, but I knew this would not be lethal.

    It shook its head as it tried to stand up and I knew that its daze would end soon. So, I did what every reasonable spider would do when it had immobilized its pray, albeit temporary. I jumped on its back, forced it back onto the ground and sank my fangs in, literally.

    I felt venom flowing through my fangs into its body until I was completely out, it felt kind of relieving which disturbed me. I retracted my fangs and kept it pinned down. I hoped it would be enough. Within seconds I could already feel the struggles dying down and about thirty seconds later, the deer was completely still.

    I stood up and pulled up my fangs in front of me as I looked at them.

    ''''Holy shit, how lethal am I really?''''

    That just seemed like overkill. True, I did empty whatever venom I had stored up but still, to kill this fast was beyond my imagination. I looked at the corpse and sighed. I never realized deer were this large, how the hell was I supposed to get this back to the cave, drag it? I sighed again, I knew this day would come eventually, I had already prepared to do this later today so I might as well do it now.

    ''''Now let''s find out how this actually works'''', I said in feigned anticipation. This would probably be the biggest NOPE moment of my life, both lives.

    I got down on my back and leaned forward, the flexibility of this body never ceased to amaze me. I reached over to the end of my butt. I couldn''t believe I was actually doing this, but if my previous experimenting showed anything, it was that I would have to feel first before I was able to control that specific part of my body.

    So here I was, looking for the organ where a spider would normally spin silk from. I found four protrusions behind a hole the size of a golf ball. I hoped with all my heart that those protrusions were what I was looking for.

    I did not want to see this, it was bad enough that I had to feel it. I put a finger on top of one of them and squirmed from the awkward feeling. When I then slightly put in a finger and pull it back out, I could feel something being pulled out of there, and assumed I had found what I was looking for.

    I didn''t dare to look at first but managed to get over my humiliation. When I saw a white string of silk sticking to my finger and a thread connecting it to my spinneret.

    I had succeeded, but at what cost?

    There were three more of these and I already felt violated. Why did I have to have four anyway?

    After several more disturbing minutes I managed to create silk from each one of those. It seemed I had to simply touch it and drag the silk out. I was even successful in creating non-sticky silk, I had no idea how I did it or how it worked but I simply wished it wasn''t sticky and it came out the way I wanted.

    I created two ropes of the non-sticky variant and tied them to the deer''s antlers. I also grabbed the coconuts that had fallen to the ground from my antics and the stag''s charging and bound them together with the sticky variant of web. When I had everything prepared for transport, I gathered my axe that had got lost somewhere early on in the fight. I then pulled the spear out of the deer''s dead body which came out surprisingly easy now, and started making my way back to the cave where I would have a feast.

    I smiled at the thought of finally having some meat, then started to have my doubts, was this meat even edible with all that poison?

    I shrugged, ''since it''s mine it would make sense that I would be immune to it right?''

    The sight of me must have been hilarious to any onlookers. I was dragging a deer behind me with a net of coconuts sticked to its upper side. I held the two ropes in one set of hands and then a spear in one hand and then my axe in another. I did wonder; is this how horses felt pulling a plough? I knew the body of the deer I had felled weighed quite a bit but pulling it didn''t seem to be much of an issue.

    I felt a shadow fall over the forest and looked up to the sky. It seems the clouds have finally reached me. I could already hear thunder in the distance.

    Damn, and I still had at least half of the way to go. I cursed my luck. I had not been counting on bad weather reaching me so quickly. I hoped it would remain dry until I at least made it to my shelter but it didn''t seem like I was going to be so lucky.

    I cursed my luck again. Minutes after my grave miscalculations I was already soaking wet. The only luck I had in this situation was that the rain was pleasantly warm so I wasn''t going to freeze anytime soon. Still, this is not how I imagined I would shower. Thunder roared from behind me and startled me. I had never really been afraid of thunderstorms but I had always been high and dry indoors where the sound of rain against the windows was somewhat soothing. This was a completely different story altogether.

    The ground was all soggy which made moving hard because apparently my legs had the tendency to sink away in the mud. At this rate I would have to make the equivalent of those tennis rackets that people bound under their feet in cold, snowy climates.

    I arrived at my cozy fire way later than I had anticipated and saw that it had almost died down. Just now I noticed how lucky I was that this cave had a bump near the entrance that acted as threshold to keep the water out, I would have been quite screwed if it wasn''t so. It seemed fate had been kind to me so far, as much as it could anyway.

    ''''Whatever'''', I muttered when I thought about what fate had brought me so far. Memory loss, a monster body and the most awkward scenarios.

    I got my fire going again and dropped my haul in the far back of the cave. There was something I had to take care of while it was raining, two things actually, make that three.

    I took the bloodied spear and washed it clean in the rain. I then used said spear to open five coconuts cutting out a ring from the top. I poured the insides of four coconuts in one and drank the last bit that would make it overflow. Strawberry juice was delicious, but I was more looking forward to what would come later. My stomach was already audibly calling out to what I had laid in the back.

    I walked back outside with the empty coconuts and used my spear to create four small pits in the grass to place the fruits in. While those were being filled up with water, I decided to finally take a shower.

    I mean, it was going to be a rainy shower, but a shower nonetheless. Even though much of the dirt and blood had already washed off, it still felt refreshing to finally be able to clean every last spot. How I would kill for a sponge and some soap right now.

    While I was at it, I should get some shampoo too, this long hair felt like it would need a lot of maintenance. Scrap that, it did need a lot of maintenance, getting all the blood, dirt and dust out took me way longer than I had expected without something like a comb to help me out. By the time I could run my hands through without finding anything, the water had got a lot colder and I scurried back to my fire as soon as I was finished, not wanting to catch a cold.

    Ah, the sweet warmth of fire really did wonders to the body when coming out of the rain. My only issue was that there was a lot of body to warm up, so much that I actually had to take turns in warming up my left and then my right side. While letting the fire do its job, I was working on creating some sticks to skewer the meat with. I could have used my spear, sure, but I did not want to damage the integrity of the wood behind the tip so what was out of the question.

    When I finished making a fair amount of those (some would likely not survive after all) it was time to work on the meat. This would probably create a bloody mess, literally.

    I carefully cut the skin under its chin, and would try to keep that intact and in one piece as much as possible. There had to be civilization somewhere and I could use the hide to trade for clothes or have it processed.

    This made the think about my trade opportunities, I guessed I could sell my silk? Awkward as it was, it was incredibly strong and flexible, it was bound to be worth something. Another option would be my venom, I guessed. If technology was advanced enough in this world, it could be used to make anti-venom, right? Or maybe it could be used by adventurers to coat their weapons if it was that kind of world?

    I looked at the buck''s eyes which I had closed, looking at those glazy, lifeless eyes kind of freaked me out. From there I moved my eyes to the horn and antlers, it was probably a good idea to save those as well, who knew what those materials could be used for. If nothing else I could probably make a new spear with that horn alone if something were to happen to my old one.

    I had to admit, I thought the sight of butchering an animal would make me nauseous beyond belief. I had expected there to be blood and guts everywhere. That was not the case, however, and I seemed awfully calm about this. I carefully cut slabs of meat with my axe, any butcher back on earth would probably have raged at me for not giving the respect the animal deserved. I had no idea what I was actually cutting off either, but it was probably expensive. I mean, meat was meat, right?

    After infuriating all the butchers on Earth, it was time to cause an existential crisis to all cooks. Hell, they would be in a lunatic asylum after I was done ruining this top-quality meat. I hated taking risks though, so well done it was.

    Thunder and lightning raged on outside in rapid succession while I was munching on a large steak. It missed salt but I couldn''t have everything. Thanks to my two sets of hands, I could eat while working on the rest of my catch. I held the axe still as I dwelled in thoughts. Did I have any way of preserving meat? How long would it take to spoil? Judging from the warm weather, not too long.

    While the back of the cave was colder it was nowhere near refrigerating temperatures. I knew you could preserve meat for much longer by rubbing it in with salt, but I didn''t have that as an option either. I knew gunpowder was sometimes used as well but that was even further away at this point.

    Yes, I knew how to make gunpowder. Like the true science and history nerd I was I had looked up the composition every time I wondered. Saltpeter was going to be the ingredient I was worried about most, not necessarily because its scarcity but for the way it used to be obtained in history, poop and urine, or even better, bat guano, yuck.

    Charcoal would always be readily available. Sulfur was tricky, but you could generally find it in large amounts near volcanic areas or hot springs. Now that I actually found myself in a different world maybe this knowledge would come to fruition? I doubted it would have any value on earth, we were far beyond simple black powder after all.

    ''''Oh hell, no'''', I let out, realizing I forgot the piece of meat that was cooking above the fire.

    The two sticks that were holding a piece of meat above the fire were burnt and my delicious meat was now resting on one of the burning logs. I quickly pulled it out using the axe, it was burnt on one side but I was not going to waste any of this, it wasn''t often I had something like this. And judging from the size of my abdomen I might need more than what the average person would eat.

    Maybe I could actually eat all of it and go without food for days? I am pretty sure my grandma didn''t have to feed her tarantula more than once or twice a week. Now that I thought about it, I wasn''t necessarily feeling hungry, but I wasn''t feeling full either, interesting.

    Ah, survival was an excellent reason to stuff your face without having to worry about what others thought. I just hoped all this eating wouldn''t make me fat. As long as I wasn¡¯t full, I could continue without having to fear that, right?

    ''If only I had a refrigerator or freezer'' I thought, ''or my phone...'', I added melancholily.

    Still in a sad mood, I looked outside, the rain only added more to the sadness as I thought back to what I missed. Living in luxury had led to the complete inaptitude to live like this. I guess I had done fairly okay in the survival department if I looked where I had gotten so far. I managed to get all basic needs sorted but the lack of interaction with people, while nice at first, started getting to me.

    Even if most of my interactions with people had been online before, it was still something. I was terrified I wouldn''t be able to interact with anyone anymore with what I''d become. At least I had my coconuts, maybe I could give them faces and names like that guy in that movie, or was that a basketball? I didn''t remember. I hoped I wouldn''t stoop that low.

    I cut out another piece of meat as the rain continued on, the day would probably end soon, not that I could do much, anyway.

    There was one thing left on my list that had bothered me for a long time. It was finally time to take care of one of my biggest annoyances since waking up here. I put another cut of steak over the fire, vowed I would pay attention to it this time and grabbed a coconut.

    I carefully carved a line so I wouldn''t shatter it, and cut it in half cleanly so that I had two circle shaped halves. I quickly gulped down the strawberry smoothie that was inside. It appeared it seemed to add to the tropical sceneries I saw in my mind. That, or I was going crazy. Probably the last. I was after all, making ''''clothes'''' out of coconuts.

    I mean, it wasn''t much, but it would cover something at least. After carving them down so they wouldn''t smother me I got to the awkward part of creating straps from my own silk. When that was finished, I tried on my handywork, it wasn''t the most comfortable but it did its job.

    How did those Hawaiian girls do this? Did they also remove the coconut flesh before processing them as bras? So many questions, so little answers. I guessed it wouldn''t hurt to not remove it, coconut oil was good for your skin, or so I''ve heard. Thinking of oil snapped my mind back to the steak that I''d completely forgotten, again. It had fallen onto a log again and was starting to char.

    ''''Fuck'''', I let out in frustration. ''''Not again.''''

 1.5 Trolling around

    About half a deer later, the rain started to clear up but the skies remained cloudy and dark. I was still not full, which made me wonder exactly where and how big my stomach was. Even though the ''''meal'''' was certainly enjoyable, eating for hours on end eventually became... boring.

    Did spiders not inject venom into prey and then slurp it up like some kind of soup through a straw?

    The thought disgusted me but it would probably be a much quicker way to get this done and over with in certain scenarios. I was fortunate to have plenty of time now but what if I had to stay on the move? I was definitely not looking forward to discover more freakish organs that I didn''t know about, I had seen enough spider anatomy for a lifetime. I should consider myself lucky that I didn''t have half a dozen or so eyes that I would have to learn how to use.

    A roar sounded through the cave, whoever or whatever it belonged to must have been large and heavy judging from the weight it carried. It was followed by words yelled that sounded much more to what I was used to, a male human voice, for sure. It sounded like they were either in an argument or directly fighting as whatever words were spoken by the human were always followed up by beastly roars, as if it were taunting.

    ''Damn kids.'' I thought sarcastically, wanting to be left in peace, ''Get off my lawn''.

    After I added some more wood I walked out to the entrance and saw my suspicions confirmed. There was a tall short-bearded human male wearing a strapped leather tunic at the edge of the clearing. He wore a bow and a quiver with several arrows on his back, a belt with a long knife, two canteens, and an empty scabbard. Judging from his outfit I would have to assume he was some kind of archer. Unfortunately for him, he was locked in melee combat with a far taller creature.

    That even taller creature was a blueish grey monster. It had skin that seemed to have pebbles embedded in it, two large lower jaw tusks that curled slightly upward, short, pointy elf like ears, and red eyes full of bloodlust.

    He wore a simple loincloth that covered up the bare minimum, his large muscled chest was full of scars and cuts, some of them dripping blood. A skull on a chain around his neck made me think this was not the nicest of creatures you could meet. He had large nails protruding from his bulky fingers that were gripping a massively sized mace. I thought mace, but it was really a large cubic stone that was fastened on top of what looked like a tree trunk with wrought iron strips, that didn''t mean it did not seem deadly. This looked like a troll, not the internet kind of troll, but an actual deadly warrior troll, and not a friendly one at that.

    The human ducked behind one of the smaller trees as the massive troll took a swing. The tree simply snapped in half and the swing was still going. What was this guy''s strength? Yes, he was slow, but that swing just now would have killed any human back on earth, no amount of armor would protect you from that amount of blunt force trauma.

    His speed seemed to be the reason of his many cuts, as the human was wielding a much more handleable sword and jumped forward adding another cut to the troll''s chest, who in turn responded with a roar. The human jumped back a few steps into the clearing and taunted the troll by gesturing with his hand in a ''''come at me'''' manner. The troll eagerly obliged and charged, brought his hammer down from above his head which was too easily sidestepped by the archer who slashed the troll''s side, yielding yet another cut but it appeared his sword didn''t penetrate deeply. The troll''s skin appeared to be incredibly tough.

    This process repeated itself several times, the human taunting and the troll responding. Did the human think this was a battle of attrition? One good hit would take him out, and it seemed the larger creature was not tiring at all, in fact, it seemed the more he missed, the angrier and faster he became.

    This might turn sour for the shorter creature if this continued on for much longer. I had already decided I would help him, maybe I could get back to civilization with his help. I was just wondering how I would go about it. If his sword didn''t manage to seriously injure, I doubted my spear would.

    ''Actually'', I thought, ''I could try what I was thinking about earlier''.

    I walked outside grabbed one of the coconuts that was now filled with water, emptied it and moved it to my fangs. I filled it with my venom which didn''t seem fully replenished yet as I was only able to fill it halfway before I ran dry.

    Still, it would be enough to dip the tip of my spear in. If what I had experienced earlier was any indication for the future it was that this stuff was quite potent. I would just have to get the water again later. I should still have a fair amount and I needed this more at the moment. I went back inside, grabbed my spear and went back outside. I put the venom filled coconut back down in the pit it was in earlier and put the tip of the spear in it. I even twisted it as if I were dipping soft ice in sprinkles.

    The combat taking place in the clearing had moved towards the middle and seemed to be reaching a tipping point. I think the troll got some glancing blows in there as the human archer seemed to have slowed down and his right leg seemed to misstep every now and then. I ran towards the fight while the blue skinned giant had his back turned towards me.

    He roared as he was about to swing down from above again. I interrupted his attack and I thrust me spear in his side, it didn''t go deep at all, I was barely able to cause a papercut. It seemed to temporarily faze him as he took another moment before he brought down his mace. This gave me enough time to give him another cut before I had to back off. I was about to strike again but he swung his mace from the ground in front of him in one swift motion sideways into my direction and had to jump my front legs from the ground to not be turned into mush.

    I was able to take a few steps back on only two legs before gravity forced me down again. By the time I landed the human had landed an attack from behind, just below his knees which caused it to roar in rage in my direction.

    I had to cover my ears as the reverberations of his bellow pounded against my eardrums. Why did everything I had to fight with have to be broken in one way or another?

    I had earned its ire apparently, as it was fixated on clubbing me to death, I only got very few more hits in as I spent most time on not actually dying. In the meantime, the other warrior had kept attacking in the same spot that he had before, causing blood to drop down the troll''s calf. I got a few scrapes on his arms here and there when he was lifting his weapon from the ground but nothing significant. It really looked like this would be a death by a thousand cuts, I hoped it wouldn¡¯t have to get to a thousand, we''d be here for a while.

    Apparently, it had enough of me as it suddenly swinged back to the human who didn¡¯t see the attack coming and barely managed to parry with his sword but it knocked him back onto his back. This was bad.

    ''''Hey, you big ugly, I''m right here.'''' I shouted as loud as I could. Ugh, this voice really wasn''t made for shouting.

    ''''Come and get me.'''' I yelled again as I aimed and speared at the wound below his knee knowing he should be more vulnerable there to my venom.

    I could actually see his blood start to sizzle and take on a darker hue as it dripped down. I was certain I would have vomited back on Earth if I were to see something like this even if it was on TV but right now my stomach appeared made of iron and it wouldn''t budge.

    After making sure he got a good dosage of my venom it appeared to have a renewed interest in this pesky spider. He could have finished the human off and then return his gaze to me; it really was as stupid as it looked. It made a quick swing that I couldn''t dodge entirely and it smashed into my lower right arm, the one that wasn''t holding the spear. I could feel bones shattering and screamed in pain. Pain shot through my entire body as my vision went hazy. The only thing I could do was take steps back and I panted heavily. Reaching for breath I could hear the troll''s laughter as he inched closer.

    The human continued his assault as the troll was closing the distance between me and him, even as I kept stepping back towards the cave. The pain was overwhelming and it took me immense amounts of effort to try to stay functional. I couldn''t move my one arm anymore as it hung limply at my side.

    What was happening? The whole world felt like it was shaking, I had never felt so much pain in my life. And I wasn''t even out of trouble yet, I couldn¡¯t focus anymore, all I could do was backoff and hope the human could finish the job. Maybe the venom would take effect?

    He did seem slowed down somewhat but it didn''t quite seem enough yet. I stepped back further and felt something against one of my legs. I looked behind me and saw that I had just knocked over one of the coconuts filled with water. Great, can this get any worse?

    ''Snap out of it!'' I repeated probably a hundred times.

    I needed to keep my wits about me or I was done for. I could feel the heavy steps of the troll through the hairs on my feet and quickly concocted some kind of plan. I picked up the coconut with venom while pretending to be too injured to move, it wasn''t far from the truth, really.

    When he came within striking distance, he took a moment to gloat at my misery before making a move, even as the human was still adding cuts and slices to his back, he just stood there, without a care in the world. I swore I would wipe that grin off his face.

    I took the coconut as he reached for his weapon and unleashed hell on him. Getting the venom everywhere I wanted it to go, all the cuts on his chest and more importantly, his eyes, which still shone red with rage even as they were covered with the green liquid. That red slowly died down and I saw his eyes literally melt before me.

    He roared even loader than before swinging his mace wildly around his body as I had to cover my ears again and back off. His sinister smile from before was replaced by horror and I saw a mixture of red green and white flow from his eye sockets. The sight was extremely gruesome and I do believe I saw the human back off before emptying his stomach on the grass. Yep, he would not be forgetting that sight anytime soon, neither would I, to be honest.

    A gruesome tactic, but an effective one.

    I stepped back further in both pain and wariness. My arm numbed from the shattered bones and pain. The troll fell to his knees and was still trying to smash me, randomly swinging his weapon around and pounding the earth. It turned into a really sad sight.

    The fog in my mind slowly dissipated but the white, hot pain remained. I could really go for some heavy painkillers right now, just please knock me out. Normally that wouldn''t have been a problem but there was no quick ride to a hospital right here, maybe not even the medical knowledge to get my arm fixed.

    ''Please let this be a magic world with healing magic'', I desperately hoped even though I had previously not believed in such things.

    The existence of creatures such as this troll, the goblin and the strange buck had given me hope, though.

    Speaking of the troll, he seemed to be nearing the end of his death throes, his movement slowing, his breathing becoming heavy and his roars of anger dying down. He would not be for this world for much longer, I guessed the venom finally started to do its job. He had been a tough adversary but it still seemed to work, slowly, but it did work. His eyes literally melting out of his face had shocked me, though.

    I was still ''''sitting'''' on the soaked grass with my legs curled underneath me, panting heavily from the pain and worries about medical aid when another shot of pain coursed through my body. I looked down and found an arrow embedded in my shoulder. I looked in the direction of the human and saw him nocking another arrow.

    ''''Dude, what?'''' I screamed, ''''I just saved your ass, what are you shooting at me for?''''

    Another arrow came flying but bounced off of the chitinous part of where my hip would be.

    "KELE SEN HELVT PETO!" He shouted.

    Whatever language that was, I had no idea, I guessed potato wasn''t what he meant.

    ''''Stop it!'''' I shouted back.

    ''''KELE!" he shouted that word again as he let loose another arrow, this one missing completely.

    Seriously? The first human that I find decides to kill me after I had saved his life.

    This was just great. I mean, I knew I was a monster but I had showed him no hostility and helped him out when he would have died for sure yet this is how I was being repaid, Just great.

    After he had shot his fourth arrow which had narrowly missed my face, I had enough. I was not going to let someone walk over me like that, there was no way. I stood up as I felt rage flow through me. The pain in my arm seemed to be numbed by my fury, my feeling of betrayal. He would regret his mistake just like the troll did. I couldn''t believe I was thinking these things, I had never been a violent person but this... this infuriated me. It certainly didn''t help that my life was put on the line... again, and I did not intend to lose it yet.

    So, I stood up and charged. Even from a distance I could see his hands shake and he completely failed his next shot, it flew high over my head. It would be his last. In an instant I had pinned him to the ground, his eyes shooting full of fear, he reached for his knife but I had already sunk my fangs in his belly. I had not even cared to avoid his leather armor, my fangs pierced straight through and injected whatever little venom I had built up into him.

    His eyes soon became lifeless and the realization kicked in that I had just killed a person. Given it was in self-defense, but that didn''t mean I enjoyed it. It was a necessary action to survive, but it was completely unnecessary for this man to die. I had even tried to stop him.

    I really shouldn''t overthink this as much as I was. It would be better to spend that time looking for a way to get my arm healed. I no medical knowledge to speak about, and this didn''t seem as simple as ''''set a splint and the ouch will go away''''.

    Nope. Today was not a good day, it started off okay, then everything went to shit, my arm was completely busted and now I had an arrow stuck in my shoulder too. I eyed over the arrow again, it didn''t seem to be buried deep enough to hit anything important and the amount of blood was, pretty minor.

    Actually, it seemed to not have done much damage at all, who would have known that my smooth skin was so tough?

    My adrenalin rush ended and I felt my arm on fire again. I still managed to find the mental capability to actually check the man''s belongings. His sword, bow and arrows and knife could be useful. His canteens that were still full would help me out now that I lost two coconuts worth of water. I took another look at his bearded face and closed his eyes.

    ''Why?'' I sighed.

    I couldn''t just leave him here, could I? What about the troll? His body was still, adorning the clearing. I would have to move both of them, can''t have people think I am a monster feeding on innocents, right? Not that he had been innocent, and not that I was not a monster, technically speaking.

    I found a chain around his neck that was hidden by his facial hair and. An iron tag with characters that I had never seen before was attached to it, a small silver bow engraved to the right of the incomprehensible characters was the only character that somewhat made sense to me. I would have to assume that this guy was not some random bandit and that this was a name tag for a somewhat professional army soldier. I guessed that meant he at least deserved a burial, I could do that much for him, even if he had tried to kill me, soldiers who gave their lives deserved respect, I remembered that much from my old life in the States.

    So, I dragged his body back in the cave where I would be taking care of myself first. The arrow still stuck in my shoulder would have to be handled properly and while I was no doctor, there were some basic things that almost everyone in modern times would know. For one of those things, I had my hopes settled on at least one of the hide canteens that I had looted from the soldier.

    I sighed as I walked back to the cave entrance, picking up the last coconut with contents as I did so.

    I put some more wood on the fire before taking the first canteen and removing the cap. I took a deep sniff and didn''t smell what I was looking for, I assumed this was water. I then took the second, opened it and sniffed.

    ''''Bingo'''', I said in relief.

    Alcohol, great to get you drunk to numb pain, but I would also be using it to disinfect the wound after I had pulled the arrow out. I gulped not looking forward to experience more pain than I already had. I took another look at the arrow lodged in my shoulder, the metal arrow head had not pierced my skin completely which gave me hope. As long as it hadn''t hit an artery, I should be fine, right? I

    took a sip of the contents and was hit by it, hard. I had never had anything this strong before and I felt it burn down my throat as I quickly swallowed it, then closed the cap again.

    ''Holy, this stuff packs a punch''.

    I shook my head from the kick and prepared for what I was about to do. As a backup plan I put the knife''s blade in the fire, to heat and disinfect it. In case the bleeding was excessive I would have to cauterize the wound, I prayed that I didn''t have to, the heat in my arm was hard enough to deal with as it was.

    I took another sip of the still almost full canteen of alcohol. I was lucky to have this much, either the guy was not serious about his job, or he was lucky to never have gotten into a situation in which I found myself now.

    I don''t know exactly what happened but for some reason my legs seemed to no longer want to support me as I felt my abdomen and middle segment drop to the floor. I wasn''t drunk, was I? Sure, whatever was in that canteen was strong, but I still felt completely fine, only my spider parts seemed to refuse to obey my mind. The pain in my arm and shoulder slowly ebbed away as I could feel the liquor take effect. I would have to be careful to not drink too much, I had to be focused enough to get this done without making a complete fool of myself. I tore several strips of cloth from the human''s shirt in preparation, he had no need for it anymore, after all.

    I had no idea how to do this professionally so I just did what I thought made sense. I soaked some cloth in alcohol and cleaned the area around the wound. After that I took hold of the arrow and took several deep breaths. I would do this fast, like ripping off a band-aid to just get it done and over with without too much pain and suffering.

    I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the worst as in a swift move I removed the arrow from my shoulder. I opened one eye to see if I had actually pulled it out as the hellish pain I was expecting remained absent. The arrow was in my hand and not in my shoulder anymore. I opened my other eye and saw that some blood oozed from the wound but nowhere near as much as I had feared. I pulled the knife out of the fire and tossed it aside, thankful I wouldn¡¯t be needing to do that.

    I drenched another strip of cloth in alcohol and wrapped it around the wound as best as I could. There was pain, of course, but I could deal with this, this was nothing compared to how my arm had felt before.

    With my body fixed as far as I could actually fix it, I turned my attention back to the corpse next to me. I wanted to bury him but it was getting dark outside quickly and for some reason my legs refused to obey me. I guessed it was the alcohol, it had to be. I felt completely fine, well, other than the somewhat numbed pain, but anything below my waist was all wobbly. My legs where spasming, curling inward and tapping around on the stone floor. Frankly, it creeped my out. If I didn''t know any better, I would say it looked like a mating ritual that some animals conducted.

    So, I would delay the burial until tomorrow, I noticed I would also have to get new firewood first thing in the morning as I was running out. I tossed the last large log that I had in the fire hoping it would keep things going until morning.

    ''''So, wood first, then a burial, then maybe some exploration?'''' I recounted. I would still have to find a steady supply of water after all.

    I tried laying back on my bulbous abdomen again and relax but it wasn¡¯t easy to do when everything below me kept moving and wobbling back and forth, and up and down.

    I sighed. This was going to be a long night.

 1.6 of Elves and Wolves

    Faragi

    I decided to post a note here that I intend to rewrite the sequence in this and the coming 4 chapters as well. I feel some of the conversations don''t flow as well or makes as much sense as they should.

    It took a while but my butt finally stopped rocking like a boat. I was still wide awake even after relaxing as much as I could. The pain was still there but had not returned to the degree it had been at first, even after the alcohol seemed to have been filtered from my system. It was a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. Odd, where had I heard that before?

    The body next to me seemed to put me on edge and since I couldn''t sleep (maybe I didn''t need as much?) I decided I would do now what I had planned for the morning.

    But first, realizing that I had still a lot of uncooked meat laying behind me that would probably not last too long, I decided to cook. I grabbed two stones from outside my cave, placed them on either side of the fire, and placed the sword on top of it. I was going to use that as a surface to cook meat on, hopefully, it wouldn''t burn while I was busy outside...

    When I cut out another piece of meat, I was surprised how fresh it still was, the looks and texture were exactly the same as when I had made the first cut. How did that even work? Not knowing the answer, I simply blamed ''''magic''''. I wasn''t sure if it existed, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it did, but it was an easy excuse for not having to think deeper on the subject.

    I wrapped some cloth on a stick, drenched it with alcohol, and lit it up as a makeshift torch, I hoped it would last long enough for me to finish digging a hole.

    I went outside placed the torch in the ground and went to work. I started digging not too far from the entrance, my many legs working through the earth. Okay, they wouldn''t move the most earth but when I worked with four legs at a time I managed to do just fine. I realized I must have looked like a dog digging through the dirt.

    I shrugged, ''As long as it works, right?''

    I quickly checked the meat over the fire and worked it down quickly before preparing the next piece, and went outside again to continue on the square-shaped hole in the ground. When I got about a meter deep, I figured that would be enough. I checked the man one last time for any valuables that would help my survival in this new world. I found a previously unnoticed pouch that seemed to contain coins in one of his pockets.

    Opening it up I found several round and one square coin of different colors, the one thing that stood out was a miniature wooden rabbit. Was that a good luck charm or something? It certainly didn''t bring him any, although, he kind of had himself to blame for that. I guessed it was some kind of personal artifact, I couldn''t take it from him so I decided I would bury it with him. I placed the rabbit in his hands. They were cold to the touch. I had never touched a corpse before, it made me shiver as I clenched his hands tight. I removed his tag from his neck as I had plans for it.

    I dragged his body outside and let it down the grave as gently as I could, before I put the dirt back. My torch was already running low on fuel when I started filling the grave back up and had gone out completely a minute or two before I finished up. I decided I would just work in darkness, I couldn''t be bothered making a new torch for two minutes or less of work.

    When I felt no more dirt to fill the grave with and instead found only damp grass, I knew it was done. Now to go for the finishing touches. That was a very awkward thing to think about when it came to graves, it made me look like a psychopath in my mind. I simply disregarded it as me being a perfectionist, maybe it was my heritage.

    Back inside, I rummaged through the random pieces of wood I had remaining looking for something I could use for a cross. I found two pieces of wood about an inch in diameter that, once slightly altered would fit perfectly. I cut down one of the pieces with the knife that would be the horizontal part of the cross, can''t have odd proportions now, can we? Then, for lack of screws or nails (or the tools to use them) I bound them together with some sticky silk.

    On the bottom end of the vertical stick, I carved a point at the edge to be able to place it in the ground with ease. I then took out the deceased soldier''s tag and hung it around the top. If that was truly his name on there, then people would be able to recognize who this grave belonged to. The idea of an unnamed grave didn''t sit well with me.

    I took another piece of cloth that I had torn the previous day and made another torch, I didn''t use any alcohol this time as I didn''t need long, and I wanted to save that as much as I could should I need it again. I was about to light it on fire when I noticed it wasn''t completely dark anymore outside.

    I peeked outside and noticed a full moon in the sky, which explained why I could actually somewhat see the area around me.

    I put the torch aside, grabbed the cross, and skittered outside. Then I noticed something I definitely didn''t expect to see. High in the sky above me was another full moon. Wouldn''t that screw with the tides on this planet? How was that even possible? I shook my head. I really should stop being surprised by things.

    With the moons'' light illuminating the dark sky somewhat, I made my way over to where I had buried my assailant. I placed the cross at his head end before I circled around the small cave, collecting several stones to put on his grave so time would not wither its location. I placed them on top in a small pile and paid my final respects before heading back to my fire.

    ''If it wasn¡¯t completely dark outside, I might as well get some more firewood now, right?''. I thought as I started eating, again...

    It seemed like a great idea assuming no nasty wild animals showed up hellbent on mauling me to death. I decided to prepare some more venom, coat my spear in it and take it with me, just in case. Axe in one hand, spear in another, coconut of venom in another, and a lot of pain in my last I went out in the middle of the night to procure more wood.

    I hoped swinging wouldn''t be too difficult, considering I was right-handed and, of course, that had to be the side where I broke everything I could break in one arm AND took an arrow to the shoulder. At least it wasn''t a knee.

    I wondered if my knees, my many, many knees, were susceptible to arrows in the first place. After all, one arrow had hit a chitinous part of my body and simply bounced off. I knocked on the chitin and it produced a hollow sound. Guess these parts are pretty tough, eh?

    I walked to the edge of the clearance and picked one of the smaller trees to fell, I would have to try to not put too much pressure on my body as it was. I put the venom coconut down and got to work. I had barely started hacking before I heard a howl far in the distance.

    ''''Of course, there are wolves here, why not, hell, why not toss in a bear while we''re at it?'''' I said sarcastically as I continued hacking away.

    The sound was way too far away for me to worry about it, but I remained alert nonetheless. I continued cutting until I had a nice wedge about three quarters through. I circled to the other side of the tree and pushed it, but it didn''t budge. I gave it a few more chops before trying again, I had to be careful after all to not have it fall in my direction.

    This time I managed to push it over and it landed with a thud followed by rustlings from the branches and leaves. I started cutting logs from the still moist trunk when I heard the wolves'' roar again, this time it was closer. I really hoped they weren''t coming after me.

    After having some logs cut, I brought them over to inside the cave before returning to cut more. The howling sounded once more, again closer, but still far out. It did start to make me at least a bit nervous.

    After I had cut out two more logs and the sound echoed through the forest for a fourth time, again closer, I decided I would stop what I was doing. I Brought the two logs inside and came back to grab the coconut container. Once I had everything inside, I stepped in front of the fire and scanned the surroundings, envenomed spear in hands. I couldn''t see anything beyond the outer line of trees but if anything came into this clearing I would know.

    I assumed that they had stopped coming my way and turned around when I heard another howl, painfully close. I grabbed my torch, ready to ignite it to scare off a hungry pack of wolves with fire if needed.

    The rustling of leaves and the movements of a shadow drew my eyes to the left. I could see a bipedal figure making their way into the clearing, it most definitely wasn''t a wolf. A few seconds later, more and more shadows appeared in hot pursuit of the first. Whoever was being chased was running my way fast, with a sword in hand which worried me.

    That sword was obviously not intended for me but what would they do if they saw me? I mean, the last person I helped had decided to try to kill me. The dark figure seemed drawn to my fire, it made sense in a way, it could keep vermin at bay, probably worked for wolves too.

    ''''Help me, please!'''' A cracking female voice shouted out.

    It made me think. A lone female in this type of world running to a fire, she must be naive or truly desperate for help. For all she knew some bandits had made camp in this cave who would take... advantage of her, so to say. From what I have seen so far, it would not surprise me if something like that regularly happened, this world seemed pretty medieval after all.

    Wait, did she just speak my language?

    I snapped back to reality in an instant, cursing myself for assessing the situation when someone actually called out for my help.

    ''''In here'''', I shouted back, ''''but don''t do anything funny.''''

    She quickly dashed beside me. I could hear chain armor rattling as she did, while I kept my eyes on the sword, in case she was going to actually do something to me. When she didn¡¯t, I turned my attention to the wolves that were encircling the entrance to my cave. Heavy panting and a sword falling to the stone ground behind me confirmed she wasn''t out to kill me. At least I''d made progress there. To be fair, if she was truly chased by wolves for so long, she wouldn''t stand a chance anyway. I was impressed by her stamina, though.

    I lit my torch as it appeared one of the wolves was getting awfully confident in itself. When it came closer, I could make out its features better. It seemed to be a wolf, yes, a wolf, nothing special, dark grey fur and ears standing upward at attention.

    ''Finally, some normality'' I thought in relief.

    Maybe I shouldn''t have done that. The wolf saw my momentary lapse in attention and leaped forward. I was quick enough to hit its belly with my spear, penetrating its skin and flesh. While I had the wolf whimpering on my weapon, another jumped forward. A burning torch to their face threw a wrench in their plans. While it was still recuperating from the blast of fire, I pierced its body with one of my legs. It appeared the other wolves had seen enough; one by one they left their packmates to die as they retreated back in the woods.

    I sighed as I extinguished the torch in the wet grass and tossed it aside. I turned around and saw the human, still breathing heavily, staring at me. Wait a second, that was no human. The first thing I noticed when I checked her face were two long pointed ears sticking out above her silver-white hair.

    ''Okay, so an elf. And more importantly, she speaks my language too.'' I thought.

    It was insanely helpful to finally have someone that would understand what I was saying. I can''t imagine how much of a hell this would have been had nobody spoken my language, I doubted anyone would dare to teach me. I looked over at her again, her physical state seemed to have improved but her eyes... Wait, she had two different eye colors too, one green and one blue, cool! They were filled with fear though, as I saw them tremble.

    ''''No, I won''t kill you, not unless you try to kill me first, that is,'''' I stated matter-of-factly.

    I sat down with my abdomen against the wall next to the fire which still had the sword over it and took a closer look at who had just made their way into my new home. An elf warrior was a conclusion that I could easily draw. She didn''t seem the type of elf archer that was commonplace in fantasy, the lack of bow and arrows and the presence of a longsword confirmed that.

    Not only that, but she also didn''t seem to wear armor that was associated with archers. It seemed far too heavy to move fast and freely. Ok, she was pretty damn fast when she ran from those wolves, maybe I made a hasty conclusion there but still.

    She had a chainmail vest that covered her upper body and arms completely. Below that were hardened leather leggings with metal plates covering the upper and lower front of her legs. Her face was soft, must softer than I would expect from a fighter, and no scars were visible which made me think she wasn''t too experienced. That would probably be a bad thing to assume given to what ages elves lived in fiction, I wondered if that was true for this world too. She may have been hundreds of years old already and a combat veteran, it would be unwise to gamble with elves, I concluded.

    Eyes in said face were still fixated on me, or rather my spidery parts as she stumbled to speak.

    ''''W-w-w-w-w-w.'''' She didn¡¯t get the words out it seemed. I saw and heard her swallow before she tried again, I already knew what was coming.

    ''''Who are you? What are you?''''

    ''Here we go with the most obvious question, how am I even supposed to answer that'', I thought for a moment before I just replied honestly.

    ''''As for who I am, I actually forgot my name when I came to your world.'''' I paused for a moment, thinking, ''''How, I do not know, but when I woke up here two days ago, I woke up like this, to be fair, I don''t even know what I am myself other than some freaky human-spider hybrid.''''

    I hoped that would calm her down, even if only a little. It was the truth, after all, I couldn''t change the truth. I hoped that seeing I was truthful would not force her hand to kill me. I''d hate to kill a pretty elf like her.

    ''''What do you mean your world?'''' came her reply.

    ''''From what I have seen so far, this is not the world I am used to. We did not have goblins, trolls, weird cone-tailed squirrels, coconuts tasting like strawberries and, that'''', I pointed to the deer corpse in the other corner.

    ''''I mean we have animals like that one but they don''t have a tail like that and they certainly don''t have a horn, the rest is almost exactly the same. We also didn''t have, well, your kind, to put it nicely''''. I tried to be considerate.

    I had no idea if she was actually an elf or whether they called it differently here. I considered mentioning that we had had elves in fiction but figured that if that is what they were called she might think I am some kind of spy, so I kept my mouth shut on that part.

    I am not sure if she even believed a word of what I was saying but she continued to inquire anyway, which made me hopeful that this wouldn''t end in us killing each other.

    ''''How did you get here, then?''''

    I rubbed my forehead. ''''I legitimately have no idea. I don¡¯t remember what happened before I got here and appear to have lost a bunch of memories like where I lived, what my name is, my family, and more.''''

    Thinking about it all got me worked up and I guessed she saw because she remained quiet after that. I leaned back against my hairy abdomen to try to relax somewhat. I didn''t dare to close my eyes, however.

    ''''Velariah,'''' she said softly.

    ''''Hm?'''' I replied, not knowing what she meant.

    ''''Velariah.'''' She said again, ''''It''s my name.''''

    ''''Oh.'''' I paused, looking to the ceiling of the cave while leaning back, ''''I wish I could give you mine.''''

    I got up and walked to my wood stash which put her on edge, she placed her hand on the hilt of the sword that was lying next to her. Yep, I would probably have to get used to distrust. As a show of good faith, I laid my spear down with the other weapons. I doubted she would turn against me, she was far too exhausted to even stand, which was understandable judging from the distance she had just run in all that armor.

    I reached for two moist logs when I heard a growl coming from her direction. When I turned to check what it was, I saw the elf looking down to the ground, hiding her face.

    ''''You hungry?'''' I asked out of courtesy.

    She shook her head, obviously lying. I grabbed one of the coconuts and rolled it her way.

    ''''Help yourself, I''ve also got a canteen of water if you want and there''s plenty of deer left,'''' I said as I pointed to the animal corpse. ''''It still seems to be fresh even though I killed it early on last day. I have to warn you though, I used venom to kill it, I have no idea if that makes it bad.''''

    It appeared she didn''t know what to say but she did pick up the coconut that had rolled against her foot and took a knife out from behind her back and started working on the fruit.

    ''''Thanks.'''' Came a delayed response.

    I sighed as I put two logs next to the fire to dry them first. Then I went back to cut out another piece of meat, organs started to become visible one by one now that the flesh around them was removed. I decided I would probably bury those somewhere, I had never liked organ meat, after all. I was not intending on trying it now. While I was cutting, she continued to talk some more.

    ''''It''s called a white-spotted unibelea.''''

    I looked at its fur and scratched my head.

    ''''The white spots disappear when it reaches adulthood, that¡¯s then the horn starts growing too.''''

    That made some more sense. Imagine if the horn was there at birth. I cringed, that sounded painful.

    She had almost succeeded in carving a hole when she asked a question.

    ''''How did you get these?''''

    I blinked as I wondered if I had done anything wrong. Were these the forbidden fruits of this world or something? They tasted way too good, maybe they were forbidden because of that? That would be weird.

    ''''Uh, I simply got them from one of the trees that grow them quite far from here.''''

    ''''I mean, did you knock them out of the tree, or were they on the ground when you got them.''''

    What was that kind of question? Did she not like banana flavor or what?

    ''''These were harvested from the tree, do you not like the flavor when they are fresh?''''

    ''''You mean you ate them fresh?''''

    I simply nodded. She really seemed to hate bananas as her eyes grew wide.

    ''''They are deadly poisonous when they are fresh.''''

    Oops, I didn''t know that, I mean how could I? I loved bananas and any fruit in general, really. The thought of them being poison was shocking. But wait, I was fine. I guess that confirmed that I had some kind of poison resistance, that was neat.

    ''''So, banana is poison and strawberry is not?'''' I asked

    ''''I have no idea what those are, I guess you are referring to the smell, if so, then yes you are basically right. When the smell has changed it means the poison is neutralized which generally happens a few hours after being cut off from the tree.''''

    At least there was an easy way of knowing for her if it was good to eat or not. Still, I felt kind of sorry for her for not being able to enjoy the other flavor. It seemed she had caught what I was thinking earlier as her next line referred directly to it.

    ''''Seems you got some poison resistance inherity, that''s pretty useful, more useful than mine anyway.''''

    Now, this was new for me, I had never heard that word before but the first part was familiar. I asked her what an ''''inherity'''' was but she didn''t seem keen to answer that.

    ''''Never mind that.'''' was all she answered.

    ''Alrighty then, I hope I can get some more info on that later, it sure sounded interesting.'' I thought as I put another piece of meat above my campfire.

    Velariah had finished making a hole, took a long deep sniff, and drank. It was interesting to see how she repeated the same steps I had taken, but I guessed for her this actually mattered. Dying to a banana-flavored coconut seemed like a sucky way to go.

    ''''How about this?'''' I asked, pointing to the sizzling meat.

    ''''I can''t believe you use a sword to cook meat on.'''' She looked disappointed, deeply, deeply disappointed. Her eyes were scary.

    ''''I didn''t mean that.'''' I snapped back, ''''Is it safe for you to eat?''''

    ''''The meat of unibeleas tends to be poisonous due to the plants they eat. Some goes into their flesh as a self-defense mechanism against predators. Normally its meat is safe to eat when cooked all the way through. Their liver filters dangerous poisons and venoms extremely quickly, If I were to guess it tried to filter yours but it accumulated in its liver too quickly.''''

    Okay, that part about elves seemed to be spot on. They knew crazy amounts about the local wildlife. I mean, so did we, technically, but our civilization was bout 500 years more advanced? And I believe a lot of information on plants and wildlife was gathered in that time so this was nothing short of impressive. The elf started cutting up the coconut and work on the flesh inside.

    ''''So, what about the other races I mentioned. Are you familiar with those, or are they called differently here?''''

    ''''You mean humans, trolls and goblins? Yes, we have those.''''

    That would make things easier. I already had issues trying to remember that this ''''deer'''' was called a white-spotted unibear... unibella... unibelea, that was the word.

    ''''And those?'''' I pointed the two halves of fruit in her hand.

    ''''Tree hardfruit'''', she stated simply before digging in again.

    Are you kidding me? And here I thought we had terrible names on earth. Eggplant is one that came to mind. I mean, the name made no sense when you looked at the vegetable when it was matured. But the name was a perfect way to describe when the vegetable was still a small bulb. Still though, hearing this for the first time made me giggle slightly. Another growl coming from her direction made me shake my head, that ''''tree hardfruit'''' wasn''t going to cut it. I flipped the piece of meat on the sword with my knife to make sure it would be well done on both sides.

    Several minutes later I was pretty sure it was done but remembered what she had said earlier.

    ''''Do you think my venom would be rendered harmless by heat?''''

    ''''Not sure, haven''t run into anything like you, really.'''' She replied, eating the last few pieces.

    ''''I am not part of any race? What about the language we''re speaking?'''' I never actually considered the fact that maybe this language is called something differently entirely in this world. I honestly doubted it was called English here. To the credit of the British though, they did colonize a large part of Earth. Though, it would be hilarious to find out that the memes where Britain had colonized Mars with a 17th-century ship turned out to be true.

    ''''I don''t know, I just know I haven''t seen anything like you, maybe my father knows. As for language, we''re speaking new-Elven.''''

    She really didn''t seem like I talker but I did get some interesting info. I grabbed the sword which suddenly got her attention. I wasn''t sure if it was mistrust or a soldier''s reflexes.

    ''''You should have some proper food, if it''s okay for you to eat, is there any way you know?''''

    I decided to be a hospitable host, maybe she would be able to help out with a few of my... issues, clothes for example, I still had a pristine deer fur and now there were two dead wolves right outside my cave that would provide nice furs as well.

    She seemed to hesitate, before she shook her head.

    ''''I can''t tell, there is one way but it would require some of your... venom.''''

    That was an awkward statement, why would she need that? did she plan to use me as a bio-weapon?

    She pulled out a small leather bag from behind her and took out four small vials filled with colorful liquids, I could see a green one, a yellow one, a blue one, and a red one. Potions? Are those the famous mana and health potions? But what about the yellow and green ones? She seemed to hesitate between the blue and yellow one and decided to keep the blue one and put the other three back.

    ''''What''s that?" I asked curiously. If there were health potions in this world, maybe they could fix my arm. After thinking about it I felt my arm''s pain again. Odd, maybe I had gotten used to the pain and simply ''''forgot'''' it. Was that a thing?

    ''''Universal anti-venom, or rather it will be after I mix it with venom, I''d rather not use it freely but I''m so done with this day and that steak is calling to me with all its heart.''''

    I walked over to where I had put the venom-filled ''''hardfruit'''' and noticed the liquid had become brown instead of its usual lime green. That didn''t look good, seems it has an expiration date?

    ''''Uh, can I have one of your coconut shells? It seems the venom I had prepared earlier has gone bad, I think?'''' I somehow turned it into a question.

    ''''You mean the hardfruit? Sure, by the way, a few drops are enough.''''

    She handed me a piece of shell and started eying the steak. Yep, I could totally imagine her appetite.

    I awkwardly deposited a few drops of fresh venom in the shell, I was actually curious how this worked. You had some mixture, added a venom you wanted to neutralize and you got a cure for it? This would cause wars back on earth, and here this woman would use it to eat a steak.

    She uncorked the vial and used her knife to deposit a few drops inside. Once she did, she corked it again and started shaking the vial rapidly. When she finished, the liquid inside had turned from blue to orange. She drank half the contents and eagerly started working on the meat. I prepared another cut, laid it on the sword, and started cooking again. Valeriah seemed content and I decided to ask, hoping she would be willing to help a being such as me.

    ''''I''m pretty sure you noticed, but I got an arm that got smashed to pieces earlier, do you know anyone who could help with that?''''

    She swallowed before responding. ''''I have a minor healing potion, I doubt it will help you much, but someone back in my village could help you out, I kind of owe you, after all, I would sully my reputation if I didn''t pay it off.''''

    That sounded nice, but I was wary, I would rather not go to a village of people I didn¡¯t know, for obvious reasons. If all Elves were like her, I would stand little chance. She seemed to read my face.

    ''''However, I doubt you want to expose yourself like that. While I am thankful, I do not know if the other villagers will be so nice after they see you. So, I propose we try to persuade them to accept you first through other means.''''

    I thought for a moment, my arm hurt, but I wasn''t being torn to pieces by it anymore. Could I hold out that long? Would my bones not start healing in weird ways?

    ''''I could always get you some healing potions for the pain, but we don''t have the ingredients to make anything better than the one I have, I doubt it will do much in terms of actual healing.''''

    I sighed. I guessed something against the pain would be okay for now, I always had more arms after all...

    ''''So...'''' I started, ''''Something like trade first?''''

    ''''Sounds like a start.'''' She took another bite. Then, suddenly disregarding etiquette completely she went on to speak with a mouth full.

    ''''Also, do tell me about your world, I still have a hard time believing, convince me.''''

    The night that I was expecting to take long suddenly didn''t seem so bad anymore.

 1.7 A deal

    ''''Eh, long metal vehicles that transport tons of goods over long distances on metal roads that don''t require horses?''''

    I had just tried to explain what a ''''train'''' was. It was pretty hard to explain something that did not have any counterpart in this world. I had dubbed it an ''''iron horse'''' the same way as in our early history. but she didn¡¯t seem to grasp the idea. I decided to use old, steam trains as a way to explain the idea, electricity was not a thing yet but the power of steam was easy to understand. Let''s start with the basics before we move on to advanced things or she will never believe me.

    ''''Okay, so you got the front part that has something called an ''''engine'''', it pulls carts that are ''''chained'''' behind it. That front part produces the power to pull through burning wood or coal, it doesn''t use any actual animal to generate that power''''

    Velariah seemed fascinated but distant, as if she didn''t want to believe a word I was saying. It was a common issue; culture shock. One would not easily believe something that goes against everything they know, they would rather deny it or meet it with hostility... unless they were shown. Maybe I could show her something that would make her believe me? The question was, what was easy to show with the materials I had available?

    If history developed in the same way as on Earth, I would have to pinpoint exactly what era we are in. The problem was that the presence of magic could lead to either the invention of things I didn''t know, or may have caused the absence of certain scientific discoveries due to its unnecessity. Let''s see where they are at, starting economics

    ''''If your world is as I imagine it, I assume your village pays taxes to some larger entity?''''

    She looked at me with a frown.

    ''''Well, duh, how else would that work?''''

    ''''And what do these taxes consist of?''''

    ''''Coins, and trade goods we produce like hides, furs, crops, and lumber. We have several other things but these are our main sources of produce.''''

    Seemed pretty medieval alright. let''s dig a bit deeper.

    ''''I assume animal husbandry is nothing new, correct? Or do you get everything from hunting?''''

    ''''No, you''re right we have a wide variety of domesticated animals to take care of our most basic needs. Sheep, cattle, chickens, horses for transport.''''

    I thought about several things but came to a conclusion. It would be dangerous to share any info from my own world that could change the course of history.

    ''''Uhm, there is something you need to know about my world. You see, it appears we are far, far ahead of your age and I fear that sharing any info may cause wars. I do not intend to be the trigger for bloodshed, so I would ask of you that anything I share is to be kept secret.''''

    She seemed... angry? Was it because she didn''t believe me or because she wanted to know more?

    ''''I truly wish I could tell you more, but let''s just keep it at trade for now.'''' I paused before looking down at my makeshift bra. ''''Speaking of trade, I would like to get some proper clothes sometime soon, these are not exactly the most comfortable.''''

    ''''Alright.'''' she sighed, ''''let''s start with trade, I would happily get you some clothes in return for the wolves that you felled, I will try to get you some healing potions as well if you could give us some of that venom of yours, it seems quite potent.''''

    Somehow that didn''t sit exactly right with me, I mean the first part was a great deal. It¡¯s just that the venom part seemed a bit unethical to me as I had no idea what it would be used for. I was not planning to be turned into some kind of bio-weapon. I tried to renegotiate.

    ''''I am not feeling too happy about the venom part but I could throw in that unibelea pelt though.''''

    ''''Including the horn and antlers?'''' She asked.

    I hesitated for a moment, not knowing if they had some kind of insane value. Getting rid of this pain sure was an attractive prospect but I would be giving up something that I hoped was worth more. On the other hand, I would still have the venom as trade leverage for later and maybe... silk? I knew silk could bring in quite a dime back on earth if you had the expensive kind. I wondered how high the quality of mine was. If her village was able to process that into high-quality goods I would have to make sure not to get ripped off.

    ''''Deal.'''' I said after a long pause.

    I tried relaxing again but the pain in my arm flared up again which severely impeded my ability to do so. Velariah must have seen me struggling as she handed me the small yellow vial she held earlier.

    ''''What''s this?'''' I asked.

    ''''The potion I talked about earlier, what else?'''' she rolled her eyes.

    ''''Wait, healing potions are not red?'''' Immediately after saying that I remembered the potion she used to create the anti-venom, that one had been blue and wasn''t a mana potion, apparently. ''Damn you online games, you failed me too!''

    ''''Actually, never mind. Thank you.''''

    I had finally found some semblance of civilization but I didn''t know how to feel about it. It was nice having someone to talk to but I knew there were certain risks. Talking to Velariah had made me realize them all the more. I was an irregularity in this world possessing forbidden knowledge. I would have to be careful to not stand out too much. That being said I missed the luxury of Earth... Would I ever be able to go back?

    I was handed the potion and uncorked it before sniffing. What met my nostrils was a foul odor, it was impossible to describe but it triggered my gag reflex.

    ''''You''re supposed to chug it down, quick, you didn''t think potions would smell like cherries, did you?''''

    I actually had. I mean wasn''t that the idea of healing potions? Weren''t they supposed to taste like cherries? I mean, that''s why they were red, no? Never mind, this one was yellow, it completely screwed with my head. Damn this fantasy world, I want a refund.

    ''''It''s not actually a healing potion either, it''s more of a painkiller.'''' She provided some additional information.

    Heeding her advice, I pinched my nose and chugged down the horrible tasting liquid quickly. Almost immediately I found a warmth from my stomach spread throughout my body in a wave. When the wave reached my arm, I felt all the other ripples of the warmth going through my body flow towards my wounded arm. There, it concentrated into a fire that actually hurt for a second before the pain I felt before completely died down. Wow, that stuff was amazing, I''d have to be careful not to get addicted. I think the best way to prevent that was to get it fixed by someone she mentioned that sounded like a healer earlier, did she mean magic healer? Now I was curious.

    ''''So...'''' I broke the silence. ''''How will we do this trade of ours?'''' I asked as I reached over for another piece of meat that I had been steadily cooking and consuming as we talked.

    ''''If you don''t mind, I think the easiest way is to get this material to our village.'''' she looked up at me. ''''If you are more comfortable waiting outside the village, that''s fine. I can take the materials inside and come back with clothes and potions, or, if you want, I can look if one of our treemenders are available.''''

    I think I knew what the meant by that but she completed the meaning.

    ''''Our healers.''''

    ''''I figured.''''

    The outside had become darker, the moons disappeared beyond the horizon. For lack of anything to do other than wait I walked over and added more wood to the fire. I grabbed the bow that the human had used and handed it to the elf. ''Screw it, I want to know''. I deviated from what I had held myself to earlier and decided to spill the beans, how bad could this go?

    ''''So, remember what I said about my world? There being no sentient races other than humans? Well, elves exist in fiction and fantasy in our world. In those stories they are generally portrayed as great archers, is any of that true?''''

    A wide smile ran across her face. That wasn''t the reaction I was expecting bit it was a welcome surprise. It also was the first time I''d seen her smile, she seemed like a very serious person. Did she have to keep up some kind of fa?ade? She did mention her father earlier, was he some kind of big shot in their village? I would have to find out sometime, later, not soon. She stretched her arms and shoulders.

    ''''You got that right, alright. it''s widely known elven archers are the best. It wasn¡¯t for me though. But yeah, it''s interesting how they got that part right. I still don''t fully believe there is a thing such as another world though.''''

    ''''I know, I know. I will show you a couple things over time if things go well. Keep in mind though, this stays between us.'''' I reiterated.

    She placed a fist on her chest.

    ''''I swear it on my honor as a knight.''''

    That seemed awkwardly formal but I hope that meant she wouldn''t break the promise. I would hate for nations of this world to start tugging on my legs, even if I had eight now.

    ''''Also, this bow is flimsy, where did you get something as crappy as this?''''

    ''''Got it off some human that tried to kill me.'''' I shrugged, ''''No, I didn''t want to kill him, in fact I saved his life. Once it''s light outside watch for a troll body, I assume it''s a troll judging from my world''s description for it. I saved the human from that thing before he turned on me with this ''''flimsy'''' bow. Hit me in the shoulder too, the bastard.''''

    She glanced at my shoulder. ''''Explains the bandage. But yeah, this is nothing compared to a proper Elven bow.''''

    ''''It is worth anything, though?'''' I would probably be better off selling it, I had no idea how to handle a bow. I could probably fire an arrow, but in a world where archery is as widespread as this one, I doubt I would have any use for it, I would be outclassed by far too many people, it would be pointless to even try unless I got some kind of training.

    If fighting was necessary for survival, I should just stick to what I know and improve on that for the short term. Training my speed would probably be the best thing to do I could already see the speed at which I covered the distance to the human archer, with more experience I doubted anyone would be able to outrun me. If I combined that with a proper set of armor, I would be the ultimate ranged counter.

    This made me wonder how strong this body really was in terms of defense, the archer''s attack had simply ricocheted off of me earlier. I knew spiders had an exoskeleton, but it being strong enough to block arrows was new to me, what was the exoskeleton even made of? Was it simply because everything was enlarged compared to the normal creepy crawlies? It would make sense, but then again, I was not an entomologist. Wait, did they even cover spiders? A spider wasn''t an insect.

    ''Whatever'', I finally thought, right as my train of thoughts was interrupted by a laugh.

    For some reason Velariah was having a blast.

    ''''Not in our village no.'''' she continued laughing, ''''Perhaps as firewood, don¡¯t let anyone see you with this, lest you be laughed out the village.''''

    ''Okay then, never present a human made bow to an elf,'' I noted, leaning back again.

    ''''Probably a good idea.'''' she said, still grinning.

    That made me lean forward again, no rest for me it seemed.

    ''''Do you read minds or what?'''' I asked, trying to sound somewhat angry but my new, sweet voice wouldn''t allow me.

    This only made me more frustrated, intimidation wouldn''t come through my words, good thing I have other things that help with that. I mean I would rather just be normal, but I guessed being a normal human with this voice and no combat skills to speak of would not go well for me in this new world. Why did it have to be the most extreme of both sides of the isle? Stupid compromises.

    ''''No, I don''t, but your face is easy to read and you are utterly predictable. You''re lucky I was to exhausted and confused when I got here, I would probably have killed you out of pure instinct if I hadn''t been.''''

    ''''Wow, thanks so much for not killing me I guess.'''' I reacted with hypocrisy dripping like venom. This only caused her to laugh again.

    ''''No need to thank me. Actually, I''m happy I didn''t, you have proven to be... interesting.''''

    Was that a compliment? Or was I seen as some kind of tool? I wasn¡¯t sure. I sighed as I tried to relax against my abdomen yet again, hoping to make the time pass faster. Just waiting was boring, but not having to sleep tonight had turned out to be a blessing. I managed to proceed with another part of what I had been looking to do.

    Trade would allow me to build a relationship with people, hopefully I could convince them I wasn''t just any monster that needed to be exterminated to safeguard themselves. This was the most basic of diplomacy and could perhaps get me in touch with others too. I hoped nations were at least friendly to each other, if there were common enemies in monsters like trolls and goblins that was surely the case?

    ''''I would love a pillow.'''' I muttered quietly as I relaxed. I felt my long, messy hair getting all tangled with the black hair covering my behind and sighed.

    ''''And a comb.''''

    ''''That can be arranged.''''

    I was surprised she even heard what I had said. I concluded it had to be the ears.

    I sighed again, still leaning back. ''''Fine, what do you want for them.''''

    ''''You know what I want.''''

    ''''My venom? What do you intend to do with it?'''' I had to make sure she would not massacre a village before selling something so dangerous. My virtues crumbled to dust, I was surprised I was even considering trading it when I had vowed not to earlier. Comfortable sleep was an enticing prospect, and not having my hair all tangled and messy was a welcome addition.

    ''''Anti-venom.'''' she stated simply. ''''You see this?''''

    She held up the glowing orange vial of anti-venom she used earlier. I sat upright again, some of my hair still stuck to my spider parts. She sipped down some more and grabbed the piece of meat that had been slow cooking and took a bite. She started to get awfully brazen. The scared to death persona from before had completely disappeared. I nodded in response to her question.

    ''''You see, when you mix the base potion with a venom it will take on a color.''''

    That much I had seen before.

    ''''The resulting color is an indication of the quality. The redder the color the higher the quality, a red anti-venom potion can virtually neutralize any venom or poison. The resulting quality from low to high goes from blue to cyan to green to yellow to red. Since this is glowing orange, the quality is really, really high. You can''t get this quality anti-venom without adding a lot of expensive additions. You see why this venom had such value? You can create high quality potions without having to invest a lot of coin.''''

    So, there was a very sound reason behind it. I started thinking about it, but she continued.

    ''''Our village is regularly attacked by goblins, they don''t pose a major threat but they use nasty poisons created from rare plants that can be found in the caves where they live. in recent years, our village income has tanked and our combat supplies are running low, including the higher quality anti-venom potions. I would forever be grateful if you were to help out.''''

    Suddenly she appeared to be... begging? What happened to all the confidence she had shown earlier? Was that a fa?ade to try to have the upper hand in the trade? Was she afraid I was going to rip her off if I knew she desperately needed what I could offer? I wasn''t a monster, well, whatever.

    If I could help save people''s life so easily, I would probably have done it for free. It was sad that they were struggling like this but it allowed me to show my good side. If I knew my venom would be used for good instead of evil, I would have no ethical objections. I still couldn¡¯t run the risk of it being used behind my back so I decided to counteroffer.

    ''''Sure, I''ll help with that, on the condition that I have complete oversight over the process, ideally outside your village, I want to make sure it''s not used for other ends.''''

    ''''If you''re willing to help, it shall be so.'''' She put a hand to her chest again before bowing, which looked funny when done in a sitting position. The meat in her hands got a lock of hair in them which she then had to remove afterwards.

    If what she was saying was true, and it had the looks of it, it would also mean that killing me on sight would be detrimental to their village. Unless they found something else, I would be safe, even then, I doubted they would get rid of me. Diplomacy was complicated and I really wasn''t the kind of person to look into it deeply. I would rather spend my time and energy on other things. I hoped I would get somewhere with the basics of it in this world, for now it looked to be going in the right direction. An Idea sprung to mind.

    ''''Say Vel, do you have another one of those anti-venom potions?''''

    ''''The name''s Velariah, and I believe I do have one more, yes, why?''''

    Ok, so she wasn''t the person for nicknames, good to know, I guess.

    ''''I''d like to confirm what you said earlier, I want to take some of the poison in the unibelea and make some anti-venom.''''

    Her eyes grew wide for a moment but she nodded in understanding.

    ''''It''s a bit of a waste since they only produce cyan to teal potions but if you will help, it''s a small price to pay, the base ingredients for these potions are quite simple to get, anyway.''''

    She rummaged through her small pack and fished out another blue potion and handed it to me.

    ''''Be careful with that, it''s my last.'''' she grabbed the vial she used earlier which still had about a quarter orange liquid in it.

    ''''Besides this one, that is.'''' she said as the put it back in the pack.

    I moved over to the buck, knife in hand before realizing I had no idea where I would find the poison. She mentioned it was located in its meat but most of that was already missing, courtesy of my oversized lower body.

    ''''What is the best place to find the poison?'''' I asked, hoping her anatomy knowledge would help.

    ''''Right below the skin.''''

    I opened the animal again; the meat was still strikingly fresh. Refrigerator companies must hate them! I wonder what that one simple trick was that kept them fresh.

    I scraped off a bit of flesh from the inside of the skin, uncorked the vial and put whatever I had just scraped off inside. I corked it again and repeated the shaking Velariah had done earlier. Just like she had said, the color of the liquid turned from blue to a cyan color. Okay, so she was speaking the truth and apparently, I am valuable.

    ''''Here.'''' I handed her the vial, ''''I doubt I would need this.''''

    ''''Thanks.'''' She replied politely.

    I sat back in my relaxing position again.

    ''''You should get some sleep.'''' I said to the elf, knowing that she must still be exhausted even though she managed to hide it well.

    ''''I should, you better not kill me.''''

    I wasn''t sure if that was a joke or a threat.

    ''''And ruin my chance at meeting civilization? No thanks. You have also proven to be... interesting.'''' I repeated what she had said earlier, earning a suppressed laugh.

    I saw her make herself comfortable, as much as that was possible in a cave anyway. And I soon heard snoring coming from her. Yep, she had definitely been exhausted. I stretched my legs in the freakiest manner, not moving much had made them feel as if they were sleeping and it annoyed me. When that didn¡¯t work, I decided to walk around a bit outside.

    I saw the faintest glimmer of light rise above the trees telling me dawn would soon arrive. While walking around I bumped into one of the wolves still laying around. I decided to relocate both of them to the cave entrance, ready to be transported when the elf got her strength back. Thinking about transporting them, what would be the easiest way to get them to the elven village? Not only that, but they had large wounds that might ruin the fur if I transported them the same way I had the unibelea. For the buck I hadn''t minded since it had initially been mine, but these wolves were going to be traded, I couldn''t just drag them across the floor now, could I?

    I got to an answer fairly quickly, but I wasn''t sure if I actually liked it. Partly wrapping them up in silk would close the wounds and make them easy to transport. I got to the idea of using them as ''''saddle bags'''' so to say, connecting the both of them by a thick thread and then having them hang on each side of my behind. Yep, I was quickly transforming into a pack mule. I couldn''t believe it either.

    While I was at it, I should probably do the deer corpse as well, except that I didn''t dare to wake up Velariah. If she was already far too serious earlier, I didn''t dare to imagine how she would be like if she didn''t get any sleep. Her behavior so far was puzzling to me. From surprised to scared to steadfast as one would expect of a knight. But beyond that she went to intrigued to my story, to nonchalance, to serious, to distant, to pleading. I couldn¡¯t put my finger on it, I guess if she had been examined by psychologists, they would be sure to come up with several ''''diagnoses''''.

    Speaking about diagnoses, I would probably be far worse off. She was likely in shock and disbelief for meeting anything that was me right now. I had to go through the same except that it was me!

    Besides that, there was also the fact that this was her world, and she was used to it. I had to get accustomed to a new world, new environment, a time period which had fascinated me but had no experience of how to live in. New animals, new races, new languages. By the time they figured out what was wrong with me I would already be used to it making the case moot.

    I sure as hell hoped getting used to things would put my mind at ease, although I doubt my mind would find any rest until I truly knew what happened to me in my old life. I hoped my family was ok. I knew I had family, I knew I had friends, I just couldn''t remember them or their faces, history, anything.

    I grabbed one of the wolves before I realized that I had no idea what I was doing. I could go about this two ways: the creepy way, or the maybe not as efficient but less likely to cause me trauma way. I chose the latter.

    I walked back to the entrance and got down on the dry, stone floor mentally preparing for what was to come.

    ''Here we go again'' I sighed.

    I rolled over as quietly as I could, the freaky sounds of spider legs skittering across the stone floor was not loud enough to wake the elf but it enough to drive my mind crazy.

    I''m far too nice, I should cut that down.

    I tried not to think of anything while pulling silk out of somewhere but the feeling I got while doing that was undeniable proof that I was no longer just human. I was part human, yes, but I doubt any human would have to experience this super awkward feeling of string being pulled out of several orifices, unless they had severe physical implications perhaps.

    I managed to spin the silk into decent non sticky bandage like material (though it was really several smaller threads making a band) around my arms, I bet sleeping beauty would be proud to see I could spin so well.

    Thinking about sleeping beauty, the elf was a snorer, a loud one. It sounded like she was sawing down an entire forest in this cave with that kind of noise. Even if I had managed to sleep, she would have likely woken me up. Frustrated by the noise I went to work.

    After several minutes of pulling, I ended up with what I thought was enough ''''bandage'''' to close up the wolves and prepare them for transport. I wondered if maybe the other option would have been less awkward. What I meant with the other option was, of course, just doing this the way a spider cocooned its prey.

    Unfortunately, I had no idea how that worked and I kind of want to hang on to my humanity as much as I could, suddenly doing things another species would do didn''t sit right with me. I feared I would get too used to things and forgot who I was, am. I guessed I would have to use four legs to rotate my so called ''''prey'''' under my body while using the other four to stand? That sounded logical, I liked logic. I didn''t like spiders, or thinking like one, it scared me.

    With a makeshift bandage around my arms, I got to work on the first wolf. The bleeding had obviously stopped but moving it caused more to ooze out. I wrapped the silk around the wolf''s wound and a few times around its body, quite possibly turning it into a pi?ata. I repeated the same for the other wolf and turned it into a double pi?ata with a shared rope of silk that would allow me to easily transport them.

    I had a bit of silk left over and decided to see for myself how strong it actually was, I had not tested it yet, after all. I rolled up the silk to make a thicker thread and pulled on both ends. No matter how much force I applied I couldn''t get it to snap, or even expand. It turned out this thread wasn''t elastic at all, it was nothing to what I thought would compare back on Earth.

    I had always thought spider thread was elastic. I had heard it was stronger than iron if it had the same thickness, I had no idea if that was true but this stuff seemed indestructible at about 2.54 cm. I laughed at myself in my mind for avoiding the use of ''''inch'''' even though it would be much simpler in this situation, and possibly this world if they used the same measurements humanity did back on Earth in the medieval era. I had always preferred the metric system even though I was born and raised in the States, it made much more sense to my mind that preferred to find logic in all things.

    ''Okay, so let''s put this to a proper test.'' I thought as I skittered to the knife I had used earlier.

    I tried to make as little sound as possible but knew that no matter what I did it would be impossible to produce more sound than this sleeping elf. I soon found the knife and moved over to the exit again.

    Holding a piece of thread between two hands in front of me I grabbed the knife in my last remaining working hand and slashed at the thread. It wouldn''t budge, that was interesting. This knife had been fairly sharp, maybe I had dulled it too much in the short period I had had it? I wondered if cutting it would work. So, I tried cutting through my own silk, it wasn''t easy, but eventually I got through. Slashing it wasn''t going to do much, I should try this with a sword someday, for science obviously. After all, I had to know what I could do to survive, right?

    Thinking about why it was not elastic even though I had assumed it would be made me think about the way I had willed it into having certain characteristics earlier. When I had wanted it to be sticky it was sticky. When I did not want it to be sticky, it wasn''t. Maybe I needed to want it to be elastic for it to be that way? Would combinations be possible? Questions for which I wasn''t going to look for answers anytime soon.

    ''Maybe I would have to do it soon, for survival reasons obviously.''

    I would be lying to myself if I said I wasn''t at least a bit curious. I was rather curious but I really wasn''t planning to come to terms with what happened to me. I doubt I would ever be, but I could probably at least live with it. Give a girl some time alright?

    I finally had some time in which I had nothing to do. The elf was still sleeping, I had water, some coconuts, even some alcohol. I doubted I would need to eat anytime soon considering I had literally eaten kilos of meat within a day.

    If we were leaving in the morning, I wouldn''t need any more wood than I already had. I felt a bit sad having to leave the coziness of the fire behind me when we travelled to the elven village, I was not looking forward to starting a new one. My mind was bewildered with the idea of the tree menders that Velariah had mentioned earlier. From what I had heard I would assume they used magic, I doubted any medieval surgery was going to get my arm working properly again.

    If healing magic was a thing, then fire magic was certainly a thing, right? I wondered if I could learn magic. For someone whose life was not filled with anything specific, magic would be something they could only dream of. Making a fire would be a breeze. Maybe I could use nature magic and grow watermelons or other fruits? Or maybe water magic to cool off people who got angry with me.

    Actually, maybe that was a bad idea, I imagined it would make things worse. The other thing that shot to mind was wind magic, maybe I would be able to fly? Imagine the sight of that, a huge flying spider ambushing from the sky. Never mind, scrap that, that was horrible. The idea of huge spiders flying and jumping at people made me shudder throughout my entire body. I was glad they didn''t exist back on Earth, well, maybe they did in Australia. I wholeheartedly hoped there wasn''t a continent filled with the world''s creepiest and deadliest animals on this world.

    What was this world anyway? I still didn''t know the name. The elf had not shared any information regarding this world not any info on her village''s name. I would have to ask that when she woke up.

    Doubt started to creep into my mind about this whole ordeal. She seemed like a decent person, stubborn but honest, I hoped I was right but it wouldn''t hurt to know more before travelling to her village. Cursing myself for not being logical about things I ''''''sat'''' down near the campfire again. Sitting was a big word. I basically put down the middle segment of my body on the floor, the chitin of my body segment where all my legs were connected to didn''t seem to allow the cold to permeate where I could feel it. My fangs were stretched out in front of me, even though I couldn''t feel much, having them tucked under my body felt uncomfortable.

    With nothing to do but wait, I started playing around with my pedipalps. Poking the burning wood to see if the heat would affect me turned out to have interesting results to say the least. While the heat would not burn or hurt me, it did burn away the hairs on the appendages.

    Those were not important, were they?

    Still feeling fine, I decided that they weren''t. I also figured out I could grab smaller things with the small claws at the end. That was kind of creepy but it could prove useful in the future. Maybe they would be able to hook into things that I would normally not be able to grip? I was thinking about walls, it seemed my legs had no problems scaling the rocks of the cave with my legs before.

    I absent-mindedly tapped the floor softly with one of my pedipalps as I was lost in thought with nothing to do but wait.

    Another world, huh? Wonder if it''s anything like the games I''ve played.

    I thought of nothing for a few seconds before realizing I made a rookie mistake. If this was truly another world with fantasy creatures (myself not included, that couldn''t be fantasy, it was a nightmare creature) maybe it had some kind of levelling or a system? I cursed at myself for being so stupid, all kinds of profanity shot through my mind. I would really have to work on keeping that down around others. Why did I never try to invoke the system that you get tossed to death with in anime and clich¨¦ fiction, it couldn''t hurt to try right?

    ''STATUS'' I declared loudly in my head. Nothing happened. Ugh, please don''t tell me I actually have to say it out loud? Please don''t let this be a world where all the spells are called out mid combat as well like the most clich¨¦ anime battles ever. If I had to look at people calling out fireballs and ice shields and wind gusts and whatnot I would probably die of embarrassment.

    ''''Status'''' I murmured firmly but quietly as to not wake the woodcutter not far from me. Honestly, why was I even trying to not wake her, there was no way that would happen anyway.

    I heard a clinking sound, and visualized a key being turned into a keyhole to unlock an old door. It seems that actually did something. I was not sure whether to be happy about landing in one of those worlds where you would actually have to call our stuff, that just seemed rather ineffective to me and honestly, it made you look like an idiot. At least it did in my opinion.

    Nothing. Nothing happened. I had waited for whatever process was going on to play out but nothing happened. What was that sound before? Something must have happened.

    ''''Status'''' I tried again.

    I heard a clunk again but this time it clearly came from inside the cave. I looked over to Velariah and noticed she had toppled both iron canteens with a hand that was stretched all the way above her head as she was laying on the floor. This elf was going to be the end of me, I swore. My heart could only bear so much.

    ''''Status, Menu, Info, Character, Player, Inventory, Skills, Abilities, Options'''' I tried many things I could think about that could be a trigger for any system in place that would recognize them as such. I tried, tried, and tried some more but none of the words I thought or uttered yielded any response.

    ''''Great, so, different world, no system, no cheat skill to speak of, unless you count the fact that I seem to be great at angering people into shooting at me even after saving their lives. No people that I knew or trusted. Humans spoke a language that I didn''t know. Reincarnated as a monstrous spider thing and probably dead soon because of that. What an amazing and epic story.'''' I sputtered in sarcasm.

    Yep, I would have to do everything myself it seemed, no external power to help or rely on. At least I had one elf that hadn''t tried to kill me, yet.

 1.8 Goodnight Saibon

    My disappointment had mostly abated by morning. By that time the elf''s heavy snoring had also been reduced to a normal peaceful sleep. She was still in the most awkward position on the stone floor with one arm leaning against the wall and the other stretched across the floor as if reaching for the canteen with alcohol. I couldn''t blame her. Her hair was an absolute mess. I wondered how she was going to fix that. She did promise me a comb earlier, did she have one with her? I had considered to check but then I remembered her cold attitude from yesterday at some point and decided against it. Besides, rummaging through another person''s belongings was plain rude. So, I let it slide and waited patiently until she woke up.

    I had already added some wood to the fire and hoped the elf would wake up soon. I was getting impatient and it was already light outside. Dawn had come about an hour ago, I knew the days had long sunlight but we had a fair bit of travelling ahead as far as I could tell. The sooner we got to the village the better, I had no idea what other creatures called this forest their home.

    Right as I was thinking that I saw a long pink something flicker in my peripheral vision coming from the right side of the entrance. I quickly peeked over and saw the white snout of a snake peeking back at me. It was far larger than the snout of any snake that I (and most likely my grandma) knew about, its head was as large as mine and it started to move more than just its head around the corner. A huge white albino snake was moving its way towards me and I stepped back out of fear.

    ''''Velariah!'''' I shouted.

    When that didn''t wake her up as fast as I wanted her to, I took hold of her armor with the front four of my legs and shook her until she stood up in full alert. She looked at me in shock and I pointed at the snake, unable to put my fear into words as I saw the monstrosity draw ever closer.

    I grabbed my spear and prepared for the worst. This thing could probably eat the both of us and still have space left over for dessert. When Velariah didn''t draw her weapon, my jaw dropped. Was there no way for us to win this and did she simply accept the fact that she would be eaten? What the crap elf? at least fight! I would not be going down without one.

    "Chill out, it''s just an iobgnol.''''

    As if I had any idea what that meant. And why would I have to chill? That thing was going to eat me!

    ''''They are extremely docile and never attack any humanoid creature. Not even in self-defense.''''

    That was at least some relief, but still, what was it doing here invading my home like this?

    ''''It is said that when they approach humanoids one can gain a blessing by offering them food'''' She continued calmly. Letting the snake get closer, she stretched out her arm and let the creature lick it. What an odd display.

    Not wanting to be turned into the first ever victim of a so called ''''iobgnol'''' I quickly grabbed the knife and dug inside what remained of the unibelae. I searched around in the inner organs and decided to cut out the heart. If anything, that would make for a great offering, right? I hoped that would satisfy the overly large serpent, even though the heart was about as big as its head.

    This blessing better include that creature not eating me.

    With one otherworldly deer heart in hand, I turned to see Velariah petting the snake and running her hand across its white glimmering scales. The creature seemed content with the affection it was getting until it saw me holding out the moist heart next to its face. It opened its jaws wider than the normal person would think a snake can open its mouth. Fortunately, I was completely unfazed by the scenario playing in front of me. Thanks grandma.

    It took in the heart and I retracted my hand. The iobgnol waited until my hand was out of the way before it closed its jaws and gulped it down. After it had consumed the heart, it moved its head to my hand to give it a quick flick of its forked tongue before it turned around and slithered out the same way it had come in, its huge body following behind.

    I couldn''t believe what I was seeing, the snake was leaving but its body behind its head was still entering my cave while its head had already gone the opposite way! how big was this thing really? This creature would legit be considered a dungeon boss by any game terms!

    Seeing the danger dissipate my heart slowed down to its normal rhythm. I bet I was being laughed at from heaven by a certain family member who would have loved to meet this creature. That''s when I realized that I had no idea if she was actually still alive. Stupid migration sickness. Let''s call it that.

    ''''You really aren''t from this world, are you?'''' the elf asked while I was still looking at coils entering and leaving the cave right after, there seemed to be no end to this snake.

    ''''You finally believe me now?'''' I couldn''t believe this girl. Had it not been obvious before when I explained about things in my world she could never even dream of? Seriously, she was dense as a rock.

    ''''I think I do, I''m sorry about yesterday. I should have believed you, I just didn''t know if it was my mind playing tricks on me from exhaustion.''''

    Ok, fair point, but still.

    With the peril of the monster gone I sat down next to the fire trying to warm my body that had been chilled by fear earlier. The flames hypnotized me as I finally regained my composure and wits. Velariah seemed amused by my antics as she had a smile on her face while looking at the snake depart. I wondered if anything about the blessing part was true, I could use some blessings in this world for sure.

    The elf then eyed the double wolf saddlebag/pi?ata and walked over to it with a frown. She kneeled down to one of the wolves and poked the silk with a finger before looking back at me. What was she doing?

    ''''This your work?'''' she asked.

    I nodded.

    ''''I figured it would make transporting easier.''''

    She continued to poke the silk, stroke it and took some between her fingers going all over the texture. Seeing her work her hands over something that came from my body really made me feel uncomfortable. Was she doing this on purpose?

    ''''This stuff is amazing, it''s extremely sturdy, yet light.'''' she was doing this on purpose.

    She turned around with a wicked smile on her face. This could not be good.

    ''''How did it feel?''''

    ''WHAT THE HELL?'' I screamed in my mind. She was definitely doing this on purpose. What was wrong with her? I could feel my face flush red from the question. I would scrap the idea of wrapping up whatever was left of the unibelea and just have her carry it. It was her problem now, she bought it after all, I''d done enough.

    She grinned wickedly. This woman was evil, I was sure of it.

    I just stood there with my mouth full of teeth before she continued.

    ''''I was just kidding, nice thinking, it will surely make things... less messy. You planned on doing the same for the unibelea?'''' she looked at me with hopeful eyes and a serious expression.

    Evil, but look at those puppy eyes.

    ''''I mean, I was going to, I figured transporting a half-eaten corpse would be extremely messy, but now I''m not so sure.''''

    ''''No, no, that sounds like a great idea actually. Besides...'''' She touched the silk covering the wolf''s wound again, making me cringe.

    ''''This stuff looks like it could have some serious value in our village, I already have a few ideas in mind, it would be worth exploring the options.''''

    Hey, what the hell are you talking about. I am the one producing that stuff. Do I get to have any say in what you plan to do with MY silk?

    ''''That is, if you are okay with it, of course.'''' she said after she noticed the look in my eyes.

    Ah, so I did get a say in this, that was good to know.

    ''''Uh, let''s talk about that some other time, you can experiment with the thread around the wolves all you want. Now if you''ll excuse me, I''ll turn this deer creature into a nice handbag.''''

    As I was dragging the creature over the stone floor of the small cave, leaving a small trail of blood behind, I was thinking about what Velariah had said. Back on earth I remembered there was this meme on the internet where people would go to the toilet at work because technically, they would be paid to poop. I imagined for many people getting paid to do just that would be a dream.

    Yet here I was in a situation where I could possibly make a living by pushing stuff out of my butt and it left me conflicted. How did I get myself into this situation again? Wait, that''s right I didn''t bring this on myself. What did I do to deserve this? Whatever it was, it was probably bad, and whatever god put me in this position must not have liked it and was probably laughing their ass off right now.

    The unibelea had been laid down on the grass and I was frantically trying to reach the other end of my body with my arms while standing. While I could turn my behind left or right slightly it did not turn out to be enough to be able to reach the spinnerets. I really was not going to do this the same way I did before, not with Velariah who was eying me from beside the campfire with a little too much interest.

    Thinking about a way to get this done without completely making a fool of myself I found a solution in a tree with a strong looking, low hanging branch. I dragged the corpse through the now dried grass and put it down next to the tree. Then, I put my spinnerets against the tree and walked a few meters creating a thick thread. As I pulled the thread from the trunk, I saw the elf walking over to me, her armor clinking with each step she took. Her curiosity was really unnerving.

    I saw my plan had worked, at least so far, the first part of the thread had sticked to the tree just nicely while the rest was dry and non-sticky. For the next part I planted my front legs into the tree and tossed the thread over the branch and grabbing it. I basically had turned the branch into a pulley which enabled me to pull thread of my abdomen without having to get in the most embarrassing position I have ever assumed.

    On to the next part of the plan. I had been clean with where I cut the unibelea''s pelt, only making a large incision running along its belly starting from its throat. I was thankful for my anticipation of having to use or trade the pelt, it made my job a lot easier now. The thread of silk was attached to slightly before the incision began and I started my work. Velariah just stood there, staring at what I was up to. This beast was a fair bit larger than the wolves and perhaps a bit too much to handle on my own. Instead of watching, having her help would actually made this ten times easier.

    ''''Velariah, a little help here, please?''''

    ''''What do you want me to do?'''' She asked. A puzzling look was in her eye as if she had no idea what I was trying to do.

    ''''Just grab the antlers and pretend this thing is a rotisserie chicken.''''

    She still didn''t seem to know what I mean but when I grabbed the animal''s behind, lifted it and started turning it around it seemed she got the idea. I was getting the hang of this spider thread business. Speaking about hanging, my behind was actually slightly elevated as the thread was pulled out and Velariah was enjoying the sight of it, judging from her far too broad smile when looking that direction.

    ''''Hey you pervert, stop staring at my ass and move your hands unless you want those wrapped up too.'''' I said half-jokingly, half-serious.

    She quickly moved her hands back from the last part of the incision as I finished wrapping up my ''''prey''''. My god, these weird terms kept getting into my brain. I had to admit it was kind of funny but so, so disturbing.

    I stopped producing silk and the thread snapped. It almost slapped her in the face. That was unlucky I guess, I would have liked to see her punished for her incessant staring. If she was so fascinated by my biology how about she tries living like this herself, huh?

    ''Hey weirdo gods, if you''re listening, please make this weird elf live like me for a day, thank you very much.''

    ''''Alright, that about does it.'''' I stated when we finished our work.

    I stretched my arms, well the three that I could. My one shattered arm was still hanging limply by my side, unable to be controlled. The pain had somewhat returned, but it was more of a whining pain than sharp pain. It was nowhere as bad as before; this I could live with, at least for a while. It was then, when she was standing right next to me that I noticed our height difference.

    She was a slender woman and certainly tall for Earth''s standards but I easily stood a head taller than her thanks to my legs adding to my height. I guessed I could lower my human torso further but that would make walking extremely uncomfortable as it really strained my legs. I could do it, but not sustain it for long. And then I would look like an idiot. Is that how guys felt when sucking in their bellies when attractive women passed by?

    I asked Velariah about her village while dragging and dropping the deer next to the wolves. It was called Dawnleaf and bordered on this forest. Apparently, the village was on the border of the elven kingdom but an important hub for travelers and adventurers crossing the borders and going into this forest. If that was true, I had been lucky to run into her first before running into well geared adventurers who would have seen me as some kind of boss monster.

    Their income consisted mostly of farming and lumber as she mentioned before but the travelers and adventurers also brought in a fair amount of coin, especially when they had completed a well-paid mission and were looking to waste it on liquor. It turned out that elven beer in this word was top notch, rivalling that of dwarves.

    Good to know that dwarves were a thing in this world. Seemed this world held up at least a couple stereotypical fantasy world tropes, even when most of them turned out to be false. It was enough to not drive me insane, at least. Or maybe I already was, I just didn''t know it yet.

    She seemed hesitant to really tell me much more about herself other than the fact that she was a knight-in-training but would be adventuring herself soon. She had used the knight training to get comfortable with a sword and armor while exploring the neighboring forest to gather ingredients to help out to pay for additional equipment that were not provided by the elven military. She was looking ahead, I admired that. At least she wouldn''t be one of those level one adventurers in anime that just rushed in blindly, not knowing how to handle a sword properly and then dying to the first actual danger.

    Well, adventuring was a thing at least. I imagined something like guilds would probably be a thing as well, not that I would get into one, anyway. Maybe they would have one of those classic adventuring boards or whatever they were called where quests would be posted. Maybe there were adventurer ranks as well? I remembered something regarding the soldier I was forced to kill earlier and I walked over to the grave I made just to be sure. I took the tag in my hand and beckoned the elf over.

    ''''Can you read what this says?'''' I asked. In reality I was more interested in knowing if there was some kind of classification of strength in this world but it felt rude to ask straight out, especially over a corpse.

    She kneeled down to inspect the tag I held in my palm.

    ''''I have no idea, I do not speak the human language. All I can read about this tag is that whoever this was, he was a mid-rank iron  Archer.''''

    Okay, the archer part was clear to me from the silver bow icon but what was the rest she said? mid-rank Iron, what did that mean?

    ''''Mid-rank Iron?" I inquired.

    ''''Oh, I forgot you''re not from around here.'''' she had a sly smile. I swear this woman could have been a next level internet troll back on Earth. Maybe I should not tell her about the concept of being able to speak to everyone in the world, no matter where they were, yet.

    ''''Mid-rank Iron means that this guy was in the mid-tier of the Iron Rank branch. Each branch is divided into three tiers, low, mid, high. One progresses to the next branch after proving their worth in combat on missions and quests. Clearing out dungeons also gets you a fair deal of progress towards the next tier. After advancing to the high tier one can take on quests that are classified as the next higher branch and successfully completing that will place you in the low tier of that branch.''''

    The flood of information continued as my poor brain was still trying to process all that.

    ''''The branches from low to high are Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Ruby, Diamond and Black, also known as Abyss but that rank is unattainable for most people, only three people alive today as classified as Black, and they are all in the low tier. The last mid-tier Black warrior died just three years ago and the world hasn''t seen a high-ranked Black adventurer in at least two decades.'''' It appeared she had finished.

    I was still processing all of that. That sounded like the kind of world I was used to from fiction and fantasy alright. Adventurers and ranks. Also, the dungeon part had been interesting. The call of adventure tugged at me even though I knew it would be dangerous. It seemed completely irrational to put your life on the line yet I always enjoyed the things regarding adventure in games.

    On multiple occasions had I thought it would be interesting to live in a world like that. Never had I imagined the day would actually come where I could do whatever I did in games before. The idea of exploring dungeons and searching treasure was slowly getting to me and I hated it. I hated doing illogical things. After all, it would seem I was in a position where I could live a fulfilling life selling venom and silk, two things for which I would hardly have to put in any kind of effort. Ugh, the conflicting emotions were killing me.

    I was a stranger in this world. I knew for any proper transmigrated protagonist that would mean that they were going to aim to be the best and all that kind of bullshit and reach that shiny Gold Black rank eventually but that was something I could scrap from my list pretty quickly. Since I had no cheat skill to speak off, plus being a monster meant that was probably way out of reach for me, besides I would probably need years if not decades of training with weapons to even get to diamond or something.

    My priority right now seemed to steer towards making acquaintances with the elves, trade with them and get on their friendly side. I would love to have my arm fixed and if I could get some friends, or at least get friendly with people, I hoped I would be able to get asylum so I would not have to sleep in a cold cave when winter arrived. Small steps at a time were going to be the best course of action for now.

    I released the tag and stood back at my full height. I asked what Velariah''s rank was.

    ''''I don''t have a rank yet, remember? I am not officially an adventurer, yet.''''

    ''''So, then this guy was an adventurer and not a soldier or what?" I was confused, or maybe my view of him was plain wrong. I had been convinced earlier he was a soldier but the lines seemed a bit vague.

    ''''Dunno, could have been both, he did at least complete an adventurer''s entry trial to get that tag.''''

    I looked at her wondering what an entry trial consisted of. Did they have one of those fancy balls that you placed your hand on and then measure your power or something similar? Would this be where it was revealed I had insane amounts of power and shattered the ball? I humored the thought, that troll had been tough earlier. There would be no shattering magic crystal balls anytime soon.

    ''''The trial is nothing dangerous, really. You will spend a day sparring with established adventurers and your initial rank will be based on your performance.''''

    Ok so no crystal ball. It seems I would have to win some fights against silver ranked adventurers to get placed in that branch. I would at least be able to do that right? Please don''t tell me I would be one of those copper side characters. This human had been iron and all in all, I beat him quite easily. Though, I guessed using my venom would go beyond the ''''sparring'''' concept. And I had almost no experience with weapons besides a little bit of experience with this low-quality spear. Jeez, this trial was clearly not designed for the likes of me, how unfair.

    ''''Well then, seems nothing for me. What about that guy over there?'''' I pointed over my shoulder to the troll corpse a few meters away.

    ''''Since I doubt the trial would be any good for me, can''t I just take that guy as proof and maybe get some rank? The goal of adventurers is to kill monsters, right? Any chance I can get a head start?''''

    I figured if I could at least get one of those tags it would keep me safe from other adventurers who would see me as an enemy. I had no intention of killing them so I doubted I would qualify as a monster in that regard. Besides my nightmarish body I was still me!

    Velariah hadn''t minded the body at all, neither had I as I was occupied with other things up until now. Besides, it''s not as if I was going to bother burying such a large creature. Added to that was the fact that it literally wore human skulls as trophies, anyone doing that didn''t deserve the respects that I would normally have for the dead.

    ''''You mentioned a troll yesterday, seems you weren''t messing around. You did that?''''

    I nodded.

    She walked over to the corpse and put her hands on it, preparing to turn it around.

    ''''I wouldn''t do that if I were you.'''' I warned her, remembering what had happened to its face. I was glad it had died face down so I wouldn''t have to look at the result of my deadly special attack that I dubbed ''''venom toss''''. Very original, I know.

    ''''If you want that head start, I would have to at least make sure that you killed this thing and those cuts on its back and legs were not lethal. How did you kill this guy if I may ask?''''

    ''''Well uhm, I basically soaked his face in venom, if you want to make sure of it, be my guest, but don''t say I didn''t warn you.''''

    I took a few steps back and positioned myself behind her so that I couldn''t possibly see its face. I kind of knew what reaction would be coming from the elf soon.

    ''''I don''t easily believe that would kill a troll but then again, I couldn''t believe my anti venom turning orange either, let''s see here...''''

    She didn''t manage to roll over the being''s heavy body so she settled on lifting its head to get a look if what I had said was true. I gritted my teeth as I saw her drop the head back onto the grass and reached for her mouth with her hand.

    I had warned her. Even from the distance I could see her face run pale as she quickly turned around.

    ''''Believe me yet?''''

    She nodded, still covering her mouth. I couldn''t help but grin in the same way she grinned at me before. Served her right.

    She was very quiet after that, silently packing her belongings, strapping the small pack around her waist, sheathing her sword that was still on the floor. In the meantime, I had created some more rope like thread to fasted our haul to my behind, out of sight of course. I let her eat the remaining coconuts and only drank some water from the soldier''s canteen.

    After a short toilet break for Velariah, we loaded the wolves and the unibelea onto my spider abdomen and secured it with the extra threads I made. Velariah made sure it was fastened properly like when you used lashing straps to secure your cargo on a trailer. Never thought I would be transporting goods like this. I never thought my behind would actually manage to carry it without issue either. Seems whatever muscles kept it off the floor were mighty strong.

    We added the knife, coin purse and the canteens in her leather pack. She reacted to the coin purse professionally, not asking how I got it. I carried my axe, sword and spear with me. I had given the ''''flimsy'''' bow to the elf who had reluctantly accepted it and strapped it to her back. I had a hard time getting rid of it after all. Maybe I could use it to train some archery if nothing else. I was fairly certain I looked like a proper dungeon boss right now. I for one would be scared to death if a spider monster showed up in front of me in a forest like this wielding a different weapon in three hands. Damn, if only I had my fourth.

    At least they had no clue that I had no idea how to swing a sword but I would at least look intimidating to lesser monsters like the goblin I ran into earlier. Although, to be fair, he didn¡¯t really seem like a monster to me and he hadn''t come back with ''''friends'''' to slay me for my loot. Well, if he tried now, he would find the cave empty except for some wood.

    I double checked whether I had everything that I possessed and then I double checked again. Even though I didn''t have much, the paranoia of forgetting something was still strong within me. I always did the same when exiting my apartment after all, never forgetting my phone or keys because of it. I walked around the small cave only leaving the pile of wood and a blood stain that dripped down the wall where I had hit my head against the rock behind.

    ''''How far was Dawnleaf again? I asked as I exited the cave for the last time.

    Velariah was outside trying to fix her messy hair as best she could with her hands. It appeared she didn¡¯t have a comb as I had hoped, bummer.

    I laid down my weapons and tried to do the same although I doubted it would have any use in this forest. If we walked through densely grown vegetation anything would just undo it. Working on my own hair, I asked her why she didn¡¯t wear hers in a pony tail, having it long and loose like her seemed quite impractical when swinging around a sword. Her answer had something to do with it being considered dishonorable for someone of her likes to so something like that to her hair.

    That made absolutely no sense to me. What did your hair have to do with that? Was she someone of high status or something? She surely didn''t behave that way, at least not as of late. In the beginning I did get the impression she had to keep up appearances but that faded away after we talked and today.

    Wait, was she some kind of princess? No way, nobody would leave anyone like that to fight or adventure, would they? I was lost. This whole world so far had made no sense besides following a couple things that I had seen in fiction and games. I would not be one to judge based on beliefs as strange as they may be, this was another world after all. I still couldn''t believe it, but any glance down or behind me would always snap me out of it and confirm my fears.

    ''''About half a day''s walk east.'''' she pointed in the direction that would be direct left of when you exited the cave that had served as my shelter so far.''''

    ''''We should reach it before evening.'''' Well, wasn''t she optimistic? The ''''should'''' in her sentence sounded ominous to me. I had this nasty feeling that this would not go exactly as planned, no idea why, but I had.

    After paranoia me checked one last time whether we had everything we set out east, leaving the troll corpse and the cave behind. Whoever would need it next was going to be lucky to have wood prepared for them.

    This part of the forest had quite a bit different vegetation from the part I had explored so far. The ground was filled with low brushes and roots and the Elf was visibly struggling trying to keep up with the pace she had set for herself. I on the other hand had no trouble passing through even if my movements were not optimal for a spider. I was still using the two legs at a time walking strategy which I would have to fix eventually.

    We also came across a few more animals that were nothing short of extraordinary, at least for me. In a large open space that we came across we found several bearded dragons sunbathing on a couple flat rocks that were spread throughout that area. Now, it appeared they were some of the more harmless critters of this forest. They just sat there, chilling, shifting colors from green to brown to red and whatnot. Yep, I had no idea why but it seemed they had chameleon genetic material in their bodies. I was quite disappointed to not get a longer look at them, I would have loved to see if they were going to assume even more vibrant colors but Velariah kept going at a faster pace through this open area, it seemed she had to make up for the time she lost earlier.

    Did I mention that they have six legs yet? It made them look even more exotic than they would already be by default and I am sure that collectors back on earth would have paid fortunes for such creatures. I silently hoped they had some cheat skill to prevent them from ending up in a greedy king''s zoo or something similar. My experience with animals so far in this world iwas that they probably had.

    Not long after exiting the open space we walked through even more roots and prickly bushes which, by the way, did not have any effect on me besides feeling them. Yay for chitin, I guess. There were stinging nettles mixed in between and I was happy to not have my legs stinging from touching them.  I mean, I could still feel them through the hair on my legs apparently. I had to admit that it felt extremely awkward, like someone continually scraping a comb against it. I had no other way to describe it, they were far too sensitive. What did I need those hairs for anyway?

    A few minutes later we came across a small stream of crystal-clear water. About a meter wide, water flowed rapidly in one direction. I pondered over the fact whether it would have been better to find this water instead of the coconuts since this had been far closer. I concluded that the coconuts had actually been a better find, I was able to get this spear because of it after all. And, I was pretty damn sure I would find another use for those weird coconuts later. I wondered if Ice cream was a thing in this world. If not, I would definitely try to make some.

    A few fish were seen swimming downstream and I wondered if we should try to catch any.  When I asked about it Velariah answered me that she would be fine, they would have something when she got to the village. She really didn''t seem like someone slacking off, did she?

    The water was fairly shallow and, according to Velariah, cold. She was shivering on the other side after the water only got to her knees. I wouldn''t know. Temperatures weren''t an issue for my legs, which in this case turned out to be useful. On the other hand, a nice hot bath had always been a treat for me. It was painful to acknowledge that I most likely wouldn''t ever feel that way again, that is, assuming I still fit in a bathtub. I doubted I would. Maybe I could still get my upper body in one and leave my legs hanging off the sides? Yikes, that was a weird mental image.

    While I was crossing a duck came over to me, apparently interested by my legs and started pecking one of them. Before I could shoo it away Velariah halted me with her voice.

    ''''Don''t move.'''' she said calmly but firmly.

    Oh no, oh no, this wasn''t one of those creatures, was it? I mean it was just a normal white duck what was it going to do? Bite me?

    I shouldn''t have thought that. I should not have thought that. The moment I did, it opened its beak to reveal huge sharp teeth. I was frozen in fear of this animal that I had promptly dubbed a ''''murder duck''''. Seeing those teeth reminded me of an older comedy movie where a brave group of knights got slaughtered by a rabbit with ''''huge sharp teeth''''. Fortunately, this duck did not seem aggressive, rather, it was just curious. It bit down on some of the hairs on my legs and ripped them out without any effort. Auch, that stung. Stupid duck.

    When it swam away, I could see huge claws under its body through the clear water. They were claws like the ones one would find on a dragon. That is, considering dragons actually existed. They were complete with large nails at the end of them that could easily rip apart a person''s flesh if enough force was applied, and considering Velariah found it necessary to warn me, I expected it would possess enough strength to do so.

    Seriously, how did that duck even swim with dragon like claws? isn''t that that the webbed feet were for? Damn you biology, you have also failed me!

    The duck apparently delighted in my pain as it quacked contently while swimming off with what I assumed would be nesting material. I couldn''t believe I was being salvaged to form a duck''s nest. What a joke. Velariah''s giggling only made it worse. Damn that elf. I could have died, you know?

    Now would have been a perfect time to be able to shoot webs out of my hands. I would have made her fall in the icy cold water. Why was this world so cruel to me?

    Ignoring her good mood, I moved on to land again. I prayed that duck was going to be the most dangerous creature we would meet today.

    About three hours later in which nothing much happened, I regretted thinking that. I should honestly stop jinxing myself like that. Right now, we were on the run for a very, very angry boar. Not only was it at least four times the size of any boar I knew in height alone, but it had huge tusks that looked like they would pierce our armor without any issues. Well, Velariah was the only one with actual armor, I doubted whether an exoskeleton and some shabby coconut bra would pass as armor. Once again, this boar had to have some characteristics that would set it apart from the ones on earth. Besides the unusual size that is. A boar that was taller than me was quite frightening.

    On its black back grew what looked like a bonsai tree. How it got there was a mystery to me. What it was doing there even more so. After it didn''t seem to give up on chasing us after minutes of running my big brain came up with a high IQ move, or so I thought, at least. I asked the elf to draw its attention and run in circles around the nearby trees.

    The boar seemingly had a low enough intelligence to fall for the simplest trick in the gaming world, ''''Taunt''''. Though, I do have to admit Velariah played her part well. I had kind of been expecting questions or objectives but I was happy she obliged immediately. I was in no position to run much longer with the weight on my back dragging me down.

    While the beast was distracted, I quickly stuck sticky thread to a nearby tree at about half a meter off the ground. I rapidly ran to a close by tree and ran around it, spanning a trip wire. Since I doubted just one line would be enough to stop such a massive animal, I ran several laps around the two trees, almost creating a tennis net as I did so. I got to admit it wasn''t easy to do this when you were fully packed and loaded with cargo but I somehow managed to pull it off, although slower than what I''d ideally liked. Velariah had noticed what I was doing but was quickly getting tired from what I could hear when she yelled at me.

    ''''How much longer do you need?'''' she asked, completely worn out.

    ''''I''m done, go for it, remember to jump.''''

    ''''With this armor? Are you kidding me? Running is one thing but jumping is something else entirely.'''' she spat back in disbelief.

    ''''Well, you can always try rolling under it, I guess.'''' I shrugged, not sure if she could see me.

    A few seconds later she appeared out of the bushes, the boar still chasing her, and made her way to my trap. She seemed to have taken my advice to heart as she managed to handedly roll under the threads, then continued rolling for a few meters knowing damn well she wouldn¡¯t be safe right behind the trap, clever girl.

    The boar unfortunately for it, couldn''t pass below the threads and got itself some of my web for dessert. After dragging the threads a few centimeters forward, it came to a halt, stuck and confused. I wasn''t the one that was going to sit idly and see if it could wriggle itself free. Was that spider instinct creeping in? Creepy.

    I kept running circles around the trees, packing the bonsai boar, that''s what I dubbed it, it had a nice catch to it, in even more thread. The more it struggled the more it got stuck. Yeap, that was definitely some pride swelling up inside me. Basking in the knowledge that I had succeeded in the most basic aspect of spider''s life, I saw Velariah pierce the confused boar''s skull with her sword. Blood spurted out and stained her armor from chest to legs. Brutal indeed.

    Producing so much thread left me physically drained and I lowered myself on the vines and bush that still covered the ground. I was amazed the elf had managed to run around in it so much.

    ''''Nice work.'''' She complimented me as she cleaned the blood off her blade using the ''''net'''' I had spun.

    Seeing her staining my beautiful silk with blood I decided now would be a perfect time to check its resistance to cutting.

    ''''While you''re at it, can you try to slash it, I want to know how strong it is.''''

    Nodding she brought down her sword from above.

    Nope, it would not stand against any actual weapon. The sword easily cut through the entire thing, allowing the boar to fall to its side now that one side was no longer holding it up. That was a shame, I had hoped it would be stronger than that. At least it was resistant against blunt force and dull weapons. I would have to check arrows later. For science, obviously.

    ''''That''s one sharp sword.'''' I let out, amazed at how easily it cut through compared to the knife I used earlier.

    ''''Elven craftsmanship at its finest.'''' She proudly proclaimed, re-sheathing her blade. Then she sat down against the webbed boar. She sat against a part not covered in web. I imagined it would be a pain to get spider webs out of your hair, especially mine.

    ''''Now what? I asked. ''''I doubt we can take this with us as well.''''

    ''''I''m sure one Saibon Boar more should be alright.''''

    I wasn''t sure what was worse. Her idea suggesting I would carry or drag even more or the fact that this beast was literally named a bonsai boar. Bonsai being rearranged into Saibon that was. Whoever came up with that name deserved a good smack on the head.

    She laughed at my struggles.

    ''''Nah, I will have someone pick it up later. Its meat is a delicacy and I don''t intend to let this opportunity pass by. These things are hard enough to hunt as it is. This is the first time I''ve actually killed one. Well, I had a little help but still.''''

    A little help she says.

    She read my mind again and laughed even louder.

    ''''Just kidding, you were great. I''d hate to get stuck in that.''''

    ''Keep making fun of me and I will get you stuck in it.'' I thought, trying to ignore the thought of some good ham sandwich. She had made me hungry even though I wasn''t.

    ''''Besides, we''re almost there.''''

    Finally, some good news. Actually, let me make sure.

    ''''How close is almost there?'''' I was actually questioning how well suited she was as a guide. She had run into wolves and now she had led us right into a boar on anabolic steroids.

    ''''A few minutes, tops.''''

    ''''You got to be joking, we could have just run all the way then.'''' I spat.

    ''''Possibly, when you called out for me to lead it away, I trusted you had some kind of plan. I was kind of curious too. Besides, it didn''t seem like you were going to make it much further with all that weight.''''

    Touch¨¦.

    Wait, did she just call me fat?

    When I was about to get up a ball of fire flew past me and hit the boar in the stomach, scorching its skin and filling the air with the smell of crispy bacon.

    Velariah had already redrawn her sword and assumed a fighting stance. I couldn''t let myself get distracted by that delicious smell and also got up and looked into the direction where the ball of fire had come from.

    Between the bushes, pretty well camouflaged, stood a figure belonging to a race I had seen before. A small green humanoid who wouldn''t stand higher than my waist was creating another fireball in the palm of his hand.

    Magic was a thing in this world confirmed. Shame a goblin mage would be the first thing that I would see using it. What was worse, it was aiming for me!

    Besides the staff that resembled a tree root with a glowing orange orb adorned on top he didn''t look much different from the goblin I had encountered before. A simple loincloth hid whatever needed to be hidden. While I was observing my now apparent enemy Velariah shouted instructions my way.

    ''''These things are rarely alone, run! I will hold on them off before I join you.'''' She pointed in the direction we were going before.

    ''''If you encounter any of us, mention my name.''''

    Sounded reasonable, I just hoped if I ran into any elves they wouldn''t kill me for thinking I killed her. She would be fine, right?

    If she died to goblins, I would surely be dead as well.

    I trusted her and did as she said. I started running into the direction she pointed towards. I hoped I could stop running soon. Is this what it felt like to be in the military where they would make you run with a bag full of rocks?

    ''This elf better not die on me.'' I thought as I kept running as much as my legs allowed me to.

    Faragi

    This would be one of the things I would need help with. I tried to come up with a somewhat original ranking system but found that this system may be a bit too complicated to read, especially later on. I''d like to know what you guys think about it. I''d like to keep the same ''''branch'''' names. it is only the ''''tier'''' names I am not certain about.

    PS: See what I did there? See if you can find all the puns.

 1.9 of archers and â€healersâ€

    I was worried that Velariah hadn''t been entirely honest with me but I soon saw the first signs of what I believed to be civilization. The forest became less dense. The bushes and roots were replaced by hard dirt and more space was found between the trees. I also noticed that the ground was no longer even. The way I was running went downhill, which allowed me to spot several wooden towers in the distance above the treetops.

    ''Here is to hoping I don''t get turned into a pin cushion by elven arrows.''

    One thing that kept me going was the fact that I at least would be able to speak their language. Hopefully Velariah would be alright.

    I had slowed down a bit, trying to catch my breath when I felt a sticking sensation in my behind. When I turned around to look, I saw a small arrow in the frontal part of my abdomen, a small trail of blood ran from it, but it didn''t seem serious. Another one was embedded right next to the first one while I was looking. Something was trying to turn me into that metaphorical pin cushion and my spider butt seemed like the perfect object to stick pins in.

    ''''I''m with Velariah, stop shooting!'''' I cried out loud, making sure that whoever was there could hear me, no matter where they were hiding.

    I was answered with another arrow in the cushion and a bolt of ice that hit and shattered my right coconut bra cup. Was this some kind of sick joke? The threads kept the shattered parts together fairly well, but a few fell to the ground forcing me to cover myself while I was holding a spear. Not the best-case scenario.

    From behind the trees several goblins appeared, a few held daggers but behind them was another goblin mage similar to the first one, except this guy''s orb was blue. That was an important piece of info that made a few things click in my head. Next to him was the one responsible for my injuries. A goblin with a small bow for human terms, yet it turned out to be able to pierce my carapace and cause me to bleed. I felt rage well up inside me, I wanted to lunge at this guy and make him pay for what he and his thugs had done. When more and more goblins with daggers and spears started to appear, I decided against petty revenge and instead tried to make it out alive the only way I would know. By running even more.

    Their small bodies would normally be at a disadvantage, I would be quite a bit faster than them as I had experienced with the first goblin I met. However, this time I was at a disadvantage. The weight on my back combined with exhaustion kicking in from running plus the fact that excreting so much silk had left me drained were important factors dragging me down. I still managed to outrun them but they wouldn''t give up and I knew that if I stopped, I would likely be swarmed and die a death by a thousand cuts, even if I did manage to kill some in the process.

    Choosing life over killing and dying, I kept running until a female voice called out for me to stop and state my business. I looked around but couldn''t see anyone nearby. The voices behind were still trailing me and I wouldn''t be able to obey this voice, at least not for long or the goblins would catch up. So, I stood still only for a few seconds.

    ''''I am with Velariah, she said she would be joining me soon, there''s goblins chasing us.'''' I stated, catching my breath before I was about to start running again.''''

    I only got a few meters of running done before she beckoned me to halt again. I reluctantly obliged with the command before I heard a sharp whistle pierce through the forest. I guessed that was it. I was going to be struck down by elven archers before I even made it to the edge of the forest. Shame, it was actually in sight too.

    Arrows whistled as I closed my eyes, preparing myself to once again find my body floating around in that mind numbing black abyss.

    After several seconds of more arrows whistling but not feeling any pain, I peeked down with one eye. My decency was still desecrated but I found no arrows in my body. When turned around I saw half a dozen goblins dead a mere ten meters further, it appeared they had been the target of the hail of arrows. Among them was the same archer that had let arrows loose on me. The goblin with the staff was nowhere to be seen.

    A figure jumped and landed from a nearby tree. That was the stereotypical elf I knew alright. Leather armor, fair skin, tall body, long pointy ears, blond hair in a ponytail and a bow and arrow in her hands. When she spoke, I realized it was the same person that had talked to me before, or rather, shouted orders.

    ''''Where''s Velariah?'''' She asked while approaching me with an arrow aimed at my head. That was a bit excessive now, wasn''t it?

    I pointed in the direction where I came from.

    ''''She told me to go ahead while she would slow down goblins we encountered earlier. She said she would catch up later.'''' I replied while instinctively taking a few steps back from the arrow aimed at me. I had dropped my weapons as to not show hostility and had my three functioning hands up in the air.

    She facepalmed looking down at the floor and muttered.

    ''''Stupid Lady Velariah.'''' she said as she shook her head.

    She looked up at me and pretended she never said that.

    ''''If anything happened her, you''re done for.'''' She said quickly as she whistled three times in quick succession. Several more figures jumped down from trees, both male and female. The elf that talked to me ran off into the direction I had pointed towards and the others followed her.

    ''Tell me something I don''t know.'' I replied at her comment in my mind.

    She just called her ''''Lady Velariah'''' did she not? So, she WAS actually some kind of royalty. Oh lord, what did I get myself into? If anything happened to her, I was so, SO dead.

    I don''t know why but I took a step forward and an arrow landed in the ground next to my ''''feet'''' that moved. Ok, so staying here it was.

    Several minutes later they returned, Velariah was supported by the elf that had shouted at me before. I eyed her over from top to bottom, she didn''t seem to have received terrible damage, she looked fine, in fact. Besides the blood on the front of her armor that I knew wasn''t hers. That, and apparently, she got herself an arrow in be back of her left leg, it was still there as the two of them approached me. The other elves didn''t dare to get close. I wasn''t sure whether that was because of me or because of her being a ''''Lady''''. She didn''t act all that ladylike, at least not in my opinion. But hey, when had I ever been right about customs in this world so far?

    ''''Vel, are you alright?'''' I asked as I looked at the arrow in her leg, it seemed to have gone in between two armor plates, whoever fired that was either incredibly skilled, or incredibly lucky.

    ''''Her name is Lady Velariah and she-'''' the blond elf started angrily before Velariah cut her off.

    ''''I''m fine, also, leave out the Lady part, you know I never liked that Allina. Send the others west, we left a feast for tonight not too far out''''

    So, she was playing tough. I had to admire her though. I would probably have cried all the way to the ER back on earth. Or, more likely, I would have passed out from the pain before even getting there. How were they even going to get that arrow out in the first place? Don''t tell me they would just yoink it out after drugging the unfortunate recipient.

    The archer elf relayed the information that was given to her to the other elves that were watching the scene before them. They left, leaving the three of us alone. Although, I doubted we were truly alone.

    ''''My bag...'''' she nodded into the direction of the leather pack on her right side, clinging to the other elf that was apparently named Allina.

    What was wrong with her? She looked tired and about to pass out. Oh shit, the arrow was poisoned. If I recalled correctly, she still had a quarter vial of anti-venom remaining. I hoped that was going to be enough.

    ''''My Lady, we have to take you to the healers we should have enough medium grade anti-'''' She was cut off again by Velariah who once again mentioned her bag.

    Whatever poison those goblins used seemed to be quite effective when used on anyone that wasn''t me. I was thankful for the resistance that I possessed after I saw the three arrows embedded in the rest of my body behind me. A bit of blood still dripped from where they pierced my back. I hoped getting them out wouldn¡¯t hurt.

    ''''She has anti venom with her, it''s in her bag.'''' I broke the elf''s confusion.

    She quickly let Velariah down to the ground and started rummaging through her bag before pulling out the beforementioned vial of slightly glowing, orange liquid. Her eyes went wide as she started stuttering in her next sentence.

    ''''My Lady, h-h-how did you get this?''''

    Velariah started lifting her arm to take a hold of the vial but it fell down when she had raised it halfway. Damn, that venom was working fast, almost as fast as mine.

    ''''Quit stammering and help her already.'''' My patience was wearing thin, could this airhead not see the emergency right before her?

    Finally, she did as she was asked and forced the liquid down Velariah''s throat. She let out a weak thanks before she collapsed into unconsciousness.

    ''''Will she be alright?'''' I asked in fear of both our lives.

    ''''She will be fine, how did she get that?'''' She assumed her authoritative stance from earlier and got straight to the point, bypassing even the most basic of introductions.

    I curtsied as best I could while still grasping the shattered silk-bound coconut in my only functioning right hand. I managed somewhat of a bow while I spoke.

    ''''That would be courtesy of yours truly, I would give you my name if I knew it but alas, I forgot.''''

    At least she had been straight to the point about something that didn''t have to do with how I looked. No obvious questions like the ones Velariah had asked when I first met het like ''''who are you?'''' and ''''what are you?''''.

    ''''What are you, even?''''

    Dang.

    ''''Honestly? I have no idea. I have told everything I know to Velariah and she swore on her honor as a knight to keep it for herself. I don''t think it''s something I can share with anyone else, at least not yet.''''

    One person knowing who I truly was dangerous enough as it was. Even then, I had asked her the keep the info for herself and she had sworn not to tell anyone. I couldn''t risk it spreading, after all.

    Apparently, that had convinced her because she was nodding in understanding.

    ''''If she swore that, I''m alright with it, but if I find out you''re lying I''ll have you killed.'''' She paused for a moment, ''''Like a monster.''''

    Harsh.

    ''''You will find out soon I am no mere monster.'''' I replied with a hint of sarcasm in my voice.

    ''''Oh, do tell.'''' She was a cocky one, I''ll give her that. Why couldn''t the elves in this world be the friendly, welcoming, nature-loving ones I was familiar with. Her attitude left me to believe that there were still a bunch of arrows aimed at me. Better not overplay my hand.

    I had a wonderful idea to shut her cocky attitude down and get myself some reputation with their race at the same time. This much I could show, right?

    ''''Do you have one of those anti-venom vials that are not prepared yet?''''

    ''''Yeah, but they don''t work against the goblin poison, not when the arrow is so deep in your body.''''

    She looked at the arrow that was still in the passed-out elf.

    ''''Did you or did you not want to know how she got her hands on it before?'''' I asked.

    ''''I mean, I don''t remember blackroot or alravine growing anywhere close, let alone the necessary starshroom and she didn''t have the tools to harvest those.''''

    I had no idea what any of that meant but it sounded like the materials that were needed to create the higher quality potions.

    ''''Yeah, yeah, whatever, just give me one. I''ll show you but hush about it.''''

    Hah, I had my ways of making people curious and it worked as she reached for a same type of small pack that was around her hip. She handed me a potion while keeping an eye on my pedipalps and warning me to not make any funny movements or I''d be shot. I took the blue vial with care; enough pins had found their way in this cushion as it was. She either didn''t notice them, or didn¡¯t care. I was sure it was the second option. Allina took a few steps back as she watched with greedy eyes what I was going to do. Why did I do this again? Oh right, proper clothes were high on my priority list.

    I pulled out my fangs and Allina already had an arrow nocked before I could do anything. When she noticed what I was doing the slowly lowered it. I managed to produce a single drop of venom that dripped against the glass before slowly making its way down to the blue liquid. I had made major improvements when it came to controlling the output of the amount of venom. After corking the vial again, I started shaking it. Before long I presented the elf with one magically glowing orange vial of apparent super anti-venom.

    I was careful to cover the process so that anyone observing from the nearby trees would not be able to tell what I just did.

    I had been right when I thought she would lose that cocky attitude and I simply delighted in her shock when she took the vial back. She couldn''t utter a single word, she just sat there, staring at the glowing liquid. I was laughing in my mind. ''Supreme victory''. The image of the supreme victory duck meme made it worse to the degree where I actually had to cover my mouth to prevent me from giggling. The sight of this shocked elf''s expression was just too hilarious.

    It was a shame that Velariah started stirring. She had broken the blank stare of the other elf that was simply delightful to see. The elven archer kneeled down next to Velariah, the orange potion still in her hand.

    ''''Ugh, my head is spinning.'''' Velariah said, ignoring the arrow that was still deeply embedded in the back of her lower left leg. She was sitting upright now with her leg slightly rotated so that the arrow was at the side.

    You don''t say?

    I wondered if I would be allowed into their village. I was curious how these healers of theirs would fix something like this. While I was at it, I might as well have my own arm fixed as well, I made a trade deal for that, after all.

    I had been hesitant to enter civilization earlier when I had just met Velariah, but recent events had led me to believe I would be a far too valuable asset for them. I could literally make insanely potent anti-venom potions on the spot. The other elf''s gawking at the potion, and the grocery list that she mentioned had confirmed what Velariah told me back in the cave. It seemed she had been incredibly honest with me. I wondered if that also was a knight thing. Velariah had been hesitant and cold early on, likely from shock, but she did open up in the short while I got to know her, even to the point of teasing, which didn¡¯t quite feel knight like.

    In part, I felt the same coldness coming from Allina, she recognized my value but still halted me with her hand when I tried to approach Velariah.

    ''''Ah, Allina I see you have met... spider lady? That sounded more like a question than a statement.

    Her eyes were on the orange vial that was still in Allina''s hand.

    ''''I have, and... I don''t know what to say.'''' she spoke softly.

    ''''Yeah, I know, she''s pretty amazing, no?''''

    Was that a compliment as character or a compliment for being useful?

    ''''This is miraculous.'''' She was STILL staring at the potion.

    ''''Yeah, she even agreed to trade with us, that potion is the result of one of the things included in the deal.''''

    ''''As amazing as ever Lady Velariah.''''

    So, useful it was.

    ''''You should thank her, not me.'''' Velariah tilted her head in my direction.

    Allina then approached me and extended her left arm, seeing as I was still holding on to my shattered coconut and my other right arm was out of commission.

    ''''Thank you so much miss, you''re a real lifesaver.''''

    Wow, she did a true 180 really quickly, didn''t she? I shook her hand as she bowed out of thanks.

    ''''Also, Allina, this stays between us, alright? No talking about what happened just now. We can''t have the goblins, or anyone find out we can effectively counter poisons now.''''

    ''''Not a problem, Lady Velariah.''''

    ''''Stop calling me that.''''

    Even when she was incapacitated, she still held true to her status as higher-up here.

    When I asked if there were any more elves stationed in the nearby trees Allina replied there weren''t with an evil smile.

    She was a bluffer.

    And she beat me with it.

    Footsteps were heard from the west and the archer quickly put away the vial in her pack before anyone could see it. When I turned to see who the footsteps belonged to, I saw a group of elves pulling the huge Saibon boar that the white-haired elf and I had dispatched in an epitome of teamwork. And by teamwork, I mean running for the most part, both of us. They were using the strong threads to pull the corpse forward, good thing it the terrain they were moving it in was going downhill and gravity helped a bit in that regard.

    Seeing the huge boar still wrapped in silk Allina moved her gave from the boar to me several times before finally moving her eyes back to Velariah with a dumbfounded expression. The other elf simply nodded.

    ''''Yup, just the two of us.'''' she grinned before she winced in pain. It seemed she could no longer keep up the fa?ade.

    ''''That''s amazing, but we need that leg looked at. Miss spider, could you help me carry he-.'''' she interrupted herself when her eyes trailed to my functioning right hand. She probably realized full well what that would mean and finished her sentence. ''''Never mind.''''

    ''''Velenthor!'''' She called out to one of the elves tasked with dragging the boar downhill. ''''I need your help over here carrying La... I mean Velariah over to the Treemenders'' Oak.''''

    Didn''t take an expert to know that that was their version of a hospital.

    ''''Caidaran.'''' She called to the rest of the group. ''''I''ll be expecting your report later.''''

    ''''Yes ma''am.'''' a male voice replied.

    A tough looking guy with short black hair walked over, this had to be Velenthor. When he got closer, I could see his face was adorned with scars, one ran over his right eye vertically, the guy was lucky he didn''t lose that eye. He had the same type of armor that Allina was wearing. Everything was hardened leather and he too, had one of the leather packs at his side, I figured it was standard army equipment.

    He eyed me warily for a second before putting muscled arms under Velariah''s, while Allina took her by her legs gently.

    I would probably get used to the wary glares with time...

    I followed the elves at a close distance. Not too close, though, Velenthor seemed highly uncomfortable with me. Several times I waited a bit when I felt like he was too uncomfortable with me. One time I had actually waved at him with one of my pedipalps. I don''t think he appreciated the gesture as he had looked at me in fear and almost stumbled with Velariah still in his hands. Oops.

    Maybe I wouldn''t get used to this.

    When the forest ended, I could get a clear view of Dawnleaf at last. I basked in its amazing elven beauty and architecture. Not.

    I had high hopes and once more I felt disappointed. The Treemenders¡¯ Oak that was mentioned had me expecting buildings made inside and on top of trees but there was literally one tree in the entire village. Okay, it was a tree that put any other trees to shame in size and width and it seemed to be used as a building, but still.

    A gigantic tree was at the center of the village, everything else seemed built around that one important ''''building'''' in a circle. There was a fair amount of open space between that tree and the closest buildings that were made out of stone. It led me to believe that the center was an important forum.

    Besides the larger stone buildings near the tree everything else seemed made out of wood which would make sense because there was a lot of forest nearby which would facilitate for easily accessible building material. There were about a few hundred houses at most, I doubted the population would be larger than a thousand but it was deemed necessary to erect defenses around the village, most likely as a response to the goblins.

    A wooden palisade encircled the village with only a few gaps where three cobblestone roads and one dirt road provided access. The dirt road was the one leading to where we were right now and it seemed to be the one most guarded as it had two wooden watchtowers at the ''''gate'''' and then two more about a hundred meters out of the village, possibly a checkpoint. It had one stone building nearby, I guessed barracks, and a dozen figures walking about. One figure was running towards them from the forest, an elf.

    The other roads didn''t have this kind of maintenance. They each had one watch tower about a hundred meters out from the village and then no more at the entrance.

    Further out from the village was farmland, lots of farmland. The roads crossed fields that were used for crops and cattle.

    A small river cut through the settlement diagonally running northwest from my location to the southeast. In the middle of the village, it seemed to simply disappear before it reappeared after it had crossed through the tree if it hadn''t changed direction. Once outside the village on the other side it bent to the left, not entering the forest. It would be awkward if it did, considering the forest was high ground and the entire elven settlement and farmland was located in a valley. Instead of flowed further down along the east road off into the distance.

    In the valley the terrain was surprisingly flat which made for ideal farming situations. They used small irrigation canals at the outer edges of each field too, how were they having trouble with yields again? If the weather was always sunny like this, I couldn''t imagine the size of the watermelons you could cultivate. I found my mind trailing off to fruit again. I didn¡¯t think that would be what they grew here.

    From the colors that the fields had I noticed that there was not a wide variety of different crops. In fact, it only seemed like two different things were planted. One was very clearly some type of grain, the other looked like it could be potatoes or onions but that wouldn''t be clear until it was uprooted.

    Had they not learnt the most basic concept of crop rotation? Wasn''t that always one of the very first things that you were able to research in games? I thought one part was supposed to be fallow, or was that something else?  I wouldn''t call myself an expert in farming by any means but this called for further inspection later down the line. That is, if things went well.

    I was still following behind as we neared the checkpoint, fear creeping in bit by bit. Worried about what the stationed soldiers would be like. They wouldn''t randomly attack me if Velariah was there, right? I hoped there weren''t any trigger-happy adventurers out there who would be greedy for whatever loot I dropped. Technically, that would be two wolves, a unibelea hide with attachments, a shabby spear, axe and a decent looking sword. I had no idea how they had allowed me to keep them, I assumed Velariah had something to do with that.

    It was she who spoke when we were a bit out of the ''''checkpoint''''. She told Allina and Velenthor to put her down on the ground as the checkpoint guards approached. They all wore the same full-plate armor so I was fairly confident trigger-happy adventurers were out of the question. A few had their swords drawn but Allina was the one who gestured them to re-sheath them. How nice of her.

    All their eyes were on me, I was thankful Velariah seemed to have weight in her words.

    ''''Leave me here, get a Treemender to me instead.''''

    Neat, that would mean I didn''t have to enter Dawnleaf. Thank you, Vel.

    She winched as she was put down but didn''t let out a sound. She was acting tough again. I hoped she wasn¡¯t raised to be that way. I would feel sorry for her if she was.

    Velenthor ran off to the village. I assumed it was simply because he was the most mobile of the bunch. Running in plate didn''t go so well from what I have read.

    ''''Allina please unburden her if you can. Have the goods delivered to my father, I''ll talk to him later.'''' Velariah pointed to the load on my behind.

    She pulled out a knife and walked behind me. I saw her eyes rest on the arrows that were still stuck in me and thought I saw her question how I was still standing. That had to do with the poison resistance ''''inherity'''' or something, or so I had been told. I still didn¡¯t know what it was but it had sounded interesting. I would check with Velariah later.

    I felt the weight that was pushing down on me lessen and then again when the two wolves fell to my sides. Allina had cut the thread connecting them. Did she really have to put her hand on my behind to do this? Cold shivers ran up my spine from where the touched me. Holy shit, those hairs were sensitive. Allina quickly retracted her hand when she felt my shiver. Could I not wax them or shave or anything? this was getting rather ridiculous.

    Allina exchanged a few words with Velenthor, I couldn''t quite make out what it was. Velenthor ran inside the stone building next to the towers. What was the hurry? He returned with some unarmored folks who he instructed to carry the goods that Allina had cut loose to the general quarters. More weird glances were thrown at me as they walked in a large circle around me. I saw most of them shiver in fear and I thought I even saw a human among the elves. I wasn''t sure but the lack of pointy ears led me to believe he was. I hoped that meant they weren''t at war, I would hate to have been tossed into one of those worlds.

    One of them handed a red sheet of cloth to the blond elf who in turn gave it to me. I was about to ask what I was supposed to do with it when I answered the question myself. Close, I almost looked like an idiot. I wrapped the cloth around myself and thanked her. It was better than nothing. At least I could finally move my right arm, it was getting sore from being stuck in the same position for so long. I hoped they wouldn''t get a bull from somewhere.

    ''What a terrible joke.'' I thought.

    When the half a dozen ''''carriers'''' walked off with the dead animals, the other party that was dragging the boar finally started to catch up with us. No longer having the advantage of moving downhill they called a few of the guards to help them drag the monstrosity to the village. I dared say my arrival made quite a first impression. One they would not soon forget I imagined.

    I ''''sat'''' down next to Velariah. A few hostile glances were thrown my way by the guards but I paid them no mind. I was exhausted. I sighed deeply as I felt a wave of relief of not having to run anymore wash over me.

    ''''Now what?'''' I asked the elf, stretching my legs which caused some of the armored elves to back off. Perfect, I didn''t want them to hear what we were talking about anyway.

    ''''Well...'''' She started. ''''First, we get one of the healers to fix us both up, then...'''' She hung her head dejectedly, that couldn''t be a good sign.

    ''''My father will probably want to talk to me.''''

    Yeah, I figured as much. Just who was this father figure anyway? She had mentioned him before but abstained from proving any information. Now that I had learnt she was called ''''Lady Velariah'''' and she seemed to have authority over Allina and the others I feared the worst.

    Then again, I had saved her from certain death and convinced both her and Allina of my usefulness. The orange vial was absolute proof of that and I could produce it on the fly in private if needed. I guessed I would have to meet someone who could help me out eventually. I might as well get it out of the way sooner than later. My inner procrastinator screamed in rage.

    What would he be like?

    The thought of being locked up in a dungeon to be ''''milked'''' for my venom did cross my mind. I did trust Velariah however, she had not told me a single lie so far. She wouldn''t let it get that far; I was confident in that.

    I had other plans. This adventuring thing did seem very attractive to me, even considering the dangers that came with it. Due to my ''''gifts'''' I could probably get decent enough armor to survive basic combat situations without a hassle. I wondered if enchanted armor was a thing and how much it would cost if it did exist. Having money would surely making survival a lot easier. I would just take easy requests to start off with, that was if this whole ''''trial'''' thing was something I could pass.

    The part after that would probably be the hardest, I doubted going alone was going to be a good idea. Finding party members would probably be extremely difficult for me considering the resentful expressions I was already seeing around me. And if I did, trusting them would be na?ve from my part. I could get stabbed in the back anytime I slept

    That would be worries for later, though. Right now, I would be happy to just have my arm back, even if it was a limb that I wouldn''t have had in my previous life. This pain was a bitch, after all.

    I doubted I would have to wait much longer for that. Velenthor, who had previously left to get the so-called treemender, was quickly advancing towards us again. Seriously, what was with all the running? These elves were seriously hyperactive, I wondered if they drank coffee all day. He was trailed by a figure in green who actually walked at a normal walking pace. From the distance I could see he had a large staff in his hand. ''A classic druid look'', I thought.

    Velenthor told Velariah that her father had been informed of her return, and that the treemender was on the way. That last, I could see for myself. Her father being informed had me nervous. What exactly had he reported?

    ''''Allina?'''' The white-haired elf called.

    ''''Yes, my lady?''''

    Velariah sighed. It was quite interesting to see Allina having serious issues with not calling her ''''lady''''. Honestly, it had my smiling from ear to ear in amusement.

    She tapped a finger on the leather pack at her side.

    ''''Oh right!" Allina replied and removed the pack from her belt. She wriggled in between my legs and Velariah and quickly transferred the orange potion to the other elf''s inventory in the blink of an eye. I was pretty sure that the idea was that nobody saw what exactly she did, and it seemed she was successful in doing so. I was blocking the view fairly well too.

    Several people stared as the webbed boar was dragged past them. One of those people was the apparent treemender who was now approaching us.

    He appeared to be an older elf. I had no idea how the elf age logic worked here but he looked like a male in his forties. For all I knew that could mean he was hundreds of years old. His age did not show weakness however, it seemed that the staff he had was not used for walking as I had thought earlier. Instead, it appeared that he needed it to cast spells. A green orb filled with swirling glowing liquid sat on top of the staff, held in place by roots that entangled it. It wasn''t hard to see the logic that this world followed.

    His figure was dressed in multiple layers of green cloth. From this distance I had seen no one in the village in any type of green cloth other than this guy, this made me wonder if it was specifically reserved for these treemenders. Not even the archers at the edge of the forest had worn green which had surprised me. Okay, their brown leather was not the worst camouflage but green would be even better.

    A ring with an oversized green gem was fitted on the hand that he used to carry the staff and he pulled back a green hood revealing his face fully. I gasped slightly when I saw that the top of his right ear was cut off cleanly. He wasn''t bearded as was common with older figures in fiction. Instead, his shaven chin added to his youthful, yet experienced visage. It was quite an odd sight; one could see his age yet it was hidden. I was at a loss of words on how to explain exactly what was in front of me, was that magic? Picking that as an explanation would be the easy way out, but I saw no other way here.

    He planted his staff into the dirt before speaking with an extremely deep voice.

    ''''I was told there was an arrow injury, last time I checked Saibon Boars did not use weapons.''''

    Heh, this guy must have been the funniest in his class.

    ''''Yeah, no, that was the goblins. One of them got me with a lucky shot when our reinforcements arrived and I ran for cover. The boar we downed before that.'''' Velariah replied.

    ''''We?'''' He frowned, looking at me.

    This guy.

    ''''Yes, she and I.''''

    ''''And does she have a name?''''

    ''Hello? I am right here.'' I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to offend anyone.

    ''''She does, but she said she forgot.''''

    ''''So, a monster. Does your father know you consort with monsters?'''' the guy''s gaze pierced right through me. I''m not sure if I even wanted that healing anymore. My brain said no, but my arm screamed yes. The effect of the potion had completely run out and the pain was nagging again.

    What the hell, dude.

    Actually, hold on. Were names important here? Were you classified as a monster if you didn''t have a name? I had read one story where I believe monsters were unnamed creatures because they had no soul or something weird like that. I mean, I certainly had a soul. I did, right? Well, there was the red hair, so I might be wrong according to the internet.

    ''''Just get me healed please, and fix her arm up too.'''' Velariah sighed audibly.

    ''''I will not heal monsters.'''' The treemender stated.

    ''''Master Lorin, she saved my life, you will heal her!'''' Velariah was visibly getting angry.

    Scary.

    ''''Fine. But under objection'''' He said as he went to work on the elf''s leg.

    I was pretty sure that the guy already hated my guts. What have I done to earn his ire? I''m pretty sure he was just a racist, quite literally.

    Sickened by his attitude but interested in how he worked, I watched as he removed the plates around her leg and grasped Velariah''s leg with his hand. The orb on top of his staff glowed green and I could almost see a flow of the green liquid flow through the staff, through his hand and body and then into Velariah''s leg.

    Healing magic seemed to be a thing. That had to be crazy convenient. It also made me wonder how much knowledge these people had about the human (elf?) body and if there were any gaps in that knowledge that couldn''t easily be solved with magic. It was something I had thought about earlier. If there was no need for something, alternative knowledge might be extremely rare if existent at all.

    The arrow was slowly pushed out and for the first time the warrior actually screamed in pain.

    That was certainly not what I had expected from healing magic. The prospect of healing my arm became less and less attractive by the second.

    I tried to get a better look, unfortunately I was sitting to the right of Velariah so I couldn''t see much, it certainly looked painful from the facial expressions she was making.

    Eventually the arrow fell to the ground, completely pulled out of the wound by this man''s magic. He continued his work for another minute before his patient moved her leg again and started stretching and bending it. I had to admit, painful as it looked, that was effective.

    Maybe I should try to get myself drunk again before proceeding.

    I didn''t even get the chance to do that because he was already kneeling down before me and asking a question in the most sarcastic tone I have ever heard.

    ''''What seems to be the problem, young lady?'''' Honestly, why couldn''t I have brought a gun with me. I was awfully trigger happy right now. I thought that, but I knew I really wouldn¡¯t have what it took to kill another person, not like that. It turned out they would have to try to kill me first.

    I pulled up the red cloth that covered my human body, revealing my lower right arm.

    ''''A troll completely busted my arm with a huge mace.'''' I wanted to add ''''the size of your ego'''' to that sentence but figured it wouldn''t be a smart idea to piss off your doctor.

    I swore this guy actually smiled.

    ''''Oh my, we better get it fixed then.'''' He glazed the words with honey.

    Velariah rolled her eyes next to me. I was glad I was the only one who saw that.

    He went to work and I kept a close eye on what he was doing. He took hold of my arm and much of the same that happened to Velariah started happening to me. Swirls of green mist moved from the top of the staff through the staff, through this guy''s body into my arm. The sensation of magic was comparable to when I had chugged down the healing potion earlier. I could feel a slight warmth ''''search'''' my body before it settled in my arm and grew...and grew, and grew even further. The warmth became heat and heat became a raging inferno. My arm felt like it was melting. I screamed out in pain and wanted to hit this guy in the head. Velariah took hold of the two arms on my left side before I could do anything saying it would be fine.

    ''''It might be fine but it hurts like hell!''''

    The bone shards in my arm grinded against one another and I could hear it. Scrap what I said, this was probably worse than hell. I could feel sensation returning in previously numb parts from the damage, when it did, the pain expanded to those areas as well, making it worse as time went on. I could feel tears running down my face from the pain.

    After an eternity he removed his hand from my arm and the pain slowly dissipated. The heat remained and I could feel it start to cool down, albeit very, very slowly.

    When he stood back up, he made a slight bow to Velariah, pulled his green hood back over his head and strolled back to the village. Through the pain and flames I could see the once green orb sitting atop his staff was now devoid of color and clear, an empty crystal ball.

    Velariah looked at me with an expression that showed pity. She rummaged through her pack for a second before handing me another yellow potion she carried with her.

    ''''You look like you could use this.'''' She said softly.

    Without even thinking I accepted it and chugged the whole thing down, not that it was much, anyway.

    The pain almost instantly receded, which brought me back to earth, or in this case whatever this planet was called. With my mind no longer focusing on the pain, I took a mental note that yellow potions were a strong painkiller.

    ''''Thank you, Vel.''''

    She smiled. It was one of those "I''m not angry, I''m just disappointed" smiles.

    ''''It''s Velariah.''''

 1.10 Daddy issues

    Faragi

    So far it seems it seems I will be rolling with the ''''Low, medium, high'''' tiers for ranks while still sticking to the same old indications on tags except for the additions of roman numerals

    I being high rank

    II being mid rank

    III being low rank

    I had been so occupied with the pain manifesting in my arm that I had not noticed the arrows fall out behind me. It was when I saw them on the ground that I knew those wounds had healed as well. The pain from those arrows had not nearly been as bad as my arm but it felt good to know that infection was unlikely.

    While I was glad the potion that Velariah had given me prevented me from screaming, it also prevented me from moving my arm. it was as if it acted as a local anesthetic. I had thought the potion would be considered ''''overpowered'''' but if this was a side effect it wouldn''t quite be as broken.

    I had asked Velariah to carry my weapons for now lest I would draw unwanted attention from anyone.

    I pulled the sheet over my body again. Cold from the sweat I had produced from both running and the healing process started to creep in. Man, I could really use that shower now. Or a hot relaxing bath, hmmm. This village better have some options with regards to those.

    When people around us started to move away I looked around to see if anything had triggered their movement. In the distance, an armored figure walked through the gate. The people around us saw it and walked inside the large stone building or climbed up the stairs of the nearby towers. Allina was the last to leave after a short bow to Velariah, she walked down the dirt road into the direction of the forest, likely assuming her guard duties there. This left me with Velariah and an incoming storm, at least that¡¯s what it felt like.

    She stood up and I mimicked the action. More details of the approaching male came into view. He had the same long, white hair that the elf next to me had. Gold plating adorned several parts of his armor, likely indicating certain status. He too had a large sword sheath on his hip, but this one was laid in with several blue gemstones that glittered in the sunlight. With each step he took I feel an oppressive atmosphere closing in.

    This had to be Velariah''s dad, but what the hell was this aura?

    Was it my own fear? I was scared to death. Velariah didn''t seem affected.

    Knowing this guy was some kind of lord I did the only thing that came to mind and lowered myself to the ground, bowing my head. I would not be disrespecting royalty, better to be safe than sorry.

    Velariah poked me from her standing position.

    Nope. Not doing it. I''m not getting up.

    Even when I was ''''kneeling down'''' like this I still almost matched the elf in height, Velariah was barely standing a head taller. Fear crippled me when I felt his presence. He stopped in front of me and I could see a tag dangle in front of me. The tag was a shining blue with a golden sword and ''''I'''' engraved next to it. Before the sword icon I could see letters that I could probably understand, but to able to read it easily I would have to turn my head sideways. That was not something I was doing at this time.

    ''''Velariah, what in the world have you been doing? Who, nay, what is this?'''' He sounded disappointed as if he was talking about a cat that just brought in a mouse, something for which humans had no use.

    Here we go with the racism again.

    ''''Father, she is a powerful ally.'''' Velariah responded in an overly diplomatic way.

    Did she consider me an ally already or was that just to help me out?

    ''''Monsters don''t ally wi-''''

    Velariah had interrupted his sentence by quickly grabbing the orange vial and holding it in front of his nose. I knew she would pull that out as soon as the opportunity presented itself to help convince. Now that nobody was nearby, what better opportunity was there?

    Also, I was no monster. Not entirely.

    ''''I''ll be damned.'''' His response was delayed. ''''Where did you get this?''''

    ''''She can make those, no need for alravine and the other ingredients, the base is enough, I found out after she saved my life.''''

    I tried to look over to her face from the position I was in but found I couldn''t reach my eyes that far. I could feel her smiling.

    ''''Why did you need saving, what kind of trouble did you get in this time?''''

    Uh oh, he didn¡¯t sound happy.

    ''''Uhm, a pack of wolves surprised me, I managed to kill one but there were too many.''''

    She didn''t specify further, probably for the best.

    ''''What have I told you about going into the forest alone? Be happy you didn''t run into a bunbear.''''

    A bunbear?

    ''''I''m sorry, father''''

    No, she wasn''t. The way in which she said it sounded like she only said it to be done with it. She would do it again in a heartbeat.

    ''''As for you...'''' He turned to me and lifted my chin up with his gloved hand so what I was facing him. His green eyes showed a strange determination.

    ''''If what Velariah says is true, I thank you, and I wish to apologize for my rudeness. Do pardon me for being careful, in my long life I have never seen anything like you and this...'''' He held up the glowing orange potion and shook it gently between two fingers. ''''I would wish to discuss some things with the two of you.''''

    Okay, maybe I misjudged him. Also, long life? He really didn''t seem that old to me, in fact, he looked in the prime of his life, maybe late twenties. So elven age really was a thing after all, or he was bragging. his face was shaven and clean, it was nothing like Valenthor''s battle hardened face. Either this guy was extremely good at avoiding getting hit or he had never seen combat before. Considering this guy had a tag that was shiny blue I assumed it had to be the first one. Blue was diamond after all. At least I assumed it was, getting a general that was a silver ranked adventurer would go against any logic.

    He put the vial away in Velariah''s pack and walked over to the stone building and entered.

    Velariah poked me again.

    ''''You can stop kneeling now.'''' She pronounced the word kneeling in a teasing manner which only added to the awkwardness of not being able to kneel properly.

    ''''Also, stop twitching.''''

    ''''Wha?''''

    She moved her eyes down, then back to my face.

    I looked down to see my pedipalps twitching forward and backward as if I was digging up sand.

    I could feel my face warm up from embarrassment. How had her father remained so cool in face of that? When I first noticed I had spider parts I freaked out in shock and horror.

    The elf grinned.

    ''''Let''s follow my father.'''' She beckoned me to follow while she walked over to the checkpoint building.

    Her father had walked back outside with one of the armored guards. He had pointed to me and exchanged some more words with the soldier who looked where he pointed and started shaking in his boots when he saw me. It seemed to get worse as we closed in. I had the feeling this guy was going to run when he got the chance.

    The golden armored elf leaned against the wooden doorpost and tapped it with his fingers as the other soldier went back inside. I could hear him yell through the building when we arrived.

    ''''Clear the building! General Valtheril''s orders, nobody is to disturb him.''''

    General? Are you kidding me right now? I looked over to Velariah with shock. She simply nodded in shame.

    I couldn''t believe this. She didn''t think this was an important little detail?

    The building emptied pretty quickly, a few of them threw either angry or scared glances as me. After an elf in chef''s garments and hat exited the building the guy that shouted left it last. After he did, he started running towards the village way faster than I thought possible with plate armor. Maybe I should start a career here as a race starter.

    After he had left Valtheril entered and asked us to join. I was lucky that the doorframe had been at least double the width of a standard Earth door. I already had to squeeze through here, I definitely couldn''t fit through a normal door... My size may actually be more of an issue than I had initially thought. Yet one more struggle to add to the list that was getting longer with every passing day.

    The first thing that I ran into was a bar to the left with typical stools in front of the wooden counter. Behind that was a separate room with a kitchen. It seemed nothing was cooking right now. I hoped we didn''t interrupt the chef preparing for dinner. I would hate to be the reason that these people would get dinner late.

    The room we were in seemed like a large mess hall. Long tables made up the entirety of this room with far too many chairs for the number of guards that I had seen stationed here. I guessed there were about forty chairs but I had only seen a dozen or so guards specifically stationed at the towers and road.

    The whole room was lit up by rows of torches on both long sides that also provided some warmth. I didn''t see any windows. There was a door that seemed to lead upstairs judging from the stars icon that was branded into the wood. I would assume that is where the soldiers stationed here slept. To the far right was another door and when I looked at the size of the building from the outside and how large this room was, it meant that there was only very little room left on that side which let me to believe that that is where a toilet area would be located.

    Velariah put down my weapons next to the entrance door and walked through the door at the far end, leaving the two of us alone.

    I tried sitting on one of the chairs but quickly found out that it would be an impossible task. From now on I would probably need chairs without arm or backrests. I gave up on the idea of sitting in one and just stood there awkwardly as Valtheril closed the large door from the inside of the building and locked it. He pulled out a large primitive key and laid it on the counter.

    I cursed inwardly at Velariah for leaving me behind but knew she couldn''t ignore nature''s call forever.

    The general walked behind the counter and took something from under it.

    He then walked over to one of the long tables and took a seat opposite of where I was still standing and put down a small blue vial on the table.

    ''''As you probably have heard, I''m general Valtheril. Since my daughter seems to endorse you, I would bid you welcome to Dawnleaf, but there''s a couple things I need to know first to make sure you are no threat to anyone.'''' He paused for a second. ''''But even after that I would probably have to have guards with you and watch you from a distance, at least while you''re in the village, I hope you understand.''''

    He was just being careful. I couldn''t blame him. In fact, I admired him, I would have done the same.

    I nodded.

    ''''First off, your name?''''

    ''''Uhm, before I answer anything, there is something I am obliged to state first.''''

    ''''Go ahead.'''' he looked at me with expecting eyes.

    ''''I ask that anything I say here is kept strictly confidential. Velariah showed you the potion, I can make those without the ''''expensive ingredients'''' as she called them. If I find out that any info was leaked, I will refuse to help you with those. Besides that, it will put the entire village at risk.'''' I looked down to the table. ''''I know I can help you out and I don''t mind doing this at all, but trust me, any info that I may provide can be extremely dangerous. And when I mean dangerous, I mean war.''''

    I don''t know where I found the confidence to say that without stuttering but somehow, I managed.

    He frowned.

    ''''that''s quite shocking, truly.'''' I was not sure if he responded with sarcasm or not.

    He seemed lost in thought for a few moments.

    ''''If what you say is true, I will swear to keep any information you share secret. I do need to know you are not toying with me, though. Which is why...'''' He took he blue vial and held it up. ''''I got this; you know what it is right?''''

    I nodded again. ''''Yes, basic anti-venom mix.''''

    ''''Correct. I see you have already shared some info with Velariah, I guess you had this conversation before.''''

    ''''I know about the growing goblin problem and some other things, yes.''''

    ''''Well then. I don''t have to explain how important this could be to us I have been briefed that she had been struck by a goblin arrow, I assume you have seen what it can do and that I do not intend to play games here.''''

    ''''Yes, sir.''''

    He laughed heartedly.

    ''''I like you. You better be right; it would be a shame to kill you.''''

    Oof. I wasn''t expecting that. That was like a dagger to my chest and had me feeling nauseous all of a sudden. He wasn''t messing around, that was for sure.

    I nervously accepted the blue vial before turning around to pull out the fangs from under me. It felt super awkward to do this with people watching.

    Right as I dripped a drop of venom into the glass vial Velariah stepped out of the door and startled me, causing me to drop more venom on the floor. What terrible timing! It was a good thing I had quickly retracted the vial and didn''t oversaturate the mixture. The floor would need cleaning, however.

    ''''Oops.'''' She said in a totally not apologetic manner.

    What was this elf''s problem?

    I ignored what had just happened and corked the vial before shaking it. Then I handed it to Valtheril who stared at it in disbelief. He uncorked it and sniffed.

    ''''You got to be joking.''''

    I know, I know, I am amazing.

    ''''I told you.'''' Velariah said in a tone that conveyed ''''Hah, gottem!''''

    ''''What have you two talked about so far?''''

    I took Velariah to the other end of the room and whispered.

    ''''Should I tell him everything?''''

    ''''I''m not sure, I mean, you have told me. I don''t know if you want too many people to know but he is technically the highest ranked official here in the village, he will be the best person to provide with whatever you need. At least in the area.''''

    I was deeply conflicted. I could use any help I could get. The thing is I had never been one to be in the spotlight and I didn''t intend to start that now. I would prefer to help these people from the shadows, that''s why I wanted this information to be kept between us. I sighed and decided I would spill the beans. I do not think their amazement at my ''''powers'''' was feigned and I had firsthand seen what this poison that was used against them could do; it wasn''t pretty. They would have a certain need for me and when there was a certain need I doubted they would break promises easily.

    I turned around, knocking over a chair with my abdomen when I did so. Oops.

    ''''Alright, I will tell you what I know but at the end I will have some questions myself, will you swear not to tell anyone about what is discussed here and to answer my questions as best you can?''''

    He stood up and did the same move that Velariah had made back at the cave where he put a fist on his heart.

    ''''I swear it on my honor as a knight.''''

    Honestly, that made me look as if I was in charge here when I definitely wasn''t. I didn''t want to, either.

    Velariah walked around the table and sat down next to him as I started explaining. I told him about the fact that I was not born on this world or as a monster. I told him of my apparent amnesia and that I couldn''t even remember my own name. I explained how his daughter and I had met and also explained the concept of a train to him. He also found it hard to believe but Velariah seemed again intrigued by the same story I had told her before. I told him about how technologically advanced our world was and about the absence of magic, different races and monsters. I also briefly mentioned that we had weapons that if known in this would undoubtedly cause war to break out. I would be willing to assist in sharing some knowledge but the far simpler kind and only for reasons of self-defense against the goblins. At the end of my story all I could read on his face was a blank expression, lost in thought.

    ''''I can surely see why you were hesitant. This has never happened before, not that I know of, and I have access to a lot of information. We are not currently at war, we haven''t been for a long time, and I would like to keep it that way. I swore an oath to protect my people and I would highly prefer to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. The goblins are giving us more than enough of a headache.''''

    Well look at this guy, truly a knight in shining armor.

    ''''If you aren''t at war, what is with all the soldiers then?'''' I asked.

    ''''Mostly policing and dealing with bandits. Some adventurers like to throw tantrums in the middle of the village as well from time to time, someone needs to keep them under control.''''

    Yeah, that wasn''t quite like earth, at least not in modern times.

    ''''And goblins'''' I added.

    ''''And goblins.'''' He affirmed.

    ''''How come you have so many troubles with the goblins? It seems your archers are quite skilled.'''' I asked.

    ''''Honestly? it''s numbers, we do not have enough capable archers. They really aren''t a threat on their own, but they multiply like rabbits and have venoms that can kill even the most seasoned of soldiers.''''

    ''''Why not use crossbows?''''

    ''''Use what?'''' Their shared reply came almost immediately.

    ''''You know, the bows that literally any peasant can use eff-'''' I stopped mid-sentence realizing my mistake.

    Fuck.

    ''''You don''t have crossbows?'''' I asked.

    ''''I have never heard about anything called that way.'''' The general answered. ''''What is it?''''

    ''''Uhm-''''

    Should I tell him? These things once revolutionized warfare by allowing the common folk to be effective killers with minimal effort whereas archers would need years of training. They weren''t necessarily better than bows but they were far easier in use. I was screwed.

    I was honestly surprised they didn''t exist. A crossbow was a pretty old invention. I believed this world would have passed that stage a long time ago already. If I didn''t introduce them, I bet somebody else would. I wasn''t sure if that was sound reasoning but it eased my mind somewhat. But still, should I?

    It would have been the to go weapon for myself. Easy to use, deadly at range. I would have gotten one of those when I was going to start adventuring but now, I learnt that that plan was shattered already.

    ''''It basically is some sort of bow that anyone can learn to use within minutes, it turns even the most common of people into efficient fighters. I am not sure if I can share more than that.''''

    ''''Hah, I knew it. The sword is superior. If mere peasants can use bows what is their worth anymore as archers! And they dare call archery an art! Hah!'''' Velariah seemed delighted. That was not something I had expected.

    ''''impossible.'''' Her father had exclaimed softly.

    I didn''t have the heart to tell Velariah that guns were even worse, she would not even get a chance to get close, her armor would be completely useless.

    ''''I would love to help you out but as you can see, the knowledge I possess is quite dangerous. And this isn''t even the worst of it.'''' I apologized.

    ''''You''re right, this is dangerous information. We have been on good terms with the neighboring kingdoms for centuries, I doubt war would suddenly break out but we can''t let this fall into the wrong hands.''''

    He put his hands under his chin.

    ''''What questions would you have for us?'''' He changed the subject.

    ''''I would like to know what an ''''inherity'''' is.''''

    I was explained that an inherity was an ability that everyone in this world was born with, it was one of the factors that made them decide on what path they took in life. From what I understood it was some kind of ability that could be levelled by doing things related to the ability. If one had an inherity that increased their power with swords it would mean they would do more damage with any kind of sword. Practicing and slaying monsters would further increase the power of the so called ''''inherity''''. Both Velariah and her father possessed such an inherity when it came to swords. And according to Velariah I would have one that would give me resistance to poison and venoms which was rare.

    Apparently, everyone in this world would undergo a ritual when they reached twelve years of age that would reveal their inherity so that they would have plenty of time to adjust and grow into their skill if they wanted to. Nobody was forced to follow that path specifically but it did offer a lot of benefits from what I understood. It appeared there were certain inherities that would increase the effectiveness of brewing potions for example, these would fetch a higher price than regular potions. There were many different kinds so it was impossible to find out about every single one, every year new inherities that had never seen before would show up.

    One could find out about their inherity before the age of twelve if they had enough money to pay for the resources, they weren''t cheap but it appeared tax income was in part used for those which is why everyone got one for free. Sometimes people could figure out without the ritual which could be a huge boon for that person. If they could start ''''grinding experience'''' early they would be much more effective at a later age. It appeared this is how Velariah''s father got so good with a sword and that''s why he was able to climb the ranks to general and become a high ranked Diamond adventurer in such a relatively short time. Time really seemed relative for him because it turned out he was already sixty-four years of age. I learnt that the treemender had been over four hundred years old!

    It appeared the ritual also made clear whether one was able to use magic or not. I guessed magic was cool and all, but if I could do without, I would probably even prefer that. I really wasn''t looking forward to one of those cheesy ''''school arcs'''' with learning how magic worked, weird classmates that would not stop looking at me and of course, the mandatory ''''shared bath episode''''. I hated school. I got through it once, I wasn''t about to do it again. Besides, I was part spider now, I had all kinds of cool spider powers! Like shooting webs and killing stuff with venom! Yeah, no, whatever.

    Velariah had suggested I could work and pay for the ritual myself; it would be quite useful to know exactly what I possessed.

    That didn''t seem like a bad idea at all, I just had no idea where to start, what it would cost and what money was worth. Besides that, I didn''t even have a proper place to sleep. I discussed those simple matters with the two of them as well and the subject of adventuring came up again. It would be the easiest way to start and Velariah convinced me that my combat capabilities were quite profound. She told her father that I had single handedly felled a forest troll and almost single handedly felled a Saibon boar at which he was clearly impressed. She did leave out the part where I burnt off the forest troll''s face with concentrated acid.

    I learnt that a forest troll was classified as a high ranked silver monster and the Saibon boar as well. Valtheril would be willing to endorse me and allow me to enter the adventurer''s guild skipping the trial and starting at mid ranked silver in return for my continued help with creating anti-venom. That seemed reasonable to me so I was quick to agree. Velariah decided she wanted to start adventuring as well and she would be making her way over to the guild to start her trial. She did not have a lot of combat experience yet and she hadn''t actually killed anything that came even near the rank of the boar or troll which I pretty much killed on my own. Well, Velariah was invaluable with the boar, but her father insisted she would go through the trial anyway.

    He did have a point though, if I had prepared for the fight with the boar and created the web line before making my presence known, and not be overburdened, I could probably have killed it on my own. Velariah wouldn''t be able to do it without a party. I still felt kind of bad for her, though. I wouldn''t be leaving on my own so I had already arranged that I would accompany her after the trial, she was also the only person in this world that I actually trusted, well I trusted her father and Allina to a certain degree but still.

    I brought up the part where I would like my abilities to stay hidden as much as possible and after some ideas we came up with a plan. I would provide my venom in one of the vials to Valtheril who would use them to create the anti-venom potions in the village''s army alchemy workshop without supervision (except for me of course). He could use the excuse that he used personals funds to procure the more expensive materials. He would have to be careful not to make too many at once or people might get suspicious. He could also use the excuse that he found an area that was rich in the necessary resources but that would put him at risk. Whatever he did, I would be out of the picture.

    As for my silk, well, I didn''t get into that too deeply. I was rather dodgy about the subject but Velariah had pushed the idea forward. Ultimately, I agreed to give them some samples to work with and see what the options were. I hoped nothing much would come from it but knowing my luck I just knew it was going to be in high demand soon. How was I going to do any adventuring done like that? I heard there were dungeons that needed exploring. Dungeons! That is, if I fit through the entrance!

    When it got to accommodation there would be no problem for me staying in this village. The only issue was that as I expected the buildings were not built to support me, the only buildings that I would be able to enter was the giant tree in the middle of the village, the adventurer''s hall, the alchemy workshop, the barracks, the armory, this checkpoint building and their own home. There would also be certain shop backdoors but those were reserved for their respective crafters.

    Velariah had convinced me to stay in their home for now. I wouldn''t be able to enter certain rooms but their entrance, the dining room and ground floor bathroom had large doorways. I had said anything would do. They would provide me with some means to be able to sleep as well. I may not fit in a bed, but there were options. Those were Valtheril''s  words, not mine. I guessed anything would be better than forced to sleep in a haystack in a barn. At least I would have a degree of safety as well.

    I was given permission to use their bathroom! What was more, they apparently had a huge bathtub that would fit me! They even had warm running water! I couldn¡¯t remember being this excited in a long time. It seems I had been quite spoiled back on Earth.

    When I asked how that worked it turned out they had basic plumbing like back on earth using metal pipes. One of the pipes went through something that sounded like a boiler, except the water was heated by some kind of heat stone. When I asked what it was, they had answered it was some kind of magic absorbing material that was charged with fire magic.

    Interesting.

    I wondered if I could potentially design appliances from Earth that would be able to work using this technology. It seemed that they had some sort of refrigerator that worked in the same way, except it used a cold stone charged with ice magic. Couldn''t I make some sort of steam engine using both those stones?

    I would have to stop considering things like that. I was incognito, after all!

    It seemed like I would be able to build up a mutualistic relationship between me and this village. When it came to money it seems I would have a lot to learn. Velariah had pulled the coin purse that I had looted from the archer from her pack and laid the coins out on the table. It was the first time I actually had a good look at what exactly had been in the pouch. I couldn''t really make out the colors in the cave but in here I could clearly see the materials.

    All in all, there were five copper coins, seven silver ones, three gold ones  and one square black coin that seemed like it had been charred by something. It seemed that the logic the currency followed here wasn''t too difficult to understand. It was ten coppers to a silver, ten silvers to a gold, and ten gold to a ''''black'''' coin. It did seem to be some special material but I had no idea what it was. It turned out that a square coin would be worth five of the corresponding material.

    There seemed to be two issues. These were human coins and apparently one would have to pay more of these than one would pay with the elven variant in elven territory. At least they were universally accepted.  The other issue was that a mid-ranked iron adventurer was not supposed to walk around with black coins, let alone a square black one. They seemed to be worth a small fortune and Valtheril was skeptical about a random lone human walking around the forest with a square black coin. He confiscated the coin and would inquire several people about the matter. He informed me that even the gold coins were rare on such low ranked adventurers but I was relieved when he told me I could keep those.

    Okay, so financially I would be fine for a while. I would have to figure out exactly how much food cost and try to get an understanding of economics. I didn''t like the idea of having to learn everything there was to economics but I should at least figure out how much it would cost to buy a bread. Or coffee. I missed coffee.

    I was happy with the hospitality that was offered me. I had expected for things to go way worse when I eventually ran into civilization. I guessed being able to save lives with my new ''''abilities'''' was one of the things that kept me alive. I hoped it wasn''t the only thing that was appreciated about me. These people didn''t strike me as if they were out for blood, they were just scared of the unknown. Except for the treemender maybe, that guy was evil, I was sure of it.

    With that, our talks had ended, for now. Valtheril would keep me updated with regards to our ''''trade agreement''''. He would get a couple guards to oversee me from a distance and protect me if necessary. Velariah suggested we used the rest of the day to visit the local adventurer''s guild to get my registration out of the way and sign her up for the trial. I thought she was still training? She seemed eager to get out there. I guessed she wanted to team up with me, it would not be a bad idea to be honest.

    She told me that if there was any time left, we could have a look at some clothes or armor.

    ''''Clothes'''' I had said. ''''Clothes would be nice.''''

    ''''Very well then.'''' Valtheril stated firmly as he stood up from his chair.

    He tossed me the coin pouch which I had missed and had to pick up from the ground, and walked over to hand Velariah the orange potion, which she quickly put away in her pack.

    ''''I will talk to a few people, I''ll see the two of you at the guild soon. Vel, please help her get her tag ready in the meantime.'''' He spoke as he turned the large key around and opened the door. Then he walked out of the building.

    The way he had said her name with a deadpan expression had put a wicked grin on my face. Finally, it was my turn to smile.

    Velariah noticed and quickly turned away in obvious embarrassment.

    ''''Alright then Vel,'''' I said with an overly sweet voice, ''''let''s go.''''

    I was going to have a lot of fun with this nickname.

    She wasn''t.

 1.11 A Spider walks into a bar

    Eventually Velariah had gone quiet. Every question that she had asked and every comment she had made while walking to the village had resulted in me responding with ''''Okay, Vel''''. I was going to exploit her weakness to the fullest! It was only a fair payback after all.

    Before we started making our way into the village, Valtheril had suggested he had one of the guards deliver my shabby weapons to his house where I would be staying for the nights in the near future. It was nice to have them off my hands for a while at least. I would not need them in here anyway.

    As expected, people stared. It was hard to find anybody that didn''t stop what they were doing to take a better look at what was walking through their village. I believe I even saw a young boy steal an apple or two from a nearby fruit stand, the owner was too busy with me to even notice.

    One or two people even yelled ''''Monster!''''. Velariah was quick to have them shut up by sending them an angry glare. One that even scared the shit out of me. I was happy she was here, I imagined this would have been far worse otherwise. I resolved I would stop calling her Vel. At least for now.

    The village wasn''t terribly big so we were within the center in minutes. Dusk was falling and it seemed people were packing up. It appeared the large area around the tree in the middle of the village was indeed used as a forum. It seemed many stalls were set out along the edge with all kinds of different goods. Food, potions, armor, weapons and household objects like cutlery were some of the many things that I saw being packed.

    It was also quite obvious that most of these stalls belonged to the stores that had their entrances conveniently located facing the tree. All important shops could be easily found in one place. In some way it resembled a mall.

    Between the wooden buildings were a couple larger stone ones that stood out, their entrances were larger, at least two doors wide and had a bunch of people in all types of armor go in and out. It wasn''t hard to guess that those had been the buildings that Valtheril had mentioned earlier. I wondered which one Valeriah''s home was.

    I didn''t get to see as much as I had liked otherwise because I was constantly looking out for people to see if any of them had the crazy idea of drawing their weapon near me. One guy that looked like he was in his late teens had actually walked up to me and had put his hand on his sword''s hilt. Before he even knew what happened Velariah already had her sword drawn and was holding it under his chin.

    Her reflexes were quick, I wondered what rank she would end up with.

    She led me up a large stone building. This specific building was made out of grey bricks that were roughly the side of the ones you would find on Earth. The other stone buildings that I came across used much, much larger bricks that were not the same size. It seemed like an advance in masonry and it let me to think this building was far newer than the others I''d seen so far.

    A spider walked into a bar.

    No really, it actually happened. The entrance was basically a copy of the other building. A bar was located to the left of where we entered, a kitchen was located behind the counter in a separate room. This kitchen actually had things cooking, I could make out the smell of meat that was grilling which made me long for a good hamburger. I hoped they had cheese. Cheese made everything better. Especially hamburgers.

    This bar actually had people sitting on the stools conversing with the bartender. Well, conversing was a big word. They were mainly young male elves that were fixated on her little too low d¨¦collet¨¦. It seems that the elves had already mastered the art of market manipulation a long time ago.

    Even with her breasts almost on full display it didn''t prevent one of the happy drinkers to look at Velariah and me as we walked in. He had dropped a pint of what I assumed was beer when he noticed me. The barkeeper called for a cleanup from the kitchen, seemingly unfazed by a glass shattering. It was almost as if this happened daily and she just didn''t have any will left to care anymore.

    His eyes were full of the shock that I had seen too many times already and then sadness as he looked at where he had dropped his beer. Not wanting to leave a bad impression I asked Velariah for the coin pouch and tossed the poor soul a silver coin before handing it back to her. From his reaction I could make up that a drink cost far less than what I had just given him. He brought a round of drink for his mates at the bar and I was left with the feeling that I got scammed, again.

    Oh well, maybe it would cause some positive stories to be told about me. Maybe karma would actually help me out in the future.

    The tables here weren''t the long ones like the ones in the checkpoint. Rather, they had round tables with four chairs set out in the middle of the room and then rectangular tables with benches against the wall to the right. Against that wall was a long bench that enabled people to sit on the other side of the table.

    The toilet area seemed to be located in the same part of the building as well. These elves really worked from a set template, didn¡¯t they? Oh well, why change something that works, right?

    Speaking about things that work, it seemed these elves took inspiration from anime. In front of where we entered again the far wall there was a counter with a lady behind it reading some papers. Behind her were all kinds of books and scrolls in a bookshelf that made up a two-by-two meters area on the wall. On the counter lay all kinds of stationery, I could make out a stamp and inkpad, all kinds of papers, files, documents, a quill and what looked like a block of wax which was probably used to seal letters. A candle was positioned on the desk as well, likely as a means to help reading and applying the wax.

    The desk was a mess I had to admit, and the lady behind the counter looked like she was laden with work to do as she was reading a paper and then looking to another document. She repeated this several times without noticing our approach.

    I let Velariah deal with this as I stood behind her and looked at the large wooden board that was on the wall to the right. This was the classic quest board and I saw it divided into several columns which indicated their skill level. The columns had large coins with a hole in the middle the size of saucers above them. From left to right they were made out of copper, a dull iron, a shining silver, and a shining gold. The last column to the right had no saucer, instead the word ''''Ruby'''' was written above it.

    ''Guess their budget was spent.'' I thought looking at the black letters that looked like they were branded into the wood.

    There were no columns for diamond or abyss, I wondered why. Maybe this area wasn''t so dangerous?

    I got excited and wanted to have a look but figured I would need to get this registration out of the way first. Velariah grabbed my attention when she snapped a finger in front of my face.

    ''''Oi, we have a problem here.'''' She and the lady behind the counter both looked at me,

    ''''We need your name to put on your adventurer tag.'''' the elf behind the counter looked at me with a stern face. She had put the papers down and seemed to be past the fear stage.

    ''''Uhhhh.''''

    Crap, I still don¡¯t know my name, in fact, none of my lost memories had returned so far.

    ''''Can we put a temporary name on it?'''' I asked.

    ''''Normally, we don¡¯t do that kind of stuff, but you seem to be...'''' she eyed me from top to toe. ''''A special case. I heard you have the general''s endorsement; I think we can work something out.''''

    I went to work on trying to come up with something that could be a proper temporary alias.

    ''''How about Octavia?'''' Velariah suggested.

    She was joking, right?

    ''''Why, because I got eight legs? So funny, ha, ha, ha.'''' I answered in pure sarcasm. ''''How about no.''''

    She grinned. She was evil too, I was sure of it.

    Even the lady behind the counted grinned sheepishly. It was a conspiracy and they were all in on it.

    ''''Scarlet?'''' came her next fake suggestion.

    ''''What, because of the hair? Surely you can do better than that.''''

    She grinned again.

    ''''Syria?'''' It seems she was actually getting serious about this now.

    I shook my head, it reminded me too much about a country back on Earth, I''d rather not share the name with a country.

    ''''Aelnalonis?''''

    What was that name?

    ''''Too long.'''' I replied. ''''If I am to pick a name, even temporary, I would prefer to not despise it.''''

    ''''Elania?''''

    That didn''t sound half bad.

    ''''What''s the deeper meaning in that one?'''' I asked, half expecting something that would point towards my lower body.

    ''''There isn''t any, not as far as I know.''''

    I looked into her eyes to see if she was lying.

    ''''I swear, I''m serious!'''' She almost sounded scared. Good.

    ''''Alright, let''s take that for now.''''

    The clerk behind the desk searched behind the desk and pulled out a document.

    ''''Since you were endorsed by the general, I will need a signature.''''

    I had literally just received a temporary name and they already wanted me to have a signature?

    ''''Just write your ''''name''''.'''' Velariah said, ''''I am the one observing and will put my signature down, as long as you write something it''s fine. My father will also have to put his signature as approval.''''

    Alright, that seemed awfully official. I guess this kind of thing didn¡¯t happen every day.

    The clerk indicated where I should sign. I wrote ''''Elania'''' as best as I could with the quill that was handed to me. This poor girl had to write like this all day, I wish I could give her a ballpoint pen to make her life easier. I seriously doubted a ballpoint pen would be something I could replicate in this world. I had taken apart many of them in my life out of boredom in class so I somewhat knew how it worked, but still. Creating the parts would be impossible with this world''s technology level.

    Velariah put her signature next to mine.

    ''''You wanna grab something to eat while we wait?'''' She asked.

    I wasn''t particularly hungry but the delicious smell coming from the kitchen had my mouth watering for some food. I decided to take her up on the offer.

    ''''You got any hamburgers?'''' I decided to try.

    ''''What¡¯s that?''''

    This world was a joke.

    ''''Well, if you do not know it yet, I can guarantee you it will be a big hit. It is a patty of minced meat on a bread bun with salad, onions, tomatoes and sauce. You could also add pickles and cheese if you want, though I am not a big fan of pickles myself.''''

    ''''Nope.'''' she said with glowing eyes ''''Don''t know it, but it sounds delicious and not that hard to make, correct?''''

    At least she didn¡¯t say she had no idea what those ingredients were. That gave me hope.

    ''''Hah, you would be right, it is simple to make, the sauce would be the hardest part but I know a thing or two about cooking. I could possibly get it done if I have enough ingredients to try multiple times.''''

    Hamburgers, the ideal food for adventurers. I could practically taste them. While I was at it, I might as well introduce fries.

    Back to the present I let Velariah choose whatever thought she was good and I would have the same. When I heard she ordered a beer I did have that changed however. I would not be trying alcohol in public, not after what had happened last time. I just had her order some milk instead.

    My first real meal in this world was not quite like I imagined it to be. My first issue was finding a place to sit. The benches served well but I had to take a lot of hurdles to even get there. We ended up in the far-right corner. The next part had been tucking away all the extra legs under the table and behind the bench, my abdomen was resting on the floor. This was honestly such a hassle.

    When we were finally seated it didn''t take long for the food to be served. A waiter brought in two plates, each of them had a large steak with a salad at the side. Then we were each handed a fork and knife which I had accepted without taking my eyes off my plate.

    My emotions were all over the place. I could never afford anything like this on Earth which caused me to hesitate before eating. It made me nervous. How much was this going to cost?

    Velariah had assured me it was fine; all this was only six copper coins.

    Oh my god, I was rich. I still had 5 copper, 6 silver and 3 gold coins, that would be well over 360 copper. I would be able to eat for a while. Well, I would still have to get armor and clothes, I hoped inflation hadn''t hit that market yet.

    While we were eating, I saw Velariah''s father enter the building. He had a quick look around and after spotting us he went to sit at the bar and ordered something.

    More and more people kept pouring in. Most of them were elves but I could see a human mixed in every now and then. Did they learn the elven language or was it the other way around? None of the people walking in were dressed in regular day wear, all of them wore some kind of combat armor. Soft leather to hard leather, mail to plate. I was pretty sure there were also some wizards or mages judging from the long robes. Those couldn''t be convenient when running.

    The food itself was out of this world. The meat was extremely tender and rich in flavor, I had never experienced anything like it, well, besides the unibelea which was also tasteful. I guessed this had to be the result of extreme freshness and it being purely organic. Even the salad was delicious and I had not been a fan of salads back on earth. It was quite the shock to learn that this was how they could be.

    When we finished dinner, I had mentioned that I would like to get this done and over with as soon as possible so we would have some time to get clothes before nightfall. I quickly drank the last of my milk as the waiter came over to collect the payment. Velariah gave him eight copper coins, she tipped two for the trouble. I had suggested paying but she said I had done enough for her as it was.

    I parkoured through the now bustling dining area. People were way too fixated on my legs as I passed them on my way to the clerk''s area. Valtheril hopped off the stool in one quick motion, his armor making quite some noise as he landed which turned a few heads.

    The lady behind the counter was preoccupied with a bunch of documents and seemed to be looking up in somewhat that looked that an encyclopedia. I could make out a few drawings of what looked like certain plants and leaves. She put down the documents when she saw us approach and pulled out the document that I had signed before out of a pile.

    Valtheril asked us to hold on for a minute as he read through the text. Maybe I should have actually read what I signed, oops. I had been too used to just clicking accept on the ''''terms of agreement'''' window back on earth. I mean, who read that anyway?

    When Valtheril seemed happy with everything stated he turned to me.

    ''''So, Elania...'''' He paused.

    What was I supposed to say? I would still have to get used to that name.

    He continued before I could come up with a reply.

    ''''Have you paid the fee for joining the Dawnleaf guild yet?''''

    I knew I should have read the document.

    ''''How much was that again?'''' I asked, pretending to have forgotten.

    ''''One silver, or in your case, one silver one copper when paying with human coins.''''

    So that was a ten percent fee, not the smallest, but not really an issue for me at this point either.

    I had Velariah hand me the pouch again and fished out the necessary funds. That was two silver spent in the span of an hour, I would have to be careful not to keep spending it at this rate. I had been eying the quest board while waiting and started to get excited about checking it out. There seemed to be quite a few notes nailed into the silver category. There was bound to be something good.

    I gave the pouch back to the white-haired elf who once again put it away in her pack. I was going to need me one of those as well, this back-and-forth hassle was getting annoying.

    After paying, Velariah was handed a document to sign. She said it was for her ''''trial'''' and that it would start tomorrow. When I asked how long the trial was going to take, she said it could be anywhere between a few minutes and a few hours, depending on how many adventurers from different tiers and branches were available.

    Valtheril and Velariah both signed their respective documents and the clerk read over their signatures and let the ink dry before putting them away. Then she looked behind the counter and found what she was looking for after a few seconds of searching.

    A silver tag with chain was put before me on the desk. I could clearly read the name ''''Elania'''' engraved in the material with a silver sword and a ''''II'''' to the right of my temporary name. When did that engraving get done? Did they have these in stock with all kinds of names? That seemed extremely overcomplicated. I guessed she had the engraving done when we were eating.

    I took the tag and hung it around my neck, making sure the tag was over the cloth so I would be recognized by people as a guild member. I checked if there were any other things that would need to be arranged but Valtheril had assured me everything was in order.

    After thanking him I walked over to the board. My curiosity was killing me, I had to know what kind of quests were on this board.

    ''''Let''s see now.'''' I said to no one in particular as I started with the ''''copper'''' column.

    Wow, these quests sure sucked. I mean, rescuing a lost cat, removing weeds from the fields and chopping up logs into firewood were some of the things that were listed on here. I had read every request just to check if there was at least something that wouldn''t be half bad but the most interesting would probably have been the one where someone requested an arm-wrestling partner. I had a lot of arms, after all.

    ''Onward to iron'' I thought.

    There were only two requests in this category which had kind of made a dent in my plan of starting off with something that would be considered ''''too easy'''' for me.

    One of them was to gather some herbs for the basic anti-venoms at the forest''s edge. I had no idea about what the names were nor what they looked like so I could cross that one off fairly quickly.

    The other one was a quest for rat extermination in somebody''s basement. Why it was listed as iron rank I had no idea. Maybe the rats in this world were the size of basketballs? I shuddered. More reason to not take that one.

    I wanted adventure, not pest control.

    I moved to silver, the first one I read already caught my attention. It was looking for someone to lift a mysterious curse that had made a farmer''s goats become possessed by a demon. It was listed as a low tier silver quest but had a note saying that the strength of the demon was unknown.

    ''''Hey Velariah, do you know the story behind this one?'''' I pointed to the request in question.

    She shrugged.

    ''''No idea, ask the Lore keeper behind the counter for more info.''''

    So that''s what she was called, good to know.

    I walked over to the lady who seemed to be making progress a lot of the documents had been put away and she was visibly relieved.

    I asked her what the story behind the goat farmer''s quest was. She replied that the farmer had to move his goats to a different field because they had become possessed by a demon that made them run in circles constantly. It had apparently taken a full day for a treemender to expel the demons that took hold of them.

    Well, that sounded interesting. I wasn''t easily scared of paranormal things but being transported to this world had made me react differently to this than I normally would. I considered ditching the quest but was too curious to back down now. The farmer had not seen a demon so I was skeptical if there was truly such a thing. I know superstition used to be widespread in our history too.

    I decided I''d take the quest. The Lore keeper had given me the route to the farmer''s home outside the city, close to the forest. I would check with him and make my way from there.

    Velariah had dragged me outside while it was still light. It was surprising how long the sky remained red in this world before the dark would actually set in. She said we should get some clothes quickly before the stores closed.

    I wondered if I was actually needed to buy clothes because as it turned out, I could not fit through any of the entrances. What ended up happening is that Velariah had gone inside while I waited outside. She had then come out again with a measuring tape to take a few measurements, more than I''d like to admit. I had told her I really didn''t care for anything fancy. It just needed to be practical.

    That part seemed to be an issue with the four arms and whatnot. What ended up happening was that she would have a tailor basically create extra holes beneath the sleeves. The most awkward part was going to have her find lingerie that was going to fit me, the side straps may be an issue. I am not sure why but she had assured that all these things were not going to be a problem. Was that because of her status as the general''s daughter or because of other reasons?

    I waited outside hoping she wouldn''t get me anything ridiculous as a joke. She could really be a tease if she wanted to.

    The tag seemed to work like a charm. I still had people stare at me but when they noticed the tag they would at least stop shaking in their boots.

    During the time I was waiting, I had seen a guy with green scales for skin step out of the building with a paper bag in his hands. He had claws that resembled a dragon''s minus the long nails and a scaly green tail with a beige underside that stuck through a hole his pants. I started to get an idea of what Velariah meant now. It seemed that I wouldn''t be the first one that needed clothing to be adjusted to my body.

    He was also wearing a tag, except his was a shiny gold. I could see why he had that, even though his average day clothing consisting of blue jeans and a yellow shirt that matched his lower scales I could see his muscles clearly. He was not someone to be messing around with. He briefly acknowledged my presence with a slight nod before he moved on.

    ''So lizardmen actually exist here too, that''s kind of cool.'' I concluded.

    I wondered what other races existed in this world. Not mine, that thing was for sure.

    Sometime after, Velariah stepped out of the shop with two large paper bags full of clothes. That seemed like an awful lot of clothes considering I only had one half of my body to cover.

    ''''How much did all of that cost?'''' was the first thing I said.

    ''''Five silvers.'''' she said. ''''This should last you quite some time, this tailor is well known throughout the neighboring cities.''''

    That had made me wonder if more people like that lizardman would come to shop here. I would love to know what races existed in this world. I mean, I could always ask Velariah but I''d like to see them for myself. I was not going to tell her that, lest I look like some kind of creep.

    This trip had also reduced my budget by quite a bit and it made me fearful for when I would have to buy armor. I was out of silver already. I technically had 30 more but I would have to exchange the gold to silver first I figured.

    Crap, I should have asked what the reward on the goat quest was. I was too busy with the contents to even think about the reward.

    ''''Do we still have time to look for armor?'''' I asked Velariah.

    I noticed a fair number of shops had already closed and the stands that were once full of goods were completely cleaned out.

    ''''Nope, they just closed, I figured this would take priority, we can''t have you walking around in that all day.'''' she pointed to the red sheet that was covering my chest and arms.

    Fair enough.

    ''''At least give me one of those bags.'''' I smiled at her. She looked determined to carry them all the way.

    ''''Nope.'''' She smiled back.

    Alrighty then. What was she hiding?

    I hoped I would find out before it was too late.

 1.12 Mandatory bath chapter

    We had decided to call it a day and make our way to her home. It had not been one of the stone buildings that I had expected it to be. Instead, we made our way around the big tree that had a large entrance without any doors in place. On the other side, we had to take the road that was leading to the north exit of the village. It was only a few houses out of the center.

    We arrived at a huge stone building, possibly bigger than any of the other stone buildings in the center of the village. I wouldn''t know I could not see this before from the forest overlooking the village, the tree had blocked the view. The door was a large two-part gate-style door that gave me castle vibes. It also had a small window that someone from the inside could see through after sliding it open. The doors were adorned by two large knockers in the shapes of metal rings that were set in an iron leaf.

    Velariah put down a bag and used one of the knockers to make our presence known.

    A few seconds later the slide in front of the window was slid open and a pair of eyes appeared.

    ''''Ah, lady Velariah, welcome home. How have you been? I heard some disturbing news earlier.''''

    ''''I''m fine Elly, please open both doors.''''

    ''''Both doors but wh-''''

    I saw her eyes move to me.

    ''''Oh.''''

    Wait, what? That was all? No shock? No gasp?

    She was a professional.

    The window was shut again and the large doors opened to allow us in. A young black-haired elf was standing at the side in a maid outfit. She didn''t do the typical bow that I was expecting but I had the feeling Velariah would hate it if she did. She probably had learned not to bow for her a long time ago.

    Velariah picked up the bags again and put them down inside.

    The inside of the hallway was nothing special it was a square area with another large double door leading into the next area. Two smaller doors were located to the left and right of where we entered. The floor was made up of large square grey stones. The only notable thing about this hallway was the armor racks that were positioned right next to the double doors leading into the next door.

    There were four of those in total, two of them had a harness and two were empty.

    The maid that went by the name Elly helped Velariah out of her armor and put the pieces on the wooden stand. When they were done Velariah was standing there in leather boots, brown linen trousers, and a white shirt that matched her hair painstakingly well.

    She had a smile on her face as she stretched.

    ''''Ahh, that feels good.''''

    Yeah, I can imagine that. Chain vests and hardened leather weren''t exactly the clothing you would see humans wear in the streets in my world. I had actually walked over to the stand to see how much the chain vest weighed that she wore for two days straight now.

    Yeah, that was heavy. How had she even managed to run so much in that? If she wasn''t going to get at least gold rank I would call the system rigged.

    ''''I wouldn''t know, never had to wear armor before,'''' I said after I had put the chain vest back on the stand.

    ''''You don''t wear armor back at your place?'''' She said as she was stretching her arms and legs.

    I think she deliberately used ''''your place'''' instead of ''''your world'''' as to not confuse Elly who was still watching us.

    ''''Nobody does,'''' I replied.

    ''''Odd.'''' She had simply said as she moved over to the large double doors and threw them open.

    She walked back after putting her palm against her forehead.

    ''''I''m sorry for not introducing you two. Elly, this is Elania. Elania this is Elly.

    I took a hand out from under the red sheet and shook hers.

    ''''Nice to meet you.'''' I greeted her.

    ''''Nice to meet you too, miss Elania.'''' She replied politely.

    "Elly, do you mind taking these bags to the main bathroom?'''' Velariah asked the maid.

    ''''Certainly, mistress,'''' Elly replied as she took the bags and walked through the large doors.

    After that Velariah led me into the next room which was a lot more open. A long table was placed in the center on a red carpet with twelve chairs to the sides and one at the head, each chair had a leather seat, armrests, and a luxurious look. All those chairs actually made me wonder if it was purely for family or for formal meetings. How many members did she have in her family, anyway? So far, I had only met her father.

    In the far front was a burning fireplace with a chimney reaching up. To the right of the fireplace, about 2 meters out was another door, one I wouldn''t fit through. Several more doors were located on the right wall of this room but I wouldn''t have to bother with what was behind them. Maybe Velariah would be kind enough to tell me some day so I wouldn''t be completely left in the dark.

    She took me to the left side of the room to a set of double doors to the left. Elly just walked out as we arrived.

    ''''One of the bathrooms is here, make yourself at home. You can even spend the night in there if you want, it''s got a lock and all. I will have some pillows brought down here later.''''

    Multiple bathrooms? Talk about showing off. I''m pretty sure the wealth of a person was measured by the number of bathrooms they had.

    ''''Thanks a lot, Vel.''''

    I hadn¡¯t even said it on purpose but she somehow didn''t seem to mind me calling her by her nickname this time.

    ''''I''m going straight to the other bathroom myself. I stink.'''' She said with a half-smile.

    ''''Heh, at least you don''t have much to wash. Look at all these extra parts I have to clean!'''' I said half-jokingly.

    ''''That''s your problem now, if you need sponges and soap, you can find them in the cabinet under the sink. I''ll be off now, I''ll talk to you later.'''' She started to walk off when I called for her.

    ''''Velariah?''''

    She turned around. ''''Yes?''''

    ''''About tomorrow, there are a few things I want to discuss can we do that after we''re done?''''

    ''''Sure, no problem.'''' She continued to walk off and walked through one of the doors on the right.

    I walked to the bathroom doors and opened them.

    The sight of a luxurious bathroom filled my vision. As luxurious as a bathroom in the Middle Ages would get, anyway. The room was quite big and it had more than enough space to fit me and everything my heart desired in it. In the right-back corner was an immense wooden bathtub that resembled a jacuzzi. It would be more than enough to fit everything of me in. This was going to be heaven.

    I closed the doors and locked them with the large key in one of the doors, it seemed to lock both doors. Then I turned around to see what this bathroom looked like.

    To the right of the tub was a square mirror on the wall above a sink. A cabinet with towels and accessories was beneath that. Now that I thought about it, I had never seen myself in a mirror before. Not with this new body at least. Next to the cabinet were the two bags of clothes that Velariah had bought for me.

    Further to the right was a wooden pull chain toilet. This didn''t seem so primitive as I had expected. I was honestly expecting a simple hole in the ground or something. To be fair, a hole in the ground may actually fit me best. I still had no idea what would happen if I ever had to do a number 2 with this body, I feared the worst...

    This room was lighted by a chandelier that adorned the ceiling. The chandelier held up multiple orbs that each emitted a light that was not too bright to the eyes but still illuminated the entire room well.

    No longer able to suppress my curiosity I walked over to the mirror. I wondered if I was the prettiest of them all.

    I couldn¡¯t believe it. I actually made that joke in my head but I had to admit I was surprisingly pretty. The red irises were slightly off-putting but nothing took away from my face. My round eyes with red eyebrows would be the bane of many cosmetic companies. My eyelashes were long and seductive, I''m pretty sure women back on earth would have killed for those. Beneath the grime from the forest and the battle with the Saibon boar, my skin was soft and supple. My small nose added to the cuteness of an otherwise unblemished face.

    My red hair was a mess and covered my ears. From the length, I could already tell it was going to be a pain to get that sorted out properly.

    I had rarely cared about appearances on Earth besides the absolutely necessary parts, and my hair of course. But seeing my face now, I had to admit that whatever god put me here really put their effort into reshaping my face into that of one of the most beautiful I had ever seen. Their character editing skills were evident. My face combined with this honey-sweet voice of mine would probably have had the guys, perhaps even the ladies swooning over me.

    It was a damn shame that that particular god had a cruel sense of humor. If it had been limited to my face and hair, I doubt I would have minded as much as I did. Instead, they decided to give me an extra set of arms and if that wasn''t enough, they also added an extra six legs and more freaky stuff, because apparently, they could. One thing was for sure, anyone that would have been attracted to me would certainly keep their distance now.

    I grabbed a towel and a bar of soap from the open part of the cabinet. In one of the cabinet compartments stood a basket, I pulled it out to see exactly what was in it.

    Eureka!

    I had found a comb. There was also a sponge that I tossed into the tub and a toenail clipper which I doubted I''d need. I hesitated for a moment before I pulled out another sponge.

    ''Might as well use those extra arms.'' I joked in my mind. I figured I would be scrubbing for a while.

    Thinking about arms. I pulled off the red sheet to take a look at my once immobilized arm. The pain had completely faded and I found I could move it freely again. I swung it through the air making a few circles just to make sure. Even though I did not like the guy, his magic seemed to be effective. Yay for alternative medicine!

    It was time to get down to business. I pulled three rolled-up towels from a cabinet compartment and put them in the sink. Undressing was a breeze considering there was only the coconut bra that was half destroyed as it was. I would be happy to say goodbye to that. With that thought, I tossed it away to the ground. I took off my adventurer tag and dropped it in the sink as well.

    I stepped into the bathtub and tried to figure out how this faucet worked. It had an iron cylinder with two rotary ends which I assumed were for hot and cold water.

    I rotated one end and found out that nothing happened. I tried rotating it in the other direction and still, nothing happened.

    Just my luck, this thing is broken.

    I tried turning the other end of the cylinder hoping to at least get either hot or cold water, hell, anything would do. I was met with lukewarm water when I did. That was odd, I was expecting either scalding hot or freezing cold.

    Wait a second, don¡¯t tell me...

    I was familiar with the concept but my old apartment on Earth wasn''t luxurious enough to include such a thing.

    I turned the other end again and found that the water temperature gradually increased as I turned.

    ''''Oohhhhhh Yesss.'''' I actually said out loud. A thermostatic faucet. This world was getting better by the minute.

    How they had managed to do this I didn''t know. These people would have the possibility of surpassing Earthen technology if given several hundred years more, on this area they already had.

    I might even start to enjoy life here, or at least the quality-of-life additions that magic and things like this faucet provided. This home was obviously far above the average living standards, though. If I wanted to live like this, I would probably have to find a decent way to make money. I knew my previous life''s knowledge should be able to have a hand in that, the problem was avoiding exposure.

    I put the temperature to fairly warm, almost hot, I was going to enjoy every minute of this.

    I used a sponge to clean the worst dirt off my human body and face before I put the stopper in the plug and allowed the tub to fill up slowly.

    Boy, was that a terrible idea.

    I had started to clean my ''''feet'''' and legs which were hard to do because whenever I rubbed the sponge against the hairs my legs spasmed in reflex. I had to keep hold of them with my arms and clean them with my other arms.

    The water was slowly rising and was filled up with dirt, grime, and a couple of small twigs.

    I sighed as I unplugged the stopper and allowed the dirty water to drain.

    This might even be more work than I thought it was going to be.

    I decided to clean my hair as the water drained as well, knowing that it would probably be in a just as bad or even worse state. I turned out to be right in that regard.

    With all that out of the way, I re-plugged the drain and lowered my body down to the bottom of the tub, trying to relax.

    I''m pretty sure it took half an hour to fill the entirety of this huge tub but I was enjoying every second of the warm water slowly rising up my back as I leaned with my chest against the edge.

    While the water filled the tub I noticed my abdomen rise as the water did. For some reason, my behind floated on the water. It was good to know that I wouldn''t sink like a brick if I ever got in deep water, but it was quite inconvenient right now. It seemed l would have to learn to swim as well, eventually. To any onlookers, that was going to look hilarious or frightening to the bone. I chuckled.

    I couldn''t believe this body. I have never seen a spider swim. I liked to believe they couldn''t. I hoped I was simply an exception, not the standard.

    I grabbed the rose-scented bar of soap and started scrubbing everything. Yes, everything. Gotta take care of proper body hygiene after all.

    Maybe cleaning the spider parts was a bit unnecessary but I decided to clean it as best I could. Especially the area where the arrows had struck my behind, even though it was healed quite nicely, was cleaned as best I could to prevent infections. Better be safe than sorry. I doubted antibiotics were a thing in this world and I would rather not be relying on there being some kind of magic to solve the issue.

    I heard a knock on the door.

    ''''Elania, are you finished?'''' Velariah''s voice was heard.

    Was she in a hurry or what?

    ''''Nope!'''' I answered with a happy voice.

    I was going to enjoy this for as long as I could.

    ''''Alright, I''ll be in here if you need me.'''' I heard a chair scrape across the floor.

    Ugh, I really didn''t want to leave the warmth that was this heavenly bath.

    I washed my hair as best I could with the block of soap. There was no shampoo but I supposed this would have to do. I wondered if shampoo was a thing in this world and whether I could make it. I had read the shampoo bottle plenty of times while waiting for it to do its work for lack of having anything better to do. Sodium Laureth Sulfate was usually the first thing in the ingredient list so it was probably important. It was a shame that I had not the slightest clue what it actually was. I mean, I was a nerd but that was beyond my scope.

    After soaking and taking in the warmth with my entire body for a while, I decided it was enough. I carefully cleaned my face and unplugged the stopper.

    The wooden bathtub was slippery but my new legs had no issues stepping out. To be fair, even if I slipped there were many more legs to prevent me from falling. No more slipups in the bathroom, was somewhat of a nice prospect. I may have hurt my bum more than once trying to get out of the small tub I had back at home.

    Then came the labor-intensive task of drying my body with the towels. I had assumed that three would be enough earlier on. I was once again proven wrong when I tossed away the fourth and grabbed the fifth and last one. Fortunately, that turned out to be the exact amount I would need.

    With the last towel wrapped around me, I anxiously picked up one of the bags of clothes.

    A few shirts were folded inside and when I took them out, several bras came into view.

    I didn¡¯t know what to think. I was trying one on, a black one with a not too intricate design. The good news was that she had picked the correct size. The bad news was that I had no idea how these straps worked. It seemed to be a low cross strap on the back because of the extra set of arms being in the way of normal ones. My worst nightmare had become reality as I struggled to get them closed. I had no idea how this worked and I probably needed help to get it done properly.

    Fuck.

    I had briefly considered going without one but quickly denounced that idea. Even if they had been reduced in size, these were still easily D-cup and far too visible through a shirt.

    I inwardly screamed. Why did I have to fall prey to the most stereotypical anime plotlines?

    Screw you cruel gods!

    I knocked on the door.

    ''''Velariah? You there?''''

    ''''Yeah, what''s up?''''

    ''''I am afraid I am going to need some help here,'''' I spoke, ashamed because of my situation.

    I heard the chair scrape the floor again and steps coming my way.

    I unlocked the door and peeked around the corner.

    Velariah was wearing clothing that seemed much more comfortable than what she wore before. She was wearing blue linen trousers that allowed for much more free movement compared to the brown ones she wore earlier. They had seemed pretty tightly wrapped around her legs. Her upper body was covered with a red shirt that was also made of linen. This shirt accentuated her curves in a much more defined manner, I could see why she didn''t wear this before.

    When she entered the room, I closed the door again. I still had the bra cupping my breasts so fortunately, I didn''t flash her. I just needed help with those stupid straps, and a way to do it myself...

    Seeing my struggle, she took hold of the straps without saying a word. I was thankful for that. It reminded me of when I had a hairdresser that would just keep quiet. I much preferred that over one who would try to make small talk all the time. I really wasn''t into that.

    ''''There, all done.'''' She said with a straight face. I had to admire her professionalism once again. I had expected her to tease me about this until I went crazy.

    I walked over to the mirror to get an idea of how everything fit into place and it seemed I had been right before; they were very low cross straps. I took good notice of how everything was connected so that I could hopefully do it by myself next time.

    I took the first shirt that I could find, a plain dark red one, and unfolded it.

    As I expected it had been refitted to suit me. Two holes for my second set of arms were located under the sleeves, and part of the underside of the back was missing. The front was longer and I had an idea why.

    I put it on and found that the front fell down over the part where hair covered my private area but didn¡¯t quite reach my pedipalps. On the backside, it stopped perfectly when it hit the exoskeleton of my abdomen. I had to admit that I felt special to have something specifically tailored for my needs, I could see why these clothes had been so expensive, relatively speaking.

    ''''You look happy.'''' Velariah broke the silence.

    ''''I finally got some proper clothes, what did you expect?''''

    It''s true. I was indeed quite happy now that I was presentable.

    One could say I had been lucky so far, and maybe there was a degree of truth to it. I had, after all, bought these clothes with shady money that I found on some person that tried to kill me. To that degree, I would agree that I had been fairly lucky, but one would also have to remember that it had literally cost me an arm. I mean, I had three more but still! I would not want to go through that pain again, ever.

    ''''So, what did you want to talk about?'''' The elf asked, referring to what I had told her before taking a bath.

    I grabbed a comb and started to work on my long scarlet hair.

    ''''I wanted to know and ask a few things about tomorrow.''''

    ''''Go for it, I''m all ears.''''

    Heh, it was funny because her ears were like seven times the size of mine.

    After careful deliberation, we had come up with somewhat of a plan for the next day. Velariah had her trials and I had this quest that I wanted to work on as soon as possible.

    We had decided to go on simple reconnaissance first before getting ourselves into actual danger. Yes, we. Velariah would have her first three sparring matches in the morning and if she got through those as the winner, she would have several more later in the afternoon. There were a couple of hours in between that we would use to check what info we could get from the farmer that posted the quest.

    I had suggested buying armor first but Velariah had assured me we should be safe as long as we didn¡¯t go too deep in the nearby forest. The Lore keeper had mentioned that this supposed ''''demon'''' had made the goats run uncontrollably until it was expelled. I didn''t think it would be too dangerous if that was all it did.

    I wondered if this was one of those quests where you had to cleanse a certain area with some kind of fancy ritual to break the bond connecting the demon to this plane of existence. We should take a good look at the area and see if anything was out of the ordinary.

    Regarding breakfast the next day, it would be served in the room next door in the morning. I doubted I''d need to eat any; I haven''t felt hungry since coming to this world. It actually made me wonder if there was something wrong with my hunger receptors. I guessed as long as I didn''t gain weight, I would be fine?

    I finished up combing my hair and I felt liberated at last. Shame I would have to do it again in the morning. Long hair sure was a hassle, yet I just couldn''t part with it.

    ''''What do you do with the towels?'''' I asked as I put the comb back in the basket.

    ''''I''ll have Elly take those to be cleaned. Where did you want to sleep?'''' She crossed her arms and leaned against the door.

    ''''In here is fine, if that''s okay with you.'''' I looked at her expectantly.

    ''''Sure, I''ll knock on the door when breakfast is served.''''

    Velariah opened the doors. ''''Also, I''ve got some stuff here for you.

    Oh, now I was curious.

    On the other side of the doors against the wall were enough pillows to make a decently sized pillow fort. Apparently, they didn''t really have a bed they could easily get here, and even if they could I doubt it would fit me. Why did they even have this many pillows? There were about twenty of them spread out.

    I picked up a few and found them soft to the touch. Some were filled with feathers, others were filled with what I believed was wool.

    I could make this work.

    Elly walked back into the room and Velariah had asked her to get the towels to the washing area. In the meantime, I tossed the pillows into the other room. If the temperature stayed the way it was, I technically wouldn''t need covers, I just had never slept without them, well, up until I woke up in that cave. Even on hot summer nights, I needed covers, even if they were the thinnest, it made me feel much more comfortable and safer.

    I inwardly laughed as I thought about that. What was I trying to hide from back then? Was it the monsters lurking in the shadows that would grab my feet if I hung them over the edge of my bed?

    Bitch please, I was the monster now. Come at me. These lesser monsters had nothing on me!

    Once everything was in the room, I decided to call it a day and see if I could sleep. Having to stay up all night sucked now that I would have nothing to do. I bid Elly and Velariah good night as Elly was on her way out with the towels. They mimicked the gesture and I closed the door and locked it.

    On her way out Velariah had informed me that I could turn the lights off by simply clapping. That was convenient, I hadn''t seen a light switch anywhere so I was starting to wonder how that worked.

    I clapped, accidentally using all four hands.

    The lights went off and then on again.

    Oops.

    I repeated it with only one set of hands this time.

    That did the trick.

    I jumped into my ''''nest''''. That was an odd thought.

    What a day.

    I felt exhaustion wash over me as I tried to make myself comfortable in the pillow pile. It seemed I would have no trouble sleeping tonight. I undressed the shirt, tossed it in a random direction, and fell asleep in the softness.

 1.13 Hyper goats = Dark gold

    Hmmmm, that was some top-quality sleep I got.

    Shame Velariah was rudely knocking on the door with complete disregard.

    ''Just five more minutes, please.''

    ''''Elania? Breakfast is served.'''' Velariah sounded all energetic.

    No rest for the wicked, eh?

    ''''Coming...'''' I said as I yawned at the same time, stretching my arms.

    I got up from the pillow nest and clapped my hands, illuminating the room. There were no windows so I had no indication of what time it was. Fortunately, or rather, unfortunately, Velariah had been there to wake me up.

    I walked over to the sink and let the water run, it seemed there was only one temperature of water coming from this faucet and it was freezing cold, Yikes.

    I washed my face and brushed my hair at the same time.

    Look at me, I am super mom, doing all the things at once.

    It seemed my hand eye coordination had improved quite a bit since coming here. The slight slipup from yesterday with the lights was an example of one of the few mistakes I would still make.

    I picked up the same shirt I had tried on yesterday and put it back on. I checked the mirror to make sure that I was presentable, not that it mattered after how I looked yesterday but still. I seemed to be in high company after all. When I was happy with the results, I made my way over to the dining area.

    Velariah was already in full armor. She waited behind a plate of freshly baked bread with what looked like a jar of jam in the middle of the table. A boiled egg sat in an egg cup at the side. On the other side she had a cup of tea. I assumed it was tea because of the color. I couldn''t imagine anything else with the same distinct color and tea should be fairly easy to get your hands on. It seems the same was waiting for me on the other side of the table.

    The smell of fresh bread was unmistakable, it lured me in from afar, and even if I wasn''t hungry fresh bread would always find a way to my heart, erm, stomach, maybe both.

    It seems Velariah hadn¡¯t exactly thought this through. It was quite obvious to see the embarrassment on her face when I moved the chairs out of the way to get to the table. Her face became at least three tints redder. Nice going there, Vel!

    At least I would be able to decide for myself at what height I wanted to ''''sit'''' at the table, even when there was no sitting involved. No more would people look down on me, hah!

    The bread sat in the middle of the table on a chopping block but two slices had already been cut off and were waiting on a plate. I had to know what this jam looking substance was. If it was what I thought it was Velariah knew how to win my heart.

    I scooped out a bit with a knife and put it on the bread before putting a finger on it and bringing it to my mouth.

    Jackpot.

    Strawberries were amazing, strawberry jam even more so.

    ''''I believed you would like King Berries so I had Elly buy us a jar.'''' Velariah smiled as I was hastily spreading more of the jelly goodness on my slices of bread.

    ''''King berries? So, that''s what they are called here. We call them strawberries.'''' I replied before I took a large bite out of a slice.

    ''''Strawberries, huh? What a weird name.''''

    I raised a finger in objection before I realized that there was nothing to say about the matter. They simply called it King berries. We called it strawberries, I had no idea why either. At least it wasn''t something stupid like eye berry. I referred to the ''''eyes'''' that a strawberry had just like how ''''tree hardfruit'''' referred to the fact that a coconut was a pretty tough nut to crack. Wait, why did we call it a nut again?

    I cut off another slice of bread and chopped up the egg on top of it.

    ''This would be even better with mayonnaise'' I thought as I continued eating.

    One of these days I would really have to work on that.

    The tea wasn''t as good as I had hoped for, even with sugar added it still didn''t come close to even the supermarket tea that I had known. What a letdown. I drank it without complaint, not wanting to upset my gracious hostess.

    ''''Where''s Valtheril?" I asked, breaking the awkward silence of breakfast.

    Velariah had already finished a bit ago and was working on her tea as well.

    ''''He left a while ago; he is a busy man you know.''''

    Yeah, I had figured as much. He would probably be especially busy working on covering things up and finding out how that unlucky adventurer had gotten his hands on a square black coin.

    "I see.'''' I said as I drank the last of the tea. ''''So where is this trial of yours going to be?''''

    ''''Market square.'''' She said as she stood up.

    ''''What? In the middle of the village? You joking?'''' I frowned.

    ''''Sure, there''s trials every last day of the week. Stores are closed as well and there''s a fair amount of people interested in watching and trying to learn.''''

    Oh, so that''s why we didn''t go armor shopping. She could have mentioned the fact that the stores were closed. I hadn''t thought there would be so much public interest in these so-called trials. The thought of a large mass of people was a bit frightening but I had already decided to watch her for myself, no turning back on that now.

    We were about to leave when I did my usual check. Phone, nope, keys, nope. Wait, my tag! Oops, good thing I checked too often.

    I walked back into the bathroom, fished my tag from the sink and put it around my neck over my crimson shirt. I checked again if I missed anything. I shouldn''t need my weapons, not for now. I guessed it would be better optics if I watched the trials without having weapons at the ready.

    I walked back to Velariah who was eagerly waiting to leave.

    ''''Let''s go, we''re gonna run late.'''' she was practically jumping in anticipation.

    ''''It''s literally a two-minute walk.'''' I sighed.

    ''''Still!'''' She replied.

    Oh, she sure was excited.

    Alright, let''s get this show on the road.

    We arrived at the market area not much later. I got the usual looks and stares that I was slowly getting used to. The tag did seem to prevent anyone from even trying to do anything funny, neat. That was the effect that I was looking for, after all.

    The stands had been moved towards the stores that bordered the square and it appeared a few elves were already sparring with each other. I saw all kinds of armor, weapons and even saw some magic spells fly through the air. How did they manage to not hurt people when using magic? I mean, disarming your opponent was one thing, but disarming them with magic looked like an impossible task to me. I didn''t think magic was intended for disarming in the first place.

    Well, this was going to be interesting.

    There were indeed quite a few people watching these duels.

    The duels themselves seemed to be in in large circles that seemed to be chalked on the ground. These circles were about five meters in diameter and it seemed that the rules were pretty simple. Incapacitate your opponent or force them out of the circle to win. That would be a good way to win with magic I figured.

    As soon as we got there an elf in large red satin robes with a small silver rod in hand called out for her. He seemed to be the organizer of the whole thing.

    Among the crowd I also saw the Lore keeper from the guild earlier with a large book in hand. It appeared she scribbled some lines down with a pencil every now and then. Yeah, pencils would probably be the way to go. Quills seemed like a terrible hassle in such a crowd and not on a desk.

    I assumed she was writing down how well each contestant performed, she worked for the guild after all.

    Oh, I see what was happening. There was a very young elf, I guessed about 16 years old waiting in one of the circles. He was standing there in average day clothing, no armor, nothing. All he had was a rusty short sword.

    Now here came the fun part.

    Velariah entered the ring.

    That was it.

    That was literally it, the guy instantly forfeited and ran away in fear. I actually cupped my head in my palm.

    The good thing was that I could stand wherever I wanted and I could still easily observe what was going on. I towered over all the other elves. Ah, this would be ideal for concerts... I imagined. It was not like I ever went to concerts...

    The second challenger stepped into the circle. The guy also seemed to not have a lot of experience or armor. At least he didn¡¯t have a rusty sword. He used a spear but was disarmed within seconds and yielded. I couldn''t even get a look at his face before it was over.

    Was this even a trial? This was utter humiliation, for them.

    The next was an elven woman, an archer from the looks of the large bow she had in her hands.

    When she nocked an arrow, I could see it was tipped with cork. Ok, so that was this worlds equivalent of a rubber bullet it seemed. Velariah stood there as an arrow hit her in the chest. What was this about?

    Instead of charging at the elven archer, Velariah gave a thumbs up signal to the Lore keeper.

    What?

    Then she charged at the archer with her sword and had it at her chin while she was still in the process of drawing a second arrow. Velariah then gave a thumbs down signal to the Lore keeper who eagerly scribbled.

    I would have to ask her what was up with that.

    The next spar seemed like it was actually going to be the first interesting one. The white-haired elf''s next opponent actually had a shining set of armor. He walked up in full harness and longsword. He seemed tough with all that on.

    He was, but he was also slow. Velariah due to being somewhat lighter armored managed to easily dodge every slash blow and stab that was thrown at her, before responding with her own that seemed to do almost nothing because of all the armor.

    Velariah was actually getting pushed back to the edge of the circle. Was she going to lose?

    Nope, she wasn''t.

    She rolled under a swing and just butted him with her shoulder, pushing the guy outside of the circle, what a sick bait.

    Well, that''s one way to win. Using your brain seemed solid. Technically, that¡¯s how the both of us defeated the Saibon boar as well.

    Velariah sheathed her sword and walked over to me while being cheered on by the crowd.

    ''''That was...'''' I began as she stood in front of me. ''''Interesting to say the least.''''

    ''''Yeah, that was actually easier than expected, I think my next opponent is going to be mid-ranked silver.''''

    ''''Oh.'''' I raised my eyebrows, ''''Then what were those guys?''''

    ''''I believe the first guy was low ranked copper, the second guy mid-ranked iron, the archer was high-ranked iron, and the last guy was low-ranked silver.

    Yeah, the first guy I could have guessed, he seemed like the kind of person that would have to take the quests to find lost kittens. The second person was heavily outclassed. The archer fight I wasn''t sure about what I witnessed.

    ''''What was up with the archer, anyway. What was that theatre?'''' I asked her.

    ''''It''s just a test of your armor, really. That''s the gesture I gave to the lorekeeper. That arrow would not have pierced my armor in that place. From there, it''s a test of how far you can close the distance to an archer. She didn¡¯t get to nock a second arrow and fire so I ''''won''''. It also serves as some sort of training to the archers in the guild for combat situations. Archer testing for the guild is mostly done by Allina''s squad. These trials aren''t for them.''''

    What a bunch of information but I guessed it make sense. It would be hard to test archers in such a confined space.

    ''''When''s your next match?'''' I asked.

    ''''I think it''s in a few hours, let me ask the organizer.''''

    She walked over to the man in red and exchanged a few words before returning.

    ''''Yeah, it''s about four hours from now. Let''s go check out that goat guy. But psst, don''t tell anyone, I''m not technically a member yet.''''

    Huh, that was interesting.

    ''''Yeah, but you''re with me so it should be fine.''''

    ''Well, thank you very much.'' I sarcastically thought.

    ''''What are you waiting for, let''s go.''''

    Oh, it seems she had already walked ahead and I was lost in thought. I quickly caught up to the way too energetic elf, what had gotten into her? Was it a demon as well? Now that would be ironic.

    We left the square and walked towards the southern village exit. The streets were mostly empty, it appeared most of the populace was gathered in the center staring at either the spars going on, or me. I actually saw a few people leave as soon as Velariah and I went on our way. Don''t tell me they were there just for me? That was just creepy. Joke''s on them though, I already had my tag!

    We followed the cobblestone road for as long as we could. Eventually we had to take a small dirt road that led to a farmstead that bordered the forest. It seemed the fields closest to the forest were currently unoccupied because of the demon''s curse. In the other fields I saw a variety of goats, sheep and cows. It seemed there were young animals frolicking around which warmed my heart. Baby goats were the cutest! I would not let a demon take those from me!

    I was about to ring the bell by grabbing hold of the cord under the clapper before I halted myself.

    ''''Maybe you should do this Vel, lest they faint when they open the door.'''' I sighed.

    ''''It''s Velariah. And sure, but I can¡¯t do this every time.''''

    Yeah, yeah, whatever.

    At least when the door opened the old farmer standing in the door didn¡¯t suffer a heart attack when he saw Velariah.

    The white-haired elf started the conversation and eventually I was able to join in when he seemed to have calmed down a bit after seeing my tag. He told us the field next to the forest was cursed and his goats went crazy when they were last put in that field. We received permission to use one of the goats in an attempt to pinpoint where this supposed demon could be found.

    As long as we stayed out of the forest, we should be fine is what Velariah had said. I wanted to believe her but I still felt uneasy when I lead the goat into this field on a leash. The goat really didn''t seem affected by anything as we lead it around the field which made me wonder if this demon thing was a hoax.

    Velariah was walking in front of the animal with her sword drawn in a defensive stance. This whole ordeal must have been a hilarious sight. A female knight with a sword drawn followed by a spider-lady walking her goat. What a joke.

    We reached the outer fence of the field on the border of the forest. I kept my eyes on the ground looking for any irregularities.

    I was maybe a little too occupied looking at common grass when the leash tugged. Apparently, the goat was eating something from just outside the field. It had its head stuck out through the fence, in some kind of berry bush.

    Get back here you stupid goat.

    I tugged the leash pulling the animal back.

    What were those berries anyway? I had never seen them before. They looked like cherries, but they were a lighter shade of red and not transparent at all. To be fair they looked like those small tomatoes, maybe they were edible?

    ''''Velariah, could you take this goat for a sec, I got something I need to check out.''''

    ''''Got a clue yet?'''' She approached with her sword aimed at the fence. If anything jumped inside, she would be ready.

    ''''Nope, but I wanna see what these berries are.''''

    ''''No clue.''''

    They looked fairly appetizing. I broke one of the berries apart to take a closer look at the inside.

    Well, that was not what I expected. There was almost nothing to eat, it was just two large beige seeds in a peel. That was disappointing.

    Hold on. These seeds reminded me of something. I pulled one out and took a closer look. The distinct shape of the seed resembled a coffee bean, there was no mistaking it. weren''t they supposed to be brown, though?

    ''''You almost done playing there?'''' Velariah was impatiently tapping her foot. Well, as good as tapping on grass got anyway. No tapping sound could be heard, it made her look silly.

    ''''I think I may have found the ''''demon''''.'''' I replied.

    ''''A berry? You must be drunk.''''

    ''''Nope, I think these berries may be the reason the goats were possessed.'''' I made sure to emphasize the last word to make it known that the whole possession thing was grossly exaggerated.

    ''''If my intuition is correct, these berries are of a kind that give you a lot of energy.''''

    ''''Why would you use berries, we have potions for that?'''' Velariah was laughing it off.

    ''''Because you can make a delicious drink from these known as coffee.''''

    I hoped I was right, the color had me wondering and when I broke one of the ''''beans'''' apart it didn''t exactly smell like how I had expected it to smell. Maybe that would come after ''''roasting'''' them? I doubted I had miscalculated this. From all the info we were given there was no chance that I screwed this one up.

    Goats running in circles all day and the fact that these beans were an exact copy of the coffee beans that I had seen in far too many coffee commercials (except for the color) could only mean one thing: I had struck gold. Dark delicious gold.

    The only problem was that I had no idea how coffee was made, damn. Would it be as simple as simply roasting the bean, then grinding it and adding water through a filter? I was going to find out for sure! Coffee was the drink of the gods, after all. I couldn''t function without starting the day with coffee, at least back home...

    ''''So, there''s no demon?'''' Velariah half stated, half questioned.

    ''''Nope, just a few goats with too much energy because of these.'''' I held up one of the ''''beans''''.

    I was getting excited, even before drinking coffee. This was so unlike me. I was always told there was a certain thrill in making your own stuff. It''s one of the aspects that had led me to watch those survival shows on TV when I was younger. The satisfaction of creating your own goods and shelter had drawn me to it. Now, I was actually going to find out how to make coffee, I had to!

    ''''So, can we consider this quest completed?'''' She was leaning against the fence now as I started gathering more of the berried.

    ''''Yes, yes, you can tell the farmer that there is no such thing as a demon. He won''t need a treemender or anything. If these get eaten, they will just go hyper mode for hours.'''' I paused before curling my lips in a smile.

    ''''Actually, tell him to start planting these beans. I have a feeling they will be very popular very soon. Also, give me your pack please, we''re going to make coffee.''''

    She detached her pack and I filled it with the berries I had collected so far before she ran off to the farmstead to talk about our findings. I frantically started harvesting and fulling up the leather pack, soon flooding the potions and money poach with the fruits containing the coffee beans. I was going to need a fair amount to experiment.

    There was a large amount of these berry bushes to be found at the edge of the forest but I knew that eventually we were going to need more. I had no idea how to grow these things but if they managed to grow here, I guessed the climate would be fine. I did think they would need a certain amount of shade judging from where they grew.

    Coffee, hamburgers, mayonnaise, ketchup, possibilities were going to be far and wide. I only hoped I wouldn''t be too distracted trying to get some good ol'' quality food and drink back into my life. I was going to be an adventurer after all! Or at least trying to be one. I just couldn''t let this coffee thing slip by.

    I had almost filled up the pack completely when Velariah returned. Her sudden voice made me jump in reaction as I was too focused on collecting these ''''cherries''''.

    ''''Elania, next time, take the quest paper with you.''''

    Oh, so what was a thing. Didn''t know that.

    ''"Also, you do realize that goat is eating those hyper berries, right?''''

    Oopsie, I was too lost to even notice what was going on around me. It appeared I had dropped the leash and the goat was happily eating those berries.

    ''''That goat ain''t gonna sleep tonight, that¡¯s for sure.'''' I laughed. ''''Yeah, I''m almost done here, we should take the goat back.''''

    ''"Are you okay?'''' Velariah asked. ''''You seem like you struck gold.'''' She tilted her head and eyed me warily''''

    ''''That''s because I have!'''' I happily exclaimed. ''''You will see!''''

    She gave me a quick glance that said something like: "alright, show me''''.

    ''''Alright, show me.''''

    Hah, I knew it.

    ''''Chill, it probably won''t be that great, at least not the first try. I have no idea how it''s done exactly; I only know the very crude basics.''''

    With my treasure chest filled we delivered the goat back to the farmer explaining to him that this goat in particular was probably going to be hyperactive soon and told him that it was nothing to worry about. In case he was doubting if what I told him was true, we explained that he could easily verify it for himself by feeding these particular berries to his animals.

    Since we didn''t bring the quest paper with us for him to put his signature on, he was forced to make a stop by the guild sometime to report our success. When I asked Velariah it turned out that the idea was to bring the quest paper with you for the quest giver to sign after completion. In case of monster extermination quests where the quest giver would not be present you would have to take parts of the felled animal or monster with you as proof. That seemed quite reasonable.

    This did mean however, that my payment would be delayed, I wasn''t even sure how much the quest would reward until I actually asked the old man. It turned out to be two silvers which seemed a bit low, but then again, we didn''t have to actually do any work.

    I guessed everything was a bit low compared to the three gold coins that I still had. I would need to get my rank up and get some more combat experience, maybe some training, not necessarily in that order.

    Training would be the safe way to go for. I would have gone for that route normally I had to admit. The thing was that with Velariah in my ''''party'''' I felt like we should have no issue with the easier quests. I would still have to get armor and getting any money buffer would allow me to get any training I wanted later. it''s not like I was completely defenseless, far from it. As long as enemies were as dumb or dumber than a troll, I reckoned we would be alright.

    With that we walked back to Velariah''s home. I kept the pack close to my chest the entire walk and held it firmly. I was not going to lose this treasure box of gold!

    When we arrived at her home, Elly had opened the door and curiously followed the ''''chest'''' to the dinner table. Valtheril was also present and sitting at the head of the table, reviewing documents and signing others. He too seemed to be drawn in the leather pack that was bulging because of how much I had filled it with ''''cherries''''.

    Velariah would have the rest of her trials in a few hours, we had finished the demon quest pretty quickly which was going to help quite a bit. Elly would also be helping out, she had brought a large bowl from the kitchen that we would use to deposit the ''''beans'''' in after separating them from their shell. Extra sets of hands were going to be useful with this labor intense task.

    Hah, extra sets of hands, nice one.

    I giggled at my own joke, shame on me. The three elves had looked at me with frowns when I did, so I quickly went to work and pretended nothing happened.

    Peeling these stupid berries turned out to be a blessing in disguise in some way. Yes, I had four hands. No, I was not able to use them all properly for separate actions at the same time. Pulling out the beans from the cherries started out slowly for me, but as time went on, my hand eye coordination improved drastically.

    I felt like a certain kid from a certain movie that learned how to do karate by painting fences and waxing cars. I never would have expected a mundane task like this to allow me to control my new limbs so much better than before.

    I think we managed to finish within an hour. The bowl had a nice heap of coffee beans and Elly and Velariah were both looking rather tired from all the peeling. Valtheril had already left the building after wishing us luck with ''''whatever experiment'''' we were doing.

    He would learn soon enough too.

    ''''Now what?'''' Velariah had asked, while she and Elly were both staring at me with expectation in their eyes.

    ''''Honestly, I have no idea.''''

 1.14 A â€powerfulâ€ drink

    Velariah had facepalmed and groaned after my maybe-too-honest answer. I think Elly would have done the same, but her status as maid prevented her from actually doing it.

    "Like, I know you have to roast them but I don''t know if there''s any steps in between. I don''t think there is much though, we could try soaking one half in water, normally that is something you can do with beans but these are not really ''''beans'''' technically, so I don''t know.''''

    It was a shame I couldn''t enter the kitchen I was going to have to rely on them to not burn the beans. The other option was to move it away to a place where I could observe but the problem with that was that we would probably end up roasting them over open fire which didn''t seem such a good idea to me. At least their stove, even if fueled by wood, would spread the heat more evenly in the pan.

    With that came the next issue, I had no idea how much time they needed. Our plan would consist of roasting two batches, one soaked in water and dried and another one without soaking in water first. Then we would start roasting them and take a bunch out after some time. We, or at least I, could compare the colors and taste and decide what would be the best. From there on out it should be simple enough to repeat the steps to get there.

    And so, we had first soaked half the batch in water and then laid it out outside in the sun to dry while we worked on roasting the other batch first. Velariah had picked the first guard she saw outside and had him watch over the beans.

    It must be good to have such a high ranked family.

    Elly did the cooking as she was most experienced with handling it and Velariah was going to get a few items that I would need for when we finished the roasting process. I had her pick up filtration paper from the alchemist workshop and some milk. Coffee without milk was just too much... I guessed fresh coffee would probably be even stronger than the stuff I had at home. I was going to have to be careful.

    I had instructed her that the beans needed to at least be brown before she should start taking a few cups outs. About 15 minutes later Velariah returned and Elly was done roasting the first batch. The knight had put the milk in their version of a refrigerator and I was taking a look at Elly''s handiwork.

    As I had expected, these were indeed coffee beans. I felt relieved to see that their color had actually shifted towards the brown I was used to. Elly had created four cups of differently colored beans ranging from light brown to almost black, I was fairly certain that last batch was actually burnt but it could be worth trying. These people didn''t know, after all.

    I had checked on the beans outside and startled the guard who was overseeing them. When would I ever get used to this? He actually asked what the beans were used for and I told him I was going to make a drink out of them and that he would be welcome to try it out as thanks. He hesitated but accepted the invitation. He would have to wait for a bit still, these were not dried enough yet.

    So, we did what we could do. Elly and Velariah were each grinding the beans into ground coffee in a mortar. In the meantime, I created several cones out of the filtration paper, these should do nicely.

    Hmmm, the smell of freshly ground coffee entered my nostrils. It smelled heavenly; I could practically taste it...

    ''''You''re drooling.'''' Velaria grinned.

    Oops.

    ''''Anyways, we need boiled water next.'''' I tried to distract. ''''And an empty jar or anything that I can use as container.''''

    With a bit of luck, I should be able to get four, maybe five cups from each set of beans. I wondered which one Elly and Velaria would prefer. Everyone had their own taste, after all.

    ''''So, this is pretty much like tea?'''' Velariah asked.

    ''''Well, yes, but actually, no.'''' I thought for a moment. ''''Tea is quite a bit simpler I would say, you don''t need to run it through a paper. Also, coffee actually packs a punch, you will see it.''''

    I was actually curious how they would react. I was not going to tell them about the part where it could actually have you running for the toilet after drinking coffee, they would find that out on their own. Poor Elly, she didn¡¯t deserve this. Velariah certainly did. Maybe I was actually a monster.

    Elly returned with an empty glass jar as I put one of the medium roasted ground coffees in a filter cone. I placed the cone in the jar and waited until the water was boiled.

    ''''If all goes according to plan we should have this world''s first coffee soon, that is, if nobody else had the same idea of doing what we just did.''''

    I looked at Velariah. She shook her head.

    ''''Haven''t heard of it at least.''''

    ''''Hmm.'''' I let out. ''''Just remember that if this gets out of hand, I didn''t come up with it.''''

    ''''Understood.'''' Velariah gave me a thumbs up.

    Elly went back to the kitchen as we waited, and came back with sugar and a glass milk pourer. She put them on the table and went back to the kitchen.

    Velariah took a seat and patiently waited for my concoction. We had everything we needed, milk, sugar, spoons, we just needed water now. It was time for me to take a seat as well, literally. I actually took two and put them aside.

    Before I took a stand at the table, I decided to check with the guard outside.

    He was still there looking out for the beans, leaning against the wall. I inspected the beans and it seemed they had dried up in the sun. I wrapped them in the blanket and invited him inside to try the first batch.

    I put the blanket with the beans out on the table and saw the guard looking at all the stuff that was spread out on the table. Yes, it was a mess but that¡¯s part of science, alright. The cups with the different types of coffee were still standing on the table, as were the mortars and pestles and the sugar and milk.

    Elly walked in with a pot of steaming hot water and I prayed that I had done all the steps correctly. At least the ground coffee smelled like how ground coffee should smell.

    The moment of truth had arrived. My many legs were dancing with anticipation which had the guard run to the other side of the table. His face went white as snow.

    I couldn''t help it, okay?

    I slowly poured the hot water in the cone. Bit by bit the infamous brown liquid dripped down into the jar.

    ''''That looks disgusting.'''' Velariah had commented on the dark brown liquid.

    I had never thought of coffee as disgusting-looking.

    I shrugged. ''''You''ll get used to it. When the process is optimized, they will form rows long lines to get a cup of this stuff. You''ll see.''''

    Everyone, even the guard looked at the process playing out in front of them. I don''t know why but it seemed that everything I did drew more attention that it deserved. I mean, it was just coffee!

    Forgive me coffee gods for belittling your gift to the world!

    Elly walked back to the kitchen and returned with four glasses with tea spoons. How barbaric, they didn''t even have coffee cups. Well, they didn''t have coffee so... whatever.

    A few minutes later I had a jar full of coffee. Now came the ultimate test.

    I poured four cups and handed them out.

    ''''Now, you can try it like this but I highly doubt you''d like it. I prefer sugar and milk in it.''''

    I put in some sugar and stirred before took a small sip to check the taste.

    That wasn''t half bad. That at least tasted like coffee, if not ideal. I added some milk and too and tried again. Yep, that''s coffee alright. It was nothing special which disappointed me slightly. I had expected it to be some kind of magical brew because of how fresh it was.

    Wait. Was Elly drinking it black? She seemed to enjoy it too. This girl was hardcore.

    Velariah messed around between tasting and adding sugar and milk herself before she seemed to find a perfect balance.

    ''''Hey, this stuff is pretty good.''''

    Told you.

    The guard seemed to enjoy his drink as well. When we had finished, he thanked us for the interesting drink and went on his way. I was pretty sure he was going to be looking for a toilet from the way he walked.

    Coffee: 1 Guard: 0.

    Well, at least I had created coffee.

    I looked at the other ground coffee that was still in the cups on the table. Oof, I was not going to be able to drink that much, I now saw why those ''''tasters'''' would just spit it back out when inspecting quality. I guessed we would try some other flavor tomorrow?

    That had me thinking on what to do with the other beans. Should we roast them now? And if we did, to what degree? I decided to have Elly roast them now to the same degree of the beans that we had just had now. We could always get more later on if we needed. This also gave us the advantage of having a few more people having a taste of what I thought was the perfect roast.

    Delicious. I did have to give praise to Elly though, she managed to finish before me, without even adding milk! She was now getting the cups to the kitchen and Velariah put a hand on her stomach.

    ''''Is this feeling normal?'''' She had a slight panic in her eyes.

    I giggled. ''''Yep, that''s the ''''kick'''' I was talking about. You may experience an urge to go to the toilet as well but that''s normal.''''

    ''''Uhhh, is that also normal?'''' She pointed behind me.

    ''''What are you talking abou-'''' I had tried to turn around but my legs wouldn''t respond. Even worse I fell to the ground; my legs gave out beneath me.

    ''''What the hell?'''' I exclaimed as Velariah walked over to me.

    ''''Are you alright?" She called out.

    ''''I''m fine, but what is going on?''''

    My legs ignored my commands and had me dragging across the floor. Apparently, what the elf had pointed to earlier was a large amount of silk ''''leaking'''' from my behind. What the hell?

    ''''What the fuck is going on?'''' I screamed.

    My legs spasmed and silk was spreading everywhere. I could apparently, actually shoot it out if I wanted to. This was not how I wanted to find out. The floor was starting to get covered in sticky, gooey spider webs.

    Elly came walking through the kitchen door in a hurry and gasped as she saw the mess I was making.  Velariah was trying to get a hold of my spider parts. That was not going to happen. They couldn''t be controlled and seemed far more powerful than the little force she was using to keep them down.

    ''''Get a hold Elania!'''' She said as she grabbed one of my legs. At least that prevented me from spinning on the floor like a break-dancer on their head.

    ''''I can''t, I don''t know what the hell is going on!"

    My legs moved on their own and grabbed Velariah tight. Even with all the armor she was wearing she was still easily overwhelmed. She was held down like a fly in a web as my legs spasmed around her, half of them keeping her pinned down and the other half kept ''''dancing'''' wildly.

    I started to get some idea as to what was going on through all the embarrassment. It seemed I had in part the same reaction to coffee as the reaction that I had had to alcohol back in the cave. Did my spidery parts get drunk off of coffee? What the hell, gods? I already said I was sorry, don''t do this to me!

    Velariah had been properly pinned to the ground and was now completely stuck in the silk that had been literally sprayed across the floor. My legs stopped pinning her down and moved back a bit so that my human body was above hers before giving out. This caused me to land on her lap and only fueled my growing shame.

    It didn''t simply stop there. My legs were still contracting and retracting constantly in a weird dance and to make matters words my pedipalps started to ''''feel'''' around her body. I was thankful she was in armor or this would have been even worse when they ran over her chest area. I hid my face in all my hands so I couldn''t see her face.

    I couldn''t help but peek every now and then and to my surprise she wasn''t actually panicked, at least not that I could see. She wasn''t struggling at all, it seemed she was patiently waiting until I could wrestle control back.

    ''''I''m sorrryyyyyyyy.'''' I screamed, still hiding my beet-red face while my body rocked back and forth on her stomach because of my limbs still creepily moving in all directions.

    At least my fangs were not being used, that could actually turn this situation dangerous. Wait, I just jinxed it didn''t I?

    I looked down but couldn¡¯t see my fangs. That at least meant they were still safely tucked under my body.

    The spasming in my legs seemed to lessen slowly over time and a few minutes of dancing later it seemed I had collapsed on top on Velariah. I was unable to move an inch as only my hands were my own and they wouldn¡¯t move my body that got all tangled up in silk. All I could do was push my human body up from her.

    ''''I''m sorry.'''' I whispered to Velariah as I was on top of her. ''''I can''t move.''''

    I felt exhausted. This was the opposite of what coffee was supposed to do, damnit! Would this mean I couldn''t ever drink coffee again? Such a cruel fate. I had so looked forward to this... Was it the caffeine? How do you make decaffeinated coffee? So many questions that needed to be answered!

    ''''Are you alright?'''' Velariah spoke softly.

    Are you kidding me? I basically assaulted her, stuck her to the floor and started groping her with my extra limbs and she still asked if I was okay? This elf...

    ''''I''m fine, I think it was the coffee... I had about the same happen when I drank alcohol back in the forest.''''

    ''''That reminds me, I still have the two canteens that you gave me earlier.'''' Velariah said. ''''One of them has some high-quality booze, I''m sorry, I tried a bit.'''' She spoke as I removed my hair from her face.

    ''''Yeah, you can keep it, unless you want to repeat what just happened.'''' I sighed with a slight smile.

    She laughed sheepishly. ''''Elly, could you give us a hand?''''

    ''''Lady Velariah?'''' She questioned.

    ''''Please cut us loose if you don¡¯t mind.'''' She sighed deeply.

    ''''Sure, just hold on a minute.'''' She walked back to the kitchen.

    It took a while before she returned.

    That was more than a minute Elly. I was getting more than uncomfortable here, I couldn''t imagine how Velariah was feeling. Could this get any worse?

    I heard a door open and thought it was Elly but it was the wrong door and it was Valtheril walking in in full armor and a frown on his face. Yeap, I had just jinxed it again.

    ''''Sorry I still had to take care of those beans.'''' Elly said as she walked in with a large knife before she noticed Valtheril had returned and stopped in her tracks.

    At least she had saved the coffee, that was at least something I guessed. If only I could drink it! Argh, this was driving me crazy. At least people seemed to like what I had made, even if it was far from perfect. I think with some more experience and experimenting the quality of the drink should be able to increase a fair amount. The next step would be selling it and making sure there was a steady supply of beans. This village had been struggling lately from what I have been told. En extra export product should be able to tip the scales.

    My mind was racing with distractions as Velariah''s father was eying me on top of his daughter, the of us were covered in thread and I could only imagine how this looked to him.

    "I can explain...'''' I started.

    ''''Looking forward to it.'''' He said sharply as he sat down at the head of the table. His eyes were on the glass jar that still had enough coffee left for maybe one cup.

    ''''This is the drink you were talking about?''''

    How could this guy be so serious when Velariah and I were in this position. Well, as long as he didn''t reach for his sword...

    ''''Yea, you can try it if you want. It''s delicious with sugar and milk.'''' I said with a face as straight as I could make.

    How was I even doing this?

    ''''I do have to warn you, it has a certain kick. It appears that my spider parts could not handle it...''''

    There, I had explained what had happened. He didn''t even reach for his sword. Perfect, I would live another day.

    He poured a glass with the last remaining coffee, added some sugar and milk and gave it a sip.

    ''''Hey that''s pretty good.'''' He said, still maintaining a neutral facial expression.

    ''''Told you.''''

    Elly started cutting my legs loose from the obscene amount of silk that was covering them and a large amount of the floor. Sensation slowly started to return as she worked her way through the threads, control did not. I remained quiet throughout the process and watched Elly work so I wouldn''t have to face Velariah''s heterochromic eyes.

    As soon as she had my legs freed, I dragged myself off of Velariah with my hands. I didn''t get far, however, my legs still refused to move so I just sat down next to her and tried to help Elly in freeing her. My hands weren''t as effective so I had Elly fetch another knife.

    What a mess I got myself into. Literally. And not just myself, but Velariah too. Actually, I was out of the mess now but she wasn''t so lucky. She was still stuck in a heap of sticky silk.

    ''''What are you smiling about?'''' Velariah asked.

    Was I smiling? Oops. Maybe the scene in front of me had actually been quite funny even though I was almost dying from embarrassment. I was pretty sure with everything going on I was unable to control my emotions or expressions so I had no idea.

    ''''I''m sorry alright, I had no idea that this would happen!'''' I apologized in earnest as I was cutting through my own silk.

    ''''It is funny how you finally got the silk that you wanted so badly.''''

    I grinned. Fortunately, Velariah took it in a good way and she smiled back. Yeap, that was one of her evil smiles. I would probably get payback soon enough.

    Elly had to be careful to not get herself stuck while trying to free Velariah so it was up to me to cut the places she couldn''t reach. She had actually taken a piece of silk in her hands and was checking its properties by stretching it and feeling it. Knowing where that stuff had come from would always make me feel awkward. Even more so when others were scrutinizing it like that...

    ''''This is not what I expected when I asked for it, though.'''' she was grinning as well. ''''But you''re right, I''ll have Alline have a look at it... later.''''

    ''''May wanna send some to the tailor as well.'''' I suggested, half laughing. ''''Maybe I''ll get a discount next time.''''

    It was extremely difficult to get the elf out of this mess but after a lot of cutting we managed to free Velariah enough to have her pulled out when I was able to walk again. Seeing her armor still covered in silk here and there it reminded me of something.

    ''''By the way, what happened to the boar and wolves?''''

    ''''Sold them.'''' Velariah had said while trying to get a few pieces of thread off her armor, she wasn''t having a lot of luck.

    ''''Guess what''s on the menu at the guild for the coming week.''''

    Hmm, bacon.

    ''''You okay?'''' I finally asked as Velariah was trying to get the last of the mess off her armor.

    ''''I''m fine. Though, the next time you decide to drink coffee, at least let me leave first.''''

    Yeap, there it was. The comment that both made my face flush red and made me feel sad at the same time. I would have a hard time saying goodbye to my power drink.

    ''''Miss, should I save the material?'''' Elly asked, referencing to the insane amounts of silk on the floor.

    ''''Yes, please, but leave it for now, I''ll help you out later.''''

    ''''I''ll help, too.'''' I added. It was my mess after all.

    Even if I had not done it consciously, this was a mess to clean. I could not let that poor elf do it alone.

    ''''For now, I''ll check when it''s my turn to do battle. I''m not sure how much time we lost there.''''

    She was still trying to get the webs off of her to no avail. Damn, that stuff was tough. I mean, I knew it already because that boar had stood no chance against it but still. Thinking about the boar being turned into bacon had stirred something within me. I heard my stomach growl. I was actually hungry. Apparently Velariah heard it too as her eyes ran over my stomach to my face.

    ''''You gotta be kidding me.'''' She spoke. I wasn''t sure if that was serious or meant as a joke.

    ''''I said I''m sorry, okay?''''

    ''''Guess all this really took it out of you, didn''t it?'''' she grimaced.

    There it was again, another joke to make me feel embarrassed. Why did you have to be like this? She was evil, evil!

    ''''Hey, where do I get some more of this stuff?'''' Valtheril interrupted our talk. He was holding up an empty glass.

    This guy...

    ''''Uhm, there is some more that we could make, but I am not sure about the flavor, it could be stronger, I''m not sure.'''' I explained.

    ''''I''m going to see the organizer you can help my father in the meantime.''''

    ''''Sure.''''

    With that, Velariah walked out.

    ''''Stronger you say? Ho, now I am curious.''''

    Looks like I found myself somebody who likes coffee as much as I do.

    I had Elly make another pot of boiled water while I worked on folding another paper cone. I placed it in the now empty glass jar and filled it with a slightly longer roasted ground coffee. I was kind of curious what he would think about this one. I would have taken some myself too if not for certain issues... Coffee, you have failed me too!

    Valtheril made sure Elly was gone before asking a question.

    ''''So, does everyone in your world drink this?'''' he checked out my cone filled with coffee.

    ''''Almost everyone. it''s one of the most popular drinks on our planet, and there are many different flavors too.''''

    I''d have to be careful to not start drooling, that wasn''t going to happen to me again!

    ''''You sure you couldn''t help out with that crossbow idea of yours?''''

    There it was again. The question that had me considering earlier, and it still had me considering now. Just how bad was the situation here?

    ''''Are you guys alright?''''

    The tone in his voice was calm but the worry was obvious in his eyes.

    ''''I wish I could say we are, but our defenses are stretched far too thin, hostility has increased lately with more and more skirmishes breaking out. While it''s true these potions give us a great edge, I fear it won''t make up for our numbers.'''' His eyes were fixed on the cone in the jar.

    ''''How did that happen anyway? I mean, your numbers being so low.''''

    ''''It''s all connected really. Our financial situation has gotten worse over the years. The farms don''t produce as much as they used to and we haven''t been able to keep up the pay for the defenses we need.''''

    ''''So, if we manage to get the income up you will be fine?''''

    ''''That would help, yes.''''

    I shrugged. ''''I guess you''re in luck. This stuff you''re drinking should be able to fetch quite some coin, especially at the guild. Its energizing effects will be a welcome bonus for any adventurer going out on business.''''

    Elly returned with another pot of hot water. I started pouring it through the filter again with Valtheril''s scrutinizing gaze watching over me. The aroma of this batch at least smelt richer than the previous. I was betting on it that this would have some more oomph. These gods sure were cruel...

    ''''Is it okay if I take the rest to the guild to have them try?'''' He asked as the jar was almost filled up.

    Why was he even asking that? He could do whatever he wanted.

    ''''Sure, just remember that this is not my invention. Oh, and it would be better to keep the process secret.'''' I told him, reminding of what I had mentioned earlier.

    ''''Understood. Also, I''m a general but I do know a thing or two about trade. Never reveal your secrets, am I right?'''' He smiled as I poured a glass of coffee.

    ''''That''s right.'''' I smiled back.

    I had been quite happy with the people I had met so far. None of them, except for the treemender that I hoped to avoid, seemed like bad people. Wary, scared, careful, sure, but I was afraid I couldn''t blame them for any of their initial hostility. After realizing I wasn''t a monster (I hope they realized, at least) it didn''t take long for them to open up.

    ''''I''ll go look for Velariah.'''' I said while checking for Velariah''s leather pack. I was getting rather hungry and I''m pretty sure she still had my coin pouch. When I couldn¡¯t find it, I assumed Velariah had it with her.

    ''''Sure.'''' Came the general''s voice. ''''Also, take good care of her.''''

    I had no idea what he meant with that.

    I was pretty sure Velariah could take care of herself.

    Faragi

    Spiders on drugs : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHzdsFiBbFc&ab_channel=AndrewStruthers

    Do tell me what you think about the story so far, we are almost caught up and I''d like to know what direction people would like to see this go in.

 1.15 First â€Realâ€ Quest

    I did not have any trouble finding the knight in the center of the village thanks to my added height. It appeared she was in the middle of a spar with a bare-chested human wielding a spear. He had been quicker than I expected and repeated several quick strikes which Velariah managed to dodge with some difficulty. She threw a quick glance my way and recognized my presence before striking with her sword.

    Unfortunately for her, the human was swift as the wind, probably due to lack of armor. If Velariah had been an archer this would have been a simple fight. Did this guy always fight without armor? That seemed like such a stupid idea in this world.

    He made a long sweep with his spear which was easily dodged. Velariah took hold of the spear mid swing and raised her sword with one hand. She then pulled in the human until the tip of her blade at his chest, a small trickle of blood was seen. It was her victory.

    The crowd cheered and I joined them in their cheers before she walked up to me. She appeared tired, she panted and almost mis stepped before she reached me. It appeared this fight had been going on for a while before I arrived.

    ''''You okay?''''

    ''''Yea, I''m fine, that just took longer than expected.'''' The elf stretched her neck. ''''That coffee stuff of yours does wonders, but I fear my next opponent may be the last I see.''''

    ''''Because?'''' I was confused.

    ''''This guy was high-ranked silver, the next will be low-ranked gold. I''m not sure if I can handle him.''''

    She seemed to have caught her breath again.

    ''''I''m sure you''ll be fine.'''' I cheered her on.

    ''''Thanks, I''ll need it.'''' She walked up to the organizer in red then back to me.

    ''''I''ll have my next match in a minute, if this is going to be my last, let''s eat something after.''''

    ''''I''ll wait, just don''t lose.'''' I tried to dismiss the growing hunger.

    ''"Alright, if you say so.'''' She said before walking back into the ''''arena''''.

    She had to wait a minute or so before the next contestant appeared. I stepped forward to get a better view of the fight but didn''t dare to get too close to other people in fear of their reactions so I didn¡¯t get too far. Her next contestant was a familiar face. The lizardman that I had seen exiting the tailoring shop stepped into the ring.

    Oh damn, Velariah was right, this may be her last fight. This guy had looked ridiculously ripped before. He didn''t even bring a weapon, how overpowered was this guy?

    I would probably find out soon.

    Velariah drew her sword and charged the lizardman. The green demi human grew large nails on his left hand and parried her sword strike with them. He then punched her in the stomach with his right hand, knocking the wind out of her and making her land on her bum.

    Ouch.

    He then grew large nails on his right and held them up to Velariah''s chin before she could stand up again. That was quite anticlimactic.

    Ok, this guy was seriously overpowered. And this guy was low-ranked gold? How strong was her father, like, for real? Wait what was Valtheril''s rank again? Something in diamond, right?

    He retracted his nails again and extended a hand to help Velariah up. What a gentleman. She accepted the gesture as she was still feeling her stomach. That must have been a hard blow to do so much through all that armor. I hoped she wouldn''t lose her appetite because of it.

    The lizardman helped the elf walk to me. She was limping a bit too much for me to feel comfortable.

    ''''Vel, you okay?" I asked, slightly panicked.

    ''''It''s Velariah, and yes, I''ll be fine, I just need a minute.'''' she panted again as they kept moving out of the crowd before they came to a halt.

    The green scaled humanoid put a hand on Velariah''s stomach and I could see waves of green light entering her body. It seemed to stop the pain as the white-haired elf stood back at full height in no time.

    So, not just power but also healing magic? When was this guy getting a nerf?

    He then walked over to me.

    ''''Greetings, I don''t believe we have been introduced yet, the name''s Draco.''''

    Oh no he did not just say that.

    I laughed, hard. I would have dropped to the floor if I could. Draco, you have got to be kidding me. I knew I was being rude but I just couldn''t help myself.

    Draco looked at me in confusion, he tilted his head to boot.

    ''''I''m so sorry.'''' I said as I was still laughing. ''''Elania''s the name by the way.''''

    I had to force myself to stop laughing, but when Velariah also added her confused expression, I started all over again. She even scratched her head. I had the feeling they had no idea what I was laughing about, it only made it worse.

    ''''Oh, god, I''m so sorry.'''' I apologized again.

    Next thing he tells me his last name is Salamander or something. I grinned and almost exploded in laughter again thinking about that but I managed to contain myself.

    ''''Anyways...'''' Velariah distracted the both of us. ''''That was an interesting fight to say the least. Let''s have something to eat. I heard somebody brought in a Saibon boar yesterday and I''m craving some.

    Yeah, no shit.

    I rolled my eyes. ''''We brought that in yourself, you dummy.''''

    ''''I know.'''' She smiled as she frolicked off to the guild.

    ''''So, you already knew her?'''' I asked Draco.

    ''''Afraid so.'''' He nodded.

    Afraid so? That bad, huh? Damn, I knew there was something wrong with this elf...

    I followed Velariah together with the lizardman. I had the feeling there were some things he wanted to talk about but didn''t find the opportunity to do so. Maybe over a glass of milk... Seriously, what was this world? No alcohol, no coffee, was there anything left that I could drink besides milk, tea and water?

    We walked into the guild hall and found that the Lore keeper wasn''t in yet. Our previous spot was empty so we occupied it again. We would get something to eat first and hopefully the ongoing trials would be over by the time we finished so we could get Velariah''s registration done and get her tag.

    The same waiter from last time walked up to us with paper on a board and a pencil in hand. We all ordered some pork chops that would possibly be huge if the size of the boar was any indication. I could do with something big; I was starving, I could possibly eat a horse. Quite literally too. I ended up ordering a double portion. I was a big girl, after all. That, and all that silk had drained me badly.

    ''''Would you like anything to drink? We have something new, it''s called coffee, it''s a hot drink that is particularly energizing.''''

    ''''Sure, sounds good.'''' Draco had said.

    ''''I''ll have one too.'''' Velariah said then looked over to me with expectation.

    Evil I tell you!

    ''''Uhm, I''ll skip that, what else do you have?''''

    ''''Just the usual, milk, ale, mead, kingberry juice, tea-''''

    ''''Kingberry juice please.'''' I had said the moment he called it out. Why didn''t I know this was a thing before?

    How did they already get their hands on coffee, anyway? I only had very lightly roasted and very dark roasted coffee left at Velariah''s home unless...

    Did Elly give the other batch to Valtheril? Had she bailed out on us and shown him how to prepare the beans? Damn that elf! Well, I guess I had told Valtheril to take the coffee to the guild, I didn''t exactly mean all of it...

    I looked around and saw quite a few people drinking it. It seemed to be quite popular already just as I had hoped. I guessed it would be at this time of the day. It was still early afternoon, many people coming in here would probably still have to go out on quests.

    Speaking about quests, it seemed the quest board was packed. I guessed it was because so many people were watching the trials. I would make sure to get a good one before they were done.  But first, dinner! Or well, lunch I guessed. I wasn''t used to eating a warm meal for lunch so that threw my biological clock off course.

    Our drinks were delivered first, together with a cup of sugar and milk. Draco eyed the brown liquid with suspicion and sniffed first, remarking it as odd, yet full of aroma. Velariah did the same as to not stand out which had me trying to keep down a smile. Maybe she should not have added the exact amount of sugar and milk that she had before. It seemed Draco was none the wiser though, he was too focused on his own.

    While the waiter was serving the plates with pork chops it was Velariah who spoke as I took a sip of my strawberry smoothie.

    ''''So, Draco, I believe there was something you wanted to talk about.''''

    ''''Ah, yes. You see, there was another reason I traveled here besides getting clothes. I have had trouble finding a party to complete quests with. I knew you were going to be joining the guild anytime now and you have been more accepting of me than most people.''''

    He brought the cup of coffee to his mouth and sipped again. It was quite odd to see how someone with a long reptilian snout with rows of teeth and a large tongue drank coffee. It really was more like carefully pouring it inside than it was sipping.

    ''''So, I was wondering if I could form a party with you.'''' He finished.

    ''''Isn''t that actually a bad idea, considering you could easily make more money doing gold level quests?''''

    That sounded like Velariah wasn''t going to be placed in gold. Was it because she lost?

    ''''Well, it''s better than not doing anything. You know silver group quests still award more than gold solo quests on average, right?''''

    "I am aware.'''' Velariah answered.

    I wasn''t. Lucky me, I guess.

    ''''Besides.'''' Draco grabbed one of the pork chops with his bare hands and chewed off a piece and swallowed it instantly. What a waste.

    ''''You will be gold in no time.'''' He assured her.

    ''''Well, you''d have to get Elania''s permission, I wanted to form a party with her.''''

    She did? That was neat.

    ''''I''m fine with anything, really. Seems you have been going through the same as me, no?'''' I said as I tried cutting a piece of a pork chop with a provided knife.

    He nodded.

    ''''Is that a human thing or do you experience the same with the elves here?'''' I asked, I didn''t want to mention the word racism but I think he understood what I meant.

    ''''Humans are far worse than elves. I''ve lived with them for too long, I just recently got gold rank and it seems many of the people I knew weren''t happy about that. I decided it was time to leave after that.''''

    That sounded like he didn''t want to go much deeper into the subject. Fair enough.

    ''''Though, remember I am only mid-ranked silver, it may take more time for me to reach gold than Velariah.

    ''''Bullshit!'''' Velariah chimed in. ''''That¡¯s only because the registration part is scuffed for you. If you went all out, you would be considered gold already.''''

    I could beat this lizardman? Is that what she said? He seemed crazy strong though.

    Yeah, this knife was not cutting it, literally. Thus, I retorted to using my hands `to eat. I would wash them later, I had a spare set of clean hands anyway, how useful.

    ''''But you seemed awfully strong taking out Velariah earlier. isn''t that a bit too much of a skill gap between silver and gold?'''' I asked.

    ''''Yeah, it may seem that way, but I never truly told Velariah about my abilities. She needs to learn to stop rushing in blindly or it may one day kill her.''''

    Okay, he had a point there. Velariah was far too eager, she possibly got cocky from the previous opponents.

    ''''Yes, my abilities are quite strong, but I cannot keep them active for long. If she had simply waited and defended, she would have won.'''' He finished.

    I could hear Velariah swear under her chewing. If only she had known. Maybe this would be a wise lesson for her.

    I may have eaten faster than I was supposed to. I was just too anxious to pick up a proper quest before the good ones were gone. Despite the speed at which I ate, there was no denying this was by far the best pork I ever had in life. If I could get used to this body and the weird glances people gave me, this world may not be so bad after all, if. I would probably have to at least make some name for myself as adventurer too. If people would look at me the same way they looked at Valtheril when they noticed his tag, I doubted anyone would get stupid ideas in their head.

    I would have a long way to go if I was able to make it there at all. Maybe if I could find out what my inherity was so I could focus on improving that? That seemed like a solid plan. I could try to generate a modest income through coffee trade while keeping a low profile, as long as the methods remained secret, we would be able to monopolize that in Dawnleaf. In the meantime, the three of us could take on group quests and try to get our ranks up while earning money as well. How much would this inherity revealing ritual cost anyway? I''d have to check with Velariah still.

    This strawberry smoothie was amazing as well, here was to hoping I didn''t have some weird allergies that would cause me to get expelled from the guild hall...

    Even though I had double the portion of my two companions I finished before them and went off to the quest board as more people started streaming inside. I was going to be sure to get a good quest while there were still good ones to be had.

    Let¡¯s see here.

    Silver, hmmm.

    Escort quest to Duskleaf village. Nope, not done here yet. Goblin reconnaissance, boring. Forest mapping, skip. Hellspider extermination, huge skip. I hated spiders. Also, ''''Hellspiders''''? No thanks. It was a group quest though, with one gold, five silver reward money.

    Up next was a quest to help cutting down trees, yikes, no more of that please. A slime polluted pond cleansing, I had no idea how that worked but that could be something... the reward money was a bit low at two silver and this was not a group quest, either.

    The rest of the quests were all garbage, it seemed they had put the somewhat interesting quests on top. From here on out it was all the standard rescuing animals, supply runs, gathering and labor. Yikes, and I had so hoped there would be something good.

    Draco appeared at my side and I almost jumped back from surprise when his yellow reptilian eyes visibly moved over the quest board.

    ''''Any luck finding something good?''''

    ''''Not really. I was hoping for something interesting, but all of this is garbage.''''

    I wondered if I should take the slime one to just have something when Draco called out.

    ''''This one looks good.''''

    Oh, please don''t let it be...

    Yup, he was pointing to the spider extermination one.

    ''''Please no...'''' I said meekly. Velariah had appeared next to us as well.

    ''''Why not? The reward money is good, we should have no issues ta-''''

    ''''I fucking hate spiders.'''' I said a bit too loudly, causing a few heads to turn my direction.

    Fuck.

    Oh, the irony...

    I wondered what these elves thought of me now. I hope they didn''t see me as one of these so-called ''''Hellspiders'''', though, I guess I very well could have been...

    The lizardman eyed me top to toe before he spoke in a reserved manner.

    ''''Well, I guess we coul-''''.

    ''''We''ll take it!'''' Velariah spoke with a FAR too optimistic voice.

    Damn you woman! I swear, this elf... Did she not care how I felt? Or was this another instance where she would just enjoy making me feel awkward. I mean, the reward money wasn''t bad, not bad at all. But ''''Hellspiders'''' Ugh, the name alone made it sound like they were the worst thing in the world. They probably were for all I cared.

    Velariah took the paper from the quest board and walked over to the Lore keeper''s desk who had quietly come in recently. I was left behind with Draco who shrugged. Fine, reward money it was, but I better be getting some of her part too for dealing with this shit.

    We walked over to Vel who was just about done talking to the Lore keeper and turned to us with a huge smile plastered on her face. There was no way this was going to end well...

    ''''Great news.'''' She spoke.

    That couldn''t be good at all.

    ''''The reward listed was only a base. there''s an extra silver for every hellspider killed.''''

    ''''And the bad news?'''' I asked, fully expecting there to be bad news. There was no way there was only good news with this elf. It just wasn''t possible.

    ''''We got to destroy their nest.''''

    I knew it.

    ''''And how do we do that?'''' I crossed my arms.

    ''''With this!'''' She held up red crystal. It was shaped like a faceted diamond but as big as a golf ball.

    Velariah explained this was a fire crystal she got as means for completing the quest. From what I was told it seemed to function like an incendiary grenade. You were supposed to slap the top of the crystal and then throw it. A few seconds after throwing it would explode and engulf everything around it in flames. It seems this world had understood the concept of ''''Kill it with fire before it lays eggs''''.

    ''''How big are these hellspiders anyway?'''' I asked, fearing the worst.

    ''''About my size.'''' She said nonchalantly.

    I froze and felt the blood run away from my face.

    ''''Are you okay?''''

    ¡­

 1.16 Spider Queen VS Spider â€Queenâ€

    ''''Elania?''''

    ¡­

    ''''Elania?'''' a poke in my side took me back.

    ''''Wha?''''

    ''''You okay?'''' She looked worried.

    ''''Of course I''m not.''''

    How could I be? Spiders the size of humans, why did such a thing have to exist?

    ''''Elania.'''' Velariah put her hand on one of my legs. ''''If you''re not comfortable with it we could try to look for something else, the reward money for this one is huge, though.''''

    ''''I know, we should take it. I''ll have to get over this eventually. There will probably be worse things to experience later.''''

    I tried to be rational and that was the best I could come up with. Besides, who would be better to go up against huge spiders than me? I would be highly resistant to venom and if I had a proper long spear, I wouldn''t even have to get close. New top priority: Get a long spear so I don¡¯t have to get close to oversized spiders.

    ''''I seriously need to go shopping.'''' I sighed. ''''By the way, how much was the food?''''

    ''''Uhm, one silver five copper, apparently they charged three coppers for a coffee.''''

    Yeap, capitalism was nothing new here either it seemed.

    ''''I''m pretty sure that will go down when we have production ramped up properly, at this rate they will run out of supply today. I wonder how much Valtheril sold it for.''''

    ''''Fair point, part of that should be yours. Anyways, this was my treat, let''s go do some shopping before we head out. The quest area isn''t far from here so we have plenty of time to get it done today.''''

    That sounded attractive. If we could get this quest done in a day that would add a fair bit to my buffer. That is, if a spear would stab my budget too much. Hah, get it? Wait, did she just say those spiders were actually close to the village? Yikes.

    Velariah''s optimistic smile was contagious. I wasn''t feeling so bad about what was to come anymore, especially considering I would just stay away as far as I could. Maybe I should look into the crossbow thing, at least make one for myself...

    ''''But first!'''' Velariah pointed a finger upward as she walked back to the Lore keeper''s desk.

    What was she planning on now?

    She turned around with an even bigger smile.

    ''''Tadaa.''''

    She held up a silver tag with both hands. A golden sword with a ''''I'''' in roman numerals was located next to her name.

    ''''Nice, high-ranked silver.'''' not a bad start, I guess.

    ''''Hah, yea it''s a shame you drag us down!'''' She grinned wickedly while referring to my lower rank.

    ''''Oh, it''s on!'''' I challenged her.

    ''''Congratulations Lady Velariah.'''' The ever-so-polite green lizard chimed in before the situation could get out of hand.

    With that, we left the guild hall and went on our way when a thought crossed my mind. weren''t the shops closed today because of the ongoing trials? I asked Velariah about it and she had said she meant the shopping as in metaphorical shopping. What we would be doing was going to the armory and find me a proper weapon to fight this enemy. When I had floated the idea that this would be stealing, even if she had a key because of her father, she had assured me we would only be ''''borrowing'''' what we needed and that we would return it and buy something tomorrow.

    I just hoped we wouldn''t get in trouble for this.

    Velariah handed me a canteen I used to wash my hands once we arrived at our destination. She would refill that inside.

    At least the building we were in now was large enough for me to enter and move around in freely. We were currently standing in a large room with all kinds of weapons neatly racked against the walls. From halberds to swords to maces and axes to bows and arrows and some more unconventional weapons were also mixed in. There were a few flails and then there was what I was looking for. Spears and pikes were both present.

    I had considered a pike at first due to its extra length but a weapon of that size would just make it extremely unwieldy. Besides, a one-woman phalanx wasn''t really a thing. Thus, I opted into a long steel spear that looked to be of decent quality. I actually grabbed a short sword as well. Something that would be easy to handle in case they did get too close me would be good to have as a backup. Even if I didn''t have experience with swords, this one wasn¡¯t too hard to handle.

    Hold on a second.

    Why didn''t I go for a shield instead? Would I be able to wield a spear a short sword and a shield at once? That seemed like a dream scenario. Added safety from attacks up close and able to finish anything in short range with a sword. With the spear I would still be effective at medium range, which is where I wanted to be.

    The shield couldn''t be too big though. I would rather not have my fangs or pedipalps blocked by my own shield. No roman legionary shield for me unfortunately.

    I looked around for something that could be of use to me but unfortunately found nothing. All the shields here were either too big or too heavy for me to wield properly. That was unlucky. I would have to look into the matter later though.

    I had inquired whether Draco needed anything but he said he had his own equipment and armor at the inn he stayed at. He had gone there after I brought it up and would meet us at the guild hall. Velariah went to another room that I couldn¡¯t enter. Stupid doors.

    While I was still going over my choices and wondering if I should change anything regarding my setup Velariah returned with a belt and one of the leather packs that she and the other elves used. Nice, I was missing something like that. I may not have any fancy potions of gear but I can at least carry coffee cherries now, hah!

    I feared I would probably use it to carry less satisfying goods... to prove that we killed spiders, whatever body parts we would have to submit to the guild. Nope, I wasn''t cutting those from spider corpses, nope nope nope.

    After considering my options for a while I decided on settling for the short sword and the steel spear. I would do well try to out these weapons to see what I would need when I was going to buy them for myself. I wondered if weapon enchants were a thing here. I mean, my venom would be useful as coating but I wasn''t sure if these spiders would also have some kind of resistance.

    The armor that was available would not fit due to my four hands so that was a massive pain point. I was going to have to be really careful to not get myself get skewered. Well, it was only spiders so technically the worst they could do was bite me with their fangs which shouldn''t do much because of my inherent resistance.

    We exited the armory through a set of large double doors and nobody seemed to care. Maybe the fact that Velariah had a key helped. Still, this couldn''t be how this place was intended to be used. Well, it was useful for now.

    I strapped the sword scabbard to the belt as we walked outside and Velariah locked the door after us. Once we were back at the guild hall, Draco wasn''t quite there yet which left me wondering what exactly his armor and weapons looked like.

    Fortunately, we didn''t have to wait for long. When Draco showed up, he did so in style. He wore full metal plated armor except for the underside of his arms and back of his legs. Normally I guessed it would have been insanely heavy but I thought he would be perfectly fine running around like that for extended periods of time if those muscles were anything to go by. If his scales were as tough as they looked, I guessed Draco would make for an ideal tank.

    He wasn''t actually wearing a shield which had me wonder. Wouldn''t that be more fitting if what I had thought held true? Instead, he had a large double-bladed battle-axe strapped to his back. All in all, he did look like a huge showoff, there was a lot of visual emphasis on his muscles where armor didn''t cover his body.

    When he got closer, I noticed a large backpack on his back. It easily had eight times the volume of these relatively small packs on Velariah and my sides. Neat, I have been promoted from pack mule. Actually, maybe I should exploit the fact that I can carry large amounts of good more often. If I could make a supply run in one go instead of multiple there should be quite some easy money to be made there. Oh well, I would prefer actual adventure quests above that, so unless money got really tight, I wouldn''t bother.

    ''''You girls ready?'''' HIs voice was an awful lot deeper than before. He was trying really hard, wasn''t he?

    ''''Yes.'''' Velariah had cheerfully stated.

    ''''No.'''' I had said at the exact time.

    ''''Alright.'''' Draco stated, completely ignoring my ''''No''''. ''''So where to?''''

    Velariah explained the route to our destination. It seemed a large part of our route would follow the edge of the forest of where we had acquired the coffee beans. If we had any space left in our bags on our way back, we should surely fill them up with them. Speak about two birds with one stone!

    So, we walked through the unoccupied field, I hoped the farmer wouldn''t mind. I took mental note of how many berries there were and it seemed there would be enough to supply the guild for at least a few weeks. The thing was that I had no idea how popular they would get. I hoped the farmer had heeded my advice to plant them. If this field was not used for livestock, he might as well use it for something else.

    Draco had asked me if I saw anything in the bushes. I shook my head and tried to not keep looking at those berries, lest he find out where coffee actually came from. The forest eventually ended, and so did the coffee cherry bushes. We entered large green plains that didn''t seem occupied as either farmland or livestock so I guess that marked the end of Dawnleaf''s outskirts.

    The large plains went uphill as a large slope and I couldn''t quite make out what was behind the top of it. We kept walking forward to the hill''s highest point so I guessed I would soon know.

    I was right. When we reached the top there was a lot more to be seen. A large mountain chain stretched all the way from left to right as far as I could see. It seemed some of the mountains to the far right were the volcanic kind. A plume of smoke rose up high and the tops were flattened. I didn''t see any flowing lava or something that would one hundred percent confirm my hypothesis.

    Right below us were more plains. The one thing that definitely stood out was a hill in the far distance that wasn''t covered in grass but by something completely grey. If that was our destination, I feared for the worst.

    And it was. Of course, it was, how could it not be? Shady looking hill in the middle of nowhere covered by weird stuff instead of grass, why, oh why.

    I had misjudged the distance. By a lot. I thought we¡¯d get there in a few minutes but thirty minutes later we were still walking. I would have liked a watch to actually be able to track time properly. Or a phone. Alas, I would just have to rely on my incredible tracking of time.

    I mean, I had to be the world champion for putting something in the microwave for, let''s say, eight minutes, then sit behind my PC only to walk back when there is a mere five seconds remaining. It felt surprisingly satisfying to hit the stop button a second before the ping sound.

    I had also brought up the idea of Draco using a shield. He wasn''t necessarily against the idea. He just had never thought about it. He shared the fact that he had an inherity that would make him do more and take less damage when he had an axe equipped. That seemed far too broad for me but he had insisted that that was literally what his inherity had said.

    When I asked about it Velariah answered that the way the inherity ritual was done was to have a grandmaster conduct a ritual which would then cause letters for you to appear on a piece of paper that only the user could read. The words formed on this paper were absolute and an exact interpretation of how your inherity worked.

    ''''So, what if you use two axes, do you get a double bonus?''''

    ''''I, I never thought about that.'''' He admitted rubbing his chin.

    ''''Or what if you have a shield that is ALSO an axe.'''' I suggested.

    ''''Wait what?'''' Velariah replied.

    ''''How does that work?'''' Draco replied.

    "Yes, hear me out. The reason I suggested using a shield in the first place is because you look you can take quite some hits. If those scales of you are as tough as they look you would be an ideal tank. Now if we can get any blacksmith to somehow attach an axe to a shield and it works with your inherity I guess that would make you quite strong, no? I know it sounds crazy but what if it works?''''

    ''''That sounds so crazy it might actually work.'''' Velariah admitted.

    ''''Interesting observation.'''' Draco stopped for a moment and seemed lost in thought. His hand ran over his chin almost as if he was stroking a non-existent beard.

    ''''Yes, my scales are quite tough and I can also harden them temporarily just like I can use those claws. Also, what''s a tank?''''

    Wait what. Was he for real?

    ''''You don''t know what a tank is?'''' I looked at him dumbstruck. I then turned to Velariah who shook her head indicating that she too, had no clue what I was talking about.

    You got to be kidding me. I got into an RPG player''s dream world and these people don''t even know what a ''''tank'''' is. Were all of these people solo players or what? When I combined that with the fact these people didn¡¯t seem to think about their inherities as deeply as me I suspected that the only people I have seen wielding shields had a specific inherity for them.

    We started moving again and I started explaining.

    ''''Ok, so a tank is someone who is at the forefront of battle, looks intimidating and keeps monsters attacking them instead of their other group members. The tank is generally equipped to be able to take a lot of damage but doesn''t deal as much himself. They are there to make openings for their other party members to attack while they are distracted by the tank.'''' I took a few breaths.

    ''''You do know what a healer is right?''''

    ''''Yes.'''' They both sounded in unison.

    I would expect so. Seeing as they had treemenders and whatnot.

    ''''I guess they are very popular to have in adventuring parties?''''

    ''''Yes, but they are rare.'''' Draco answered my question.

    Yeah, I would assume so. If there was no tank dedicated to protecting them, I doubted being a healer had any real use, you would just be an easy target.

    ''''Figures. Okay, so one of the tank''s job is to make sure no harm comes to their vulnerable party members such as healers and spellcasters.''''

    ''''Well, that makes sense. But how do you rank up then if you do no damage?'''' both Velariah and Draco were actually curious in what I had to say. It seemed all of this was like a fountain of forbidden knowledge.

    ''''Don''t you rank up as a group?''''

    ''''Well, you do but it seems people are too focused on individual strength from what you''re telling me.'''' Draco answered.

    Boom. He hit the nail right on the head. Good teamwork would be the foundation of a successful party even if some members may take all the fame by landing the finishing blow. From my experience in games, you didn¡¯t simply get there by trying to be a show stealer.

    ''''Well.'''' I continued ''''From my experience, Ideally, you have a tank, a healer, one or more ranged damage dealers and one or more melee ranged damage dealers to cover one another''s weaknesses. Ideally you have someone coordinating for the group as well for really tough monsters. I will be honest with you now, I am unable to fulfill that role as a short to medium range fighter. Someone who can do their job from a distance will have a much better overview of the battle and surroundings.''''

    I decided I might as well toss all the info out there. If I was to live in this world I may as well get the people in my party up to speed with what I believed would be the most successful way to go around monster killing. I would hate for any of them to get severely injured or worse, die when it could have been prevented with proper planning and use of what I knew.

    ''''So yeah, proper planning is key, which is why I''m floating the idea of looking into inherities and seeing what is possible.''''

    ''''Makes sense.'''' Velariah stated.

    ''''May I ask you how you know all this?'''' Draco asked me in earnest. I knew I would get the question eventually.

    ''''It''s a very long story.'''' I looked at the elf which in turn caused Draco to look to her as well. Velariah nodded and Draco dropped the question.

    ''''Maybe I will tell you some day. But for now, I believe there are spiders to be exterminated.

    We had arrived at the hill that we had been walking up to. It turned out that the grey ground was not actually webs as I had feared. Instead, the grass was simply dead and had turned into this ugly color.

    I could see that the hill had several large holes which I assumed were entrances to an underground hive system. This day had just gotten ten times worse. It seemed they were large enough for me to fit through but there was no imagining what could be found beneath the dead surface.

    As if on cue the most horrendous sight filled my eyes. Huge tarantula like spiders with glowing red eyes walked out of several of the holes at once and started walking towards us when suddenly they halted.

    I saw my companions quickly draw their weapons and assume combat stance but nothing happened.

    Three horror movie antagonists stood like ten meters before us and didn¡¯t move an inch. I actually moved closer with my spear to see how they would react but they didn''t react at all.

    ''''What the hell is going on?'''' I asked as I readied my spear as well, ready for any charging spiders.

    ''''No idea.'''' Velariah said.

    I moved slightly closer and made a stabbing motion with my spear. No response was received.

    I looked behind me as I thought this may be one those scenes where your direct enemy was focused on something behind you but there was nothing there.

    ''''I think it''s because of your... you know, spider affiliation?'''' Draco suggested.

    What? Did he think I could communicate with those monsters or something? Well, let me get him out of that dream.

    ''''I have no affiliation with these things, hell, I have no affiliation with any monster if that''s what you meant.''''

    ''''Not quite what I meant. I meant that it seems they don''t know what to do because of your presence.''''

    He may have a point there. Their many glowing eyes seemed fixated on me. This was getting quite uncomfortable.

    ''''If that''s the case, why not exploit the situation, huh?'''' I suggested.

    ''''Sound plan.'''' Velariah confirmed as she started to slowly approach the monstrous spiders.

    I followed next to her as did Draco. There were three enemies in front of us, if there was truth in the fact that they were fixated on me we could perhaps dispatch all three at once without issues.

    There was still no reaction besides their pedipalps grasping the air in front of them. This is why I hated spiders; those weird movements creeped me out. I looked down to my own.

    Freaking spiders.

    There was still no reaction when we were at a two-meter distance. Were these spiders looking at me like I''m some kind of royalty? That¡¯s the idea that I got from their posture and look in their eyes. Look at me, I''m the spider queen now! Oh lord, what a horrible thought.

    They seemed passive. Shame they were still nightmare creatures that needed to be exterminated. Next time we were going to do anything like this, we should take a fire mage with us. If this was going to be their reaction to me every time, these kinds of quests were going to be peanuts.

    We all struck at once, giving no opportunity to our adversaries to recover from the shock aspect of a coordinated strike. Velariah and Draco cleaved the beasts'' heads and I impaled one with my spear. Green blood and gore erupted from the spider''s head and a very high-pitched shriek pounded my eardrums as our enemies died and curled up.

    I fell to the floor covering my ears. This sound was overwhelming, it made my head spin. As much as I wanted to see what was going on before me in case there were angry spiders approaching, I just couldn¡¯t.

    ''''...'''' Velariah grabbed the arms I wasn''t using to cover my ears.

    The ringing in my ears had finally come to a halt but the dizziness remained. What the hell was that?

    "Elania, you alright?'''' She looked at me with large eyes.

    Seriously, the amount that this happened was getting quite out of hand.

    ''''What was that sound?'''' I asked, trying to shake off the dizziness.

    ''''What sound?'''' I heard Draco ask to my left.

    I looked at his face, then at Velariah''s. Both of them looked completely fine.

    ''''No?'''' I asked with sweat covering my face. There was no way I had imagined it.

    The elf shook her head. It seemed I was able to hear things that they could not, and it wasn''t exactly useful.

    Two more spiders crawled out of holes and moved towards Velariah and Draco, we were in their territory now and they approached closer but still didn''t make a move.

    ''''We''ll take care of those, you stay put.'''' Velariah had ordered me.

    I covered my ears as pre-emptive measure. If what I thought was correct these spiders would release a death screech that all but crippled me. Why did I have to be half spider again? Who thought this would be a good idea?

    Imagine if I could actually communicate with spiders. That would be the most useless super power in history. In fact, it seemed some part of that was true, though it seemed to be one way only, and it was detrimental to me. These spiders didn''t seem to bear ill will to me but I just couldn''t let them become a problem for others. Maybe I would have let them live if I could command them? I doubted it.

    Fortunately, I had Velariah and Draco with me.

    With some luck I would be able to stay at range and have my companions deal with them while being in range so they wouldn''t make a move towards them. I should feel bad about exploiting my newfound ''''Spider Authority'''' ability and to some degree I did. Were it not that my animosity towards spiders was greater than the amount of love I had for them. To be fair, there was no love at all so that wasn''t hard to achieve.

    I saw the elf and lizardman cleave down more spider heads from the distance and felt another shriek reach my head. I was lucky to have my ears covered and to have some distance between us. It did seem to reduce the effects of this horrifying screech.

    Ouch, this was not fun at all. The only good thing about this was that we didn''t seem to run into any resistance or danger, which technically made this quest extremely simple. Combine that with the fact that we already had five spiders killed we would rake in at least two gold in reward money. I just hoped these spiders would not suddenly decide to attack when Velariah and Draco were unprepared. I didn''t think they would be stupid enough to let down their guard. Even if they didn''t, these spiders still almost matched their height, I could see why this was a group quest; maybe three people would normally be considered too few.

    More spiders exited the tunnels and were quickly dispatched as I looked with my ears covered. It seemed today was not my lucky day. Even with keeping my distance and trying to mute the sound as best I could, I could still feel a headache growing as more hellspiders were killed off.

    These painkiller potions better cost less than the reward money.

    I had no doubt they did but I would still like to keep expenses to a minimum if possible. Maybe I was just frustrated.

    Eventually the slow stream of spiders, and with them, the screams, stopped. Velariah and Draco were both standing next to one of the entrances to what I assumed would be a hive. I walked over to them slowly. I tried focusing on the sounds around me to see if I could pick anything up that might resemble some form of weird spider communication but heard nothing. It seemed the only sound they made was the one when they died.

    ''''We going in?'''' I asked.

    ''''Uhm, only if you want to, otherwise we can go with just the two of us,'''' Velariah suggested.

    ''''Nah, I''ll go with you.'''' I paused before I realized something. ''''Hold on, do you have a torch or anything? It''s pitch black in there.''''

    ''''Uhhh.'''' She mumbled. ''''Oops.''''

    Nice one, we both forgot.

    ''''I do,'''' Draco said as he put down his backpack and started rummaging through.

    Yep, we could really see who the gold-ranked adventurer in this party was. Hint: It wasn¡¯t me. Velariah and I were humiliated when Draco held up a torch. It was a good thing he wasn''t the type to joke around. This would have been far worse if he had had a smile on his face.

    Then he did something unexpected. He laid his axe down on the ground and hit it with the bottom of the torch. Before I could ask what he was doing, the torch set itself on fire. That was one mighty convenient self-igniting torch.

    He went ahead of us and entered the tunnel after passing the torch to me, he could not carry it at the same time as his axe and well, I may have had a hand or two free. I followed behind him with Velariah covering my back. Because of my spear''s length, I would still be able to provide support to Draco if it was necessary.

    The walls of this tunnel widened up after the entrance which allowed me to move much more freely. The only thing that really stood out was the webs that covered the walls. They weren''t sticky, fortunately, otherwise, Velariah and Draco may have been in trouble.

    I was pretty sure I could walk on sticky threads, right? I mean isn''t that what spiders did? It would sure suck if they got caught in their own webs.

    I pried off a piece of web as I had to make sure of something. We could be in a really dangerous situation here. We had not run into any hellspiders yet and it would be better to check this before things got spicy.

    I held a pried-up piece of the web into the torch and saw it get eaten by the flames in an instant.

    ''''Draco, we should turn back,'''' I called out to him.

    The lizardman had continued walking and was almost out of reach of the light produced by the torch.

    He walked back to me before he asked a question.

    ''''What is the matter?''''

    ''''These webs are extremely flammable and from the looks of it, this entire place is covered in it. I suggest we torch the place and then kill whatever is left. With some luck, we fry some spiders in the meantime.''''

    ''''Brutal!'''' Velariah exclaimed.

    Yeap, but if this worked it would make our job a lot easier.

    I was happy I noticed this before we got in any kind of fight, we would be in so much trouble if I dropped this torch. We walked out the same way we entered. Once outside, I handed the torch over to Draco and made sure to get far away from this place. I was not keen on getting the worst headache from spider flamb¨¦. I''ve had enough headaches for a lifetime I would say.

    Once I was at a reasonable distance, I gave a thumbs-up gesture and started to cover my ears, afraid of what was to come.

    Draco torched the tunnel. Smoke started to rise up through the tunnel, he and Velariah stepped back from the fire. Within literal seconds smoke rose up from separate tunnel exits. As the smoke appeared, so did the ringing in my head.

    Because of the distance, it wasn''t as bad but the sheer number of screams that rang through my brain brought me to the verge of collapse. My sight went blurry again but even through that, I could make out several burning figures running out of the tunnels and quickly being mowed down by my party members. Each kill lessened the strain on my mind until all was quiet again.

    One weak scream remained, but it was weak and didn''t cause much of a hassle for me. I stood up again and rubbed my eyes, causing them to regain focus. The storm seemed to be over, there was just this one nasty scream in the back of my mind that didn''t seem to go away. If it was just one spider it shouldn''t be much of an issue.

    I walked over to the elf and lizardman who were still watching the entrance cautiously.

    ''''There''s only one left,'''' I informed them of the situation.

    ''''How do you know?'''' Velariah didn''t seem to believe me.

    ''''Trust me, I know. I''m surprised it''s not dead yet, its screech has been bothering me for a while.''''

    I looked over inside the tunnel. It seemed the plan I had come up with on the fly seemed to do its job. There was a raging inferno going on inside and I was glad we decided to burn it. Now we could safely enter after the flames had died down and clean up anything still left inside without having to worry about accidentally burning ourselves. A decision wisely made if I do say so myself.

    The screams in the back of my mind became louder and I could feel... emotion in it? I felt anger coming from whoever, rather, whatever this ''''voice'''' belonged to. Whatever was screaming out was calling for vengeance, for blood, it wanted me. That wasn''t just a hellspider, what the hell was this?

    Of course, everything had been too easy so far. Of course, there had to be something that would make my life literal hell. Of course, the biggest, baddest, monstrous spider mother had made its way to the surface through one of the burning tunnels.

    A spider twice my size (and I was already on the plus size) appeared. Velariah and Draco just stared at it as it slowly made its way towards us. Large silver fangs caught the sunlight from above and sent shivers down my spine. Its entire body was smoldering and smoking, some parts on its abdomen were still on fire. Multiple glowing, large purple eyes on its head were looking at me and were out for blood.

    ''''You!'''' it screamed out in pain.

    Wait, what.

    ''''You betrayed ussss!'''' It dragged the last word out into an unearthly screech.

    Oh shit, this thing could talk.

    ''''What the hell are you talking about. I was never with you to begin with.'''' I screamed back.

    ''''Death! Death! Death!'''' it started advancing to us.

    What was this spider''s problem? Also, why did it have to be this big? This thing was a dungeon boss if I''d ever seen one! Actually, I hadn¡¯t seen one yet. Freaking spiders, man, give me a break.

    ''''Is this beast communicating with you?'''' Draco.

    Oh.

    ''''Yeah, it''s saying I betrayed them, not sure how, but apparently, I pissed it off, quite badly too. Not sure why.''''

    That last part was quite sarcastic. I think I said that to suppress my severe case of arachnophobia that grew stronger by the second as the mythical final boss beast of Oceania approached us. I dub thee, Hellspider queen.

    I considered running but I had no doubt that thing would easily catch up with us so that was out of the question. I started grinding my mind to come up with ideas to take this fight on with minimal risk but came up empty.

    ''''Watch out for those fangs and its spinnerets, those will be the main dangers we''re facing. This thing is somewhat intelligent but I have no idea to what degree so be careful.'''' I called out.

    Velariah and Draco nodded in understanding.

    If this thing was only good for one silver, I would call bullshit.

    I suppressed my fear, knowing I had to stay focused or I might lose my newfound friends. We would try to whittle it down while avoiding the major dangers. I would try to keep track of things to find openings. We would have to be prepared for anything.

    Step one: Find the enemy''s weakness.

    I had Velariah, Draco, and then myself coat our weapons with my venom before battle commenced.

    We split up and charged.

 1.17 Nightmare Rumble

    It was slow, incredibly slow. Perhaps it had been weakened by the fire? Or maybe it was because it was so large. Was this how flies operated? They seemed to be incredibly quick with flying away when you were about to swat them. It was quite ironic that in this situation I was that fly. Dodging didn''t seem to be an issue for me. I had gotten more than used to these legs in the meantime, and thanks to my coffee bean peeling experience I managed to get quite a few stabs in between dodges.

    Unfortunately, this beast''s exoskeleton was incredibly tough and my spear did not pierce deep enough to properly wound our enemy. Velariah and Draco seemed to run into the same issue. They were trying to wound this monster''s legs since they had a far easier time reaching those than the main body. It wasn''t a bad strategy, if we could immobilize this foe, we could easily finish it off, just like Velariah had done with the Saibon boar.

    I had decided to join them in their effort as this guy''s, or lady''s (I had no idea, honestly) seemed unpierceable. I would definitely have to get a better weapon later on. It turned out that not getting any armor was a blessing in this scenario. A few times had one of its legs moved to knock me down but I had narrowly dodged each and every time, I doubted I would have been able to if I had been any heavier. Something I would have to look into later as well.

    Seriously, this thing was far tougher than I had expected and hoped.

    I relegated myself to wounding the legs as well. It worked to a certain degree, but not much, not enough for sure. We had drawn some of that creepy green blood here and there but nothing serious. Not even Draco''s huge axe with full-on impact managed to draw more than scrapes. This was not going well at all.

    ''''Draco, get its attention.'''' I knew at least one very sensitive spot thanks to personal experience. However weird that may sound.

    Draco swung his large axe upwards hutting the large spider''s head, that seemed to draw its attention as it lunged forward with its fangs and massive jaws. He managed to block the attack with his axe while Velariah went for the eyes, she managed to completely cut one open, causing purple liquid to ooze down. My face distorted in disgust. That was revolting.

    I walked to the beast''s abdomen that was swaying around as it tried to attack Velariah and Draco. I scanned around its underside; I was looking for something specific.

    After a few ducks and sidesteps I had finally found it. Its spinnerets were practically similar to mine and just looked enticing to stab a spear in. When it stood still for a few seconds I struck. I struck again, and again in quick succession doing whatever damage I could before it could properly react.

    Yeap, that did the trick, finally we had done some real damage, green blood oozed from its completely severed appendage. This would disable its ability to shoot web, if it planned to do that. That was one weapon down.

    The scream in my mind returned, full of bloodlust.

    Oops. I may have made it angry. I mean, even angrier than it had been before.

    It was a useful move from my part but I doubted it would be enough to kill it. That was nowhere near enough blood to cause it to die of exsanguination. What else did we have? Our weapons didn¡¯t seem to do much. Despite being coated in my venom, it seemed to have no effect. This led me to believe that this spider, like I, possessed some venom resistance ability. That was a bummer, I had quietly hoped this would be an ace up our sleeve.

    Ace up our sleeve....

    I got an idea so crazy it might just work. I seemed to get a lot of those as of late.

    ''''Vel, with me!" I yelled to Velariah as I withdrew from combat. ''''Draco, hold on for a moment please.''''

    ''''Understood!'''' He shouted back.

    I saw his body engulf itself in a green light and grow bigger. His size grew by about thirty percent and I saw his scales turn pitch black. He roared with resounding voice and caught the spider''s attention. That seemed like a neat ability, but I doubted he could keep it up for long. He had told us before he couldn''t keep his spells active forever.''''

    Velariah ran away with me and asked me what I had in mind.

    ''''You still have that crystal?''''

    ''''You mean the fire one?'''' She reached into her bag and held it out for me.

    She was very assertive, I liked that about her. No questions just action. Since time was of the essence it was all the more welcome.

    I took the crystal and pushed out some sticky silk of my behind.

    ''''What are you doing?'''' She asked.

    I didn''t bother to answer the question as I was completely focused on what I was doing. I took a strand of the sticky silk and the crystal and bound it atop my spear. I made sure the top of the crystal was free so it could be easily triggered.

    ''''Oh.'''' She let out. ''''I start to get an idea of what you''re planning to do.''''

    ''''Good, then I don¡¯t need to explain I need some bait to open its jaws.''''

    ''''Oh.'''' She let out again.

    I could tell she was not looking forward to that idea. I couldn''t blame her.

    ''''Will you be okay?'''' I asked, I didn''t want to put her in danger.

    ''''I''ll be fine, that thing is awfully slow.'''' She joked about the situation.

    I hoped she was right. I trusted her, she had better not get eaten on my watch.

    Confident that I had fastened the crystal properly I walked back into the fight with Velariah. Draco seemed to have hold his ground fine but he seemed to be slowing down. His time of being empowered was probably running out soon.

    ''''Draco fall back!" Velariah shouted to him.

    ''''FLIES, FLIES, MEAT!'''' The beast screamed again.

    This spider would soon be bested by these pesky little flies, or so I hoped. This didn''t seem like a long shot to me at all, so I had good faith in my abilities. I hoped I didn''t just jinx everything by thinking that.

    Draco took a few steps backward as Velariah entered the fray, instantly getting the monster''s attention as she aimed for the eyes again. Draco''s scales turned back to their old green and he leaned on his weapon, heavily panting. I thought he would be out for a while, we''d better finish this quickly.

    Velariah was a master actress. One of the spider''s pedipalps had struck out aiming for her, but she had blocked the attack with her sword but let herself fall on her bum. I quietly stepped behind her in hopes of not drawing too much attention. This monster''s attention span seemed to be rather short and I couldn''t disturb it right now.

    The queen hellspider opened its large jaws and extended her fangs. I had to time this properly.

    ''''FEAST, FEAST.'''' It screamed in my mind.

    When it was about to strike, I hit the top of the crystal, activating its detonation sequence before I stepped over Velariah and literally shoved my spear so far up its mouth that I was pretty sure I had done some decent internal damage in the process. Here was to hoping my plan worked.

    And here was to hoping I wouldn''t have to pay for not returning the ''''borrowed'''' spear.

    Velariah quickly rolled away and I stepped backwards as well as our foe was in the process of analyzing what the hell just happened to it.

    ''''WEAK, YOUR ATTACKS ARE WEAK.''''

    Is that so?

    A muted explosion sounded from the spider''s direction, followed by a lot of incomprehensible screaming in my mind. I once again had my hands on my ears trying to deafen the sounds it produced.

    I ran away with Velariah as our enemy was incapacitated and struggling to stand. I had to cover my ears hard to not go deaf, this monster was far worse than the average hellspider when it came to producing piercing screams.

    The monstrous spider started to collapse and I saw smoke rising from several parts of its body. The sight was intriguing yet macabre. I had to keep looking to see if it would do anything but would rather have looked away. Fire started to seep through openings in the beast''s exoskeleton and green blood dripped from many new orifices. In short, the animal was being consumed by fire from the inside out.

    What the hell was in that crystal? Was that white phosphorous or something? it sure acted like it, with the fire eating through anything it touched. More fire started to engulf the creature as it was still attacking my eardrums with everything it had left. It was getting weaker and weaker but it still hurt like hell!

    Draco picked up his axe and was about to charge in again.

    ''''Draco, wait!''''

    He halted and looked at me questioningly.

    ''''No need to rush in and do stupid things, I can sense it dying.''''

    He put down his weapon and sat down in the dirt. He was obviously still recovering from the fight and I couldn''t have him kill himself because of a stupid lapse of judgement.

    The screams died out but the monster''s body was still twitching and burning. I would avoid getting too close until I was absolutely, positively sure that it was dead. Velariah in the meantime started walking between spiders and cut off their fangs in silence before placing them in her pack. I automatically assumed that those were the trophies required as proof of slaying. That made me wonder how the guild was going to verify that the nest had been exterminated. Did they know the exact amount of spiders inside?

    I let the elf do whatever she was doing. It seemed like a grim task but somebody would have to do it. I would be fine with it as long as that person wasn''t me...

    ''''You plan on helping me out?'''' Velariah asked from a distance as she knelt at the next corpse.

    No, I wasn''t. Let me just come up with an excuse real quick.

    ''''Sorry.'''' I said as I shrugged with all four hands. ''''I seem to have lost my spear.''''

    I couldn''t see her roll her eyes from up here but instinctively I knew she did just that before she turned her head and went to work.

    That went easier than expected. She didn''t even bother to mention I still had a sword.

    ''''You okay, Draco?'''' I turned to the reptilian man behind me.

    ''''I''m fine. I''m just... exhausted. My body enhancements always drain me quite a bit.''''

    ''''Noted. You did great by the way.''''

    At least combat was over and we survived without any injuries. That was a good start. I''d call this quest a great success. Now we had come to the fun part: Looting.

    Well, maybe it wasn''t as fun. At least Velariah was doing the nasty work.

    ''''So were you. You have an... interesting way of fighting.'''' He said as he stood up to full height again.

    Well, he wasn''t wrong. I was new to fighting in the first place and as Sun Tzu once said: True excellence is subduing the enemy without fighting. So, if I could defeat monsters like that with nasty tricks and reduce time spent fighting I would. Thinking was half the fight. At least in my opinion it was.

    Velariah continued harvesting the fangs of the spider corpses that were outside of the hive system. Halfway through Draco had started helping her. I couldn''t be of much use without my weapon, at least I pretended I couldn''t be, I could always borrow Velariah''s knife, of course.

    Draco had hammered the spider queen''s corpse''s head several times just to make sure it had been killed off properly. He had then chopped off the huge fangs and put them in his large backpack. There was no way those would have fit into Velariah''s pack.

    As I saw the packs fill up with spider parts my heart sank as I realized that would mean we couldn¡¯t take as much coffee with us...

    I should stop thinking about coffee I can''t drink it anyway.

    Once we had everything from the outside packed and ready, we decided to take a look inside the tunnels again.

    The tunnel we entered was completely empty, but after a while we appeared to enter a large central chamber with about a dozen dead spiders. I observed the surroundings and found a lot of smoldering remains of what I believed used to be silk. This was obviously the central part of the hive but everything had been burnt to crisps. When I walked over to a hellspider corpse I noticed its hairs were completely gone and its exoskeleton resembled something that I could only describe as ''''deep fried until actually burnt''''. The sight, and the smell were disgusting and almost made me vomit.

    I quickly stepped back and observed that its eyes were open. Literally open. As in, they were popped like popcorn and the liquid inside was gone. It seemed the fire had been effective.

    Effective, but it had left behind something that was beyond disgusting.

    Velariah and Draco worked on carving and I explored the surrounding tunnels. I had found a few more corpses and brought them to the central chamber without actually touching them with my hands. I was not going to touch spiders, especially not when they were deep fried and charred like coal. What I had done was turn myself around and splat some sticky silk on them and then drag them behind me.

    I had cleared all the tunnels and deducted that there was only one central room. I imagined that this room must have been a room where eggs had been located. I was happy to have burnt the whole place down. Even if they had laid eggs, killing with fire was better done late than never.

    The only good thing about these dead spiders it that if there were so many, they would bring in quite some coin at the guild. I wondered if they made a mistake with offering one silver per spider killed, it seemed it was too much. Had they known there were this many and underestimated the number of spiders? I had lost track of how many we had killed. I guessed I would see once we delivered all the fangs to the guild.

    When I walked back for the last time with a spider in tow, I felt one of my feet hitting something in the mud. It felt like there was something in the ground here as I felt soft sound vibrations through my leg hair. As if there was a hollow room underneath it. I would have definitely missed it if I hadn''t had these hairs. I had finally figured out what they were used for, I thought.

    Curiosity had gotten the better of me and I started digging through the blackened dirt the same way I had dug the hole for the grave earlier when Velariah asked me what the hell I was doing.

    ''''There''s something down here, and I''m going to find out what.''''

    Saying that brought me back to something I had read about seemingly ages ago. Somebody had suggested that the first person who discovered honey must have thought: ''''I know those little fuckers are hiding something delicious in there and I''m going to find out what.''''

    ''''Hold on a sec.'''' She walked over me, drew her sword, and stabbed down into the dirt.

    It got about halfway down the blade before I could hear an audible thud. It had hit something and from the sound of it, it seemed like iron had just hit iron. Interesting.

    ''''What''s that?'''' I asked.

    ''''No idea. Let''s find out.''''

    Maybe I had hit a treasure chest? Would my luck finally change course? I could only hope as I started digging again. The thought of riches kept me going.

    Beneath the hardened top layer of burnt dirt the ground below it was surprisingly loose and I managed to get through it quite quickly thanks to my extra spider limbs without the need to get my hands dirty or external tools. Who needed spades anyway?

    Eventually a flat metal surface came into view. It didn''t seem like a treasure chest to me. It was literally a flat metal surface with many spots of rust. I didn¡¯t give up hope and kept digging until I had laid bare a large three by three meters metal square. The square was surrounded by bricks that made up a layer beneath the dirt. I didn¡¯t bother to uncover more as I couldn''t feel a hollow space under them.

    Upon inspecting the plate, I immediately got the notion that it was some kind of door. It seemed it consisted of two doors. upon very close inspection I could barely make out a line in the middle that separated both halves.

    There was no keyhole or anything in sight and I tried pulling the plates up but had no luck.

    ''''So, what''s this? It looks like some kind of door.''''

    Draco filled in. ''''That''s because it is a door.''''

    I yelped. When did he get here?

    Velariah grinned at my reaction but Draco continued without making a remark.

    ''''A dungeon door to be exact.''''

    Oops. And I had tried to open it. I had let my curiosity get the better of me again. I should be more careful. Who knew what could be behind that door and jump at my face the second I opened it?

    ''''Normally you open them easily but this is an odd one.''''

    He looked around the plate and brushed some dirt off. He then looked around the edges and knocked on the stone floor surrounding the door.

    ''''I don''t see any way to open it. No rune, no lock. Unless it is supposed to open without any of those, we should be wary.''''

    He seemed to have some knowledge on the subject. I hoped he had been inside dungeons before, it would be great to have someone with experience.

    ''''What is that supposed to mean?'''' Velariah asked before I could.

    ''''Normally there are four ways to enter a dungeon, technically three because the first one is simply entering, some dungeons don''t have doors. The other three are a simple unlocked door, a lock or a rune lock. That is from low level to high level in that specific order. If a door does not have any of those lock mechanisms it could be an anomaly.''''

    That sounded dangerous but I was confident in my luck, or rather, my bad luck.

    ''''Vel, can I borrow your sword?'''' I asked.

    ''''I don''t know, can you call me by my name?''''

    Mean.

    ''''Velariah, my lady, could I please borrow your sword? I would be forever in your debt.'''' I asked, coating the words in honey.

    ''''Sure.'''' She unsheathed and handed her sword to me.

    I took the sword and pried it between one of the plates and the stone that made up the frame on which it was positioned. I weighed down on the sword exerting more and more force while trying not to break the sword, I''d hate to pay for that.

    The door sprung open and I was lucky to have the reflexes to block the sword with my pedipalps before it would have hit my face. Nice, I seemed to be getting the hang of this body quite well.

    Draco had been ready to bring down his axe if anything emerged but due to the sheer size of the door it hadn''t opened much and pretty much instantly closed again. This time I could open it with just my hands. It appeared it had simply rusted shut.

    ''''See, I knew my luck wouldn''t disappoint me.''''

    It was true. There was no way I was going to find an ''''Anomaly'''', whatever that was when it came to dungeons, it sounded exotic and rare. I just did not have that kind of luck. At least being unlucky was something I could rely on.

    ''''So, what do we do?'''' I asked my companions as I closed the large metal door again.

    I hadn''t even taken a look inside.

    ''''First of, we should report to the Lore keeper. If this is an undiscovered dungeon, we need to make sure they are aware of it. Secondly... Actually, I have no idea what comes after that. Draco?''''

    Velariah called upon Draco to fill in the gaps.

    ''''You report a dungeon to the guild yes, after that it usually gets a name and a grade. This one should be fairly simple so maybe silver tops?''''

    That sounded comforting. At least if anything jumped out, we should be able to handle it with the three of us.

    I actually wondered how dungeons worked in this world. Would they have mob respawns with certain rules or would they be a one-time clear only? Would they have bosses? Riches? Resources? I had to see it for myself, my curiosity was once again swelling up inside me.

    Ugh, I had to stay focused. I had no armor whatsoever. I had lost my only weapon. Well, technically I had more up my sleeve but I didn''t want to jump into the unknown with only my body to use as biological weapon. A spear may not be my favorite weapon to use but it was by far the simplest to learn and use. That had been one of the things I learnt from Japanese history, the Sengoku Jidai had been one of my favorite historical eras after all.

    I wonder what Velariah would think if I told her about the Naginata. A sword on a stick sounded like a ridiculous concept and I hadn''t seen anything here that resembled it or came close, unless you counted the halberds that was.

    Yes, restocking and preparing would be the rational choice here.

    Before we left the hive, I made sure to bind down the door with webs, you know, just in case. Couldn''t have a random boss monster running around the world all of a sudden. I didn''t need competition.

    The way back was quiet but I kept thinking about what all this meant and what the possibilities were going to be. I was so lost in thought and just repeating the same motion with my legs over and over that I almost forgot the cherry bushes next to the forest, almost.

    I made sure to pack as many as I could in my own pack before I started filling Velariah''s and Draco''s too. Draco was having a confused look at me while I worked. I was pretty sure he was wondering why I was so obsessed with these. If only he knew that this is where coffee came from. Maybe I would tell him some day once my coffee empire had taken over the world.

    Yeah, the empire thing was highly unlikely. I would leave that part to Valtheril.

    I wonder if I could have alchemists find a way to decaffeinate the beans. That would be a dream come true...

    The sun had reached its peak and slowly started its descent. The days seemed very drawn out on this world so it wouldn''t be dark for a long time. I was secretly looking forward to tomorrow. It would finally be time to get some weapon and armor shopping done. As long as prices weren''t scuffed, I wondered what I would be able to afford. Food had been very affordable so far and it seemed I would get a large sum of money from this quest even after splitting it with two others. I felt like I had actually accomplished something.

    It would be interesting to see if what I had suggested to Draco would actually work. He was pretty effective at tanking already due to his body enhancement magic but the drawback of using it could be incredibly dangerous in prolonged combat. If we were able to get him something he could use to defend himself better he would be far more effective.

    That reminded me of something else entirely. A new dungeon had popped up and our party was nowhere near ready to take it on. If we were going to explore that I wanted at least a healer to go with us. If my suspicions based on Earthen knowledge were correct, dungeons would be swarming with enemies. The extra protection would be very much welcome.

    That brought us to the next problem: Who would join a freak party like ours. I had to be real here, we had not one, but two half monsters in our group, of which one came straight out of a nightmare. Draco wasn''t as repulsive perhaps, but he had to do with a fair deal of racism already I couldn¡¯t imagine how I would fare if I had not had the abilities that I had.

    Then there was Velariah as well who could pass as a monster...

    I let out a suppressed laugh and Velariah looked at me with large eyes as if I were crazy. Well, she wouldn¡¯t be entirely wrong.

    Yup, finding a healer would be hard.

    I discussed the matter with Velariah and Draco as we re-entered the village and made our way to Velariah''s home first to drop off the cherries. I didn''t need the guild knowing about those. Velariah had suggested that her father could probably find someone who may be interested but I was against the idea.

    I was honestly getting a bit tired of all the work her father had already done and would keep doing. There was also the fact that I would actually like to get to know the person to make sure they would fit with us. I would hate to get an aristocratic person to join our party who would think they were better than anyone else.

    I had asked if it was a possibility to look for people in the guild. Apparently, we could submit a form at the Lore keeper indicating that we were looking for specific people for our party, I should have known about that sooner. If we had any applicants, we would be able to interview them and see if they were a fit for us. It pretty much sounded like a job application but it should work.

    While we were at it, we should also look if we could find a ranged damage dealer, maybe two. A well-rounded party would be key to success, at least that''s what I had been told. When had that ever failed me?

    I had most likely just jinxed it again.

    Never mind.

 1.18 Spice and Spider

    We reached the elf''s home and Velariah knocked. A few seconds later Elly opened the slide before letting us in. We introduced Draco before we had her get a large bowl in which we gracefully deposited our pack contents. The spider fangs mixed in between the berries made Elly''s face run white with disgust. Poor girl.

    We fished out all the fangs and repacked them to take them to the guild to collect our reward. I couldn''t quite count all of them but there were many, and then there were the two massive ones from the spider boss. I could already see silver coins raining down from the sky into my pockets. If only I could wear pants...

    It appeared Elly had not listened to what we had said earlier and had cleaned up all the spider webs covering the floor. And now, we had even more work to be done.

    Elly looked at the big bowl full of coffee cherries and I could feel her heart sink. That was going to be a lot of work to get done. I felt bad for her and suggested that I would help her as soon as we came back. I was careful enough to not exactly say what we were going to do with those cherries in front of Draco. On the other hand, we would probably need more people later on to peel them once we started to get this industry up and running. These secrets wouldn''t remain secret forever.

    I guessed this would be an ideal job for copper ranked adventurers, poor souls. At least they could be paid somewhat well considering the guild was ripping people off by asking three coppers for a cup of coffee.

    I was sure there was money to be made here, but I would also like it to be somewhat fair trade. This whole ordeal wouldn''t sit well with me otherwise.

    We walked back over to the guild hall through the now almost empty streets. It seemed the people that were from around here had become more accustomed to a large spider walking through their streets. The number of glares I had received had gone down considerably. Some apparent foreigners in the form of humans were still scared to death though.

    Come to think of it, humans had been the only race I had seen so far outside of elves, besides Draco and myself that was. I had been told this village was quite an important trade post, where were the other demi-humans promised to me?

    The sky had already turned with the red that signaled the end of the day, and I feared for the worst.

    We entered the guild hall and found the place completely packed as I was expecting. Everyone from the streets must have come here after the trials had ended. Alcohol was flowing freely and not a single table was free anymore. Several waiters ran up and down with drinks and plates filled with food. I didn''t think we''d have any luck having dinner here for a while. Not that I needed it.

    We made our way over to the Lore keeper. I had to be careful with my movements when we did so, I didn''t want to ruin people''s dinner or scare them, not on purpose at least.

    Velariah and Draco emptied their bags'' contents on the counter as I waited behind them. Mine was already completely empty after taking out the cherries. The Lore keeper scribbled down a bunch of words as she counted the fangs.

    Shivers ran over my back and I felt my hairs stand up as something touched my behind. I felt a hand run over my abdomen and I turned my head around to see what was going on.

    Some elf with red cheeks was running both hands over my body. He was obviously drunk and seemed to be fixated on my spider parts. What the hell?

    I turned around and looked down at the elf.

    ''''Wzaappp missss, howzz it going tonightee.'''' He hiccupped after that.

    ''''I''m fine but I''d prefer you to keep your hands to yourself.'''' This impetuous elf...

    ''''Mizzz.'''' He wanted to lean against me but I held him in place with my pedipalps. ''''You zhould joins me for ze night.''''

    Right, this guy was completely gone. Apparently, I had just received an invitation to stay the night. He must have been extremely drunk to invite something like me over.

    ''''No, thanks.'''' I tried to push him back to the barstool which he had sat on before and turned around to see silver coins being handed out by the Lore keeper.

    The sound and feeling of a slap had made me turn around again. What the hell was this guy''s problem, he had just slapped my ass!

    ''''What is your problem?'''' I asked angrily.

    He responded by grabbing my breasts.

    Ok that''s it.

    Within a second, I had him down to floor and pinned beneath four of my legs. I bent over and looked him straight in the eye.

    ''''I would highly suggest not trying that again. I would like not to cause trouble here but you''re testing my patience.'''' I made my fangs appear and had them click each other in hopes of inciting fear in this freak.

    It didn''t seem to work. This guy was surely too far gone. Wait, did he just pass out?

    I walked off of him and let him go. It did seem he had passed out; soft snores came from the elf''s mouth. At least that was one thing less to worry about.

    ''''Oi whaddaya dun to my mate?''''

    Oh god, not another one. Vel help me out here, will you?

    ''''I did nothing. In fact, he is the one that assaulted me.'''' I replied to the knocked-out dude''s ''''mate''''.

    I turned to the other man. He didn''t seem fazed by my appearance. Seriously, drunk dudes were the worst. If I ever had to get a partner would this be how I met them? They would surely have to be completely smashed first.

    ''''Ya gonna pay for that!''''

    Oh, please leave me alone. I was not intending on starting a bar fight.

    He jumped off his stool and raised a fist in anger. Unfortunately for him, I was faster. I grabbed his hand and twisted it, holding it up to his stomach.

    ''''Leave. Me. Alone!'''' I emphasized every word as I pushed him back with my extra limbs.

    He stumbled over his knocked-out friend and fell to the floor. An armed guard from outside walked in and asked what was going on here. I told him these two drunkards had assaulted me and he looked at me with ignorance.

    ''''And why should I not believe it was the other way around?''''

    This guy didn''t seem to like me.

    ''''She is telling the truth, you know they are trouble, just get them out of here.''''

    I turned to see the barkeep assist me. It appears he had been watching how this was unfolding. Couldn''t he have stepped in earlier? I was thankful for his help though.

    The guard dragged both men outside and I was glad to see them gone.

    ''''Thanks.'''' I turned to the barkeep.

    I wondered if the reason that had to pick on me had been the fact that there was a different barkeep from before. After all, this guy didn''t have certain assets that would keep their attention locked in place.

    ''''No need to thank me, they are known trouble makers. They pay well though. Seems you got yourselves a good haul too'''' He pointed towards Draco and Velariah.

    Yeah, no shit. I reckoned they had to spend quite a bit to get as drunk as they were.

    I turned to where the barkeep pointed and saw the Lore keeper was still putting down more silver coins on the desk. It seemed we were going to cash in quite a bit. Wait, did I see a square silver coin in between?

    I walked over and looked over Velariah''s shoulder quietly as to not startle the Lore keeper who seemed intensely focused on counting. At this point I was tempted to just grab the cash and go, I''d seen enough of this place for the day and I was getting tired. Unfortunately, I knew certain things would have to be arranged first. Velariah looked up to me and smiled, what was she smiling for?

    The Lore keeper was finally done and leaned back in her chair.

    ''''Twenty-two hellspiders, and a hellspider queen. That''s twenty-two silvers plus an extra five. Oh, and Elania?'''' It appeared she had noticed me. ''''I included the two silvers for the farmer''s quest as well.''''

    Neat.

    ''''A guild official will be dispatched shortly to investigate both the quest objective and that dungeon you talked about. Have you thought of a name suggestion yet?'''' She turned to Velariah.

    ''''Well, Elania is the one that found it, if anyone should pick a name for it, it should be her.''''

    Wait. The person that discovered a dungeon got to name it? That sounded pretty cool, but there was a certain issue.

    ''''I suck at naming things, you know that.''''

    I could only imagine what kind of weird names people had come up with. I would leave this matter to somebody else.

    ''''Can''t you name it yourselves?'''' I asked the elf behind the counter.

    ''''That''s what we do all the time, I was just wondering if you had a suggestion for a name.''''

    Oh, it seems I misunderstood what she had meant. Nope, I still had no clue what would fit.

    ''''Yeah, I''ll leave you guys to it.''''

    I would stick to things I knew, like making coffee and coming up with crazy ideas that I never seemed to follow anyway. Things such as starting with trade and building up reputation before setting foot in this village. I sucked at sticking to a plan. Not that this had been for the worst though, I had quite enjoyed this village so far, save for some people maybe.

    Velariah handed nine silver coins to Draco as his share of the reward money and put the rest in my purse. I wasn''t sure what to feel about it. Now it was going to be messy to keep track of what I actually owned.

    The elf noticed me looking and told me it would be fine, we would get some proper armor for me first and I could repay whenever I wanted to.

    That was awfully sweet of her but I could see her line of thinking. She already possessed fairly good armor herself, all I had was a modified shirt on my body and nothing else.

    Thinking of my shirt brought me to my arms. I would probably have to pay a fair deal extra to get any kind of armor modified to fit those. I wondered what the best material would be. Plate and mail seemed far too heavy to carry around while still moving optimally. Leather or hardened leather might be the way to go but it felt it was lacking in the defense department. If only I could cover myself in this chitin, it seemed tough enough to stop arrows and was extremely light.

    I could see my dreams of quickly getting a set of armor fly away, like birds in the sky feeling from a forest fire.

    Would it be necessary to get armor for the rest of my body too? I imagined it would be hard finding an armorer to even take measurements, let alone actually make it. I decided I would stick to my human body for now, that seemed to be my weak spot.

    And for that I had to wait until the next day. Argh, this anticipation was killing me. Fortunately for me it seemed dusk had set in. Now I just hoped I could sleep away the time and that the coffee from before wouldn''t interfere with that either. Speaking of which, I saw no coffee being served anymore. I assumed it was because they were out. If they were to keep serving it now and people were to go to bed soon, they would be in for a surprise.

    Velariah had the Lore keeper draft a request for our party. We would be looking for a healer and a ranged damage dealer for now. Of that last, there should be archers aplenty, it was an elven village after all. She had also put our names on the request and I wondered if it would keep people away. Then again, people unfamiliar with our name would be none the wiser, and if they were and that kept them away from us, we wouldn''t want them in anyway.

    After having it drafted and paying another silver (seriously, what was this rip-off?) the Lore keeper put the document away under her desk. Any applications would be saved, and forwarded to us we could then review them and invite them for a talk.

    Yeap, that sounded like job applications alright.

    Once all that was out of the way it was time to return ''''home'''', there was not much else we could do for the day. Even though dusk had set in it still didn''t feel as late but I couldn''t be happier. It had given a reason for me to go to sleep early, all the antics from today had left me physically exhausted. Even if I managed to ignore it for the most part, I wouldn''t be able to ignore it forever. Everything from today hit me at once, was this what a hangover felt like?

    We bid our goodbyes to Draco before making our way back to Velariah''s home.

    Once inside she had Elly help her out of her armor again before we moved over to the dining area. It appeared Elly had already started on the cherries that we dropped off.

    She just wouldn''t listen, would she?

    I sighed, pushed two chairs aside and started helping her. Even though I was tired I did promise I would help with this. Added to that was the fact that I had no idea if it would be bad to leave these cherries out overnight.

    Velariah walked to the kitchen as I got started. There was a pretty large heap that would still have to be processed before it was time for bed. It was quite ironic how much caffeine was in front of me. And I was longing to go to sleep. Good thing I had two sets of hands to help out.

    I told Elly to take a break, she had already done a part herself and cleaned up the mess I had made before. I wondered what she had done with all that silk? She was hesitant to stop working but accepted, walking off to the kitchen as well.

    They both returned with the remaining loaf of bread from earlier today and the strawberry jam. I had not even thought about eating. It might turn out to be a very convenient thing to be able to go without food for so long after ''''stocking up'''' first. I hadn''t reached the limits yet, from what I could tell. If I were to eat massive amounts, I could possibly go a week without, or so I guessed. I also guessed it would look extremely weird for me to eat an entire week''s worth of food in one sitting. All these weird body intricacies did increase my survival capabilities by quite a bit, though.

    In addition, I would have the luxury of being able to carry many resources for our party. We could take a fair amount of longer preservable food with us because of it. Added to that was the fact that I wouldn''t have to eat myself for a long time. This body may not be so bad after all. At least not from a pure survival perspective.

    It was a weird thought but there was no denying it.

    Both elves were happily eating and watching me work with grimaces on their faces, sadists.

    Velariah had asked if I wanted anything to eat which I had politely declined. I''d be happy to just get this done and then go to bed, or well, pillow pile.

    I managed to get through this much faster than the beginning earlier today and the pile of coffee beans started to grow quickly. Valtheril walked in when I was about halfway done. He took his seat at the head of the table and started working on several documents that he had been carrying. Every once in a while, he threw a glance at what I was doing.

    Eventually, he seemed to be done with his work and stood up only to sit down next to me. I was not expecting him to do that and it had startled me.

    It seemed he had been quite interested in the coffee creation process and he asked me several questions about how it was done. If he was going to be the one arranging production, I didn¡¯t mind answering all the questions he had about coffee, as long as I got paid without having my name strapped to every single cup.

    Valtheril knew this was a win/win scenario for him and agreed, he even made a contract to make it formal. This time I did read through the entire thing. It appeared I would get fifteen percent of the export price from ''''Dawnleaf Exports''''. That seemed like a deal too good to be true considering I wouldn''t have to put in any work once everything was up and running. I had the feeling Valtheril knew that this was going to be a hit. He had likely already communicated with the guild and seen that coffee had been a massive hit with the adventurers. I signed the document after finding no flaws.

    I mentioned the fact that production would have to be set up and I informed him where the beans grew organically. I also mentioned that coffee beans could be saved for quite a while without going bad after being roasted. I told him about the conditions in which they appeared to grow and that it would be a good idea to somewhat recreate their natural environment of half shade in the unused fields around the village. I had also told that I had no idea how long it would take before they bore fruit which earned me a laugh.

    Apparently, he laughed because growing crops to adult stage was not an issue which had confused me. He explained that treemenders were originally druids that would make trees and indeed other plants grow. They would be able to grow the plants to adult stage but not force them to bear fruit, that would have to happen organically. When I asked him why they didn''t do that to crops all year round he answered that the crops would exhaust the ground many times faster with this method.

    Oh, so they were aware of nutrients. Odd. How did they get smaller yields every year then?

    If coffee was anything like grapes this would be a huge boon, I knew grapes needed several years before they would produce edible fruits. If they could be grown with a speed hack to adult stage, we could get production rolling fairly quickly. The cherries around the forest might even be enough to last until then. I had joked that he would better get an army of adventurers to help the farmer plough his fields to get things started which he has actually agreed to.

    Poor farmer, I should have asked him first. I mean, I had told him it would be a good idea to plant those but this was getting out of hand far faster than even I expected. Could Valtheril literally force him to do all these things to his land? True, he was the highest authority here, but still. I guessed as long as the farmer got paid, he would be fine with it? The only issue was that he would need a larger labor force to maintain these crops.

    ''Well, more job opportunities for the guild.'' I thought.

    It looked like Valtheril was even more serious about this than I because he was already writing down a quest to go on the quest board.

    I peeked over to see what he was writing down. It seemed the quest would be viable for all ranks of adventurers and, holy shit, was that a five silver reward for a day of work?

    Five silvers would be a large amount for copper and iron rank adventurers. Hell, even for me that would be considerable if you looked at the fact that our group quest would technically give one gold and five silvers.

    We only had to split that between three people so we''d get five silvers each but then again, we only had three people. I assumed that spider quest was meant for a party of five or more with good equipment. This quest needed no such thing. Another thing that should not be overlooked was the fact that this quest carried no risk of actually dying. How much had he sold the small amount I gathered before for?

    I didn''t dare to ask the question; I could simply deduct it from the amount I would be paid later on.

    I was not planning on coming across as greedy. I shouldn''t even care this much about it because I would be earning money for free, free for god''s sake!

    He asked a few more questions about coffee, specifically how the flavor worked. I explained that you could get different flavors based on how long you roasted the beans. Whatever Elly had made so far had been my favorite but it would depend from person to person. I also mentioned caffeine. It was some sort of a drug that would make you more alert and such. I told him you could technically make coffee without caffeine but I had no idea how to extract the substance from the beans.

    He wrote a few things down. I hoped he could have people find out how to decaffeinate the beans.

    Ugh, stupid coffee addiction.

    After scribbling some more things down and putting his signature on the paper, he took the documents and headed out, likely to the guild. I had kind of hoped he would stay behind to help me with this arduous task, unlucky me.

    It was quite funny to see Valtheril act with this kind of alacrity. And here I was thinking I was the impatient one.

    It was quite ironic to see a general so occupied with everything that had nothing to do with combat. Instead, he seemed to be trying to fix this village''s economics. I wondered if I would ever see him in combat, I''d like to know what he could do in a fight. I wanted to see for myself what a high ranked diamond adventurer could do.

    I still had a lot of questions to ask such as what this inherity ritual would cost but found myself starting to lose focus. Any answers would probably be forgotten by morning so I figured I would ask at a later time. I was relieved to find Velariah and Elly helping me again after they had finished their simple dinner.

    Elly didn''t seem as tired yet, she had one batch of beans soaked in water which would remain so overnight. The rest would be briefly soaked and then left to dry on the table here. We were still experimenting on how to optimize the entire thing so choices had to be made.

    I couldn''t keep my eyes open anymore when were over three quarters done. I didn''t want to leave them to finish alone but I was just dead spider meat at this point. I had bid them goodnight and tried to skitter my way over to my pillow nest but found that my legs had a hard time obeying my input. My brain couldn''t be bothered sending so many signals out it seemed.

    I almost had to drag myself over to the room. I opened it, stepped inside, closed it again, tossed my shirt aside and just fell down into the sweet, soft fluffiness of the pillows. The thoughts that I had forgotten to lock the door and turn off the lights crossed my mind but only for a second. I just couldn''t be bothered at this point anymore. I just let everything go and surrendered to the sweet mercy of sleep.

    Faragi

 1.19 Armorâ€¦

    The next day started the same as the one before.

    Velariah was shouting my name. She wanted me to get up but my body didn''t agree with her, these pillows were far too comfortable. My body craved more sleep and I ignored the elf, burying my head in pillows to drown out her shouting. After a while she had stopped.

    Perfect.

    Hmmmm, pillows.

    I must have fallen asleep again because the next moment I had a certain white-haired elf shaking me by the shoulders.

    Nope, it was far too early, we could do shopping later.

    My resolve to sleep away the hours and get up to do weapon and armor shopping had been completely shattered. I was far too comfortable to even bother doing anything. I would not let this elf take away my freedoms!

    She had managed to turn my human body and was now shaking me from my front.

    Without even opening my eyes I had pinned her down under my legs and dragged her in the pile of pillows. I would make her see the errors of her ways!

    ''''Goodnight.'''' I had said as I grabbed a new pillow to lay my head on.

    ''''Fine.'''' She said, completely powerless to the strength of my legs keeping her in place.

    That was easier than expected!

    ------------------

    Why was there knocking on the door?

    I opened my eyes. Velariah was still trapped in my grasp, it appeared she had fallen asleep. I knew she would see the light eventually.

    Lights?

    It appeared the lights were turned off. Had Velariah done that?

    Another knock on the door.

    ''''Are you two okay in there?'''' Elly''s voice finally made me decide to get up.

    I let the sleeping elf go and stood up. Somehow, she didn''t wake up from that, interesting. It seemed she had been pushing herself to get up early. I guessed I would just let her be for now.

    I tiptoed to the door to be as silent as possible, it really wasn''t hard with these silent ''''toes''''. I opened up one of the doors slightly and peeked around the corner to see Elly who was about to knock again.

    ''''Shhh, she''s sleeping.'''' I whispered putting a finger in front of my mouth. ''''We''ll join you soon.''''

    ''''Alright, should I prepare breakfast?'''' She asked.

    Why did it feel like she was my maid all of a sudden? What happened here?

    ''''If you want, sure.'''' I replied politely.

    She walked off and I closed the door quietly before I started looking around for my tag. It appeared I had lost it somewhere yesterday. After looking between the pillows, I finally realized what must have happened and found it under the shirt that had been carelessly tossed to the ground the night before. I deposited the silver tag into the sink before I took out the comb from the cabinet.

    Seriously, why did this water have to be so icy cold?

    Washing my face with cold water was completely new for me. I knew technically it would be better, but I always preferred warm water so I didn''t have to freeze so early in the morning. Though, I wasn''t quite sure if it was still morning right now.

    My hair was all messy again with dirt from the tunnels that we found ourselves in yesterday stuck everywhere in the long red strands. This adventuring thing was going to cause some terrible hair days, bah. If only there was an enchantment to protect it. Wait, maybe there actually was?

    I took a look inside one of the paper bags with clothes and tried to see what else Velariah had bought. I hadn¡¯t taken a deeper look at what was available before but it seemed she had kept to my wishes. Most of the things were in the same style that the other shirt and bra had been in, only the colors really differed. It seemed I had worried over nothing and she had just been toying with me on the way home. I would get her back for that someday!

    Hmmm, white shirt white bra, is that going to be a good idea in this world?

    As long we didn''t go out into the forest or anything, or get it wet, I reckoned it would be alright.

    ''Time to struggle with those stupid straps again.'' I sighed as I started to get to work.

    I tossed my old bra in the sink, as I saw no laundry basket. Was that not a thing here? This seemed mighty inconvenient. After a few minutes and a lot of staring in the mirror I seemed to be almost finished. Now, it was just a matter of getting this last one right.

    Aaalmost...

    ''''Looking good.''''

    Velariah''s voice had startled me. A lot. I briefly lost control of my legs and fell to the floor, bashing the right side of my forehead against the sink before I could grab it.

    ''''Oh shit, Elania you alright?''''

    ''''Fuck!'''' I let out. Very unladylike, I know, but that was the first thing I could actually say.

    My head was spinning...

    I clutched the part that I just had injured and closed my eyes, waiting until the worst part was over.

    ''''Are you alright?'''' Velariah''s voice came again.

    I didn''t feel comfortable speaking but I answered, nonethelss.

    ''''I''m dizzy...''''

    I hoped I didn¡¯t suffer a concussion.

    ''''Elly!'''' Valeriah shouted.

    Not so loud please...

    Velariah kneeled in front of me and took a look at my head still covered by my hand. She moved my arm away and assessed the damage.

    ''''Shit, I''m sorry Elania.''''

    Elly must have come into vision because Velariah spoke her next line to the maid.

    ''''Please get us a green potion Elly, minor should be alright.''''

    Minor? Also, what did green potions do? Give me one of those yellow ones!

    I rubbed my eyes and saw Velariah look at me with panic. Come on, it wasn''t so bad, right? Fuck, I felt terrible, and the day had only just started.

    ''That potion better do what I think it''s going to do.''

    Seconds later Elly came running in with a small green vial which she handed to Velariah. The elf before me uncorked it and tilted my head backwards.

    I could do that much myself you know?

    I opened my mouth and she poured the liquid inside. It tasted like... apple? This was nothing compared to the disgusting garbage that were the yellow ones. That was at least some kind of improvement.

    The pain slowly, very slowly started to disappear and Velariah was still apologizing. Normally, I would have probably exploited this situation but a hit to the head was no laughing matter. Also, how could I fall down that easily? That didn''t sit alright with me. I mean, sure I was still fairly new to this walking around on eight legs part but I could seriously injure myself if that happened again.

    I put my hand on my poor forehead again and was surprised to find no bump or anything. Elly looked at my head with an inquisitive eye before walking back out. I guess that meant it was fine?

    I stood up and took a look in the mirror. I was expecting at least something to show where I had previously received an impact but there was nothing. My perfect face was still just that, perfect.

    ''''Healing potion.'''' I saw the elf''s green and blue eyes appear in the mirror. She stood behind me and still looked rather worried.

    Okay, so she had lied to me before. She said potions tasted terrible but that wasn''t terrible at all. I was a sucker for fruit after all, that included apples. The only fruit I couldn''t actually stand were kiwis. I had a severe allergy for kiwis. I had later found out that kiwi allergies, at least to a certain degree, were incredibly widespread.

    Wait a second...

    I still wasn''t wearing a shirt, one of my straps was still loose, she had said ''''Looking good'''' before I hit my head, that much I could remember.

    ''''Were you gawking at me?'''' I turned to her to see her look away with a blush on her face.

    I knew it.

    ''''Maybe.''''

    At least she was honest about it. And she was still looking away in shame. Awkward, but it served her right!

    I decided to not embarrass her further and turned back to the mirror. I tried getting the last strap done again and found it easier with my lower set of hands, far easier. I should have done this before. I was truly an idiot. I put on the white shirt I had put apart earlier and finished equipping myself by donning the tag. It was time to see what was for breakfast.

    Elly had already put everything in place and after a quick breakfast that consisted of bread, cheese an egg and mediocre tea, we were on our way to adventure once more. And by adventure, I meant getting preparations done for adventure.

    Velariah told me that her father would like to see me at the alchemy workshop when I had time. I was curious what he wanted but I expected it would be for the anti-venom purposes. Come to think of it, wasn''t he awfully lenient with me considering I went out doing dangerous stuff? Why would he let the lifeline that they had, wander around so freely to do things that could get one killed? I mean, I wasn''t planning on dying anytime soon but the queen spider from yesterday had been a nasty surprise, I hoped I could at least prevent surprises like that in the future.

    Actually, why had I been so drawn to doing all this in the first place? This was dangerous business, after all. I couldn''t quite answer that question, I guessed I had just gone with the flow so far? That flow had been Velariah and she had been dead set on becoming an adventurer.

    I kept thinking about it as the elf in question was leading the way through the village. I was absent-mindedly following her as I thought about my own decisions so far. They had made zero sense from a rational perspective. I guessed getting higher ranks would mean getting more income but if I really wanted to, I could probably do really well with the other knowledge and services I could provide. I probably would, but still.

    I really did suck at sticking to a plan.

    I did like Draco and Velariah, though. I would like to go on more adventures with them, even if that meant facing danger. Even though we almost got in trouble yesterday, the thrill of battle had me looking forward to more, as illogical as that may sound. Adrenaline was an addictive drug. At least it didn''t make me drunk like alcohol. I sighed. ''Or coffee.'' I added to my thoughts.

    It appeared we came to a stop in front of a wooden shop. I could tell it was a shop because of the wooden sign that hung on two chains above the entrance. The sign had a steel plate chest depicted in worn paint. I had no issues recognizing this as the armorer that Velariah was talking about earlier. The sign kind of gave it away, and if that wasn''t enough, there were the sounds of a hammer on metal coming from the back of the shop.

    A small alleyway led up to where the sounds were coming from. Velariah walked up to the sound and motioned for me to follow. She must have been quite confident in her spatial insight abilities because I wasn''t sure whether I''d actually fit through here.

    I started walking through the alley, my legs were not the issue, I could retract them further inwards although it made moving quite awkward, I wasn''t used to walking like that. The primary issue was what came behind me. My huge abdomen appeared to somewhat fit although it scraped the walls of both buildings to the side. All in all, walking through here left me with some very uncomfortable physical sensations.

    We seemed to be reaching the source of the noise as an open area behind the armor shop came into view. Finally, I''d be able to take a breather.

    Before I simply walked into the open area like that, I had Velariah go first while I stayed behind as I peeked around the corner. I would try to be polite and not scare the literal shit out of whoever was working here by not instantly walking in with an XXXXL spider lower body.

    When I cast a glance around the corner, I could see a small forge and an anvil. Sitting next to the anvil was a short man with a beard almost as red as my hair. His short frame boasted massive muscles that had veins visible from afar. The hair on his head was short and the same color as his beard hair. Sweat was running down his face as he worked with his large hammer on a legendary piece of... Horseshoes?

    ''This world is a joke.'' I thought at the ridiculousness of the situation.

    I had found a dwarf, yes. He was a smith, yes. Why the hell was he working on horseshoes?

    They were supposed to be the best of the best. They were supposed to create items of unmatched quality. Here, the first dwarf I found that could fit that line of thinking was working on mundane items. Was business that bad or did the buyer of those horseshoes pay so well? I wondered.

    ''''Ah Lady Velariah. How are you doing on this lovely day? I''ve been expecting you quite frankly.'''' A bass voice called out for her as he stopped hammering.

    ''''Greetings Dworag. I''m doing quite fine, thank you. What do you mean you have been expecting me?'''' She answered both questions in quick succession.

    The dwarf threw a stare at me. I felt intimidated by his presence, even though I was probably three times his height alone. Hell, he could probably fit at least eight times in my behind.

    ''''You can come out lass, I''ve been waiting for the both of you to come and visit me.''''

    Oh, alright. It appeared he was confident in his guts.

    He spoke the elven language quite well; I could hear it was not his native tongue but couldn''t really make out much of an accent. In all honesty, I found it a bit disappointing. I would have loved to have a dwarf speak with a Scottish or Irish accent. This kind of felt like a broken promise. Bummer.

    I walked out of the shadows and I swear I could see his eyes light up.

    ''''Oh, now that''s a piece of art if I''ve ever seen one. can''t wait to get me hands working on this beauty.''''

    Confusion rather than fluster washed over me. He had called me a piece of art and a beauty but I didn''t quite get the impression he was hitting on me. Rather, I got the notion that he was looking forward to creating a piece of armor that would fit this freaky body of mine. At least he was optimistic about it. That was a huge plus to start off with.

    ''''Word had reached me of a half spider woman with four arms roaming around the city working together with our general''s kid.'''' He paused for a second. ''''But seeing it with my own eyes is quite something else. I knew you''d find your way to me workshop sooner or later.''''

    ''''Thanks, I guess?'''' I really wasn''t sure what to say.

    He let out a deep laugh which made me feel even more awkward.

    "Yeah, anyways, Elania, this is Dworag, Dworag this is Elania.'''' Velariah gave us a late introduction to each other.

    Thanks, Velariah.

    I lowered myself to the floor before giving the dwarf a handshake as firm as I could. Yeap, those were some strong arms. He could probably have lifted me and tossed me around were it not for certain... weight weighing me down.

    ''''And yes, we are looking for some armor for Elania, could you help us out?'''' Velariah asked politely.

    ''''With certainty, miss, I''ve been looking forward to this.'''' Dworag replied.

    The dwarf turned to me.

    ''''Anything you had in mind?''''

    ''''Well.'''' I started and waited a bit to give him as complete a list of requirements I could come up with.

    ''''It needs to be as light as possible while still providing as much defense as possible. I''d probably only need to armor my human part, at least for now.''''

    He seemed visibly disappointed when I had mentioned the human part. This guy was a masochist, I was sure of it. He just wanted to work himself to the bone to try to equip my other parts with armor, I could feel it.

    ''''Don''t we all?'''' He replied.

    I had no idea what he meant and looked at him with an awkward stare.

    ''''Light and a lot of protection.'''' He remarked.

    Okay, I was officially stupid. He had a point there.

    ''''What''s your budget?'''' He asked.

    ''''Uuuuhhhhh.'''' I looked over to Velariah.

    ''''Three gold, twenty silver. We will have an extra ten silver once the guild has confirmed our nest extermination. that''s technically six gold.'''' Velariah recounted our finances.

    ''''Yea but I''d need a weapon too so I''d rather not spend everything here. Let''s say two gold for armor and three gold for a weapon, I don''t want to repeat what happened yesterday.''''

    I obviously referred to my weapon not being able to inflict any significant damage on the hellspider queen that we had fought. I would have to invest in a proper weapon for sure. This would also leave me with one gold to spend on food and/or other supplies.

    ''''Hmm.'''' The dwarf had his hand around his beard. ''''It''s a start.''''

    What? And here I thought I had a fortune. This was going to be worse than I expected, way worse.

    The dwarf walked inside the building and shortly after returned with what looked to be a plate chest armor piece for female knights. It didn''t look at all special in any way except for some kind of hole that was positioned in between the ''''breasts''''. I was breaking my head over why in the world where was a hole in a piece of armor when I got some kind of explanation.

    ''''So, this piece is one gold and three silver. I know you said you wanted something light so I can toss in a featherlight enchant for three silver more. I''d normally ask over your two gold budget to have it refitted as well but because it is for such a pretty lady I''ll toss in a friendly discount and bring it down to your two gold.

    See? This was how you were supposed to flatter a lady. Those drunk dudes back at the guild could learn from this dwarf. He had not even commented on my lower half, what a sweet guy.

    Wait, did he just say enchant? How did that work?

    I was at a loss for words when Velariah filled me in. She seemed to have to do that a lot...

    ''''The enchant changes some properties of the armor or weapon piece.''''

    Yeah, that much I already knew, tell me something I don''t know yet.

    ''''You place the desired enchant stone in its socket to gain the corresponding effect on the piece you want it on. In this case that would be the featherlight enchant stone, it makes the armor it''s socketed in lighter.'''' She gave all the information I needed.

    That sounded like an interesting concept I wasn''t familiar with yet. It kind of sounded like socketing gems for stats but in a way, it was different. These weren''t simple stats we talked about; these were actual effects. I''d be very interested to see what all the effects available were and what they cost.

    ''''Aye. Hold on a sec, I''ll grab the stone.''''

    Dworag put the chest down on the anvil that still had the horse shoes on it. They had long gone cold and would need to be re-heated before they could be worked on again. He went inside and Velariah beckoned me over to the anvil.

    ''''Here, try lifting it.'''' She told me.

    I lifted the armor piece. It was on the heavy side but I managed. This wouldn''t do for me; it was far too heavy to run around in. I was curious how much this ''''featherlight'''' enchant would do. It sure as hell sounded like something that would make this piece weight less. I was stupid, but not that stupid. Besides, I had mentioned I would need something light. While this may be light to that overpowered dwarf, this was pretty damn heavy for me.

    The dwarf returned with a dull white gem held up between two fingers as I put the piece down again.

    ''''Alright, let''s get this fixed for ya.''''

    He held up the white gem and moved it close to the hole in the armor. When he got close enough, the gem seemed to be sucked into the hole with a click. A faint white light spread out across the armor in a ripple and returned to the gem, the entire piece of armor was briefly lit up by the same light before it vanished. It was truly a sight to behold.

    ''''Alright.'''' Velariah said. ''''Try lifting it now.''''

    I picked up the piece and found it weight far less than before. This was definitely in the area I was looking for regarding weight. It should be sturdy enough and still be light, this enchanting stuff was amazing. A thought entered my mind.

    ''''Wait, Vel, why don''t you use these gems? Your armor must be quite heavy to run around in.''''

    I remembered lifting her chain vest when we first entered her home and while on its own it wasn''t terribly heavy, she wore a lot more armor than just that...

    ''''First off, it''s Velariah. Second, I am using those enchants on all my pieces except for the chain vest. I am using a small physical defense enchant on that one.''''

    She really didn''t like me using that nickname, eh?

    What she had told me made sense to me. It also explained how she could run so much in something that looked like it would exhaust you in minutes, if not seconds, when running. The puzzle pieces of this world slowly started to fall into place.

    This also added many more variables I would have to deal with...

    ''''Is it to your liking?'''' Dworag asked me as I put the chest plate down again.

    ''''It looks solid enough to start out with. Though, I do have a question with regards to those enchants.''''

    ''''Shoot.'''' He answered.

    ''''Is it possible to swap out those enchants?''''

    ''''Yes, but only at specialized craftsmen such as me and.'''' He spat on the ground. ''''That fool of a Coldanus.''''

    I shifted my gaze to Velariah. She was looking at me with a wry smile. That didn''t forebode anything good. I had an ominous feeling we would meet this Coldanus guy soon enough.

    At least I knew you could swap out enchants. That offered at least quite a bit of flexibility as it didn''t force you to stick to one thing. From what Velariah had told me about her chain vest enchant, you could optimize it for the mission you would be undertaking. That was pretty neat!

    The dwarf walked up to me with measuring tape. I lowered myself again so he could actually reach where he needed to be. He took his measurements and shood us away.

    ''''Alright, off with ye kids, I''ve got work to do.'''' He said as he walked back inside with the chest piece.''''

    Guess we should come back later?

    I stretched my arms and stood up again.

    ''''Alright, so where are we off to next?'''' I asked.

    Velariah looked to the ground and I swore I saw her chest rise and fall in a sigh.

    ''''To Coldanus.''''

    I knew it.

 1.20 And â€Weaponsâ€

    I squeezed through the alleyway again with Velariah leading. She had gone awfully quiet and I simply knew this could never result in something good. That much I had picked up from the short time of knowing her. Whoever, or whatever this Coldanus figure was, I''d probably not enjoy being near him.

    I decided to ask.

    ''''Who is this Coldanus figure anyway?''''

    I had just come out of the alley and I could almost hear a pop as my behind was freed from the confines of the wooden walls.

    ''''Unfortunately, he is the best weaponsmith this village has.'''' She said softly.

    ''''Unfortunately?'''' I inquired.

    ''''He has...'''' She paused for a few seconds. ''''A temper.''''

    This was not going to end well.

    ''''He is really good at what he does, though. My sword was made by him as well, as was my father''s.''''

    ''''That''s funny, your sword didn''t seem to do much yesterday.'''' I made a snarky remark about this so called ''''best swordsmith''''.

    ''''That''s because it''s a beginner sword!'''' She reacted upset.

    ''''Then why would you give me your money, why don''t you get a proper weapon yourself?'''' This elf puzzled me.

    ''''Uh, I''ll get one soon, don''t worry.''''

    I swear, this elf...

    I couldn''t wrap my head around her way of thinking. I really couldn''t. Sure, I was happy to get myself getting off to a decent start, but at this point I felt like I was getting more than I deserved. I hoped we could get this coffee stuff up and running soon so I could actually get her something as well.

    Come to think of it. How financially able was Velariah anyway? Did she have to rely on her father a lot or did she earn her wages herself? As far as I knew she wasn''t in the army anymore, so all her money would come from doing quests, right? If it wasn''t too late in the day we should try to look if there were more interesting quests we could do. It seemed the money would be very much welcome when it came to equipment. It had been quite a bit more expensive than I had expected, or hoped...

    ''''Vel, do you have an enchant on your weapon?''''

    I was curious if I could perhaps get her something for the one gold I would have left over. I''d hate to not have her get anything out of this shopping trip.

    ''''How many times do I have to tell you it''s Velariah. Vel-A-Riah. And no, my weapon doesn''t have a socket, it''s a starter weapon, a good quality one but still a starter weapon.''''

    Oof, she was done playing around it seemed.

    ''''But your name is so long!'''' I pouted.

    ''''I don''t care. Also, we''re here.''''

    We had arrived at the next wooden building that would provide us with what we were looking for. This one had a sign that was much better maintained. The icon of a sword seemed to be freshly painted on the wood and was still clear of erosion.

    ''''You prefer a spear, don''t you?'''' She asked me as she walked up to the entrance.

    It seemed this shop also had some alley leading up to the back of the shop. I could only imagine what would be behind there. probably much of the same, but I was not looking forward to this Coldanus guy. It sounded I''d be better off avoiding him.

    I thought for a few moments about what I wanted specifically. I would have three gold to spend but I found out that if I wanted any good enchants it would quickly ramp up the price. If a simple enchant that made something weigh less already cost three silvers, it seemed very reasonable to me that anything that would make weapons do more damage would cost several gold already.

    On the other hand. I would hate to make the mistake of spending a lot of money on enchants without having a strong base weapon. If conventional game logic was anything to go by, if I invested that much in enchanting, the weapon itself would either be low quality or become outdated really quickly.

    I think I got to a reasonable conclusion, I thought. I had something in mind that may set me back temporarily but would offer me more room for growth in the future. It would also allow to me get more familiar with using a weapon properly in the first place, without relying on whatever these enchants could possibly do.

    ''''Velariah, do you think it''s possible to get a good quality spear with one or more enchanting slots? I don''t need to have the enchants themselves, I just want to have the opportunity to enchant them later. Ideally, I''d have a strong base to start out with so I don''t mind spending the three gold on just that. I could get the enchants later.''''

    ''''Enchanting slots quickly ramp up the price, I have to warn you about that. Two slots for a decent quality spear should be doable but you''d be out of budget in a heartbeat.''''

    I thought for a while, actually considering of going for a one slot higher quality spear instead. The thing was that I had a feeling I would have more room to ''''play around'''' with different combinations of enchants if I had two slots. Of course, with more slots came exponentially more options and combinations, but I would have to settle for this for now. I guessed I would have to find out later.

    ''''Also, Velariah, if you can get something for that one gold please go and get it.''''

    She would have to find something for both of us since I wasn''t going to be able to enter the weapon shop. It didn''t look like I would be able to enjoy the full fantasy worldtm experience because of this massive black bulb I had to carry around with me. It caused me to miss out of all the fancy things that I imagined were stalled out in these medieval like shops. I could only imagine what the inside looked like. I bet they had a glass window with some kind of artifact weapon, adorned with gold and gemstones and whatnot behind it, that I wouldn''t be able to afford for years.

    This is not how I would have imagined life in a different world...

    To be fair, I never would have imagined life in a different world in the first place... Well, not realistically at least.

    Velariah''s eyes sparkled with glee after I had said that. Like a kid''s then you told them they could get candy with any money they had left over after buying groceries. That was an odd sight, technically it was her own money. Oh well, whatever made her happy.

    ''''Thanks, Elania, I''ll see if I can get some something good.''''

    Was she talking about my own or her stuff?

    She had entered the store before I could ask her. I guessed I would find out later, she hadn''t disappointed me with her purchases so far, so I wasn''t too worried.

    And so, I waited for my ''''owner'''' to finish shopping. It was so awkward to have to wait outside, is this how dogs felt when they were forced to be left outside of stores? Poor creatures. I wondered if this world had dogs. I''ve always wanted a puppy but I would have to go outside to walk them, I never got outside. Now was a different story though. I did think taking a dog out on adventures was probably a bad idea. Maybe a wolf?

    That could be interesting.

    I hadn''t even noticed Draco walking up to me until I saw him looking at me as he was leaning against the wall next to me.

    ''''Hello miss Elania. Lost in thought?'''' He asked breaking me out of my cute puppy thoughts.

    ''''Huh, yeah, I''m sorry I hadn¡¯t noticed you.''''

    To be fair, he was in his casual wear and didn¡¯t nearly make as much sound as he did when he was in armor. He could actually sneak quite well. So, could I, from what I had noticed.

    ''And Velariah, too.'' I added to the line in my head as I thought back at what had happened this morning.

    ''''Velariah is doing your shopping I suppose?''''

    I simply nodded.

    ''''Must be hard, not being able to do your own.''''

    He simply stated that. It didn¡¯t come across as insulting or even teasing. Draco wasn''t the kind of person for that, that much I had learnt from getting to know him.

    ''''Well, I mean.'''' I paused for a second. ''''It''s not hard, Velariah knows what I need pretty well, it''s just annoying if anything.''''

    It was quite ironic, truly. I had always been inside dreaming of being able to go out on adventure. Now I was actually able to go on adventure but I couldn''t do many of the simple things I could do before. Such as shopping, showering, going to the toilet...

    Well, that last wasn''t necessarily bad. I didn''t seem to have to go often at all, but I was still anxious for when I would ultimately have to do a number two...

    I was so not looking forward to that.

    ''''Yeah, it must be hard.'''' Draco broke the silence. ''''It doesn''t seem anything was made to accommodate anything like you, either. No surprise really, you are the first demi-human I have seen with this combination of characteristics.''''

    It felt good to have somebody who could simply talk about this kind of stuff in such a polite manner. It really did manage to cheer me up and distract from the sad thoughts I would have whenever I wasn''t able to do something because of this body. Also, he was the first to call me a demi-human, that sounded like it was at least a promotion from the ''''monster'''' that I thought I was.

    ''''Characteristics is an interesting way to put it...'''' I responded.

    ''''Yeah, well, I can''t really put it otherwise.''''

    ''''Guess you''re right, though.''''

    I could hear loud footsteps from inside hit the wooden floor. Seconds later Velariah literally threw open the door and walked outside with anger plastered on her face. She did not seem happy. She did have a spear with her though.

    ''''Screw that guy!" She handed me the spear before she kicked against the wall. If she had kicked any harder it would probably have left a hole.

    ''''What happened?'''' Draco asked before I could. It appeared I was slowed down by my mind seeing Velariah actually angry for the first time. She was scary.

    ''''That fucking fraud charged me thirty-five silvers for that damn spear. Thirty-fucking-five for a low tier double enchant slot weapon.''''

    ''''That''s slightly excessive.'''' Draco commented in a calm manner.

    ''''Slightly?'''' Velariah kicked the wall again. ''''It''s a fucking rip-off. I was only planning to spend twenty, maybe twenty-five tops. I swear, Elania, if that spear breaks within a week I am going to shove it so far down Coldanus''s throat it comes out the other end of this digestive track.''''

    Ouch.

    I was left speechless. I had never imagined I''d see her this angry. It appeared Draco took it awfully well, had he experienced this before?

    ''''Fucking sham'''' She swore again as she kicked a protruding cobblestone in the road. I think she actually hurt her foot from that, but she was simply too angry to care.

    Well, I had my weapon but this wasn''t quite how I thought things would unfold. It also appeared she had not gotten anything for herself which I could imagine with these seemingly ridiculous prices.

    I really didn''t want to meet this Coldanus guy, I should be happy I wasn''t able to enter the building, I feared he would have asked even more. On second thought, maybe I could scare the shit out of him to force him to lower the price? I seemed to be good at being scary when I wanted to be, but I eventually dropped the thought. I doubted it would help my reputation.

    I almost didn''t dare to ask but managed to find the courage to do it anyway.

    ''''So, what do we do next?'''' I asked softly.

    ''''Don''t know.'''' Velariah tossed her hands up the air. ''''Don''t care, either. Maybe we should find my father, I''m done shopping for now. I''m sorry Elania.''''

    She said all that except for my name with anger in her voice. Seems this white-haired elf had a temper that just wouldn''t easily go away once invoked. I decided I would try to stay on good terms with her, this was scary...

    ''''Should I go and look for a decent quest at the guild in the meantime?'''' Draco had suggested.

    ''''Whatever.'''' Velariah had replied.

    The lizardman turned to me, seemingly awaiting my answer instead.

    ''''Yea, sounds good, please do.'''' I replied with a more concise answer.

    ''''Alright, I''ll see the two of you later.'''' He waved and walked off.

    Smart guy.

    Velariah really didn''t seem to calm down or even want to calm down as we walked to this alchemy workshop that we were asked to go to when we had time. It appeared it was located in the huge tree in the middle of Dawnleaf as that was the ''''building'''' we entered.

    There were no doors in here, just a massive cut out doorframe with day and night surveillance. The inside was a very large open circle shaped area with only one other room that was separated by a wide rectangle door.

    The walls had green roots growing upwards to the high ceiling and ended in blossoms that gave off enough light to together illuminate the room in an enchanting soft green light. One large chandelier with the same orbs that I had seen in Velariah''s home''s bathroom was hung from the middle of the ceiling to provide additional lighting.

    A large row of beds was placed against the outer wall, some had curtains in front of them but they were all open. I didn¡¯t have to guess what those were for. I was already aware that this place also served as hospital.

    One section was kept clear of beds and had a large curved wooden desk in front of a wall which boasted many, many wooden shelves. On top of these shelves was, what I would consider any proper alchemist''s wet dream. Vials of all different shapes, filled and unfilled were spread out on these planks. All possible colors I could imagine could be found here, some even had transparent liquids and I doubted it was simple water.

    All but one of the beds were empty and it seemed the one guy that occupied that one bed wasn''t in the worst condition. I reckoned the curtain would have been closed if he had been.

    Herbs, blossoms, roots and twigs were laid out on several planks and on the desk in front of them. I thought I recognized lavender but I couldn¡¯t be certain from here.

    Several mortars and pestles containing powders were located on the large desk and documents were scattered on it together with the necessary stationery.

    Several people that resembled the wear of the treemender that was so politely introduced to me earlier walked about carrying medicinal herbs, potions and thick books.

    This looked like a proper hospital alright, save for the IV fluids and blood pressure monitors.

    Valtheril appeared from the large rectangle door leading to the other room. Apparently, it was a curved sliding door disappearing into the wall of the rounded room.

    Velariah finally seemed to have calmed down as her father approached us.

    ''''Good to see the two of you, it seems you picked up a new weapon. Have you been to Dworag yet?''''

    He looked at me so I expected he wanted me to answer the question.

    ''''We went to Dworag first. He seems like a nice guy, even gave me a discount.''''

    ''''Yeah, Dworag is an amazing dwarven smith, doesn¡¯t even mind elven beer. That, and he provides the best armor in the neighboring area. I''m glad he decided to settle here. I wish I could say the same for Coldanus.''''

    He motioned for us to follow us to the other room.

    ''''Speaking of, did he give you guys any trouble?''''

    I could see Velariah''s anger resurfacing at the mention of the weaponsmith''s name.

    ''''I''ll let Velariah answer that, I couldn''t enter the building, after all.''''

    ''''Oh right.'''' It seemed he noticed that was a stupid thing to ask.

    Velariah''s eyes became the scariest thing in the world again when she started speaking.

    ''''Trouble? No. Headaches? Yes. The cunt decided to charge thirty-five silvers for that.'''' She emphasized the last word as she pointed at the spear I was carrying.

    ''''That''s a bit excessive, isn''t it? Also, watch your language young lady, that''s not how I raised you, what would your mother think?"

    He seemed to have touched a sensitive subject. Velariah''s mood instantly did a 180 degree turn and changed to sadness. Her posture changed with it as she started the hang her arms.

    ''''I''m sorry, father.''''

    ''''I''ll go talk to him today when I''m done, I have a feeling he is exploiting the situation and I can''t say I agree with his methods.''''

    I found my mood change together with the elf''s. Her reaction had me thinking that her mother was no longer part of this world. I think she tried to hide it as best she could, but I think I saw tears start to form in her eyes. That felt a bit harsh coming from her own father.

    ''''You okay Vel?'''' I asked without even realizing I had used her nickname.

    ''''I''m fine.'''' She replied meekly.

    No, she wasn¡¯t. She didn''t even comment on me calling her Vel. I wished I could hug her but that would look a bit awkward considering the circumstances. Poor girl.

    We entered the other room and Valtheril closed it and locked the door.

    This room seemed to be reserved for mixing potions and alchemical processes. I could see all kinds of laboratory equipment laid out in cabinets at the sides, including some equipment that I remembered from high school chemistry classes.

    Of course, there were the test tubes, but there were also containers that resembled the classic Erlenmeyer flasks. I could also see burettes and pipets but unfortunately, there were no Bunsen burners in sight. I doubted such things would exist in this world because it didn''t seem they used gas as a fuel.I had the feeling they would have something similar, though. I mean, something had to exist judging from all these other materials that wouldn''t be completely out of place in a modern laboratory. This civilization may not even be as far behind as I had initially thought.

    If I could get pure resources of which I knew exactly what they were I could possibly replicate some of the simpler tricks I learnt. Hell, even gunpowder would be a breeze with all this equipment!

    Woops I was getting off track there. There was no way I would usher in the gunpowder era in this world.

    In the middle of the room was a large table with four blue vials on top of it. I started to get what was going on here. I had, after all, promised to help out with creating these potent anti-venoms in return for board and lodging, and several other things.

    ''''We''re alone here, right?'''' I asked, wanting to make sure it was safe to show my special talent.

    Valtheril confirmed that we were alone and that he would safely lock these potions away in a safe of which only he had the key.

    ''''Besides, if anyone gets close to the room, I will know it.'''' He crossed his arms and leaned against the roots of the outer wall.

    I took hold of the first blue potion and felt far too many eyes stare at what I was about to do.

    ''''I can¡¯t do this when you''re staring like that.'''' I stated in embarrassment.

    Valtheril turned around and started inspecting the wood of the wall it looked like. Velariah was still watching but I guess I could cut her some slack. That remark from her father before had me feeling bad for her. I had to commend her resilience, though.

    I took out two vials at the same time and held them under each of my fangs.

    ''Might as well get this over with as quickly as possible.'' I thought as I moved my eyes over to her.

    She didn''t seem to notice as she was too fixated on the drops of venom that I released into both vials. I corked them again and handed them to the elf. I''d have her mix them while I worked on the other two. Maybe it would offer some relief from her gawking.

    I dropped venom in the other two potions as well, corked them, and started shaking them at the same time Velariah had finished with hers. She placed the containers with a now orange liquid back on the table. Soon, I added mine as well.

    Valtheril turned around and uncorked one of the potions, giving it a good sniff. He then corked it again, thanked me with a handshake and a bow before putting the potions in his pack. I wondered where he was going to keep those safe.

    He pulled out two coins from his pack and handed them to me.

    ''''For your troubles with Coldanus.''''

    I looked at him in confusion.

    ''''I can''t have such a valuable asset to our village suffer because of the ridiculous prices our weaponsmith charges for his goods. As I said before, I''ll talk to him and make sure he will be more... cooperative in the future.''''

    That sounded awfully ominous. For Coldanus, that was.

    ''''If you need any help, don''t hesitate to ask me, you''ve done a fair deal for Dawnleaf already and I look forward to our continued collaboration.''''

    He bowed again, unlocked the door and left us behind.

    I decided to look at the coins he had just given me.

    Holy crap, he actually gave me a gold and a square silver one. That was the same amount the group quest from before would have given! I felt like I didn¡¯t deserve these. Besides, there was someone who could probably use them more than me at the moment.

    ''''Here.'''' I held them up in front of Velariah. ''''You take those.''''

    ''''Are you serious?'''' She seemed to have regained at least some composure.

    ''''Yes, I''m serious, you need them more than me at the moment, maybe you can get a decent sword now.''''

    ''''I''m not going back to that ass today.'''' She spat out at the mention of the shady weaponsmith.

    ''''Not going to force you. Besides, I feel like it would be a much better time to go tomorrow, you know, after your father is done ''''talking'''' to him.''''

    ''''You''re probably right.'''' She replied, lapsing back into a hint of sadness. She sat down on the table and seemed lost in thought.

    ''''You okay?'''' I asked again, worried.

    ''''I don''t know...'''' She looked down to the floor.

    ''''Is it about what your father said before?''''

    She nodded.

    ''''You wanna talk about it?''''

    I lowered myself down to look into her eyes and saw tears forming.

    Oh shit, I had done it now.

    I was just in time with closing the door behind me with one of my hind legs before tears started to stream down her face. This pretty much confirmed what I had feared earlier and Velariah hadn''t had the time or means to process it.

    With nobody around to notice I took her in for a hug as she sobbed quietly. I let her release her emotions for a while before I started to comfort her with four of my hands, however much that may have done through her armor. I wasn''t sure how much she would feel of that. Even my pedipalps for lack of better place to put them, were hugging her back.

    When it seemed, she had lost enough tension to stop crying I asked her what happened.

    ''''It''s my mother, she... she was killed by goblins.''''

    I didn''t know how to react, I just kept hugging her as she slowly told her story.

    ''''Last year during a simple patrol she received a poisoned dagger to the chest as her party was ambushed...'''' She rubbed her eyes. ''''She never even had the chance to draw her bow...''''

    ''''They managed to defeat the goblins but my mother she... she fell to the poison on the blade. All this... All this potion stuff reminds me too much about her. If only we had these stupid things a year ago...'''' She started sobbing quietly again.

    I had no idea.

    I had no idea that this happened so recently. This must still be so fresh in her memory.

    I had no idea that I had been such a relief to their family. I could really see clearly now how important I was to them on a personal level. I started to feel guilty for my selfish choice to choose something as dangerous as adventuring.

    If only I had been here a year ago. Maybe I could have helped.

    I knew it wasn''t my fault but with the crying elf in my arms I just couldn''t help but feel that way.

    ''''Shh, it''s alright.'''' I whispered into her ear, trying to soothe her. ''''You couldn''t help it...''''

    ''''I know...'''' She whispered softly.

    ''''Together, we will make sure it won''t happen again.'''' I tried to offer some hope for the future.

    ''''Thank you Elania.'''' She returned the hug and let tears run down freely again.

    I couldn''t stand to see Velariah like this, it broke my heart. I swore that what happened to her mother would not happen to anyone else. Not anymore. Not as long as I could help it.

 1.21 Bears and Boars and Spiders, oh my!

    Faragi

    Worked for hours to create two chapters in a day for you guys. Have fun!

    How much could a person cry? I had no idea. On several occasions I had thought that Velariah had reached that point, only for her to shed more tears. This poor elf really hadn''t processed her loss.

    I wondered if Valtheril had even given her the opportunity to do so. He seemed awfully cold in making the remark that had caused all this. Did he even know? He didn''t strike me as a bad person, not at all but it seemed he still had to learn how to parent. I wasn''t sure if I could even blame him, he had seemed awfully busy. and I knew that a large part of that involved trying to make sure everyone else was safe.

    I didn''t want to blame him, I wanted to believe the idea that he just had no time left to spend with Velariah. Most of that seemed true.

    And so, it had apparently fallen to me to try to console the elf that was crying her heart out over something that had happened a year ago.

    One small light in all this darkness was that I had somehow appeared in this world through supernatural forces. I still wasn''t sure whether I''d actually died or whether I was simply transported here. Either way, if I could appear here, it could certainly mean that her mother''s soul might still be alive somewhere?

    I had told her that and she had shown a slight smile through her tears. It was a happy thought, a belief. A shimmer of hope that could allow her to live through the rest of her life knowing her mother might still be somewhere and some day they might even meet again.

    In the middle of all this someone had tried to open the door. I still had a grasp on it with two of my legs and fought against the force of whoever tried to open it. I had not said a word to them but eventually the tugging had stopped. I would not let anyone see Velariah like this.

    When she seemed to have stopped and all she did was hug me tightly, I started to let my thoughts get back to where they were before the elf broke down.

    I couldn''t imagine anyone would willingly let themselves be hugged by me. My pedipalps still had a hold of Velariah. She had not seemed to mind, I wasn''t sure if she was actually aware. I couldn''t really help it either, I couldn''t make them disappear or hide them like my fangs.

    I guessed I couldn''t blame spiders for looking the way they did. They hadn''t chosen to turn into spiders at birth, neither had I. So what if they had a bunch of freaky extra parts. I might actually find charm in them at this rate, I would like to think that was impossible.

    After consoling her for a while she had visibly improved. I hoped her psyche had also been healed, albeit partly. When I broke the hug to look into her eyes, they held a certain spark again that had been missing before. Velariah seemed reluctant to let go but tried to regain her composure anyway. I knew she knew she couldn''t stay here crying all day, as attractive as the prospect may have been.

    We still had things to do, I was certain Draco was getting impatient waiting at the guild for the both of us.

    Maybe a good meal would cheer her up.

    I lifted Velariah up and put her down on the floor. Her armor may have weighed quite a bit, her slender frame did not. Besides that, I had four arms to split the weight between.

    ''''Thank you, Elania.'''' She said as she wiped away the last of her tears.

    ''''No need to thank me, you seemed like you needed that.''''

    ''''Yeah, I guess I did.'''' She replied with a small smile.

    It was good to see she was doing slightly better already. I knew a good cry could sometimes really lift some weight off your chest. I just hoped she would be okay now that she had finally seemed to let go of that part holding her down. As clich¨¦ as it sounded, I doubted any parent would want to see their deaths hold their children back.

    We waited a few minutes until she felt like she was ready to go. We both had to undo the mess that was our hair as tears had stained it. When we were ready, I picked up my spear that had dropped to the ground, before we turned around and left the alchemy workshop room behind.

    A few of the treemenders that seemed to be working on some new powders at the large desk turned around to look but I paid them no heed. It seemed most were too busy to notice us. It appeared a new patient had come in and they seemed to be in a state where they thought it was necessary to close the curtain in front of one of the beds.

    We made our way over to the guild hall which was literally next door to find Draco inside, sipping on a cup of coffee. I guessed a cup of black gold could really help Velariah right now. The only thing I could imagine that might help more would be chocolate. Maybe hot chocolate. If chocolate was not a thing in this world that would be the suckiest thing ever.

    Part of me dreaded eating chocolate right now. If I were to find out that my body would react the same way as coffee, I may actually just have to force people to get used to my body going out of control. There was no way I was giving up on chocolate.

    The strawberry smoothies at the guild came in at a close second place, I had to admit. Everything here was as fresh as it could be and it certainly showed in the taste.

    Velariah was sitting on the other end of the table with Draco and let her eyes wander over the quest paper that Draco had picked. I quietly drank my strawberry smoothie as they drank their coffee. I ordered a second one and lunch for the three of us as Velariah and Draco were both looking pretty optimistic about the quest they picked.

    Draco had already armored up before we arrived at the guild, his axe was laying on the leather bench next to him.

    Velariah handed me the paper after they were done looking at it.

    It was a quest to slay a Saibon boar that had been roaming close to the edge of the forest. The interesting part was that the quest had been posted by the guild itself. The reward was a single gold piece and fifty percent off of meals at the guild for a week. All in all, it was a pretty sweet deal. I also knew what we were going up against, not entirely irrelevant information.

    What had they been discussing for so long? This quest was peanuts. As long as we stayed alert and spotted it before it spotted us we could simply lay a trap, ensnare it and finish it off.

    Maybe I should have paid attention to their conversation.

    ''''What took you so long to discuss? This quest is going to be a joke for the three of us, you know that.'''' I looked at Velariah when I asked.

    ''''Oh, that wasn''t about this quest, there''s another quest on the board that is in about the same area. Apparently, there''s a Bunbear on the loose and the Bunbear and Saibon boar have been wreaking havoc in the surrounding area.''''

    ''''Turf war?'''' I proposed.

    ''''Seems so.'''' Draco answered.

    ''''Think we can handle both?'''' I asked.

    ''''If we stuff your face with food, then we probably can,'''' Velariah remarked. It seemed she had gone back to her old self real quick...

    ''''What does food have to do with this?'''' I didn''t actually catch on to her line of thinking.

    ''''You know, we will probably need to use your... you know... behind for this quest. We can''t have you running out of thread.''''

    Oh.

    OH.

    I see what she meant. I haven''t actually eaten that much in the past day. I had the reserves of most of a Unibelea when I had initially exited the forest. After that, I had a double portion of pork chops but hadn''t eaten dinner. Maybe I should actually stock up some reserves. Good thinking Vel.

    ''''You may have a point...'''' I said as I realized what needed to be done.

    How much was all this even going to cost?

    ''''I would suggest ordering herb spiced omelets, they are a great source of protein and I would assume that¡¯s what you need. They are only one copper each as well, this village produces plenty of eggs.'''' Draco suggested.

    How did he know that?

    That may actually be very useful advice, though. I loved omelets, and proteins were indeed what I needed. I came up with an idea that would make the omelets even more worthwhile regarding proteins, a useful side effect was that they would be even more delicious too. Hmmm.

    ''''Do they have cheese here?'''' I asked.

    ''''No, why?'''' Velariah inquired.

    ''''Oh, I was actually thinking of having cheese omelets.''''

    ''''An omelet with cheese?'''' Draco looked at me with his yellow reptilian eyes. ''''How does that work?''''

    What?

    Was he serious? My mind told me no, but his eyes told me otherwise. This world kept surprising me. Had these people no creativity?

    ''''Uh, you slice a few slices of cheese and you put them on top of your omelet, then you let them melt, it''s delicious!''''

    ''''Never heard of it before, it does sound good though.'''' Velariah chimed in. ''''If we can get some cheese, I''d like to try that as well.''''

    Crap, I had already ordered some sausages for all of us. Oh well, it''s not like I was going to be full anytime soon anyway. The others would probably not be so lucky.

    ''''Uhhh, I already ordered sausages, if you want to try what I just suggested I could eat your portions though.''''

    Seriously, even suggesting that made it sound like I was a vacuum cleaner just cleaning up food.

    ''''Cheese omelet with sausage sounds good too, actually.'''' The elf replied.

    Sure, that was a concept not completely unfamiliar with me.

    The usual waiter brought in the plates of food. After he put the plates down, I asked him if it would be possible for them to get a piece of cheese and explained what I had just explained to Draco. I had Velariah toss me the coin pouch and gave the waiter the money for the sausages, plenty to buy some cheese, and then a generous tip.

    He was quite cooperative and said it wouldn''t be a problem at all.

    If my intuition was correct this would soon be something that would appear on the menu.

    The waiter walked back to the kitchen and reappeared a few seconds later. He looked around to check if anybody needed him and walked out of the building.

    When my attention turned back to my plate, I noticed Velariah had deposited two of her four sausages on my plate. I glanced over to her and she met me with a smile.

    ''''I wouldn''t be able to try that cheese omelet otherwise.'''' She spoke.

    Fair enough. I would have no issues taking care of these lowly sausages!

    I couldn''t believe part of preparing for combat was going to consist of just stuffing my face with food. This world, or rather, this body was ridiculous. Then again, Saibon boars would not be an issue for me and Velariah. I was told earlier you would have to take them on with groups, we managed to take one down quite easily with two people.

    I had no idea what a Bunbear was though. I doubted it was a bear that would make hamburgers.

    When I asked, I got the reply that it was a huge bear with rabbit-like ears that gave it great hearing. Once again, a very original name. We''d have to be careful sneaking up on those from what I got to know about them.

    The only thing that had me worried was that a Bunbear appeared to be a low-ranked gold monster. As such the only ones that could accept the quest would be Draco and Velariah. I could join them of course; I was free to do so. What were they going to do, anyway, send the guild police after me?

    True, Draco had said that Velariah would be rated gold rank if she had not screwed up her trial. Velariah in turn had told me that I could also be considered gold level if there had been any way for my strength to be properly measured.

    All these things considered had me thinking we would be able to beat it without much of an issue. A Saibon boar was considered a high-tier silver monster and as such wasn''t too far away power wise from a Bunbear. Besides, it appeared a Saibon boar was much bigger than the other monster so I was fairly confident my silk should be able to ensnare a bear.

    In the meantime, the waiter had returned with a block of cheese wrapped in paper. Due to the absence of drunkards and the smell of alcohol I could already take in the scent of spiced omelets. This body was a blessing. I could now eat all the tasty things without getting fat!

    That was a weird thought.

    The not getting fat part was quite a plus though.

    The rest... not so much, unless you started looking at the combat capabilities.

    And the ability to restrain an elf that would wake you up far too early in the morning...

    ''''We should take that quest.'''' I concluded. ''''What''s the reward for it by the way?''''

    ''''It''s one gold as well.'''' Draco informed me.

    Not bad at all.

    One thing was actually bothering me, economy wise. I decided to check if my companions knew the answer.

    ''''So, If I get this correct. A Saibon boar hunt will earn us one gold from the guild. Where do they earn that money back? I mean, I get that they sell the meat here in the guild but it''s only a few coppers. Does it really have enough meat on it to be able to bring in so much money for the guild?''''

    ''''It does, also, you''re forgetting something,'''' Velariah answered.

    I looked at her, expecting her to continue. When she didn''t I asked her what I was forgetting.

    ''''You see, the real value of a Saibon boar is the tree on their back.'''' She looked very pleased with herself when she said it.

    ''''What?" I questioned.

    Draco sighed. ''''Just tell her already.''''

    ''''Fine. The trees that grow on their backs make for some of the best wood to make bows out of. It''s why elves are so good at archery. Humans tried to match us but they lack the necessary knowledge.'''' She was smiling from ear to ear. ''''And the treemenders to work the wood before processing, that''s the secret ingredient.''''

    That was very interesting information. In that case, Velariah should have received a large sum of money for selling the one we felled earlier. Why did I feel bad for her again? Damn, I had even offered to have her buy a sword with the meager gold I would have had left after buying a weapon...

    ''''Why are you still walking around with your starter weapon when we felled one of those earlier?''''

    Her mood darkened.

    ''''My father confiscated it as it wasn''t a quest. We killed it in self-defense so it''s fine but unless there is a quest open for them, they are a protected species.''''

    One more road to collecting gold easily shattered before my eyes. What a crappy turn of events.

    ''''So, we get kind of ripped off by only getting one gold?'''' I frowned.

    ''''Kind of,'''' Velariah confirmed.

    Damn, capitalism sucked!

    ''''Come to think of it. I will have to look into that inherity thing when I got my armor fixed. How much is that going to cost?''''

    I had never actually checked. I figured I might as well ask now since we were talking economics already.

    Draco was happily downing his sausages while Velariah and I did the talking. I managed to take a bite every now and then but Velariah hardly seemed to get to it.

    ''''Fifty gold.''''

    I almost spat out the sausage that I was eating. I quickly swallowed instead before responding.

    ''''That''s crazy!''''

    ''''Yep,'''' Velariah said. ''''That¡¯s if you don''t get the materials yourself. They are quite rare and can only be found in dungeons. If you do manage to find everything yourself, the ritual is ten gold.''''

    That sure as hell sounded like an invitation to clear dungeons. I guessed we would still have to be lucky. Maybe the dungeon I discovered would have them? According to Draco, it shouldn''t be too difficult but as I stated before I''d rather wait until we have a healer in our party before we do that.

    While we were talking the waiter waked in with three more plates, each one had an omelet with a nice layer of melted cheese on top. It smelled divine. I could get used to eating like this...

    Technically I was eating out. The thing was that these prices were very, very affordable. There was simply no reason to even bother making food myself and this was of excellent quality too.

    Hmmm, cheese omelet and sausages.

    I asked the waiter to prepare five more for me and another four sausages, he had responded with a weird glance before looking over to my behind before confirming my order.

    He could have done that without staring...

    I was preparing for a quest, okay?

    Quests were hard work, after all.

    I was in luck that the place was still pretty empty. I was quickly turning this guild''s cook into a full-time personal chef for me.

    The omelet tasted as good as it smelled. I loved this world''s food. This was quite something else compared to homemade lasagna prepared from frozen vegetables...

    After eating the other five omelets, even more sausages and downing another strawberry smoothie, I was ready for action. I felt in prime condition. I couldn''t wait to get out there and get working on these quests.

    Draco picked up the Bunbear quest from the board and handed it over to the Lore keeper together with the Saibon boar one. She confirmed that Draco was eligible and after a small toilet break for the both of them, we were on our way.

    We made a quick stop at Velariah''s home to pick up my pack. Who knew what I might run into that could be of use?

    After that we walked the cobblestone road to the northern village exit. I had actually stumbled on a protruding rock in the road. Fortunately, I had a lot of support, literally. I wouldn''t fall down easily.

    ''''Damn roads, if only we had asphalt.'''' I let out without even thinking.

    ''''What''s that?'''' Velariah had Draco both asked at the same time out of curiosity.

    Oh god, here we go again.

    ''''Uh, Asphalt is a byproduct of something. it''s ideal to create roads from. it''s a black to gray sticky substance which is then laid out where you want the roads to go and heated, I believe. After that, it becomes hard as rock but extremely flat. It allows for more and faster transport between places. I am not sure about the process at all, though.''''

    ''''Sounds... interesting,'''' Draco answered.

    ''''Well yeah, it kind of is I guess,'''' I replied, possibly more in the form of a question than an answer.

    It seemed Draco wouldn''t follow up with another well-placed question about how I knew these things. True, I had told him before it was a long story and that perhaps I''d explain it someday but I was surprised to see he could suppress his curiosity so well.

    We followed the road for a while until there was a bridge to pass the canal. After that we walked up to the forest. There weren''t many bushes around, which had me a bit nervous as I felt a certain pressure build up in my behind.

    I had not been looking forward to this day, not at all. I could feel myself get nauseous from just thinking about it.

    ''''Are you okay? You look ill.'''' Velariah mentioned while walking next to me.

    ''''I''m fine, I think I need a bathroom break myself.''''

    ''''Oh.'''' She looked around for a second or two. ''''I''ll scout the area with Draco, you take care of business.''''

    ''''Thanks, Vel.''''

    She sighed. I had done it again, hadn''t I?

    ''''It''s Velariah, also, no need to thank me. I still owe you for earlier. I''m really grateful for your support.''''

    How sweet.

    I made my way over to a lone cluster of bushes that I was sure would obscure their vision.

    Now came the hard part.

    HOW THE HELL DID THIS WORK?

    I knew there was a hole the size of a golf ball above my spinnerets but I had no idea what muscles to contract or release. The other times I was able to find out by touching and trying to feel where the muscles were that I''d have to contract but there was no way in hell that I was going to repeat that here.

    Oh my god, this was going to be horrible.

    Guess I''ll just sit here and try to relax?

    I lowered my lower body to the ground and prepared for the worst...

    Something came out. I felt as if I was peeing from a different place. What the hell?

    When I was positive it was finished, I just had to take a look at whatever I had just produced. My curiosity defeated my disgust. I felt repulsed that it did.

    It seemed I had created some black liquidy excrement. If I didn''t know any better, I''d say it''s guano. Wait, I did in fact not know any better. Since it looked like guano, and more than certainly smelled just as bad, it had urine mixed in it as well, I would call it guano. Hell, it was probably an ideal source of potassium nitrate. Oh woops, almost did it again.

    That wasn''t actually too bad. It seems I had worried over nothing. I could do this much every couple days. If only I had toilet paper. Wait, I probably didn''t need that, right?

    With that out of the way I started looking for the elf and lizardman. They had gone a bit deeper into the forest but not completely out of sight yet. There seemed to be hardly any bushes around and the trees weren''t that densely packed together. If the Bunbear and Saibon boar were around here I doubted whether we would get time to prepare.

    Ideally, we would be able to spot them from cover to then lay a trap. In this area we would be able to spot them from afar, but the same would go the other way too. This was not going to be as easy as I''d hoped.

    I reached Velariah and Draco who, fortunately, didn''t comment on what I had just done.

    We walked for a while before we slowed down. Apparently, we had reached the area where both of the monsters were last spotted. we''d have to be careful around here.

    We kept our eyes peeled and our ears to the ground. To my surprise Velariah''s and Draco''s armor could be quite silent if they focused on their movements. The elf''s chain vest would still produce a soft tinkling sound with each step she took, but it wasn''t too audible. I hoped we would be able to see our enemies before we would hear them. Bunbears appeared to have insane hearing, after all.

    We didn''t have to wait for long before the towering sight of the Saibon boar came into view. Its massive tusks would incite fear in anything or anyone that would have this monster as their adversary. Its jaws were large and strong enough to easily snap a grown man, and quite possibly their armor with them, in two.

    It was sleeping.

    The Saibon boar was literally sleeping next to a tree.

    This whole adventuring thing was highly overrated.

    I had spun a net between two trees just like I had before, just in case this would turn sour one way or the other. But in the end, it was a simple matter of the three of us walking to the massive boar and just cleaving its skull while it was asleep.

    Mission complete.

    Time to collect our reward.

    Next!

    We didn¡¯t have time to gloat in this all-too-easy victory as a roar snapped us back to attention. A large black bear with far too big and far too cute ears to put on such an animal roared again and charged at us, more specifically, it charged at me!

    It was fast, far faster than I had expected. I didn''t have the time to run around the net so I was forced to make a desperate move. I guessed this would improve with time but for now I was limited to praying this worked. Velariah and Draco were running away in opposite directions as the bear was aiming for me, Draco had tried to taunt it but its fixation was not broken.

    I approached the wall of threads with the bear still chasing me. I focused all my mind on my legs. Two front left, two front right, two left back, two back right. When I had closed the distance between me and the trap I kept my back four legs on the ground, lifted my front four, and jumped...

    I made it over the net with room to spare. I did, however, completely botch my landing. I fell face-first into the dry dirt as my legs gave out beneath me. I shook my head as I quickly got back up, but it seemed my plan had worked. The Bunbear was stuck in sticky webs and seemed confused as to what happened to it.

    I beckoned Draco not to rush in as he was planning to do. Rather, I repeated what I had before and ran several more circles of silk around the beast. It was a relief to see that the silk had no trouble keeping this creature in place.

    The Bunbear tried clawing and biting in the silk but to no avail, it couldn''t free itself from what was to come. I decided I''d give my new spear a test.

    I walked up to the still struggling bear. Its movements had become slow enough to me to not risk myself getting surprise slashed as a final act of spite. I drove the spear into its belly through the silken restraints. This new weapon seemed to have no issues penetrating the beast''s skin in addition to my threads.

    The silk became soaked with red. Soon after, the body stopped struggling and its lifeless form fell over forward, not hitting the ground because it was still bound.

    I sat down on the ground. I was going to need some rest after all that.

    ''''Nice going, Elania.'''' Velariah had her arm stretched out with a thumbs up as they approached.''''

    ''''That is some effective skills you have there, miss Elania. I can see why Velariah thought you''d rank with the guild''s gold members if the trials had been appropriate for you.'''' Draco complimented me.

    I felt a wave of pride wash over me.

    ''''You haven''t seen anything yet.'''' I pulled up my fangs and showed them off, trying to look cool. ''''Wait until you see what these can do.''''

    I never, ever would have imagined me pulling that off a few days ago. Now, here I was, trying to show off to Draco with how lethal I could be.

    Velariah let out a giggle.

    This elf...

    Why did she have to ruin my moment like that?

    I brushed the dirt off my face and hands. And got to the next part of the quest, the one that came after killing the monsters.

    ''''Now, how do we get those to the guild?'''' I asked looking at Velariah and then at Draco.

    Velariah''s face lit up, that was never a good thing.

    ''''Take a guess.'''' She smiled.

    Oh no.

    Not again.

 1.22 Itching for Ranks

    I had suggested getting some people from the guild to pick up these bodies but Velariah wanted to hear nothing of it. No matter how much I begged and pleaded, she insisted we could do this ourselves. I wondered if she was familiar with the concept of friction, I didn''t see a way for us to be able to drag this all the way to the guild. She was either crazy, or extremely confident in Draco''s and my strength.

    I''d guess crazy.

    How much did these things weigh anyway? I guessed the bear came in at about 150 kg, that much should be perfectly doable. The bad news was that the Saibon boar would easily weigh at least four times that amount. Combine these two and one would find that this elf was planning to drag about a literal ton of dead weight with three people. Well, I wasn''t sure if I counted as a single person for this kind of work. Would I count for four people, considering I had eight legs that could pull weight?

    Would that make me count as two horses?

    How much weight could horses pull, anyway?

    Would this mean we were pulling with two people and two horses?

    The more I calculated the more it actually seemed feasible. I remembered I managed to carry two wolves and a hollowed out Unibelea without having my abdomen hit the ground. The muscles in my behind had seemed more than strong enough. This time however, it would all come down to my legs.

    We had cut out the bear from the trap and literally stuck it to the Saibon boar''s belly as if it was a post-it note.

    Since Velariah had been so eager to put me to work like a horse I let her sort out how to handle the ''''reins''''. I had created several more non sticky ropes that we would use to pull these bodies.

    Scrap what I said about horses, I felt like a dog. A husky to be more specific. A husky that was dragging a sleigh.

    That''s exactly what we looked like, a pack of dogs dragging a sleigh through the forest.

    Velariah had bound the threads to the boar''s tusks. She had then positioned both Draco and me in very specific positions to drag the bodies. I was directly in front of our baggage, a thick rope bound around my waist. From there I would be able to exert the most possible force with the help of my eight far too powerful legs.

    Draco was in front of me with a roped around his chest, he too should be able to pull quite a bit of weight with all those muscles. Finally, all the way up front was Velariah who would steer us into the right direction and provide a bit of pulling force.

    I wasn''t sure how much of that had been calculated but it appeared it worked. Verlariah''s confidence was vindicated, after all.

    I mean, we managed to move, not at the fastest pace but we managed. Slowly, we made our way to the edge of the forest where things became a bit easier because of the downhill slope and the reduced friction from the grass.

    We dragged our load through a field and across the simple wooden bridge. After that we avoided the cobblestone road and kept on moving next to the road over a small strip of grass instead.

    The checkpoint guards had stared at us with large eyes as they followed the three of us. Even when we had long passed the checkpoint and towers, they were still staring.

    So much for not standing out.

    Velariah, you will end up killing me someday.

    At least I was sure that I was getting enough exercise. This had better result in my growing some muscles.

    I wasn''t even sure if that was a thing. Did my spidery parts even have muscles? I mean, I couldn''t find any on my legs but maybe that was because there was carapace covering the outside?

    Ugh, exoskeletons... Guess I''d never be able to show off my powerful thigh muscles.

    I looked up to the sky several times, thinking that I felt raindrops hit my behind. There was not a single cloud above us and the sun was shining brightly. Confirming that it couldn''t have been rain, I looked behind me. There was nothing there but the view of my large black bulb followed by a wrapped-up bear stuck to a massive boar with a cleaved skull.

    Of course, we had wrapped silk around the wounds, we''d hate to attract nasty predators. Leaving a trail of blood behind was literally inviting them.

    I was brought back to my abdomen by a weird feeling. I''d hate to admit it but the warmth of the sun on my behind actually felt incredibly satisfying. it''s just that there was a certain itch that was bothering me. At first, I thought it had been rain, then I had thought maybe someone was messing with me but there was nothing in sight.

    Please tell me I didn''t have worms or anything.

    I doubted it, the food that was prepared at the guild seemed to be of high quality. Maybe I should visit a treemender? There were bound to be a few that would actually be helpful, right? I refused to believe that everyone who chose that profession would be as evil as the very first one I''d met.

    ''''Velariah?'''' I called over to the front of our... what did you call this anyway? A caravan of some sorts?

    ''''What''s up, Elania?''''

    ''''I''d like a small break, if possible.''''

    ''''We''re almost there.''''

    It''s true, we were between the checkpoint and the village, it would only be a few hundred meters to the guild and the warehouse next to it.

    ''''Please...'''' I pleaded.

    My legs had become quite restless from all that pulling, I had to move around a bit or I''d go crazy.

    ''''Fine. Take a few minutes then.''''

    She acted as if she was acting tough and doing me a favor but I could she herself had wanted to have a break for a while now.

    I dropped the rope and walked a few circles, stretching my arms in the meantime. This had been by far the worst part of the quest. Well, it felt that way at least. Technically the part where I got chased and wasn''t sure whether my jump would do the trick had been the worst.

    And now I had this nasty itch.

    I took my spear and started carefully scratching my behind.

    Oh my god, that felt good.

    ''''Elania?'''' Velariah stood next to me and watched as I was using my weapon as a back scratcher.

    ''''What?'''' I asked pretending it was nothing special. ''''Do you wanna scratch me instead?''''

    ''''...'''' She had no reply for that.

    ''''Thought so.''''

    Seriously, this itch was frustrating me to no end.

    ''''Argh, Velariah, this itch is killing me, do you have anything that helps with this?'''' I was still scratching with the spear carefully as to not hurt myself.

    ''''Worms, lice?'''' She noted two possible causes.

    ''''I''ve thought about worms as well, but I have no idea. I don''t remember eating anything bad. Lice? hadn''t thought about that yet. I doubt it though, I gave everything a good scrub in the bathtub not that long ago...''''

    ''''We could check with master Pylanor, I guess. He usually handles diagnoses.''''

    ''''Is it painful?'''' I warily asked, fearing the worst.

    ''''Nope, don''t worry about it. For now, let''s get this stuff delivered, we can look into it after if you want.''''

    ''''Sounds like a plan.''''

    I stretched my legs one last time as a guard passed us from behind me. I had not seen him coming and almost made him trip. I apologized and picked up the rope from the grass again.

    It frustrated me how careful I had to be doing simple things like that...

    We reached the village gates and had to move over the shabby cobblestone roads again. We were close but this last part was probably the hardest. Due to the uneven terrain, dragging became a hassle.

    A black bear and an XXXL boar with a tree on its back being dragged through an elven village by an elf knight, a lizardman warrior and a half spider monstrosity.

    ''So much for not drawing attention.'' I thought again.

    Whose idea was this again?

    Oh, right, it was the elf... Again...

    Where did she get these ideas from anyway? Was she trying to prove a point or what?

    I had the feeling she was sabotaging my plans. Maybe trying to lay low had been one of those impossible ideals. I''d already affected life here too much. Sooner or later, many of these things were going to be linked back to me and I knew it.

    I thought of the things I had already changed in the short time I''ve been here. I had literally just added cheese omelets to the guild''s menu, I''d added coffee which was going to be a huge market soon enough. Then there were the anti-venoms, but of those only three people besides me knew they existed.

    As long as I could keep those secret, I should be fine I reasoned. The rest would eventually result in a free market so I doubted anyone would come after me. Maybe I had actually been far too paranoid. Well, that was part of me, I''d have a hard time getting that out of my being.

    Whatever. Look at me, I''m pulling this huge ass boar through your city with my party!

    Nope, it still didn''t feel right.

    Guessed I''d need to learn to live with it.

    I was pretty sure I got some stares because of my butt wiggling. My itch was literally causing it to sway to the left and right. This was killing me! What was worse, this situation was awkward as hell! Why was it always me?

    People made sure to walk around us with a large circle, they didn''t seem to mind having to do so.

    However, one lone gold ranked adventurer refused to move out of the way and threw me a nasty stare after noticing my tag. Velariah had simply shoved him aside. She had a fire in her, that was for sure.

    Normally I''d just forget about it and move on but his stare was seared into my brain. I got the feeling that behind that stare was the feeling of superiority, I wasn''t sure if it''s because of what I was, or because of my rank. I had the feeling it was because of my rank, his shiny polished armor made me think he was a noble that just got whatever he wanted.

    So those people really did exist. I mean, maybe I was jumping to conclusions but I just couldn¡¯t get his gaze and behavior out of my mind. Was rank so important to people here? And would high ranked adventurers view others as lowly?

    At least Velariah wasn''t like that, even though she was some kind of ''''noble''''. I guessed it would probably have resulted in one of us being killed the moment we met.

    I shook my head. I didn¡¯t want to think about that.

    We had reached the guild and Velariah had notified the Lore keeper of our presence from the outside. We then continued on around a corner to the warehouse that was connected to the guild.

    Moments later, the huge doors opened inward and the Lore keeper and half a dozen brawny men showed up from behind them. They helped us get our cargo inside as the Lore keeper supervised the process. She seemed surprised. I wasn''t sure if that had anything to do with the completion of these quests or whether it was because of the force with which we managed to move these corpses with only three people.

    Maybe it was both.

    ''''Congratulations on your quest completion. I will see you inside for payment and...'''' She paused a moment and looked at me. ''''Administration.''''

    What was that supposed to mean? And why did she look at me before saying that? Had I done anything wrong?

    I didn''t think I had. Stupid paranoia.

    This persistent itch really didn''t make things better. I was sure I was going crazy!

    With my heart in my boots, I followed Velariah and Draco back out of the warehouse into the guild hall where the Lore keeper was already waiting and scribbling down in a book.

    She had a golden orb in one hand and finished writing. She smiled at me with a friendly expression and asked me for my tag.

    ''''My tag? Am I expelled?''''

    Good ol'' paranoia me was at work again.

    Velariah facepalmed next to me.

    ''''Just give her your tag.''''

    ''''Alright, if you say so...''''

    I took of my chain and handed it to the elf behind the counter. She laid it down so the text was up and placed the golden orb on top of it. The orb then started glowing and dimming. It pulsed several times before the light disappeared and the orb became inert.

    When she lifted up the orb, I could see my tag had undergone a metamorphosis of some sorts. The II was replaced by a I and the silver sword had turned into gold.

    Oh.

    I''m an idiot.

    It appeared I had just received a promotion.

    Velariah''s giggling pulled me out of my stupor, I was pretty sure I even saw the always serious Draco suppress a laugh.

    What the hell guys?

    I took the tag back and looked at it. It appeared I had just gone up a rank in a fantasy world. The feeling itself was nice and all but I really didn''t feel any different than before if I had to be honest. I didn¡¯t feel stronger or more powerful, hell the only thing I felt was an annoying itch.

    And it was getting worse by the minute.

    Screw this, let''s go and find that treemender.

    I turned around and wanted to leave but Draco halted me and pointed to Velariah who handed her own tag to the Lore keeper.

    Oh, that''s right. She was going to get a promotion as well.

    I remembered what she said before. If you reached high rank in a branch, you could take quests from the next branch. If you successfully completed those, you''d get promoted to the low tier rank of the next branch. This meant Velariah would now be low ranked gold, right? Pretty neat.

    I finally had something dawn on me. I would have to check with Velariah to be sure but I think I got the idea of why we had to drag all that dead weight over here.

    I walked up to the counter, curious about the process. Velariah was going to need an entirely new tag, after all.

    The Lore keeper had placed Velariah''s tag on the counter placed an unengraved golden tag on top of it. She then pulled out another orb from under the desk, this one had an orange-brown color. She placed the orb on top of the golden tag and the same process as before played out. When the orb stopped glowing, the elf removed it from the tag and I could clearly see Velariah''s name together with a bronze sword and a III in the metal.

    Now the weird part came after she had taken the gold tag and handed it to Velariah. The silver tag that was left on the desk had its engravings completely removed. It seemed good as new and ready to be used again. The Lore keeper took it and put it away somewhere under the counter.

    What the hell?

    These elves were miles ahead of Earth when it came to recycling it seemed. That was insane!

    Velariah seemed happy but not overly so. I think she knew she could have gotten it sooner which tempered her enthusiasm.

    The Lore keeper then handed the quest rewards that consisted of two gold pieces to Velariah who put them away in ''''our pouch''''. Yeah, at this point I had stopped caring about who kept the money. We would have to exchange that to silvers though, to be able to give Draco his fair share.

    ''''Congratulations miss Elania, miss Velariah.'''' Draco said as we turned around.

    ''''Thanks.'''' We both responded at the same time.

    It seemed I had knocked over a chair by not watching out when turning around. I quickly put it back in place before we left the guild hall.

    This damn itch!

    ''''Did you two have any more plans for today?'''' Draco asked. ''''There''s still plenty of time left in the day.''''

    He had a point but we did indeed have plans.

    ''''Actually, yea, I''ve had a terrible itch since we came out of the woods and it''s been getting worse. I believe Velariah said we were going to check with someone called Master Pylador or something?''''

    I had already forgotten the name.

    ''''Pylanor.'''' Velariah corrected me. ''''Yeah, we should go see him now. You seem a bit pale too.'''' She said as she looked at my face.

    Huh? I felt fine.

    Actually, I was starting to get hungry but I felt fine otherwise. How was I actually hungry? That was odd.

    ''''Bit peckish, but I feel fine.'''' I tried to downplay it a bit.

    ''''Hungry? Again?'''' Velariah looked at me with large eyes.

    ''''I can¡¯t help it alright!'''' I pouted.

    ''''Alright.'''' Draco said in a serious tone. ''''Will I see you two for dinner?''''

    ''''Sure.'''' Velariah had said without even asking me.

    ''''Actually.'''' I interjected. ''''If you don''t mind, I''d prefer to eat at your place tonight. If this itch can''t be helped, I''d prefer not to knock over more chairs at the guild...''''

    ''''Fair enough.'''' Draco said. ''''If I don''t see you again today, I guess I''ll see you at the guild tomorrow?''''

    ''''Sure.'''' I spoke.

    Velariah nodded.

    He waved us goodbye as we walked into the large tree in the middle of Dawnleaf.

    The curtain from before was still closed and several more beds seemed to be occupied by unlucky adventurers who seemed to have suffered a couple injuries. I didn''t notice anything serious though. The worst I saw was a broken leg, I think. One of the treemenders sat next to the him and was working on the leg in question.

    Velariah instructed for me to just lie on one of the beds while she would fetch Master Pylanor.

    Easier said than done.

    Good thing the beds weren''t terribly wide. Actually, even if they were, I doubted it would have been much of a problem.

    I simply walked on top of the bed and lowered myself. The beds weren''t high so my feet were still on the ground. Initially I hadn''t planned on laying down but I decided I''d try. For science of course!

    I laid down with my face on my pillow and quickly came to the conclusion that I would never be able to sleep in normal beds anymore. I could not sleep on my stomach. I would always sleep on my side and that was just a straight up impossible task with this new body. I just couldn''t twist my waist far enough to get comfortable.

    I''d have to build from the pillow pile concept, at least that seemed to work.

    Sometime later Velariah returned with an elf in green.

    The treemender positioned himself to my right and asked what appeared to be the problem.

    My wiggling butt didn''t appear to be enough of a tell.

    ''''I''ve got a terrible itch down there and it just doesn''t seem to go away.''''

    Fortunately for me, he seemed more like a doer than a talker. Unfortunately for me, that meant that seconds later I had a hand running over the hairs on my abdomen.

    Mercy please. You''re only making it worse!

    Seriously, everything felt far more sensitive than before. What the hell was wrong with me?

    Thank God, he stopped moving his hand. That was hell!

    I was slightly startled when he put a hand on my forehead but let him do his work. He sent a wave of energy into my body that felt much like the yellow potions. It rippled through my body and searched for something. It spread out and returned to my head, then the wave spread out once more, moving to the tip of every single limb before returning again.

    He removed his hand.

    ''''You appear to be perfectly healthy.''''

    You got to be kidding me. Then why was I dying for a good backscratcher?

    ''''Thank you anyway.'''' I let out softly.

    ''''You''re welcome miss.''''

    I turned to look at him to find a young elf returning my glance with a smile.

    So, they weren''t all bad. Pylanor, I would have to remember that name.

    I stood up from the bed and looked at Velariah.

    ''''Now what?''''

    ''''I have no idea.'''' she scratched her head. ''''Master Pylanor is hardly ever wrong, and I don''t recall him lying.''''

    I suddenly felt anxious. Was this a curse or something? Had I eaten anything that this body can''t handle? Thinking about food made me hungry again.

    I suddenly started to tire really quickly as well.

    What the fuck was going on?

    ''''Vel, something''s wrong. I''m getting hungry, tired, and this itch is getting worse and worse.'''' I was scared and I think it was heard in my voice.

    ''''Master Pylanor said you''re fine. let''s just go home and get you something to eat.'''' She said with some worry on her face. It seemed the trusted Pylanor''s diagnosis, though. This made me slightly less worried.

    ''''Thank you.''''

    ''''Also, it''s Velariah.''''

    She was going to do this every time wasn''t she?

    Faragi

    I feel like I should slow down a bit with releases as I think it''s affecting quality a bit too much. After the next chapter I''ll set up a discord server so people can share their opinions/ideas for direction etc. I''d like to explore that the options are.

    I''ll try to have the next chapter tomorrow as I have already mostly planned what happens but after that I am afraid I will have to slow down a bit :(

 1.23 Breaking out

    ''''Velariah, if you don''t mind me asking, was there a specific reason you had us drag those animals to the guild?''''

    I asked the question as we were walking home. I was currently using the spear to try to get rid of the itch. I didn''t seem to be working as well as I''d hoped. I had even drawn a bit of blood...

    ''''Aren''t you happy with your new rank?'''' she asked as she eyed my spear.

    Oh, so I was right.

    ''''You basically wanted to show off what I could do?''''

    She nodded.

    ''''Figured I''d help you get the rank you deserve.'''' She was being awfully friendly with me.

    I didn''t trust her for one bit when she was like that.

    ''''Besides, now you can literally go and join our gold club with one more quest like the Bunbear one.''''

    She had a point. I¡¯d find myself in gold rank very soon. Wait, did she just say gold club? She wasn''t looking down on me, was she? I''ll show her...

    We reached her home and the elf knocked.

    Elly welcomed us and helped Velariah out of her armor. It seriously seemed like such a hassle when I looked at the event play out every time. I hoped the commissioned piece at Dworag would be easier to put on. I think it was going to be, as far as I knew it had a bunch of leather straps at the side that would hold the front and back together. It was just a simple matter of putting it on and then closing those.

    Velariah had to deal with many times the amount of straps when it came to her leg guards and bracers.

    If that was commonplace to defend yourself, maybe I should be happy that I didn''t have human legs anymore, it looked like such a nuisance.

    No more stubbing my pinky toe on furniture anymore either, yay for spider legs.

    Slowly I started to become aware that there were quite a few advantages to being half monster.

    This itch however...

    It just didn¡¯t seem to go away. My entire behind was now feeling as if something crawled under my skin. Fortunately, it didn''t appear to be worms or any other parasites. The thought of either of those disgusted me.

    Elly noticed the small bleeding wound I had created and asked me if I was okay. I had told her that I seemed to be fine except that I was getting tired, hungry and frustrated because I wasn''t able to relieve myself of this bothersome itch.

    She looked at me with pity and said she would prepare something to eat.

    ''''Thanks Elly.''''

    If only I could drink some coffee. I sorely needed me something to stay awake...

    I bit through the exhaustion that was slowly penetrating my being and walked a few circles around the large table to keep my mind occupied.

    ''''You want an energy potion?'''' Velariah asked as she put down her pack on the table.

    ''''If you have one, please. I''m having trouble focusing and I¡¯d like to not fall asleep...''''

    She entered the door leading to the upstairs area. I wish I could see what the upstairs looked like. More specifically, I was more than a bit curious how Velariah''s room looked like.

    I shouldn''t be thinking about that... What was wrong with me?

    Panic had started to build up as my situation became worse and worse. What would happen if I fell asleep right now? Did spiders hibernate or something like that? I would probably need to eat quite a bit if that was the case. I didn¡¯t want to imagine what would happen if I started hibernating while I was ravenous.

    It was either summer or spring right now, I didn''t know exactly, but winter was still far away. That had made hibernation seem like an impossibility. It made no sense in my mind whatsoever. I should be prepared for the worst-case scenario, though.

    If it was hibernation, would I at least be safe here?

    I''d hate to wake up to being chained in some mad scientist''s basement...

    I shook my head rapidly trying to stay awake and to shake off those thoughts. Velariah soon came back with a small red vial. I hoped that potion would stave off the drowsiness until I had at least eaten enough.

    The white-haired elf handed me the potion which I quickly chugged down. I felt my strength returning and with it, my sense of smell. A wonderful scent came from the kitchen where Elly was cooking up something delicious. Whatever it was, I needed it! And I needed it yesterday!

    ''''You still holding up well?'''' Velariah asked again.

    ''''I''m scared.'''' I replied honestly. ''''You know I wasn''t like this before; I have no idea what''s happening to me and it scares me.''''

    ''''You''ll be fine. If Pylanor says you''re perfectly healthy it can¡¯t be that bad. Maybe it''s just a muscle ache?''''

    I shook my head. As much as she tried downplaying it, this was not a muscle ache. I knew that much for certain. Maybe it had been a matter of not drinking enough? I haven''t had that much to drink in the past days. Maybe I''d have to pay better attention to that. I couldn''t really drink too much anyway, right?

    The door to the kitchen opened and Elly appeared with a bowl of soup on a plate with some slices of bread at the side.

    Speak of the devil.

    This could be exactly what I needed.

    She put down the plate on the table and pulled away two of the chairs. She even created space for me to stand at the table, such a sweet girl.

    ''''Would you like some soup as well, miss Velariah?'''' Elly asked the knight.

    ''''I''m not really hungry at the moment. You should take some yourself if you want to.''''

    ''''I would suggest for the both of you to take some.'''' I told them. ''''I have a feeling I''m going to need to eat a lot and I''d hate to eat everything without you guys getting anything...'''' It felt weird to say that but it was the truth.

    I was starving right now and I knew how much this body could take in in one sitting.

    ''''Alright, Elly, let''s eat something before Elania devours it all.'''' She smirked.

    Harsh.

    True, but harsh.

    Hmm. Fresh vegetable soup. Elly, you''re a kitchen goddess. There were plenty of meatballs mixed in the soup as well which I eagerly nommed down. My spider part seemed to have a certain fondness for meat, after all.

    Chicken soup would still be my favorite but this was a close second place for sure. Maybe I could get her to make that one day? Hmmmm.

    By the time Elly returned with bowls and plates with bread for Velariah and herself I had already finished my first and had her running back to the kitchen for more. I was sure it made me look like a feral beast more than a dignified lady.

    Dignified lady, hah! As if...

    I was going to make sure to get enough to eat before this potion''s effects expired.

    Velariah and Elly had just finished their bowl as I started on my third. The bread was made this morning and still quite fresh, though, not as fresh as when you added preservants. On the very rare occasions I had made some bread myself, I had added a vitamin C capsule to the mix. It seemed to do wonders as a healthy and easy preservant. I should look into something like that with Elly sometime.

    Would lemon juice do the trick? It sounded plausible...

    Experimenting was fun! Remember kids: the difference between science and screwing around is writing it down!

    After my fourth bowl it seemed Elly had had enough. She had severely underestimated the glutton that was this body. She walked back into the kitchen and walked back with a large pan which she put on her empty plate for lack of a coaster.

    Elly was a smart elf.

    I had finished the whole thing after making sure she and Velariah had had enough.

    Just in time too, it appeared lethargy had set in again.

    At least I wouldn''t have to bother with this insanely annoying itch if I was asleep. That was at least something to look forward to.

    I thanked Elly for her culinary masterpiece and set off to the bathroom. Velariah followed me to make sure I was okay.

    I threw off my shirt and tag again. Once more, I couldn''t be bothered to properly put it away, I shouldn¡¯t get used to that, this wasn''t my apartment, after all...

    ''''Will you be alright?'''' Velariah looked at least a bit worried.

    This elf...

    ''''I don¡¯t know, you''re the one who said I was perfectly healthy, remember?'''' I remarked with a frown.

    ''''But other than this itch and the sluggishness, I feel fine so even though I am scared, I doubt it''s anything serious. I hope it''s not at least...''''

    ''''I trust Master Pylanor. You''ll be fine, go get some rest.''''

    Thank you very much, that was exactly what I was going to do.

    I rolled my eyes at the stupid remark.

    ''''What?'''' Velariah asked.

    ''''Nothing.'''' I replied with a feigned smile.

    ''''All right, then. Keep your secrets.''''

    Odd, where have I heard that before?

    I wondered if I should lock the door but decided against it. If something actually happened while I was in here and I needed help, it would be convenient if Velariah didn''t have to smash the door in. I doubted she''d actually be able to; the door looked quite sturdy.

    I just hoped she wouldn''t let strangers in the house.

    I doubted it.

    Velariah walked out of the room after wishing me good night which I had sheepishly thanked her for. It felt so awkward to have somebody say that in the middle of the day.

    Anyways, time for sleep!

    I dropped myself in the pile of pillows and hugged a larger one tightly as I got comfortable. Too comfortable...

    I had fallen asleep, eventually, but it was a fitful sleep. I kept waking up in cold sweat and had trouble falling asleep again even though I was exhausted. A headache grew as time went by.

    This was hell.

    I was dead tired but I just couldn''t get any peaceful sleep. What had I done to deserve this?

    I had hoped that this itch could be suppressed by sleep but if I couldn¡¯t get any I would be screwed!

    I tried laying in different positions but found that none of my attempts made any difference. Hours went by and eventually, I found myself in a half-asleep, half-awake state.

    Velariah had even come into the room once to check up on me, even though she had been so confident that I would be fine.

    Knowing she at least cared about me had put a smile on my face. Of course, I wouldn''t let her see that, so I buried my face in a pillow.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Her presence may have put me at ease enough to actually fall asleep because the next moment I found myself in an unfamiliar landscape.

    Scrap that, this wasn''t a landscape. I found myself in some kind of cave tunnel.

    Hold on a second.

    I know what to do! I felt proud of myself as I actually had a sense of awareness.

    I looked down and looked right at my pedipalps. Wait, why was I naked? Damn you, brain!

    Oops, I almost got distracted, time to take control back.

    I moved two hands in front of my face and made a finger go through one of my hands.

    Yes, through.

    This was a lucid dream, neat. I had finally succeeded!

    But where was I? I was in some kind of tunnel underground; I could make out that much. Glowing moss on the walls lighted the cave in an unearthly blue hue. Stalagmites and stalactites stretched out before me. I was fortunate that the tunnel was wide enough for me to move around the stalagmites.

    Wait, I could just fly over them, what was I thinking?

    I willed my body to fly.

    Nothing happened.

    Well, fuck.

    ''Unlucky'', I guessed. I wasn''t going to strain my brain and attempt too hard; I would just wake up instead. I''d rather not wake up right now, the itch was finally gone!

    I walked down the wide corridor, wondering where I''d found myself. I had never been here before, yet everything looked too clear to me. It was as if I was looking at reality, no distorted colors or weird things that couldn''t be, well besides me.

    I had no idea dreams could be this clear. I was amazed at the fact until I seemed to have reached the end of the corridor.

    There, an exact copy of the Hellspider Queen was waiting in front of a doorway. Through the doorway I could see a faint blue glow, I wondered what was behind it.

    Wait a second. I should be worried about the massive spider in front of me instead. What the hell was that doing in my dream?

    Shoo, shoo.

    Get out.

    This is my world, get out, I don''t like spiders.

    I had even gestured for it to shoo away, at which the spider tilted its head and looked at me with eight blue eyes in a confused manner.

    How did I know it was confused?

    How did it even tilt its head?

    Creepy.

    Wait, it wasn''t staring at my breasts, was it? Pervert spider, yuck.

    ''''Are you alright?''''

    Wait who was that?

    The huge spider in front of me retracted its pedipalps inward as if it was pointing at itself.

    ''''It was I, you seem confused, are you alright?'''' It asked again.

    ''''Uh, I guess so?'''' I said, confused as to what was going on.

    ''''Who are you?'''' I asked. ''''And why are you not attacking me?''''

    I knew this was a dream, but these interactions made no sense whatsoever. I had expected this lucid dream to turn into a lucid nightmare when I hadn''t managed to rid this dream of the big ass spider in front of me. Instead, it was asking me questions. Even more strange, it was asking if I was okay.

    ''''I am but a minion. I speak for my master, it appears our bond has strengthened after your... evolution.''''

    Evolution? Did it mean my increase in rank at the guild?

    ''''What do you mean?'''' I inquired.

    ''''It doesn''t matter, our time here is short. My master wishes to speak to you.'''' The spider ''''spoke'''' in my mind.

    ''''Who is your master, and what does he want?''''

    ''''My master is an Ancient One, he simply wishes to know more about your presence, it''s... an anomaly.''''

    No shit.

    Before I could ask another question, I found my body heat up and I panicked. I felt as if I was burning from the inside as my surroundings started to stretch and distort as if one was mixing different colors of paint in a bucket.

    When I opened my eyes again, I found myself clutching a pillow tightly. I was panting and sweating profusely. The room was completely dark, but I at least knew where I was.

    I clapped my hands to turn on the lights. I then tried to move a finger through my hand again but failed as I found my palm resisting. Even through my groggy eyes I could see that I was no longer in a dream.

    I was still exhausted so I decided to try to go back to sleep after turning off the lights.

    The words the Hellspider Queen spoke haunted my dreams. More than once the word ''''Evolution'''' popped up, which made me question whether it had anything to do with the guild rank.

    The rest of my dreams were peaceful. There was even a dream where I had a human body and was cuddling a dog the size of me. That was one of the better dreams I''d had in a while. I loved dogs!

    I woke up at last. I felt completely energized and the itch was gone!

    This day was off to a good start.

    Even though I was energized these pillows were too damn comfortable to simply jump up from. I decided to relax for a for another moment before I would get up.

    Eventually I had had enough, I needed to move. I tried to stand up but found that I couldn''t. It was as if there were greasy socks around my legs that would just make me slip whenever I tried to stand.

    Did Velariah pull a prank on me when I was asleep?

    I swear this elf...

    I rubbed the sleep crust out of my eyes and turned on the lights to get a better look at what kind of prank the elf had pulled on me this time.

    ''''WHAT THE FUCK?'''' I screamed.

    There was a shove of a chair on stone floor coming from the dining room and seconds later Velariah jumped into my room.

    I tossed a quick glance to Velariah but her eyes seemed fixated on the same thing that mine had been on before I screamed. I honestly doubted this was her doing.

    A layer of something covered all my spidery bits. What the hell was that stuff?

    I touched it.

    I ran my fingers over it.

    I facepalmed.

    I was an idiot. I should have known this would happen someday.

    My grandmother''s spider should have had me prepared for this.

    I had molted.

    I awkwardly took my old skin between two fingers.

    Velariah noticed that I wasn''t at all worried and seemed to relax as she walked up to me.

    ''''Are you okay? What''s this?'''' She stammered.

    ''''How long was I out for?" I counter questioned.

    ''''Two days. Are you alright?'''' She didn''t seem worried, rather, she seemed curious as to what this was.

    Creep.

    ''''This, my dear Velariah, is my old ''''skin''''.''''

    ''''What?''''

    It would seem she had no idea.

    ''''Spiders have an exoskeleton, in order to grow, they need to shed their old skin. it''s called molting.''''

    ''''That''s... odd.'''' She said as she touched the molted skin on one of my pedipalps.

    I quickly retracted it.

    That tickled!

    ''''S-sorry.'''' She spoke. ''''I was just... Never mind.''''

    Curious little one, aren¡¯t you?

    ''''It''s fine, it''s just extremely sensitive.''''

    A thought entered my mind.

    ''''Has Draco never mentioned this process?''''

    ''''No, why?'''' She looked at me with curiosity sparking in her eyes.

    ''''Well, he is a reptilian, I am almost certain he goes through the same process, more or less''''

    I knew a thing or two about reptilians. I was fairly confident in making the assumption Draco would have to molt as well from time to time.

    My grandmother actually had an almost complete molting of her tarantula saved somewhere in a plastic container. She had been far too happy to show that to people who visited. A weird thing to take pride in, but to each their own.

    I tried standing up again but slipped and landed in the soft pile of pillows again. It would seem I had to get out of this old skin first before I could make a move. I was impatient seeing as I''d already lost two days to this process but I''d have to deal with it.

    ''''How do I get this off?''''

    I tried pulling off the molt from my pedipalps but found them to be incredibly sensitive. I shuddered as I peeled gently.

    This was going to be bad.

    ''''Do you want me to help?'''' Velariah seemed sickened but curious.

    She was kidding, right?

    Before I had even answered she had already started peeling the old skin off of my abdomen. She wasn''t doing this carefully at all and it tickled!

    ''''Hey, be gentle! it''s extremely sensitive.'''' I felt myself get embarrassed as I repeated that I said before.

    Why did I even allow her to do this?

    Whatever, best to get this done as quickly as possible. I was done wasting time.

    Minutes later I regretted ever giving Velariah permission to help me with this. Sure, it was going at a much faster pace than if I were to do it alone but I felt more awkward by the minute. The white-haired elf had actually listened and started peeling gently. Her dexterous hands moving over my sensitive new skin actually had me blushing from the sensations.

    I hated to admit it but this actually felt somewhat pleasant.

    I was not going to let her have a look at my face while doing this. This was far too embarrassing.

    I might just die of embarrassment.

    The transparent layer of old skin slowly made way for new smooth carapace beneath it around my waist. I had worked on the parts I could actually reach such as my pedipalps, fangs and directly behind my human body while Velariah worked on the parts I couldn''t reach.

    I hoped I wouldn''t need assistance with this every time, that would be so cringey!

    I could swear the new carapace that was hiding under the molt was a darker shade of black than before, but I couldn''t be sure. I had nothing to compare it to and I doubted cameras were invented yet.

    After finishing the parts I could reach I started pulling up my legs in front of my body.

    Seriously, the agility of this body kept surprising me. I had a feeling that if I wanted to, I could put all eight legs in front of my human body. For now, I settled on four and I started peeling.

    Even my legs which were otherwise fairly insensitive to sensational input were suffering from hypersensitivity. Why?

    At least I didn''t have to lay eggs or something freakish like that.

    Oh no.

    Oh God, please no.

    I prayed that whoever had put me in this position didn''t hear that comment. I''d hate to give them further inspiration to mess around with me. ''Please don''t'', I begged in my mind.

    Even in my mind I sounded weak.

    A soft moan escaped my lips.

    I hoped Velariah didn''t hear that.

    I turned around and saw her working on my most sensitive part. I''d completely forgotten about that!

    She was peeling away the old skin around my spinnerets and I was trying very hard to keep my mouth shut. I gritted my teeth. It was as if she was tickling me with a feather under my soles. I couldn''t deal with this!

    The wave of relief I felt when she was finished with that part was unprecedented. I could finally continue with freeing my legs of their ''''socks'''' without fear of sounding like a pervert.

    When I was finally focused enough to almost forget the sensations I was feeling in my lower body, it just so happened that Elly walked into the room.

    Damn you woman! Learn to knock!

    I gawked at her as she looked at all the molting that was spread out over the floor, then at Velariah and finally, me.

    She walked out without saying a word.

    Thanks, Elly.

    Velariah didn¡¯t even seem to have noticed. She was too preoccupied with stripping me.

    She was enjoying this way too much.

    Next time, I should ask money to have people do this for me.

    Actually, never mind, there would probably be a few people too eager to ''''help'''' me.

    Oh well, I was almost through this hell. My four hind legs were up last. I let Velariah deal with those as I removed the last of the molting from under my body. Once I was finished, I stood up, four non-slippery legs were more than enough to stand on.

    I watched in amusement as the elf was removing the last old skin from my legs. I had even kicked her multiple times as my legs spasmed in reaction to the touches. Maybe some of those had been on purpose.

    I apologize for nothing.

    I think she caught onto me. When she reached the last of my legs, she took a firm hold of the molt and ripped it down all the way to the tip as if she ripped off a band-aid.

    ''''Ouch!'''' I let out as I started running in circles, trying to cool down the heat that was emanating from my poor leg.

    ''''Serves you right!''''

    ''''What did I do?'''' I feigned ignorance.

    ''''You kicked me!''''

    ''''No, I didn''t! I couldn''t help it!''''

    ''''Suuuuuure.'''' She let out in a teasing tone.

    Damn, she knew.

    I came to a halt and took a few moments to admire my new self. I could swear I was at least a tint blacker than before...

    Was this whole molting process what the spider in the cave had meant with ''''Evolution''''?

    Sounded like a crappy evolution to me. I got the notion that they simply didn''t know the word for molting and called it that instead. Kind of lame though, but for a spider I guessed molting would mean growing. And I guessed growing would be equal to evolution in their simple minds.

    Then again, this color had me thinking something may have actually changed about me. It was hard to put a finger on, it felt like something instinctive; I couldn''t explain it.

    Maybe I could find out if I found this so called ''''Ancient One'''' that it had mentioned, whoever that was.

    It was awkward how the dream had felt so real. It made me think it was not simply a dream, rather something that transcended above that. It had me convinced there had to be something more to it.

    I would have to find out what.

    ''''You wanna head out?'''' Velariah asked after we''d finished our work. She was sweeping the parts of molt with her foot into one heap.

    I thought about it for a few moments. I wasn''t sure if I wanted to head out while my skin was feeling this sensitive. On the other hand, going outside and basking in the sun seemed to do reptilians well after molting. We could just take a day off adventuring and relax in the fields outside the village.

    ''''Sure, but let''s take a break from quests for the day.'''' I made my wishes clear.

    ''''No, problem.''''

    Velariah called for Elly as she opened the door.

    I looked at the floor, at the mess that had come from my body.

    Evolution, huh? Didn''t expect it to look like this.

    Or feel like this.

    Faragi

    I hope you had as much fun reading this as I had writing it. I feel like this is one of my better chapters :D

    Also, I''ve set up a simple discord server:

    https://discord.gg/v9DzenDCYf

    It doesn''t have much yet but people can hang out here and toss suggestions my way. I''d be happy to look into things :)

    PS: it would seem somebody was salty and botched my rating. It''s not that bad is it? :(

 1.24 The Cavalry has arrived!

    Faragi

    Keep in mind I may not be able to update every day.

    Also note that I have set up somewhat of a discord server at: https://discord.gg/v9DzenDCYf

    Anyways, Enjoy!

    It appeared it was late morning. Not that I would have known due to the lack of windows, but the elven knight had told me. It appeared she had just finished breakfast as when heard my scream coming from the bathroom.

    I had gone through my usual morning routine and put on a black shirt for the day. Velariah finished the last of her tea, which had long gone cold, and had Elly help her out with her armor before we moved out.

    I had put on a simple black shirt and instantly felt my body warm up as we set foot outside. I closed my eyes and let the warmth of the sun flow through me. It seemed I was desperately craving sunlight right now, as I felt I could have just laid down right here and now and be perfectly fine with it.

    Velariah''s gloved hand on one of my legs broke my meditation.

    Come to think of it, why was she even wearing armor anyway? We weren''t planning to do quests. Maybe I should actually bring my spear with me as well.

    I had told the elf about it and she knocked the door with a sigh.

    A confused Elly opened. Soon after, we were on our way again. This time I was armed as well.

    ''''Did anything happen in the time I was out cold?'''' I asked.

    A lot had happened in the few days I had been here, I couldn''t imagine nothing happening for two days straight.

    ''''Not much, just tied up a few loose ends here and there. Got our payment for the extermination quest, handed Draco his share of our previous quests and I believe the guild has started to explore the dungeon.''''

    Seems like I did not miss much, phew.

    ''''Also, it appears we have an applicant for our party.'''' She added.

    ''''Really?'''' I asked with a smile.

    Now this had piqued my interest.

    ''''Yeap, apparently a promising archer in Allina''s squad decided to choose the adventurer''s life, said she wanted a job better befitting her skill. Allina decided to refer her to me.''''

    ''''Better befitting?'''' I frowned, realizing where this was going.

    Velariah realized what I was getting at.

    ''''Yeah, she is quite cocky, a good archer, reliable, but cocky.''''

    ''''As if we don¡¯t have enough freaks in our party yet.''''

    ''''Did you just call me a freak?'''' She asked incredulously.

    ''''So, what if I did?'''' I couldn¡¯t withhold a wicked grin.

    Velariah rolled her eyes.

    ''''Hey, you''re the one who wanted a ranged damage dealer, you should be happy.''''

    Touch¨¦.

    ''''When did you plan on meeting her?'''' I asked.

    ''''I was planning to wait until you''d woken up. Maybe, later today?''''

    ''''Uhm, maybe later, if things aren''t so sensitive anymore...'''' I almost hung my head dejectedly.

    She didn''t reply to that, we simply walked in the direction of the guild. We decided to make a quick stop to see if Draco was present.

    Velariah entered the building and came back to me within a minute, without Draco.

    The Lore keeper had told Velariah that Draco was currently working on a gathering quest for some of the more uncommon herbs that were used by the treemenders in their concoctions. I couldn''t blame him for not waiting, it was not like I was in a state to do anything but sunbathe, anyway.

    We took the dirt road leading directly to the forest. With a bit of luck, we would run into the archer that Allina had relayed to us later on when they switched patrol groups.

    I couldn''t believe how sensitive my skin had become. Normally I wouldn''t care or even notice but a few of the guards at the checkpoint had apparently thought it funny to try to make me trip over a spear or two. There was no way in hell that was going to happen, but for the first time I actually got annoyed when their weapons touched my legs.

    Velariah must have noticed I was getting frustrated as she tried to calm me down after we''d passed them.

    Even my mood became volatile because of this shedding thing. Please tell me this wasn''t going to be a monthly thing. I could so do without monthly inconveniences...

    A light breeze across my body made me shudder. I could feel its warmth as it passed over me. I didn''t think I ever felt the wind before on my spider parts. Either that, or I had never really paid attention to it.

    Damn hypersensitivity.

    I decided to settle down in the grass about forty meters from the forest, Velariah followed suit.

    No words were spoken as I simply basked in the sun''s warmth while resting my human body on my arms.

    I should have brought a pillow with me.

    The elf laid next to me and gazed at the sky. She''d have to be careful not to look into the sun, it was especially bright today.

    Not that I minded. I started to see why reptilians enjoyed infrared lights in terraria, this was better than heaven. I could actually feel my carapace harden out as I relaxed and enjoyed the warmth.

    Screw this, might as well get a tan.

    I raised my head and looked around. There was nobody nearby except for a certain white-haired heterochromic elf.

    Good.

    I took off my shirt and put it under my face as I stretched out my arms to have them get a nice tan as well.

    ''''What are you doing?'''' Velariah ruined the moment.

    ''''What does it look like, I''m getting a tan!'''' I turned my head to face her.

    ''''But you can''t... whatever.''''

    That''s what I thought.

    I planted my face in the shirt again.

    I would have to be careful not to lay like this for too long or I''d get burnt. Then again, I did seem to have a certain affinity for shedding my skin.

    That was a funny thought, it almost made me chuckle.

    Hmm, I never knew sun could feel this good. It made me wish I''d gotten outside more in my past life. Oh well, no going back to that anymore.

    I had tried to think that with nonchalance but failed. Soon after thinking that, I started to feel a certain sadness for not being able to at least say goodbye to my family. This world really hadn''t seemed so bad so far. If I were to be living here, I could probably have lived with it, but I''d at least wanted to say goodbye...

    I wiped away a tear of loss before turning around to let my belly (bellies?) get a good tan as well.

    Couldn¡¯t have me looking like a jar of mixed Nutella now, could we?

    Wait, I guessed I kind of already did.

    Stupid body.

    Oh well, at least this would make me look less like it. The black shirt certainly helped with it too. It seemed to go well with my lower body. It made it look as if my spider and upper body were one part from the distance, which was definitely a hundred percent more intimidating. Until you got close that was.

    I was pretty sure that even up close I could be intimidating if I wanted to. All I had to do was pull the fangs from under my body and I''d have people running for cover.

    Getting my body to turn around when the sensitivity slider was moved to max turned out to be more of an issue than I would have thought. After many tickles and struggles, I had finally managed to get into my upside-down turtle position.

    I could probably have leaned back on my abdomen instead, but I concluded it would be a good idea to have the underside of my abdomen get some sunlight too. It seemed to have an effect with regards to the outer structure, after all.

    Velariah didn¡¯t pay much attention to my antics, she was still laying on her back with her eyes closed. I wondered if she would actually fall asleep? That would be so cute.

    I doubted I''d be so lucky to see that happen.

    I closed my eyes as well and attempted photosynthesis. I wasn''t going to succeed in doing that, but the warmth of the sun''s rays did in fact allow my exoskeleton to strengthen. That was something at least.

    Seems I had been right about this.

    I took pride in myself for coming to the right conclusion, at least this time around.

    After several minutes of taking in as much sunlight as possible I decided to play it safe and put my shirt back on again, lest I get burnt.

    I rolled around and rested on my arms again. The feeling of all this warmth flowing through every inch of my body was just divine. I could stay like this for hours...

    A loud yell came from the woods ahead. It seems I was not going to get hours of fun and relaxation...

    A swift, lightly armored archer ran past us with posthaste, yelling to the guards at the checkpoint in the distance.

    Velariah stood up in an instant, I followed her lead.

    ''''What''s going on?'''' I questioned.

    ''''Goblins...'''' She replied with a single word.

    Shit, and I didn''t bother to check whether the dwarf was finished with my armor yet.

    ''''You have anti-venom with you?'''' I asked, knowing she would be rushing headlong into danger.

    I had gotten a fair understanding of her character, after all.

    ''''Only the base mixture.''''

    ''''Gimme one quickly, while there''s nobody to see.''''

    She didn¡¯t hesitate and reached for her pack, she handed me the base mixture within seconds. I quickly deposited a drop of my venom in it before handing it back to her.

    ''''I''ll be back in a sec, there''s something I need.''''

    I didn''t wait for her reaction. I rushed off into the direction of the checkpoint and barracks. I ran as fast as I could, though, I think jumping may have been a better description. In any way, I was fast, extremely so, I even managed to catch up with the marathon elf in the meantime. I quickly asked her what was going on as we were running, to which she replied goblins were on the move to attack.

    I''d heard enough. I sprinted forward to the towers. It seemed the guards at the checkpoint had already started to assemble to hear the messenger out. Seeing as I got there before her, I warned them of the incoming goblin attack. I think it was an officer who went inside the building and convened all stationed soldiers to march out.

    In the meantime, I walked to one of the towers where a couple larger shields were resting against the wood of the tower''s foundations. I picked one up and didn¡¯t find it as heavy as it looked. Was this one enchanted with a featherlight gem? I didn''t bother to check, at least I would have some kind of protection now.

    I hadn''t thought about it before but if these enchants existed this may not be too bad of an idea to try out some day. This shield was very handleable for me now.

    This had to be enchanted, there was no way a large tower shield would be this light...

    Besides, I could still manage to handle the spear well. I would have a good grip on this shield with two hands which still allowed me plenty of control over the spear. The only thing was that I''d have to stab from above the shield, I could not move my arms around the sides.

    I ran back to Velariah as quickly as I could. I once again passed the running elf, who was on her way back now. I left the marching guards behind as well. I swore I''d gotten faster... Maybe that molting really had increased my abilities.

    I reached my companion without breaking a sweat. A group of elven archers came running out of the woods in the meantime. I could see Allina among them. She looked to be in a terrible state mentally as she has shock written across her face. A few seconds later, two more elves carrying another elf by his hands and feet came into view. He had a small arrow sticking out of his chest.

    Ouch, that didn''t seem healthy.

    ''''Get him to the treemenders quickly!'''' I could hear Allina shouting instructions to the two bearers.

    That ''''quickly'''' part she could forget. They were trying to run as fast as they could, but it just wasn''t close to fast...

    ''''Vel, potion!'''' I quickly said to her, holding up my hand.

    She reached for her pack and pulled out the anti-venom potion we had prepared earlier.

    I took it from her and closed my palm around it so it couldn''t be seen.

    I then ran over to the two elves carrying the third one and they looked at me in shock what I ''''sat down'''' on the ground next to them.

    ''''Quickly, put him on my back, I''ll take him to the tree.''''

    They were about to question when Allina shouted: ''''Do it!''''

    With slight hesitation they put the wounded elf''s legs over my midsection. I made sure to hold on to his chest with one of my arms when I started sprinting back to Dawnleaf.

    I ran with spear in one hand, shield in another and the potion in yet another. I had only one hand free to keep his chest away from my back to prevent the arrow from penetrating deeper.

    When nobody was close enough to see, I took out the potion and forced its entire contents down this half unconscious man''s throat. At least he would not die to poison. I threw away the potion and held him properly, with two arms now, before setting off with even more velocity than before.

    I reached the village with record breaking speed; I was sure of it. I continued forward to the tree while trying to avoid running into people. Fortunately, the streets were fairly empty at this time.

    I reached the massive tree in the center and ran into the area.

    Within seconds I had several treemenders upon me including Master Pylanor. This guy might be lucky enough to survive this if Pylanor was here...

    They swiftly transferred him from my back to an open bed. I could see three of the healers start to work on the wound with magic before they closed a curtain.

    I was starting to feel slightly tired but knew that I would have to return to where battle was about to commence. From what I had seen the elves were going to set up a defense line in the open with the combined effort of the checkpoint guards and the archer squad.

    I was about to run back when I ran into Draco, or rather, he ran into me.

    He told me had seen me run in with an elf on my back and asked me what was going on.

    ''''Incoming goblin attack.'''' I had quickly said. ''''I''m on my way back right now, if you can, try to get some of the adventurers to join or something.''''

    ''''I doubt they will, but I can give it a shot. I''ll join you guys soon.''''

    I ran off before I could process the information.

    What did he mean by ''''I doubt they will''''?

    Don''t tell me these adventurers would only do things if there was a reward linked to the work.

    Don¡¯t tell me they didn''t care if people died.

    I''d expected adventurers to be noble hearted souls who would rise to the occasion to defend a village if it was under attack. Seems I had been fed propaganda.

    This world was messed up.

    I ran back out the village with moderate speed until there were no more people in my way. Then I really turned up the heat and tried to push the limits on what I could achieve.

    I was fortunate to have had the time to let this exoskeleton harden out, this would probably have been quite painful otherwise. I could still feel more than I could before, but it wasn''t preventing me from running anymore. Quite the opposite.

    I reached the guards who had grouped up with the rangers and Velariah. It appeared each of them was taking position in a battle line and waited for the incoming... was there an entire army coming?

    I found Allina who was talking with Velariah.

    ''''How bad is it?'''' I turned to the archer captain.

    ''''About fifty goblins, most of them melee, but there were a few archers, and at least one mage.''''

    Fifty? How many did we have?

    I counted ten guards with plate armor and shields, eleven rangers including Allina and then Velariah and me.

    So we were outnumbered two to one.

    If I was honest, I liked those odds. Goblins didn''t seem to be strong creatures at all, we''d just need to make sure they wouldn¡¯t find any good targets for their arrows.

    ''''Allina, you got anti venom?''''

    ''''Yeah, I''ve got a green anti venom and a base mixture with me. Why?''''

    She didn''t seem to catch on as quick as Velariah had.

    ''''Give me the base one, quickly, there''s something else I want to do before the goblins get here.''''

    She reached into her pack and handed it to me.

    I looked around to see what the others were doing. Apparently, the officer from before was talking to his troops and the rangers at the same time, so none were paying attention to us.

    Good.

    I turned away from them, pulled up one of my fangs and turned this base mixture into a high-quality anti-venom potion. I handed it back to Allina who swiftly secured it in her inventory.

    ''''How long until they are here?'''' I asked.

    ''''Minutes, tops.'''' Allina answered.

    ''''Minutes is all I need. Vel, tell the others to set up a defense line. I got a plan.''''

    ''''It''s Velariah, but sure, I''d like to see what you came up with time.''''

    Was that sarcasm in her voice?

    I couldn''t quite confirm it.

    She did as I asked and I walked forward. If this idea worked out, we would be able to keep the casualties to a bare minimum.

    Long live the police. They had given me a great idea.

    I was going to give these goblins a taste of advanced warfare.

    I walked up in front of the group, dropped my behind onto the grass and started excreting sticky silk. My spinnerets were had not completely hardened out yet it seemed as they were even more sensitive than they had been before...

    I ignored the feeling as best I could and started running in a line, creating a line of sticky silk in the grass as I went. I then took a U turn and ran another line of silk next to the one I had just created. I repeated this several times until I had a nice trap set up.

    I had received some awkward glances from the soldiers but could see Velariah smiling at my actions. She was quick to pick up on things and I was certain she already knew what I was doing. Well, to be fair, it was hard to not grasp the idea of the trap I was setting. Soon the other soldiers seemed to get it and they formed a defensive setup about twenty meters out from the silk trap in what somewhat resembled the age-old shield-wall formation.

    If only I had nails, I could turn this into a real nasty nail mat.

    That was kind of cruel though.

    Not that it mattered anyway, if I could manage to immobilize at least a portion of the goblins, this upcoming fight would become so much easier.

    The moment I saw movement from the forest, I stopped what I was doing. I didn¡¯t want the enemy to gain knowledge of the battlefield through my actions.

    I moved to the flank of the formation with Velariah. From behind us I could see Draco closing the distance to us as well.

    Perfect timing.

    In front of us was a large sticky trap, we were positioned far enough away from it, and the trap itself was hidden well enough, that the goblins wouldn''t be able to know what happened to them until it was too late.

    That was the plan at least.

    I quickly came up with a plan of action with regards to my role in the upcoming battle. If we could separate the archers from the melee fighters, I could flank them with my unmatched speed and lethality. I would literally act as the cavalry in this battle. It wouldn''t be too far from the truth. I was probably the size of a horse, too.

    This shield would cover most, if not all of my upper body and I had the options to finish off whatever was in my way using either my fangs or spear.

    As long as I wasn''t going to receive an arrow to the back of my human part, I should have no issues in the upcoming battle. It kind of made me feel like I was cheating. Maybe I was?

    A large mob of small green men exited the forest as one.

    When they reached the bottom of the slope of the forest, they started running into our direction as a green wave of locusts. I couldn¡¯t quite make out the difference in the preferred fighting style between them yet.

    I could however, clearly see a couple of them wearing large (for them) clubs. I doubted those were going to do anything against these armored guards. They had to be either insane or desperate to attack a somewhat professional army out in the open. Did they always fight like this?

    Their battalion seemed incredibly uncoordinated, some of their archers already opened fire. Their small arrows didn''t even get close...

    It seemed they would really need the guerilla advantage that the forest would provide them. This was beyond pathetic.

    I couldn''t get complacent though, if any of those arrows hit, they could still kill.

    A coordinated volley of arrows flew their way and mowed down at least four goblins from what I could see. Their loincloths did little to protect them from those. Their only advantage was that they were small, so harder to hit. Their stupidity to stick together though, completely negated that. It was a mystery to me.

    Another volley of arrows was unleashed upon them, taking another two down.

    Their archers fired again as they approached and actually got close to reaching us this time. It seemed the elves had a far superior range.

    The elves shot again; I couldn¡¯t quite make out how many they took down as I was looking if I could spot all the archers in their group so I would have an easier time taking them down.

    As I had hoped the goblins in question had stopped moving and took another shot at us. Some of the arrows hit the grass in front of us but most of them were blocked by the tower shields that the guards held up.

    The elves shot another volley from between the shields as the goblins started to approach the trap.

    Several more fell.

    A fireball smashed itself into my shield.

    Fuck, I had lost focus.

    I scanned the area and saw a goblin mage with an orange-orbed staff preparing another fireball. It would seem this goblin in specific had enough intelligence to make out I was a proper threat for them.

    I would get him first.

    I held up the shield and tried to keep an eye on the mage at the same time I was watching the goblins walk into the trap I had set.

    It worked like a charm.

    A large portion of the mindlessly advancing goblins got stuck into the webs. Due to them not splitting up, they even managed to cause a fair amount of friendly fire when goblins that were struggling to escape caused others to trip over and get stuck as well.

    The archers were smart enough to not focus on them, instead they focused on the few goblins that did make it through the trap unscathed.

    By now Draco had activated his ''''Berserk mode'''' and charged into the approaching horde.

    I had no idea if it was actually called berserk, it just sounded cool in my mind.

    I had enough wits about me to notice an incoming fireball which I handedly blocked with my shield.

    It was time for me to spring into action.

    I made a circle around the approaching horde. My speed was unparalleled and I was upon the mage while he was still growing a fire within his palm.

    A quick jab with my spear made an end to that. I had him pinned down to the ground with my pedipalps as I drive the spear into his heart. At least that would end it quickly for him without too much suffering. I wasn''t killing for fun. I was killing to protect this village and my friends which were few. But, I couldn''t deny there was a certain thrill to all this.

    Adrenaline was truly dangerous.

    One of the goblins with a spear had noticed me and was charging at me. I ignored him as I rushed off to my next target.

    A goblin archer was soon killed in the same way as the mage.

    I started to draw attention and had an archer take aim for my head. I quickly ducked behind my shield as he fired and heard the impact on the shield. After that, I rushed to him, pinned him down and finished him off. At the same time a goblin with a sword rushed up to.

    I had no time to take out my spear in time and use it to defend myself.

    Not wanting to let down the shield which would protect me from arrows I quickly pinned the approaching goblin down with my front two legs before sinking my fangs in him.

    The life drained from his face within seconds and I took up my spear again.

    I finished off two more archers but received an arrow to my abdomen in the meantime. I ignored the pain of an arrow in my still fairly new and not completely hardened exoskeleton and took down another goblin that came charging at me with nothing but two short daggers.

    They never stood a chance.

    I had dealt with all the ranged enemies there were. When I turned to see how the others were doing it was nothing short of slaughter.

    Due to their small and weak frames and the fact that their only strength, numbers, had been significantly reduced by arrows and my trap before battle even commenced, they were all too easily mowed down by the much better equipped guardsmen.

    I could see Velariah with blood on her sword and Draco who literally severed a goblin''s torso from his waist with his large axe.

    The last remaining goblins fled in panic but most of them were mowed down by coordinated arrow fire from Allina''s squad. Only very few made it back to the safety of the forest.

    There were still a few goblins alive on the battlefield. Most of the ones who had gotten stuck in my webs were as they had been ignored up until now. It didn¡¯t seem like the elves were interested in finishing them off just yet.

    Maybe that was for the best. Enough blood had been spilt, maybe they could use them as prisoners. They could offer some leverage in certain deals...

    I sighed. Happy that this was over. It seemed we had suffered no casualties on our side. I would call that a huge win for Dawnleaf.

    I approached the incapacitated goblins in my trap, horror was visible in all their visages and they dropped their weapons in fear.

    At least they were smart enough to know when they were defeated.

    Hold on a second.

    One of the goblins looked familiar to me.

    There was no doubt.

    Among the defeated was the very same goblin that I had run into when I had just appeared in this world. The same bite mark in his ear made it all the more evident.

    He seemed to recognize me as well. I mean, it was hard not to, after meeting me once.

    Allina approached with her bow drawn, aiming at the goblin that was staring at me.

    I held one of my hands up to her in a stop gesture.

    ''''Hold on.''''

 1.25 A Cry to the Heavens

    Faragi

    Bit of a short chapter. I am planning on trying to get another one out today.

    If you like the story and want to contribute with ideas or if you have questions for me, don''t forget to join my discord server:

    https://discord.gg/v9DzenDCYf

    Allina and I got involved in an argument over the goblins'' fate. She was planning to simply dispatch the goblins that had surrendered but my morals had stopped her, for now. She didn''t seem to want to listen to what I had to say and I was currently reduced to pleading. I understood that we could not simply set them free as they would obviously regroup with the rest of their kin in the forest and likely attack again someday, but I felt like killing enemies that had surrendered was a war crime. I was pretty sure it was, back on Earth.

    It appeared Earth logic did not seem to apply to these people, as the guard officer had joined our conversation and suggested the same thing Allina had: extermination.

    ''''Isn''t there anything they can be used for? Labor? Pest control?'''' I pleaded.

    ''''They are pests themselves.'''' The ranking guard spat on the ground.

    ''''But they''ve surrendered, you can''t simply kill them.''''

    ''''Sure we can.'''' He replied in a far too serious manner.

    A flash of light and a wave of heat that followed it interrupted our talks.

    Fear, disgust and anger shot through me as all three of us looked in the direction of the source. Orange flames rose up from where the goblins were kneeled as they awaited their fate. Their bodies were reduced to ash and coal as the entirety of the ground where they had been waiting was suddenly set ablaze.

    I was left horrified.

    They had surrendered.

    They had fucking surrendered.

    Why?

    I felt my heart sink and my stomach twist as I looked at the raging inferno. A large patch of grass had disappeared and the lives of the figures that were scared to death had simply ceased to exist. How could anyone ever do this? Who had done this?

    Of course, I couldn''t call the goblin from before a friend in any way, shape or form. But, my trade with him a few days ago had given me a much-needed head start to survive in this world. Now, he had simply been erased from this world by whoever did this.

    I looked around and saw the guards and archers with the same shocked expressions. It couldn¡¯t have been them; they didn''t possess such power in the first place.

    ''''That''s most of the monsters dealt with, just one more to go.'''' An overly confident male voice came from behind me.

    I turned around to see a human man in black robes approaching us. He held a luxurious golden staff with a red orb in one hand and I could see a fiery ball growing in his other. From this distance I could see he had a shining blue adventurer''s tag, much like Valtheril''s. I couldn''t, however, make out his tier.

    Wait, was he talking about me?

    He was.

    His eyes were fixated on me as the ball of fire in his hand grew.

    I was so screwed.

    I felt hopeless. I wanted to speak, but no words left my mouth. I gazed into his fiery eyes and knew there would be no negotiating.

    I dropped to the grass and prayed in my mind.

    I didn¡¯t want to die...

    A glimmer of hope sparked within me when Velariah stepped in front of me with her sword drawn, but I knew she would be no match for this monstrosity of a human being that was coming for me.

    She looked heroic but this was futile.

    Don¡¯t die for me Vel...

    Velariah held her sword in front of her horizontally, pointing at the human''s head.

    ''''State your name and business, stranger!''''

    How could she remain so cool in face of such overwhelming power? I was crippled by fear.

    ''''Oh, you know, just some simple monster slaying, it seems I''ve missed one, I''ll take care of it now.'''' He shrugged, the fireball in his hand grew slightly weaker when he did so.

    The human spoke with nonchalance and complete and utter disregard for me. It really seemed he saw me as nothing more than a monster. I had known some people may not like me, but this was quite extreme, I''d done nothing to offend him. What was worse, this guy actually had more power than all of us combined, that was not hard to take notice of.

    Was it even legal to attack other guild members? Part of the reason I joined was so that this wouldn''t happen...

    ''''She has a name.'''' Velariah stated. ''''And she is part of the Dawnleaf guild. Attacking her carries the death penalty.'''' She still held her sword up.

    Oh. So, it was illegal.

    ''''I''m Ken Stonefort, also known as Crimson Fury. I care little for your guild in this backwater hamlet. Monsters are monsters and they exist only to be cleansed.'''' The blazing ball in his hand light up again.

    ''''And I am Velariah Leafguard, daughter of Valtheril Leafguard, High general of the royal elven army. If you value your life, stand down.''''

    Holy shit, Velariah was getting serious. She might just save my ass.

    The human mage laughed in a wicked way.

    ''''Smoke and mirrors, nice try, but it won''t fool me. This spider ''''friend'''' of yours is an abomination that can''t be allowed to live. She''ll meet her end here'''' The fire in his hand grew to the size of a basketball and changed into a light blue color.

    Maybe not.

    Farewell Vel.

    ''''So, you have chosen death.''''

    A familiar authoritative voice spoke.

    At the same time an immense pressure pressed down on my shoulders. All soldiers that were present were forced to their knees as well. Velariah was the only one still standing. For the rest of us, it was as if an entire ocean suddenly weighed down on us. I had only experienced this once and I felt hope return where I had felt despair the previous time I experienced this.

    Valtheril approached the man from behind until he was about two meters out.

    And he looked pissed.

    His long white hair waved to the side as he had his sword drawn and in front of him, much in the same manner as Velariah''s. His sword glowed with a hot, white light as he came closer to the mage who had his spell disappear into nothingness. The human turned around.

    He and I both stared into Valtheril''s green eyes. Oh, was he pissed. Even from this distance it was painstakingly clear.

    The human mage''s cocky attitude was replaced with fear as I could hear him stumble to put together a coherent sentence.

    ''''M-m-m-mister general. S-sorry. Didn''t kno-''''

    ''''ENOUGH!"

    Valtheril''s shout had enough energy behind it to cause a shockwave of sound to ripple over the grass around us. It also scattered the last of the smoke from his spell into the wind.

    ''''You committed an act of treason...'''' His sword changed into a pure white blade made of light.

    ''''The penalty for treason...'''' His blade extended into double the length it was before.

    ''''Is death!'''' He shouted with conviction.

    He brought his blade over his shoulder and swung.

    I wanted to look away, but my eyes were forced to look at the scene playing out in front of me. I tried to move my head, but my muscles were locked in place.

    The moment Valtheril''s sword hit the man in went straight through him seemingly without doing anything at all.

    An unearthly scream came from the human''s throat, indicating that the sword had done at least something. I wanted to cover my ears but couldn''t move my arms.

    The man''s black robes started to unravel into particles of light. Faster and faster, it disintegrated into small pieces and flew off with the light breeze in the air. His scream continued and came to a sudden halt.

    A massive pillar of white light from the heavens enveloped the victim of Valtheril''s attack. The light was so concentrated that I couldn''t see the man''s figure anymore. The light was so bright that I feared I''d go blind. It was like looking into the sun tenfold, but it didn''t seem to go accompanied with the pain that looking into the star''s light would normally bring.

    The pillar collapsed upon itself as the white ray came crashing down. An explosion followed before the beam flickered and dimmed. The last of the light was dispelled and the wizard was nowhere to be seen.

    A black patch of burnt ground with blackened tendrils at its side was all that was left where he once stood.

    The suppressive aura disappeared, but I still couldn''t stand.

    What the hell was that power?

    I was flabbergasted.

    Valtheril''s sword shrunk to its original size and the light around it disappeared. He sheathed it once more as he slowly walked to us.

    Velariah had already sheathed hers as well and turned to face me.

    ''''You okay Elania?'''' She asked as she knelt down before me.

    My mind was playing out the attack over and over again. The light, the strength, the beauty of it was seared into my soul. I couldn''t utter a word until Velariah actually shook my shoulders.

    ''''Elania?'''' She looked a bit worried.

    ''''I''m fine. I think?'''' I signed in relief, thankful for Valtheril''s timely intervention. I''d be one dead spider if it wasn''t for him.

    ''''What did I just see?''''

    ''''That.'''' She paused for a second. ''''Was my father''s full strength unleashed. You''re privileged to have seen it, not many get to observe it. He calls it ''''Heavenly Flare''''.''''

    ''''That''s the result of years of training and evolving of one''s inherity.'''' Valtheril added as he reached out a hand to help me get up.

    I awkwardly accepted the gesture and got up.

    ''''I felt a huge surge of magic in the area and decided to investigate.'''' He spoke. ''''Seems I got here just in time.''''

    Yeah, no kidding. I still shuddered at my near-death experience.

    I thanked him from the bottom of my heart and he turned to the other soldiers.

    ''''Allina, Ithilestis, I expect your squads¡¯ witness reports with the Lore keeper before dusk. Seems the guy was a mid-tier diamond adventurer, we need to handle this properly.''''

    ''''Yes, general.'''' Both Allina and the officer guardsman saluted Valtheril.

    I found my rationality returning as the danger had dissipated.

    Witness reports? Guess it made sense, he had just executed another man for treason, after all.

    Would he have done the same if I hadn''t joined the guild?

    Also, didn''t Velariah have the same inherity as her father? Would that mean that with experience she would be able to do that too?

    Holy crap. I had no idea they would work like that. Evolving he said? How did that work?

    That brought me back to the dream I had before. The spider had mentioned evolving as well and someone called an ''''Ancient One''''. I had to brush the thought aside as Valtheril approached us again.

    Without warning he took Velariah in for a hug. I wasn''t actually expecting that and neither was she, apparently, judging from the small yelp that escaped her lips.

    ''''Thank you Vel, for keeping that scoundrel occupied but please be more careful in the future.'''' He patted her back.

    Well, would you look at that, he knew how to parent, after all.

    Also, what did he mean with ''''please be more careful in the future''''? What was she supposed to do? Could he be referring to her using her sword? That seemed plausible, if she used her sword like that, she could just anger somebody and make them attack her because of the shown defiance.

    She looked hella cool doing it, though.

    Velariah eventually returned the hug.

    ''''I''m sorry father, I''ll try.''''

    Yeah, ''''try'''' seemed about right. There was no way she was going to be careful.

    ''''Elania.'''' Valtheril turned to me mid hug.

    Uh-oh.

    ''''Please ensure she stays safe.''''

    How was I going to do that?

    ''''Sure.'''' I replied.

    Not.

    ''''By the way.'''' I started a question and they separated. ''''Sir Valtheril, have you ever heard of something called an ''''Ancient One?''''

    He shook his head.

    Damn.

    ''''Never heard of anything specifically being called that. There is a dragon located at the Searing Peak that is incredibly old, though. I believe... four thousand years? Would that answer the question?''''

    Four thousand years? What? Actually, how long was a year here?

    ''''I have no idea...''''

    ''''Why did you want to know anyway if I may ask?'''' He politely asked.

    Should I tell him? Ah, what the heck.

    ''''I had a dream that felt awfully real, it mentioned me evolving and then mentioned I should seek out someone called an ''''Ancient One'''' for more information.''''

    Velariah looked at me with large eyes. I guessed I hadn¡¯t told her yet, oops.

    ''''Sounds like it was more than just a dream, maybe it referred to Ember, you could try with her, otherwise she might know more.''''

    ''''Ember?'''' I inquired.

    ''''The dragon, she would like the company too.''''

    Wait, dragons were not majestic powerful fearsome creatures hellbent on destroying everything in their wake in this world? That was a welcome surprise. Moreover, they actually liked company? Interesting indeed.

    It wasn''t much, but it was worth a shot. A friendly dragon was actually something I''d like to see for myself, weird as that may sound.

    ''''Where, and how far is it? If I may ask.''''

    He pointed in the direction of where we had gone to complete the spider nest extermination quest.

    ''''If you walk over to that hill, you should see volcanic mountains in the distance. You can find Ember at the highest peak of the ridge. That mountain is called the Searing Peak and is generally one of the easier ones to climb, but be careful of the Ashclaw scorpions, their venom is qui-, actually never mind.''''

    Heh, venom. This was going to be easy.

    Hold on, did he just say scorpions?

    I shuddered. ''More creepy crawlies... I hate this world.''

    ''''It''s about a three day''s walk to the foot of the mountain, the mountain itself depends on the circumstances at the time. Mostly on how many scorpions you have to fight on the way up, it''s one of the reasons why Ember doesn''t get many visitors.''''

    Wait a second.

    You actually have to fight scorpions? How big were these things?

    This was getting worse by the minute.

    ''''If you collect their stingers, the guild pays good money for those.''''

    Finally, some good news.

    That should at least make up for some of the downtime we would have to experience from not being able to do quests. Though, I guess, you could technically consider this some sort of a quest as well. I wonder what they used those stingers for?

    Draco appeared to have been listening in to the conversation too because up next came a question from him.

    ''''So, when we going?''''

    ''''Dude, I just molted, give me a break.'''' I said before I realized what I had just said.

    Immediately after I could feel my cheeks flush red. I covered my face with as many hands as possible.

    It didn''t stop their laughter. Their far too blatant laughter.

    I turned around in shame.

    ''''Hey Elania, seems you got an arrow up your butt.'''' Velariah''s voice called out.

    That really didn''t help to change the mood I was in right now. My embarrassment only grew because of that comment.

    I''d completely forgotten about that.

    Pain shot from my abdomen through my body. It was as if somebody had stuck a needle in my behind. It wasn''t terribly painful in any way but still! Fortunately, the pain went away as quickly as it came, when realization of what the elven knight had just done struck me.

    ''''Ouch!" I let out.

    I turned around to see Velariah hold up the arrow with a nasty smile on her face.

    ''''What did you do that for?'''' I asked with feigned anger.

    I really couldn''t be that angry, I didn''t feel the pain anymore, after all.

    This is where I would have grabbed my butt and stroke it with my hands, if I could reach it...

    ''''Dunno, figured I''d relieve you of it.'''' She smirked.

    This elf was evil. Evil I tell you.

    I looked over to my abdomen and noticed a very small spot of blood where the arrow had been. It did appear that this carapace was tougher than before. The last time I had arrows lodged into it, they penetrated quite a bit deeper, it only seemed very superficial right now.

    I guessed that this Evolution wasn''t a nothingburger, after all.

    If I were to guess, I''d say that would be part of my inherity?

    It seemed like a reasonable explanation for now, so I would just roll with it. I could find out exactly how it worked once I''d gotten the money to pay for the ritual.

    ''''Well, thanks'''' I replied at last, with more than a hint of sarcasm in my voice.

    ''''You''re welcome.'''' She replied with glee.

    I swear...

    I quickly tried to change the topic.

    ''''Sir Valtheril, do you have anything like carts in the village?'''' I asked. I had somewhat of an idea in my mind.

    ''''The guild has a couple in the warehouse. Why, you need them for something?'''' he crossed his arms.

    They had them in the warehouse? I didn''t see any when I was there. Maybe because the place had been so dark...

    ''''I was thinking we could take one with us if we were to go to the Searing Peak. We could use it to make transport faster and take more items with us.''''

    There were bound to be some interesting things to find on and near a volcano. Besides the possibility of sulfur that would have plenty of uses, there could also be gems and certain stones that could be used to craft goods. Besides that, if these scorpions were truly as big as I expected, we could also bring quite a few more of their stingers with us on the way back. More stingers meant more money.

    Valtheril thought for a moment.

    ''''If you promise them a share of the goods you bring back, I don''t think they would mind.''''

    That seemed fair.

    ''''Thanks a lot for the info.''''

    ''''No problem, if that''s all, I''ll be off. There''s a lot of paperwork that I''ll have to get done.'''' he sighed.

    I could imagine.

    I shook my head. I had all the info I needed for now.

    ''''Thank you for your service to Dawnleaf, Elania.''''

    With that, he walked off to the village again.

    ''''So, tomorrow?'''' Velariah asked, finishing what Draco started, though in a much more demanding fashion.

    I facepalmed.

    ''''I doubt that''s a good idea, miss Velariah. Usually after molting, I need at least a day or two of rest and a lot of food. It would be unwise to set out so soon.''''

    Thank you, Draco.

    Also, boom! It seemed I was right about him having to molt as well.

    ''''So, food?'''' Velariah then asked.

    ''''Sounds good to me.'''' Draco replied.

    I simply nodded. I didn''t want to admit it but I was getting rather hungry myself. This whole molting thing turned out to be more complicated that I had initially thought.

    ''''Good thing we still have that discount at the guild.'''' Velariah spoke cheerfully.

    Damn, there was that still. I''d lost two days of discount on food.

    Stupid ''''Evolution''''.

    I was going to make up for that for sure.

 1.26 Raging Bull

    ''''Uhm, excuse me!'''' A female voice came from behind.

    Oh right. I''d completely forgotten about that.

    I wanted to turn around, but the elf that called out was already next to us. She turned her attention to Velariah and bowed down slightly.

    ''''You''re Lady Velariah right? I''m Seralyn, I applied to your party yesterday. I''d be honored if you would take me in.''''

    She was supposed to be the cocky kind? I couldn''t see it at all.

    She seemed like an average elf at first glance. Long, pointy ears, dark brown hair that bordered auburn. Like all other elves besides Velariah it was held up in a ponytail. I think she had brown eyes that matched her hair, but I couldn''t see it clearly from here.

    I thought average, but like all the other female elves I''d seen she too, was a beauty by earthen standards. That seemed to be a recurring theme in this world. Even I was included in that club, somehow...

    ''Lucky genetics.'' I thought.

    Her equipment was nothing special. Supple leather armor pieces that allowed for quick movements through the forest, while protecting from bruises and scrapes from the plants and branches. They would also be able to block goblin arrows well enough, unless they got lucky shots off like the arrow in the elf that I transported to the treemenders before.

    Finishing up the archer look, she had a large bow strapped to her back, as well as a quiver which didn''t seem to have many arrows left in it.

    ''''Seralyn, was it? Has Allina already confirmed your registration at the guild?'''' Velariah inquired.

    ''''Not yet.'''' Allina joined in. ''''I believe you were planning on going there now?''''

    Velariah nodded. ''''It would seem so.''''

    ''''I''ll go with you guys then.'''' Allina looked at the black spot on the dirt road that Valtheril''s attack had left behind.

    ''''I doubt the goblins will make another move today. Not after seeing that.''''

    I had no issue believing that. I doubted any goblin that observed that kind of power would ever consider attacking once more, but then again, I was no expert on goblin psychology. Their reasons were beyond me.

    To be fair, that attack could probably have been seen from miles away. Must be a great intimidation tool to keep folks honest.

    ''''Elania?'''' Velariah interrupted my thoughts.

    ''''Huh?''''

    ''''You mind if I ride you?''''

    Say what? What the hell did she mean by that?

    ''''To the village.''''

    Oh.

    Wait, what?

    ''''W-w-what?" I stuttered, causing her to grin.

    What was she trying to pull off here? I swear, this evil elf.

    ''''You were planning on pulling a cart, no?''''

    She had been right in that regard.

    I nodded.

    ''''Well, then, see it as practice. Besides, I wouldn''t be the first.'''' She smiled from ear to ear.

    ''''But that was an emergency...'''' I felt myself losing hope of getting out of this situation as all the others, including Draco stared at me expectantly.

    Why have you forsaken me Draco?

    ''''Fine...'''' I caved to the sheer amount of peer pressure.

    I crossed both sets of arms as I lowered my midsection to the ground. Velariah was all too eager to ''''mount'''' me. She hopped on and I felt the weight was quite a bit more than the male archer from before. Her armor really seemed quite a bit heavier.

    I had the feeling that this whole ''''practice'''' thing was just a lame excuse. I got the notion Velariah did this for other reasons. Maybe she was just lazy. Maybe she just wanted to embarrass me. Probably that last, she seemed to take far too much pleasure in doing that.

    ''''Oh, can I join as well'''' Seralyn asked.

    Cocky one, isn''t she? She had already made a complete 180 degree turn in my mind with that question.

    I raised my legs and revealed my fangs, I even clicked them together for good measure. No way I was going to let that happen. I''d scare that cocky attitude right out of her.

    ''''I''ll take that as a no.'''' She replied, not with the fear that I wanted her to express.

    Shame.

    ''Well, exercise for cart pulling it is'', I confirmed in my mind, knowing it was a lie.

    We should get Velariah a lance, we could be great shock cavalry.

    Wait, that was just weird thinking.

    To be fair, Velariah was smart. She already knew what I planned to do with the cart. I was planning to have Draco and her both in it, while I would simply transport them to the mountain. Valtheril had said it would take three days but I had the feeling I could cut down on quite a bit of travel time doing it that way. My speed when sprinting was unparalleled and it seemed I started to tire far slower than before. Yay for experience!

    That was not even including the part where we could make a ton more money by being able to transport more goods. I took pride in my planning!

    My only issue when thinking about a cart would be the traction. If I were to pull it through a grassy field, would its wheels cause problems? I doubted rubber was a thing here, I knew it came from trees but that¡¯s all there was to my knowledge about the substance. Would silk offer a solution here? I''d probably have to check my options later on.

    I wondered what Elly had done with all the silk I had ''''spilled'''' before.

    ''''By the way.'''' Allina stepped in front of me, showing off her bow.

    Guess I got my answer there. I eyed the bow, more specifically the thread that connected both ends. It was white and braided.

    ''''Thanks for the silk, this stuff makes for amazing bowstrings. They seem to be better than what we had before.''''

    I wasn''t sure whether to feel proud or embarrassed at the fact that they were using whatever came out of my butt to let arrows fly.

    ''''No problem?'''' I said confused.

    She laughed. ''''If you got some time, we''d love some more, we''ll even pay you for it.''''

    Now this was getting somewhere. I knew I could make money pooping. Even if it wasn''t quite that.

    ''''Uhhhh, sure.'''' I said after deliberating for a while.

    I could help them out with that and make some money in the meantime. I''d probably produce it in private, though. No need to have them looking while I was at it.

    A sudden tight hug from behind and a head on my shoulder snapped me back to Velariah. She had gripped my belly tightly; it was as if she was waiting for me to take off and sprint into the distance.

    ''''Vel?'''' I asked.

    ''''It''s Velariah, also, let''s go.''''

    What did she think I was? One of those mechanical bulls at a fair? Oh, if she wanted that, I was eager to oblige.

    I tossed the shield I had been carrying all this time to the side. That wouldn''t help this ''''bull''''.

    I was going to have some fun with this.

    I ran over the grass as quickly as I could. I chose the grass over the dirt road so the elf wouldn''t actually hurt herself once I''d thrown her off. I ran, I jumped, I turned, but the elf wouldn''t budge. Rather, she seemed to be enjoying this as she cheered me on.

    If I had to be quite honest, I was actually having fun as well messing around like this. I started to feel more at ease in this world and around these people. Velariah''s pushing may have had a hand in that. I should actually be thankful for it. Not that I was going to tell her that, though.

    After several minutes of not being able to get her out of the ''''saddle'''' I decided to call it quits and return to the others. Apparently, I would need rest so I didn¡¯t plan on pushing this too far. I had always been bad at taking advice...

    Oh well. I didn¡¯t seem to collapse or anything, so I''d be fine, right? Maybe I should stop pushing my luck...

    I walked over to the others who looked at me as if they wanted to try this ''''attraction'''' as well.

    I ignored their gazes and started to follow the road to the village.

    ''''That was cool!'''' Velariah stated.

    I didn''t answer as I was already thinking about any preparations we would have to make. If this archer was coming with us too, we''d have to take that into account as well. Initially, I wanted to make use of the interview part of any applications that would come our way, but it seemed this elf had Allina''s full endorsement. She was bound to be a valuable asset in combat, but I heard and noticed from that one interaction with her that she was a bold one.

    An archer would be great to have when dealing with scorpions though...

    Their venom would have little effect on me so for me, it wouldn''t be much of an issue.

    The thing was that I had no idea how many of them there would be. The fight we had with the hellspiders earlier was far too easy because of a certain affinity of mine, I doubted I''d be lucky enough to incapacitate scorpions in the same way.

    No, we would probably have to fight our way through them. Any extra combat support would be welcome.

    I reckoned we could try her out on our ''''mission'''' to the Searing Peak? That seemed to be the easiest way to go about this. In short, it was two birds with one stone. We would be able to see her in action and have an easier time too.

    It would also mean I''d probably have to look for a larger cart...

    Then again, if I was able to pull a ton of dead weight, though, with the help of Velariah and Draco, I guessed something with wheels should be easy for me on my own.

    I was basically the ideal multi-purpose horse. I could be used for races, pulling, combat, I had it all!

    Speaking about horses, I''d not seen any yet. I wondered what they looked like. Would they be all white and elegant? Would they have wings?

    Who knew?

    We entered the village with the five of us. Of course, there were more stares left, right and center thrown my and Velariah''s way. Word was going to spread soon of a lady bound to a massive spider. There was no escaping that. I just hoped whatever word spread would be positive so I wouldn¡¯t be hunted down by humans like the one before.

    I shuddered.

    I would have to get more combat experience. Leaving the area of this village could literally mean a death sentence. Valtheril''s presence was a unique repellant to anyone who bore me ill will. I doubted anyone would try something funny while he was nearby, especially if they knew what he was capable of.

    I was getting hungry from all that thinking.

    And possibly from using plenty of energy during the molting process.

    I hoped the guild would still have pork chops; I could surely use a bunch of those.

    Hmm, bacon.

    Bacon and cheese omelets were appealing too.

    ''''You''re drooling.'''' Velariah said as she looked over my shoulder.

    Oops.

    I quickly swept away the saliva with one of my hands.

    ''''Do you think Dworag is done with my armor?'''' I asked, distracting her from my awkwardness.

    ''''He finished it yesterday already, he has been waiting for you to visit him. He is just dying to know if he succeeded in making it a perfect fit.''''

    Such a nice guy, that dwarf.

    ''''Let''s pay him a visit after we''re done here.'''' I said as I lowered myself to the floor. We had reached the guild hall and it seemed there were a few people inside and eating.

    It was lunch time in Dawnleaf and it seemed quite a few adventurers had come here to get something to eat. It would mean we''d be here for a while as the cook could only prepare dishes so fast. I would almost curse my body for requiring so much to eat, but there were a ton of advantages to it as well, so I let it slide.

    We found our usual spot in the far corner as Allina and Seralyn stopped by the Lore keeper to finish some business first. Apparently, they had signed some documents, before the Lore keeper handed the archer a golden tag.

    What the hell! That''s cheating!

    I had to drag a Saibon boar and a Bunbear all the way from the damn forest to this village and all I got was this lousy silver tag! How was this even fair?

    Such a cruel world this was...

    Cruel indeed. I thought back to the goblins from before and how their lives had simply been snuffed out. Even if it hadn¡¯t been the elves that finished them off, there was no doubt in my mind that they were going to do just that. Maybe I had been too naive in thinking that peace could exist between certain races. Maybe peace in my world was taken for granted.

    A lot of killing was done back on Earth as well back in history. I just hoped that all that had taught humanity a lesson...

    It seemed there were still things I would not agree with here that I would not be able to change.

    It seemed there was peace, but only between the humans and elves which were both sentient races. It seemed the lizardman were part of that peace accord as well if Draco''s presence was anything to go by. Come to think of it, I never checked what races there were in this world.

    I would probably have to talk to Velariah about things like that in private, Draco still had no idea I wasn''t from this world. I mean, maybe he did, but the entire concept wasn''t known in this world, so I doubted it would be something he would easily believe, if he had drawn that as conclusion.

    I''d probably try to have some alone time with Velariah tomorrow. There were a couple other things I wanted to look into. I didn''t need anyone else knowing about what I was going to ask and try.

    If all went well, we could depart for the Searing Peak the day after that. I wasn''t really in a hurry to find this so called ''''Ancient One''''. If my ''''Evolution'''' had anything to do with my inherity I would find out eventually. I was still in the process of acquiring enough money for the ritual. Part of that would be passively obtained over time.

    Combining the Dragon known as Ember together with being able to collect money from scorpions turned out to be an interesting prospect. I would try to combine multiple things at once as much as I could. Efficiency was key.

    Oh, I would have to check if I could borrow a cart.

    The waiter took our order before I could think about it more deeply. I was shocked to learn there was no milk or kingberry juice available for the day. When I asked what they had available he has answered that the only thing they had right now was beer and coffee.

    Fuck.

    Ultimately, I had ordered the weakest beer they had, hoping that my liver could filter out the alcohol before I created a mess in the guild.

    ''One beer won''t affect me much'', I desperately hoped.

    Velariah giggled at the prospect. She was evil, I knew it.

    Draco had no clue what was going on and looked at us in a confused manner. I didn''t respond to it.

    I was dreading the prospect, but I''d have to drink at least something. I would make up for it later when we got home.

    It appeared they still had pork chops on the menu so I ordered a double portion before making my way to the counter where Allina and Seralyn were filling out a different document than before.

    ''''Oh, Elania. Could I borrow you for a second.'''' Allina asked as I walked up to them.

    ''''Sure, whatcha need?''''

    ''''I''m going to need your signature here as confirmation that what Valtheril did was within the rule of law.''''

    She pointed to a document that had her and Seralyn''s signatures already. There was plenty of space for more and I imagined she would have every witness sign it.

    ''''Sure.'''' I took the quill and wrote my name as best I could.

    I would never get used to writing with a quill... it was... a mess...

    ''''Nice going, Elania'''' Seralyn commented on the messed-up signature.

    Shut up.

    I didn''t say that but I just looked her in the eyes with a look that conveyed what I thought. She didn¡¯t seem intimidated at all. This elf was going to be handful of work...

    I took a quick glance at her tag and noticed it specified her as a low-ranked gold adventurer. At least she got the lowest tier. That was bound to be worth something. I could live with that; I¡¯d get there soon enough.

    They let the ink on the document dry before taking it and settling at our table. They then had Draco and Velariah sign it as well.

    I asked the Lore keeper if it would be possible to borrow a cart and if I could look at which were available.

    She asked me what I would be using it for.

    I told her that we planned on taking it to the Searing Peak to take more resources with us on the way back. The elf behind the counter said it wouldn''t be a problem, as long as the guild would get five percent of the transferred goods as fee.

    Why couldn''t that Coldanus guy be more like the guild? It wasn''t so hard to not rip people off.

    I eagerly agreed and she told me we could look at what was available after we finished our lunch, she could even reserve the cart for when we needed it, so that it would be available at that time.

    We would have to take good care of it while we were out, if we broke it, we would have to pay an entire gold piece to pay for a replacement.

    I didn''t plan on breaking the cart so I agreed to the terms and conditions before making our way back to the table.

    It seemed our drinks were already served.

    I moved one of the benches and positioned it next to Velariah before sitting down on it. I was not going to drink that beer until I had something in my belly, I hoped that would also lessen its effects. Alcohol on an empty stomach was definitely not a good idea for me.

    Sometime later the waiter returned with the first of our food. I happily dug into the feast while wondering if this discount thing was also going to apply to Allina and Seralyn.

    Velariah and Draco had also put their signatures on the document and Draco had delivered it back to the desk before digging into his sausages.

    I was happy to find that beer didn''t affect me as much as the stronger liquor that I had drunk in the cave. That opened up options.

    Draco was explaining our plan to go to the Searing Peak during our lunch and Seralyn seemed all too eager to show off her skills. I secretly hoped scorpions would possess an exoskeleton that would be impenetrable to her arrows, that ought to put a dent in her cockiness.

    I was feeling evil.

    And I liked it.

    I felt my pedipalps twitch before they eagerly grabbed a hold of Velariah.

    Uh-oh.

    Not again.

 1.27 Great Beams of Iron

    I had shock course through my body, followed by fear.

    I had already finished my beer long before my body started reacting to it, indicating that the side-effects were not going to be a factor.

    I had been right up until the point where my pedipalps just wanted to get a hold of the elf next to me. I should be thankful that it hadn''t been somebody else. Who knew how they would have reacted?

    I feared for the worst but it seems I was still in control of most of my body.

    Velariah hadn''t even reacted to what happened to her. She simply continued eating while there was a spider part behind her back and on her lap.

    I was left questioning her sanity.

    Fortunately, the effects of the alcohol didn''t intensify beyond that. I could keep my extra limbs under control by simply grabbing them with my hands and keeping them in place. They still twitched but I''d at least keep my dignity, what was left of it anyway.

    ''''What was that for? If you want to flirt, get a room you two!'''' Seralyn commented.

    What was she thinking? As if I''d stand a chance with Velariah.

    Wait, did I even like girls? I didn''t think so?

    I thought about it. I never had had a relationship back in my world. Not that I knew? Did I forget that too? I tried hard to remember, finding nothing to even grasp at.

    I give up. I don''t know anymore.

    I blushed in embarrassment at the ranger''s comment. Good thing I had an extra pair of hands to hide my face in while I kept my spider parts in check.

    ''''So.'''' Draco filled the awkward silence.

    Thanks, Draco.

    ''''Is there anything else we need to plan?''''

    Seems he took a page out of my book.

    There was one thing that came to my mind but I had no idea if we could pull it off. I had the idea of taking containers with us and full them with volcanic ash. As far as I knew this would make for ideal fertilizer. The thing was, it was probably going to be extremely dense and I was not planning on breaking a cart and pay for a new one...

    If only we had a railway.

    Come to think of it, they had problems with their yields. If we could supply the fields with volcanic ash, it may solve the entire issue. I guessed it would also be a welcome addition for the coffee plants. Setting up a simple railway to handle logistics would be the dream. Transporting over fields was going to be pain for carts due to the weight, their wheels would simply get stuck or sink.

    Instead of a locomotive they could use horses. The technology would remain at a bare minimum but the advantages would be huge.

    ¡­

    ''''Elania?'''' Velariah''s voice called out to me.

    ''''Huh?''''

    Seralyn giggled.

    ''''You seemed lost in thought, are you okay?'''' Velariah''s voice came again.

    ''''I got a crazy idea to help out the village.''''

    ''''Seems to be a trademark of yours!'''' Seralyn called again.

    Was she going to do this all the time?

    Sigh.

    ''''Care to share?'''' Velariah asked.

    The idea of railways is so simple that it''s fine for me to share this with other people, right? it''s only the idea, Valtheril will probably have to execute this plan. They''d probably look to him as the inventor anyway, considering he already established a name for himself.

    I couldn''t believe railways weren''t a thing yet...

    Here is to hoping I don''t start the industrial revolution...

    The steam engine was still a long way out, at least from what I could see, so I doubted it.

    ''''Do you have a pen and paper?''''

    ''''What''s a pen?'''' Velariah looked at me.

    Oops.

    ''''I meant a pencil.'''' I quickly averted. I hoped they would think that I meant that in the first place. It seemed they were none the wiser. Phew.

    ''''Let me check if I can borrow some from the Lore keeper.'''' She stood up and practically ran off to the desk on the other side of the room.

    Curious one, isn''t she?

    It seemed she was successful in her quest for basic stationery. Moments later she returned with a pencil, a sheet of paper and a huge smile.

    ''''Alright.'''' I stated as all their eyes were on me.

    Stop making me nervous!

    ''''You know volcanic ash is great fertilizer, yes?''''

    Velariah shook her head.

    I dropped the pencil on the table and my hand hit the table.

    You got to be shitting me.

    ''''Well, now you do, I guess. I was kind of hoping to start off with the knowledge that you knew about that.''''

    ''''How would we know? Nobody decides to grow crops near a volcano, that¡¯s just stupid. One eruption and their entire farm is gone!''''

    Ok, she might have a point there.

    How did people actually do it back on earth? I knew it was great fertilizer but I wasn''t sure if people in modern times still lived near volcanoes. I knew it was a thing in ancient times partly because of the fact that the soil was so rich. Though, a few accidents did wipe out a lot of human life. Just look at Pompei for example.

    ''''Ok, so, long story short, volcanic ash is great for growing crops. I believe you have had issues with your yields in recent years, yes?''''

    The elves around the table nodded, Draco remained still.

    ''''Ok, so, what if we grab the soil around the volcano and move it to Dawnleaf.''''

    ''''How do you plan on getting it here?'''' Draco asked.

    Seems he had already figured out the biggest problem of what I had just suggested.

    ''''I''m glad you asked.'''' I replied with a smile.

    ''''Short answer: we make a road out of metal. The long answer is a bit more complicated than that, but we will need a load of metal.''''

    I picked up the pencil again.

    ''''Let me show what I mean.''''

    I started drawing a railroad. It was nothing special, just two vertical lines crossed by horizontal lines.

    ''''So, these horizontal lined are sleepers, wood that is put on the ground.''''

    I paused for a second.

    ''''These vertical lines are huge bars made out of iron or steel, preferably steel. They are fastened on the sleepers and form a track. On this track you can then transport goods with carts that have wheels that envelop these tracks. it''s important that the width of the track is the same across its entire length''''

    I stopped there to see if there were any questions so far.

    ''''But why?'''' Seralyn had asked.

    ''''Ah, here comes the fun part.'''' I rubbed my hands together.

    ''''Because of these tracks called rails, you can apply a lot of weight on them without getting stuck. It also allows you to connect many carts to each other which can then be pulled by one group of horses. Look at it as if it''s a caravan wagon that is then linked to another, which is linked to another, etcetera. With this, you can transport huge amounts of resources at once with relative ease.''''

    ''''Or people.'''' Draco added.

    This lizardman was quick to catch on, I loved it.

    ''''Or people.'''' I added.

    ''''That''s.'''' Velariah looks at the shabby drawing. ''''A very interesting concept. Is this what you talked about before, you know?''''

    I nodded.

    ''''A train.''''

    I let the info sink in before I continued.

    ''''Of course, there''s some more to it but these are the basics of the idea. I reckoned if we can transport large amounts of volcanic ash to the village, we could give the agriculture sector here an enormous boost.''''

    ''''It sounds like a good idea but all that Iron is going to be expensive, it''s quite a distance to the Searing Peak.'''' Allina added to the conversation.

    ''''You''re right, it''s a lot of resources needed. The thing is, I know eventually this will pay for itself, you could also sell the ash as fertilizer to other villages and towns. you''d be able to get immense amounts with this, way more than you''ll need.''''

    ''''My father is going to love this. We should inform him right away.'''' Velariah was getting all excited.

    ''''Uh-uh, lunch first!'''' I stated.

    My second plate of pork chops was just brought in. The others had already finished and they were now waiting for me.

    Sorry, not sorry.

    I did enjoy me some good bacon.

    I just enjoyed my food in silence as I could almost see the gears in the others'' brains grinding, trying to process this revolutionary idea I had just shared.

    ''''Where did you get all this information from?'''' Seralyn had simply asked.

    I knew it would be her.

    ''''Oh, you know, alcohol does that to you, it gives you crazy ideas.''''

    ''''And grabby hands'''' Velariah added, grinning.

    What the hell, Vel?

    Seralyn joined the other elf in grinning.

    Two against me? This isn''t fair!

    At least Velariah managed to distract Seralyn enough to not have her question further. That was a relief, I wasn''t sure what my next excuse was going to be.

    Velariah stood up and paid the waiter who was currently serving to another table. When I asked her how we were on finances she said we would have two gold remaining after our visit to Dworag.

    ''Those scorpions better be worth something'', I thought.

    If I needed fifty for the inherity ritual we were still quite a bit off.

    I decided to take a look at the quest board just in case. I knew I would have to take a small break for my body to finish what it started but it couldn''t hurt to have a look, right?

    Oh, that''s right, I can accept gold quests now. Hmmm.

    Empty.

    The gold column was empty, just like the ruby one, though the ruby one has never held a single quest so far. I''d never seen the gold one empty before, though.

    There were no interesting silver quests either, bah.

    Anything lower than that really just wasn''t worth the time, I''d be better off working in the field. Come to think of it, I wondered how much progress they made?

    I yawned.

    What the hell?

    Seems Draco was right. I should probably head back to Vel''s home or take a nap in the grass outside the village. Unfortunately, one thing still remained to be done, but hopefully we could get it over with quick.

    The day was still young and the sun was still as bright as ever. I decided to go to her home after we¡¯d seen Dworag. I would have some questions to ask the white-haired elf. I should probably just ask away and get familiar with a lot of things I have skimped out on until now. I mean, what did I really know about this world?

    I''d finally have a good excuse to do nothing and just gather information. As much as I was a doer over an information gatherer, even I knew it would be important to know more.

    We decided we''d meet again the next day at noon at the guild. Velariah and I bid goodbye to the others and made our way to Dworag''s shop.

    Since we didn''t hear any noise coming from behind the building Velariah decided to use the front entrance instead. Not long after, the dwarf exited with the chest armor from before in his hands, the only difference was that it had four holes for arms now. Velariah followed behind him as he walked up to me. I decided to lower myself to the ground so I could actually look him in the eyes.

    ''''Ah, miss Elania, graceful as ever. How are you on this fine day?''''

    Such a charmer. He would have completed the picture if he''d kissed my hand too.

    ''''I''m doing fine, how about yourself.''''

    ''''Mighty fine now that I''ve laid eyes upon you.''''

    A true Casanova this dwarf.

    I could feel myself blushing at the comment. I''d never expected anyone to mention anything like that.

    ''''I hope this fits and serves you well, would hate for a beauty like yourself to get hurt.''''

    He held up the armor piece above his head.

    Seriously, stop with the flirting, I''ll die!

    I eagerly took the chest armor which had the straps on the left side unlocked.

    It fit like a glove. All four of my arms fit through the perfectly positioned arm holes, and I could move them freely. It seemed these straps worked much like a belt; this should be easy. I tried to fasten them.

    It was. At least I wouldn''t need help with these.

    I stood up and enjoyed the new feeling of added protection. Thanks to the featherlight enchant, I hardly noticed wearing it in the first place. It may not be the most expensive enchant there was, but for me right now, it was definitely one of the more useful ones.

    I walked around in a few circles, thankful I didn''t have the large turn radius anymore when I first appeared in the forest. I''d lost that a long time ago. It seemed this piece of armor would serve me well indeed.

    ''''Thanks, Dworag, it looks to be perfect.''''

    ''''Heh, it''s far from perfect, if you have the money, I¡¯d be happy to forge something that would be more befitting of your body.''''

    Again, with the flirting.

    I sheepishly thanked him as Velariah paid him the promised sum of two gold pieces.

    The dwarf waved goodbye and Velariah and I made our way to her house.

    The same routine as usual played out. Velariah knocked, Elly looked and opened the door. She then helped Velariah out of her armor and complimented mine.

    I thanked Elly while I helped myself out of the armor that I had just put on. Maybe I shouldn''t have closed those straps, they turned out to be harder to open than to close. Elly had offered to help which I had ultimately accepted seeing as it was taking me too long. Any longer and it would just have me made look incompetent.

    I hoped having her helping didn''t make me look incompetent. Maybe I was just overreacting, she helped Velariah every time as well, after all.

    I had Elly get me some water while Velariah walked upstairs. I wondered what she was going to do there.

    Elly returned with a glass of water and Velariah came walking down the stairs again.

    ''''What were you looking for?'''' I asked her when I saw her face. She had obviously not found what she was looking for as she eyes the doors leading to the hallway.

    ''''My father. Seems he isn''t home yet.''''

    Oh yeah, the railroad thing. She is really impatient, isn¡¯t she?

    I dub thee Hyper Elf. Well, she just had coffee so it''s not too far off.

    She took a seat at the table and drank the glass of water that Elly had just put down for me.

    ''''Hey, that was mine!''''

    ''''Pft, Elly, could you grab another?''''

    ''''Certainly.''''

    Whatever.

    I yawned again.

    Damn molting. I really hope that doesn''t happen too often...

    ''''Someone is getting sleepy, you sure you don¡¯t want warm milk instead?'''' Velariah teased.

    ''''Very funny.'''' I said as I made room at the table.

    Velariah still had the crappy drawing I made before.

    ''''Do you have a pencil here somewhere?'''' I asked, realizing I could probably get it a bit more complete.

    ''''I''ll have Elly grab one in a bit.''''

    Poor Elly, she was going to be worked like a horse at this rate. She was lucky there were no beans waiting for her to be peeled.

    She handed me the glass of water before she went off looking for a pencil on Velariah''s mentioning.

    It was a good thing we got back home because a wave of drowsiness hit me again. There wasn''t something in the water, right? I doubted Velariah or Elly would pull anything like that.

    I hoped two days would be all I needed; this was ridiculous.

    A knock came at the door and Velariah walked up to check on it as Elly was still upstairs looking for a pencil.

    Velariah returned with Valtheril in tow, it appeared he had a document in his hand. When he sat down at the head of the table I recognized it as the document that we''d all signed.

    He sighed and laid it down on the table while Velariah shoved my drawing under his nose and started bombarding him with the same information I had fed the others earlier.

    Poor man, at least give him some time to relax first.

    Or coffee.

    Or, the best option of them all, both.

    Oh no.

    He looked at me with an interested look in his eyes.

    Elly returned with a pencil and gave it to me before walking off into the kitchen.

    ''''Mass transport you say?'''' He looked at Velariah, then at me.

    I nodded.

    ''''Mass transport is probably the best way to describe the concept. You can transport many, and heavy goods over long distanced with this concept, as long as you can build the so-called railways properly.''''

    He looked over at the drawing.

    I held out my hand. ''''If I may?''''

    He handed the piece of paper and I drew an H and a long vertical rectangle.

    I stood up and walked next to him and laid the new and improved drawing on the table.

    ''''So, this is what the metal beams look like from the top. And this'''' I pointed at the H. ''''Is what they look like if you look at them from the side where you connect the beams to one another. The bottom part is wide to connect it to the sleepers and the top part is wide to support the wheels of the wagons, which also envelop the metal so they stay in place on the beam.''''

    He had his eyes fixate on the drawing and seemed lost in thought.

    ''''From here to the Searing Peak, that''s a lot of steel.''''

    I nodded.

    ''''That''s a lot of money.''''

    Yup. Not going to disagree there.

    ''''We should get Dworag''s input on this, get an idea of what we''re looking at, maybe get some of the smiths from Duskleaf while we''re at it.''''

    "By the way, what is beyond the mountains?'''' I asked.

    ''''There''s one village that we trade with every now and then, beyond that, there''s an ocean.''''

    So not much of interest. That was a shame.

    I yawned once more.

    What am I, a cat? Do I need to sleep sixteen hours per day now or what?

    ''''Take some rest. I''ll see if we can look into this matter further tomorrow, with some more minds that is.''''

    Ugh, I really wanted to get some questions out of the way today, but it seems I won''t last much longer. Tell me this is an effect of the molting thing and not some lame ass god trying to prevent me from getting certain information. That would be such a pain in the butt.

    I''d find out soon enough, either way.

    I walked off to the bathroom after wishing Velariah goodnight again in the middle of the day.

    I hoped I wouldn''t have to get used to that.

    I took of my shirt and put it in the sink. I was improving with regards to civility. I then put my tag on top of it before my eyes wandered to the bathtub.

    I so wanted to take a bath this evening.

    Bah.

    ''I''ll do it tomorrow morning'', I resolved.

    I grabbed a pillow as I let myself drop into the pile again. I then turned off the lights and closed my eyes.

    I wondered what tomorrow would bring.

    Faragi

    As usual If you''d like to talk to me or others about this story hop onto my discord: https://discord.gg/XqVA7ajDV8

    I want to use the next chapter to tie up some loose ends and answer some questions that are still outstanding.

    If you have any questions drop them in discord and Ill see if they need answering in the story!

 1.28 A Start?

    A mistake.

    I''d made a huge mistake.

    I woke up after sleeping a few hours. I wasn''t quite sure how long it had been but I was still exhausted.

    I may have just introduced something far more dangerous than a simple weapon, what was I thinking?

    Was it the alcohol from before? I sincerely hoped it wouldn''t make me take stupid decisions. I''d never touch it again. Never!

    I was na?ve.

    Of course, I meant to do good but the ''''technology'''' I had shared today could surely revolutionize things even if it was as crude as a glorified road. The only good thing about it for now was that the knowledge about it was limited to a few people. Even if the info would get out, I doubted there were many people with the means to undertake something of this scale, not without knowing all the info that I was still withholding.

    If people even tried to make railroads they would most likely fail. I doubted they took into account that steel would expand under high temperatures and shrink in low temperatures. Without that seemingly simple piece of modern knowledge, this entire thing would result in disaster.

    Valtheril was a good person. He wouldn''t let this transpire as easily, would he?

    He would get Dworag''s input but I doubted he''d talk to him without my presence.

    I would like to believe this knowledge would be used for good but there would be plenty of room for malicious actors to turn it into something that could invite evil.

    Seriously, how had these people not thought of this idea yet? Did they not use mining carts in mines or anything of the sort?

    I hoped relations between kingdoms were strong enough to not see this as a potential weapon...

    The amount of convenience this would bring was going to be nothing short of miraculous.

    Yet, I couldn''t shake of the ominous feeling that this had all been a mistake. Maybe more effective roads should have been a first step...

    This new world was such a hassle. Modern knowledge was going to do me more harm than good at this rate. I never imagined it would turn out like this...

    I always thought it would be cool to be many steps ahead of an ancient civilization, yet here I was questioning my irrational decisions.

    Science, why have you failed me?

    Though, I had to admit. Through all the doom and gloom, this could perhaps also result in a few good things. If things went beyond this simple line to the Searing Peak and eventually evolved to transport between cities, I could see bonds between cities strengthening because of the increase in traffic. Besides that, trade would flourish as well as more exquisite goods could suddenly be made available in certain regions.

    That was a huge if.

    Maybe I should just scrap the idea entirely.

    I''m truly an idiot.

    This would likely take years to develop but still...

    Maybe I should have them start with the idea in the mining industry and then let them work their own way up from there. Start on a small scale, let them solve the issues so that they would understand.

    That would require far lower resources and pave the way for more natural development. They can fix the thermal problem themselves and increase the efficiency of mining iron and the likes in the meantime as well.

    Shame about the fertilizer, though. I''d have to look for another solution for that.

    That seemed like a much better idea to me. I should inform Valtheril of that idea tomorrow instead. I''ll just pretend that there is a major flaw that I can''t seem to remember or something like that. They don''t know. Technically there was with regards to the thermal thing, I didn''t quite know everything there was about railways. I knew you''d have to leave small gaps in between the beams but there was bound to be something that I forgot...

    That put my mind a bit more at ease. I was still exhausted, hopefully I could get some more sleep now.

    I was so not looking forward to tomorrow. I''d have to come back on my idea. Well, at least 90 percent or so.

    Maybe I should think about things more before making such stupid decisions. Also, no more alcohol for me. Maybe ever.

    I grabbed the pillow I was holding in a tighter hug.

    ¡­

    Wait, why did my pillow smell like roses?

    When did my pillow grow hair?

    What the hell?

    That''s no pillow.

    I rubbed my eyes and then clapped two of my hands to turn on the lights.

    Ugh, why is the light so bright.

    Why is Velariah in my pillow pile? In my arms, even?

    It seemed my clapping had woken her up.

    ''''What the hell Vel? What are you doing here?'''' I released her with the last of my two arms and stared an elf in nothing but her underwear.

    What the hell was she doing here? How the hell did she even get in?

    Oh, I forgot to lock the door again, damn.

    ''''Hmmm.'''' She let out as she casually stretched her arms and put her head back against me, ignoring my question.

    Sleepy Velariah was quite a cute sight to behold.

    Wait, what was I thinking?

    ''''Vel!'''' I said in a slightly louder voice than normal.

    ''''Hhmm, It''s Velariah.'''' She said with a half moan. ''''What''s with the commotion?''''

    ''''What do you mean what''s with the commotion? What the hell are you doing in my bed?''''

    ''''Hmm, I couldn''t sleep.'''' She leaned in closer and I had to push her away.

    What time was it, then?

    Wait, that didn''t matter.

    ''''So, you can''t sleep and then decide to sleep next to a nightmare, seems legit.''''

    Her actions confused the hell out of me. I swore the goblins'' decisions were beyond me, but this was even further away from rationality.

    ''''You''re no monster, Elania.'''' She said softly, still not opening her eyes.

    Great, she''s drunk too.

    ''''I think you''re cute.''''

    Correction, she''s completely smashed.

    ''''You can''t be serious.'''' I accidentally whispered instead of thinking it.

    It seems Velariah heard it too, woops.

    ''''Nope, I''m serious.'''' She finally opened her eyes and I saw her green and blue irises peer into mine.

    ''''I think you''re cute.'''' She whispered.

    She wasn''t actually serious, was she?

    Her eyes didn''t seem to lie.

    But how? Why?

    I''d known her for a week. How the hell did that happen?

    ''Why?'' I asked myself again. How could someone find me cute? I was almost certain she was messing around, but her actions said otherwise. Had she even looked at my lower half?

    She closed her eyes again and hugged me, seemingly ready to fall asleep again.

    This elf...

    Maybe she wasn¡¯t so evil, after all?

    I was left confused. What was I supposed to feel? Sure, she was beautiful, loyal and smart, but I''d never prepared myself for this...

    My feelings were all over the place. Did I like her in that way?

    Was I okay with feeling this way with women?

    What the hell Velariah, why are you doing this to me?

    I can¡¯t say I was against this feeling. It was nice to have somebody not see me as a monster and she wasn''t scared to admit it. She went as far as calling me cute and hugging me at night to be able to sleep.

    This exhaustion really didn''t help me with putting my feelings into place.

    I decided to let it slide for now. I was too tired to deal with this right at this moment. I wanted to be sober, maybe talk about this with her tomorrow, or at least whenever I wasn''t feeling so lethargic.

    I put her hair behind her long ear, earning a slight smile from her as I did so.

    Gods, she was beautiful from up close. I didn''t have the courage to tell her, though.

    I turned off the lights and I swear I saw her ear twitch in reaction to the sound when I clapped. That had looked quite funny.

    I decided to return her hug for unknown reasons and felt myself fall asleep quickly.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    When I woke up and turned on the lights, I found myself hugging a pillow again.

    Had I dreamt all that?

    I wasn''t sure whether to feel relieved or sad if it had been a dream. It had all seemed so real.

    I found my heart beat in my chest thinking about what Velariah had said.

    I tried to ignore the feelings as I went over my morning routine, but my mind kept getting distracted by thinking about the white-haired elf.

    This was just torture.

    I decided I''d check the door. It turned out to be unlocked still so I locked it. I decided to stick to what I had promised myself yesterday and actually take that bath. Maybe it would take my mind off things.

    I heard Velariah knock after locking myself in.

    ''''Elania, what are you up to?''''

    ''''Just gonna take a bath, if you see Valtheril tell him not to share anything with Dworag yet.''''

    ''''Okay?'''' She replied with a question.

    ''''If you say so. I believe he will be here in an hour or two with the dwarf.''''

    Great, that gives me some time to get things sorted.

    ''''I''ll be with you then.'''' I said as I let the water start to flow into the huge tub.

    ''''Alright, I''ll head out. I''ll warn the others at the guild that you won''t be there for a while.''''

    Shit, was it that late already?

    ''''Vel?'''' I asked.

    ''''It''s Velariah, what''s up?''''

    ''''If I ever propose another idea like the one I did yesterday, please just slap me.''''

    ''''Aw, I could never hit you, Elania.''''

    The way in which she said that made me think that what happened this night hadn''t been just a dream.

    ''''Anyway, I''ll see you later.'''' She said cheerfully as I could hear her open the doors leading into the hallway.

    I was left questioning my feelings... again...

    I absent-mindedly prepared the next set of clothes and towels for when I would be finished. I put them in the sink and had already forgotten the colors by the time I stepped into the tub.

    What a mess I found myself in.

    I hoped my fresh exoskeleton would have no issues being scrubbed. It seems I had some dried-up goblin blood here and there, some mud at the ends of my legs but besides that, everything was still brand new, literally.

    After cleaning I plugged the drain and just relaxed, or so I tried.

    This elf just wouldn¡¯t leave my mind. More than once had I tried to distract myself by thinking about the mistakes I had made since coming here and how to prevent them going into the future, but every time my mind wandered back to the events of last night.

    How was I supposed to focus when she went and did things like that?

    I take back what I thought earlier. She was evil.

    The water lifted up my oversized butt again. It actually brought me to an idea. An idea that would be far simpler to execute that building a railroad. An idea that was so damn simple, there was no way that it didn''t exist already, maybe to a lesser degree but I was absolutely positive that it existed. I smirked. There was no way I was going to screw this up.

    There was no way this would fail. I was convinced that if the elves had known about the properties of volcanic ash, they would have thought of this themselves.

    Screw railroads, we should dig a canal.

    Thanks again, grandma.

    The blood of my ancestors flowed strong within me. I would not disappoint them.

    I enjoyed everything that a hot bath had to offer. Rest and relaxation were just two of those things. It seemed a few more small pieces of molting were removed from my exoskeleton as I scrubbed everything clean. Once I was happy with the results of my cleaning and I heard the front door open I decided it was time to get out.

    A few minutes later I walked into the dining area where Velariah, Dworag and Valtheril were already seated. I had a hard time believing Dworag could have lifted himself up the chair, that caused me to giggle inwardly for a second before realization dawned upon me. Now came the hard part of telling them that the plan had to be scrapped. I didn''t have the heart to do so, but there was no other way around it.

    ''''Ah, miss Elania, looking more beautiful every day.'''' Dworag had said and I swear Velariah stared at him. If only looks could kill... Was that... Jealousy?

    She hadn''t shown that before.

    I shook my head.

    ''''What have you told Dworag?'''' I asked the general.

    ''''Nothing yet. I''d like you to tell of the plans, you''re the expert here, after all.''''

    Yikes, I didn''t like being called an expert when I only had slightly above the average person''s knowledge of the subject.

    ''''Good.'''' I spoke. ''''Change of plans, we scrap what I explained earlier entirely.''''

    ''''Pardon?'''' Valtheril let out as he and the others looked at me with wary eyes.

    ''''Oh, don''t worry. I came up with something else. it''s just what I explained earlier, isn''t really feasible. I found out that I do not know how to solve certain issues that existed. If we were to execute it without that knowledge the whole thing would fail entirely.''''

    I didn''t necessarily lie. Actually, it was the truth. It probably would fail.

    Valtheril scratched his head. He seemed more understanding than the dwarf who was left with a questioning look as to what was going on. Velariah looked disappointed but understanding.

    ''''Something else?'''' Valtheril repeated what I had said.

    I wasn''t sure if I should say it in presence of the dwarf. It didn¡¯t seem like something that could hurt but I would prefer not to make the same mistake twice. There was no way I was going to make myself regret this in hindsight.

    ''''Uh, I''m not sure how to put this. I''m not exactly if I can share it in front of Dworag.''''

    ''''Understood.'''' Valtheril said.

    Dworag seemed to get the notion and jumped off his chair with obvious disappointment in his eyes.

    ''''I''m sorry, Dworag. I''m sure we will need your help soon enough.''''

    ''''Aye, missy, I understand. Don''t hesitate to come to me for help. I''d be more than happy to help you out.'''' He winked.

    At least he was understanding of the situation. Wait, did he just flirt again?

    This dwarf was insufferable.

    When the dwarf was out the door Valtheril was the one to speak.

    ''''What was that all about?''''

    I apologized and explained why we would have to scrap the plan that I had laid out earlier. I just lacked certain knowledge that was pivotal for the project. I''d suggested to try out the idea first in mines on a small scale and then have this world''s civilization experience a more natural progression. They would find out about the shortcomings sooner or later and look for ways to fix them. I didn''t have that knowledge at hand. Trial and error was going to be the only way to solve it.

    Besides that, it would be a massive waste of time and money to build something of that scale only to have it collapse. I''d rather not have myself or Valtheril known for spearheading such a massive failure.

    The elves seemed to understand.

    ''''And what about this other idea of yours?''''

    ''''Canals?'''' I let out. ''''Please tell me you know what I am talking about.''''

    I almost pleaded.

    ''''We''re familiar with those, yes.''''

    Bingo.

    ''''In that case, it¡¯s easy. Dig a canal to the mountains and use it to float things back to the village, either with horses dragging floating platforms or in whatever other way you can make things move over water.''''

    ''''We could have thought of that ourselves, if I have to be quite honest. The river flowing through the village will make this a very viable option.''''

    ''''That''s what I thought as well. I believe you would have been able to come up with the same idea if you¡¯d known about the value of volcanic ash.'''' I said, wondering what Valtheril''s reaction would be.

    ''''And I believe you would have been right about that.'''' He simply stated as he stood up from the table.

    ''''This is far easier and far cheaper to do, maybe not as fast but this will work. Thanks once more Elania. I''ll go talk to a few people, I hope you don¡¯t mind me stealing your ideas.''''

    That sounded funny. it''s not like I was the one who invented the concept of canaling.

    I shook my head. ''''Happy to help your village, sir.''''

    He laughed as he walked out the building. I was left behind with Velariah.

    Elly came walking down from upstairs and asked us if we required lunch. Velariah had simply nodded and I started moving two chairs aside in preparation. We''d be sitting here, talking for a while, anyway.

    I finally got some more info on how this world looked with regards to the different races. She hadn¡¯t seen much of the word herself but Valtheril had shared a lot of information with her from his own experience.

    It seemed that most sentient races were at peace with one another. I knew of the humans and the elves but it appeared there were several smaller nations that consisted of demi-humans. They would be much like Draco, humanoid in their behavior but with animal characteristics. Lizardmen, Harpies, Dwarves, several kinds of elves that had all been united in one kingdom and Centaurs were only a fraction of this world''s many races.

    When I asked about the races that were considered evil, she said that not all of them actually were. It appeared there were both friendly and hostile tribes of goblins. Some settlements even traded with them.

    That was interesting to know. I guessed this world really wasn''t as black and white as it had seemed.

    Then again, that human mage from before had been hostile to me as well, even though he was considered of a race that was at peace with the elves. Technically, I was no elf but I was a member of the guild here and he had disregarded that fact and paid for it with his life. I didn''t feel sorry for him at all, if I had to be honest.

    Then there were the dungeons. A seemingly endless supply of monsters that would keep spawning from thin air in certain caves, and ancient underground structures. These dungeons held rare plant materials, herbs, roots, fungi and gems that were generated by its core to lure in adventurers. These dungeons would feed on these people''s ''''mana'''' which, funnily enough, was a worthless, invisible resource that all races possessed. These races were unable to utilize this resource themself but through dungeons it could be synthesized into useful resources like the beforementioned herbs instead.

    Nobody knew exactly how it worked except that it worked the way it did. Having your mana drained like that turned out to be no danger to you whatsoever. I''d not heard of a concept like this before.

    That brought Velariah to her next explanation. The one I had been looking forward to the most: inherities.

    It appeared that all monsters spawned in dungeons would possess a certain magical energy that would fuel your inherity if you killed them with anything that utilized your inherity.

    She had taken her own inherity as an example. Since Velariah had an inherity that empowered her attacks with swords, it would mean that if she killed a dungeon monster with a sword, a certain energy simply called ''''Corium'''', referencing to the product synthesized by the dungeon core, would flow from the slain creature into the killer.

    This would not be noticeable until your inherity ''''evolved'''', a sudden spark of knowledge would enter your brain and you would gain knowledge of how to manipulate the energy into an attack that utilized it. This attack would then be performed with built up Corium and whatever your inherity was, in her case, a sword. It seemed the corium would not be expended once it had found its way into a being that was not spawned in a dungeon.

    She explained that this was how her father''s attack worked. That was, as she had said before, the result of collecting corium and practicing the way of the sword for many years.

    She explained that the resulting power of the ability would be the result of one''s knowledge about the weapon or ability the inherity empowered and the level of evolution that one had attained.

    In other words, if one was an expert with the sword but their evolution level was low, they wouldn''t be able to get much done at all. If one was a rookie with a sword but somehow managed to evolve their inherity to extreme levels by getting lucky last hits on dungeon monsters for example, the result would be the same.

    Her father, as it turned out, possessed both, which explained the ridiculous amount of power behind his attack earlier.

    I had to interrupt Velariah several times in order to process the trainloads (heh, funny) of information that she was feeding me.

    I had asked if monsters outside dungeons could also possess this Corium energy, to which she had answered that it was certainly possible, but not a guarantee, and not nearly as much.

    So, there was some value to doing normal quests. You could still gather experience and progress your inherities outside of dungeons. That was a good thing to know. If only I knew what my inherity was...

    That kind of made me want to get to know it as soon as possible.

    We finished up our lunch and Velariah asked if I had any more questions.

    ''''I think I got to know a lot more just now, I''d like to not fry my brain by filling it with even more information, than you very much.'''' I said with a smile on my face.

    It was true, I would probably forget half of what I had just been told if she were to add anymore on top of it.

    Velariah stood up and she seemed eager to head out when I stopped her.

    ''''Velariah?''''

    ''''Yeah?''''

    ''''What did last night mean?'''' I got the courage to ask. I was surprised at it myself.

    ''''What, you don¡¯t like me calling you cute?'''' She smiled wickedly.

    ''''I mean, I don¡¯t know, I think I do, but I''m not sure.'''' I looked at the ground so I didn¡¯t have to look her in the eyes.

    Velariah walked up to me and took me in for a hug, her head didn''t reach further than my chest when I was standing at full height.

    ''''That''s a start.'''' She whispered.

    She broke the hug and walked to the doors leading to the hallway.

    ''''Let''s head out.'''' She opened the doors and walked through them.

    I was left even more confused than before.

    A start?

 1.29 â€Stockingâ€ Up

    I hadn''t taken my weapon or armor with me. Velariah had. In fact, she had been wearing it the entire time. I just couldn''t believe how much she valued it. We were not planning on doing anything that would put us in any kind of danger, hell, this was a day of rest and relaxation.

    Come to think of it, I''d never seen her step outside without it. I wondered if something happened that caused certain paranoia, or whether it simply was to keep up appearances. I didn''t know.

    I was far too distracted to even care. On multiple occasions did people bump into me on the short trip to the guild hall. This couldn''t be a good thing if we were heading out tomorrow... I would have to be focused and this elf certainly wasn''t doing my focus any good.

    Maybe I was overthinking the whole situation. I couldn''t help it. That was who I was after all. Sometimes it would do me good, such as when I prepared for our fight with the Saibon boar earlier and the Bunbear showed up. But sometimes, now was one of those times, I really couldn''t focus.

    We reached the guild hall and I hoped that talking to our companions would distract me from what Velariah had told me.

    The hall was mostly empty, just like the quest board. It would seem lunch had finished a while ago and all the quests have been taken as a result. We found Seralyn and Draco sitting in our usual corner, which put a slight smile on my face.

    This was starting to feel like one of those TV shows where the main cast would somehow, someway always get the same seats in a bar or caf¨¦.

    It appears they have been waiting for quite some time as they were playing some kind of dice game, a bored expression could be seen on both of their faces. They have been doing this for quite a while I would guess.

    Seralyn saw us enter first and proceeded to sit straight up.

    ''''Finally, we''ve been waiting since forever.''''

    ''''I can see that.'''' Velariah answered. ''''Patience is a virtue, though.''''

    Look who''s talking.

    I sat down and observed Draco rolling three dice. I was trying to figure out what this game was all about. I wondered if they knew Yahtzee? I doubted it. I could probably teach them sometime. That should be easy enough to ''''invent''''.

    ''''You okay? you''re awfully quiet.'''' Seralyn asked me, in a teasing tone. It appeared she knew something happened and she wasn''t exactly subtle about it.

    ''''Huh? I''m fine, I just got a lot of information I need to process.''''

    I wasn''t exactly lying when I said that. I was still thinking about all the things Velariah had told me about this world. To be honest, it made me want to share more things about my world, this seemed rather unfair. There were a whole bunch of things I wanted to tell her. If we had stayed at her place, I could have probably talked for hours.

    ''''Oh, what kind of information are we talking about?'''' She raised her eyebrows.

    I was so not in the mood to answer her questions right now.

    ''''Just drop it.'''' Draco spoke.

    Thanks, Draco.

    ''''Drop it? Hah, I''m about to drop the hammer on you. Here, watch this!''''

    She rolled the dice, a three a four and a one.

    ''''Nice hammer that was. Now pay up!'''' Draco grinned.

    Oh, it seemed he was rather serious about this game. I didn''t know that side about him. That could just be a reaction to Seralyn''s cocky attitude too though. I would probably react the same way, she basically invited it.

    Seralyn was a bad influence on all of us.

    The brown-haired elf sighed, reached into her pack, fished out two copper coins and handed them to Draco.

    Nope, I didn''t have the slightest idea how this game worked. At least it seemed Seralyn was easily distracted and didn¡¯t inquire further.

    ''''Right.'''' Velariah stated. ''''So, preparations for tomorrow. What do we need?''''

    ''''Besides our usual gear and the cart that Elania suggested, not that much I presume?'''' Draco answered.

    Velariah started to recount. ''''Food, water, a cart, some containers. Anything else?''''

    Oh shit, I would still have to reserve that cart. I''d completely forgotten about it. Stupid alcohol!

    ''''Some anti-venom would probably be a good idea.'''' I suggested. ''''Seeing as we are up against scorpions.''''

    ''''Fair point, I believe we have a couple yellow ones at home mixed in between the painkiller potions. I''d have to smell them to be sure but they should do the trick.''''

    Velariah was a master actress, the words just flowed naturally and did not give away the slightest hint of me being able to create, or her being in possession of orange ones. Also, what was that with smelling? Could you tell the difference between a painkiller potion and yellow-quality anti venom by smell? I guessed that made sense. It would be impossible to tell them apart otherwise.

    I was fairly certain they would bring the basic mix with them anyway, I could save their lives with it in a pinch, if necessary, although I''d ideally avoid that scenario entirely. If the only weapons these scorpions possessed would be their venom, I would probably be the one to get their attention locked onto me.

    I just hoped they didn''t have huge claws. They probably did, but one could only hope...

    ''''Sound plan, anything else?'''' Seralyn asked.

    ''''Probably stuffing our favorite spider''s face.'''' Velariah added.

    I didn''t know how to react to that. She was right, now would be an ideal time to stock up on sustenance. I just really wasn''t feeling it right now. And I even promised to make up for the missed days of discount on food. Well, not that it mattered for me anyway, since I could eat for multiple days in one sitting, but still!

    ''''Fine.'''' I had ultimately sighed as I surrendered myself to the idea of having to eat for a while, knowing it was going to be a necessity.

    It would probably be better to get this out of the way today. I reckoned we wanted to leave early tomorrow.

    ''''Stuffing?'''' Seralyn asked curiously while looking at me.

    I sighed again. ''''Vel, you tell her.''''

    Seralyn interjected. ''''Uh-oh''''

    I did it again, didn''t I?

    ''''It''s Velariah, how many times do I have to explain this?''''

    Sigh, here we go with the lecturing again. I rolled my eyes in reaction.

    ''''Anyway.'''' She continued. ''''In case you didn''t know, Elania can literally eat for days in one sitting and then go for days without food.'''' She paused for a few seconds before her neutral expression turned into a smile. That couldn''t be good.

    ''''She doesn''t seem to get fat from it either, at least not that I could see.''''

    Thanks, Vel.

    My face went beet red, I could feel it. Did she really have to tell that in public? What would they think?

    ''''What? That''s cheating! Why can''t I have that?''''

    I silently thanked fate that Seralyn was as dense as a rock.

    ''''Well, you can¡¯t have one without the other.'''' I let out, hoping she would get what I was referring to.

    ''''Yikes, never mind.''''

    Exactly.

    Also, harsh.

    ''''You guys don''t want anything?'''' I asked around as the waiter overheard that we were going to order food.

    They each shook their head.

    Guess I''m doing this alone then, awkward.

    Eight sausages, five cheese omelets, six baked potatoes, some vegetables, two bowls of onion soup with bread, a roasted chicken, three glasses of kingberry juice and a lot of weird stares coming from Seralyn later, it was time to check if we could reserve a cart at the Lore keeper''s desk.

    The elf behind the desk said she would open up the warehouse so we could take a look inside to see what would fit us best.

    We walked around the building to find the large doors already opened. This time, the place was actually lit up by torches that emitted an eerie blue glow without flames. That didn''t seem natural at all, I wondered what kind of fuel they used.

    Now that the place was lit up, I could make out many more items and goods that were placed here. Rows of crates filled up one of the sections entirely. The section where we dropped off the boar and bear last time was left completely empty. The right side of the warehouse seemed to be transport orientated. Several carts, empty crates and buckets were neatly arranged in rows from small to large.

    The whole building had everything neatly organized. The only thing that missed from the picture was a set of glasses on the lore keeper''s nose which she could push like an anime protagonist. Her role in the guild was indispensable, it deserved to be mentioned.

    I walked through the building, checking out the carts as I went by them.

    These were much like how I imagined the carts would look like. A wooden transportation means with two wheels that was supposed to be pulled by a horse. The largest one in the building seemed to have enough space for all three of my companions to sit and even sleep in. It looked sturdy enough to carry quite a bit of weight so I decided to settle on reserving this one for tomorrow''s departure.

    I asked if we could also take some crates with us to store the goods in. Having scorpion stingers just laying around passengers didn''t seem like something to look forward to.

    The Lore keeper assured it was no problem, but we would have to pay the one gold up front as deposit.

    Might as well do that now.

    I had Velariah pay the lore keeper as I put a few crates on the cart. They looked strong enough for my companions to sit on without breaking. I imagined that would make the trip much more comfortable.

    While I was certain this would work out, I would have to check exactly how I was going to pull this cart. The bars were not meant for a body like my own. I was probably going to be looking at fastening it with silky threads. Actually, scrap that, somebody else would have to fasten it to me. Not something I was looking forward to...

    A spider''s life of struggles...

    With that out of the way, it was time to dot the i''s and cross the t''s.

    We bought a couple tools to help us out for the next couple days. A couple of knifes for cutting, a spade to get at least one crate filled with ash to demonstrate its properties. A pickaxe, just in case we stumbled upon some interesting volcanic rocks. Volcanoes tended to be a treasure trove of gems, after all! I hoped we''d find anything interesting in that regard.

    We also got a couple metal canteens to make sure we would stay hydrated during our scaling of the mountain. It tended to be quite warm around volcanoes for obvious reasons.

    Searing Peak was an easy to climb mountain from what I had been told, so climbing equipment was not going to be a necessity.

    Tomorrow morning, we were going to buy food and the likes for the others.

    Draco carried all the goods we just bought in his large backpack. He said he would have all the canteens filled upon meeting.

    ''''I guess that takes care of everything. Did we overlook something?'''' Velariah asked as we were grouped up in front of the large oak.

    I couldn''t help but feel like we had missed something. I recounted everything multiple times in my head but couldn''t find anything. Now, that might put the common person at ease, but it only made my paranoia worse.

    When the others couldn''t find anything to add either it did put me at ease to a certain degree, but I still couldn''t shake it off. I was probably going to lose sleep over this as well, I just knew it.

    This world really wasn''t good for my heart.

    With our planning complete, we decided to split up and meet again tomorrow morning at the guild. Velariah and I were going to relax in the field for a while, Draco was going to see Coldanus to see if he could come up with some kind of axe-shield hybrid and Seralyn was off to do... whatever she was going to do, she didn''t really mention anything in specific.

    I hoped for Draco that Veltheril''s ''''talk'''' with the weaponsmith had the desired effect. I wondered what he actually did.

    The elf and I found ourselves a nice spot in the grass not too far from the checkpoint next to the road leading to the forest. It seemed the guards had cleaned up the mess that was left after yesterday''s fight. The grass was still burnt where the goblins had been incinerated and there was still the black patch on the road where the human mage had been evaporated by Valtheril''s spell. Other than that, the bodies were all gone.

    I decided to ask Velariah after we sat down on the grass.

    ''''Is your father''s strength normal for his level?''''

    ''''What do you mean?'''' the elf replied.

    ''''I mean, he said the adventurer was mid ranked in diamond, right? As far as I know Valtheril is only one rank above that but he basically swatted him like a fly, at least that¡¯s what it felt like.''''

    ''''Yeah, my father is pretty good, isn''t he? The truth is, he has been stuck on that rank for so long and his strength hasn''t stopped growing. I think he could be easily classified as an Abyss level adventurer.''''

    ''''But?'''' I inquired, I could feel a ''''but'''' coming after what she said.

    ''''But there haven''t been any Abyss level quests in years now. They are exceedingly rare, which is part of the reason only so few people rise up to that level.''''

    ''''I would guess technically that''s a good thing?''''

    Velariah chuckled.

    ''''Technically speaking, yes. Abyss level quests are only handed out in extreme conditions. Such as when a kingdom is threatened by the existence of a high-tier dungeon that has lost control.''''

    That didn''t sound good. I looked at her with a questioning look. It seems she got the notion.

    ''''Dungeons are held together by a core, I''ve told you this. Now, sometimes the core gets damaged by external force, massive mana intakes or lack of it altogether. When that happens, the dungeon can go out of control, causing it to spawn creatures that are held together by tainted corium. This type of corium manifests itself in the creature physically as a black liquid. These creatures are extremely strong and even when killing them, this tainted corium seeps out and causes all kinds of issues to the environment. It corrupts and ultimately kills everything it touches, and it keeps growing, like a cancer. If those creatures manage to escape a dungeon''s confines, the results are nothing short of disaster. This black liquid is where the color of the highest tier of adventurers originated from, it refers to tainted corium, as they were the only people that could handle these types of quests. Although there are more possible reasons for black or abyss level quests to be issued, these are definitely the most dangerous.''''

    ''''Tainted corium sounds hella dangerous.'''' I concluded from the truckload of information I was just fed.

    ''''It is, this is why the guild keeps close tabs on dungeons, examine and explore them. This is why new dungeons must be reported to the guild as soon as possible. Corium corruption has leveled cities in the past.''''

    Holy shit, that stuff sounded dangerous.

    ''''How do you cure corium corruption in the environment?'''' I asked.

    She shook her head.

    ''''You don''t, complete disintegration of whatever it touches is the only way to get rid of it.''''

    ''''In that case, I doubt your father minds staying in diamond rank. I think he prefers peace above all else.''''

    ''''he does, but if he is needed, he will rise to the occasion.'''' Velariah laid on her back and looked at the sky.

    ''''I figured as much.'''' I laid down on my arms and let my non-human parts bask in the warmth of the sun once more.

    ''''What other quests would be considered of the highest possible tier?'''' I asked.

    ''''Extremely strong sentient monsters.'''' Velariah said. ''''If Ember decides to go berserk and attack people, she would be considered an abyss level monster.''''

    That seemed about right, I imagined dragons were one of the strongest races, no matter what fantasy world one would find themselves in.

    ''''What''s the deal with Ember anyway? I heard she likes company, why doesn''t she just go visit Dawnleaf herself or something?''''

    ''''She can''t.''''

    ''''Huh?''''

    ''''She can''t leave the Searing Peak. Her eggs can only hatch near the heat of the volcano and without her protection, they would either be stolen by rogue adventurers or destroyed and eaten by local predators.''''

    ''''That sounds... inconvenient to say the least.'''' I spoke.

    I already pitied the dragon. Such a mighty and sentient creature, locked in a metaphorical cage.

    ''''Yeah, I think I would go insane. Apparently, she has lived there for thousands of years yet still possesses her sanity. I don''t know how she does it.''''

    ''''I can see why she likes people stopping by, an eternity without anyone to talk to is torture.''''

    Poor Ember, I actually felt for her, despite not knowing the dragon.

    ''''What about your world?'''' Velariah looked at me with a smile. ''''Tell me about where you come from.''''

    I chuckled. ''''Heh, where to start?''''

    ''''Let''s start by what they write about us. You said elves existed in fiction in your world, right?'''' The elf looked at me expectantly.

    ''''I mean, yes. it''s widely known elves are incredibly beautiful, have pointy ears, live to very old ages, are good at archery, live in treehouses in forest, the-''''

    I was cut off by a loud laugh.

    ''''Live in treehouses? What a bunch of crap! That makes no sense, unless you want to be raided by goblins in the middle of the night!''''

    ''''Honestly, I have no idea who came up with that idea, don''t blame me.'''' I smirked.

    ''''The rest seems to be about right, though. I wonder how they knew?'''' Velariah added.

    ''''Honestly? No idea. It¡¯s actually scary how much of that is correct.''''

    ''''Aww, thank you Elania.''''

    ''''Wait, what?'''' I replied in a confused manner.

    ''''You just called me beautiful.'''' Velariah smiled widely.

    ''''I guess I did, huh?" I smiled as well. It wasn''t untrue at all.

    ''''So, what else, you said you had advanced weapons, how do you hunt monsters?''''

    ''''We don''t.''''

    ''''Eh?''''

    ''''We don''t hunt at all, well, some people do for sport. We don''t have monsters of any sort. There are animals and there are humans. Unless you count the larger animal species as monsters, they simply don''t exist. Those hellspiders from before? Nope, the largest spiders on earth can walk around on your palm. Those Saibon boars? Well, we have boars, but the largest species would barely reach above your hips, and they certainly don''t grow trees on their backs.''''

    Velariah looked at me with large eyes as I continued.

    ''''That Bunbear? Bears are a thing, but they don''t have long ears like that. I have no idea how large those scorpions are but the largest scorpions on Earth can also walk on your palm.''''

    ''''Sounds like a boring world.''''

    ''''Heh, I guess it is compared to this one.''''

    ''''Then how do you get meat?'''' Velariah asked.

    ''''Well, as I said before, some people hunt animals for food but that¡¯s only a small portion of the population. Most of us buy food in something called a supermarket. It''s a store where they have all kinds of food including meat that is already cut from animals. Let me tell you something, it tastes far worse than the meat here.''''

    ''''What an interesting world.'''' The elf concluded.

    ''''For you guys, I guess so, for me, it''s the same old. To me, this world is very interesting, there''s things that I would never have imagined possible.''''

    ''''Such as?'''' Velariah curiously asked.

    ''''Oh, you know, magic, dungeons, being half spider, things like that.'''' I replied with a hint of sarcasm at the last thing I mentioned.

    ''''Even I wouldn''t have thought it was possible, but then again, I also wouldn''t think it was possible for someone from another world to appear here.''''

    ''''You know the fun part? Remember the fiction I told you about? There is a huge amount of a certain type of fiction where somebody gets teleported or reincarnated into another world, that type even got their own name. Can you believe it?''''

    Velariah laughed out loud.

    ''''So, you mean to say you''re some kind of protagonist? Some nice protagonist you are!''''

    ''''Hey, what''s that supposed to mean?''''

    ''''You can''t even remove arrows from your own butt!'''' She continued in a laughing fit.

    ''''Touch¨¦, Vel, touch¨¦.'''' I grinned.

    ''''It''s Velariah.'''' She said before she continued laughing.

    ''''You know I''m never going to learn, right?'''' I rolled my eyes.

    ''''I know, but I''ll keep trying. Maybe someday you will learn.''''

    ''''Make me.'''' I replied in defiance.

    ''''Oh, I will.'''' She said confidently after her laughing had died down to a giggle. ''''I will.''''

    Faragi

    Don''t mind me, just shamelessly posting my discord server. Hope you enjoyed!

    https://discord.gg/XqVA7ajDV8

 1.30 Cloudgazing

    Faragi

    Enjoy :)

    ''''One thing has been bothering me.'''' I spoke after several minutes of silence.

    Velariah was still laying on her back and seemed content.  I wondered if all that armor wouldn''t cook her alive, it didn¡¯t seem to be the case.

    ''''Hm?'''' She replied without opening her mouth.

    ''''What about mages and casters?'''' I asked.

    ''''What about them?''''

    I thought for a few seconds how to put it as clearly as I could.

    ''''You see, you talked about all this inherity stuff and how people would need corium to be able to use certain skills. How does it work for casters? Are they born with knowledge of a skill or?''''

    I actually had a hard time understanding how they started out. I get the fact that when you know spells you could improve them, but how would you get your first spell?

    ''''Nobody is born with knowledge of any skill. You have to learn them through combat, mages and casters are no exception. For them to learn their first spell, they would need to evolve their inherity for the first time.''''

    She took a deep breath before continuing.

    ''''There are many different inherities, most of them are pretty straightforward. Take mine and my fathers for example, ours both revolve around the sword. That doesn''t mean you can''t use magic while using the sword. You''ve seen what my father can do. I can''t use magic yet. Mine is limited to simply doing more damage with the sword than the average person, for now.''''

    She paused again for a few moments and looked at me. I nodded in understanding.

    ''''Now some inherities allow you to purely focus on spells. More often than not, they do not limit you to a specific element. In this case, the caster can choose what path they want to take. For example, if they want to grow strong with fire magic, they would buy a staff with a fire orb. This orb allows for their corium to synthesize fire-related abilities. You understand it so far?''''

    ''''I think I do, yes.'''' I confirmed.

    ''''Well now. When you just start out, you pick a staff with the element you want, or if your inherity limits to a specific element, you need to pick a staff with that element''s orb. Next up, and here is where your question gets answered. Because of the orb synergizing with your inherity, anything you do with your staff that kills monsters will absorb their corium.''''

    ''''Hold on a second. You''re telling me that in order to learn your first spell, you need to club enemies to death with a staff?''''

    ''''Correct!'''' Velariah happily replied.

    ''''That seems... inconvenient to say the least.''''

    Inconvenient was an understatement. Going into combat without a proper weapon seemed like a suicide mission to me. Hell, I would hate to admit it, but a school arc seemed like a dream compared to this.

    ''''The best way to go around it is to get a party to immobilize or almost finish off a monster and then have the fledgling caster slay it in order to absorb their corium.''''

    Oh, I guessed leeching was a thing here too. Scrap what I thought earlier, school arcs still sucked!

    ''''I do wonder if I will be able to use some sort of magic.'''' I said absent-mindedly.

    ''''Honestly?'''' Velariah replied. "''I doubt it. I know for certain you have an inherity related to your poison and venom resistance. You might have another that deals with your own, or they might be combined into one. It''s very rare to have two inherities.''''

    ''''And three?'''' I asked curiously.

    ''''Never happened before.'''' She stated.

    Interesting.

    ''''Two is already extremely rare, people who are born with double inherity are destined to become diamond level adventurers, possibly higher. Of course, a large portion of it depends on how early the person starts, their lifespan, their eagerness to improve, their party, etcetera.''''

    ''''Lifespan?'''' I spoke, ''''So elves have a natural advantage when it comes to that?''''

    ''''That would be correct. Though, humans seem to generally evolve their inherities faster than elves so it kind of makes up for it but still.''''

    ''''What about lizardmen, what does their lifespan look like?''''

    ''''You''re thinking about Draco, right? I''m not sure what your fiction authors write about them on earth but in this world, they outlive humans by at least doubling their age. No need to worry about him''''

    That was at least somewhat of a relief. As far as I knew they were generally shorter, at least in the novels I had read.

    It left me wondering about my own. I wasn''t exactly human anymore, but half of me still was.

    ''''You''re thinking about your own now, aren¡¯t you?'''' Velariah rolled to her side close to me.

    I nodded.

    ''''Not sure, you''re not exactly human anymore, are ya?''''

    Thanks for adding salt to the wound.

    ''''Don¡¯t worry though, I doubt that cute face of yours will become any less pretty for many years to come.''''

    ''''Vel!'''' I let out in embarrassment.

    ''''Tuh-tuh, you don¡¯t get to call me that. Yet.'''' She winked.

    What was with the flirting? I didn''t mind the dwarf doing it before but with Velariah I didn¡¯t actually know how to respond to it. I could feel my cheeks heat up after her show of affection.

    ''''Do you like me Vel?'''' I quietly asked. The words barely escaped my lips but I wanted to ask honestly and straight up.

    ''''How could I not like you?'''' She smiled.

    I looked at one of the pedipalps that lay beside me, then behind me.

    ''''I could name you ten reasons right off the bat, probably more.''''

    ''''Never mind those, I don''t care. You''re you, that doesn¡¯t change.''''

    I didn''t know what to say. I had thought it impossible for anyone to look past the monster part. And I really didn¡¯t mean to be cheesy there. It seemed Velariah had seen past it. She even seemed to go as far as to actually like me.

    ''''I don''t know Vel, I''ve known you for like, a week.''''

    I would put it off for now. It''s not like I didn''t like the elf, I did, but I wasn''t sure if I had feelings for her in that way. Maybe I did? Did I like females?

    I even went as far as thinking what would happen if I did start to like a guy and things went... to the next step, so to say. Could I have children? What would they look like? Please don''t tell me I would get thousands and had to lay eggs. Maybe a same sex relationship wasn''t such a bad prospect...

    I was getting way too far ahead of myself and I could see Velariah''s expression change to one of worry.

    ''''You alright, Elania?''''

    I shook off my thoughts.

    ''''I am, don''t worry, I''m just not ready for this, I guess. I do like you but it''s early, too early.''''

    ''''No problem, I have all the time.''''

    Was that a reference to her lifespan? If so, touch¨¦ Vel.

    ''''Also, what does ''''right off the bat'''' mean?'''' She said as she rolled on her back again.

    ''''Oh right, you likely don''t have baseball in this world.''''

    ''''Baseball?'''' A question rose beside me.

    ''''It''s a very popular game in my country. You have a person hit a ball that is thrown at them with a bat, something that resembles a club, then they try to run to certain checkpoints while another team tries to catch the ball and tag them with it.''''

    I paused for a second to let Velariah get a mental image of what the game looks like. I doubted she would succeed.

    ''''Right off the bat means something like ''''directly'''' or ''''without even having to think about it''''.

    ''''Interesting.'''' She replied.

    She did seem interested in anything I told her from my world and I doubted she could feign that curious nature of hers. It was quite fun to see how something that was so normal for me could be such fantasy material for this elf.

    ''''The game sounds weird though, I would probably have to see it.''''

    ''''Hah, in my world, millions of people pay to see it.''''

    She rolled to face me again.

    ''''How in the world does that work?''''

    Time to blow her mind.

    ''''You see, we have this box that has like a mirror in it. It can show you things happening on the other side of the world. Almost everyone in my country has one, and many people use it to watch ''''baseball''''.''''

    I wasn''t a sports fanatic myself, but I knew baseball was insanely popular.

    ''''What? How?'''' She raised her eyebrows. ''''How?'''' She asked again. ''''I don¡¯t believe you.''''

    If only I could roll to my side as easily as she could. This position was pretty damn uncomfortable when talking to someone lying next to me.

    ''''It''s called a Television and it''s one of great many an invention humanity has made.'''' I curled my lips in a smile.

    ''''We don''t have magic, instead, we use the power of science to create things that you would deem impossible.''''

    ''''How does that science thing work? Can I learn it?''''

    Oh, she wanted it, and she wanted it badly. I could see a fire in her eyes.

    ''''In all honesty, forget it. It took humanity hundreds of years to acquire the knowledge to make something like that. The basics of science come down to observing and experimenting and then writing down what happens. You learn the properties of certain materials and then combine them with other materials and repeat the process thousands, if not millions of times. After many, many years you will be able to create things that will then help in creating other things. It''s a very long story and I doubt it will do us any good in this world.''''

    ''''Oh.'''' She looked disappointed.

    ''''I know a thing or two as you may have noticed, but advanced technology is far, far beyond me. I would have no idea how a television works.''''

    She remained silent.

    ''''Do you not have anything like that in this world. Like, a crystal ball that you can look into which shows you what is on the outside of another crystal ball?''''

    She shook her head.

    ''''Such a thing doesn''t exist.''''

    ''''Shame.'''' I spoke. ''''Guess there are probably a lot more things that will turn out to be false.''''

    I sighed.

    ''''By the way, miss Leafguard, do tell me about this kingdom if you will.''''

    I would eventually have to learn about this world as it seemed I''d be living here now. I decided to limit my scope to the elves and their kingdom for now seeing as I would have to deal with them the most. Other kingdoms would come later and whenever necessary. I was going to forget, otherwise.

    It appeared she wasn''t charmed by me calling her by her last name.

    ''''Please just call me Velariah.'''' She sighed.

    ''''Will Vel do?'''' I teased.

    ''''Only if you go out with me.''''

    ''''Velariah it is!'''' I grinned.

    ''''You''re evil!''''

    Look who''s talking.

    ''''Wait, tell me how this world views same-sex relationships first, will you? Since you appear to be so eager.''''

    ''''Long story or short?'''' She asked.

    ''''how long is long?''''

    ''''Fairly short, actually.''''

    ''''Then go for that.''''

    ''''Right.'''' She started. ''''It''s widely accepted and not looked down upon save for certain areas and certain... beings.''''

    ''''Like?'''' I questioned.

    ''''it''s frowned upon in dwarven society and it''s straight up punishable by death with some of the more... savage races, such as trolls. Not that there are many friendly tribes towards us elves, but still.''''

    She held her hand up to her forehead to shield her eyes from the bright sunlight.

    ''''To answer your other question. The elven kingdom consists of many smaller towns and villages all scattered throughout this continent. There is a large capital to the north, several weeks of travel out. Duskleaf is three or four days in the same direction, they are our nearest, most valuable trade partner. These two villages are part of the Trueleaf province of which Goldleaf is the capital.''''

    She rolled over to look at me again.

    ''''The forest nearby is, as I said before, the border to the neighboring human kingdom. Do you want me to tell you about them as well?''''

    I shook my head.

    ''''I''ll stick to this for now, I''ll ask again some other time about the humans. It would help a lot if I had a map...'''' I concluded.

    ''''I would have to ask my father for one. There aren''t many in the village as many people don''t travel far.''''

    ''''That would be great, thank you Velariah.''''

    I put extra emphasis on her name, pronouncing it far too elegantly, which earned me a pout from the elf. She really was cute like that!

    I giggled.

    ''''How about religion?'''' I tried to distract her.

    She shook her head.

    ''''If you''re talking churches and cathedrals, we don''t have that in this village, Goldleaf would be the first place that has one, and that, in turn, pales in comparison to the Royal Knight''s Cathedral. Everyone is free to believe whatever they want and many do so, even without the presence of churches.''''

    ''''You know, that actually sounds too simple. Back in my world, millions have died as a result of differentiating beliefs.''''

    She looked at me with genuine shock.

    ''''Are you serious?''''

    I nodded.

    ''''No way...''''

    ''''The last war that plagued this world ended literal ages ago, I think they started because of an unquenchable lust for power from one side. That''s what I have been told. It ended simply because the wars left the dungeons unchecked. Several cities were decimated and had to be purified because of it. Since then, most races have always worked together to not let something like that happen again...''''

    ''''I''m happy for you guys. You guys seem to have things sorted out in a way that would make humanity on my world jealous.'''' I added to her story.

    Then again, it appeared they had united against a common ''''foe''''. Turned out dungeons had a far greater impact on this world and its civilizations than I would have ever thought possible. I wondered what would happen of something like that happened to Earth? Something like aliens, maybe? Would they stand together? One could only hope.

    Things quieted down between us, I just relaxed and enjoyed the warmth of the sun on my black body parts. I would have thought I would overheat pretty quickly, but that wasn''t the case at all.

    I saw a bit of movement in the distance, it appeared a group of rangers had just come out of the forest and another group was moving in. It seemed to be a simple change of patrols. The same thing happened with the guards at the checkpoint, they went inside the barracks before another group came out.

    That brought my mind to tomorrow. I wondered what I should ask Ember. If she turned out to be the ancient one that was mentioned, would they have an answer as to why I appeared in this world? The spider in my dream had called me an anomaly, It had to know something about things that happened in this world.

    If she wasn''t, I hoped she could at least point me into the right direction. I would hate to wander around aimlessly, though, I guess there was plenty to do. With a bit of luck, we would get an application in from a healer and we could look around in the dungeon that I had uncovered. I wondered what secrets were hidden in there? It seemed nobody had ever been inside it.

    It was a good thing it wasn''t a high-tier dungeon. It would have probably gone out of control due to the lack of mana intake from adventurers.

    I also wondered if I would be able to learn spells like Valtheril''s. Whatever that ability did, it made short work of a person that tried to kill me. Something about possessing such power was enticing. It would surely make people think twice before they would strike me. It''s quite interesting how someone like me would have to fight to be able to live in peace. I couldn''t rely on Valtheril forever...

    ''''You wanna head back?'''' Velariah asked.

    ''''I''m fine, but if you want to head back, then I''ll join you.''''

    I really didn¡¯t know what to do with the rest of the day so we might as well enjoy this peace and quiet while it lasted.

    ''''Nah, it¡¯s okay.''''

    I finally decided to roll myself over to my back. My arms were starting to hurt from lying on them continuously. This position may have been awkward before, but I was starting to overcome that feeling. I couldn''t simply not do things because they would make me feel awkward, or so I thought.

    I gazed at the beautiful blue sky and wondered what the night sky from here would look like without light pollution. The one time I actually had the chance to look at the sky I ran into Velariah. Or rather, she ran into me, almost literally.

    I swear the elf used my distraction to inch herself closer to me.

    A smile was plastered on her face when I looked her way. It made my heart rise up in my chest.

    How was I going to deal with this?

 1.31 Sun, Soup, and Sleepover

    I closed my eyes and tried to bask in the sun''s light. We lay there for what felt like hours and on more than one occasion had Velariah''s hand brushed one of mine.

    I swear she was doing it on purpose.

    This woman was no elf. Rather, she was a succubus. I was sure of it. She even had the figure to go with it and could easily pass as one. The only thing she lacked would be the wings and horns, though, it wouldn''t surprise me if she pulled them out of somewhere.

    I didn''t necessarily mind, per se. It''s just that she didn¡¯t seem to have listened to what I had said before. This did make me feel slightly uneasy.

    Next time I was going to tie her to the ground with silk.

    Actually, scrap that, she might just enjoy it, too.

    Struggles.

    I sighed.

    ''''I don¡¯t suppose we can stay in Dawnleaf forever, can we?''''

    This village was lovely, I had to admit. Besides the goblin attack, everything had been so peaceful. The surroundings were beautiful. The people had mostly been kind and not judgmental, especially after I had helped them out defend the village the other day. The food was delicious, though, I doubt that was really specific for the region.

    Dawnleaf truly had everything I could wish for to lead a peaceful life.

    I wished it could stay that way, but the itch of adventure was going to become too much. Besides that, there were probably going to be more shady figures out for me for whatever reason. I¡¯d have to get strong enough to deal with them myself.

    ''''For now, it will do, but I get what you mean. You''ve seen the quest board at the guild. Gold rank is about the highest you''ll get here. If you truly wish for adventure, you''d have to leave this place... eventually.''''

    She said that last part with a hint of sadness in her voice.

    I sighed again.

    ''''I figured as much.''''

    As much as I liked this place, I''d have to leave it behind someday. That didn''t mean I couldn''t return to it, but it would take a while to even get here, considering transport in this world wasn''t nearly as fast.

    At least I would stay in shape with all that running if that was the way we decided to move between cities...

    I wondered how accepting they would be of me in other places?

    Valtheril appeared to be a very high placed official. ''''High general of the Royal Elven Army'''' is what Velariah had called him, I believe? He was bound to have friends in high places. I hated having to rely on him, but it seemed there was no way around the matter. I could use his help to get acquainted, then prove my own worth like I had here.

    Stupid nightmare fuel body.

    At least Velariah didn''t mind it...

    How was it possible that Valtheril had the time to stay in a distant village like this one, anyway? Didn''t he have more important things to do? Was he off-duty from the army? Should I pry?

    I decided not to.

    My mind wandered off to tomorrow... again. I sincerely hoped I wouldn''t have this bad case of paranoia kick in whenever we would be gone from the village for more than a day. Even in the cave I hadn''t felt this way. Then again, there were far fewer factors to worry about. Important ones, sure, but fewer.

    I sighed again. I hoped our journey was going to be a safe one and without surprises.

    ''''Whatcha thinking about?'''' The elf next to me asked.

    ''''Just thinking about tomorrow and the days after. I hope everything will be alright. I can''t shake off the feeling we missed something. Maybe that''s just me, I don''t know.''''

    ''''We''ll be fine. You worry too much.'''' She spoke confidently.

    ''''Yeah, no kidding.'''' I replied with a sigh.

    ''We''ll be fine.'' I tried to reassure myself.

    ''''So, this is where the two lovebirds have gone off to.''''

    That voice.

    That cocky voice.

    That could only be one person.

    Also, lovebirds? It was nothing like that!

    ''''Seralyn, what do you want?'''' Velariah asked with an overly neutral expression and without even bothering to turn her face to the other elf.

    ''''Oh, nothing much. Just came here to get a stack of arrows or two for tomorrow when I saw you here lying way too comfortably. Decided to interrupt whatever you were doing.''''

    She was awfully honest about it. That didn''t make it any less rude though. I was just going to let Velariah do the talking...

    ''''Well, then grab your arrows and be on your way, will you?''''

    ''''Not before you fill me in on all the action going on here.''''

    I couldn''t even see her but the smile on her face was clear in my mind when she said that.

    ''''Not a lot of action to be had. Just Elania allowing her body to harden out post molting.''''

    Did she really have to say it like that?

    ''''Suuuure, well, you gals have fun!''''

    Was she gone?

    I looked around and saw her leave. Thank the gods that put me here.

    ''''Well, that was awkward.'''' Velariah stated.

    ''''You made it ten times more awkward than it had to be!'''' I blamed her.

    ''''Maybe.'''' She giggled. ''''We should head back to the mansion soon. We have to leave early tomorrow.''''

    How late was it?

    I looked around and saw the sun almost completing its descent to the horizon. It wasn''t quite late enough for dusk''s red glow to set in but that would happen anytime now. Considering days started very early here, it probably wouldn''t be a bad idea to call it a day soon.

    Velariah stood up and I was about to try to roll over when she grabbed one of my legs and held it firmly.

    ''''Vel what are you do- ahahhahahaha.''''

    Before I could even finish my sentence, she was running her hand over the short hairs in a tickling motion.

    ''''What the hell Vel, that tickles, stop I- ahahaha.''''

    ''''Maybe you will learn this way. it''s Velariah, Vel-a-ri-ah.''''

    ''''Velariah, stop it I can-.'''' Another burst of laughter came from my lips as she put her finger in the small claw like protrusions at the end.

    ''''I''ve always wondered how that would feel. Now I know, I guess.'''' She grinned wickedly.

    The ticking sensations became too much, tears started to stream down my face from uninterrupted laughter. It was as if somebody ran their fingers under my sole tenfold. These hairs were far too sensitive to the sensations. The molting had left them even more vulnerable than before and I was positive I would pass out due to lack of air soon.

    ''''Vel, please!'''' I begged.

    I couldn''t control my leg anymore. Normally it would be powerful enough to easily break free but it appeared the white-haired elf had found my weak spot, or rather, spots.

    ''''Tut-tut, what did I just say?''''

    ''''Ahah, I''m sorry Vel-ahha-ari-hahaha.''''

    ''''There we go. You''re a quick learner when you want to be.''''

    She released my leg and I fell back on my back, panting heavily from the elf''s antics. I could swear I saw stars dancing in the sky above.

    When I had finally (mostly) recovered from my laughing fit Velariah extended a hand to help me get up.

    ''''You know you aren''t strong enough to do that, right?'''' I hard smirked at the gesture.

    ''''You calling yourself fat now?'''' She grinned back.

    ''''I guess I did, huh?''''

    I accepted her gesture and pulled my human body up before rolling my legs around to get to an upward position.

    ''''You have no idea how much of a hassle this is.'''' I said when I finally stood upright.

    ''''Sure looks like you''re having a hard time with it.'''' She answered.

    ''''Believe me, I do.''''

    I cast a glance to the forest and came up with a question.

    ''''Velariah, if the goblins are unwilling to forge peace and they just keep attacking, have you ever thought about completely exterminating them?''''

    The thought may have been a weird one for my pacifistic self, but I knew that once I were to leave Dawnleaf behind, they would lose a huge safety asset. The goblins had been given several opportunities to make peace before, from what I had been told, but they were all turned down. It seemed they had no interest in anything of the likes and just continues to harass the village.

    I hated to think that way, but total extermination would give the village relief from the theat entirely.

    ''''You think we haven''t tried? They may not have the highest intelligence, but there are many of them scattered all throughout the forest. We eliminate one small camp and another one pops up elsewhere. Besides that, some camps have huge numbers that we can''t possibly deal with. Not in enclosed space, they have the advantage in the forest, and they know it.''''

    ''''So, again, numbers?''''

    Velariah nodded.

    Fuck.

    We would probably need an army to sweep the forest and root them out entirely before Dawnleaf could be called completely safe.

    And to raise an army we would need money, lots of it.

    It''s quite striking how much work we were given by something as simple as goblins. This, I would have never expected from such ''''simple'''' lifeforms. I guessed they were a prime example of a variation of monster that you would run into at level 1 in an RPG and then fight an evolved variation when you hit max level. They were truly such a pain to deal with.

    ''''We will find a way to secure Dawnleaf before we leave it. I don''t want to leave it vulnerable when we depart. Even if we can get more soldiers protecting it, I don''t think it will ever be truly safe, will it?''''

    The elf shook her head.

    ''''We were lucky to have your help earlier. It made things at least ten times easier, we would have lost one soldier, if not more, if it weren''t for your help. Now, imagine that was a relatively small force.''''

    That sounded depressing.

    ''''We were actually lucky my father stepped in. There should be no risk of goblin attacks in the near future. We should be able to make our trip to the Searing Peak without leaving the village vulnerable.''''

    ''''Good point.'''' I commented.

    ''''By the way, what is up with adventurers? I ran into Draco while I was carrying that wounded guy to the treemenders and asked him to get help from the guild in repelling the attack. He answered something along the lines of ''''I will try but I doubt they will help''''. Are adventurers in this world just lazy or what?''''

    ''''How do I put it...'''' Velariah started.

    ''''They are... careful. And greedy, mostly greedy.''''

    I sighed.

    ''''So, the village can literally be destroyed under their noses and they wouldn''t care?''''

    ''''I doubt they would let it get that far, but in a way, you are correct.''''

    ''''That''s not what I have been told. My world would always depict adventurers as heroic people who would rise to the occasion whenever someone was in danger.''''

    Velariah grinned before looking down at the ground.

    ''''Can''t have everything now, can we? If there''s money involved, they would probably do it, though.''''

    Velariah fixed her hair as I did mine. I should look into cutting it down sometime soon. Maybe this was a bit too much.

    ''''Come, let''s grab some dinner. I believe Elly prepared chicken soup today.''''

    Had she read my mind earlier when I was thinking about my favorite soup?

    A succubus I tell you.

    ''''That would be lovely.'''' I smiled from ear to ear at the prospect.

    We made our way back into the village. I had stopped for a moment to take in a delicious smell coming from the guild hall''s kitchen. The place was completely packed as it was dinner time. I simply dismissed it as I knew what was waiting for me. I had to try hard not to drool thinking about how good Elly''s homemade chicken soup would be.

    Long live this body. I had a full seven course meal this afternoon but I could still find space for more.

    I was sure I was the bane of every woman on Earth. Both in a positive and negative way.

    After all, who wasn''t scared of spiders?

    Besides the crazy people, that was.

    I guessed that meant Velariah was crazy, too.

    I shrugged. That seemed about right.

    ''''Huh?'''' Velariah asked when we were in front of the doors leading into her home.

    ''''Oh, nothing.''''

    ''''Suuure.'''' She smiled but didn''t inquire further.

    Elly soon opened the door and helped the elven knight out of her armor again. It would seem she already had dinner prepared, it would just need re-heating.

    ''Neat.'' I thought. Re-heating would only make soup more delicious.

    Valtheril soon walked down the stairs as well. The man knew how to time things well it would seem. This was also the first time I had seen him without his fancy set of armor. The clothes he was wearing were very simple, I think he had been wearing these beneath all that metal.

    The result was... as I expected. A simple white shirt tucked in his brown linen pants really accentuated the muscles that I expected he would have after years of training and fighting. Because a belt caused his shirt to envelop his form closely, a six-pack could clearly be seen. His arms were more or less free of body hair which surprised me. Maybe that was an elven thing? Anyhow, his biceps would surely attract a lot of female attention.

    Velariah waved her hand in front of my face.

    I''d been staring.

    Fortunately, Valtheril hadn''t noticed. He had welcomed us home before taking his seat. A large book was in his hands and he hadn''t taken his eyes off of it.

    I felt embarrassment flood my body. I hoped I hadn''t hurt Velariah. I mean, how could I not stare at that?

    I looked at the female elf and saw her face form a smile. Wait a second, was that a hint of jealousy I saw in her eyes?

    Oops.

    But no, I wouldn''t see Valtheril in that way. That would just feel plain wrong. Especially after what happened to her mother not too long ago. I actually wondered what that meant in elven culture. Would he eventually look for another wife? Would he stay single for the rest of his life? I believed there were some species of birds that would not find another mate after theirs had died.

    I shook my head. I wouldn''t interfere with that kind of stuff.

    Valtheril interrupted my thoughts.

    ''''You''re leaving for the Searing Peak tomorrow, right?''''

    I turned to see him still with his nose in the large, musty tome. It appeared he was looking up certain information and then writing it down. Seriously, this man did more reading that actual fighting.

    ''''Yes.'''' Velariah answered.

    ''''I''ve heard there''s been some issues with the local fauna at the foot of the mountain. It seems some of the mountain lynxes have been forced to leave their territory and I''m not quite sure why. I''d be careful if I were you guys. I''ve sent out scouts yesterday to investigate, but I don''t expect a reply anytime soon.''''

    There it was. I knew this wasn''t going to be as easy as it sounded. Lynxes didn''t seem like the most dangerous animal to encounter, though. Especially if I had my armor equipped. I guessed we would be able to live with that.

    I had probably jinxed it by thinking that, but whatever. I was getting used to it by now.

    ''''We''ll be careful, don¡¯t worry.''''

    I had to admire her confidence though.

    We didn¡¯t have to wait long for Elly to come out of the kitchen with a coaster. She put it on the table before returning with a large pan of soup. The smell made my mouth water. We soon dug in with the four of us.

    During dinner Valtheril had actually been looking at the sheer amount of food I could take in. I hoped he wouldn''t mind me needing so much sustenance... I''d hate being kicked out because I ramped up their food bill.

    A sincere smile coming from him dispelled my doubts. Deep down I knew he really wouldn¡¯t care. I was, after all, bringing in quite a bit of coin for Dawnleaf. I wondered how the coffee business was doing. I decided to ask during my third of many bowls.

    Elly''s cooking was the best...

    ''''It''s coming along well; I believe the fields are already mostly prepared. Soon, we will be able to plant and have the treemenders do their magic. If this fertilizer stuff of yours is as effective as you say, we could potentially speed up things quite a bit.''''

    ''''I won''t be able to take much with us, though.''''

    ''''Oh no, I meant later on. I''ve already started talks with the guild about the options of canal digging. I plan to leave for Goldleaf soon and call upon some of their artisans for planning of it.''''

    ''''Oh.''''

    ''''So, I''ll be out for a week or two, you better not get in any trouble while I''m gone.''''

    I was tempted to say ''''Yes, dad'''' but I feared that would be out of place for me to say. Moreover, Velariah might take that the wrong way entirely...

    ''''Yes, sir.'''' I simply answered, earning a smile.

    After dinner he went straight upstairs with the book from before. I wondered if he had an entire library up there. This was not the first time I''d seem him with one of those gigantic tomes.

    If only I could fit through doors, bah.

    Elly cleared the table and Velariah was off to the toilet, I think?

    I actually had to go as well. Fear crept up my spine as I realized I''d have to use a toilet. Why was this awkwardness always out to hunt me?

    I made my way over to the bathroom and made sure to lock the door. I pulled up my shirt and lowered my front end slightly inside the bowl.

    Here was to hoping I wouldn''t turn this place into a mess...

    Everything went... well... better than expected, except that it took a while to empty my bladder. I had thought it was still in the same place judging from the familiar pressure, but the sheer amount that came out made the rethink my hypothesis.

    Anatomy had surely failed me as well.

    Velariah knocked on the door as I finished up and pulled the chain to flush.

    I opened the door to an energetic elf who rushed in and jumped into my pile of pillows while taking off her shoes.

    So that was a thing here as well.

    I had actually never realized before, but it appeared people wore their shoes indoors here. I believed over in Europe, people would mostly leave them at the door and walk around on socks instead. I had done the same, it felt pretty liberating. Then again, I didn''t go out the house much. Now, I had even less of an excuse for wearing shoes. I doubted medieval ones were very comfortable in the first place.

    Hooray for spider legs.

    ''''What the hell are you doing?'''' I asked the elf.

    ''''Preparing for bed, what does it look like?'''' she said as she took off her socks.

    ''''In my room?'''' I frowned.

    She was awfully straightforward, wasn''t she?

    ''''Yes? Also, technically this is my room.''''

    ''''You know what I mean. I believe your bed is upstairs, young lady.''''

    How old was Velariah anyway? I''d never bothered to ask.

    ''''But moooom.'''' She started pleading with fake puppy eyes.

    ''''Out you go!'''' I pointed at the door with two hands.

    ''''But I slept here last night as well!''''

    Those puppy eyes were becoming awfully real.

    ''''Ugh, fine. Just this once because we''re heading out tomorrow. Once we get back, you''ll be sleeping upstairs again.''''

    ''''Yay!'''' She happily exclaimed as she clapped her hands.

    She was so easily satisfied.

    Why did I get the ominous feeling I wouldn''t be able to stick to that plan either...?

    Faragi

    Don''t mind me, selfish discord promotion coming through: https://discord.gg/XqVA7ajDV8

    If you''ve come this far and like this series, please let me know you like it by hitting the five star button, appreciation is always welcome :))

 1.32 Running and Bowling

    Faragi

    Remember to hop into discord if you have any questions or suggestions for the story. I see people ask me questions on it and I try to answer them in the next chapter in an organic manner so people don''t get info dumps thrown their way.

    Of course I can''t answer everything for the sake of spoilers but I''d be happy to explain anything that wansn''t clear enough.

    Enjoy!

    also, no proofreading was done. I''ll edit tomorrow!

    I had spread out the pillows over a larger area so we would have plenty of space to sleep.

    Who was I even trying to fool?

    Of course, that was never going to happen.

    What ended up happening was an elf sneaking her way up to me while I had my eyes closed. It was hard to see in the darkness but when I felt her slow, steady breath near my face, it told me everything I needed to know.

    She was not going to give up.

    I had the feeling the trip we would be undertaking only served to add more fuel to her fire. She was trying to get closer to me like there was no tomorrow, literally and figuratively. It seems she had fallen asleep a long time ago and I was left wide awake with conflicting emotions.

    I swear she was doing it on purpose.

    Sure, she had said she would sleep better here than in her own room, but what about me?

    I sighed as I turned around a pillow so that the cold side was up.

    I stretched my pedipalps and accidentally touched Velariah''s legs with one as I did so. I was surprised when I heard a soft giggle through the quiet snoring. At least she didn''t wake up. I quickly retracted them and tried to fall asleep, again.

    -----------------------------------------------------

    I think I must have fallen asleep because the next moment I knew I had my heart pounding and tears in my eyes. What happened?

    ''''Elania?" Velariah whispered softly. "Are you alright?''''

    Did I cry in my sleep? Was that even possible?

    ''''Elania?'''' The elf''s soft voice sounded again.

    ''''I don''t know? What happened?'''' I whispered as well.

    ''''I think you were crying?'''' She let out as if were a question.

    ''''I don''t know.'''' I let out again.

    I had no idea what happened. Was that my emotions messing with me? I didn¡¯t even know it was a thing, it never happened before.

    Maybe I should give this whole thing a chance?

    Velariah put her hand on my head and carefully wiped away a tear with her thumb. She then let it slide through my hair and I could feel my heart calm down as she did do. She repeated the gesture several times and I could feel myself fully relaxing at her touch and slowly faded away.

    --------------------------------------------------------

    I woke up to the sound of running water. Turning my head, I saw Velariah with her head in the sink. She was still wearing nothing but her underwear and I quickly turned away from the sight, but not before I saw she had noticed me in the mirror.

    ''''Oh, hey Elania. I didn¡¯t mean to wake you. You got some sleep?''''

    I rubbed the last sleep out of my eyes before replying.

    ''''Yeah, not too bad, I guess.''''

    ''''I expected as much. Did you know that your front two legs twitch when you sleep? What were they called again, penpals or something?''''

    I buried by face in a pillow in embarrassment. Why did it seem like those spidery parts had a mind of their own? Did they touch Velariah? They seemed to do that on their own quite a bit...

    ''''Pedipalps...'''' I said with my face still half-buried. ''''They are called pedipalps...''''

    ''"Anyways, your turn.'''' She said as she stepped away from the sink.

    She was combing her hair while putting on the shirt she had tossed on the floor yesterday.

    I got up and dug through the bag of shirts. I found another white one and wondered for a moment if I should change my ''''underwear'''' too. It seemed Velariah was too occupied with herself so I decided to put one a fresh beige bra quickly while she wasn''t looking.

    ''''No need to be embarrassed.'''' She let out as she was putting on her pants and looking at my back in the mirror.

    I was turned away from her and managed to finish putting it on without having to cause awkward scenarios.

    ''''But you''re staring. How can I not be embarrassed when you do that?'''' I replied with a slightly flushed face.

    ''''You should take it as a compliment!'''' She replied cheerfully.

    A succubus for sure. The more I got to know her, the more I started to doubt her mother''s lineage.

    May she rest in peace.

    I put on the shirt and Velariah handed me the comb. I started working through my hair and washed my face at the same time.

    ''''Must be nice having an extra pair of hands. Saves you quite a bit of time in front of the mirror, doesn''t it?''''

    ''''Yeah, it''s not too bad. Once you figure out how they work that is.'''' I look at her in the mirror. ''''That part took me a bit of time though.''''

    ''''Still.'''' She said in a neutral expression. ''''Think of the possibilities. You could use them for so many things: Weeding, laundry, dishes, cleaning...'''' She paused for a moment. ''''Me.''''

    I saw her grin wickedly in the mirror and felt a wave of embarrassment crash over me.

    ''''Vel!'''' I said loudly and I burrowed my face in my hands.

    What was she thinking? How far ahead was this elf thinking? She had to be joking.

    She was doing this on purpose... I just knew it.

    Velariah unlocked the door and walked through. Seconds later I heard a chair scrape across the floor. Another door then opened and I prayed Valtheril wasn''t home. What would he think?

    I fished my tag from under yesterday''s shirt and put it on. I figured I was going to have to take that off soon to put on my armor but I didn''t care right now.

    When I walked into the dining room I saw Velariah munching on what looked, nay, smelled like fresh bread. Elly sat across from her and was currently spreading strawberry jam on a slice of her own.

    If only I was hungry...

    I settled for a cup of mediocre tea. It seemed to be the only thing of sub-Earth quality in this world. If that was all I had to give up to get everything else I would gladly do that any day of the week.

    Wait, I had to give up coffee too...

    Whatever.

    ''''You don''t want anything to eat?'''' Velariah asked as I stood at the table sipping on the hot beverage.

    ''''I''m pretty sure I''ve have enough for the coming week. Literally.''''

    ''''Yeah, you went to town on that soup yesterday.'''' She spoke with judgment in her voice.

    ''''Hey, I can''t help it. Chicken soup is my favorite and Elly is a kitchen goddess!''''

    Elly had just finished her slice and I saw her leave the table with a blushed but otherwise straight face.

    It appeared I managed to shut down her cockiness. I decided to add some salt to the wound. I would make her pay back for the comment she made earlier!

    ''''If you want me so badly, you better make sure your cooking is as good as hers!''''

    ''''Fuck...'''' She said.

    Victory was mine! She had nothing to retaliate with at that comment. There was no way in hell she was going to be as good as Elly, not anytime soon at least. A stick figure with the internet troll face danced around in my head.

    Then I looked at her again and felt my heart sink.

    She actually looked sad. Had I overdone it?

    Maybe that was a bit harsh.

    ''''Just kidding Vel. Please don''t take it too seriously. I just don''t want to get ahead of myself.''''

    ''''It''s Velariah.'''' She smiled.

    Fuck. She got me.

    It seemed she had finished breakfast as she walked up to the kitchen door and knocked to get Elly''s attention. She then had her help out with her armor as I tried to get my own fixed without help. I managed to do just fine until I realized that I had forgotten to take my tag off. Fortunately, I was able to fight it out from under the chest plate without having to take it off again.

    I took my spear with me and we set out towards the guild.

    Draco was already sitting in our usual corner with the larger tools such as the pickaxe and the spade laid out next to his axe on the bench. His backpack seemed completely filled to the brim with what I would guess was food and the canteens from before. Seralyn wasn''t here yet.

    We greeted him and Velariah struck me with the idea of already attaching the cart to my back and drive it out front. Seralyn would be here soon, she had assured me.

    ''''Sounds like a good idea.'''' Draco had confirmed. ''''I''ll greet Seralyn in case she shows up while you''re in the warehouse.''''

    And so, we walked up to the Lore keeper to ask her to unlock the warehouse doors.

    Once we walked in, we pulled the cart we had reserved into the open area and I produced a rope of non-sticky threads. I had Velariah bind it around my abdomen and the cart''s beams. Due to the beams being far behind my legs I could move pretty much as freely as normal. If the cart had been fastened tightly, I could probably pull it at great speed. I''d just have to be careful to not hit speed bumps...

    The Lore keeper, as expected looked at our antics with great interest but didn''t utter a word. She closed the doors behind us after we left.

    Thus, we made our way in front of the guild hall where people were already staring.

    Spider cavalry pulling a cart, with an elf sitting in said cart on top of a crate. What a sight to behold.

    Unbelievable.

    Effective, but an odd sight for sure.

    The sound of the wheels on the cobblestone road must have alerted Draco. Moments later, he appeared in the doorway, followed closely by Seralyn. It seemed she had arrived at the perfect time.

    ''''Oh my god.'''' Seralyn exclaimed upon seeing us. ''''This looks even more hilarious than I would have expected.''''

    I knew she''d say that. I already had my answer prepared.

    ''''Seems like somebody wants to walk instead.''''

    ''''I didn''t mean that in a bad way!" Seralyn quickly downplayed the situation.

    ''''Looking good, miss Elania. Thank you for the ride.'''' Draco said politely while taking a bow.

    He then deposited his backpack, weapon and other tools on the cart before jumping on. After that he extended a scaled hand to help Seralyn up. What a gentleman.

    ''''You should try to be more like Draco.'''' Velariah spoke for me. ''''Elania is already making this far too easy for us, you should be thankful.''''

    Oh, Velariah was really putting her in an awkward position.

    ''''I suppose so.'''' She spoke quietly. ''''Thanks.''''

    I grinned and started to move to the village''s southern exit. I hoped the ground beneath the grass would hold the weight that was on the cart. Wooden wheels weren''t exactly the most reliable. Especially outside of somewhat decent roads.

    If needed, I would have somewhat of a plan ready depending on the situation. Worst case scenario I would have the others walk instead.

    Yeap, people were staring again. I just laughed at the situation this time. It made for very fun interactions.

    I had also managed to get much better control over my movements. I had slowly started to change the way I walked after I had molted. I was now able to move one set of legs at a time instead of two. It made for much smoother movements instead of the wobbly four legs at a time strategy. It also made it so I could do with much smaller movements in a step which seemed to cause me to tire more slowly as a side-effect. Was this how spiders moved? I wouldn''t know. I had never cared about it, after all.

    We reached the outside of the city and started moving through the grass, in a straight line to the volcanic area. There was still the hill before us so I couldn''t exactly steer in the correct direction yet.

    We walked around the goat farmer''s fields of which one was almost completely transformed. The field next to the forest that was previously unoccupied had been completely ploughed through and was turned into a seedbed. It seemed Valtheril was right when he said they made good progress.

    We moved in the opposite direction though, around one of the other fields, before making a beeline to the hill. I warned my companions to hold on tight as I was about to move uphill. I couldn''t have them falling out of the cart, after all. Although, there was still a wooden panel preventing that, I don''t think it would be able to hold Draco''s weight.

    ''''Also, Draco, please tell me you brought at least one canteen with alcohol, preferable something strong.''''

    ''''Why, so you can violate us while you have an excuse for doing so?'''' Seralyn had quickly interjected.

    I sighed.

    ''''Draco, you tell her. Also, I''m not touching alcohol anymore, not to drink it at least.''''

    ''''I think what miss Elania is referring to is alcohol meant to disinfect wounds.'''' Draco started. ''''And yes, I have brought some specifically for that purpose.''''

    ''''Thanks.''''

    We reached the top of the hill and I halted for a moment, observing the volcanic ridge in the distance.

    ''''Which of the mountains is the largest? it''s hard to see from here, and the smoke isn''t making this  it any easier.''''

    There was an unusual amount of smoke rising up from the ridge, I wondered if one of the volcanoes had just erupted.

    ''''No idea.'''' Velariah said. ''''I''ve never been to the Searing Peak before. I don''t believe my father mentioned it either, he just said the largest.''''

    ''''Alright, so we just keep going until we can actually make out a difference I guess.'''' I shrugged.

    ''''I would guess so.''''

    ''''Alright then, prepare for a bumpy ride, I''m going to pick up some speed soon.''''

    I walked down the hill with a normal pace until the ground was flat again.

    ''''I was promised speed!'''' Seralyn called out. ''''Where is it?''''

    ''''Right here.'''' I answered.

    I started running. The grass had turned solid enough to support the cart with added weight without issues. That was kind of what I had been hoping for. The weather had been ideal the past few days and it didn''t seem like rain was going to be on the forecast anytime soon.

    I ran for a while and didn''t actually find myself tiring at all. I was going nowhere near the speed I could achieve if I wanted to, but I reckoned it would be best to not overexert myself. I would still have to learn how much I could actually push myself. This was a great test to find out how much stamina I possessed.

    I couldn''t actually believe I was thinking that. Here I was, from a couch potato on Earth to spider cavalry running a marathon in another world. The worst part was that I was actually enjoying it. Who would have thought? Not me, that''s for certain.

    It seemed my companions back in the cart were actually enjoying it too. We made progress faster than anyone could have imagined, it wasn''t hard to feel overjoyed at something like that. Travel was, after all, something that took quite a while in medieval times.

    Miles just flew by as I ran through the plains towards our destination. I believe I spotted a few rabbits and I certainly spotted a few rabbit holes which I narrowly avoided. Other than that, these green fields of grass were simple to navigate but still felt amazing to lay one''s eyes upon.

    No buildings in sight, just the sounds of nature and a few birds flying overhead. It was quite relaxing. Even though I was actively running, I didn''t break a sweat. I did decide at some point to halt for a few minutes, just in case I was overexerting myself. Waking up with a sudden muscle ache would be hell when we still had to go all the way back.

    I imagined muscle ache in eight different legs would probably mean at least four times the pain if I were still human. I''d rather not have that happen.

    I had Draco pass me a canteen with water, which I eagerly emptied.

    ''''How many did you bring anyway?'''' I asked.

    His bag seemed stacked, but I doubted it was filled with only canteens.

    ''''More than enough, don''t worry about it.'''' Draco replied.

    Well, if he said so.

    I handed the empty canteen back and thanked him before looking back.

    The village of course, was nowhere to be seen, thanks to the hill obscuring the vision. It seemed that we had already traveled several miles. At this rate, I reckoned we would reach the foot of the volcanic ridge somewhere in the afternoon.

    And Valtheril had said three days by foot. Hah. I was going to do this in hours.

    I knew I could prove him wrong. I would win nothing by doing that, but it would still feel good.

    I stretched my legs before I started running again. I wasn''t sure why, could I even strain muscles in the first place? I wasn''t keen on finding out.

    Nothing much happened for hours besides Seralyn shooting a rabbit during our next stop. I had never even seen the animal. The rabbit was larger than any kind I had personally known on earth, which added even more to my surprise of not being able to see it. It appeared her attitude may not be entirely misplaced.

    I knew there was a gigantic species but I had no experience with those. It kind of made me curious how it would taste. Then again, I wouldn''t need to eat for a while. I would only feel guilty if I had some of it.

    ''''Elania, can I get some silk to wrap this in until we get to the ridge?'''' Seralyn asked.

    ''''Sure, just use me as a towel dispenser why don''t you? I said sarcastically.

    ''''What''s a towel dispenser?" She replied, tilting her head.

    ''''Never mind.''''

    I sighed. I knew what was going to come next. I couldn''t really wrap it up myself as I would have to detach myself from the cart and I couldn''t be bothered to do that. At least I could prevent Seralyn from having the sick pleasure of doing it. Hold on, Velariah would probably get some sick pleasure out of this as well.

    Spider struggles...

    I guessed Velariah would be my to-go choice, though.

    ''''Velariah, could you help her wrap it up.'''' I crossed my arms and hoped she could do this quickly.

    ''''No problem.''''

    I saw Seralyn remove the arrow, clean it and put it back in her quiver.

    Velariah took the large rabbit and jumped off the cart.

    I looked behind me to see her neutral expression change to a wicked grin while she looked at me.

    Oh no.

    What had I done?

    Instead of putting the rabbit to my spinnerets to stick silk to it, she touched it with her gloved hand. What was worse, she pressed against them. I wasn''t some kind of bowling ball!

    I wanted to scream at her, but would imagine Seralyn making some weird comment about the situation so I gritted my teeth, stared in front of me and remained quiet as Velariah pulled out threads of sticky silk and started wrapping the rabbit in it.

    Honestly. I shouldn''t have done this. I should have just let predators be attracted by the blood and make Seralyn pay for putting me through this.

    The brown-haired elf looked at the process with far too much curiosity, but it seemed she didn''t dare to ask a question. That was probably for the best.

    Once Velariah had one nice cocoon filled with a rabbit, she was helped back into the cart by a courteous Draco.

    We set off once more towards the Searing Peak.

    We had made fair progress; the foot of the ridge was inching closer. That was when a group of five people on horseback started to approach us from the direction of the non-volcanic mountains. I wondered what they wanted?

 1.33 Scorpions, Flyers and Traders

    ''''They''re traders from the village beyond the mountains.'''' Velariah said as she stood upright in the cart to get a better view.

    We had halted a while ago when we had seen them approach us.

    ''''Does that village have a name or whats?'''' I asked.

    ''''That''s literally the name. ''''Village-beyond-the-mountains''''.''''

    Very original.

    ''''I''m surprised they even dare to approach us.'''' Seralyn said. ''''Seeing as there''s a huge spider pulling our cart.''''

    ''''You think they think she''s domesticated?'''' Velariah asked the other elf.

    Hey, I''m right here.

    ''''Maybe.'''' Seralyn grinned. ''''It would make sense for her to play the part though, who knows how they might react?''''

    ''''Elania, you mind doing that? I''m not sure if we want to startle our trade partners.''''

    ''''You don''t think they will be startled enough by my appearance as it is?'''' I rebutted.

    ''''Maybe, but if they think you''re my pet and I control you, they won''t run away in fear when you make an unexpected move.'''' Velariah spoke with a large smile on her face.

    ''''I''m not your pet, though!''''

    ''''Oh, but you are!''''

    Vel, not in front of others! What will they think?

    ''''Will the two of you hurry up, they are almost here.'''' Seralyn interjected.

    ''''Fine.'''' I said as I hid my adventurer''s tag under the chest plate.

    ''''But no funny business!"

    The travelling group halted at a distance and I noticed that their party consisted of two humans and three elves, all of them male. All of them seemed to be in pretty average day clothing too, no armor was to be seen. Their horses had saddlebags that seemed packed with what I assumed would be trade goods. I was curious what they actually traded in. Hopefully, I would find out in a bit.

    I noticed how their horses seemed to be on edge in reaction to my presence. No wonder there. Fortunately, the traders seemed to be smart enough to keep their animals at a distance.

    Velariah jumped out of the cart and walked up to the approaching elf.

    The male elf eyed me warily as I crossed my arms, all four of them but managed to talk to Velariah without too much fear in his voice.

    ''''Greetings, I''m from the Village-beyond-the-mountain trading company, we were on our way to Dawnleaf, would you have any goods to trade? You seem to have quite a few crates in that cart of yours.''''

    ''''They''re all empty, we were on our way to the Searing Peak to see Ember and collect scorpion stingers. If you have the time, we''d happily trade those with yours.''''

    The male elf shook his head.

    ''''I am afraid we do not.''''

    He then eyed me. It seemed I have been playing the pet part well enough so far as his next question was about me.

    ''''How about this... beast-of-burden of yours. it seems pretty strong, is it for sale?''''

    What the fuck, dude? Also, ''''it''''?

    Velariah eyed me with an evil grin on her face. Wait, she wasn''t going to try to sell me, was she?

    ''''I''m afraid she is far too valuable to sell. On another note, did you, by any chance, run into a group of elven scouts? They were supposed to be in the area.'''' Velariah asked.

    At least she didn''t sell me...

    I was going to have a word with her later about this plan of hers.

    The trader shook his head.

    ''''Haven''t seen any. What were they looking for, if I may ask?''''

    ''''Seems something spooked the local lynx population away from the mountain foot, they were sent here to investigate.''''

    The trader shook his head again.

    ''''Nope, no luck. Now that you mention it, we did not run into any lynxes either. Travel has been a breeze.''''

    He paused for a second.

    ''''Anyway, we should be on our way to Dawnleaf, safe journey to you lot!''''

    ''''Hold on a second!'''' Seralyn yelled from the cart.

    This was not going to end well, was it?

    ''''We do have trade goods Velariah, what are you talking about?''''

    This seemed to pique Velariah''s interest. She turned around to Seralyn and looked at her with an inquisitive gaze that said something like ''''out with it''''.

    I didn¡¯t like where this was going...

    Seralyn jumped out the cart with her bow and showed it to the trader.

    I didn''t like where this was going at all...

    ''''You see this string? We can provide you the strongest thread and highest quality silk you''re ever laid eyes on.''''

    I started sweating.

    The trader took a look at the bowstring in front of him and ran his fingers over the surface. He then raised his eyebrows.

    Uh-oh.

    ''''I''m interested.''''

    Fuck.

    Wandering silk factory Elania is here to stay it seems...

    ''''If you''re interested, what do you have to trade for it?" Velariah asked.

    Vel, why have you betrayed me?

    The trader walked over to his horse''s saddlebag.

    ''''Just the usual, mostly. High quality iron ore, some gems.''''

    ''''Some good ore would be amazing.'''' Velariah seemed visibly excited. ''''We would take two saddlebags of ore if you please.''''

    She had any special plans for that?

    Velariah walked up to me and patted my abdomen.

    ''''Time to get to work.''''

    I was going to have one hell of a talk with her and Seralyn later...

    Of course, she had to put her fingers inside again.

    I cringed as she started pulling out silk and wrapping it around her arms. I should have forced out the sticky kind just to mess with her. I might just do that next time she pulls off anything like this.

    The trader stared at Velariah weaving the strands of silk around her arm. He then looked back at Seralyn who was watching the scene with a broad smile.

    Seriously, why was it always me?

    The male elf seemed to hesitate for a moment before talking.

    ''''I can see why it''s so valuable.''''

    ''''I know, right.'''' Seralyn answered. ''''And it''s strong and fast too.''''

    Did she just call me an ''''it'''' as well?

    I was a woman! A strong independent-... Never mind. My mood actually hit an all-time low. This was not actually funny and I started to feel frustrated. It may have started as some kind of joke but I had had enough.

    Velariah tapped my abdomen twice. I thought that meant that she was done. I stopped the stream of silk and she walked up the trader with an arm cocooned by a thick layer of silk.

    ''''That should be enough.'''' She said as she shoved the layers off as if it was a chicken on a rotisserie pin.

    Draco jumped down the cart with an empty crate. He had the trader fill up the crate with iron ore from the saddlebag. Velariah handed the spindle of silk to the trader who put it away in the now empty saddlebag.

    The trader took a bow to Velariah and mounted his horse.

    ''''Thank you for your purchase. We look forward to trading again in the future.''''

    With that he rode off towards Dawnleaf, the other riders following him.

    Draco loaded the crate onto the cart and helped the elves back in. I took out the tag from inside my chest piece and put it on display once more.

    ''''It''s time we had a little talk.'''' I said as I started pulling the cart again at a slow pace. I didn¡¯t want to startle the traders but I was actually pissed off at this point.

    On our way I called out the elves on their behavior and how they had used me without my consent. All they did was giggle in reply and say it was necessary to have a good trade deal. When I asked what was so special about this iron, Velariah had replied that it was the highest quality one could find in the area. It would be great to forge a new weapon for her with and since I had told her I would get her a weapon she thought I would be okay with this.

    I responded by saying I would not mind to help out if such a thing happened again, but the way it happened right now felt completely out of place. I also said that I wasn''t going to be used as a ''''pet'''' anymore. Not if they were going to be exploiting me as such, even if they meant it in a playful manner. I didn''t mind helping, but there were certain boundaries that I felt were clearly exceeded this time.

    There was a reason I had joined the guild, after all. I wanted to be known as a normal person and not a monster. This really didn''t help with that.

    It was Velariah who apologized first. She said she had no idea I was feeling that way. She then had to press Seralyn into apologizing as well.

    ''''Good.'''' I had said.

    With that out of the way, I picked up the pace on the way to the volcanic ridge. Seralyn and Velariah had gone awfully quiet after my little talk with them. I hoped they were lost in self-reflection.

    I hoped this would be a lesson for them.

    If Velariah truly wanted to be with me, she would have to respect me at least.

    I had maybe been a bit too loose on Velariah. I knew she was honest, and clearly had shown interest in me. Maybe I had let this whole thing go a little too far. It seemed she needed to be held back a bit more to not go too far. Seralyn''s presence didn''t help with that at all. I wondered if it had been a good idea to take her into the party in the first place...

    After a long, quiet trip we reached to foot of the mountain ridge. One volcano clearly stood out as the larger one, so we followed the divide between grassland and volcanic ground until we were right next to it.

    ''''Do we continue, or do we call it a day?'''' I asked, not sure how long it would take to reach the top.

    It was Draco who spoke, which surprised me.

    ''''I would suggest clearing out some of the Ashclaw scorpions today and then start the ascent tomorrow morning. We will have plenty of time then and anything we kill right now will only make it faster.''''

    Smart thinking there Draco.

    ''''We could possibly get some more of their stingers for extra cash too.'''' He added.

    The sound of riches was a good one.

    ''''Vel, Seralyn?'''' I called out.

    Both of them nodded without speaking a word. It would seem I had hit a nerve. Velariah didn''t even comment on me calling her by her nickname.

    ''''All right, let''s see how far we can get this cart going.''''

    I started to move in the direction of the volcano. I hadn''t spotted any monsters yet, which surprised me. I would have expected them to be swarming the area already. Instead, this place seemed awfully desolate. It wouldn''t make a bad place to set up camp for the night.

    Speaking of camp, there were a few young trees growing in the area. Not too big, but they would serve well as firewood. A campfire at night would always be a good thing to keep predators out. That was, if there were no bandits in the area that would be attracted by it and raid you instead. I doubted that was the case in this area, though. Did Draco bring one of those self-igniting torches with him again? I would hope so. Creating a fire from scratch was a pain, I would know.

    Everything I had been told about volcanoes turned out to be a lie as well. I had been expecting large rivers of lava to flow down the mountain, pools of boiling liquid fire, great balls of molten death to rain form the sky. Nope, none of that here.

    Just plain old grey and brown dirt leading up a none too steep hill. Was this what Valtheril meant when he said this was an easy mountain to climb? It almost seemed too simple, indeed.

    That¡¯s what I thought until I ran into what I assumed was one of those Ashclaw scorpions. Its body was the side of a person. Its claws were large and intimidating, I reckoned they could snap a person''s arm in half, or at least, break a few bones. Its stinger was the side of my fist and it seemed angry.

    No spider mind control shenanigans here, it seemed.

    Draco jumped out of the cart and handed me my spear when he charged at the scorpion and simply cleaved its head in two with his large axe. Its stinger never had the chance to even reach him because of the long handle.

    ''''Nice one, Draco.''''

    A screech from the skies reached my eardrums. I had never heard anything like it.

    Before I could even look up, something came crashing down into the ground. It ''''landed'''' next to Draco and caused quite a bit of dust to surge upwards from the ground.

    ''''Don''t worry, I hit it.'''' Seralyn''s voice came from the cart.

    I had my spear pointed at whatever crashed into the ground. I was not going to be surprised by whatever that was.

    When the dust settled, I looked at what appeared to be a Pterado...Ptarady...The flying dinosaur thing with the silent ''''P'''' in the name. I believe it was called a Pteranodon.

    I was looking at its long pointy beak which lay open with rows of small teeth exposed. They didn''t look terribly dangerous at first, but I imagined they could still rip off your skin if it wanted to. It had a mohawk like sail on its head that resembled a stereotypical shark back fin above water. One eye was embedded in each side of its head. It had front claws that were webbed and much resembled a bat''s. It seemed to be an exact copy of the flying dinosaur from Earth.

    I believed those went extinct like... 70 million years ago? Did I recall that number correctly?

    Oh well, no reasoning with fantasy worlds I guessed.

    Both elves jumped out of the cart. Velariah walked up to me while Seralyn walked over to the dead Pteranodon. She checked if it was alive, before turning it over with her foot. She then ripped out the arrow she had used to down the creature.

    Her attitude was annoying, but her aim was impressive.

    ''''You okay?'''' Velariah asked. ''''You look like you''ve seen a ghost.''''

    I swallowed before speaking.

    ''''Well, I kind of have. Those things went extinct 70 million years ago.''''

    ''''What the hell are you two talking about?'''' Seralyn asked as she walked up to us.

    ''''Nothing.'''' Velariah said.

    I could see that Velariah knew what I had meant. Seralyn would be none the wiser, even if she had actually overheard us. It would at most confuse her.

    Meanwhile, Draco walked up to the cart with one scorpion stinger that actually still dripped some blood. The look of it was disturbing but hey, money doesn¡¯t stink right?

    ''''Is that flying thing worth anything?'''' I asked.

    ''''it''s called a toothbeak, and no. These things are useless, unfortunately. They aren''t too dangerous, either. They are more of a pest than anything else. Though, if they decide to attack you, they can still injure you quite a bit if you don''t wear any armor.''''

    At least the name was easier to pronounce than the version back on Earth...

    Also, those teeth did seem painful.

    Good thing we had an archer in our group.

    We continued on foot, killing off several more scorpions on the way. It turned out that Seralyn''s arrows were actually able to penetrate their exoskeleton.

    Also, it appeared these scorpions had green blood.

    Disgusting.

    We managed to work our way through them quite easily. I didn''t even have to spring into action, my companions were able to deal with them on their own. While fighting the scorpions Seralyn had been on the lookout for any more toothbeaks. She had shot down another two, while Velariah and Draco dealt with the Ashclaw scorpions.

    Only once did I get something to do. Three of the beasts launched an attack at the same time. It turned out that this new spear had no problem ending their lives.

    We made quite a bit of progress but found evening setting in. Instead of continuing we stuck to our original plan and made our way back to the designated ''''safe'''' area from before. It seemed that for some reason these scorpions were only found further up the mountain.

    It turned out that Draco''s huge battle axe also served as a proper axe to cut down these small trees. Who would have thought? He literally snapped them as if they were match sticks. To be fair, the trees were still young and small, so he had to cut down several to have a decent amount of fire wood for the night.

    The skies had turned red in the meanwhile and daylight was starting to fade quickly. It seemed we had made the right decision to make up camp now.

    As I had hoped, he pulled out a torch from his bag. Soon we had a campfire going and Seralyn was struggling to cut loose the rabbit from its bonds. She seemed to have a hard time doing it and I simply delighted in her frustrated face. Wasn''t this her idea in the first place? Served her right.

    Was I evil for actually enjoying it?

    I shrugged. She had done a fair deal of evil herself this day. Karma could really be a bitch.

    Draco handed out canteens of water and then pulled out what looked like meat jerky wrapped in certain leaves. I would guess that was the standard to-go adventurer food when out on missions. I was silently thankful for not having to eat. Salt had never been my strong point.

    He did hand out a couple apples as well and offered one to me which I had politely declined. They were going to need that more than me. Who knew what would happen?

    Seralyn roasted her rabbit on an arrow and surprisingly shared it with the others after she''d finished cooking it. The smell had me salivating but my will to resist was stronger.

    The sky had gone completely dark after dinner and we decided it was going to be time to sleep. Velariah had set up a guard rotation and she and I would have first guard of the night. I was pretty sure she did it on purpose to talk to me in private. She had been far too quiet for her usual self.

    Seralyn had looked like she wanted to comment on it but decided to keep to herself. Smart woman. I was not in the mood for anymore of her jokes and it seemed she had read the atmosphere well enough to take notice.

    The temperature had dropped but it was still pleasantly warm. I was certain the volcanic activity nearby had at least something to do with it. I didn¡¯t mind it, it saved us some weight by not having to carry around blankets or anything like it.

    I sat on the ground with Velariah next to me. She was the one that started the conversation.

    ''''I''m sorry Elania. I had no idea you felt that way.'''' She started as Seralyn and Draco quietly snored on the other side of the campfire.

    I sighed.

    ''''Look Vel, just doing the things you did this afternoon like that, it just makes me feel highly uncomfortable. I know that this body comes with certain benefits, but that¡¯s also the issue here.''''

    ''''I''m sorry.'''' She said again. ''''I just thought having you act like that was a good idea at the time. Seralyn and I may have taken it too far.''''

    ''''You sure did.'''' I said as my eyes were locked onto the fire in front of us.

    ''''You see, you''re an elf. When people look at you, they see beauty. When they look at me, they see a massive spider straight out of their nightmares. You know I''m not that. I''m trying to be a person, as much as this body allows me to and not a monster. When you used me like that it made me feel like a monster and I hate it.''''

    Velariah looked at me with a sad expression.

    ''''You''re right. You''re no monster. I''m sorry for making you feel that way.''''

    ''''Thanks, Vel.'''' I sighed as I said it, feeling a weight lift off my heart.

    ''''It''s... Never mind.'''' She cut herself off.

    It was quiet for a few minutes before Velariah spoke again.

    ''''You know, Elania. When I look at you, I see only beauty.''''

    I sighed, but found my lips curl up in a smile at the elf''s words.

    ''''You succubus.''''

    ''''What?'''' She smiled as well. ''''Do they exist in your world too?''''

    ''''Nope.'''' I said with a smile.

    I grabbed her frame and hugged her right side with my arms, letting her head rest against my shoulder. She didn¡¯t seem to offer the least bit of resistance.

    We watched the campfire together.

    ''''I''m sorry.'''' She said again softly.

    ''''It''s alright. Just don¡¯t turn me into your weird freaky pet again.''''

    I paused for a moment.

    ''''Not yet, at least.'''' I added to lighten the heavy mood that had surrounded us ever since the afternoon.

    She giggled softly and put her arm around my waist as well.

    As long as she could respect me, maybe I would give this a chance.

 1.34 Ashes & Embers

    Faragi

    I should seriously stop doing this.

    Also: https://discord.gg/XqVA7ajDV8 :)

    I wasn''t sure how, but it seemed Velariah had fallen asleep against my shoulder after an hour or so.

    Nice guard she was, I wouldn''t be trusting her to stay awake anymore. You had one job Vel!

    Oh well.

    It didn¡¯t seem much was going to happen, anyway. There was literally nothing nearby. It made me wonder what caused the scorpions to be further up the mountain and not here. What would they eat? I had seen nothing yet that would pass as scorpion food. And what about those flying creatures? Did those Pteranodon monsters feed on scorpions? I didn''t know. What a weird ecosystem...

    Velariah still had her head on my shoulders and was sleeping soundly with a slight smile. The light from the campfire really made her face look cute. At least I could stare now without her noticing...

    I looked over to the other two sleeping figures. I had actually expected Seralyn to be a snorer, it would fit her character, but no.

    All in all, it was all peace and quiet for our party.

    Except for me, obviously. Somebody would actually have to keep watch, seeing as a certain blissfully asleep elf wasn''t going to do it. If only she wasn''t so adorable when she slept, I might have actually awoken her.

    I poked around in the fire out of boredom with a stick and added some more wood from a small pile next to me. When I thought the night was about halfway I quietly poked Seralyn with the same stick that I used to pry around in the fire. That was going to leave a burn mark.

    I grinned as the elf was violently awakened. Revenge was sweet indeed.

    It was a miracle she didn¡¯t scream out.

    ''''Ouch.'''' She whispered. ''''What did you do that for?''''

    ''''I felt like you deserved that for earlier today.'''' I put on an evil smile. ''''It''s your turn to keep guard.

    Seralyn sighed. She then turned to Draco on her knees and shook him awake none too gently.

    With the lizardman awake it was time for me to try to catch some sleep. Good thing I had this elven pillow that seemed inviting. I rested my head on her hair and took in its wonderful smell. Did she have some kind of shampoo I wasn''t aware of? The smell of roses was strong from such a short distance and I doubted it was simply from the block of soap. I would have to check some time.

    I would leave that for later. For now, I emptied my head and just found myself overtaken by the smell.

    ------------------------------------------------------------

    When I awoke, I found my head resting on Velariah''s belly and Seralyn looking into my eyes from across the campfire.

    ''''You''re finally awake, huh? You''ve been drooling over her for a while now.''''

    Oh no.

    Sure enough, I found saliva leaking from the corner of my mouth. It seemed Velariah was still asleep. I was at least thankful for that.

    ''''You sure there''s nothing going on between you two? Both of you looked adorable sleeping like that!'''' She exclaimed happily.

    ''''None of your business.'''' I stated.

    That seemed to wake the white-haired elf up. Well, she would have to get up eventually. We were going to see if we could reach Ember today.

    I had initially thought we were going to have to leave the cart behind, but the terrain didn''t seem to be an issue at all. No rocky surface in sight, not too steep a slope. We could do this!

    I lowered my abdomen to the floor and created a new rope which I then had a half-asleep Velariah bind to my rear.

    We had to cut it loose the previous day or sleeping was going to be extremely uncomfortable for me. We had also managed to fill one of the crates halfway with the scorpion stingers.

    After a short breakfast for the others and some water for me, we continued our way to the top. We found and killed several more scorpions without much of a hassle and I could feel some things wiggling through the ground thanks to my tremor sensitive legs. When I impaled the ground with one of them the moment I felt something crawl through it, I almost instantly regretted my decision.

    When I lifted up my leg from the dirt, there was a maggot the size of a wine bottle attached to it. I had pierced it like a skewer but it was still wriggling and trying to escape.

    I was disgusted.

    Velariah saved me by scraping it off my leg with her sword. I guessed this was what the scorpions preyed on.

    ''''Thanks.'''' I sheepishly said.

    ''''No problem.'''' Velariah spoke.

    We ran into several more scorpions and I got some action again as a fairly large group attacked us. I had actually received a hit from one of their stingers as I had to deal with two at the same time. Unfortunately for them, it had hit the carapace under my human body and didn''t actually pierce it. Long live exoskeletons!

    We took a small break after the last attack and Draco cut off the stingers with a knife that he had specifically bought for the occasion. As it turned out, we had one crate completely filled and were now working on the second.

    Further up the volcano we came across some interesting ball shaped rocks that were scattered throughout the dirt and I could see a few attached to a few rock spikes that started to fill the terrain now. There was still a clear path leading upwards, but every here and there a few spikes popped up.

    I believed I knew what they were but I wanted to make sure.

    ''''Draco, could you lend me a hand. Or rather, an axe.''''

    ''''Sure, thing. What do you want me to do?'''' He walked up to me.

    I held up the smooth round rock that felt relatively lightweight.

    ''''Could you cleave this in half?''''

    I put the rock down in the dirt.

    ''''No problem.''''

    I took a few steps back and Draco brought down his massive axe on the poor rock. It got pushed into the dirt but I could see it split in half.

    I fished up the two halves and was met by the sight of a radiating amethyst formation within each half of the rock. I was right! I had found a geode! And it was a beautiful one too.

    ''''You done playing with that rock?'''' Seralyn called.

    I showed her the cleaved open geode.

    ''''Look!''''

    Seralyn raised her eyebrows.

    ''''I know, they are useless. Pretty, but useless.''''

    What?

    Velariah stepped in from the side.

    ''''These gems can''t hold any magic, as such, they don''t have much value.''''

    I looked at the geode in my hands. This would be worth a small fortune back on Earth...

    Screw this world.

    At least it was pretty...

    I decided to keep it and put the shining minerals in the crate that held the iron ore.

    ''''Aww, I''m sorry Elania.'''' Velariah said as I put it in the crate. She patted my back.

    ''''The real interesting gems are found in dungeons; those can hold magic and are used for enchants.''''

    ''''Thank you Velariah.''''

    That was certainly some interesting info. Now I could simply stop caring about the whole mineral thing. I had been looking forward to finding interesting gems, but if they were useless in this world there wasn''t much of a point to looking for them. Maybe if I found really shiny ones, I would take them.

    After travelling for a while more and killing several more scorpions the dirt ground made room for solid volcanic rock instead.

    Seralyn complained about the now bumpy ride and I had told her to go walk herself if it annoyed her. She actually listened and jumped out of the cart. Seems it must have actually bothered her and she didn''t do it for the sake of complaining itself. Velariah and Draco had remained quiet.

    Either they weren''t affected as much, didn''t care or were just extremely lazy.

    We were starting to near the summit and I started to see a certain yellow crust on some of the stone pillars. Now this, would be valuable. Far more valuable than these people would ever know.

    ''''Draco, could you hand me a crate and a knife?'''' I called out as I walked up to one of the pillars with the cart still bound to my behind.

    ''''What are you going to do now? That stuff is useless as well you know?'''' Seralyn stated.

    ''''Oh, my sweet summer child, you have no idea what you''re talking about.'''' I spoke.

    ''''Huh? What''s that supposed to mean?''''

    ''''Nothing. Maybe I will show you one day what this stuff can do.'''' I said as Draco handed me a knife and put the crate down next to me.

    I started scraping off the brittle yellow stuff as the others watched with interest.

    ''''So what can this stuff do?'''' Velariah seemed quite curious.

    ''''Hmm.'''' I thought for a second. ''''I believe you can use it for certain soaps that prevent infections. The only other use I know is too dangerous to tell you, I could however, show you one day.''''

    Someday should be alright. Sulfur was one of the three ingredients for gunpowder but I would have to be careful with that. It wouldn''t hurt to have a supply of this stuff ready, just in case.

    I had to go to several of the pillars where the yellow element had ''''grown'''' like moss, but I managed to fill one of the crates completely. That was one more thing cross off my list.

    We continued our journey to the top. I saw a large plume of smoke rise up in the distance and assumed that was the crater. Just before the crater there was a separate path that split off from the main path and lead down a bit to the other side of the crater. Since there was no dragon in sight, I decided to take that path instead.

    I had to admit I was scared to death that the volcano might randomly erupt. I was fairly certain however, that eruptions were always precedented by seismic activity before the eruption actually happened. It just so happened that I was practically a wandering seismograph. I thought we''d be alright in case of any real danger.

    We made a crescent descent around the crater. The heat was gradually rising as we moved down the path. I had Draco and Velariah walk this last bit. The path was still fairly wide, more than enough for three carts, but I didn''t want to risk anything. If anything large attacked us here and we were forced to ditch the cart I''d rather not have them sit in it.

    The path led into a cave which I assumed would be Ember''s lair. I mean, I hadn''t expected any less of a dragon. I was made aware of the fact that her eggs needed heat, after all. Where else to find more heat than close to the volcano''s core?

    We stepped into a large hollowed out room inside the volcano walls. The core of the volcano with molten magma wasn''t visible or anything. I mean, that would make no sense, right? If the core of the volcano was not separated by the large wall all the way in front of us, the lava would just stream in during an eruption and kill Ember''s eggs. This was a perfectly logical solution.

    I didn''t expect dragons to be stupid.

    Speaking of dragons. Around the room were eggs the size of high school freshmen. They were orange and had red veins enveloping the shells from the outside. Within the ring of egg lay a dragon curled up like a dog in a dog bed. That would be the easiest way to describe her half-curled position.

    It was a magnificent sight to behold. To see a dragon with one''s own eyes was a privilege that just wasn''t there for anyone from Earth. A set of clawed arms and feet. A massive, long tail that ended in a spiky ball. Her entire body was covered by blood-red scales with the ones on her belly having being yellow. Two horns that each pointed in a different direction to the side of her head, each one was twisted upwards. A large set of wings that covered half her body as she seemed to sleep. Her eyelids were closed but I knew she knew we were here.

    I didn''t know how to make our presence known but it seemed the dragon took action instead.

    Her eyelids opened and she moved her head to face us.

    It was Velariah who spoke.

    ''''Greetings miss Ember.''''

    ''''Greetings young Velariah, Elania, Seralyn, Draco.'''' An older female voice called out to us.

    How did this dragon know my name?

    Why was I even surprised? It was a damn dragon. A dragon! Weren''t they supposed to be insanely smart?

    ''''Greetings, miss Ember.'''' I repeated what Velariah had said, not wanting to look rude.

    Draco and Seralyn did the same.

    ''''How is life outside the Searing Peak?'''' Ember asked of Velariah.

    ''''Quite a few things happened as of late. The most recent word has it that something spooked the mountain lynxes out of their natural habitat. Besides that, we uncovered a dungeon near Dawnleaf and Elania appeared here.''''

    ''''Ah, miss Elania, yes, an interesting one. I believe you have come to talk to me, yes?''''

    What was I going to say?

    ''''Yes, miss Ember. I''ve been meaning to talk to you about a certain dream or vision that I had, but I believe you do enjoy small talk as well. I heard not many people visit this place so I''d be happy to talk some more if you''d like.''''

    That was the least I could do for a solitary dragon. I hoped she appreciated the gesture.

    The large dragon laughed and a gust of warm air hit us as she did so.

    ''''Oh, Elania, child, you''re an interesting one, aren¡¯t you?''''

    I believe I''ve been told that earlier.

    ''''I appreciate the gesture, I might take you up on that, or at least have you promise me to visit again someday.''''

    She paused for a few moments which had me wonder if I should reply with anything, but then she spoke again.

    ''''But first, let us hear about this... vision of yours, it sounds... intriguing.''''

    ''''Uhm, where to start.'''' I paused for a moment, recalling my dream. ''''I found myself in some kind of cave with a large spider that said I had undergone some kind of evolution. It then said that if I wanted more info, I should find out someone called an ''''Ancient One''''. I inquired Valtheril, who I believe knows you, and he sent me your way saying you might be the being in question or at least, know more.''''

    The dragon laughed again.

    ''''Yeah, Valtheril and I may have met more than once in the past. He had his own reasons for that. With regard to your vision, I am afraid I have to disappoint you. I am not the person you seek.''''

    What a bummer.

    ''''Would you happen to know who could have been meant by that?'''' I asked.

    ''''There is only one being that grows older than us dragons. I don''t see any other possibility, however, that being is unable to communicate with other beings. If it is somehow able to communicate with you then that would be... quite extraordinary, and that is an understatement.''''

    This dragon had me on the edge of my seat.

    ''''And what would that being be?'''' I asked, unable to contain mu curiosity.

    ''''A dungeon core.''''

    Velariah gasped.

    ''''A dungeon core, you mean to tell me they are sentient?'''' Velariah asked in shock.

    ''''Correct.'''' Ember replied. ''''I have never heard of one being able to communicate with other beings. That would be an anomaly.''''

    ''''I''ve been called worse.'''' I half joked. ''''I have to admit, the spider called the Ancient One its master. Would that mean that the dungeon core was talking through the spider?''''

    ''''That seems likely'''' Ember responded.

    I started thinking out loud.

    ''''So let me see if I can get this correct. A dungeon core can allow its spawned monsters to speak. The thing is, these monsters cannot communicate with anybody so that means the core cannot communicate. The thing is, apparently spiders are able to somehow, someway able to communicate with me. Thus, a dungeon core can communicate with me.''''

    I could see Velariah''s gears grinding in her head as she tried to process what I had just said.

    ''''That... sounds insane, but plausible.''''

    ''''Moreover, it seems a dungeon is eager to talk to me.''''

    ''''I''m pretty sure such a thing has never happened before....'''' Velariah seemed at a loss for words.

    I looked behind me to see Seralyn and Draco in shock as well.

    ''''Which dungeon, though?'''' I asked to no one in particular.

    ''''I would assume it''s the one you uncovered.'''' Draco suggested.

    ''''I mean, there were spiders outside that dungeon. There was even one that looked exactly the same as the one in my dream. Ember would you happen to know more about anything like that?''''

    ''''If the dungeon controlled a spider much like the ones outside the dungeon, I would assume the spiders outside the dungeon had gone feral.''''

    ''''What does that mean, exactly?'''' I asked.

    ''''Sometimes, monsters escape the confines of a dungeon. When that happens that are cut off from the dungeon''s influence and their actions become erratic. Their behaviors are dumbed down to their primal instincts such as reproduction and defending territory.'''' Ember explained.

    ''''That seemed to be what that hellspider queen was all about when it ''''communicated'''' with me.''''

    ''''So the spiders originated from the dungeon?'''' Draco asked. ''''When did that happen and why was the quest issued so late? When we discovered the door, it seemed to have been shut tight for quite some time.''''

    ''''Good point.'''' I noted.

    ''''We should try to find any further info regarding that quest.'''' Velariah suggested. ''''This doesn''t sit right with me.''''

    There was something fishy going on, that was for certain.

    ''''If it''s true that I can communicate with that dungeon and it''s non-hostile, don''t you think we should be able to find out from them?'''' I asked. ''''I mean, Draco, you said it''s a silver tier dungeon, even if things go sour, we should be able to handle ourselves in there, right?''''

    ''''Certainly.''''

    I thought that was going to be the easiest, most effective option. I would like to see if we could find a healer somewhere first though.

    ''''Thanks a lot for your help Ember.'''' I took a bow as much as I could.

    ''''Glad to help Elania, do any of you have any further questions?''''

    ''''I do!'''' Velariah called out. ''''Would you be so kind to bless some iron ore we acquired?''''

    Bless iron ore? What exactly would that entail?

    ''''No problem, child. By the way, do promise to ask your father to stop by again sometime. I do adore his company.''''

    ''''Sure!'''' Velariah called as the unloaded the box of iron ore.

    A dragon''s blessing, color me intrigued.

    She nonchalantly dumped the ore on the ground and fished out my geode before taking a few steps back.

    The dragon moved her head forward to the pile of ores and took a deep breath.

    Uh-oh.

    As I expected the dragon breathed fire into the ore. The entire area heated up considerably and I found myself taking multiple steps back from the radiating heat.

    I had expected the ore to actually melt but it didn''t. When the dragon was finished and retracted her head, the iron ore looked to be glowing with a strange red color much like her scales. It flickered yellow and then red and seemed to alternate between the two, as if it were gemstones instead of simple ore. I was curious what that blessing had actually done.

    Velariah grabbed the spade from the cart and thanked the dragon with a bow before she started shoveling the ore back into a crate.

    Yeah, that stuff was bound to be hot. I was surprised it didn''t burn the crate.

    ''''If that is all, I suggest you children leave. I would normally love to have you around for the company, but it seems the volcano is going to erupt soon. Lest you want to be burned I suggest you move out of here quickly.''''

    Volcanic eruption? But I hadn¡¯t felt anything move in the ground? Spider legs, why have you failed me?

    Velariah loaded the crate onto the cart and I turned around to leave. We''d better get out of here quickly. I didn''t want to experience an eruption from up close.

    ''''Thanks a lot for your help Ember, we will be sure to stop by again someday!''''

    ''''Looking forward to it.''''

    Just as we exited the cave entrance, I felt soft tremors flow through my legs.

    It seemed Ember was right.

    We better run.

 1.35 Compensation

    We had quickly waved Ember goodbye and were currently running up the path again that we had previously descended. My companions were ahead of me while I closely followed. Once we were back at the top, we could have them jump in the cart and run down the mountain.

    There were a couple of circumstances that put my mind somewhat at ease. I was fairly certain Ember would not put us in any real danger given her reputation of being very receptive of visitors. A dead adventurer was one less person to talk to, after all. No, I was certain her warning had been timely and would give us plenty of time to get out of any real danger.

    The other thing was that, as far as I could tell, this was what one would call a shield volcano. the slope wasn¡¯t too steep and I hadn''t seen any other vents besides the main crater. A shield volcano would mean that the eruptions it would undergo were non-violent. This means there was not going to be any of those stereotypical balls of lava flying through the air. Instead, the magma in the central crater would simply rise and flow down the sides of the mountain.

    This did, however, mean that the lava would flow at a rapid pace, which is exactly why we were in a hurry to get off this mountain. I hoped we were not in a dangerous situation, but I would not sit idly to see whether I was right. I was not going to screw around with an active volcano!

    It didn''t take long for us to reach the top of the mountain again. I could still feel the ground lightly trembling which made me feel uneasy. The feeling of imminent danger made my heart beat faster as my companions jumped back into the cart.

    I then started running over the cooled down lava from previous eruptions. If my calculations had been correct, we should be somewhat safe when we reached the end of the hard rocky floor. Once I felt dirt under my feet again, I would be put somewhat at ease. That didn''t mean I was going to stop running. Again, no messing with active volcanoes.

    The ride down the mountain was a bumpy one, but no one dared to complain this time. Not even Seralyn. Turned out that the feeling of imminent danger was a great motivator for one to keep quiet while they were being escorted out of said danger.

    On the way down, we did not encounter a single Ashclaw scorpion. I would assume they had fled as soon as the tremors started happening. Maybe even before that. If I recalled correctly, some animals could feel when a volcano was about to erupt and get out of the danger zone in time. It appeared I wasn''t counted among them. That was, unless the tremors that I felt would give me enough time to escape. I had no idea when these scorpions started to flee, after all.

    I looked behind me a couple times to make sure we wouldn''t be surprised by anything, but it seemed all that had happened so far was an increase of black smoke rising up from the crater. No lava was in sight, and I''d like to keep it that way for as long as possible.

    We crossed the border where the rocky ground abruptly changed to volcanic ash and dirt. I hoped that meant we would be out of danger, but I continued onward without slowing down.

    I wondered if Ember''s cave would be a safe spot from the lava flows. I was certain it wouldn''t be flooded by lava, but I imaged the temperatures during an eruption would skyrocket and cook anything alive that wasn''t a dragon. I wondered if her eggs relied on the increased heat from these eruptions to incubate.

    The tremors in the ground stopped and I looked to the crater that was already a fair bit of distance away from where we were, but still didn''t see anything that would indicate danger. A further increase in dark smoke was all that was visible.

    I picked up the pace and ran down the mountain as fast as the cart with three passengers would allow me, careful to not hit any bumps that could destroy the wheels.

    We really kept up the pace and soon reached the foot of the mountain. I decided to look towards the crater far off in the distance and I could see yellow specks of light near the top of it. I assumed that meant that the eruption had actually begun. We were far out of any possible danger and I sighed.

    Better to be safe than sorry.

    ''''Draco, could you fill one of the crates with this dark dirt?'''' I asked politely as I took a small break.

    Running downhill turned out to be more of a strain on my body than I would have expected. I think it had something to do with the weight behind me that was constantly forced upon my legs with every step that I took. Who would have known that uphill would be easier?

    ''''No problem.'''' he said as he jumped out the cart.

    I sat down and spread my many legs, slightly tilting the cart as I did so. It felt relaxing to have the weight lifted from them.

    ''''You alright?'''' Velariah asked.

    ''''I''m okay, just need a minute.''''

    At least from here on out the journey was mostly even terrain.

    Draco filled up the crate and closed it with its lid before loading it back on the cart.

    ''''What''s up with a crate of dirt?'''' Seralyn asked.

    Had we not explained it to her before? Either I forgot or she was denser than a neutron star. Perhaps both.

    I was happy with a crate of dirt though, not as happy as if it had been a jar, but still pretty happy.

    ''''Fertilizer.'''' I said with a single word.

    ''''What''s so special about this ''''fertilizer''''?'''' She raised an eyebrow as she emphasized the last word.

    ''''Do you have any experience with farming?'''' I asked.

    Velariah grinned. ''''Probably not.''''

    I would assume Velariah to have some knowledge about the subject, seeing as her father basically runs the show in Dawnleaf. She was bound to pick up bits and pieces here and there about the local economy and such. Seralyn however, didn''t seem to understand anything as she shook her head.

    ''''Alright, so.'''' I paused for a moment as I tried to find the easiest way to explain this to a layman. ''''Plants ''''eat'''' very small pieces of things such as iron from the ground. This makes crops and plants grow. When there are no more, or very little of these nutrients in the ground, the crops don''t grow as well or they don''t grow large or grow at all. You got that so far?''''

    Seralyn nodded.

    ''''This soil is incredibly rich with these nutrients. The ash from volcanoes has a lot of things like iron mixed in, just look at where it comes from. This stuff is simply the best possible soil for plants to grow in, why do you think these trees here grow so well, despite the place flooding with lava every now and then?''''

    I pointed at the small, young trees in the area.

    ''''Makes sense, I guess.''''

    Explaining the basics of farming to an elf in another world. Not exactly the life of adventure I had imagined. Well, I did just outrun an erupting volcano, I guessed.

    I shrugged.

    ''''You know, the yellow stuff I filled a crate with can also be used as fertilizer. Next time, think twice before you call something useless, you may simply not know what you can use it for.''''

    That ought to put a dent in her cockiness.

    ''''I don''t know because I don''t care. It doesn''t help me shoot monsters now, does it?''''

    Maybe not. She was stubborn as well.

    ''''Who knows? You might be wrong there again.'''' I smiled without turning my head so she couldn''t see it.

    ''''Just move already.''''

    Hah, I won.

    Maybe I should completely change her view about things someday. I reckoned if I had gunpowder, I could make some kind of exploding arrow. Only to be used against monsters, of course. I wouldn''t want to commit any war crimes.

    I should actually just do it. Create gunpowder that was. Not a single person in this world was going to be able to replicate it, even if they managed to get their hands on some of the powder after I''d created it. Without my knowledge, there was no way they were going to get both the ingredients and the exact amounts right.

    It''s curious, this would be far more advanced than crossbows, but crossbows could be easily replicated if taken apart. Using gunpowder for things such as explosions would not leave a trace.

    ''An interesting thought.'' I concluded.

    And a nice addition to our firepower. Literal firepower.

    But first, we were going to have to make our way back to the village.

    I stood up again and prepared to moved out when something came running at us from the distance at great speed. I couldn''t quite make out what it was, it looked like multiple figures advancing quickly. From their size I could make out they weren''t human. I asked Velariah to cut loose the rope with her sword and prepare for the worst-case scenario, combat.

    Not much later we found out where the mountain lynxes had run off to. Or at least, a pack of them. I thought lynxes were solitary creatures? These appeared to work together in coordinated fashion to attack us.

    Of course, we were going to have this happen? How could it not?

    Upon closer inspection, they didn''t even look like lynxes in the first place. I had no idea who came up with that name. Sure, their base form looked like the lynxes we had on Earth. They were basically large cat like creatures, but that¡¯s there the similarities ended.

    As far as I could recall lynxes did not have antlers like deer. I was also pretty sure they didn''t have horns like those of a ram either. To top it all off they had a large set of canine teeth that made them look like sabretooth tigers. I was pretty sure they were compensating for something at this point.

    But wait, there was more!

    Along the back of their bodies ran a line of green leaves from their neck all the way to their short tail.

    What was up with vegetation growing in the backs of animals in this world?

    We had a pack of about fifteen of these animals fighting us in turns. It kind of resembled the fight I had with the wolves back at the cave when I had first encountered Velariah. It seemed they had a few of the animals making feigned attacks to cause us to show openings for others to attack.

    It turned out to be a good idea to get me some armor as I had ram horns impact my belly a couple of times when they jumped at me. I couldn''t hold them all off at the same time, but I did envenom a couple with my fangs mid-jump. The armor seemed to protect me against most of the blunt force from the ram horns, the skewering effect of the antlers was completely denied by it.

    I was certain I would have broken at least a few bones if it wasn''t for the dwarf.

    Velariah was on top of the cart protecting Seralyn who was actually amazing in combat. I had to give her credit there. Her rapid fire caused more than a few of the beasts to hit the floor. Moreover, I had partly filled her quiver with my venom so that all the arrow tips would deliver a lethal dose of it to anything that got properly hit. Even the lynxes that would not have been mortally wounded by the arrows fell soon after.

    Velariah did a great job protecting our ranged damage dealer as she impaled a couple of the beasts when they tried to jump on the cart. She even cut off a few antlers in situations where she could not get a clear hit on their heads.

    Draco cleaved off horns and antlers left right and center as he was wildly swinging his large axe while in his ''''berserk'''' mode. These beasts weren''t terribly powerful, but they were quick. I was certain Draco received more than a few impacts of horns on his body because of his sluggishness but his skill appeared to keep him mostly safe from any real harm.

    I tried to assist Velariah in keeping them off the cart as much as possible. My new exoskeleton seemed to be almost impervious to their attacks, although I still managed to feel pain wherever their horns impacted my body, likely due to the blunt trauma penetrating at least somewhat. My spear and fangs made quick work of them and I even surprised a couple with my legs while they were dancing around me waiting for an opening, quickly impaling their sides.

    The battle was short, but intense. They didn''t seem to give up, no matter how many of their kin fell to our weapons, unlike the wolves which had shown similar coordination. This led me to believe there was an external factor driving their efforts to get rid of us. Either that, or they were desperate. I couldn''t find myself wanting to believe that though, they could have simply run around us to wherever they wanted to go.

    Something sure was fishy about this as well.

    I let down my guard for just a second and saw one of the animals jump up to Seralyn who had her back turned to the attack. Before I could warn her, its antlers had already impacted her. I could see they pierced her skin from here and I knew it was going to be bad.

    Velariah quickly turned around and finished the animal off that had got stuck with its hindlegs behind the cart''s side panel with a stab to its belly. Its legs soon stopped their wild struggle to get free.

    Seralyn cried out in pain as she fell to her knees.

    Draco and I quickly finished off the last of them and turned our attention to the wounded elf.

    ''''Seralyn! Are you alright?'''' I yelled out.

    I already lowered my abdomen to the floor and started spinning thread which I then picked up with my hands and wrapped around them, creating some sort of bandage.

    Draco ran to the cart and reached for his bag, pulling out a canteen of what I believed was alcohol.

    ''''Velariah, how bad is it?'''' I asked as Seralyn hadn''t replied.''''

    Velariah was pushing down on the wound with a piece of Seralyn''s clothing.

    ''''It missed her vitals, but the bleeding''s bad.'''' Velariah stated.

    ''''I''m... fine...'''' Seralyn struggled to speak. She was obviously not fine.

    ''''No, you''re not.'''' Velariah spoke before she was handed a green potion by Draco. A healing one if I recalled correctly.

    Velariah uncorked it and forced its contents down the other elf''s throat.

    I then handed her the silken bandage and instructed her to make a ball in the wound and make sure it was wrapped very tightly and pressed down hard. Draco jumped into the cart and poured some alcohol over the wound which caused Seralyn to scream once more.

    Ouch, that ought to sting.

    After that, Velariah did as I instructed and wrapped the bandage around the brunette tightly.

    ''''How much is that potion going to do?'''' I asked.

    ''''It will slowly heal the internal damage but it doesn''t stop the bleeding quickly. If this bandage works properly, we should be perfectly fine.'''' Velariah replied.

    ''''I could always cocoon her up further.'''' I stated, not entirely joking. ''''Make sure she drinks enough as well to replace lost blood.''''

    As I said that, Draco fished out another canteen and handed it to the white-haired elf who then forced Seralyn to drink.

    ''''Might as well give her a painkiller while we''re at it. What good are potions if we aren''t going to use them? Besides, it''s not like we are going anywhere else''''

    ''''You''re right.'''' Velariah answered and fished out a yellow potion out of her pack, sniffed it and then put it back before pulling out yet another yellow potion. She uncorked it again, sniffed and then forced Seralyn to drink even more.

    With that, she seemed to be able to speak again. I was actually surprised to hear her thank us.

    I started gathering the corpses of the lynxes and stacked them on a pile, not wasting any time. It turned out there were sixteen of them and I imagined they would be worth something. Even if we were not going to be paid for these at the guild, it would be a waste to throw them away. Draco helped me and picked up the antlers and horns that had broken off during combat and tossed them on the cart.

    ''''How is she? I asked Velariah as I was wrapping sticky silk around the animal corpses.

    ''''She is fine, you can take your time. She is out of danger, just need the potion to do its work now.''''

    If she had been in danger, we would have been in a sticky situation. Even if I ran at full speed, I was sure that the trip to Dawnleaf was going to take a few hours at least. Of course, I would have started running immediately, but if she was fine, I was going to make sure to take these lynxes with us.

    I observed my handiwork.

    I couldn''t really call it that. All it was, was a bunch of animal corpses held together by silk. I had packed them together in one ball as much as I could. The result was a messy ''''ball'''' but it would work, I thought. I had then attached the ball to the back of the cart with multiple thick threads. Confident that they would not break I had Velariah bind the cart''s beams to my abdomen again. I had told my companions to keep an eye out for any snapping lines as I intended to go back to Dawnleaf at great speed.

    We had taken a short break so my companions could eat and drink. After that I started running back to the elven village. Velariah was going to make sure Seralyn''s bandage would be pressed down and make sure she drank often on the way back, while Draco kept an eye out for the lines behind the cart.

    I made sure to go as fast as I could on our way back. I imagined it was going to be a good idea to have Seralyn checked out by one of the treemenders, preferably a non-evil one.

    I ran for hours, not bothering to make any further stops and soon the hill outside of the village came into view.

    I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing we would be safe soon.

    Faragi

    I''ve added a WIP drawing of Elania someone is working on to the glossary. Make sure to check it out!

 1.36 Running Errands

    Our first priority would be to get Seralyn checked out and running again, literally. The elf still seemed in pain but not in any kind of danger. As much as I think she deserved to be put in her place, I wasn''t the kind of person to take any joy out of this situation. I''d rather have her be healthy.

    I had to admit our teamwork earlier had been phenomenal. We''d all leapt into action to make sure Seralyn got treatment within a minute. Despite not knowing each other for long, it seemed we would be able to make crucial decisions in record time. I smiled at the thought as we made our way through the village gate.

    The stares we got never ceased to humor me. I''d gotten used to them by now and could simply smile in return. One would think they would get used to seeing weird sights from this even weirder creature but the gazes never seemed to hold any less amazement in them. Maybe it''s because we kept pulling off weirder stunts every time. Who knows?

    The large ''''sac'''' of lynxes was still dragged behind the cart as we found ourselves in the central square at the opening to the massive tree. Draco stepped out of the cart and took Seralyn in his arms as he carried her inside. The brunette had protested against it but was too weak to actually make a stand. Draco told us to continue to the guild, he would take care of things here.

    And so, we ended up in front of the guild, turning more than a few heads as we stopped in front of the entrance, including the Lore keeper''s.

    She actually dropped her work and walked from behind her desk up to us, staring at the lynxes.

    ''''One delivery to Dawnleaf Guild.'''' I said with a chuckle.

    ''''Oh my, that¡¯s a delivery if I''ve ever seen one. You want to drop it off in the warehouse?'''' She asked.

    ''''Sure.'''' I replied.

    She walked back inside and entered the door at the back. In the meantime, Velariah had jumped out of the cart and was walking next to me as we made our way to the warehouse. The doors were already opened as we got there.

    We walked inside and Velariah tried to slash the threads of silk but didn¡¯t manage to cut through cleanly. It would seem either her sword had dulled, or the silk was stronger than the last time she tried to cut it. Maybe that was from all the omelets? I grinned. That would make sense in a way.

    Velariah sighed as she pulled out her sword from the sticky mess and cut the threads one by one instead.

    ''''While you''re at it, can you cut me loose as well?''''

    ''''Just a sec.'''' She said as she cut the last threads.

    When she finally finished, she cut down the thread that bound the cart to my abdomen.

    Ah, sweet relief.

    I walked a few circles as I was freed from the pressure that had weighed down on my behind.

    I asked the Lore keeper what she wanted as payment for borrowing the cart while she handed Velariah back the gold coin we had given before. She then asked what all the goods were that we brought with us. I told her we had about two crates of scorpion stringers, two crates of fertilizer that would ideally go to Valtheril, a crate of iron ore that was technically mine as we traded it for my silk from traders that were on their way to Dawnleaf and the lynxes.

    She answered that one of the lynxes and five percent of the stingers would be plenty. The rest she would properly buy.

    As it turned out, these lynxes were not a protected species and everyone was free to hunt them. it''s just that, like the scorpions, they were so far away from the village that most adventurers didn''t bother to go out for them.

    She then asked me about the silk that bound the animals.

    ''''do whatever you want with that.'''' I answered.

    She looked happy at my response. I reckoned she would sell it for a decent price to the archers. I actually didn''t care as much, whatever made her happy, I guessed. Maybe I was simply too tired to care.

    I hadn''t really noticed before but I reckon running a marathon or two does that to one''s body, even if it''s half giant spider. The interesting part was that I wasn''t hungry despite creating quite a bit of silk and travelling many miles.

    From my experience so far, it seemed safe to assume that exhaustion only kicked in as soon as I stopped doing activities. I wasn''t sure if that was some fancy survival mechanism, but I guess I should be thankful that I wouldn''t simply drop down from fatigue when running from danger.

    We then dumped the lynx corpses where we had deposited the Saibon Boar. I wondered what fifteen lynxes that were mostly intact would bring in, money wise. It was kind of neat to have a dump all establishment where you could get rid of pretty much all the things you ran into on your journey and even get paid for it. I didn¡¯t plan on this lynx thing, but I wouldn¡¯t shy away from the payment.

    I could already hear the clinking of coins. I hoped we weren''t going to be scammed, I had no idea what these things were actually worth. Maybe I should have checked beforehand.

    Oh well, cash and go home I would guess. Although there was still the iron ore, I wasn''t quite sure where to leave that.

    ''''Velariah?'''' I was sure to call her by her full name. I guess if I wanted respect myself, I should show her the same kind of respect.

    ''''Hm?'''' She said as we unloaded the crates from the cart.

    We were going to leave the two crates of stingers in the warehouse, together with the last two empty ones we still had. Velariah ended up buying the crates that contained the iron ore, sulfur and volcanic dirt. One silver wasn''t too much to pay for something that would continue to be of use later on. Maybe we should actually buy a cart of our own someday... maybe make a few modifications too...

    ''''What were you planning to do with this ore?'''' I asked as I carried the crate outside.

    The crate itself was quite heavy. Good thing I had four arms, Velariah even added the crate of sulfur on top of it and I was still able to carry it without too much of an issue. I would however, rather get rid of the heavy crate as soon as possible.

    ''''We''re gonna take it to Coldanus and have him make a sword.... that is, of course, if you''re fine with that. It''s your iron after all.''''

    Ouch, that stung.

    She just put me in an extremely uncomfortable situation. I mean, she was right that technically it''s mine, but I have no need for a different weapon right now. She could do with a better sword for sure.

    Oh, and she pulled the puppy eyes again.

    It''s super effective.

    ''''Fine, let''s get you a proper sword.'''' I sighed. ''''This Coldanus guy better be as good as they say.''''

    We walked through the central plaza surrounding the tree on our way to the village''s weaponsmith.

    ''''Come to think of it, Velariah, is the reason the guy seems so pissy all the time because of his name?''''

    ''''What do you mean?'''' She frowned.

    Surely, she must have realized by now? I mean, she had been pronouncing his name as Col-danus all the time, but it wasn''t hard to change that to something much more... triggering so to say.

    ''''Cold-anus?'''' I questioned.

    I could see the metaphorical lightbulb turn on in her head as I looked her in the eyes.

    No way...

    You got to be kidding me...

    She managed to keep a straight face but I knew she had never thought this a possibility. Maybe the guy was just unhappy with his name and that was how he turned out so sour? It wouldn''t be an impossibility.

    We walked up to the building that Velariah had previously entered alone. I could hear the sound of a hammer on metal coming from behind the building and I knew what that meant.

    I''d actually have to meet the guy...

    Velariah led the way through an alleyway that I barely fit through.

    I handed her the crate of iron which she barely seemed to be able to carry and let her go first. I would hide in the shadows until Velariah had announced my presence.

    ''''Sup Vel.'''' I could hear a male voice as the hammering on iron continued.

    ''''It''s Lady Velariah for you Coldanus. And I have a commission.''''

    ''''For whom?'''' The voice dryly said.

    ''''For myself, I''ve got a crate of Dragon-blessed ore and would like a new sword.''''

    ''''Three gold.'''' He instantly stated his price.

    That seemed a bit much, considering she provided the material herself.

    ''''Deal.'''' Velariah answered optimistically.

    Wait, that was cheap?

    ''''Where''s that spider friend of yours? I''ve heard a lot of things about it. I''d like to see it for myself.''''

    Whatever Valtheril did, it sure didn''t seem to have fixed this guy''s attitude. His prices perhaps, but this was still rude.

    ''''Her name''s Elania, and she''s hiding to not scare the shit out of you. Some people are actually decent, you know?'''' Velariah struck back.

    Oof, she could hurt if she wanted to.

    I walked in the open, feeling that was my cue and found a brawny elf looking at me from top to... toes? The smith had an expression that fit his attitude, a shaven face full of wrinkles and no smile in sight. His skin was darkened by ash and coal from his profession, the little that was exposed.

    He wore a white shirt with a leather apron covering most of his front side. He was working on a dagger that was still red-hot. A round stone forge with bellows was positioned behind him. Several other weapon smithing necessities were positioned around the open space. A grindstone, several molds, containers with what looked like oils, loads of tools such as hammers, tongs and more, nails and pieces of leather scattered throughout.

    I had no idea what everything was used for, but I was fascinated by the sheer number of tools that a blacksmith would have to worth with.

    The smith hammered a few more times on the dagger before putting it in a bucket of water. What did they do that for anyway?

    He inspected the blade and then picked up a pair of tongs and held the blade in the heat of the forge again.

    Seriously, I had no idea what was going on, didn''t he just cool it?

    Whatever, he probably knows what he''s doing.

    He eyed me again, but didn''t say a word.

    ''''I''m Elania, nice to meet you.'''' I said, breaking the awkward silence. ''''You must be Col...danus, I''ve heard you make the best weapons in the area.''''

    I had almost screwed up his name. I didn¡¯t want to imagine what would have happened if I did. I dodged a bullet there.

    ''''That''s right.'''' He turned to Velariah as he was heating the dagger. ''''So, a sword, any specific wishes?''''

    ''''Two enchant slots would be great.'''' Velariah spoke.

    ''''With Dragon-blessed ore? Should be a breeze, could add a third for an extra gold.''''

    He really seemed fixated on the objects he created. I was expecting this to go worse.

    Sure, he was rude and uncaring, but as long as he could make good weapons, who cared?

    Velariah looked at me.

    ''''Is it okay?''''

    I didn¡¯t get it.

    ''''Why wouldn''t it be?'''' I asked with a frown. ''''If you can get a good weapon from it, then sure, go for it.''''

    ''''Because I feel like you are the cause of most of the money, we are earning at the moment...'''' She looked to the ground.

    Was that... guilt?

    ''''Velariah, you need a proper weapon, get the best you can get. I don''t care about a gold more or less. Besides, how much are we going to cash in from the guild?''''

    ''''I believe the singers go for four silver each. I have no idea about the lynxes, to be honest. I guess they should be able to bring in a fair bit as well, there''s a lot of meat, materials and hide to be harvested from them. Maybe the Lore keeper will even throw in a bit extra for the silk.'''' The elf answered.

    ''''Then go for it.''''

    Why did it feel like we were a married couple discussing our finances...?

    ''''Thanks, El, you''re the best!" She happily exclaimed.

    Coldanus didn¡¯t seem to care, he was too fixated on his work.

    ''''El?''''

    ''''Oops, I mean Elania.'''' She corrected herself.

    Interesting...

    I yawned and looked up to the sky. The now ever-familiar red glow had set in again. It was kind of weird to find Coldanus still working the forge. He probably had his reasons, though.

    That left us with only two crates. I decided to take the dirt one as it seemed heavier. We took a bit of a detour to the treemender''s oak to see how Draco and Seralyn fared.

    When we arrived, they were both waiting outside the building. It seemed Seralyn was completely fine again.

    Long live healing magic.

    I asked what the exact effects of the potion was, since I wasn''t quite sure. Velariah explained that potions worked slowly and from the inside of the body. The bandaging we did had been vital to a quick recovery. It would seem that traditional medical knowledge would not be completely misplaced in this world. No such thing as quick fix from near-death. The treemenders had fixed the rest of the wound after the potion''s effects had expired.

    Now the cocky elf had fallen back to her old self.

    And she was hungry.

    I sighed. I was tired.

    Ultimately, I decided to join them at the guild.

    The place wasn''t even close to full. It seemed most people who were here for dinner had already left. The people that were left were mostly here for the alcohol. This meant that the menu didn''t have many items on it remaining anymore, choice was little.

    Good thing I wasn¡¯t hungry.

    I sat in silence as the others ate their food, the two crates of goods were placed on the floor next to me. I found myself leaning back and closing my eyes.

    ''''Elania?'''' Velariah''s voice caused me to sit upright again.

    ''''Huh?'''' I looked around.

    ''''Go home, Elania, you''re drunk!'''' Seralyn laughed.

    Didn''t sound like a terrible idea... I didn¡¯t want to leave them behind, though.

    ''''You should actually go home Elania. I''ll go arrange payment with the Lore keeper and go home later. Elly will open the door for you.''''

    I looked at her, not sure what to do.

    ''''Go already.'''' She nodded to the exit.

    ''''Thanks, Vel...''''

    ''''I''ll forgive you this time because you¡¯re tired.''''

    I put up a best a smile as I could before I started making my way to Velariah''s mansion. It felt weird walking home without the elf and I started to feel a bit guilty. I quickly waved it away knowing that I''d done enough for the day. There was no reason to feel sorry for myself.

    As I walked up to the door, I felt a shadow fall over me and felt a presence rush through the sky above me. I tilted my head to look up but found nothing there. Whatever it had been had already passed.

    ''What the hell was that?'' I thought.

    Please tell me that goblins didn''t learn how to ride those ptra... Ptar... Flying dinosaurs... I was too tired to think.

    I didn¡¯t hear any screams so I assume it couldn''t have been anything dangerous.

    I knocked on the door and Elly soon opened the slider.

    ''''Is Lady Velariah not with you?'''' Elly asked.

    ''''She will join later. She is having dinner at the guild. She sent me home because I''m dead tired from running for miles today.'''' I answered.

    Elly opened the door to let me in.

    "Should I help you out of your armor miss Elania?''''

    ''''If you''d like, yes please.''''

    There was no way I was going to manage on my own.

    The maid helped me out of the chest piece and put it on a stand. I thanked her before I walked off to the bathroom. When I entered the room, it looked like all the pillows had been rearranged into neatly stacked piles instead of the mountain that I slept in before. I walked up to a stack and could smell the scent of... I don''t know. It smelled flowery and it wasn''t roses. All I could do was conclude that they had been washed.

    I still had the presence of mind to take off my shirt and hang it over the sink. I then threw all the pillows in a pile again and wondered if I should lock the door. I knew what was going to happen if I didn''t. I had to admit I wasn''t necessarily against the idea...

    I decided to leave it unlocked and let myself drop in the pile before I clapped out the lights.

    ''Maybe I am actually looking forward to it?'' I thought as I closed my eyes.

    Faragi

    My first and hopefully only chapter under 3k words. haven''t been feeling terribly well today as I slept horribly.

    On another note: I''d like to change the synopsis to a proper one but I am terribly at writing them as such I came up with an idea.

    I''d like people to write a synopsis for me. With a reward bound to the writer of the one that is used.

    Post them in the comments or send them in DM. I''ll pick a few that I like and put them up for a poll. I''d then pick the winning synopsis and use it for the story. I would then like to invite the writer of the synopsis to have them name an upcoming character in the story. (serious name ofc).

    I hope people are interested in competing!

    I''d also invite people to join my discord server, so far we have 40+ people in it!

    https://discord.gg/XqVA7ajDV8

    Also check out this artwork somebody is working hard on! (still WIP)

    Elania & Vel (WIP)

 1.37 Letting Go of the Past

    Why was sleep such a struggle?

    I was dead tired, yet I had issues getting myself to sleep. Added to that was the thought that Vel could come home any minute and barge in here. The feeling was eerily similar to when one knew there was a mosquito in the room but it kept quiet until one was almost asleep and then it would start buzzing again. This feeling was the worst!

    She didn''t come home as early as I had expected and I did get some sleep, but I was awoken by the faintest sound of the door to the bathroom opening. It wasn''t loud at all, yet it got me out of the light sleep state I was in. Apparently utter exhaustion couldn''t keep me down, as much as I wanted to just drift off.

    The elf clapped softly and the lights turned on.

    She seemed to think I was still asleep.

    I was curious what she was going to do if I was, so I pretended to still be asleep, even mimicking soft snoring. So far, she had done as I predicted. There was no way she was not going to be here if I left the door unlocked. I opened one eye far enough to be able to see without her knowing.

    Next thing I knew, I was staring at her undressing. As much as I could stare with an almost closed eye, anyway.

    Her armor really covered up her elven beauty...

    Ugh, there was that thought again. I had a hard time resisting it. She really was a succubus!

    Why did elves have to be so perfect...

    She put her clothes and tag on top of mine in the sink and made her way to me. I closed my eyes, not wanting her to realize I wasn''t actually sleeping and she clapped out the lights softly as I could feel the pillows shift as she lowered herself into them.

    The next thing I knew was that she was searching for my arms that were casually laying on one of the pillows next to me. I did, after all sleep on my side, as much as this body allowed me to turn my human part that was.

    She found my arms and wrapped herself in them.

    So that''s what she did the last time as well...

    She then pressed herself against me, her hair under my nose and hugged me tightly.

    I had a hard time pretending to be asleep. How could I? I was being overloaded by the sensations she was giving me. She was far a pillow than any of these other ones. Four hands only served to amplify the experience of her soft skin.

    She even went as far as grabbing my left pedipalp and put in behind one of her legs.

    This elf has issues.

    She then kissed my neck softly and whispered goodnight.

    I wanted to wish her goodnight as well, but that would reveal that I was in fact awake. Maybe she knew? I hoped not.

    I felt my mind clear away the worries from before and found myself relax quickly. I hoped I wouldn''t need the elf to fall asleep, but I didn''t mind It either.

    Maybe I did like her too. I''d only known her for such a short time, though. I feared this would not work out if we rushed things. The longer we hugged though, the more I wanted to try this. My emotions once again conflicted with one another, but I soon found myself relaxed enough to fall asleep again.

    ----------------------------------------------------------

    When I woke up, I could still feel Velariah in my arms. It was strange to find her still in bed this late. At least, I assumed it was late, because the last time I went to sleep feeling exhausted, it wasn''t until afternoon that I got up.

    When I moved my head to crack my neck she spoke up.

    ''''Good afternoon Elania.'''' She whispered softly.

    She had her head on my chest and still hugged me tightly, not wanting to let go it seemed.

    ''''Good morning to you too Velariah. How late is it exactly?'''' I whispered back.

    ''''No idea.'''' She moaned as she shifted herself deeper into the pillows. ''''Don''t care.''''

    ''''Aren¡¯t you hungry?'''' I asked as I moved my nose in her hair.

    Even after travelling two days, it still smelled nice. I really needed me some of that miracle shampoo.

    ''''Not hungry enough to leave you.''''

    ''''You''re awfully attached, aren''t you?'''' I grinned.

    ''''Well, someone has to make the first move in this relationship.'''' She fired back.

    Ouch.

    ''''I mean, you know I like you Vel, but I fear going at your pace it could ruin our friendship.'''' I tried to explain.

    ''''Oh, so you do like me?'''' She turned her head to look into my eyes.

    Why did she have to have heterochromia? Her eyes were far more distracting that way...

    ''''I do. I think.'''' I closed my eyes when I said it.

    Oh my god, did I just confess? I swore she forced it out of me. I blamed her succubus heritage!

    ''''Awww, Elania, no need to be so shy about it.''''

    She started playing with my hair. I still had my eyes closed as I tried to think what this meant. I had just confessed to a girl that I''d known for, was it 10 days now? I wasn''t sure. I didn''t know if I would have ever done that in my old life. My memories of friends and family were still missing. I didn''t know if I should be thankful for that or not. At this point, remembering things may actually put a far heavier load on my shoulders than not knowing a thing.

    At the very least I didn''t have to think about what my parents would think of me...

    ''''I''m not good with these things...'''' I whispered softly as I opened my eyes again. Velariah''s eyes were waiting for me when I did so.

    ''''I''ve forgotten half of who I am, of who I was, and now half of me is physically changed too. Why do you think I am so hesitant about this?''''

    Through the absolute mess that was my memories and emotions I did know I liked Velariah. She''d been with me for what felt like so long, even though it had only been a few days. Still, she''d been with me for most of the time I''d been awake.

    To start being liked by the first person that hadn''t tried to kill me, it just seemed impossible to me, too good to be true, and me reciprocating that feeling, it just couldn''t be.

    Why did this elf have to make a mess of my emotions every time?

    I was still trying to adjust to this world, the worst days of hardship were surely still ahead, yet here she was, in my bed, hugging me tightly. She didn''t seem to have a care about anything else in the world. Maybe she was just true to her feelings?

    Had I done something terribly wrong to find myself in this world? Did I even deserve love?

    I couldn''t help but think something awful would happen to Velariah for feeling that way.

    ''''Don''t cry Elania, your face is too pretty for that.'''' Velariah whispered as she wiped away tears from my eyes with her thumbs.

    Was I crying? I hadn¡¯t even realized.

    ''''I think you think too much about your past. I don''t know how to help you with that except for telling you to let go. Whatever happened, it¡¯s not your fault.'''' She whispered again.

    It was probably true that it wasn''t my fault. I wasn''t an evil person, was I?

    Back when I found myself in that cave, I had resolved to find out what happened and find my missing memories. Maybe that was something holding me back too much. I think that''s what this elf meant at least. Maybe I should just let go of it?

    It''s hard to give up your identity, or at least what made you you. That''s what I had thought before and it turned out to be ever so true.

    ''''Just let go.'''' Velariah whispered again. ''''You''re here now, the past is the past, I''ll gladly be here for you in this new life of yours.''''

    That was the straw that broke the camel''s back. Those words of her''s had me try to let go of the past and the resolution I had made. I would never find out what happened and how I got here, what happened to my friends, my family, to me. I tried to let go, and with it, the flood gates truly opened.

    I cried.

    I cried long and hard. Tears flowed freely as I hugged the elf tightly.

    Amnesia truly was a blessing when trying to forget. It didn¡¯t make this any easier, though. I stained the elf''s hair with tears as she had done to me earlier. It was ironic that we''d have to go through the same process again with our roles reserved. Nevertheless, I was glad she was here for me. She''d promised to be there for me and I would gladly accept it.

    For the first time since coming to this world, I truly felt at home, even as my eyes continued to produce more and more tears, trying to let go off the past.

    ''''Thank you, Vel.'''' I whispered through the flood.

    She put her head on my chest again and I started to calm down.

    From now on, I would look towards the future instead. My life was only just beginning here and a lot remained to be done. I would gladly dive into it with Velariah, and if things went well, happily share it with her.

    Even if it was going to be life of fighting, hardship and traveling, I was looking forward to it. Even if I¡¯d have to get through it with this freaky body of mine, I would do it. Even if things could take a turn for the worst and we weren''t sure if there was going to be a tomorrow, we were going to get through it.

    ''''Thank you.'''' I whispered again and I let myself relax into the pillows.

    I don''t know how long I remained like that. We wouldn¡¯t get much done today if we kept this up. I didn''t care, though. I felt like a huge weight had disappeared and allowed me to move forward now.

    Velariah''s hand ran through my hair in a loving gesture. She had a small smile on her face which put me further at ease.

    ''''We''ll get through this.'''' She spoke softly. ''''I have all the time, don''t worry about it.''''

    I smiled back.

    ''''Is that a reference to your lifespan?'''' I asked, feeling considerably better now than before.

    ''''I guess it is, huh?'''' She smiled back.

    ''''How old are you anyway, if I may ask. It''d be nice to know if we start this, you know... I''ve been curious about it for a while.'''' I paused for a second when I realized something.

    ''''Hold on, how long is a year here anyway?''''

    I hadn''t bothered to ask before, but I guessed when it came to age it would be important to know.

    Velariah took strands of her damp hair and rubbed it on the pillows, trying to dry it.

    Sorry about that Vel...

    ''''A year here consists of 324 days. Twelve months of 27 days. As for your other question, don''t you know it''s rude to ask an elven maiden her age?''''

    I looked up to her. Was it that bad to ask?

    She noticed the confused expression on my face and laughed as she sat up.

    ''''Just kidding, Elania, I''m twenty-seven. What about you?''''

    ''''I''m...'''' I started. ''''I don''t know. It appeared I lost that too.''''

    I tried to remember but couldn''t.

    ''''Heh, whatever. No use brooding over it now.''''

    She was right. I was trying to forget. I doubted I would need my age here, anyway. This wasn''t Earth anymore. I should get used to it.

    I thought about what she said. 324 days in a year. It would seem the days here are at least a few hours longer. I guessed it would be about the same as an earth year?

    She was still very young then, for an elf. Even for human standards that was fairly young. It did confirm however, that elves reached maturity at about the same age as humans. It seemed life for them simply slowed down after that.

    ''''Come, let''s get something to eat. I''m starving. Aren''t you?'''' She spoke.

    ''''Actually, I''m not hungry at all but I guess I should eat at least something.'''' I replied.

    ''''Good, let''s eat something, there''s something I wanted to do today.''''

    This was not going to end well for me, was it?

    We had a quick breakfast consisting of stale bread. I had asked Elly if it would be possible to get her hands on lemons. There was something I wanted to try. She said she would buy some the next time there was a shipment coming in from Duskleaf.

    When Velariah had asked what I intended to do with lemons I had told her there were certain ''''Life hacks'''' that would make life better without much effort.

    She then asked what a ''''hack'''' was...

    I shrugged and told her I''d perhaps explain one day. It was quite complicated after all.

    When we were heading out Velariah had insisted I''d put on my armor and take my spear with me. I noticed the two boxes were still next to the entrance where I left them the day before. I should probably take those into the bathroom as well, or at least give the dirt one to Valtheril. The sulfur I''d like to keep for myself, maybe give a bit to Valtheril to mix with the dirt so he wouldn''t get suspicious of possible other uses.

    ''Does Velariah have some kind of quest planned?'' I thought as we walked out of the door, fully equipped.

    I hoped it wouldn''t be a hard one.

    Instead of walking over to the guild to see our companions, she led the way into the direction of the forest. It made me wonder what exactly she had planned. Were Draco and Seralyn aware? What did they do last night after I left?

    That reminded me of something else entirely.

    ''''Velariah, how much did you guys get paid yesterday?

    ''''Fourteen gold, all in all. It was quite a haul, those lynxes brought in more than I''d expected. Turned out that Duskleaf has been flooded with humans who, for some reason, want trophy wall mounts of some of the more... exotic animals.''''

    ''''Exotic animals, huh? Guess we should keep that one in mind.'''' I stated.

    ''''Heh, a lynx is about the most exotic you''ll find here. Don''t even bother.'''' She replied.

    Damn.

    Still, fourteen gold was a motherload compared to what we had earned before. This means our share would be seven gold. I believe we still has two gold left over from before. This meant that after the expenses for having her sword crafted, we''d have five gold to our name. Not bad, but long from where we wanted to be.

    I should check with Valtheril how the coffee thing is going...

    Last time I checked; the fields looked mostly ready for planting.

    I hadn''t actually bothered to check on the way back, I''d been too busy making sure we got to Dawnleaf quickly because of a certain wounded elf.

    We reached the outskirts of the village and walked into the grass a bit out from the checkpoint. Velariah unsheathed her weapon which put me on edge.

    ''''What are you planning to do?'''' I asked, stopping to see what she was going to do.

    ''''Training.'''' She said as she turned around and charged at me with the weapon.

    I barely managed to sidestep the attack.

    ''''With your weapon, you dummy.'''' She said as she charged at me again.

    I tried to parry the sword with my spear but found it impossible to do so, the blade at the tip wasn¡¯t large enough to protect against a sword. I could only partly destabilize it, and only temporarily. Velariah could re-stabilize and slash my human body if she wanted to.

    She stopped her swing before that happened though.

    ''''You sure a spear is for you?'''' She asked.

    ''''Hey, I''m trying hard not to hurt you, alright?''''

    I pulled up my fangs to make clear what I meant. If it was a person charging me like that, I would probably pin them down and pump them full of lethal venom.

    ''''Hmmm.'''' She seemed to think for a moment. ''''I can see what you mean. You don''t think you''d be able to handle a sword in addition to a spear, you know, with four arms and all?''''

    ''''Maybe I can, it''s just that a spear is incredibly easy to learn, and quite effective.'''' I explained.

    ''''Might be worth to consider a sword as a side weapon, just to be able to deflect from close range in case any humanoid enemies make it that close.''''

    I shrugged. ''''I guess.''''

    She took a few steps away from me.

    ''''Let''s continue to improve your deflection with a spear first, I''m sure you can do better.''''

    She charged again and I hit the blade of her sword as she held it sideways. While her sword was destabilized and flowing over the wood of the spear, I lifted the spear up, raising the sword high. Four arms of strength were too much for the elf and the sword fell from her hands as her body continued to run to me because of the built-up momentum. I used my pedipalps to stop her charge before she bumped into me.

    ''''Not bad.'''' She said as her face was inches away from mine. ''''Let''s try that again.''''

    She walked back away and picked up her dropped sword.

    She charged again in the same fashion and I tried to pull off the same move. I was about to hit he sword with the tip when she lowered her swing angle. I completely missed as a result and her charged continued uninterrupted.

    Yep. That was bad.

    She grinned as she brought the sword to a stop again.

    ''''Again.'''' She said as she walked away again.

    Screw that. I''m gonna use all the tricks I have.

    I lowered my abdomen to the grass as she was walking away and not paying attention. I dropped some sticky silk and lifted it up again without breaking the thread.

    When Velariah charged at me again, I pretended to focus on her sword as I took a few steps back.

    She never even knew what hit her.

    Before she realized what I was doing, I had already moved back enough to have her step into the sticky trap that I had just created. As she stood there, stuck and confused I put my spear against her mail chest carefully and pushed her over.

    She landed on her bum and fell down further on her back. She was completely stuck and I walked up to her. I grabbed her feet and stretched her legs before lowering myself onto her lap with my pedipalps pushing her down on her shoulders.

    ''''How''s that then?'''' I asked as I talked to my immobilized ''''prey''''.

    ''''Heh, not bad, but not good enough.''''

    She raised her sword with one hand and tried to swing weakly, knowing it would not pierce my chest plate. Unfortunately for her, she was too slow and I simply deflected the attack with one of my legs, disarming her in the process.

    ''''You were saying?'''' I taunted her.

    ''''Elania, stop teasing me like this.''''

    ''''What do you mean?'''' I asked.

    A voice interrupted Velariah who was about to answer.

    ''''Oh my, I didn''t know the lovebirds were into that stuff.''''

    ''''She''s right behind me, isn''t she?'''' I asked with a sigh.

    Velariah nodded.

    Seriously. Was Seralyn going to show up every time Velariah and I were alone? And at the most awkward of times too?

    At this point it wouldn¡¯t even surprise me she walked into my (our?) bedroom when we were doing... advanced relationship things.

    Would we get that far? The thoughts made me blush.

    I didn''t dare to look at the other elf while I was still blushing. Thankfully Velariah spoke for me.

    ''''What do you want Seralyn?''''

    ''''Oh, you know, just making sure you weren''t going to do stupid things. It seems you still managed to get yourself into a... let''s call it a sticky situation despite not going far from the village. Seriously, how did you manage that? Anyways, a new quest was posted. Apparently, there''s a troll warlord that needs taking down in the forest. Draco has already accepted it and is signing us up for it.''''

    ''''I do hope you weren''t planning on doing that today? Elania and I were in the middle of... training.''''

    ''''Oh, so that''s what they call that nowadays? No, we''ll head out for it tomorrow. You guys can go and finish your...'''' She paused. ''''Training.''''

    Velariah sighed and I could feel my blush intensifying.

    ''''Alright, we''ll head out tomorrow then. We''ll see you at the guild at noon, hopefully Coldanus will have my sword finished by then.''''

    ''''Cya later, lovebirds.'''' Seralyn''s voice called.

    I waited for a few seconds before I asked.

    ''''Is she gone?''''

    Velariah nodded.

    ''''You mind getting me out of this... sticky situation?'''' She grinned.

    ''''Maybe I do.'''' I smiled. ''''Maybe I do.''''

    Faragi

    Reminder that there is an outstanding contest for writing a proper synopsis for this story. I''d like to post the possible options tomorrow with the new chapter (If I dont feel terrible) so time is running short!

    I''d like people to write a synopsis for me. With a reward bound to the writer of the one that is used.

    Post them in the comments or send them in DM. I''ll pick a few that I like and put them up for a poll. I''d then pick the winning synopsis and use it for the story. I would then like to invite the writer of the synopsis to have them name an upcoming character in the story. (serious name ofc).

    I hope people are interested in competing!

    I''d also invite people to join my discord server, so far we have 40+ people in it!

    https://discord.gg/XqVA7ajDV8

    Also Artwork WIP Update:

    Updated:

    Still WIP obv

    Let us know what you think <3

 1.38 Training

    I sighed again while looking at the mess below me.

    ''''Hey, you gotta admit it worked.'''' I smiled as I tried to cut through the silk with the small hooks at the ends of my legs.

    It went surprisingly well, maybe they were meant for that all along. I was an idiot for not thinking of this before.

    While I was admiring what my legs could do, another thought rose up in my mind. I took a bit of inspiration from my encounter with the troll, I decided I was going to check if I could replicate that in another way.

    ''''Well, you''re not wrong there.'''' Velariah replied. ''''This stuff is pretty strong, wouldn''t know what to do if I got caught in it without you nearby.''''

    ''''Not a whole lot, probably.'''' I smiled as I cut loose the last threads.

    That was an understatement. If the threads held for long enough, she''d actually end up dead. I should note down to clean up after myself whenever I was finished with sticky threads in an area. Come to think of it, how long would they stay sticky for anyway?

    I helped her back up on her feet and I gathered the remaining silk together in a ball.

    ''''By the way Elania, you can still block a sword with the pole of your spear.''''

    ''''Huh, won''t you just cut through it?'''' I asked.

    Velariah chuckled.

    ''''Not through that one, no. You can say about Coldanus what you want, but his weapons are good. Here, let me show you.''''

    She took the spear and stabbed the dirt. Then she took a swing with her sword and impacted it, hard.

    I took a close look but couldn''t find any damage in the wood. Was this some kind of special lumber or something?

    Velariah chuckled again.

    ''''You see, Coldanus uses a special protective coating for his work. He won''t tell anyone what it is, but as you see can it works. Also, even if the wood wasn''t protected by that, there''s no way somebody will get through it in one swing. Well, unless they''re my father of course.''''

    Interesting, yet one more thing I''d never heard about. As much as I liked medieval fighting, I had always thought wood was easily cut through. It had to be all those TV shows painting a completely unrealistic standard!

    To be fair, they didn''t have sassy blacksmiths using a secret protective coating, though.

    ''''Here.'''' She handed me the spear. ''''Let''s try that again.''''

    She walked a few meters again before charging once more. I managed to unbalance her sword again. Her sword moved its way under the tip so I had to improvise if I wanted to block the blade with the spear. I turned the spear around as Velariah approached with the sword at her side in a swift motion and lifted her sword above her head with the butt end of the pole. I then grabbed the spear with two hands and held it out in front of me horizontally to block her now overhead swing. I managed to block it.

    ''''Nice one.'''' Velariah complimented me. ''''You see, knowing Is half the fight. Don¡¯t be afraid to use the pole to block. Also, I mentioned a sword earlier as a side weapon, why not a shield? Might be even easier. Besides, you used one before.''''

    ''''That shield was far too large though. I only used it because I didn''t have any armor, though, I guess I could use a smaller shield now.''''

    It wasn''t a terrible suggestion.

    ''''You could try that and practice some with it. If nothing else, I could even have Coldanus make you a side sword of dragon-blessed steel.''''

    The mention of the weaponsmith''s name brought a few questions to my mind.

    ''''Speaking about mister icy ass, why does he work so late anyway? Is it just to annoy the neighbors trying to sleep?''''

    I could see him do that with that reason in mind. He didn''t seem like the best guy to live next to, after all.

    Velariah laughed.

    ''''Hah, no, there''s a reason behind it. He makes his best work in the night. He probably worked on my sword at night as well.''''

    ''''Why is that?''''

    That seemed like an odd thing, wouldn''t that make it harder to see what you were doing?

    ''''Because it allows him to gauge the temperature of the metal better from its color when it''s dark. This allows him to create far higher quality weapons.''''

    That... actually sounded perfectly logical. I had never thought of that before.

    ''''What about the iron? You said he could make more weapons with what we gave him? I thought you would only use that for your sword.''''

    Velariah laughed again.

    ''''You really have no idea about these things, do you? Don''t worry, though, I''ll teach you.'''' She smiled before she continued.

    ''''That crate contained enough iron ore to make steel for about fifteen of those swords.''''

    ''''What? That many?'''' I exclaimed, surprised at the exchange rate for ore to actual steel.

    Velariah nodded. ''''I''d actually like to look into making those axe shield thingies you mentioned before for Draco and maybe some arrowheads for Seralyn, but don''t tell them, I want it to be a surprise.''''

    ''''My lips are sealed.'''' I stated.

    ''''Aw, bummer.'''' She giggled in response.

    ''''Vel!'''' I exclaimed in embarrassment before realizing my mistake.

    ''''Wait, is it okay for me to call you by that name now?'''' I asked softly.

    I believe she said something about this before.

    She sheathed her weapon. It appeared she was done with this training session. It hadn''t been long, but I learnt a lot.

    ''''Yeah, it''s alright, though, I''d prefer you not to use it in front of the others.''''

    I nodded. ''''I can live with that.'''' I thought for a second before adding to it. ''''Is it because of Seralyn?''''

    ''''Haha, no.'''' Velariah chuckled. ''''I''m pretty sure she already knows. No, it''s because of... other reasons.''''

    Her visage became one of sadness. I wondered if it had something to do with another person. Maybe her mother? I didn''t dare to pry further; she''d probably tell me when the time was right. I felt guilty for never considering the reason behind it...

    ''''Aww, alright. I''ll keep that in mind.''''

    I turned myself a quarter to the right so she wasn''t directly in front of me.

    ''''I suggest you stand beside me, there''s something I want to try.''''

    ''''Oh, color me intrigued.'''' Velariah said as she stepped next to me.

    I pulled up my fangs as high as I could, took aim and prepared to fire.

    Here goes nothing.

    I pumped the venom through the fangs as quickly and hard as I could. The result was a highly-pressurized stream of venom that reached about three meters far. It continued on for about five seconds before I found my venom reserves run dry.

    Yeap, as I thought. These fangs were basically snake like and could mimic a king cobra. The accuracy wasn''t great but I could possibly fix that if I held them with my hands. I could potentially improve that with practice too.

    If only it didn''t take hours to regenerate venom...

    ''''That...'''' Velariah''s voice came from my side. ''''Was impressive... I wouldn''t want that to get in my eyes.''''

    ''''I know right.'''' I answered. ''''It''s like you said before. The past is the past. If I''m going to live like this, I need to find out what this body can do. I figured I should try this out as a part of that way of thinking.''''

    ''''Next thing you tell me is that you jump from trees onto people below them.'''' Velariah laughed.

    Her laugh quickly turned into a neutral expression as she looked at me.

    ''''Uh, I kind of already did that.'''' I spoke.

    ''''No way!'''' She said excitedly.

    ''''Well, it was from the top of the cave onto a goblin, but yeah...''''

    ''''If I did that, I''d probably break a leg, possibly two with all this armor.'''' She grinned.

    ''''Long live spider legs, I guess.'''' I joked. ''''Anyways, I believe you sheathing your sword indicated we are done with training for today?''''

    ''''Hm, yeah, I believe Coldanus should be awake by now. I''d like to check if he is done with my sword and then if he could get to work on what you suggested for Draco.''''

    ''''Fair enough.'''' I answered.

    And so, after our relatively short but quite enlightening training session, we made our way back to the village, to the blacksmith, more specifically. The village seemed as peaceful as ever, though, it seemed the number of humans among the elves had increased compared to earlier. It made me wonder if there was something going on. Come to think of it, the new round of trials was going to be tomorrow, I think? Maybe they were here to observe, perhaps even participate. Though, it would strike me as odd for humans to complete a trial in an elven village instead of something closer to home.

    Judging from the sounds of a hammer coming from behind the shop, it was safe to assume Coldanus was at work. I wriggled myself through the alley leading up to the more open space where he was working. It seemed he was working on the axe blade of a halberd.

    Next to one of the walls of the shop was a sword that I immediately identified as Velariah''s. Its blade still glowed with a soft red glow that the iron had before. I could see a slot for an enchanting gem on the round pommel and one more in the middle of the guard. I guessed the last slot would be on the other side of either of them.

    I wondered what kind of gems Velariah would use. I still had two slots of my own to fill as well.

    We were going to go broke real fast...

    We''d better find that healer soon. If we could get information from the neighboring dungeon then maybe I wouldn''t need the inherity ritual to find out more. At the very least it should provide me with some info that I could use to gather more money more quickly. Perhaps there would be good materials in the dungeon too.

    We should check with the Lore keeper after our stop here.

    Velariah walked up to the sword and took it firmly in her hand. She then made a few practice swings while noting that its quality was excellent. After that, Coldanus remarked that she''d have to pay for it first.

    Typical...

    ''''Yeah, yeah, you''ll get your money.''''

    She dove into her pack and fished out four gold coins and laid them on the anvil that the smith was currently using.

    ''''There. Also, I was wondering if you could make an axe that is also a shield, preferably two.''''

    Wow, that was awfully straightforward.

    ''''Are you crazy or what?'''' Coldanus replied.

    That was also awfully straightforward.

    ''''If you make two axes that also function as shields and some arrowheads you can keep the rest of the ore for yourself.'''' Velariah held up a metaphorical carrot.

    ''''Deal.'''' Coldanus said as he grabbed the blade with tongs and held it in the forge again.

    He seemed quick to agree at that. It made me wonder what kind of contraption he would come up with. It probably wouldn¡¯t result in that but still.

    I wondered if there was some kind of God watching that would determine whether a weapon was actually considered an ''''axe''''. For all I knew, there was someone out there that would just press a huge button that said ''''nope'''' causing my plan to fall apart. It would still be worth giving a shot, nonetheless.

    With the deal made, we quietly walked out of Coldanus''s working area and started to make our way to the guild hall.

    Draco wasn''t there but we found one hell of a drunk elf instead, leaning on the bar as she took a shot.

    Oh, lord. Seralyn was already impossible to deal with sober. I was not keen on finding out how she would act when drunk.

    Velariah seemed to think the same thing as she simply ignored the brunette and walked over to the Lore keeper.

    ''''Alenia! ...hic!'''' the drunk elf called out, completely screwing over my new name.

    ''''Howzzz you doin?''''

    ''''I''m doing fine, thank you very much.''''

    ''''Another!'''' She yelled at the female bartender as she put her small cup down.

    The bartender in question looked at me and I shook my head. It was probably not a good idea; she was drunk enough as she was. Besides, if she was going to get the kind of hangover I thought she was going to get, it was going to affect me the next day as well. I wasn''t looking forward to a Seralyn that was even more annoying than was usual.

    ''''Elena, you''re such a booooreeee.'''' She walked up to me and started hugging me.''''

    Yeap, she was completely gone.

    In the meantime, I saw the Lore keeper shaking her head at Velariah and I sighed. There was probably no healer who would willingly join us. They were rare as it was and we had a complete freak squad. Though, I guess I could pass as a freak squad all on my own with all these limbs.

    I didn''t feel sad at the thought anymore. Rather, it seemed I was able to laugh about it now.

    ''''It''zzz okayy cuzz you so hawwwttt.''''

    Wait, what?

    I looked down to see Seralyn pressed together her lips in a kissing manner and attempted to drag my head down with her arms. I was completely caught off guard and she would have succeeded if it wasn''t for Velariah dragging her back by her armor around the neck.

    ''''What the fuck do you think you''re doing there?'''' Velariah asked as she took the other elf and pushed her against the bar.

    Holy shit Velariah, that was just in time. Thank you for that.

    ''''Nothingzz I was ju-...''''

    Velariah slapped her.

    Ouch.

    ''''Now wawasda guf for.'''' Seralyn let out.

    Velariah slapped her again.

    ''''I don''t care if you''re drunk, nobody does that to Elania.''''

    The white-haired elf took the other by the armor around her neck again and threw her onto the leather bench on the other side.

    She then turned to me. Her face still showed anger and was quite honestly scary.

    ''''Come Elania, we''re done here.''''

    I almost asked if there wasn''t an application but I had already figured there were none yet.

    I didn''t dare to speak as she led us into the central plaza. She sat down on one of the benches looking at the tree and sighed.

    ''''Thank you, Vel.'''' I let out softly as I sat down on the ground next to her.

    Velariah sighed again.

    ''''You okay?'''' I asked.

    ''''Yeah, I''m fine. I''m just... I don''t know.''''

    ''''Jealous?'''' I suggested.

    ''''I guess.'''' She replied.

    ''''Aww, it''s going to be fine Vel. Unless I find out you''ve been using me for selfish reasons I''ll save my first kiss for you.''''

    Maybe I should have been more careful with what I said. Her face when she looked at me was one of shock.

    ''''Elania, you don''t think I''ve been...?''''

    I shook my head.

    ''''No, I don''t think you would do that.''''

    ''''I wouldn¡¯t.'''' She affirmed before taking me in for a hug. ''''I like you for who you are, not for any other reasons, Elania.''''

    I hugged her back before breaking away after a few moments.

    ''''Is there anything else to do today?'''' I asked.

    Velariah shook her head.

    ''''I don''t think there''s much else to do. I believe Draco will be taking care of food and drink again. At most, we could get some more food into you, I guess.''''

    I shook my head.

    ''''I don''t think that''s necessary. I think I stocked up for the entire week at the guild the other day.''''

    ''''Then is there anything you want to do?''''

    The question was an odd one. Was she talking about entertainment?

    ''''I have no idea, actually.'''' I admitted. ''''Is there anything you would like to do?''''

    ''''Well, there''s not much to do in Dawnleaf anyway. Whenever people have nothing to do, they usually gamble away their money at the guild hall.''''

    ''''We could check the coffee fields.'''' I spoke.

    ''''Doesn''t sound like a bad idea, actually. I''m curious myself what my father made of it.''''

    She stood up from the bench and we walked in the direction of the village''s southern exit, the one leading up to the goat farmer''s farm. It didn''t take long to reach the field and when we did, we noticed it had been completely transformed into ploughed dirt.

    A few people were still ploughing the very edge of the field with a couple of horse drawn ploughs. These elven horses looked quite majestic, they were fully white and HOLY SHIT DID THAT HORSE HAVE TWO HEADS?

    I rubbed my eyes and looked again.

    I repeated the process once more.

    Yeap, these horses had two heads.

    ''''Oh yeah, you''ve never seen our horses before. They''re quite fabulous, aren''t they?''''

    I looked at the elf and then back at the horse in the distance.

    ''''Fabulous is an understatement. Why the hell does it have two heads?''''

    ''''Dunno, they''ve been like that for centuries. Apparently, it has its advantages in combat. When one head is injured or even pierced by an arrow, the horse will still continue on.''''

    Freaky two-headed horses, another thing to cross off my fantasy world list.

    ''''Looks like they made some insane progress though, I reckon the entire field will be ploughed by the end of the day.''''

    ''''Looks like it.'''' Velariah said. ''''Then they can make seedbeds and start planting. Those poor treemenders are going to have quite a bit of work with all those plants.''''

    ''''Can''t say I will feel sorry if the first treemender I met is among them.''''

    ''''Master Lorin, you mean? Heh, he can be quite mean. I like to think of him as Coldanus''s long lost brother.''''

    ''''Fits the description alright.'''' I laughed.

    ''''Though Coldanus is quite a bit older at six hundred and sixteen. I wonder if he could still pass as brother'''' Velariah stated.

    What? Coldanus was that old? No wonder he was so pissed all the time. To live to that age and then spend it here in a backwater village.

    Yikes.

    ''''Didn''t know he was that old.''''

    Velariah chucked at my statement.

    ''''Yeah, it''s hard to see, isn''t it?''''

    I nodded.

    ''''Doubt I''ll ever get used to ages like that in the first place...'''' I sighed.

    ''''Yeah, I don''t know what to say, Elania. If things work out between us, I just hope whoever put you here gave you a long lifespan to share with me.''''

    ''''Would be kinda sucky if I didn''t have that, right?'''' I giggled.

    I looked over to the village, then to the elf.

    ''''Say, you want a ride back?'''' I smiled at her.

    ''''I''d love that!''''

 Synopsis Contest

    Faragi

    Hah, you thought there was another chapter, but it was I, Dio!

    Here are the synopses that were submitted. now you guys get to pick the one you like most!

    I''ll contact the winner and hopefully we can work out a nice name for our next character!

    I''ll also ask them if they would like to slightly change it if they want to and see if there''s stuff I''d like to add myself to the synopsis.

    1.

    2.

    3.

    4.

    5.

    Artwork by Aryko update:

 1.39 Rolling the Dice

    Faragi

    And there we have it. The winner of the synopsis contest is the writer of synopsis 1. Since I had polls up on both RR and SH I''ve consolidated them both. I have contacted the writer and altered it slightly. We will soon be working on a nice name for our next adventurer.

    The trip back to the village was fun to say the least. For me it was a run, for Velariah it was more of a rodeo. She had to hold on with all her might but she managed to hold to the end, the village gates, which is where I slowed down to a normal walking pace.

    ''''That was fun!'''' She said when we walked into the village.

    ''''I''m gonna knock you off one day and you know it.'''' I teased her.

    ''''Sure, sure, in the meantime, we should look at the opportunities this brings. I should bring a lance next time!''''

    ''''What, so we can train jousting? That sounds terrifying, for them.'''' I grinned.

    ''''Psychological warfare is still warfare!'''' Velariah grinned as well.

    Velariah had asked me to make a quick stop at the treemender''s oak to restock on some potions. It seemed that Pylanor was the one to help her and he seemed eager to do so. He even helped her stuff her bag with all kinds of potions, most of which I could now recognize.

    ''Blue is basic anti-venom, Yellow is painkiller or medium tier anti-venom, Green is healing, Red is energy.'' I recounted as Pylanor put them in her bag.

    When he was finished, Velariah took a bow, thanked him and walked outside with me.

    ''''You get those potions for free?'''' I asked.

    ''''I do, thanks to my father. But even for other elves in the military they are very affordable, costing a few coppers at most. Then again, these aren''t the highest quality ones either.''''

    ''''Interesting.'''' I simply stated.

    ''''By the way, about tomorrow.'''' Velariah started. ''''You fought against a troll before. Is there any advice you would give us?''''

    I chuckled. ''''Don''t get close. You remember what happened to my arm. If that happens to you, you''re done for.''''

    ''''Not gonna happen.'''' She replied. ''''I need to get close to hit them with a sword.''''

    ''''Well, if you really have to get up close and personal, depending on their weapon, study their attack pattern before attacking. See for yourself where their openings are, the troll I fought was extremely slow and I could get hits with my spear in between his attacks with relative ease....''''

    I paused as I remembered something.

    ''''Come to think of it, our weapons are still unenchanted. I think it would be a good idea to get some enchants to deal with a ''''troll warlord'''' from my personal experience, their skins are tough, like, extremely tough to pierce. Is there anything that helps with that?''''

    ''''There''s piercing enchants and there''s elemental damage enchants in the damage category.'''' Velariah mentioned.

    ''''Elemental damage? Does that do what I think it does?'''' I looked at her.

    ''''Elemental damage increases potency of all your fire, water, air, earth effects and derivatives thereof such as lightning.''''

    ''''Does it work on venom?'''' I greedily asked.

    ''''There''s specific enchants for venom yes.''''

    ''''Well then. I guess one piercing and one venom enhancing gem it is.''''

    ''''You sure you wanna spend more money?'''' Velariah asked.

    I didn''t have to think long about the answer.

    ''''I''d gladly pay to, you know, not die.'''' I thought for a second. ''''How much are those enchants going to cost us?''''

    ''''About five silver each.''''

    ''''We should get them. No reason to not properly equip ourselves.''''

    I thought some more.

    ''''By the way, that new sword of yours.'''' I pointed to the sword which she was still carrying. She was going to need a new scabbard for it.

    ''''What does the blessed steel have as an added effect?''''

    She hadn''t told me about the effects yet. I was dying to know!

    Her lips curled into a smile.

    ''''Sometimes, when hitting with a dragon blessed weapon, you have a chance of invoking the blessing. In my case, this would be a fire blessing. The weapon can engulf itself in flame or send out a wave of fire to whatever it hits. It''s not harmful to the wielder, only to the victim.''''

    ''''Sounds pretty strong.'''' I answered. ''''I guess that explains why Coldanus was so eager to take the deal.''''

    ''''Yeap, he is a sucker for these things. Working on blessed weapons is far more interesting for him than mundane ones.''''

    ''''By the way Vel.'''' I smiled at myself being allowed to finally use her nickname. ''''Do you have any idea if your inherity will turn out like your father''s?"

    If she could call smites from the sky with experience that was going to be crazy.

    ''''Uhm, when I get enough corium, possibly, why?''''

    ''''And what is the element that he used?'''' I continued.

    ''''Holy, again, why?'''' She frowned.

    ''''And is holy made up of other elements or anything?''''

    ''''Fire and Light. Can you please tell me what you''re getting it?'''' She looked desperate for answers.

    ''''So, you are likely to have an inherity consisting of fire and light and a sword with a fire effect. Have you thought about getting a fire enchant?''''

    ''''Uh, I have, but I figured it wouldn''t be worth it. If I do possess holy magics like my father, it would definitely be worth considering but I''m not sure if I do.''''

    ''''I mean, did you plan to get anything else instead? It should still be somewhat useful for the sword alone. Those trolls are no laughing matter, I reckon elemental attacks may actually be more effective than normal ones. You have seen the one I felled. I had to use venom to take him down.''''

    ''''Well, one piercing, one normal damage and the third one I wasn''t sure about. I could do what you suggested and perhaps replace it later if it''s not to my liking. I assume you''ll be going for a venom enhancing enchant and a piercing enchant?''''

    I nodded ''''That would be the best for me I''d guess, against trolls at least.''''

    ''''Alright then.'''' Velariah said. ''''Let''s pay Dworag a visit before he closes shop.''''

    Was it that late already?

    I looked up to the skies, the familiar red glare of the evening had begun to set in. It seemed the goods spread out on the market stalls were taken off and then the stands being moved out of the way. Yeap, it looked like there were going to be trials tomorrow. That also means we couldn''t do any shopping tomorrow. I hoped we would be able to pick up Draco''s new weapons. That was, if Coldanus actually managed to finish them in one night, something which I highly doubted.

    We walked up to the armor smith''s shop and Velariah walked inside.

    This waiting outside was getting to me...

    Fortunately, I didn¡¯t have to wait long, as soon, Velariah came walking outside with five gems in her hand. A red one, a green one, two transparent ones and a grey one. She appeared to also have bought a wooden scabbard that was wrapped in what I thought was linen. It was bound to her waist and now held her new long sword, right next to her old one.

    I imagined you would find those at a weaponsmith rather than an armorer but it appeared I was wrong in that regard. Maybe Coldanus had them but Dworag offered better prices? That seemed entirely possible as well.

    Velariah handed me a green and a transparent gem.

    ''''I just hold these up to the socket, right?'''' I asked to confirm I wouldn''t do anything wrong.

    ''''Yep.'''' She affirmed.

    I found the two gem slots of my spear behind the tip in the metal. I held the green gem up to it, saw it glow briefly before being sucked into the slot. Then a wave of faint green light rippled through the metal of the tip and back to the gem. I repeated the same with the other gem on the other side of the metal and the process happened again.

    Velariah unsheathed her sword and did the same to hers, but when she inserted the red gem, the sword seemed to glow with a stronger light than when she had socketed the other gems. Velariah herself seemed surprised by it as well.

    ''''Seems the fire gem may not have been a bad idea.'''' I said after observing her reaction to it.

    ''''Maybe not, huh.'''' She said as she picked up the word again. ''''Can''t wait to put this baby to good use.''''

    ''''Stop that Vel, it makes you look like a psychopath.'''' I grinned.

    ''''Oh, maybe I am.'''' She grinned back as she put the weapon back in its scabbard.

    It would seem we were low on funds again, but at least we would not have to make any more purchases for the near future. We could finally work on saving up money.

    I should have gone for the saddlebags though. There was no way I was going to be able to take a cart with me into the forest. I guess if we came across anything big, the good ol'' silk rope would have to do.

    Oh well, nothing I could do about that now. After tomorrow we should look for saddlebags that would fit me. It was going to be the last purchase! At least, I promised myself.

    ''''You hungry?'''' Velariah asked as she started walking.

    ''''Not really, but I guess I should eat at least something.''''

    ''''Let''s go home and see what Elly cooked up, I know you like her cooking so even if you''re not hungry I am pretty sure you''ll have space for some.''''

    ''''Was it that obvious?'''' I said with a smile.

    ''''Yuuuup!'''' Velariah let out with a wide smile on her face.

    ''''I hope your father hasn''t touched the crates in the hallway.'''' I said, jumping to a completely different topic.

    ''''He probably hasn''t, doubt he knows what the yellow stuff is for anyway.'''' Velariah noted

    ''''Sulfur, it''s called sulfur. It''s a very important resource for life. Very tiny particles of it that you can''t see with the naked eye is found in pretty much all life.''''

    She would have no idea what sulphates were so I decided to keep it as simple as I could.

    Another thing sprung to mind.

    ''''You know the smell of rotten eggs?'''' I asked.

    ''''Yeah.'''' Velariah simply stated.

    ''''That''s caused by sulfur parts that are bound to something else. Look at it like a puzzle. You can combine the very tiny sulfur parts with other puzzle pieces and depending on what it''s bound to, you get a different effect. The rotten egg smell is caused by a combination that is extremely dangerous. If you ever smell rotten eggs in swamps or something similar, you better run away as fast as you can. it''s highly toxic.''''

    ''''That''s...'''' She paused. ''''Very interesting info Elania. You guys had this all figured out in your world?''''

    ''''A lot of things like that, yes. Once again, I am no expert in the field, but I know a thing or two. The science of these combinations so to say and changing them to different combinations is called chemistry.''''

    ''''And that''s part of this science thing you talked about earlier?'''' She inquired.

    I nodded.

    Another thought shot into my mind.

    ''''Fuck, we forgot to ask Coldanus to make a sword or something for me.''''

    I thought about how a fight against a troll warlord may unfold.

    ''''On second thought, I don''t think it matters much considering what we are up against. Still, it would have been useful to train with...''''

    If a troll warlord was an improved and stronger version of a normal troll, and I expected it would be, a sword would do nothing to stop their attacks. I doubted even a shield would. They could probably smash right through it. It could even make for more dangerous situations because of the shield. It could shatter and send splinters flying in all directions. I would like for my shields not to be turned into frag grenades.

    Hopefully these special arrowheads would help out tomorrow. I imagined Coldanus should be able to at least finish those. Those didn¡¯t sound like they would be too difficult to make.

    ''''Well, you''re the expert here.'''' Velariah said.

    ''''What because I killed one troll? The one I killed was even distracted by that human that later decided to turn on me.''''

    That reminded me of something else that may be of use.

    ''''There''s one other thing that I noticed in that fight. I don''t know if it¡¯s a troll thing per se, but it seemed that the longer he fought, the quicker his movements became. We had best make the fight as short as possible.''''

    ''''Or, we could make a trap.'''' Velariah suggested.

    ''''If we have enough intel of the area and are in a position to do so, we should definitely lay a trap.'''' I replied.

    ''''Yeah, you seem to be good at that.''''

    She took the words out of my mouth. I was about to say the same thing.

    We reached Velariah''s mansion and Elly, as usual, opened the door. The two crates of goods were still stacked on top of each other next to the entrance. We got out of our armor and I carried the two boxes over to the dining area where Valtheril was seated at the head. He was drinking a cup of tea and, unsurprisingly, reading from a large book in front of him.

    ''''Welcome home.'''' He said as we entered the room. ''''I''ve been waiting for the two of you.''''

    He averted his gaze from the book to the two of us.

    I wasn''t feeling comfortable. Whenever someone said that, it was probably bad news.

    ''''What is with the yellow stuff in one of those crates?''''

    Uh-oh, he had taken a look it seemed.

    How can I word this with as little suspicion drawn onto me as possible?

    ''''This yellow stuff is called sulfur, it''s a very useful fertilizer, but I am not quite sure on how to use it effectively. It¡¯s not nearly as convenient as the volcanic dirt that we also brought home. No, this stuff needs some time to be broken down into useful nutrients for the crops that grow in its soil.''''

    ''''Then why did you bring it? Why not bring more of that magic dirt instead?'''' He inquired as he took a sip of his tea.

    Oops. He got me.

    ''''Because you only need very little of this stuff. This crate should be enough to fertilize a large area. As I said, you would probably have to do some experimenting on the exact amounts you would need to make the soil have the optimal amounts. As far as I know, you spread this stuff over the soil a while before you plant the crops to allow it to settle.''''

    I paused for a few seconds.

    ''''As for the other fertilizer. As far as I know, you can spread this whenever you want. It might be worth looking into its effects compared to normal soil with the treemenders. See the difference for yourself so you can decide what priority the canal should have before undertaking such a massive plan.''''

    I believe I talked myself out of that pretty well.

    ''''Elania said that yellow stuff would have to be broken down into small puzzle pieces that then binds itself to other puzzle pieces that make for good plant food.'''' Velariah happily ''''explained''''.

    ''''Puzzle pieces?'''' Valtheril frowned.

    I sighed.

    ''''Long story. The short story is, use it as fertilizer, wait a few weeks, then plant.''''

    ''''Good enough for me.'''' The general said as he closed his tome.

    ''''I''ll head out to the treemender''s oak to talk to them, is it okay if I take that crate of dirt with me?''''

    ''''Sure.'''' I answered. ''''Do tell me of the results, I am more than a bit curious myself.''''

    I put the crates down on the ground and moved the crate of sulfur onto the floor. I then handed Valtheril the crate of volcanic dirt, and watched him leave the house, book in hand and all. I wondered if he was going to write down his findings.

    I sighed in relief. It seemed I had convinced him of its use for farming. If only he knew the other uses it had...

    Not that I would tell him.

    Elly walked into the room and asked if we were interested in dinner. Velariah seemed hungry as she instantly replied with a loud ''''yes''''.

    It seemed Elly had conjured up a pleasantly smelling vegetable stew. Despite not being that hungry I knew I could always rely on Elly to make me want to eat.

    There seemed to be one problem, however, as ten minutes into dinner my stomach started growling.

    ''''I thought you weren''t hungry.'''' Velariah teased me. ''''That sound determines that was a lie.''''

    ''''That sound is not from hunger.'''' I stated as I grabbed my stomach in pain.

    ''''Wait, what¡¯s going on Elania?'''' Velariah stood up from her side of the table and walked over to me.

    I took two steps back and clutched my stomach again, suddenly feeling very nauseous.

    ''''I have a feeling it''s my body rejecting vegetables.'''' I spoke.

    I''d never experienced it like this though. I knew I had a certain appetite for meat, but eating vegetables with those had never been a problem. It was as if my spider half was screwing with my human half and demanded at least some meat with it.

    ''''I think my body demands something else.''''

    It was a shame because I was thoroughly enjoying this stew too...

    Another lesson learnt, I guess. It seemed turning vegetarian might actually kill me.

    I was done complaining at this body, but it would have been nice to at least know this beforehand...

    Velariah walked into the kitchen and returned with some beef jerky.

    ''''Here, see if this eases the pain.''''

    Not a bad hypothesis.

    Meat as painkiller, who would''ve thought?

    Even if it wasn''t my favorite, it seemed to appease my lower half as I soon felt the pain fading.

    ''''Seems you have a rather... unique diet.'''' Velariah mentioned as she continued with her own dinner.

    ''''It''s not even that unique.'''' I spoke. ''''Just not vegetables alone it seems.'''' I sighed after that.

    ''''Well, it¡¯s not a problem. It''s something we simply have to take into account when we go out to do shopping, and by ''''we'''' I mean Elly.''''

    ''''Heh, she is rather reliable. Isn''t she?'''' I said at the mention of the maid''s name.

    Fortunately for us Elly went upstairs earlier.

    ''''Elly is a golden girl. We''re happy to have her here. Her old place was rather... mean to her. Let''s put it that way. We''re not home that often, she gets a lot of freedom here and she seems to thrive on it.''''

    I chuckled.

    ''''I can see that yea. She doesn''t look like somebody that would abuse it either.''''

    Velariah shook her head.

    ''''Definitely not.''''

    Soon after that, the white-haired elf took the plates to the kitchen before making her way upstairs. When she came down, she was holding fresh, folded clothes in her hands.

    ''''I''m going to take a bath. I guess I''ll see you in your room soon?''''

    That question surprised me, especially after what she said a few days ago.

    ''''Technically, it''s your room.'''' I smiled at her. ''''Also, if you have any dice, could you bring five of them with you and some paper and a pencil? There''s something I''d like to show you.''''

    ''''Oh, now I am curious indeed. I''ll see you soon!''''

    With that she went through the door at the far-right side of the dining room.

    Seriously, how many bathrooms did this mansion have?

    Oh, well. I was determined to show Velariah the concept of ''''Yathzee''''. It would make for excellent pastime when there was nothing to do but wait. Now was one of those times.

    I considered taking a bath myself but it would simply take too long. Thus, I settled on just working on my hair for a while and getting some of the dirt off of the ends of my legs. I could take a nice hot bath after we returned from our next quest. We were bound to literally get our hands dirty fighting a troll warlord, after all.

    I finished up my hair and let myself drop in the pile of pillows. I relaxed for a few minutes when Velariah knocked on the door and then walked in.

    Why would she even knock if she was going to come in anyway?

    She had the requested items in her hands and an excited look on her face.

    ''''What are we going to do with these? Science?'''' She asked.

    ''''Hah, no, it''s for a simple yet popular game, at least back on Earth.''''

    ''''Oh, show me!''''

    Oh, I was going to show her alright. I was going to bring the pain and destroy her at a game of dice. This would be fun.

    I grinned evilly as Velariah handed me the items.

    She now had a confused look on her face and I loved every second of it.

    Faragi

    For anyone interested I have created a simple Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/Faragi

    It doesn''t have anything extra to offer over what is publicly available but I might come up with some things later on.

    If you''d like to support this story it''s always welcome <3

    I''m also very much available together with a bunch of other... interesting people in my discord server: https://discord.gg/XqVA7ajDV8

    Artwork WIP Update:

 1.40 Drunken Luck

    This wasn''t going well.

    This wasn''t going well at all.

    Stupid beginner''s luck.

    Velariah was beating me through sheer luck at the game I had just explained to her. This elf managed to roll two Yahtzee''s in a single roll of the five dice. Not only that, but I had failed to achieve the necessary 63 points in the top half of the game to get the bonus points. In other words, I was as good as dead already. This elf simply had to steal all the luck that I missed.

    I hated this world and its people''s luck.

    Velariah was all too eager to rub it in too. She was enjoying my pain and laughed far too loudly when she rolled yet another Yahtzee.

    Damn schadenfreude.

    After three rounds of pain and suffering, I had enough and would have flipped the table, if there was any!

    Velariah giggled as I took away our game tools and tossed them in a corner.

    ''''That was a fun game, we should do that again sometime!''''

    ''''How about... no.'''' I replied.

    ''''Awwww, poor Elania, how can I make it up to you?'''' Velariah asked with a pout.

    ''''Ugh, it''s alright. I just hope you don''t run out of luck tomorrow.''''

    ''''Heh, maybe you will be the lucky one tomorrow.'''' Velariah grinned.

    ''''Yeah, probably not.'''' I said as I took my shirt and tag off. ''''What rank are troll warlords considered anyway?''''

    Velariah started taking off her clothes as well while answering.

    ''''I believe they were anywhere from medium-rank gold to high, depending on how many guards they have.''''

    ''''What? These things aren''t alone?'''' I asked in shock

    Velariah shook her head. ''''They are almost never alone.''''

    I put my shirt and tag in the sink and sighed as I walked over to the pillows and let myself fall in.

    ''''Just great.'''' I let out with my face buried in a pillow.

    This was going to be hell. Sure, I was quite a bit more used to this body now than earlier and I had a party of three others, but I still didn''t feel great about this. That one troll from before had given me more than enough of a headache. I was not going to underestimate a bigger, badder version of a troll.

    These new weapons better be worth the money!

    Wait, how much would this quest give anyway?

    ''''Vel, how much was the reward for this quest again?''''

    She shrugged as she took her shirt off. ''''No idea. Seralyn didn''t mention anything about it.''''

    ''''Just great.'''' I sighed again.

    I heard Velariah fall into the pillows next to me.

    ''''Aw, it''s gonna be fine.'''' She tried to assure me.

    ''''Yeah, as long as we don''t do stupid things, I guess we''ll be fine. We just need to try to take them by surprise, preferably take out a couple before they even know what''s going on.'''' I spoke.

    ''''Yeah, but that''s why we have you, miss trap expert.''''

    I turned my head and saw her smile at me.

    ''''trap expert, huh?'''' I smiled back. ''''Sounds like me.''''

    Velariah huddles closer to me.

    ''''You don''t mind hugging, right?''''

    Was she serious?

    I looked at her in confusion.

    ''''Serously? You''re asking me if I''m fine with hugging? You barged into my ''''bed'''' yesterday and hugged me without consent and now you''re asking?''''

    ''''Aha, I knew you weren''t asleep.'''' She reacted.

    Fuck.

    ''''Uh, oops?'''' I let out.

    She wormed herself into my arms. ''''I knew you didn''t mind!'''' She happily said as she took me in for a tight hug.

    ''''I forgive you. I hope you had fun staring.''''

    ''''Vel!" I exclaimed, feeling my face fill with embarrassment.

    ''''You''re too easy to tease Elania.'''' She smiled.

    I didn¡¯t reply. I was trying to burrow my face in my pillow. My burrowing was interrupted by a tugging sensation to my left. When I looked, I could see Velariah holding my left pedipalp in her hand. She then ran her hand over the chitin. I shuddered at the sensation.

    ''''You actually feel that?'''' Velariah asked.

    I nodded. ''''Yeah, for some reason I can feel everything, even if it looks like chitin shouldn''t be able to feel sensations...''''

    ''''Do you mind it?'''' She followed up politely.

    I shook my head. ''''It¡¯s okay, thanks for asking though.''''

    ''''I''m just curious how this would feel.'''' She spoke.

    ''''Can''t explain, truly. It''s like a leg, but it''s not. It also has small claws at the end, it''s more of a hand if anything, I guess.'''' I shrugged.

    Velariah ran her hand over the chitin again.

    ''''So, you have six arms? Damn isn''t that a bit much?'''' The elf asked.

    ''''I don''t know, you tell me.'''' I replied. '''' took me a while to figure out how moving all the parts worked. Left me exhausted at the end of it too. And then I still had to find water...''''

    ''''Sounds like you''ve been through hell.''''

    I waited a few seconds before replying.

    ''''I guess it was. Imagine waking up like this someday, in a different world, unable to walk, no food or water nearby. Back then it was hell. Now? I don''t mind as much anymore.''''

    Velariah ran her hand over my pedipalp again and touched the small claws at the end.

    ''''You having fun finding out about spider anatomy?'''' I chuckled at Velariah''s newfound interest.

    ''''I am, actually.'''' She smiled at me. ''''This is fun.''''

    I pulled in a leg and held it against her back.

    ''''You wanna inspect that one as well?'''' I asked in a teasing manner.

    ''''If you don¡¯t mind then sure.''''

    II shook my head. ''''I don''t. As long as you don¡¯t start tickling me, then be my guest.'''' I added.

    The elf seemed rather curious about this body of mine and it was interesting to see someone handle it in the way she did. Instead of fear, all I could see in her eyes were curiosity. Though, I guess the fact she liked me may have had something to do with her opinion. I guessed that helped her look at these spider limbs as a part of me instead of a random oversized spider.

    It made sense. I was seen as a love interest, not as something trying to kill her.

    She glided her hand over the carapace and small hairs. I winced at the touch at first but found myself getting used to it as she continued on.

    ''''You have the worst leg fetish, don''t you?'''' I said after she seemed not to lose any interest after observing and touching for what felt like minutes.

    ''''Thanks for helping me discover that.'''' She fired back.

    I guess that was actually on me.

    ''''Seriously, how do you even walk on eight of these? And then there''s all these joints too, seriously, how?'''' She asked.

    She bent my leg at one of the joints, then at another.

    ''''You have no idea...'''' I stated.

    ''''Hard to explain?" She inquired.

    ''''Impossible.'''' I confirmed.

    ''''Took me a day to learn, more to learn properly, over a week to not move in retarded ways. Though, if you look at it, it''s still incredibly fast.'''' I shrugged. ''''Beats me how I managed to do it actually.''''

    ''''Isn''t it obvious.'''' She said as she fell back in the pillows next to me. ''''You''re amazing, Elania.''''

    ''''You trying to seduce me now, aren¡¯t you?'''' I asked with a wicked smile.

    ''''Maybe.'''' She smiled back.

    ''''Heh, let''s just stick to hugging now. We should go to sleep anyway.'''' I put one hand below the pillow my head was resting on.

    ''''Aw, not even a good night kiss?'''' She pouted.

    Should I?

    I think she noticed the hesitation in my eyes.

    ''''It''s fine. I''ll wait until you''re ready.''''

    She wormed herself in my arms again and hugged me.

    ''''Thank you, Vel.'''' I said as I clapped out the lights. ''''Good night.''''

    ''''Good night, Elania.''''

    -------------------------------------------------------------------

    The next day started out as any other. A quick wash and brush, some delicious fresh bread, putting on our armor and soon we found ourselves in the streets of Dawnleaf again. Velariah left her old sword at home and took her new one with her.

    First, we were going to check if Coldanus had actually managed to get some work done. Coldanus was probably asleep but he had an assistant running the shop during that time. At least, that¡¯s what Velariah had told me.

    She entered the shop and soon walked out with a small bag of clinking metal. I hoped it was money, but it was probably just the arrow heads for our archer. I was kind of looking forward to seeing her hangover. My lips curled in a smile when I thought about the elf that almost managed to violate me the day before.

    The most interesting part that Velariah carried while exiting the shop was not something I had seen before. I had to observe it from multiple angles to get a clear look.

    At first it looked like a medium-sized round metal shield. But upon closer inspection it became clear that the shield had a handle hidden behind it. This handle extended outside of the shield and ended in a double-blades axe. This seemed to be what Condanus made from Velariah''s theoretical weapon: an axe, that could also serve as a shield.

    It was quite large for my hands, but I was certain that Draco would be able to handle two of these at once with ease. The shield itself seemed to be reinforced steel, not the kind of shields that the romans used. It actually weighed quite a bit when Velariah handed it to me to observe it better.

    ''''If this works with Draco''s inherity, this could be a very interesting find indeed.'''' The elf said.

    ''''And if it works, he better pay us for it too. We used our, technically my iron ore as payment and material, after all.'''' I spoke.

    ''''Good point. I am sure he would be more than happy to help you out with financial compensation, though. But for now, let''s pretend it''s a gift.''''

    ''''Nice gift that will be. If he likes it, he pays for it.'''' I grinned.

    The axe-shield shone with the same faint red glow as Velariah''s sword. I wondered how the fire blessing interaction would work with a shield instead of a weapon. Would it activate on blocks? I guessed we would find out soon.

    That shield better be able to block troll attacks in the first place.

    I also noticed it already had a teal and a transparent gem embedded in the handle. I knew what the transparent one did but I didn¡¯t know about the teal one. The white-haired elf told me it increased a shield''s integrity, allowing it to block against stronger attacks.

    That didn''t seem out of place, considering we were up against enemies that used giant maces. Well, at least the one I fought did.

    Velariah put away the bag of arrow heads in her pack.

    ''''Let''s have some fun with Seralyn.'''' She spoke. ''''Don¡¯t tell her about these.'''' She patted her pack.

    ''''Sure.'''' I grinned.

    We walked into the guild hall to find Draco and Seralyn already sitting in our usual corner despite having the plan of meeting at noon. A glass of water stood on the table.

    Well, I wasn''t sure if you could call what Seralyn was doing sitting.

    She had her head lain on the table in front of her.

    That was a hangover if I''ve ever seen one.

    I could resist teasing her as I walked up to the both of them.

    ''''Doing well there Seralyn.''''

    ''''Shut up.'''' She snidely remarked.

    ''''You''re here early.'''' Draco said as Velariah took a seat.

    ''''We''ve got everything sorted and are ready to leave whenever.'''' Velariah stated. ''''Seems like little Seralyn here had one drink too many last night.'''' Velariah smiled.

    ''''Shut up.'''' Seralyn sounded again.

    Ah, if only she wasn''t so deserving of this, I might have felt pity.

    Shame.

    ''''Don''t think we''re going to wait here all day for you to sober up. Drink some water or something. I want to leave soon.''''

    ''''Ugh.'''' Seralyn grabbed the glass and gulped down some water before putting it back down together with her head.

    How did she even think it was a good idea to drink a day before heading out on a dangerous quest? This elf was beyond me.

    ''''Anways, I''m sure you noticed by now. I got you something you should try out in combat, Draco.''''

    Velariah handed the axe-shield to the lizardman who looked at it with caution before realizing what it was.

    ''''That''s an interesting piece of armor...weapon? Though, I can''t use my other axe with this.''''

    ''''Yeah.'''' Velariah started. ''''The idea was to get you two of these, Coldanus only managed to finish one last night. I don''t blame him for it, the fact he even managed to finish one is impressive. Try it out, see if you like it.''''

    ''''This could be very useful indeed. Avoiding what happened with those lynxes the other day should be high on our priority list. I am sure this will help with protecting Seralyn. Thank you Velariah, I''ll make sure to give you compensation for it.''''

    ''''You should thank Elania, it was her idea... and ore that made this possible.''''

    ''''Thank you, Elania. I''ll be sure to put it to good use.''''

    ''''No problem Draco. I hope it works out for you.'''' I replied.

    ''''Also.'''' Velariah unsheathed her sword, the noise of which made Seralyn''s ears twitch. ''''Check out this sweet sword he made for me the other day.'''' She put the sword on the table.

    ''''That looks like a quality blade.'''' Draco looked at the sword. ''''Impressive craftsmanship and immaculate material, culminated into one object. I hope it serves you well. You have been in need of a better blade for a while now.''''

    Draco was as polite as ever.

    ''''Just great.'''' Seralyn sounded quite sad. ''''Everyone is getting fancy new things except for me.'''' She said with her head still down.

    ''''Maybe you shouldn''t waste all your money getting wasted. Hah, see what I did there?" Velariah said.

    I grinned. That was a good one.

    ''''Shaddup!'''' Seralyn sounded once more. She took another sip of water and put her face down on the wood of the table again.

    Oh, she had it bad. I loved it.

    I take back what I thought yesterday. Schadenfreude was a beautiful thing.

    ''''Let''s eat something first.'''' Velariah suggested. ''''And by that, I mean you, Seralyn. Draco, did you bring the same stuff as last time?''''

    The lizardman patted a bulging bag that sat next to him on the bench.

    ''''Got everything right here.''''

    ''''You got anything for a headache?'''' Seralyn asked.

    ''''Even if I had, I wouldn''t give it to you. Let this be a wise lesson young lady.'''' Draco lectured the elf.

    ''''Uuuughhh.'''' The elf wailed in agony.

    It seems she was in too much pain to remember anything about yesterday. Thankfully Velariah stepped in back then. I wondered how she would react if the knight brought it up.

    ''''You better eat something as well. I don''t want you anymore grumpy than you already are when we are traveling.'''' Velariah told the hungover elf.

    ''''Yeees, mooom.''''

    We decided to spend a bit of time at the guild so the elf could sober up at least a bit. She managed to eat at least some and Velariah explained the concept of Yahtzee to Draco in the meantime. We went for a quick round of the game with some stationery borrowed from the Lore keeper. Apparently, Draco carried plenty of dice with him. No idea why honestly.

    This was surely one of my brighter ideas. The sound of the dice seemed to piss Seralyn off further. I hoped it would help her rehabilitation. She was only putting herself and us in danger with behavior like that. We couldn''t have party members be out of focus when we started a quest.

    After some time, and a lot of water for the brunette, I waited as my party members took a toilet break before leaving. I was convinced Seralyn would have to make several more of those on our journey, considering the amounts of liquid she took in.

    Draco also filled us in on several details of the quest which was not entirely unwelcome. The reward would be a royal twenty gold. On the other hand, troll warlords were never alone and considered stronger than anything we had faced so far.

    I guessed if you looked at it in a risk/reward way, it would just be better to go and gather scorpion stingers and lynxes. Although, we hadn''t really counted on the lynxes.

    The good news was that these trolls would likely hold at least some corium in them. When I asked Draco how he knew that was true he told me that a passing adventurer had killed a troll in the same area recently and had evolved their inherity after. That''s what the Lore keeper told him, anyway.

    ''''Does that mean that if I were to kill other people, I could evolve my inherity as well?'''' I asked in fear.

    That didn''t sit right with me at all. Maybe that was the reason that human mage wanted to slay me earlier?

    ''''No.'''' Draco stated clearly. ''''Trolls are somewhat of an exception in that regard. They are clearly sentient, but their origins are a bit... iffy so to say. It is said that trolls, like goblins, evolved from a common ancestor that was spawned by a dungeon and went feral. As such, they are able to leech some corium off of creatures they kill, or from nearby dungeon cores.''''

    That made me think. Could there be a dungeon somewhere in the forest?

    ''''You think that could be why these goblins don''t want peace? Because they could just be wiped out when they were not expecting it for the small amounts of corium they would give?'''' I asked.

    ''''Possible.'''' Draco answered. ''''Nobody managed to actually find out, they are very hostile to anyone that is not their own kin.''''

    When I asked about our quarry''s location it seemed the troll warlord was last spotted far out to the east. That meant we would be walking in the direction of the cave where I had first awoken. I didn''t know if we had to go past the cave.

    ''''Are you okay?'''' Velariah asked me.

    ''''I''m okay, I''m just thinking.''''

    The troll that I killed earlier on was found in the same area. Was that one part of its warband? I was also hit by a strange question: How would I feel upon seeing the cave again?

    Maybe I was getting ahead of myself by thinking about it, but I couldn''t shake off the feeling that I''d see my old home again... where I''d met Velariah... where my adventure started.

    It hadn''t even been two weeks yet.

    Why did I feel like all these things were connected? Trolls showing up, possibly leeching from a dungeon. Me waking up in the same area. The feeling was... ominous... weird.

    I had resolved I would try to move on from my old life, that didn''t mean I wouldn''t look into clues if I found any. Maybe certain clues could help me in this new life.

    We started our journey from the guild hall. I carried Draco''s new weapon...shield? It was fairly heavy but I managed just fine with two arms. It would be a bad idea for him to rely on his new weapon without any training. Even if he had an inherity that increased his proficiency with axes, it would be better to stick to what he knew, for now, at least against trolls. If we ran into any goblins, it could surely be worth trying out.

    Seralyn was still suffering but was able to walk.

    And walk she did, thanks to Velariah.

    If only she hadn¡¯t been such a bully, maybe I would have carried her. Though, I doubt I would do that after what happened last night.

    She slowly improved and I hoped she would at least be back to her old self when combat started. As amusing as it was, I would much prefer her to be useful in a fight.

    After a quick inspection and making sure we were fully prepared we were on our way.

    Faragi

    Thank you for your support guys.

    and thanks to my first 2 patrons <3

    Maymay

    Falxgod

 1.41 Troll Battle Part 1

    The trip through the start of the forest went by with little notable events. A stray goblin here and there which were easily picked off by Seralyn were about the most dangerous things we ran into. How she managed to still be so accurate was a miracle to me. She even grinned at my expression after picking off two in quick succession. Somehow, even hungover Seralyn remained a force to be reckoned with.

    After a few hours of nothing, we came across the same stream as before and Draco used the opportunity to fill a canteen or two. We hadn''t drunk much yet, but he wasn''t going to waste the chance.

    I believe I saw the same ''''murder duck'''' from before, judging from the way it looked at me, sitting with another duck in a nest which probably consisted of some of my hairs. Draco had asked why I stared at the duck so intently and I told him about my previous encounter with it and the horrors of it plucking out hairs of my legs.

    Of course, our archer grinned at that. It seemed this hangover of hers was coming to an end.

    After another while of walking and when she was somewhat sobered up Velariah decided to ask what the hell she was doing to me yesterday.

    ''''I don''t know. I was drunk, okay?'''' She said with anger in her tone of voice. ''''I don''t even like girls!'''' She added.

    She must have been extremely drunk to even go that far then.

    ''''Besides, I would never touch what''s yours.''''

    Wait, what?

    I was Velariah''s now?

    I mean. I kind of was, in a way. But what the hell Seralyn?

    ''''She isn''t anybody''s.'''' Velariah remarked. ''''She is free to do as she pleases.''''

    Thank you, Vel. I appreciate that.

    ''''Quiet!'''' Draco whispered loudly before ducking. ''''I hear something.''''

    I ducked with the others, well as low as I could anyway. I guessed my butt would still be visible from a distance. Maybe I should paint it with rock camouflage? That could be... interesting. That would be something to look into for later.

    I moved forward carefully to see what Draco found. As I moved through the surrounding bushes, I could feel an extremely foul odor enter my nostrils. The smell almost burned through my nose. It was as if I passed a field that was just fertilized by poop times ten. Trying to suppress nausea I moved forward and looked through the bushes to what was ahead of us.

    It was a troll.

    Relieving itself.

    Holy crap, I could never have imagined troll poop smelling this bad.

    I looked at the surrounding area, but saw no other trolls nearby. There wasn''t much vegetation in the upcoming area, we were quite lucky in that regard.

    A large stone mace was positioned next to the troll on the ground. It would take some time for him to pick it up and bright it high for a swing.

    I motioned for Draco to move the blade of his battle axe to me. I had Seralyn and Velariah and my own weapon at the ready as well. I pulled up my fangs and coated each weapon and an arrow with venom.

    This would be a four on one, with our side having new and improved weapons. I liked our chances.

    I had an idea spring to mind. I should have thought of it before, it could be extremely useful against enemies with tough skins like trolls.

    ''''Velariah, jump on my back?''''

    ''''Wha?'''' She asked but did it anyway.

    ''''We''re sending in the Cavalry. Seralyn, aim for the eyes. Draco, see if you can distract it and make it face the other way.''''

    I hoped that my speed combined with Velariah''s new weapon would result in an impact that could cut off a limb. I hoped her new sword was sharp enough for the stunt I was about to pull off. With Velariah seated right behind my human body, I took good hold of her with my three free arms and waited for my cue.

    Seralyn took a few seconds to aim carefully as the troll dropped another turd on the ever-growing pile of stink. The arrow flew true and hit him right in one of his eyes.

    Seriously, what was with that accuracy? Did she get more accurate during and after a hangover or what?

    Draco took that as his signal and charged at the screaming troll''s left flank. His axe impacted the troll''s side leaving a wound that was far deeper that anything I left on the other troll but it wouldn''t be anywhere near fatal.

    With the troll''s attention turned to Draco, I decided to charge into the fray with Velariah on my back. She held her blade with both hand at my left side and I held her tight as I started sprinting towards the troll''s exposed back. I passed his back and Velariah swung her blade. I didn''t see the impact''s effects until I turned around for another strafing run.

    I saw blood pouring as I passed by again, with Velariah swinging from my right this time.

    I turned to see what our attack had actually accomplished and was met with a nasty sight.

    I should really get used to seeing blood if I want to be an adventurer.

    The troll''s upper legs had received major lacerations on both sides, reaching almost halfway into them, any deeper and they may have actually been cut right through, leaving the troll without legs. There was no way he was going to survive for long.

    Even as it was, he couldn''t support his own body weight anymore and fell to the ground screaming in agony. His hands fell into the pile of poop he had just created. I passed by once more with Velariah swinging her blade with force behind it. After passing by, I literally saw his leg fly through the air a short distance before hitting the ground. His mace was on the ground again. He didn''t even get to swing it once.

    This troll was finished for sure.

    I lowered myself so the elf could dismount. We carefully walked up to the troll who was quickly losing strength to keep himself up with his arms. The massive blood loss quickly drained his energy. Despite being mortally wounded, we walked over to it carefully, not wanting to be taken by surprise.

    Velariah walked up to his neck and brought down her sword. The blade glowed hot-red before cleanly slicing his head off. The troll''s head landed in the pile of dung and I motioned for the others to quickly move away from here back into the bushes.

    ''''Those screams were loud. We may have drawn attention, we should be ready to retreat.'''' I spoke.

    ''''Wise plan, we should wait for a few minutes to see if anymore trolls show up before advancing.'''' Draco suggested.

    We moved back inside the brush and Velariah reached for her pack. She pulled out the bag of arrowheads and tossed it to Seralyn. Seralyn in turn opened the bag and took one out.

    ''''Are you serious? You couldn''t have given me this before we engaged?''''

    Ah, she was already back to her old self. How I hadn''t missed that.

    ''''Didn''t have the time to wait.'''' Velariah answered. ''''We were in a prime position to ambush.''''

    There was no denying that.

    We waited for several minutes, but no other trolls showed up. Waiting here was hell as well, the smell only seemed to be getting worse. I picked up Draco''s new weapon again. I had dropped it earlier when we charged in.

    The brunette was trying to replace her arrowheads with the blessed dragon-steel ones and Velariah complimented me on the plan I concocted.

    ''''Yeah.'''' I answered. ''''It looked like having more force behind your new sword should result in a fair amount of damage. It seemed I underestimated how much it would do.''''

    ''''Yeah, no kidding.'''' Velariah said. ''''That was amazing.''''

    She wiped the troll''s blood and some of its dung off her blade at a nearby tree.

    ''''So, who is gonna go and get its ears?'''' Seralyn said while she was still working on modifying her arrows. It seemed her arrowheads were socketed and fairly easy to replace.

    ''''I''ll do it.'''' Draco said as he pulled out a knife from his bag. ''''My sense of smell isn''t nearly as sharp as yours, after all.''''

    Now that he mentioned it, he didn''t really have a nose, it was just two small holes just above the end of his mouth. What a blessing that must be in this situation.

    Seriously, this smell was killing me. I bet if Draco lit one of those torches here, he might just start a forest fire.

    Draco pulled out a smaller bag from his bag and cut off the troll''s ears with some difficulty. After that, we continued moving onward, happy to leave this smelly place.

    I soon found out we were actually nearing the cave in which I first awakened on this world. Odd feelings of nostalgia and horror hit me as I started to recognize the surroundings. It wasn''t much later we encountered a second troll, and with him was a third. They seemed to be on lookout duty or something of the sort.

    There was plenty of vegetation to hide in currently, but I knew that once we got close to the familiar clearing, there would be none. If there were any trolls there, we may not get the time we want to prepare for traps or ambush. That was not the matter currently though.

    For now, I decided to lay out a trap with my silk. I was actually rather curious how well these trolls would fare against silken constraints, they seemed to possess a fair amount of raw strength after all. That was, as long as they were not taking a poop.

    I spun a net of silk between two trees that were hidden from their view. We were going to have to lure them our way, but my experience with trolls was that it wasn''t a hard thing to do. My only concern was going to be reinforcements coming to aid them.

    For that reason, I spun another net of silk between two trees behind the first two. It was obscured by a row of bushes and ideal to take them by surprise.

    I suggested Draco to take the shield instead to provide him with more defense. We were going to need him to stand his ground against at least one of the trolls while Velariah and I charged. There was no reason not to send in the spider cavalry after it had worked so well the first time.

    I even came up with yet another idea that I might as well put to work if I was going to charge in anyway.

    I placed my abdomen against a tree and started a new silk thread before lowering myself to the ground to allow Velariah to step on. She noticed the thread but didn''t comment on it.

    I produced some more venom and coated our weapons in it again. It didn''t seem to have done much work for the other troll, but if the fight was going to be drawn out, it was better to be prepared for it. I deposited some in Seralyn''s quiver so all her arrows would benefit from its effects.

    We all got into position and prepared to do the same thing we did before. Take them by surprise, try to take one out as quickly as possible while Draco held their attention and Seralyn attacked their weak spots from afar.

    As before, Seralyn started the engagement by aiming for a troll''s eye. She missed but created a deep cut in the troll''s throat instead. That was as good as a missed shot could have gone. Hopefully the poison would take effect faster that way, if nothing else.

    Draco charged in with his axe shield and cut into the side of one of the trolls before it was able to raise its weapon and swing. Both of the trolls were now fixated on Draco and he received a full blow from one of the heavy maces to his shield. It created a loud clanging sound but the shield glowed briefly with red light and seemed undamaged.

    At the same time Velariah and I charged as another arrow flew past us. I didn¡¯t bother to check its trajectory as I was focused on the silk behind me and the troll in front of me.

    We strafed the back of one of the trolls and I could see a bright red light from beside me as Velariah swung her blade. Instead of turning around in a line, I turned so that the trolls were still to the left of me, I had run a circle around them, still spinning more silk.

    I shouted for Draco to step back as we charged again.

    We passed by the second troll''s front, narrowly dodging a swing as he brought down his mace. We were too fast for him and Velariah cut the troll''s knee.

    It seemed we had successfully immobilized them. I could see the first troll on one knee as the rear of his other leg had received a deep cut that was actually on fire. Deep red flames danced around where Velariah''s blade had cut his lower leg.

    The second troll was down to a knee as well. I was pretty sure Velariah had shattered his knee cap with that hit. I took the opportunity to run more circles around them while restraining them with silk. Soon enough, they were completely immobilized and struggling to break free. Their screams of pain sent worries through my body, but I knew that these two at least, would meet their end soon.

    I wanted to move in for the kill, but another troll showed up and came running in our direction.

    Before I had noticed him, Seralyn had already released an arrow and I could see it embed itself in one of his eyes. Flames erupted from his eye socket soon after the shot had landed and he hit the ground with his knees before his body toppled over and went still.

    Did Seralyn just one-shot a troll? What the hell.

    ''''One shot, one kill.'''' The archer gloated.

    We didn''t even get to use the nets. I was kind of surprised, but not necessarily disappointed.

    Right after I said that, I could hear a roar coming from where we hid in the bushes before. When it didn''t come closer, I decided to take a look. Velariah had her blade at the ready.

    What came into view was a troll who managed to get itself stuck in the net closest to our position. It was struggling wildly to break free but not succeeding.

    I smiled. Was I evil for smiling?

    Seemed this net had worked out, after all.

    I walked up to the troll with my spear. He tried to raise his weapon, but it was completely stuck in the threads and couldn¡¯t get it in any position to swing.

    I pierced one of his eyes with my spear and thrust it forward as far as I could. I was sure I had ended its life by stabbing his brain as he too, went still within seconds.

    ''''That.'''' Velariah started. ''''Was pretty brutal.''''

    ''''Quite.'''' I replied.

    ''''Though, Elania, next time, if anything like that happens, try killing them with your venom instead.''''

    ''''Why?'''' I asked.

    ''''Well, you don''t know yet, but if your venom is related to your inherity, killing with your venom would be the way to evolve it. Besides, this guy was an easy kill for you, you wouldn''t be at risk while doing it.''''

    ''''Fair point.'''' I noted.

    Velariah gently kicked my abdomen while hugging my human belly.

    ''''What was that for?'''' I asked, not sure what she was getting it.

    ''''Signal to dismount.'''' Velariah grinned.

    ''''Oh.'''' I said as I lowered myself to the ground to allow the elf to dismount.

    ''''Thanks, Elania.'''' The knight said as she walked up to the troll.

    She used her blade to cut off the troll''s ears and tucked them away in the now empty bag she used for the arrowheads.

    Seralyn and Draco walked up to us and hid behind the bushes.

    We waited for several minutes again to make sure there were no more trolls making their way towards the sounds of battle. So far, everything had gone better than I could have expected.

    Maybe it was the weapons? Maybe it was the fact we actually had a team working together pretty well? I didn''t know, maybe it was both. Anyway, this surely made things easier than doing it alone, with a crappy weapon...

    After nothing appeared we decided to take the newly felled trolls'' ears with us.

    ''''This new shield axe is really something.'''' Draco told me. ''''It still cuts well and its defense is beyond what I imagined possible.''''

    ''''Heh, imagine when you get your second. Does it seem to work with your inherity by the way?'''' I asked.

    ''''I don''t seem to feel any different. I guess that means that it works? It''s as you said, a two-handed axe is still one axe. If I feel the same now, I am curious what the second axe will give me in regards of inherity effects.''''

    ''''That''s good to hear Draco. I hope we can make it work.''''

    ''''I would assume that with training, it would improve things a fair bit. You and Lady Velariah make a great team too.'''' He noted.

    ''''Thanks Draco.'''' I smiled at his kindness.

    ''''You guys about done?'''' Seralyn asked.

    Yeap, this was old Seralyn alright.

    Draco cut off the last troll''s ears and we regrouped and re-applied poison to our weapons once more.

    We walked further into the forest. I had Velariah mount me again because of the lack of vegetation in this area. If we spotted any trolls here, it was likely they had spotted us as well. We had to be ready to start combat at a moment''s notice.

    We didn''t run into any other trolls until we reached the ever-familiar clearing. There, we observed four trolls with more of their typical large stone maces. It appeared they noticed us too as they started charging at our party.

    I lowered my abdomen to the ground to start a new line of silk. Seralyn nocked an arrow and took aim. Draco dropped his large two-handed axe and took the shield-axe that I was carrying. Velariah tightened her grip on her blade and I got ready to charge into to fray after fight had opened.

    Seralyn''s arrow took flight, initiating the fight.

    Faragi

    A second chap for the day :O

    Thanks to my new Patron <3

    Runco

    Also. The mighty cliff is real. hopefully you guys never have to wait too long. (I think)

 1.42 Troll Battle Part 2: Troll Warlord

    Faragi

    Bit longer chap today :O

    Enjoy!

    Our archer''s arrow didn''t quite hit home, but it still managed to embed itself into the forehead of one of the approaching trolls. Draco''s body swelled with his magic and his scales soon took on a black color as his form grew again. His speed seemed proportionally higher as well as he charged in and cut one of the troll''s legs.

    It seemed to be the theme we relied on, making sure our enemies were immobilized before finishing them off. It seemed to be the logical course of action considering their superhuman strength and the fact that they were quite slow with their attacks.

    Another arrow flew and pierced the crotch of one of them.

    ''''That''s just nasty, Seralyn.'''' I spoke.

    ''''Effective though, look at him.'''' She answered with an evil smile.

    The troll in question fell to his knees while covering his privates with his hands. I could see blood spill and was thankful they wore at least some kind of clothing.

    I charged forward with Velariah on my back, ignoring the troll on the ground and going straight for the one with the arrow lodged in his forehead. It hadn''t killed him but it caused him to be confused as he tried to pull the arrow out.

    Our speed once again caused Velariah''s sword to impact the troll''s calf with great force and bits and pieces of his flesh flew in front of me. I turned around and noticed that the troll whose privates were damaged was still on the ground. I walked a circle around him and the troll whose leg was severely damaged, entangling them in at least some thread. That would slow them down while I put my attention to the two trolls that were bashing away at Draco''s shield.

    Draco seemed to hold his ground well, but his berserk mode wouldn''t hold forever. He got a few cuts on the trolls here and there but nothing that would be fatal anytime soon, unless my venom started to kick in.

    I charged from behind and the elf on my back inflicted a deep cut in the backside of the troll''s knee.

    Our fighting was just dirty. Dirty, but effective.

    More screams filled the air, and I could see the last troll that hadn''t been severely wounded in some way become angry with rage as his eyes started to glow red.

    ''''Draco, watch out!'''' I shouted.

    The troll raised his large mace high above his head and brought it down with heavy force.

    It impacted the ground but caused tremors to shoot through my legs. I became a bit unsteady for a while before I regained my footing.

    In the distance I could see two more trolls running in our direction, drawn in by the screams and sounds of battle.

    Seriously, how many were there?

    ''''Behind you!" Draco shouted my way.

    I wasn''t going to bother checking what was going on behind me. Instead, I jumped forward from my previous position.

    Not a moment too soon, it seemed. The troll whose privates were pierced hit the ground with his oversized hammer and caused more unsteadiness in my legs.

    ''''Velariah, one more charge, then dismount.'''' I said in reaction to the two upcoming trolls.

    Draco wouldn''t be able to hold two of them busy at the same time anymore, I could see his magic begin to fade as his scales started to turn back to his usual green. His heavy panting confirmed he was nearing the end of his strength.

    ''''Draco, fall back!'''' Velariah shouted as I walked away to start another run in the direction of one of the approaching trolls.

    Seralyn shot another arrow, this one hit the belly of one of the two approaching trolls.

    Draco received a full blow to his shield, the sound of the impact of stone on steel caused me to turn my attention to him instead.

    He needed help, and fast.

    Instead of charging at one of the approaching trolls, I turned my attention to the damaged crotch troll first.

    ''''Velariah, double charge.'''' I said loudly.

    ''''Got it!'''' she confirmed.

    I ran towards the troll that had previously missed me at top speed. Velariah''s sword cut out another piece of troll leg and her sword glowed red hot during the impact, setting the wound on fire. His screams were fading behind me as I was already sprinting towards the troll that was about to land another hit on Draco.

    The other two trolls would be upon us soon and I saw another arrow flying their way. I could hear a scream and a thud, but didn''t have time to look their way.

    Our charge was effective once more, a little too much even. The troll was leaning a bit too much on the leg that Velariah sliced, which, combined with the speed of impact, caused the leg to almost come off cleanly. I took a look for a second as I lowered myself to the ground for Velariah to dismount and could see that his leg was held by a few sinews connecting it to his upper leg. It was bleeding profusely and seemed to cause him massive pain, judging from his deafening roar.

    Draco moved away from the wounded troll and pulled out a red potion from his bag. He quickly chugged it down as Velariah and I ran out to meet the other two trolls.

    It appeared one was ahead of the other. The second troll seemed to have dropped his weapon as I saw an arrow stick out of his eye.

    Damn, Seralyn was just as nasty as us.

    He ripped the arrow out of his skull which almost resulted in me vomiting. That was disgusting. Blood and gore erupted from his socket when he pulled it out and I could see his other eye glow with a deep red color.

    I stopped spinning thread, deciding to conserve my strength. I had immobilized two trolls already and the other didn''t seem like he was going to move anytime soon with that leg.

    I took a quick look at what had happened so far. We had four trolls that were on the ground but not dead. One whose privates were pierced and had a cut in his leg, one with a large cut out of the backside of his knee, one whose lower leg was nearly chopped off and one troll with an arrow in his forehead and a cut in his calf who seemed to be entangled in my silk.

    ''''Seralyn, take care of the guy in the web.'''' I asked of the archer.

    Because of his entanglement, Seralyn dared to walk up close and personal to the troll and fired an arrow into the troll''s eye from point blank range, instantly killing him. She then repeated the same process for the other troll that got caught by the silken restraints.

    Brutal.

    She wasn''t going to be so lucky with the other two. They could still move around, albeit very limited, and there was no reason to get up close and personal, one of them would soon die from exsanguination while the other was immobilized enough to ignore, for now.

    Draco cut the other rear side of that specific troll with his axe as he seemed reinvigorated by the potion.

    Nasty.

    I took my spear in a firm grip and charged for the one troll that was slacking behind the other. With his eyesight already cut in half and my speed being fast as the wind, I had a little plan in mind.

    Velariah was charging the troll that was further forward, another arrow soon flew in his direction but actually missed.

    That was the first time I''d seen Seralyn miss a shot.

    I ignored what happened and focused on the troll in front of me. He seemed to be preparing for me to charge his left side.

    How wrong he was.

    Moments before reaching him, I switch to his other side, causing his swing to miss entirely and I thrust my spear into his undamaged eye.

    It would seem my training with Velariah had paid off. Even if the training wasn''t that extensive, I could at least aim my spear far better than before.

    I lost my spear in the process as it became stuck in his skull. It didn¡¯t seem to have gone deep enough to instantly kill him either. He was left completely blinded and wildly swung his mace around while screaming.

    I had to cover my ears from the screams as they actually hurt.

    I wanted to finish this quickly before more reinforcements arrived and stuck my abdomen to the floor to start a new thread. I then ran a few circles around the troll, turning his legs into a sushi roll and soon had him fall to the ground.

    He dropped his mace as he fell and I quickly snagged it away with all four of my arms.

    That thing was heavy!

    With the troll disarmed and immobilized I dared to step up to him. I pulled out my fangs and brought them down into his now eyeless sockets before filling them with a highly-pressurized stream of concentrated venom.

    I left him alone after that to see how my companions were faring.

    Draco and Velariah seemed like a great tag-team. The lizardman protected the elf from blows with his shield before Velariah struck. Her cuts didn''t get nearly as deep as when she was mounted on me but her new sword still seemed to do a fair amount of work. The troll ended up with many cuts and blood flowing down from each and every one of those before falling to the ground and receiving the coup de grace from the elf.

    Well, I wasn''t sure if you could call it that. She needed several blows before she was able to pierce his neck, though, I believe the first one would have already been fatal.

    With the other trolls dead, that only left one alive. I turned my attention to the troll whose knees were cut from the rear side and found him lying still against a tree. I walked up to him carefully, but found him dead.

    I assumed it was my venom that did the trick. It didn¡¯t seem he had lost nearly as much blood as the other troll.

    ''''You guys okay?'''' I asked.

    The thrill of battle slowly faded and we prepared to take some time to recuperate.

    ''''I''m fine.'''' Draco said.

    ''''Same here.'''' Velariah added.

    ''''Yup.'''' Seralyn concluded.

    There was nowhere we could hide in the area, so if anymore trolls came, we would just have to deal with them. Fortunately, it didn''t seem like more were coming our way. Seralyn excused herself for a minute as she walked behind a large tree. Draco in the meantime handed out some canteens of water, one of which I greedily emptied in its entirety.

    ''''Anyone need an energy potion?'''' Velariah offered.

    I shook my head. I would still be fine. This was nothing compared to running from the Searing Peak to the village.

    ''''Already took one earlier.'''' Draco said.

    Seralyn came walking back to us and took a canteen from Draco as well. I allowed the others to eat in peace as I went around the troll corpses collecting arrows. Some of them broke off from the arrowheads so I decided to only take the heads. It seemed they could be used again multiple times.

    In the meantime, I also recovered my spear. It seemed the troll had died to my venom and I could see a nasty liquid leak out of his eyes. It seemed blood had mixed with venom and was now exiting his wound.

    Disgusting.

    Upon closer inspection of the arrowheads, I could see that they were hardly damaged. They still retained their sharpness and held a slight warmth to the touch. This Coldanus really had many years of experience under his belt, I concluded.

    I handed the arrowheads to Seralyn who, strangely, thanked me for returning them.

    We took several more minutes of rest before Draco and Velariah went around and cut off their ears. In the meantime, I walked back and picked up Draco''s large double-bladed axe. I was amused with how fast he was getting used to his current ''''weapon''''. It seemed this axe would soon belong to the history books. It made me excited to see him in action once the other piece was finished.

    I inspected the axe-shield and besides a few dents, it wasn''t all too damaged. It left me surprised that such heavy blows only managed to make these tiny dents.

    Enchanting combined with high quality metal sure seemed powerful.

    In the end I decided to eat a few pieces of meat to replenish my silk. I had no idea how I was faring in that area. It was quite hard to keep track of how far I could go, but I wasn''t feeling tired or hungry yet so I assumed I would be alright. Couldn¡¯t hurt to make sure, though.

    Besides, we weren''t planning on staying here for long. It was somewhere in the afternoon right now, if we really wanted to, we could be back in the village somewhere within the evening.

    We continued onward. Velariah was back on my back as a precaution. Our charge seemed to be mighty effective, after all!

    Seralyn had commented on how easy Velariah had it, getting free rides and such, to which Velariah had commented that our effectiveness was undeniable.

    The archer didn''t seem to have a response to that.

    We reached the clearing with the cave and I stopped dead in my tracks.

    I didn¡¯t even have time to reminisce on the past. There, in the middle of the clearing, was a woman bound to a thick wooden pole. The others seemed to stop to observe as well.

    The first thing that I noticed about her was a set of large white-greyish wings connected to her shoulders. For a moment I thought she was some kind of angel until I looked further down. Instead of legs and feet, she had human upper legs which then gradually transformed into large bird-like feet, complete with large claws at the end, consisting of four ''''toes'''' for lack of better word. I had no idea what they were called. Three of them pointed towards the front and one slightly to the back, each of them had a large talon at their end that seemed deadly if provoked.

    She had medium-length turquoise hair stopping at her shoulders and the feathers of same color sticking out from under her hair where her ears would be. I could make out that her clothes were completely torn and ragged.

    What I believe was once a white shirt was almost gone completely and revealed a fair amount of skin. The same could be said for her pants, which were once brown shorts.

    She seemed to be unconscious, but there was no doubt in my mind that this was what this world would consider to be a harpy. She wasn''t like the harpies that I had read about. The one I knew had their arms fused together with their wings, she still had a set of arms free.

    What the hell happened here after I left?

    We slowly walked into the clearing. Seralyn at range and Draco in front. I was keeping some distance from Draco to be able to build up enough momentum for a charge, should we find ourself in a fight soon.

    We found nothing in the surrounding area. We carefully stepped towards the bound harpy while scanning our environment. Draco reached her and a deep, loud laugh came from the cave.

    We turned our attention towards the sound and saw a large troll stepping out of the shadows.

    His skin was a dark green color instead of the blueish-grey that the others had. Around his neck was a chain with a dozen skulls. He, too had a mace that was far too large for any other soldier to wield. This one had a solid block of metal on top of the handle instead of stone, with spikes sticking out of the sides. Like the others, he didn¡¯t wear any armor either, which only added to his intimidating aura. His tusks were quite a bit larger than the other trolls'' as well.

    There was no doubt in my mind. This was the troll warlord.

    He uttered a stream of words at us in an incomprehensible language as Draco worked quickly to untie the harpy with his axe. It would seem she was captured by these trolls, poor thing. She seemed to be in need of healing as well.

    Seralyn opened with a shot while the troll was still talking in his weird language. The arrow seemed to embed itself in his forehead but didn''t cut nearly as deep as with the other trolls.

    He frowned for a second before pulling the arrow out as if it were a mere sewing pin and flicked it away.

    ''''Fuck.'''' I uttered. ''''Seems this guy is quite a bit tougher than the others. Seems this is up to us Velariah.''''

    I hoped our cavalry strategy would be enough to wound him enough for us to be able to finish him off. I started another line of silk and charged as another arrow flew past me.

    I almost reached him but had to change course at the last second as his mace came crashing down. He seemed to be faster than the other trolls as well which kind of ruined my plan. I ran a circle around him instead and caught his feet in silk.

    He barely even noticed it as he stood still as I came charging again. This time I was the one to change course and Velariah was quick to catch on. His swing completely missed as I strafed him from the other side. Velariah''s swing however, did not. It cut in his leg a fair bit deeper than the arrow had gone and blood started to stream down, but this wouldn''t nearly be enough.

    I needed Draco''s support.

    I looked his way and saw he was almost done freeing the harpy.

    The sound of another arrow drew my attention and I could see it hit the troll''s back. The arrow head caught fire and seared his flesh.

    The troll reached back with a hand to remove the arrow which caused me to initiate another charge. Velariah cut deeply into his hand which gripped the handle of his mace which was resting on the ground.

    Not a bad idea, at all.

    He screamed in pain and ignored the arrow. He picked up his mace again and tried to slam me but I was faster. The vibrations in the ground caused me to fall to the floor and Velariah quickly dismounted. I stopped creating thread. It would be too dangerous to continue doing that with the elf resorting to melee combat.

    Once Draco was finished and held his attention, we could continue.

    I needed this venom to do its work...

    I stood up again and saw Velariah dancing around the troll''s attacks which seemed to infuriate him. His eyes started to glow with a slight red color.

    This could get nasty if this continued for too long.

    Another arrow hit the troll''s back and I wondered what Seralyn was aiming for.

    Enlightenment hit me.

    I think I knew what she was aiming for.

    I stepped behind the troll who was fixated on Velariah. She managed to get a hit in between the attacks but nothing serious would come out of it. One of the cuts had caught fire which caused the troll to scream in rage and pain.

    I struck my spear in his back as hard as I could and managed to actually penetrate a few centimeters. Another arrow soon followed suit. The troll''s fixation wasn''t easily broken and I managed to get a few more stabs here and there. More arrows started to adorn his back as well, he was slowly being turned into a pin cushion by Seralyn.

    It appeared Draco finished freeing the trolls'' captive and moved her away from the fighting before joining the fight himself. Velariah used the opportunity to step back and the heavy mace impacted Draco''s shield. Thanks to the flexibility of the weapon, Draco managed to cut the troll warlord twice before he had to step aside to dodge an attack. In the meantime, I landed two more stabs as well.

    Another arrow landed in his back of which the arrowhead promptly caught fire.

    The troll finally broke his attention from what was in front of him and turned to me. Once I got his attention, I quickly started another sticky thread in the grass. I slowly walked away as he followed me. I kept my eyes on him to see how this would fare. He stepped into the silk and took several more steps without issue. I started to worry if it would work but eventually it seemed to cause him trouble moving as the threads became entangled around his feet and legs.

    ''''Velariah, mount!'''' I yellow to the elf.

    I stopped the thread as I got the result I wanted: A semi-immobilized troll. This should make landing harder hits easier.

    I lowered myself and had Velariah hop on my back. I took a good hold of her and created some distance while Draco was hacking away at the troll''s exposed calves. The troll warlord stumbled to a knee and Seralyn ran a large circle around him to end up at his rear side before continuing her barrage of arrows.

    The troll roared in rage and swung at Draco. The lizardman managed to block the attack but was thrown several meters backward from the impact.

    Ouch.

    Draco healed himself slightly with his magic, I could see a soft green light envelop him briefly before he transformed into his black-scaled form again. He charged at the troll''s exposed leg once more and opened a fresh cut.

    ''''Aim for his back Vel.'''' I said to her in private. ''''I believe I know what Seralyn is getting to.''''

    ''''Got it.'''' She confirmed.

    The troll was still down on a knee but raised his torso upward again and took another swing at Draco who was too fast and fell to the ground, ducking the attack.

    This created the opening I was waiting for. I approached his exposed back with unrivaled speed and had Velariah swing. Her blade glowed hot red as she landed the blow.

    A load scream from behind me confirmed that the blow had the desired effect.

    I ran back as the troll stood up again.

    Seralyn landed several more arrows in his back before she shouted.

    ''''I''m out, get the arrows out and do your work Elania!''''

    ''''Gotcha!'''' I shouted back.

    ''''Your work?'''' Velariah questioned.

    ''''Vel, I need you to get the arrows out of his back with a well-aimed swing. You think you can do it?''''

    ''''I think I start to get the idea, and yes, I can do that.''''

    The troll seemed to be overcome with rage as his eyes now glowed fiery red. It took a swing at Draco who blocked the attack, but there was so much force behind the blow that the shield was slammed into his body with brute force. He flew through the air again before falling to his bum and screamed in pain.

    ''''Draco, fall back!'''' Seralyn shouted.

    ''''Let''s go Velariah.'''' I told the white-haired elf.

    I approached the troll from the side and Velariah held her sword up high, the blunt side forward.

    I ran past his back and heard the impact of the sword on the wooden shafts of the arrows. I turned to see all but one arrow had fallen out of the troll''s back. The now visible puncture wounds were several centimeters deep and there were many of them. In addition, there was a large, fairly deep cut from Velariah''s attack. The flames of that attack had just now died out.

    The troll approached Draco who was still down on the floor and struggling to get up.

    I quickly ran behind him, pulled up my fangs, held them in my hands and aimed.

    I shot another high-pressure stream of venom into the exposed wounds. I continued spraying each and every wound until I was completely out. The screams coming from the troll warlord made me think they had the desired effect. Now, we would allow the venom to run its course.

    The problem was that the troll didn''t seem to be stopping and Draco didn''t seem to be able to get up.

    I quickly ran past the troll into his direction and pinned my pedipalps under his shoulder blades and lifted him up so I could hold him with my human arms. Velariah held my belly tightly as I let go of her.

    I was quick, but not quick enough. The troll brought down his mace and I could feel sensations disappearing from behind me. My movements became a bit wobbly and fear of what happened just now filled me. I got us out of immediate danger first while Velariah gasped.

    Then, the pain set in.

    I screamed. My mind almost went blank from the pain.

    I kept going forward as fast as I could before collapsing to the ground in pain.

    I looked behind me to see the troll still walking our way, albeit in a much slower manner, but what really made my heart race was the fact that the last of my legs on one side had been snapped in half.

    The lower part of the leg that was the furthest back on my left side was missing and red blood dripped from where it was once connected.

    Velariah jumped off me and reached into her pack. She pulled out a yellow and green potion and forced me to drink them.

    The pain was overwhelming, but I still managed to ingest the liquids.

    It did little to ease the pain...

    My vision was flashing red and white.

    ''''Finish the troll, Velariah.'''' I spoke softly, no longer able to talk with a normal voice.

    We wouldn''t be safe until it was killed.

    The knight looked over behind me.

    ''''I think he''s finished already.'''' She said.

    I looked behind me and saw the troll faceplanting the grass. A weird mix of blood and venom was leaking from his back.

    I sighed in relief and soon found the pain overwhelm me.

    I fucking hated trolls.

    ''''Elania!'''' Velariah''s voice screaming my name was the last thing I heard as everything went black.

    Faragi

    It has come to my attention that the previous discord link broke, so I had to create a new one: https://discord.gg/TqFjdv8uaE

    Also, I am going to slow down the releases just a bit to be able to offer something on Patreon as I don''t have any benefits right now. Don''t worry though, I''ll still try to release as often as I can.

    Thank you guys <3

    PS: Sorry about the cliff :^)

 1.43 Back to the Start

    ''''Elania?''''

    Someone was calling for me.

    ''''Elania?''''

    Five more minutes please.

    ''''Elania?'''' A female voice practically shouted.

    My head hurts.

    ''''Elania?'''' Somebody shook my shoulders wildly.

    Where was I?

    ''''Elania!''''

    I opened my eyes to see Velariah''s eyes peer into mine.

    ''''Elania, are you alright?'''' She asked.

    My mind wasn''t even with me. Pain was still coursing through my body. What happened?

    Oh, shit my leg.

    I quickly turned my head to see half of my last leg still missing. The pain from the missing limb was still intense, but it seemed to have stopped bleeding. I would live at least.

    What about the troll?

    I looked further behind me to see the troll still lying face down in the grass. It seemed we managed to finish him off before I collapsed.

    ''''Elania, answer me!'''' Velariah called out.

    I looked at her and saw tears in her eyes.

    ''''I''m fine? I think?''''

    The pain was still bad. Not in the passing out from pain kind of way, but still severe.

    Velariah hugged me and my head fell back on my behind.

    It wasn''t that bad, was it?

    Sure, I was missing a leg, I had seven more though, I could still walk. The fact that I was alive was already a blessing for me.

    Would healing magic cause it to grow back?

    Why did I choose this life again?

    ''''It hurts.'''' I said in a soft voice.

    ''''Elania, you lost a fucking leg, of course it hurts. I''m so glad you''re alive!'''' Velariah screamed with joy. ''''It seems Nira managed to patch you up well enough to stop the bleeding.''''

    How badly did I fuck up to deserve her as worried as this?

    Wait, who is Nira?

    I looked around to see my companions stand around me. Among them was the female harpy that was bound to the pole earlier. She, like the others, had a slightly worried expression plastered on her face.

    ''''Is Draco okay?'''' I asked no one in particular.

    I remembered him taking a heavy blow to the chest before I got him out of harm''s way.

    ''''I''m fine miss Elania.'''' The lizardman said as he stepped forward. ''''Thanks to you and Nira.''''

    ''''Nira?'''' I asked as I looked at the harpy.

    ''''H-hi.'''' She spoke softly as she tried to cover her tattered clothes.

    ''''You''re a healer?'''' I asked with the elf still hugging me tightly.

    Seriously Vel, keep this up and the others might get ideas.

    She nodded and replied with a meek ''''Yes''''.

    How lucky to have found her. That just proves how valuable a healer can be in a party.

    ''''Can you walk?'''' Velariah asked me as she released me.

    ''''I think so.'''' I answered.

    I tried to stand and managed. Draco handed me another yellow potion. I doubted it would help considering the last painkiller potion hadn''t done much, but I drank its contents without complaint. The familiar warmth instantly shot to the stump of my leg before settling down, easing the pain somewhat in the process.

    How long was I out for? What time was it?

    I just now noticed the red glow of evening had already set in. I must have been out for a couple of hours at least.

    ''''Where are we going?'''' I asked Velariah who was walking in front of me.

    ''''I thought we should settle in the cave for the night. It''s going to be dark soon. We''re not going to make it back to Dawnleaf with you in that state in time.''''

    The cave... that cave...

    It made sense to take shelter in here for the night. It was an excellent spot but it just gave me an eerie feeling. Somehow, I ended up back here.

    It seemed Draco had collected his large axe from before and he laid it on the floor in the cave before going back and to chop down a smaller tree for firewood.

    I walked into my old home to find some old looking weapons spread out across the floor and a dusty old chest. It seemed the trolls had made some kind of camp here.

    I could still see my old blood on the wall and Seralyn even brought up that there was blood on the wall. I ignored the comment and settled down in my same old spot.

    I took a look behind me at my leg and winced from the sight. I could still move the top part around, but without a part reaching the ground it would be pretty pointless. I really hoped I could get one of the treemenders to look into the issue. I would be disappointed if there wasn''t a way to recover lost limbs.

    I had hopes, but deep down I knew it wouldn''t happen. I had seen what I believed to be ex-adventurers without arms pass by the guild hall every now and then. If healing magic was able to recover limbs, I imagined they would have them fixed up.

    I would have to learn to live with this, I guessed. Thankfully this wouldn''t leave me a cripple in any way. It just may take some time adjusting to.

    ''Just when I was getting used to it too.'' I sighed.

    Velariah sat down close next to and leaned against me.

    ''''I''ll be fine.'''' I told her again, feeling she was overreacting.

    Seralyn handed me a canteen of water. I wasn''t that thirsty but emptied it anyway to please the worried elf next to me. I tried to relax a few minutes, letting the effects of the potion set in properly before I turned my attention to the harpy who seemed to be quite uncomfortable with her clothes. She was using her wings to cover parts of herself.

    ''''So, Nira yes?'''' I asked.

    She nodded in response.

    ''''How did you get caught up in this mess?''''

    She was the first harpy I''d seen in this world and she was bound to a pole when I first laid eyes upon her. She shouldn''t be that easy to catch, considering she could fly, right?

    ''''Paralytic poison.'''' Her soft voice came. ''''I was out on a scouting mission for the guild and got hit by an arrow mid-flight. It caused me to crash to the ground and I was soon captured by goblins.''''

    Her mood soured.

    ''''Soon after, these trolls showed up and obliterated the goblins that captured me and took me for themselves. They... they...'''' She swallowed. I could see a tear run down her face.

    ''''They mutilated me and laughed at me. They would then knock me unconscious only to repeat the same process when I came to.''''

    I gasped as she told me about the hell she''d been through.

    ''''Velariah. Could you help her with her clothes?'''' I asked.

    ''''But how? I don''t-'''' I nodded to my rear which interrupted her sentence.

    ''''Are you sure?'''' She asked.

    ''''Yes.'''' I answered.

    She should get something to cover herself properly. This wouldn''t do.

    Velariah gently touched my spinnerets as I created some silk for this poor girl to cover herself with.

    Nira continued talking.

    ''''Draco, I believe it was? He handed me a healing and an energy potion. It allowed me to recover some strength that I used to heal you. You looked like you could use it.'''' She finished meekly.

    ''''Thank you Nira. I appreciate your help greatly.''''

    ''''No, I should thank you for freeing me. I don''t think I would have lasted much longer...''''

    Seralyn sat in a corner and quietly worked on re-attaching some of her arrows to their heads.

    Velariah was creating small laps of silk that the harpy could use to cover herself.

    I noticed Nira wasn''t wearing an adventurer''s tag so I asked her what happened to it.

    She shook her head.

    ''''Lost it when I fell down. I''ll need to get a replacement one from the guild...''''

    What a mess this whole quest turned out to be. At least we had finished it and could get paid. The reward was a juicy twenty gold pieces.

    I think I''d rather have my leg back, though...

    This whole situation had me almost giving up on adventuring business, almost. I wasn''t going to be able to live a quiet, simple life. There would always be people coming out to hunt me simply because of the half monster that was this body. No, if I wanted to live, live at all, I would have to grow stronger to defend myself.

    Velariah tapped my behind and I stopped producing silk. The elf then took the strip of silk and wrapped it around the harpy''s body, covering up her exposed skin and reducing her anxiety visibly. She even let out a small smile.

    Draco returned with a couple of logs and put them down in the exact position where I had created my own fire about two weeks ago. He then put his bag against the wall and pulled out a self-igniting torch that he used to set the logs alight.

    Seralyn pried open the chest that sat at the far end of the cave with my discarded spear. I took Velariah in for a side hug with my left arms to put her more at ease.

    Then Seralyn''s voice called out.

    ''''Guys, I think we may have something here.''''

    ''''What is it?'''' I asked without even looking in her direction.

    The clinking of coins grabbed my attention and I looked over to her. She put a hand in the chest before lifting it up, allowing silver coins to glide through her fingers back into the chest.

    ''''No way.'''' Velariah let out as she broke the hug. ''''Lemme see that.''''

    It seemed Velariah was starting to regain her composure. I wasn''t sure how to feel about it. I felt kind of sad when breaking the hug.

    Nira seemed curious, but didn''t bother to check. She seemed fixated on a rabbit that Draco was holding over the fire on a stick.

    Poor thing, she was probably starving.

    A grumble coming from her direction confirmed my suspicion.

    I reached over to Draco''s bag and pulled out an apple and gave it to the harpy.

    ''''Here, eat something.'''' I spoke. ''''I''m pretty sure Seralyn can hunt more for us. You don''t mind giving her that one, do you Draco?'''' I turned my attention to the lizardman.

    ''''Was already planning on doing that.'''' He said without turning around.

    Such a gentleman.

    ''''What was that you just said?'''' Seralyn joined the conversation. ''''You know how hard it was to catch that one?''''

    Such a greedy elf.

    ''''For your aim? Probably not that hard.'''' I said.

    ''''Okay, maybe not, but still!''''

    ''''Go get another one.'''' I sighed. ''''Before it gets dark.''''

    ''''Ugh, fine...'''' She let out as she left the cave, bow in hand.

    Velariah moved back to me, dragging the seemingly heavy chest over the stone floor and putting it next to me.

    ''''Looks like we hit the jackpot.'''' She said happily.

    ''''How much is it?'''' I asked.

    ''''Dunno, I''m gonna count it now.'''' She sat down next to me and held the chest upside down, dropping the contents on the floor. Many silver coins rained from the chest, there were a few gold and copper ones mixed in between. One object however caught my attention and caused shock to flow through me.

    Between the coins I saw a certain object, something which I''d seen before.

    A miniature wooden rabbit.

    I took the object and observed it closely. There was no doubt, this was an exact copy of the rabbit that I buried with the adventurer that had attacked me very early on.

    Velariah looked at me.

    ''''What''s that?''''

    ''''I don''t know, but I have seen one of these before. Remember that one square coin that your dad confiscated?''''

    I was careful not to mention the material. I had no idea how Nira and Draco would react to it if they overheard this conversation.

    ''''Yes.'''' She affirmed.

    ''''I got that coin from an adventurer that carried an exact copy of this.'''' I held the wooden rabbit close to her. ''''There is no doubt in my mind that this money and that adventurer are connected in some way.''''

    ''''Do you think we should warm him?'''' She inquired.

    ''''I have no idea what to do, honestly. The money would be more than welcome, have you heard anything about your dad''s progress into his research on where that coin came from?''''

    Velariah shook her head.

    ''''Nothing yet, but I believe he is still working on that. He is doing far too many things at once.''''

    ''''Yea, I can see that. He is buried in books all the time.'''' I responded.

    ''''To be honest.'''' Velariah started. ''''We should tell him about this, I doubt he will have issues with us keeping the money, finders keepers after all. I doubt he will keep that coin from you forever. I have a feeling you will get it back, eventually.''''

    I hoped so. It would be great to get this inherity ritual thing out of the way so I could spend money on equipment without thinking twice about it. I was glad we invested in equipment and prepared for this fight as best as we had. I think we would have been in a lot more trouble if we hadn''t...

    ''''That would be great.'''' I said absent-mindedly.

    I was still lost in thought about this whole ordeal. How did these trolls get their hands on this chest? Where did it come from? Who did it belong to?

    The pain coming from my leg stump didn''t help in trying to figure this out. I concluded that I simply didn''t have enough information to go on and that the simplest way to figure out what was going on was probably to contact Valtheril and have him use his connections instead.

    Velariah started putting the silver coins back in the chest while counting them. A few minutes later she finished and put in the few gold coins that were left behind.

    ''''That''s ninety-six silver and fourteen gold pieces. That''s almost twenty-five gold in total. That''s quite the haul.'''' Velariah said optimistically. ''''Do you have any idea where these trolls got this from?'''' She turned her attention to Nira.

    The harpy shook her head.

    ''''I never saw them bring it in from anywhere, it must have already been there by the time they bound me to that pole. That, or they brought it in while I was unconscious.''''

    Seralyn walked back into the cave and proudly held up three rabbits. Not a moment too soon either as darkness was quickly setting in.

    ''''See, I told you you could do it. You go girl!'''' I sarcastically cheered her on.

    ''''Seems you''re feeling a whole lot better already, aren''t you?'''' She retorted.

    ''''Well, what can I say, I still have seven more legs I can walk on. You losing one would be much more of an issue.'''' I fired back.

    ''''Whatever.'''' She simply said as she started skinning the rabbits with a knife she pulled out of Draco''s backpack.

    Victory!

    It was sad I lost a leg but I had at least won this argument. Seriously, I didn''t even know how I could think this lightly of it. That couldn''t be right.

    ''''Velariah, do you know if those treemenders can recover lost limbs?'''' I asked her as she leaned against me once more.

    Her face became one filled with sadness.

    ''''For us elves and humans, no. I am afraid they can''t. I have no idea if spiders fall under the same category.''''

    ''''I''m not a spider though, well, not fully anyway.''''

    ''''Well, no, but your leg is.'''' She spoke.

    ''''Fair point...'''' I spoke. ''''We''d have to check I guess.'''' I sighed.

    I really shouldn''t get my hopes up.

    Would molting allow lost limbs to regrow? It didn''t seem out of the realm of possibilities. I hoped it was a thing but I couldn''t be sure.

    Hope was a dangerous drug¡­

    ''''Nira, how do you heal people anyway? Don''t you need some kind of source, a staff or something?''''

    She nodded as she was still running her fingers over the silk that now covered up the tears in her clothing.

    ''''I do, but I can do some healing without. Here...'''' She pulled away the hair covering her ears.

    She had small pointy ears with feathers sticking out behind them. In her lobes were two earrings which each had a green orb the size of a marble.

    ''''I was lucky that the trolls and goblins didn''t find them, they would have likely taken those too...''''

    ''''So you had some kind of staff?'''' I inquired.

    She nodded.

    ''''I use a small wand that doesn¡¯t hinder my ability to fly. The goblins took it from me, I don''t believe the trolls brought it with them.''''

    She looked at the rabbit that Draco was cooking and then stared at the ground again.

    ''''What¡¯s wrong Nira?'''' Velariah asked politely.

    ''''I don''t know how to thank you. You''ve been so kind to me.'''' She said in her soft voice.

    I sighed. Was this simple act of kindness considered such a big deal here?

    ''''It''s fine. You were a great help with Elania and Draco too.''''

    Draco appeared to have finished cooking the rabbit as he handed the stick to the harpy.

    ''''Thank you so much.'''' She thanked us again as she started digging in.

    Seralyn handed a skinned rabbit to Draco who then pierced it with another stick and started cooking it. Both of them were awfully quiet. I couldn''t blame them, Nira''s story left me with much to think about as well.

    Her story, combined with the wooden rabbit and the chest of coins all demanded answers. What were the trolls even doing in this area? Was it normal for them to be here? Was me awakening here connected to all this?

    I hoped they didn''t do anything extreme to Nira...

    I simply observed Draco cooking. Velariah still hugged my side and Seralyn was working on the next catch. Nira was eating happily and her enjoyment seemed to infect me as well.

    I started to smile at seeing her mood improve considerably. Through all the pain in my leg, I still managed to do that.

    ''''How you holding up?'''' Velariah asked me.

    ''''Pain, but I guess that will fade.'''' I sighed. ''''Eventually...''''

    ''''You better not do that again.'''' Velariah lectured me.

    ''''What? And leave Draco to die? You know you can''t make me do that...''''

    ''''I didn''t mean that, dummy. I meant you better not get yourself hurt like that again.'''' She elaborated.

    ''''Yes, mom. I wasn''t planning to, anyway.'''' I rolled my eyes.

    ''''I''m serious!'''' She said loudly.

    ''''Seems Miss Leafguard has got the weirdest leg fetish.'''' Seralyn interjected with a giggle. ''''This must really hurt her.''''

    ''''Well, yeah.'''' Velariah admitted.

    Vel, what the hell?

    I buried my face in my hands, earning more giggles from the brunette.

    ''''You guys seem to be getting along well.'''' Nira said softly between two bites.

    ''''A little too much.'''' Seralyn added.

    Velariah ignored the other elf and asked if I wanted another painkiller.

    How many did she bring?

    I shook my head. ''''I''ll just go to sleep soon and hope it''s not as bad tomorrow.''''

    ''''You don''t want anything to eat?'''' Draco asked.

    ''''No, I''ll be fine.'''' I replied. ''''That is, if I can sleep.''''

    ''''Should be fine with Velariah as pillow.'''' Seralyn said.

    Damn this elf.

    ''''I''ll gladly be her pillow.'''' Velariah smiled.

    I sighed. This was going to be a long night once again.

    Faragi

    As I said before I am slowing down releases slightly for a while to be able to offer a bit more content on Patreon. No need to worry though, I''ll still publish as often as I can. I think I''ve already provided a lot in the short while I worked on this (1 month) and I''ll continue to deliver :D

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 1.44 Mysteries in the Forest

    I woke up with white hair on my face.

    As much as Seralyn had made fun of the situation, I did end up using Velariah as a pillow. I had moved my remaining legs under her armor so that she wouldn¡¯t have to sleep on the cold floor. I then lay on top of her as comfortably as our armor allowed. It wasn¡¯t the most comfortable, but it turned out to be comfortable enough to at least fall asleep.

    Draco insisted that I get a full night of rest and denied me from being on guard the night before. He and Seralyn would fulfill those roles. Seralyn had complained briefly, but ultimately agreed to it.

    Nira had fallen asleep a bit away from the campfire, she said she didn¡¯t want to have her wings caught in the fire while she slept. Her remark had humored me, but as it turned out, her wings would allow her to keep herself warm at night.

    The crackling of the flame and Velariah still snoozing below me brought me back to the present.

    My leg still hurt, but not nearly as much as the day before. Like my arm before, it had turned into more of a whining pain than a sharp, mind-numbing pain, present, but not unbearable.

    I still wanted to have Pylanor have a look at it.

    I had told Velariah too and she agreed to pay him a visit once we got back to Dawnleaf.

    I turned to face Velariah¡¯s cheek. I could never really get a look at how she slept. She was beautiful from so close up. I decided to simply lie there, not wanting to disturb her by moving away. I wasn¡¯t evil, unlike some people here¡­

    It seemed the elf I was referring to was asleep next to the campfire. Draco was the one on guard duty right now. At least that meant I wouldn¡¯t be disturbed anytime soon.

    Velariah was way too adorable.

    How she could sleep, cradled in monstrous spider legs was a miracle to me, but she seemed to be content.

    Maybe she did have the weirdest leg fetish?

    I wouldn¡¯t judge her for it.

    Nothing eventful happened last night. We had simply discussed our course of action for the next day. We would simply go back to the village, inform Valtheril, then see where we go from there.

    There was still a dungeon to explore and technically we had a healer with us now. We just hadn''t mentioned anything about that yet to Nira. She was not part of our party and she was free to do whatever she wanted. I did not want to make her feel guilty and pressure her to come with us. We would give her time first, maybe ask the question some time after returning to the village.

    I imagined she would make a great addition to our freak show, though. I inwardly giggled at the thought.

    Three monsters and two monstrous elves, imagine.

    Velariah stirred beneath me.

    No, don¡¯t! You were so cute like that!

    ¡®¡¯Hmmm.¡¯¡¯ She moaned softly. ¡®¡¯Good morning, Elania.¡¯¡¯ She said without even opening her eyes.

    ¡®¡¯Good morning Velariah.¡¯¡¯ I answered softly.

    I started to move my upper body upwards, but Velariah¡¯s armored hands pulled me back down.

    ¡®¡¯No need to hurry, you¡¯re fine, right?¡¯¡¯ She said.

    ¡®¡¯I think I am. The pain is a lot less already today.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Good.¡¯¡¯ She smiled and opened her eyes.

    Gods they were beautiful. Her heterochromia really gave her eyes a certain exotic flair. I might actually find myself falling in love at this rate¡­

    ¡®¡¯You lovebirds about ready to get up?¡¯¡¯ A voice asked way too loudly.

    Why did she always have to ruin the moment?

    I got up and released Velariah from my legs. I saw Nira wake up from Seralyn¡¯s voice as well.

    ¡®¡¯Seriously Seralyn, could you be any more rude?¡¯¡¯ Velariah asked.

    I thanked her in silence. I was about to ask the same question.

    ¡®¡¯Figured we should get back to Dawnleaf as quickly as possible. There¡¯s no need to linger in the area.¡¯¡¯

    She had a point there, but still.

    ¡®¡¯Have you recovered all of your arrowheads?¡¯¡¯ Velariah asked as she reached for Draco¡¯s bag.

    ¡®¡¯All but one. One remained stuck in a troll¡¯s skull when I pulled out the shaft. I couldn¡¯t be bothered to retrieve it.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯What happened to the troll warlord, anyway? I mean, what killed him?¡¯¡¯ I asked.

    ¡®¡¯Seems it was your venom. Good job on recognizing what I had in mind, by the way.¡¯¡¯ Seralyn complimented me.

    ¡®¡¯How did you know I could do that anyway?¡± I asked.

    Did she continue to stalk us after she had supposedly left our training session the other day?

    ¡®¡¯I may have stuck around the other day, I was curious if you were going to pull off any interesting stunts, turned out you actually did.¡¯¡¯

    So that¡¯s a yes.

    I sighed. I hated the fact that I wouldn¡¯t be sure if I was ever truly alone with Velariah, but I was also glad she knew what I was capable of. I should probably have informed my party members beforehand. I considered that a mistake from my part.

    The others had a quick breakfast. I just had some water.

    As I took the canteen I had suggested cleaning Nira¡¯s wounds with alcohol to prevent infection. She seemed to be hesitant to the idea, probably because of the pain, but couldn¡¯t deny the fact that it was probably a good idea.

    As such, I created some silk and formed it into a ball. Draco then soaked it in alcohol and used it like a sponge to go over Nira¡¯s wounds. I could see her bite her lips from the pain, but she didn¡¯t really scream out or anything. She may be tougher than she looked.

    She too, would visit the treemender¡¯s oak.

    It seemed she did now have enough energy left to fully heal her own wounds. It appeared she chose to heal Draco and me over herself which was really kind of her.

    I asked Nira how healing magic worked and its relation to inherities while the others were packing up and preparing to leave.

    She explained that her wand was used to channel her corium into healing spells and that without it, she wasn¡¯t nearly as powerful. Her earrings did help her out somewhat, but it wasn¡¯t anything like her full capabilities. The harpy explained that her inherity was one of ¡®¡¯nature healing¡¯¡¯ and that she could evolve it by either killing creatures with corium or by healing others who were either engaged in or close to creatures with corium.

    Apparently, healing inherities could work in several ways and hers allowed her to absorb corium residue that was left in the air from combat. She explained that she wouldn¡¯t be able to evolve hers if there were no creatures nearby. In other words, she could still heal people back at a village but it wouldn¡¯t make her stronger. She also explained that technically she could channel healing magic into people that were uninjured but that too, would not make her any stronger.

    I had asked her why she wasn¡¯t in a party as it sounded like her inherity looked to be ¡®¡¯made¡¯¡¯ for that.

    I had asked her before I even realized.

    ¡®¡¯I¡¯m¡­¡¯¡¯ She started. ¡®¡¯I-I.¡¯¡¯ She stuttered. ¡®¡¯I¡¯ve been in a few parties.¡¯¡¯ She looked at the ground. ¡®¡¯Haven¡¯t really found a fit yet, I guess.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Hey, no need to be sad about that.¡¯¡¯ Velariah said as she extended a hand to help her up.

    She accepted the gesture and thanked her for the nice words.

    I got up as well and walked around a bit in the small area in the back of the cave. I still managed to walk fine, but missing one leg, or well, half of it, felt¡­ odd. I never imagined I would feel that way. I still moved the stump as if I still possessed the leg, but not feeling the ground was weird.

    I hoped Velariah and I would still be able to pull off our cavalry tactics¡­

    I walked out of the cave as Draco extinguished the campfire that was almost out already.

    I walked a few more circles through the grass to try to get used to walking like this. Fortunately it had only been one leg¡­

    I observed the corpse of the troll warlord. It¡¯s back looked like it had been decaying for weeks, a gruesome mix of brown and red that was previously a liquid had eaten through his skin and exposed his spine that wasn¡¯t entirely unaffected either. It seemed my venom had continued to spread through his body even after death and had literally melted through his skin.

    I didn¡¯t care to look at it for much longer. I turned back to the cave when my eye spotted the grave that I had made.

    I walked over to the grave to see it was still in its original state. This actually surprised me. I¡¯d expected these trolls to desecrate this as well. They didn¡¯t seem to be creatures of manner, after all. The skulls they wore as trophies were enough proof of that, it was simply macabre.

    The tag still hung around it as well which gave me an idea.

    ¡®¡¯Hey, Draco, can I get your help over here for a sec?¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯What would you require assistance with, miss Elania?¡¯¡¯ He asked politely as he walked up to me.

    ¡®¡¯This tag, can you read it?¡¯¡¯

    Draco used to live among humans, I was certain he would be able to decipher this guy¡¯s name.

    ¡®¡¯Let me see here.¡¯¡¯ He said as he knelt down and took the tag in the palm of one of his hands. ¡®¡¯Nick Miller it says.¡¯¡¯

    That sounded like a far too generic name.

    ¡®¡¯That name tells you anything?¡¯¡¯ I asked.

    Draco shook his head. ¡®¡¯There¡¯s many Millers where I come from, wouldn¡¯t be surprised if there¡¯s more than one person called Nick too.¡¯¡¯

    I knew it.

    I sighed. This alone would get us nowhere, hopefully the wooden rabbit would be some sort of tell. Valtheril did tell us he would be leaving for Goldleaf soon, maybe he could inquire there about a certain Miller family associated with wooden rabbits?

    I wasn¡¯t sure if there was a hundred percent connection between the two, but there might as well be. I decided to be honest about it and give him as much info as we had. Valtheril, despite my first impression of him, has been reliable and kind to me. Hell, he even trusted me enough to have his daughter sleep with me.

    That was a weird thought. I didn¡¯t mean it like that!

    I could feel my face flush at the thought and quickly walked away from Draco.

    Did Valtheril know Velariah would sleep in my room? Would he mind?

    I doubted he was completely unaware there was something going on between us. The man wasn¡¯t oblivious.

    As I walked around the clearing I thought of something Nira said earlier on. She got shot out of the air by an arrow dipped in some kind of paralytic poison. It made me wonder if I would be resistant to that kind of poison as well. Should I try to find out the hard way? Should I literally try to paralyze myself with that poison?

    If all it did was paralyze it couldn¡¯t be that harmful anyway, right? I could do it in a controlled setting to check its effects on me. It should be entirely safe to do back at home. The question was: how would I get my hands on that poison? I doubt goblins would willingly share it.

    I decided to check with Nira, maybe she would know more.

    ¡®¡¯Nira?¡¯¡¯ I called for her as I approached the cave again.

    ¡®¡¯Yes?¡¯¡¯ She replied. She was standing next to the entrance. It seemed everyone finished eating and packing.

    ¡®¡¯It may be a weird thing to ask, but do you know where the goblins get their paralytic poison from?¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯I¡¯m not sure.¡¯¡¯ She spoke. ¡®¡¯I have seen goblins grind yellow mushrooms and apply the paste to their arrows, that could be it, but I¡¯m not quite sure, they have multiple nasty poisons.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Thank you Nira, I hope you didn¡¯t mind me asking that.¡¯¡¯ I said.

    She had looked a bit shocked when I asked the question. No wonder, she was felled by that poison, after all.

    She shook her head.

    ¡®¡¯I know you have no ill will. I assume you want to use it against them or something?¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Uh, something like that, yes.¡¯¡¯ I answered her new question.

    It could be an interesting addition to Seralyn¡¯s arsenal depending on how easy it would be to paralyze certain creatures. If one arrow could bring down a harpy I doubted it would have problems with goblins. Although, using it on goblins would be completely pointless. If trolls could be affected it would make things a bit easier.

    I looked at my severed leg.

    Gods, I hated trolls.

    I thanked Nira and turned my attention to the white-haired elf.

    ¡®¡¯Velariah?¡¯¡¯ I called her. ¡®¡¯Do you think we can get our hands on goblin poison by any chance?¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯What?¡¯¡¯ She looked at me. ¡®¡¯You weren¡¯t planning to raid them or anything, ¡®cus let me tell ya, that ain¡¯t happening, not with you in that state.¡¯¡¯

    In my state? I was pretty sure that I was fine besides missing half of a leg. I could still do just as much as I could do before. Okay, the pain wasn¡¯t exactly pleasant but I wasn¡¯t a crybaby, I think...

    ¡®¡¯Uh, no. I was thinking if there was some other way to get our hands on their materials, like, do you know of a cave where they gather they materials for poison?¡¯¡¯

    Velariah shook her head. ¡®¡¯No.¡¯¡¯ She paused as she gritted her teeth. ¡®¡¯But there might be someone else that could help.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯You don¡¯t mean¡­¡¯¡¯ Seralyn asked as she walked up behind the knight.

    ¡®¡¯I''m afraid so Seralyn.¡¯¡¯ Velariah replied.

    What was going on here? Could someone fill me in?

    ¡®¡¯Uhhh?¡¯¡¯ I let out.

    Velariah sighed. ¡®¡¯The witch of the forest.¡¯¡¯

    That didn¡¯t sound good.

    ¡®¡¯Witch of the forest?¡¯¡¯ I asked.

    ¡®¡¯Some crazy old hag.¡¯¡¯ Seralyn said.

    ¡®¡¯But she may have what Elania asked for.¡¯¡¯ Velariah turned to the other elf.

    ¡®¡¯Probably. It does sound like something she would have.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯So, could we visit her?¡¯¡¯ I asked.

    ¡®¡¯We could¡­¡¯¡¯ Velariah started, ¡®¡¯But she is crazy, that wasn¡¯t a joke.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯How crazy?¡¯¡¯ I asked.

    ¡®¡¯Oh, you know, the usual.¡¯¡¯ Seralyn started. ¡®¡¯She wears a pointy hat, talks to walls, hears noises that aren¡¯t there, tries to summon demons, collects elf ears.¡¯¡¯ She said nonchalantly.

    ¡®¡¯What?¡¯¡¯ I asked dumbfoundedly.

    Velariah sighed. ¡®¡¯Yes, that kind of crazy. We could visit her, it¡¯s only a small detour, but don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Remember that she has rather¡­ exotic demands when it comes to payments.¡¯¡¯ Seralyn added.

    ¡®¡¯Uhhhh?¡¯¡¯ I let out again.

    ¡®¡¯Maybe we can use some of these troll ears as payment.¡¯¡¯ Velariah said to Seralyn.

    ¡®¡¯Perhaps, I¡¯d hate to lose mine.¡¯¡¯ Seralyn replied.

    ¡®¡¯Wait, she takes elf ears for payment?¡± I asked.

    They both nodded.

    Just how crazy was this witch? Her list of quirks was long and I imagined it would be extended when I got to meet her. She tries to summon demons? I sure as hell hoped she wouldn''t succeed. The talking to walls and hearing noises that weren¡¯t there wasn¡¯t a danger to us so it didn¡¯t really bother me.

    ¡®¡¯Any chance we can pay her a visit then?¡¯¡¯ I asked.

    If it was only a small detour I had the feeling we might as well. Using some troll ears for payment would be fine too as I imagined the guild would be most interested in the ones that belonged to the troll warlord. They had a distinctly different color, after all.

    Velariah seemed hesitant. ¡®¡¯I mean, we could, if you think it¡¯s useful.¡¯¡¯

    I nodded.

    ¡®¡¯If you don¡¯t mind, then yes please.¡¯¡¯

    How bad could this be?

    Fuck.

    I just jinxed it, didn¡¯t I?

    I inwardly sighed at my stupidity.

    Draco walked outside the cave with his axe-shield in hand and his battle-axe bound to his back again. He also carried the chest filled with coins which caused him to walk a bit unsteadily.

    ¡®¡¯Velariah, can you get that chest bound to my back?¡¯¡¯ I asked the elf.

    ¡®¡¯Are you su-.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Yes.¡¯¡¯ I answered before she even finished.

    Velariah took the chest from Draco and put it on the flat section of my back. She then walked behind me and pulled some threads from my spinnerets. Finally, she tightened the chest around my body.

    It seems I wasn¡¯t just mere cavalry anymore. I¡¯d been promoted to transport valuables now.

    Seralyn handed me my spear and we went on our way. Instead of going the same way we came from which would be westbound, we walked northwest.

    Nira seemed to not be the fastest walker. I imagined her claws weren¡¯t really made to walk on. She possessed large wings she could use to fly to get somewhere, after all. I had asked her why she didn¡¯t just fly back to the village instead of going with us and she shook her head and replied that she wasn¡¯t in a state to fly yet. She would need rest to recover her strength and allow her body to heal. She also seemed to be fearful of flying, something for which I wouldn¡¯t blame her. If she was shot down once, it could happen again.

    Thus, it didn¡¯t take long for me to have her ride on my back.

    She was hesitant at first but Velariah pushed her into accepting the offer. The faster we went the faster she could get healed and get the rest she needed.

    She even got a nice seat. The chest that was on my back was an ideal seat for her. I imagined those claws could have been quite the issue otherwise. I was still fearful of them for a while, but I soon found out that she could hold on to the carapace on my back without hurting me.

    I could still feel them, but the carapace protected me well enough. My abdomen was not covered in a layer as thick and was far more sensitive, I imagined that would have been an issue.

    Velariah walked next to me for the trip and looked at my leg more than a few times. I guessed I should give up on telling her that I was fine. I was glad that none of us got severely injured, this could have been a lot worse.

    Nothing uneventful happened on our journey. We walked for about an hour until we came across a small clearing with a small, wooden house in the middle of the forest. It seemed odd to have a house here, would the goblins not attack this? Maybe this witch of the forest possessed some crazy powerful magic that kept them at bay.

    I shuddered as we entered the clearing.

    Faragi

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    In case anyone is wondering, there are 47 chapters finished right now (hopefully 48 tonight)

 1.45 Witches & Healers

    I got an ominous feeling when I entered the clearing as if I didn¡¯t belong here. I only managed to take several steps closer to the wooden structure before I fell to the ground gasping for air.

    Pain shot from my lung area throughout my body.

    ¡®¡¯Elania!¡¯¡¯ Velariah shouted.

    ¡®¡¯Can¡¯t¡­ breathe¡­¡¯¡¯ I managed to utter with a lot of effort.

    I tried moving my legs in order to walk out of this area but found them unresponsive.

    What was going on here? Was this the witch¡¯s magic?

    My human hands still worked, but I doubt they¡¯d work for long if I couldn¡¯t breathe.

    ¡®¡¯Draco, Seralyn, Nira, I need your help, NOW!¡¯¡¯ Velariah shouted as she took my arms and started dragging me the opposite way.

    Draco and Seralyn each took one of my legs and Nira took my midsection in her claws, surprisingly without hurting me, and started to beat her wings to pull me.

    I felt myself cross some kind of invisible border and found I could breathe again. I panted heavily as Velariah took my head in her hands and looked me in the eyes.

    ¡®¡¯What the hell was that?¡¯¡¯ She asked.

    I shook my head, still gasping for air. I didn¡¯t know.

    ¡®¡¯Seralyn?¡¯¡¯ She turned to the other elf.

    ¡®¡¯You think her monster ward affects Elania?¡¯¡¯ The archer replied.

    Monster ward? I guess I got my answer then. I guess I was some kind of monster after all...

    ¡®¡¯Thanks, guys,¡¯¡¯ I said softly as soon as I could speak.

    Velariah knelt down to me but I saw her attention shift to the small wooden house. I followed her gaze and saw a figure exit the building.

    ¡®¡¯Ah, such lovely company we have today!¡¯¡¯ Came a voice from the figure.

    She spoke with a voice that was almost as honey-laced as my own. If it had belonged to anyone else they could have made kings go to war over her. Unfortunately, the figure in question didn¡¯t possess a body befitting of such a voice. Instead, she was a short woman with a wizard hat and a staff that was twice her size. She walked bent over forward as if she had a hunch on her back, I didn¡¯t see any, though.

    Below the base of the hat I could make out her ears and noted that, although they were deformed, they were not those of an elf. Rather, it seemed infections and disease had eaten away at them, leaving them all kinds of misshapen.

    ¡®¡¯What¡¯s that you say? A storm rolling in?¡¯¡¯ She turned around and talked to the air in front of her.

    I looked up to the sky and saw nothing. There was the sun and not a single cloud in sight.

    She continued walking our way.

    ¡®¡¯Oh my, what a fine specimen.¡¯¡¯ She looked at me.

    Maybe coming here was a mistake, I didn¡¯t like the look in her eyes.

    ¡®¡°She has a name.¡¯¡¯ Velariah stated. ¡®¡¯It¡¯s Elania, and she would like to trade with you.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Trade, yes yes yes. Very good, Very good. I have all kinds of wares. Just come have a lookie-look.¡¯¡¯ She turned around and pointed her staff at the sun while walking back to the wooden building.

    ¡®¡¯The wards are down, you can enter enter if you like.¡¯¡¯ She called.

    Calling her crazy was an understatement.

    I carefully took a few steps forward, ready to fall back at a moment¡¯s notice should I become unable to breathe again. This time it seemed like I was able to pass unhindered and followed the others closely.

    Velariah told the others to wait outside as the inside may be a bit gruesome to some people. She followed the witch inside and despite me not fitting through the doorway I managed to peek inside with my human half, unable to contain my curiosity.

    She was right. This was gruesome indeed.

    Everything she needed to live was in one single room. A shoddy bed, a stove with a kettle and some pans, but that was not what was out of the ordinary.

    On the floor in the middle of the room was a pentagram drawn with a black liquid. I didn¡¯t quite think it was blood, but I may be mistaken. For all I knew it could be blood belonging to some kind of exotic animal or monster. Then throughout the room strings were hung. These strings held up what looked like ears from a combination of races, elves being the predominant one.

    I couldn¡¯t stand to look at this place for long and turned around soon after observing what this place was all about.

    This witch was truly crazy.

    I stayed near the door so I could hear what Velariah and the witch were talking about.

    Velariah asked if the witch knew about any paralytic poison that the goblins used.

    I heard knocking on one of the wooden walls.

    ¡®¡¯Yes yes yes yes yes. Tell me your secrets. Paralyzing mushrooms? Yes yes, I have have.¡¯¡¯

    Was she talking to the wall now? I guess she at least had what we looked for.

    ¡®¡¯What you pay pay with?¡¯¡¯ The witch¡¯s voice came.

    ¡®¡¯Troll ears. Fresh.¡¯¡¯ Velariah emphasized that last part.

    ¡®¡¯Oh, very nice very nice. Let me see where I have them.¡¯¡¯

    I heard a squeaky door open and Velariah stepped outside and sighed.

    ¡®¡¯She¡¯s really crazy, isn¡¯t she?'''' I asked her.

    ¡®¡¯This is why I don¡¯t like coming here. She creeps me out.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Yeah, no kidding,¡¯¡¯ I stated.

    ¡®¡¯And now she is in her basement, God knows what she hides in there. I don¡¯t think I want to know.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Think she grows those mushrooms there herself?¡¯¡¯ I grinned.

    ¡®¡¯Wouldn¡¯t surprise me at this point anymore. She has all kinds of crazy ingredients. These are generally not the kind of ingredients we need for our potions, they are for a different kind entirely.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Such as?¡¯¡¯ I inquired.

    ¡®¡¯Sleep potions, diarrhea inducing potions, potions that make your fingernails grow to ridiculous proportions, potions that make your hair fall out, stuff like that.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Sleep potions can be useful though, the rest? Not so much.¡¯¡¯ I answered.

    ¡®¡¯True, except that these make you experience nightmares for two days straight and you can¡¯t escape them.¡¯¡¯ She stated.

    ¡®¡¯Yikes.¡¯¡¯ I let out.

    ¡®¡¯Ooooh, Veeeel.¡¯¡¯ The witch called from the inside.

    The elf sighed.

    ¡®¡¯It¡¯s Lady Velariah for you.¡¯¡¯ She said as she walked back inside.

    ¡®¡¯Yes yes yes. I have what you need. Show me the ears!¡¯¡¯

    This witch has one weird ear fetish.

    A moment later the witch let out a maniacal cackle.

    ¡®¡¯Yes YES YES, it¡¯s time for the summoning! Out you go child lest you want to leave those lovely ears behind, I won¡¯t mind mind.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯No thank you,¡¯¡¯ Velariah said as she stepped out of the building.

    She faced me. ¡®¡¯I got what you wanted, let¡¯s get the hell outta here.¡¯¡¯

    I nodded. ¡®¡¯Agreed.¡¯¡¯

    I hoped this trip was worth it. We could check if I was immune to its effects and check if they were of use for Seralyn to use on her arrows. If either of those yielded a positive result, we could try to cultivate them ourselves. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard to recreate a cave environment. I imagined the volcanic ash may be useful to try to grow them in.

    Well, that would be for later.

    Velariah put a dirty grey bag inside her pack. I assumed the mushrooms were inside it.

    The witch stepped outside of her house and started dancing on the grass.

    ¡®¡¯Yes yes yes.¡¯¡¯ She called out looking to the sky. ¡®¡¯A storm is forming. Let it rain!¡¯¡¯

    I looked at Velariah and she shook her head.

    Crazy indeed.

    I found my dropped spear and continued walking behind Draco and Velariah on our way back to Dawnleaf.

    We walked out of the clearing and I let Nira sit on the chest on my back again. I continued looking up to the sky every now and then on our journey back to the village but saw nothing that could resemble a storm. I hoped it was just her being crazy and not some kind of preposterous prophecy. Nothing was going to surprise me anymore, though.

    It wasn¡¯t long before we walked into a goblin camp. We hadn¡¯t noticed until we were literally in the middle of it and goblins screamed as they charged at us. The nearby vegetation hid their tents, we knew we had made a mistake when we saw an extinguished campfire in the dirt.

    An arrow soon struck my behind and Nira gasped as it did.

    Seralyn quickly identified where the arrow came from and killed off the goblin archer that fired it. He never even knew what killed him, Seralyn¡¯s reflexes were top-notch.

    ¡®¡¯Don¡¯t worry, Nira, their poison does nothing to me,¡¯¡¯ I told her. I charged into a group of three goblins with extremely short-range weapons. They carried daggers that wouldn¡¯t even be able to reach to the parts where I would be vulnerable.

    I felt dirty for picking on easy targets, but these goblins didn¡¯t seem to be interested in peace. After what they did to Dawnleaf and continued doing, I would no longer show them mercy.

    A wild swing with my spear managed to decapitate one and cut another one across his chest. I pinned another down with my pedipalps as I pierced his skin with my fangs and pumped some venom into him. I tried not overdoing it to check how much would be needed to finish off a goblin. The goblin beneath me died in seconds, even with a low dose. While I was down to the ground, the last goblin standing charged from my side. I impaled him with one of my legs before he even made it close.

    These legs of mine seemed to be just as effective as a spear against lowlier enemies and I had eight of them! Well, seven.

    Another arrow came my way but bounced off my chest plate. Seralyn turned and took down the shooter after hearing the sound of the arrow on my armor.

    This turned into a massacre really quickly. These goblins stood zero chance against our party. Velariah seemed to be having a blast with her new sword. In fact, she seemed to enjoy this slightly more than I considered sane. I hoped that was just pent-up rage from the fight with the trolls from before and not the beginning of a psychopath.

    Draco was just showing off his new weapon. I reckoned against goblins he could use his old weapon to cleave two of them at the same time but he seemed satisfied using his new one. To be fair, it may as well be of the same effectiveness considering the fact that it was enchanted. He even literally bashed in the head of one of the goblins with it.

    Even Nira didn¡¯t sit idly. Despite not being in top condition for flight, she still managed to jump on top of a few unsuspecting goblins and rip them apart with her talons.

    So much for being a healer.

    Nothing was left of her angelic appearance after she was done with a few goblins. Her ¡®¡¯feet¡¯¡¯ were covered in blood and a few splashes landed on her wings too, making her look more of a predatory bird than what her inherity intended her to be.

    She was a dangerous one.

    The battle ended as quickly as it began with one or two goblins running off in the end. Seralyn struck them down from afar without much of an issue and then ran over to them to recover her arrows. I looted several from the goblins we killed nearby in order to leave this place quickly. I wasn¡¯t going to linger longer than necessary. These goblins were hardly alone and for all I knew we could have a horde advancing upon us at any time.

    ¡®¡¯You said you¡¯re fine with arrows in your body?¡¯¡¯ Nira asked me as she cleaned her talons on the nearby vegetation, wiping off the blood.

    ¡®¡¯Yeah, I feel them, but they don¡¯t actually hurt.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯You said their poison is ineffective against you?¡¯¡¯ She asked.

    I thought me mentioning it before would have made her aware? Maybe she wasn¡¯t paying attention when I talked to Velariah about visiting the witch.

    ¡®¡¯Uh, yeah. Seems to be related to my inherity, I¡¯m not sure.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯You don¡¯t know your inherity?¡¯¡¯ Nira asked.

    I sighed. ¡®¡¯Long story. I haven¡¯t exactly been among civilization for long. Not sure if I can tell you more than that.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯I didn¡¯t dare to ask you about it, but I haven¡¯t seen anyone like what you are before.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Yeah, I¡¯ve heard that before.¡¯¡¯ I told her, ¡®¡¯Haven¡¯t seen anything like you before either if I have to be completely honest.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Where did you come from anyway?¡¯¡¯ She asked. ¡®¡¯Are there more like you?¡¯¡¯

    Velariah decided to step in.

    ¡®¡¯She just said she doesn¡¯t know if she can share more.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Oh, I¡¯m sorry.¡¯¡¯ She looked to the ground in shame.

    ¡®¡¯We should keep moving.¡¯¡¯ I decided to change the subject as I lowered myself to allow Nira to hop on.

    As I looked at her stepping on the chest I saw two arrows stick out from my behind. I never even felt the second one connect.

    ¡®¡¯You mind getting those arrows out in the meantime, Velariah?¡¯¡¯ I asked.

    ¡®¡¯No problem.¡¯¡¯ She walked up behind me and pulled the arrows out quickly and discarded them.

    ¡®¡¯Must be nice not having to fear their poison,¡¯¡¯ Nira commented as she looked at the elf pulling the arrows out.

    ¡®¡¯It is, actually,¡¯¡¯ I admitted.

    It was one less thing that could kill me. How was it not a nice thing?

    We continued our trip to Dawnleaf after a very swift search for any valuables on the goblins. We had found one small coin purse which we tossed with the rest of the money in the chest on my back. Their weapons would not be worth anything for the elves, but we did find one small red gemstone which might be worth something. I believe it was the same kind of gem we inserted on Velariah¡¯s sword so it might be worth saving.

    Nothing of note happened and after one stop to drink some water, we reached the edge of the forest. The elven village, with its massive tree in the middle came into view again and I let out a slight sigh of relief. Adventuring was an interesting business, but being able to conclude a quest held its own value entirely.

    I also really wanted that bath¡­

    First, we would get Nira and myself to the treemenders. It wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to have Draco checked out as well. Even if he had been healed, that blow he received before I got him out of danger was a heavy one, it wouldn¡¯t surprise me if the lizardman was just pretending to be fine.

    I guessed it was some time past noon and I invited Nira to have lunch with us at the guild hall. She seemed eager to join us but also hesitant. I decided to ask what was wrong.

    ¡®¡¯You see, I don¡¯t have much money left. I left most of what I had at the inn I¡¯m staying at, but I need to buy a new wand¡­and tag.¡¯¡¯

    Tags were one silver if I recalled correctly, just how tight on money was she?

    ¡®¡¯You can stay with us for a while if you¡¯d like,¡¯¡¯ Velariah suggested. ¡®¡¯Get some food, get some rest and then join us for quests in the nearby area.¡¯¡¯

    That was smooth. She wasn¡¯t directly inviting the harpy to join our party, this sounded like some sort of internship. To be fair, I imagined Nira would be a great addition to our party. If she could fly and heal at the same time, she would be incredibly safe from any non-ranged attacks, although I doubted such a thing would be possible in dungeons. Then again, she could defend herself in a pinch.

    I wondered what rank she was? She never revealed that to us. I guessed we¡¯d find out soon enough at the guild.

    We passed the checkpoint and soon entered the village. From there it wasn¡¯t far to the treemender¡¯s oak. I was happy to see Pylanor free of work and watching us enter.

    He soon walked up to us as I let the harpy jump off my back.

    ¡®¡¯You guys look like you¡¯ve been through hell.¡¯¡¯ He told us as he eyed us slowly.

    Gosh, I wonder what gave it away. Maybe it was all the blood?

    There was still a fair bit of blood on my body, The lower part of the leg I used to impale the goblin was practically soaked in it. Nira still had a fair amount in her feathers and some on her talons she couldn¡¯t wipe off in its entirety.

    ¡®¡¯Master Pylanor, could you check on Draco, Nira and Elania here, see if you could help them out, please?¡¯¡¯ Velariah asked of the treemender.

    ¡®¡¯Not a problem. Please take a seat, Nira, yes?¡¯¡¯ He asked the harpy.

    Nira nodded and sat down on a nearby bed.

    Pylanor put his hand on her forehead and I could see the familiar green glow course through her body.

    ¡®¡¯Seems you¡¯re mostly fine, no internal damage as far as I can see.¡¯¡¯

    He continued his work for a while and I could see her wounds start to close properly but not fully.

    ¡®¡¯I suggest to clean yourself properly and allow the wounds to do their final healing naturally,¡¯¡¯ Pylanor said when he pulled back his hand.

    ¡®¡¯Who is next?¡¯¡¯ He asked.

    ¡®¡¯You go, Draco.¡¯¡¯ I said.

    I think Draco may need it more than me. I doubted there was anything Pylanor could do for me in the first place.

    Without a word, he sat down on the bed after Nira stood back up. Her wounds looked significantly better already.

    The treemender put his hand on the forehead of the lizardman and let his magic flow through him. I saw the glow settle in his chest and Draco let out suppressed moans of pain.

    ¡®¡¯Many bruised ribs. Not too serious, but painful when healed forcefully. You must have received quite the blow.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Yeah, you could say that,¡¯¡¯ Seralyn mentioned.

    I knew he was injured from that hit. Even if the shield managed to absorb most of it. An enraged troll warlord was not to be taken lightly. At least we had a proper plan of action now if we had to fight one again.

    ¡®¡¯Thanks.¡¯¡¯ Draco groaned as Pylanor finished his work.

    When he stood up I walked over to the bed and lay my human body and midsection down on it, my legs were still on the floor.

    ¡®¡¯Hmmm.¡¯¡¯ He said before he put a hand down on my head. ¡®¡¯I¡¯m not sure if I can replace a leg, but I can still look for other injuries.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯I expected as much.¡¯¡¯ I sighed. ¡®¡¯Anything would be appreciated, thank you.¡¯¡¯

    He put his hand on my forehead and I could feel his magic flow through my body. It went all the way from my head to my abdomen where it concentrated on where the arrows had hit me. I could feel some pain as the wound healed, but it wasn¡¯t bad at all.

    ¡®¡¯Strange¡­¡¯¡¯ Pylanor said.

    He removed his hand from my head.

    ¡®¡¯What¡¯s strange?¡¯¡¯ I asked

    ¡®¡¯You seem to be completely fine.¡¯¡¯

    I was about to mention my leg when he finished his sentence.

    ¡®¡¯But I can see you are missing part of your leg. I am actually at a loss for words here¡­¡¯¡¯

    I knew he wasn¡¯t mocking me, so I tried to think about what it could mean.

    ¡®¡¯It¡¯s as if your leg is still whole¡­¡¯¡¯ He continued. ¡®¡¯My magic cannot find a defect. How strange¡­¡¯¡¯

    That did sound strange indeed. Did it mean it would heal? That would be quite the feat.

    ¡®¡¯I¡¯m sorry about that, Elania. I have no idea how your¡­ race works, so to say.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯It¡¯s fine, I have heard I am the first known of this¡­ species, so I can¡¯t blame you for not knowing.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯I¡¯m happy you understand. Please do visit again if you need any assistance.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Will do, Master Pylanor, thanks for the help anyway.¡¯¡¯ I politely thanked him and we walked out of the large tree.

    ¡®¡¯Time to eat.¡¯¡¯ Seralyn greedily said as she rubbed her hands together.

    Once more I was left with a lot of questions¡­

 1.46 Arms and Legs

    I had a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. The same thing happened before. When I was about to molt, Pylanor had said I was completely fine and there was nothing physically wrong with me. Now, he said I was completely fine as well despite missing a leg. It gave me hope that one way or another it would grow back. I knew certain lizards could shed their tail and then have it grow back, but I¡¯d never heard about spiders possessing such a mechanism. Maybe I should have paid more attention when I was younger¡­

    Good thing the pain wasn¡¯t as bad anymore. It seemed that with a day passing, the pain ebbed away to a fraction of what it was. It was still there, whining in the background, but perfectly manageable. It seemed to be a repeat of when I got my arm smashed by the first troll.

    Stupid trolls, they already cost me an arm and a leg so far.

    To be fair, that kind of pain suppression didn¡¯t seem natural. The bone in my arm from my first troll encounter was completely smashed to pieces. There was no doubt in my mind that it should have hurt way more after the first day. I wondered if that could be inherity related as well.

    We entered the guild hall and took our usual spots.

    ¡®¡¯You¡¯re about to witness something you¡¯ve never seen before, Nira.¡¯¡¯ Seralyn grinned as she beckoned over the waiter.

    I knew where this was going, I didn¡¯t do anything to stop it though, I mean, who cared?

    ¡®¡¯Huh?¡¯¡¯ Nira cocked her head at the statement.

    ¡®¡¯Wait and see.¡¯¡¯ Seralyn smiled.

    I sighed and let Velariah order for me. I told her to surprise me.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Nira¡¯s face to be turned into one of surprise. I wonder what caused it? Maybe it was the five omelets? Maybe the three servings of four sausages? Perhaps it was the quintuple steak surprise? For all I knew it could have been the ten chicken breasts with lemon too.

    Maybe it was a combination? Who knew?

    I started eating without a care in the world, the fight had drained me quite a bit. The harpy was more focused on me eating than her own food. Seralyn had a great time observing her expression while Draco simply sat back and enjoyed his food.

    ¡®¡¯I haven¡¯t eaten properly in days, give me a break!¡¯¡¯ I joked.

    Nira seemed to focus more on her lunch after that. Good, she needed that.

    ¡®¡¯Elania can go days without eating, but it seems using her uhm¡­ abilities, drains her quite a bit.¡¯¡¯ Velariah finally explained to the harpy.

    After continuing eating long after the others had finished, it was time to stop by the Lore keeper for administrative reasons. Velariah pulled up her small bag from her pack that still contained the troll warlord¡¯s and some other troll ears. After she had inspected them and put them away the Lore keeper asked for my tag.

    She pulled out a golden template tag and the orange-colored orb. She then placed my silver tag on top of the new one and put the orb on top of it. After the orb glowed briefly she removed it and handed me my new gold tag. A ¡®¡¯III¡± was embedded next to a copper-colored sword that was placed next to my name.

    Next up was Nira who needed a replacement tag. Velariah had insisted on paying for it as Nira didn¡¯t have any money on her right now. Besides, from what she said earlier it didn¡¯t sound like she had much to spare. We, however, hit the motherlode with that chest we found. In addition, we would also receive five gold each as reward money for this quest completion.

    I was surprised to see the Lore keeper pull out a silver tag after looking up Nira¡¯s name in one of the documents under the desk. I was even more surprised when she pulled out a silver orb. She placed the document on the desk, the tag on it and then the orb on top of that.

    The orb lit up briefly and when she removed it I could see Nira¡¯s name with a ¡®¡¯II¡¯¡¯ and a silver drop of some kind next to her name. I imagined it resembled a drop of blood to indicate she was a healer.

    Still, though, she was only mid-tier silver ranked?

    She didn¡¯t look that weak to me.

    When I asked her about it she stammered.

    ¡®¡¯I-I Haven¡¯t been fortunate with parties¡­¡¯¡¯ She looked to the floor after that.

    I didn¡¯t know it was that bad.

    ¡®¡¯Would you like to join us?¡¯¡¯ I suggested. ¡®¡¯At least for a while?¡¯¡¯

    She looked at me with bright blue eyes.

    ¡®¡¯Would that be okay?¡¯¡¯ She seemed hesitant.

    I looked to my other party members. They nodded in agreement.

    ¡®¡¯Seems to be fine. Besides¡­¡¯¡¯ I chuckled. ¡®¡¯We were planning on paying this newly discovered dungeon a visit.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯New dungeon?¡¯¡¯ Nira looked at me curiously.

    ¡®¡¯We discovered a new dungeon a couple of days ago a bit outside the village,¡¯¡¯ Velariah added to the conversation. ¡®¡¯I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t heard about it yet.¡¯¡¯

    Nira shook her head. ¡®¡¯I had no clue.¡¯¡¯

    She finally took her tag and the Lore keeper pulled out a pouch with coins inside, judging from the sound it made. She emptied it on the counter and counted the coins. When it was clear there were exactly twenty gold coins in it, she handed it to me. I thanked her and turned to the rest of my party. It was time to divide the rewards.

    When I asked Nira how much a new wand would cost she said it would be a couple of gold with a very soft voice.

    That seemed very expensive.

    ¡®¡¯Healing accessories are very pricey,¡¯¡¯ Velariah explained.

    ¡®¡¯I can see that¡­¡¯¡¯ I sighed.

    I could already see the direction in which this was going as well. I was going to end up buying her a new wand with my own money. It was possibly naive to buy someone I¡¯d known for less than a day such an expensive item, but the prospect of a capable healer for our party was tempting. She had already helped heal Draco and me while I was knocked out from the pain earlier on and she knew I sacrificed a leg to get Draco out of danger. I doubted that left a bad first impression, especially with someone who has struggled to find a party to go adventuring with.

    ¡®¡¯How come you haven¡¯t found a capable party to stick with, Nira?¡¯¡¯ I decided to ask.

    She shook her head. ¡®¡¯I¡¯ve tried a few but they always ended up wanting to do¡­ other things to me.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯You gotta be kidding me,¡¯¡¯ I said instead of thinking about it.

    There was no denying she looked good, but this was just so messed up.

    ¡®¡¯I came to this place to see how I would fare with elves.¡¯¡¯ She added.

    ¡®¡¯Doubt it would be much different, really,¡¯¡¯ Velariah said. ¡®¡¯As long as nobody is keeping the boys in check, they tend to go too far, unless they are ex-military.¡¯¡¯

    Seems there was a thin line between adventurers and scoundrels.

    Maybe I should be happy with a freak party like ours. Draco seemed to be the complete opposite of what Velariah had just described. I hadn¡¯t perceived the elves as being overly arrogant or xenophobic, though. Sure, they were careful with me at first, but it seemed that they even managed to accept something like me into their society, and I was of a non-documented species.

    ¡®¡¯Where did you come from, Nira?¡± I asked. I felt like I was interrogating at this point, but I¡¯d like to know what she was used to and prove that we didn¡¯t quite work the way she was used to.

    ¡®¡¯The human kingdom to the southeast, from a village near my tribe¡¯s forest.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Your forest?¡¯¡¯ I inquired.

    ¡®¡¯The harpies from my tribe live in a small peaceful forest a while from here.¡¯¡¯

    When she didn¡¯t seem to want to continue Velariah stepped in.

    ¡®¡¯Harpies are a female-only race. I have the feeling that¡¯s why so many guys in her previous parties thought they could make advances on her. Am I correct in that regard?¡¯¡¯

    Nira nodded.

    Oh, that explained a thing or two.

    I could see Seralyn eager to ask a question but Draco stopped her by her shoulder. Whatever it was, it was probably awkward for Nira.

    ¡®¡¯Right, so, wand. How much do you need?¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯What do you mean?¡¯¡¯ The harpy asked.

    ¡®¡¯Money for a new wand,¡¯¡¯ I stated.

    ¡®¡¯Nonono, you don¡¯t have to.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯I don¡¯t think it was a question,¡¯¡¯ Velariah said. ¡®¡¯I¡¯ll toss in some as well.¡¯¡¯

    Nira awkwardly covered her face with her wings.

    ¡®¡¯Same here.¡¯¡¯ Draco stepped forward.

    Seralyn rolled her eyes. ¡®¡¯Fine.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯You think four gold is enough?¡¯¡¯ I asked.

    When Nira didn¡¯t answer, Velariah said it should be more than enough. I took the coin pouch that was still in my hands and handed out four gold to each of us. Velariah said we¡¯d report the chest that was still on my back to Valtheril first before sharing its contents. Draco was entirely fine with it, Seralyn slightly less so, but at least she was understanding.

    ¡®¡¯Alright, so.¡¯¡¯ I started. ¡®¡¯We still have plenty of things left we can do today. Hopefully, Coldanus finished his second axe-shield, we could also look for a wand. Is there anything else?¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯I think that¡¯s it,¡¯¡¯ Velariah added. ¡®¡¯Not a bad idea to take the rest of the day off after that.¡¯¡¯

    Agreed. I¡¯d love to just go home, take a nice hot bath and bury myself in pillows for the rest of the day.

    ¡®¡¯Oh,¡¯¡¯ Velariah added. ¡®¡¯We could look for some saddlebags for you as well.¡¯¡¯

    Oh right, there was that. Not entirely excessive.

    Putting saddlebags at the sides of my abdomen brought me to an entirely different idea. I knew I was going to spend money again, after all, I had jinxed it earlier by thinking we weren¡¯t going to spend much. What I had in mind, though, came because of our newly discovered spider cavalry tactics. It seemed to be a strong move and I¡¯d like to elaborate on the premise of it.

    I¡¯d have to visit Dworag, he would know more.

    After a brief recount of shops we¡¯d have to visit, we decided that Seralyn and Nira would check the magic item shop for a wand. I had no idea there was something like that in this town so I took a mental note to check it out with Velariah sometime.

    Velariah, Draco and I would visit Coldanus to see if he¡¯d finished Draco¡¯s second weapon. After that, I wanted to stop by Dworag to see if he could create something I had in mind.

    But first, we were going to stop by Velariah¡¯s mansion.

    When we arrived at her home, a majestic white horse was waiting in front of the door. Its heads were looking at me with curiosity, unlike the horses that belonged to the traders we ran into earlier.

    I wasn¡¯t familiar with horses so I was careful when I petted their heads. The animal (animals?) seemed to appreciate the gesture as it closed all four of its eyes.

    Cute.

    The door opened before Velariah could knock and Valtheril walked outside, fully armored as was usual in this family it seemed.

    ¡®¡¯Oh, welcome home.¡¯¡¯ He looked over the three of us and noticed my leg cut off halfway.

    ¡®¡¯You guys alright? Did you get into trouble?¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯More or less,¡¯¡¯ Velariah admitted.

    Valtheril sighed. ¡®¡¯It doesn¡¯t matter that I keep telling you to be careful does it?¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯This one was on me.¡¯¡¯ Draco stepped forward. ¡®¡¯I got myself in a terrible position and Elania had to get me out risking her own life, what you see is a result of my actions. I apologize deeply.¡¯¡¯

    Valtheril scratched his head for a second.

    ¡®¡¯I accept your apology. I was about to leave for Goldleaf, can I help you guys with anything?¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯We found a chest with coins in the woods,¡¯¡¯ Velariah said. ¡®¡¯Long story short, we believe these are connected to the money Elania brought in earlier when you first met her. We found out the coin you confiscated was in the possession of a certain human called Nick Miller. Elania mentioned she found a wooden rabbit figurine on that human. We found the same kind of figurine in the chest we found today. We were wondering if that would help your investigation.¡¯¡¯

    Valtheril seemed lost in thought for a second.

    ¡°How much is it?¡¯¡¯ He asked

    ¡®¡¯Almost twenty-five gold,¡¯¡¯ Velariah answered.

    ¡®¡¯Any black coins?¡¯¡¯ Valtheril continued.

    Velariah shook her head.

    ¡®¡¯Then keep it. I will inquire about the matter in Goldleaf. I¡¯ll be back in a week to ten days. You better not set the house on fire while I¡¯m gone.¡¯¡¯

    That was a joke in this world too?

    ¡®¡¯Will do,¡¯¡¯ Velariah said as Valtheril mounted the horse.

    ¡®¡¯And I thank you Elania for keeping your party members safe. I knew I could trust you after our first meeting and you seem to hold up to my expectations. I look forward to returning and working on our little project.¡¯¡¯

    With that, he left us behind.

    Also, it seemed Valtheril didn¡¯t mind us looting whatever as long as there were no black coins involved. I wondered if they had some special property in addition to their value. Were they closely regulated? It seemed to be the case from what I¡¯d seen so far.

    Valtheril left the door open and Velariah cut loose the chest and took it inside. She soon reappeared and we were on our way to the weaponsmith.

    ¡®¡¯You know you didn¡¯t have to apologize, right Draco?¡¯¡¯ I told him.

    ¡®¡¯I felt it was appropriate. I should not have put you in a spot where you had to sacrifice a limb to save me.¡¯¡¯ He answered.

    ¡®¡¯Look.¡¯¡¯ I started. ¡®¡¯From the info I managed to gather so far, I have the feeling that leg will grow back. Even if it doesn¡¯t, I¡¯d take that any day of the week over you dying.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Grow back?¡¯¡¯ Velariah asked.

    ¡®¡¯You remember what Pylanor said, right?¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Yeah, but I didn''t know¡­¡¯¡¯ She paused for a second. ¡®¡¯It makes sense from your earlier experience, I guess?¡¯¡¯

    I nodded. ¡®¡¯I sure hope I¡¯m right. I¡¯d rather not get used to being wobbly.¡¯¡¯ I smiled slightly.

    ¡®¡¯I hope you don¡¯t have to,¡¯¡¯ Draco said.

    ¡®¡¯I¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t worry.¡¯¡¯

    I really didn¡¯t want him to feel any worse than he already did.

    We made our way to Coldanus¡¯ shop. There was no sound coming from behind the building. I assumed he was still asleep, it wasn¡¯t that late yet.

    Velariah entered the building, leaving me with Draco once more.

    I could see that what happened was eating away at him.

    How was I going to deal with this kind of thing? It was not like this was a common occurrence back in my old life.

    ¡®¡¯Seriously Draco. I¡¯ll be fine. Don¡¯t let this get to you.¡¯¡¯

    Straightforward it was.

    ¡®¡¯If you say so¡­¡¯¡¯ He let out.

    I sighed. I prayed this body would heal itself in some miraculous way. I doubted Draco would let this go otherwise.

    Molting right?

    How did that happen last time?

    Right before the itching started we had killed a Saibon Boar and a Bunbear. I didn¡¯t feel anything like it now. Would it happen again if I killed more monsters?

    Entering that dungeon would be the best way to find out. Creatures in dungeons possessed far more corium than those outside. It wasn¡¯t hard to put one and one together in that regard. The dream I had called it an ¡®¡¯evolution¡¯¡¯ and I was fairly certain it meant the molting process. Evolutions were linked to inherities and inherities were bound to corium collection.

    I thought about the commission I had in mind for Dworag. It should still be helpful in dungeons, but if the dungeon core in question turned out to be ¡®¡¯friendly¡¯¡¯ to me it would be excessive. Not only that, but it appeared to be a fairly low-tier dungeon too. I doubted it would be harder than the trolls we fought.

    That¡¯s it. I wanted to go dungeon exploring. I¡¯d waited long enough.

    The anticipation was killing me. Shame I had just lost a leg. A dungeon could possibly make it regrow though¡­ I figured I should try to find out. To put Draco at ease if nothing else.

    The door opened and Velariah walked outside with a smile and a second axe-shield in hand. She handed the weapon to Draco who inspected it and took it in his free hand. He then held both shields forward in a blocking motion.

    ¡®¡¯I feel¡­ stronger¡­¡¯¡¯

    He turned the handles of the axes inside the shield so that the blades of the axes were pointing forward while he braced with his shields. He then swung them both down at the same time through the air.

    ¡®¡¯It seems you were right¡­ this does seem to work with my inherity.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯That¡¯s some great hypothesizing you did, Elania.¡¯¡¯ Velariah praised me.

    ¡®¡¯I mean, all I did was try to see how these inherity rules worked. I guess it worked in Draco¡¯s case, but I don¡¯t know if the same will be true for everyone else. Trying can¡¯t hurt though.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯It seems I must thank you once more, Miss Elania,¡¯¡¯ Draco said.

    ¡®¡¯No need for that. Let¡¯s stop by Dworag. I have an idea.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯Oh no.¡¯¡¯ Velariah grinned. ¡®¡¯I wonder how it¡¯s going to end this time around.¡¯¡¯

    ¡®¡¯The idea I have will make things easier for you as well, so you better be serious about it.¡¯¡¯ I fired back at her.

    ¡®¡¯Oh, now I am curious.¡¯¡¯ She reacted.

    With that, we were off to see the armorsmith in question to see if he could craft one of my new glorious ideas.

    Faragi

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 1.47 A Commission

    Faragi

    Sorry for the late publish, I was out cold. Sleep hasn''t been kind to me lately :(

    Also BIG shoutout to Aldous for proofreading/editing!

    From Coldanus¡¯ shop to Dworag¡¯s wasn¡¯t far. We arrived and heard no sound coming from the back. I made my way over behind the building anyway, because I wanted to talk to the dwarf in person. Velariah entered the shop and Draco followed me.

    I soon found myself in front of a burning forge. If I were to guess, he¡¯d have that burning all day.

    Dworag and Velariah came walking out of the back door and the dwarf immediately started with his casual flirting.

    ¡°Ah, Miss Elania. It seems my handiwork has kept your beautiful curves safe from harm. Good to see it.¡±

    I sighed. Velariah was going to kill this dwarf for hitting on me someday, I could see it in her eyes when I looked her way.

    Scary¡­

    ¡°Uh, yes.¡± I pulled myself back to the present. ¡°There¡¯s something I have in mind and I am wondering if you would be able to craft it.¡±

    ¡°Nothing too crazy for this dwarf, missy.¡±

    ¡°Great. First off, I¡¯m looking for saddlebags that will fit my¡­ behind, so to say.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s easy, what¡¯s next?¡± Dworag asked.

    ¡°A saddle and stirrups for me.¡±

    Velariah looked at me with wide eyes.

    ¡°You serious?¡±

    I thought she¡¯d get why I was doing this.

    ¡°Yes. I can¡¯t keep hold of you with my arms forever. I¡¯d like to use them for a third request. Is that doable, Dworag?¡± I turned from the elf to the dwarf.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be hard to refit those for your body. Actually, let me check, could you lower yourself, missy, so that I can take a look?¡±

    I lowered myself so I was on the floor.

    ¡°I¡¯d have to refit them so they don''t interfere with your legs. Give me a minute.¡± Dworag said, before he walked back into his shop.

    ¡°I mean, I can see why you¡¯d do this. I just thought you¡¯d find it humiliating to act as a mount¡­¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°No?¡± I looked at her with a frown. ¡°I don¡¯t look at it that way. I¡¯ll do this because it increases our combat capabilities. Besides, I am much more than a mount, especially if Dworag can pull this last request off.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense¡­ I¡¯m sorry for bringing that up.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m glad you care how I feel, but I¡¯m perfectly fine with this. Besides, now I can keep a close eye on you during the fight.¡± I grinned.

    ¡°You tease!¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°What?¡± I grinned again. ¡°Let me have some fun too, once in a while.¡±

    I¡¯d almost forgotten about the lizardman who was still with us. It was only when he spoke that I realized he was still there.

    ¡°What would that last request be, Miss Elania? I would be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t curious.¡±

    ¡°Hah, I¡¯m going to build the suspense and let all three of you know at the same time.¡± I smiled.

    Dworag walked back out of the building with a measuring tape.

    ¡°Hope ya don¡¯t mind me checking out some measurements.¡± He said as he walked over to my side.

    I shook my head. ¡°Not at all, do what you need to.¡±

    He started measuring the surface area of the segment where my legs connected and then the distance between the top and where the actual legs sprouted from my body.

    ¡°By the gods! Elania, what happened to your leg?¡± The dwarf yelled in shock.

    ¡°Uh, long story. In short, I lost it saving a party member from a troll warlord¡¯s oversized mace, he completely shattered the rest of the leg as a result, though.¡±

    ¡°Does it¡­ hurt?¡± He asked, with fear in his eyes,

    ¡°Not so much anymore, it¡¯s more like a whining pain, but I did pass out from the pain shortly after it happened,¡± I said.

    ¡°I see¡­¡±

    The dwarf continued taking some measurements before he asked me to raise my body so it was at his eye height. I did so and he crouched under me while taking more measurements.

    ¡°Who will be the rider, if I may ask?¡± He asked as he appeared from under me.

    ¡°That would be me.¡± Velariah stepped forward.

    ¡°Excellent, could you ride some on her so I can check the positioning of the stirrups and how Miss Elania¡¯s legs operate?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s okay with you, Elania?¡± She asked.

    ¡°No problem,¡± I answered and lowered myself so Velariah could step on.

    Velariah hopped up, right behind my back.

    ¡°I think it would be better for you to sit a bit further back,¡± Dworag mentioned. ¡°It will allow for a greater swing reach with your sword without fear of hitting Miss Elania.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? Won¡¯t my legs get in the way?¡±

    ¡°Uhm, good point. Could you unsheathe your sword and take a seat, let¡¯s say... behind her front four legs?¡± The dwarf suggested. ¡°And could you then walk around a bit?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°No problem.¡±

    Velariah shoved herself backward and positioned her legs behind my front two joints on each side.

    I then raised myself up and found Velariah holding on to my midsection tightly. Once she got her balance, she unsheathed her sword and held it to the side as I walked around slowly.

    ¡°Yeah, those legs do seem to be getting in the way for a proper swing,¡± Dworag commented. ¡°Could you hold still for a moment, please?¡±

    I stopped moving and the dwarf walked up to me.

    ¡°Miss, I¡¯m going to bend your legs. Tell me if you feel uncomfortable.¡±

    Why do I feel like I am at the doctor¡¯s right now?

    The dwarf took hold of my second leg from the front left and carefully bent the joints so that it was lower than Velariah, he then repeated the same for the leg behind that.

    ¡°Hmmm.¡± The dwarf thought aloud. ¡°I guess that fixes the swing-reach issue, but I am left wondering if this is effective in combat, given the extra width of your legs in this position. You¡¯d run into whatever you would try to swing at this way. Let me see.¡±

    He took hold of my very front-left leg and placed it next to my human body in front of me. He then took the second and placed it behind it, with some distance in between them.

    ¡°Would you be able to run like this?¡± Dworag asked.

    ¡°Let me try¡­ Velariah, hold on tight, I can¡¯t promise I won¡¯t misstep.¡±

    She sheathed her sword again and took hold of my body.

    I mimicked the position of my front four legs on the other side of my body and took several steps like this. It took a minute or so to get used to the new position of some joints, but I think I managed fine.

    There were far too many joints with this body, it was kind of freaky I got used to it so fast.

    ¡°Seems to be going alright,¡± I said, after I got the hang of it.

    Dworag scratched his head and then ran his hand through his beard.

    ¡°Now, I would say to repeat the same with your hind legs but there is a certain issue there.¡±

    ¡°I feared we¡¯d get to this point,¡± I said, at the implication of my missing leg.

    ¡°Aye, afraid so, for stability reasons I guess you could try using only six legs, have the last not used at all.¡±

    ¡°Uhhh, I guess there is some advantage to learning how to walk and run that way,¡± I said. ¡°Draco, could you help me and hold my last leg on my right? I fear I may start using it on instinct.¡±

    ¡°Not a problem.¡± He walked up to my leg that was no longer in a set of two and held it up from the ground.

    Dworag then carefully moved my last two legs from their original position to further behind. I then started moving¡­ and fell.

    I fell to the ground on my midsection and Velariah stood on the ground on her feet. Draco had released my last leg as soon as I started my fall.

    I had lost my balance completely. I suddenly wasn¡¯t so sure about this anymore.

    I decided to try again without Velariah on my back. I didn¡¯t specifically need her there to practice and I¡¯d hate to hurt her.

    This time, I managed to walk in very slow and small steps. I was trying not to lose my balance and found myself able to keep it up after a while.

    This would be so much easier with that last set of legs¡­

    I couldn¡¯t believe I¡¯d ever miss them¡­

    Good thing it was unlikely we could utilize this strategy in dungeons anyway. That was, if any knowledge I had about dungeons turned out to be true in this world.

    ¡°Well, this is quite messy,¡± I admitted. ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure if this is the way to go. I would delay that saddle and stirrups for now. The last thing I wanted to mention, though, is something I could use either way.¡± I put on a smile as I lowered myself to a more¡­ human height. It felt weird towering over the dwarf by such a large amount.

    ¡°Aye missy, ya really got me warmed up, I¡¯m dying to know what ya want.¡±

    ¡°I think I figured out what would be good for me in combat. I was thinking of having a set of steel gauntlets with shields attached to them. Soon after I thought of that idea, I thought of adding a blade that extended beyond the gauntlet, or fastening it to the shield instead - I¡¯m not sure what would be more effective. It would offer me both offense and defense at the same time while charging. I got the idea after seeing Draco in action. In addition, I would like a normal set of gauntlets to use with the hands that I use for my spear.¡±

    ¡°That...¡° Velariah started. ¡°Sounds like another one of your crazy ideas that just might work.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you know me. I seem to have a thing for crazy ideas.¡±

    Dworag was staring in front of him with large eyes.

    ¡°Think it¡¯s possible?¡± I asked him.

    He didn¡¯t reply.

    ¡°Hello?¡± I asked him, as I waved a hand in front of him.

    The dwarf shook his head furiously as if he was trying to recollect himself.

    ¡°Missy, your ideas are out of this world. The shield and gauntlet are no issue. Though, if you¡¯re working on something of such¡­ exquisiteness, I would suggest having Coldanus add the blade. I could eat his guts, but his work is damn fine.¡±

    Out of this world, heh. It made me chuckle in my mind.

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have given him all that ore¡­¡± I stated.

    ¡°My bad,¡± Velariah said. ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you. I should be able to find a way to get some kind of discount.¡±

    ¡°Missy, I¡¯ll do this for free. At least my part.¡± The dwarf looked at me.

    ¡°Wait, what?¡± I said.

    ¡°I said, I¡¯ll do it for free. It¡¯s my thanks to you for giving me such wonderful ideas to work with. Also, I do feel kind of bad about your leg. I¡¯d hate for such a beautiful young lady to lose more limbs because I wanted every last coin I could get.¡± Dworag stated.

    Woah, Velariah. Calm down, those eyes are scary...

    ¡°Thanks, I guess. I¡¯d be in your debt¡­¡± I bowed to the dwarf, earning a chuckle.

    ¡°Heh, off with ye kids. I¡¯m gonna get all fired up and I need to concentrate.¡±

    The dwarf added more coal to his forge and walked back into his shop.

    ¡°Are you not afraid of others using these ideas of yours?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Some other ideas, maybe. Not this one though. These would be highly inefficient weapons for anyone without a sword or maybe shield, inherity. I don¡¯t know what this would be classified as. For the normal person, this would be worthless, the only reason it¡¯s useful for me is because I¡¯ve got an extra set of hands and this indirectly aids you with more protection as well. It¡¯s really the best of both worlds. I will probably still use my spear. Speaking of which¡­ where did I leave it?¡±

    ¡°Here.¡± Draco held my spear up in front of me.

    ¡°Thank you, Draco.¡±

    I should really pay more attention to where I leave my weapons.

    ¡°Shall we go look for Seralyn and Nira?¡± Velariah suggested. ¡°If they¡¯ve finished, I would assume they are smart enough to wait outside the guild or in front of the treemender¡¯s oak. Not that it¡¯s hard to find others in Dawnleaf anyway.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± I said.

    Draco simply nodded in agreement.

    On our way, after I passed the tight alleyway, I tried walking some more on six legs, in the manner that Dworag suggested would help Velariah out with more powerful blows. It was likely I was going to have to spend more time practicing, especially if I wasn¡¯t going to get that eighth leg back.

    I wondered if we could visit the dungeon tomorrow or whether that would be too early¡­

    We found the elf and harpy in front of the guild hall. It looked like they were successful, as I saw Nira with a small scepter in her hand with a green orb on top of it, held by its roots. The harpy also had a new, clean set of clothes. It made her look much better already.

    ¡°Looks like you guys got what you were looking for,¡± Velariah said as we approached.

    ¡°Yeap,¡± Seralyn stated with her arms crossed. ¡°Four gold, poof, gone like that.¡±

    ¡°You say that now, but it would have been damn useful to have her with us when you got yourself in trouble the other day.¡± The white-haired elf fired back at the brunette.

    Nice shot, Velariah.

    ¡°I guess.¡± Seralyn shrugged.

    ¡°So, any other plans for today?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think so,¡± Velariah said. ¡°I think we¡¯ve gone through all we had to go through.¡±

    Ah, that would mean it was time for my well-deserved bath. I could practically feel the hot water on my skin already, hmmm.

    ¡°You alright there Elania?¡± Velariah¡¯s voice came from beside me.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m alright, I was just wondering if we missed something,¡± I answered.

    That was a lie. I think Seralyn knew. I could see it in her eyes. Fortunately, she kept her mouth shut.

    It seemed everything was in order, so we decided to call it a day and meet again the next day at the guild hall, to see how we were doing. If things were looking alright, we could check out the dungeon. Again, it shouldn¡¯t be hard at all, but I liked to be prepared as best as possible.

    I read this was a dangerous profession after all.

    I looked at my severed leg.

    And felt it too¡­

    I was hoping Dworag would be able to pull off what I had commissioned. I kept thinking about it on our way back to the mansion. Velariah seemed to be in a very good mood, too good for my liking.

    It wasn¡¯t long until I found out why.

    After taking our armor off in the hallway, I walked into the bathroom and the elf followed me without a care in the world.

    ¡°Vel?¡± I asked as she stepped inside. ¡°What are you planning to do here?¡±

    ¡°Why, I heard you were planning on taking a bath, figured I¡¯d help you with it.¡± She smiled broadly.

    I saw what she was getting at.

    ¡°Vel¡­¡¯¡¯ I sighed. ¡®¡¯I don¡¯t know about this¡­¡±

    I was so not prepared for this step yet.

    Bathing with Velariah¡­ I could feel my face rush red from the thought of seeing her naked.

    ¡°I feel it¡¯s too soon for that¡­¡± I admitted.

    ¡°Awww, poor Elania. It¡¯s okay, I understand.¡± She walked up to me and hugged me, before walking out of the room.

    I sighed as I walked over and locked the door. I let myself fall to the floor and let my thoughts run wild for a moment.

    We hadn¡¯t even kissed yet!

    Would I be able to?

    I had gradually grown more attached to Velariah, to the point where I was looking forward to her sleeping in my arms tonight. Her hair smelled so wonderful too¡­

    What was stopping me from advancing this relationship?

    I guess I was still scared of the unknown. I had never been in a relationship before¡­ At least, not that I remembered. The only thing I knew was that I had no memories of it. I would have loved to know how these things usually worked right now.

    I didn¡¯t know how to deal with any of this!

    I put two of my legs in front of me, took hold of them, pulled them to my body and hugged them tightly. This was the closest I could get to hugging my knees.

    Thinking about kissing Velariah did make my heart pound loudly in my chest and I could feel my face run hot.

    That was love, right? I¡¯d always read this is how it would feel. To actually experience it myself¡­ it made me doubt myself.

    Argh, it still didn¡¯t help me. How would I go on from here?

    I should stop being so insecure. I think. It was obvious Vel wanted a relationship. I was pretty sure I wanted it as well, judging from the pounding in my chest.

    I walked over to the bathtub and let the faucet run. I put the stopper in the drain, which I¡¯d probably have to take out later again. My legs were dirty as hell, after all. I prepared the towels in the sink and searched for the sponges. I tossed them in the tub and took off my clothes.

    I took a quick look in the mirror.

    I could see why Velariah had called me cute¡­

    I resolved I would start a proper relationship with Velariah tonight. I imagined a kiss would go a long way.

    I stepped into the tub and prepared myself for a hot bath. Hopefully, the heat would wash away my doubts.

    Faragi

    Thanks to my new patrons <3

    Tcecrog

    ShadeByTheSea

    Eeleater

    E. Johnson

    PS: I have been thinking about what to do with regard to writing NSFW chapters. I''ve concluded that I''ll write them, but I don''t think I will post them on SH/RR for fear of losing immersion/people not interested in those passages.

    Join the discussion on Discord: https://discord.gg/TqFjdv8uaE

 1.48 How the Tables Have Turned

    Faragi

    Feeling generous and slightly guilty because of the cliff last chapter so have one on me xd

    I sighed as I scrubbed the dirt and blood off my legs. The flexibility of all these joints never ceased to amaze me. I could put all my feet down in front of my body if I wanted to. It certainly helped when it came to cleaning them. I made sure to scrub them as much as I could before I worked on the parts of my abdomen that I could reach.

    I couldn¡¯t reach all the way to the upper backside and I sighed again.

    Maybe I would need Velariah to help me with that someday¡­

    Maybe my legs could reach it?

    I unplugged the stopper to let the dirty water drain. After that, I put it back to allow the tub to fill with clean water once more.

    Whelp, time to experiment in the bath, I guess.

    I pulled my abdomen up and stuck some silk to the edge of the tub. I turned around, grabbed the threads and held them in the water. This would be my first step.

    I had remembered that the properties of the silk would be adjusted to how I wanted it to be and I had wanted it to be water-resistant. I had no idea if it would work or whether something like that was unattainable.

    I held the silk in water and saw that it held itself together without issues.

    Great, that was that out of the way at least.

    I took the silk and wrapped a sponge around my furthest back leg. If this worked, I hoped I could do the other side with the second furthest back leg, considering I was missing the furthest back.

    What a hassle.

    I grabbed my leg like a broom and started scrubbing my behind. I chuckled at the thought of it. A broom would have quite a bit more surface area than a sponge though.

    Maybe I should cover my leg with sponges entirely and use it like a windshield wiper?

    That made me chuckle again.

    I never would have imagined I could laugh at this body.

    While I was scrubbing with the sponge on my leg, I got the genius idea to see if I could reach my spinnerets with my leg. It made me realize that this was probably how spiders spun threads in the first place.

    I should have thought of it sooner.

    I guided the leg slightly with my arms. I wasn¡¯t completely used to moving it like that and had some trouble guiding it to where it needed to go. I did manage to hit the spinnerets with it and pushed some silk out. I then moved the leg in front of my body and found a thread connecting it to my behind.

    Sweet, it actually worked.

    That¡¯s going to make things a lot easier.

    I clenched and stopped the creation of silk before I shaped the thread into a ball and tossed it outside the tub. I brought forward my legs again and bound the sponge to my second furthest leg on my left side.

    Surprisingly, I still managed to reach everywhere I wanted to reach.

    This spider girl is getting the hang of life, it seems. I smiled at my small successes.

    I was starting to get awfully familiar with this body of mine. It actually made me wonder if I still feared spiders as much as I did back on Earth. I imagined I would be far less freaked out by their weird movements now that I had to move in the same manner.

    Then again, those hellspiders were just nasty.

    Small ones I would probably be able to live with at this point.

    I made sure to clean the area where the two arrows had hit me. I rolled around after cleaning my behind in its entirety and repeated the same process for the underside. This always seemed to be easier than the top side due to how far I was able to bend forward. In the meantime, I scrubbed my human body clean with one of my free hands.

    I cleaned the carapace where my legs were connected and the part below my human body. As I was cleaning down there I noticed that my private parts were not where they were before. It seemed there was now a vertical black groove in my carapace. I was confused and tried exploring the area.

    Yeah, that was weird. Did that happen after molting or something?

    It seemed that my private area had been sucked inward inside my carapace, nothing could be seen from the outside anymore, even if hairs were covering the area. To some degree, I was thankful because I couldn¡¯t accidentally flash anyone anymore. On the other hand, it got me slightly worried as to why it happened. Did it mean they would disappear or something? That would be quite a shock for Velariah if we got to that stage.

    I felt my embarrassment rise again.

    Why the hell was I thinking about that stuff?

    I made sure to rinse with plenty of water, trying to focus on something else entirely. I unplugged the stopper again.

    When the filthy water was drained for the second time, it was time to fill up the tub and relax at last.

    At least I thought I was going to relax. A knock on the door ruined my experience.

    ¡°How¡¯s it going in there Elania?¡± Velariah¡¯s voice sounded.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna be here for a while. Why, you wanna join?¡± I taunted her with an evil smile.

    If only she could see me.

    ¡°I would love to, you gonna open the door?¡± She sounded hopeful.

    ¡°Nope. Maybe some other time.¡±

    ¡°Awwwww, you¡¯re mean!¡± I could practically hear her pout.

    Tee-hee.

    ¡°Anyways, you up for a round of that game of yours with Elly after you¡¯re done?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Sure, should be fun.¡± I replied.

    ¡°Cool, Elly and I will have dinner in a while. You¡¯re not interested, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I answered. ¡°You guys go ahead.¡±

    I was going to enjoy my time in this tub. If only I could spend all day in it.

    Wait, I technically could. Who was stopping me?

    Well, eventually Velariah would probably get angry but I¡¯d see then.

    For now, relaxing was the name of the game.

    Relaxing I did. I leaned against the side of the tub as the water slowly filled it. I turned off the water when it was about full and just let all my worries go.

    If only my behind didn¡¯t float. It would have made it slightly easier to get a comfortable position. I switched to my back and held two hands down on the ground as I laid two hands under my head, closed my eyes and relaxed.

    I could fall asleep like this.

    I don¡¯t know how long I stayed like that. It was probably a long time because I felt like I woke up to knocking coming from the door.

    ¡°Elania, you okay in there? It¡¯s been almost three hours.¡± Velariah sounded anxious.

    ¡°Huh, yeah, I¡¯m alright. I¡¯ll be with you in a bit.¡±

    I shook my head rapidly. I had almost fallen asleep.

    I turned my body around and looked at my hands.

    Yeap, that was the result of almost three hours of bathing. They were wrinkly beyond recognition.

    I unplugged the stopper and let the water drain. I stepped out of the tub and moved to the next stage: my hair; my long, red hair.

    I still had to get used to seeing so much red in the mirror. My eyes and hair used to be entirely different colors and I could still hardly believe that I was looking at myself. I combed the wet hair thoroughly before I got most of the water out with a towel. After that, I combed it some more and allowed it to dry naturally.

    I wondered if this world had some kind of blow dryer?

    I used the remaining towels to dry the rest of my body while I picked out a new set of clothes from the paper bags. After I was dried I put them on and unlocked the door. Velariah and Elly were already waiting at the table when I was finished.

    ¡°Hope I didn¡¯t make you guys wait for too long.¡± I haphazardly apologized.

    ¡°You did, but I forgive you.¡± Velariah teased.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to need your help creating the game again. I don¡¯t remember half of the possible rolls.¡¯¡¯ She continued, as she handed me a couple of pieces of paper and a pencil.

    ¡°Have you explained the game to Elly?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yep.¡± She smiled as she put five dice on the table.

    ¡°Did she?¡± I looked at Elly, who nodded.

    ¡°You don¡¯t trust me or what?¡± Velariah pouted.

    ¡°Not really. I know how much you like to win. I know you¡¯d do anything to achieve victory.¡± I grinned.

    ¡®¡¯Hey!¡¯¡¯ She let out.

    Elly giggled and watched as I drew the lines and specified the possible combinations on a separate piece of paper, complete with drawings of the dice sides next to it.

    It took some time to set up but finally we could play.

    It seemed my luck had finally returned, as I completely smashed both of them in the first round. They had to cross off their yahtzees whereas I didn¡¯t. That made victory almost inevitable for me! I even managed to get the bonus points from the top half. This evening was already successful, even if I was going to lose the following rounds.

    Ah, seeing Velariah¡¯s face like that was priceless.

    The rest of the evening turned into a race between me and Elly. We each won rounds back and forth. Velariah turned up short, even in the one round she did roll a Yahtzee. She was elevated beyond relief upon throwing it, but soon Elly and I rolled one as well.

    Her face got even more priceless as the evening progressed.

    After five rounds and totaling the scores, it did turn out that Elly won by a slim margin. She had seemed to enjoy the game just as much as Velariah had the first time.

    The elf in question seemed to not have a great time. Her visage told me everything I needed to know.

    Poor Vel.

    We should do this sometime with the others too. Turn it into a nice evening of fun and games, maybe get this world¡¯s variant of snacks and drinks to go with it too. I could even try to teach them some other games, such as Ludo and Monopoly, although, I guess Monopoly would be quite hard, I didn¡¯t know all the values by heart and I¡¯d need a lot of paper.

    Chess was another game that came to mind. Although it wasn¡¯t a game for me, I was thinking maybe Valtheril would love it. I believe, in history, the game used to be played by nobles and the likes. Combining that with the fact that the chess pieces closely resembled everything in the modern army here, I concluded it may be fun for him to try.

    Grandmaster Valtheril. I chuckled at the thought.

    ¡°Are you laughing at me again, El? You¡¯re mean!¡±

    ¡°Actually, I wasn¡¯t, but if you want to believe I was, go ahead.¡± I smiled.

    She pouted again. She was so cute when she was angry!

    ¡°Awww, poor Vel.¡±

    I called her Vel because Elly had just gone to the kitchen to make some tea.

    ¡°You better make it up to me tonight!¡± She was still pouting.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, you can sleep in my room.¡±

    ¡°Yay!¡± She clapped her hands excitedly.

    I rolled my eyes in response.

    Elly returned with three cups of tea on a platter, together with sugar and a milk pourer.

    Seriously, even the cheapest stuff from a supermarket on Earth would beat this, but I wasn¡¯t going to comment on it. After all, this was Elly¡¯s only weak spot, I didn¡¯t want her to feel bad.

    ¡°Do we have everything we need in case we go to the dungeon tomorrow?¡± I asked between sips.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Velariah thought aloud. ¡°I think we do. I still have plenty of potions. We got fancy new weapons. I think a silver tier dungeon should be a piece of cake, especially with Nira there to back us up.¡±

    ¡°Great.¡± I said. ¡°By the way, you didn¡¯t evolve your inherity by any chance, did you? I am not sure yet how exactly it works. Like, how clear is it when you do evolve it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, believe me, you will know when you do. I have evolved it twice so far, but it doesn¡¯t really show in combat yet. I have yet to gain an actual skill.¡± Velariah explained.

    ¡°Huh, then what did you evolve?¡± I frowned.

    ¡°Basically, quality of life stuff. My sword stays sharp and it can¡¯t be chipped or broken.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ actually sounds pretty strong to me.¡± I answered.

    ¡°It is.¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°It¡¯s extremely useful, but I can¡¯t wait to finally get a skill.¡±

    Yeah, I guessed having a skill would make a huge difference in combat. I wondered what kind of skill she would get. Would it be some kind of weaker version of what Valtheril had? One could only hope she would someday be as strong as her father.

    I finished the mediocre tea and decided to call it a day. I bid goodnight to Elly, put the chairs back to where I was previously standing at the table and moved into the bathroom. Velariah followed me like a fly to honey.

    I wondered how she would react to what I had in mind.

    I hoped I had the guts to go through with it¡­

    I took off my shirt again and put it in the sink where my tag was still waiting. The white-haired elf put her clothes on top of them while I rearranged the pillows. They had turned into a messy spread and I quickly tossed them back together before I let myself sink into them.

    ¡°You know, this really isn¡¯t so bad.¡± I said as Velariah took off her socks.

    ¡°What is?¡± She asked.

    ¡°You know, this body and sleeping like this. I don¡¯t miss a bed as much as I thought I would. This is a genius solution to my problem. It¡¯s quite comfortable too.¡±

    ¡°See, I told you your body was not a problem.¡± She smiled.

    ¡°You never said that.¡± I retorted.

    ¡°Strange. I thought I did. Oh well.¡± She shrugged.

    She let herself fall into the pillows as well.

    ¡°It never was a problem for me, though.¡± She smiled as she looked into my eyes.

    Oh, she was flirting again.

    ¡°I got that notion, yes.¡± I smiled back.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t lying when I said I think you¡¯re cute, you know?¡± She seemed to say in defense.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Vel, I think you¡¯re cute too.¡±

    I rolled my human body to the side and prepared to take her in for a hug. She seemed to be a step ahead of me as she was already moving closer. I took her in for one and turned off the light with a free set of hands.

    Hmmm, this actually felt really nice.

    It seemed Velariah had also taken a bath. The scent of roses was almost overwhelming when her hair was this close.

    ¡°Hold on.¡± I said softly.

    I started to shift my body to my side. It wasn¡¯t an easy task. I had to put several more pillows under my midsection if I wanted to roll to my side. After several minutes of trial and error, I managed to get my body on my side without being uncomfortable. The legs on my right passed under the pillows that Velariah lay on and appeared behind her. The legs on my left joined my arms in the hug and held her legs and her back.

    ¡°You done playing?¡± The elf asked quietly.

    I think she was getting annoyed by all the moving I did.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m comfortable now.¡± I whispered back.

    I took her in for a hug once more and had my spider limbs join in too. I caressed her back with my feet slowly in affection.

    ¡°El, that tickles.¡± She giggled.

    ¡°Oops.¡± I smiled.

    I doubted she could see me, but I had the biggest smile on my face.

    ¡°Good night, Vel.¡± I whispered as I hugged her.

    ¡°Good night, Elania.¡± She whispered back.

    My heart started pounding in my chest again as I could feel her breathing mere inches away from my face. I had more or less expected her to make the first move, but it seemed she still respected my words from before.

    I waited several minutes with a pounding heart, building up confidence.

    I very slowly moved my face closer to hers. Hopefully, she wouldn¡¯t notice.

    Then, I put my lips on hers and kissed her.

    Faragi

    Thanks to my wonderful new Patrons <3

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    There are now 54 chapters done on it in case people are wondering. Still building up slowly.

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 1.49 Donâ€™t Eat the Yellow Mushrooms!

    Velariah seemed to not mind. Rather she put a hand in my hair as I kissed her. Her lips were soft and sweet and I felt heat rise within me. It didn¡¯t fade at all when I broke away from the elf.

    ¡°El?¡± She whispered. ¡°What was that?¡±

    ¡°That was me making it up to you,¡± I whispered back.

    I put a finger on her nose, put two hands in her hair, and ran them through it.

    ¡°You sure it wasn¡¯t more?¡± She sounded hopeful and disappointed at the same time.

    ¡°I think it may very well be,¡± I whispered back.

    I still felt so nervous, it almost made me nauseous, but at least I¡¯d pulled through. Whatever happened from here, nothing would take that small victory from me.

    ¡°Elania,¡± She whispered again.

    She then took me in for a tight hug, pressing herself against me closely. So tight that I could feel her heart beating - as rapidly as mine. I held her back with my pedipalps and I could feel her beating heart amplified through them. She proceeded to press her face against mine so that her mouth was close to my ear.

    ¡°Elania, you make me so happy,¡± She whispered.

    ¡°I can feel that,¡± I whispered back, a hint of a joke in my voice.

    ¡°Really?¡± She whispered again. ¡°How sensitive are those grabbers of yours?¡± She joked back.

    I was glad she was able to lighten the mood by making a joke like that. It seemed to put my nerves at ease.

    ¡°Very,¡± I answered. ¡°Also, better not hug me too tightly, I don¡¯t know what my fangs do at night. Don¡¯t want to have you accidentally dying while we sleep.¡±

    ¡°I trust they know what they are doing,¡± The elf answered.

    She seemed to be more confident than me in my own body.

    ¡°Shame there are no windows in this room,¡± Velariah continued. ¡°I would have loved to see your face right now.¡±

    ¡°You better not turn on the lights,¡± I warned her.

    ¡°Nah, I won¡¯t, I¡¯m too tired to even see properly, unfortunately.¡± She remained quiet for a few seconds. ¡°Maybe tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vel,¡± I hugged her again. ¡°Good night,¡± I whispered.

    ¡°Good night, Elania,¡± She whispered back.

    It took some time for my heart to slow down, but ultimately it did and I fell into the best sleep I¡¯d had in a long time.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------

    I awoke with hair on my face and an elf tightly clasped in my arms and legs. It seemed they had unconsciously decided to take Velariah in a firm hold.

    ¡°Good morning, El,¡± Velariah said, as I stretched my arms.

    It would seem she was already awake.

    ¡°Morning, Vel. Also, what¡¯s with that nickname?¡±

    ¡°What? You don¡¯t like it?¡± She smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with it. It¡¯s just that you didn¡¯t seem to be the person for nicknames.¡± I smiled back.

    I was preparing to stand up when Velariah put her arms around my neck and dragged me back down.

    ¡°Hm?¡± I asked without words.

    ¡°There¡¯s a storm outside, it¡¯s raining like crazy. We could stay here for a while.¡± She said.

    ¡°Huh? Seems that witch was right after all, huh?¡±

    It was a wrench in my plans for dungeon exploring, but staying like this truly wasn¡¯t so bad, after all.

    ¡°How do you know anyway?¡± I inquired further.

    ¡°Elly told me earlier.¡±

    ¡°Did you go out of the room and then sneak back in and worm yourself into my arms again?¡± I grinned.

    ¡°Guilty as charged,¡± Velariah confessed. ¡°Now would be a great idea after what happened yesterday.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± I started. ¡°Also, what¡¯s with this light? There are no windows, but this feels like natural morning light.¡±

    ¡°Magic.¡± Velariah shrugged. ¡°My father made sure these lights were crafted in such a way that they would not hurt your eyes in the morning. I think it¡¯s pretty neat.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, for sure,¡± I said, as I shifted around in the pillows. ¡°Will Elly warn us when this storm is over?¡±

    ¡°You sure want to see that dungeon, don¡¯t you? Yes, she will warn us. Until then, it¡¯s just me and cuddles!¡±

    She seemed awfully happy about this rain. It seemed to be mighty convenient for her, too. It made me wonder if it was raining or whether it was just an excuse to stay in bed with me.

    I sighed, ¡°Fine, have it your way.¡±

    ¡°You meanie!¡± She pouted. ¡°I can¡¯t help that you¡¯re so cute!¡±

    I grinned. ¡°Now you¡¯ve done it,¡± I closed my legs and pedipalps around her frame. ¡°If Elly doesn¡¯t show up, you¡¯re going to be trapped here all day.¡±

    ¡°Oh no, whatever will I do?¡± Velariah joked. ¡°Maybe this?¡±

    I had recently closed my eyes again and suddenly found Velariah kissing me. I opened them again to see hers closed as her lips were on mine. Our noses touched and I held the back of her head, enjoying her sweet touch and scent.

    She broke away and I was slightly disappointed. My heart was working overtime as it pounded like crazy again. I could feel my face turn red, but I didn¡¯t feel embarrassed anymore.

    She opened her eyes and smiled. ¡°Seems you liked that.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Looks like I did.¡±

    ¡°What made you decide to do that to me yesterday?¡± She asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I admitted. ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to move further, but I didn¡¯t know how to. I still don¡¯t know exactly how to go about this, but I really like you, Vel. I know it¡¯s illogical for me, but I don¡¯t know any better.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good enough.¡± Velariah smiled. ¡°We can work from there.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vel.¡± I hugged her again and relaxed in the pillows.

    ¡°I hope it puts your emotions at ease now, at least somewhat. I can see you¡¯ve been struggling with them for a while now.¡± The elf said softly, as she relaxed as well.

    ¡°Yeah, you can say that again,¡± I replied with a sigh.

    We lay there for a long time, simply enjoying each other¡¯s company and touch. I had never felt this good before. Now that I had truly confessed, I could feel my worries fade away like snow in the sun. I couldn¡¯t believe how I had worried so much about all this. Velariah seemed to dispel my worries with mere whispers of affection. It truly allowed me to feel things that were completely strange for me but very welcome, nonetheless.

    I almost cried, too, but I managed to get a hold of myself before it happened. I didn¡¯t want the elf to start worrying about things.

    A while later, I heard a knock on the door.

    ¡°Lady Velariah, Miss Elania, the rain has stopped and the sun is shining brightly again.¡±

    ¡°It seems you weren¡¯t lying after all.¡± I smiled as I looked into Velariah¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Now, why would I lie?¡± She smiled back.

    ¡°Really?¡± I grinned. ¡°I could give you¡­¡¯¡¯ I started looking at the limbs that still held her. ¡°Four and two and eight, that¡¯s fourteen, well thirteen now, reasons.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, it does feel nice, I have to admit.¡± She said as she tried to get away.

    I suddenly released my hold which caused her to roll out of the pillows because of her momentum. She almost hit the wall and I grinned at her antics.

    ¡°Sorry, not sorry.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get you back for that, sometime.¡± She looked at her pack, which sat on the box of sulfur in the corner.

    She walked up to the pack and opened it. I couldn¡¯t help but stare as she did so.

    ¡°There¡¯s still these mushrooms - we should check if they work on you as soon as we can. I forgot about them yesterday. They still seem fine.¡± She said as she opened the smaller bag.

    ¡°Whoops, I totally forgot about them too. How are we going to check?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid we are going to have to make a cut, I guess.¡±

    She didn¡¯t look too happy when she turned around.

    ¡°Uh, I guess so,¡± I replied.

    Velariah quickly put on some clothes before opening the door and running to what I assumed was the kitchen.

    She returned with a large knife which made my heart sink.

    ¡°Was it really necessary to get the largest knife you had?¡± I looked at it in fear.

    ¡°Chill, I wasn¡¯t planning on just stabbing you with it. This is the sharpest one we have, so it should hurt the least when I cut. Would you like me to use a painkiller too?¡±

    I shook my head.

    ¡°If you¡¯re careful, it would be better to do without any external influences. I have no idea what effect they may have.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Velariah said, as she took out a completely yellow mushroom and cut it in half with the foot-long knife.

    I never imagined I¡¯d use imperial units.

    Maybe it was the knife ruining my brain?

    She rubbed the mushroom halves across the knife¡¯s edge and walked over to me.

    ¡°Where should I cut?¡±

    ¡°Seriously, you look like a psychopath with that knife,¡± I answered, ¡°I guess an arm would be best?¡± I suggested.

    ¡°Can do.¡± She took my arm and I soon felt the cold cutting edge.

    I looked away, not wanting to experience this with my own eyes.

    It was for my own good.

    This was my idea.

    I squinted my eyes.

    ¡°You done molesting my skin?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Already done.¡± She said.

    ¡°Huh?¡¯¡¯

    I turned my head and saw a small wound on my arm. She had created an X with two incisions and was now rubbing some mushroom paste in the wound.

    ¡°Did you ever have to deal with this kind of poison?¡± I asked.

    Velariah shook her head.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t. But I did hear stories about Allina¡¯s squad having to drag people back in a hurry because they had been paralyzed. How are you feeling?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Are you sure these are the right type of mushrooms?¡± I asked, as I felt nothing happening.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never used them myself.¡±

    ¡°I guess there is only one way to check.¡± I started grinning.

    ¡°Uhm, you¡¯re talking¡­?¡± She stammered.

    ¡°Yeap.¡±

    She sighed. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± She walked to her bag and retrieved a blue vial.

    She handed me the vial and walked back to the kitchen with the knife.

    I pulled up my fangs, uncorked the vial and deposited a drop of venom in the small glass tube. I corked it again and shook it vigorously. I held the resulting orange vial in my hands as Velariah returned with the cleaned knife.

    ¡°I like how I don¡¯t have to tell you a thing.¡± Velariah smiled as she locked the door again.

    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s pretty clear to me that this is not something we want to screw around with,¡± I replied.

    ¡°Bit of a shame I didn¡¯t think to do this when we exposed you to this poison.¡± She replied with guilt in her voice.

    ¡°I mean, it should be alright. It¡¯s pretty clear I¡¯ve got some good poison resistance. I doubt it was necessary. You¡¯re right though, we should stop thinking about it too lightly, I don¡¯t know the exact effects of this inherity yet¡­¡±

    ¡°Can you try walking around, just in case?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Sure,¡± I stood up and found I could walk around without issues. If this was the same paralytic poison that downed Nira, it did not affect me whatsoever.

    ¡°You sure about this?¡± I asked the elf to confirm what she was about to do.

    ¡°It¡¯s the only way to be sure. The only issue is that this anti-venom does not remove paralytic effects. We have other potions for that, which I do not possess myself. It¡¯s not dangerous in this controlled environment, though. I can simply wait out its effects.¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t afraid of what I¡¯m going to do when you¡¯re paralyzed?¡± I grinned.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it, actually.¡± She grinned back.

    This elf was such a freak.

    She pulled up her sleeve and cut herself with the knife with two quick motions and pressed the mushroom paste in the wound.

    After rubbing the paste in, she handed me the knife and sat down in the pillow pile. I put the knife in the sink and walked back to the elf, who was now laying down.

    ¡°Vel?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Hbrgrgrl.¡± She tried to produce words but failed.

    Holy shit, that stuff was strong. She went limp within mere seconds.

    I walked over to her and rolled her to her side. I heard that was the safest thing to do when somebody was paralyzed.

    I raised one of her arms in the air and released it. It instantly fell down again.

    ¡°Okay, turns out we did not get scammed. Now what?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Grblbl.¡± She sounded again.

    ¡°Seriously Vel, I can¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying, could you speak up, please?¡± I teased her.

    ¡°Mrgmrmrmr¡± She sounded again, angrily this time.

    I should use this stuff on Seralyn. Screw using it on her arrows, let¡¯s use it on her instead!

    ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ll stop now. Actually¡­¡± I turned her over to face me and I lowered myself. ¡°Is that what you meant by teasing?¡± I said as I lowered my head to the pillow next to her.

    I still had to dress myself. I could see her eyes grow wide. It seemed this poison did not completely paralyze its victims. She could still blink too, it seemed.

    ¡°Poor little Velariah.¡± I smiled. ¡°It seems we got our answer, though. Thank you for helping me confirm.¡±

    It seemed this resistance worked against more than just lethal poisons. I was glad it did, it would be quite the shock to find out I could still be knocked down by this stuff in combat. So far, we were lucky to have avoided anyone that used this type of venom and, with this newly gathered information, it seemed I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about it.

    I decided to get myself dressed while waiting for the poison to run its course. I put on the black shirt that was still in the sink and my golden tag. I decided to comb my hair again as well, seeing as I had nothing else to do.

    ¡°You hanging in there?¡± I said, as I finished and turned around.

    ¡°Getting there,¡± Vel replied.

    ¡°Oh, it seems you can talk again, neat.¡±

    ¡°Yes, unfortunately, I cannot stand to slap you yet.¡±

    ¡°Now why would you do that?¡± I asked, as I lowered myself to look at her again.

    ¡°You¡¯re such a tease!¡± She said with difficulty.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re the one who started it.¡± I fired back.

    I sat there for a few minutes as I watched Velariah struggle to sit up. I couldn¡¯t help but smile at her efforts to move her limbs.

    ¡°These mushrooms would be great for Seralyn,¡± I said. ¡°Any chance we can cultivate them?¡±

    ¡°We could try. Maybe Elly can set up something with the help of the local florist. She¡¯s a good friend of Elly, but I can¡¯t make promises on whether it will work. These mushrooms grow where they grow for a reason.¡±

    ¡°Seems you do understand the basic concepts of growing stuff after all,¡± I spoke as Velariah managed to sit up, albeit with her arms supporting her.

    ¡°Well, duh. I just didn¡¯t know about that fertilizer of yours. I wonder what my father did with it. We didn¡¯t get to ask him before he left.¡±

    If he was that swift with leaving, it probably went exceptionally well. I think he wants to get this infrastructure set up as soon as possible. Speaking of, I wonder if that farmer planted those cherries yet. Seems like it would have been a great time to plant. This rain from today should allow them to grow quickly.

    Velariah moved her legs in kicking motions.

    ¡°Knowing him, he made sure that everything is planted by now. Did you see the hurry he was in?¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°Anyways.¡± She stood up and almost fell again. I quickly stood up and reached out to support her. ¡°Thanks for that, Elania. As I was saying, we should see if the others are already at the guild hall. Get me something to eat while we¡¯re there. I¡¯m starving.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess you don¡¯t get to experience all the benefits that I¡¯m experiencing.¡± I laughed at the reference to my eating capabilities.

    ¡°I assume that means you¡¯re not hungry?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Did you see me go at it yesterday?¡± I frowned at her.

    ¡°Good point.¡± She noted. ¡°Also, I hope I can get my hands on some of that coffee soon. For some reason, I seem to be craving it¡­¡±

    I laughed. ¡°Have I told you that it¡¯s quite addictive yet?¡±

    ¡°Damn, couldn¡¯t you have told me that earlier?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°Figured it would be fine. Besides, if we¡¯re going to the dungeon today, we could get our hands on some more, no problem.¡±

    ¡°Good point again,¡± Velariah noted once more. ¡°We should certainly get some more.¡±

    ¡°Seems someone is addicted. Can¡¯t blame you though, I really do miss it myself¡­¡±

    ¡°Aww, poor half-spider.¡± Velariah pouted.

    ¡°You making fun of me now?¡± I turned to her.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± She giggled.

    This elf¡­

    ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s go to the guild and hope it doesn¡¯t start raining again.¡± Velariah offered.

    She opened both doors and asked Elly, who was drinking some tea while reading, to help her with her armor.

    ¡°You think Dworag managed to get done what I asked for?¡± I asked Velariah as I was putting on my own chest plate.

    ¡°No way.¡± She answered. ¡°He¡¯d have to work together with Coldanus. I wouldn¡¯t expect it done anytime soon.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°Oh well, I doubt it¡¯s going to be of use in the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Because?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t dungeons usually pretty tight? I doubt there would be much room for us to maneuver.¡±

    ¡°Not all dungeons are like that,¡± Velariah explained. ¡°Though, I guess that does apply to most low-tier dungeons.¡±

    ¡°Interesting,¡± I said as Velariah opened the doors. I picked up my spear and headed out after her.

    The cobblestone streets were still wet from the rain earlier on. I had no doubt they would dry quickly. The sun was shining very brightly and the temperature was close to tropical.

    ¡°Hmmm, today is way too nice to delve underground,¡± I said as I basked in the sunlight.

    ¡°This was your idea, no backing down now,¡± Velariah stated strictly.

    We made our way to the guild hall and found all three of our companions waiting in our usual spot.

    There were a fair amount of people inside and even a group of only humans talking in their incomprehensible language. They did glance over to me once or twice but didn¡¯t seem too interested. I would imagine they had already heard about me. I wondered what their business here was.

    It would be nice to run into some humans who weren¡¯t complete dicks for once.

    ¡°You¡¯re late,¡± Seralyn said.

    I wasn¡¯t too surprised at her comment.

    Velariah explained that it was because of trying out the mushrooms. She made up some completely phony story that it took her an hour to get back on her feet. I think in reality it was closer to fifteen minutes.

    Nira seemed to be doing much better. Her wings were completely cleaned and I couldn¡¯t make out any scars on her arms anymore. She thanked us again for helping her out yesterday. She said she thought about joining our party last evening and concluded she would like to try. She wanted to at least stick with us until the wand was repaid.

    Velariah tried to object but Nira was dead-set on making sure she repaid that debt.

    She didn¡¯t dare to object anymore after that. It was just a personality trait she would have to live with if Nira was to join our party. I would have probably done the same. I hated owing debts.

    Nira was very quiet after that. Velariah got herself a hearty breakfast. The others and I made do with a drink, it seemed they had already eaten before we got here.

    When Velariah finished she asked how things were looking.

    Nira seemed to be eager to delve into the dungeon we discovered and, judging from her appearance, she seemed to be in a good enough state to do it.

    Healing magic was quite something else.

    She and Draco both inquired about my leg, but I replied that killing things in the dungeon was one of my goals to try to get it back. I told them the pain was very light now and didn¡¯t bother me in any way.

    ¡°Neat,¡± Seralyn exclaimed. ¡°Seems I finally get to see a dungeon for myself.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t the only one looking forward to it. I would hopefully get some answers myself, at last.

    Faragi

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 1.50 First Dungeon

    I always liked to do a quick check before I went out. Living in a fantasy world had not changed that part about me. I made sure we all had our weapons. Seralyn had fixed the arrows that had been separated from their heads. Draco only brought his dual axes this time around, he also had his usual backpack of goods and rations. I had my spear. Nira had her wand and claws and Velariah had her sword.

    With nothing forgotten, we set out on our way to the dungeon.

    ¡°By the way.¡± Seralyn started not soon after we left the building. ¡°What happened to the chest? What did Sir Valtheril say?¡± She looked at Velariah for an answer.

    ¡°He said we could divide it as we wished. It¡¯s sitting in our mansion right now. We can divide it after we¡¯re done for the day.¡±

    ¡°Neat!¡± The brunette replied.

    ¡°There were no quests in the area?¡± I asked Draco.

    The lizardman shook his head.

    ¡°Nothing of interest for our party.¡±

    ¡°Shame,¡± I said.

    We walked past the coffee plants on our way to where we fought the hellspiders. It seemed the entire field to our right had been completely plowed and, if I were to guess, seeded as well. Now it would be up to the treemenders and time before it yielded results.

    I couldn¡¯t wait.

    And I knew Velariah couldn¡¯t wait either.

    Nira asked us if there was anything special about these bushes. It seems she noticed me staring.

    It looked like I had some serious withdrawal symptoms.

    ¡°Uh, not really. I was just wondering if they were tasty.¡± I lied.

    ¡°Yuck, no. They are disgusting.¡± Nira answered.

    ¡°Shame,¡± I said in feigned ignorance.

    I had probably failed to fool Draco. He was with us before, after all. I guessed eventually they would find out, especially if I started to fill our bags with them on our way back.

    Nira was a slow walker, not long after leaving the road she had slowed down significantly.

    I was about to offer her a ride when she seemed to have had enough and she launched herself into the sky. A gust of wind hit my side when she leaped upwards. I looked at her soar above us. She circled in the air around our position.

    She might even be able to beat me in a race, damn.

    I wondered what this world looked like from above.

    I don¡¯t think she¡¯d be able to carry me into the sky. Maybe she could carry Velariah?

    ¡°You want a ride?¡± I turned to the elf.

    ¡°Would love to,¡± Velariah answered.

    ¡°Can I join too?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°Dunno, you paying?¡± I taunted her, as I lowered myself so that Velariah could hop on.

    ¡°Yikes, I left my money at home.¡± She said.

    ¡°Unlucky.¡± Velariah taunted her as she hopped on my back and I rose.

    I was spoiling Velariah way too much. I couldn¡¯t deny I didn¡¯t like her behind me, though.

    ¡°Guys, there¡¯s some movement in the forest.¡± Nira¡¯s voice came from above. ¡°Can¡¯t make out what it is, I suggest running forward.¡±

    Heeding her warning, we ran towards our destination. The wet grass didn¡¯t make running easier for Seralyn. Draco seemed to manage just fine. Not wanting to take chances, I ran up behind Seralyn and lifted her.

    ¡°Seems you get your wish after all,¡± I told her as I ran to catch up with Draco.

    This lizard was surprisingly fast.

    Seralyn struggled briefly, but I held her in place with four arms and two pedipalps. Even if she wanted to break free, I don¡¯t think she could manage.

    After a minute or so of running, Nira sounded off again.

    ¡°Seems to be fine, guys. Not sure what it was but it wasn¡¯t after you.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Nira,¡± I thanked her.

    It felt reassuring to have a watchful eye in the skies. Besides warning us, I imagined she could also scout for our targets on future quests.

    Oh, I wanted her in our party so badly.

    We soon reached the edge of the forest and the hill that had obscured our vision from the old spider lair. From here, it would be about thirty minutes to the dungeon.

    I put Seralyn down again.

    ¡°How was it, Seralyn?¡± Velariah asked with a grin.

    ¡°Quite the ride, can¡¯t say I enjoyed it.¡±

    ¡°Tee-hee, the good seat is reserved for me.¡± I looked behind me and saw Velariah stick out her tongue.

    I chuckled.

    Poor Seralyn. She deserved this treatment though.

    I didn¡¯t mind Velariah having access to the ¡®good seat¡¯. She had her arms around my belly and hugged me tightly. She was surely doing this on purpose. It only served to make me smile this time around.

    After we entered the great plains, Nira landed in front of us.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked. She seemed tired.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m alright. I just can¡¯t fly for too long yet, it seems.¡±

    She folded her wings and ran a hand through them.

    ¡°Seems I will need some more time recovering.¡±

    ¡°You want another ride?¡± I offered.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind¡­¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°Not at all.¡±

    ¡°So everybody gets a proper seat except for me?¡± Seralyn asked in disbelief.

    Velariah and I both chuckled.

    ¡°Seems so.¡± She said.

    Nira hopped on my back with the help of her wings and sat down on my abdomen, her claws tightly clasped around my midsection.

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t hurt, right?¡± She asked to confirm.

    I shook my head. ¡°Not at all.¡±

    The rest of our trip was spent in silence and we soon reached the charred tunnels of what was previously a hellspider hive. Draco took out a torch from his backpack and ignited it before leading the way down.

    ¡°You guys did this?¡± Seralyn asked as we walked through the tunnels.

    ¡°Well, it was Miss Elania¡¯s idea to torch the place,¡± Draco admitted. ¡°It did make things quite a bit easier. She also discovered the entrance to a dungeon previously unknown.¡±

    ¡°You totally did a number on this place,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°I would have loved to see it.¡±

    Of course, she would.

    It seemed all the hellspider corpses were cleaned up. We didn¡¯t find a single one on our way to the entrance. When we reached the huge metal doors to the dungeon we found them closed shut, but the web I had created to keep it shut was cut.

    It seemed the guild had gone inside already.

    Velariah and Nira jumped off my back.

    ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± I asked when I pried my spear between the doors.

    Everyone nodded.

    ¡°Here it goes.¡± I pried one of the doors open and took it in my hands before fully opening that one door.

    Velariah and Seralyn stood at the ready with sword and arrow, in case anything made their way outside.

    Nothing happened and I opened the other door as well.

    Draco handed me the torch as he took his two axe-shields from his back.

    I held the torch close to the entrance to see what was down there. There was a massive stone stairway leading down from my position. Fortunately, the doors were huge and I should be able to fit through.

    I was not looking forward to walking down a flight of stairs. I had never done it before with these legs and I was worried I might break something.

    ¡°Velariah, Draco, could you guys go first? I¡¯m not confident in my ability to walk stairs¡­¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± Velariah said.

    I handed her the torch and she made her way down the stairs behind Draco, who eyed his surroundings closely.

    ¡°Seems to be clear,¡± Draco called.

    ¡°Well, here goes nothing,¡± I spoke softly, as I walked my rear down the stairs first.

    I held on to the stone stairs with my hands tightly as I slowly descended backward. The small claws at the end of my feet seemed to have no issue with gripping into stone. Everything went far better than I expected.

    Seralyn and Nira eyed me warily as I descended. Seralyn wasn¡¯t even condescending in her look - she looked genuinely worried.

    I reached the bottom without issues and Seralyn and Nira made their way down as well.

    Draco¡¯s torch illuminated a large area and I could clearly make out the same, cave-like walls that I saw in my dream. Stalagmites and stalactites were in the wide hallway ahead of us. The hallway seemed to lead further down, slightly.

    There was no sign of enemies, but we couldn¡¯t get complacent.

    Velariah handed me the torch again and unsheathed her sword. I took my spear back in my hands and followed the two closely. Seralyn and Nira made up the rearguard.

    ¡°You have some experience with dungeons, right?¡± I asked Draco. ¡°Any idea what enemies may lurk here?¡±

    Draco stopped and seemed to inspect the cave walls.

    ¡°If I were to guess? Nothing special. Maybe slimes in this area, perhaps bats.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound too dangerous,¡± Velariah added.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t a match for us right now, at all.¡± The lizardman replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the kind of ¡¯monsters¡¯ I was expecting,¡± I admitted. ¡°Slimes maybe, but bats don¡¯t sound dungeon-specific at all.¡±

    ¡°Such is often the case with lower-tier dungeons,¡± Draco said. ¡°Hold on.¡±

    He assumed a combat stance with his axe shields and I could hear Seralyn draw an arrow behind me.

    A slimy, squishing sound came from behind one of the stalagmites. It resembled the sound a sponge would make when you had soaked it with water and then squeezed it.

    Was that a slime?

    My suspicion was confirmed seconds later. A moving, gooey shape about 50 centimeters high made its appearance known. Its surface appeared to be the same brown color as the surrounding area. It would have made for decent camouflage, were it not that the light from my torch was reflected by its body.

    A crystal ball floated around in the gooey figure and, from what I knew from fiction, that had to be its weak spot. I believe it was called a core too, right?

    Draco stepped aside and I could hear Seralyn let loose her arrow.

    It was a bullseye.

    The core shattered the second her arrow hit it and the slime creature collapsed onto itself. All that remained was a puddle of brown goo.

    It looked kind of disgusting.

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± I asked. ¡°That looked far too easy.¡±

    ¡°Well, I did tell you this dungeon was fairly low tier,¡± Draco said.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, do you guys mind leaving some kills to me?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Any specific reason?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to regrow my leg, I have a theory about it.¡±

    ¡°Uh, sure.¡± She said, without complaint.

    I was glad she understood.

    Soon enough I heard another squishing sound.

    ¡°My venom, right?¡± I asked the white-haired elf.

    Velariah nodded.

    Well, let¡¯s see.

    I walked towards the sound and found another slime appearing from behind one of the stalagmites. I walked up to it, pulled my fangs out from under me and shot a short burst of venom at the creature.

    It emitted strange sounds as the venom seemed to eat away at the creature¡¯s membrane. It burned through and made the slime fall apart. Its core landed in a brown puddle, still intact.

    ¡°Uhhh, is it dead?¡± I asked.

    ¡°For sure,¡± Draco commented. ¡°One does not always have to destroy the core to kill a slime.¡±

    More slimes appeared and concentrated on our position. I counted three and shot more short bursts of venom at them, conserving my reserves as much as possible while still making sure they would die. They sizzled out in much the same manner as the first and, soon, there was nothing left but their cores in a large brown puddle.

    ¡°Are those worth anything?¡± I asked Draco. He was the most experienced member when it came to dungeons. I was sure he was aware of the pricing of these cores.

    ¡°Unfortunately, not.¡± He replied. ¡°They are too common to be worth anything. Besides that, they aren¡¯t used as crafting material for anything.¡±

    ¡°Shame,¡± I said.

    Unfortunate, but not of major impact.

    We marched onward and reached the end of the hall without spotting or hearing any more monsters. There was some kind of stone gateway at the end of the room that led to a different area.

    ¡°Seems like everything is clear. This looks to lead into a large, stone room.¡± I said while I observed what I could see in the torch¡¯s light.

    The cave-like hall changed drastically beyond this gateway. A floor made of solid stone led the way and large, brick walls extended to the right and left from my position.

    I stepped through the gateway. Draco and Velariah stepped through right after me and moved in front of me.

    ¡°What is this place?¡± Velariah asked.

    I looked behind me and saw Seralyn retrieve her arrow from the puddle. She and Nira soon joined us in the next room.

    ¡°What is this place, indeed?¡± Seralyn added to Velariah¡¯s comment. ¡°This room is enormous.¡±

    ¡°Step forward, so that you may be trialed.¡± A sudden voice came from somewhere.

    I looked around but couldn¡¯t see anyone that could have said that.

    ¡°Trialed?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Step forward and be trialed? What do they mean?¡±

    ¡°Who are they?¡± Seralyn asked me.

    ¡°Wait, you guys didn¡¯t hear that voice?¡±

    ¡°What voice?¡± Nira asked.

    ¡°No idea, but it said to step forward and be trialed.¡±

    ¡°Strange.¡± Draco commented. ¡°Whatever it is, it sounds like we¡¯re in for a fight.¡±

    That seemed like a reasonable conclusion to me.

    ¡°Forward eh? So just this way?¡± I walked forward from the doorway.

    A few meters later, I found a large stone circle engraved on the floor.

    ¡°I think something is supposed to happen here.¡± I beckoned the others over. ¡°Better take combat positions.¡±

    This room was enormous, it probably would have allowed me and Velariah to go for our cavalry tactics, but I decided against it. I had the feeling we would need to provide extra support for Seralyn and Nira.

    We spread around in the circle. Seralyn and Nira were at the center. The ceiling was high up - I assumed Nira would be able to fly away in a pinch. Draco, Velariah and I were spread around them, near the edge of the circle. Our weapons were at the ready.

    ¡°Are you ready? Then your trial begins.¡± The voice sounded again.

    I repeated what it had said to my allies, who nodded in recognition.

    I could hear the same squishing sound from before, except this time there were many, many more. Our vision was limited to about three meters from the edge of the circle on the ground, which had me worried.

    Fortunately, I knew these slimes would be easy pickings.

    Soon enough, waves of slow-moving slimes moved towards us. I could finish them off easily with my spear and legs. I was surprised at the aim of my legs, I managed to impale slime cores without missing a single hit on their weak spots.

    I looked over my shoulder to see how the others were doing.

    Velariah and Draco were plowing through multiple slimes at once. A few of them caught fire and sizzled out, leaving their cores on the floor.

    Seralyn shot down the creatures one after the other with rapid arrow fire. She didn¡¯t seem to miss a single shot.

    Every once in a while, their dragon-blessed steel weapons caused a burst of flames that illuminated a far larger part of the room than my torch did, allowing us to see far better what was going on.

    Nira was not acting like a healer at all.

    She was literally in the front line, slashing slime cores with her incredibly sharp talons. She had no problem dealing with several of the weak creatures at once.

    Screw conventional healers, I liked her style.

    I killed a couple of slimes with venom but decided to save most of it. I had the feeling these weren¡¯t going to be the only creatures in this ¡®trial¡¯.

    I was almost done with my opponents - there were only three left.

    I made a sweeping motion with my spear and destroyed all their cores with one swift attack.

    ¡°Nice one, Elania,¡± Velariah called out.

    ¡°You guys done?¡± I turned around and saw Nira finish the last slime.

    Seralyn quickly ran around collecting her arrows.

    ¡°Looks that way,¡± Draco said.

    ¡°A solid start, let¡¯s see how you fare next.¡± The same voice called again.

    ¡°Incoming!¡± I spoke loudly.

    I wasn¡¯t sure where to look but soon heard a sound coming from above us. I looked up just in time to see a large, bat-like creature making a dive for me. I quickly stabbed it with my spear and impaled it on the tip.

    I took a closer look at what I had just killed.

    It seemed to be a bat covered in soft, light-blue hairs. Its head resembled that of a fennec, complete with large ears and all. Its feet seemed to have large claws, though. I¡¯d rather not get sliced by those.

    It was quite cute, if I didn¡¯t consider the fact it was out to hurt us.

    More sounds from above broke me from my distraction. Tens of the creatures flew down from the ceiling. Seralyn managed to shoot down several with her arrows.

    Fighting flying enemies turned out to be quite a hassle. I couldn¡¯t utilize my legs or other weapons as well as when fighting ground enemies. My spear managed to kill a couple of them, but several flew past it and clawed away at my carapace.

    Now, they didn¡¯t do much in terms of damage, but I still felt it!

    Draco seemed to be using the shields to slam into the creatures. That was a smart move, these things were annoying to hit.

    I swung my spear wildly and managed to kill several more.

    Seralyn did most of the work here, truly. Her aid was truly useful.

    Velariah hacked away wildly and hit a couple of them. She did create several balls of fire that set nearby creatures on fire as well.

    We started to make progress. Slowly the bat creatures were killed off by our combined efforts. Nira took flight and clawed several of them out of the air but she received some hits herself as well.

    Soon she was down to the ground and hiding behind my abdomen.

    ¡°You okay, Nira?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m alright, I can heal myself.¡±

    I held my torch a bit closer to check on her. She had received several claws across her back. Several cuts and blood stained her shirt.

    ¡°Just sit tight.¡±

    Several of the creatures made their way to Nira, but I quickly stepped over her frame. The harpy curled her wings around her as I protected her with my body.

    Seralyn shot a couple of arrows at the creatures in my vicinity and only missed a single one. I swung wildly and finished off more. Draco soon jumped into the fray and slammed the remaining ones with his shield.

    I could see the room light up once more, a bright ball of fire coming from Velariah¡¯s direction was the cause, and then¡­ silence.

    I stepped away and helped Nira back up on her feet.

    ¡°T-thanks.¡± She stuttered.

    She instantly started healing herself. Her body glowed with a soft green color as I saw the wounds on her back close partly.

    ¡°Anyone in need of a potion?¡± Draco asked.

    ¡°Very well. It is time for the final trial.¡± The voice from before interrupted Draco¡¯s plan.

    ¡°Seems we may not get that kind of time, Draco,¡± I answered. ¡°The final trial is starting.¡±

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 1.51 Arch

    A hissing sound could be heard before anything came into vision. I instinctively knew what it was. I mean, how could I not?

    I aimed my torch at where the sound was coming from. Soon enough, the head of a massive snake came into view.

    This snake was a copy of the Iobgnol that Velariah and I encountered before, except this one had black eyes and black and grey groups of scales between its white ones.

    I doubted this snake was as friendly as the one before. Especially when it was considered the ¡®final trial¡¯ by this voice.

    How the hell would we even fight a snake? It was not like I could simply run around it.

    Draco was quick to charge it head-on and bashed its face with one of his shields before striking with his other.

    An arrow flew at the scales behind its face and embedded itself in the snake¡¯s flesh.

    Alright, let¡¯s see how this goes.

    I ran past its head and pierced my spear in its lengthy body. I managed to get surprisingly deep and used my speed to drag the spear down its length.

    A large cut was the result of my actions.

    Not bad.

    The beast struck Draco, but he easily blocked the attack with both shields.

    Velariah took that as an opportunity to strike a blow of her own.

    Her sword pierced the scales of the beast and set part of its body on fire.

    Draco slammed his shield into the snake¡¯s head again, temporarily dazing it.

    More arrows were fired and Nira took to the skies and landed on the beast¡¯s exposed back, creating large wounds with her talons.

    I struck again with my spear and tried to drive it as deep as I could. It seemed this beast, despite taking many hits that did fair damage to its body, remained unfazed and steady.

    ¡°What is this thing?¡± Velariah asked. ¡°I keep hacking away, but it doesn¡¯t seem to care.¡±

    ¡°As far as my knowledge goes, it seems the dungeon is directly controlling this beast,¡± I said. ¡°I would guess that has something to do with its inability to care.¡±

    ¡°Seems to be that way.¡± The elf responded as she slashed again.

    ¡°Elania, watch out!¡± Nira shouted from above, just after I impaled the reptile again.

    I abandoned my spear and started running, but I was too slow.

    Pain struck my rear.

    I looked around and saw the snake¡¯s jaws around my abdomen. Its mouth was opened as far as its muscles allowed and two fangs were embedded in my carapace.

    I could feel the snake pumping venom into my body. The feeling was odd and the thought of so much venom flowing through me had me worried. I knew I had resistance to it, but this was far more than I¡¯d ever received.

    ¡°Elania!¡± Velariah shouted and ran my way.

    Draco grew to his black-scaled version of himself and seemed to let go of all defense. He furiously hacked away at the snake¡¯s neck as its head was clenched around my abdomen.

    Velariah took the orange potion out of her bag that she always secretly carried with her and handed it to me. I took it in my hands, uncorked it and¡­ waited.

    Velariah joined Draco in his assault and started hacking away at the beast¡¯s other side. Blood and pieces of snake meat flew through the air.

    I could still feel venom flowing from its fangs into my body, but I felt¡­ fine?

    I would have expected some kind of reaction. A certain weakness setting in, blurry vision or something else, but nothing happened.

    That¡¯s why I was still holding this potion without drinking it.

    I was scared, but at the same time, I wanted to know what I could handle.

    Draco roared behind me and I could feel the weight that was behind the snake¡¯s head lift from my body. I turned around to see Velariah and Draco had cut its head off. They were both covered in the beast¡¯s blood.

    The snake¡¯s fangs were still pumping venom into my body and I could still feel it flow throughout my body, but I still wasn¡¯t feeling any effects from it. It left me confused.

    Velariah slashed at its fangs and splintered them, causing its head to slide off my abdomen.

    ¡°Elania? Are you okay?¡± She ran over to me with worry on her face.

    ¡°I¡¯m completely fine, it seems?¡± I replied.

    I looked to where two fangs had pierced my carapace and saw two small holes with green liquid dripping from them.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t drink the potion?¡± She looked at the potion, then at my face.

    ¡°Nope. I don¡¯t seem to experience any negative effects from its venom.¡±

    ¡°Holy crap, Elania, you¡¯re hardcore!¡± Seralyn joined the conversation.

    Nira didn¡¯t say a word and started healing the two wounds that were left.

    It didn¡¯t even hurt me as much as it looked like it should. Maybe that was adrenaline before and now because Nira was healing the wound?

    ¡°Huh?¡± I turned to Seralyn. That didn¡¯t sound like an insult.

    ¡°You¡¯re hardcore, not giving a crap about venom like that.¡±

    ¡°Seems I got the luxury of not having to give a crap¡­¡± I said.

    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re alright?¡± Velariah asked.

    I nodded and walked a few steps. ¡°Vision is clear, no weakness or anything. I don¡¯t know what to say, really.¡±

    I corked the potion again but held it in my hands just in case.

    ¡°How did you get your hands on orange-quality anti-venom anyway?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯ve passed the trial.¡± The voice from before came again. ¡°You have provided me with the information I wanted to know. Make your way down and I will answer one question you have.¡±

    What? Just one? What a scam. I was pretty sure the voice in my dream said ¡®answers¡¯ as in, plural.

    ¡°Hello?¡± Seralyn asked again.

    ¡°The voice from before talked to me again,¡± I explained. ¡°Seems we¡¯ve got to make our way down and I get to ask one question.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what I should ask,¡± I said that last bit to Velariah.

    ¡°Dunno. What do you want to know most?¡± She said.

    ¡°I guess what I want to know most is exactly what my inherity is. The thing is, I will know that once I partake in the ritual. I should probably ask something unrelated.¡±

    ¡°Good point,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Anyone gonna fill me in?¡± Seralyn called again.

    ¡°Should we tell them?¡± I whispered to Velariah.

    The elf shook her head. ¡°Not with Nira here, we barely know her. We should wait.¡± Velariah whispered back.

    It appeared neither Seralyn nor the harpy heard that.

    ¡°We received this one from Valtheril. We¡¯re keeping it in case the worst-case scenario presents itself. It seems Elania was patient enough and realized it wasn¡¯t needed now.¡±

    Say what you want, Velariah was a good liar.

    ¡°Next time you get something valuable, at least let us know.¡± Seralyn sighed.

    ¡°You not knowing we had this would have probably kept you more aware of your surroundings,¡± I told her.

    That shut her up. She had no reply to that.

    The torch in my hand started to illuminate less and less, it appeared it was almost exhausted.

    ¡°Draco, got any more of these torches?¡± I asked him.

    ¡°No need.¡± He took the torch from me and seemed to channel magic into its bottom part.

    The flames grew to their original state after that.

    ¡°How does that even work?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Any magic can fuel torches,¡± Draco explained. ¡°Even the minuscule amount I can use to heal works.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ seems pretty handy.¡±

    Draco smiled. ¡°Light can be the difference between life and death, these torches were specifically made to work with any kind of magic.¡±

    That made these simple torches sound¡­ expensive.

    With the light at its maximum capacity, I was spooked by a sudden movement. I quickly turned my head to see the snake¡¯s body still wriggling around, even after its head was severed.

    ¡°It¡¯s dead,¡± Velariah confirmed. ¡°It can¡¯t do much without its head.¡±

    I continued to observe it until its movements stopped completely.

    The blade on which Velariah was resting glowed with a soft white light after that.

    ¡°Guys.¡± Velariah started and then closed her eyes.

    ¡°You okay?¡± I asked her.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, it seems I just evolved my inherity.¡±

    ¡°Nice one, Lady Velariah.¡± Draco congratulated her.

    Velariah shook her head and gripped her sword. The faint white glow became brighter for a second before it died down to a faint glow again.

    ¡°Seems you were right, Elania. This does appear to be the same magic my father uses.¡±

    ¡°Holy?¡± I asked.

    Velariah nodded and slashed the air in front of her.

    ¡°Seems to be a basic damage amplification on the weapon rather than an activated spell, but this could be useful, nonetheless.¡±

    ¡°Nice one,¡± Seralyn said, with a hint of jealousy.

    ¡°Congratulations,¡± Nira said from behind Draco.

    Velariah cleaned the blood on the snake¡¯s scales before sheathing her weapon again.

    I congratulated her as well before I started looking for the exit from this room. It seemed to be in the direct opposite wall from the previous doorway.

    I walked through the doorway with my spear at the ready, Draco and Velariah close behind me.

    We turned a corner to the left and I was overcome with a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu again. Before me was the exact same hallway as in my dream. The same blue hue from the moss made me certain of it. I wouldn¡¯t even need the torch here, in theory. There was enough light occurring naturally.

    I walked around several of the stalagmites and soon came face to face with the hellspider queen that was in my dream.

    Seralyn approached with an arrow drawn.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother, Seralyn, this one is friendly.¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Because this is the being that talked to me earlier.¡±

    I approached the large spider and it used a pedipalp to wave at us.

    Ok, that was creepy.

    ¡°Welcome, strange one.¡± It spoke in my mind.

    ¡°You¡¯re calling me the strange one?¡± I chuckled.

    ¡°This is the dungeon core speaking. I am sorry about the corrupted Iobgnol. I wanted to make sure you possessed what I think you possess.¡±

    ¡°And what would that be?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not something I can disclose, you¡¯ll have to find out for yourself or ask that later.¡±

    I thought for a moment.

    I looked behind me and saw Seralyn whisper something to Velariah who nodded in response.

    And she was complaining that I was hiding things from her¡­

    ¡°Okay, so, you told me I could ask a question, right?¡± I continued.

    ¡°Correct, but first, let me introduce myself. I am dungeon core Arch, I materialized here ages ago and recently awoke from my slumber. I was forced into it because of the absence of mana. It seems you are the one who awoke me. Forgive me for being blunt with my information, but my strength is low and I must cut off the communication soon.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Arch. I am Elania, but I have the feeling you already knew that.¡±

    ¡°Correct. Your presence here is, as we call it, an anomaly. I am quite unsure how you came to be here, you¡¯re not from around here, are you?¡±

    That was one question I could cross off my list of questions I could ask.

    I nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right in that regard. I don¡¯t know how it happened, myself.¡±

    I was careful with my words. I was talking aloud and didn¡¯t want to give too much away to my companions behind me.

    ¡°Interesting.¡± It replied. ¡°Excuse me for being bad with words, you are the first that I can talk to.¡±

    ¡°Not a problem,¡± I replied. ¡°I am afflicted by the same thing.¡±

    Was that a laugh I heard?

    ¡°With that out of the way, I do suggest you ask your question. It takes a lot of energy to speak to you this way and my reserves are waning.¡±

    ¡°Understandable.¡± I nodded.

    ¡°Velariah, could you come here for a sec?¡± I asked.

    Maybe she knew a good question?

    Velariah walked up to me and I whispered to her I had no idea what I should ask. There were far too many questions possible, but I feared I could answer most of them myself, given time.

    ¡°About that question, do you have any idea what I should ask?¡± I whispered.

    ¡°How you appeared in this world?¡± She suggested.

    I shook my head. ¡°It doesn¡¯t know that either.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t lifespan one of your worries?¡± She whispered.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ that would be one thing I can¡¯t find out myself. The other thing I was thinking about was simply asking how I evolve my inherity, whatever it is. It could give me the info I need in order to grow stronger.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Velariah thought. ¡°Possibly, but you¡¯d also find that out yourself, eventually.¡±

    ¡°True.¡± I sighed.

    ¡°I would wait with that,¡± Velariah whispered again. ¡°Just follow your heart.¡±

    Follow my heart?

    I guess it was my heart that was screaming to know how long I would have to live on in this world. Despite our relationship still being so young, I didn¡¯t want to have to leave Velariah too soon.

    Was this going to be a question I would regret?

    Or would I regret never asking in the first place?

    I understood not everyone wanted to know the answer to this. I, however, felt that Velariah deserved to know the answer.

    I decided to get her the answer.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to know what my lifespan looks like,¡± I answered the hellspider queen in front of me, at last.

    ¡°I knew you¡¯d ask that eventually. Your heart is a complicated one, but true. The answer to your question is that I simply do not know. All I can tell you is that your aging resets every time you molt.¡±

    ¡°Wait, so molting is something other than an evolution? How does that work?¡±

    ¡°I gathered some information on your being from your presence and I have answered your question. The other answers you will need to seek for yourself. Your destiny is your own, Elania.¡±

    The voice was cut short and the spider in front of me started walking around.

    The blue light beyond the doorway it was guarding faded.

    I stepped forward to the doorway, unable to contain my curiosity. In a small room, on top of a pedestal, lay a crystal ball the size of a soccer ball.

    That had to be the core.

    The hellspider queen seemed to react to me and walked up to me and raised its fangs.

    I stepped back from the doorway and the creature seemed to ease down.

    No peeking, got it.

    ¡°So?¡± Velariah asked, expectantly.

    ¡°Seems you don¡¯t have to worry about me leaving you anytime soon.¡± I smiled.

    Still, though. I was expecting more from this. The vision I had led me to believe this would be some kind of major revelation. In that regard, I was quite disappointed. On the other hand, knowing I didn¡¯t have a mere two years to live was warmly welcome as well.

    Maybe I wanted to know that more than anything else?

    Was that what that dream had been all about?

    It did specifically mention ¡®the answers you seek¡¯ if I recall correctly.

    It did give me another piece of information, though. Maybe it was a mistake of some sort, but in my dream, it clearly said I had evolved. This time around it mentioned molting specifically. I concluded from this information that the two were separate processes.

    I wondered what the difference was.

    I turned around in shock. I thought I felt a hand run over my abdomen. When I looked, there was nothing there.

    ¡°You okay, Elania?¡± The white-haired elf asked.

    I sighed.

    ¡°It seems I have that itch again¡­¡± I replied.

    ¡°You mean¡­?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­¡±

    ¡°Better get you some food then. It seems we are all done here. A pretty worthwhile dungeon, if I may say so. Small, sure, but I got an evolution.¡± Velariah said, as I turned around.

    ¡°Yeah, it looked pretty sweet. Next time you evolve your inherity, I don¡¯t think we will need a torch anymore.¡± I grinned.

    ¡°Very funny. I¡¯d rather get a skill.¡±

    ¡°Why, what¡¯s wrong with glowing swords?¡± I asked, as we walked back to our party.

    ¡°Nothing, but it doesn¡¯t feel useful, specifically. Of course, I can¡¯t tell yet because I haven¡¯t seen its effects yet.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to see it¡­ in a couple of days, I think.¡±

    ¡°Aw, poor El¡¯s gonna molt.¡± She teased.

    ¡°Not so loud!¡± I pouted.

    ¡°Wait, what is this I hear?¡± Seralyn said.

    Oh no.

    What have you done, Vel?

    ¡°Molting?¡± She asked. ¡°Like a lizard?¡±

    I had no idea how she could say that with Draco literally standing right next to her.

    ¡°Yes,¡± I answered with a sigh. ¡°And hopefully, it allows me to get my leg back. That¡¯s why I asked you to leave those slimes to me.¡± I paused for a second. ¡°Enough standing around, I¡¯d like to get myself something to eat and then I guess I¡¯ll be out for a few days.¡±

    This dungeon better not bait me with a carrot on a stick again while I¡¯m out cold.

    We walked back through the cave tunnel, then through the large room, and finally through the next cave-like hallway with the stairs leading up.

    I walked up the flight of stairs with confidence which didn¡¯t seem to be misplaced. These hooks at the end of my legs seemed to provide more than enough grip. I should try walking up walls, sometime.

    I could already see myself hanging on the ceiling when Velariah entered the bathroom.

    That could be fun.

    We entered the tunnel structure of the hellspider nest again and walked back outside. The grass in the area seemed to have regained some of its original color.

    ¡°Nira? Velariah?¡± I called out as I lowered myself to the grass.

    ¡°Thanks, Elania.¡± Velariah and Nira both said as they hopped on.

    I¡¯d like to get back to the guild as soon as possible.

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving,¡± I said as we walked back to the guild.

    We soon reached the coffee bushes and for a second I considered taking them with me anyway. I decided against it as I knew how I would feel soon enough. The itch was already getting worse and I knew I would start feeling tired soon.

    I kept up the pace on our way to Dawnleaf. The grass was still damp and Seralyn struggled to keep up. She was panting when we reached the road.

    ¡°You have no mercy, do you?¡± She asked me.

    ¡°Look who¡¯s talking,¡± I said in response. ¡°No, but for real, I have to keep up the pace - I need to eat plenty before I collapse.¡±

    ¡°Sounds painful.¡± She replied.

    Come to think of it, I wasn¡¯t even hungry. Last time I was starving. Did this mean I had enough reserves built up to go through the process? Perhaps.

    I wasn¡¯t going to gamble on it, though.

    I slowed down slightly when we reached the village. The itch was now actually annoying and I¡¯d like to get this done and over with as soon as possible.

    I let out a sigh of relief when I walked into the guild hall and found it nearly empty.

    As I promised my companions, we got through this quickly. I made sure to order much of the same so the cook could get it done quickly. I stuck to a bunch of sausages and omelets, they were quickly turning into my favorites.

    Oh, the stares they gave me as I was literally shoving them down.

    They ordered after me and started their lunch as I was about to finish mine. A glass of strawberry juice finished what I started. Velariah quickly shoved her last sausage down as well and stood up together with me.

    ¡°I apologize for leaving you like this, but I¡¯m starting to feel the exhaustion kick in.¡± I turned to Nira.

    ¡°I would have liked to get to know you better, but it seems I need to leave you for a few days. I hope you¡¯re still around when I return.¡±

    ¡°I think I will be.¡± She replied bashfully.

    From what I had seen, she was a bit of the shy type, but she was fiery in combat. It was a damn shame that she had to deal with the harassment of male party members. She was very useful in our party.

    Shame on them, I guess.

    ¡°Thank you, guys, for the dungeon adventure today. Let¡¯s find some more group quests after Elania is back up and running.¡± Velariah said.

    With that, we left the guild hall and started our walk to her mansion.

    I yawned widely on my way.

    ¡°Aw, poor Elania needs her beauty sleep. If it¡¯s any consolation, I¡¯ll watch over you when you¡¯re asleep.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to do otherwise.¡± I smiled at her. ¡°Also, beauty sleep?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯d make girls angry with jealousy, getting a completely new body and all. I do hope you get your leg back.¡± She said, with worry on her face.

    ¡°So do I, Vel. So do I.¡±

    Faragi

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 1.52 Change

    Velariah knocked on the mansion door as I yawned again.

    Seriously, how would I deal with this if we weren¡¯t close to a village?

    Elly¡¯s eyes appeared behind the slider and soon, both doors opened. The maid helped Velariah out of her armor and then lent me a hand as I was finishing up with my own. I left my spear against the wall as usual and walked into the dining area, after thanking Elly.

    The maid walked upstairs and I asked Velariah how our finances were looking at the moment.

    I¡¯d been walking around with the question for a while, I¡¯d like to know where we were at.

    ¡°At the moment, we have eleven gold of our own money, I have no doubt Draco will add some to that, as payment for his current weapon. There¡¯s another theoretical twelve gold in the chest we found for the both of us. We should be over halfway to your inherity ritual payment. It depends a bit on how much Coldanus wants for his work on the items you commissioned.¡±

    She paused for a second.

    ¡°Then there¡¯s the silk you provided to Allina and Elly. In addition to that, there¡¯s the fertilizer you brought home from the Searing Peak, then there¡¯s the coffee that my father sold to the guild. The coffee isn¡¯t going to be much, but the other things should add up quickly. I will check on a couple of these things and get paid for them while you¡¯re out.¡±

    ¡°That sounds¡­ nice, thank you.¡±

    I thought for a moment. ¡°Do check with Allina, or even the tailor, how much they want to offer for my silk. I¡¯d like to know if it¡¯s worth focusing my efforts on that, even if it doesn¡¯t directly increase my strength. I could make some money on days when there¡¯s nothing good.¡±

    ¡°Sure, no problem. Is it okay if I take another sample for the tailor?¡±

    I yawned again.

    ¡°Sure, but do make it quick, I¡¯m not sure how much longer I will be able to stand. You may have to drag me to the bathroom.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make it quick.¡±

    She ran upstairs in a hurry and returned with an empty spool.

    I tried reaching for my spinnerets with my back leg but didn¡¯t manage to reach far enough. I was obviously too tired to get this done.

    Stupid molting process.

    ¡°Seems you¡¯ll have to do it,¡±¡¯ I said.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll be gentle.¡±

    With all this itching going on in my behind, I was surprised I even managed to feel her fingers on my sensitive spider parts. She pulled out a string and started spinning it around the spool quickly.

    ¡°That¡¯s more than enough.¡±

    I stopped producing silk and opened the doors to the bathroom. The elf followed right behind me.

    ¡°I thought you were going to the tailor?¡± I asked as I took off my shirt and tag.

    ¡°Not until I make sure you¡¯re sleeping soundly,¡± She smiled.

    Cute.

    ¡°Thanks, Vel,¡± I smiled, as I let myself drop into the pile of pillows.

    I landed face down, with my legs freely on the ground at the sides. Velariah found it necessary to wriggle between my legs and hug my side.

    ¡°This is what you consider making sure I¡¯m sleeping soundly?¡±

    ¡°Well, you seemed to sleep soundly with me close, the past few days.¡± The elf smiled back.

    I grinned. ¡°Yeah, I guess I do.¡±

    I kissed her forehead and lay my head down.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see you in a few days, Vel. Please take care.¡±

    ¡°I will. Good night, Elania.¡± She hugged me and I soon felt my consciousness fade, even when I was focused on the elf next to me.

    There was no weird vision or anything in my dreams.

    I was pretty sure I was lucid, but I couldn¡¯t see anything.

    I tried speaking, but no sound was produced.

    There was pain, though. I wasn¡¯t sure why. I didn¡¯t even have a body in this dream, how could I feel pain?

    I was forced to experience it, with no escape. Fortunately, the pain stopped after a while.

    I was pulled out of this strange dream and placed back in my body.

    I could once again feel the pillows beneath me and I was pretty sure it was Velariah who was softly snoring next to me. Her arms were around my neck and I could feel her legs around two of mine.

    I sighed. At least I was out of that weird dream. The pain wasn¡¯t pleasant, to say the least.

    Then again, was it ever?

    I hugged the elf back as I thought about our experience in the dungeon.

    It felt a bit shallow. I was only allowed to ask one question. The dungeon core was recently awoken, that was some useful information, though. Apparently, they could go into a slumber - I imagine that¡¯s why the core didn¡¯t go out of control. I wondered if that was information the guild would want. Maybe it was only restricted to lower-tier dungeons?

    I was in a prime position to find out more about how dungeons worked, though. I imagined I could talk to the dungeon again once it had gathered strength.

    I should also come up with better questions, although I do believe what I was told was interesting.

    My lifespan resets every time I molt?

    Was there a limit to the number of molts I could go through?

    Was evolution something in addition to a molt?

    ¡°Morning, El. Are you awake?¡± Velariah whispered.

    ¡°I am now. How long was I out this time?¡±

    ¡°Three and a half days, today is the morning of the fourth.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m glad I¡¯m back. My dreams were¡­ messed up, really.¡± I whispered back as I clapped on the lights. They were very dim, so I assumed it was still early.

    ¡°Scary?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Pain,¡± I answered, with a sigh.

    ¡°Awww, poor El. You did get your leg back, by the way.¡±

    ¡°I did?¡± I glanced over to my back.

    Sure enough, my leg had regrown completely. Unlike my other body parts that were covered in the white molt, this leg was clean. Also, the hairs on it were completely gone, leaving an entirely smooth leg.

    ¡°I cleaned it already while you were asleep. It seemed your leg molted several times while it was growing back. You gave me quite some work making sure it was stripped of old molt every time. I wasn¡¯t sure if it would hurt to leave it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Vel.¡±

    I grabbed her frame with all my arms and kissed her.

    I could see her eyes react in shock at first, but she soon relaxed and closed them while returning the kiss.

    I broke the kiss and continued the hug.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind more of that,¡± Velariah commented softly.

    I giggled. ¡°Small steps, Vel.¡±

    ¡°Tease.¡± The elf pouted.

    I was about to get up but, once again, Velariah prevented me.

    ¡°It¡¯s far too early, still. You think you can sleep some more?¡±

    ¡°Probably,¡± I replied. ¡°If you¡¯re still tired, I can wait. No worries.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯m beaten. Yesterday was tough. I had to arrange a couple of things in my father¡¯s stead, and when I came home, I helped with your leg.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just get some more sleep.¡± I whispered as I clapped out the lights again.

    Velariah was right. I wouldn¡¯t mind more of that either, I think.

    I grabbed Velariah with my left legs, complete with molt around them and all, and held her close.

    ¡°Hope you don¡¯t mind the molt.¡± I grinned.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything that belongs to you, El.¡± She said as she kissed my neck.

    ------------------------------------------

    I got some peaceful hours of sleep in, as well. I woke up feeling refreshed, but slightly itchy from my old skin. Velariah stirred as well, and I knew it would be time to get up, no matter how comfortable having her this close was.

    ¡°Morning, sleepyhead,¡± I spoke softly.

    ¡°Look who¡¯s talking.¡±

    ¡°Whoops, forgot about the part where I was asleep for three days.¡± I giggled.

    I clapped on the lights and was met by pleasant, dimmed, morning light, it was almost natural.

    ¡°So what did you do last night?¡± I asked, as I released her and stood up.

    I forgot I still had molt around my legs and instantly fell down again.

    ¡°Nice going there, Elania.¡± She commented on my- mishap. ¡°Oh, some common stuff like reports from Allina¡¯s squad and several more. Some more info that was brought into the guild, things like that. I have to prepare everything for my father¡¯s return. I was left running errands all day yesterday. It was hell. At least I¡¯ll be done for a while now. Hopefully, he returns before the next round of reports.¡± She sighed after that.

    ¡°Heh, sounds just like him.¡±

    ¡°Because of all the running and reading he does, you mean?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Yup. It¡¯s not hard to see he spends a lot of time working on the simple things here.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no kidding. We used to have an administrator take care of things a while back, but he turned out to be a fraud. Since then, my father has overseen this village. Part of the reason this village went downhill was because of that administrator.¡±

    ¡°Did your father execute him as well, or what?¡± I asked curiously.

    ¡°Nope, he had him sent to the capital in chains. No idea what actually happened to him.¡±

    ¡°Note to self: don¡¯t mess around with Valtheril,¡± I commented.

    ¡°If you value your life, that is.¡± She grinned.

    ¡°It does seem it prevents him from doing more of the things I¡¯d expect from a general of the royal army,¡± I said.

    ¡°It does. However, he still communicates with the capital frequently, to make sure the army is in a proper state. Besides that, he has been a huge influence on the younger elves in this village - we¡¯ve seen an increase in applications for recruits and adventurers because of his presence. We may have some new soldiers soon.¡± She paused for a second. ¡°The day he pulled off that Heavenly Flare attack, there were many new applications that rolled in.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I can see why. People dream of possessing such power. When they see it firsthand, I can imagine people taking the next step and starting their journey.¡± I replied.

    ¡°Yup.¡± The elf simply said.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get you out of that molt, shall we?¡± She offered.

    ¡°I¡¯d be more than happy with your help.¡±

    She worked on the ends of my legs, taking off my socks so to speak. In the meantime, I worked on what I could easily reach. I started with the carapace beneath my human body and was shocked by what was hidden under the molt.

    My hair had completely disappeared!

    That in itself wouldn¡¯t be so bad, but I knew what was below there and it made me feel exposed!

    I took a closer look and saw that the crevice that hid my lady parts was almost invisible to the naked eye, something for which I was extremely thankful. I couldn¡¯t imagine what I would have done otherwise. It was not like there was any clothing that could easily cover that. I¡¯d have to have everything handmade.

    ¡°You okay over there, Elania? That gasp sounded serious.¡± Velariah said, as she walked up to me.

    ¡°Oh.¡± She let out. She had her face dangerously close and I was sure from that distance she could make out what I had gasped at.

    ¡°Wait, is that?¡± She pointed and I felt embarrassment flooding my body.

    I nodded with a beet-red face.

    ¡°Is it complete with all the¡­?¡± She asked again.

    I nodded again.

    ¡°No fucking way.¡± She commented. ¡°I never knew.¡±

    ¡°You really have to stare?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Oh, sorry about that. You¡¯re lucky you¡¯re not flashing anyone.¡±

    ¡°I-I guess.¡± I stuttered.

    Why did I lose that hair in the first place?

    Velariah went back to working on my legs without raising further questions. I soon found out I¡¯d lost almost all the hair on my body. My legs came out of the molt completely smooth. Velariah even commented on it. It didn¡¯t make them any less sensitive though¡­

    The only hair that remained was short, and only on the bulb behind me. The rest of my carapace came out as a completely smooth black.

    ¡°Looking good, El,¡± Velariah said, as she worked on the parts of my abdomen I couldn¡¯t reach.

    ¡°Thanks, I guess?¡± I said as I worked on freeing up my pedipalps.

    It felt really good to remove the old molt. The relief was liberating. It was also impossible to explain¡­

    ¡°You lost quite a bit of hair,¡± Velariah mentioned.

    ¡°I noticed that as well. I wonder what caused it.¡±

    Velariah shrugged. ¡°Not that I mind, though.¡±

    ¡°Is this your leg fetish again?¡± I asked bluntly. ¡°You must be happy I regrew that one.¡±

    ¡°Oh, but I am. I¡¯m happy for you too. And yes, those legs of yours are hella sexy.¡±

    She ran her hand over one of my overly sensitive legs which caused my entire body to shudder.

    ¡°Oh, I love it when you¡¯re this sensitive.¡± She chuckled.

    ¡°Vel!¡± I let out.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I enjoy teasing you too much sometimes.¡±

    ¡°No kidding¡­¡±

    We finished our work, with her removing the last pieces of old skin from my spinnerets and underside while I cleaned my midsection.

    ¡°What a mess this makes,¡± I commented. ¡°I feel refreshed, though.¡±

    ¡°You better, after sleeping for three and a half days.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t help that part, alright. Apparently, that¡¯s part of who I am now.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯m not blaming, it was a joke.¡± She said.

    I sighed. ¡°Sorry, Vel. I guess you could say I¡¯m a bit¡­ sensitive.¡± I grinned.

    ¡°I noticed.¡± She said as she ran her hand over one of my legs again, causing me to spasm once more.

    ¡°Vel!¡±

    ¡°Tee-hee.¡± She giggled. ¡°I¡¯m having so much fun.¡±

    ¡°I can¡­ feel that¡­¡±

    ¡°All done here, by the way,¡± Velariah spoke.

    She swept the molting together into a heap with her foot.

    ¡°What do we do about my¡­ front?¡± I asked, awfully self-conscious.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like you can see anything.¡± She replied with a shrug.

    ¡°I know, it¡¯s just¡­ you know¡­¡±

    ¡°The idea, I get it. I¡¯m not sure if there¡¯s much you can do about it, to be honest. Any clothing or armor will likely obstruct your fangs.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m struggling with.¡±

    I sighed again. Could I present myself in public like this?

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine,¡± Velariah assured me. ¡°It¡¯s not even noticeable. Even if it¡¯s noticed, it shows nothing.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Vel.¡±

    I trusted she was right. I guessed I was worrying over nothing.

    Yet another thing I would have to grow used to.

    Velariah walked up to me and hugged me. Her head not reaching above my chest would never cease to amuse me.

    ¡°Any plans for today?¡± I asked, feeling energized.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you need some rest first? Preferably in the sun.¡± Velariah suggested.

    I sighed. ¡°I probably do¡­ seems I am a bit¡­ squishy, if I don¡¯t allow it to harden.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get some food into you and then take care of that, shall we?¡±

    ¡°Sounds good to me. By the way, what did the tailor say?¡± I asked.

    I imagined today would be a perfect day for silk spinning. There wasn¡¯t much I could do anyway, and it was not like I needed to put extreme effort into producing silk.

    ¡°Besides the part where he¡¯d pay good money for your silk? Not much. He seemed impressed by the quality, it wasn¡¯t hard to read in his eyes.¡±

    ¡°How much?¡± I asked.

    ¡°A gold per spool.¡±

    ¡°That much?¡± I frowned, ¡°And you literally gave him an entire spool the other day?¡±

    ¡°More like half.¡± She replied.

    Fuck. I should have done this earlier. I cursed at myself.

    Must be high quality indeed¡­

    ¡°I¡¯d have to really stuff myself, but since I¡¯ve got nothing better to do today, we might as well use me as a living silk factory. I mean, I can¡¯t say no to money, right?¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a great idea,¡± Velariah confirmed. ¡°Come.¡± She cheerfully said as she walked over to the paper bags. ¡°I had Elly wash your stuff, let¡¯s get you dressed.¡±

    ¡°You picking my clothes now?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes?¡± She cocked her head.

    ¡°Let me guess, you¡¯re going to stare too.¡±

    She grinned. ¡°Most likely.¡±

    Whatever, we¡¯d already kissed. This should be fine, right?

    ¡°Fine, enjoy the view,¡± I said as she attempted to hand me a set of clothes.

    ¡°Really?¡± I asked. ¡°Black bra with a white shirt? Are you crazy?¡±

    Velariah grinned. ¡°Hey, it was worth a shot.¡±

    She walked back to the bags and pulled out a red shirt and white bra instead.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said as she handed them to me. ¡°Now get yourself dressed.¡±

    She stared at me.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t stripped me enough?¡± I asked with a smile.

    ¡°You can¡¯t strip enough.¡± She replied with an equally big smile.

    ¡°Fine, enjoy,¡± I said as I took off my only piece of clothing.

    I made sure to cover myself quickly with the new piece of underwear, but Velariah¡¯s smile was going to be plastered on her face for a while. Even after fastening the low straps, she was still smiling.

    ¡°You really know how to make this awkward, don¡¯t you?¡± I said, as I put on the red shirt.

    ¡°You¡¯re cute like that, Elania. I can¡¯t help it.¡±

    ¡°Glad you enjoyed the little show, but we should get going, there¡¯s money to be made doing nothing!¡±

    ¡°Good point, we should get you that ritual as soon as possible,¡± Velariah said, as she put on her own shirt and tossed me my tag.

    ¡°Any news from Dworag?¡± I asked, when I was ready to leave the room.

    ¡°I heard he finished yesterday, Draco paid the four gold that Coldanus asked for his part of the work. I assume that¡¯s more than enough for the weapons he got from your ore?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s fine. That means we are at twenty-three gold now, or something like that, right?¡±

    ¡°Twenty-six, I collected some outstanding payments here and there. I also divided the money in the chest we found, so that¡¯s out of the way as well.¡±

    ¡°Not bad. I actually wonder how much silk I¡¯ll be able to provide before I run out. I may have to eat another five-course meal, later on, to make up for it.¡±

    ¡°I sure hope you don¡¯t mind eating.¡± She smiled.

    ¡°Not really. Don¡¯t have much to do anyway.¡±

    ¡°You could do me.¡± Velariah walked up to me and put her hands on my waist, pressing me down.

    I allowed myself to be lowered to her height.

    When I was lowered enough she planted a kiss on my lips. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment before she broke away. My pedipalps instinctively took hold of her back.

    ¡°If you continue like that, I might just do that someday,¡± I commented.

    ¡°Can¡¯t wait,¡± Velariah called out as she opened the doors.

    My heart really was turning into mush when I was alone with the elf. Her smile filled me with happiness and the desire to spend more time with her.

    I was quickly falling in love¡­

    Faragi

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 1.53 Spools of Gold

    How did she do it?

    I don¡¯t know.

    I followed the elf to the dining area and then to the hallway. As usual, she had Elly help her with her armor.

    I considered for a second putting mine on and ultimately decided I would do it, just in case. It would be quite surprising if the goblins decided to attack again, but one could never know. I have a feeling that this was exactly what caused Velariah to always go out in armor.

    I would not be surprised again.

    I picked up my weapon, and Velariah opened the doors to the outside. We had something of a plan set up for the day. We would start with a hearty lunch, followed by a quick visit to the tailoring shop. After that, we would go out and relax in the grass for a couple of hours while Velariah worked on filling the spools she¡¯d got.

    I remained quiet for the entire journey. I was glad that our companions weren¡¯t in the guild hall. I wasn¡¯t feeling much like talking at the moment. I¡¯d rather have some time alone with the elf right now.

    I guess it was somewhat like a date. I smiled at the thought.

    I was not that hungry, but I figured I should eat some if I were to provide as much silk as I could.

    We sat down in our usual spots and had to wait a bit before we could order. There were a couple of people ahead of us.

    I was glad when I was told that somebody had brought in a Saibon Boar. I ordered a double portion of pork chops before I even realized it.

    I ate quietly. Too quietly apparently, because Velariah asked me if I was okay.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m alright. I¡¯m just a bit¡­ you know¡­¡± I answered.

    ¡°Conflicting emotions?¡± She asked earnestly.

    I nodded. ¡°I guess you could call it that.¡±

    ¡°Are you worried?¡±

    I nodded again. I was more than worried.

    She put down her fork and took hold of one of my hands on the table.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Elania?¡± She asked quietly.

    ¡°I¡¯m scared to death, Vel. I¡¯m starting to fall in love and I don¡¯t know how to deal with it. I feel so happy when I¡¯m around you, it makes me worry I will slip up when we are out in combat and cause you harm¡­ or worse¡­¡±

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s normal.¡± She said with a neutral expression. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with feeling that way. All I can say is try to keep things together when we¡¯re in a fight. It gets easier over time.¡±

    I put a pedipalp on her lap as she held onto my hand.

    ¡°Thank you, Velariah, I needed that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I fell in love a while ago, already. I felt the same way, I still do. It does get easier, just don¡¯t allow it to overwhelm you.¡±

    She paused for a second. ¡°I¡¯m scared as well. You¡¯re not alone.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    I still held on to her hand as I continued eating.

    ¡°You mind giving me my hand back, though? Unlike you, I do need this one to eat.¡±

    Oops.

    I let go and earned a chuckle from the elf.

    During our breakfast, Nira walked in and took notice of us. She made a quick stop by the Lore keeper and had some coins handed to her before she made her way to us.

    ¡°Welcome back, Elania.¡¯¡¯ She said with a smile. ¡°Glad to have you back.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Nira. It¡¯s good to see you again. How have you been?¡±

    ¡°Much better, thank you. I can fly properly again, too.¡±

    ¡°I hate to ask, but are you okay, mentally? I imagine you took quite the blow while you were captured.¡±

    Her face looked down at the table and, for a moment, I thought I had made a mistake by asking that.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been dealing with it, it¡¯s getting better. Draco has been of great help to me in handling it. We just finished a quest together, I imagine he will be here soon - he was just off to get some new supplies.¡±

    That lizardman, always reliable. It was good to hear she was doing better.

    ¡°How about you?¡± She asked. ¡°You¡¯ve been out for a few days. How are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay. I¡¯ll just need some time to allow the carapace to harden. Once that¡¯s all set and done, we can look for more quests.¡±

    ¡°Your carapace, it looks more¡­ how do you call it?¡±

    ¡°Bald.¡± Velariah chimed in.

    ¡°That¡¯s one way to put it, I guess,¡± I said in response. ¡°I seem to have lost quite a bit of hair. Not sure if I dig the new look.¡±

    ¡°I like it,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Of course you do,¡± I replied with a wicked smile.

    ¡°You guys sure get along well, don¡¯t you?¡± Nira smiled slightly.

    ¡°A little too well,¡± I answered.

    Velariah grinned.

    Nira gave me a confused look.

    Draco entered the building at the same time and sat down at the table.

    ¡°Welcome back, Miss Elania. I assume everything went well?¡±

    ¡°Yup, no issues. Just took longer than before. Also...¡±

    I raised the furthest back rear leg.

    ¡°Seems I did in fact, get my leg back.¡±

    Nira gasped. ¡°I hadn¡¯t even noticed...¡±

    ¡°I get it, there are too many limbs to keep track of. Imagine walking with these.¡±

    I contracted and retracted the joints of my raised leg.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t...¡± Nira said softly.

    ¡°That¡¯s great news,¡± Draco suddenly said.

    He seemed to get a certain fire back in his eyes at the sight of my recovered leg. I knew the loss had probably affected him more than me. I was glad we could close that chapter.

    Nira laid her wand on the table and beckoned over the waiter. She and Draco ordered as Velariah and I finished up.

    ¡°Have there been any good quests?¡± I asked, as I drank the last of my juice.

    ¡°I grabbed one yesterday and held on to it for when you returned,¡± Draco said. ¡°Sir Valtheril sent a missive. We are going on the offensive soon regarding the village¡¯s goblin problem. There are all sorts of quests going out right now to aid in the final assault.¡±

    I thought Valtheril was out to talk to artisans about the canal? Why would he suddenly decide to mount an assault on the goblins in the forest?

    I doubted my companions had the answer to that question.

    ¡°The quest I picked up is to clear one of their caves. The area has already been scouted and we¡¯ve got a fairly good idea of what awaits us. It¡¯s just that there¡¯s a bunch of them and they have access to fresh poisons, it makes this quest significantly more dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like an excellent quest for us,¡± I noted.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought as well.¡± Draco finished.

    I hoped Valtheril had a plan to completely wipe out the goblins. It was going to be the only way to ensure Dawnleaf¡¯s safety.

    ¡°Sounds good. If Elania is okay with it, we could start tomorrow.¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°If I feel okay, then sure,¡± I answered.

    I was going to have to pick up my armor from Dworag and probably practice the way I would walk with Velariah on my back. If I could manage to walk and run properly with my legs in the positions that I tried before, I could have Dworag start working on the saddle and stirrups. I felt confident now that I had my leg back, that should make things much easier.

    ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse us, we will be picking up something from the tailor and then relaxing in the fields near the east exit. If you need us for any reason, you can find us there.¡±

    Velariah paused for a second. ¡°Oh, and please don¡¯t tell Seralyn where we are.¡±

    Good idea, Vel.

    She stood up and waved to Draco and Nira. I waved goodbye to them as well and followed the elf outside.

    The sun was shining brightly once more and I could feel its effects on my fresh carapace almost immediately. I could just fall asleep right here, right now.

    We walked through the village to the tailoring shop. The increase in humans walking around became all the more apparent. None of them threw angry glances at me, though. In fact, some even waved.

    It confused me, but it also made me happy. It made me feel recognized as a person instead of a monster. It seemed the elves were completely familiar with me at this point too.

    Life was looking up.

    We came to a halt at the tailoring shop where I¡¯d gotten my first real clothing and Velariah entered. It would seem they were prepared for her visit because, not long after, she exited.

    ¡°Got me ten spools.¡± She patted the pack at her side. ¡°Just see how many you can fill.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± I said. ¡°By the way, what does the tailor make with this silk, did he share that info?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he uses it for noble¡¯s clothing. Expensive party and special occasion dresses and the like are among the most expensive kinds of clothing one can find here. He has the luck that people come from afar for his goods. I imagine the value of your silk would be quite a bit less if he had to transport it first.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t believe there¡¯s going to be nobles wearing something that came out of my butt.¡± I grinned as we walked towards the village¡¯s eastern exit.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite the odd thought indeed.¡± Velariah joined me in grinning. ¡°But hey, money is money.¡±

    ¡°True,¡± I admitted.

    I moved in the manner that Dworag had pointed out, with two legs far forward and two far back on each side of my body. The cobblestones were a bit tricky to navigate across, but once we were out in the grass, things became easier.

    ¡°Starting to look good, El.¡± Velariah praised me.

    ¡°An extra leg makes all the difference, let me tell you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m always impressed seeing you navigate with that many limbs and joints. Nira mentioned it as well. I don¡¯t know how you do it.¡±

    ¡°Practice... you think I knew how to do it when I found myself in that cave? Guess again: I still learn more every day.¡±

    ¡°Must be quite the switch, from two to eight,¡± Velariah referred to my previous life.

    ¡°You¡¯d probably laugh at me if I had to walk on two again. I imagine I¡¯d fall quite often trying to lift both my legs at the same time.¡±

    I thought about what it would be like to be human. I actually don¡¯t know if I would want to be one anymore, strange as it may sound. The main reason for that was the answer I got in the dungeon.

    My life was quickly being filled with adventure and love. If Velariah and I managed to get far together, this body would allow me to stay with her, where a human one would eventually fall short.

    Or so I thought.

    I never imagined I would, but it would seem I had fully accepted this body as my own now.

    I tripped and fell to the ground.

    ¡°Seems you still need some more¡­ practice.¡±

    Velariah extended a hand to help me up.

    ¡°That won¡¯t do much and you know it.¡± I smiled at the gesture. ¡°And yes, I do need more practice, but that was just me not focusing.¡±

    ¡°Lost in thought?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Yeah, I was thinking about what that dungeon told me.¡±

    ¡°You mind sharing it with me?¡±

    We were quite far out from the checkpoint now and Velariah decided to sit down on the grass. The past few days have been sunny and rain has been absent - the grass was completely dry again.

    I lowered myself onto the grass as well.

    ¡°Apparently my aging resets every time I molt. That¡¯s what it said, at least.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s...¡± Velariah paused for a second. ¡°That¡¯s actually wonderful news. I think?¡±

    She leaned against me and stared at the forest.

    ¡°In a way, I guess. Turned out it was the correct question to ask, huh?¡± I smiled.

    ¡°For sure.¡± The elf replied.

    I spread my legs so they lay spread out and flat on the grass. Velariah took a look at them and asked a question.

    ¡°Any idea why all those hairs are gone?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°No idea. I wonder if it¡¯s because of preference? They were quite sensitive.¡± I paused for a moment. ¡°Although, that actually doesn¡¯t make sense. For some reason, my chitin without hair is just as sensitive now as it was before with hair. I¡¯m actually at a loss here.¡±

    I wrapped my right arms around the elf¡¯s frame before I continued.

    ¡°Same thing with the area between my fangs. It¡¯s a bit awkward to talk about, but when we first met, my privates were more¡­ superficial, to put it delicately. They were just covered with hair, so they were impossible to see.¡±

    ¡°Good thing I never knew that.¡± Velariah chuckled.

    I sighed. ¡°A good thing indeed.¡±

    ¡°You think your body is adjusting itself to your preferences? Maybe environment?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about that as well, but I don¡¯t see how any of this would make sense in that regard,¡± I answered. ¡°Besides, my rear isn¡¯t getting any smaller.¡± I laughed at my own joke.

    ¡°Speaking about your rear¡­¡± Velariah pulled an empty spool out of her pack. ¡°Shall we get started?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, go for it. Just be gentle, please,¡± I said, as I laid my arms on the grass and rested my face on them.

    I felt Velariah¡¯s touch on my sensitive spinnerets and just completely relaxed. As long as I didn¡¯t clench, it would just keep coming when the strings were pulled.

    I couldn¡¯t believe I was making money doing this.

    I felt stupid for not doing it before. I guess I had other priorities to take care of.

    ¡°Vel, how much silk did you give those traders again for that crate of iron?¡± I asked while relaxing.

    ¡°I think that was about three spools worth of silk, why?¡±

    ¡°I was just thinking. Wasn¡¯t that a bit of a bargain? It seemed Coldanus was far too happy to take the ore as payment.¡±

    ¡°You forget that it was blessed by a dragon.¡±

    Oh, yeah, there was that.

    ¡°Plus, they put a very high value on raw silk. It¡¯s far rarer in their region.¡±

    Supply and demand. The basics of trade. I wasn¡¯t new to the concept, far from it. I just didn¡¯t know what different villages valued yet. Iron for silk could be a useful thing in the future.

    I was slowly building my knowledge of this world in my head. This was certainly something I¡¯d have to remember.

    ¡°That¡¯s one,¡± Velariah said after some time.

    I had to admit, this felt much better than the instance with the traders where she literally yanked it out of me as if she was trying to launch a Beyblade.

    Nice and easy wins the race. Or well, it saved me from having pain in my butt.

    ¡°How does this feel for you, El?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the creepy question?¡±

    ¡°I was just wondering, you said you were quite sensitive down here. Does this feel nice to you?¡±

    ¡°Do you have plans to use this in the bedroom or something?¡± I asked with a chuckle. ¡°As long as you do it nice and easy, it feels kinda¡­ nice, I guess.¡±

    That was still such an awkward question, though!

    ¡°Who knows? I actually might, some time.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re evil, you know that?¡±

    I heard Velariah giggle behind me.

    I relaxed again and turned my head to the right. Far in the distance, I could see the towers of the checkpoint next to the dirt road leading to the forest. Right in front of me was a pedipalp. For lack of anything better to do, I observed it as I contracted and released it.

    It was quite fascinating to look at. All the moving parts mesmerized me. On its outer end were three small hooks that I knew could grab into things. I put a finger in them and contracted to see if it would hurt.

    Fortunately, it didn¡¯t. I assumed those were simply for grip and not to actually hurt something, or someone.

    I yawned.

    The sun was just too lovely on my fresh body. I was still observing and playing with my pedipalp for god knows how long when I heard Velariah¡¯s voice call out optimistically.

    ¡°And that¡¯s ten.¡±

    I shook my head and refocused.

    ¡°Ten? Already?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± Velariah called. ¡°It goes pretty fast once you get the hang of it.¡±

    I looked behind me and saw the elf put away the last of the spools in her pack. I hadn¡¯t focused on her work behind me, but now that I did, I felt some of my strength was drained.

    ¡°Now, it¡¯s time for me to relax as well.¡±

    She laid herself down on her back next to where I was still looking and eyed the pedipalp that I was still toying around with. I contracted it a few times before suddenly putting it on her shoulder.

    ¡°Rawr, I¡¯m a nightmare monster coming to eat ya.¡± I smiled as I ran the limb up her shoulder to her face.

    ¡°Oh, no. Whatever will I do?¡± Velariah played her part.

    ¡°Tip, tip, tip.¡± I ran it up to her face with three steps before I planted it on her nose. ¡°Boop!¡±

    I pinched the small claws before I quickly brought the limb to my hands and covered the end with my hands.

    ¡°Got your nose!¡±

    Velariah laughed. ¡°Very playful today, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t like me showing affection?¡± I smiled.

    ¡°I do, actually. A lot, even.¡± She smiled back.

    So cute¡­

    ¡°If only all days could be like this¡­¡± I sighed with a smile.

    Velariah took hold of one of my hands and interlocked our fingers.

    ¡°Hopefully one day.¡± She smiled. ¡°Though, I think I¡¯d miss adventuring then.¡±

    ¡°It does have a certain allure, doesn¡¯t it?¡± I asked. ¡°I think you¡¯re right. I doubt I could do without one or the other.¡±

    I put my right legs around her back and dragged her closer.

    ¡°To think I never saw more blood than a simple scrape would produce before coming to this world. I could never have imagined killing anything more than a fly or mosquito, nor having the need to.¡±

    Velariah grinned wickedly.

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you get it? Fly, mosquito - it¡¯s funny because you¡¯re half spider.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°I guess it is, huh?¡±

    ¡°I do feel a bit bad for dragging you into all this,¡± Velariah said as she looked up to the sky.

    ¡°I¡¯m actually thankful you did. Thanks to you, I discovered ways to grow stronger which I¡¯ll likely need to survive and so much more. That guy your father blasted before, I reckon he wasn¡¯t the first, and he won¡¯t be the last, who tried to kill me. Besides, you didn¡¯t think I planned to live in a cave the rest of my life, did you?¡±

    ¡°Heh, thanks, El.¡±

    I shuffled a bit forward and brought my face to her side. I pressed my lips together and anticipated her kissing me. Instead of that she slightly raised her upper torso and looked into the distance with shock in her eyes.

    I could feel shock start to fill my body.

    ¡°Please tell me it¡¯s not her...¡± I pleaded quietly.

    Of all the times she could show up, this would literally be the single worst one.

    Velariah laughed.

    ¡°Hahaha, just kidding.¡±

    She lowered herself again with a huge smile on her face. She then took hold of my head with her free arm and brought my face to hers before kissing me gently.

    Faragi

    There is still a bit of fluff here with another adventure coming up and then some fluff after that mixed with some worldbuilding. My only issue is that I''m writing quite far ahead of what I''m publishing atm so it may take some time before you see the requests made in comments appear.

    Worldbuilding is high on my list at the moment but I may make some more polls going forward to gauge things.

    I do read the comments and I do try to act on them. Hell, I love reading comments to see what people think or what they think should be explained further, etc.

    There''s also some money-gathering coming up and I hope I''ll be able to show everyone Elania''s inherities soon, I feel like I have them quite worked out now :)

    As always, thanks for your support!

    And a special shoutout to my new Patrons

    Theredscare

    TromJH2424

    If you''d like to support me in writing this story as well, you can find me on the link that is provided under the donate button on RR and the tip button on SH. I appreciate all the support I get and since I am still in the middle of getting a proper external website set up to host this story, I actually provide a lot right now.

    There are 65 chapters done on it right now.

    Thanks a lot!

    Faragi

 1.54 Armor, uh, More Armorâ€¦

    ¡°Vel, you¡¯re greedy.¡± I smiled as I finally managed to break away. She had tried hard to keep my head down. It took my pedipalps tickling her armpits to break her hold.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Elania. You¡¯re just delicious.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± I said, as I laid down my head next to hers.

    ¡°Hmmm, speaking of delicious, what do you use to wash your hair?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You like it? It¡¯s hardfruit oil shampoo mixed with roses and shadowbloom scents.¡±

    ¡°I love it, I¡¯d like some for myself, if we can get our hands on it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a luxury product, I¡¯d have to check if it¡¯s available right now.¡±

    ¡°Expensive?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not really, just not on sale for everyone.¡±

    So it was a social status issue, lame.

    I spread my legs once more. My right legs still had the elf under them. I took some of Velariah¡¯s hair and spread it on the grass next to her head, then rested my head on it. I closed my eyes and let go of everything.

    She smelled wonderful.

    Velariah grasped my hand again.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting there, El.¡± She whispered.

    ¡°I have you to blame for that,¡± I whispered back.

    Letting go of everything turned out to be harder than expected, with my heart racing. She really had me in a stranglehold.

    We remained silent and I simply took in the sun¡¯s rays. I could feel my carapace harden and warm up.

    I used my second right arm to hold on to Velariah¡¯s frame and relaxed.

    I think I may have fallen asleep. The next moment I registered, she had an arm around me and shook me gently.

    ¡°Oi, sleepyhead. If you keep that up, you won¡¯t sleep tonight.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I was far too comfortable. How long was I out?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No idea, I fell asleep as well.¡±

    ¡°Nice going, Vel.¡± I grinned. ¡°How are things looking back there?¡± I pointed my head in the direction of my rear.

    ¡°Want me to check?¡± Velariah asked politely but with a slight tease in her voice.

    ¡°If that makes you happy, by all means, go for it.¡±

    I moved away the prison bars that were my legs in order to allow her to stand back up. She walked up to my rear and put her hand on it. She then took her other hand and knocked twice.

    What was I, a watermelon?

    Why did people knock on watermelons anyway?

    ¡°Actually, I have no idea what I¡¯m doing.¡± She admitted.

    ¡°I figured as much,¡± I replied. ¡°It does seem it¡¯s hardened out pretty well already.¡±

    I looked up to the sky. It seemed like it was still afternoon.

    ¡°Shall we get some things out of the way in the village?¡± I suggested.

    ¡°Could do.¡±

    ¡°You hungry?¡± Velariah asked as I stood up.

    ¡°Not really. I¡¯m actually surprised at it. God, this body¡¯s food intake is impossible to schedule.¡±

    Velariah grinned. ¡°I thought it was as simple as just stuffing your face before heading out.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s mostly true, though.¡±

    I thought about what I said for a second.

    ¡°Yeah, forget what I said, it isn¡¯t hard to plan at all. Eat before missions and then again after, depending on how much silk I spent and the amount of running I did.¡±

    ¡°See, I knew it was simple,¡± Velariah said as she stretched. ¡°Let¡¯s cash in on your silk, shall we?¡±

    I nodded and followed her lead.

    While we were still in the grass, I tried walking the other way some more. I didn¡¯t trip this time so that was an improvement in itself. I stopped it when we reached the village with its cobblestone streets.

    Our first stop would be the tailor. It didn¡¯t take long. It was a simple matter of get in, get paid, get out.

    And so we were on our way to the second stop. We came to the front of a wooden building behind a market stall filled with everyday items. Everything from sponges to towels, cutlery, and tools were displayed.

    I waited outside as Velariah entered to buy some shampoo.

    She returned with a large, corked, glass flask. Inside were different colors of liquids in layers. I could see white on the bottom with a small layer of red and purple above that.

    ¡°That looks quite fancy,¡± I admitted as she put it away in her pack.

    ¡°It does.¡± She sighed. ¡°But it¡¯s pretty annoying you need to mix it before every use.¡±

    Oh, I could see what was going on here.

    They hadn¡¯t discovered emulsifiers yet, or at least, not the kind for shampoos.

    I looked around to check nobody was going to hear what I was about to say.

    ¡°You know, back on Earth, we had things that we added that would keep it mixed together all the time.¡±

    ¡°No fucking way,¡± Velariah exclaimed.

    ¡°Yeap, we could pretty much mix everything we wanted and have it stay that way.¡± I smiled.

    ¡®¡¯That¡¯s so cool!¡¯¡¯ She said.

    We walked onward in the direction of Dworag¡¯s store.

    ¡°By the way,¡± Velariah started. ¡°What kind of enchants would you like on those gauntlets you commissioned?¡±

    I thought for a few moments. ¡°How many slots do they have?¡±

    ¡°Three.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty neat. I was thinking to at least go for a featherlight enchant - they are bound to be heavy. Besides that, probably one of those block enchants that Draco has and, lastly¡­ I guess something for the sword? Maybe a fire one? They seem to be quite effective in combination with dragon-blessed steel.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t want poison-enhancing enchants?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I didn¡¯t get the feeling it did much work. Injecting my venom is far more effective.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. I¡¯ll be using the money from the silk to get them at the same time I¡¯m picking up the gauntlets.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± I answered.

    We reached the dwarf¡¯s store and Velariah entered. Soon enough, she came walking outside with said dwarf.

    ¡°Miss Elania, always a pleasure to see you.¡± He eyed me for a few seconds. ¡°Ooooh, and I see ya got your leg back.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Dworag, and yes it does appear that way.¡±

    ¡°Hold on a second here. I¡¯ll insert the gems into the gloves and see how they fit you.¡±

    The dwarf walked back inside. It took a minute before he returned, during which I awkwardly stared at my lower set of arms.

    Dworag exited his shop with the items that I''d imagined in my head: a set of gauntlets with round shields attached that covered a fair deal of my arms. The shield stopped at the wrist and attached to the shield was a blade about sixty centimeters in length that passed over the gauntlet. The shield and blade glowed with a slight red color when held in sunlight.

    He offered them to me and I equipped one. It fit like a glove. I inwardly giggled at my terrible joke as I observed the three gems that sat in the steel plates on the inner side of my wrist. A red, teal, and white gem were positioned right next to one another.

    The inner side of the gloves seemed to consist of fine chainmail, which allowed for my fingers to move freely and provide extra grip.

    I made my hand a fist and aimed the gauntlet in front of me. The blade that was attached to it was extremely easy to handle. This was an excellent choice of secondary weapons. I put on the left gauntlet while the dwarf walked back inside again.

    I assumed some more poses to see how I would use these in combat. I assumed a blocking stance where I stacked the shields on top of each other before my torso and found that they blocked my entire human body.

    I couldn¡¯t wait to try these out. Was this how Draco and Velariah felt when they got their new weapons too?

    ¡°Is there any easy quest in the area? I really want to try these.¡± I asked excitedly.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t looked. I¡¯ve been with you the entire time, remember?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s drop off the shampoo and gold at home and check!¡±

    ¡°If you think you¡¯re okay for combat then I don¡¯t mind.¡± The elf answered.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll be okay.¡±

    Dworag appeared in the doorway again with another set of gauntlets. I was so excited with these that I¡¯d almost forgotten I asked for a second set.

    ¡°These are a bit more plain with only a featherlight enchant.¡± He spoke.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I am already very thankful for your work. It seems you and Coldanus created a masterpiece.¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± The dwarf chuckled. ¡°He wasn¡¯t that cooperative until I told him it was for you. He changed his mind quite quickly after that. Perhaps your beauty struck him too?¡±

    I imagined it was Valtheril¡¯s fist that struck him sooner than my beauty.

    I shrugged. ¡°Who knows?¡±

    He handed me the second set and I equipped them as well. I had Velariah hold on to my spear a bit. I was going to have to be careful with these blades attached to my other hands.

    ¡°These are excellent,¡± I commented on the weight and protection that they seemed to provide. ¡°Thank you so much, Dworag.¡±

    ¡°No problem, Miss Elania. Happy to help.¡±

    ¡°Have you paid for the gems, Velariah?¡± I asked.

    She nodded in response. ¡°Two gold down, this means we own thirty-four total gold coins now.¡±

    ¡°Getting there,¡± I said in response.

    We were making headway on our quest to acquire fifty gold for the inherity ritual.

    At this rate, we might even have the entire sum before Valtheril returned. Actually, with the few days lost from my molting, he shouldn¡¯t be gone for too much longer, anyway.

    I thanked Dworag again for his work, took my spear back from the elf, and, together with Velariah, quickly made my way over to her mansion. The elf had to start jogging in order to keep up with me.

    ¡°Holy, El, chill!¡± The elf panted when we reached her home.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I want to try these so badly.¡±

    ¡°I get it, I get it. I felt the same way,¡± She said, then knocked.

    Elly soon opened the door and Velariah handed her the shampoo and a coin pouch. Elly took them from her and couldn¡¯t help but stare at my new equipment. I smiled at her and she returned a polite smile before she walked through the doors to the dining area and Velariah closed the door leading outside.

    After that, we made our way to the guild hall.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to take some time getting used to these blades,¡± I said. ¡°Gotta be careful when in the village, don¡¯t wanna accidentally stab someone.¡±

    I tried out a few poses. The best one seemed to be the one where I literally had the blades pointing to the ground with the blunt side and the shield in front of me. These weren¡¯t exactly the most wieldy items I could have commissioned.

    I shrugged.

    As long as they worked, right?

    We reached the guild hall and made a beeline to the quest board.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see what would be a good target.¡±

    I eyed the quests and found one that caught my interest because we already had experience fighting it - there was an open quest for a Bunbear. I figured it would make for excellent target practice. The one gold reward was mediocre, compared to what I could make just eating and excreting silk, but all small things did add up.

    I took the paper and headed over to the Lore keeper.

    I showed her the quest and asked for any information on the beast¡¯s whereabouts.

    ¡°I believe that one was last spotted next to that goat farmer¡¯s fields.¡±

    ¡°What, as in, outside the forest?¡± I asked.

    She nodded.

    Interesting.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s have a look.¡±

    Before heading out, I decided to get a drink first.

    ¡°Vel?¡± I turned to the elf. ¡°You want something to drink as well?¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a great idea, I was about to ask you the same.¡±

    I was looking forward to some strawberry juice but, unfortunately, they were out, so I had to settle for milk.

    That was a bummer.

    One glass of milk later, we were on our way to the southern village exit.

    Walking past the cherry bushes was painful. Partly because I forgot to ask Dworag for the saddlebags (I think he forgot as well, judging by how enthusiastic he was about these gauntlets) and partly because, even if we collected them, I couldn¡¯t drink coffee.

    We kept a close eye on movements in the forest but didn¡¯t notice anything out of the ordinary.

    No Bunbear here.

    We reached the end of the field and walked along with the fencing in the direction of the farmstead. There weren¡¯t many places to hide, if there was a Bunbear here, it would probably be behind the building on the other side.

    It wasn¡¯t long until we had found our quarry. It was currently feasting on one of the goats in the field adjacent to the farmstead.

    That poor goat¡­

    If only it had eaten those berries, it could have outrun the Bunbear for sure.

    I doubted the beast was going to be able to outrun me.

    ¡°There it is,¡± Velariah said. ¡°It¡¯s all yours, enjoy.¡±

    She unsheathed her weapon. I assumed she did that just in case things took a turn for the worse. I sneaked behind the animal while it was eating the goat carcass.

    I thought about how I would go about this, but I guessed I shouldn¡¯t play around too much and actually use its distraction to my advantage. I decided I was just going to charge it from its rear and plunge my three weapons into its body.

    I built up speed and momentum and charged at the animal, which wasn¡¯t suspecting a sudden attack.

    I held out my hands in fists so that the shields were facing upwards and ran. Not at the fastest speed I could, because I feared I might break an arm or two if I impacted it too hard.

    I was certain these blades were sharp and would be able to penetrate the beast¡¯s skin without too much effort.

    I reached the beast and impaled it with two blades and a spear at the same time. I had calculated my speed correctly, as I came to a halt with only minor strain from the impact on my arms.

    The beast roared in pain and I quickly retracted my weapons as it turned around. I held my gauntlets in an X formation and allowed the Bunbear to take a swipe at them.

    I could feel the impact, but that was about it. That block enhancer really seemed to do its job well.

    After I blocked another swipe, the beast let out a roar that died down with it.

    Piercing seemed to be fine. I was already thinking of other ways to use these weapons when Velariah came walking up to me.

    ¡°That looked neat.¡± She said as she sheathed her sword. ¡°Can¡¯t wait to see more.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I just thought of the other way I intend to use these.¡±

    ¡°Which is?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Running at high speed with my arms like this.¡±

    I stretched out my arms to the sides, holding the shields with their blades diagonally.

    ¡°That looks painful. Not for you, but for anyone that is next to you as you run past them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the idea.¡±

    I would turn myself into a living, scythed chariot. All I was missing was a rider. Well, maybe I wasn¡¯t missing a rider. I did need some more equipment to allow Velariah to be more effective when she was on my back, though.

    And for that, I had to practice walking¡­ again¡­

    Fun times ahead¡­

    ¡°Should we inform the farmer?¡± I asked, looking at the goat.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure the guild will reimburse him. Let¡¯s take this beast to the guild and collect our reward, a gold is a gold after all.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of blood though,¡± I stated, while looking at the Bunbear¡¯s corpse. ¡°And I can¡¯t be bothered to close the wound, you think it¡¯s alright?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re close enough to the village that it isn¡¯t an issue.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    I tapped my spinnerets with my back leg and felt proud when I managed to get it right on the first try. I then stuck the thread to the Bunbear¡¯s corpse and dragged the line forward to one of my hands so that I could take hold of it.

    ¡°Not bad,¡± Velariah commented. ¡°You¡¯re really starting to get the hang of it, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    I smiled. ¡°Sure seems that way.¡±

    I cut the thread that still connected to my behind and repeated the process several times so that I had hold of multiple threads that were connected to the Bunbear.

    I did the same with my leg on the other side of my body and also repeated the process several times. There were faster ways to do it, but I reckoned some practice wasn¡¯t a bad idea.

    When I had two bundles of threads, one on each side, I fastened them to my lower waist and dragged the beast¡¯s corpse towards the village.

    Velariah had to open one fence gate for me to be able to get out of the fence with this thing in tow, but after that, it was a fast trip to the village and our destination: the guild hall.

    The Lore keeper took notice of us and I saw her disappear through the door behind her. I moved onward to the warehouse and it opened soon after I arrived.

    I dropped it off in the area that seemed to be reserved for felled animals and received a gold and five silver from the Lore keeper.

    ¡°For the silk.¡± She winked.

    Seemed the tailor and Allina weren¡¯t the only ones aware of its value.

    I thanked her and followed Velariah out of the warehouse, its doors closing behind us.

    ¡°What next?¡± I asked, handing the coins to Velariah.

    I believe I could see the sun fairly low over the horizon, the red glow of day¡¯s end would soon set in. There were still a couple of hours to go before evening fell, though.

    ¡°Dunno. We could look for the others or we could spend some quality time together.¡± She smiled at me.

    ¡°Quality time sounds good. We can talk to the others tomorrow. Anything you had in mind?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not really. We could just spend a few more hours in the fields, I guess.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that.¡±

    Velariah took my only free hand and held it as we made our way to the eastern village gate once more.

    Faragi

    Thanks for the support as usual guys <3

    And a special shoutout to my new Patrons:

    Joshua

    Converted

    d-c

    I''ve commissioned artwork from a friend of mine and wanted to share his WIP as I thought it would be fitting to show off her new weapons.

    Thank you guys <3

 1.55 Wrapping Things Up

    Velariah was quite bold, holding my hand like that. I didn¡¯t mind the gesture per se, in fact, I liked it, it made me regret getting these gauntlets. No, I was scared we¡¯d run into Seralyn. It would be typical for my luck to run into her when holding hands with Velariah.

    The relief I experienced when we reached the field outside the gates was unparalleled.

    I wished I could be a bit more like Seralyn. Her careless attitude was something I could only aspire to. Not that I wanted to be like her, at all. Just a bit would be helpful.

    ¡°Would this be a good time to tell you I got ten more spools from the tailor?¡± Velariah grinned as she sat down on the grass, after we¡¯d put some distance between the checkpoint and ourselves.

    ¡°Dunno, you wanna risk getting wrapped up by accident?¡± I asked sarcastically.

    I almost immediately recognized I¡¯d made a mistake.

    ¡°That sounds lovely, actually.¡± She grinned.

    I knew it.

    I sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how that would work. I should probably try it some day on smaller ¡®Prey¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Why not practice it now? And no, I don¡¯t mean on me.¡± She grinned again.

    I took off my gauntlets, all four of them, and laid them in the grass some distance in front of me. I carefully laid my spear down as well and turned to the elf.

    ¡°What would you suggest I practice on, then?¡±

    ¡°Something small. How are you faring in your reserve department?¡±

    ¡°Uh, it¡¯s getting a bit better now. I felt slightly drained before. Do you have some water with you by any chance?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± She took out a canteen from her pack and handed it to me.

    ¡°It¡¯s not alcohol, is it?¡± I grinned.

    She shook her head. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t do that to you, El.¡±

    I looked at her with a frown.

    ¡°Okay, maybe I would. Not this time though, I swear!¡±

    I screwed open the cap and sniffed. Then, I drank its contents in their entirety.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± I could hear Velariah wonder audibly. ¡°I guess too small wouldn¡¯t work either, considering the size of your legs. I doubt something as small as a rabbit is going to be doable.¡±

    ¡°I am good, but that¡¯s pushing it a bit far, indeed.¡± I praised myself.

    ¡°Heh. Let¡¯s see if they have anything here that I can borrow.¡±

    She ran off in the direction of the checkpoint.

    I tapped my leg on my spinnerets and started a thread of silk.

    ¡°Now what?¡± I asked myself.

    I confirmed once more that I had no idea what I was actually doing.

    I imagined I would have to attach the thread to something and then rotate said something around with a couple of legs.

    Being half spider was such a hassle.

    I tried passing the thread to different legs. I found out that the small claws at the end were excellent for it.

    There was one issue.

    One thread at a time would turn wrapping something up into a full-time job.

    Wasn¡¯t there a way to spread the silk into many small threads? If I could turn my spinnerets into a biological shotgun and spread many small threads over a large area I imagined I could wrap things up at many times the normal speed.

    Maybe I could?

    My silk seemed to adjust its properties to what I wanted them to be.

    Velariah returned with several objects while I was thinking hard. I almost didn¡¯t even notice her.

    It appeared she ¡®borrowed¡¯ a small stool and a chest plate.

    ¡°Would these work, you think?¡± She asked me.

    ¡°Uh, I think they would. I was just thinking of a more effective way to wrap things.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Velariah said curiously.

    ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure if it will work. Could you grab my spear and hold it close to my rear?¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± She said in anticipation, as she grabbed my spear and did what I asked.

    ¡®Spread out web, please!¡¯ I pleaded my spider half. I pushed and apparently shot out silk at high speed.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Velariah called behind me.

    Uh-oh, that didn¡¯t sound good.

    ¡°I thought we said no wrapping me up. Now, I don¡¯t mind if you do, but please warn me!¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± I asked as I turned my head.

    I lowered my rear so I could actually see what was going on.

    Okay. The good news was that the silk was spread out with very thin lines as I had intended. The bad news is that I had hit Velariah instead of the spear¡¯s shaft.

    ¡°Oh. I didn¡¯t know I could shoot webs out like that. That¡¯s pretty neat, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Very funny.¡± Velariah brought the spear up to her belly horizontally and held it against the silk before cutting herself loose with her knife.

    ¡°Okay. So, it seems whatever you had in mind actually works. At least, I assume this is what you had in mind.¡±

    ¡°I did.¡±

    ¡°Now what?¡± She asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to figure out.¡± I sighed. ¡°I doubt a spear is something I can wrap up. That stool doesn¡¯t really seem easy either. Let¡¯s try doing this with that chest plate?¡±

    ¡°So what do you want with this spear?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Well, I imagined that spear could be one of my legs. If I can spread threads over such a large area, I imagined I¡¯d wrap the ¡®net¡¯ around whatever is below me.¡±

    ¡°I think I see where you¡¯re going.¡±

    ¡°Problem is that I have no idea where to position my legs, so I¡¯m going to ask for your help with it while I practice. ¡±

    Velariah giggled.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked with a smile.

    ¡°I like how you¡¯re taking this so seriously.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I guess so. Figured I might as well find out the limits of this body.¡±

    ¡°Alright. So how do you want to do this?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°I imagine it would be good for you to hold up the chest piece in position while I try to guide my legs around it. This way I can try to get familiar with the movements I¡¯d have to make.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like a bad plan. So, I start here, I assume?¡± She held the chest piece behind my rear.

    ¡°I was actually thinking of having it under me. I¡¯m going to see if I can repeat what I did to you earlier, with one of my legs catching the spray this time around.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe I was doing this. I couldn¡¯t believe I was enjoying doing this.

    Velariah held the chest plate under my midsection and I took a hold of it with two legs, one on each side. I figured I would need four legs to stand on, which were going to be the two furthest to the front and then the second pair from my back. This left my second pair from the front to hold on to the chest plate and the pair furthest back to take hold of the silk and guide it.

    My head was spinning from the number of movements I was going to have to make to get this done.

    I guessed practice would make things work out. I honestly hoped this was like riding a bike, once you learned it, you wouldn¡¯t ever forget.

    ¡°Here goes nothing,¡± I said as I held one leg close to my spinnerets.

    In the same way I did before, I shot out the silk and found it sticking to my leg.

    I brought the leg forward and ran into the first issue already: my other leg was in the way.

    ¡°Uhhhh, I guess we¡¯d have to move that chest plate further behind.¡±

    I released the armor piece and Velariah brought it behind my last legs, where I grabbed it again with my ¡®grabbing¡¯ legs.

    ¡°What a hassle.¡± Velariah chuckled.

    ¡°I may have thought the same thing more than once,¡± I commented.

    This really was a hassle.

    I tried bringing the web to the armor piece again and managed to attach it to the armor piece.

    I paused, thinking about how to proceed from here. It would be nice if I could actually see what was going on...

    ¡°Now what?¡± Velariah asked impatiently.

    ¡°You think I know what I¡¯m doing? Think again.¡± I said, slightly frustrated. ¡°Rotating would be the way to go, but I¡¯m not sure how to go about it.¡±

    ¡°Let me help you.¡± She said as she let go of the chest plate.

    She walked to my other side and grabbed hold of the unused leg.

    ¡°I would assume you use this one to rotate, no?¡±

    She guided it up to my practice  prey and used it to hook onto the chest plate. She then moved it so that the armor piece would turn around.

    I needed her help at first, but soon I found myself able to replicate the motions and managed to start cocooning the chest plate by myself. It started out slowly but I managed to increase speed over time.

    ¡°Looking good, El.¡± Velariah praised me.

    I used the two legs that I held the prey with to move it to the left. After several more rotations, I moved it all the way to the right again.

    I had turned myself into an old typewriter. All I was missing was the stereotypical ¡®ding¡¯ sound.

    So I needed three legs just to rotate prey under my body. The fourth served to pull more silk out of my spinnerets and bring it up to the prey.

    Fascinating.

    ¡°Is it my turn yet?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°You have some weird fetishes, you know that?¡± I laughed.

    ¡°Hehe, just kidding.¡±

    Or was she?

    I stopped the production of threads and brought my handiwork forward so that I could observe it. It turned out I¡¯d done a fairly decent job at completely wrapping up this piece of armor. The threads were extremely thin and spread out over a large area, but with this many layers, it still made for amazing constraints.

    ¡°Not bad for the first time,¡± I said.

    Velariah joined me in observing and poked a finger at the silk after I lifted the piece up with my hands.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t use sticky threads?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Hah, I¡¯m glad you asked.¡± I put on a big smile. ¡°You see, what I did was: I made the first part sticky and then only made certain parts sticky. I finished with a layer of non-sticky silk, so I could easily hold it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m impressed.¡± Velariah smiled as well. ¡°You¡¯ll turn into a proper spider one day.¡±

    ¡°Heh, I¡¯ll get there,¡± I confirmed.

    I was amazed at how much progress I¡¯d made, both physically and mentally. Velariah had been of huge importance to me when it came to coming to terms. I even started liking the things this body could do. Did that make me weird?

    I guess being half spider was pretty weird in its own right.

    I handed the chest piece to Velariah who took it with hesitation, probably wondering what she was going to do with it. I used the little time I bought myself to look around to see if anybody was nearby, or approaching. When that wasn¡¯t the case I quickly grabbed Velariah¡¯s back with my two front legs and pushed her to the ground with the set of legs behind that.

    I made sure her fall was broken and then let myself fall next to her.

    ¡°Awfully straightforward, aren¡¯t you Elania?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get the wrong idea.¡± I giggled. ¡°I just liked the look in your eyes when you fell. Besides,¡± I took the chest plate and tossed it to the side. ¡°There¡¯s still some time to kill. Might as well make sure this new carapace is hardened out properly.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, just don¡¯t fall asleep again,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°I thought you did, too?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, we don¡¯t talk about that.¡±

    I giggled.

    The red glow was barely visible. It made me sad to know this day would be at an end in a few hours.

    I had a great time with the elf today. My heart opened up to her more and more and I was getting addicted to the feeling.

    I¡¯d almost hate to adventure further, almost.

    Velariah took off a glove and took my hand.

    ¡°What a beautiful day.¡± She said, looking up to the sky, before looking at me. ¡°Almost as beautiful as you.¡±

    Such a clich¨¦.

    ¡°Succubus,¡± I answered with as much of a neutral expression as I could.

    Velariah laughed.

    I laid my head on my arms and relaxed once more.

    ¡°What a weird day. Even though we were taking it easy, we still did quite a bit, eh?¡± I said.

    ¡°Yeah, I enjoyed myself. We got some money too. Today was just perfect.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m actually surprised we didn¡¯t run into Seralyn, I was half expecting her to ruin the mood.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re worried about her.¡± Velariah half-joked.

    ¡°Nah, I just wonder what she has been up to.¡±

    ¡°Probably got herself drunk and went to bed.¡± The elf said.

    ¡°Guess we will see tomorrow then?¡± I replied.

    ¡°Well, as long as she isn¡¯t here, I¡¯m fine with wherever she is,¡± Velariah said, shifting herself closer to me.

    I turned my head to face her to find hers right next to me. Before I knew it, she had her mouth on mine. My legs grabbed her in reaction, and I enjoyed the moment while it lasted.

    She broke away and smiled while looking into my eyes.

    ¡°We¡¯re going way too fast, Vel,¡± I stated.

    ¡°Maybe so, but do you mind?¡± She asked in response.

    I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. Instead, I simply hugged her side, closed my eyes, and felt the sunlight, being absorbed by my body, before it faded too dim.

    I don¡¯t think I minded at all. Still, I didn¡¯t want Velariah to expect too much from me. I think she has realized that by now. She was pretty withholding as of late. I was happy as she was.

    I was glad I overcame the first hurdle. Since then, I¡¯ve been nothing but happy in Velariah¡¯s presence.

    I wondered if we should tell the others, and if so, how.

    Maybe they already knew? I think Seralyn did, I wasn¡¯t sure about Nira or Draco.

    I think we laid there for another two hours before Velariah shifted her body, trying to get out from under my legs. She yawned.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s about time we head back.¡± The elf said, looking at the sky.

    I looked up to see the sky completely red.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to drop this armor piece off and then we can head home and get something to eat.¡± She looked at me. ¡°Unless you want to have dinner at the guild, of course.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m fine with eating at home. Any ideas what Elly is cooking today?¡±

    ¡°No idea, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like it.¡±

    ¡°Probably.¡±

    Velariah picked up her glove and equipped it again, before picking up the cocooned chest plate and the stool that we didn¡¯t end up using.

    I put on my dropped pieces of armor and picked up my spear before joining Velariah on her way to the checkpoint.

    ¡°You think they will be happy to see all that silk?¡± I asked, looking at the piece of armor in her hand.

    ¡°Allina will probably have a look at it. I wonder if it¡¯s going to be useful for them when it¡¯s this thin.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Can¡¯t hurt to try, though.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± I answered.

    We reached the barracks near the checkpoint and Velariah entered. This would only take a few seconds.

    In the meantime, I got a lot of attention from the guards. They were eying my new weapons with curiosity. None of them dared to speak to me about it, though. I was a bit disappointed at that. I wasn¡¯t that intimidating, was I?

    Velariah exited the building and started walking towards the village. I joined up with her and cast a gaze behind me. The guards were still staring. I chuckled at the sight.

    ¡°I wonder if any of them will try to copy your weapons,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Let them. They will find out it¡¯s going to be completely useless for them. Conventional weapons would be the way to go for the common soldier. There¡¯s a reason they are what they are.¡±

    ¡°How did the weapons in your world look, again?¡± The elf asked.

    ¡°You mean back when we were in the same time period that you guys are in right now?¡±

    She nodded.

    ¡°Practically the same. It¡¯s one of the reasons why I have no doubt that anyone trying to copy me will fail. I¡¯m not sure if these things existed back in our world. If they did, they weren¡¯t widespread, probably for good reason.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty solid conclusion if you ask me. Having knowledge of both worlds sure helps out with that, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Not always,¡± I said. ¡°Many things are different here.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I thought so.¡±

    The rest of the way home was quiet. It didn¡¯t take long before we arrived at her mansion. Soon, Elly was helping her out of her armor again, as I took off my own and deposited my new equipment in the corner.

    I wondered what Valtheril would think of these. I imagined he would be fascinated. He was easily intrigued by things I did, I doubted this would be an exception.

    Elly told us she wasn¡¯t prepared for dinner but would quickly get something going. In the meantime, I asked Velariah if she knew what Seralyn¡¯s inherity was. I¡¯d been wondering for a while now.

    ¡°Ranged weapon accuracy, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed by now,¡± Velariah answered.

    ¡°That is indeed something I¡¯ve thought of before. Hard to miss, honestly.¡±

    ¡°Nice pun, Elania.¡±

    ¡°Oops, I hadn¡¯t even noticed.¡± I grinned.

    That made me wonder if handing a crude gun to Seralyn would turn her into the ultimate killing machine. Older guns had a huge accuracy problem, after all.

    I shuddered at the thought.

    That would be devastating, indeed.

    Perhaps that would be a terrible idea.

    That would surely spell trouble for our party. There was no doubt we¡¯d draw attention.

    ¡°How would her evolved inherity act?¡± I asked.

    If it was only her accuracy that increased, and not the power of her projectiles, I imagined she would be outclassed by many other weapon users after they had gathered enough power.

    ¡°As far as I know,¡± Velariah started. ¡°She is going to get increased penetration power on her projectiles, in addition to being able to infuse them with magic.¡±

    ¡°So, is there any difference between ranged weapon users then?¡± I asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s plenty. Seralyn just got lucky. Archer inherities usually all evolve in the same way, she just got the extra benefit of having far higher accuracy than others. There are a few other interesting split-offs from the mainstream though. For example, there are archers that, after evolving, can shoot one arrow which splits into three mid-flight, each of these will follow the original arrow¡¯s trajectory and have the same properties.¡±

    ¡°That sounds¡­ pretty strong, except if it misses,¡± I said.

    ¡°Exactly, this is why Seralyn¡¯s is generally considered to be one of the stronger ones. There¡¯s also archers who get increased power on their projectiles if they are very close to their targets, but why would you want to be close with a ranged weapon?¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t strike me as incredibly useful,¡± I said.

    Unless they had a shotgun, that was. I imagined they would be able to do terrible damage from up close with a weapon like that. Even a simple blunderbuss could wreak havoc.

    Seralyn was considered to be more of a sniper, shoot from afar, type of archer, which would fit our party much better than the ¡®up close and personal¡¯ type.

    I was looking forward to what she could do later on.

    She may not be the easiest person to be around, she was pretty far from Draco¡¯s personality, but she was reliable and useful in a fight. She was smart too. Her little plan with that troll warlord turned out to be a great way to finish him.

    ¡°Do we have everything set for if we go out on that quest tomorrow?¡± I asked. ¡°Should we get more anti-venom potions, you think?¡±

    ¡°Not a bad idea, we could work on that while Elly is preparing dinner.¡±

    I nodded and shoved two chairs away from the table.

    Velariah ran upstairs. I was really curious about all the things they had up there. Surely she wouldn¡¯t mind me sniffing around?

    If only I could fit through the door. It was a recurring theme that annoyed me to no end.

    I shrugged.

    It annoyed me, but I could live with that one downside.

    I would simply wait.

 1.56 More Bag Space

    Velariah soon returned from upstairs and I opened the doors to the bathroom.

    Couldn¡¯t have Elly accidentally walk in now, could we?

    Velariah first walked into the hallway to grab her pack and then joined me in my (our?) sleeping quarters. She brought three more vials of the basic anti-venom mix and, together, we turned them into high-quality potions for use. Velariah then put them into her pack and returned the pack to the hallway.

    We waited several minutes, during which I created some more score sheets for Velariah¡¯s new favorite dice game. The elf waited in silence while observing my four-hands-eye coordination at work.

    I couldn¡¯t quite believe it myself either. I was able to still draw accurately while creating two sheets at the same time. I guessed my brain had undergone the necessary changes to be able to make this work. I had, after all, gained twelve new limbs. Besides that, there was a laundry list of other interesting things this body could do.

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty good with your hands,¡± Velariah remarked with a teasing tone in her voice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡± I smiled back at her.

    ¡°Awww.¡± She pouted.

    I grinned as I finished another two sheets. Seconds after that, Elly exited the kitchen door with two plates. She then walked back into the kitchen as I observed what she had made.

    Baked potato slices, hmmm.

    I shoved my paperwork aside, earning a grin from the white-haired elf, and dug in.

    Potatoes in this world really were something else. I wondered if they had ever heard of French fries. Wait, I could simply ask.

    ¡°Vel, are you familiar with the concept of slicing potatoes into long squared slices and then boiling them in oil?¡±

    ¡°Another one of your world¡¯s delicacies?¡±

    ¡°Not a delicacy per se, but extremely delicious,¡± I answered.

    ¡°Never heard of it.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s another one on the list for some other time.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re making me anxious with all this food talk,¡± Velariah said as she took another bite.

    ¡°Why, because you¡¯re scared of exposure?¡± I asked. ¡°I can completely understand that. I¡¯ve been trying to avoid it myself...

    ¡°No. Because I can¡¯t have it right now.¡±

    ¡°You glutton!¡± I said.

    ¡°Look who¡¯s talking.¡± She said with a mouth full.

    ¡°Hey, I can¡¯t help that I need to carry around all this extra weight.¡± I retorted.

    Velariah grinned. ¡°No, but it sounds easy enough to do. If we have some more time, I¡¯ll get the things you need. I am looking forward to whatever it is.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d also need tomatoes, sugar, mustard, eggs, and vinegar.¡±

    ¡°What the hell are you planning on doing?¡±

    ¡°You will see.¡± I grinned.

    Couldn¡¯t have fries without ketchup or mayonnaise, could we?

    I knew mayonnaise, but I had no idea how to make ketchup. This would be a good old case of trial and error, it seemed.

    Hopefully, these people would settle for mediocre.

    Elly exited the kitchen carrying two more plates that made my mouth water.

    Steaks.

    Large juicy steaks.

    My pedipalps were twitching in anticipation.

    ¡°Somebody is excited,¡± Velariah remarked.

    Elly, as professional as she was, simply smiled and walked back into the kitchen.

    I quickly finished the potatoes and decided not to let my spider half down. I knew how annoying it could be if it didn¡¯t get what it wanted.

    I cut the meat into strips and chewed off a piece.

    I swallowed before speaking. ¡°This is...¡±

    Velariah finished what I was getting at.

    ¡°Unibelea, correct.¡±

    ¡°So this is what it tastes like when it¡¯s prepared properly,¡± I said.

    I enjoyed the many flavors that the meat offered. This was far better than the abomination I¡¯d made of it back in the cave.

    ¡°Yeah, that was pretty bad, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Well, thank you very much,¡± I said jokingly as I continued my dinner.

    I¡¯d finished everything by the time Velariah barely finished one steak. She shoved the plate with two more steaks my way and I eyed them with a watering mouth.

    ¡°You sure?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Elania, I¡¯m stuffed. Elly probably gave me that much to give to you anyway. She knows I couldn¡¯t eat all that.¡±

    She leaned back in her chair, conveying the idea she couldn¡¯t take another bite.

    Bless this body!

    More steaks!

    Om nom nom.

    I continued eating under the elf¡¯s watchful gaze. I could see she took great pleasure in seeing me go at it if her smile was anything to go by.

    Hmm, I really needed that.

    Even though it didn¡¯t feel that way, creating so much silk had drained me quite a bit. I¡¯d probably be able to leave for our quest tomorrow without having the others wait for me while we had breakfast at the guild hall.

    Elly walked out of the kitchen with another plate of potato slices and a plate with one steak and sat down to eat.

    I thanked her for the wonderful meal and walked to the bathroom, taking the Yahtzee papers with me as I went.

    Actually, what was I doing with these?

    I walked back and put them back on the table in shame before returning to the bathroom.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be going to bed, Elly. We¡¯re leaving for a quest tomorrow, I don¡¯t know when we¡¯re back.¡± Velariah called out to the other elf as she followed me into the bathroom.

    ¡°Stay safe, Lady Velariah.¡±

    ¡°How many times have I said to drop the ¡®Lady¡¯ part?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Velariah.¡±

    ¡°Good night, Elly.¡±

    ¡°Good night.¡±

    Velariah closed the double doors, locked them, and then sighed.

    ¡°I swear I had that out of her,¡± She said.

    I giggled. ¡°Yeah, she used that the other day too, didn¡¯t she?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I had hoped it was a one-time-only thing, but apparently, I was wrong.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t mind Draco using it?¡± I asked as I took off my shirt and tag.

    ¡°Draco is...¡± She paused for a second. ¡°A special case. I can¡¯t get mad at him.¡±

    ¡°What about Seralyn?¡±

    ¡°Screw her.¡± She grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll have her call me Lady until she drops.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you not liking the Lady part anyway?¡±

    ¡°Ugh, you know me, Elania. I don¡¯t like getting special treatment for something in which I had no say.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re talking about your father, right?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°He is as close to royalty as it gets. People find it necessary to treat me in a special way too. It drives me crazy sometimes.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I can see why.¡±

    I liked how down to Earth Velariah was. Well, down to whatever this planet was called I guess?

    ¡°What is this world called?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t get me started on that,¡± Velariah said, to which I frowned.

    She started taking off her shirt as she mumbled with the shirt over her head.

    ¡°The elves call it Terra, the humans call it Golarth, the dwarves call it Ferrol, the harpies call it¡­ I don¡¯t even know, I¡¯m sure they have their name as well.¡±

    ¡°What a mess that must be. Everyone calling it differently, that is.¡± I said.

    ¡°What was your world called again? I forgot.¡± The elf asked as she took off her pants and socks.

    I made my way over to the pile of pillows and started to make myself comfortable.

    ¡°Earth,¡± I said.

    ¡°That¡¯s it? No weird names for it, depending on race?¡±

    ¡°Well, I told you we didn¡¯t have any other humanoid races. There are only humans, at least they are the only race that can talk. Besides the obvious language differences, everybody called it Earth.¡±

    ¡°What a dream that would be.¡± The elf said as she made her way over to me. ¡°Having a universal name for this world.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll stick to Terra, I guess.¡± I said, ¡°It means Earth in my old world so it¡¯s easy enough to get used to.¡±

    ¡°How convenient.¡± Velariah smiled as she wormed herself under me.

    ¡°That¡¯s an awful lot of trouble you¡¯re going through.¡± I laughed at her actions.

    She was wriggling herself a way under my human body. She snaked between my limbs, fangs which I had to point to the sides, pedipalps and, finally, appeared under my human torso.

    ¡°It¡¯s so worth it though.¡± She said as she hugged me.

    I embraced her in a loving hug of my own.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, it is.¡± I replied. ¡°By the way, have you told Elly about¡­ us?¡±

    ¡°Nope, but I¡¯m sure she figured it out by now. She is pretty smart. Also, it¡¯s quite obvious from the way you¡¯re acting around me.¡±

    ¡°Am I that obvious?¡± I asked with slight shock.

    I imagined our other companions would figure it out soon as well, then. That was, if they hadn¡¯t already¡­

    ¡°Yep,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, though, people will find out sooner or later anyway.¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± I sighed.

    I wasn¡¯t quite sure how to feel about it, still. I was getting more confident in this relationship myself, which I guess helped with my anxiety about others knowing. It didn¡¯t help that I was as easy to read as it seemed, though¡­

    ¡®Whatever,¡¯ I thought.

    They would find out eventually. I would not let anxiety ruin what Velariah and I had built up so far.

    The whole reason we got so far was that I was able to shove aside anxiety for one moment. Everything that came after that had been a blessing.

    I looked at the elf under me and ran two hands through her long white hair. She giggled slightly at the touch and I took her hands in my other hands. Her eyes were sparkling and her lips were inviting. Before I knew it, I was kissing her.

    I kissed her deeply and passionately before breaking away and moving next to her in the pillow pile.

    ¡°Awwww,¡± Velariah said in a disappointing voice. ¡°You¡¯re gonna leave me hanging like that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Vel. Small steps at a time, remember?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, El.¡± She turned to her side and ran a hand through my hair. ¡°I have plenty of time.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°It seems I do, too. As long as I molt, anyway. Not sure what the time limit is on this body¡¯s lifespan in between two molts...¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t expect it to be that short,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Besides, you¡¯ve molted twice so far within a month, so, who cares?¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡±

    Velariah yawned and brought her hand back to rub her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m beaten. I don¡¯t think I could do much, anyway. Let¡¯s get some sleep and then start a new adventure tomorrow.¡±

    I hugged her with my side, my head resting on her shoulder. A pedipalp lay on her belly as my left legs partially moved under her frame.

    ¡°You know you¡¯re making this very hard for me?¡± Velariah taunted.

    ¡°Hmm, teasing you is a welcome change...¡± I smiled as I turned off the lights.

    She¡¯d teased me enough. She deserved a taste of her own medicine.

    ¡°Good night, El.¡± She whispered.

    ¡°Good night, Vel,¡± I whispered back.

    I let myself relax when I found Velariah sneaking in a kiss in the dark. I let her have her fun as I slowly drifted off.

    ---------------------------------------------

    I yawned and rubbed my eyes. The light was already on and once I finished rubbing my eyes I saw Velariah look into them.

    ¡°Morning, El.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Morning, Vel. Seems you had fun last night.¡±

    The elf grinned. ¡°Yeah, I did. I had to take what I could get, I doubt we¡¯ll get to do that much when we¡¯re out.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, kinda sucks, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    That was one thing I would miss when we were going out. I doubted we could do much in the sense of relationship building. Although, I guess helping each other in combat helped in some way.

    That, and I could fight with her riding on my back. Not everyone could do the same.

    I moved my legs away so she could move freely.

    ¡°Ugh, I don¡¯t wanna!¡± She pouted as she slowly got up.

    I chuckled. ¡°Well, unlucky you. We¡¯re only saving the village.¡¯¡¯

    ¡°Hm, I guess that¡¯s true. I really do wonder what my father is planning to do.¡±

    ¡°Sounds to me he is trying to cut off resources from the goblins; in this case, poison. I¡¯d expect a proper sweep of the forest later on. No idea how he will do that, though.¡±

    ¡°Possibly. Thinning out their numbers, albeit slightly, will also help. Maybe we can find some intel on other camps.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Who knows?¡±

    ¡°Doubtful. Their language doesn¡¯t make sense. Unless you have anyone that can understand it, it would be pointless.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s that, too.¡± She said.

    I stood up and walked to the sink. I tossed Velariah her clothes and tag before taking my shirt and putting it on. I put my tag over it and I was done.

    Another advantage of a half spider body. No pants! It still felt awkward, though. Because I was so used to wearing them, I always felt exposed. I was slowly getting used to it.

    ¡°So, breakfast at the guild?¡± I asked.

    Velariah nodded after putting on her shirt.

    I was already focused on our mission. I couldn¡¯t wait to use my new weapons. I felt slightly guilty about slaying sentient creatures with them, but I was left no choice.

    They were given a choice, I reminded myself.

    I was looking forward to my companions¡¯ reactions.

    While Velariah got dressed, I was working on my hair. Having it this long made for some extra time in front of the mirror, but I would gladly sacrifice that for it.

    I finished and handed the comb to Velariah, who started on hers.

    I walked up behind her and hugged her belly with all my hands. I then moved my pedipalps up to her hair and could see Velariah eying them in the mirror.

    ¡°I wonder if these work as well as a comb,¡± I said as I ran them through her hair back and forth.

    ¡°I doubt it.¡± Velariah giggled. ¡°It feels nice, though.¡±

    ¡°Another one to add to your long list of fetishes?¡± I asked with a grin.

    ¡°For sure.¡± The elf grinned back.

    I scratched her scalp with my pedipalps and could see Velariah enjoyed it. She closed her eyes and stopped combing. I gently kissed one of her long ears.

    ¡°Is it true what they say about elf ears?¡± I whispered.

    Velariah quickly turned around and put her lips on mine.

    When she moved away again she grinned.

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s a yes?¡±

    ¡°No idea what you meant, but it was probably true.¡±

    She finished combing her hair and we moved to the dining area, where Elly was cleaning the table with a towel. She stopped what she was doing and followed Velariah into the hallway where she, as usual, helped her put on her armor. I put on my own armor, my gloves, and then my weaponized gauntlets.

    It seemed I needed almost the same amount of time that Velariah needed now. By the time I had my last gauntlet equipped and picked up my spear, she was about done.

    I almost cut Elly on the way out. I apologized and fixed my stance. I should probably carry the blades with the blunt face facing forward and the blades pointing at the floor at my sides.

    Velariah finished up, went back to the bathroom, and came back with her pack at her side.

    Oops. I¡¯d almost forgotten.

    Well, I hadn¡¯t done the usual check I always do, so it was fine, right?

    There wasn¡¯t much for me to forget, though.

    Except for the saddlebags that we had commissioned! Good thing I remembered now!

    We headed out the door and I told Velariah about them.

    ¡°Good point. We better make a quick stop at Dworag¡¯s.¡± She answered.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want breakfast first?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be done pretty quickly, might as well go and get them.¡±

    ¡°Alright, no problem.¡±

    And so, we walked through the village center until we reached Dworag¡¯s shop. Velariah went in¡­ and soon the dwarf came out with her.

    Here we go again.

    ¡°Ahh, ¡®tis good to see you, Miss Elania. Always a pleasure for the eyes.¡±

    Velariah had the saddlebags in her hands and walked over to my rear.

    ¡°He wanted to see me put this on you...¡± Velariah said.

    I wanted to comment on it but refrained from doing so.

    Velariah went to work and placed the saddlebags at the side of my large abdomen, fairly close to where she would be seated. She then connected the two with a leather strap that went all around me. I stretched my legs and stood at an intimidating height to allow her to have easy access.

    I now turned myself into a jack.

    This body kept amazing me.

    Once car mechanic Velariah was finished, I lowered myself again and looked behind me.

    The bags could carry about as much in them as Draco¡¯s large backpack. These would make carrying large amounts of goods a breeze.

    ¡°Looking good on you,¡± Dworag said. ¡°But then again, anything looks good on you, missy.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, I guess.¡±

    When Velariah paid the dwarf I noted that the total cost didn¡¯t even reach a gold coin. That was a nice change for once.

    The dwarf took a small bow before wishing us luck and walking back into the shop.

    I rolled my eyes at Velariah, who was looking at me incredulously.

    ¡°This dwarf,¡± I said softly.

    Velariah grinned. ¡°Won¡¯t let him take you from me.¡±

    I smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    We arrived at the guild hall which was starting to empty up. Seralyn and Nira were already present and having a drink. Velariah ordered two drinks from the waiter and we sat down next to them.

    ¡°Good morning to you two. Any word on Draco?¡±

    ¡°He was getting a couple more items,¡± Seralyn answered. ¡°He¡¯ll be back soon. We already ordered for him too.¡±

    ¡°In that case,¡± Velariah said, as she beckoned over the waiter again. ¡°Let¡¯s get us something as well. How much do you want, Elania?¡± She asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have whatever you¡¯re having. I had a decent amount overall, yesterday.¡±

    ¡°No stuffing today?¡± Seralyn joked. ¡°Unfortunate.¡±

    ¡°Bet you¡¯re just jealous I can do that without getting fat.¡± I fired at her.

    ¡°You¡¯re calling that.¡± She eyed my behind. ¡°Not fat?¡±

    Oh, she had me there. Quickly, come up with something witty!

    ¡°That¡¯s not fat. It¡¯s all muscle¡­ and silk, apparently, want a demonstration?¡± I chuckled.

    ¡°Uhm, no thanks. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Elania:1 Seralyn:0

    The waiter returned with our drinks and Velariah placed her order. Meanwhile, Draco entered the guild hall with a stuffed backpack. It was literally bulging.

    ¡°Wanna drop some of that in these fancy, new saddlebags?¡± I asked as he sat down and put his bag next to him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, Miss Elania. It would be much better to keep those free for anything we find so we don¡¯t mix things up.¡±

    Fair enough.

    ¡°By the way,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°I¡¯ve been breaking my head over what the hell you just showed up with and I¡¯m at a loss. Care to demonstrate?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve been waiting for you to ask.¡±

    I brought up one of the shields with blades attached and laid it on the table.

    ¡°You see, I can use these to block and attack. We tried them partially on a Bunbear quest yesterday, and, though I haven¡¯t fully tried their limits yet, they are quite handy when you have as many hands as me. Now, imagine when Velariah is on my back and I hold these out on both sides of me and charge through a group of enemies.¡±

    ¡°That.¡± Nira started and paused. ¡°Seems quite... horrifying.¡±

    ¡°Well, that was my plan,¡± I replied.

    ¡°How do you come up with all this?¡± Seralyn asked.

    I shrugged. ¡°Dunno, finding a use for my extra hands, I guess?¡±

    ¡°I was about to comment that.¡± Draco started ¡°I wouldn¡¯t quite say it would be useful for anyone else. They don¡¯t quite have the reach of longswords, and you can still use your spear behind all this.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± I replied.

    I put my hand back under the table as I saw the waiter approaching with food.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m curious how they will do in a fight,¡± Seralyn added while taking her plate.

    ¡°They should be versatile enough to help in all situations,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t have the blade longer than this. Coldanus knew exactly what I was aiming for, it seems.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you can say what you want about the bastard, but he is good at his trade.¡±

    ¡°So, I¡¯ve heard,¡± I said when the waiter returned with my plate. ¡°So, I¡¯ve heard.¡±

    Faragi

    Ideally, I''d like to release 2 chapters every 2 days like today. I am now 15 chapters ahead on Patreon and would prefer to keep that gap. I will see if I can keep up with this schedule or whether I''d like to change something.

    As always thanks for the support

    and a special shoutout to my new Patron

    the raging gamer

    Be sure to check out my Patron page and/or discord server. I post WIP for the artwork on both!

    https://discord.gg/TqFjdv8uaE

 1.57 Goblin Cave

    We had a fairly quick breakfast. I wasn¡¯t exactly the slowest eater in general and now I was even faster than usual due to the anticipation I was experiencing.

    Should I be worried about turning into a psychopath?

    One of the benefits we were currently experiencing now that we had plenty of money built up was that these meals at the guild were insanely cheap. The matter of who was paying was never brought up, we really felt like it was unimportant at this point. More often than not Velariah just dug into her pouch and pulled out a silver coin or two, tipping generously in the process.

    We finished our business inside and prepared to move out. I did my usual check, in silence, to make sure we had everything. Draco carried the bulk of the supplies and Velariah and Seralyn each carried their share of potions. I believe Velariah brought one of the paralytic mushrooms with her. I wondered if we would have a use for it.

    After I concluded we¡¯d forgotten nothing, we checked with the Lore keeper for the exact location of the cave in question and soon left the building.

    We could have Nira scout if necessary but that¡¯s something we¡¯d rather avoid, considering what happened last time.

    We exited the eastern gate and followed the dirt trail towards the forest.

    ¡°Nira?¡± I asked.

    She was already starting to struggle to keep up with her talons.

    ¡°Yes?¡± She asked timidly.

    ¡°You know the deal. Want a ride?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°Oh, me too, me too!¡± Velariah said excitedly.

    ¡°You¡¯re walking, for now,¡± I said. ¡°Can¡¯t have you getting fat from being carried around all day.¡± I smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯m not fat!¡± She said.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I said.¡±

    ¡°Aww, our first lovers¡¯ quarrel,¡± Seralyn commented with a grin.

    ¡°Shut it!¡±  Velariah and I both said at the same time.

    I grinned at that. That, and Nira¡¯s expression were hilarious.

    Fortunately, Nira and Draco weren¡¯t the inquisitive types.

    I lowered myself so the harpy could easily hop on top of me. With a swift motion and a flap of her wings, she got on top and sat down on my abdomen with her claws around my midsection.

    We reached the checkpoint and I smiled as we passed the guards, who were looking at our party with curiosity.

    It made me wonder who our next party member would be. Having another ranged damage dealer, preferably with magic, would be a great asset.

    ¡°Velariah?¡± I asked the elf, who was walking a bit too close next to me.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°What happened to the recruitment post we left at the guild?¡±

    ¡°No idea. Draco?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still open,¡± Draco replied. ¡°If Nira decides to stay with us, we will cancel it. Until then, people are still free to apply.¡±

    ¡°And we didn¡¯t get any new applications in the meantime?¡± I asked.

    The lizardman shook his head. ¡°Afraid not.¡±

    ¡°Not sure if that¡¯s something you should be afraid of. I¡¯d rather stick with Nira. She is great.¡±

    ¡°That she is,¡± Draco commented.

    ¡°Have you guys put any thought into looking for another ranged damage dealer?¡±

    ¡°My arrows not good enough for you?¡± Seralyn commented.

    I saw she wasn¡¯t being entirely serious when I looked at her face.

    ¡°I was thinking a mage would be great to have, in addition to your arrows, Seralyn.¡±

    ¡°You may be right,¡± Velariah said. ¡°But our party is starting to grow fairly large, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    She had a point there.

    ¡°I would agree. However, having a mage would allow us to fill our last weakness. I¡¯m pretty sure there are monsters out there that are resistant to normal attacks, correct?¡±

    ¡°That would be correct.¡± Draco filled us in. ¡°While this dragon-blessed steel is wonderful, we cannot rely on its effect to trigger consistently.¡±

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Velariah added.

    ¡°We should open recruitment for a mage then. When we return, that is.¡±

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d be scared to death by mages,¡± Seralyn commented. ¡°And no, I didn¡¯t mean that in a mean way.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°As long as they don¡¯t try to roast me, I guess I¡¯d be alright with them.¡±

    ¡°Not getting roasted sounds like a good idea,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Crispy spider isn¡¯t exactly my thing.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re implying that spiders are totally your thing,¡± Seralyn giggled.

    ¡°Maybe they are,¡± Velariah said in a serious tone.

    I sped up my pace slightly so I was ahead of the others. I didn¡¯t need them to be able to see my face, which I was sure was red at this time.

    ¡°Are you alright, Elania?¡± Nira asked me.

    I didn¡¯t answer and waited until my face took on a more normal color. I stopped for a bit and allowed the others to catch up.

    ¡°Thought I¡¯d seen something.¡± I lied.

    Velariah didn¡¯t reply and walked back next to me with a broad smile.

    I couldn¡¯t believe how carefree she was.

    A few minutes later, we reached the forest¡¯s edge, which forced us to be more careful. From there we walked southeast, the opposite direction to the witch¡¯s abode.

    We ran into the occasional goblin which was killed off by Seralyn without a sound. They were easy to take care of when you could shoot them from afar with deadly accuracy. The lush vegetation was a blessing - it made it quite easy for us to hide.

    There was only one time where we hadn¡¯t spotted a goblin before it spotted us. Its skin color camouflaged it pretty well. He had been sleeping in the vegetation, likely hiding from his kin, and I stepped on him. He had eyed me in shock before being finished off by an axe blow from Draco.

    ¡°Hold up,¡± Velariah whispered. ¡°I have the feeling there are more around here.¡±

    I looked around, but I couldn¡¯t see any. It was unsettling.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead,¡± I said.

    If anyone would be able to resist ambushes, it would be me. I wouldn¡¯t fall to their poisoned arrows and I was confident my armor would protect my vulnerable parts.

    I had Nira dismount.

    I held one of the shields in front of my head as I slowly made my way out of the brush into a more open area where the ground consisted of hardened dirt.

    I could see why Velariah said she expected more. This dirt didn¡¯t harden by itself. I was fairly certain there were old footprints covering the floor as well.

    Moments later, I felt something poke my rear. I looked behind me to see a small arrow sticking into my spider abdomen.

    Why did they keep aiming there? Did they not know their arrows didn¡¯t actually penetrate my exoskeleton?

    I imagined they did it because it was a large target.

    Stupid, but beneficial to me.

    Several goblins jumped out into the open, each of them carrying melee weapons. I counted five but there was no telling how many more hid in the vegetation around this area.

    I looked around and found the archer that had hit me. He let loose another arrow, which ricocheted off my midsection. Another arrow flew from the same direction, hitting me in my abdomen, but the arrow fell out after only penetrating superficially.

    Two archers.

    I looked around for a second but I couldn¡¯t spot any more. I decided to take them out first.

    Just as I thought that, I felt heat on my rear. I looked around to see another fireball fly my way from the opposite side of the clearing. I dodged it with a quick sidestep.

    Screw that. That mage is my priority target.

    I ran in the direction from which the fireball was cast and was met with another one head-on. I easily blocked it with a shield before it could hit my head.

    I jumped into the vegetation and was met with five more goblins with spears.

    It would appear they had tried to draw me into an ambush.

    Emphasis on tried to.

    I charged forward and found the goblin mage, easily made out due to a staff with an orange orb on top of it. I pinned him down and delivered a lethal dose of venom while the other goblins screamed and charged from behind.

    I took a quick look at their weapons but found no ranged weapons that could actually reach my head.

    I charged through the group of goblins with their crude weapons with my blades at my sides and cut through two of them while piercing one further out with my long spear.

    I let the momentum run out and turned around to see three more goblins with daggers had appeared.

    I ran through them and slashed all of them. Their blood covered my blades as I turned around yet again and finished off the last few, who¡¯d given up and started running. With more awaiting me in the clearing, I didn¡¯t have the luxury of taking any captives so, painful as it was, I was forced into killing them off.

    I gave them quick deaths with my venom. That was the least I could do.

    I then quickly made my way back over to the clearing and charged straight to the opposite side, taking the archers by surprise. Each one of my blades killed one of them.

    Finally, I ran towards the group of melee-orientated goblins and fought in a more hand-to-hand style. My blades cut through their spears like hot blades through butter. I stabbed a goblin with both of my blades while, at the same time, piercing one with my spear. Another one of them found themselves in front of me and I pinned him down with my legs before injecting him with venom.

    A couple more of them appeared from the nearby vegetation but they were already too late. This battle was over before it even began. If they didn¡¯t manage to take me out immediately, I would simply be able to cut through each one of them.

    I decapitated one and stabbed the other in the chest. The two remaining goblins ran into the clearing where they were struck down by arrows - one of those caught fire.

    ¡°Holy crap, Elania. That was beyond brutal.¡± Seralyn said as she approached, with the others.

    I shrugged. ¡°Yeah, I guess so. Velariah, could I borrow you for a sec?¡± I pointed to the arrow in my abdomen which was out of reach of my arms.

    I guessed I could get it out with my spear, but I¡¯d rather not cause unnecessary damage.

    ¡°No problem.¡± She walked up to me and carefully took out the arrow.

    Nira was eager to use her healing magic and did so, but it didn¡¯t prove to do much. There was hardly any damage.

    I thought for a few moments about the slaughter I¡¯d just caused. I didn¡¯t think I would ever get used to killing sentient beings like this¡­

    I hoped that meant I¡¯d not lost all my humanity.

    ¡°You okay?¡± Velariah asked me with worry in her voice.

    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m happy these new weapons do what they are supposed to do but, you know...¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe I was looking forward to this earlier.

    ¡°I get what you mean. I¡¯m not sure what to say about it, either.¡± Velariah patted my back. ¡°But we still have a mission to complete. Let¡¯s continue, we¡¯re nowhere near our destination yet.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I can¡¯t lose focus right now.¡±

    I hoped this would get easier with time, but somewhere deep inside of me, I hoped it wouldn¡¯t.

    We regrouped and checked for any worthwhile loot. Besides the staff that the goblin mage used, there really wasn¡¯t anything of value. A few silvers in total was all that was worth taking. We simply deposited all looted items in my saddlebags before continuing.

    I cleaned my weapons on the nearby trees and bushes as we marched forward once more. Nira was seated on my back again and I was leading the way.

    We walked for hours and, eventually, I took pity on Velariah and allowed her to hop on my back, something for which she was more than grateful.

    According to Draco, we would reach our destination soon and we decided to take a break before that. He handed me a canteen, from which I started drinking while circling around our temporary camp.

    I doubted we would be in trouble from a goblin ambush at this point, but there was no harm in making sure the perimeter was secured.

    It made me wonder if I could spin a thread around our camp like a tripwire and then hold my leg on it to sense vibrations from possible intruders. That¡¯s how spiders did it, right?

    I had no idea how they did it, just that they did something like it. Velariah and I would have to look into that someday. I was curious now.

    I emptied the canteen and circled once more.

    Velariah came walking up to me while chewing on an apple.

    ¡°You doing alright, El?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m just anxious. I just don¡¯t like this place. I can¡¯t help but feel we¡¯re being watched all the time.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no kidding. I can¡¯t wait until we¡¯re done here, either. We¡¯re almost there, will you be fine?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s make this quick.¡±

    ¡°El?¡± Velariah asked softly.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Please stay safe, will you?¡±

    ¡°I will.¡±

    She finished her apple and we approached the others again. I handed my now empty canteen to Draco before I continued to lead the way.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what Draco meant when he said we were almost there. It took us half an hour before we ran into more goblins. Seralyn and Nira took care of a couple of patrolling goblins before our destination came into sight.

    From the bushes surrounding our target, we were observing a cave that seemed to lead into a hill that was overgrown with grass. I could vaguely make out rocky walls leading into the darkness of a cave.

    In front of said cave were several seemingly better-armored goblins. They still had shabby weapons from the looks of it, but they wore more than a simple loincloth.

    I doubted leather would help them much, though.

    The others observed our destination with us. It seemed they had several archers positioned above the entrance on the hill.

    ¡°How do you guys want to go about this?¡± I spoke quietly. ¡°Surprise attack or careful extermination?¡±

    ¡°I count five archers,¡± Seralyn added. ¡°You could take them out yourself or let me handle them, up to you.¡±

    I thought about the best course of action. There were a fair amount of goblins patrolling the area outside the cave and I had no information on what waited inside.

    ¡°It would be foolish to rush into there without knowing what¡¯s inside.¡± Velariah joined the conversation. ¡°I suggest we take out whatever is outside quickly and then converge at the entrance. Set up a defensive line with Draco in the front while Elania takes out the archers. After they are taken out, Nira can take to the skies to warn us of more incoming enemies.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay with that,¡± Draco said. ¡°Nira?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure...¡± The harpy started. ¡°If I fly here I might draw unwanted attention.¡±

    ¡°You could help taking out some of the less well-armed goblins,¡± I suggested. ¡°I doubt you¡¯re unable to handle daggers.¡± I smiled.

    ¡°So Draco and I rush to the entrance while Elania takes out the archers. Seralyn and Nira clear the surroundings while I support them. That¡¯s the plan?¡±

    We all nodded.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this,¡± Velariah said.

    Seralyn took aim and I waited for her shot before beginning my sprint. I held a shield in front of my face between me and the goblin archers, and another at my side. I intended to slice a few goblins with it on my way to the foot of the hill.

    Seralyn¡¯s arrow flew true and hit one of the goblins to our left in the head. I made a run for it and slashed a goblin before they even knew what happened. Another goblin that was in my way received a lethal cut as well and I even managed to severely injure one to my left with a swipe from my spear while holding the shield in front of my head.

    The arrows soon started to rain on me, five at a time. After killing the last goblin in the way between me and the rangers, I held my other shield up as well and hid all my arms behind them.

    I couldn¡¯t see what was going on down below as I ran up the hill. All I noticed were arrows scattering on my shield or my carapace. Only one managed to hit me, and it hit my spider abdomen, doing zero damage.

    I held my right shield up as I ran past the goblins, who were still neatly standing in a line.

    My momentum carried my blade through four of them, I finished off the last one with a stab to the heart.

    After I made sure they were dead I looked at what was going on down below.

    Draco had already reached the entrance and casually parried a spear before decapitating a goblin with his other shield axe. I believe I saw Nira almost ripping a goblin in half with her large talons and Seralyn was racking up a killing spree as arrow after arrow mowed down goblins that came to reinforce.

    Velariah supported where necessary. She was currently making sure none of them would reach Seralyn. I quickly ran down the hill to aid Seralyn. Draco seemed to need some assistance soon.

    ¡°Velariah, go help Draco.¡± I shouted.

    There was a stream of goblins converging on Seralyn¡¯s position, but the circumstances for me were ideal.

    I rushed down the small hill and ran through the stream of goblins with the blades at my side. I didn¡¯t stop until I couldn¡¯t see any more goblins coming from the front.

    When no more seemed to appear I turned around.

    What was behind me was nothing short of a massacre. About fifteen goblins lay dead or dying on the ground. Goblin blood started to soak the ground around them.

    I really wouldn¡¯t get used to this.

    Unable to stand the suffering, I ended two goblins¡¯ lives that were already at death¡¯s door.

    I made my way back to Seralyn, who had joined Velariah and Draco and was shooting at whatever was in the cave. Nira was standing behind them.

    ¡°You guys alright here?¡± I asked while I scanned the surroundings.

    ¡°We seem to be in an okay position here,¡± Draco answered.

    It seemed Draco had ignited a torch and tossed it into the cave to provide us with visibility of what was going on near the entrance. Several goblins already lay dead at their feet.

    ¡°We going?¡± I asked cautiously.

    ¡°Hold on a second,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°Something¡¯s coming.¡±

    Faragi

    There''s another chapter :)

 1.58 Tripwireâ€

    Faragi

    I posted 2 chapters. Make sure to check the previous one if you didn''t

    I was about to ask Seralyn if she had any idea what was coming. I was standing ready, together with Velariah and Draco, to face whatever was coming our way.

    From Seralyn¡¯s tone of voice, I was expecting something large and dangerous. I could feel the ground vibrate but not as much as with the trolls. If I were to guess, it was smaller than a troll.

    ¡°Are you just going by sound there, Seralyn? Because I can feel something coming, and it doesn¡¯t feel large.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s most likely Hobs,¡± Draco said.

    ¡°Hobgoblins?¡± Velariah asked.

    Draco nodded. ¡°The evolved subspecies.¡±

    ¡°They dangerous?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not more dangerous than trolls. Not nearly as powerful, just quicker.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be much of an issue then,¡± Seralyn said, with an arrow aimed at the darkness behind the torch.

    Soon enough, a greenish figure started to make its way into the light with a large spear. Without hesitation, Seralyn fired her arrow. The figure roared in pain before charging our way. Draco and I were ready to block, but Seralyn had already fired another arrow, this time hitting its head, instantly killing it just after it had passed by the torch.

    What lay dead before us, looked to be a larger, more muscled, version of a goblin. It also carried a weapon that was of notably higher quality and a full set of leather armor.

    If only it had had a helmet¡­

    ¡°That...¡± I started. ¡°Looked awfully simple.¡±

    Just like that, I had jinxed it. I could feel more vibrations in the ground beneath me, and this time, it didn¡¯t feel like just one of them was coming our way.

    ¡°Fuck, I jinxed it. There¡¯s more coming. No idea how many.¡±

    Draco and I were able to block off the entire entrance with just the two of us. Velariah stood between us with her sword at the ready.

    With four shields blocking the way and a greatsword, spear, and arrows behind them, it started to feel like I¡¯d found myself at Thermopylae. The only difference was that we didn¡¯t have an all too clear view of what was coming.

    A sound came from around a corner and Seralyn fired an arrow, which apparently caught fire, revealing several more hobgoblins were coming our way. With the fire burning, Seralyn got a much better view of what was going on beyond the torch, and started firing arrow after arrow at the approaching pack of enemies.

    I wasn¡¯t going to imitate the Spartans and see how long we could hold, though. They were neatly clustered. I raised my fangs and sprayed my venom all over them when they were in range.

    Accuracy be damned.

    Wild venom spray is where it¡¯s at!

    I didn¡¯t stop soaking the group of approaching hobgoblins, and I believe I saw a couple of normal goblins among them, until I¡¯d run completely dry.

    It seemed to do its job well. Unlike the trolls, their skin started to melt almost immediately after contact.

    That stuff was nasty.

    The goblins that weren¡¯t too busy screaming and rolling around in pain were either partially or fully blinded while running at us and easily finished off by Velariah¡¯s sword, my spear, or Seralyn¡¯s arrows.

    ¡°Holy crap, Elania. You have no chill.¡± Seralyn commented on the gore in front of us.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to work this well!¡± I said.

    The sight was gruesome, and I had to put effort into not vomiting over it. Draco and I held the line while my venom and Seralyn¡¯s arrows did their job. We were safe at this distance and there was no rational reason for us to get any closer.

    Sure, we could have put them out of their misery, but that would be an unnecessary risk.

    As gruesome as the sight before us was, we remained steady. Velariah moved away from between us to the outside of the cave, where I saw her looking around for more enemies.

    The screams ahead of us started to die out, as did their movements. When none were left standing, I decided I¡¯d seen enough. I moved in and delivered the mercy blow to the still living adversaries.

    I looked back to my party members and saw Nira walk away with a face that was as green as it could get.

    Yup, couldn¡¯t blame her.

    Yet one more advantage of this body - my stomach seemed to be made of iron. Well, vegetables without meat seemed to be an issue, but that was another story entirely.

    I picked up the torch, which was tainted by blood and venom, and moved forward slowly, examining the surroundings while holding my spear ready in case of an attack. Seralyn recovered her arrows behind me and cleaned them on the moss on the walls.

    Velariah joined up with me.

    ¡°You feeling any more coming?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I think that¡¯s all, unless there are more that are not moving.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s find out how big this place is, shall we?¡± She asked.

    I nodded.

    I traced my torch along the walls and found several small white mushrooms. They almost looked like the edible kind from Earth. I could probably eat those now, even if they were poisonous¡­ an interesting thought.

    The way forward didn¡¯t lead down which led me to believe this cave wasn¡¯t that large. The others followed us and it seemed Nira regained some color on her face.

    Not much later, we walked into a wide-open, circular cave room that was dimly lit by small torches on the walls. At the edges of the room were smaller rooms that seemed to be carved out. In these rooms were shabby beds, which were not much more than simple sleeping bags and sheets.

    There were no enemies in the area and Draco pulled out a second torch, ignited it, and started sweeping the smaller rooms to search for items of value. There was a fair deal of smaller potions and pouches spread out all over the place which we gathered and deposited in the center of the central chamber.

    When I held my torch closer to the ceiling, I could make out several colors of moss and more mushrooms growing on the ceiling, including what I believed were the same yellow mushrooms that we got from the witch, although these were much smaller.

    ¡°What do we do with this place?¡± I asked. ¡°Do we torch it, or...?¡±

    ¡°First, we take several of those mushrooms to prove we conquered this place,¡± Draco said. ¡°I assume you are able to reach them?¡±

    The ceiling was quite far up, but if I extended my legs, I had no trouble reaching them.

    ¡°Not a problem. Velariah, do you have a small bag for me?¡±

    The elf reached into her pack of supplies, pulled out a cloth pouch, and handed it to me.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said as I raised myself to the ceiling.

    I started gathering some of the white and yellow mushrooms. I also added some moss, just in case. I then walked around the room to see if I could find any other different types of mushrooms.

    Above one of the doorways leading to one of the outer rooms, I found a cluster of mushrooms with green caps and white stems. I decided to gather several of those as well and added them to the pouch.

    I imagined this pouch contained quite the deadly cocktail.

    ¡°Draco, do you have some water I could wash my hands with?¡± I called out to the lizardman, who was in one of the side rooms.

    He exited one of the rooms with a pouch that contained coins, judging from the sound.

    ¡°Sure, just a second, Miss Elania.¡± He walked over to my rear and put the pouch in one of the saddlebags before he reached into his own backpack and fished out a canteen.

    He opened it and started pouring water slowly, which I used to wash the gauntlets that I used to gather the mushrooms.

    I know I would be resistant to poison, but I couldn¡¯t risk harming others with it. I may have had some kitchen accidents with chili peppers in the kitchen back on Earth. Rubbing my eyes after cutting them, by accident, of course, was a bad experience.

    I thanked Draco and continued my search around this cave that seemed to have functioned as a base of operations for the goblins.

    Besides a few discarded weapons and a few pouches of coins, there wasn¡¯t a whole lot of value. We found a few knives that seemed to be of sufficient quality to sell for a couple of silvers, so we decided to take them with us. These saddlebags helped us to take more things with us, and I sure as hell was going to make use of them.

    After checking all the smaller rooms, we converged in the middle of the central chamber and took a look at our stash.

    Seralyn, greedy as she was, opened all the pouches and gathered the coins in one heap before she started counting. Draco took the tools and knives that were of some use and deposited those in my saddlebags.

    ¡°Not a whole lot,¡± Velariah mentioned.

    ¡°Not sure what you expected from goblins,¡± Seralyn answered while counting.

    ¡°True,¡± Velariah replied.

    ¡°There¡¯s only like two gold worth of silver coins here,¡± Seralyn said after finishing her count. ¡°Disappointing.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe money is the number one reason we¡¯re here,¡± I added. ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t even know how much this quest¡¯s reward is.¡±

    ¡°Five gold,¡± Draco answered.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a lot indeed.¡±

    ¡°Maybe not for us,¡± Velariah said. ¡°But for killing goblins, it¡¯s quite a lot, even with the added danger of poisons. Any decent armor reduces the risk significantly.¡±

    ¡°That I noticed, they do seem to rely on their poisons a whole lot, and if they run into a certain half spider lady, they are in a lot of trouble,¡± I replied.

    ¡°Well, gold is gold,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Hopefully they made us progress our inherities somewhat, that would be a decent reward in itself.¡±

    ¡°Still waiting for my evolution,¡± Seralyn added. ¡°I¡¯d love to know what my evolutions look like.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t we all?¡± I added.

    ¡°Good point.¡± Seralyn agreed with me for once.

    ¡°We should really look into dungeons for that,¡± Draco said. ¡°And for that, we may have to travel a bit.¡±

    I was looking forward to dungeons, killing anything that wasn¡¯t a goblin would be far easier on my mind. I was, however, not looking forward to leaving Dawnleaf behind in the middle of all this. As much as I¡¯d like to grow stronger in order to survive, I did not want to put the village at risk.

    I hoped Valtheril had a solid plan.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can make it back to Dawnleaf before nightfall.¡±

    ¡°The easiest thing would be to just stay here for the night,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Will it be safe?¡± Nira asked.

    Velariah shrugged. ¡°I think the pile of corpses on the way here will be a great deterrent. We should just have a guard at night near the entrance to this room, just in case.¡±

    ¡°Should work,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone that is not a goblin would wander in here in the first place, and goblins we can handle just fine.¡±

    ¡°In that case,¡± Draco said as he flexed his axes. ¡°Let¡¯s get a campfire going and see if we can find some fresh meat.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s plenty of fresh meat on the way here.¡± Seralyn giggled.

    ¡°Yuck!¡± Nira commented.

    ¡°Shall we secure the perimeter, Velariah?¡± I asked. ¡°I got an idea on the way here, I¡¯m curious if I can pull it off.¡±

    ¡°What did you cook up this time?¡± The elf said with a smile.

    ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± I smiled back.

    Seralyn seemed eager to comment, but a glance from Velariah in her direction made her keep her mouth shut.

    Thanks, Vel.

    We walked back through the tunnel, carefully avoiding the corpses that were still melting away due to the acidic properties of my venom.

    I highly doubted anyone that observed that, would dare to advance further.

    Velariah tried to pass without getting a mixture of blood and venom on her sabatons but failed to completely keep them clean.

    I grinned at her antics and she sighed in response.

    ¡°You have an easy time, El. You don¡¯t have to spend hours cleaning and polishing your armor.¡±

    ¡°Bathing isn¡¯t exactly short for me, though,¡± I replied.

    ¡°Hmm, fair enough.¡±

    Velariah unsheathed her sword and we walked through the nearby vegetation together. After we found nothing, we explored a bit further out.

    Confident that nothing was nearby and watching us, I commenced part two of my plan.

    I created a line of silk between two trees and then extended the line to a third tree. I put one of my legs on the line between tree number two and three.

    ¡°Vel, do you mind touching the line between those trees?¡± I pointed to the first part of the line between tree number one and two.

    ¡°Interesting idea,¡± Velariah commented as she walked over to the line.

    The elf then took her sword and started poking the line with the blunt side of her weapon. The vibrations were easily registered by my leg. It seemed losing the hairs had not impeded its ability to register senses.

    When I thought about it, it seemed my body had created a more efficient version of itself. It still possessed the same properties, but in a more compact ¡®package¡¯ so to say.

    ¡°You feeling this?¡± Velariah called out as she poked the thread some more.

    ¡°Very clearly,¡± I replied.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned.¡± The elf said as she walked back to me.

    ¡°Honestly, you¡¯re amazing at being a spider.¡± She giggled.

    ¡°Hm? Was that a compliment?¡± I chuckled. ¡°Or an insult?¡±

    ¡°A compliment, actually. I love how you¡¯re working hard to learn and experiment with what you can do.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, I figured I might as well. I¡¯m starting to accept this body more and more. I don¡¯t mind it at all, anymore. Actually, I¡¯m starting to enjoy this, as weird as it may sound.¡±

    ¡°Nah, that doesn¡¯t sound weird at all. You¡¯re working with what you¡¯ve been given. And quite honestly, a lot of the stuff you can do is really, really cool.¡± Velariah said as she stood in front of me.

    ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re right. This is pretty cool.¡±

    I had my back turned towards the cave entrance, so I doubt any peepers would see much. I took the opportunity to give Velariah a quick kiss on her hair.

    ¡°And you give the best hugs.¡± She said excitedly as she took my pedipalps in her hands and put them around her back.

    I grinned. ¡°Yeah, if you¡¯re not scared by the extra limbs, I guess that¡¯s true.¡±

    ¡°You couldn¡¯t ever scare me, Elania.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Our first meeting told me something different, entirely.¡±

    ¡°That was before I knew you were such a lovable person.¡±

    I grinned and patted her back with my normal-gloved hands after planting my spear in the dirt.

    I heard a sound behind me and broke the hug. Draco walked out of the cave with one axe in hand and walked over to a tree, preparing to cut it down.

    ¡°Draco,¡± I called out to him. ¡°Do you mind taking a tree outside of the first ring?¡±

    ¡°Not a problem.¡± He affirmed and walked to another tree.

    I turned back to the white-haired elf.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if I can repeat the tripwire thing on a¡­ larger scale.¡± I paused. ¡°Actually...¡±

    I looked around the ring of trees, then to the cave entrance. ¡°Hmmm, I could try to lead it all the way inside the cave.¡±

    ¡°That would be amazing.¡± Velariah thought for a second. ¡°Why not make the thread sticky, while you¡¯re at it? If anything triggers it, they will have to free themselves, which will cause the thread to vibrate even more.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re getting pretty good at spidery things as well, Vel. That¡¯s a great idea.¡±

    I saw Seralyn exit the cave in the corner of my vision and turned to see her observing the line I¡¯d created.

    ¡°Interesting...¡± Was all she said as she ran out, to find some game to hunt I assumed.

    I looked at Velariah, who was looking back at me with an incredulous expression and starting laughing.

    Yeah, Seralyn was a weird one, for sure.

    I was distracted by the sound and sight of a tree falling. I walked over to Draco, who was now cutting off the branches of said tree.

    ¡°Any chance you got a couple of thick branches that we can use for a tripwire?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Draco said, as he cut a few branches and removed their leaves.

    He cut several Y-shaped branches and carved points at the ends so they could be placed in the ground easily.

    Several minutes later I had what I needed.

    ¡°Thanks a lot, Draco.¡± I thanked him.

    ¡°Not a problem, Miss Elania.¡± He said as he continued cutting the trunk into smaller logs.

    I started with a thread from the tree closest to the entrance of the cave, which I then extended all around the clearing. When I was at the last tree, I asked Velariah to poke the thread between the first two trees.

    ¡°Carefully, though. It¡¯s sticky as hell. You might want to warn Draco about the thread too.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Velariah said as she walked over to Draco.

    After informing him, she went to the first part of the wire. I put my leg on the thread in preparation as I saw Velariah poke the thread with a stick.

    Sure enough, I felt the vibrations clearly. I was impressed that the sensations were not diminished because of the extended range this time around.

    I continued the thread to the cave entrance, where I planted one of the sticks into the ground before carefully leading the thread through it. I then walked inside the cave.

    The reason why I thought this might work was because the floor was extremely flat. I doubted this would work with more height differences. I stuck a thread in a layer of moss on the wall and found that it remained. I then led the thread through it before moving to the central chamber, where I simply connected the thread to the floor somewhere near the center.

    Nira was looking at me with wide eyes as I worked.

    ¡°Is that what I think it is?¡± She asked.

    I nodded. ¡°Elania¡¯s tripwire alarm system.¡±

    ¡°Interesting...¡± She repeated what Seralyn said earlier.

    I shrugged. I guessed it was kind of interesting.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch the thread, though, it¡¯s sticky.¡±

    Velariah entered the room. ¡°You¡¯ve really outdone yourself this time.¡± She commented as she observed the thread.

    ¡°Guess it means I¡¯m on guard duty, doesn¡¯t it?¡± I smiled. ¡°To be fair, I believe I can last the entire night without issues. I have done it once, before we met, and it didn¡¯t seem to impact me much.¡±

    ¡°Well, if you think you can manage, then, I guess?¡±

    ¡°I should be fine. If not, we can always rotate guards.¡± I found my lips curling into a smile.

    ¡°I suggest the three of us take guard duty anyway. I¡¯ll carry both of you tomorrow, that helps, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind,¡± Velariah said with a grin.

    ¡°What can I say? I am a generous person.¡± I grinned back.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be happy to help,¡± Nira said softly.

    I felt something tug the tripwire and stopped laughing as I instantly ran out to see what had triggered it.

    I was half expecting a goblin patrol but was both annoyed and pleasantly surprised when I saw Seralyn struggling to get free from the silk that was around her calves.

    Velariah and Nira exited the cave and observed Seralyn¡¯s struggles.

    I started laughing and the two of them soon joined me.

    ¡°I should have known this would happen,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not even surprised at this point.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie. You totally intended to turn Seralyn into your prey.¡± Velariah was still laughing.

    The harder she laughed, the more annoyed Seralyn got.

    ¡°Can I get some help here?¡± Seralyn asked angrily.

    ¡°Can¡¯t we leave her like that?¡± Velariah suggested sarcastically with a wicked smile.

    ¡°Well, she has four rabbits, by the looks of it. I¡¯d hate for you to miss dinner.¡±

    ¡°Shame,¡± Velariah said as she walked over to the ensnared elf.

    Shame, indeed.

    Faragi

    Ok so, I think I will stick to 2 chapters every 2 days. If things don''t go well writing-wise, I may do 1 instead, at times.

    I am also playing with the idea of taking a short break after arc 1, which I''d like to end after Elania gets to know her inherities. I''d like to use that little break to rewrite older chapters to make sure things flow better, make more sense, etc. There seems to be a fair deal of people who struggle to get through the first parts.

    I honestly don''t think the whole is too bad at all but I can see some concerns of more serious readers and I''d like to fix them.

    If people are interested I would love to know their input on these older chapters to point out mistakes and things that make little sense. I''d be happy to hear from multiple points of view to see if I can get a more coherent story.

    As always, thanks for the support.

    And a special shoutout to my new supporters on Patreon <3

    Logan

    Britt

    Cuber

    PS Artwork WIP Update:

    I hope we can get the face to look as good as in the sketch :O

 1.59 Howling in the Night

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, alright.¡± I apologized to Seralyn as I was cutting her loose with my pedipalps. They seemed to be immune to the sticky effects of the threads. ¡°I do have to thank you for testing my tripwire, though.¡±

    ¡°You call that a tripwire?¡± Seralyn asked. ¡°That¡¯s a fucking death trap.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I guess I underestimated my own strength.¡±

    I freed her from the silk and she picked up the rabbits she had dropped.

    ¡°Nice catch,¡± Velariah commented on the four rabbits.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Seralyn said in a half-angry voice.

    Seems I¡¯d pissed her off more than I meant to. That was unintended. I was only joking when I said we¡¯d leave her there.

    ¡°Look, I am sorry, alright,¡± I said as she walked to the cave already.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Seralyn simply shrugged it off and continued.

    ¡°Just leave it,¡± Velariah said when Seralyn was too far to hear her. ¡°She doesn¡¯t know when it¡¯s a joke, even when she does it herself all the time. She¡¯ll come around.¡±

    I sighed and looked at the tripwire. With a bit of luck, I would be able to repair it without having to do the whole thing over again. I went to work and replaced the part of the line that Seralyn had unwillingly ruined. I connected the thread to the thread at the next tree and ran it all the way around, connecting the outer end to the wall next to the entrance of the cave.

    I¡¯d created a full circle now.

    Draco finished cutting smaller logs from the tree he¡¯d felled and carried them over to the cave, carefully stepping over the tripwire.

    ¡°Awww, poor Elania,¡± Velariah commented after I sighed again.

    She dragged me down into a hug. ¡°Does this help?¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± I let out as I closed my eyes. ¡°A bit.¡±

    ¡°You know, when you were getting your new skin, I talked to Allina. She told me Seralyn hasn¡¯t exactly led the easiest life. She didn¡¯t get into details too much, but I think it¡¯s one of the reasons why Seralyn has such trouble making friends.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no kidding,¡± I said as I returned the hug.

    ¡°She is reliable. I am sure you and she can be good friends later down the line.¡±

    ¡°Hm, it¡¯s going to take some time, I guess.¡±

    ¡°I heard you¡¯ve got plenty of time,¡± Velariah said.

    I chuckled. ¡°I heard so too.¡±

    ¡°Also.¡± She patted her pack. ¡°I got something to socialize.¡±

    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t.¡± I smiled.

    ¡°Yup, I grabbed some papers, some pencils, and some dice while you weren¡¯t looking.¡±

    ¡°Neat idea. There is still some time to kill before nightfall. I¡¯m wondering if we can do anything else...¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Velariah said. ¡°We made sure the perimeter is secure, you even set up a very efficient tripwire alarm, we have a deterrent on the way to the large room. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s much else we can do. Draco got wood, Seralyn got food, so that¡¯s solved as well. I think we¡¯re good.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm.¡± I thought about the things she said and looked around.

    There was probably something we could do that I¡¯d forgotten about, but I really couldn¡¯t think of anything at the moment.

    ¡°I guess I could web up the entrance completely...¡± I said half-jokingly.

    ¡°Well, you could make a few threads, I guess,¡± Velariah said. ¡°I don¡¯t see a downside.¡±

    ¡°Besides the fact I might steal your rabbit to make up for it? Not really.¡± I half laughed.

    ¡°Heh, we should be back in Dawnleaf tomorrow, you can eat all you want then.¡± Velariah chuckled.

    ¡°You really want that rabbit, don¡¯t you?¡± I smiled.

    ¡°Actually, I am quite hungry. Let¡¯s go eat something before intentionally losing at that game of yours to make Seralyn feel better.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡±

    ¡°Nah, let¡¯s have her win for a bit and then destroy her.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like a plan,¡± I concluded the conversation before walking back into the cave with the elf.

    I created some lines of threads around the opening while making sure there would be an opening that people could use when they¡¯d have to go to the bathroom.

    At least everyone was together now. They could all be made aware it was here¡­

    I walked back into the central chamber to find that Draco had already set up a campfire. Seralyn was skinning the rabbits together with Nira, while Velariah sat down to drink.

    I wondered for a moment whether the campfire would drain too much oxygen, but there were already torches around the edges of the room so I doubted it would become an issue. There was probably some sort of ventilation happening.

    Velariah sat down with the other elf, took out a knife from her pack, and started on a rabbit of her own. I sat down near the middle where my line ended on the floor and put a leg on it as I observed the others do their work.

    ¡°That line of yours seems mighty convenient,¡± Draco commented as he prepared the fire to be cooked upon. He already had a couple of sticks carved out and was working on another to pierce the rabbits with.

    ¡°Yeap, and we had a proper test as well, although I doubt Seralyn enjoyed being the test subject.¡±

    ¡°I can confirm that it works well,¡± Seralyn said from across the campfire. ¡°Too well.¡±

    It seemed she smiled slightly as she said that. Maybe there was hope, after all.

    I sighed. ¡°At least it offers us some extra safety in this weird forest.¡±

    Beyond the new animals I¡¯d seen so far, I was certain there were more animals that I didn¡¯t know about yet, that lurked in these woods. I also doubted they would all be friendly.

    I relaxed a bit to let my body recover from completely using my venom reserves and the silk production. I laid back with my head on my abdomen and tried to get comfortable.

    I closed my eyes and listened to the crackling sound of the fire in front of me. The sounds and warmth of the fire seemed to have a soothing effect on me.

    A few minutes later, I believed the first rabbit was prepared for cooking as I heard Seralyn¡¯s voice when she handed it over to Draco.

    After several more minutes of rest, I returned my attention to what was going on around me.

    Seralyn was working on the last rabbit, Nira had taken a seat next to the campfire and Velariah was now sitting next to me.

    Draco was focused on cooking three rabbits at once, I was curious how he¡¯d fare.

    At times like these, it felt kind of awkward to have little to do. I¡¯d still have to adjust to that. Fortunately, Velariah had the presence of mind to bring a game with her. I was curious to see if the others would like it.

    A few minutes later, Seralyn, Nira, and Velariah were happily eating. Velariah offered me a piece of meat, which I accepted. I didn¡¯t want to take too much, but I was curious about the taste.

    It tasted¡­ odd, but I could taste how fresh it was. It was a weird sensation and impossible to describe, I just¡­ felt it. It wasn¡¯t bad at all, I just felt it could do with some salt, but hey, can¡¯t have everything out in the wild. I was already impressed that Seralyn managed to find and shoot four of these in such a short time.

    ¡°By the way.¡± I said during dinner, ¡°Be careful when going outside. There are webs in front of the entrance.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really making yourself at home, aren''t you?¡± Seralyn asked jokingly. ¡°Spreading webs all over the place and whatnot. I¡¯m starting to get nervous you might eat us.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m making sure you¡¯re well-fed so there¡¯s more meat on you for me to eat.¡± I raised my pedipalps and made a clawing motion forward. ¡°Rawr!¡±

    Seralyn burst into laughter. ¡°Pfftt, I can¡¯t believe you just did that.¡±

    She continued her laughter while eating.

    After they had finished, Velariah pulled out the pieces of paper and the dice from her pack.

    ¡°I¡¯ve brought something with me to kill some time. It¡¯s a fun game that Elania taught me.¡±

    Nira was looking at the paper and dice with large eyes, Draco and even Seralyn seemed interested.

    The elf handed out a piece of paper to each of our companions and started explaining the rules of the game. She demonstrated a sample of a turn with three possible dice rolls. She rolled a full house after two throws and explained that you¡¯d then write down the twenty-five points in the full house square.

    After another demonstration, it was time to start the game.

    I wasn¡¯t sure whether Velariah had been serious about ¡®destroying¡¯ Seralyn. I came back on my promise of doing that. I remembered what Velariah said earlier about Seralyn¡¯s past and decided to throw her a bone by ¡®accidentally¡¯ botching some of my rolls. She seemed to enjoy the game as much as the rest of us and got fairly competitive, but not mean or anything like that.

    Maybe I had been too mean to her before.

    Had I misjudged her?

    Seralyn tried hard to win, and I could see her calculating her options in her head, taking time before each roll. It was quite amusing to watch. It was also quite amusing to watch how she was thinking she was going to win and then Draco shattered her dreams in the final rolls.

    Well, if anyone was going to win, it better be him.

    ¡°I demand another round!¡± Seralyn said, as she took a canteen from Draco¡¯s backpack - filled with alcohol from the smell of it.

    ¡°Sure, but you better be careful with the liquor, we don¡¯t want a repeat of what happened last time,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± The brunette said as she put the canteen away in Draco¡¯s bag.

    We started another round, and after many calculations (and I believe Draco dropped the ball on purpose as well) Seralyn managed to win.

    She was ecstatic at her victory.

    I looked to Velariah next to me and she nodded.

    Why did we let Seralyn win?

    Oh well. I did prefer this version of the archer. Maybe small amounts of alcohol were the key.

    I felt a very small tug on the thread which made me shift my attention from the group over to the thread. I grabbed my spear, which yielded a response from Velariah and the others. They all looked at me as I was eying the tunnel.

    It was a very light tug, and after that, nothing else happened. It made me assume it could have just been the wind. If anything actually hit it, they would have been stuck, and I would have felt more than that light tug.

    ¡°Felt something?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think it may have been the wind.¡± I replied.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you¡¯re able to feel that,¡± Seralyn commented.

    ¡°It¡¯s impressive, indeed,¡± Draco added.

    I didn¡¯t answer, I was focused on feeling if anything else would happen. It didn¡¯t.

    I took a torch from the wall and made my way to the tunnel, my spear ready for anything. The webs sat undisturbed at the entrance and I could see the red glow in the sky, the sun was about to set and it was getting darker already.

    I put my torch down and looked through the webs at the perimeter line that I had set up. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and I walked back to the others. If anything would try to get in here, they¡¯d be in for a surprise.

    ¡°Anything?¡± Velariah asked.

    I shook my head as I sat down again, a leg on my thread.

    I let the others play out one more game as I remained focused on any possible intruders.

    Maybe I was overly paranoid?

    Better paranoid than dead, though.

    From the little information that I got from the game, I made out that Velariah was really screwing things up. I think she may have been distracted by me a little too much. She kept looking over at me and the thread. Draco won again, cementing him as the supreme Yahtzee champion.

    After that, it was time to sleep. Draco pulled out a few thin mats from his bag that seemed to barely reduce the hardness that was this stone cave floor. Nira had the bright idea of gathering whatever these goblins slept on and then putting the fresh mats on top of them, creating somewhat more agreeable beds.

    As mentioned before, Velariah, Nira, and I would take care of guard duty for the night. Nira and I started.

    Velariah had chosen to sleep right in front of me. She just knew how to put me in an awkward position. I wasn¡¯t so sure anymore whether she did this on purpose or whether she just wanted to be close to me. If it was the latter, I could understand, but she was telling the others we were in a relationship, that¡¯s what it felt like, at least.

    I shook my head as I thought about it. The elf was already sleeping in front of me and I had my pedipalps on her armor.

    Nira wasn¡¯t much of a talker but she seemed like the curious type.

    ¡°So this thread allows you to feel literally anything that touches the lines outside the cave?¡± She asked with wide eyes, once the others were asleep.

    I nodded.

    ¡°Can I touch it?¡±

    ¡°Uh, you should be okay, this last part isn¡¯t sticky. Dunno if you¡¯ll be able to feel anything, but you can try if you want.¡± I suggested.

    She moved a bit behind me and put a hand on the thread.

    ¡°How sensitive are those wings of yours?¡± I asked out of the blue.

    ¡°W-why?¡± She replied with a red face.

    Whoops. I should be more tactful about this.

    ¡°I was thinking you could use that instead of your hand.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    She laid one of her wings on the thread and I tugged the thread slightly.

    ¡°You feel that?¡± I asked.

    Nira nodded in response.

    ¡°Great, now you can do my job.¡± I joked. ¡°Good night.¡±

    ¡°Wha?¡± She let out.

    ¡°Just kidding, don¡¯t worry.¡± I grinned.

    I could see her smile as she stood up and added some wood to the fire, before sitting down next to it. I watched Velariah¡¯s frame and felt her breathing with my pedipalps, even through her armor.

    It was kind of creepy to be able to feel so many sensations.

    The harpy sat down next to me with a knife and a log. She started carving into the bark.

    ¡°Bored?¡± I asked.

    Nira nodded.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not exactly the best talker, either,¡± I admitted.

    ¡°Better than me.¡± She said.

    ¡°Heh,¡± I chucked. ¡°I¡¯m sure that will improve when traveling with us.¡±

    She nodded again. ¡°I hope so.¡±

    I observed her carving into the log after removing the bark. I had no idea what she was creating and I doubt she did either. After some time, she simply discarded the log and tossed it into the fire.

    I looked at her with a frown.

    ¡°I screwed it up.¡± She said.

    She sat down with a sigh as I heard howling coming from outside the cave, followed by a tug on the thread. I instantly reached for my weaponized gauntlets, equipped them, and took my spear.

    The tugging happened again, and this time I was positive there was something stuck in the threads.

    ¡°Enemies?¡± Nira asked.

    ¡°Wolves, from the sound of it. I doubt they will be much of an issue. I¡¯ll deal with them.¡±

    Wolves versus gauntlets with shields and blades, and a spear to support. That didn¡¯t seem like a fair fight to me. I didn¡¯t want to wake the others for something as trivial as this.

    I took a torch and made my way through the tunnel. Howling sounded again.

    How many times was I going to find wolves coming to me while I was hiding in a cave?

    I imagined the smell of blood attracted them. I was hoping that the venom would make it smell disgusting, but apparently, these wolves didn¡¯t care they¡¯d die as soon as they ate any of that meat. At least, I assumed that. I wasn¡¯t sure if the venom in their bodies would still be lethal.

    I carefully stepped through the threads with the torch, so as to not burn them.

    It was quite hard to see how many there were exactly, but the light of two moons assisted me in the darkness. I could vaguely make out shapes. There was a pack of about ten wolves waiting for me outside the cave.

    This time, I was a lot more confident in my abilities.

    They noticed me and instantly jumped on top of me. Their behavior was completely different compared to last time. They seemed much more reserved back then. These ones seemed to hunger for blood.

    I slashed my blades wildly as two wolves jumped at my human torso. I could feel several wolves trying to claw and bite my legs, but the carapace was too tough for them to inflict any damage. I felt their bites, but there was no pain.

    The two wolves in front of me were cleanly cut in half by the blades. I pierced one more to my left that was barely in range of my spear. I raised my legs and brought them down on the wolves around me, impaling at least one, and wounding another two.

    I kept raising and bringing my legs down in quick motions as I slowly turned to impale or pierce wolves around me with my weapons.

    Two more jumped at my torso from afar, but they were impaled by my blades, which I raised to meet them. A third wolf managed to evade the blades and was below me. I brought my fangs down on it and killed it with venom.

    About a minute after that, the battle was finished. The last two wolves that were wounded continued to attack my legs, but soon met their ends on my blades. I was surprised that none of them tried to run away.

    I put one of my legs on the thread going into the cave and found it still being tugged at.

    One of them had probably gotten entangled in it.

    I carefully made my way over to the tripwire and walked alongside it. It didn¡¯t take long for me to find a wolf that had gotten itself completely ensnared. Even as it was incapacitated it still tried to bite me with all its might. I finished it off with a blade to the skull.

    I put another leg on the wire and felt nothing.

    Confident that the danger had passed, I started walking my way back to the cave, when a loud howl sounded from behind me.

 1.60 Death and Life

    Faragi

    The howl was loud, almost deafening, and sent shivers down my spine. I ran to the cave entrance before looking around to see what had caused that sound.

    A massive figure appeared from the trees. I threw my torch to the center of the clearing to be able to get some better sight of what had just appeared.

    I backed off further towards the cave entrance and shouted inside.

    ¡°Nira, get the others up, quickly!¡±

    I was certain she¡¯d heard me and I turned to what was in front of me. The figure had stepped out of the shadows towards the torch and I could make out some of its features. What was before me was a giant wolf, at first glance. Its size rivaled my own, it was probably slightly bigger than me.

    There were several things that set it apart from a standard wolf, besides its size. First, it was clearly missing a lower jaw. How it could howl in the first place was beyond me. Then, there was the fact that its fur was completely ruined. Through its fur, several bones were visible. I didn¡¯t mean ribs showing under skin or anything, no - bones were literally outside of its skin. Besides the bones, there were patches of wounds all over its dark grey fur, they seemed to be infected too.

    It had eyes that glowed with an eerie red light. They scared me, and made me doubt I could win this fight on my own.

    This was an alpha if I¡¯d ever seen one.

    This ¡®wolf¡¯ seemed to be more conservative than the others and it eyed me carefully while circling the clearing. I imagined it was looking for an opening.

    It didn¡¯t take long until I heard sounds coming from behind me as my companions appeared one by one. Each of them had to carefully pass the threads, which, in this case, proved to be a hindrance.

    Nira carried a torch and provided more light.

    ¡°What in the world is that thing?¡± Seralyn was the first to speak.

    ¡°I have no idea. It looks like a wolf, but this isn¡¯t a normal one for sure.¡± I said, my eyes still fixated on the beast before me.

    ¡°That thing...¡± Velariah looked at the beast. ¡°It looks¡­ dead?¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s not,¡± Draco said in a neutral voice with his shields at the ready.

    I carefully approached the beast with my spear sticking out in front of my two shields. I had no idea how this beast would fight and I¡¯d start with a defensive stance to learn.

    Seralyn had already begun bombarding the beast with arrows. Several struck its side and one erupted in flames. This triggered the beast to make its first attack.

    It targeted Nira, but Draco was quick to react and blocked its (for him) massive paws with his shields. I struck the beast in its side, earning a weird sound coming from its throat.

    It sounded like a yelp of pain, but the sound was¡­ distorted.

    Nira flew up onto its back and created large wounds with her claws. The beast turned its attention to the harpy, who simply flew upwards before it could strike.

    Velariah took the opportunity to strike its right flank as I used my blades and my spear to pierce its left flank.

    Fire erupted from both my blades at once and I could see them glow as power coursed through the steel.

    This dragon-blessed steel really was quite something.

    The flesh that I had just skewered sizzled as the beast cried out in pain. I dragged the blades down its body before stepping back as it turned to face me.

    Its eyes started to glow even brighter. As if in a haze, it fixated on me and I held the shields in front of me. The beast started clawing and biting its way to me, but I blocked each and every attempt at an attack. In the meantime, I saw Draco and Velariah strike one side together as Nira assaulted it from above and Seralyn attacked it from afar.

    This beast was by no means natural.

    It just kept on going, no matter how much we injured it. I could see¡­ was that green blood? Pouring out from the wounds, but it didn¡¯t slow down. In fact, it seemed to get angrier and angrier.

    Its attacks intensified in both speed and strength, but my shields held firm. In the beginning, I managed to weave in a few attacks with my spear, but as the battle, and its bloodlust progressed, it became harder to do so and I was forced to focus on defense.

    More fire erupted from the side that Velariah and Draco were literally hacking away at. I hoped this beast would, at the very least, slow down soon from its injuries.

    A momentary lapse in judgment from my side caused a wound in my arm as it brought its teeth down into it after knocking my shield aside.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± I shouted in pain.

    I could see Draco grow to his black-scaled form in the corner of my eye. I blocked several more attacks after regaining my wits. Then, Draco leaped at the beast¡¯s face with both axes and brought them down with massive force, causing its head to turn to the other side from the impact.

    I took the opportunity to take a few steps back. Nira landed next to me and put her hands on my injured arm to start healing it.

    A familiar green glow enveloped my arm and Nira¡¯s eyes opened wide in shock.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked. That look in her eyes¡­ I didn¡¯t like it one bit.

    Nira¡¯s head turned around to the rest of our party.

    ¡°That thing is venomous! Don¡¯t get bitten!¡± She shouted.

    ¡°Understood,¡± Draco replied.

    ¡°Can¡¯t bite me when it¡¯s dead,¡± Verlariah shouted as I could see her sword take on a faint white glow.

    She brought the sword down on the beast¡¯s side with an overhead swing.

    The beast roared in pain. While it did, Seralyn shot an arrow in its face - more specifically, one of its eyes.

    ¡°Nice shot,¡± I commented, as Nira finished repairing the damage in my arm.

    The wound was still there, but the pain had mostly faded and I could move it as freely as I could before. I took a look at the wound and saw two large circles where the beast¡¯s canine teeth had pierced my skin.

    Venomous?

    I wasn¡¯t going to waste any time contemplating it. Draco was still holding the beast at bay with his shields, while Velariah and Seralyn assaulted it. I created some distance between myself and the oversized wolf and charged with all three weapons.

    I reached the beast and drove all of my weapons into it as deep as I could. The beast let out an unearthly roar once more and I backed off again.

    ¡°What the hell is this thing?¡± I asked Velariah, who had also taken several steps back.

    ¡°I think we¡¯re all wondering the same. All I know is that this thing should not be allowed to live.¡±

    ¡°Agreed.¡±

    There was no denying this thing was an abomination. This was truly a monster.

    Velariah charged the monster with her glowing sword and drove it deep inside its flank. The beast turned around to face her before she could retrieve it and she had to back off as I jumped before her and blocked the next bite.

    Draco pulled back out of the battle and shrank down to his usual form. Velariah ran over to him and handed him a red potion for energy.

    Seralyn shot another arrow, this one pierced the beast¡¯s skull and did the trick.

    The massive wolf fell over onto its side. Velariah¡¯s sword was still embedded in the side that was now on top.

    I carefully walked up to the animal and noted it was still alive. It was breathing heavily. I was about to strike its head with my weapons when Seralyn appeared next to me with an arrow drawn. She released it and sent an arrow into the wolf¡¯s brain from point-blank range.

    After that, the beast went completely still.

    Seralyn grasped her head and stumbled. Nira was quick to make her way over to her, but Seralyn halted her before she could start healing.

    ¡°That was nothing bad. It seems I evolved my inherity.¡±

    I was wondering when that would happen. She had done a lot of work so far and killed her fair share of opponents.

    I was about to congratulate her when Velariah stepped forward.

    ¡°Wait, what?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The beasts around here are not supposed to possess corium, not unless they are goblins, trolls, or dungeon creatures.¡±

    ¡°You think this was a dungeon creature?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I would expect so, but I don¡¯t know of any dungeon in the area. Draco?¡± She called out to the lizardman.

    Draco shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not aware of one in this area.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Seralyn said as she nocked another arrow.

    The tip of her arrow became engulfed with a bright red flame that illuminated the area quite well, almost making it look as if it was daytime. She then shot the arrow into the wolf¡¯s head where it sizzled into its flesh, doing quite a bit of damage to its organs.

    ¡°Hm, that does look like a pretty neat ability.¡±

    She turned back to us.

    ¡°I won¡¯t complain about it. However, it is odd, as you say.¡±

    ¡°Any of you guys get bitten or hit?¡± I asked.

    They shook their heads.

    ¡°Nira, can you check them anyway? You can detect venom, you said?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°I can, but I cannot cleanse it.¡±

    ¡°Well, we have potions for that,¡± Velariah said as she walked over to her sword.

    Nira started working on checking our group for any traces of venom as I started a new thread, seeing as the old one was completely ruined.

    I was using a new torch that Draco handed me to light the way. When I was about halfway done, I heard very soft whimpering. It was almost familiar¡­

    I traced the sound and very carefully approached the source with my spear and a blade ready.

    I found something in the old thread. Something small had gotten itself completely stuck and entangled. When I crouched to observe it, I was surprised.

    It was a wolf pup.

    What the hell was a wolf pup doing here?

    I thought about the fight and the events that transpired moments prior. How the wolves had shown no sign of intelligence the way they did when I first ran into the same wolf species.

    I came up with the hypothesis that the large, half-dead wolf that we killed somehow commanded these beasts into fighting until the bitter end. I imagined this wolf pup had fallen victim to its influence.

    I lowered my spear and carefully picked up the young wolf that seemed to be crying for its parents or fallen kin. Its whimpering was pathetic and it broke my heart.

    Poor thing¡­

    It seemed quite defensive when I approached, but when I ungloved a hand and allowed it to smell my hand, it seemed to calm down. I was able to pick up the entangled pup without too much of a hassle and carried it with me as I quickly finished creating the thread.

    I approached the others who were standing in front of the cave, looking at me and the ball of silk in my hands.

    I was half expecting them to call me crazy or reckless. It was Velariah who spoke first.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± She asked curiously.

    I looked down at the animal in my hands and noticed that it was probably hard to see what it was with all that silk around its body.

    ¡°It¡¯s a wolf pup that was stuck in my thread.¡±

    ¡°A wolf pup?¡± She asked curiously and brought her face closer to the animal.

    The poor thing was still whimpering and now shuddered in my hands.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t leave it behind.¡± I continued. ¡°Let¡¯s get back inside.¡±

    They did as I suggested and made their way through the threads inside. I continued the thread through the sticks that Draco had carved and finished by planting the thread to the floor near the center again. I then sat down with a leg on my thread and started to free the wolf pup from its bonds.

    ¡°Do you want a knife?¡± Velariah asked as I laid my spear to the side and started taking my gloves off.

    I shook my head. ¡°My pedipalps seem to work better.¡±

    I put the beast down and noted it was scared of us.

    ¡°Draco, you got some meat? Something without a lot of salt, preferably. Some water wouldn¡¯t hurt either.¡±

    ¡°You plan on keeping it?¡± Seralyn asked.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if she said that with sarcasm or was truly caring.

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t leave it here, can I? It will probably die without its parents.¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± She said softly.

    Maybe she really wasn¡¯t so evil, after all.

    I freed its mouth as best I could and let it get more familiar with the smell of my hand. Draco handed me a strip of meat wrapped in leaves. When I unpacked it, I noticed the meat was still raw.

    I had no idea he carried raw meat.

    ¡°Do you eat this, Draco?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yeah, jerky is mediocre at best. Raw meat is much more preferable. These are special leaves that keep it fresh for a long time.¡±

    That confirmed that Draco would be able to eat raw meat without issues. I wondered if I could do the same?

    ¡°Thank you, Draco,¡± I said as I reached for a knife.

    I cut a small piece off of the strip and held it up to the pup¡¯s nose. That seemed to cause it to overcome its fear as it sniffed the small piece of meat and eagerly took it in its mouth.

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty cute,¡± Velariah commented.

    I looked around and saw the others observing the small animal with all too much interest.

    ¡°You guys should go back to sleep. I believe it was your turn for guard duty?¡± I asked Velariah.

    ¡°Yup, and it just got a lot more interesting.¡± She smiled.

    ¡°Heh, at least we won¡¯t get bored, now,¡± I replied.

    ¡°As if the two of you would ever get bored together,¡± Seralyn giggled.

    I could feel my face run red again at the brunette¡¯s comment.

    She had done it again!

    They seemed disappointed but did as I suggested. Soon enough, it was only me and Velariah that were awake. Us, and a puppy.

    I cut several more pieces of the meat and fed the creature while slowly undoing it of its bonds with my pedipalps. I managed to free it and, apparently, gained its trust.

    Some food and help had done the trick. Animals were such simple creatures¡­

    After feeding it, I took the canteen that Draco had put on the ground next to me. I opened it, put some water in the palm of a hand, and held it to the tiny wolf. It eagerly slobbered up the liquid. When it was finished it started playing with my hand, licking and tapping it with its paws.

    ¡°It seems to like you,¡± Velariah commented.

    The elf stood up and sat down next to me, her eyes not leaving the wolf pup for one second as she did so.

    She started to approach it with a hand as well, but the pup backed off and looked at it with hesitation. I took hold of Velariah¡¯s hand with one of mine, indicating that there was no danger to it.

    Velariah giggled. ¡°You¡¯re good at this.¡±

    ¡°I always wanted a puppy back on Earth,¡± I said. ¡°I prepared for this moment all my life.¡± I chuckled.

    The pup sniffed my hand, then Velariah¡¯s, and licked hers. It seemed that it recognized her hand as friendly.

    The pup suddenly seemed eager to play as it ran up to Velariah and jumped against her body. I petted it, and it turned to jump against my chitin instead. I dangled a pedipalp in front of its eyes and it seemed to reach out for it the same way a kitten would try to reach for a toy.

    The attention span of a puppy¡­

    It was so cute! I wanted to keep it!

    It played with my pedipalp for a while, until it seemed to get tired. Then it cuddled up against the chitin below my torso and fell asleep.

    ¡°Seems it got used to my body sooner than you when I first met you,¡± I said with a grin.

    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re cute,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°He saw it far sooner than me.¡±

    ¡°Heh, I doubt everyone would agree.¡±

    ¡°Not everyone has to.¡± She assured me.

    ¡°Hm, maybe you¡¯re right,¡± I replied.

    Velariah cuddled up against my side. I put my right arms around her as I looked at the small animal in front of me.

    ¡°I¡¯m so taking it home,¡± I said after a while of observing it sleeping peacefully.

    ¡°Fine by me, but I doubt it will be able to join us when we¡¯re out.¡±

    ¡°You think it will like Elly?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Are you kidding me? Everyone likes Elly. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll get along.¡±

    ¡°Hm, you¡¯re probably right.¡±

    Velariah leaned in and it looked like she wanted a kiss. I quickly looked to see if the others were still sleeping.

    This elf was so reckless.

    When I confirmed they were still fast asleep I returned the kiss. Velariah¡¯s lips got more delicious by the day. Maybe it was just me getting more confident. Either way, I could feel my heart beating as fast as ever when we engaged in this intimate act.

    I looked into the elf¡¯s eyes after the kiss. They were begging for more. I answered the call in her eyes and took her in for another deep kiss.

    Faragi

    Artwork update:

    I''m still not quite happy about the face and hair and would like to change it. The rest looks fine to me.

    I''ve created a separate channel in discord for feedback on the artwork, this is the last chance to change anything. If people can come up with concrete points, we can still adjust.

    If you''d like to support this fiction, head over to my Patreon page, I''ve set up a goal to commission more artwork in the future <3

    For those interested, chapter 71 is SUPER heavy on the fluff. xd. I may actually have to change the warning label to include sexual content. It''s not that bad at all, but I don''t know the rules behind it...

    Up to chapter 74 are now available on Patreon.

    If you have anything you''d like to see or have answered, don''t hesitate to drop a comment. I''m also looking for advice when it comes to rewriting the earlier chapters!

 1.61 A Name

    ¡°Hmm, Elania, you¡¯re getting better at this,¡± Velariah said with delight after I¡¯d pulled back.

    I didn¡¯t know what to say¡­ I was lost in her beautiful eyes.

    I said nothing and just hugged her and turned my attention to the puppy in front of my¡­ lap?

    Did I even have a lap anymore?

    I hugged Velariah¡¯s side again and rested my head on her shoulder, which was quite awkward considering I was still taller than her, even when ¡®sitting¡¯ like this.

    My love for the beautiful elf continues to grow, I hadn¡¯t even told her I loved her yet. I wondered if it was maybe a bit late for that. We hadn¡¯t exactly gone the usual route in our relationship. Then again, I had no idea about this kind of stuff before I met her anyway. At least, I don¡¯t think I did.

    Who knew?

    Not me.

    My heart was warmed further by the sight of the cutest puppy I¡¯d ever seen in front of me. I played with Velariah¡¯s hair with one hand while hugging her with the other. Having four hands was a blessing, I was made more and more aware of that fact.

    We remained quiet for what felt like hours (it probably was). Time flew by, and soon I could see small rays of light from the ceiling.

    I knew there was some kind of ventilation. It looked like there were tiny holes near the ceiling that allowed air to enter the cave.

    The first to awaken was the puppy in front of me. I had been looking forward to it. It gave me something to do in the meantime, I didn¡¯t want to wake the others too early. I felt we had plenty of time.

    The first thing I did was give it some more water, which it happily drank. I then had Velariah ¡®Borrow¡¯ some more meat from Draco¡¯s pack. I was sure he wouldn¡¯t mind.

    My accomplice in crime managed to find some more raw meat wrapped in leaves and I took a small strip and cut it into tiny pieces. The wolf pup was running around in circles while I was cutting, out of pure anticipation.

    Keeping pets well-fed sure seemed like a solid way to earn their loyalty.

    It happily ate the pieces of meat while Velariah petted it. I joined her and soon the pup was overwhelmed by five hands petting it.

    ¡°I wonder when you¡¯ll do that to me.¡± Velariah half-joked with a broad smile.

    ¡°Pet you, or use more hands on you than the average person?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Both!¡± She exclaimed.

    I grinned. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that will happen someday, at this rate, at least.¡±

    ¡°Awww, El, don¡¯t force yourself.¡±

    I turned to her. ¡°I really am not.¡±

    Draco stirred and yawned, audibly. I¡¯m pretty sure it would have awoken me if I was asleep. Somehow, Nira and Seralyn were still asleep.

    He sat up, reached for his bag and pulled out a canteen. He then drank as he turned to face us.

    The leaves that had contained the strip of meat were still on the floor next to me and the wolf pup was licking them.

    Oops.

    Draco smiled. ¡°I see your new friend is doing well, Miss Elania.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it is. I¡¯m sorry about taking your food. I¡¯ll make up for it when we get to Dawnleaf.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I got plenty. That youngling needed it more than me, anyway.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Draco,¡± I said with relief.

    The small wolf cocked its head and ran over to the lizardman, jumping into his lap.

    ¡°Seems it likes you, too.¡± Velariah chuckled.

    Draco extended a large hand and petted the animal too. ¡°Indeed, it does.¡±

    Then, it did something unexpected. The animal ran over towards a sleeping Seralyn and started licking her face.

    ¡°You got to be kidding me.¡± Velariah smiled. ¡°That creature is crazy.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± I asked. ¡°The wolf or Seralyn?¡±

    ¡°Both.¡± The elf grinned.

    Seralyn awoke and looked at the creature currently licking her face. ¡°Yikes. Elania, keep your pets with you!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t help that it¡¯s so curious!¡± I replied.

    The elf sat up and rubbed her eyes.

    Then, she did something unexpected. She petted the creature that was now running circles around her.

    Didn¡¯t expect that from her.

    ¡°I guess it is kind of cute.¡± She said softly.

    Nira awoke from the commotion and the canine was quick to shift its attention to her. It ran up against one of her wings and started sniffing her feathers.

    ¡°Hey there, little guy.¡± The harpy spoke with her usual soft voice, one hand still rubbing an eye. The animal then pulled out a feather from her wings.

    ¡°Ouch,¡± Nira responded to the action.

    Seralyn grinned.

    Then, it returned the feather to me.

    Seralyn burst into full-blown laughter.

    ¡°It only took you a night to teach it how to do that. I¡¯m impressed.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but laugh at her words.

    ¡°Have you thought of a name yet?¡± Draco asked.

    I shook my head. ¡°Haven¡¯t thought of it yet. I¡¯ll do that when we get home. I suggest we finish whatever needs to be done here before we are on our way.¡±

    ¡°Time to torch this place,¡± Seralyn exclaimed.

    ¡°I knew I was right when I asked for that,¡± I said. ¡°How exactly do we torch this place though?¡±

    Draco reached into his bag and pulled out a large glass container with a dark yellow liquid inside. The color reminded me of gasoline, but I doubted it was that.

    ¡°With this.¡± He said.

    The torches on the walls had gone out sometime during the night. The only thing alight in the cave right now was the campfire. We packed our stuff back into Draco¡¯s large bag while I created a thick thread for a very specific reason.

    I created a makeshift leash and strapped it around the pup¡¯s neck. I didn¡¯t want it running off into danger. I could possibly deposit the animal into my unused saddle bag as well. I doubted it could keep running for long, it still looked very young. I handed the leash to Velariah before I made my way outside.

    Being a walking silk factory turned out to be mighty convenient for whenever I needed a strong rope.

    I walked through the tunnel with a torch that Nira had refueled with her magic, and took down the threads that were partly blocking the entrance.

    The temperature was already rising to its peak. The difference between day and night in the forest seemed to be of little influence on how warm it was.

    After I¡¯d removed the blockage I walked back inside.

    Draco was spreading the liquid in his glass container all over the walls and ceiling of the cave. In particular, he soaked the mushrooms with it. Once the bottle was empty, he placed it back in his bag before signaling it was time to move out. I equipped my armor and took my spear with me.

    Velariah placed the puppy in my unused saddlebag and made her way out of the cave after handing me the leash. Surprisingly, it remained in its place. Its head stuck out from under the flap and looked at me curiously with its tongue stuck out.

    I smiled at the puppy and tried to reach out to pet it, but I couldn¡¯t reach quite that far.

    Nira and Seralyn exited the room, and I followed them after handing my torch to Draco.

    Once I was outside, I smelled smoke. Seconds after, Draco came running out of the cave in a hurry, without his torch.

    ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± he stated. ¡°This cave will be useless to the goblins from now on.¡±

    Black smoke came out of the cave entrance and I could see a few small plumes rise above the ground on top of the cave too.

    I saw the puppy jump out of the saddlebags and run in the direction of the cave entrance. I yanked on the leash to pull it away from danger. I kept pulling until it was in front of me and picked it up with my two gloved hands.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the smartest one, is it?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s just curious, I think. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s had time to learn that fire is dangerous.¡± I replied.

    ¡°Hm. That¡¯s a fair assumption.¡± She said, eying the pup in my arms.

    I lowered myself to the ground to allow Velariah and Nira to step on. It seemed they got the idea, as soon they were on my back.

    I took one last look at the large corpse of the felled animal in the center of the clearing before the cave. In bright daylight, its appearance was even more frightening than at night. It was clearly a wolf that looked as if it had risen from the dead about a week or so after it had died.

    The way back was surprisingly peaceful. We didn¡¯t run into any more goblins, hobgoblins, or trolls. It did appear we were taking a slightly different route - I noticed some plants that I didn¡¯t recognize. Draco had us halt for a moment as he gathered some of the strange plants. They looked like dandelions but they were black instead of the usual yellow. He put them in a small pouch and handed one to Velariah.

    Velariah brought one up in front of my nose and forced me to smell it.

    ¡°Is that?¡± I asked. The smell was strikingly familiar.

    ¡°This is shadowbloom, an excellent flower to use for shampoos, I love their smell.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, so do I.¡± I took the flower by the stem from her hand and held it in front of the puppy¡¯s nose.

    It sniffed curiously before sneezing in the cutest way I¡¯d ever seen.

    I giggled at its reaction.

    ¡°Can I hold it?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t drop it. Try to come up with a name while you¡¯re at it. I heard you¡¯re good with naming things.¡± I chuckled at the irony. I also handed the flower back to the elf.

    ¡°I won¡¯t. Also, very funny.¡±

    I replied with a small laugh.

    I wondered what Nira was thinking. She was completely clueless as to what we were talking about, after all.

    I carefully handed the leash and the small creature to her and used my free hands to hold on to her frame. Now that she didn¡¯t have her hands around my waist she¡¯d need something to keep stable.

    I actually wondered if it was still necessary. My movements had become more fluid as time went by. I didn¡¯t shake in the same way a horse did, not in the slightest. My midsection remained level, unless I was running at high speeds.

    I highly doubted Velariah would admit they weren¡¯t necessary.

    And Nira, well, Nira had her claws. Even if she was sitting on a bulb, they kept her in place.

    With the ball of fluff out of my hands, I thought back to the fight last night.

    ¡°Draco?¡± I called out.

    ¡°Yes?¡± he replied.

    ¡°What do you think would be the best course of action, regarding what happened last night? I assume we¡¯re informing the guild of that creature, right?¡±

    ¡°Certainly.¡± He replied with a simple answer.

    I hoped the guild would have answers about something like this. Necromantic magic could be a possibility. I didn¡¯t dare to ask if it existed in this world, lest I give away information that I don¡¯t want to give away. I¡¯d ask Velariah in private when we got home.

    I hoped Valtheril would return soon. I didn¡¯t like the idea of cleaning up the goblins in the forest while something like this stalked the land.

    ¡°Should we send a message to your father?¡± I asked Velariah.

    ¡°I doubt that¡¯s of any use. For all I know, he could be on his way back already and the message will pass him by.¡±

    What a mess I got myself into again.

    I highly doubted all the things that happened so far in this forest were a coincidence. I mean, I was not even from this world. I¡¯d suddenly found myself here. Next thing I know, some human who possessed an awful lot of wealth got into a fight with me. Then, a troll warband shows up. Now, I ran into some half-dead wolf.

    Did Valtheril know that strange things were happening? Was that why he prepared to assault the goblins? Or did he not have the knowledge about these things?

    It freaked me out.

    I liked the nearby village and some of its inhabitants. All these strange things happening one after another have put me on edge. For all I knew, some kind of ancient evil dragon would awaken and wipe out Dawnleaf. I couldn¡¯t stand the thought.

    I hoped Valtheril would be able to help out.

    His power seemed insane. Surely he would be able to figure out what was going on?

    For now, the most we could do was go home, and at least make sure this lovely little puppy would get a good place to live. I looked behind me to see Velariah petting the half-asleep puppy. It really was a cute sight to behold.

    ¡°You seem to be lost in thought, Miss Elania,¡± Draco said while walking next to me.

    ¡°That¡¯s because I am. There are a lot of strange things happening and I¡¯m wondering if they¡¯re connected.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I can see why you would think that.¡± He said. ¡°However, I wouldn¡¯t break my head over it, if I were you.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy for me.¡±

    ¡°It will be fine,¡± Velariah said. ¡°We will figure out what¡¯s going on soon enough.¡±

    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right.¡±

    My mind refused to calm down. There were the lynxes from before as well that somehow fled their natural habitat. It would strike me as odd if that had any connection to this, considering the distance between the forest and the mountains.

    And then there was the witch of the forest who murmured something along the lines of ¡®a storm rolling in¡¯. It could have been the literal storm the other day, but I started to doubt that now.

    My head hurt from overthinking this.

    The sound of an arrow release from Seralyn brought my attention back to the present. I¡¯d been walking without even looking.

    I was at the ready within a second with my blades. I released one hand from Velariah and put my spear in that hand.

    ¡°Take it easy, Elania. It was only one goblin.¡± Seralyn reassured me.

    She walked over to a corpse a bit further ahead and retrieved her arrow from the dead goblin.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t paying attention.¡±

    ¡°Relax, Elania. We need you with us here.¡± Velariah said behind me.

    I didn¡¯t reply. From then on, I paid attention to my surroundings.

    The rest of the trip was quiet. We only found one more goblin between us and the edge of the forest.

    We reached Dawnleaf at the peak of the afternoon. The first order of business would be getting some proper food. My companions had a quick breakfast earlier, but it hadn¡¯t been much. I insisted I¡¯d pay for a nice lunch, partly as a way to make up for taking the meat from Draco¡¯s bag.

    Not that it would cost much, but it was about the gesture.

    We reached the gates and Velariah and Nira jumped off my back after I lowered myself. The elf then handed me the leash and put down the little wolf to the ground.

    Said wolf seemed to be curious about the cobblestones that were on the ground. It sniffed and extended a paw at one of them before backing off.

    I shook my head.

    This thing was so clueless. It was hilarious to observe.

    Then, it ran over to the grass and proceeded to drop a turd.

    I doubted I¡¯d have to pick up after myself. Even if I wanted to, I didn¡¯t think plastic bags were a thing yet.

    I picked the puppy up as we entered the city. There were a fair amount of people out and about on the streets. Weren¡¯t there going to be guild trials anytime soon?

    I¡¯d lost track of the days. When you had no hard obligations, it seemed to be easy to lose track.

    We walked over to the guild hall and entered it, getting quite a few stares on the way, but all of them seemed to be out of curiosity.

    My companions sat down and ordered, but I was fixated on the quest board. I needed something to take my mind off of things. Something simple in the neighborhood would be ideal. I wanted to stick close to Dawnleaf until Valtheril¡¯s return.

    I should probably just get the money for the ritual together in the meantime. I think that, and maybe a visit to the dungeon, were the only real options for things to do in the meantime. Maybe I¡¯d help Arch by visiting them too. I wondered if any others had visited the dungeon yet.

    ¡°Anything interesting?¡± Velariah said, looking over my shoulder.

    I sighed. ¡°The most interesting thing I¡¯ve seen is a Saibon Boar.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s take it. Just the two of us.¡± Velariah said.

    I nodded. ¡°Sounds okay.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really anxious, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    I nodded again. ¡°Vel, I don¡¯t believe in coincidence. It¡¯s just too much.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± She said, ¡°Too many strange things have happened and it appears you got sucked into the middle of it all.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong,¡± I spoke. ¡°I do love going out with you guys and experiencing new things¡­ and battling with you, but I am not the kind for mysteries and conspiracies. It¡¯s just too much for me. I¡¯d like to help with the goblins and whatever is wrong in the forest¡­ but I¡¯m scared.¡±

    ¡°Being scared of the unknown is normal.¡± She assured me. ¡°That¡¯s why there¡¯s five of us. We help one another out.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Vel. I needed that.¡± I turned to her with the puppy still in my arms.

    She petted it with affection before turning to the quest board and taking off the quest for the Saibon Boar.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get something to eat. After that, let¡¯s take that puppy to Elly and then see what we can do.¡± Velariah suggested.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do that,¡± I replied. ¡°Have you thought of a name yet?¡±

 1.62 New Plans

    Faragi

    Remember I posted two chapters again! Don''t accidentally skip the previous!

    ¡°Not yet,¡± Velariah answered. ¡°We don¡¯t even know if it''s male or female.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s check that at home, then. It would be slightly awkward to check that out here in the middle of the guild hall.¡± I replied.

    ¡°Maybe Elly knows a good name too.¡± Velariah turned back to the table, quest in hand.

    ¡°She will likely be spending the most time with it anyway.¡± I finished our conversation and walked to the table.

    Velariah sat down and I placed the pup on her lap. I heard shouting coming from the kitchen and saw quite a few heads turn to the sound. Not long after, the waiter walked out of the kitchen and went from table to table, ours last, to apologize for the inconvenience. Apparently, the food would take longer than expected.

    He offered a drink on the house as an apology. He was as polite as always.

    ¡°Well, in that case,¡± Velariah said as she opened her pack and took out the Yahtzee materials after the waiter walked back to the kitchen. ¡°Where were we?¡±

    Velariah really knew how to take my mind off of things.

    Not long after starting a round, the waiter returned with our drinks. I doubted I¡¯d ever get enough of these kingberry juice smoothies.

    During our round, I saw Nira glance at the pup on Velariah¡¯s lap more than a few times. It wasn¡¯t too obvious, but it was enough for me to notice.

    ¡°You wanna hold it, Nira?¡± I asked her while Draco rolled the dice.

    ¡°Huh?¡± She asked in surprise.

    I don¡¯t think she knew that I noticed.

    I rolled my eyes to the pup, clear enough for her to see.

    ¡°If it¡¯s okay.¡± She said softly.

    Velariah responded by picking it up and planting it on Nira¡¯s lap next to her. The harpy started petting the pup who seemed all too content at all the attention it was getting.

    I could see she had a huge smile on her face by the time Seralyn rolled the dice.

    ¡°Any plans for the rest of the day?¡± Draco asked. ¡°There¡¯s still plenty of time.¡±

    ¡°I am finally getting myself a better bow,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about it for a while and, now that I evolved my inherity, I am dying to see what a better bow would do. You wouldn¡¯t mind providing me with some silk, would you, Elania?¡±

    She was quite polite with her question. I was wondering if she had ulterior motives for asking that, but I doubted she would joke about something such as this. Seralyn had always been serious and reliable when it came to combat.

    ¡°Uhm...¡± I started. ¡°I was planning on creating some more after lunch to sell. I don¡¯t think helping out will be an issue. I doubt we would miss the small amount you need.¡±

    ¡°Thanks a bunch.¡± She replied with a neutral expression.

    It was quite interesting to see that she could be so calm. It didn¡¯t last, however. Soon, she started losing, and losing badly. Her neutral expression quickly turned into one of anger. She cursed when her luck seemed to have all but disappeared. Eventually, she¡¯d had enough.

    ¡°Velariah, do you mind handing the mushrooms to me? I¡¯m going to finish this quest. You guys play on without me, this round is scuffed for me, anyway.¡±

    Velariah searched through her pack and pulled out two pouches. She handed both to Seralyn who was off to see the Lore keeper.

    ¡°What¡¯s in the other pouch?¡± I asked curiously.

    ¡°Hobgoblin ears. I imagined it would be a good idea to take some with us.¡±

    That didn¡¯t sound like a terrible idea. It would also add some more credibility to our quest completion.

    ¡°You think we should have taken some of that wolf creature with us to show as well?¡±

    ¡°That would be unwise.¡± Draco filled in. ¡°We are not aware of what that creature was and if it could be dangerous to take parts from it. Nira said the creature was venomous, so I decided against the idea of carving a trophy.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. The thing is, how do we convince the guild such a creature existed in the first place?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Five witnesses,¡± Velariah said. ¡°That, and our reputation is clean. As much as I don¡¯t like using my lineage as an excuse, in this case, it does prove to be useful.¡± She paused for a second. ¡°And even if they don''t believe me, my father will. Also...¡± She pointed at my arm.

    Oh, there was that.

    The circles where the creature¡¯s fangs pierced my flesh were still there.

    ¡°I doubt the guild has anything on record that can explain those.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying it was a good thing I got bitten?¡± I half-smiled.

    ¡°Perhaps.¡± She grinned.

    ¡°Why, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Yahtzee!¡± Draco shouted.

    I turned back to the dice to see five fours on the table.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t see it. You¡¯re cheating!¡± Velariah accused him.

    Nira shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s legit.¡±

    ¡°Argh,¡± Velariah replied in anger. ¡°And I was doing so well!¡±

    Tee-hee.

    Her reaction was gold to see.

    Even Nira smiled at Velariah¡¯s antics.

    Seralyn returned with coins in her hand and sat down before laying the gold coins on the table, one in front of each party member. Velariah took ours and put them somewhere in her pack.

    The wolf pup made its presence known as well. It had its paws placed on the edge of the table and was looking at the dice and gold coins with its adorable curiosity.

    ¡°Seems gold has its interest,¡± Seralyn commented. ¡°Maybe you can train it to fetch gold? That would be quite something.¡±

    ¡°I am no expert in teaching animals tricks,¡± I admitted.

    ¡°Heh.¡± Seralyn simply chuckled. ¡°How about you, Nira, Draco, did you guys have any plans?¡± She asked, continuing the conversation from earlier.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be restocking first,¡± Draco said. ¡°I¡¯ll be looking around to see if there are more¡­ unconventional weapons that could be useful in combat. I took my inspiration from Elania.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Seralyn said with a frown. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Would you like to explain?¡± Draco asked me.

    ¡°Oh, can I, can I?¡± Velariah jumped in the conversation.

    ¡°Go for it.¡± I said.

    ¡°A while ago, we cleared that spider nest, you know, where we found the dungeon? Well, there was this huge spider, a copy of the one that Elania talked to. You¡¯re not going to believe this next part.¡± Velariah built up the suspense with the typical clickbait headline.

    ¡°We were given an incendiary crystal to burn the nest.¡± Velariah laughed for a second, unable to contain it. ¡°Instead of burning the nest, Elania strapped it to a fucking spear, triggered it, and shoved it up the massive hellspider¡¯s maw. The beast then got fried from the inside. It was disgusting but glorious!¡±

    Velariah¡¯s storytelling had a certain charm. I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.

    Seralyn burst into laughter. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! Shame I wasn¡¯t there to see it.¡±

    Where have I heard that before?

    Nira was too busy observing a certain puppy to care. Velariah had to poke her when it was her turn to roll the dice.

    ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± She said softly.

    She rolled the dice, but her mind was on a certain ball of fluff. Not that it mattered much, anyway, it was already quite clear that Draco was winning this game by a landslide.

    Food arrived just after we¡¯d finished our round. I may have shoved a few smaller pieces of meat to the side of the table. They disappeared soon after, I wonder why?

    I was probably spoiling this animal too much, I¡¯d have to teach it not to beg later on. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t be me that would have to complete that task.

    ¡°You think Elly will be overburdened if we leave this little fella in her care?¡± I asked the white-haired elf.

    Velariah shrugged. ¡°I doubt she¡¯d mind. You¡¯re worried about walking it, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°Nah, she won¡¯t mind doing that. In fact, I think she will be thankful for it. It will give her something to do outside of work.¡±

    ¡°She has a key right?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve got a key as well, but I hardly use it. Besides that, I don¡¯t take it with me when I go out on adventures.¡± She paused for a second. ¡°I also need her to help out with my armor anyway, so there¡¯s little use for it.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like you may have to take it with you soon,¡± I grinned.

    ¡°Not when we¡¯re away from the village. I¡¯d rather wait for her to return, than risk it falling into the wrong hands.¡±

    ¡°Seems reasonable,¡± Draco said.

    I nodded in affirmation while I continued with my food.

    ¡°You have any plans, Nira?¡± I asked after a while.

    She shook her head. ¡°Not really. I might look for some other quest. I don¡¯t know yet.¡±

    ¡°Hm. Well, I didn¡¯t really find anything interesting on the quest board, but then again, I don¡¯t know your preferences.¡± I turned to the others. ¡°Do you guys want to visit the dungeon again tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Any specific reason?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°I was just thinking.¡± I lowered my voice so I was certain others wouldn¡¯t be able to hear what I was about to say. ¡°Since I am able to communicate with the dungeon, we could use that to build a relationship with it. I imagine having a dungeon as an ally could be invaluable. He said he was weak and that he just woke up. If we supply him mana, he could provide us with more info, Corium and perhaps, materials?¡± I said the last sentence as if it were a question.

    ¡°It is unheard of,¡± Draco said. ¡°It could be a valuable ally indeed, but how do we know it¡¯s not going to abuse our trust?¡±

    ¡°No idea...¡± I spoke honestly. ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll be alright if it decides to turn on us?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a fairly weak dungeon,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°That¡¯s all I know. I do not have enough dungeon experience to be considered knowledgeable.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the first person that can interact with a dungeon. How stupid would it be of them to kill you?¡± Seralyn interjected into the conversation.

    ¡°That¡¯s true as well,¡± Velariah said. ¡°And we could always run. We know the layout and it¡¯s not much. And¡­¡± She looked at each of us.

    ¡°Maybe it has answers to what is going on in the forest.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ could be the thing we need most right now,¡± I said. ¡°Any info we can gather would be welcome. Even if there is nothing special going on, we could ask it about the goblins as well.¡± I concluded.

    I finished eating. I was the last to finish, as was common nowadays. Velariah then made her way to the Lore keeper to inform the guild of the things that happened during our quest. She was lost in talk for a few minutes and at some point pointed towards me. She then beckoned me over.

    ¡°Elania, do you mind showing your wound?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± I held out my arm that got bit on during the fight and saw the Lore keeper eye it very closely.

    ¡°A wolf that looked as if it had been dead for weeks?¡± She inquired.

    I nodded. ¡°That would be the best way to describe it. It literally had bones showing through its skin.¡±

    ¡°Interesting. I¡¯ve not heard of such a thing. I¡¯ll inform the guild leader. I assume you¡¯ll be informing General Valtheril yourselves?¡±

    Velariah nodded. ¡°We will do that. Do you think the treemenders need to be made aware as well?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure that¡¯s done.¡± The Lore keeper answered.

    Velariah thanked her and we moved back to the table with our companions. Velariah paid the waiter for the meal and soon we were outside the guild hall, making arrangements for the next day. Nira handed me the leash with the wolf pup on the other end of it. The pup in question seemed all too eager to be outside again, and started running circles around one of my legs, getting the thread all tangled up around it.

    I sighed. This little doggy had a lot to learn.

    ¡°Well, you guys have fun teaching your new little monster.¡± Seralyn giggled before she departed.

    ¡°So, tomorrow morning, guild hall?¡± I questioned.

    Draco and Nira both nodded in agreement. ¡°I¡¯d be interested in this dungeon for sure,¡± Draco said. ¡°I never imagined I would experience anything like this.¡±

    ¡°Neither did I,¡± I answered. ¡°Trust me.¡±

    Velariah grinned and Nira looked at us in confusion. When we didn¡¯t elaborate, she knelt to give the puppy one last pet. It responded by jumping at her feathers, earning a giggle from the harpy.

    Nira seemed to be an animal lover.

    Then again, look at its little eyes!

    How could anyone not fall for that?

    ¡°We¡¯ll see you tomorrow. Take care.¡± Velariah said.

    Nira walked back into the guild hall, likely to check out the available quests, while Draco walked in the direction of the general store.

    I was curious what items he would bring on our next adventure. I imagined some of those incendiary crystals could be insanely useful. I was looking forward to seeing what other things he would come up with.

    ¡°The little rascal really seems to like you.¡± The elf said while looking at what was going on beneath me. ¡°Can¡¯t blame it though.¡±

    ¡°Vel!¡± I said with a blush.

    ¡°Tee-hee. I love teasing you, El. Let¡¯s head home and see if we can come up with a proper name for your new pet.¡±

    Walking with the leash and the blades on my gloves turned out to be a tricky affair. I gave the leash to Velariah and held the blades in front of me in an X-formation, so as to not accidentally slice the curious animal.

    We arrived at the mansion and Velariah knocked.

    ¡°You want me to ask Elly to prepare dinner in the evening? I mean, considering you planned on selling more silk.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Probably best to do that, yeah. Do you have spools?¡±

    Velariah nodded. ¡°Got a bunch upstairs. My mother used to dabble in clothesmaking...¡± She said the last bit while looking at the floor.

    Poor Vel. I could still feel the pain she felt at the loss of her mother. It must be harsh to expect long lives and then having them cut short like that.

    Elly opened the slider and then opened both doors. The first thing she noticed was the puppy who came running and sniffed her legs. We stepped inside as Elly seemed to be too occupied looking at and petting the little thing.

    I knew it would steal her heart as well.

    ¡°Who is this?¡± She asked.

    ¡°A wolf that Elania saved. We found it out on a quest, it seemed to have lost its parents.¡±

    ¡°How sad,¡± Elly replied.

    ¡°We were thinking you¡¯d be able to take care of it when we¡¯re out,¡± Velariah added.

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯d love to!¡± Elly said with glee, not taking her eyes off the small animal.

    ¡°Told you.¡± Velariah grinned while looking at me.

    I shrugged with a smile as I carefully took off my weapons and armor and put them in the corner. Elly was holding the leash at the moment and I doubt she¡¯d let her newfound companion hurt itself on my blades.

    Elly was too infatuated with my new pet. I helped Velariah with the straps of her armor and took it off. Velariah simply smiled at her maid.

    ¡°Seems you two are going to have a great time together.¡± She said.

    Elly looked up with shock. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    The white-haired elf laughed. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Elania already helped me. You have fun with the lil¡¯ guy. By the way, could you cook some dinner tonight?¡±

    ¡°Not a problem.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t keep it all for yourself.¡± I joked. ¡°I found it.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare, Miss Elania!¡± Elly took a bow.

    ¡°Relax, I was kidding,¡± I assured the elf. ¡°Also, we need a name.¡±

    ¡°Is it male or female?¡± Elly asked.

    ¡°Dunno yet. Haven¡¯t checked.¡± I replied.

    Elly turned the pup around and observed its belly.

    ¡°It¡¯s a male.¡± She said.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Velariah said as she finished taking her armor off. ¡°See if you can think of some names for him then. I heard Elania sucks at naming things.¡±

    She looked at me and I could literally see what she was thinking. She had added ¡®Including herself¡¯ to that line in her head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to come up with some. You can see for yourselves if you like them.¡± Elly said as she opened the doors to the dining area.

    We followed her and closed the doors. ¡°Can I unleash him?¡± Elly added.

    ¡°Fine by me,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°We should get him a bowl of water,¡± I suggested. ¡°And we should buy him some kind of bed,¡± I added. ¡°We can¡¯t leave him to sleep on the stone floor.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really going to pamper it, aren¡¯t you, El?¡±

    Elly overheard us and walked to the kitchen after taking the leash off. The animal started running around and sniffing random things, a chair, a table leg, a door, my legs¡­

    ¡°Well,¡± Velariah continued. ¡°We were planning on getting some silk to sell. Do you think you can make a dog bed while you¡¯re at it?¡±

    I wasn¡¯t quite expecting that suggestion.

    ¡°Uh, I guess I might as well do that. You think silk will be comfortable?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it will be.¡± The elf replied. ¡°Let me just go upstairs and grab the spools.¡±

    I sighed and walked into the bathroom. I put my tag in the sink and the wolf pet followed and jumped into the pile of pillows.

    Time to teach this dog some manners, I guess.

    ¡°Get out of there,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s my bed. Well, and Vel¡¯s, I guess. We will get you one of your own.¡±

    I made sure to make my intention clear in the tone of my voice. I heard it was very important to let pets know you were angry with your voice. I then walked over to it and grabbed it out of the pillows.

    I put it on the floor and it instantly jumped back in the pile.

    ¡°No!¡± I almost shouted, earning a confused look.

    I pulled it out of the pillows once more and it seemed to get the idea.

    I sighed again. We, or rather, Elly was going to have quite a handful with this new resident.

    Velariah entered the room and closed the doors. She held a spool in one hand.

    ¡°Shall we get to work?¡±

    Faragi

    As always, thanks for the support

    A special shoutout to my new Patrons <3

    Belkoth

    Kuroko

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    Jake

    Don''t forget to join Discord to hang out with me and other readers. I like to answer questions that people have and/or weave the answers into the story organically.

    https://discord.gg/TqFjdv8uaE

 1.63 Money Milkingâ€

    ¡°How much gold were we at again?¡± I questioned.

    ¡°You really are forgetful, aren¡¯t you?¡± Velariah asked as she got behind me.

    I placed myself on the pile of pillows and relaxed while the elf was about to start.

    ¡°After dividing up the loot from the cave, we are now at 37 gold. Speaking of loot, let¡¯s get those saddlebags off of you first.¡±

    I looked behind me.

    ¡°I¡¯d totally forgotten those. There¡¯s not much in them of value, anyway.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully next time. I¡¯ll still need to give the others their share of the money we found. I already counted our share in that thirty-seven gold.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that quest sure sucked, didn¡¯t it?¡± I replied.

    I looked over to the small wolf who was looking on with curiosity as Velariah unstrapped the saddlebags and placed them in the corner, next to the crate of sulfur.

    ¡°I think this little guy was about the most interesting thing that happened to us.¡±

    ¡°He is kind of cute, isn¡¯t he?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Hm, for sure.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to work now,¡± Velariah warned me.

    ¡°Go for it.¡±

    My eyes were locked on the pup who now sat next to the pillow pile on the ground to the right of me. I was dangling a pedipalp in front of him and he was eagerly playing with it.

    I wondered what a good name would be. I was thinking about ¡®Gray¡¯ since he was completely gray.

    I sure sucked at naming things. It would fit him, though.

    A small moan escaped my lips. I could feel Velariah¡¯s amusement as she was ¡®working¡¯ behind me. She was fondling my spinnerets gently and the feeling wasn¡¯t all too unpleasant.

    ¡°Vel, you said you were getting to work. You didn¡¯t say you were going to seduce me by stroking my sensitive parts.¡±

    I could hear a grin from behind me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, El. I wanted to know how you¡¯d react to it, and apparently, you seem to like it.¡±

    My face flushed red slightly. She was absolutely right. The feeling was strange but nice. I didn¡¯t know how to reply.

    ¡°Your silence confirms my suspicion.¡± Velariah laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do that again. Unless you want me to, of course.¡±

    ¡°Vel!¡± I let out, embarrassed.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll get to work now.¡±

    Velariah got to work, for real this time. She was pulling out the silk carefully but rapidly while rotating the spool. I didn¡¯t pay much attention to the feeling. Instead, I was playing with the pup.

    ¡°What do you think about Gray?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Girl, you sure suck at naming, don¡¯t you?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I thought it was fitting.¡±

    ¡°By all means, go for it.¡±

    I looked at the pup who was still looking at me with curiosity in his eyes.

    ¡°Gray, eh?¡±

    I¡¯d have to make him get used to this name. Well, it would probably be Elly who did the heavy lifting. I wondered if she was going to be disappointed at not naming it.

    Velariah steadily progressed through the spools as my mind wandered off again.

    I was thinking about more questions I could ask Arch. Would there be others of my race? What was my race called anyway?

    Then another question struck me like lightning.

    Was I an actual monster? Would people hunt me for Corium?

    Those questions would probably take priority as they would directly affect my survival.

    Then again, at this point, it might be better to get this inherity thing out of the way first. Hopefully, it would cross many a question off the list. Given the limited amount of time that Arch had to communicate with me, that would probably be the most logical course of action.

    I found it hard to prioritize things at the moment. There were questions regarding the forest which could potentially impact Dawnleaf as a whole, and then there were questions regarding myself that could impact my own survival.

    Did Arch have to use a lot of energy to access the answers to the questions or something?

    He did talk quite some last time. I imagined he could answer multiple questions within the same time.

    He probably had his reasons.

    ¡°How many are you at?¡± I called out to Velariah.

    ¡°I¡¯m at five right now. How are you feeling?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine. I¡¯m trying to think of the silk as being durable, do you notice any difference?¡±

    ¡°A bit, but not much. It seems they are slightly whiter, but that¡¯s about it. It could just be the lighting in the room though.¡±

    ¡°Hm, I do wonder if there are certain properties that would be preferable when it¡¯s used for clothing. I thought durable was a good idea, but I don¡¯t know how my body interprets that. Sticky and non-sticky are fairly simple to grasp, after all.¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± Velariah chuckled. ¡°This is where we find out you can make non-flammable or super water-resistant silk.¡±

    I thought about that for a second.

    ¡°That¡­ might actually be good to try sometime. I imagine waterproof or fire-resistant clothing would be ideal for adventurers, no? It would also allow the tailor to expand his market for high-quality clothing to adventurers.¡±

    ¡°Which in turn would mean he would need a larger supply, which means we could potentially ask for more money,¡± Velariah replied.

    ¡°You got it,¡± I confirmed.

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty smart, Elania. But we do need to test it out.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re up to six, seven, spools right now? When you get to eight, let me know. We can try it out with the last two.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± The elf replied.

    I continued playing with the newly-dubbed Gray. It seemed I¡¯d found another being that wasn¡¯t the least bit scared by giant spider parts. He actually seemed to enjoy playing with them.

    ¡°You having fun?¡± Velariah called.

    ¡°I am, and I know you are too.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I sure am.¡± Velariah grinned.

    I could feel a hand run over my behind and I shuddered. The feeling was followed by intense giggling from a certain elf.

    ¡°I am done with eight spools,¡± Velariah said before I could comment. ¡°Do you want me to just start number nine while you do¡­ whatever you do?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do that. We can test its properties after we have them done.¡±

    ¡°Let me just put these ones away first.¡± She said as she put the filled spools in her pack.

    ¡°You¡¯re still fine right?¡± She checked again.

    ¡°Slightly drained but no more than that. I¡¯ll be fine, especially after Elly¡¯s cooking tonight.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t let her take you from me!¡± Velariah said with a smile.

    ¡°Tee-hee,¡± I replied. ¡°Better start practicing that cooking.¡± I grinned.

    ¡°Which do you want to do first?¡± Velariah asked. ¡°Fireproof or waterproof?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s start with water,¡± I said.

    I thought about how water would simply glide off the silk instead of being soaked up as Velariah started her work. I kept up the focus and felt my strength being drained at a much faster rate than before as the silk left my body.

    It started to get hard to focus near the end of it. I was glad Velariah called that she was done when it was about to become too hard.

    ¡°Thanks, Vel. It was getting painful to stay focused. I am pretty sure that did at least something.¡±

    ¡°You want a break?¡± She suggested.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if this works first,¡± I said as I stood up.

    Gray took that as a signal and started circling my legs. It made walking over to the sink quite a bit harder since I had to avoid him.

    ¡°Stay!¡± I said while looking at him with a stern face.

    The pup in turn sat down on his rear and cocked his head to the side while sticking out his tongue.

    I¡¯ll take that as a win.

    I lowered myself to pet him. ¡°Good boy.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, I wouldn¡¯t mind some affection either,¡± Velariah said, standing next to the sink already.

    ¡°There¡¯s plenty of time for that, after,¡± I replied. ¡°Let¡¯s get this out of the way first.¡±

    ¡°Yay!¡± The elf responded with glee, to which I rolled my eyes.

    She let the water run and simply held the spool of silk under the running water and pulled it out a few seconds later. She then ran her fingers over the silken threads.

    ¡°And?¡± I inquired.

    ¡°Feel for yourself.¡± She replied as she handed the spool to me.

    I ran my fingers over the threads as well and mild shock hit me.

    ¡°It¡¯s completely dry.¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± Velariah responded happily. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you did it, but you pulled it off.¡±

    ¡°Heh. I am amazed at it as well. Though, it does seem to drain me quite a bit more than usual.¡±

    ¡°I imagine the value of it is a fair amount higher as well. We¡¯d have to check if it¡¯s actually worth it though. If it does exhaust you that much more, it might be worth sticking to the simple thread.¡± She paused for a second as a smile formed on her face. ¡°Heh, unintended pun.¡±

    ¡°Nice one.¡± I smiled.

    ¡°You want to take some time to rest, seeing as you seem quite tired after that? We could cuddle!¡± Velariah said happily.

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    This elf was such a sucker for cuddles. I guessed the prospect of having four arms to be cuddled by only strengthened the elf¡¯s need.

    I hugged her from behind while she still faced the sink.

    Hm, four arms and two pedipalps to join in really did make for the best hugs. I couldn¡¯t imagine Velariah¡¯s enjoyment if it already felt this nice for me.

    Velariah turned around and brought her face to me but wasn¡¯t able to reach that high up.

    ¡°This is so awkward...¡± She said while looking up at me.

    ¡°Awww, poor Vel can¡¯t even reach her girlfriend.¡± I looked down into her eyes.

    ¡°Did you just call me your girlfriend?¡± She said with a shine in her eyes.

    ¡°Huh, I guess so.¡±

    The elf jumped and put her arms around my neck. While holding herself up she planted her mouth on mine. I let myself get lost in the kiss while I carefully lowered myself down so her feet would be back on the ground.

    ¡°El...¡± She said, a tear in her eye. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind more of that...¡±

    She reached out to put her hands behind my head and slowly moved in to kiss me again. I let her do as she pleased and enjoyed the warmth building up in my core as our lips met.

    ¡°You did close the door right?¡± I asked out of fear of Elly walking in.

    Having the maid see us like this¡­ I didn¡¯t know what I would do.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Velariah said while looking at me eagerly.

    ¡°Good,¡± I planted my lips on hers again and took the elf in for a tight hug. I then lifted her up with the help of four arms and two pedipalps and brought her over to the pile of pillows where I laid her down without ever breaking the kiss.

    ¡°Hm, El, you¡¯re so direct,¡± Velariah mumbled between two kisses.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get the wrong idea, Vel. It¡¯s just that you make my legs tremble. I actually have trouble staying on my feet when we kiss.¡±

    ¡°That sounds quite annoying.¡± The elf said with a smile. ¡°I have to admit I¡¯m slightly disappointed.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, I have to be honest,¡± I said as I kissed her again. ¡°I have zero experience in that field. At least, I think so. I don¡¯t remember anything, so I guess that counts as zero?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any either. We could find out together?¡± The elf said between two kisses.

    I broke away and looked down at the elf, my legs lifting me up slightly.

    ¡°No fucking way,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t believe a word of that.¡±

    ¡°I can imagine. It¡¯s true though, I¡¯ve never had a relationship until you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re good at joking, Vel. Succubus Vel has never had a relationship?¡±

    As I said that and looked into her eyes I could see that she was actually speaking the truth. It honestly had me shaken.

    ¡°No way...¡± I let out as I continued to look into her eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s true...¡± She said softly.

    I laughed slightly. ¡°Unbelievable,¡± I said before kissing her again.

    I broke away for the last time and let myself drop onto her side, my right set of legs enveloped her frame about halfway. I continued giving her small kisses on her cheeks and ears.

    She looked at me with the widest smile I¡¯d ever seen coming from her.

    ¡°You¡¯re really something else,¡± Velariah giggled.

    ¡°I would ask you if I¡¯m a great kisser but I fear your knowledge is limited on that subject,¡± I said in response.

    ¡°Yeah, it really is. I would say ¡®unfortunately¡¯, but I am fortunate to have found you.¡±

    ¡°Hm, same here, Vel.¡± I ran a hand through her beautiful white hair and a finger over her cheek from another hand.

    Velariah took one of my left hands and intertwined our fingers. ¡°I really look forward to building a life with you, El. You have no idea how much you¡¯ve given me.¡±

    ¡°Your life?¡± I half-joked with a smile.

    ¡°So much more than that. Not only me but my father as well. I haven¡¯t seen him this energized since that day last year.¡±

    ¡°You mean...¡±

    She nodded. ¡°He drowned himself in work after my mom passed away. Now, he does the same, but he seems to be moving with purpose.¡±

    ¡°I wonder what led him to accept me so easily,¡± I said. ¡°As a person that is. I don¡¯t deny my¡­ abilities appear to be of great importance to the village, but he seems to be intrigued by everything I do.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t blame him. He is a general, he is surrounded by bureaucrats looking to further their own needs. I can imagine you are a welcome distraction and you are probably more useful than all of them combined.¡±

    ¡°I guess there is some truth to that. I guess I am to blame for an incoming coffee addiction too.¡± I answered.

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t wait to see Dawnleaf blossom because of your combined efforts,¡± Velariah said softly. ¡°It¡¯s been going downhill for so long. To finally see life return is just¡­ it fills me with joy. A coffee addiction is most definitely worth it all.¡± She smirked.

    ¡°Great, now I want coffee...¡± I sighed. I looked over to the right of the pillow pile. It would seem that Gray had fallen asleep some time ago.

    ¡°Soon...¡± Velariah foreshadowed.

    ¡°What soon? You know I can¡¯t drink coffee.¡±

    ¡°Of course you can, we still need to fill one spool of silk.¡± She grinned, ¡°Just kidding. No, what I meant was that I believe my father has people working on a way to ¡®Decaffeinate¡¯ it as you called it. I believe he called it something like ¡®removing the energy¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that would be lovely indeed,¡± I replied at the prospect.

    I paused for a few moments and brought a pedipalp up to her hair and used it to continue playing with it.

    ¡°You¡¯re really enjoying this whole ¡®spider thing¡¯, aren¡¯t you?¡± Velariah asked with a smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting better,¡± I replied with as much of a neutral expression as I could. I then moved my set of right legs under her frame and started scratching her back. ¡°I can give proper pats and back scratches now.¡± I smiled.

    ¡°Hmmm. It does feel nice.¡± Velariah enjoyed the touch.

    ¡°Spider part aside, I¡¯m actually surprised by how little I know of my own world.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Velariah asked as she took hold of the right hand that was still near her cheek.

    ¡°You know. There are things in our world that are seemingly so simple, but I have no tools or enough knowledge to replicate them. I¡¯m already surprised you have pencils, I wouldn¡¯t know how to make those. You know, this thing I called earlier, a pen it¡¯s called, it¡¯s such an everyday item in our world.¡± I took some time to think about how to explain how a pen worked.

    ¡°Basically there is a thin cylinder containing ink - compare it to a pencil. Then there is a tiny ball at the end of it that gets ink on it. That ball is then used to write, like a pencil. How it works exactly or how it¡¯s made, I have no idea. It¡¯s basically a quill that you can use for many hours in a row and you can easily take it with you.¡±

    ¡°That sounds extremely convenient.¡± I saw Velariah¡¯s eyes light up at my explanation. ¡°Got any more such items?¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± I started. ¡°Let me think of anything that I could possibly replicate...¡±

    ¡°Lightning magic is a thing, right?¡± I asked.

    Velariah nodded.

    ¡°Is it anything like the lightning in the skies during storms?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s basically a weaker version of it, but yes.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± I said. ¡°We have something called a lightbulb, it¡¯s something similar to these orbs.¡± I pointed to the orbs in the chandelier that illuminated the room. ¡°It would be completely useless for you guys, but here is how it works: we have a glass orb with a thin metal thread in it, we basically send a very weak form of lightning magic through the thin thread which then starts glowing, much like the metal at Coldanus¡¯s forge. We developed those over many years and we have orbs that give a lot of light.¡±

    ¡°Sounds complicated and useless for us, as you said.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied. ¡°I guess it is, but it¡¯s all we have. We have no magic, so we need to create things such as that instead. Through science and experimenting.¡±

    ¡°Science sounded fun, though.¡± The elf replied.

    ¡°It can be,¡± I replied. ¡°It can also be dangerous. Some things can cause irreversible harm or even death when handled improperly.¡±

    I was still playing with her hair while thinking about things that may be of interest.

    ¡°I could show you gunpowder someday soon, or well, black powder.¡±

    ¡°What was that again?¡± The elf asked, inquisitively.

    Did I tell her before? I wasn¡¯t sure anymore.

    ¡°It¡¯s a powder that explodes with extreme force. It revolutionized warfare, but it can also be used for simpler things.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d surely be interested to see it, but I can see you¡¯re hesitant about it.¡±

    ¡°I am just careful with stuff like that, Vel.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± She smiled as she took me in for another kiss.

    ¡°I love these stories. I look forward to hearing more.¡±

    ¡°I love telling you about them too. Let¡¯s finish up with the silk and I¡¯ll tell you more. Fireproof right? Let¡¯s see if I can manage that.¡± I stated.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you can.¡±

 1.64 Loving Stories

    Faragi

    Don''t forget to read 63!

    Velariah went to work and almost immediately after starting to produce silk, I could feel something was off. I didn¡¯t lose strength at a rate that was even close to comparable to when I created the waterproof version.

    ¡°Hold on, Vel. This isn¡¯t right.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Velariah asked as she stopped rotating the spool.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s working. Could you test the bit you have?¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡±

    Velariah stood up, unlocked the door, and made her way through it.

    While she was gone, I started thinking about things to tell her about my world. I also started to think of things to ask about this new world. Up until now, I¡¯d only made do with the bare minimum on how things worked. Even with that bare minimum, I¡¯d already learned quite a bit, or so I felt.

    There were inherities, which seemed to make up a large portion of how combat worked in this world. They could be evolved by Corium, which was mainly acquired in dungeons. Dungeons seemed to operate like plants in some way. They consumed, for us, some useless, invisible, ungraspable material and created Corium in return. It was fairly comparable to plants creating oxygen.

    One of my worries was the insanely broad array of abilities this brought forth. It didn¡¯t seem to be something simple as fireball, into larger fireball, into huge fireball. This left me with the issue of not knowing what could be used against me.

    I¡¯d been skeptical about learning magic earlier on, but it seemed it didn¡¯t have to be learned. Instead, one would gain knowledge on how to use different abilities during an evolution pretty much for free.

    I wondered if it would work in the same way for me. Velariah and Seralyn had evolved their abilities and seemed to be able to use magic to some degree. It gave me hope that it wouldn¡¯t take too long before something like that should become available for me as well.

    I had to consider myself blessed that most sentient races seemed to be at peace with one another. I couldn¡¯t be thankful enough for that fact. I would have probably been killed a thousand times over already, otherwise. I almost died once to a certain adventurer already.

    The thought of leaving Velariah behind brought a tear to my eye.

    I would probably have to deal with such encounters again. All I could do was prepare myself for it by growing stronger. My only issue was that growth seemed to be quite slow. Sure, Valtheril managed to jump up in ranks and power quite quickly, but he had worked on that for more than half a human lifespan.

    I could only pray.

    Velariah returned with an empty spool and looked a bit down. I already knew what that meant.

    She locked the door and turned to me.

    ¡°No luck?¡± I asked.

    She shook her head. ¡°It burned slower than the waterproof one, I tested a bit of that to make sure, but it still burned.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s.¡± I paused for a second. ¡°Not actually that bad. I imagine, or I hope, that evolutions will improve my silk properties. It would make sense, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Could be,¡± Velariah said, her head up high again. ¡°Your carapace seems to have grown stronger than it was when I first met you. It wouldn¡¯t be completely out of place for your other properties to grow stronger as well.¡± She shrugged. ¡°It seems you may have two inherities.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± I asked. ¡°How would you know it¡¯s two?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± She said. ¡°There¡¯s the poison resistance, that one I am certain is an inherity. Then, there is the durability of your body and, apparently, the ability to heal it during molts. These two things are so far apart from each other that I doubt it¡¯s a combined inherity.¡±

    ¡°But it could still be one?¡± I asked. ¡°You told me I am the first of this¡­ race you¡¯ve seen. Do you think there is a chance this whole spider thing is more of an inherity than a race?¡±

    ¡°Good point,¡± Velariah noted. ¡°I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°How does that work with Draco?¡± I asked. ¡°I mean, he has an inherity that improves his power and defense with axes, but what about that transformation ability and the bit of healing magic he possesses?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s two inherities,¡± Velariah confirmed my suspicion.

    ¡°So it¡¯s not a lizardfolk-specific trait?¡±

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°Inherity stands for ¡®Inherent ability¡¯. Many of them are passed down from ancestors, some are more common in certain races than others. Draco¡¯s ability to transform is very common among lizardfolk. His inherity regarding axes is what you would consider his second inherity.¡±

    ¡°Ok, I guess that clears up a few things. In that case, I should consider the molting process and healing and whatnot my first and my poison resistance my second inherity?¡±

    ¡°That sounds the most logical to me,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Then again, there is only one way to be sure.¡±

    ¡°The ritual,¡± I said.

    The elf nodded. ¡°Speaking of the ritual, I will have Elly take these spools to the tailor. She is a much better haggler than me. Maybe she will be able to sell the waterproof silk for a fair bit more.¡±

    ¡°You said thirty-seven gold before, right? With this silk, we¡¯d be up to forty-six at least. Damn, we¡¯re almost there.¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± Velariah said. ¡°The only remaining issue will be getting the materials and a Grandmaster to Dawnleaf.¡±

    ¡°Is that going to cost us any extra?¡± I asked, fearing the worst.

    ¡°I checked with the guild the other day, we don¡¯t have scheduled rituals anytime soon, so it probably is going to cost us extra if we want it done as soon as possible.¡±

    Velariah looked over at me and grinned. ¡°But I get the feeling you¡¯re rather impatient and would not mind paying extra to get it done as soon as you can.¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡± I grinned back.

    ¡°Just a hunch.¡± She smiled.

    ¡°How much will it cost extra?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Probably about ten gold.¡±

    Yikes.

    I sighed. ¡°Guess this walking silk factory is going to work overtime...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re insanely lucky to possess something so valuable,¡± Velariah said. ¡°It really speeds things up when we¡¯re not out and about.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true as well. This would have probably taken months to gather normally. It¡¯s been what, one month so far? We¡¯re almost already there, though I do have you chipping in. Thank you for that, Vel.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± Velariah said with a broad smile. ¡°I¡¯d like my spider girlfriend to know what her capabilities are.¡±

    She walked up to me and pressed herself against my human body, not reaching further than my chest.

    I lowered myself as I knew what she was getting at.

    I soon had a lovely pair of elven lips on my own and I closed my eyes as I enjoyed every second of it.

    ¡°Hmmm. I imagine my capabilities are quite broad.¡± I grinned as I let her go.

    ¡°For sure.¡± The elf said as she took me in for a hug.

    ¡°I can either ask my father or have a letter sent via the guild to summon a Grandmaster to Dawnleaf, whatever you prefer.¡±

    ¡°Would your dad summoning one yield a more trustworthy person?¡± I asked, while I hugged the elf back.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like anyone else can read your inherity, but I imagine he¡¯d get someone he can trust if you¡¯d prefer that.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°I would.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t one to take risks where they could be avoided. At least, I¡¯d like to think that.

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Velariah let out as she put her arms around my neck and kissed me again. ¡°Let¡¯s continue storytime. I loved every second of it.¡±

    ¡°Can do,¡± I said as I lifted her once more and deposited her in the pile of pillows, gently, before wrapping my right set of legs around her again, and placing my pedipalp in her long, white hair.

    ¡°They are nice, you know.¡± The elf spoke while stroking one of my legs.

    I couldn¡¯t believe that even without the hairs they were so sensitive. I could feel every touch on them as if it were skin. How was that even possible? I blamed magic, for lack of a better explanation.

    ¡°Temptress Vel is at it again with the leg fetish.¡± I grinned as I kissed one of her ears.

    ¡°You¡¯re one to talk, with your elf ear fetish!¡± She retorted.

    Oops.

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right,¡± I said. ¡°But look at them, they are so cute!¡±

    The elf grinned before calming down and sighing.

    ¡°Where were we?¡± I started. ¡°Let¡¯s see what I can come up with.¡±

    I looked at the wall next to my head and came up with an idea.

    ¡°Hey, Vel, you see this?¡± I said as I held one of my hands up against the wall, creating a shadow by blocking the light from the chandelier.

    I then started to make a bird with two hands and let the shadow dance.

    ¡°What am I looking at?¡± She asked with curiosity in her voice.

    ¡°Look at the shadow.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a bird. We know these things, this is nothing new.¡± She sounded slightly disappointed.

    ¡°Yes, but what if I told you we evolved this?¡±

    That seemed to bring the spark back to her eyes.

    ¡°Evolved? How?¡±

    ¡°In my world, we have a box with a glass screen that can show these types of shadows on the glass panel, but they have color and can move around. We can make figures on the glass panel that look exactly like humans and even elves, and everyone can see them.¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± Velariah seemed impressed.

    ¡°Yeap, we can literally show what is going on on the other side of the world. This is the television thingy I talked about before. I don¡¯t know how they work, but I do know how a predecessor to a television somewhat operated. I imagine they still use some of the same ideas but with technology that is beyond me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re telling me you can make something like that?¡± Velariah asked hopefully.

    ¡°Calm down, Vel. It wouldn¡¯t be that impressive, really. I would need an intense light source and a very long strip of paper or multiple pieces glued together to make a long strip, preferably very thin or as transparent as possible.¡±

    ¡°And then?¡± The elf asked.

    ¡°You make drawings on that paper. You divide the paper into equally large portions and you create a drawing on each.¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what is going on,¡± Velariah admitted.

    ¡°Okay, here, let me try to explain it in an easier to understand way.¡±

    I created a very simple shadow on the wall with just my index finger pointing upward.

    ¡°Look at this shadow. It¡¯s a simple finger right. Now imagine you draw that finger on the paper and then have an intense light source shine on that paper. The finger would then be visible on the wall, right?¡±

    Velariah seemed lost in thought for a moment, trying to understand what I just said.

    ¡°The light would block where there is ink on the paper, creating a shadow of the finger.¡± She concluded while still lost in thought.

    ¡°Correct.¡±

    I moved my finger up and down.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Blink really quickly while looking at the shadow.¡±

    I observed her doing as I asked while I still moved my finger.

    ¡°Now imagine that each time you blink, you see a new image, slightly different from the last one. When you see all those images in the same place in quick succession it makes it seem like the image moves right?¡±

    ¡°I guess.¡± The elf said as she stopped blinking.

    I chuckled ¡°Now, of course, you don¡¯t have to blink yourself. You take the strip of paper and each square will be an image that is slightly different from the last. Then, you hold the strip of paper in front of the light source and move it quickly. You will see the shadow on the wall and it will appear as if it¡¯s moving.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so cool.¡±

    ¡°This is how movies started ¡ª moving pictures.¡±

    ¡°Can you make something like that, Elania?¡± She looked at me with glowing orbs for eyes.

    ¡°Possibly, but it would be so much work, and I fear it will interfere with adventuring and growing stronger, which I believe are more important at this point.¡±

    The elf nodded in understanding. ¡°You¡¯re right. I could, however, ask my father to see if he can find some craftsmen who could make something with this.¡±

    ¡°Sure, you can always see if people can make something of it.¡±

    ¡°You never cease to amaze me, El,¡± Velariah spoke softly as she lay down in the pillows again.

    I lowered myself as well and put my head on her shoulder.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you enjoy these stories, Vel.¡±

    I kissed her again, softly.

    ¡°I¡¯m having a great time with you. Do tell me something about this world in return.¡±

    ¡°What would you like to know?¡± She asked.

    ¡°What sentient races are there in this world? I know there are Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Lizardfolk, and Harpies. I also know there are trolls and goblins, but I don¡¯t count them. I¡¯d like to know about the more¡­ agreeable races.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm.¡± She thought for a moment. ¡°Those are really the only races you will see in this vicinity. There are the gnomes who are fairly similar to dwarves, they are slightly shorter and less¡­ broad. Then, to the far, far north in the arid and desert areas live the Foxkin, they are similar to humans but have some semblance to foxes, tails and fluffy ears being the two most prominent similarities. They are also very good with hotter climates which is why they live where they do. It provides them with a fair deal of safety as no other monster races like goblins or trolls dare to attack them in their home territory.¡±

    ¡°Sounds similar to a certain country in my old world, except it was reversed, they are protected by snow and cold.¡±

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Velariah said.

    She thought for several more moments.

    ¡°I think that is about everything that lives on this continent, sentient race-wise. There are small tribes of Sirens living near the coastal areas that have recently started building relationships with inland races. Apparently, they are all too eager to trade fish for other meat and vegetables.¡±

    ¡°I can imagine only eating fish will get really tiring at some point.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t ask me about any of these races,¡± Velariah stated. ¡°How they look like, I mean.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because I have heard the names before. Sirens are like half-snake, right?¡±

    ¡°Half sea-snake, somewhat, I guess. More like half fish. Sluggish on land, but if one chases you in water, you¡¯re done for.¡± The elf continued.

    ¡°I thought you just said they were friendly.¡± I gasped slightly.

    ¡°Friendly, hmm, not really. Some, yes, but most of them are merely accepting of other races. They have been hostile for so long, they are in the middle of adjusting.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like we¡¯d have to be careful around those,¡± I said as I observed the elf¡¯s face.

    She was looking at the ceiling and lost in thought, it was quite cute to see. She didn¡¯t even notice my legs playing with her frame.

    ¡°Yeah, they are not the kind of people you want to screw around with. Also, there¡¯s technically one other race on this continent, although they are more like a collection of races. There are certain spirits that assume forms. The most important example for us is nature spirits. Some appear as Alraune in forests, beautiful plant ladies that can be either friendly or hostile, it¡¯s completely random. The reason these are so important to us, in particular, is because their vines are used in high-quality anti-venom potions. Alravines sell for quite the price.¡±

    ¡°I can imagine that they¡¯d be less than happy when you start cutting their vines, then.¡± I chuckled.

    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong. Although, some happily depart with some vines in return for other things.¡±

    ¡°And what would those things consist of?¡± I smiled.

    ¡°Generally? Food. If you can get them a nice meal consisting of a lot of meat, they tend to be quite helpful. There have been known incidents where parties captured people and ¡®fed¡¯ them to Alraunes.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ sounds pretty nasty.¡±

    ¡°Well, they go out of this world free of pain. Alraunes use special toxic pollen that completely shuts down their brain and makes them fall in love with them instead. They then willingly step into their flowers where they experience endless pleasure before they are consumed.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like you.¡± I grinned, ¡°Stop using your pollen, Vel.¡±

    ¡°I would have used that if I knew how to!¡± Velariah grinned back.

    ¡°I imagine you already did that when I was out cold during my molt!¡±

    ¡°Nah, I just cleaned your leg a couple of times and cuddled you for as long as I could between my duties.¡±

    ¡°How sweet,¡± I said softly as I planted another kiss on her lips.

    She didn¡¯t expect that one at all but soon relaxed into it.

    ¡°Hmmm, you¡¯re the one releasing pollen here, El.¡± She said, before forcing her lips on mine again.

    Heat rapidly built up in my core again and I ran two hands through her hair as I kissed her deeper and deeper. I had my eyes closed and took in the wild sensations that my body was experiencing. My legs under her frame twitched in reaction to my heart beating faster. Only when the elf put her hands on my chest did I realize where this was going and I quickly broke away in slight shock.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Elania,¡± Velariah said softly.

    I felt myself relax as I looked into her worried eyes.

    ¡°Vel, you really make it hard for me to resist you, you know that?¡± I said with a smile, indicating I¡¯d taken no offense to her actions.

    I took her hands with my free arms and put them behind her head; I¡¯d pinned her down. This way, she could not repeat her actions and we could continue to kiss without taking it further. I kissed her again softly and the elf happily obliged.

    I finally broke away after a while.

    ¡°You sure you¡¯re not a plant spirit?¡± Velariah asked with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re consuming me with those lips of yours.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a spider spirit, can¡¯t you see?¡± I chuckled.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter to me,¡± Velariah said. ¡°I love you, El.¡±

    I answered before I even knew.

    ¡°I love you too, Vel.¡±

    Faragi

    Because people wanted to see some more world-building etc. Do let me know what things you''re curious about/want to see in the comments :)

    I''m trying to work on an NSFW chapter but I''ve been feeling terrible today, so I''ll most likely fix that tomorrow. I''ll post it on Patreon when finished.

 1.65 Crouching Elfâ€¦Hidden Caffeine

    After a nice, long cuddle with the elf, I laid myself down next to her. I lost all track of time when alone with her.

    I was completely relaxed at this point and head over heels in love. How Velariah managed to get me this far, I had no idea.

    I simply closed my eyes and let the wonderful feeling flow through every inch of my being. I finally managed to say the words. I couldn¡¯t help but feel accomplished.

    ¡°By the way, Vel?¡± I said after a while, my eyes still closed.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°I believe you mentioned centaurs earlier?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes.¡± Her voice came. ¡°They are half-human, half-horse people. Like you, pretty much, but with a horse body instead of a spider. They live on a continent to the west, they are the dominant race on the continent, which is quite a bit smaller than this one. They even named the place after themselves: Tauria.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I wonder if that means I am a spider-taur. Ugh, that sounds horrible.¡±

    ¡°Nah, you¡¯re just El. You¡¯re special.¡±

    ¡°Why, thank you.¡± I smiled with my eyes still closed. ¡°What¡¯s this continent called then? I don¡¯t believe you mentioned that yet.¡±

    ¡°Because you didn¡¯t ask for it, dummy,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°And that¡¯s also a point of contention. Humans and Elves make up most of the population, but once again insist on calling it differently.¡±

    ¡°This peace thing is going really well, isn¡¯t it?¡± I joked.

    I could feel Velariah¡¯s chest rise and fall as she sighed deeply.

    ¡°At least there is peace. My father told me quite horrible stories about when there was still war. I mean, not that he experienced those times, but he has access to the archives.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I can imagine.¡±

    ¡°As for what we call it? Larana. The humans instead call it Central Kingdoms. The dwarves seem to use both names, they make up the third kingdom, although it¡¯s smaller than the other two.¡±

    ¡°That name is because of geographical location?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± The elf replied. ¡°We are the middle of three continents that are fairly close to one another. The western one is called Tauria as I mentioned before. Then there is this continent, Larana, or, according to the humans, Central Kingdoms, and then there is the continent to the east which hasn¡¯t received an official name yet. It hasn¡¯t been fully explored and mapped. The humans and Elves have both sent more expeditions recently, but not much is heard from the continent. I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s all there is to it, or whether my father refuses to tell me more.¡±

    ¡°Sounds¡­ mysterious...¡± I said softly.

    ¡°There¡¯s a fair amount of adventurers departing for the unknown continent every year in search of riches and power,¡± Velariah continued. ¡°Mysterious, indeed, but potentially enriching too.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°I guess we can only dream about the unknown¡­ for now.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Velariah asked. ¡°You said it yourself, there are strange things happening in the forest. Doesn¡¯t that also count as the unknown?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I guess in some way it does, but it¡¯s not the same.¡±

    Velariah rolled into me so our faces were inches away from each other.

    ¡°Damnit, Vel. I¡¯m trying to have a conversation here.¡± I said with a smile.

    ¡°What? Am I interrupting that conversation by doing this?¡± She smiled back mischievously.

    ¡°I just got another thought,¡± I said.

    ¡°Oh? Let¡¯s hear it.¡± She eagerly awaited my question with a hand on my chitinous part below the waist.

    ¡°The way that inherities work. I just came up with a thought about it. You mentioned that your power is a combination of both your skill with the weapon and the amount of Corium you absorbed. How would that work for me?¡±

    ¡°No idea. Some inherities differ from that general rule. I have no idea how your resistance operates either.¡±

    ¡°Neither do I. I mean, my spider parts go completely wild from caffeine and alcohol, I believe both are considered a poison, yet they still affect me. My resistance seems to ignore the effects when it comes to those drinks.¡±

    ¡°Hm, that is odd.¡± Velariah simply stated. ¡°I¡¯m still breaking my head over how you can improve it. Skill as a spider in general? That sounds odd.¡±

    ¡°My thoughts exactly,¡± I replied. ¡°I don¡¯t see how I can get more efficient at stuff like delivering venom. It¡¯s impossible to see a correlation between skill with a weapon and¡­ this.¡±

    Velariah didn¡¯t reply to that. I had no idea what she could even answer.

    ¡°I guess there¡¯s no point in breaking anyone¡¯s head over it. I guess we will make some more money tomorrow after visiting Arch. We should have enough money in one or two more days of doing that and then we¡¯ll inform your father.¡±

    ¡°Hm, sounds good,¡± Velariah said while still hugging me tightly. ¡°I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re going to have to end our cuddle time to do business. I planned on sending Elly out with the spools, but I think it¡¯s time for her to start dinner soon.¡±

    I looked over her shoulder to see Gray yawning.

    ¡°We should probably walk my new pet as well,¡± I said.

    ¡°Your new pet?¡± Velariah looked at me with a frown. ¡°You telling me I¡¯m your old pet?¡±

    I shook my head and laughed. ¡°You temptress, you know what I mean.¡±

    ¡°Tee-hee,¡± Velariah said playfully.

    I stood up and Velariah let go, causing her to land in the pillows with a soft pomf sound.

    She stood up and took her pack with the spools in them with her while I unlocked the doors and opened them. Velariah then made her way over to the kitchen and entered it before exiting it seconds later.

    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s cooking. Let¡¯s drop those spools off quickly, collect our payment, and get some new ones.¡±

    I nodded in agreement.

    Before we headed out, however, it seemed that Gray wasn¡¯t the only one that needed to relieve himself. Velariah took a quick bathroom break while I was left wondering how I would have to deal with it myself now. I was not looking forward to creating a mess with certain bodily functions now hidden inside my carapace¡­

    Evolutions couldn¡¯t make things worse, could they?

    Since Elly was cooking, I had to help out with Velariah¡¯s armor. I had tried to stop her, but she insisted on not leaving the house without it. I had ultimately resigned and helped her.

    I couldn¡¯t be bothered to put mine on, but I did take my spear with me.

    On our way to the tailor, we ran into Seralyn, who carried a large, black, recurve bow. Looking at it, I could tell it was well-crafted. I didn¡¯t even have to look at it, Seralyn¡¯s smile spoke for itself. That, and judging from her combat experience, she would know what was good.

    Gray was far more eager to meet her than me, although, I do guess Velariah had been right. Maybe Seralyn wasn¡¯t so bad after you got to know her.

    ¡°¡¯Sup guys.¡± She called out happily. ¡°How are the both of you doing?¡± She knelt down to rub Gray¡¯s belly, who eagerly let her.

    She seemed happy, frighteningly so.

    ¡°Not too bad. We were just on our way to cash in hard on Elania¡¯s silk.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good. I just got myself this beauty. Already tested it too, you guys are in for a show tomorrow.¡±

    Ah, there it was. Her usual cocky attitude. Though, I guess I would have to agree with her this time. When I got the two shielded gloves I was eager to try them too.

    ¡°Can¡¯t wait to see it,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Do leave some monsters for us.¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± Seralyn chuckled. ¡°You better keep up, then. Anyways, I¡¯m off. See ya, lovebirds!¡±

    I could feel myself become embarrassed again and was happy she walked off to the guild hall. I hoped she wasn¡¯t about to get drunk again.

    She was looking forward to using that fancy new bow. I doubted she¡¯d be stupid enough to get herself a hangover before trying it out on real, living targets.

    ¡°She really loves doing that, doesn¡¯t she?¡± I asked Velariah, after Seralyn was gone.

    ¡°Well, she¡¯s not wrong...¡± Velariah said softly.

    ¡°Vel!¡±

    ¡°And your reactions are just too cute.¡± She added. ¡°Come.¡± She grabbed one of my hands. ¡°Let¡¯s get some cash.¡±

    I basically let Velariah drag me to the tailor as I was still recovering from Seralyn¡¯s and Velariah¡¯s remarks.

    Soon, we arrived at the tailor where I, as usual, waited outside until the elf finished her business inside.

    I stared into the distance to see the sun low, and the sky blood red. I was surprised to see it was already this late. I guessed the tailor would soon close for the day.

    It really felt like the hours had flown by¡­

    My attention was brought to the silken leash. Gray tugged it and I looked to see Seralyn approach once more. I wondered what she wanted.

    ¡°¡¯Sup, Elania.¡±

    ¡°Hi,¡± I responded.

    ¡°I was just at the guild and the Lore keeper asked me if I could ask you if you wanted to participate in the trials tomorrow. I told her we planned on going to the dungeon, but if you¡¯d be interested to help out in the afternoon she would very much appreciate it.¡±

    ¡°Trials? Me?¡± I asked. ¡°What do they even want me to do?¡±

    ¡°Dunno. Talk to the Lore keeper.¡±

    Velariah exited the shop with a large smile.

    ¡°Oh, hey Seralyn. Thought you were off?¡± She said.

    ¡°Yeah, I just came back to inform Elania she has been invited to the guild trials tomorrow afternoon.¡±

    Velariah looked skeptical. ¡°What did they get into their minds? How is Elania going to trial properly? Do they want to use her as an example of a monster?¡±

    I hadn¡¯t quite thought that far. That would definitely change things. The Lore keeper didn¡¯t strike me as a person to set up something like that, though.

    Seralyn shook her head. ¡°I was told she¡¯d trial people who passed the low-tier gold threshold.¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Velariah thought aloud. ¡°In that case, it could be that they want to see how you hold up against adventurers who would be considered mid-tier gold. That could actually be a decent boost to your rating.¡±

    Climbing in rank would seem preferable to the everyday adventurer. I, however, wasn¡¯t too keen on ranking up in rapid succession. I¡¯d most likely draw unwanted attention. Besides that, it wouldn¡¯t actually make me stronger. This world seemed to be about getting stronger first and then your rank would grow organically to reflect that.

    ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t mind helping out, but I¡¯ve never done this before. I¡¯m afraid I might hurt someone.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine,¡± Seralyn assured me. ¡°I know you can restrain yourself from hurting someone too badly. Also, there¡¯s plenty of healers nearby in case something goes wrong. It¡¯s a trial, after all, accidents do happen, as they do when out on adventures. You can¡¯t always prepare for everything. It¡¯s a wise lesson for many adventurers to learn.¡±

    ¡°Well, if you put it that way...¡± I said softly.

    ¡°You¡¯d be of great help to the guild.¡± The brunette concluded.

    ¡°I like how you are more afraid of hurting others than yourself.¡± Velariah chuckled.

    ¡°Have you seen the weapons I possess?¡± I said with a neutral expression. ¡°It¡¯s almost unfair.¡±

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s why they place you one rank higher than what you are.¡± The white-haired elf finished.

    I sighed. ¡°Fine, fine. I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯m not liable for any injuries, am I?¡±

    ¡°Unless you do it on purpose,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Which I doubt you¡¯d do.¡±

    ¡°Definitely not. Also, how much did you get for that special silk?¡± I asked curiously.

    ¡°One and a half gold pieces, however, he told me if you can supply larger quantities he would up the price because he would need more of it to create a proper item.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s nine and a half gold total. Not bad.¡±

    ¡°What the actual fuck?¡± Seralyn asked. ¡°How much of that silk are you selling?¡±

    ¡°Nine spools,¡± Velariah answered. ¡°Eight normal ones and Elania managed to create one spool that turned out to be completely waterproof.¡± She smiled.

    Seralyn stared in disbelief as Gray jumped up to her leg.

    ¡°No fucking way...¡± She let out. ¡°I had to work months for this bow.¡± She pointed to the bow that was now strapped to her back. ¡°And here you are telling me Elania can do that in two days. I can¡¯t believe this.¡±

    She looked as if she would just throw her hands into the air and walk off in anger, but it seemed Gray had a composing effect on her as she reached out a hand to pet the pup. Gray in return raised a leg but Seralyn was quick to react and jumped back before he could pee on her.

    ¡°Unreal.¡± The archer let out, still in disbelief.

    ¡°Urinal.¡± Velariah corrected her with a grin.

    I couldn¡¯t help but let out suppressed laughter at that comment.

    ¡°Have you come up with a name for your little monster?¡± Seralyn asked while she observed Gray pee.

    I was about to say his name when Velariah spoke again.

    ¡°Elania named him. Guess what she came up with.¡±

    ¡°How bad is it?¡±

    ¡°Gray.¡± The elf replied.

    ¡°Hum, that¡¯s not so bad,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°Simple but fitting.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s what I thought too...¡± I said softly.

    ¡°Anyways.¡± Seralyn continued. ¡°I¡¯ll see you two tomorrow. Think about it and let the Lore keeper know tomorrow morning.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Velariah said as Seralyn walked off.

    She still had a hint of the anger from before in her eyes. I imagined I should consider myself quite blessed with an easy way to make money.

    Thinking about money brought my thoughts back to the waterproof silk. Sure, it seemed to fetch quite a bit more money, but it wasn¡¯t worth it for me to create any more, not unless it would get easier for me to do so.

    I absent-mindedly walked Gray near the closest village exit and allowed him to do his business in the grass.

    ¡°I think you should do it,¡± Velariah broke the silence. ¡°I also think the crowd would love to see you in action.¡±

    ¡°They better make sure they increase the size of one of those circles then.¡± I referred to the ¡®combat areas¡¯.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure they thought of that. They know who you are in the meantime.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°I guess there really is no avoiding publicity, is there?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± The elf said. ¡°You¡¯re actually starting to get popular with people who see you in action and well¡­ your looks are there as well.¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah, if you look past my lower half I guess I do look quite pretty, I guess,¡± I answered while looking at the wolf pup.

    ¡°Pretty? Elania, you¡¯re more beautiful than any elf I¡¯ve seen.¡±

    ¡°Temptress,¡± I stated with a grin.

    Velariah remained quiet but hugged my side as she observed the wolf as well. After he finished, he started to run around my legs again.

    ¡°When that thing is all grown up, you may have some competition when running, it seems like,¡± Velariah noted.

    ¡°You think? I have no idea how quick wolves are, actually...¡±

    ¡°Well, this one looks like he¡¯d be quick when all grown up. Anyway, let¡¯s head back home. I¡¯m sure Elly is about done cooking.¡±

    I nodded. Velariah took hold of one of my lower hands again as we made our way over to her mansion.

    When we arrived back in the hallway after Elly had opened the door, I took a look at my weapons and wondered if I should use all of them for the coming day. I decided to do so. I was sure the guild had imagined me using them all, if so, I would be happy to oblige.

    Elly, like the animal lover she appeared to be, came out of the kitchen with a bowl of fresh water and another with tiny pieces of meat for Gray first. She put them down and the pup danced around the bowl before digging in.

    Puppies were the cutest¡­

    Elly then served dinner for the three of us. It appeared to be some sort of stew, it smelled delicious. Moreover, she had large quantities of it!

    Oh yes. Elly was a worthy contender for my heart! Not that I was interested in her, but her cooking was simply the best. I was certain she could seduce many a man with her skills.

    The two elves finished while I was still going strong. Velariah was looking at me with her head resting on her hands.

    I shook mine as I continued. ¡°I worked hard for this, you know?¡±

    She smiled. ¡°You sure? You seemed to relax while I did all the work.¡±

    ¡°How about you try to make silk then?¡± I retorted.

    She remained quiet and her smile lessened.

    ¡°I rest my case,¡± I finished with an even broader smile.

    After we had dinner, Elly made some tea for the three of us. She had different tea this time around, this one didn¡¯t taste that bad. In fact, it was quite nice.

    ¡°What¡¯s this tea?¡± I asked Elly.

    ¡°It¡¯s Goldleaf¡¯s premium brand. Do you like it?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°If I have to be honest, I like this one a lot more than the other.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to get this one in the future then, Miss Elania. Is that okay with you Velariah?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    After finishing our tea. Velariah and I secluded ourselves in the bathroom once more. Not having a lot of entertainment made me think about more questions and topics to talk about. I came up with a few more and walked up to the pile of pillows to relax after an extensive meal but stopped halfway. My spider half collapsed on the ground and panic shot through me.

    Velariah locked the door before observing what happened to me.

    ¡°El?¡±

    I had no idea what was wrong with me but soon found my legs start to wiggle around on their own.

    ¡°Elania?¡±

    I sighed as I crossed my arms, all four of them. My panic had disappeared and was replaced by an odd sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. I knew what happened.

    ¡°It¡¯s the tea...¡± I said. ¡°I was hoping this wouldn¡¯t be a factor, but tea contains caffeine as well. I guessed the old one didn¡¯t have enough to trigger this.¡±

    Gray had found himself a way into the room before Velariah closed the door and seemed to be intrigued by my legs tapping the stone floor. He was having the time of his life, keeping up and mimicking the movements.

    ¡°At least Gray seems happy,¡± Velariah smiled as she walked over in front of me.

    This was one of the few times where she would stand taller than me.

    ¡°Well, I guess he is easily amused...¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, I am amused as well,¡± Velariah said with a seductive voice as she lowered herself.

    My pedipalps, having a mind of their own, instantly grabbed her behind and legs as she knelt in front of me.

    ¡°That is¡­ interesting.¡± Velariah reacted. ¡°You sure you ain¡¯t using this as an excuse to grope me?¡±

    I looked at my wobbling legs before looking back at her.

    ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to, I¡¯m not responsible for that, no.¡±

    I then looked behind me and sighed out of relief. I wasn¡¯t coating the floor in silk. It seemed this was as much as I could tolerate before things really started getting out of hand.

    ¡°By the way,¡± I started a question. ¡°If we¡¯re in a relationship now, does that mean I get to live in this room? Like, permanently?¡±

    ¡°For sure,¡± The elf answered. ¡°You can have this room and do whatever you want with it.¡±

    ¡°What about Valtheril?¡± I asked, unsure of what he would think of our relationship.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure my father won¡¯t mind. I am pretty sure he already knows we have feelings for each other.¡±

    ¡°And he is fine with that?¡± I asked again to confirm.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t seem to object. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s fine,¡± She smiled before kissing me.

    My front two legs seemed to react to the kiss by grabbing her back, joining my pedipalps.

    ¡°Hmm, and your lower body doesn¡¯t seem to object either.¡±

    ¡°Vel!¡±

 1.66 Spider, Spider on the Wall

    Faragi

    REMEMBER TO READ 65 BEFORE THIS. I POSTED 2 CHAPTERS ONCE AGAIN.

    Velariah hugged me for a while, while my feet were still tapping the floor. The sounds of it made me feel like an experienced tap dancer was giving a sold-out show. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to dance, nor had I ever experienced the need to.

    Gray seemingly exhausted himself trying to keep up and went to sleep next to the pillow pile after a while.

    ¡°Poor thing,¡± I said, looking at the pup. ¡°We should make him a bed to sleep on, this is cruel.¡±

    ¡°Any idea how you want to do that?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Well,¡± I started. ¡°I was thinking I could wrap a large bowl with silk while practicing my ¡®prey wrapping¡¯ at the same time.¡±

    ¡°Neat idea. I¡¯ll go find something.¡±

    Velariah exited the room and left me thinking about questions about this world. We¡¯d gotten most of our immediate issues out of the way. I had a place to stay, we had formed a decent party for dungeons and quests. I somehow managed to talk to a dungeon. This village¡¯s economy was set to blossom; things for that had been set in motion. I had the local guild supporting me. I was under the protection of a powerful elven general. Things were looking good.

    I had a decent idea of the nearby elven provinces and villages. I had started to get some notion of the value of certain items that would benefit me when trading. I had a good way to make money.

    I smiled.

    This was going better than I could have ever expected when waking up and finding myself in a monster body.

    My feet seemed to have stopped wobbling and I made my way over to the soft pile where I lay down, face-first, into the pillows.

    I¡¯d found love¡­

    I couldn¡¯t believe it. Surely I was still dreaming?

    I knew I wasn¡¯t, who was I kidding?

    Still, though¡­

    It was time for me to explore¡­ other areas. I imagined religion would be a good place to start. I got put here from another world. The only beings that could do such things were gods, right?

    These elves were tolerant to other peoples and religions, even though they had their own, if I recalled correctly. Where there¡¯s religion, there is a god or multiple of them. I wondered if I could somehow communicate with them.

    I could hear the door opening, closing, and being locked once more. I could see Velariah approaching with an oversized, fairly flat, wooden bowl that I believed was used for fruit. Judging from the size, it would be no issue if it served as a puppy bed.

    ¡°Think you can do it without my help this time?¡± The elf asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± I answered as I stood up again.

    I looked behind me to see Velariah hold the bowl under my body. I took it between two legs and managed to find a surprisingly good grip on it.

    Spider feet continued to amaze me.

    I brought silk with my back leg to the object again. I decided to use the ¡®shotgun thread¡¯ as I had dubbed it. Anyone who¡¯d disagree with me could bugger right off. My silk, my rules!

    I found out that enveloping this bowl in silk turned out to be easier than expected. Thanks to its shape, it was fairly easy to divide the silk evenly. It was only a matter of carefully rotating and moving the object clockwise while doing so.

    I was at it for a while. I wanted to make sure it was as soft as it could get.

    When I thought it would be good enough I took it from under me and inspected my handiwork.

    I¡¯d created a miniature, silken trampoline. Thanks to the shape of the bowl the silken cover on top ¡®floated¡¯ in the center of the bowl. I didn¡¯t think this would necessarily be a bad thing. It made me wonder about my own sleeping quarters. I could possibly ¡®silk¡¯ it up for more comfort too. An interesting thought¡­

    Velariah walked up to me and observed the bowl and put her hand on the silk sheet. She pressed against it slightly and her hand bounced back.

    ¡°That¡¯s actually pretty neat,¡± She commented. ¡°You think he will like it?¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s find out.¡±

    I placed the large bowl on the floor and lifted the sleeping pup and placed him on top of the silk. Gray woke up temporarily but soon fell back asleep. He didn¡¯t seem to show any worries.

    ¡°Either he likes it, or he is too tired to care.¡± Velariah grinned.

    I shrugged. ¡°I hope he likes it.¡±

    ¡°Now that that¡¯s out of the way,¡± I started. ¡°Let¡¯s talk some more.¡±

    ¡°Any topics in mind?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Yes, as a matter of fact, I do have some topics I¡¯d like to know more about. Your religion is one of those things.¡±

    ¡°Elven religion in specific you mean?¡± Velariah answered with a new question.

    ¡°Let¡¯s start with that. I¡¯m curious what god or gods you worship. What¡¯s the story?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯ve got the right person for that. I¡¯m not that well versed in our own religion¡­ I can only tell you the basics.¡±

    ¡°Better than nothing,¡± I replied.

    ¡°Our religion worships the goddess Velineri. She created the first elves on a continent far from here. She spoke to the first elves regularly and, even now, sometimes makes her presence known through blessings and, sometimes, whispers. She loved nature and trees in particular. It is said that the massive oak in the middle of the village was grown from a seed infused with her magic.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d believe that,¡± I said plainly. ¡°There¡¯s no way an oak grows to that size on its own.¡±

    ¡°Gods are very real,¡± Velariah noted with a straight face. ¡°I just don¡¯t feel much for the whole worshipping part. I doubt Velineri wanted us to do such a thing. I imagined she¡¯d be much happier to see us maintain the balance of nature.¡±

    She chuckled but hesitated for a second.

    ¡°Velineri is often shortened to Vel because people tend to botch their pronunciation. It¡¯s the reason why I¡¯d rather not have you call me Vel in public. People might¡­ frown upon it.¡±

    ¡°I had no idea,¡± I said softly. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    ¡°No need to apologize, you didn¡¯t know. I¡¯m partly at fault for never explaining it.¡±

    ¡°It does make a lot more sense now,¡± I added.

    ¡°Heh, that¡¯s about all I know, though. I try to do my job in honoring her by keeping people safe from harm. Velineri is a kind goddess, I¡¯m sure she appreciates things like that. I¡¯m sure she will also appreciate us making sure that the nearby forest remains undesecrated. Those goblins and trolls are a stain on its beauty.¡±

    ¡°They surely don¡¯t seem as kind as your goddess.¡±

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°No, they don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°What about the humans here?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I think you¡¯d better ask Draco about their gods. I know they have multiple, one of them is called Alansis, and he supposedly loves music. I know of his name because my mother used to have bards from the human kingdom play for her. I am unclear on the others.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like a half-bad god to me,¡± I noted.

    Velariah took my hands and led me to the pile of pillows. She sat down on them and forced me to plant my exoskeleton below my waist in them too. She then continued telling her story.

    ¡°Most of our gods aren¡¯t so bad. The dwarves have a god that can be quite a hothead, however. From what Dworag told me, their most important god has eyes that glow red-hot like lava. He supposedly takes out one of his eyes to start his forge or to add more heat to it. He is the god of smithing, I forgot his name, though...¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a literal hothead to me.¡± I grinned.

    ¡°Yeah, well, the dwarves also have a god that is known for mischief. Supposedly, he stole the smithing god¡¯s eye on more than a single occasion, causing him to literally force volcanoes to erupt out of anger...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be quite pissed if that happened too. Also sounds like the kind of god for Coldanus.¡± I chuckled.

    The ridiculousness of the myths of this world was interesting.

    Then again, it was scary to know they could actually be true¡­

    Don¡¯t fuck with the dwarven god of smithing, noted.

    ¡°Heh, I¡¯m sure Coldanus is a devout follower.¡± Velariah chuckled.

    ¡°What about Nira and Draco, do lizardfolk and harpies have elaborate religions?¡± I asked while enveloping the elf with my pedipalps and two front legs. It was a pleasure to observe her reactions while she was storytelling.

    ¡°As far as my knowledge about lizardfolk goes, I only know Draco and what he has told me about it. They do not have any gods of their own, but they have started adopting religions from other races. Apparently, Velineri is quite popular with them.¡± Velariah explained with a smile.

    ¡°Heh, Draco does strike me as someone that would follow a kind, nature-loving goddess.¡± I smiled back at the elf.

    This experience had been truly enlightening. Gods that seemed to love nature and its people appealed to me in a way I¡¯d never felt something appeal to me before. If I could somehow communicate with this elven goddess, maybe I¡¯d be able to find out what happened?

    I shook my head.

    I have let go of the past, I didn¡¯t want to be met with more sadness. Thinking about it already lowered my spirits.

    ¡°I can see what you¡¯re thinking.¡± The elf said softly.

    ¡°I really am an open book, am I not?¡±

    Velariah nodded. ¡°If you want to gather information on your past, I won¡¯t stop you, but please do not go chasing ghosts.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± I promised.

    Velariah ruffled my long hair and I smiled at the gesture.

    ¡°There¡¯s that smile, I started to miss it.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vel.¡±

    Velariah looked up to the ceiling for a second before continuing.

    ¡°About harpies. Once again, I don¡¯t know too much about them. I know where they live and that they are a female-only race. I believe they worship a giant avian goddess, but you¡¯d have to check with Nira for specifics.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you told me that female-only part before, how does that work¡­ reproduction wise?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite simple, they can mate with virtually any species. They then lay an egg that will always hatch into a female harpy, sometimes carrying over traits from their father, but that¡¯s rare. If that happens, it generally means they have two inherities too.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s a blessing?¡±

    Velariah gritted her teeth.

    ¡°Yes and no. Sometimes, when the characteristics are of certain races, the offspring are shunned, sometimes exiled at a young age.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s harsh,¡± I let out. ¡°So they are not all like Nira?¡±

    The elf shook her head. ¡°Afraid not. I believe Draco is a better representation of the lizardfolk race than Nira is of the harpy race.¡±

    ¡°So what races are we talking about then? The ones whose characteristics are unwelcome.¡±

    ¡°Trolls, goblins, centaurs, as rare as those may be.¡±

    ¡°I doubt anyone would get together with those races anyway,¡± I stated.

    ¡°Willingly? No.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± I said, as I realized what that meant.

    I was glad we got to Nira before things went that far¡­

    ¡°I can see what you¡¯re thinking again.¡± Velariah smiled. ¡°And yes, I¡¯m happy we managed to save Nira from that as well.¡±

    ¡°How do you read my mind like that? It¡¯s creepy.¡± I feigned disgust.

    ¡°You¡¯re too easy, El.¡±

    ¡°Am I? And here I thought I was pretty conservative.¡± I referred to another subject entirely.

    ¡°You tease!¡± Velariah grinned.

    ¡°Tee-hee.¡± I booped her nose.

    I hugged Velariah again and pressed my cheeks against hers.

    ¡°Thanks, Vel. You¡¯ve been of great help to me¡­ adjusting...¡±

    ¡°Anytime, El.¡±

    ¡°You know, I¡¯ve been thinking. I wonder if I could make our sleeping quarters more comfortable with my silk. Being unable to really stretch my legs is slowly getting to me...¡±

    ¡°What, you mean like a spider web hammock? That would be so cool!¡±

    I chucked and I broke away. ¡°I hadn¡¯t even thought about that. No, I was thinking some low-hanging nets in which we could deposit these pillows.¡±

    ¡°So.... a hammock?¡± Velariah looked at me incredulously.

    ¡°I guess...¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a great idea! Let¡¯s get to it!¡±

    This elf¡­ always so impatient.

    ¡°If I start using up my silk now, will you pay the bill at the guild for breakfast tomorrow?¡± I asked as a joke.

    ¡°Sure, sure,¡± She waved away the question. ¡°Just go for it.¡±

    ¡°How late is it anyway?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not late enough to go to sleep. Let¡¯s see you work.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°Yes, mistress.¡± I stood up from the pile of pillows and started shoving them to the side.

    Velariah giggled as I took a look at how I was going to tackle this issue.

    What had I gotten myself into?

    I couldn¡¯t believe I was actually thinking about making a web. I mean, I imagined it would be quite a bit more comfortable, but still.

    I scratched my head as I observed the room.

    There should be plenty of space to suspend some kind of hammock. To the right of the door when I entered the room was a fairly large open space. The toilet would be the first obstacle and it was about two meters out from the entrance wall. More than enough room, I assumed.

    Velariah moved the silken bowl in which Gray was sleeping soundly to the side and did the same with the pillows so I had a large open space to work with.

    Creating a simple net shouldn¡¯t be the hardest of tasks, I figured.

    I would start with a few lines from wall to wall. I was just wondering about what height I should suspend them at.

    Half a meter seemed a bit low. Even if I made the threads as nonelastic as I could, they would probably still stretch some and might hit the floor.

    I decided to settle on a meter. It would be easy enough to step on for me, and I didn¡¯t think Velariah would have any trouble either. She could always use me as a step if needed.

    And so, I went to work. I created four lines of the thickest threads I could make and suspended them from wall to wall, about half a meter out from the door.

    ¡°Elly better watch out when she enters the room,¡± I commented while I worked.

    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t make them sticky, it should hardly be an issue.¡± She replied.

    ¡°Hmmm, sticky webs. I could catch me some elves...¡± I joked.

    ¡°I¡¯d probably get caught on purpose.¡± Velariah joked back.

    I knew she¡¯d say that. It was still fun to hear coming from her.

    I kept working with a smile until I¡¯d finished the four lines and made sure they all ran parallel to one another.

    I wasn¡¯t happy with how flimsy this looked and I created six more lines. After a few minutes, I had ten threads spanning about one and a half meters in width.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you get exhausted from all that silk usage?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Shh, I¡¯m trying to concentrate,¡± I cut her off, as I was lost in thought on how I¡¯d do the cross lines.

    I imagined, for the best cover, I¡¯d have to use my ¡®shotgun¡¯ thread. However, I was going to use pillows to cover the ¡®hammock¡¯ anyway.

    I imagined sturdy smaller threads would do the trick. My only issue was: how was I going to get them where I wanted them to be?

    I¡¯d not thought this through¡­

    I was truly an idiot.

    ¡°Fuck...¡± I said softly.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Velariah asked as she walked up to me.

    ¡°I have no idea what I¡¯m doing...¡± I sighed.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    It would appear she didn¡¯t know the trouble that I¡¯d forced myself into.

    ¡°How do I cross the lines?¡± I asked, not knowing how to fix this myself.

    ¡°How hard can it be? Just do spider things. Just climb the wall, get on top of the web and use your butt.¡±

    ¡°Wow, why did I not think about that?¡± I asked sarcastically. ¡°There is no way that web will hold me.¡±

    ¡°Have some faith in yourself, El. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine. Just divide your weight over the separate lines with your¡­ many legs.¡±

    ¡°If I fall down, I¡¯m blaming you...¡± I said, not entirely joking.

    I sighed as I looked at the wall. ¡°There is no way this will work...¡± I said softly before I put my front legs against the wall, to the right of where the last thread connected.

    ¡°You can do this, El!¡± Velariah cheered me on.

    I tried to grip into the wall with the small claws at the end of my feet and then tried to move my legs. It seemed they were quite stuck and I was unable to move them as long as I contracted the claws.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way...¡± I said again softly as I planted my second set of legs on the wall and moved the first set upward.

    I then added my third pair and moved my first two sets up, one leg at a time.

    ¡°No way...¡±

    Ultimately, I had all my legs stuck to the wall. My spider abdomen was still on the floor and I prayed as I moved, one leg at a time, climbing the wall.

    I tightened the small claws as hard as I could. I was scared to death I¡¯d fall and break something otherwise. I carefully ascended and reached the ceiling.

    I realized what came next and took a few moments to mentally prepare.

    ¡°Going fine, El. Keep it up.¡±

    ¡°Easy for you to say. I have a feeling I might need to take a bath to wipe away the sweat I¡¯m producing right now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you with that!¡± Velariah seemed to get excited.

    I sighed and looked over my shoulder. It was so weird to view the world from this angle. I needed more than a moment to actually orientate my position and where I wanted to move my limbs.

    This was truly such a hassle.

    Faragi

    Shoutout to my new Patrons <3

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    I finally managed to create my first NSFW chapter after feeling complete shit for three days straight. It''s posted on Patreon right now. I might make some adjustments here and there to make sure it''s as good as I can make it :)

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    Thanks for the support <3

 1.67 Hanging Around

    I carefully shuffled one of my left legs to the left before gripping into the wall again. I repeated the process with all my other legs, carefully and one at a time, until I was in a horizontal position relative to the floor. I then carefully walked forward until I was above the lines that I¡¯d spun before.

    ¡°Almost there...¡± I reassured myself.

    I continued my counter-clockwise turn until my face was looking at the threads that were now in front of me. Velariah was looking on with amazement in her eyes.

    ¡°Vel, come here for a second.¡± I concentrated on my legs to make sure I wouldn¡¯t lose grip. There was something that danced in my mind and I feared that if I let this opportunity pass by, I¡¯d regret it for quite some time.

    ¡°Okay?¡± She walked up to me.

    I bent over forward and took hold of her head. I then lowered my face to hers and kissed her as I was hanging on the wall.

    She took hold of my head as well and pressed her face against mine even more. I started to notice a loss of control and quickly broke away before my hold on the wall would break.

    ¡°Sorry for that, I didn¡¯t want to fall down.¡±

    ¡°El, you tease, why did you do that?¡±

    ¡°You know those moving pictures I talked about? There is one movie with humans where one of them gets bitten by a spider and he gets all kinds of spider powers, like shooting webs out of his hands. There is a very iconic scene in that movie where he kisses his girlfriend while hanging upside down. I couldn¡¯t resist...¡± I grinned.

    ¡°So you just wanted to recreate a scene from your world? And here I thought I was special...¡± Velariah said with a sparkle in her eyes.

    ¡°Oh, but you are special.¡± I looked at the threads below me. ¡°Mind lending me a hand?¡±

    ¡°What do you need?¡± Her expression changed to a neutral one.

    ¡°Actually, hold on. Let me see if I can do this.¡±

    I carefully moved one of my front legs from the wall and grasped one of the threads in front of me. I added some weight to it and felt that the thread held just fine. I then moved a second leg to a different thread and repeated the same process. I believed I would need at least three legs on the wall to stay stuck to it. My rear was quite heavy and with each leg I moved from the wall to the thread, I could feel it begin to weigh me down.

    Soon, I had four legs on the thread and I moved my front two legs forward on their respective lines.

    ¡°Seems your idea works,¡± I said, still fearful, but more confident.

    ¡°Told ya.¡±

    I moved another leg onto a thread and another. I now had six legs on separate threads. Most of my weight was now resting on the web, and it appeared my last two legs on the wall seemed obsolete at this point. My only issue was that I couldn¡¯t quite see where I would put them.

    ¡°Vel, could you guide my last legs onto unused threads?¡± I asked politely.

    ¡°No problem.¡±

    She took hold of them and I let go of the wall. I could feel the tiny claws touch silk and I clasped them after the elf had guided them.

    I then moved the legs that were in my vision forward, I basically glided them over the silk until they were where I wanted them to be.

    ¡°Going smoothly, just relax.¡± Velariah tried to put me at ease.

    My rear was now detached from the wall.

    ¡°Now for part two,¡± I said aloud. ¡°Could you guide my spinnerets too?¡±

    Doing this without vision on my target was quite the task. I imagined this too, would improve over time.

    ¡°Sure,¡± I heard her voice from behind me.

    She gently put her hands next to the protrusions and guided my rear to the edge of the web.

    ¡°Careful, it¡¯s sticky,¡± I warned her.

    I decided to use the sticky kind of silk for this task. I imagined it wouldn¡¯t be a problem since we were going to cover the web with pillows anyway. By the time Elly wanted to wash them, the effect would be lost. That was my reasoning, at least.

    I felt my spinnerets touch the silk and started producing more. Velariah then gently swayed my rear back and forth as I carefully moved forward.

    ¡°Dunno about you, but I¡¯m having a great time,¡± The elf giggled.

    ¡°I¡¯m still scared to death this web breaks. I know it won¡¯t, but things never quite seem to go for me as they should.¡±

    About fifteen excruciating minutes later Velariah told me we were done.

    I looked behind me to see a tight zigzag line through the parallel ones. Once more, I felt the feeling of pride swell up in me.

    I started to get the hang of this whole spider thing quite well, if I did say so myself.

    ¡°Looking good,¡± Velariah commented as I was looking for a way down. ¡°Now turn around.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what?¡±

    ¡°You heard me,¡± She continued. ¡°We still need to get those pillows up there, might as well have you do it.¡± She paused for a second. ¡°Unless you want me to get stuck, of course.¡± She added seductively.

    ¡°Vel!¡±

    ¡°Tee-hee. No, but for real, see if you can turn around on your own web. Any proper spider can, right?¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right...¡±

    I was about to ask Velariah for help again, but I figured I should eventually be able to do this on my own.

    Here goes nothing¡­

    I started carefully moving my legs one by one again as I tried turning while trying to balance out my weight over all the threads. I had a few missteps but it wasn¡¯t much of an issue as I was only moving one leg at a time. Eventually, I had turned myself around.

    ¡°Nice going, El,¡± Velariah spoke as she handed me the first of the pillows.

    I was glad I had someone who was supportive of my new life. I smiled as I took the first pillow and carefully placed it on the web. A few minutes later we had the web covered with a sheet of fluffy pillows. They turned out to be much easier to walk on than the comparatively small threads. I could easily turn myself around and semi-jump out of the pillow-covered hammock.

    In hindsight, maybe I¡¯d stressed a bit too much about falling. It was only one meter to the ground, after all. I just wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d be able to prepare for a fall, even if it wasn¡¯t that high, if I misstepped completely.

    I didn¡¯t want my butt cracked open like an egg.

    That sounded quite disturbing in my mind.

    And painful too¡­

    It was then I started to feel it.

    Complete exhaustion struck me like lightning. Velariah had been right. I¡¯d overexerted myself creating this hammock after creating a lot of silk earlier today.

    I yawned as Velariah walked up to me.

    ¡°Nice work, I hope it does what you want it to do.¡±

    I looked at the net in front of me. I could easily step into it, and it was high enough that I could still place my feet on the ground if I wanted to. I imagined this would be quite comfortable, especially when snuggling with Vel.

    ¡°Is it time for bed yet?¡± I asked with a half-smile. ¡°I¡¯m so beat.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no shit,¡± The white-haired elf commented. ¡°You did amazing work today, El. It deserves to be said.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± I smiled.

    She started taking off her clothes and then put them in the sink. ¡°Let¡¯s get some sleep, I¡¯m looking forward to seeing you in action tomorrow.¡±

    I was fixated on the work I¡¯d just done. I wondered if this could be considered the ¡®final trial¡¯ to be promoted to a fully-fledged spider. I imagined there wasn¡¯t so much left that normal spiders could do that I couldn¡¯t.

    I smiled at the thought.

    ¡°El?¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you sleepyhead. You really did it this time, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    What was she talking about?

    ¡°Here, let me help you.¡± Velariah, in only her underwear, appeared in front of me and took off my shirt without me even getting the chance to struggle.

    ¡°You¡¯ve worn yourself out. You should honestly stop doing that.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, mom.¡± I joked.

    I didn¡¯t even have the energy to care anymore.

    She chuckled before jumping in the pillow-covered web. She then exerted some weight and I could see her move up and down slightly as she did so.

    ¡°Holy crap, El, this is amazing.¡±

    ¡°Told you so...¡± I said as I carefully put my pedipalps and two legs in the hammock before jumping in.

    The web seemed to handle the stress just fine and I was glad.

    Velariah was on her back and had her arms stretched above her. I obliged the gesture and lowered myself into her arms. A kiss was planted on my lips before I knew it.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. This does feel much better.¡± I said.

    I let my legs dangle loosely at the sides and under the hammock as I got in a comfortable position to sleep. I could now stick my left pedipalp between pillows and through the hammock which made hugging the elf a far better experience. That had been one of the main things that bothered me before.

    ¡°To think I¡¯m going to overwork myself again tomorrow.¡± I sighed softly, close to the elf¡¯s face.

    ¡°Aw, you don¡¯t have to.¡±

    ¡°I want to. I want to get this inherity thing out of the way at last. I¡¯m several years overdue, I¡¯ve been told.¡± I paused for a second. ¡°Hum, I don¡¯t even remember how old I am. Can¡¯t even tell how long I¡¯m overdue.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll know soon enough, El. We already figured out a fair deal on our own, anyway.¡±

    ¡°True, but I just want complete closure on that chapter of my life,¡± I spoke softly as I hugged Velariah with my two right arms.

    ¡°Soon...¡± Velariah spoke softly. She then clapped out the lights.

    After a few seconds of silence and hugging lovingly, the elf spoke again.

    ¡°Good night, El.¡±

    ¡°Good night, Vel¡± I replied.

    I was met by a loving kiss and completely let go as I was too tired to resist.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The peace of last night was quickly forgotten as loud knocking on the door awoke me. There was no way Elly knocked that loud.

    ¡°Velariah, Elania, are you guys in there?¡±

    It was Veltheril.

    He¡¯d already returned.

    And he sounded angry¡­ or was that concern?

    I clapped on the light.

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re here,¡± Velariah said. Apparently, she¡¯d been awoken by force as well.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you guys going into the forest until the guild gives the ¡®clear¡¯ signal. I¡¯ve heard you guys had an encounter with an unknown monster. I was also told you brought home a wolf pup that seemed to be connected to the monster. I¡¯d like you to bring it out here as soon as possible.¡±

    Was he going to do anything to Gray?

    Please don¡¯t tell me¡­

    Velariah must have noticed my face. She had her hands on my cheeks.

    ¡°It will be fine,¡± She promised me.

    I looked over the edge of the hammock and found Gray running in circles. There was no way Gray was a danger to anyone¡­

    ¡°We¡¯ll be there in a sec,¡± Velariah said loudly as she wriggled herself away from under me.

    I brought my legs back into the hammock from under it, stood up, and carefully hopped out. I made my way to the sink, quickly washed my face, and brushed my hair while Velariah got clothed. We then switched around and finished by donning our tags.

    We then walked into the dining area where Valtheril was seated at the table. His face was locked with obvious concern. His eyes were fixated on the leashed wolf behind me.

    ¡°Good,¡± He said with a stern face. ¡°We¡¯re heading to Master Pylanor to have him inspect that wolf pup.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t do anything to him, right?¡± Velariah asked in my stead.

    Valtheril shook his head. ¡°If it is what I think it is, he¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    He walked off to the hallway and I had a hard time bringing myself to question what he thought it was. I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d want to know either.

    I helped Velariah with her armor as Valtheril waited impatiently. I didn¡¯t bother to equip my gauntlets, I simply carried them with me. Once outside, he kept up the brisk pace towards the treemender¡¯s oak.

    Gray seemed to be excited to be outside again. He eagerly followed the general towards the center of the city.

    Once we were inside the massive tree, he picked up the pup and planted it on the closest bed before calling over Pylanor to his side.

    The treemender petted the pup affectionately and let him get used to his smell to put Gray more at ease. Once the pup was calmed down, Pylanor put his hand on the pup¡¯s head. His magic flowed through the young wolf and then concentrated in the treemender¡¯s hand again.

    ¡°It is as you expected, general.¡±

    ¡°Fuck,¡± He cursed.

    But if it was what he expected, that would be good, right?

    ¡°What is it?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Necromantic magic,¡± Valtheril said. ¡°It still lingers in this pup, but it¡¯s of no concern. I merely used it to be absolutely sure.¡±

    He sighed.

    ¡°You two are to get nowhere near the forest. I¡¯ll be heading into it myself to find the source of this corruption and cleanse it. Velariah, I want you to inform the Lore keeper and have her recall Allina¡¯s archer squad from the forest while we¡¯re out. Have them positioned in and around the towers and set up a defensive perimeter with the rest of the guards at the checkpoint.¡±

    He looked ready to leave and rush headlong into combat.

    ¡°Father, hold on. There¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask on Elania¡¯s behalf. Could you summon a grandmaster to Dawnleaf for the inherity ritual?¡±

    ¡°Any specific reason you¡¯re asking me?¡± He frowned.

    ¡°We¡¯d like to keep things discreet.¡±

    ¡°Why? No one but the user can read their paper anyway.¡±

    He looked over at Velariah¡¯s face.

    ¡°Fine. Pylanor, could you send a summons to Grandmaster Ineus?¡±

    ¡°Not a problem.¡± The treemender replied.

    With that, the general walked out of the immense building, leaving Velariah and me behind.

    Why did I feel as if a storm had just passed? I was unable to utter a single word.

    ¡°Your little pup is perfectly fine, by the way.¡± Master Pylanor broke the silence.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said softly as I petted Gray.

    ¡°Let¡¯s drop him off with Elly and find our companions at the guild hall,¡± Velariah suggested.

    I nodded and followed the elf out of the building after thanking Pylanor.

    We walked back to her mansion to drop off the pup who had looked at me with a confused face when we left again, but it seemed he was fine with the affection that the maid gave him. Elly petted him lovingly as we departed once more.

    We then made our way to the guild hall where I saw Nira, Draco, and Seralyn already waiting in the corner.

    We placed our order with the waiter and made our way to the Lore keeper.

    I only now realized I was starving¡­

    I waited awkwardly at Velariah¡¯s side as she conveyed what Valtheril told us. She scribbled down a bunch of words on a paper which she and Velariah both signed. After that, she exited through the door behind her.

    We walked over to the rest of our party and sat down.

    ¡°Well...¡± Velariah started. ¡°I hope you guys have already eaten because Elania is about to go on a rampage.¡±

    I sighed.

    ¡°What did she do this time?¡± Seralyn asked with a smile.

    ¡°Silk. We told you this yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Ah, shame.¡± Seralyn reacted disappointedly.

    ¡°Have any other adventurers entered the dungeon?¡± I asked randomly.

    I was curious if they had, for multiple reasons. First, I¡¯d like to know if any adventurers had been there at all. It would allow Arch to recover his strength. And second, I¡¯d like to know how Arch treated them. It would tell me a lot. I believed he was able to control what spawned in the dungeon and also how they acted. He could prevent them from killing adventurers if he so wished to.

    I had made Arch a ¡®He¡¯ in my mind, but I had no idea if dungeons actually had a gender. It sounded so awkward to just refer to Arch as ¡®them¡¯ the entire time. The dungeon core was referred to as master by the hellspider queen on guard duty, so I would just assume male from now on.

    ¡°A couple, I¡¯ve been informed,¡± Draco said. ¡°Fought different enemies, apparently, including spiders. No reported injuries.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Draco. That¡¯s exactly what I wanted to know.¡±

    ¡°I also heard some rare herbs were found in the last tunnel leading to the core room,¡± Seralyn added. ¡°Not sure how much of that is true.¡±

    ¡°Well, we could see for ourselves,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Maybe the dungeon will have some special herbs just for us.¡±

    ¡°I should figure out if he can produce goods specifically for us. Imagine how hilarious that would be.¡± I stated.

    ¡°That sounds unfair as hell,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°I love it!¡±

    ¡°Also, we are not to go anywhere near the forest. Valtheril has returned and he forbade us from entering.¡± I said.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Nira cocked her head.

    Velariah continued my statement. ¡°Necromantic magic. He is going into the forest, likely with an elite squad, to find the source of it and exterminate it.¡±

    Nira looked at Velariah with large eyes at the mention of the word necromantic.

    ¡°Explains the wolf not dying,¡± Draco said.

    ¡°I¡¯d never expected to see something like that so close to Dawnleaf,¡± Seralyn added.

    ¡°Yeah well, my father didn¡¯t seem too happy about it either. I¡¯m pretty sure he is rushing towards the source as we speak.¡±

    ¡°Any idea what it could be?¡± Draco asked.

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°No idea. I¡¯m sure my father will be able to get rid of it. Holy magic, next to fire, does well against it. At least that¡¯s what he told me¡­ and I may have glanced over his books sometimes.¡±

    She glanced over at the waiter who came walking in with the first of many dishes for me.

    ¡°Not that it matters much, anyway. We have our own business to take care of. I¡¯ll hear from him how it went, maybe we will get some answers to our questions too.¡± Velariah finished as the waiter placed a plate with two cheese omelets in front of me.

    I loved how quick the guild was at serving its members. These elves ran some quality business for sure.

    ¡°But for now,¡± Velariah spoke again. ¡°Let¡¯s just watch Elania win another eating contest.¡±

    I looked at her with a mouth full.

    My expression must have been hilarious because Seralyn and Velariah couldn¡¯t contain their laughter. Even Draco chuckled slightly.

    These guys¡­

 1.68 Tusks

    Faragi

    Don''t forget to read 67!

    I continued eating in silence as Velariah had her breakfast served as well. Draco made sure that the supplies he had restocked (mainly the potions) were divvied up among the elves and himself.

    After food and drink, it was time to head out. I finally equipped my gauntlets and we walked down the streets. The center of Dawnleaf was already bustling with adventurers and the first trials had begun. We¡¯d have some time before it was my turn. Velariah informed me that the guy in the red cape would let me know when it was my turn.

    People already turned their heads as I walked past them and I could see the anticipation in their eyes.

    Did they know?

    I imagined word may have gone out already that I¡¯d be participating. Info seemed to spread quickly in a small village such as this.

    On our way to the dungeon, we took a bit of a detour, so we wouldn¡¯t have to get close to the forest. I honestly doubted whether this place would be dangerous out here, but Valtheril had specifically instructed not to get near it.

    The day was as sunny as ever. I really wouldn¡¯t have to worry about getting a decent tan with tropical temperatures like this. It did fill me with slight anxiousness about what winter would look like. If spring or summer would be this warm, would winter be extremely cold?

    How would my body hold up in the cold?

    I couldn¡¯t really cover it with blankets now, could I?

    We entered the tunnels leading to the former spider nest about an hour later. The doors were already opened, but Draco assured me it would be of no concern. He said it didn¡¯t appear as if any monsters could spawn close to the exit. Besides that, Arch seemed to be able to exert enough control to be able to keep them inside.

    Unless he¡¯d gone without mana for a long time, as we had seen before.

    I descended the stairs much more confidently this time around. Partly because I¡¯d done it before and didn¡¯t experience issues, and partly because I knew my spider capabilities were far beyond my expectations, as demonstrated in the bedroom.

    That sounded so wrong in my mind.

    I walked down without turning around first, earning a praising look from Nira who was already waiting downstairs with Draco.

    Draco led the way with the torch as Seralyn and Velariah joined up with us. It seemed the area had grown more¡­ illuminated compared to last time. Some of the blue moss that was only found in the last tunnel now grew on the walls here as well.

    I imagined it to be a sign of Arch¡¯s strength returning.

    I was half expecting him to welcome us, but the dungeon core, or the hellspider queen, whoever did the actual talking, remained quiet in my mind.

    The first room¡¯s monsters were also slightly different. Instead of only slimes, there were now a few smaller spiders mixed in between, about a quarter of the size of a mature hellspider.

    I sighed and walked into a corner, covering my ears with my hands.

    Somehow, even though my ears were covered, I could still make out the conversation my companions were having about me.

    ¡°What is she doing that for?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°Uh, when spiders die, they appear to let out a screech that Elania can hear, it hurts her,¡± Velariah replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s so sad...¡± Nira added with her soft voice.

    ¡°Yeah, just kill one at a time and finish them off quickly. That¡¯s the best you can do to make it easy on her.¡±

    I put my spear down and had my gloved hands cover my ears as best I could. On top of those, I also added my other hands which held the shield-blades. The pain still went through all the barriers I¡¯d set up.

    My only luck was that these spiders didn¡¯t seem to have as much power in their screeches. Likely because of their size.

    I could see the wall in front of me reflect some of the colors that were used by my companion¡¯s spells. I had the feeling Seralyn was going to town on them, with all the red I saw.

    There was pain and then there was silence. I looked around to see my companions had cleared the room. Several spiders lay dead. In addition to the spiders, several cores of slain slimes in puddles of brown and green could be found throughout the wide cave tunnel.

    I removed my hands from my ears.

    ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± Velariah assured me. ¡°I do hope for your sake there aren¡¯t any more spiders going deeper.

    I sighed. ¡°I really do hope so. It seems Arch had properly prepared to see me the first time we visited.¡±

    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t surprise me, actually.¡± The elf replied.

    The other three of our party members looked at me with concern.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Let¡¯s continue.¡±

    We exited the first tunnel and walked into the large room where we completed the supposed ¡®trial¡¯ last time. I was glad to see that this room too, had some improvements, mainly in the lighting.

    Along the walls were rows of torches that glowed with an intensity I didn¡¯t know was possible for a torch. The entire place seemed to be lit properly, save for the circle in the middle. They didn¡¯t hurt the eyes at all, despite being so bright. It was more of a pleasant light, not completely different from the one we experienced in the bathroom in the mornings.

    It allowed us to see the many monsters that crawled around in this place properly. I could make out several slimes, some normal-sized boars, a couple of the fennec-eared bats hanging from the ceiling, and¡­ HOLY SHIT WAS THAT A SCORPION MY SIZE?

    The biggest scorpion that I¡¯d never thought could be real was wandering around aimlessly between the lesser monsters.

    Arch, what the hell, dude?

    I was pretty sure it had noticed us at least once, but it didn¡¯t make a move towards us. It simply skittered to the far-back corner to the right of where we entered and remained there, walking small circles as it observed the other monsters.

    The Ashclaw scorpions from the Searing Peak had nothing on this guy.

    Nira seemed to be frozen in fear at the sight of it.

    ¡°Yeah, so...¡± Velariah started. ¡°I assume we leave that for last and start cleaning up the rest?

    ¡°As it doesn¡¯t seem aggressive, I think that would be the wisest course of action,¡± Draco confirmed.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get those bats!¡± Seralyn called out.

    She unstrapped her new bow from her back and I couldn¡¯t help but observe. I was eager to know what it could do.

    I observed her looking at a group of three of the bats on the ceiling. It appeared they were sleeping and were oblivious to what was going on. Seralyn had an arrow nocked and the bowstring drawn. Then her arrowhead lit up with the fire magic that seemed to be her new skill.

    The arrow flew. It was much faster than before and I lost track of it almost immediately after Seralyn released. I looked at where the bats were and saw them burning, all three of them. They seemed to die shortly afterward as they fell down to the ground, I could hear their bones cracking from the impact.

    ¡°Damn...¡± I let out softly.

    ¡°Yup,¡± Seralyn said with glee. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see what I can do later on.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no kidding,¡± I added as I observed Draco splintering the core of a slime with a swing from one of his axes that went straight through the creature.

    Seralyn¡¯s shot seemed to have drawn the attention of all the bats that were in this large room. Moments later, they were all flying towards us. We spread out loosely so our weapons wouldn¡¯t get in the way of one another as we swung all around us to deal with the bats.

    I was sure that our archer did most of the work when it came to flying enemies, but I couldn¡¯t pay attention to her. I had four of the creatures swarming my head. I slashed wildly with my blades and spear. I managed to kill several, but these were not the easiest enemies for me to deal with.

    I should be ashamed of myself. I was a spider that had trouble with flying enemies.

    As I was dealing with the bats. Velariah shouted a warning to me and I looked down to see one of the boars charging at me. I lowered my spear and simply let it impale itself on my spear as I continued dealing with the bats above my head.

    I could feel one of their sharp claws rake across my scalp as I tried to defend myself from two sides at once. It hurt but that was about it.

    With the boar dead in front of me, I moved my attention to the fennec-eared bats again. When three of them swooped in at once, I bashed them with one of the shields. It seemed to temporarily daze them as it knocked them to the ground. I didn¡¯t give them a chance to fly up again, I impaled them with my spear in quick succession.

    I looked at my companions to see Draco repeat exactly what I had just done. He smashed several of the bats out of the air and then cleaved them with his axes. Seralyn shot down several more that approached, not using her new skill. I believed she was conserving energy.

    Velariah dealt with an approaching boar, almost cleaving it in two from the side, as she sidestepped a charge and let the boar¡¯s own momentum carry it through the blade.

    Nira jumped into the sky, beating her large wings, and clawed several bats out of the air as well, almost ripping them in two.

    The stream of bats had stopped as abruptly as it had begun. We converged in one place again.

    ¡°Damn, Elania, are you okay?¡± Velariah called out.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, why?¡±

    She walked up to me and ran a finger over my chest plate, only to hold it up in front of me. The finger was covered in blood and I could see a stream of it running down my chest and carapace.

    I put a glove on my head, where the claws of one of the bats had struck me, and saw it red with blood.

    ¡°Well, damn.¡± I let out. I didn¡¯t even feel like I¡¯d lost that much blood, the pain was present, but it felt more like a paper cut if anything.

    Nira observed us and walked up to me. I lowered myself to allow her to do her work. She planted two hands on top of my hair and I could feel the warmth flow through my body before converging on the wound on top of my head.

    ¡°No internal damage,¡± Nira said. ¡°Just a lot of blood.¡±

    That, I could have figured out myself.

    She removed her hands from my head. ¡°That¡¯s about as much as I can do. Draco, do you have bandages?¡±

    I saw the blood drip from my hair. It was hard to notice, given my hair was almost the same color now. I¡¯d probably have to take another bath tonight to get it all out.

    I sighed again.

    Draco handed a roll of bandage to the harpy, who proceeded to wrap it around my head. Velariah and Seralyn took care of creatures that got too close, not that there were many. It would seem the monsters here weren¡¯t nearly as aggressive.

    I wondered if Arch had a hand in that.

    I shook my head at the thought, causing Nira some trouble with bandaging the wound. It was funny because Arch didn¡¯t have hands.

    I think.

    Nira finished up bandaging the wound. I could have done without it, but I didn¡¯t want to upset Velariah. I was positive I looked like I had had a skiing accident, though. I could only imagine how ridiculous I looked right now.

    ¡°Thanks, Nira,¡± I said as she backed away and I raised myself to my full height.

    ¡°At least the flyers are out of the way now,¡± Draco said from next to me. ¡°You should be fine now, Miss Elania.¡±

    ¡°Boars and slimes, eh?¡± I stated, ¡°Should be doable.¡±

    These really shouldn¡¯t be the hardest enemies. The only thing that worried me was the scorpion at the other end of the room.

    Holy crap, it was huge.

    I ran through the room with the blades at my side, aiming for and carving through the boars as I went. I completely ignored the slimes, they were far too weak to worry about. I could just step in them and continue, which is exactly what I did. I believe I may have killed a couple by stepping on and shattering their cores, but it really wasn¡¯t what I was aiming for.

    Nira focused on the slimes in particular while Draco and Velariah cleaned up behind me. Seralyn shot at whatever moved and bit by bit we started clearing the room of enemies. It was almost too easy.

    I didn¡¯t mind. This was excellent practice for me on how to use my weapons. I was still learning but found that I got more versatile with them as time went on. A boar charged me head-on. I stopped its charge with the front two sets of my legs and my pedipalps before forcing it down to the ground. I bent over and sank my blades behind its neck, killing it almost instantly.

    ¡°Nice footwork,¡± Velariah commented as she walked up to me from where she had killed another slime to my right.

    ¡°Very funny,¡± I said as I rolled my eyes.

    ¡°Can¡¯t wait for you to do that to me,¡± She winked.

    I felt myself blush as I hurriedly looked around to see if the others heard that. Fortunately, they were too far away to hear the obvious flirting going on.

    ¡°Vel, I¡¯d rather not have you do that in combat,¡± I replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, this dungeon is fairly simple, these enemies are not that aggressive.¡±

    I sighed, closed my eyes, and shook my head.

    This attitude would surely get her in trouble someday.

    ¡°Vel, you can¡¯t-¡± I started when a scream interrupted me.

    Fuck.

    One of the boars had managed to surprise her and impaled her legs from behind with its short tusks. Velariah was on the ground, crying in pain and I saw her damaged armor behind her legs ooze blood.

    The beast walked away and seemed ready to charge again.

    I quickly moved over her body and impaled the approaching beast on a spear and two blades at the same time.

    I then moved away to make way for Nira who was already on top of her legs with her hands. Draco also appeared within seconds with the remainder of the bandages.

    The bleeding seemed bad and I hoped with all my heart that we could stop it in time. I started creating some sticky silk, that could help out with compressing the wound if it was necessary.

    What the hell, Arch?

    I lowered myself to look at Velariah¡¯s legs. Nira¡¯s hands were covered with blood as I saw her energy flow through the elf. My heart sank at the sight. It looked bad, there was blood everywhere and I was battling with my mind. I honestly feared I¡¯d lose her.

    ¡°She¡¯ll be fine, I can handle this,¡± Nira said while she worked.

    She¡¯d better. There was far too much blood for my liking. I knew Nira was experienced with healing magic, but I couldn¡¯t shake off this feeling.

    Emotions raced through my mind. I¡¯d looked away for one second. I hit my head with a gloved hand out of anger.

    I should have paid attention.

    And she should have, too.

    Draco was standing on guard for incoming enemies, Seralyn stood with him, but enemies remained absent.

    I lowered myself all the way to the floor at her head. And lifted it while turning it to face me. She had tears in her eyes from the pain. Draco handed me a yellow and green potion, which I forced her to drink.

    ¡°Vel, don¡¯t you ever dare to do that again...¡± I said softly, my heart pounding faster than it ever had before.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, El. I was stupid.¡± She said before she gritted her teeth. Nira¡¯s work seemed to hurt.

    She closed her eyes which caused me to shake her head.

    ¡°No, no no, you¡¯re staying with me,¡± I said, panicked. I let my emotions overtake me.

    ¡°She¡¯ll be fine,¡± Nira said again. She canceled her magic and Draco finished bandaging her legs after taking off her greaves.

    I didn¡¯t believe her. I wanted Velariah awake and responsive.

    ¡°Vel!¡± I called out for her.

    She opened her eyes again and I felt relief.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, El. I¡¯m just tired.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s head back for now,¡± Seralyn suggested.

    ¡°No, just give me a few minutes. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯re going to fight in your state,¡± Seralyn answered.

    I knew Seralyn was right. There was only so much that healing magic could do. Losing this much blood would certainly drain a person of their strength.

    I stood up and fished out a canteen from Draco¡¯s bag. I opened it to smell alcohol. I kept it in one of my hands and fished out another canteen. This one didn¡¯t smell. Good, I¡¯d need both.

    Seralyn and Draco dragged Velariah back through the doorway and through the tunnels. Draco reignited a torch when we reached the stairway leading out of the dungeon. They carefully laid her down on the floor once more. Nira followed behind me with her discarded pieces of armor.

    I unequipped my bladed gauntlets.

    ¡°Here,¡± I said as I held the canteen with water in her face.

    She would need to drink to recover lost blood. She should probably eat something as well. I imagined jerky would be ideal because of the salt content.

    Draco had the same idea as me and handed me a piece of dried meat wrapped in leaves.

    ¡°I told you guys I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°Shut up and eat,¡± I said sternly.

    She took the meat with a weak hand and I moved to her legs.

    I then took the canteen with alcohol and waited until she finished eating.

    ¡°This might hurt a little,¡± I said before I poured the contents on the bandages, soaking them in alcohol.

    Velariah winced in pain, but it wasn¡¯t nearly as much as I expected. The wounds she suffered were large and I was sure getting alcohol in those would sting a lot more than what she was showing. Perhaps it was because of the pain suppression potion? It had to be.

    ¡°Is there any more you can do?¡± I asked Nira. I was still worried to no end about Velariah¡¯s situation.

    The harpy shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do further. I healed the internal damage, the bleeding seems to be stopped. She just needs time, rest, and food now.¡±

    I think I wouldn¡¯t stop worrying until she was back up and running. Was this how Vel felt when I lost my leg?

    I hated it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get her home, then,¡± I sighed.

    Not a word was spoken. A nod in agreement here and there was all I needed to know.

    This day was off to a shitty start.

    Had Arch betrayed us?

    Faragi

    Thanks for the support as usual <3

    And a special shoutout to my new Patrons <3

    Przemys?aw

    Edward

    Cog

 1.69 Tested

    Faragi

    Screw it. I wanted this chapter out to answer some questions left open from the last one. I will probably publish again a day later because of it though :O

    We gave Velariah some time before we carefully carried her upstairs. She remained conscious but seemed weakened considerably because of the loss of blood. I feared the boar had hit her arteries. I couldn¡¯t be more thankful that healing magic and potions happened to be a thing in this world. I could only shudder at what could have happened otherwise.

    I was still left with the question of why Arch allowed this to happen. Did he do this consciously? Did he allow the boar to do whatever it wanted without stopping it?

    We carried her further through the tunnels until we were back on the surface. Draco and Seralyn then placed her behind me. I had dropped my weapons and asked Seralyn to carry them; I wanted my arms free to hold on to the elf while walking back to the village. The brunette agreed without objection.

    I was so thankful I could rely on my companions in these scenarios.

    I was too busy being concerned over Velariah to deal with attitudes right now.

    Once she was safely secured behind my human torso and Nira had hopped on, I got the urge to just run back to Dawnleaf as fast as I could, but I knew it wouldn¡¯t do Velariah any good.

    The elf had her arms around my waist weakly and her head on my shoulder.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, El,¡± She whispered apologetically.

    ¡°Shush, I need you to rest, Vel,¡± I whispered back.

    I put one hand on her hands that she was using to hold on to me and we walked back to Dawnleaf, the short way this time.

    My stomach twisted at the thought of how much worse this could have ended.

    I feared what Valtheril would say to her.

    I kept a close grip on her frame behind me and her hands in front of me as we walked.

    ¡°Draco, I should probably have asked this earlier. Do dungeons benefit from people dying in them?¡±

    ¡°As a matter of fact, they do. When a person dies, massive amounts of mana are released into the air. Dungeons of course benefit greatly from mana and, as such, they are known to kill people sometimes. However, it would appear most dungeons are conservative in that regard, preferring long-term sustainability over short-term power spikes. We don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a sign of intelligence or whether there are¡­ external factors driving them to kill people.¡±

    ¡°How do you know about this whole mana thing anyway? I thought it was useless to non-dungeons.¡± I asked.

    ¡°It is,¡± Draco replied. ¡°We have gained a good understanding of the flow of mana over the years. The human kingdom paved the way through research, experiments, and observation to bring us knowledge about mana and Corium. However, there have been no successful attempts to harness mana ourselves. It would appear that privilege is reserved for dungeons.¡±

    I would love to ask Arch questions about this, it¡¯s just that I wasn¡¯t sure if I could trust him anymore.

    Screw dungeons, from now on, I¡¯d not trust anything.

    We reached Dawnleaf about half an hour later. We had kept up the pace. During our walk, I could swear Velariah had leaned against me more than was necessary, but I couldn¡¯t be sure.

    Today wasn¡¯t our day. And then there were the trials for the guild to worry about later on as well.

    Maybe I should just call the whole thing off.

    We arrived at Velariah¡¯s mansion and I knocked on the door. Elly soon appeared behind the slider and opened both doors to let us in. Draco suggested they¡¯d leave but I stopped him.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, could you help me get her into-¡± I hesitated for a second. ¡°Bed.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t keen on my companions knowing what our, well my, sleeping quarters looked like, but I didn¡¯t have time, nor the energy, to worry about that.

    They didn¡¯t know Velariah slept in my bed every night. I wasn¡¯t one to walk around and tell the world about it, either.

    Nira had jumped off before I walked inside.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Elly asked with concern as I walked past her.

    ¡°Leg wound,¡± I called behind me. ¡°And I got a scratch to my head, nothing serious.¡±

    I made a beeline for the bathroom and opened the doors.

    ¡°That¡¯s a nice nest you made, Elania,¡± Seralyn commented, looking at the pillow-covered hammock.

    ¡°Please just help me get her in it,¡± I answered with a sigh.

    Draco and Seralyn carefully lifted the white-haired elf off my back and laid her in the hammock. This would serve as an ideal hospital bed while she recovered.

    ¡°Is there anything I can do for her?¡± I asked the harpy, expecting she¡¯d have the most experience when it came to healing people.

    She shook her head. ¡°Her internal damage is healed. It¡¯s only the wound that needs to close properly now. She will be completely fine once she has some food and rest, to recover the blood. The superficial wound shouldn¡¯t hold her back too much. Just refresh the bandage sometime later today.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do that. Thanks, Nira.¡±

    I sighed deeply as I turned to look at Velariah. She had her eyes closed but I knew she was still conscious.

    ¡°Elly, do you have anything that she could eat easily?¡± I asked the maid, who seemed concerned for the elf¡¯s health.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make something right away.¡± She said, and walked into the kitchen.

    I didn¡¯t even get the chance to thank her.

    ¡°I believe the whole guild trial thingy is off the table?¡± Seralyn asked with a neutral expression once more.

    It was shocking how fast she could go from playful to serious. Maybe she wanted to put me at ease, knowing the elf would be fine?

    I knew Velariah would be fine, but still¡­

    I shrugged. ¡°Yeah, I am afraid I¡¯d rather stay home and make sure Velariah will be okay.¡±

    ¡°You should go.¡± Velariah sounded behind me. ¡°I¡¯m fine, I keep telling you.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s time for us to take our leave. Please take good care of Lady Velariah, Miss Elania.¡± Draco said politely.

    He handed me a few of his potions before he left. I knew Velariah still had some of her own, and these were likely excessive, but I appreciated the gesture, nonetheless.

    ¡°Thank you, Draco. I¡¯ll make sure to do just that.¡±

    ¡°No need to worry there, Draco. She always does.¡± Seralyn answered as she exited the dining area.

    Nira and Draco followed her and closed the door behind them, leaving me alone with the injured elf.

    I walked up to her and reached out to her with my pedipalps. I also took hold of one of her hands.

    ¡°You think I should do that?¡± I asked with another sigh.

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s too late to back out now. You heard Nira. I¡¯ll get something to eat, drink, get some rest and I¡¯ll be up and running tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°And you told me I overexerted myself¡­¡±

    Velariah chuckled. ¡°Heh, funny as always¡­¡±

    I took off my last two gloves and my chest plate and tossed them in the corner. I would put them with the rest of my weapons later. Seralyn had left the rest in the hallway.

    I slowly took off the easy pieces that Velariah still had on. It took quite a bit longer than usual but I had plenty of time. I wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. I deposited them with my gauntlets in the same corner where I¡¯d put my armor, right next to the box of sulfur that still sat there.

    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll go if it makes you happy.¡± I said after a while.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I won¡¯t be there to spectate.¡± She said softly.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Vel. I just hope you learn from all this.¡± I sighed. ¡°I guess I should learn from this too¡­¡±

    I wanted to kick something out of frustration.

    That damned dungeon.

    Elly walked out of the kitchen with some slices of bread with thin slices of meat on them. Gray walked out and followed after her, that was until he noticed me.

    Gray ran to me in excitement, his short tail wagging wildly. I lowered myself to pet him while Elly handed the plate to Velariah, who started eating in a half-sitting position.

    ¡°Thanks, Elly.¡±

    I allowed myself to be distracted by Gray for a few moments as Elly was practically spoon-feeding the other elf.

    ¡°Any idea on what time it is right now?¡± I asked, after Gray had lifted my spirits somewhat.

    Dogs were so therapeutic. Well, Gray wasn¡¯t a dog, but¡­ close enough.

    ¡°You still have a few hours you can spend with me. Don¡¯t stress yourself out.¡±

    That is exactly what I wanted to hear. Thanks, Vel.

    I stood up again and saw Gray look up at the hammock, it was as if he could feel something was wrong with the elf in it.

    He wouldn¡¯t be wrong.

    ¡°How¡¯s the pain?¡± I asked.

    That was probably the worst part of this all.

    ¡°Manageable. If it gets too bad, I¡¯ll just chug another painkiller.¡±

    I started to feel more relieved. I think it was because of Velariah¡¯s utter disregard for the state she was currently in.

    She finished eating and Elly left us behind as she walked into the kitchen to drop off the plate, before walking upstairs with a feather duster. That was the one thing she needed to complete the typical maid look. It made me smile a little.

    I closed the door, locked it, stepped over the net using the full extent of my legs, and took a look at the elf¡¯s bandages. They were soaked in brown blood and smelled terrible, possibly because of the blood and alcohol mixed. I wanted to replace those as soon as possible, but I knew that replacing them now might be a bit early.

    I¡¯d do that after the trials; I could clean the wounds in the process.

    Velariah had laid herself down after finishing the quick meal. I took a canteen out of her pack and made her drink some more.

    ¡°Seriously, El, if you are going to make me drink any more, I¡¯m going to have you carry me to the toilet.¡±

    ¡°I thought you were oh so fine?¡± I half-joked.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, alright,¡± Velariah said. She took that far too seriously it seemed.

    ¡°No need to get upset, Vel, I was only joking.¡± I sighed.

    I walked over to the hammock, put my pedipalps on her belly, and took hold of one of her hands again.

    ¡°Ah, who the hell am I even kidding.¡± I let out as I swiftly hopped into the hammock and lay down next to her, careful to not put my large behind on her legs. Once inside, I took off the bandages around my head. They were far too uncomfortable and the bleeding had stopped long ago.

    ¡°You¡¯re the worst nurse,¡± Velariah joked. ¡°Jumping in your patients¡¯ beds and stuff.¡±

    ¡°Or the best, depending on how you look at it,¡± I replied as I kissed her forehead. ¡°We really should not bring our relationship into the open during combat¡­ That was just¡­ stupid.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Velariah said. ¡°And I hate myself for making you worry so much.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right,¡± I said with my sweet voice.

    ¡°Now you know how that side of it feels as well,¡± Velariah grinned slightly.

    ¡°At least I had good reason to do what I did before I lost my leg,¡± I said in all seriousness. ¡°Besides, I got it back.¡± I smiled at Velariah.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m stupid. You¡¯re absolutely right. I need to remain focused. I underestimated that dungeon severely. If it had been any higher-tiered dungeon, I could have died.¡±

    I sighed once more. ¡°I hope you learned your lesson. I don¡¯t want to have you die, Vel.¡± I said with a tear in my eye.

    ¡°Don¡¯t start crying now, El. I wasn¡¯t intending on dying anytime soon.¡± The elf said as she reached for my face with her other hand.

    ¡°I¡¯d rather have your actions speak than your words,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯m serious. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do if I lost you now.¡± I could feel a tear roll down my face as I spoke those words.

    Velariah wiped it away and dragged my face to hers.

    ¡°I won¡¯t. There¡¯s too much for me to live for. I won¡¯t. That¡¯s a promise.¡± She spoke softly before taking me in for a kiss.

    I was thankful that she did that. It put my mind at ease. Things would be okay and we would both be more careful in the future. I hugged her tight with my right set of legs as my left set simply dangled off the edge. I kissed her again and laid my head next to hers. I simply held on to her and relaxed, refusing to let go.

    I lay next to her for a long time, possibly hours. Eventually, she¡¯d fallen asleep and I was now observing her snooze peacefully.

    Velariah was so cute when she slept¡­

    I could probably look at her for hours. It was a shame I had these trials to compete in.

    I shrugged.

    It was for the good of new adventurers joining. I could see why Velariah wanted me to participate.

    Anxiety about being too late slowly started to build up within me. I gave a quick kiss to the sleeping elf and slowly stepped out of the hammock. I then carefully grabbed my chest plate without making much noise and walked out of the room.

    Gray was sleeping soundly in his ¡®bed¡¯ and I didn¡¯t want to disturb any of the sleeping creatures.

    I put on my chest plate in the dining area before making my way over to the hallway. Elly walked down the stairs at the same time, still holding the feather duster.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be out for a bit, Elly. Please take good care of Velariah for me.¡± I said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do the best I can.¡± She said while she started cleaning the table.

    I finished putting on my armor and gathered my weapons. I decided not to put on my bladed gauntlets yet, it was far too busy on the way to the trial area. I was afraid I might actually hurt someone with them.

    I should get some sheathes¡­

    I thought about stopping by Dworag¡¯s shop after I¡¯d finished the trials but I decided against it. I¡¯d much rather get back to Velariah. It would be for another time.

    There was also the fact that I planned on getting some more spools of silk done today. I wasn¡¯t sure if I could do that without the elf¡¯s help. I hoped she¡¯d be in a somewhat better state later tonight.

    How much time did I have before that supposed grandmaster arrived?

    I shook away the question and exited the mansion, closing the door behind me. I then walked to the market square where there was quite a crowd, larger than any other time I could remember.

    I guess that confirmed it.

    They were here for me.

    People were polite, almost eager to make way for me as I looked for the organizer in red. I soon found him near a circle on the ground that was far larger than the ones I¡¯d seen previously.

    These elves had the stage set for me.

    It made me feel uneasy. I was never one to get this much attention, nor did I feel the need to get it.

    I had to manually calm down my breathing when I approached the organizer. I was thankful he did the talking and I didn¡¯t have to do any.

    ¡°Ah, Miss Elania, it¡¯s good to finally have you here. When word got out you were participating, the place filled up far faster than usual.¡±

    I simply sighed at the confirmation of my ¡®popularity¡¯.

    I looked over the trial area to see that only one of the three circles was currently occupied by two combatants who seemed to be fairly low-tiered. Their armor looked simple and their weapons were cheap. Some of the crowd already had their attention focused on me.

    Whose idea was this again?

    ¡°I have three contestants lined up for you,¡± The organizer continued. ¡°That¡¯s all for the day. It¡¯s not much, but do try to give the crowd a show.¡± He winked.

    A show. Right.

    I was curious what the guild had put up against me.

    I made my way over to the large circle and put on my bladed gauntlets and waited for my opponent. My spear was drawn and I tried to calm down my heartbeat that had been rising steadily from all the attention that was on me.

    I could hear a few gasps as I stood ready for my opponent to appear, and it wasn¡¯t a mystery what all the whispers in the crowd were about.

    I wanted Velariah here¡­

    A few moments later, the first contestant stepped into the ring. He appeared to be a middle-aged human warrior with a kite shield and a one-handed sword. His armor seemed to be in decent shape, a full-body plate that looked like it was of decent quality.

    I would expect as much of gold-tiered adventurers.

    The organizer gave us the signal to begin.

    I had no idea how to go about this properly. How would I fight without actually injuring someone?

    I was told there were all kinds of healers at the ready, but I couldn¡¯t just pull out my venom or something like that now, could I?

    I figured the easiest way to incapacitate my opponent was to either disarm them or block their blows and pin them down under my legs. I would probably have to rely on my shields, I had no experience parrying with swords, and trying to figure that out right now would likely result in me losing.

    And I hated losing.

    He stepped forward and feigned an attack. I would have been ready to absorb it with my shield, but it never got close enough. I reacted by stabbing with my spear, which he easily blocked.

    Hum, four hands was quite the advantage, wasn¡¯t it?

    I realized just how powerful I was against humans. I continued to prod and pry with my spear, trying to get him to fixate his attention on it. I held one shield up all the time while I was ready with a blade from my other arm to strike. It seemed it forced him into a very, very defensive stance. He couldn¡¯t get any attack landed on me.

    When I knew his attention was a hundred percent focused on my spear, I decided to strike.

    I feigned an attack from above with my spear, my height advantage made it all too easy. He raised his shield to block the attack that would never be. In reaction to that, I lowered my body in an extremely quick motion, faster than he could register and I swept his legs from under him with one of my legs.

    He fell over backward without knowing what had just happened and I was quick to jump on him to catch his falling form with two legs before he smashed the ground, disarming him with my pedipalps in the process. I imagined me bowing over him like that made it look more like some form of dance than an actual spar.

    The crowd cheered and clapped as I helped the new adventurer back up to his feet. He reached out a hand which I shook with a free hand.

    ¡°Well fought,¡± He said with a smile.

    Look at that, a human who spoke the elven language.

    ¡°You too. Welcome to the guild.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. Elania, right? The name¡¯s Eric. It was an honor to fight you.¡±

    Well, well. I had found my first polite human.

    ¡°The honor was mine. Good luck in your adventures.¡± I took a small bow and assumed my position in the ring again, waiting for my next opponent.

 1.70 Weaponizing

    My second opponent was a fairly young-looking human male. He wore leather armor that seemed to be adjusted for his fighting style, that seemed to revolve around speed and dexterity. He held a one-handed sword in each hand which supported my hypothesis.

    I was certain he¡¯d observed the first fight which made me doubt I would be able to pull off that move again. If his style was as quick as I expected it to be, I imagined doing the same thing would cause quite a bit of backlash.

    I should practice my speed. Spiders were really damn quick in their movements. If I could get anywhere close, I wouldn¡¯t doubt myself doing the same again.

    I thought of a way to defeat my new opponent as the organizer gave the start signal. Within a second my opponent was upon me and started slashing wildly with his sword.

    I got the impression this guy was far too serious about this fight and that he saw this as something more than a spar. It was as if he was actually out to hurt me. Of course, I couldn¡¯t confirm that.

    I was blocking for dear life. He was fast, indeed. The few stabs that I made with my spear were easily sidestepped as he kept up his blade flurry.

    I didn¡¯t dare to use my pedipalps out of concern of them being slashed by his blades.

    Fast opponents really were not my forte it would seem.

    I kept blocking and got myself backed to the edge of the circle, which gave me an idea.

    There was more than one way to win.

    I reached the edge of the fighting area and allowed him to keep up his flurry of attacks, counter-attacking with my spear a few times to keep him focused on his attacks. I slowly turned so that my side was at the edge of the circle and tried to sweep his legs with my spear. The attack was easily dodged, but it didn¡¯t matter, I had him where I wanted him, his back to the edge.

    I charged forward with my shields in front of me, completely taking him by surprise and knocking him outside the circle. He landed on the ground on his bum and spat in anger. He then stood up and simply walked off.

    Seems like losing wasn¡¯t for everyone.

    I walked back to the middle of the circle as I was cheered on by the crowd once more. Was this how fame felt? I really wouldn¡¯t want to get used to this.

    I was both impressed and surprised by the fact that I was able to beat these adventurers. They had already passed opponents that were classified as low-tiered gold, which was my rank. I¡¯d been put here as I was considered mid-tier gold for the trial, meaning that anyone who could defeat me would start at mid-tier gold and literally outrank me.

    An interesting thought.

    The guild must hold me in very high regard.

    I had to wait for a bit before my next opponent showed up. Another human entered the ring. He looked to be in his twenties and mail armor combined with a halberd made up his equipment.

    The halberd was a scary weapon. I knew it dominated combat back in medieval times because of its reach, simplicity to use, and power against large targets, such as cavalry. I kind of counted as cavalry and I didn¡¯t like to see such a weapon used against me.

    Our fight started and it seemed I¡¯d worried a bit too much. His speed was nothing compared to mine and I could sidestep his blows and thrusts quite easily. The human, however, seemed to be no newcomer to combat and was quick to deter me from making any moves his way by moving the weapon around with quick motions, barring my way.

    This fight looked to come down to spear versus halberd, my other weapons just didn¡¯t have the reach. I did have the added luxury of also carrying two versatile shields. As long as I didn¡¯t screw this up, I thought there was no reason for me to lose this fight.

    The fight went on for a while, thrusts were thrown both ways and not a single one landed. They were either sidestepped or landed on my shield. A slash aimed at my armor was dodged by me lowering myself to the ground. It seemed the strike from the human had a little too much momentum behind it. An opening was created where he was still recovering from his swing and I was quick to close the gap.

    I held one of my blades up to his throat and the fight was over.

    I was impressed once more. This just felt too easy. I think the second opponent gave me the most trouble. If I was to improve anything, I should reflect on that fight. I already kind of knew what the issue was in that fight.

    This had actually been a worthwhile learning experience.

    I was glad Velariah sent me here.

    Velariah¡­

    How was she doing?

    I almost didn¡¯t hear the cheers and applause. I was too busy making sure to get back home. I took off my blade gauntlets, exited the fighting circle, and left the noise behind on my way to Velariah¡¯s mansion.

    I hated her for making me feel this way. Wasn¡¯t she the one who said to keep our acts together when we were in a fight?

    Argh, my mind was being a pain in the ass. She would be fine. She was already fine. I¡¯d only been gone for about an hour. How badly did the love bug get me?

    I found it hard to focus but I resolved two things after the trials. One, I would have to focus on increasing my speed, and two, I was going to get back in that dungeon, clear it, and have a nice long talk with Arch, whether he wanted it or not.

    I kicked the door out of frustration when I arrived at the mansion. It felt good to kick something with multiple feet at once and still remain standing. I got some joy out of that thought.

    Elly soon opened the door and I dropped off my armor in the corner before beelining towards the bathroom.

    ¡°How is she?¡± I asked.

    ¡°She¡¯s still sleeping. I have fresh bandages ready for when she wakes up.¡± Elly pointed towards the dining table. A roll of bandages lay ready.

    ¡°Do you have any alcohol as well, to clean her wound?¡±

    I had no idea how many times one would have to clean a wound to prevent infection, but I imagined I¡¯d rather do it too often than not enough. Boars weren¡¯t exactly the cleanest animals, either¡­

    Elly nodded, walked to the kitchen, and returned with a metal canteen she handed to me. I thanked her and took the roll of bandages before making my way into the bathroom. As I opened the door, Gray ran up to me, his talk wagging.

    I sighed. ¡°Elly, could you take him for me?¡±

    ¡°Not a problem.¡± She replied and took the pup.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    I walked into the bedroom, stepping over the still sleeping form of the elf while closing the door behind me. I laid the canteen and bandages down in the hammock at the far end.

    I took a look at her legs, mainly the bandages around them. They still smelled like garbage and I imagined refreshing those wouldn¡¯t be excessive. For now, I didn¡¯t dare to wake the elf, I simply stepped into the hammock and laid myself next to her, my chin on her shoulder.

    I imagined a bath wouldn¡¯t be completely out of place either. My hair was still a mess from the blood as well.

    Velariah was eager to take a bath together before, I might just agree to it now¡­

    What had this elf done to my heart?

    I took hold of one of Velariah¡¯s hands and slowly put some legs around her frame. I loved holding her like this.

    Was I a bad person for secretly enjoying being in a position where I could nurse her?

    It was such an ethical dilemma¡­

    Velariah stirred.

    Did I wake her up?

    ¡°Hmm. Hey, El.¡± She spoke softly.

    ¡°Hey, Vel,¡± I whispered before giving her a quick kiss. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±

    ¡°Honestly? I feel like shit. Don¡¯t worry about my leg, it will be fine. I just feel like shit because of my stupid mistakes.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± I said softly. ¡°To think you were the one telling me to keep my act together in combat, how ironic.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly why I feel like shit,¡± Velariah said before taking hold of my head with her hands and bringing my lips to hers.

    ¡°I feel a bit better now, though.¡± She continued with a soft voice.

    ¡°I imagine so.¡± I smiled. ¡°How¡¯s the pain?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt anymore. I think I have Nira to thank for that.¡±

    That was a relief.

    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s pretty good, isn¡¯t she?¡± I said.

    Velariah nodded.

    ¡°You hungry?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Thirsty.¡± The elf answered.

    ¡°Any preference?¡±

    ¡°Kingberry juice would be good. You should have some too.¡±

    As if I was going to let the opportunity to do that slip by. Not this time, Vel.

    I nodded and carefully stepped out of the hammock. I opened the doors and walked to the kitchen door, where I knocked.

    It seems I¡¯d been right when it came to pinpointing Elly¡¯s location as she opened the door moments later. I asked her for two glasses of the liquid gold that was the juice, which she soon handed to me after excusing herself for a minute.

    I handed Velariah, who was now sitting up, her glass while drinking mine down within seconds.

    I¡¯d been parched¡­

    Velariah finished her drink as well before handing me the glass and lying down again. I placed the glasses on the crate of sulfur in the corner before stepping back in to hug her.

    ¡°Is this what you did when I was out as well?¡± I asked.

    ¡°As much as I could between duties, yes. I spent all of my spare time with you.¡± She spoke.

    ¡°So sweet,¡± I said softly as I kept hugging her.

    I closed my eyes but soon reopened them as I remembered I¡¯d have to change the bandages.

    I stepped out of the hammock and took a look at her legs.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to unwrap those bandages. I¡¯m sorry if I hurt you.¡± I said.

    ¡°Go for it,¡± Velariah replied.

    I carefully removed the bandages from her legs. When I had completely removed it from one leg, I was shocked.

    ¡°Uh, Vel?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°Does this hurt?¡± I poked her leg, where the wound was, well, should have been.

    ¡°No, why?¡±

    ¡°Your wound is gone.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m serious. There is nothing left.¡±

    Velariah sat up, looked at her own legs, and ran her fingers over them.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡±

    ¡°You think that¡¯s Nira¡¯s work?¡± I asked.

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°Healing magic isn¡¯t supposed to work on superficial wounds. There should have been markings, holes, something.¡± She scratched her head. ¡°I have no idea what caused this¡­¡±

    ¡°And how are you feeling, then?¡± I continued with the next question.

    ¡°Physically? I feel fine, I¡¯m just tired.¡±

    ¡°Strange.¡± I let out. ¡°You think Arch had something to do with it?¡±

    ¡°The dungeon? Honestly, I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m¡­ shocked.¡±

    ¡°Yet more strange things to add to the list. I really shouldn¡¯t be surprised anymore.¡±

    ¡°How about that wound on your head?¡± Velariah asked, ignoring my statement. ¡°It looked gnarly.¡±

    ¡°No idea. I can¡¯t really look on top of my head.¡± I moved the top of my head in front of her face. ¡°You can, though.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, I get to play with your lovely hair.¡± She grinned.

    I smiled, but I doubt she was able to see it. I could feel her fingers gently move through my hair, the feeling was¡­ addicting. I felt disappointed when she stopped.

    ¡°Nope, nothing. Your wound is completely gone as well.¡± She said in disbelief.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s odd. Any hypotheses?¡± I asked.

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°Unless you have any information that I don¡¯t have, I¡¯m at a loss here.¡±

    ¡°Honestly? I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t know if I should worry about it, either. This really doesn¡¯t sound like a negative thing.¡± I said.

    I sighed as I relaxed. ¡°Can I get your hands back in my hair? I¡¯d love some more of that.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one who is supposed to nurse me?¡± Velariah grinned.

    ¡°Nurse from what? Your leg appears to be fine.¡±

    ¡°Hm, you¡¯re right. Alright then.¡± The elf placed her hands back in my hair and started scratching and moving her hands through it. I closed my eyes in bliss.

    ¡°You sure you didn¡¯t do this on purpose so we¡¯d spend more time together?¡± I asked sarcastically.

    ¡°And miss your trials? No way. Did you already do them?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°How did that go?¡± She asked, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.

    ¡°Won all three.¡± I smiled at her.

    ¡°Neat. I knew they¡¯d be no match for you.¡±

    ¡°Next time I want you there,¡± I spoke softly. ¡°I really missed you there...¡±

    ¡°Awww, poor El. I¡¯ll be there next time. Don¡¯t worry.¡± She sighed. ¡°If it were up to me I¡¯d already be out and about.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, not gonna happen,¡± I stated sternly. ¡°The earliest you¡¯re going to be doing anything will be tomorrow.¡±

    I hugged her again. ¡°I¡¯ve found out a few things about myself again,¡± I said with a low voice once more. ¡°Thank you for having me go to the trials.¡±

    ¡°What did you find out?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Speed,¡± I stated. ¡°I need to improve on my speed. I¡¯m slow.¡±

    ¡°Nothing wrong with your speed.¡± She said.

    ¡°I meant in combat. With my arms¡­ and possibly my legs. I only won my second fight because of my strength, I was getting manhandled by a guy with two swords.¡±

    ¡°Let me guess. You blocked his attacks instead of parrying and then knocked him out of the ring.¡± Velariah grinned.

    ¡°How did you guess?¡±

    ¡°I know you, El. It was a good move, for sure, but I can see what you mean.¡± She paused for a moment before taking hold of the pedipalp that rested on her belly.

    ¡°You tried using these? Or your legs, even?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I was afraid I¡¯d get them slashed.¡±

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s your answer,¡± Velariah stated. ¡°Improve your speed and weaponize your legs.¡±

    ¡°Weaponize? How?¡± I asked as she continued to play with my limb.

    ¡°Oh you know, cover it in armor or something. Maybe add a weapon?¡± She said in a serious tone that almost made me laugh.

    ¡°You¡¯re trying to turn me into the most brutal killing machine that ever walked this world, aren¡¯t you?¡± I said with a smile. ¡°It might be an idea, though. I was thinking about visiting Dworag tomorrow either way. I should get some sheathes for my blades.¡±

    ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d come to that conclusion sooner or later.¡± The elf spoke. ¡°Good job.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, I guess?¡±

    The idea of using my legs as proper weapons made me think about my anatomy. How far could I push this body?

    I loved cuddling with Velariah, but I could also use this time to try a few things.

    I decided to step out of the hammock and walked up to the wall across from the toilet.

    ¡°I¡¯ll probably need some good protection for my arms too. That wolf showed me I¡¯m still vulnerable if I¡¯m not fast enough.¡±

    ¡°Not a bad idea,¡± Velariah called as she looked over the edge of the hammock.

    ¡°But first. I¡¯m going to spend the money on the ritual. I¡¯ve waited long enough. Are these walls tough?¡± I asked as I ran a hand over the wall.

    ¡°Tough as nails. What are you planning to do?¡±

    ¡°Weaponize my legs.¡±

    I struck the wall with a pedipalp. I didn¡¯t put too much force behind it because I didn¡¯t want to hurt myself. I was merely checking out the movements I could make with my spider limbs, starting with these two. I then struck with my other pedipalp.

    These, I knew how to use properly. That wouldn¡¯t be an issue. My only issue was that my legs and pedipalps also served to grip onto things that no human was supposed to be able to grip. If I armored them, I might lose that functionality.

    I then moved my front set of legs next to my human torso, lifted them, and struck. It went easier than I expected, and it seemed I could put quite some force behind them. My spider legs were probably far stronger than my human arms.

    ¡°Vel, I love you. If I can pull this off, I¡¯d be much stronger.¡±

    ¡°I know you do. You also look great doing that.¡± She replied.

    ¡°You better not say that in combat.¡± I grinned as I struck again.

    I impressed myself. I had killed with my legs before, but I didn¡¯t use them in the same way I was doing now. I had created even more arms I could strike forward with. I imagined having me as a serious opponent would be quite the morale shock.

    The reach of my legs was insane as well. They had greater reach than my swords if I moved them forward. They didn¡¯t quite match my spear, but they would be a hell of a lot deadlier when weaponized properly.

    I decided to try a bit of a gamble and pulled up my second set of legs as well. I placed them on the wall below my front set to check their reach. They ended up short of the first set, but they would still be viable to use as combat tools.

    Oh my god. I could strike with four legs and two arms and a spear at once.

    I really was the ultimate killing machine¡­

    I didn¡¯t know how to feel about it.

    I removed the legs from the wall and found that I had no problem keeping my balance with only four legs on the ground. I moved back slightly and struck forward with my front set of legs, followed by the second.

    I repeated the movements several times to build up muscle memory. I then did it a couple more times while moving around.

    ¡°Hot damn, Elania. You¡¯re looking sexy as hell when doing that.¡± The elf interrupted my training.

    ¡°Really? I¡¯m trying to bash up your wall and that¡¯s what you comment?¡±

    I continued to throw some ¡®punches¡¯ with my legs. I was now trying to stab in quick succession with individual legs, instead of stabbing with both legs of a set at once.

    ¡°I wish I could be that wall.¡± She continued flirting.

    ¡°You¡¯re trying to distract me to see if I can keep focused, right?¡± I said as I continued.

    ¡°You could see it that way...¡± She answered.

    ¡°You seem to be right in the fact that weaponizing my legs would be a major improvement, at least in head-on combat.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± She said with a broad smile.

    ¡°Now I¡¯ll need to figure out a way to armor them without losing function.¡±

    ¡°Dworag will probably find a way.¡± Velariah shrugged. ¡°You have any plans for tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°If you are in decent condition, I¡¯d like to pay Arch a visit and force some answers out of him,¡± I stated with a hint of anger in my voice.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure I¡¯m fine again. I¡¯m looking forward to those answers myself.¡±

 1.71 Coming Clean

    Faragi

    Don''t forget to reach 70! I posted 2 chapters again!

    I had originally planned to only post one chapter, but I did not want to withhold this specific chapter... :(

    WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER IS SEMI-NSFW AND VERY FLUFFY. THERE''S NOTHING EXPLICIT IN THIS.

    This is also much like the style in which I''ve written the NSFW chapter which will be between chapters 77 and 78. So people can get somewhat of an idea of what it looks like.

    I continued training in silence for some time. I cast a few glances at Velariah while throwing ¡®punches¡¯ at the wall. She was eying me with great interest¡­ a little too much, maybe.

    I placed my front set of legs on the wall and observed them. A thick layer of smooth chitin covered them. I imagined they should be fairly sturdy and resistant against quite some attacks.

    Shame there was a certain troll that managed to smash one to pieces, though¡­

    I was lost in thought as I observed my own legs in front of me.

    Weaponize my legs, right?

    If I was going to use them to stab, I could possibly add literal weapons to them.

    I created something of an idea in my mind. The last segment of my leg was about fifteen centimeters. I could add something like a knife that would continue where the second to last segment ended. That way, I could use my legs to stab with a weapon while curling the last segment inward and I would still have the functionality of the claws at the end in case I needed to pass over rough terrain.

    The idea sounded good in my mind. I wondered how the execution would be.

    ¡°Lost in thought again?¡± The elf¡¯s voice came as I concluded my thoughts.

    ¡°Yeah, I keep learning about this body. It requires more thought than one would expect.¡±

    ¡°Hah, no kidding. Don¡¯t worry, though. You¡¯re doing a great job at it.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vel.¡±

    I should get some kind of target dummy. I wanted to get a proper indication of how much force I could use to strike targets without hurting myself.

    I sighed. ¡°The number of adjustments I have to make¡­ it¡¯s so much¡­¡±

    I was probably going to have to put quite a few hours into training. It soured my mood.

    Velariah carefully stepped out of the hammock and made her way to me.

    ¡°You have plenty of time, or so I¡¯ve heard. I¡¯ll help you explore whatever you need to know to survive.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Vel. Are you sure you should be getting out of bed?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re not in it. It makes it far less appealing to stay in it.¡±

    ¡°Always the charmer.¡± I smiled as she got closer.

    I knew she was going to lean in to kiss me. I wasn¡¯t the only one that was predictable. When she did, I quickly lifted her and pinned her against the wall with the four legs I¡¯d been using for practice. My hands were on hers and I interlocked our fingers.

    ¡°El, so aggressive.¡± She said softly. She didn¡¯t seem to mean that in a negative way at all.

    ¡°You should be in bed, young lady. I need you in top condition tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Make me.¡± She said defiantly.

    ¡°Hmmm, I guess I could web you to the wall. Would that be comfortable, you think?¡± I said as I moved my human torso against hers.

    I would have never imagined myself talking like this, let alone talking like this while involving the spidery abilities that I seemed to possess. What has this elf done to me?

    ¡°You tease!¡± Velariah laughed.

    ¡°And what are you going to do about it?¡± I said as I kissed her deeply. She didn¡¯t say another word, even after I broke the kiss.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s get you back in bed, shall we?¡±

    ¡°Actually, I need to use the toilet first. You mind letting me go?¡± She asked.

    I let go with my legs, causing her to land on the floor with a soft thud as her feet impacted on the floor.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just go check on Elly in the meantime then. You want anything to drink, eat?¡±

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not that hungry. Some water would probably be good.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get some, then.¡±

    I exited the room and started my search for Elly. She didn¡¯t appear to be in the kitchen. I opened the door leading upstairs and called her name.

    ¡°Yes, Miss Elania?¡± The maid called back.

    ¡°Could you get some water for Velariah from the kitchen for me please?¡± I asked politely. ¡°Also, is Gray upstairs?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°Yes, he is. I¡¯ll be there in a sec.¡± She called back.

    I decided I¡¯d leave Gray with Elly for a while.

    I started to think about things I could do until the next day. The bath came to mind again. I would love to get this blood out of my hair. I so did not like my hair dirty. Maybe I should get a helmet to go with the rest of my armor.

    I was adding things to my shopping list again. A helmet, vambraces, leg armor. My list continued to grow, but I didn¡¯t want to use my money until after I¡¯d done the inherity ritual.

    That added another thing to do for today. I could still get some spools of silk ready for sale. I imagined I¡¯d find those in Velariah¡¯s pack. I hadn¡¯t seen her get anything out of it yesterday.

    Elly walked downstairs, acknowledged me, and entered the kitchen.

    I continued my thoughts and planning. We were at about forty-six gold at the moment. We were going to need sixty in total, give or take. If I just did seven spools right now, I could probably conserve my strength a bit. I¡¯d also be able to skip eating a ton tonight. I could then do seven more at my earliest convenience and be done with it, potentially more if needed. I wondered when the Grandmaster would be arriving.

    How late was it anyway? Damn, I wanted a watch.

    ¡°Here you go, Miss Elania,¡± Elly said, walking out of the kitchen with another canteen in her hands.

    ¡°Thanks, Elly.¡± I thanked her and walked to the bathroom door.

    I knocked. ¡°You done yet?¡±

    ¡°I am. Come on in.¡±

    I did just that. I entered, closed, and locked the door behind me.

    Velariah was sitting in the hammock, slowly dangling her legs over the edge.

    ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m bored.¡± She said. ¡°Tired and bored, but I can¡¯t sleep. You ever had this struggle?¡±

    ¡°Too many times. Though back in my old world, we had something like that television thingy I told you about, but it was small enough to hold in your hands. It was an ideal device to kill time¡­ which is exactly what a lot of the population did.¡±

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°You other world people are crazy, you know that?¡±

    ¡°Heh. Wait until you get to know what other things you could do on that thing. You could even play Yahtzee on it.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what the-? How does that-? Never mind, I give up.¡± She threw her hands up in the air, completely giving up on trying to understand.

    I grinned. ¡°You could even use it to talk to people on the other side of the world.¡±

    ¡°My head hurts! Stop it!¡± She said with a grin.

    ¡°Tee-hee.¡±

    I walked up to her, put my pedipalps on her shoulders, and handed her the canteen. She was at an ideal height for me, sitting on the hammock, like that. She drank some before closing it again and putting it behind her.

    ¡°We could play some rounds of dice, if you want to kill some time,¡± I spoke.

    ¡°El, you make me want to do other things entirely if you stand before me like that.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re such a temptress, Vel.¡± I smiled.

    ¡°You know what is tempting?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Tell me.¡±

    ¡°Taking a bath.¡± She smiled. ¡°With you, preferably.¡±

    ¡°Vel!¡± My face flushed red, I could feel it.

    I wasn¡¯t against the idea. I just¡­ I  didn¡¯t know¡­

    ¡°Aw, my sweet, shy spider is embarrassed.¡± She said softly. ¡°And here you were being all dominant moments ago.¡±

    I looked down in embarrassment.

    ¡°You okay, El?¡± She asked.

    I nodded.

    ¡°You could really use that bath, you know? You¡¯ve glanced at the tub multiple times now. Your hair is a mess and I reckon your legs will need a proper scrubbing too.¡± She ruffled my hair as I was still staring at the ground.

    ¡°Only if you¡¯re okay with it.¡± She continued. ¡°I¡¯ll keep on my underwear if you want to.¡±

    I nodded again. ¡°I think I would be more comfortable with that.¡±

    Why?

    Why was I such a wuss?

    I loved her, for god¡¯s sake, and she loved me back.

    Why was my mind making this into such a big deal?

    ¡°Only if you¡¯re okay with it, El. I love you, I don¡¯t want to make you feel uncomfortable.¡± She still had her hands in my hair and stroked it affectionately.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I said softly again before looking back up and into her blue and green eyes. I immediately felt my fear melt away¡­

    ¡°I love you too, Vel.¡±

    She dragged me in for a kiss, completely obliterating my worries.

    It was only natural to do this, right?

    I let her go and walked over to the compartment cabinet to retrieve the sponges and towels. I deposited them in the sink before taking my shirt off.

    ¡°Besides.¡± Velariah continued. ¡°This would be a great way to spend time. I¡¯ve come to know you need quite a bit of time cleaning yourself.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no kidding,¡± I said sheepishly. ¡°You have no idea...¡±

    ¡°I guess I¡¯m about to find out soon.¡± I cast my gaze over at the elf and saw her smiling.

    ¡°You should have seen how I cleaned my butt last time. It was quite the sight.¡± I chuckled.

    ¡°Now I¡¯m curious.¡±

    The bit of humor served to relax me further. I brought the last of my legs forward and grabbed one of the sponges.

    ¡°Okay, so.¡± I said as I held the sponge against my ¡®foot¡¯. ¡°I strapped this sponge to my leg with silk and then used it as a broom to reach all the way behind me.¡±

    Velariah burst into laughter.

    ¡°That is so you. I love it.¡± She took a moment to recover her breath. ¡°I¡¯ll help you with that this time so no worries.¡± She smiled.

    ¡°Thanks, Vel. I appreciate the help.¡±

    ¡°How do you bathe anyway?¡± She asked. ¡°I imagine there¡¯s quite a bit of dirt coming off your legs.¡±

    ¡°There is. I have to drain the water multiple times to get rid of all of it. After I¡¯m finished cleaning, I usually relax for a while after filling the tub.¡±

    ¡°What a hassle.¡± She commented before jumping out of the hammock.

    She started taking off her clothes as well, leaving not much to the imagination as she stood there in her underwear.

    She was so beautiful¡­

    ¡°El, you¡¯re staring again.¡±

    I quickly turned around to turn on the faucet and allow the water to reach its desired temperature.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t mind it, El.¡± The elf said from behind me.

    She walked up to me with a sponge in her hand. ¡°Shall we get started?¡±

    I nodded, far more confident than before, and stepped into the massive tub. I took off my bra and allowed Velariah to delight in the sight.

    ¡°You¡¯re beautiful, Elania.¡± She smiled as she took off her own and joined me in the tub.

    ¡°So are you...¡± I said softly.

    The elf¡¯s beauty rivaled my own. At least the parts where I was still human, that was.

    She plugged in the stopper and allowed the water to rise to allow for easier cleaning. She held her sponge in the running water before moving it into my hair to start cleaning out the dried blood.

    I lowered myself to the bottom of the tub to allow her easier access. My height was the same as hers when she was on her knees like this.

    Velariah couldn¡¯t resist planting some kisses on my lips while she cleaned my body. My heart started working overtime again, and my legs went weak. I doubted I could even raise them at this point.

    My pedipalps seemed to be the least affected and I used them to hold on to her back while she did her work. I took the other sponge and started cleaning her back as well. She seemed to enjoy the touch just as much as I did, I could read the joy in her eyes and beautiful smile.

    She rinsed the sponge multiple times and ran her hand through my hair, as well as the sponge, foregoing simple cleaning and just turning it into shows of affection and love. I mimicked the movements she did to me and cleaned her hair as well, although I could put more hands in her hair than she in mine.

    ¡°Shame you only have two sponges,¡± I said after some more kisses. ¡°Imagine what I could do if I had four.¡±

    ¡°Hm. I¡¯ll make sure we have more next time...¡± She said as she started cleaning the chitin where my human body was connected to my spider parts.

    ¡°Even this part about you is beautiful.¡± She said, observing the area where my flesh started fusing with chitin. She ran a finger over it causing me to giggle.

    ¡°That tickles, Vel.¡±

    She then kissed me below my belly button, forcing a smile on my face.

    ¡°Hmmm, temptress indeed.¡± I let out.

    She then proceeded to scrub my front, slowly she made her way up, all while kissing my smooth skin.

    ¡°Vel, the longer you go on like this, the less likely I am to believe I¡¯m the first person you¡¯ve been with.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± She spoke softly. ¡°El, you¡¯re the most beautiful creature I¡¯ve ever laid eyes on, in both body and soul. I can¡¯t help but let my emotions lead me on. I¡¯m not an expert with this, but do you like it?¡±

    ¡°I do.¡± said softly. ¡°You¡¯re beautiful too, Vel.¡±

    She smiled and pulled in one of my legs. She started scrubbing it gently, undoing it of dirt and grime.

    The feelings I experienced as she did that¡­ felt unimaginably good. Far better than when I did it myself. I had my eyes closed and simply enjoyed Velariah¡¯s touch. She was making a good case to do this more often¡­

    She was on it for a while. Eight legs did take some time, even if she was able to reach them better than me.

    When she finished my legs, I heard her unplug the stopper, the rising water had gotten fairly dirty already, and bathing in dirty water seemed to be desirable for neither of us.

    ¡°I can see what you mean,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°That¡¯s messy as hell, and we haven¡¯t even started on your butt yet.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you. Don¡¯t be surprised when I take some time in the bathroom next time.¡± I told her.

    Velariah got back to kissing me gently as the water drained. I didn¡¯t want this to stop¡­ I was completely lost¡­

    I washed her front while I had my eyes closed, without paying too much attention. I simply let my hands and sponge run all over her, exploring her body and curves.

    I didn¡¯t neglect cleaning her long ears too. As it turned out, they were sensitive. She giggled slightly as I ran the sponge over them.

    ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± She whispered.

    ¡°I knew you¡¯d like that.¡± I smiled.

    The elf removed her hands from my neck and scurried over to the drain on her knees. She replugged it again before speaking.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get working on your behind.¡±

    I moved forward and leaned on the edge of the bath with my human torso, my head resting on my arms.

    ¡°Go for it,¡± I replied.

    ¡°With pleasure.¡± She replied.

    She started working on my spider abdomen, gently at first, but soon, she had to add more water and force to clean it properly. I couldn¡¯t do anything but relax and enjoy the warmth that was now present in every inch of my body. I was certain it was pure love.

    At some point, she positioned herself on top of my abdomen in order to reach everything easier.

    ¡°Elania, could you pass me the other sponge?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± I replied, and I tossed the sponge, which she nimbly caught mid-air.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    She went to work at double the pace. I could feel the water rise again. I judged from that, that she would soon be finished. She finally washed the underside of my abdomen and couldn¡¯t help running her fingers over my spinnerets.

    I twitched at first but soon relaxed.

    This feeling was the best¡­

    ¡°There you go. All cleaned.¡±

    She drained the water once more while cleaning the last of my carapace between my human torso and spider abdomen. She didn¡¯t miss the parts of my legs where they connected.

    She then sat down on the part behind my human body and kissed my neck and ears.

    ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re turning this bath into the best experience ever,¡± I said.

    ¡°Anything for my beautiful spider girlfriend.¡±

    ¡°I never could have dreamed of anyone calling me beautiful,¡± I spoke softly. ¡°Let alone having me feel this way¡­ I love you, Vel.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Was all the elf said as she turned my head to face hers beside my shoulder. She then kissed me lovingly while letting her hands run over my chest.

    We exchanged four or five kisses before she moved herself off of me to plug the stopper in again. She was really making this hard for me to resist. I knew she was holding herself back too. I would probably be all hers soon¡­

    ¡°Oops, I missed a spot,¡± Velariah said as she wormed herself between me and the edge of the tub.

    I allowed her to move there without obstructing her.

    She took my pedipalps in my hands. ¡°These still need a proper scrubbing too.¡± She then reached for my fangs, close to the crevice leading to more¡­ private areas. ¡°And then there¡¯s these, too. Let¡¯s start with these.¡±

    I held them up so they would be easier to clean. ¡°Be careful with those,¡± I said with a smile.

    ¡°Beautiful and deadly.¡± She said with a smile, as she started scrubbing them.

    ¡°You can be quite the deadly warrior too, Lady Leafguard,¡± I said as I kissed her wet hair and forehead.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get there,¡± She looked up with a smile.

    I used my pedipalps to hold on to her back as she worked. I started loving these extra limbs. I had so many more I could use to hold on to the person I loved¡­

    ¡°There we go. Now, it¡¯s finally time to clean those cute grabbers of yours.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Was all I could say in agreement, a broad smile on my face.

    She cleaned the last bits of my body, then leaned in for a kiss, her arm behind my head as she dragged me down. I ended up supporting her frame with four of my legs as I landed with my torso on hers. My pedipalps were on her shoulders as I was lost in a kiss of love.

    ¡°Time to relax.¡± She simply said and took me in a hug.

    I felt her heartbeat through my legs and skin, and closed my eyes as I did what she suggested. She too, completely relaxed as we allowed the tub to slowly fill, lost in my embrace.

    We remained like that for minutes. Minutes turned into an hour. The tub was filled, and the only movements I made were to turn off the faucet with one of my hind legs. I was happy I managed to do it without too many issues. I didn¡¯t want to break away from this loving hug.

    ¡°I could nap like this. You make me feel so comfortable, Elania.¡± She whispered.

    ¡°Better not to, you might not sleep tonight,¡± I whispered back.

    ¡°Promise me you¡¯ll hold on to me like this tonight.¡± She said.

    ¡°I will, Vel.¡±

    I kissed her again. It was a long and soft kiss. I explored every inch of her lips during it and allowed her to do the same. I never opened my eyes during it, I wanted to amplify the sensations by not seeing a thing.

    ¡°Thanks, Elania. I love you.¡± She made her feelings known once more.

    ¡°I love you too, Velariah.¡±

    Faragi

    Thanks for the support guys <3

    And as usual, a special shoutout to my new patrons <3

    Lee

    Omnibody

 1.72 Return Visit

    ¡°Hey, El?¡± Velariah asked after a long time.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°Did you know your rear floats?¡±

    ¡°I did.¡±

    I finally opened my eyes to see one happy, grinning elf.

    ¡°You want to use me as a boat next?¡± I grinned.

    ¡°Heh.¡± She chuckled. Her face then went to one of slight shock.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Just remembered that I didn¡¯t bring any clean clothes...¡±

    ¡°Nice going there, Vel. Shall I ask Elly to get some after getting dressed?¡±

    She nodded in response. ¡°Yes, please.¡±

    She removed her hands from my back and brought them in front of her face. Her skin had gone completely wrinkled because of the water.

    ¡°How long have we been in here?¡± She inquired.

    ¡°Dunno,¡± I replied. ¡°Hours, for sure.¡±

    ¡°We should probably get out and get some dinner.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like a bad idea,¡± I said as I removed my hands from her back and back of her head. Even the hands that had been in her hair had gone completely wrinkled.

    ¡°Aw, shucks. We forgot to use the shampoo.¡± She mentioned.

    ¡°Oops,¡± I said. ¡°It appears we got too distracted, eh?¡± I chuckled.

    ¡°Whatever.¡± She finished. ¡°Let¡¯s get ourselves dried. How many towels do you even need?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°About five.¡±

    ¡°Will four do? I need one as well.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s find out,¡± I said as I released my legs from behind her back. I removed the stopper using the tiny claws on one of my hind legs. The water started draining and I stood up to allow most of the water to fall off my body before stepping out of the tub.

    It turned out that with the loss of hair all over my body, four turned out to be the magic number. I got myself dressed after drying, walked up to the doors, opened one, and peeked around the corner.

    Velariah, of course, finished a while before me and was now waiting, sitting in the hammock.

    Elly was seated at the dining table, reading a book. Gray was seated beside her chair and looked up to me when I opened the door. The noise had likely drawn his attention.

    He ran to me as quickly as he could and I crouched to pet him.

    ¡°Elly?¡± I called out.

    ¡°Yes, Miss Elania?¡±

    ¡°Could you please get a set of clean clothes for Velariah, including underwear?¡±

    ¡°Not a problem.¡± She stood up and was ready to walk upstairs.

    ¡°And then start dinner after?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± She smiled and left the room.

    Gods, it felt so awkward to ask someone to make dinner. That had to be the first time in my life that I had done anything like it. I doubted I would be able to get used to it.

    ¡°¡®Sup, Gray?¡± I said as I scratched his ears and stroked his back.

    Having four arms was amazing.

    ¡°Missed me?¡±

    His panting and closed eyes as I scratched him confirmed that he had. I allowed him into the room and he ran underneath me towards Velariah¡¯s dangling legs on the other side of the hammock.

    ¡°That tickles!¡± The elf¡¯s voice called out.

    I turned around to see Gray licking her feet and grinned at the sight.

    I waited several minutes for the maid, who eventually returned with a stack of folded clothes. She handed them to me at the door and I thanked her before closing it.

    ¡°There you go,¡± I said as I planted the stack of clothes on the hammock.

    ¡°How did it feel?¡± She said with a smile.

    I was lost as to what exactly she was talking about. I had a great time in the bath if that was what she was referring to.

    ¡°Asking Elly to make dinner.¡± She clarified.

    Oh.

    ¡°Honestly? I feel bad.¡± I said.

    ¡°I knew you¡¯d say that. I feel the same way.¡±

    She jumped out of our bed and put on her clothes. I looked away as she was changing her underwear, switching my attention back to the wolf pup who was before me, once more.

    Someone craved attention.

    And it wasn¡¯t Velariah for a change.

    ¡°He is cute, isn¡¯t he? I wonder how big he will grow up to be.¡± The elf called behind me.

    ¡°I guess as big as any other wolf we saw the other day, which is quite big, to be fair. You¡¯re going to be paying quite a bit for food for this little guy soon enough.¡± I grinned.

    ¡°Money isn¡¯t any of our concerns anymore.¡± She answered.

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right,¡± I answered before rubbing Gray¡¯s belly. ¡°This is going to be one fluffy boy.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of money,¡± I continued, ¡°We should get some more spools done after dinner.¡±

    ¡°We really should. I feel so much better after taking that bath too. My drowsiness has disappeared almost completely.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± I replied. ¡°I assume that means we can go to the dungeon tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be completely fine. You wanna see Dworag before heading out to see the others?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s probably for the better.¡±

    I looked at the saddlebags that still sat in the corner. ¡°We could try to dump our ¡®loot¡¯ on him at the same time as well.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s always the iron, if nothing else. We should be able to get rid of those crappy weapons without issues.¡±

    ¡°I hope next time we can find something of greater value. It doesn¡¯t seem this dungeon has a whole lot of loot.¡±

    ¡°I guess that scorpion¡¯s stinger is going to be the most valuable item there is in that place,¡± I said, referring to the massive scorpion that roamed the place before Velariah got herself injured.

    ¡°Most likely. You could take those saddlebags with you just in case any other, more useful, monsters appeared.¡±

    ¡°Hm, I guess I should,¡± I replied.

    Velariah appeared at my side, fully clothed, and knelt to pet Gray as well.

    ¡°I do hope he gets as fluffy as the other wolves. I can¡¯t rely on you anymore with the loss of your hair.¡± She spoke with mischief in her voice.

    ¡°Harsh,¡± I replied.

    The elf grinned before opening the doors to the dining area.

    ¡°Is there anything we can do before dinner?¡± She asked.

    ¡°I did have one more question with regards to Corium,¡± I spoke. ¡°Is it possible for sapient creatures to obtain it by killing other sapient creatures?¡±

    ¡°Besides goblins and trolls? Not that I am aware of. You¡¯re thinking about yourself, right?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re sentient. You¡¯re definitely not a monster and since you are not from this world and thus, not spawned by a dungeon, I would say no.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vel. That¡¯s a relief to hear. It¡¯s been bothering me for a while...¡±

    ¡°You should beat Arch into submission and ask him the same question,¡± Velariah said with a grin.

    ¡°That might not be too bad of an idea.¡±

    I thought for a second. ¡°How does one beat a dungeon into submission, though?¡±

    Velariah shrugged. ¡°No idea.¡±

    ¡°Nice help you are.¡±

    We played some more with Gray until Elly exited the kitchen with an oven dish. It seemed she had created something consisting of minced meat, potatoes, and onions.

    She gave me a lot of cooking inspiration.

    It turned out to be simple, yet wonderful in flavor. If I¡¯d known this would be so easy, I¡¯d probably have cooked more properly back in my old world.

    I shook off the thought. This was my world now, and I doubted I¡¯d ever go back, or wanted to.

    I didn¡¯t eat as much as I could, as I promised. After half a cup of the new tea, I retreated to the bathroom with Velariah.

    I hoped half a cup wouldn¡¯t trigger the effects¡­

    So far, so good.

    ¡°Argh, I wish I could just fall asleep and skip to tomorrow,¡± Velariah said as she jumped on the hammock.

    Gray ran a few circles around the bathroom, to get rid of excess energy it seemed. I wondered if he would have to be walked again before sleep.

    ¡°We still got those spools to take care of,¡± I said, taking them out of her bag and tossing them into the hammock.

    She took them and stepped out of our bed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get this done, then,¡± She said.

    I walked up to the tub and placed my head on my arms on the edge, trying to get somewhat comfortable now that all the pillows had been transferred elsewhere.

    Velariah gently worked on the spools behind my rear and we finished about half an hour later.

    The elf sighed and tossed the finished spools in her bags.

    ¡°Anything else we can do, El?¡±

    ¡°Well, the best idea I can come up with is Yahtzee,¡± I said as I reached over to her pack. ¡°I should get some other games shaped out.¡±

    ¡°Some variation would be nice.¡± The elf replied.

    ¡°Yes, it would,¡± I said after I¡¯d found the papers, pencils, and dice.

    I took them with me and climbed into the hammock.

    ¡°I doubt this will make for one of the most comfortable surfaces to write on,¡± I noted.

    ¡°Just use one of your legs.¡±

    ¡°Heh, that¡¯s an idea.¡±

    Velariah turned to lie on her belly and I climbed on top of her. My pedipalps rested on her shoulders once more and I had my legs around her body. Two of them were ahead of her face and in reach to write on.

    ¡°El, what are you doing?¡± Velariah said with a giggle.

    ¡°I thought you begged me to hold on to you like this again tonight, or does this not count?¡± I smiled as I rested my head on one of her shoulders.

    ¡°Hm, I don¡¯t mind. You give the best hugs. I love hugs.¡±

    We started our game with me watching over her shoulder. The setup with regards to the surface to play on was quite scuffed, but we had a great time nonetheless. I had gradually tightened my grip on her throughout the game, I don¡¯t think Velariah minded it in the slightest.

    Gray had started barking at the door a few rounds in. I received it as a message that he needed to be walked. Elly was eager to volunteer. I could open the door with one of my legs, call for Elly, and close it again without leaving the hammock.

    She had not even commented on the position we were in. I¡¯d completely forgotten about it but decided it wasn¡¯t worth fussing over.

    I was glad she was a professional.

    ¡°She knows. Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Velariah said as she rolled the dice. ¡°I¡¯ll probably have her transfer my clothes to this room soon.¡±

    ¡°That does sound like a good idea. Especially after what happened earlier...¡±

    We continued for a while but I found Velariah¡¯s body starting to tire. How I knew that was beyond me. My legs surely had something to do with it, but I couldn¡¯t explain.

    It confused me.

    I seemed to be right in my assessment, she yawned not long after.

    Seconds later, Elly knocked on the door before slightly opening it, to allow Gray in. He instantly ran over to his bed and curled up in it.

    ¡°Heh, Elly wore him out it seems.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Oh.¡± Velariah replied.

    I could tell she didn¡¯t have her head with the game anymore.

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s call it a night,¡± I announced.

    I stepped out of the hammock to lock the door. It would seem I couldn¡¯t quite do that with one of my legs yet.

    ¡°That sounds good,¡± Velariah replied.

    I collected the materials from the game and placed them in her bag again. The elf, in the meantime, rolled around to lie on her back. She removed her clothes in an overly complicated fashion while laying on her back.

    All I could do was smile as I observed her antics.

    She had her arms stretched out after she finished, and I stepped into the hammock in answer and embraced her with all the limbs that I had at my disposal. Warm feelings of comfort filled me. I felt as if I was protecting Velariah when I had my legs around her like this. I could only imagine what it felt like for her.

    I gave her a deep kiss before we wished each other good night.

    I clapped out the lights and let myself relax as I laid my head on her shoulder.

    My love continued to grow.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I woke up and felt Velariah stir beneath me as well.

    ¡°Good morning, Elania. Slept well?¡±

    ¡°With the best elven body pillow on the market? I sure did. Good morning, Vel.¡±

    Velariah chuckled.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± I asked.

    ¡°As good as it gets.¡±

    I turned on the lights and Velariah put her hands in my hair and tucked it behind my ears.

    ¡°You mind letting me go?¡± She smiled.

    ¡°I do, actually. We have things to do today though, so I¡¯ll let you go¡­ for now...¡± I smiled back.

    I removed my legs from around her frame and stepped out of the hammock, off to do my morning routine. Velariah played with an excited Gray and we reversed roles once I was finished.

    One quick breakfast later, I almost felt bad for leaving Gray behind. I knew he¡¯d be in good hands with Elly, though.

    We armored up, made sure we had some new bandages with us, restocked all we could, and headed out to see Dworag. Velariah had fastened the saddlebags to me once more before we left the mansion.

    I was carrying my bladed gauntlets again. This seemed to be the only way I could carry these safely, for now.

    We reached his shop and Velariah entered, taking the weapons that were in my saddlebags with her. It didn¡¯t take long for her to exit the shop with two scabbards that seemed to be about the correct size for the blades.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the dwarf?¡± I asked out of surprise.

    ¡°Told him you weren¡¯t with me. Seemed to believe me too.¡±

    ¡°Either you are a good liar, or he knows when to stop.¡±

    ¡°Maybe both?¡± Velariah suggested.

    ¡°Well, you do seem to be fairly good at lying.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    I grinned and put the scabbards on the blades. They fit perfectly, as if they were made for these blades. Maybe they were?

    ¡°How much did you pay?¡± I asked the elf.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± She said. ¡°I traded the crappy goblin weapons for them. Why?¡±

    I got the feeling the dwarf had scammed us. I was certain he created these gauntlets together with Coldanus and then intentionally withheld the scabbards that were supposed to go with them.

    I shrugged. ¡°Nothing. Just curious.¡±

    I didn¡¯t view the dwarf as such a person, though. Maybe I was concluding too quickly again.

    We walked over to and entered the guild hall. Our companions were already seated in our usual corner.

    Somehow, Velariah and I always managed to show up late. Or at least, later than the rest.

    Nira asked Velariah how she was feeling after, saying hi.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine. Somehow, the wound was completely gone yesterday, a few hours after you guys left. Do you have any idea why that happened, Nira?¡±

    ¡°Completely?¡± The harpy asked.

    Velariah nodded. ¡°Not even a mark remains.¡±

    ¡°No?¡± Nira answered. It sounded more like a question than an answer.

    ¡°And you¡¯re complaining, why?¡± Seralyn asked with a straight face.

    ¡°I¡¯m not complaining at all. I just thought it was weird.¡±

    ¡°It is weird,¡± Draco confirmed. ¡°But I doubt it¡¯s something to worry about.¡±

    It appeared the others had already had breakfast. We settled for a quick drink and were on our way. I equipped the bladed gauntlets as soon as we were outside the village. The scabbards remained on the weapons, even as I moved them around all the time.

    I transported Velariah and Nira again while we discussed our plans. If we faced the same enemies again, we could simply repeat what we had done the day before. That was, without any of us getting distracted over things that had nothing to do with combat.

    It appeared that the fields where coffee was planted were fully transformed to support the growing plants. They had already sprouted. The treemenders must have put quite some work into those. There were probably thousands of plants and each of them seemed to be at the same stage in their growth.

    I cannot imagine how much work that had been.

    I saw a couple of lower-ranked adventurers watering the many plants as we passed. Some of them waved as we made our way to the dungeon. I waved back with a free hand and so did the others.

    About forty minutes later, we reached the entrance to the tunnels leading down to the dungeon. Draco lit a torch and led the way. Velariah and Nira dismounted and followed behind me as we made our way down.

    The door to the dungeon was closed again and we had to reopen it. We were quiet as we descended the stairs. I was able to move over steps quicker and quicker. I was happy to see my improvements. I may have been flexing a bit by running down the stairs as fast as I could.

    ¡°Showoff,¡± Seralyn said with a grin as she reached the last steps while I was already waiting at the bottom.

    I smiled at her comment.

    The tunnel leading ahead was even more lit than yesterday. More glowing blue moss was found on the walls. I was certain that a green glowing moss was present as well, although the green glow seemed to be suppressed by the blue one.

    Draco noticed me staring at the light source and shook his head. ¡°Unfortunately, it¡¯s not worth much. It loses its glow as soon as it¡¯s taken outside of the dungeon. It¡¯s arguably more useful in here.¡±

    Oh, so that¡¯s why it was useless. Good to know.

    As for enemies¡­ the room was empty, somehow. I wondered what the reason behind that was.

    I was wrong. As we continued through the hall, we ran into a single slime. I quickly pierced its core with my spear before turning to my allies.

    ¡°Any of you know what the hell is going on here?¡±

    Draco walked past me with a torch.

    ¡°Let¡¯s find out.¡±

 1.73 Dungeon, Take Two

    Faragi

    I originally meant to only post one chapter, but I didn''t feel comfortable only providing fluff.

    DONT FORGET TO READ 72 I POSTED TWO CHAPTERS AGAIN.

    The large open room was filled with enemies once more, but they had changed compared to last time. The biggest scorpion that shouldn¡¯t be still walked around as if it owned the place.

    It probably did too.

    The smaller enemies were replaced by a variety of oversized mushrooms, about the size of goblins. What was odd about the mushrooms was that they had rows of teeth in their caps and glowing dark-red eyes. They walked around on small feet that seemed to be some sort of vines that were simply cut off.

    Next to the humanoid mushrooms, there were large mantises. I was glad they didn¡¯t appear to have anything that set them apart from the ones on Earth but a mantis the size of a young adult was not the nicest thing to look at. Their eyes were creepy when they were this large and their scythes seemed like they could actually do quite a bit of damage.

    I certainly didn¡¯t want them slicing across my body.

    Finally, there were some of the squirrels I¡¯d seen very early on in the forest, the ones with two tails that looked like pine cones. The only issue was that these were the size of adult wolves and they had an addition to them in the form of a horn on their heads.

    ¡°Draco, you familiar with any of these creatures?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Only with the squirrels, but none I encountered were this size, they also didn¡¯t have horns.¡±

    ¡°Same as me then.¡±

    The monsters running around didn¡¯t seem overly aggressive. We could simply hold a conversation in the doorway leading into this room and be completely safe from attacks. That did not mean I was going to let my guard down. That was not happening to me again.

    ¡°Okay, so.¡± I started. ¡°I have a very eerie feeling that these mushroom thingies are poisonous. Call it a hunch, but it seems to be a recurring theme in this dungeon.¡±

    ¡°You have a plan?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Give me a second, I¡¯m observing and thinking.¡±

    Know thy enemy.

    The basics of the art of war.

    I would exploit the fact that they were not aggressive and try to come up with ideas.

    ¡°Seralyn, do you see anything that can fly?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been looking out for them myself and I didn¡¯t spot anything.¡±

    ¡°I am assuming those mantes have a nasty jump. Even when they are small, they can jump quite the distance. That¡¯s one thing we should look out for. Second, I am the only one that is going near those mushrooms. If they are poisonous, it would be best for you to avoid them. I guess we should start with those squirrels? Seralyn, could you shoot them? Draco, Velariah, and I will hold the line here.¡±

    ¡°Thought you¡¯d never ask. What if one of the other monsters comes our way?¡±

    ¡°Mantis, I¡¯ll leave you to it. Mushroom, I will charge in and lead it away from you guys.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± Velariah confirmed and unsheathed her weapon.

    I unsheathed my blades and dropped the scabbards in the doorway. When the three of us stood ready, Seralyn fired the first shot. The shot was a masterful one, it penetrated the skull of one of the huge squirrels and instantly killed it. The other monsters in the area did not seem to react.

    Seralyn¡¯s next shot also flew true and killed another squirrel in the same way, except it drew the attention of two nearby mantises. Draco and I stood ready with our shields and it turned out my calculations were correct.

    They jumped and closed the gap almost immediately. Their scythes landed on our shields and I instantly retaliated with my spear.

    Their carapace was tough, but I pierced it nonetheless, killing one of the mantes by separating its head from its neck. It still walked around aimlessly for a few seconds before Velariah brought down her sword on it, removing the threat entirely.

    Velariah then slashed her sword with full force at the second mantis, who was still slashing away at Draco¡¯s shields, and removed its scythes from its body. After that, Draco simply decapitated it with his axes.

    ¡°You guys ready for more?¡± Seralyn asked as she had her bow drawn.

    We got back in formation and Velariah gave the word.

    Another squirrel was killed. It seemed they were no match for our archer. Another arrow flew and killed a squirrel. This one, however, drew the attention of a walking mushroom and mantis that were nearby. I took a few steps back and the mantis jumped at Draco.

    I charged forward to the mushroom, killing a squirrel that was between me and my target with a slice of my blade to the side. I then drove my spear into the mushroom¡¯s cap, which caused a cloud of green mist to disperse from the cap. I got some of it in my mouth by accident (and partly because I was careless).

    I seemed to have some sick disregard for anything that could be poisonous, partly letting it affect me on purpose. There was, however, something I had in mind as well.

    I made a slight detour, killing a squirrel by driving my spear and blades in it, before moving back to my companions.

    ¡°Hold your fire for a second,¡± I said as Velariah finished off the mantis.

    Seralyn relaxed her drawn bow and kept her eyes on the surroundings.

    I walked over to Nira and lowered myself.

    ¡°Could you check if whatever that was is poisonous?¡±

    The harpy nodded without saying a word and put her hand on my head.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s poison, alright. Not the worst kind, but you¡¯d need at least some potion to survive.¡±

    ¡°Poison. Got it,¡± Velariah called out, confirming she heard what Nira just told me. ¡°Let badass spider deal with them.¡±

    I chuckled but kept my eyes on the room. We slowly worked our way through the horde of enemies, not taking any risks. Seralyn finished off all the remaining squirrels and we dealt with three more mantes and one more mushroom humanoid as ¡®collateral damage¡¯.

    ¡°Mantis next, I¡¯m assuming?¡± Seralyn called. ¡°I don¡¯t have too many arrows left, though.¡±

    ¡°Can you get through their carapace?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No idea,¡± The brunette admitted. ¡°I¡¯m going to use my ability on them.¡±

    She nocked an arrow, infused it with her magic, and fired it at one of the mantises. It completely missed and landed on the ground.

    ¡°Well, fuck.¡± Seralyn called before quickly drawing her bow again.

    She then fired another arrow which hit its mark, completely engulfing the head of the mantis in flames, causing it to slash around wildly with its scythes. It even slashed one of the mushrooms in the process which released a cloud of poisonous mist before the mantis fell down on it, setting the mushroom on fire.

    ¡°Well, that certainly makes up for that missed shot,¡± Velariah remarked.

    ¡°Told you I was good.¡± Seralyn grinned.

    I couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    Soon, the archer released another shot killing another mantis after it had spent some time running around with its head burning.

    This just looked nasty¡­

    Another mantis was set on fire. One that was nearby got alerted by the arrows and jumped in Draco¡¯s direction. While it was preparing to leap the rest of the way, I sprinted over to its side, with my blades crossed in an X-shape. Quickly drawing the blades across each other like a pair of scissors, I cut through its neck. Velariah impaled its headless body, causing it to topple over.

    ¡°Frigging bugs,¡± I said.

    ¡°Having a spider with us seems to work great against bugs,¡± Seralyn commented.

    ¡°Heh. You just gave me an idea.¡±

    I looked at the walls behind us. ¡°Actually, never mind. That won¡¯t work properly here.¡±

    ¡°What were you planning to do?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°I was thinking of creating one of those nets here, but there¡¯s nowhere for me to attach my thread to.¡±

    ¡°The doorway would be the only point, but you¡¯re right, that¡¯s not wide enough to catch the mantis. I assume that was your plan?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°We are doing fine as we are, though,¡± Draco said. ¡°We¡¯re almost through the giant bugs. Then it¡¯s up to you, but it doesn¡¯t appear that those walking mushrooms can do much besides using their poison.¡±

    ¡°It seems to be that way,¡± I said.

    Seralyn killed three more mantes with her ability before she asked Draco for an energy potion.

    ¡°I¡¯m also out of arrows. I¡¯ll need to retrieve those after we¡¯ve cleared the room.¡± Seralyn said before she chugged down the yellow liquid.

    ¡°Noted,¡± Velariah replied.

    There was one lone mantis in the far corner of the room. There were a couple of mushrooms between the monster and me, but I was confident I could finish it on my own.

    I methodically made my way over to the mantis, killing the mushrooms with my spear without drawing too much attention from the insect as I went. I had my shields in front of me in case of a leaping attack.

    Another humanoid mushroom was dealt with by my spear. Only one more separated me and the mantis.

    I struck the last mushroom with my spear while keeping my attention on the insect. Eventually, it seemed like it had had enough and jumped on my shields. It kept slashing away at my shields, very similar to the second opponent I fought against in the guild trials. I more or less expected this outcome, because they had shown the same pattern of attacks on Draco¡¯s shields every time.

    I thrust my front two legs forward, like spears. I impaled its lower body with them causing it to screech in pain. It was temporarily stunned from the attack and I used the opportunity to turn my blades into a pair of scissors once more and cut off its upper torso, including the scythes.

    With its body split in half, it didn¡¯t take long for it to fall to the floor.

    ¡°Nice one,¡± Velariah called.

    I walked back to my party with green mantis blood on my front legs. I did not mind bathing, but this was getting rather ridiculous. Having to do it every day wasn¡¯t something I was planning or hoping to do.

    ¡°That¡¯s a fair deal of the room cleared,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s start recovering arrows.¡±

    We collected what we could and took a small break to drink some water and catch our breath.

    ¡°Any ideas on how to deal with that scorpion creature?¡± Draco asked while we were seated near the entrance.

    I shook my head and Velariah did the same.

    ¡°Those claws don¡¯t look healthy,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Forget the claws. Look at that stinger,¡± Seralyn added.

    I let them talk while I had my eyes fixated upon the creature in question. Its chitin looked tough, much like my own.

    It simply stood in a corner of a room and turned around every now and then, allowing me to observe its body better. I tried to come up with ideas but fell short. The only thing I could think of was to clear the entire room and then suspend a sticky net between the closest walls, without drawing its attention.

    The distance I¡¯d have to cross with my silk would be considerable but it should be doable. I could see it making me ravenous for lunch, though¡­

    Velariah sat down next to me.

    ¡°Any ideas?¡± She asked.

    ¡°The most basic idea I can come up with involves entangling it in webs,¡± I replied. ¡°I don¡¯t really know if we have the ideal weapons to fight such a thing. My spear may be the best we have.¡±

    ¡°I was thinking we could disarm it by cutting off the stinger and its claws. They seem like we could cut them off without too many issues.¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea at all. Is it just me or does this thing look a bit too tough for a low-tier dungeon?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Those were my thoughts as well. Maybe it¡¯s not as strong as it seems?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to underestimate something that looks strong,¡± I answered.

    ¡°That¡¯s generally the best way to stay alive.¡± She mentioned.

    ¡°So?¡± Seralyn, who appeared behind Velariah, called out.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to clear the room first,¡± The white-haired elf said. ¡°After that, Elania will work on a web.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Draco said as he assumed a defensive position once more. ¡°Let¡¯s finish what we started.¡±

    I took position next to him and Seralyn started shooting again. The power of her inherity fueled the arrows with fire and burned away the heads of any mantis that were unfortunate enough to get hit by them.

    The already thinned-out room was soon cleared of mantis. Draco and I didn¡¯t have to spring into action.

    ¡°Your turn,¡± Seralyn called out to me.

    ¡°Be safe,¡± Velariah added.

    That was sweet but slightly excessive. These humanoid mushrooms posed no threat whatsoever. With no mantis nearby that could actually pose a threat, I held my blades at my sides like a chariot and simply rushed through the room, killing any mushroom in my path.

    Clouds of poisonous spores were released into the air as they died and I suggested my companions drink some anti-venom as prophylaxis. I also said it would be better for them to wait near the entrance as I worked on the threads. I preferred to keep their exposure to poison to a minimum. I didn¡¯t quite know how fast those clouds would dissipate.

    The huge scorpion still sat in the same corner it had been all this time. It didn¡¯t care what was going on around it.

    The entire room was now cleared of enemies. Corpses were scattered all throughout. Seralyn would do another round of arrow retrieval after I finished my work.

    I had half expected or hoped that Arch would start talking to me, but he had been quiet so far.

    I quickly got rid of the thought and focused on the task at hand.

    The closest enemy that I killed near the massive scorpion would serve as a guideline for how close I could get without drawing its ire. To be on the safe side, I took a few more small steps back. I then walked to one of the walls and placed the beginning of a sticky thread on it. I then walked to the other wall while keeping the distance I had set for myself and connected the thread to the wall.

    I repeated the same process until I had created a thick net of sticky threads. The process left me fairly drained and I walked back to my party asking for one of those energy potions.

    I also took the opportunity to eat some of the rations we had taken with us. Draco always brought plenty of food and drink, I assume my gluttony had some influence on that. We were less than an hour away from the village so I really didn¡¯t have to be careful with the amount I ate.

    Seralyn, in the meantime, collected most, if not all, of the arrows she fired previously. Only two of them were beyond repair and needed new shafts.

    I never would have thought that this would be the way archers operated. They always seemed to either have infinite ammunition or simply didn¡¯t care about their arrows in movies¡­

    ¡°Looking good, Miss Elania,¡± Draco commented, observing my handiwork.

    ¡°Are you sure it will hold?¡± Nira asked, slightly worried.

    ¡°Nope,¡± I replied with the simplest of answers. ¡°But I hope we can put Velariah¡¯s plan into action. Cut off the claws and stinger while it¡¯s ensnared. From there on out, it should be fairly simple.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± Seralyn walked up to us with her arrows replenished.

    ¡°Hum. I think you may want to withhold shooting for a while, lest you set the webs on fire.¡± I said.

    ¡°Fried scorpion sounds like a good way to kill it,¡± Seralyn replied. ¡°But you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll wait until you guys have ¡®disarmed¡¯ it, so to say.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    We started to approach it. Only now did the height difference between the monster and my companions become painfully obvious. It was about the same size as me, which meant that its head was at the same height as Velariah¡¯s. With the rest of its body, it simply towered before them.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing I¡¯m dealing with its stinger,¡± I said clearly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to hold its attention,¡± Draco said.

    ¡°And I¡¯ll slice off those claws while you¡¯re at it,¡± Velariah concluded the plan.

    We walked up to the silken net before we realized we couldn¡¯t really get past it without getting either Velariah or Draco stuck.

    ¡°Seralyn!¡± I called for the archer behind us.

    ¡°I was wondering when you¡¯d need me.¡± She replied and walked up to the net.

    ¡°Just one arrow to draw its attention please, no fire,¡± I asked of the elf.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯m not stupid.¡±

    Seralyn walked up to the net, aimed, and let loose. The arrow ricocheted off the beast¡¯s carapace and impacted the wall beyond it.

    It did what it was supposed to do.

    Its attention was instantly upon us and we took a few steps back. The beast charged forward and walked right into the trap I¡¯d laid. Its claws got stuck, as did part of its head. It struggled against the restraints.

    Draco carefully walked up to it but was met with a nasty stinger aimed at him.

    Oops. I¡¯d been an idiot once again.

    Draco had no issues blocking it, despite its speed, but I should have known scorpions could sting anything that was in front of them¡­

    ¡°Ok, change of plans,¡± I said. ¡°Stinger first.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s way too fast. How are we going to do that?¡± Velariah asked.

    Draco transformed into his black-scaled, larger version of himself.

    ¡°Miss Elania, make another sticky thread. I have an idea.¡±

    Faragi

    Thanks for the support guys <3

    And a special shoutout to my new Patron:

    John

    I''m also thinking of starting a second story in a LitRPG, more standard, isekai fashion.

    I was thinking about having the MC be a plant and eventually acquire a more human body. This would also be Yuri with the necessary fluff moments but I was thinking of making it a bit more... NSFW-ish. Suggestions on discord are welcome. I''m still in a VERY early stage with ideas etc.

 1.74 Revelations

    Draco comes up with an idea for me to use my thread?

    I must be dreaming.

    He took a few steps back.

    ¡°Create a thread, or several, and attach them to my shield and the ground,¡± Draco called out.

    I thought for a second, but I saw what he was aiming for.

    I walked up next to him and created a sticky thread which I connected to the floor and then to his shield. I repeated this four times and made sure his shield was covered as well as I could cover it.

    Draco then got back in the stinger¡¯s range.

    The massive scorpion still struggled against its restraints and struck Draco as soon as he stepped within range.

    He had no problem blocking the attack.

    Draco¡¯s plan came to fruition. The scorpion¡¯s stinger was now stuck to the shield, and the shield was stuck to the threads connecting to the ground.

    Velariah saw her chance and jumped forward to the beast¡¯s face and started slashing at the beast¡¯s pincer claws.

    In the meantime, I created more thread and stuck them to the beast¡¯s stinger, which was semi-immobilized in mid-air. More threads meant less movement, creating an easy opening to strike.

    I ran up to Velariah to assist her with her task. She made an overhead swing and severed one of the beast¡¯s claws. Without it, the way to the beast¡¯s head was open on one side.

    ¡°Vel, step to the other side. I¡¯m going to see if I can end this here.¡±

    She did as I asked and stepped to the beast¡¯s right claw and brought her sword down once more as I created some distance between us.

    The monster screeched in pain as I started my charge. I held my swords out straight in front of me, joined by my spear. I was fairly confident I could pierce through its exoskeleton with these weapons and this speed.

    No claws or deadly stinger were in my way. I reached the beast¡¯s head and felt my blades part flesh. My spear was deflected and I lost grip on it as my momentum carried me forward.

    My blades would have to suffice.

    One of them turned red-hot and emitted a small blast of fire as the dragon-blessed effect on it triggered from the attack.

    The scorpion cried out in pain again. I retracted my blades and kept stabbing its head. Some of my attacks were deflected but I also managed to impale it several more times. It didn¡¯t take long before the beast stopped struggling against my webs.

    I panted and retracted my blades for the last time from the beast that now lay dead at my feet.

    ¡°Nice work,¡± Velariah said as she walked up to me.

    I sighed and walked to the threads that were still stuck to the stinger. I then wiped freaky, green insect blood off my blades and retrieved my spear.

    ¡°Thanks, Draco. That was a great idea.¡± I told Draco, who had reverted to his original form.

    ¡°And great job, Velariah on getting those claws out of my way. It went a bit differently than I had expected, but it worked out well in the end.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. How do I get my shield back?¡± Draco said, scratching his head as he observed the tangled mess before him.

    I smiled at the comment as I ran my hand over my forehead, wiping away the sweat and rubbing my eyes.

    ¡°We should bring a saw with us next time,¡± Seralyn commented. ¡°Just to cut through Elania¡¯s silk.¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± Velariah chucked. She cut through the webs with her sword after a couple of swings and handed the half-webbed shield to Draco.

    ¡°Is everyone okay?¡± Nira asked.

    ¡°Could you check them for signs of poison?¡± I suggested. ¡°Just in case.¡±

    The harpy nodded and we took another small break.

    We used the time to check on everyone. I drank some water while waiting. I looked at the exit of the large room and wondered if there were any enemies beyond it. Last time, there was nothing except for the hellspider queen.

    Would it be hostile to us?

    Would Arch finally start talking?

    I sat down on the floor and wondered if this dungeon had anything planned for us.

    ¡°You okay?¡± Velariah asked, putting her hand on my back.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just thinking¡­¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s move on. If we can deal with that scorpion, we can deal with a large spider if need be.¡±

    I nodded and stood up. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    I walked back to the doorway to pick up my scabbards. Draco collected his dropped torch and put it away in his bag. We¡¯d have no need for it anymore; there was plenty of light.

    I had Nira carry my scabbards as I led the way down the tunnel to the hellspider queen. We walked through the tunnel fully alert and found the large creature at the end, guarding the core room still.

    ¡°Welcome back, Miss Elania.¡± It suddenly spoke.

    ¡°Cut the crap. You know why I¡¯m here.¡± I responded with anger.

    ¡°Yes. Yes, I do. You¡¯re angry because of what happened to the elf.¡±

    ¡°She has a name.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Velariah was it, right?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°I wish I could have done things differently, but you needed the learning experience. I am truly sorry. For what it¡¯s worth, know I never put her life at risk.¡±

    ¡°How can I trust that?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t. Trust is built over time. I believed it was necessary to teach you both to stay focused while out in dungeons. Not every Ancient one may be as forgiving as me, even if they are able to communicate with you.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what to say. He brought up valid points¡­

    I felt used, though.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ interesting, Elania. I¡¯d prefer to have you stay alive. I hope my lesson will help out in that regard. Do relay my message to Velariah, too. She is important to you, I can feel it.¡±

    I hated it.

    I hated this feeling.

    He has just put me in my place and had been right in doing so.

    I could really kick a wall right now.

    Fuck it.

    I walked to a wall at the side and gave it a good kick or four. I couldn¡¯t be bothered to feel the pain I received from doing that. I was angry. Angry at myself, but also at the carelessness that Velariah showed the other day.

    I¡¯d even warned her¡­

    ¡°Your anger is justified, Elania. Your actions today showed me you learned from your mistakes. As a token of the trust you seek, I will give you some info about yourself that I observed the other day. It appears your blood¡­ is special.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what do you mean?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Think for yourself. I will be releasing my grasp on my minion once more. I thank you and your companions for the mana you¡¯ve provided me today. I hope our relationship continues to grow in the future.¡±

    After that, the hellspider queen reverted to the same behavior that it showed after Arch cut off previously. It started wandering around mindlessly.

    I let myself drop to the floor once more, a gloved hand on my forehead as I tried to process the information.

    My blood was special?

    Velariah was the first one to approach me, as expected.

    ¡°What did he say?¡±

    I removed the hand and looked at her sternly.

    ¡°First of all, you got yourself injured because you were reckless, that was on purpose. He hopes you will learn from that.¡±

    I was sure my voice was angry. As soft as it was, I believed I got the point across.

    ¡°What?¡± She said in disbelief.

    ¡°And you know what? He was right, too.¡± I finished.

    Velariah remained quiet. I hoped she realized that Arch had a good point. We had already resolved we should pay better attention when out in dungeons, but the confirmation from Arch himself was relieving.

    I felt relieved because it didn¡¯t appear that Arch was hostile at all. His actions had made complete sense. He also provided me another piece of information about myself.

    I was still slightly skeptical about trusting him, we should remain alert while out here. Maybe he intended for me to feel that way?

    If so, he was doing a great job at it.

    ¡°Secondly¡­¡± I spoke softly. ¡°It appears my blood is special.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Velariah asked in a soft voice.

    The others joined up with us and seemed eager to know what Arch had told me. I was sure they heard me scolding Velariah, but I doubted they got that second part.

    ¡°My blood is special¡­¡± I repeated myself so the others could hear it too. ¡°Do you guys know what that could mean?¡±

    ¡°You certainly seemed to leak quite a bit the other day,¡± Seralyn commented. ¡°Think it has something to do with that?¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah,¡± I commented. ¡°I had the feeling that had something to do with it. Arch told me he observed it being special. I¡¯m trying to figure out how-¡±

    Hold on a second.

    The gears started spinning in my head before I could finish talking.

    ¡°My wound¡­¡±

    I looked at Velariah to see her facial expression confirm that she too, reached the same conclusion that I had.

    ¡°It was completely gone within hours...¡± She finished my sentence.

    ¡°As was yours¡­¡± I still looked at her.

    I recounted the events that happened the previous day. I received a head wound from one of the bats, causing me to bleed quite a bit. Not much later, Velariah received puncture wounds to her legs from one of the boars. I¡¯d helped to bandage and clean it.

    My wound healed itself in record time. Was that because of my blood? Did I get my own blood into Velariah¡¯s wound and cause it to heal insanely quickly as well?

    That brought my mind to when I first came to this world.

    ¡°Velariah, you remember when my arm was completely busted?¡±

    ¡°That troll did that, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am convinced he shattered every bone that I had in that arm. Well, within hours, the pain subsided immensely. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s natural.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± Nira pointed out.

    Nira¡¯s answer confirmed my suspicion.

    ¡°So, my blood heals wounds and internal damage?¡± I asked no one in particular.

    Nobody replied, but I knew what they were thinking.

    ¡°And here I thought I received a cool ability.¡± Seralyn broke the silence after a while.

    ¡°I¡¯m shocked,¡± Draco admitted. ¡°If that¡¯s true¡­¡±

    ¡°And it becomes known, I might be hunted once more. Adventurer or not, I doubt they would leave me be¡­¡±

    ¡°They won¡¯t,¡± Velariah confirmed. ¡°You guys better keep your mouths shut.¡± She said, peering into everyone¡¯s souls with her eyes.

    She was scary like that.

    I believed with all my heart that none of these people would cause that information to come out.  Velariah¡¯s statement was still reassuring.

    ¡°I¡¯m not even certain, I¡¯ll confirm for myself, but everything seems to point to it¡­ ¡± I said.

    ¡°Hold up,¡± Seralyn spoke again. ¡°You seem to be crazy resistant to poison. You appear to have insane regeneration. How many abilities do you have?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t know yet.¡±

    ¡°Master Pylanor summoned Grandmaster Ineus. We¡¯re hoping to find out her inherity within a couple of days.¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°There¡¯s something you¡¯re not telling me,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should ask what it is, but I¡¯d like to be clear here.¡±

    I looked at Velariah once more. Could we tell them already?

    ¡°There¡¯s already pretty damning information about you out in the open. Why not add the rest as well?¡± She said.

    ¡°I¡¯m scared,¡± I admitted.

    ¡°So am I, but we can¡¯t hide it forever.¡± She said as she knelt in front of me to hug me.

    I was afraid I¡¯d hurt her with my words earlier. I was happy to see she could tell I didn¡¯t mean it personally.

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I spoke softly.

    I stood up together with her and Velariah made a few things clear.

    ¡°None of this information is to get out. My father is aware of the things that Elania is about to tell you. If he finds out the info is leaked¡­ well¡­ I don¡¯t think I have to say what happens next.¡±

    She paused a second to look at our party members.

    ¡°We¡¯ve hidden this information until now. I, personally, feel that it¡¯s only fair we tell you. Our lives are connected, after all. I¡¯ve come to know that any information that Elania shares with us on the fly in combat is because of her experience¡­ in some way.¡±

    She then looked at me. ¡°If you¡¯ll do the honors¡­¡± She said softly.

    I nodded.

    ¡°Gods, where do I even start¡­?¡±

    ¡°First off, I¡¯m not from around¡­here.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no kidding,¡± Seralyn said.

    I shook my head. ¡°I mean, from this world.¡±

    I could see the brunette and harpy¡¯s eyes grow large.

    ¡°What?¡± Nira asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not from this world,¡± I repeated. ¡°I¡¯m from an entirely different world without magic, called Earth. We had no Lizardmen, Elves, Harpies, Goblins, Trolls, and anything like it. We only had¡­ Humans. I was one of them.¡±

    ¡°But how? Why?¡± Seralyn continued the questions that I am sure the others had as well.

    ¡°Trust me, I have no idea how or why either. You know, that cave where we found that chest of coins? That¡¯s where I woke up one day¡­ changed into¡­ this.¡±

    I tapped some of my legs on the floor to put emphasis on my confession.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite the story,¡± Draco commented. ¡°I can see why you were hesitant to tell us. I am sure many things were different if there was no magic.¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°Our combat was a different story entirely. I¡¯d rather not elaborate on that.¡±

    ¡°Understandable,¡± The lizardman nodded.

    Seralyn scratched her head.

    ¡°I can see what you¡¯re thinking,¡± Velariah said to the other elf. ¡°She told me she spent an entire day learning how to walk.¡±

    I chuckled at that.

    ¡°That was one shitty day,¡± I commented.

    An audible grumble coming from my stomach interrupted our conversation.

    ¡°Whelp, looks like it¡¯s time to feed the spider again,¡± Seralyn laughed it off.

    She took the news surprisingly well.

    Nira still looked as if she found it hard to believe what I¡¯d just shared and Draco¡­ Well, Draco was Draco. He seemed intrigued but didn¡¯t pry further. I was convinced I¡¯d get questions soon enough.

    We walked back through the dungeon. Draco harvested the massive scorpion¡¯s tail and the others went about to check if any of the other monsters held anything of value.

    I¡¯d sheathed my weapons again and by the time we reached the stairs leading out of the dungeon, Nira started the questions.

    ¡°What did your old life look like?¡± She asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest here, Nira. It really wasn¡¯t anything special. I seem to have lost all my memories with regards to my family, I can¡¯t remember faces or names. I¡¯m not even sure if they were still alive before I came here. As for what I did? Most of my time was spent in front of a computer, not that that tells you much.¡±

    I was shocked at how little I remembered.

    What made me, me?

    If there was some kind of god that put me here, did they remove those memories in order to increase my survival probability? I still seemed to remember survival techniques when I first came here, and I had last seen those shows many years ago.

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember my name, my parents¡­ my age, even.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± She spoke softly before looking at the ground.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m not sure if I want to remember, I¡¯ve given up on trying to find it out. This name I have now, Elania, it¡¯s not my own. Velariah gave it to me.¡±

    ¡°Must be harsh,¡± Seralyn looked at me with a tinge of sadness in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the things I¡¯ve said that might have upset you. I didn¡¯t know¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Velariah told me a thing or two about you as well.¡±

    The white-haired elf stood to my right as Seralyn questioned me from the left.

    Seralyn nodded.

    ¡°So, about you and Lady Velariah.¡± She said the ¡®lady¡¯ part with a hint of playfulness in her voice, as if it was excessive, which it was. ¡°You also mind telling me how things are working out between you two?¡±

    She most definitely knew¡­

    ¡°We¡¯re in a relationship,¡± Velariah said without a second thought.

    What the hell? How could she throw me under the bus like that?

    I looked at the floor in embarrassment.

    ¡°Knew it,¡± Seralyn said.

    I walked up the stairs and exited the dungeon. The others soon followed me. I hoped my face was a little less red. I could only buy myself so much time.

    ¡°You know the two of you are super cute together?¡± Seralyn commented behind me after she¡¯d climbed the stairs.

    Why did she have to rub salt in the wound?

    ¡°Better to stop here, Seralyn,¡± Velariah said. ¡°You know. Now, just leave it as it is. She isn¡¯t exactly comfortable with this kind of teasing.¡±

    Thanks, Vel.

    ¡°She¡¯s just told you of her origins. I¡¯d hoped that would make things clearer. That includes her¡­ ability to talk about things like this,¡± Velariah continued as they followed me through one of the tunnels leading to the surface.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sorry, Elania. I got a bit carried away.¡±

    She was very apologetic today. Was that because she finally knew my story, or something else?

    ¡°I can see you¡¯ve walked with that for a long time,¡± Draco said, walking up next to me after we were back outside.

    ¡°That must have been heavy on your heart.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°It was. You have no idea how happy I am to have you guys.¡±

    He smiled broadly. ¡°I am happy to have you as well, Elania. You¡¯ve taught me a fair bit, I look forward to having more adventures together.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Draco. You¡¯re a good friend.¡±

    I turned to Nira behind me.

    ¡°How about you, Nira. Would you stay with our party as well?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be more than happy to.¡± She replied in her usual soft voice. ¡°You guys are the most dependable party I¡¯ve been with so far. I¡¯d like to call you guys my friends someday too.¡±

    ¡°We already are, Nira,¡± Velariah interjected.

    The harpy looked at the elf with her eyes glowing. Velariah nodded in response. Nira then smiled from ear to ear.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go get something to eat, shall we?¡± Velariah continued, addressing everyone. ¡°By the way, did you know that Elania was the one who invented coffee?¡±

    Faragi

    Only one chapter for the day guys. Might make it up to you by posting 3 next time. Who knows? :O

    I''ve been fairly busy with the final chapter of the first arc.

 1.75 Spider Attack!

    ¡°Coffee?¡± Nira asked as she cocked her head.

    ¡°Coffee,¡± Velariah stated.

    ¡°Hm, I could use another cup of that,¡± Draco mentioned.

    ¡°Nice one, Velariah. You got them addicted.¡± I said.

    I then sighed. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll show you how it¡¯s made.¡±

    I lowered myself so Nira and Velariah could step on.

    I intended to take Nira first but oh well.

    ¡°So that drink is from your old world?¡± Draco asked as we walked through the plains.

    ¡°You got that right. One of the most popular drinks on the planet.¡± I said with pride.

    My mood changed to sadness in an instant. ¡°And I can¡¯t drink it¡­¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°Heh,¡± Velariah chuckled.

    ¡°Because my spider parts go crazy after drinking it. Honestly, it¡¯s not a nice sight.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean go crazy?¡± She inquired further.

    ¡°They go all spastic and I can¡¯t control them¡­¡±

    ¡°Yikes.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m hoping we can fix that, I really miss drinking it¡­¡±

    ¡°Whatcha say, Velariah? Shall we make some more?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to. We can finally put these saddlebags to good use.¡±

    The others didn¡¯t seem to understand what the hell was going on. We¡¯d reach the cherry bushes soon enough.

    The others remained quiet until we reached the fields and the edge of the forest. I imagined they would need some time to process this as well. I had no doubt that many questions were already in the making. I would have plenty of time to answer those as we went on our journey together.

    I smiled at the prospect. Even though my time in this world has been short, I¡¯d come to adore the companions I traveled and fought together with.

    ¡°You see these berries?¡± I asked as I lowered myself to allow Velariah to hop off.

    I took one in my hand and split it open, showing the two seeds inside to Seralyn and Draco.

    ¡°You take the seeds out, soak them in water, allow them to dry, roast them, and finally you grind them into powder. After that, you pour boiling hot water through a filter with the powder in it. The result is coffee.¡±

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Draco said as he rubbed his chin.

    I had Nira keep watch over the nearby forest, I still didn¡¯t know if anything could show up here. I heeded Valtheril¡¯s words as best I could, but I still wanted to show my friends the process of coffee-making.

    Besides, we could look pretty far into the forest from here. If anything showed up, we would know in time.

    I took off my bladed gauntlets and handed them to Nira behind me. I then used my four hands to collect the berries at record speed. Velariah and Seralyn joined me in gathering them. We tossed them in one of Draco¡¯s shields - he was currently holding it up for us. It certainly made collecting them a lot quicker. After filling it, he deposited them in my, now empty, saddlebags.

    We repeated the process over the span of about fifteen minutes before we¡¯d completely filled them.

    ¡°Oh, Elly will be delighted to see all this. Wanna bet she is going to be shocked when she sees this many of these berries?¡± Velariah laughed.

    ¡°She is going to need coffee to produce coffee,¡± I smirked. ¡°At least we have a personal stash. We should be able to last quite a while with this much.¡±

    ¡°Does this mean we will visit you guys for coffee every day?¡± Seralyn asked us.

    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t knock on our door early in the morning, I don¡¯t really mind,¡± Velariah stated with her arms crossed.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Seralyn chuckled. ¡°I¡¯d hate to interrupt something¡­¡±

    ¡°Seralyn!¡± Velariah called out as I covered my face.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t resist the temptation.¡±

    Despite Velariah¡¯s earlier comments on her behavior, she seemed to have trouble adjusting.

    Old habits die hard, I guess.

    Velariah attempted to climb back on my back. She had grossly underestimated the height I stood at, so I had to lower myself to prevent her from embarrassing herself.

    We continued our trip back to Dawnleaf. We¡¯d have some things to do for the rest of the day. We had these beans we would have to turn into proper coffee. I could inform Dworag about possible adjustments to my equipment. I needed some proper vambraces and possibly a helmet. Besides that was some silk production.

    My stomach gurgled again.

    First came food, though.

    If there was time, we could also look if there were any new quests that we could do. It never hurt to look.

    ¡°Damn, El. That stomach of yours can probably be heard a mile away.¡±

    She then ran a hand over my human abdomen, right above the parts where chitin fused to my body.

    ¡°Where is your stomach anyway?¡±

    ¡°You think I know? I have no idea how spider anatomy works and I don¡¯t intend on cutting myself open. I¡¯ve had this body for less than a month. Actually, how long has it been? It has to be close to a month now, right?¡±

    ¡°Sounds about right,¡± Velariah commented.

    Saying that made me realize something different entirely. Could I ask about that in public? Could I ask with Draco present?

    Surely he would not mind leaving us alone for a minute?

    ¡°Draco¡­?¡± I started.

    ¡°Yes, Miss Elania?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Could you leave us for a minute¡­?¡± I spoke softly.

    ¡°Not a problem.¡± He walked a fair distance behind us. I saw him look around for a moment, before he decided to start collecting the berries himself and tossing them in what little space his bag had left.

    Addicted for sure¡­

    Once I was alone with the ladies, I decided to ask my question.

    ¡°So uhm¡­ I was just thinking¡­ I just said how I¡¯ve been here for about a month¡­¡±

    I sighed. Out with it, Elania.

    ¡°What do you do for your¡­ monthly problems?¡±

    ¡°Monthly problems? What the hell are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Uh, she is a former human, remember?¡± Velariah said from my back. ¡°I think she is referring to their monthly blood loss.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°Their?¡± I asked with a confused face.

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°Elves don¡¯t have such a thing.¡±

    ¡°You gotta be kidding me. That¡¯s unfair as hell.¡±

    Velariah grinned. ¡°Anyhow.¡± She continued. ¡°I imagine you want to know how they deal with it?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°The question is: how does it work for you?¡±

    The hell am I supposed to know that?

    ¡°Waitwaitwaitwait,¡± Seralyn interjected. ¡°Do you even have¡­ you know¡­?¡±

    I nodded slightly.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± She said in disbelief.

    ¡°That was my first reaction too,¡± I sighed. ¡°Anyway, what do I do?¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you need to do anything?¡± Velariah asked. ¡°For all you know, you don¡¯t have to deal with it either, or maybe you lay eggs, who knows?¡±

    Lay eggs? How would that work?

    Why was I even thinking about that? The mere thought was ridiculous.

    Though, I guess it had its advantages?

    I saw Nira turn around as far as she could with a beet-red face.

    ¡°Hold on a sec. Don¡¯t tell me¡ª¡± I looked at her back and wings. She held them in front of her face.

    I could see her nod.

    Okay then. Another mystery was solved.

    Was eating omelets something that was frowned upon in harpy culture? Who knew?

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about it too much, El.¡± Velariah continued. ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯re going to ruin the bed, anyway, I think.¡±

    ¡°If you do need something to absorb the blood, I think the best material to use would be your very own silk. And no, I don¡¯t mean to be funny here.¡± Seralyn said.

    She had a very good point there.

    ¡°Thanks, guys¡­¡± I said softly.

    I was happy to have shared info on my old life. I could finally talk about things normally¡­

    Hiding everything didn¡¯t seem to be my style. There were still things I simply couldn¡¯t share, but at least I could be honest about things now.

    I sighed deeply.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get Draco,¡± Seralyn said before she walked in his direction.

    Velariah hugged me from behind, putting her hands on my belly.

    ¡°You¡¯re doing fine, El. I¡¯m happy to see you get more confident.¡±

    I guess she had a point. Things were beginning to feel more natural to me. My skill in both body and conversation was growing steadily. If only I could stop getting embarrassed at the mention of Velariah and I¡¯s relationship¡­

    There was always room for improvement, it seemed.

    ¡°Thank you, Velariah. I think I have you to thank for that.¡± I said with my soft voice.

    ¡°Anything for you, El¡­¡±

    ¡°How can you say that with Nira right behind you?¡±

    ¡°Tee-hee. Just teasing you.¡± She grinned. ¡°That¡¯s part of my training for you...¡±

    I sighed again and looked at Nira. She was still looking away, hiding behind her wings, still holding on to my weapons.

    It was quite hilarious to see. Was this how Velariah and Seralyn felt about me too?

    I felt something impact on my back, it was small but noticeable. It was as if a pebble was thrown at the carapace behind Velariah. It seemed the elf had noticed it as well as she turned around to see.

    ¡°Uh, El, you¡¯re not going to believe this.¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a spider on your back.¡±

    ¡°Get it off me!¡± I yelled. ¡°You know I hate spiders!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± She said with a neutral voice. ¡°Besides, this one is kind of cute.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care! Get it off!¡±

    ¡°But look at it!¡± Velariah said as she held up the palms of her hands at my side.

    I looked at them to see a spider, about the size of one of her palms, sitting on them. The first thing I noticed about it was two large eyes in the center and two smaller ones to the outside. Its entire body was covered with fuzzy hairs. It held its pedipalps in such a way that it made me think it was about to politely ask me a question, something like ¡®Could I please go to the bathroom?¡¯

    ¡°It¡¯s a jumping spider,¡± Velariah said. ¡°These things can jump insane distances, hence the name. They are one of the somewhat cute spider species, well besides you, that is.¡±

    ¡°Vel¡­¡± I said, still cowering in fear.

    The spider looked at me with an inquisitive gaze. Was it even capable of thinking?

    ¡°It seems to be fascinated by you.¡± Velariah continued.

    ¡°VEL, I HATE SPIDERS!¡± I shouted.

    Seralyn and Draco walked up and checked out the commotion I was causing.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite something for you to say,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°What¡¯s with the shouting? Wait, is that¡ª¡±

    She looked at the spider in Velariah¡¯s hands.

    Velariah burst into laughter and turned around.

    ¡°El, think for a second.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to think! Get it away!¡±

    ¡°You would turn down an expert?¡±

    ¡°What the fuck are you talking about?¡± I asked in fear and anger.

    I wanted to push the spider away but I didn¡¯t dare to get my hands that close to it. What if it jumped on my hands¡­

    ¡°You could probably learn quite a lot from it,¡± Velariah explained.

    While it was true that I thought about observing spiders before to get an idea of how they moved and did things, I didn¡¯t imagine such a huge spider.

    Velariah retracted her arms, removing the monster from my sight which caused me to sigh in relief.

    ¡°I¡¯m keeping it.¡± The elf said softly.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked, flabbergasted.

    ¡°As a pet. You have your puppy, I have my spider.¡±

    ¡°What the, that¡¯s- WHATEVER!¡± I threw my hands up in the air, all four of them, to express my emotions. I almost lost my spear in the process.

    I couldn¡¯t believe she was doing this.

    ¡°You better take good care of it. I don¡¯t have any idea how to take care of pets like those, it¡¯s all up to you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± She said.

    I continued walking in the direction of the village, Draco and Seralyn joining me in my march. The archer was still grinning at our earlier interactions.

    I had to admit I was at least a bit curious if there was anything I could still learn. It was likely there were still improvements to be made to my walking.

    Jumping spider, she said?

    Maybe I could improve my jumping?

    No! I didn¡¯t want to observe that monster.

    I secretly hoped it would jump out of her hands, back into the forest.

    Please tell me it would jump away. Please don¡¯t tell me I attract them or something.

    How was this elf even going to keep it?

    I held on to her with one set of arms, considering she was too busy cupping her new pet in her hands. I prayed she wouldn¡¯t release it on my arm. I might just knock her off of me in a reflex.

    I sighed again as I shoved aside my thoughts and approached the village.

    Nira hopped off as soon as we found ourselves on the cobblestone roads again. We decided to eat first before we worked on our ¡®loot¡¯.

    Thinking about loot made me wonder if this dungeon would provide something good in terms of herbs and such soon. We had this huge scorpion stinger that Draco carved from the scorpion after my talk to Arch. I wondered how much it would be worth?

    Besides that, there didn¡¯t seem to be any items worth consideration. The squirrel¡¯s fur was brittle, the once-living mushrooms were just that, they held no value. Their horns were too weak as well, Velariah could splinter them easily with a weak slash. The mantises turned out to be completely useless too. None of their parts were used in anything.

    Shame, but then again, what could one expect from a low-tier dungeon?

    Not much it seemed. I hoped that would improve over time. If nothing else, there was always the large amount of Corium that one could obtain. I wondered who the next person would be to evolve their inherity, and how long it would take.

    We entered the guild hall. It seemed to be just past lunchtime. The place was still filled with a wide variety of elves and humans, of which, many left shortly after we entered. I even saw a group of dwarves. I¡¯d not seen any others besides Dworag. I wondered if those were the supposed ¡®artisans¡¯ that Valtheril was supposed to gather from the other town.

    They stared at me as I approached my usual spot.

    Yep, always the same when new people laid eyes upon me.

    During lunch, Velariah had placed the jumping spider in the middle of the table. It kept staring at me with its creepy, large eyes. It made me shudder multiple times as I worked on quickly getting rid of all the food that was served about ten minutes after ordering.

    Seralyn had a hard time hiding her smile and suppressed laughter as she observed me cower in fear before the monstrous creature before me.

    ¡°One day, you¡¯ll overcome your fear of spiders,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to give me a heart attack trying to get rid of it this way. What if it jumps at me? I¡¯ll die, for real.¡± I replied with a shaky voice.

    ¡°Exposure to your fears is the best way to get rid of them.¡± She replied.

    I didn¡¯t reply further, I stuffed my mouth again with whatever was on my plate, I had no idea.

    One time, I even ducked preemptively. The spider on the table seemed to rub its pedipalps together, and I took it as a signal it was going to jump at me. Both of the elves grinned after that. Nira seemed unfazed and Draco appeared to look at me with¡­ pity?

    I wanted to believe Velariah did this with the best intentions, but I had a hard time accepting that. My heart could only bear so much. It was working overtime, only to fuel my brain with more awareness of the danger so close to my hands as I ate. I was certain my blood pressure was reaching dangerous levels, and I hadn¡¯t even had coffee¡­

    Draco delivered the massive scorpion tail to the Lore keeper and was rewarded with a couple of gold coins, it looked like. It turned out to be four and I told him to divide it between Seralyn, Nira, and himself. I could make plenty of gold with my own abilities. I hated to set them back when I could make that amount of gold within minutes.

    We took a quick look at the quest board but found nothing of note. A few simple gathering quests were all that was left. They weren¡¯t even high-tier, and they certainly didn¡¯t have rewards that were interesting enough to even consider taking them.

    I was more than happy to leave the guild hall after finishing up. Velariah at least held her new pet cupped in her hands where it couldn¡¯t suddenly jump on me to kill me.

    How could I, being part massive spider, still be afraid of comparatively tiny and harmless spiders such as these? The answer eluded me. Perhaps I suffered from some kind of childhood trauma? Not that I¡¯d ever find out about that.

    I wish I had Velariah¡¯s confidence in these matters, I really did.

    We reached her mansion and Elly opened the doors for all of us. We left our weapons in the corner, neatly placing them against the wall. Elly helped Velariah out of her armor as I took off my own. Draco didn¡¯t appear to be bothered to take his off and Seralyn, well, Seralyn¡¯s armor could be worn casually without it getting too uncomfortable.

    Gray practically went crazy as we entered the dining area. He started jumping against everyone and received more than his share of attention from our party members. I took some time to pet and show my love to him as well. Coming home to a loving animal did wonders for the spirit.

    I had Elly gather a large bowl as Velariah removed the saddlebags from my rear and placed them on the table.

    When she returned she was quite shocked to see that many coffee cherries in the now-opened bags.

    Poor Elly.

    At least we had some extra manpower to work through all this, this time around.

    Meanwhile, Velariah had placed this spider on the table staring me down, observing every action that I made. It didn¡¯t care for anyone else. It was completely fixated on me.

    It gave me the creeps.

 1.76 Time Off

    Faragi

    I posted 75, 76, and 77, make sure you don''t accidentally skip one!

    I considered giving it a coffee bean to see if it would try to eat it and get itself drunk. I decided against it. I didn¡¯t want to accidentally kill Velariah¡¯s pet spider. For some reason, I also felt guilty¡­ I knew what it was like to have my limbs be unresponsive¡­

    Why was I feeling sympathy for a freaking spider?

    We worked through the huge stash of cherries, peeling them and slowly creating a mountain of beige beans. Once we had a fair amount done, Elly entered the kitchen to get a bowl of water.

    ¡°Does Elly know?¡± Seralyn asked as I worked through the beans with four hands.

    I shook my head. ¡°She doesn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Any intention of telling her?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know yet. I¡¯d like to, but I just don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Just do things on your own time, El. The most important people for our journey know. That¡¯s enough, for now.¡± Velariah spoke.

    ¡°So what is this¡­ coffee?¡± Nira spoke, breaking the silence that followed Velariah¡¯s remark.

    ¡°It¡¯s a drink that gives you quite the kick of energy.¡± The white-haired elf explained. ¡°It¡¯s delicious too.¡±

    ¡°The reason I ¡®invented¡¯ it in this world, so to say, was to create a proper export product for Dawnleaf. You¡¯ve seen the prices they asked at the guild, when we had given some to them to test. You¡¯ve seen the farm next to where we gathered these berries. Those fields are going to grow those plants. It is certain to improve this village¡¯s economic situation.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s very noble of you,¡± Draco commented.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Draco. I am set to receive a part of the profits myself. I don¡¯t know if that makes it noble at all.¡±

    ¡°It still does,¡± He said with conviction. ¡°It will be a huge boon to the village indeed.¡±

    I smiled and continued peeling the beans. That was, until my eyes glanced back to the spider that was still fixated on me. My smile disappeared in an instant.

    At least it wasn¡¯t the most creepy-looking spider, I guessed.

    ¡°You guys up for some games after this?¡± Velariah asked the group. ¡°Elania and I were thinking of having a fun evening sometime soon anyway. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything. Will there be booze?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°Heh,¡± Velariah chucked. ¡°We have some. You better not get drunk if we plan to do anything tomorrow. Speaking of, what are our plans for tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we have anything planned currently,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°I would not mind a more...  casual night.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s a yes,¡± Velariah confirmed. ¡°Nira?¡±

    The harpy simply nodded. ¡°Sounds good.¡±

    ¡°Neat,¡± The elf continued. ¡°We¡¯ll have Elly join as well. El, are there any other games you could fabricate before tonight?¡±

    It seemed no one bothered to bring up any plans for tomorrow. Did that mean we would take a day off? It¡¯s not that I minded in particular. It just felt a bit¡­ odd.

    ¡°I could probably come up with a few things¡­ I think? Are you not afraid that Elly is going to hate you for making her cook for this many people?¡± I asked.

    ¡°As if you don¡¯t count for many people on your own!¡± Seralyn said and grinned.

    ¡°Huh, I guess you¡¯re right.¡± I feigned ignorance. ¡°I had my large meal for the coming days already, though.¡±

    ¡°Elly will be fine,¡± Velariah reassured me. ¡°You try to get one of those games you mentioned fixed.¡±

    ¡°Easier said than done. I don¡¯t even know where to begin¡­ or shop for any materials I¡¯d need.¡±

    I started thinking. I put my elbow on the table and supported my head with a hand as I continued working on the cherries with two hands and an absent mind.

    Checkers should be simple enough. Monopoly was probably too complicated to create on the fly. I¡¯d prefer to have properly carved figurines instead of simple, engraved pieces of wood for chess.

    ¡°A large part of this village¡¯s income is lumber, right?¡± I asked.

    Velariah nodded.

    ¡°Do you have any craftsmen that could fix a few simple things?¡±

    ¡°Of course. What were you thinking about?¡±

    ¡°Something called checkers. It should be an easy enough game to create and play. The only downside is that it¡¯s one versus one. Hold on, do you have a piece of paper? I will draw what I need.¡±

    ¡°If you can draw it, can¡¯t you play it on paper?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Well, yes. But actually, no. It normally uses a wooden board and pieces. I¡¯d like to stick to that. Paper is kinda¡­ meh.¡±

    She reached for her pack on the table and fished out a piece of paper and pencil. I quickly drew a checkers board, I preferred the 10x10 version. Unfortunately, that meant that chess would require a different board.

    I shrugged.

    Couldn¡¯t have it simple, could I?

    After that, I explained that the pieces could simply be cut from a pole, one half should be black, the other half white, or whatever color the wood was. I imagined we could simply use light and dark wood, or sear one side of half the pieces to turn them black.

    ¡°Alright,  that looks simple enough. I¡¯ll go with you to get this fixed.¡± She turned to the other party members. ¡°You guys make yourselves at home. Take a break if you want to. If you need anything, just ask Elly.¡±

    Elly exited the kitchen with a bowl of water right as Velariah said that and nodded.

    ¡°We will be back soon!¡± Velariah said as we walked into the hallway.

    Once more, we had the discussion of her putting on armor, and once more, I was unable to sway her mind. I sighed as I helped her put it on.

    A few minutes later, we walked down a side street in the eastern part of the village. A large, wooden building, rivaling the guild¡¯s warehouse, was located at the end of it. The front entrance would be too small for me to enter, but I imagined I could get in from the back entrance. From the sounds coming from the building, I could make out loud sawing.

    There had to be a way for them to carry logs inside.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just explain this real quick and have them deliver it to the mansion later on.¡± The elf said as she waved the drawing I made in her hand.

    I nodded and she entered the building.

    Was it really necessary for me to come with her?

    Once again, I was left waiting outside¡­

    I should have brought Gray with me. He¡¯d understand how I felt¡­ I think?

    Were dogs allowed in most stores? The guild didn¡¯t seem to have an issue with it.

    My mind wandered off to the wolf pup. He seemed to have a special kind of attraction to Nira. Her feathers intrigued him, and he was happy to jump into her wings. Nira¡¯s reactions to it had been quite amusing.

    Like me, she could probably make her own bed by filling pillows with her own feathers.

    That was such an odd thought.

    Velariah walked out of the building with a smile on her face.

    I raised my eyebrows in anticipation.

    ¡°Easy enough to make, they said. Will have it delivered to me soon, they said.¡±

    ¡°Wonderful. If that¡¯s the case, we should commission a chessboard soon, too.¡±

    ¡°Chess? What¡¯s that?¡± The elf¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°Nothing for me or you, I¡¯m afraid. There¡¯s too much thinking involved. Your father may love it, though.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Velariah poked me.

    I chuckled before she pulled my face down to kiss me.

    I was surprised by the quick movements and was still looking at her with shock as she parted.

    ¡°I missed doing that.¡± She smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be doing that a lot today. Also, that expression of yours is cute.¡±

    ¡°Thanks?¡± I blushed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head back. I really want some coffee.¡± The elf said as she took one of my hands.

    Yet one more reason I didn¡¯t like her having her armor on. I¡¯d much prefer to hold her hand without the gauntlet separating us.

    We walked back to her home and soon reached the mansion again. I could see the others still working on peeling the cherries as I helped Velariah with her armor. It appeared one batch was already laid out on a blanket in front of the hearth to dry.

    ¡°Finally, you¡¯re back,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°Lucas here has been going crazy, running around in circles without stopping.¡±

    Lucas? Who the hell is Lucas?

    ¡°Who the hell is Lucas?¡± Velariah spoke my thoughts.

    ¡°Your new pet.¡± The brunette replied.

    I walked back to the table to see the spider Velariah had brought in running around in circles, almost as if it was panicking. When I approached the table, it suddenly stopped and continued to stare at me.

    ¡°You actually named it?¡± I said in disbelief. ¡°I cannot believe you named it.¡±

    How did she even know what gender it was? Never mind, she probably didn¡¯t. At least I hoped she didn¡¯t.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you do with pets right?¡± Seralyn spoke again.

    ¡°That thing is not a-...¡±

    I sighed deeply.

    I give up.

    What does this spider have with me, anyway? Seriously, it stares at me all the time.

    I silently started peeling the beans again, only throwing a few glances at the spider now known as Lucas every now and then.

    He still creeped me out.

    ¡°What are you going to feed that thing anyway?¡± I eventually asked.

    ¡°Grasshoppers,¡± Seralyn grinned.

    How original.

    ¡°That¡¯s actually a good idea,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Though, I have no idea how to get them.¡±

    I was certain that back on Earth, one could buy insects as food for spiders and reptiles at pet shops. I imagined that may not be the case here.

    ¡°Elly?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Could you see if you can get your hands on some insects? I have no idea where to even start.¡±

    ¡°Not a problem.¡± The maid said and headed out.

    Why did I feel like Elly would somehow have the answer to all this? She probably did too.

    I wondered if this world had any spider experts. I could observe this weird spider that Velariah brought home, but I imagined if there was an expert, they could tell me more about myself. So far, I¡¯d already figured out a fair bit myself.

    I imagined it would be quite hilarious if they found out that this spider was in fact a female. I¡¯d love to change the name, Lucas just sounded too¡­ human.

    How did one determine a spider¡¯s gender anyway? The thing had no parts that set it apart from me. If one left out all the fuzzy hairs, the eyes, and the fact that my fangs worked quite a bit differently, one would conclude that it wasn¡¯t so different from me.

    I sighed again. Why was I comparing myself to a monster?

    About an hour or so passed and we were still working on the beans. There was no end in sight. Even with the added manpower, the amount we gathered was just extreme. This would be enough coffee to last me months back on Earth. That made me wonder what the expiration date on it would be.

    I noticed that some of the soaked beans had dried enough to roast them. The hearth in the wall beyond the table seemed to do its work well. I hoped speed-drying wouldn¡¯t affect the quality too much.

    A knock on the door caused Velariah to stand up to check out who it was. Elly returned to the table with a glass jar with a linen lid, filled with grasshoppers.

    She¡¯d actually done it. I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes.

    Velariah took the jar and carefully took one of the insects between two fingers and walked back to the table where she held it a fair distance from the spider.

    The spider shifted its vision from me to the grasshopper and I could see it twitch its pedipalps. Within the blink of an eye, the spider was on top of the grasshopper and sank its fangs into it.

    I was creeped out but fascinated. The speed it showed was remarkable. If I could replicate that speed and upscale it to my size¡­

    Holy crap.

    Could I jump fifteen meters without issues?

    That seemed too good to be true.

    How did it do that?

    The grasshopper soon stopped moving, succumbing to the venom.

    Now came a question that I asked myself earlier at the cave. How did spiders eat?

    I didn¡¯t want to watch this but I found my eyes locked on Velariah¡¯s new pet. I could feel Gray moving his paws up one of my legs but I chose to ignore him. I¡¯d also dropped my work. All I could see was this spider.

    It didn¡¯t appear to actually be eating. What was it even doing?

    I really needed that spider expert to clarify what the hell was going on. Maybe we could ask the Lore keeper if she knew anybody?

    It just stood there with its fangs seemingly still in its prey, holding it with its pedipalps and front two legs.

    Whatever.

    I resumed peeling the coffee cherries again.

    In the meantime, Elly roasted the first batch. After she finished doing that, it was time to make some actual coffee. I showed the process of grinding and then putting the ground coffee in a filtration cone before adding boiling water.

    ¡°That stuff looks¡­ weird.¡± Nira commented as she observed the brown liquid flow into a jar.

    ¡°That¡¯s what everyone thinks at first,¡± Velariah replied.

    Not much later, Nira experimented with sugar and milk to try to get a flavor that fit her. They seemed to have a great time enjoying their new beverage while I was left out again.

    I would have to make do with the smell¡­

    I just continued working through the piles of beans.

    We had made a great headway already, and after a short break, we finished up within half an hour. Elly roasted the beans in batches and then saved them in metal containers that she used for tea.

    ¡°Finally.¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°This wouldn¡¯t be half as bad if I could get some...¡±

    ¡°At least you can eat tree hardfruit, right after they come off the tree.¡± Velariah replied. ¡°I cannot even fathom what that tastes like. I believe you said it was delicious, no?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Yeah, they taste like bananas.¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what that is.¡± The elf said in response.

    ¡°Long, curved, yellow fruit that grows on trees with the same kind of trunk?¡±

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°Nope. Never heard of it.¡±

    Bananas didn¡¯t exist here?

    These people didn¡¯t know what they were missing.

    I left it at that, just in case Elly started suspecting things.

    ¡°So,¡± Draco started, as Elly was moving things back to the kitchen. ¡°Do we have any plans for tomorrow? We didn¡¯t elaborate on it earlier.¡±

    ¡°What can we do?¡± I asked. ¡°We would have to find a new quest or something and move out the same day, if it¡¯s not nearby. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s a good idea for us to head out right now. A grandmaster has been summoned for my inherity ritual. I¡¯d hate to miss it because we¡¯re out.¡±

    ¡°So we¡¯d have to do simple, unrewarding quests in the neighborhood. It¡¯s harsh to put it that way, but it¡¯s the reality of things.¡± Draco continued.

    ¡°Or we take a day or two off until Elania¡¯s ritual is fixed.¡± Seralyn added. ¡°Let¡¯s bring out the booze! Wait, can you mix coffee with alcohol?¡±

    Elly was still in the kitchen so I decided to clarify.

    ¡°That is a thing back on my planet, you know? By all means, try it out.¡±

    ¡°Neat!¡± The brunette looked ecstatic.

    ¡°I guess the only other thing we could do is continue to explore the dungeon. And by explore I mean, just kill stuff. I don¡¯t know how much longer we can acquire Corium from it, though. It may be a little too low level for us.¡±

    While it was true that we didn¡¯t have too many issues killing things in the dungeon, what did she mean by that?

    ¡°How much longer can we acquire Corium from it? How does that work?¡± I asked.

    ¡°At some point, the density of Corium in lower-level creatures is too low to make a difference. Their Corium is unable to be fully absorbed by the body. Once you gather more, you seem to outgrow monsters.¡± Draco explained. ¡°You have to move on to higher-tier dungeons or monsters who possess more concentrated Corium in order to continue evolving your inherity.¡±

    That sounded like some sort of osmosis. He even mentioned density.

    ¡°How can we know when to move on, then?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We can¡¯t.¡± The lizardman continued. ¡°Theoretically, it¡¯s a gamble that you take. It can either pay off and allow you to grow stronger at an insane rate¡­ or...¡±

    ¡°It kills you.¡± I finished his sentence.

    He nodded.

    That didn¡¯t sound ominous at all.

    Killing enemies in Arch¡¯s dungeon seemed like the safe way to go, but if we lingered here for too long, we wouldn¡¯t grow stronger. If we didn¡¯t grow stronger, we may have somebody turn against us, me in particular because of what I was.

    Maybe I was overreacting? I might be, I didn¡¯t know how many people would be out for my hide (chitin?). I hoped being under the protection of a high-ranking person in the form of Valtheril would deter anyone from attacking me, even outside of this village.

    ¡°Stop worrying, El.¡± Velariah walked next to me and put an arm around my shoulders. ¡°I can see you¡¯re worrying again. You do that too much, you know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m just anxious. You all know why I am now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll be here for you.¡± She shook my shoulder to try to cheer me up.

    ¡°Thanks, Vel. Wait, can I call you that now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone here will frown upon you calling me that.¡± She looked at the others. ¡°Do you?¡±

    Nira and Draco shook their heads.

    ¡°I do.¡± Seralyn said.

    ¡°Oh, shut up, you.¡± Velariah slapped her with words.

    Seralyn grinned.

    Elly entered the room and exited again, taking the door leading upstairs.

    ¡°But yeah,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Let¡¯s take a day or so off. I¡¯m sure we can spend the time well together. I¡¯m sure you guys have a lot of questions. You should hear some of the things that Elania told me. Apparently, they have a device that you can hold in your hand and it allows you to talk to somebody on the other side of the world. Crazy, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Nira looked at the elf in shock.

    ¡°That¡¯s bullshit!¡± Seralyn called out.

    I smiled. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk over things during a round of Yahtzee. You guys wanna play here or in our bedroom? I¡¯m sure Elania would like a break from standing so long.¡±

    She got that right. Keeping this much weight lifted for so long without a break turned out to be¡­ tiring? The feeling in my legs was odd to describe. I could do with sitting or lying down every once in a while.

    We could possibly ask the craftsmen to make some kind of bench for me. There was also the option of simply buying it. The ones in the guild seem to suit me just fine.

    ¡°¡®Our¡¯ bedroom?¡± Seralyn smiled wickedly. ¡°I knew it.¡±

    I facepalmed.

    Thanks, Velariah¡­

 1.77 Game Night

    Faragi

    I Posted 75, 76, and 77. Make sure you don''t accidentally skip a chapter!

    We entered the bathroom and I held up the hammock, so the others could pass under it. Velariah threw the pillows out of it onto the floor next to the tub. We created a nice ring to play the game in. For some reason, Velariah brought her new spider pet over and placed it in the center.

    Gray also joined in and seemed intrigued by the spider but too scared to get any closer.

    What a wise wolf.

    I collected the dice, paper, and pencils and sat down on a pillow. Velariah, bold as she was, decided to sit in front of me, for lack of a lap to sit on.

    Oh well. The others already knew, I guessed. As long as she wasn¡¯t going to kiss me in front of them, what harm could this bring?

    ¡°I¡¯m starting to think you have ulterior motives for moving to this room,¡± Seralyn grinned when Velariah guided two of my hands around her belly.

    ¡°You jealous?¡± Velariah fired back.

    Ouch. I could feel that.

    Seralyn went quiet.

    Nira lay down on her belly on a couple of pillows across from where I was seated and Gray took that as an invitation to hide under her wings. The harpy seemed to be flattered by the pup¡¯s attention and petted it affectionately.

    Draco was simply silent. I had the feeling he was secretly preparing to beat everyone at this game and didn¡¯t want to give it away.

    He started his rolls. The spider in the middle kept staring at me throughout the rolls that the others made. When it was my turn and I threw the dice, it actually decided to jump after one.

    It caught the die in mid-air, too. I was impressed by its coordination.

    Hold on a second.

    Did that spider have eyes at the sides of its head?

    I looked closer and confirmed that it did.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I have that?¡± I mumbled softly, but not soft enough.

    ¡°Have what?¡± Velariah asked as I took three of the dice.

    I couldn¡¯t bother to take the one that the spider was holding. I¡¯d prefer a weaker opening and just build around that than getting my hands so close and quite possibly, getting bitten.

    ¡°Huh? Oh, I was thinking about the eyes on the side of its head. I can hardly see what¡¯s going on behind me. On second thought, I¡¯m not sure if I want to have that. I imagine more eyes would be quite¡­ I don¡¯t even know¡­¡±

    ¡°Disorientating?¡± Draco suggested.

    ¡°I imagine that would be an understatement,¡± I said.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯d be able to deal with it,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°You¡¯ve come quite far already.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t put ideas in the head of whatever god put me in this world. I¡¯ve had changes made to my body before. I¡¯m not sure if I want more.¡±

    ¡°Nothing negative, as far as I can see,¡± The elf spoke again.

    ¡°Stop the flirting, I¡¯m trying to concentrate,¡± Seralyn said as she rolled the dice.

    We played for a while. Every time I rolled, I had Velariah¡¯s new pet going after one of the dice, which caused me to sacrifice the best possible rolls. This spider was totally ruining my score. It was doing it on purpose. I knew it.

    ¡°Seralyn, did you teach this spider to screw me over or what?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Maybe.¡± She grinned.

    I had to admit that its speed and dexterity were far beyond mine. It made me jealous, but I also hoped it meant there was still a lot of room for growth for my own abilities.

    An hour or two, and many rounds of the game with the usual banter coming from Seralyn and Velariah, later, I heard knocking on the door. Velariah stood up to open it and found Elly on the other side holding the checkers board, complete with white and black wooden pieces.

    ¡°Neat,¡± Velariah said. She then dragged Elly by her wrist and had her sit down with the rest of us.

    The white-haired elf then sat down and forced my hands back on her belly, joined by my pedipalps.

    ¡°You really have a thing for spiders, don¡¯t ya?¡± Seralyn teased her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind them.¡± She said with a shrug.

    ¡°That¡¯s an understatement, too.¡± I smiled.

    ¡°Well, look at you, El. I told you you¡¯d get there.¡± She said.

    Seralyn just giggled. Draco and Nira smiled.

    We finished our current round and I went on to explain the basic rules of the next game. Unfortunately, it was a one versus one game, so the majority would have to watch.

    I tried to explain it while using the pieces and board in a tutorial-like game, but Velariah¡¯s pet spider kept jumping on any piece that I touched. I had to resort to using my pedipalps to move the pieces. I could still feel the jumping spider hit them, but I¡¯d much rather have those touched by freaky things over my human hands.

    ¡°I honestly can¡¯t believe you¡¯re so scared of spiders,¡± Seralyn commented. ¡°I mean, look at its eyes. It¡¯s quite cute.¡± She said with a teasing voice.

    While I had to admit it didn¡¯t look as terrifying as most other spiders, calling it cute went way too far.

    ¡°I just hate spiders, okay? They have far too many eyes, far too many legs, they bite, they jump. They just creep me out.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but half of those properties can be attributed to you, too.¡± She said with her normal voice.

    ¡°But this is me. I know what my legs do, I control them. I¡­I¡­¡±

    I was at a loss for words. I had no reason to fear such a creature, I knew it. My mind screamed entirely different things, though.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, El. We¡¯ll work on it. You will get over it one day. You just watch.¡± Velariah tried to comfort me.

    I hugged her tight and held my face in her hair. I didn¡¯t care what the others would think at this moment. Even if I didn¡¯t agree with the elf¡¯s methods, deep down, I knew she was right. I was glad she was here to help me through this¡­

    Draco and Nira started the first game of checkers. The rest of us watched with great interest, even Gray followed Nira¡¯s movements closely.

    ¡°Is anyone interested in a drink?¡± Elly asked when the game was about halfway done.

    ¡°Yes! Let¡¯s bring out the booze!¡± Seralyn called enthusiastically.

    Elly then looked at Velariah, who nodded.

    ¡°Just make sure she doesn¡¯t get too much. She gets¡­ hard to deal with when drunk.¡±

    ¡°That was just once!¡± Seralyn almost shouted. ¡°I wasn¡¯t intending on repeating that¡­¡± She then added softly.

    ¡°Anyone else got a preference for something?¡± The maid then asked.

    After she observed everyone shake their heads, she exited the room.

    ¡°So, Elania.¡± Draco started after Elly left the room. ¡°How does adventuring work in your world? You seem to have a decent amount of knowledge about it.¡±

    ¡°Uhhh. How do I explain this?¡± I started. ¡°It doesn¡¯t exist. The only knowledge I have about it comes from something called video games and fiction. You see, in our world, people like to write about what others would be like. The fun part is that each of your races is mentioned in said fiction. The information that I knew turned out to be mostly false, but some things turned out to be true.¡±

    ¡°What about your own¡­ race? Is it not described?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I haven¡¯t read anything about half-human, half-spider. To be fair, I haven¡¯t read much fiction about other worlds yet. It was a genre I recently started reading about.¡±

    ¡°We are considered a genre, now?¡± Seralyn said in disbelief. ¡°Preposterous!¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± Velariah chuckled. ¡°Yeah, I had to teach her a thing or two about elves, too. Her information was all fucked up.¡±

    ¡°Spare me the details.¡± Seralyn laughed.

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Draco stated.

    ¡°Guess what. People getting teleported or dying and reincarnating in another world is a genre as well.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so messed up.¡± The brunette replied.

    I shrugged. ¡°I guess¡­¡±

    ¡°Adventuring is not a thing in their world, Elania told me. She said there is no magic of any kind.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Nira asked softly, while making a move in the game.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have magic, that¡¯s correct. Our lives appear to be significantly more mundane than yours because of science.¡±

    ¡°Science?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s basically what Draco explained earlier. Hypotheses, research, observation, evaluation. Humanity in our world has been doing it for hundreds if not thousands of years and made its life quite easy. We didn¡¯t need to hunt for food at all. One more thing, almost everything was available all year round. I doubt that¡¯s the case here.¡±

    ¡°Hell no, it ain¡¯t.¡± The archer replied. ¡°When winter comes, it¡¯s pretty hard to get some good fruit or vegetables.¡±

    ¡°Ah shit,¡± I cursed.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to miss those strawberry smoothies¡­¡±

    Nira cocked her head and I knew what that meant.

    ¡°That¡¯s our world¡¯s name for Kingberry¡­ I still have trouble adjusting¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in luck,¡± Draco smiled. ¡°Those can be frozen pretty well. I can¡¯t say as much about most other fruits.¡±

    I sighed in relief.

    That was some good news¡­

    The door opened again, and Elly appeared with a platter with drinks. She seemed lost in thought on how to pass the hammock unscathed, so I decided to stand up and lift it over her head. She thanked me and placed the tray on the edge of the bathtub before handing everyone their drinks.

    I sat down and put my arms and pedipalps around my favorite elf again.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the hammock, anyway?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°Awfully interested in our life, aren¡¯t you?¡± Velariah asked with a hint of mischief.

    ¡°Just curious.¡± Seralyn feigned innocence.

    ¡°If you¡¯re so eager to know, there are two reasons for it. First, Elania was pretty uncomfortable sleeping on pillows on the ground. She had no place to put her¡­ excess limbs. The second reason was practice. You should have seen her, climbing walls and shit.¡±

    ¡°Damn,¡± Seralyn answered.

    ¡°You can actually climb walls?¡± Nira asked.

    I nodded.

    ¡°Care to demonstrate?¡± Draco asked with a smile.

    What?

    That was unlike Draco to ask.

    ¡°Uhhh.¡± I stammered.

    ¡°Go for it. Take your drink with you, see if you can keep it stable while climbing.¡± Velariah encouraged me.

    ¡°That sounds like a horrible idea¡­¡±

    ¡°Look at it as practice.¡± She said.

    I sighed and took some sips from my drink, reducing the contents of the glass by half. I¡¯d have a better chance not spilling that way.

    Nira and Draco moved aside to make space for me to climb the wall. I held the glass in my hand and carefully put my front legs on the wall.

    I breathed deeply before I continued.

    Here we go.

    I stared at the glass in front of me as more legs hooked into the wall.

    Knowing I was able to do this helped out quite a bit. I moved significantly faster than last time and soon had all my legs on the wall. My human torso was still in an upward position. I was almost hugging the wall with it.

    ¡°Holy shit, you¡¯re flexible too,¡± Seralyn called out.

    I ignored the remark and focused my attention on the glass in front of me, and the sensations of the claws at the ends of my legs. Slowly, I started climbing the wall. I was about a meter out from the floor when something moved in the corner of my eye.

    I turned to my right to see what was going on and found Velariah¡¯s spider looking at me with its large eyes.

    The sudden appearance of a monstrous spider next to me caused me to panic, and I lost focus and grip on the wall.

    I screamed as I fell and hit the floor. I partly broke the fall with some of the joints of my legs, but the impact still came after crashing into the floor. To make things worse, I spilled the drink all over my shirt and hair.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± I let out as I ¡®landed¡¯ on my back.

    My legs curled up from the pain that shot through my spider abdomen and human back.

    ¡°El, are you alright?¡± Velariah ran up to me and looked at me from above.

    Nira ran out of the room in a hurry and returned seconds later with her scepter.

    Dizziness hit me. I couldn¡¯t tell what was going on around me. I felt a hand on my forehead and saw Nira¡¯s face. Soon, I felt her magic flow through me.

    ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± I could hear the harpy¡¯s voice speak to the others.

    ¡°El, I¡¯m sorry I made you do that.¡± Velariah looked at me.

    ¡°What just happened?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I think Lucas spooked you,¡± Draco said. ¡°I think it would be wise to put it into some kind of enclosure.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t make out half of what was being said but that sounded like they¡¯d put that spider somewhere where it couldn¡¯t harm me. I was all in on that idea.

    I put two hands over my eyes and two more on my forehead and started rubbing as I moaned from the pain and dizziness.

    ¡°Elania, talk to me,¡± Velariah said, obviously worried.

    ¡°Hi?¡± I spoke.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± She asked again.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know?¡± I questioned.

    Velariah looked at Nira who nodded once more.

    ¡°Just relax for a bit, El. We¡¯ll clean up later. Are you in pain?¡±

    ¡°I am, but it¡¯s getting better. I¡¯m just¡­ dizzy.¡±

    Velariah turned around. ¡°You guys can just continue. I¡¯ll stay with Elania until she feels better.¡±

    She was right. I hated for the others¡¯ evening to be ruined because of this. I should be okay in a few minutes.

    I might need a bath again, though. My hair and shirt were starting to get sticky because of the sugar in the drink.

    What a mess¡­

    ¡°Elly, could you perhaps start cleaning the floor?¡± Velariah called out to the maid.

    I didn¡¯t hear her, but she walked out of the room a few seconds after. I assumed she let Velariah know with a nod or something.

    The white-haired elf knelt behind me and laid my head in her lap. She moved the sticky hair out of my face and smiled.

    I smiled back. It was the only thing I could do when she smiled at me like that.

    I wanted to be angry, but I couldn¡¯t.

    I closed my eyes and relaxed. The pain and dizziness soon started to fade. There seemed to be some pain in the joints that I used to impact the floor first to break most of my fall, but I could live with it. I imagined that my supposed ¡®special blood¡¯ would help out in healing whatever was damaged.

    According to Nira, I was fine, so it couldn¡¯t be that bad.

    Elly had cleaned up the floor around me in the meantime. She had even acquired a large crate in which she put Velariah¡¯s pet spider. Instead of a wooden lid, she used a glass panel to cover it. It was far from ideal, but it would work for now.

    She had then brought the crate with the spider over to the dining area, far away from me, which made me happy.

    I turned myself around and stood up with the necessary hardships.

    I was feeling a lot better already. The only thing that really annoyed me was my sticky clothes and hair.

    I quickly grabbed a clean shirt and changed mine outside the bathroom.

    I reentered to observe Seralyn playing checkers against Elly. Seralyn was laughing as she captured two of Elly¡¯s pieces, but Elly smirked and responded by capturing five of Seralyn¡¯s in one turn, quickly wiping the grin off the brunette¡¯s face.

    It seemed Elly had planned that move far ahead.

    This maid was on fire.

    Seralyn quickly lost the game from that point onward and turned her attention to a glass of liquor.

    I couldn¡¯t help but grin.

    I¡¯d positioned myself in my old spot again, with Velariah sitting in front of me.

    It was now Velariah¡¯s turn to play against Draco. In the meantime, Elly exited the room and returned moments later announcing that dinner was ready.

    Had we been playing for that long already?

    I¡¯d lost track of time once more.

    The elf and lizardman left their game, a few moves were made and they would continue after dinner.

    Dinner itself was¡­ lively. Elly managed to come up with something that could feed many people on short notice. It couldn¡¯t be regarded as something completely out of the ordinary back on Earth, but baked potatoes with chicken fillets here were so much fuller of flavor.

    After dinner, I took a quick glance in the glass-paneled crate at the far end of the table and noticed the spider stare at me immediately after I¡¯d made my presence known.

    I quickly skittered over to the bathroom.

    Why did I even peek?

    Velariah and Nira joined Draco, Seralyn, and me after a few minutes.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t touch the board, did he?¡± Velariah smiled as she sat down in front of me once more.

    ¡°Nope. You didn¡¯t expect Draco would do such a thing, did you?¡± I said.

    ¡°I would.¡± She grinned.

    Elly was doing the dishes, so our conversation topics quickly changed to my old world.

    ¡°What are some interesting inventions from your world?¡± Draco asked.

    ¡°Oof.¡± I let out. ¡°I don¡¯t even know where to start. You see, one invention quickly leads to another. Some processes need to be discovered and optimized. These new processes allow for the creation of new tools that lead to new discoveries and processes.¡±

    I thought for a few moments. ¡°Let me see if I can come up with an example that already exists in this world.¡±

    I think I had a good example.

    ¡°Take weapons for example. I assume weapons used to be made of something other than steel a long time ago. Iron requires a hot flame in order to melt. In order to get that hot flame, one uses another invention that adds more oxygen to the fire, causing it to burn hotter. These are the bellows that you can see at Coldanus¡¯s workplace, for example. This ¡®new¡¯ material makes for tougher, stronger weapons that can then be used to defeat tougher opponents, or¡­ it can be used to make smaller tools that don¡¯t break as often as softer metals. These new tools can then be used to advance different fields of science, such as alchemy, etcetera. Once alchemy advances enough, one can create certain liquids that allow for further refining of the process, or for the creation of new things entirely.¡±

    That was quite a mouthful, but I think my companions got the gist of it.

    ¡°Now, I know how to make a couple of things that don¡¯t exist in this world¡­ yet. The thing is, I don¡¯t have anywhere close to the tools one would need to create some of those things, and I don¡¯t possess the knowledge to make them, either. I guess the best thing that I could theoretically come up with that would be of use, if it doesn¡¯t exist yet, would be a microscope.¡±

    ¡°The process seems quite similar to what the humans have come to know about the flow of mana, indeed,¡± Draco commented. ¡°A lot of experimentation and recording of findings.¡±

    ¡°And, most of all, communication between other people,¡± I added. ¡°When knowledge spreads, it multiplies.¡±

    ¡°What is this microscope you speak of?¡± Seralyn asked. ¡°And how would it improve our lives?¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°I believe the microscope stands at the forefront of new inventions, especially in the medical world. Do you have lenses?¡±

    Velariah nodded. ¡°We do, I think? My father once mentioned them. They improve eyesight, right?¡±

    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t call it improving. It more or less ¡®fixes¡¯ it.¡±

    ¡°Interesting...¡± Draco spoke again.

    ¡°Anyway...¡± I continued. ¡°Some lenses magnify things if you look through them. The basic idea is that you place multiple of those in a tube. They each magnify what you are looking at, and if you place multiple of those on top of each other, you can see things that you cannot see with your bare eyes. Many of the inventions back in my world use parts that are so small that one has to use the microscope to properly create the parts.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a hassle,¡± Seralyn commented with a grin.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite the hassle, indeed. As I said, I can¡¯t replicate even a fraction of the technology in my world, so don¡¯t expect miracles from me. I do have a few tricks up my sleeve, though, coffee being one of them.¡±

    ¡°Coffee is a wonderful invention in itself,¡± Draco commented.

    ¡°Come to think of it, I don¡¯t know if I know many inventions that will actually help in combat. That¡¯s quite the letdown.¡±

    There was always the crossbow that I could possibly use for myself. I don¡¯t think Seralyn would benefit from it, at all.

    I wasn¡¯t going to mention black powder to anyone else, yet. Velariah wisely kept quiet about it, too.

    Elly entered the room when I was playing against Nira. The black-haired maid had a proper, leather leash in her hands and called Gray¡¯s name. I was surprised to see him respond to it and walk up to Elly. She¡¯d made quite some progress already, it seemed.

    I used my pedipalps again to move the pieces around on the board as I quickly petted the wolf when he walked past me.

    Elly then took him for a walk.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t she creep you out at times, Velariah?¡± Seralyn asked in a seemingly serious manner.

    ¡°Not at all.¡± The elf in my arms replied. ¡°Elania has a heart of gold. That¡¯s all that I care about,¡± She added softly.

    I blushed slightly at her statement about us.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy you found somebody to feel that way about, Lady Velariah,¡± Draco said. ¡°I¡¯ve known you for a while and never seen you this happy.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve known me for a while, yes. But we never spent as much time together as the past few weeks.¡± Velariah replied.

    ¡°More than enough to notice the change in your demeanor.¡± The lizardman concluded.

    This conversation made me feel slightly awkward, but I seemed to be getting better at coping with it.

    I simply smiled as I placed my head on her shoulder and continued to move the pieces around with my spidery limbs.

    ¡°Damnit, El. You¡¯re getting my hair all sticky too.¡±

    ¡°Oops,¡± I said before I laughed.

    I moved as much of my hair to my back as I could. It didn¡¯t have any issues staying there. I imagine my hair must have smelled wonderful too; strawberry-scented shampoo wasn¡¯t uncommon in my old world.

    That shampoo didn¡¯t have the added effects of making it all sticky, though¡­

    ¡°What about transport?¡± Nira asked.

    ¡°Now that¡¯s a funny one.¡± I chuckled. ¡°We have giant metal birds that fly through the sky. They can carry hundreds of people and transport them to the other side of the world within a day.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Seralyn exclaimed.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not really a bird, but it¡¯s the easiest comparison there is. They fly extremely fast. There are some laws of nature that allow them to stay in the air when they fly at such high speeds.¡±

    ¡°Sounds dangerous¡­¡± Draco said.

    ¡°As much as you¡¯d think so, if you look at statistics, it¡¯s actually fairly safe.¡±

    ¡°Have you ever been in one?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Not as far as I can remember. Then again, I don¡¯t exactly know what memories I lost. It¡¯s hard to tell what¡¯s missing, you know?¡±

    ¡°And land vehicles?¡± Draco asked.

    ¡°Uh, we have bikes that one can operate. It¡¯s a two-wheeled vehicle powered by a person¡¯s legs. One can move much faster with it than on foot, about five to six times as fast. I could possibly fabricate one of those with the help of some artisans. I¡¯m not sure if you guys have rubber, though. It¡¯s kind of a necessity, especially when I look at the quality of your roads.¡±

    I paused for a moment.

    ¡°As for most land vehicles you will see and be amazed by, it would probably be automobiles, or cars. They are basically metal cans with glass windows and four wheels. They don¡¯t run on a human¡¯s strength, they merely control how fast and what direction they go. They are fueled by gasoline, which is created from oil, a black sticky substance found deep in the ground.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°Once again, that is not something I could replicate, a bike would already test all of my memories and skill. They would be pretty useless too as they can¡¯t really travel through grasslands.¡±

    ¡°That is¡­ unfortunate.¡± Draco finished.

    ¡°I¡¯d love to show you some things later on for sure. It¡¯s just a bit early. There¡¯s also the coffee business that¡¯s going to start rolling soon and then there¡¯s the fact that I showed up in this village, and actually live here now. I can¡¯t help but feel anxious about having everything pinpointed back to me and cause me to run into trouble because of some jealous nobles or something.¡±

    Seralyn shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re probably right in that regard. You don¡¯t really have the look of innocence about you either. I don¡¯t mean that as an offense. I don¡¯t think everyone will be able to look past your lower body as easily as us, or Velariah in that regard,¡± She smirked at the end of her sentence.

    I sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not until I came here that I realized just how easy my world was.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like quite the shock,¡± Nira said softly.

    ¡°Girl, you have no idea,¡± I replied.

    We talked some more about what cars looked like and the basics of how they worked. That also brought up the concept of buses and trucks and other vehicles that were based on car designs.

    Elly entered the room about an hour later with Gray looking the most exhausted I¡¯d seen him so far. He simply walked up to his bed next to Nira, lay down on it, and started snoring within seconds.

    ¡°Well, seems like someone is tired,¡± Velariah remarked. She then turned to Elly who sat down with us. ¡°What did you do to him?¡±

    ¡°Just got rid of some excess energy,¡± Elly smiled.

    Seems she got rid of more than just excess energy¡­

    After some more rounds of checkers, Elly brought in another round of drinks and freshly-baked cookies. This night was turning into an excellent game and snack night. My only regrets were not having chocolate chips in the cookies and the lack of more games¡­

    I needed to check if chocolate was a thing here. Did I ask that before?

    Could I create chocolate from cocoa beans?

    I knew what a cocoa pod looked like, but I was completely clueless about the process of turning it into chocolate. Then again, coffee worked out just fine, right?

    I would ask Velariah about that later tonight.

    We talked and played for hours. Velariah took great pride in telling of our adventures to Elly. The maid seemed intrigued by most of what she said, but also showed shock on her face when Velariah told me about the mess I¡¯d made in the goblin cave after showering them with my venom.

    I, in turn, told Elly exactly how we got to meet Gray. Elly was almost in tears when she found out how the cute wolf pup lost its parents. It may have been a not-so-pleasant story, but I felt Elly deserved to know the full story. She was going to spend more time than any of us with the canine.

    Our adventures in the dungeon also came up as a topic. Elly commented on how well our teamwork seemed to be planned out.

    ¡°It¡¯s like that because we try to keep everyone safe during combat,¡± I commented.

    ¡°And that seems to be going well, so far,¡± Draco continued.

    ¡°As long as we stay focused.¡± Seralyn finished.

    ¡°Yeah, no shit,¡± Velariah said after that. ¡°At least it was a wise lesson.¡±

    That reminded me of the wound that Velariah had suffered. Her injuries had completely disappeared in no time whereas the puncture wounds from the half-living wolf seemed to remain in place for a while.

    I checked my arm to see them completely disappeared now.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Velariah asked, she saw me observing my arm.

    ¡°I was wondering how the wound from that wolf remained for a while, at least traces of it, when the wound on my head was completely gone within hours.¡±

    ¡°Possibly the venom,¡± Nira said.

    ¡°Yeah, but we all know I am hella resistant against venom and poison. I would have thought the same if it wasn¡¯t for that.¡± I replied.

    Nira briefly raised her wings while she was lying down. It seemed to indicate some kind of shrug. I guess that meant she wasn¡¯t sure either.

    ¡°I¡¯m just going to assume it has to deal with the nature of the magic that was fueling the wolf. I believe Pylanor confirmed it had something to do with necromantic magic, yes?¡± Draco asked.

    I nodded. ¡°That would be the easiest explanation, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Well, whatever. You¡¯re fine now.¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Seems to be that way,¡± I said.

    We played and talked some more before Nira seemed to have trouble keeping her eyes open.

    Draco noticed it and suggested we¡¯d call it a day.

    ¡°Let me check the weather,¡± Elly said as she stood up. ¡°It started raining the moment I returned home.¡±

    ¡°So what if it does rain?¡± I asked, confused as to why it would matter.

    ¡°She will prepare the guest rooms,¡± Velariah said.

    I totally forgot guest rooms were a thing. I should have expected Velariah to have one. ¡®Rooms¡¯ even. Just how expensive was this mansion?

    The maid walked back into the room.

    ¡°It¡¯s storming outside. Shall I prepare the guest rooms?¡±

    Velariah looked at the others. ¡°If you guys are okay with staying here for the night?¡±

    ¡°Not a problem here,¡± Draco said.

    Nira simply nodded.

    Seralyn looked tipsy from whatever alcohol she had been slowly drinking over the evening.

    Velariah looked at her and decided to speak for her. ¡°Yeah, Seralyn should probably stay here too.¡±

    ¡°Neat, that means I can drink more!¡± The brunette replied.

    ¡°How about no. You¡¯ve had enough,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Awwww,¡± Seralyn moaned.

    Elly exited the room and we rounded up the final game. By the end of it, Elly returned and informed us that the guest rooms and beds were prepared.

    Everyone stood up, and I held up the hammock so the others could easily pass it. Velariah collected the pillows in the meantime.

    ¡°Good night,¡± I said when the three of my companions passed under the hammock.

    ¡°Goodnight, Miss Elania,¡± Draco said as he passed.

    Nira repeated Draco¡¯s words.

    ¡°Goodnight,¡± Seralyn said with an overly sweet voice. ¡°Don¡¯t go breaking that lovely hammock tonight.¡±

    I blushed madly from her remark. I closed the door and locked it once everyone had exited.

    Velariah rearranged the pillows in our bed. ¡°That was fun,¡± She said.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I smiled. ¡°I had a great time.¡±

    I was helping the elf with the last pillows when I remembered the question I had from before.

    ¡°Vel, do you have chocolate in this world?¡±

    ¡°Choco¡­late?¡±

    This wasn¡¯t looking good.

    ¡°Candy bars made from cocoa beans, brown, sweet, heavenly.¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°Never heard of it.¡±

    Fuck.

    There go my hopes and dreams¡­

    ¡°Hold on a sec.¡±

    I cleaned up the materials we used for our Yahtzee game and took a piece of paper and a pencil and drew a cocoa pod as best as I could.

    ¡°These are pods, they contain a bunch of seeds. They are orange to brown in color when ripe. Do you recognize this?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± The elf replied. ¡°But maybe the Lore keeper does. She has an extensive library of all kinds of fruits and herbs, complete with drawings and all. Maybe she can help you further?¡±

    ¡°What about your own library?¡± I asked. ¡°I saw your father looking at tomes with drawings too.¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± She chuckled. ¡°I doubt it. Most of those books are on warfare, history, and a more recent topic; village and city administration. There are a few on plants, though. I could take a look if you want.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that would be great, thank you. You won¡¯t believe how good chocolate tastes¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, as good as you?¡±

    I blushed again. ¡°What¡¯s with the sudden flirting?¡±

    ¡°We should get you a bath¡­ I¡¯d like to not get your hair stuck to my face when we¡¯re sleeping. There¡¯s also that icky insect blood on your legs, still.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°You¡¯re probably right. Aren¡¯t you tired, though?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°Not at all.¡±

    ¡°Well, you know how long it takes for me to clean myself. I hope you won¡¯t fall asleep while I¡¯m in the tub.¡±

    ¡°Who said you were going in alone?¡± She winked.

    Faragi

    I have now finished the first arc completely on Patreon. I''ll likely have the Epilogue to the first arc done later tonight. After that, I plan to get at least 15 chapters ahead on Patreon again, possibly more, before I continue publishing on RR/SH/WN. I''ll take a bit of a break before publishing Arc 2 to tie up some loose ends/rewrite some/start on a second story.

    Make sure to join my discord server for updates on everything in between publishing!

    https://discord.gg/TqFjdv8uaE

    Special shoutout to my new Patron:

    Chris

    PS: The chapter after this is NSFW. I will post that in a separate story for which I will provide the link. The chapter will be titled ''''77.5'''' However, I will publish it AFTER 78. I''d like to know if people who do not plan to read it miss anything.

    PSPS: Please drop a bunch of comments and favourites if you like <3 I wouldn''t mind 5 star ratings either <3<3

 1.77.5 (NSFW/18+)

    Faragi

    I have put the more explicit scenes in spoilers in this chapter. I reckon it should still be readable for people who are not interested in that stuff.

    I stared at Velariah.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get you all cleaned up.¡± She smiled.

    ¡°It¡¯s late already, Vel. I can do this myself and make it fast.¡±

    ¡°Nah, I insist I help you with it.¡± She said as she turned on the faucet to let the water reach its desired temperature.

    She walked in front of me and lifted my shirt up to take it off.

    ¡°You really made a mess, you know? You got this shirt all sticky as well.¡±

    Well, obviously. I hadn¡¯t cleaned my skin yet. There was bound to be more of the strawberry juice that got itself stuck to it.

    ¡°And whose fault was that again? You know I hate spiders. Letting them surprise me like that when I¡¯m climbing a wall is bound to cause issues.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry. How can I make it up to you?¡± She smiled as she urged me to lower my human torso with her hands on my ¡®hips¡¯.

    ¡°Well, if you insist on making it up to me, you could wash my hair with some of that lovely shampoo,¡± I said and smiled.

    ¡°Hm, that¡¯s a good idea.¡± She quickly kissed me and reached for the shampoo bottle in one of the baskets under the sink. She grabbed two sponges as well and laid the towels in the sink.

    She started undressing, leaving on nothing but her panties, and stepped into the tub where she plugged in the stopper, preparing for my ¡®first clean¡¯. She placed the bottle of shampoo just outside the tub and beckoned me over.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get those legs of yours cleaned up, shall we?¡± She said with the most beautiful smile.

    I removed the two pieces of clothing that I wore and joined her in the tub. She used the sponge to absorb some of the shallow water and wrung it out above my head.

    ¡°You¡¯re making this more complicated than it has to be, you know?¡± I smiled.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m enjoying this.¡± She said before repeating the action she made several times, to get my hair all wet. She then ran her fingers through it, getting the sugar from the spilled drink out, before rinsing it with more water.

    ¡°Hm, I do enjoy your hands in my hair,¡± I said, earning a smile and a kiss from the kneeling elf before me.

    ¡°And I do enjoy your lips on mine,¡± She said seductively.

    She took hold of my two filthy legs and brought them forward so they were in front of her. She ran her hands over them gently, earning a smile from me as I closed my eyes and enjoyed her touch. She then started scrubbing them, slowly wiping off the insect blood that stained them.

    I opened my eyes again to see her checking out my other legs.

    ¡°Seems the others are still clean.¡± She mentioned and crawled towards the stopper, which she unplugged and then plugged again after the water had drained.

    ¡°Yeah, I told you I would be finished pretty quickly,¡± I replied after she knelt back in front of me.

    ¡°But then I couldn¡¯t do this.¡± She said before placing a hand on my belly. Her touches so close to my belly button sent shivers through my entire body.

    She put her other hand in my hair and ran it over the skin of my scalp as she pressed her body against me to kiss me again.

    Heat rapidly built up again everywhere in my body, and I had my pedipalps around her back before I even realized it.

    ¡°Hmm, El, you¡¯re delicious,¡± Velariah said as she broke away and reached for the shampoo bottle outside the tub.

    I didn¡¯t know how to respond to that and simply stared into her blue and green eyes when she turned to face me once more.

    I regretted that she broke away, I was getting lost in her lips¡­

    The elf shook the bottle vigorously to try to mix all the different ingredients before putting some on her hands and putting the bottle away again.

    ¡°You look like you¡¯d like some more of that.¡± She smiled seductively again.

    I nodded.

    I wanted more¡­

    ¡°Happy to please you, El,¡± She said as she reached for my long hair and started rubbing the shampoo in it.

    The scent of flowers only served to stimulate my senses more when she pressed herself against me again and kissed me passionately. I returned the favor by running my hands through her still dry hair and holding her head while we made out. My second set of hands were guided to her hips by the elf.

    Velariah¡¯s hands rubbing the roots of my hair were driving me crazy and I could feel my resistance weakening as she started kissing me more and more passionately. Eventually, her hands were removed from my head which caused slight disappointment to fill me.

    It wasn¡¯t for long. Soon, her hands were both running over my stomach as she gently ran her fingers from my carapace upward.

    ¡°Vel.¡± I moaned softly in the little time I had between two kisses.

    The elf broke away and looked into my eyes and stared into my soul. The heat within me started to become unquenchable when I looked at her.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Velariah asked softly. ¡°Should I stop?¡± She looked slightly disappointed.

    I shook my head. ¡°No,¡± I answered softly before she closed the gap again.

    Velariah ran her hands over my belly again and didn¡¯t stop this time. They reached my breasts which she gently caressed.

    My defense was completely gone. Her soft, loving touches became irresistible for my body and mind.

    ¡°Do tell me to stop if I¡¯m going too far,¡± Velariah said softly.

    It only served to fuel my love for her. She was so caring and sweet. It only made me want her more.

    ¡°No, Vel. I love you.¡± I admitted with a soft voice as I placed my pedipalps around her back, joined by my front set of legs. I used them to press her closer to my body.

    ¡°I love you too,¡± Velariah said, word by word, because I kept interrupting her with my mouth.

    I ran my hands over her legs, up to her hips, while my other hands ran up from her stomach to her breasts. She was slightly smaller than me, but there was plenty to hold and caress.

    ¡°Hm, El.¡± She moaned softly.

    I closed my eyes and let my instincts take over. I slowly ran my fingers over Velariah¡¯s soft skin, completely lost in my desire for her. Our kissing never stopped, and before I knew it, I held her with four of my legs while I slowly ran my pedipalps over her back.

    ¡°Elania, you¡¯re amazing,¡± Velariah said while still running her hands over my skin and cupping my breasts.

    ¡°As are you, Vel. You¡¯re driving me crazy. How do you do it?¡±

    She pressed herself against me, her chest against mine, and ran her fingers near my belly button again, causing me to slightly close my eyes and enjoy the pleasure that jolted through my entire body.

    ¡°I have no idea, El. I just love you. I do what my body wants to do and it wants to make you feel good.¡±

    I pinned her down to the wall of the tub and brought in yet another set of legs. This one took hold of the elf¡¯s legs, while my other two sets were still around her frame.

    ¡°So do you, it seems.¡± She smiled but was interrupted as I forced my mouth on hers again. I didn¡¯t reply. I simply let my hands and limbs do the talking.

    I ran a few fingers up her long ears and felt her body shudder beneath me in reaction. I continued doing that and felt Velariah¡¯s heartbeat rise and rise as our intimacy grew stronger and stronger.

    I felt her sensations through my limbs. Every time her heart beat, it was registered and redirected to my brain. It only served to make me want the elf to feel even better. The dam had completely broken. I wanted her more than anything in the world.

    The rising water only added more heat to our show of love and affection. It seemed Velariah had put the temperature higher than I was used to. I didn¡¯t care, though.

    Velariah lifted herself up with her arms around my neck. Her head didn¡¯t reach further than my chest, as she was sitting on the tub floor, but it gave her plenty of height to put her mouth on one of my breasts. She started sucking on it softly and skillfully played around with her tongue, causing all sorts of pleasure to flow through me whenever it connected with my nipple.

    ¡°Vel.¡± I moaned softly, losing myself to the elf.

    Velariah reacted by moving her hand up to my other breast and mimicking the movements of her tongue.

    I closed my eyes and let her do as she pleased.

    ¡°At times like this, I really wish I had four hands, too.¡± She spoke. Seconds later, her lips were on mine again, and her fingers were now doing what her tongue was doing moments ago.

    The heat was becoming unbearable. I needed release, but Velariah seemed too occupied with making it worse and worse. Her tongue was forced into my mouth and started exploring the insides of my lips. It then found my tongue and played with it.

    She pressed her chest against mine once more as she found a way to escape from my third set of legs that held her. She was kneeling before me once more and started to take the lead that I¡¯d obviously lost.

    My legs and pedipalps were still on her back, and my hands were still on her breasts and hips, but she started to push me back as her tongue invaded my mouth and drove me crazy.

    ¡°Do you want to go further?¡± She asked softly, as she broke away for a second to speak, before kissing my neck.

    ¡°Yes, Vel. I want you.¡± I let out softly, followed by a slight moan as she pinched my nipples gently.

    ¡°I want you too, El.¡± She spoke in a whisper before kissing me again.

    I was completely at her mercy. The way she made me feel¡­ I was in heaven. My love for her, combined with all the stimulations she caused brought tears to my eyes. I¡¯d never felt this way before. I didn¡¯t know what was going on, but I wanted it. I wanted to be with Velariah and hold her close.

    ¡°Are you crying, El? Are you okay?¡± Velariah sounded worried.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay. They are tears of joy. Please continue...¡± I almost begged.

    Velariah reacted to that by bending me over so that my head was against my abdomen. The flexibility of this body continued to amaze me. I still had my legs on her back and my pedipalps were now holding on to her legs.

    ¡°Be careful with my fangs, Vel,¡± I whispered. I knew full well where this was going, and the location of my fangs was close to where I knew Velariah would end up sooner or later.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± She spoke as she soaked the two sponges and rubbed them over my human body, all while suckling on my breasts again.

    I had my eyes closed and simply held my hands in her hair as she added more fuel to the fire. If she continued like this, I was going to explode. She scrubbed gently, causing waves of pleasure to ripple through me as she slowly worked up again. Velariah really knew how to play me¡­

    Her mouth reached mine again and I heard one of the sponges fall into the water next to me. I had my eyes closed again and let the elf exploit her leading position to the fullest.

    She ran her hands from my breasts all over my skin to my hips while kissing me eagerly. She then moved them up my belly to my breasts with which she started playing gently. Her tongue played with mine as we kissed with mouths wide open. My breasts were kneaded by her strong fingers as she continued to drive me crazier and crazier.

    I used my lower set of hands to gently caress hers as she moved around on top of me as she continued to take her lead further in the kissing battle we are competing in.

    Her hands touched every inch of my skin with a light touch, causing me to want her. I wanted Velariah to drive me to the edge¡­ and beyond. She then moved her hands lower and lower, touching and gliding over my exoskeleton, which was incredibly sensitive to her touch for some reason.

    I felt her hand stop on my chitin, near the orifice that hid my lady parts, and felt a finger try to make its way inside. I didn¡¯t object. In fact, I held Velariah tighter with my extra limbs.

    The opening seemed to expand without issues and the white-haired elf eagerly accepted the invitation to gently worm her entire hand inside. I then felt her fingers reach my most sensitive parts and moaned softly as she felt around.

    ¡°Vel!¡± I let out softly in reaction.

    Velariah didn¡¯t reply. It seemed I¡¯d only served to please her with that reaction as I felt her emotions strengthen through my limbs.

    She felt around which, in itself was already pleasant, but she had obvious trouble finding what she was looking for.

    ¡°Going well, Vel?¡± I asked, chucking at her hapless efforts to please me.

    Velariah seemed slightly annoyed.

    ¡°It¡¯s my first time. You¡¯re not exactly human anymore. I don¡¯t quite know where everything is located.¡±

    I smiled and gave her a quick kiss. ¡°Relax, it¡¯s okay.¡±

    I then moved a hand on her arm whose hand was looking for my sweet spot. She stopped moving her fingers in reaction, as I guided her movements.

    ¡°Here,¡± I whispered with a soft moan as I felt her fingers connect.

    She smiled and moved her fingers over my knob. I gritted my teeth at the sensations.

    ¡°El, you¡¯re so cute when you make that face,¡± The elf spoke softly.

    ¡°Mmmmm,¡± I moaned softly as she continued playing around, sending jolts of pleasure throughout my entire body. My legs resonated with the jolts, causing Velariah to laugh.

    ¡°I can¡¯t help it, okay?¡± I said half-jokingly.

    ¡°It¡¯s cute. I love seeing your reactions at my touch,¡± She replied.

    She slowly moved two fingers inside, not far, while stimulating my clit. She stimulated my inner walls carefully and slowly while keeping one finger on my most sensitive spot.

    Tears sprung to my eyes again. My fangs reacted to her touch and crossed over her arm while she continued to carry me to heaven. Another pair of legs had found its way onto her back as well. It seemed my spider half wanted to hold on to the elf with all its might.

    I wanted to hold on to her with all my might.

    Her kissing was draining all my strength...

    My limbs were becoming weaker by the second as my heart started working overtime to process the emotions and pleasure Velariah was bringing me. I even started to notice it in my human arms.

    I somehow found the strength to bring my hands down from her hips to her own nether regions. I had no trouble replicating the actions she took with me; she was soaking wet. Even through the water from the tub, I could make out her own. She reacted to my touch with a soft moan of pleasure of her own. I knew she enjoyed my touch, every inch of my body knew it to be true and I loved making her feel this way.

    I had a far easier time finding her pearl. Velariah broke away from the kiss to let out a soft moan of her own. I didn¡¯t offer her any reprieve as I forced her back onto my lips with my spidery limbs.

    I also moved two fingers inside her, slowly and carefully, and started slightly rubbing her inner walls with them, while continuing to stimulate her jewel.

    Her kissing assumed a more frenzied form. It was as if she was ravenous and needed to be kissed to be satisfied. Her mouth and tongue took full control as she pressed herself against me tighter and tighter while continuing to move her fingers around inside me.

    I didn¡¯t dare to open my eyes. I felt as if I¡¯d wake up from a dream that was long overdue. I wanted to experience this feeling with all my heart and mind.

    I still played with the elf¡¯s chest with my other hands as we continued to make love. Our breathing intensified and I could hear soft, quick panting coming from the elf while my legs held on to her for dear life.

    Her heartbeat became faster and faster. It felt¡­ empowering to be able to feel it. It was as if I had her tight in my legs and she was my prey. I couldn¡¯t describe it any other way.

    I was doing one hell of a sucky job at being a spider, allowing my prey to take hold of me instead. I couldn¡¯t help but love the feeling, though.

    Velariah¡¯s movements inside me intensified in speed, causing my hands to replicate it without even thinking. My calling out her name was suppressed by her lips and tongue still being in control.

    I started to move my body forward and backward as her fingers were still playing and pleasuring me.

    I wanted her more and more.

    I wanted to shout her name.

    I wanted her to know I loved her with every fiber in my body.

    I wanted her to feel the same way I was feeling right now. She was taking me higher and higher into the sky.

    She¡¯d granted me wings.

    I exploded with pleasure and I could feel my spidery limbs twitch as my climax washed over me,  followed shortly by Velariah¡¯s own. When she did, the sensations picked up by my legs only served to intensify my own more. The girl I loved experienced the greatest pleasure I could bring her, and I loved the feeling.

    Our kissing never stopped, continuing on, even as we both rode out our climaxes.

    I didn¡¯t want to break apart.

    I wanted her to feel loved forever.

    She brought her hands back into my soap-soaked hair and continued kissing softly.

    I imagined she felt the same way. I didn¡¯t want this to end.

    ¡°Vel,¡± I softly moaned again in the short time that I had when we broke apart. ¡°I love you, Vel.¡±

    ¡°I love you too, Elania.¡± She whispered back.

    I took hold of her arms and pinned her against the wall of the tub again, my legs supporting the underside of the elf¡¯s frame once more. I relaxed deeply as the hot water almost completely submerged us now.

    I continued the kisses and ran my fingers across her soft skin¡¯s curves once more, making my feelings of love all the more clear to her.

    I closed my eyes again and soon found myself in a hazy state where I could only feel the elf and her body. Her touches on my skin and mine on hers were all that I felt. All worries, all cares, all problems were gone. All that remained was Velariah and my love for her.

    I prayed I¡¯d be able to stay with her forever.

    Faragi

    Let me know if this feels like a proper way of doing the NSFW chapters.

 1.78 Spider Strugglesâ€¦

    Faragi

    I understand this may feel like a bit of a weird chapter to some people,

    Eggs

    however, I like to cover a broad spectrum of subjects and I feel like this should be included as well.

    Please understand that this chapter comes after 77.5 which is an NSFW chapter. The reason I publish this first is that I''d like to know how this feels to people who haven''t read the NSFW chapter. Do you guys feel like there is anything missing?

    Do let me know in the comments. I will probably upload 77.5 tomorrow, as a separate story on SH. I will provide a link when it''s up (probably in 79)

    I was lying in the hammock, holding on to Velariah with as many legs as I could fit around her frame. There was no question about the love I held for her, even less now.

    We had turned off the lights, but I didn¡¯t need light to enjoy her presence. As beautiful as she was, just being this close to her already filled my heart and mind with joy.

    I had completely surrendered to Velariah while we were bathing, transitioning us into the next step in our relationship. I thought back to the feelings she¡¯d made me feel and couldn¡¯t help but smile. I had truly blossomed.

    My heart was all hers¡­

    And I couldn¡¯t help but love the feeling¡­

    ¡°You thinking, El?¡± Velariah whispered into my ear.

    ¡°Yes,¡± I replied with a whisper of my own.

    ¡°Did you enjoy it?¡±

    I see the smile she made without having to see it.

    I kissed her. ¡°I loved it.¡±

    I took her in a tight hug with a set of hands in her hair, my other set of hands was used to interlock our fingers.

    ¡°I love you, Vel. You¡¯ve conquered my heart.¡± I whispered.

    ¡°Hm, and you mine,¡± The elf whispered back before kissing me again.

    I could feel her heartbeat through my pedipalps which confirmed the meaning behind her words. Her heart beat faster every time we kissed. I felt flattered.

    I was certain she enjoyed the hugs that I could provide. She practically begged me to use all my limbs to hold on to her. Little did she know, I enjoyed it just as much as she did. This spider body was truly growing on me, especially for moments like this¡­

    ¡°Good night, El,¡± Velariah said softly.

    ¡°Good night, Vel,¡± I whispered back, kissed her once more, and laid my head next to her.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I woke up to knocking coming from the door. My vision was groggy, even after turning on the light. I couldn¡¯t see much. To make matters worse, I was feeling terrible. I was certain I¡¯d slept well. How could I not when I had such a lovely person next to- well, beneath me?

    No, I was feeling some kind of nausea. My problem, however, was that I didn¡¯t feel it in my human parts. Rather, it was coming from my abdomen.

    I moaned from the pain, causing Velariah to awaken.

    ¡°El? Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°No. I feel horrible.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She asked with caring eyes.

    ¡°Nausea, down¡­ below¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait, where?¡± She asked.

    I pointed behind me.

    The knocking on the door was repeated.

    ¡°Are the two of you about to wake up? What the hell have you been up to, anyway? It¡¯s almost noon.¡± Seralyn called.

    While it was true we went to bed extremely late because of our little bathtub¡­ adventure, I found it hard to believe it was this late already.

    ¡°Elania isn¡¯t feeling well,¡± Velariah said loudly. ¡°We¡¯ll be there in a bit.¡±

    ¡°You go, Vel. I¡¯ll stay in bed if you don¡¯t mind.¡± I moaned again, the pain seemed to be getting worse.

    ¡°Ugh.¡±

    Velariah jumped out of the hammock and quickly gathered her clothes. I stayed in bed and let my legs dangle at the sides.

    ¡°Your face is completely white,¡± Velariah mentioned. ¡°This can¡¯t be good. Shall I get Master Pylanor?¡±

    ¡°For what? I know exactly how this is gonna go. He¡¯s gonna use his fancy magic on me and find out there isn¡¯t anything wrong with me. You¡¯re welcome to try, but ugh.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t even finish my sentence. I didn¡¯t even know what to say anymore.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go get him. I don¡¯t like you looking like that.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vel,¡± I said with the last of my strength before I buried my face in the pillows.

    I could hear the door close behind Velariah.

    Could I not fast forward to the next day or something? This was hell.

    As much as I enjoyed this body when it came to hugging the white-haired elf. I still didn¡¯t know all the things there were to it.

    Maybe it was the cookies from yesterday?

    I would hate for that to be the case.

    I let out a long moan of pain as I tried to get myself back to sleep. That would be the easiest way to ignore the pain.

    It wasn¡¯t meant to be¡­

    Sleep wouldn¡¯t come to me. My legs were restless and my spider half seemed to be on fire. My nausea intensified and had now spread to my human half as well. I wondered if I should turn myself around, maybe I could make it to the toilet faster that way if my body decided vomiting was in order.

    I couldn¡¯t be bothered to move.

    I continued wailing in agony until I heard the door open again. I could see Velariah and two treemenders, easily recognized because of all the green they wore, enter the room through the blur. I believe I saw Seralyn and Draco behind them, but I couldn¡¯t be sure. They closed the door after they entered.

    ¡°Truly fascinating¡­¡± I heard one of the treemenders speak.

    I wanted to ask who this was. I didn¡¯t recognize the voice.

    Velariah walked up to me and laid a hand on my still bare back. It was only now that I realized I wasn¡¯t wearing anything save for my underwear.

    She took one of my hands in hers and soothed me.

    ¡°I¡¯ve brought Master Pylanor and someone else, Master Endomir, on his recommendation.¡±

    I was happy to hear her voice.

    ¡°Master Pylanor told me that Master Endomir specializes in insects and has some knowledge about spiders too. He appears to be behind a lot of knowledge that the guild possesses on insect-like creatures.¡± Velariah continued.

    I simply nodded.

    ¡°Elania, I¡¯m going to check for problems, okay?¡± I could hear Pylanor¡¯s voice.

    I nodded once more.

    Something grabbed one of my legs. I spasmed as a reflex and hit the person who grabbed it in the chest.

    ¡°Endomir, stop that,¡± Pylanor called.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t help myself.¡± The other treemender replied.

    ¡°Endomir has wanted to observe and inspect your¡­ spidery parts for quite some time. I apologize for his eagerness.¡± Pylanor spoke calmly as he put a hand on my head.

    I could feel his magic flow from my head, through my body, then back to his hand.

    ¡°It is as I thought,¡± He said, and removed his hand.

    ¡°Once again, you seem to be in perfect health.¡±

    Great. Just great¡­

    ¡°However, Endomir may be able to help you if this is another issue related to your¡­ species.¡±

    This was getting better and better. Now I¡¯d have a creepy, grabby scientist experimenting on me¡­

    ¡°Go for it,¡± I said in pain.

    ¡°Miss Elania. Where is the pain?¡± The other treemender asked. I could feel him having hold of one of my legs again.

    ¡°Everywhere right now.¡±

    ¡°Where did it start?¡± He then asked.

    ¡°My abdomen, about a third from the front, on the underside.¡±

    ¡°Fascinating¡­¡±

    What the hell is wrong with this guy?

    ¡°Could you turn so I could observe the location?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to do that yourself. I can¡¯t even lift my legs.¡±

    ¡°I see. Pylanor, Lady Velariah, could I get a hand?¡±

    Together, they pushed over my abdomen. I tried to help where I could, but my legs were far weaker than usual. I then felt a hand touch the underside of my spider abdomen and press against it. The pain subsided slightly, before returning.

    What did he do?

    They let go and caused me to land in the hammock again.

    ¡°What¡¯s with her?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite simple really,¡± Endomir spoke. ¡°Her abdomen is swollen. There¡¯s nothing physically wrong with her. I can only conclude she has to lay eggs.¡±

    What the fuck?

    How was that possible? I couldn¡¯t be pregnant, could I? That just couldn¡¯t be true, not with Velariah.

    Or could I?

    I started panicking.

    ¡°But how?¡± Velariah asked for me.

    ¡°If she hasn¡¯t had a male fertilize them, I have to assume they are unfertilized eggs. Certain species lay them. It seems to be similar to the mechanism human females use.¡±

    Oh God, please let that be true.

    ¡°If you are wondering where they exit the body, there¡¯s an opening down there called the epigyne.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Endomir. I think we should get going. Will the two of you be alright?¡± Pylanor asked.

    ¡°I think so¡­¡± Velariah said hesitantly.

    I saw the two men in green leave before Velariah closed and locked the door again.

    I sighed deeply.

    Another struggle to add to the list of things I never imagined I¡¯d go through.

    ¡°Unreal,¡± Velariah said as she took hold of my hand again. ¡°I cannot believe the things you have to go through.¡±

    ¡°You have no idea, Vel,¡± I said softly.

    I hoped with all my heart that this would be the last surprise I¡¯d have to experience. I prayed that I wouldn¡¯t have to experience the monthly issues with my human half in addition to this. This was bad enough as it was.

    ¡°Now what?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± the elf asked. ¡°We¡¯re going to get those eggs out of you.¡±

    I don¡¯t know what made me feel more nauseous, the fact that I was in pain from those eggs, or that fact that I¡¯d have to get them out. The thought of it disgusted me. Then again, this pain was not getting any less.

    ¡°And what do we do with them?¡± She then asked.

    ¡°Burn them. Toss them in the hearth or something. I don¡¯t care.¡± I spoke with anger.

    What was I supposed to do? Keep them as a souvenir? Wait until they miraculously hatch and fuck up my life?

    Nope.

    I very much liked my life as it was. I didn¡¯t need possibly hundreds of children to ruin everything for me. Though, I did wonder what my children would look like¡­

    I shook my head.

    ¡°Do you have any idea what to do?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°No, I do not. I had to figure out how to walk and whatnot by touching all those places before. It created some kind of connection in my mind which I then built upon.¡±

    ¡°So, you need me to touch you there?¡± She asked incredulously.

    ¡°Vel, you touched me in weirder places last night¡­¡±

    ¡°That is true.¡±

    Velariah removed a few pillows from under me so she had clear access to the¡­ what did that treemender call it again? I should have paid attention. Despite his¡­ clinginess, he might be useful for more questions later on.

    I simply lay down and let Velariah explore even more of my body. She gently pushed against my abdomen in the same manner as the treemender, causing the pain to lessen slightly. This time, it didn¡¯t return.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you just did, Vel, but it helped against the pain,¡± I said.

    ¡°Hum.¡± She said and pushed again in a different spot.

    I could feel something moving inside me.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± I let out.

    I was such a freakshow on wheels, well legs, too many of them.

    ¡°Uh, hold on a second,¡± Velariah said.

    She looked around the room and took a basket from the compartment cabinet. She took out the sponges and brush and laid them in the sink. She then disappeared below the hammock and I could feel her hands on my abdomen again.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to put a finger inside, okay?¡±

    ¡°Gods, that sounds weird, Vel.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, okay.¡± She giggled.

    Her mood seemed to be much better than before and it lifted my spirits as well. I even found the energy to make a terrible joke.

    ¡°You¡¯d make an amazing midwife.¡± I grinned.

    Velariah giggled in response before she entered the orifice that the treemender had pointed out with a finger.

    As I had hoped, something clicked in my head. I now felt pressure building up instead of pain. The pressure bordered on pain, but it seemed my body had found a way to relieve itself of it. I pushed. I contracted muscles that I didn¡¯t know I even had¡­ until seconds ago.

    Something came out of the opening, I couldn¡¯t see what it was, but it was followed by the relief of pressure as I felt eggs being pushed out.

    The relief was heavenly. All the pain and nausea I¡¯d experienced disappeared in an instant. It was as if it was all pulled out of me. I couldn¡¯t deny it felt¡­ nice.

    ¡°Holy shit, El,¡± Velariah called as I laid my head down once more, exhausted. ¡°I do hope those are not fertilized, for your sake.¡±

    Panic shot through me again.

    ¡°They seem to be empty¡­ although I have no idea how this stuff works.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I asked as I was still recovering from my most recent adventure.

    Velariah walked up to my head. I could see she had the entire basket filled, and then some. She held one up for me to see. It looked like a chicken egg, but a larger size, double the size maybe, it was completely transparent and didn¡¯t seem to have a hard shell. It looked like some kind of gel. I didn¡¯t dare to touch it to confirm.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get rid of these. You should rest for a moment. You look as if you need it.¡± Velariah said, before kissing my forehead.

    I pulled her in when she parted ways and gave her a deep kiss on the lips.

    ¡°Thank you, Vel.¡±

    ¡°Anything for you,¡± She spoke softly as she brushed my hair behind my ear.

    Velariah exited the room and I could finally relax. With the pain gone, and exhaustion built up, it didn¡¯t take long before sleep took me.

    ---------------------------------------------

    ¡°El?¡± I heard Velariah call out.

    ¡°Hmmm?¡± I said as I tried to turn my body around¡­ to no avail.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just¡­ hungry?¡±

    Velariah laughed. ¡°Of course you are. Let¡¯s get you something to eat, shall we?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, sounds good,¡± I replied as I carefully stepped out of the hammock.

    ¡°How do omelets sound?¡± She asked me.

    I looked at her with disbelief.

    She burst into laughter.

    I swear, this elf¡­

    I sighed and smiled at her. ¡°I do hope you have something else...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    We entered the dining area. For some reason, our companions were still seated at the table and were playing a round of Yahtzee. Had they been here the entire time?

    ¡°Damn, girl. Nira¡¯s got nothing on you, Elania.¡± Seralyn commented.

    I could see Nira turn around with a blush and a wing raised up to her face. I, too, looked at the floor in embarrassment.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, that Endomir guy? He said this spider is a female. Apparently, you can judge it from the pedipalps. Who knew?¡±

    That sounded too easy to be true.

    ¡°Nice,¡± Velariah said. ¡°That means I get to rename it. Lucas won¡¯t fit anymore¡­ I¡¯m going to call it Minia.¡±

    What the hell was that name even?

    I looked at her, questioning her choice of name with my expression.

    ¡°Mini Elania, Minia.¡±

    Seralyn burst into laughter. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a good one. I love it.¡±

    ¡°How are you feeling, Miss Elania?¡± Draco asked in all seriousness.

    ¡°Much better now, thank you. At least I know how that works too, now.¡± I sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll probably never stop learning¡­¡±

    ¡°What did you do with the eggs anyway?¡± I asked the white-haired elf.

    ¡°Burned them, as you suggested.¡±

    Something about killing it with fire before it lays eggs. Although, I guessed it was probably too late for that. Besides, I¡¯d rather not get myself burned.

    ¡°Thanks¡­¡±

    I didn¡¯t see Elly, but I did smell a wonderful scent coming from the kitchen.

    ¡°How late is it?¡± I asked.

    ¡°About halfway through noon,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°You didn¡¯t have any plans for today, did you?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m simply waiting until Grandmaster Ineus arrives.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m hoping he will arrive tomorrow,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°That¡¯d be lovely,¡± I replied.

    Elly entered the room with two entire chickens on an oven tray. She placed the tray on two coasters on the table before returning to the kitchen and putting a plate with cutlery down in front of me.

    ¡°You guys don¡¯t want anything?¡± I asked my companions, flooded with guilt.

    ¡°We already had something for lunch while you were out,¡± Velariah reassured me.

    I shoved two chairs aside and stood at the table. Velariah sat down next to me and laid a hand on one of mine. I liked how it wouldn¡¯t prevent me from eating. I had more arms to go around!

    I didn¡¯t bother to use cutlery. I never used it when eating chicken legs or the like anyway. I didn¡¯t understand people who did.

    I enjoyed my meal and found myself revitalized. After finishing the second chicken and drinking some kingberry juice, I felt like I could use some adventure.

    That was odd.

    Elly cleaned up and brought the used plate and tray with chicken bones back to the kitchen.

    ¡°Man, I wanna do something,¡± I said as I stretched my arms.

    ¡°Heh,¡± Velariah chucked. ¡°There¡¯s not much we can do though, with the forest being off-limits¡­¡±

    ¡°No loose Bunbears or anything?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We were at the guild earlier, and there was nothing of interest,¡± Draco said.

    Well, yikes.

    ¡°How about that plant pod thingy that you mentioned yesterday?¡± Velariah asked. ¡°Caca or something it was called, right? We could look at whatever books we have together.¡±

    I grinned. ¡°Cocoa. And yes, that sounds fine by me, but I don¡¯t know if the others are interested in digging in books.¡±

    ¡°What is this you¡¯re talking about?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°The best kind of candy you will ever eat in your life,¡± I said, not overhyping chocolate at all.

    ¡°Is it as good as coffee?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Oof, that¡¯s a good question. I¡¯d say it¡¯s just as good, yes, better in some scenarios even.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good to me then,¡± The archer said. ¡°Sign me up.¡±

    ¡°Hey, let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to know if a certain plant grows in this world first. That¡¯s why I drew a picture of what it looks like. Even after we confirm it exists, we will still have to get it, and figure out the process to make the candy.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like an adventure,¡± Draco commented.

    ¡°It could be,¡± I replied.

    ¡°At this rate,¡± Seralyn said, ¡°You¡¯re going to do more than just help out Dawnleaf¡¯s financial situation. I don¡¯t even know what it is, and I already know it will cause cash to flow into the village.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s another great export product for sure. It¡¯s a gamble, though.¡±

    ¡°Enough talking,¡± Velariah interjected. ¡°Let¡¯s do what my father does best and dig in some tomes, shall we?¡±

    She stood up and walked to the kitchen door. ¡°Elly?¡± she asked as she knocked.

    Moments later, Elly opened the door. ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going to need your help.¡±

    Faragi

    Special shoutout to my new patrons <3

    Knight_Redundant

    J C

 1.79 Tome Digging

    Faragi

    In accordance with all the feedback on chapter 78, I decided to post chapter 77.5 in the same story instead of a separate one. I put any and all NSFW content in spoiler tags so people don''t have to see it if they don''t want to.

    I was told it feels the chapter contains some important plot development which is part of the reason I decided to do it this way.

    I believe the chapter is perfectly readable for those not interested in NSFW content but of course, I am a horrible judge.

    It''s available here:

    Elly and Velariah made several trips upstairs and brought down a wide collection of books. From thick to thin, from old to new-looking, everything that had to do with plants and fruits was laid on the large table.

    Gray was running around the room excitedly, possibly from the commotion that was happening. Nira eventually picked him up and sat down at the table with the pup on her lap.

    Draco and I started separating the books based on the topics and plant species they covered. I imagined a book on healing herbs would not contain information on cocoa plants; chocolate had no healing properties as far as I knew.

    Well, perhaps it did in fact¡­

    But it wasn¡¯t the kind of healing that this book covered.

    This wasn¡¯t exactly how I imagined adventuring would go, but with no quests available, the forest being off-limits, and being semi-forced to wait in or near the village, this seemed to be something that could be worth my time.

    I didn¡¯t feel much like going to the dungeon today. We¡¯d already lost a fair amount of time due to my¡­ spider issues (gods, I hoped this wouldn¡¯t be monthly).

    At least I now knew how to get rid of the pain. Even if this was monthly, from a certain point of view, this could be seen as more desirable over multiple days of blood and pain¡­

    Besides, it felt like the dungeon was starting to become¡­ boring? Perhaps I should ask Arch if he was still able to provide us with Corium?

    Maybe he knew if chocolate was a thing?

    I wondered if he had the answer to that question. What answers did he have? He didn¡¯t seem omnipotent, far from it, but he did seem to have some answers as to what my capabilities are.

    Maybe he needed to have something close to him to make an assessment. In that case, asking him about chocolate would be a waste of his energy.

    And so, we started digging through the books. My drawing of a cocoa pod was placed in the middle of the table, for all to see. If anyone found a picture of something that looked like it in the slightest, they¡¯d show it to me.

    The pictures in the books were quite detailed. I knew that some of the plants that were pictured in them were found back on Earth as well, which gave me hope. Some of them, however, were completely alien to me. There was a picture of a certain plant that had tentacle-like vines that, apparently, were used to slap insects out of the air. It excretes some slimy substance that would cause the insects to stick to it before being consumed by a maw that sat at the center of the plant, complete with spiky teeth and all.

    Yikes.

    A couple of melons got my interest. I was currently turning pages in a book about melons, some of which got fairly close shapes to what I was after. They also had pictures of a cut-through version of the fruits. Watermelons were among them. I turned a few more pages, hoping that someone had misidentified the cocoa pod as a melon but was disappointed when nothing else came up that looked like the fruit I was after.

    I sighed.

    ¡°Any luck?¡± I asked.

    The others shook their heads. Each of them was turning pages of their own.

    I put my book away on the steadily growing pile of ¡®read¡¯ books.

    All this for chocolate¡­

    I started on a book on ¡®Plants with unknown uses¡¯. It sounded simple, yet mysterious.

    The plants in it were, indeed, mysterious. I recognized none of them, they all had quite short descriptions too, that seemed to be limited to toxic, non-toxic, foul-smelling, and simple things like that. Their location was described as well, although most of these plants were considered ¡®omnipresent¡¯.

    I was surprised to see the coffee cherries pictured in the book as well.

    They knew about this plant, had they never bothered to do what I did?

    I could only imagine they were extremely close to finding out the wonders of coffee themselves.

    The book appeared brand new, which semi-confirmed my suspicion. There was little to no dust on the hardcover, and the paper hadn¡¯t nearly colored as much as some of the other books I¡¯d checked.

    ¡°I may have something here, Miss Elania.¡± Draco sounded from across the table.

    He turned the book around and shoved it to me so I could observe. It was a picture of some kind of pumpkin. The outside looked something like what I was looking for, but there was a picture of the seeds inside next to it. The seeds were flat and white. Those were not cocoa beans.

    I shook my head. ¡°The pods I¡¯m looking for grow on trees. The seeds I¡¯m looking for are bigger and not flat. I¡¯m not quite sure about the color, though. Cocoa beans need to be roasted too. I imagine they turn brown after that.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Draco answered as he took the book again and continued reading through it.

    I went back to turning the pages in my book until my eyes fell on exactly what I was looking for.

    A pod that grew on a tree. The pod was described as being green before turning yellow and eventually orange.

    The seeds seemed to be stuck together with some kind of white peel, or skin. I wasn¡¯t aware that was a thing, but the seeds seemed to be the right size and shape.

    I looked at the image of the pod for what felt like minutes. I was convinced this was what I was looking for.

    All things together, It wasn¡¯t hard for me to conclude this was what I¡¯d been looking for.

    ¡°Is that what you were looking for?¡± Velariah¡¯s voice sounded next to me.

    ¡°I am pretty sure it is, yes.¡±

    ¡°Zerdanian Jungle? Damn, that¡¯s far from here¡­¡± She said.

    ¡°How far?¡± I asked.

    She sighed. ¡°About a month?¡±

    Damn.

    The concept of this world¡¯s distances was going to take quite some time to get used to. It appeared they measured in days, rather than kilometers. Miles seemed to be used, but I wasn¡¯t certain of the exact length of one. Even back on Earth, there were multiple types of miles¡­

    How far would one day be?

    I imagined one could walk 30 kilometers in a day over a period of seven to eight hours.

    With that logic, the fruit we were looking for would be nine hundred kilometers away. That would be about Atlanta to Chicago in a straight line.

    Funny how I could still remember cities and states, but not my own.

    ¡°You¡¯re not calculating in Elania-speed, are you?¡±

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s when we walk.¡±

    That was some good news. If I recalled correctly, the Searing Peak was supposed to be a three-day walk. I believe when we returned to Dawnleaf, I did it in a couple of hours. Following that logic, I was certain I could bring down the travel distance to less than ten days, maybe even to a week.

    ¡°We need to cross a desert to get there, though,¡± Velariah added.

    Oh.

    I looked at her, expecting some elaboration.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Zerdania region, home of the foxkin, all the way in the north. Beyond the desert is a savannah and, eventually, the jungle where these things appear to grow.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how to feel, now that I knew we¡¯d have to cross a desert to get to my favorite candy. I looked behind me, at my rear.

    I didn¡¯t think black would be the best color to have walking through a desert, either.

    I sighed deeply and crossed my arms.

    ¡°Well, fuck.¡± I stated.

    ¡°What¡¯s so interesting about this fruit?¡± Elly asked.

    She had been helping us so far and seemed unable to contain her curiosity.

    I looked at Velariah with my arms still crossed.

    She nodded.

    ¡°Okay, you tell her,¡± I said as I started thinking about some kind of plan.

    There was no way I was going to give up on chocolate so easily.

    ¡°Sit tight, Elly.¡±

    The maid elf looked at Velariah with an incredulous expression.

    ¡°Elania isn¡¯t from this world. She is from another world, called Earth. She was a human and suddenly found herself in our world as a half-spider.¡±

    ¡°Wha?¡±

    Of course, there was no way she was going to process the information that easily.

    Velariah shared all the information she could with the other elf, including the fact that I¡¯d brought coffee over from my world. Several things were omitted on purpose, such as the fact that I could talk with a dungeon, the whole gunpowder story, and the anti-venom part, but Velariah told as much as she knew otherwise.

    ¡°This info is not to be shared with anyone. Only my father and we know about it.¡± She concluded.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say¡­¡± Elly looked dumbfounded. ¡°Such a thing¡­ it shouldn¡¯t be possible.¡±

    ¡°You better believe it happened,¡± I said with a grin. ¡°And I ain¡¯t going back, your cooking is too good.¡±

    Draco grinned and Seralyn straight up laughed at my joke. Nira smiled broadly and Velariah giggled. Elly still looked like she¡¯d just entered a completely new world.

    ¡°Incredible¡­¡± She simply said.

    ¡°I wish I could give you some chocolate. You¡¯d know why I¡¯m obsessed with this.¡± I smiled.

    ¡°I believe you,¡± Elly said. ¡°Coffee is already wonderful.¡±

    ¡°There are too many issues in getting our hands on those cocoa beans, though. First of all, I¡¯d hate to leave the safety of the village. Secondly, this shouldn¡¯t be a high priority for us. My top priority should be to get stronger to be able to secure a future in this world. There are several more issues, but I¡¯m sure we can find a solution for those.¡±

    ¡°Understandable,¡± Velariah said. ¡°But we could work around that, you know?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s bound to be a dungeon between here and the Zerdanian jungle that is appropriate for our skill level.¡±

    ¡°That would be a worthwhile expedition,¡± Draco added to the conversation. ¡°I¡¯m eager to evolve my inherity after seeing you guys do it earlier.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to see what other dungeons have in store,¡± Seralyn said.

    I had to admit I was at least a bit curious myself.

    ¡°You have your saddlebags. You can pull a cart. I imagine we can get something together that can pass through a desert while carrying plenty of supplies.¡± Velariah smiled.

    ¡°We still have our issues to deal with here, first,¡± I objected. ¡°Let¡¯s look into going on an expedition after we ensure Dawnleaf¡¯s safety.¡±

    ¡°Then we have a plan,¡± Velariah concluded. ¡°We find out about your inherity, have the mysteries in the forest unravel, and get rid of our goblin issue before setting out for Zerdania.¡±

    She paused for a second. ¡°Hopefully we will be able to cross the mysteries in the forest off our list soon. I wonder how my father is doing?¡±

    ¡°He will be fine, Lady Velariah,¡± Draco said. ¡°One doesn¡¯t easily best him.¡±

    I had no doubt Draco was right about that. His power seemed insane. He could surely defeat the wolf and whatever caused it to look like that with a single blow.

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. We should focus on our issues at hand¡­ which is Elania¡¯s inherity ritual. Besides that, there¡¯s not a whole lot to do at the moment, even less now that we figured out where to get these famed ¡®cocoa beans¡¯.¡± Velariah spoke.

    I sure hoped I was right about this fruit.

    I looked at the drawing of the pod again.

    There was no way it wasn¡¯t what I was looking for. Them growing in a jungle only added to the feeling of certainty.

    It did sound like I''d have to spend some more time in Dawnleaf, whether I liked it or not. If that was the case, I should optimize the time I have.

    ¡°Vel, do you know if there¡¯s anyone I could train with?¡± I asked. I figured there had to be at least someone¡­

    ¡°Uh, quite possibly. I imagine there are quite a few people that would love to test their skill against you. Though, I believe you wanted to increase your speed first and foremost, yes?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°I meant my speed with weapons in combat, I don¡¯t have the experience to properly parry yet. Blocking seems to be the best I can do.¡±

    ¡°Blocking should be good enough for you, but I see what you mean. Why don¡¯t you try with Draco? Your weapons should be a good matchup against one another.¡±

    ¡°Draco?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯d be happy to help you, Miss Elania. I reckon I can learn quite a bit from it myself, too.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Draco.¡±

    I paused for a moment and chuckled. ¡°I guess I have to start weightlifting to build up some muscle too, huh?¡±

    ¡°Not a bad idea,¡± Velariah commented. ¡°I¡¯ve done that for a while too. Let me tell you, a two-handed sword gets quite heavy after a few swings, even if it has a featherlight enchant.¡±

    I could feel it whenever we cuddled. She still had some traces of a six-pack. It wasn¡¯t too noticeable without feeling her stomach, but it was there.

    ¡°That seems to be the least I can do. I could start with it soon.¡±

    ¡°Chill out, Elania,¡± Seralyn commented. ¡°You¡¯re taking this survival thing far too seriously.¡±

    ¡°Have you ever had a high-ranked adventurer try to roast you?¡± I asked.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Silence.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡±

    I sighed and put away the books that we wouldn¡¯t need anymore in a neat pile.

    ¡°So, our plans for the coming days consist of training while we wait for Valtheril and Ineus?¡±

    ¡°Seems to be that way,¡± Draco confirmed. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±

    Staying in the vicinity that I had started to get to know well, may be a bit boring, but this seemed to be a necessary aspect of my life now. I imagined we could continue to kill enemies in the dungeon at times, too.

    ¡°My father still has a fair amount of weights upstairs, I imagine he wouldn¡¯t mind lending you a few.¡±

    I should have known as much from when I first saw Valtheril without his armor on. His muscles were very well defined. There was no way he managed to do all that with just swinging a sword.

    ¡°Now, I¡¯m curious who can lift the most,¡± Seralyn said.

    Oh no.

    Velariah smirked. ¡°Only one way to find out.¡±

    I knew it.

    Would using four arms be considered cheating? Hmmm.

    ¡°You only get to use two arms,¡± Velariah said sternly.

    Fuck.

    She¡¯d read me again.

    I crossed my arms and she giggled before walking upstairs.

    I was about to be humiliated, wasn¡¯t I?

    Strength had never been one of my strong suits, nor had I put the time into it to improve. I had not put any effort into this kind of training since coming here, either. Maybe I should have done it. It seemed a simple enough way to improve my physical capabilities.

    I looked around. Elly had a neutral expression on her face, Draco was smiling, Seralyn was close to giggling, Nira looked anxious. At least she understood my pain. I imagined she wasn¡¯t one for strength training either.

    The sound of footsteps coming from the stairs only built on my anxiety. Velariah entered the room with a barbell. It was less fancy than the ones I¡¯d seen in my world, but its purpose was clear and simple.

    She walked up and down the stairs several times to carry down adjustable weights.

    I picked up one of the smaller iron rings and asked how much it would be in weight numbers.

    ¡°That one is four pounds,¡± Velariah said.

    That didn¡¯t help me. How much did a pound weigh here?

    Metric sure sucked when it wasn¡¯t a standard unit, or when I had nothing to compare it with. A kilogram could be easily interpreted as a cubic decimeter of water, but I had no idea how I¡¯d measure 10 centimeters.

    I could probably get close, but not as close as I¡¯d like.

    What a mess.

    I guess this was somewhat close to two kilos?

    I would have to completely throw out the system I had in my head and I didn¡¯t like the prospect of that.

    I had probably less knowledge than an elementary school kid from this world when it came to measurements¡­

    ¡°Do you have schools in this world, Vel?¡± I decided to ask.

    ¡°Schools? We have them, yes. What information are you looking for in particular?¡±

    ¡°Common knowledge, measurements, weights, distances, that kind of stuff?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Uh, there¡¯s not one kind of school that everyone goes to. We have guilds for trades and they teach their apprentices all about their trade. Most of them include stuff like that but not all do. Then there are the schools for swordsmanship and archery etcetera in the bigger cities, where they focus purely on combat.¡±

    I guess I could learn from her, then?

    ¡°Come to think of it, what did they look like in your world?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Uh, we had a fairly standard system for everyone up to a certain age, after which they could choose a direction of their own. There¡¯s more to it than that but let¡¯s just keep it simple for now. One would learn about a wide variety of topics such as math, geography, history, science, language until a certain age, before they specialized in one specific field.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like a hassle,¡± Seralyn commented.

    ¡°Huh, I guess you could look at it that way. Pretty much everyone knew distances and weights, though. At the moment, I am at a complete loss how much four pounds would be back in my world.¡±

    ¡°Does it matter?¡± Velariah asked. ¡°If you can do math, you are already considered ¡®gifted¡¯ here, or at least smarter than a fair amount of the population. You will learn the basics over time, you already know how to apply them. There¡¯s no need to go to any kind of school for that.¡±

    ¡°I guess¡­¡±

    ¡°Anyways,¡± She continued as she added some weights to the barbell. ¡°Let¡¯s see how much you can lift. Forty pounds. Sounds like a good start?¡±

    I should be able to do that, right?

    ¡°Seralyn, you go first.¡± Velariah grinned.

    ¡°Wait, what. Why me?¡± She looked shocked.

    Don¡¯t tell me she couldn¡¯t lift that much. I wouldn¡¯t believe that, considering she used a bow. She had to have some strength in those arms.

    ¡°Fine.¡± She sighed and stood up from her chair. ¡°Let¡¯s get this done.¡±

    Faragi

    Special shoutout to my new Patrons <3

    Michelle

    Duvet

    Blank

    ShadowFangus

 1.80 Do You Even Lift, Draco?

    Faragi

    Single chapter today to quench the curiosity of those who want to know who would win a weightlifting competition xd

    Seralyn didn¡¯t seem to have any issues lifting the weights. She lifted the barbell to her hips before putting it down again.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Draco,¡± Velariah beckoned the lizardman over with her hand.

    Draco didn¡¯t reply. He simply walked to the weights and lifted them all too easily. He even flexed and lifted it with a single hand before putting them down.

    Showoff.

    ¡°Nira?¡± Velariah continued.

    ¡°Wha?¡± The harpy looked at Velariah, then at the barbell.

    She didn¡¯t seem to like any of this but tried nonetheless. She started lifting the weight and struggled, hard. She managed to get the barbell up to her knees before dropping them, panting.

    She really wasn¡¯t built on strength. It made me nervous.

    ¡°Elania?¡± Velariah¡¯s voice only made me more nervous.

    I walked over to her and lifted, only using two arms as I was told. I managed to lift it but I could feel it being fairly heavy already. I didn¡¯t know how much more weight I would be able to handle.

    ¡°Let¡¯s add some more weight to it,¡± The elf spoke.

    ¡°How about you?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°This is nothing,¡± She said. ¡°I can get to 170 pounds with ease.¡±

    What?

    That was over four times this. There was no way I was going to make that¡­

    Maybe with my second pair of arms¡­?

    ¡°Eighty next?¡± Velariah asked. Without even waiting for replies, she started adding weight.

    I started sweating already. The way she was talking about it as if it was nothing¡­

    I had a long way to go¡­

    Velariah lifted without any issues and beckoned Seralyn over. The archer could still lift this much without issues either. Draco still lifted with one hand.

    Next up was my turn. Yikes.

    I decided to lift with my legs. I knew it was a clich¨¦ thing, but there had to be a way for me to lift more. I gripped the barbell as I lowered my body to the floor and then lifted it.

    I was surprised to see myself lift this world¡¯s version of eighty pounds. I managed to do it with only minor strain on my arms, too.

    ¡°One twenty?¡± She said while adding more weights.

    She then lifted again, a bit of strain on her face. She still got the barbell up above her waist before putting it down once more.

    This is where Seralyn started to visibly struggle. A bit more and I imagined she¡¯d be at her limit.

    Draco started lifting with two hands but still didn¡¯t have any issues whatsoever. I started to feel he might win this little ¡®contest¡¯ without too many issues.

    Would his black-scaled form be considered cheating too?

    I tried again and didn¡¯t manage to lift it as far as before. This was getting to my breaking point. I could still get it a bit above the ground, but I couldn¡¯t keep it there for long. My legs really were not the issue. The issue was my arms. I imagined if I used four, this would still be perfectly doable.

    ¡°One sixty, let¡¯s go.¡± Velariah seemed to get excited.

    She went ahead and tried to show off to the rest of us, but she started to visibly strain herself this time. I thought she said 170 would be no problem?

    Draco still didn¡¯t appear to have any issues. I wondered how far he could go.

    Seralyn managed, but with extreme difficulty.

    ¡°Yeap, that¡¯s my limit.¡± She admitted, before putting the barbell down.

    ¡°El?¡± Velariah smiled.

    Here goes nothing.

    I tried lifting and¡­

    Nope.

    I was not going to get this off the ground. My arms were simply too weak. I hated having to admit it, but I had to be honest with myself here.

    I decided to cheat and use four arms to see how far I could go.

    That seemed to be a world of difference. I was suddenly able to manage without too much strain. Did that mean I could get to two hundred forty pounds?

    Did it work that way?

    ¡°That is cheating...¡± Velariah started with a smile. ¡°But I am curious to see how far you can go that way...¡±

    She got two more weight plates and added them.

    ¡°Right.¡± She said. ¡°Two hundred. This used to be my limit before, but I¡¯m a bit out of shape. Let¡¯s see how far we can push this, shall we?¡±

    She tried lifting it and did get it off the ground, but she had to release it quickly.

    ¡°Yeap, way out of shape.¡± She admitted.

    Draco attempted and still managed without issues. Just how overpowered was he?

    He didn¡¯t even seem to be trying.

    I tried again with four arms. I managed, but this would be the absolute highest I could go. It seemed four arms didn¡¯t simply double the amount I could lift.

    ¡°Right. Draco, seems you¡¯re the only one left. Whatcha say, two eighty?¡±

    ¡°Should be alright.¡± He said, seemingly unimpressed.

    This guy¡­

    Velariah added the weights before Draco lifted them again. He seemed to have to put in at least a bit of effort this time, but he managed just fine.

    ¡°Can I try something?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Go ahead, Miss Elania,¡± Draco said as he stepped aside.

    I placed my four hands on the bar, joined by my two pedipalps. Their small claws seemed barely large enough to grip around the bar and I tried lifting.

    I lifted¡­?

    I¡¯d actually lifted it up, without too much of a hassle even. What the actual fuck?

    Just how strong were these limbs? This was insane.

    What was even worse (or better, depending on how you looked at it) I still had more limbs that could assist me. I knew my front two sets of legs should be able to reach this far without issues.

    Could I beat Draco?

    Surely there was no way.

    ¡°Hot damn, Elania. I had no idea. I knew they were strong, but this is excessive.¡± Velariah commented.

    I scratched my head after putting the barbell down. ¡°I am quite amazed at it myself. Though, I guess I haven¡¯t ever truly tested what I could do, pure strength-wise.¡±

    ¡°Well, from what I could see when you fought, your spidery limbs really aren¡¯t the issue, not strength-wise at least.¡±

    Even without having to fight, it should be quite obvious they are quite powerful. I was able to climb a wall with ¡®I don¡¯t know how many hundreds of pounds¡¯ dangling behind me, while still holding on just fine.

    Knowing I had this ace up my sleeve, I started to get excited myself. I wanted to beat Draco. He¡¯s been far too smug about this¡­

    It was very unlike him and I wanted to put him in his place.

    Was I evil?

    ¡°Three forty?¡± Velariah asked rhetorically.

    She added the weights and made way for Draco, who was eager to test his strength.

    I laughed inwardly as I saw him trying to lift the heavy weights. To no avail; he didn¡¯t manage to get them off the floor. It seemed he¡¯d finally found his limit.

    It seemed Draco was no stranger to cheating, either. Moments after realizing he wouldn¡¯t be able to lift it, he transformed into his larger, black version of himself. He tried again, and managed to lift the barbell with some effort.

    ¡°That¡¯s cheating too!¡± Seralyn called out the lizardman.

    ¡°I know, I know,¡± Velariah said. ¡°But let¡¯s see...¡±

    She added another forty pounds, bringing the total to three hundred and eighty pounds. Draco went ahead and tried to lift it. He struggled at first, but eventually managed to get the barbell to his knees with the utmost effort.

    ¡°That¡¯s it for me,¡± He panted as he transformed back into his normal self.

    Neat.

    That meant that if I did this, I¡¯d be considered the weightlifting champion.

    And I still had plenty of legs to throw into the battle.

    There was no way I was going to lose this.

    I placed my hands and my pedipalps on the bar and lifted. A lot of effort was needed, even from my two spider limbs, but I did manage to get it slightly off the ground. When I added two legs to help lift, I managed to get it off the ground without issues.

    Yes! I¡¯d actually done it!

    I was cheering in my mind, a wide smile on my face.

    Velariah added yet more weights bringing the total to four hundred and sixty pounds. Four legs, four arms, and two pedipalps did the trick, and I still didn¡¯t feel like this was my limit.

    ¡°This is getting ridiculous,¡± Seralyn said.

    ¡°Ridiculous, maybe,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°But hella fun.¡±

    This had to be over two hundred kilos I was lifting right now. These legs sure were powerful.

    We continued doing this for a while, to find my limit at about five hundred and eighty pounds when using this many limbs. Draco even clapped after I finished.

    ¡°That¡¯s impressive,¡± He mentioned.

    I shrugged. ¡°Yeah, but as Velariah mentioned, I¡¯ll have to work on my human arms. My strength and reflexes with those will be a huge part of my success in combat.¡±

    ¡°By the way, Vel, how much can your dad lift?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I dunno, these are his old weights. His are too heavy for me to carry down here.¡±

    I would have to remember to ask. I was actually curious.

    Elly and Nira had been quiet for the entire time we held this little show. Halfway through, Elly went to make dinner.

    She exited the kitchen to notify us it was almost ready, a heavenly smell entering the room when she opened the door.

    ¡°Just strap a bunch of knives to your legs,¡± Seralyn said, continuing on my most recent statement.

    ¡°Honestly? I¡¯ve thought about it.¡± I replied. ¡°I planned to look into that, and several other things, after the ritual. There¡¯s a bunch of items on my to-do list after that.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go broke, and then some.¡±

    ¡°Stop complaining,¡± The archer continued. ¡°You have it better than any of us. You have insane ways to make easy money, and if what you¡¯re telling me is true, you¡¯ll be rich from this coffee business in no time as well.¡±

    Why did she have to put it that way?

    She was right, and I hated it.

    I didn¡¯t reply to it.

    Technically, we¡¯d still need another seven gold for the ritual and summoning fees. We were at fifty-three right now. I was going to take care of that with Velariah later tonight. I hoped Elly cooked up quite a bit to fuel my production.

    I stood at my place at the table and started mentally reciting the things I¡¯d look for when I had money to spend again. I was going to need vambraces for all four arms. I should probably get the saddle thing finalized. A helmet wouldn¡¯t be a luxury either. Those were the necessities. Beyond those, I could start looking into properly weaponizing, and maybe armoring, my legs.

    I kind of wanted to get some new equipment for Velariah, too. She¡¯d thrown in her own money for my ritual costs. It would only be fair to repay the favor.

    That, and I wanted her protected as best as possible in combat¡­

    Elly brought in dinner. A wide variety of vegetables, steamed potatoes, and plenty of meat was placed in the middle of the table. The scent had Gray all excited. He¡¯d been sleeping in a corner but it seemed that the smell of food had awoken him.

    I¡¯d probably wake up for Elly¡¯s cooking too.

    Unfortunately, that meant that I had to teach him not to beg. It hurt my heart, but he¡¯d have to learn his place. He¡¯d get dinner of his own after we were done.

    ¡°So,¡± Velariah said, as I was eating. ¡°Tomorrow, we¡¯ll start your strength training. There are some dumbbells upstairs as well. I reckon those will be the easiest for you to use.¡±

    I simply nodded.

    ¡°Would you be up for a spar a bit after dinner, Miss Elania?¡± Draco asked.

    I nodded again and swallowed. ¡°Yeah, sounds good to me.¡±

    I guess I was postponing the silk creation to later tonight.

    We finished dinner and Elly prepared some food and more water for Gray. In the meantime, Velariah brought out the jar of grasshoppers again and made her way over to the crate which housed the jumping spider.

    I looked over her shoulder, safe and sound behind her, into the enclosure. It seemed they had gotten the spider some objects such as branches and leaves to hide in. It wasn¡¯t anywhere close to a proper terrarium, but it was no longer a mere crate.

    I couldn¡¯t see the spider. Velariah dropped a grasshopper into the enclosure before closing the glass panel lid again. I followed the grasshopper and soon found the spider. Or rather, the spider found the grasshopper.

    Within the blink of an eye, Minia was on top of her prey and delivered venom to the insect.

    Minia¡­

    How could she name such a creature after me?

    The spider held her prey in her pedipalps and looked at me with her large eyes. She appeared to have a look of pride in her eyes.

    What did this spider have with me?

    I¡¯d have to check with Endomir still. He would probably know how spiders eat. Who knows if it can help me?

    I knew myself that I could be quite forgetful at times, as much as I hated admitting it. I started to get quite a few things on my list, and so I decided to actually make just that ¡ª a list.

    I had the white-haired elf gather some stationery and started writing out the things I planned to do in the next couple of days.

    A helmet, vambraces, leg armor, leg weapons, a saddle, a talk with Endomir were all added to the list. I imagined I should probably ask Valtheril about the whole goblin situation and now this new occurrence as well.

    ¡°Quite the planner, aren¡¯t you?¡± The elf asked as I tapped the pencil¡¯s butt end to my chin.

    ¡°Vel, the number of things I forgot to do and ask ever since coming to this world justify me doing this.¡±

    I thought back to my first meeting with Valtheril. Even though I¡¯d provided him with exceedingly rare items, I still found it fairly odd he¡¯d allowed me to live in his mansion so easily. He¡¯d never been openly inquisitive of me besides his very first remark. Was that just to scare me and keep me honest?

    He¡¯d never seen anything like me before. I started to get the feeling there was something else¡­

    I simply added ¡®Valtheril¡¯ to the list.

    ¡°Any reason you¡¯re writing my father¡¯s name down?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something I need to ask him,¡± I said.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Velariah stated as she walked over to the far end of the table and took a few of the books from next to the spider crate.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just start cleaning up a bit here.¡±

    She started taking them upstairs, leaving me behind with Draco, Seralyn, and Nira.

    Nira¡¯s gaze seemed to be locked on Gray.

    Seralyn¡¯s and Draco¡¯s were on me.

    ¡°You know, I really admire you, Elania,¡± Seralyn said.

    ¡°Huh?¡± I let out, confused as to why she would say such a thing.

    ¡°You seem to have a plan for what you¡¯re doing. Can¡¯t say I have the same.¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t have a plan. This is fairly short-term stuff.¡±

    ¡°The whole chocolate thing doesn¡¯t seem to be a short-term plan, though. Then there¡¯s the dungeon-exploring in between as well. You are one of the more serious adventurers I¡¯ve seen.¡± She continued.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to live, Seralyn. As far as I am aware, there are two major parts of survival for a somewhat outsider in the form of me: money and power. In addition to those two, there¡¯s the wealth of the village as a whole. Happy people don¡¯t kill as fast as angry people, you know.¡±

    It may sound stupid, but that didn¡¯t make it any less true.

    ¡°I see,¡± She said.

    ¡°So yes. Those are the things I am fixated on right now.¡±

    ¡°And then there¡¯s Velariah.¡± She smiled.

    I had a smile on my face before I knew it.

    ¡°She¡¯s really got to you, hasn¡¯t she?¡±

    I nodded without speaking.

    What was I to say? She knew I loved the knight.

    The elf in question entered the room again and deposited two dumbbells on the table before taking some more books and ascending the stairs again.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy for the two of you,¡± Draco said. ¡°You¡¯re a lucky woman, Elania.¡±

    I smiled even broader. ¡°I guess I am, huh? It¡¯s funny how I thought the complete opposite when I first came here.¡±

    ¡°Anyone willing to look past your lower half would agree with me,¡± The lizardman continued.

    ¡°Heh,¡± Seralyn chuckled. ¡°And even that lower half is hella useful in combat.¡±

    There was no denying that.

    ¡°And for money,¡± I added with a chuckle. ¡°Speaking of, how are you guys in your finances?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Draco said.

    ¡°Same here. Besides, with this new bow and arrows, I¡¯m sure we can take on more rewarding quests.¡± Seralyn commented.

    ¡°I paid my debt,¡± Nira said. ¡°I¡¯m working towards some new accessories now.¡±

    She sat to my left with Gray in her lap. The puppy¡¯s attention was on me, and I just had to pet it.

    ¡°Any specific reason you¡¯re asking?¡± Draco asked.

    ¡°When we head out to Zerdania, I¡¯d like to get the best possible items we can get before we leave. If there¡¯s anything that you¡¯re close to purchasing, but can¡¯t quite get by the time, I¡¯d be happy to help out.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s very noble of you, but there¡¯s no reason to think about that yet.¡±

    I¡¯d probably take some time to create silk each day. It didn¡¯t cost me much to do, besides maybe burdening Elly some more when it came to cooking. I should probably buy her some gift sometime soon as thanks for all the effort and wonderful meals she¡¯s been making.

    I scribbled ¡®Elly¡¯ on the piece of paper quickly, without giving anyone the time to actually read it.

    Velariah entered the room again, putting two more dumbbells on the table before grabbing more books to take upstairs.

    ¡°Let me lend you a hand,¡± Draco said.

    ¡°Well, can¡¯t slack behind now, can I?¡± Seralyn said, the moment Draco stood up.

    They both took the last books and followed Velariah upstairs.

    Now it was just me and Nira... and Gray.

    We petted him together, causing a complete cuteness overload. His reactions were the best. I knew dogs¡¯ (and probably wolves¡¯) emotions may not be as obvious as they appear to be, but I knew he enjoyed being here.

    So did I, truly.

 1.81 A Flash

    Faragi

    We are nearing the end of the first Arc, only 6 more chapters to go :O

    Have some F L U F F

    ¡°What about you, Nira?¡± I asked out of the blue. ¡°What¡¯s the reason for you to go on adventures?¡±

    ¡°I¡ª¡± She started before swallowing. ¡°I want to see the world and make friends. I feel like I am obliged to share my gift with people. When I look at you guys, I realize how unlucky I¡¯ve been.¡±

    ¡°The gift of healing, you mean?¡±

    She nodded.

    ¡°I heard it was rare, yes. I can¡¯t thank you enough for being with us. It¡¯s prevented quite some issues already, I¡¯d say.¡±

    ¡°Happy to help,¡± She smiled shyly.

    ¡°Heh,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Bit of a shame we¡¯re kind of stuck here. Not a lot of world-seeing to be had.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± She spoke. ¡°I needed some time to heal as well. I seem to be completely fine now. I¡¯m looking forward to our journey, wherever it takes us.¡±

    ¡°Probably danger,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Good thing is that some form of danger allows you to grow stronger, though.¡±

    I looked at the harpy. ¡°How does that work for your magic? Do you get any offensive abilities too? How do inherities with regards to healing magic work?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s different for everybody,¡± She spoke softly. ¡°Some do, some don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve noticed. It¡¯s hard to predict what your abilities will turn out to be.¡±

    She nodded. ¡°I¡¯m fine with whatever, as long as you¡¯ll have me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. You¡¯re a reliable member of the party. Whatever happens, you¡¯ll have a place with us.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Elania.¡± She smiled.

    ¡°Come to think of it, everyone is reliable. I guess we got lucky with that, huh? I wonder how our magic damage dealer will be? That is, if we ever get one.¡±

    ¡°I believe Draco already filled in recruitment forms at the guild for that,¡± Nira spoke.

    ¡°He did? Interesting¡­¡±

    I thought for a second. ¡°Guess we do have an excellent spot to try out new people. I do believe that Arch was honest when he said he prevented any real harm from coming to Velariah. Of course, it¡¯s wise to remain skeptical in that regard, and it¡¯s not something we should mention when we have somebody tag along, but still¡­¡±

    I would hate to get blood on my hands. Then again, adventurers knew the dangers that came with the job, at least I hoped so. I had completely disregarded that part about the profession as I had other reasons to become one. I¡¯d started to truly learn about them just recently¡­ the hard way.

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Nira said.

    Steps coming down the stairs caused me to shift my attention. Velariah entered the room first with a few smaller weight plates in her hands, followed by Draco and Seralyn.

    ¡°Right,¡± The white-haired elf said. ¡°You guys wanna head out?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± I replied. ¡°By the way, where does Elly keep that leash for Gray?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Good point.¡±

    Velariah opened the kitchen door and walked inside. ¡°Elly?¡± She called.

    Moments later, Velariah exited the kitchen, carrying the leash in question.

    ¡°I wonder what the hell this was doing in the kitchen,¡± She said while holding the leash up and staring at it.

    ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s go.¡± She spoke and walked over to attach the leash to Gray, who was still sitting on Nira¡¯s lap.

    ¡°You say that, but you¡¯ll still take a while to get ready,¡± Seralyn grinned.

    I smiled. She was right about that. I was gonna need a bit of time as well.

    After a bit of time that we had to spend putting on our armor, we were on our way to the fields outside the village¡¯s eastern gate.

    ¡°So, how do we go about this¡­ spar?¡± I asked Draco, looking at my covered blades. ¡°Do I just leave the scabbards on them, or?¡±

    ¡°You can take them off if you want to train your reflexes. Parrying was one of your goals, right?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°Yeah, just remove them. I¡¯ll attack slowly at first and speed up over time. Let¡¯s see if you can keep up.¡±

    Okay then.

    I removed the wooden scabbards and looked at our companions, who stood a fair distance away at the side. Nira held on to Gray¡¯s leash who, in turn, looked at Draco and me with curiosity.

    I smiled as I took a defensive stance.

    Draco readied his axes and asked if I was ready.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± I said.

    Draco made slow swings which I easily parried. This much, I could manage without ever resorting to blocking. Draco gave me advice on my movements and started to speed up his swings slowly.

    At some point, I realized I had botched a proper parry and awkwardly blocked a blow.

    ¡°Look at my movements,¡± He advised.

    ¡°Easier said than done when I need to track two weapons at once,¡± I said loudly, slightly frustrated with myself.

    ¡°You¡¯re one to talk!¡± Seralyn called from afar.

    ¡°Oh, shut up.¡±

    ¡°Easy, Miss Elania. Let¡¯s try that again, you¡¯re doing fine.¡±

    For a newcomer maybe. Being a newcomer wouldn¡¯t be enough to survive. That much was for certain.

    Draco continued his blows. I noticed he didn¡¯t put a lot of force behind them. Rather, he seemed to slow down when the axes got close to me.

    ¡°You¡¯re holding back, aren¡¯t you? Strength wise, I mean.¡±

    ¡°I am. I¡¯ll increase the power behind them once your form is fixed.¡±

    ¡°And who taught you all this?¡± I asked as I parried two simultaneous blows, one from each side.

    ¡°I had several trainers in the human cities in which I dwelled.¡±

    He swung again, both axes coming down from overhead. I blocked them with my blades in an X-formation.

    ¡°You know, if I had my spear, I¡¯d have you by now.¡± I held up my two unused arms.

    I was not currently using my spear. Instead, I was purely focused on learning to use my new weapons defensively. Parrying, or blocking with my swords like this, would allow for deadly counterattacks.

    ¡°I know.¡± He smiled.

    He started swinging again, increasing his speed once more. I started to struggle, but I could see myself improving already.

    I realized just how much control I had over my body. I could still coordinate where my legs were going without even having to pay attention. I hoped the same experience would be materialized when using my arms. If I could learn how to move those around in a fight as quickly as I learned how to use my legs, I¡¯d be much more efficient in an extremely short amount of time.

    Speaking of legs¡­

    I parried blow after blow and then counterattacked by lightly pushing Draco back with my front two legs. He stumbled slightly and smiled.

    ¡°Defense seems to be the most important for you, indeed.¡±

    ¡°Speed, most of all,¡± I answered. ¡°I know what my legs can do,¡± I chuckled. ¡°You¡¯ve seen what they can lift.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if you can keep up the speed.¡±

    His speed became faster again as he started hacking away at me. There were times where I had no choice but to block. One attack went completely uninterrupted and hit my chest armor. The force behind it wasn¡¯t enough to cut through the metal, but I was slightly shocked.

    Draco immediately stopped his attacks.

    ¡°Are you alright, Miss Elania?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡±

    I cursed inwardly for my lapse of judgment and the fact that I allowed it to break my concentration.

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be distracted by missing. That¡¯s probably the worst I can do in a real combat situation.¡±

    ¡°Glad you see that,¡± Draco replied.

    We continued for a while. I missed one more attack and had his axe hit my armor. This time, I quickly brushed it off and stepped backward, before continuing to defend myself against his attacks.

    The number of attacks I blocked instead of parried became gradually less over time as well.

    All in all, I was quite happy with the progress I was making. I saw plenty of opportunities where I could counterattack with either my legs or my second set of arms.

    I do have to admit that axes were probably the easiest weapon to defend against. Maces would have more force behind them, making parrying harder, and swords could be used to stab.

    I always feared stabbing attacks. I didn¡¯t have the slightest idea how to defend against those without actually dodging or blocking.

    Maybe blocking was the answer, after all?

    Draco¡¯s attacks sped up once more. I parried and blocked left and right, while slowly moving backward.

    Even if they weren¡¯t swords, the least this was doing was improving my reflexes, which was exactly what I needed. Most monsters wouldn¡¯t even use conventional weapons; those would be reserved for trolls and goblins and the like.

    Draco stopped and I was left panting.

    ¡°You¡¯re improving, Miss Elania.¡± He smiled.

    I lowered myself to the grass to regain my strength. ¡°Thanks, Draco.¡±

    ¡°Way to go, El!¡± Velariah cheered as she walked up to me. ¡°Wanna have a go at it with me as well?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Let me get something to drink first,¡± I said.

    She handed me a canteen and I started drinking. At the same time, I saw a pillar of light reaching to the sky from deep in the forest. I wasn¡¯t the only one that observed it. There could be no question about what that was. A ball of light descended from the top of the beam and crashed down.

    Nobody said a word. I didn¡¯t know if Nira had seen that before, but the rest of us knew exactly what that was.

    I didn¡¯t know what to make of it. I didn¡¯t dare to ask, either.

    ¡°My father...¡± Velariah whispered.

    I walked up behind the elf and hugged her with my two free hands. She kept staring in the direction of where the pillar had just now disappeared.

    ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± I spoke. I didn¡¯t know what else to say.

    I knew he would be. Besides, there was nothing we could do from here. Even if we had been there, he outclassed us by immeasurable amounts.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I just hope that he used that attack to end whatever caused the necromantic corruption.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s so, he should be back home soon,¡± Draco said.

    ¡°We should focus on our own matters,¡± I tried to distract her.

    She nodded. ¡°We should.¡±

    Draco stepped back and joined the other onlookers. They were still watching with great interest at what transpired before them.

    Velariah, however, seemed a bit out of it.

    It was understandable, but she would have to learn to stay focused¡­ again¡­

    She started swinging her sword at me. I had no trouble parrying the swings. They were far, far slower than Draco¡¯s. They had, however, quite a bit more force behind them. This is where I noticed that building some muscle in my arms would be a huge boon. I could parry them, sure, but stronger opponents could probably break my arms if I tried to.

    The first part of improving was understanding your weaknesses.

    Clich¨¦? Sure. Important? Definitely.

    I found my arms getting sore from parrying and decided to call it quits after a while. I didn¡¯t want to end up with a muscle ache the following day.

    I took off my bladed gloves and moved my arms around freely.

    ¡°Good job, El,¡± Velariah called.

    ¡°Thanks for the training session,¡± I said. ¡°You too, Draco,¡± I called out as he and the others approached.

    I lowered myself to pet Gray.

    ¡°Not a problem, Miss Elania. Remember that this also helps us out.¡±

    I had the feeling I was the one benefiting from this more than anyone else, but sure.

    I sighed and looked at the sky. It had gone blood red a while ago. We¡¯d been at this for at least a couple of hours.

    I stretched my arms again.

    I hoped I hadn¡¯t overdone it.

    I needed a quick bathroom break and ran over to the edge of the forest to do my business. I knew the forest was technically off-limits, but I didn¡¯t have a choice in the matter, did I?

    Nothing happened, I quickly made my way back to the others after dropping some nasty guano behind a bush. It would seem it had eliminated my need to empty my bladder.

    Weird ass body¡­

    The worst part is that it kept changing too, at least it seemed that way. I hardly got the time to get used to things before they had to be done differently again. These gods sure liked to experiment on me¡­

    Maybe I should get Velineri¡¯s blessings? Maybe even try to contact her?

    Another thing for my long-term to-do list.

    ¡°Any other things we want to do before tomorrow?¡± Velariah asked the others.

    ¡°I¡¯d say today was pretty fruitful, maybe not in the most straightforward way, but it was still interesting,¡± Draco spoke.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d agree with that. Though, I wouldn¡¯t mind some more action.¡± Seralyn added.

    ¡°If we seek out other dungeons, I¡¯m sure you will get your fair share of action,¡± I commented.

    I resheathed my blades and carried them with me.

    ¡°Nira?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°I had fun,¡± She said, petting Gray. She¡¯d been very affectionate towards him today.

    He was adorable, though.

    I felt a bit guilty after she handed me back the leash.

    He needed a moment to do his business too. I let him do it next to the palisade in the grass outside. The chance of anyone walking there and stepping in it was virtually zero, right?

    ¡°I guess we will meet again somewhere tomorrow then?¡± I asked.

    The others nodded in return.

    ¡°Hopefully, there will be something posted at the guild in the nearby area,¡± Draco said.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope so,¡± Velariah replied.

    With that, we each went our own way.

    Velariah and I reached her mansion not much later.

    After unequipping our armor, we soon found ourselves in the bathroom. For lack of anything better to do, we simply lay in bed and talked.

    Well, there was the silk we could do, but it seemed neither of us was in the mood to do that right now. We followed Gray¡¯s example and found ourselves cuddling in the hammock instead.

    ¡°What a day,¡± She said, as I hugged her side, my right set of legs reinforcing the hug.

    I truly loved holding her this way.

    ¡°You could say that again,¡± I sighed.

    ¡°I do wonder what your children would look like,¡± She grinned.

    ¡°I so do not want to find out about that¡­¡±

    ¡°What? I imagine a couple of mini Elanias would be super cute!¡±

    ¡°Vel!¡±

    ¡°What? I¡¯m sure you¡¯d say the same thing if you saw them. The only issue is that that was a hell of a lot of eggs. We¡¯d need a bigger table and, possibly, more Ellys to prepare food.¡±

    ¡°Vel!¡± I let out again.

    ¡°I wonder whose eyes they would get...¡±

    ¡°VEL!¡±

    The elf grinned. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, El. I just had a lot of fun thinking about it.¡±

    ¡°For all I know, they¡¯d look like Minia. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to let more spiders into this world¡­¡±

    ¡°Aw, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d love them.¡± She turned and gave me a quick kiss.

    ¡°No freaking way.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen with me anyway, right?¡± Velariah mentioned.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s biologically possible. Then again, I wouldn¡¯t bet money on it. Who knows what this world¡¯s gods have planned for me?¡±

    ¡°I hope they give you the life that you deserve, El. Maybe it was Velineri herself who brought you to me?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯d like a few words with her,¡± I replied.

    Velariah smiled. ¡°Who knows? You¡¯re not angry at her, are you?¡±

    ¡°Angry? No. How could I be? I¡¯m just curious why she would set me up with this body and, well, the changes that I seem to be going through all the time.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I do love that body of yours,¡± She flirted.

    ¡°I mean, I¡¯m starting to love it too, but you know¡­ eggs, toilet. I mean, what the hell?¡±

    ¡°Heh. Yeah, that does seem a bit cruel. Is it preferable to the human version, though? Do tell me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just a creepy question, Vel.¡± I smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯m dying to know...¡± She stared into my eyes.

    I sighed. ¡°Fine. If you really want to know, if this is going to be once per month, or less, I guess it¡¯s preferable. Especially considering we might be away from home for prolonged times. Quickly pushing out a bunch of eggs and being done with it, no nausea or mess for days, does seem like the better option to me.¡±

    ¡°Yes. That does seem useful. Do tell me, however, how does it feel?¡±

    ¡°You mean¡­?¡±

    She nodded with a wicked smile and expecting eyes.

    ¡°Vel, you¡¯re the weirdest person I¡¯ve ever met.¡±

    ¡°And you love it.¡± She replied.

    ¡°I do.¡±

    I put a hand in her long, white hair.

    ¡°If you are so eager to know, it actually feels¡­ kind of good¡­ relieving for sure¡­¡±

    Velariah laughed. ¡°Asking these, for you, awkward questions is among the best things there are.¡±

    ¡°I figured as much.

    I held my head against hers for a while, allowing my body to relax from the training earlier.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy, though,¡± She spoke while staring at the ceiling. ¡°You finally managed to speak about your past to our friends.¡±

    ¡°I guess¡­¡±

    ¡°You should be proud, El.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vel.¡±

    I kissed her cheek. ¡°By the way, if I start strength training, will you join me?¡±

    ¡°Uhh, sure?¡± She answered with a question.

    ¡°I just¡­ I want us to be as prepared as possible, Vel. Call me overly cautious, if that¡¯s even a thing¡­¡±

    ¡°I get it, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°I just¡­ I don¡¯t ever want to experience what happened in the dungeon again, you know? We should train both strength and reflexes¡­ and attention, perhaps.¡±

    ¡°I said I get it, you dummy.¡± She spoke softly. ¡°You¡¯re right about the strength and reflexes. I do think that the attention problem won¡¯t happen again. That was a major screw-up, possibly from both of us, as you said. I think we both learned our lesson from that.¡±

    ¡°I certainly did¡­¡± I spoke softly as well.

    I raised my human half, took off my shirt, made it into a ball, tossed it at the sink¡­ and missed.

    Classic.

    ¡°Tee-hee.¡± Velariah teased me.

    She started taking off her own clothes and repeated my actions. Her shirt landed in the sink, but her pants didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Unlucky, I guess,¡± She shrugged.

    I smiled and kissed her. ¡°Hm, I¡¯m curious to see you muscled.¡± I ran a hand over her belly. ¡°I can still feel some remnants here.¡± I teased her.

    ¡°Damn, El. You¡¯re going to overexert me,¡± She smiled.

    ¡°Tee-hee.¡±

    I put myself on top of her and took her in for another kiss, before putting my legs around her frame.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you wanting me to hug you like this, anyway?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡±

    She paused.

    ¡°El, you¡¯re the first person that makes me feel safe, like, truly safe in a long time. When you hug me like that, all my worries just disappear.¡±

    ¡°Oh, and here I was thinking you had a spider leg fetish.¡±

    ¡°I do. Well, as long as they are yours.¡± She peered into my eyes.

    I brought my pedipalps up to her shoulders and started massaging them while I kissed her.

    ¡°El, you¡¯re gonna drive me crazy if you continue that!¡± She said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want me to drive you crazy?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not tonight, I¡¯m afraid. If your ritual is tomorrow, we need you in tip-top condition.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± I kissed her one last time and laid my head on a pillow next to hers, while still keeping a firm hold around her body.

    The elf brushed my hair behind my ears.

    ¡°I¡¯m dying to know what it is, or what they are, if it¡¯s more than one.¡±

    ¡°Same here, Vel.¡±

    I clapped and turned out the lights.

    ¡°And I hope my father is home tomorrow¡­¡± She whispered.

    ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± I reassured her.

    ¡°Thank you, Elania.¡± She kissed me again. ¡°Good night.¡±

    ¡°Good night, Vel.¡±

    Faragi

    Special shoutout for my new Patrons <3

    ElymMoon

    David

 1.82 Grave News

    When I woke up and turned on the dim light that was the standard in the mornings, the elf was still sleeping happily with a large smile on her face. My clapping had not even caused her to stir. She must be quite comfortable¡­

    I couldn¡¯t resist¡­

    I brushed her hair behind her long ears and kissed her. Her reactions made me wonder if she was truly sleeping. She kissed me back but continued snoring.

    How odd.

    I carefully let go of her frame and stepped out of the hammock to do my morning routine. While brushing my hair, I took some strands in my hand and held them under my nose. The smell of the shampoo was still strong, and I closed my eyes to simply enjoy the smell.

    When I brushed my hair after cleaning my face, the elf seemed to awaken.

    ¡°Hmmm. Morning, El,¡± She said, while I worked.

    ¡°Morning sleepyhead,¡± I responded.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± She asked as she walked up to me and sat down behind my human body. She hugged me while putting her nose in my hair.

    I stretched my arms. ¡°Slightly sore from yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Should have known you¡¯d push yourself too far.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, at least I know how far I can go now. Here.¡± I handed the brush to her and she started working on her hair as well.

    ¡°What do you want to start with today?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s have breakfast first. After that, we should get those spools finished.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, good point.¡±

    ¡°We could make a stop at Dworag¡¯s after and see what the possibilities are¡­ armor wise,¡± I added.

    ¡°Sounds good to me so far. You want to delay your strength training until your arms feel better?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    They didn¡¯t hurt too much per se, but I didn¡¯t want to make things worse.

    Elly walked down the stairs the same moment we entered the dining room.

    ¡°Velariah, your father has returned. He is currently resting. I thought you should know.¡±

    ¡°How is he?¡± The white-haired elf asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s fine. He was just tired.¡±

    Velariah turned to me. ¡°I hope that means there are some answers.¡±

    ¡°I hope so too.¡±

    Elly set the table for breakfast and joined us.

    ¡°By the way,¡± She started, while sipping on some coffee. ¡°I¡¯ve bought some lemons from Duskleaf¡¯s traders. What were your plans for them again, Miss Elania?¡±

    ¡°If I am correct, you can squeeze the juice from them, then slowly evaporate it and have some powder remain.¡± I thought for a second.

    ¡°Maybe the peels work too. Technically, you can eat the peels, but nobody does it. I guess if you wash them properly, and then dry them, you can pulverize them into powder. Maybe that works, too? Anyway, this powder is a powerful preservative. If you add a teaspoon of it to your bread dough, you should get bread that will stay fresh for much longer.¡±

    ¡°Very interesting¡­¡± Elly continued sipping her coffee.

    ¡°Got to admit, this kind of stuff is crazy convenient,¡± Velariah admitted.

    ¡°I did a bit of baking back on Earth. This was a powerful life-ha¡ª I mean, a great trick to make it better in an easy way. I never made the powder myself, but I know citrus fruits contain a lot of the powder that I¡¯m talking about.¡±

    ¡°And is that common knowledge in your old world?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Uh, how to put it. Most people know that the substance is found in citrus fruits but they wouldn¡¯t bother to do what I just suggested. If people want that substance specifically, it¡¯s instead sold in small capsules or pills separately.¡±

    ¡°Very interesting knowledge, indeed,¡± Velariah let out once more.

    We finished our breakfast. I didn¡¯t take any tea, because Velariah would have to work on my behind. I didn¡¯t want to mess around with caffeine and have the properties of my silk change or become uncontrollable.

    Velariah had a cup of the drink of the gods as well. My jealousy knew no bounds¡­

    Once secluded in our bedroom, Velariah started filling the spools with thick strands of silk. I was resting my arms on the bathtub and simply relaxed while Velariah slowly pulled out the threads.

    Elly was walking Gray at the moment. I wouldn¡¯t need to fear him sticking his nose into my business, quite literally.

    ¡°You know, this whole process is quite fascinating¡­¡± Velariah said as she worked.

    ¡°The process of creating silk or the process of you pulling it out?¡±

    ¡°Both, I guess. To see the process from up close, magnified over a thousand times, I never knew it could be this intriguing to watch spiders create silk.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s some next-level flirting you¡¯re doing there behind me.¡± I smiled.

    ¡°What can I say? Having a spider girlfriend is interesting in itself, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡±

    ¡°Heh. To me, an elf girlfriend is in the same category: impossible. At least, until a month or so ago.¡±

    Velariah chuckled at that.

    ¡°You¡¯re not afraid of spiders, at all, are you?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Nope. The kinds that live around here, well, minus the ones outside the dungeon, aren¡¯t dangerous at all.¡±

    ¡°What about me?¡± I asked with a grin.

    ¡°You¡¯re even less dangerous.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what your eyes said when we first met.¡± I fired back.

    ¡°I would have loved to see your eyes the first time you found out you turned into¡­ this.¡±

    ¡°Probably worse than yours,¡± I said.

    ¡°I can imagine.¡±

    She continued for a bit before she spoke again. ¡°Though, I do think you could have been turned into things worse than a half-spider. You could have been a slime. Imagine.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t even want to think about it¡­ can they even see?¡±

    ¡°Who knows? I don¡¯t think anybody has information on how they perceive their surroundings.¡±

    ¡°It took me a while, but it¡¯s quite interesting how I can perceive certain things that I was never able to feel before,¡± I said. ¡°I can feel the slightest tremors in the ground. On top of that, there¡¯s the ¡®I don¡¯t know how many extra sets of limbs¡¯ I can now control.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see how it¡¯s a bad thing.¡± The elf spoke. ¡°I¡¯m done here, by the way. Seven spools, ready to be sold. We¡¯ll have a grand total of slightly over sixty gold with these.¡±

    ¡°Nice,¡± I said as I turned around. ¡°And yes, these extra limbs are amazing,¡± I said as I placed my pedipalps on her shoulders.

    I then laughed slightly. ¡°If I ever have to change my profession, I guess I could always offer massages.¡° I spoke as I started kneading the elf¡¯s shoulders.

    She closed her eyes and visibly enjoyed the touch.¡±Hmmm. I¡¯d pay good money for that.¡±

    ¡°I know you would, and I¡¯ll do it for free to you.¡± I quickly kissed her. ¡°Let¡¯s see Dworag, shall we? Or do you want to have a look at the guild first to see what quests there are?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if my father is awake first.¡±

    ¡°Or that.¡±

    We exited the bathroom to see Elly cleaning the table of a thin layer of dust that had settled down on the wood from the dusty books from yesterday. Gray walked up to me and I gave him the necessary attention.

    ¡°My father is still sleeping, I presume?¡±

    Elly nodded. ¡°He is.¡±

    ¡°Right, let¡¯s get some things done. We will check again later.¡±

    I stretched my arms once more and helped Velariah with her armor. I decided to put on my chest piece and the two unbladed gauntlets. I reckoned that would be enough of a reference for Dworag to figure out what the rest of the armor around my arms would have to look like. I did not take my spear with me, either.

    It didn¡¯t take long to reach Dworag¡¯s shop. I walked directly to his workspace, while Velariah entered the building. Seconds after I arrived at the dwarf¡¯s forge, he and Velariah walked out of the rear exit.

    ¡°Miss Elania, a pleasure to see ya.¡±

    ¡°Hi Dworag, how¡¯s it going?¡±

    ¡°Not too bad¡­ now.¡± He winked.

    Classic Dworag.

    ¡°I heard you¡¯re looking to cover up more of that body of yours. Shame, I would say, but understandable.¡±

    His flirting knew no bounds, did it? Velariah didn¡¯t seem all too pleased with it, but I think she knew the dwarf wasn¡¯t entirely serious.

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m looking to get some proper defense. My arms are too exposed for my liking. A helm would be great, too. Lastly, I¡¯d like to know if there is some way to armor up my front two sets of legs.¡±

    ¡°Girl, ya gonna turn into heavy cavalry at this rate. I started working on that saddle of yours as well. I figured you¡¯d want to try that someday.¡±

    I guess I was turning into heavy cavalry. What were those ancient cavalrymen called again? The ones with heavy armor. Cataphracts, I believe?

    ¡°Is it available to try yet?¡± I asked.

    Dworag shook his head. ¡°Not yet, I¡¯m afraid. There are a few adjustments that need to be made before it will even fit.¡±

    He walked over to my legs and took one in his hand. He raised it and eyed it before knocking on it.

    I could feel everything, but there was no pain.

    ¡°Are you sure you even need to armor these? This seems to be mighty tough as it is.¡±

    ¡°Uh. I know it is, I just don¡¯t see it stopping swords or axes.¡±

    I didn¡¯t even have to mention a heavy mace. I already knew what that could do¡­

    The leg that I got crushed by the troll¡¯s mace twitched as I relived the pain in my mind.

    ¡°And then there¡¯s this.¡±

    I turned away from the dwarf and stabbed the air in front of me with my first set, followed by my second set.

    ¡°Oh, I see what you¡¯re getting at. Ye gonna need Coldanus¡¯s hand in this as well, I presume?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to add a weapon to the armor if possible, yes.¡±

    I pulled up a leg in front of me and contracted the last joint.

    ¡°I was thinking to add a blade of some kind here, so that it extends beyond the last joint and it doesn¡¯t hinder my mobility. I can stab like this.¡± I pointed to where I wanted the blade to extend.

    I showed the dwarf how I could thrust my leg forward while keeping the last joint contracted.

    ¡°Hmmm.¡± He rubbed his chin, took the leg in his hand, inspected it, and bent the last part several times.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want these claws obstructed by armor, is what you¡¯re telling me?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°She can climb up walls with those.¡± Velariah grinned.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± The dwarf continued his thoughts. ¡°I think you already cut our work out for us. I think what you suggested would be the best option.¡±

    He took a few steps back and observed my leg from a distance.

    ¡°What did you have in mind, mail or plate?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s best?¡± I asked.

    ¡°In your case, definitely plate. I don¡¯t believe the weight is an issue, is it?¡±

    ¡°Hah.¡± Velariah chuckled. ¡°Most definitely not.¡±

    ¡°My only issue is that I can¡¯t say when it¡¯ll be done. I need to make something from scratch. It¡¯s going to be pricey and it¡¯s going to take some time before it¡¯s done. Is that an issue?¡±

    ¡°I trust you know what you¡¯re doing, Dworag. I want the best, so it¡¯s fine with me. What price range are we looking at for a helmet, leg armor, and vambraces?¡±

    ¡°Vambraces I have readily available. The same goes for helmets. It¡¯s the legs that will cost you the most. You want the best quality I can offer, it¡¯s going to be fifty gold for all three pieces. That price includes three enchant slots on each item.¡±

    Hot damn. This was an expensive business.

    And I wanted armor for Velariah too¡­

    ¡°How much for the helm and vambraces?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Ten.¡±

    ¡°Vel, what do you say? Let¡¯s get those two items and then have him start on my leg armor. Say, Dworag, how much would you charge for a complete set for Velariah?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Velariah commented.

    ¡°Forty gold, same quality, same enchant opportunities. I can have it done in a day or two. I¡¯d only have to make minor adjustments.¡±

    I was never going to financially recover from this¡­

    Actually, I was. I just needed to eat a lot¡­

    ¡°Let¡¯s go for it,¡± I said.

    Velariah was still at a loss for words.

    ¡°Miss Elania, where do you get all that money from, if I may ask?¡± Dworag looked at me with disbelief on his face.

    I planted my butt on the ground and created a thick thread of non-sticky silk, which I then picked up and handed to the dwarf.

    ¡°Here¡¯s how.¡±

    He tried to pull the thread apart but failed miserably. Spider silk was among the toughest substances there were if I recalled correctly. I knew a thread of silk of the same mass as an iron thread was far stronger.

    ¡°I sell these to the tailor, one gold a spool.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m mighty jealous of you, Miss Elania,¡± He said as he stared at the silk in his hands. ¡°But I¡¯m happy I can sell my wares to you. I¡¯d hate to have anything happen to you and Lady Velariah.¡±

    He laid the thread on his anvil and told us to wait for a second while he grabbed his measuring tape.

    He entered the building and walked out with said tape moments later.

    He proceeded to extensively measure my legs, my arms, and my head. How he managed to remember all those measurements without writing them down was a miracle to me.

    ¡°I should have those two items done by tomorrow. If I have time left, I¡¯ll work on Lady Velariah¡¯s set or your saddle. Are ya planning on heading out anytime soon?¡±

    ¡°Uhm, we have some plans to travel to Zerdania. We¡¯re not sure when we will leave, though. There are a couple of issues we need to take care of in and around Dawnleaf.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s quite the trip. I¡¯ll see if I can get this done with some urgency.¡±

    The dwarf walked over to a jute bag filled with coals and added some to the forge with a shovel specifically made for it. He then stepped on the bellows to get the forge heated up.

    ¡°What are ya still staring at? Off with ye.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Dworag,¡± I smiled.

    ¡°Not a problem, Miss Elania.¡±

    Velariah and I left the premises, and soon found ourselves in the center of the village.

    ¡°Those are some premium prices, aren¡¯t they?¡± I asked the elf.

    ¡°Well, it depends on how you look at it,¡± Velariah said. ¡°You¡¯re playing with your life, after all. Good armor makes all the difference in a fight. Yes, they are expensive, but nothing is worth more than your life.¡±

    I didn¡¯t have a reply to that.

    ¡°Thank you, though, El. I really appreciate you helping out.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. You¡¯ve given me so much as it is.¡± I smiled. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m going to exploit this money-making machine behind me as much as I can, if I can protect you and the others with it.¡±

    ¡°Just don¡¯t spoil us too much, El. Don¡¯t allow anyone to rely on you too much.¡±

    ¡°Armor can be the difference between life and death, you just said it. Making sure you all have good armor is the least I can do.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to be able to change your mind, am I?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°Nope.¡±

    Velariah chuckled. ¡°Alright, then. Time to check the guild, shall we?¡±

    We found the usual suspects at our table. They were looking over a piece of paper in Draco¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Thought you guys were gonna grab some coffee at our place,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°We thought about it,¡± Draco said. ¡°But we wanted to check out the available quests first. This one looks interesting enough.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s it about?¡± I asked curiously.

    ¡°Giant Borers have shown up at the forest¡¯s border. I have a feeling they were driven away from the forest where they normally dwell underground by a certain someone.¡± Draco spoke.

    ¡°Giant boars? Are those like Saibon Boars?¡± I questioned.

    ¡°Borers,¡± Seralyn corrected. ¡°Some sort of underground maggots. If they reach the fields, they will ruin the crops. They are far worse than moles.¡±

    Giant maggots? That sounded nasty.

    Wait, NOT THE COFFEE!

    ¡°We¡¯re taking this quest,¡± I said, more determined than ever.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if they had decided on it but I wasn¡¯t going to let anyone interfere with my glorious coffee empire.

    Draco smiled. ¡°I knew you¡¯d say that. I have to warn you though, these things are not as innocent as you would think. Giant maggot is more of a comparative term. They are deadly when they are aggravated, and I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do.¡±

    ¡°Do they have, like, giant teeth or something, and do they react to tremors in the ground from running, or what?¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Seralyn asked.

    You¡¯ve got to be kidding me.

    That one 90¡¯s movie was real in this world?

    I covered my face with my palm. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this¡­¡±

    ¡°Better not to ask,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Some action sounds good though, but we do need to stop by my home again for Elania¡¯s weapons. My father is home as well but was asleep when we left. If he is awake now, I¡¯d like to talk to him.¡±

    Seralyn stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s get some coffee!¡±

    ¡°Addicted much?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s perfect before a quest,¡± She said.

    She had a point, though.

    ¡°You think my father caused the borers to migrate here?¡± Velariah asked the lizardman.

    ¡°It coincides perfectly, wouldn¡¯t you agree? Your father uses his ultimate attack, and the next day we have a quest here to deal with Giant Borers,¡± He replied.

    Sounds plausible to me.

    Draco and Nira stood up as well.

    ¡°Coffee doesn¡¯t sound like a bad idea.¡± Draco continued.

    I had the largest smile on my face. How could I not? I had converted multiple people to the coffee religion already. Who knew how many more would follow?

    We walked over to Velariah¡¯s mansion. Elly opened the door and said Valtheril was awake and waiting at the table. Velariah asked the maid to prepare some coffee.

    We entered the dining area where Valtheril was seated at the head, scribbling away on a piece of paper. As soon as we opened the door, he turned the document over.

    ¡°Welcome home, father,¡± Velariah said. ¡°How are you doing? We saw your attack yesterday.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. How are you guys? Please, sit down.¡± He held up his hand to the unoccupied chairs.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you have a lot of questions, but I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t share much.¡±

    ¡°How come?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ classified.¡±

 1.83 Spilled Secrets

    Faragi

    ¡°Classified?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you talking about the incident surrounding the wolf?¡±

    Valtheril nodded.

    Everyone took a seat, and Valtheril¡¯s expression changed from serious to friendly. It appears that whatever was going on in the forest seemed to be solved. I couldn¡¯t imagine another reason behind his slight smile. He seemed serious about things like this.

    ¡°I also heard you guys got a decent stash of coffee again.¡±

    Or there was that.

    ¡°But first, please introduce me to these two lovely young ladies. I assume they are part of your party, yes?¡±

    ¡°Father, this is Seralyn. She¡¯s an archer who was previously in Allina¡¯s squad.¡± Velariah pointed toward the other elf. ¡°Seralyn, this is my father, or General or Sir Valtheril.¡±

    ¡°Pleasure to meet you,¡± Seralyn said.

    ¡°Same to you,¡± Valtheril replied politely.

    ¡°And this is Nira. We, uh, ran into her during an earlier mission. She¡¯s a harpy with a nature school healing inherity,¡± Velariah continued. ¡°Nira, this is¡­ Sir Valtheril to you, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± Nira said softly.

    ¡°Once again, the pleasure is mine. Also, I¡¯d hate for my daughter¡¯s companions to call me ¡®Sir¡¯, you can drop that, if you¡¯d like.¡±

    It would seem Valtheril was slowly opening up as well.

    ¡°So, uhm, about the necromantic magic¡­¡± Velariah continued the conversation from earlier.

    ¡°As I said, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s classified,¡± He tapped the document with the palm of his hand. ¡°I need to finish writing this report and have it reviewed by the king before I can share any information about it. The forest is safe, though. I can tell you that much, at least. Well, safe, besides the goblins.¡±

    ¡°About the goblins¡­¡± I started. ¡°It appears to me you have some kind of plan. What is this plan? And why is it so sudden, if I may ask?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve grown tired of their transgressions against our people. I¡¯ve heard reports of increased goblin presence throughout the forest. More and more seem to be banding together. I¡¯d like to deal with them before things get out of hand, plain and simple. I¡¯ve brought an elite squad with me from the capital to help us deal with them. Recent reports from the guild have confirmed that the quests that were issued have been mostly successful in crippling their supplies. I believe more adventurers have gathered here over the past few days, am I correct?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°There¡¯s been an increase in activity in the village for sure.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Valtheril commented. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask the guild to inform me about the latest reports. You may see more quests appearing soon. If you guys are able to help out, I¡¯d appreciate your help greatly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s excellent,¡± Velariah said. ¡°We were planning to travel to Zerdania at some point, but not before dealing with the goblin problem.¡±

    ¡°How big is that elite squad anyway?¡± I asked. I wanted to get an idea of the force we¡¯d be using to clear out the forest.

    ¡°A hundred and fifty men,¡± He replied.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t that cost quite a lot?¡±

    ¡°I brought a bit of coffee with me to Goldleaf. I used it as leverage when negotiating. Goldleaf is paying for their wages in return for some trade privileges once the entire process is set up and running.¡±

    I chuckled in my mind. I knew he¡¯d pull something like this, eventually. It wasn¡¯t a bad idea, all in all.

    ¡°Speaking of coffee,¡± Draco said, as Elly entered the room with a can of coffee and glasses on a platter.

    ¡°It turns out this invention is an excellent tool when it comes to making deals. The adventurer that first showed me how to make it recently passed away. I wished I could have been there to say goodbye¡­¡± His expression changed to one of sadness.

    Velariah giggled.

    Valtheril looked at her, obviously confused.

    ¡°They know, father. Elania has recently come clean with our party members and Elly on her past.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± He let out.

    Seralyn laughed, and I too, had to suppress my laughter.

    ¡°So they know¡­?¡±

    Velariah nodded.

    ¡°Fair enough.¡±

    Valtheril sighed and leaned back in his chair.

    Elly re-entered the room with a tray that held sugar and milk. Soon, I was jealous at the sight of people drinking my favorite liquid.

    ¡°Anyway,¡± Valtheril said between two sips of coffee. ¡°I¡¯ve made great progress at mapping out the goblins¡¯ strongholds and locations. I believe we will be ready to start an extensive search-and-destroy operation quite soon.¡±

    He took another sip. ¡°What business do you have in Zerdania, if I may ask?¡±

    Velariah grinned. ¡°Elania¡¯s at it again. We scoured a bunch of books and found a specific plant Elania was interested in. Apparently, you can use it to make, according to her, the most delicious candy.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ve done quite a number on this place while I was gone. I had Elly move those old dumbbells to the bathroom.¡± He glanced over to the crate that held Minia.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with the spider, by the way?¡±

    ¡°She has a name,¡± Seralyn giggled. ¡°It¡¯s Elania.¡±

    She was far too comfortable around the general already. She had guts, I had to give her that.

    Valtheril smiled.

    ¡°That spider jumped on Elania when we were gathering coffee cherries. I decided to keep it as a means to help Elania understand how spiders¡­ operated, so to say,¡± Velariah explained.

    ¡°I see,¡± The general said as he finished his coffee.

    Gray decided to make his presence known as well. He¡¯d been sleeping in front of the hearth. He walked up to Valtheril and seemed intrigued by the general and walked around his legs, sniffing carefully.

    ¡°Did you have any plans for today?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Yeah, we picked up a quest to deal with Giant Borers at the guild earlier. Did you cause them to move here?¡±

    ¡°I might have, I can¡¯t quite say.¡± He looked at his document again. ¡°If you guys don¡¯t mind, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to talk about with Velariah and Elania, in private.¡±

    Draco nodded and stood up. Seralyn and Nira joined him. ¡°Thank you for the information, Sir Valtheril.¡± He then turned to me and Velariah next to me. ¡°We will see the two of you outside.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be with you in a bit,¡± I said.

    I wondered what Valtheril would want to talk about?

    This would be a great time to ask my more personal questions too.

    Our party members were led outside by Elly. The maid then walked upstairs, leaving the three of us, and Gray, alone.

    Gray walked over to and jumped on Velariah¡¯s lap.

    ¡°Elania,¡± Valtheril started. ¡°I have some things to admit.¡±

    I listened in silence.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t been exactly honest with you. Remember when I told you about the surveillance I¡¯d place you under while in the village?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°I did that for a day, then called the guards off.¡±

    It¡¯s true that I hadn¡¯t noticed anyone stalking me, but I had assumed that was because they were professionals.

    ¡°But why?¡± I asked. ¡°Why would you trust me so easily? It¡¯s a question I¡¯ve wanted to ask for a while.¡±

    ¡°You see¡­¡± Valtheril started in an utmost serious tone.

    He leaned forward in his chair, his elbows on the table, and his chin on his interlocked fingers.

    He then pulled up his tag from under his shirt. ¡°My adventurer¡¯s tag has a special enchantment.¡±

    He paused for a moment.

    ¡°There are only three people in the elven kingdom with this enchantment. The King, the Admiral of the Fleet, and the General of the Royal Army; me. This enchant allows me to detect most, if not all lies. In addition, it allows me to sense some of the emotions that the person I¡¯m talking to experiences. From the moment I met you, I knew you had the best of intentions. I daresay I haven¡¯t met anyone new like this in quite some time.¡±

    I was speechless. I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. From the very moment we met, he knew. If I had lied to him, I could have killed myself¡­

    My face froze in shock¡­

    ¡°You never told me¡­¡± Velariah said, her face filled with disbelief as well.

    ¡°If I¡¯d told you about this, Vel, what do you think would have happened? I¡¯m telling this now because Elania told me she has secrets that could shake this world. She has proven to be a reliable ally and good friend. I didn¡¯t feel like withholding this information from her. I do trust this information stays between us. We¡¯ll call it even.¡±

    It was still such an odd thing to tell. If nobody knew about this, wouldn¡¯t that keep people far more honest? It was as he said, if Velariah knew about this when she met me, she would have told me to be honest to Valtheril. That would not have been true honesty, however. Knowing not to lie was something different entirely from speaking truthfully on your own.

    ¡°I¡¯m confused¡­¡± Velariah spoke my mind, in addition to hers.

    ¡°You¡¯re both of noble hearts. Your recent hardships made it all the more clear. Elly informed me of some things that happened while I was away. I trust you use this information wisely.¡±

    I nodded. There was no way I could tell anyone about this, either way. I guessed that made it somewhat easier for him to tell us about it. If I told anyone about it and he then asked me the simple question of whether I¡¯d told anyone, I would be dead.

    Noble heart? I didn¡¯t think of myself as noble at all. How did that work?

    ¡°Another reason I¡¯m telling you is that I can feel you two are close,¡± Valtheril said.

    I looked at Velariah, who was seated next to me.

    So he did know¡­

    ¡°Don¡¯t take that the wrong way. You two are free to do as you please. I trust my daughter to be smart enough to make her own decisions regarding this subject. Some other decisions are¡­ questionable.¡±

    I was certain that was a throwback to how she¡¯d gotten caught in the woods. Harsh, but it did seem to be the way to teach about the dangers in this world. Arch had used the same harsh methods and I had to admit he¡¯d been successful.

    ¡°So you¡¯re fine with us being together?¡± Velariah asked softly.

    Valtheril nodded.

    Velariah sighed, probably out of relief.

    I still didn¡¯t know what to say. I was terrible with these kinds of things. The information that Valtheril had just spilled was nothing short of shocking. He¡¯d known so much more than I thought.

    Gray jumped up against one of my legs, but I ignored him.

    My emotions truly were a mess once more¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s enough serious talk,¡± Valtheril mentioned.

    I was still quietly thinking about all the things that were said.

    ¡°On to the more cheerful news,¡± He continued. ¡°I was unable to track down the square black coin that I took from you early on, so I¡¯ll return it to you. I had it exchanged for fifty normal gold coins that I have locked away in a safe upstairs.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great news,¡± Velariah said cheerfully.

    I was still thinking, but this bit of news reached even me. That was great news, indeed. It would allow us to get Velariah¡¯s new armor paid off sooner than expected.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said politely.

    ¡°Also, I like your weapons. They are quite¡­ interesting.¡±

    ¡°I hope you weren¡¯t thinking of imitating those,¡± I said.

    Valtheril shook his head. ¡°They are unwieldy for people with only two arms. I can see them being used by specialized soldiers, but I don¡¯t think having them in the army is an option.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought, too,¡± I spoke.

    ¡°I have one more piece of good news for you. It appears Grandmaster Ineus will be arriving in the village this afternoon. You will probably find him in the Treemender¡¯s Oak once he has arrived.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said again.

    I got slightly nervous at the thought of the ritual. I¡¯d finally get to know some answers about how this body operated. At least, that¡¯s what I assumed.

    ¡°Anyway, I won¡¯t delay you two any further. You guys still have a quest to take care of. I¡¯ll finish this report and gather some info from the guild and guards. Will I see you for dinner?¡±

    I looked at Velariah.

    ¡°Fine by me,¡± She said. ¡°We will see you later then. Thank you for the info, father. By the way, a bit of extra clarification, our party doesn¡¯t know about El¡¯s ability to make anti-venom, yet. Elania should decide for herself if she wants to tell them at some point, so please don¡¯t bring that up.¡±

    ¡°Not a problem.¡±

    I bowed slightly and thanked him once more, before we made our way to the hallway where I equipped my gauntlets.

    ¡°What a mess,¡± I spoke softly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to make of anything he said about him detecting lies.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure why he would tell us about that, either. Does he trust us that much, or¡­?¡± Velariah replied.

    I shook my head. ¡°I have no idea.¡± I then shrugged. ¡°At least he made the existence of coffee known in Goldleaf. It¡¯s good to see that he managed to use it as trade means.¡±

    ¡°It is an amazing drink, though. Speaking of, hold on a sec. I need a bathroom break.¡±

    I grinned as she walked back through the doors to the dining room.

    A minute or two later she joined up with me and we stepped outside.

    Seralyn, Draco, and Nira were still waiting.

    I was surprised that nobody asked questions about what we talked about, not even Seralyn. Then again, Valtheril seemed to have quite the reputation. If he said he wanted to talk in private, I could imagine people not wanting to pry into what was said.

    We walked to the eastern village gate in silence. It was when we reached the outskirts that I decided to talk.

    ¡°If I am correct, we are talking about monsters that burrow in the ground, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Draco mentioned. ¡°Normally, they are found much deeper in the ground, and they don¡¯t bother us, but when summer starts, they start making their way to the surface in order to be ready to undergo metamorphosis when they¡¯ve eaten enough.¡±

    ¡°That sounds freaky. What do they even turn into?¡±

    ¡°Giant wasps.¡±

    I sighed.

    I hated wasps. I don¡¯t think there was anyone that liked them. I¡¯d be surprised if there was.

    ¡°Their lifespan as wasps is short, they only live for about a month or two. This is their season. After this, they completely disappear again until next year.¡±

    That was somewhat of a relief. It did mean, however, that we could run into giant wasps for a while.

    ¡°Are those wasps dangerous?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Depends on how you look at it. Their sting and venom are potent enough to kill infants, but adults will almost always survive. Besides, any quality anti-venom is enough to deal with it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s still dangerous in my book,¡± I said.

    ¡°Having them driven out of the forest is something of a good thing,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°With some luck, we can cull their numbers, causing less of a hassle for people out in the forest during the period in which they are most prominent.¡±

    ¡°Pest control it is,¡± I smiled.

    If I could help out getting rid of wasps, I¡¯d be happy to do it. Besides, I¡¯d be saving the precious coffee plants.

    I was too kind.

    We reached the grassy fields near the forest and I could see that tunnels had been dug below the surface. What looked like giant mole heaps were scattered around the edge of the field. I even saw one of the creatures dead near one.

    ¡°These things sense vibrations right?¡± I asked. ¡°What¡¯s the usual way to kill them?¡±

    ¡°Someone with proper armor usually plays bait,¡± Draco explained. ¡°They stamp the ground to lure the creatures. As soon as one surfaces, they are brought down quickly.¡±

    ¡°Interesting fighting method. I¡¯m curious to see if I can feel them approaching. I seem to possess the same kind of ability.¡±

    ¡°Should be easy enough to deal with them,¡± Seralyn commented. ¡°Especially if you know where they are coming from. What usually gets people killed when dealing with these is not having armor around their legs, at all.¡±

    ¡°In that case, shouldn¡¯t you and Nira be on my back or something?¡± I asked.

    I looked at Draco¡¯s armor and then at Velariah¡¯s.

    ¡°Or even you two. Velariah, your armor is still damaged, and Draco, you don¡¯t have anything at the backside of your legs¡­¡±

    Draco smiled. ¡°They don¡¯t penetrate my scales.¡±

    ¡°And I don¡¯t intend to lure them,¡± Velariah added.

    Sounded a bit careless to me, but okay.

    ¡°And you are certain about this?¡± I asked out of worry.

    ¡°As long as we stand still, they won¡¯t detect us,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°I don¡¯t have to move at all.¡±

    That was true. Seralyn could attack from range. Nira wouldn¡¯t have to attack, so I guessed she would be fine too.

    ¡°Well, okay then.¡± I sighed.

    I was going to trust Draco¡¯s expertise. From what he was telling me, I got the impression he fought these things before. Maybe I was overthinking this whole thing.

    I wanted to see for myself what these things would be like. The corpse that was in my sight would be an excellent starting point. I walked over to it with the others. They made slow, steady steps, it was almost similar to tiptoeing. My steps were surprisingly light if I wanted them to be.

    If armor prevented most, if not all of the damage these things could do, I imagined my chitin would provide similar protection.

    I crouched before the corpse and found it to look exactly like an oversized maggot. It was about a meter long and had a large cut in its side where it seemed to have leaked a yellowish liquid.

    The only thing that set it apart from normal maggots was the small teeth.

    A ring of teeth filled what looked like its mouth, it had a certain similarity to leech teeth. They weren¡¯t large, but there were many of them. I could see these doing quite a bit of damage to unarmored legs.

    All in all, the sight was disgusting.

    Time to find out how tough my chitin was.

    I raised a leg and forced it into its mouth. The sounds its corpse made when I forced my leg into its mouth would probably haunt me for quite some time.

    I moved my leg around, scraping the teeth. I could feel the teeth against my leg, but it didn¡¯t hurt.

    When I pulled my leg back out, there was no visible damage to the chitin.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s just freaky,¡± Velariah commented.

    ¡°You sleep in my bed. You don¡¯t get to comment on what¡¯s freaky.¡±

    Seralyn grinned.

    ¡°Seems I¡¯ll be safe from these things. It doesn¡¯t appear they can get through my exoskeleton,¡± I said.

    ¡°You want to try luring them?¡± Draco asked.

    ¡°Sure,¡± I replied. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work.¡±

 1.84 A Dance with Borers

    Faragi

    I was blackmailed into posting another chapter :(

    Don''t forget to read 83 if you didn''t :)

    The others stood still as I trampled the ground and ran in circles, trying to lure the Borers to me. I stopped after a few circles and focused on the feeling in my legs.

    I could feel slight vibrations growing stronger. I knew there was something on its way to the surface.

    For some odd reason, I could tell exactly what direction it was coming from and how deep it was. I had no idea how I could, just that I did. I paid attention to the sensations for a while before they disappeared.

    I stamped the ground with one leg and found the sensations returned.

    ¡°Any luck, El?¡± Velariah asked.

    I put a finger on my lips to tell her to be quiet.

    I was too focused on what was going on in the dirt beneath the grass.

    I kept stamping my leg and the creature wormed its way up. I had my spear at the ready, right where I knew it was going to emerge from the ground.

    The second it surfaced, I lifted my leg out of the way and impaled its body deeply. I then finished the job by cutting off its head with one of my blades. It never stood a chance. This body was the perfect counter versus these creatures.

    ¡°Holy crap¡­¡± Seralyn said behind me.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding¡­¡± Velariah asked.

    I turned and smiled at them, proud of my accomplishment.

    ¡°Turns out, these legs are pretty handy. I can feel exactly where they are.¡± I revealed my seemingly overpowered skill.

    ¡°Well, that takes all the fun away,¡± Velariah laughed.

    ¡°And the danger,¡± I added. ¡°Not sure if it¡¯s a bad thing.¡±

    ¡°It is useful,¡± Draco said. ¡°That¡¯s for certain.¡±

    ¡°So, how do we do this? I would hate to not have you guys do anything, even if it is the safest way to go about things.¡± I said.

    ¡°Well, we could kill them when they surface, even if you lure them. If you¡¯re positive they can¡¯t penetrate your chitin, we should be okay, right?¡± Velariah answered.

    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sure they can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then,¡± Draco spoke, ¡°We¡¯ll follow your lead.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be able to know when they surface and pull my legs up. Just be careful, alright?¡±

    They both nodded.

    I smiled. ¡°This is some nice practice for me as well. Who knows how advanced this underground tracking ability can get?¡±

    We walked a few meters. Velariah and Draco took positions at my side, ready to strike anything that emerged from the ground.

    Seralyn and Nira stood still about seven meters out. The archer had her bow at the ready.

    I doubted she would have to do much; these things seemed quite easy to kill.

    I stamped the ground once more, one leg to my left, and one leg to my right, in an effort to lure out the Giant Borers. It took some more time than previously before I felt anything move in the ground.

    ¡°Vel, coming from your direction,¡± I said, as I briefly stopped sending tremors through the ground. ¡°It will pass under you, you can stab the ground when I tell you to.¡±

    Velariah took her sword and was ready to impale the ground under her feet.

    I continued for about half a minute before it was directly under her sword.

    ¡°Now!¡± I called.

    Velariah brought her sword down into the earth, a strange slimy sound was heard.

    I gritted my teeth.

    I doubted I¡¯d get used to that sound. At least I knew that Velariah had hit, and most likely, killed it.

    ¡°There¡¯s another one nearby,¡± I called out. ¡°This one¡¯s for you, Draco. It¡¯s coming from under me, so be ready.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± He confirmed.

    I hit my leg on the ground repeatedly until it was almost at the surface. The moment it emerged from the ground, I pulled my leg upward, and it missed its bite attack. Its maw closed where my leg had previously been. Within a second, Draco brought both his axes down on the giant maggot, causing it to squirt its fluids out of the large wounds. It died seconds later.

    ¡°And that¡¯s three,¡± Seralyn called. ¡°At this rate, Nira and I can take a day off.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d prefer you guys to be ready just in case¡­ if you don¡¯t mind, that is.¡±

    Nira shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s fine, I guess,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°As long as I get paid.¡±

    ¡°For all I care, you can have my share,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t give a crap,¡± I smiled.

    ¡°Neat. Free money.¡± Seralyn grinned.

    I shrugged. I had plenty of money. I doubted this quest would be worth much. It seemed proper armor made this a breeze.

    We continued following the border between the plains and the forest and killed several more Borers over the course of a few hours. We went slowly and methodically, making sure to root out and dispatch as many as possible. We left their corpses for the guild to identify and clean up. Draco cut out a few organs near their rear end and put them in his bag.

    I hoped he cleaned that bag every now and then¡­

    We reached the fields in which the coffee was grown. The plants seemed to be coming along nicely. I saw a couple of them were blossoming already.

    Beautiful white flowers adorned one row of the plants. Bees seemed to swarm to them from the nearby forest. It filled my heart with joy to see this going so well.

    If it wasn¡¯t for these filthy maggots¡­

    I had barely set foot in the field and I could already feel several of them crawling about. There were three that I could make out clearly, and then some more. It seemed there was some sort of cap to the number of enemies that I could track this way. Everything beyond the three closest Borers became fuzzy, even though I knew they were within range of where I could accurately track the previous Borers.

    ¡°Bit of a problem here, guys,¡± I said. ¡°There are multiple hostiles, and I can¡¯t track them all.¡±

    I decided to be honest. ¡°So be prepared for anything.¡±

    ¡°Finally, some action,¡± Seralyn commented.

    If I could, I was just going to take this slowly. I¡¯d try to lure one at a time, stop shaking the ground, finish it off, and then repeat from there.

    I started sending shockwaves into the dirt, and soon after, felt multiple borers tunneling their way to me. The first one was coming from my front, so I held my spear ready for when it exposed itself.

    I used my pedipalps to hit the ground in front of me, causing it to alter its direction slightly, and thrust my spear in the dirt in front of me the moment it got close.

    Its momentum caused it to emerge from the ground, all the while my spear ran through its body. It impaled itself entirely. I pulled up my fangs and delivered it a dose of venom, hoping it would award me some corium that way.

    ¡°Vel, your turn.¡°

    I called out to Velariah, who stood ready to decapitate an oversized maggot.

    I pulled up my leg when it surfaced, and Velariah¡¯s swing cleanly cleaved it in two.

    ¡°Draco!¡± I called out.

    I pulled up my other leg and Draco brought down his axes the moment the maggot shot out of the ground with its maw wide open.

    The sight of those teeth would probably haunt me for some time, too.

    Something was wrong¡­

    I stopped hitting the ground, yet more signals were being sent to my legs.

    More of the Borers were making their way over to me, and I couldn¡¯t count them. There were far too many and I started to panic a bit.

    ¡°Multiple Borers approaching. I don¡¯t know how many, I can¡¯t count them.¡±

    I looked behind me.

    ¡°Seralyn, Nira, I suggest you two hop on. These things are coming towards me without me moving a leg.¡±

    I didn¡¯t have to tell them twice. Seralyn quickly ran over to me and placed herself in the sacred spot that would normally be reserved for Velariah. Nira spread her wings and flew herself onto my rear, where she seated herself and gripped my midsection with her claws.

    ¡°Better get ready to dance,¡± I called out.

    I stamped the ground with all the legs I had at my disposal, trying to draw their attention.

    I was successful.

    The Borers kept popping up from the ground below me and tried chomping my legs. Some were successful and tried to sink their teeth into my chitin. Of course, they didn¡¯t succeed. I was glad I¡¯d checked before.

    I kept stamping and drawing more of these pests to the surface. They popped up like moles in a good round of ¡®Whack-A-Mole¡¯. Velariah and Draco had their hands full trying to deal with them.

    I used my spear to kill off a couple of them at my sides. The ones in the range of my spear didn¡¯t live to tell the tale, or in their case, become worse pests.

    The ones unfortunate enough to bite into my legs soon paid the price as well. I continued to crash my legs into the ground and impaled them in the process.

    Seralyn shot one of the Borers that emerged from the ground and was about to chomp into Velariah¡¯s calf. She used her special attack and set the arrowhead on fire. The beast curled up and got fried from the inside out. The scent coming from its body smelled somewhat like chicken. It actually smelled¡­ kind of nice?

    What the fuck?

    She used the same attack multiple times, only intensifying the smell of chicken as we fought off the swarm of oversized maggots. One of the Borers appeared under one of Draco¡¯s feet and closed its maw around it.

    He simply stared at it, lifted his foot, and severed the beast¡¯s head with an axe.

    His confidence in his scales wasn¡¯t misplaced.

    Slowly but steadily, I found my legs registering the movements in the ground normally again. We¡¯d culled enough of them and I could only sense two more.

    ¡°Below you, Vel!¡± I shouted.

    Without thinking twice, the elf stuck her sword in the dirt beneath her and drove it in as deep as she could.

    It seemed to hit whatever was coming for her. The vibrations soon disappeared.

    The last one breached the surface in front of me and started wiggling its way to me. I cleaved it with my blades and severed its maw from its body. The body changed direction and continued to wiggle forward, away from me. It kept losing its body¡¯s contents until it stopped moving altogether.

    With that, the ¡®battle¡¯ was over.

    This really was just pest control. At least the coffee was safe¡­

    ¡°What a mess,¡± I said.

    ¡°Any more coming?¡± Velariah asked, still in combat stance.

    I shook my head. ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± She replied.

    Velariah walked over to the fence and used it to wipe the dirt and gore off her sword. Draco helped out with removing the Borers that were still impaled on my legs.

    ¡°A mess, indeed,¡± The white-haired elf said as she returned and observed Draco working.

    She then shook her head. ¡°Seriously, El, at this rate, we¡¯re going to have to install better plumbing for all the baths you¡¯re going to take.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°Trust me, I¡¯m not happy about this, either.¡±

    ¡°At least we got through that without issues,¡± She said. ¡°Did we get them all?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel any more.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± She said, then turned her head to Seralyn. ¡°That means you can get off my girlfriend.¡±

    I smiled and shook my head.

    That was kind of funny.

    ¡°Oh, excuse me. This was Elania¡¯s idea in the first place, remember?¡±

    She hopped off and started retrieving her arrows from the killed Borers. Nira jumped off as well, a beat of her wings carried her through the air a short distance before she landed gracefully.

    I took a few steps and focused on my legs.

    It was quiet, almost eerily so.

    I started stamping the ground again.

    Nothing.

    I walked a few meters and tried again.

    Still nothing.

    The others saw what I was doing and followed me as I repeated my actions throughout the entire length of the field.

    Nothing¡­

    ¡°Any ideas?¡± I asked. ¡°I can¡¯t sense anything anymore.¡±

    ¡°Seems we dealt with them all at once,¡± Seralyn said.

    I got the feeling she might be right.

    ¡°But how?¡± I asked. ¡°They seemed to attack all at once. Do you think they have some sort of communication?¡±

    ¡°That would be one explanation,¡± Draco said.

    ¡°Let¡¯s roll with that for now,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°Let¡¯s check the rest of the field quickly and get something to eat. I¡¯m positive we missed lunch.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like a plan,¡± I concluded.

    We made our way through the rows of coffee plants and I sent shockwaves into the dirt at several locations. None of them yielded any reply from the pests.

    I looked around and saw that none of the plants here had been affected by the Borers.

    The coffee gods could be proud of their apostle.

    We exited the field and found ourselves on the dirt road to the village.

    I lowered myself and cleaned my weapons as best I could. Nira handed me my scabbards and I sheathed my blades again. I thanked her for keeping them and we proceeded to move to the guild hall.

    Once at the guild, Draco handed the Lore keeper the creepy contents of his backpack while we seated ourselves in our corner.

    The place was almost empty, an obvious result of it being past lunchtime. The quest board was empty too. It appeared the new quests regarding the goblin problem had not been posted yet.

    Velariah ordered food for all of us, but my head wasn¡¯t quite there.

    I was building up more and more anxiety about the ritual that was planned for me. I had my eyes closed and started building negative scenarios in my head.

    I hated myself for it.

    Would it reveal that I was a monster or something? Would the Grandmaster know?

    I couldn¡¯t be. Even if I was, I heard this specific Grandmaster was one of integrity. He was someone that Valtheril seemed to know, personally.

    ¡°Will you stop worrying?¡± Velariah said softly as she laid a hand on my back.

    I guess I still was too easy to read.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Vel¡­¡± I whispered. ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel something will happen¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be there. Nothing can happen.¡±

    ¡°How does this ritual work?¡± I asked.

    I had never received any information on how the ritual was conducted.

    ¡°The Grandmaster has a collection of rare herbs and fungi. They are processed into a paste, which is then placed on your hand. You will receive a piece of paper on which you put the paste, like a stamp. It will then form letters and turn into a special kind of ink that only you, the owner of the described inherity, can read.¡±

    She paused for a second. ¡°That¡¯s what you have to do. Everything else is handled by the Grandmaster. There is going to be incense burning that can be a bit¡­ overwhelming, but try to stay focused.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not so bad,¡± Seralyn added. ¡°The ritual itself is fairly simple. The lead-up to it is the worst. I kind of know what you¡¯re feeling right now. It¡¯s even worse for some people of whom a lot is expected in life.¡±

    ¡°Like you?¡± I turned to Velariah.

    ¡°My inherity is relatively simple, but I know what it¡¯s able to do, that is, if it follows the same path of my father, which is a distinct possibility. I don¡¯t worry about it too much, even if expectations are high.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Vel.¡±

    Her comforting words seemed to dispel some of the worries that haunted me.

    Nira¡¯s expression had been one of worry when looking at my face, but she too seemed to be lifted by Velariah¡¯s words. She smiled at me after the elf stopped talking.

    Draco finished his business with the Lore Keeper and took a seat at the table.

    ¡°You guys alright?¡± He asked.

    I nodded. ¡°We were just discussing the ritual.¡±

    The lizardman smiled. ¡°I am quite curious about your inherity. Please do share with us when you know what it is.¡±

    ¡°Is that normal?¡± I asked. ¡°Seems to me the idea of having a paper with text that only you can read is so it remains secret.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s common for parties to know what all their inherities are,¡± Velariah said. ¡°If you have anything you don¡¯t want to share, nobody will force you to, though.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll tell you guys about mine. I was just curious what the etiquette was regarding this whole thing. You know why¡­¡±

    ¡°I do like this more honest version of you,¡± Seralyn said.

    ¡°I do prefer to be honest about things myself as well, but you know I didn¡¯t have much choice in this matter specifically.¡±

    ¡°Agreed,¡± The archer said.

    The waiter appeared at our table with a plate of drinks which he put down in front of each of us. It seemed the others had gone for my favorite drink as well.

    ¡°Here¡¯s to you, Miss Elania,¡± Draco held up his glass, preparing to toast. ¡°Here¡¯s to finally getting to know your inherity, and to our party¡¯s future adventures.¡±

    I smiled from ear to ear as I joined his toast with my glass.

    The others joined as well.

    ¡°Thank you, Draco. Here¡¯s to us.¡±

    Our glasses clinked, the sound only intensified my smile.

    This new world was turning into quite something¡­

    Faragi

    I also forgot my special shoutout to my new Patron <3

    Pls don''t kill me :(

    IJustWannaRead

    There are only 2 more chapters in this arc and then the epilogue before I stop publishing for a while to create a bigger backlog and do some necessary cleaning etc.

    Do consider joining discord for more updates on what''s going on:

    https://discord.gg/TqFjdv8uaE

 1.85 Prelude

    We had a great time talking about my possible inherity. Seralyn at some point suggested I could develop wings after an evolution.

    I looked at her with intrigue.

    ¡°What?¡± She said. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s perfectly in line with the changes you¡¯ve been through so far? First, you¡¯re going to get some extra eyes. Next up are the wings.¡±

    Velariah laughed.

    ¡°Those are going to have to be some insanely strong wings, then. She¡¯ll probably need more than two, too. I can¡¯t even imagine where she¡¯d keep them.¡±

    ¡°Maybe they¡¯ll perfectly fit around her behind¡­ like a ladybug!¡± Seralyn suggested.

    Draco and I joined the laughter.

    Food was served a while ago, but that didn¡¯t prevent us from making fun of my abilities one bit.

    Imagine a flying spider.

    How terrifying would that be?

    I smiled at the prospect.

    ¡°Maybe she will grow scythes, like those mantises in the dungeon!¡± Velariah added to the list of strange things.

    ¡°I¡¯d rather not fight against those,¡± Draco smiled.

    ¡°I do wonder where they would go,¡± I commented as I put my pedipalps on the table. ¡°I¡¯ve already got these and my fangs. There isn¡¯t much space for more here at the front.¡±

    Nira giggled as well.

    ¡°No, but really,¡± I said, after taking a bite of sausage. ¡°The poison or venom thingy, I¡¯m certain about, but what about all the other things? Any bets?¡±

    ¡°Oh, now this is my territory,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°I bet you have two inherities. Anyone willing to bet against that?¡±

    Velariah, Draco, and Nira shook their heads.

    ¡°You guys are no fun,¡± Seralyn pouted.

    ¡°How many of those abilities can be attributed to being part spider?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°I imagine it could be something like¡­ I don¡¯t know? Spider abilities, such as silk, get stronger with evolutions? Maybe the regeneration of limbs is included in that too? Honestly, I have never seen anything like this. I¡¯m just guessing away here.¡±

    ¡°My carapace seems to get tougher too,¡± I added.

    ¡°And less hairy,¡± Velariah grinned. ¡°But yeah, you¡¯re right.¡±

    A familiar figure entered the guild hall. Valtheril walked up to the Lore keeper and received a couple of documents from her. He scribbled down a few words on other documents, which were put somewhere under the desk before he stood up straight and smiled at us from across the room.

    Velariah waved at him, and he exited the building.

    ¡°He¡¯s always busy, isn¡¯t he?¡± Nira spoke softly.

    Velariah nodded. ¡°He is. I hope he can get a proper administrator for this village sometime soon. I fear he is overworking himself.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t imagine the amount of work he¡¯d already gone through. The results spoke for themselves. There was an assault on the goblins in the works, he¡¯d cleansed some kind of necromantic magic from the forest, an elite squad of soldiers stood at the ready, the coffee plantation had been set up in record time and seemed to be coming along quite well.

    And I was dating his daughter¡­ I imagine that would have to account for some burden too, no?

    Actually, I think we were beyond dating already¡­

    I shook my head and smiled.

    We finished our belated lunch and Draco divided the rewards from the Borer quest among Nira, Seralyn, and himself. Velariah also refused to take any. She knew she was going to get a new and improved set of armor soon, so she skipped out on the rewards to have the others gear up as much as they could before departing the village.

    She took the same stance as me. We¡¯d only be as strong as our weakest link.

    ¡°You guys wanna join me and Velariah for the ritual?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Fine by me,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°Got nothing better to do, anyway.¡±

    Draco simply nodded, Nira looked at the lizardman and then nodded as well.

    ¡°Shall we go and see if the Grandmaster has arrived yet?¡± I suggested.

    I stood up, and did not receive an answer. I assumed that meant that everyone was in agreement.

    We exited the guild hall and made our way to the large oak in the center of the village. There were not many treemenders about. I could see Pylanor and Lorin and only two others. Another figure that had the same type of clothing was present, although his robes were as white as white went. I had the feeling this was the person that I¡¯d need.

    I didn¡¯t dare to ask him directly. Instead, I walked up to Pylanor and asked him if Ineus had arrived yet.

    ¡°He has. That¡¯s him, right there.¡± He pointed at the man in white.

    Seems I¡¯d been right in my assessment.

    The others kept their distance from me. I could see how it might be a bit rude to walk up and ask about my ritual with four others behind me.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I thanked Pylanor and turned to the other treemender, who turned around at the same time, so he was facing me.

    ¡°You must be Miss Elania,¡± He stated matter-of-factly, with a neutral expression.

    The Grandmaster before me was definitely in a much later stage of life than any of the other elves I¡¯d seen. He also seemed to be far more experienced. He had a long, white beard reaching to his stomach. A staff that was as long as himself was held in one hand. On top of it sat three orbs, one green, one white, and one blue. His face was full of wrinkles, clearly showing his age. It made me wonder just how old he was.

    ¡°I am. Though, I guess it¡¯s hard to miss from the description you¡¯ve probably been given¡­¡±

    The man before me smiled.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. It was pretty hard to miss. I am Grandmaster Ineus. I have already prepared a couple of things for the ritual, but I¡¯m afraid some items seem to be delayed. I¡¯m hoping to have them here soon.¡±

    ¡°Delayed?¡± I asked.

    ¡°A specific herb wasn¡¯t available the moment I left Goldleaf. The local adventurer¡¯s guild would send it here as soon as they could. Knowing them, I reckon it¡¯ll be here within the hour.¡±

    Damn. That sucked. At least it didn¡¯t seem like we¡¯d be delayed for days.

    ¡°Where will the ritual take place?¡± I asked.

    ¡°In our research chamber.¡± He pointed his staff to the door that held the laboratory setup and equipment. ¡°It¡¯s already been rearranged. I¡¯m just waiting for the herb.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Grandmaster. I¡¯ll come back again later¡­ unless you want me to wait here?¡±

    I decided to add that last part. I did not want to come across as rude.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, child. You do whatever, I¡¯ll still need to arrange a couple of things.¡±

    I bowed before the old man and joined my companions behind me.

    ¡°Well, that sucks,¡± Velariah commented. It seemed she¡¯d picked up the conversation with those large ears of hers.

    ¡°It does, but it can¡¯t be helped, I suppose.¡± I sighed.

    We had barely set a step outside of the tree, before I felt vibrations in the ground once more. I was surprised to feel them, through the cobblestones. I stood still to try to make out what was going on.

    Velariah walked up to me and looked at me with confused eyes. I had my finger on my lips for her and the others to see.

    ¡°Something large is below the surface¡­¡± I said softly, after walking up to the others.

    ¡°Any idea what?¡± Velariah asked.

    I shook my head. ¡°No idea, but it¡¯s large, and deep.¡±

    I stood still for another moment, taking in the odd sensations.

    ¡°It¡¯s slowly coming towards the village¡­ from the forest, as far as I can tell. Vel, I think we should notify Valtheril, like, right now. I¡¯m getting quite uncomfortable.¡±

    She led the way and stepped towards the guild briskly. She entered the building and started talking to the Lore keeper, while the rest of us waited outside.

    Velariah exited shortly after. ¡°He¡¯s gone to inspect the dungeon for himself. I requested the Lore keeper to send an emergency courier over to the dungeon and have him summoned back to the village. What do we do?¡±

    ¡°Prepare, obviously,¡± Seralyn said.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. We need to mobilize the guard, get the archers out of the forest and prepare. Whatever this is, it¡¯s probably going to take some manpower to take down.¡± I replied.

    ¡°Draco, you check if any other adventurers are willing to help out,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Elania and I will get the word out to the checkpoint and Allina¡¯s squad.¡±

    I lowered myself so the elf could hop on.

    Draco nodded.

    ¡°Anything I can do?¡± Nira asked.

    ¡°We should get to the checkpoint,¡± Seralyn told her. ¡°And probably stay there. If things go sour, I expect your inherity to be invaluable.¡±

    Nira nodded.

    As time went on, the tremors in the ground conveyed more information about what was coming our way. The more info I got, the more anxious I became.

    This thing was huge.

    Slow, but huge.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Velariah commanded.

    I started running as fast as I could through the sparsely occupied cobblestone street. Once I reached the eastern village exit, I put the pedal down and ran as fast as I could.

    Velariah had to hold on tight.

    The checkpoint guards saw us running towards them and proceeded to stand at attention.

    Velariah started talking as soon as we stood still next to the first guards.

    ¡°We have something large inbound on the village,¡± She spoke. ¡°Get everyone ready for combat.¡±

    ¡°From what direction?¡± Came an immediate question.

    ¡°East,¡± Velariah spoke again, ¡°And subterranean.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re fetching the archer squad. This is not a drill,¡± She continued.

    With that, I continued sprinting towards the forest.

    I took one small pause to ¡®feel¡¯ where this unknown entity was at. Additional information was available. I could feel it tunneling its way through the dirt, somewhere below the forest.

    I hurried over to the forest as fast as I could, knowing that whatever was moving towards the village was going to meet the archer squad first.

    We entered the forest and I slowed down.

    ¡°Where are they?¡± I asked.

    I knew these archers were hard to spot.

    Velariah unequipped one of her gloves and used her fingers to whistle loudly.

    A long, loud whistle caused some movement in the tops of the trees. Figures jumped down from the branches all around us and converged on our location. Within half a minute, we had about thirty archers, including Allina, before us.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The archer captain asked quickly.

    ¡°Something large is on the way to the village through the forest. We don¡¯t know what it is, and are setting up defenses as we speak.¡±

    ¡°How do you know? We haven¡¯t seen anything from this direction.¡±

    ¡°Elania can feel it.¡±

    ¡°Feel it? Do you honestly want to act on emotions? I¡¯m sorry, Lady Velariah, but that¡¯s a new low.¡±

    ¡°No, no,¡± Velariah spoke sternly. ¡°She can feel it; her legs allow her to sense vibrations in the ground. We used it earlier today to deal with the Giant Borers.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so you were the ones that caused that mess.¡±

    Allina sighed.

    ¡°You better be right about this,¡± She looked from Velariah to me.

    ¡°Rangers! To the checkpoint!¡± She yelled.

    The archers ran past us on their way to the checkpoint, leaving Velariah and me behind.

    ¡°Honestly, I can¡¯t imagine what would have happened if you didn¡¯t have some kind of authority¡­¡± I sighed.

    ¡°Bad things, probably. If we didn¡¯t have you at all, they would likely be even worse.¡± She replied.

    She put on her gauntlet again. ¡°How close is it?¡± She asked.

    I focused on the vibrations in my legs again.

    ¡°It¡¯s about a hundred meters out, and it seems to have increased its speed.¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what that means.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s close,¡± I simply said, and started running toward the checkpoint.

    ¡°We should teach you some proper measurements,¡± She joked as we ran past the archers who could in no way keep up with my speed.

    ¡°These are proper measurements,¡± I replied. I then sighed, ¡°Though, they are probably useless here¡­¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vel,¡± I smiled, but I doubted she could see it.

    Seralyn and Nira were already present at the checkpoint. Nira seemed to be preparing medical supplies and stalling them outside the barracks.

    Seralyn climbed up a tower with some extra arrows she¡¯d obtained from the building.

    The number of guards had increased significantly, and there were about thirty guards in superior, full-body plating. Their armor had traces of gold weaved in between plates. They also wielded swords and shields that appeared to be made of dragon-blessed steel; their weapons glowed faintly red.

    It wasn¡¯t hard to see these guards held a much higher standing than the standard village guards. If I had to guess, I¡¯d bet they were part of the elite squad that Valtheril brought with him.

    But I thought he said he had a hundred and fifty men with him?

    Where were the others?

    We still had a small army, even if we didn¡¯t have the others. I did a quick count and estimated about sixty guards total. Then there were the thirty or so archers from Allina¡¯s squad.

    I lowered myself to the ground to allow Velariah to dismount.

    One of the guardsmen in expensive armor walked over to Velariah and me. He stood out from the others in the sense that he had a golden symbol of a tree above his helmet¡¯s visor. He pulled his visor up when he stood before the white-haired elf.

    ¡°I heard you¡¯re the General¡¯s daughter, correct?¡±

    Velariah nodded.

    Geez, I wonder what gave it away. Was it the hair?

    ¡°I¡¯m Major Vymar. May I ask what is going on?¡±

    ¡°Elania here,¡± She nodded to me. ¡°Feels something large approaching the village from beneath the surface. It should be at the edge of the forest by now.¡± She turned to me. ¡°Is it still approaching?¡±

    ¡°Yes. And it¡¯s still picking up speed.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Vymar asked.

    ¡°Something large, and long¡­ if I were to guess¡­ it feels like a Borer? It¡¯s far bigger, though.¡±

    ¡°Never heard of anything like that,¡± Vymar commented.

    ¡°Yeah, well. I¡¯m only stating what I feel.¡±

    He looked at me from top to toes. ¡°The General seems to hold you in high regard, so I¡¯ll trust you¡­ for now.¡±

    That sounded a bit harsh.

    Then again, this whole ordeal was strange.

    ¡°Never heard of anything like that?¡± I inquired with Velariah, as the guardsman turned away to instruct his troops.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have any giant worms or something like that?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°Not in this area. By that, I mean, they are far, far away. I think the closest you¡¯d find something large that tunnels through the ground would be the Giant Sandworms of the Zerdanian desert.¡±

    ¡°You tell me this now?¡± I frowned.

    We had plans to go through that desert. What the hell, Vel?

    ¡°I figured we¡¯d be ready by the time we got there.¡± She replied.

    Whatever.

    ¡°Anyway,¡± She continued. ¡°We have some sort of giant worm approaching. Any idea how we deal with it?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Hit it till it¡¯s dead?¡± I suggested with some irony in my voice, while I started thinking about a real plan.

    ¡°The best plan you¡¯ve ever come up with.¡± Velariah half laughed.

    I was still thinking about a proper plan and ignored the elf¡¯s comment. Valtheril was going to be summoned here. I reckoned he¡¯d have no issues taking this thing out. We had thirty elite soldiers with us who I imagined would be able to do some serious damage on their own. We had a good archer squad that would only have to hit a single target. The issues were that I had no idea where this creature¡¯s weaknesses were.

    I could feel it steadily approaching. Through the vibrations, I could start to make out its shape. It seemed my hypothesis about it being some kind of extra-large Borer was right. If that was the case, its outer skin shouldn¡¯t be too tough to pierce.

    Though, I couldn¡¯t simply take that for granted.

    I looked over to the village and an idea sprung to mind.

    I looked back in the direction of the forest and started some estimates in my head. It seemed to have slowed down. The archers had grouped up with the rest of the guards.

    With its current speed, we should have about twenty minutes before it would reach us.

    I saw a green figure in the distance exiting the village with a few figures behind him.

    Draco.

    I¡¯d need him for my idea.

    ¡°Vel, I¡¯ve got an idea. Tell the guards to spread out and stand still as much as they can. This creature¡¯s speed has slowed down now that the archers aren¡¯t running. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    I ran over to Draco, who stopped moving after seeing my approach.

    There were five other adventurers with him. I could only recognize two of them. The first one was the rude opponent from the trial. He had his two swords sheathed and didn¡¯t care to look at me. The ground seemed much more interesting.

    The second adventurer was someone I¡¯d much rather see. Eric, the polite human from the trials was present and looked concerned.

    The other three consisted of a Dwarf with a large axe, an elven male with a large sword, and a human female with wizard attire and staff with a white orb.

    ¡°Draco, I¡¯m going to need your help.¡±

    ¡°You have a plan, Miss Elania?¡±

    I nodded and beckoned him over to the palisade.

    ¡°I¡¯ll cut the rope between these trunks. I intend to use one or two of them as massive stakes.¡±

    The palisade around the village consisted of fairly thin tree trunks that were already sharpened at the top end. They were about two meters long and I imagined they extended further into the ground.

    I placed my front legs against the palisade and used them to raise my human body. I then used my spear to cut through the ropes that connected them near the top. After that, I pried loose two of the trunks and lowered myself.

    ¡°Could you get it out of the ground?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No problem.¡±

    ¡°What exactly is approaching the village?¡± Eric asked.

    ¡°As far as I can tell,¡± I started, while I observed Draco pull the two stakes out of the ground. ¡°A massively oversized Giant Borer. And by oversized I mean, about ten times the length of one of those stakes. It¡¯s truly monstrous.¡±

    ¡°Hot damn,¡± He spoke.

    ¡°Teel o peto,¡± The human with swords spoke, and spat on the ground.

    I had the feeling he just insulted me.

    Eric poked him in his side. ¡°Ela tee noon.¡±

    Did he just defend me? I wish I could understand this weird language¡­

    One of the palisade tree trunks fell. Another one followed it shortly after.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get those over to the checkpoint then?¡± Eric asked.

    I nodded and took the top of one of the stakes in my two non-weaponized hands. I had moved my spear to one of my bladed gloves. Eric took the butt end of the trunk and Draco simply carried one on his own.

    Showoff¡­

    We walked towards the checkpoint at a decent pace. We didn¡¯t have time to lose, after all. We¡¯d only about a quarter of an hour left.

    An even better idea came to my mind.

    First, I had to take care of something else.

    We reached the checkpoints and laid the two palisade parts on the ground.

    ¡°Just how do you come up with these ideas?¡± Velariah asked me as she looked at the pointy tree trunks. ¡°This seems like such a smart plan in hindsight. I wish I could come up with things like this on my own.¡±

    I smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how I do it myself. Use your environment to your advantage, I suppose?¡±

    ¡°You make it sound too easy.¡±

    I focused on the sensations that entered my legs from the ground once more. I seemed to be right with my twenty-meter estimate with regards to the monster¡¯s length. Its diameter seemed to be between one and one-and-a-half meters.

    That meant that its maw would be large enough to swallow a person whole, armor or not.

    I could only imagine the size of its teeth. I wasn¡¯t going to gamble with being able to withstand those.

    I looked around.

    Our first objective would be to make sure nobody was going to get eaten by this thing. The longer this battle went on, the better our prospects would be.

    If Valtheril arrived, it would be done.

    I could feel the monster¡¯s speed picking up again, throwing a wrench in my plan. I¡¯d planned to cover some area with sticky silk in order to immobilize it, even temporarily. Instead, I went straight to the second part of my plan, the one that involved survivability.

    ¡°Vel, get Allina, Seralyn, Nira, and Vymar here. I need people that I can easily recognize.¡±

    ¡°Consider it done.¡± She ran off into the building.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get Seralyn,¡± Draco said.

    He walked off to ascend the tower.

    ¡°Anything I can do?¡± Eric asked.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll need your help, too.¡±

    Anyone that I could recognize would be useful.

    Within two minutes we had everyone assembled.

    ¡°So, the plan?¡± Seralyn asked impatiently.

    Faragi

    So close to the end now...

    Special shoutout to my new Patrons <3

    David

    The1bman

 1.86 Arc 1 Finale â€“ Ritual

    ¡°Okay, listen. This thing feels familiar to one of the Giant Borers we fought earlier. Is it a long shot to assume it follows a somewhat similar fighting pattern?¡±

    ¡°Seems to be reasonable to expect,¡± Vymar spoke. ¡°Continue.¡±

    ¡°I imagine it can show up under people and swallow them whole, judging from this beast¡¯s size. I can feel exactly where this beast is. As such, I propose we move in small groups, each with one of the people standing around me now. That way, I can keep everyone notified on where it is about to strike, giving you time to dodge.¡±

    ¡°Sound plan, but how do we kill it?¡± Vymar spoke again.

    ¡°Play it safe, I¡¯d suggest. Valtheril should be here soon enough to end this if this fight gets stretched out. If you can damage it, go for it. I don¡¯t know how it¡¯ll hold up compared to a normal Giant Borer, so be advised.¡±

    ¡°And those stakes?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s the second part of my plan. I intend to ram them into this beast, like lances.¡±

    She looked at me with a dumbfounded expression. I knew what she was thinking. There was no way I could properly carry one of the beams on my own and having someone run with me would be ineffective because they couldn¡¯t keep up with my speed.

    ¡°That¡¯s where Nira comes in. She can fly at great speed. I intend to have her hold onto the butt end of the stake and then fly behind me while carrying it with her claws.¡±

    Nira looked at me with disbelief but seemed to regain her composure and nodded.

    Seralyn seemed to want to laugh, but she refrained from doing so. This was not the time for jokes and she seemed to read the mood well.

    Vymar assigned soldiers to group up with the people that I knew. Velariah, Draco, Seralyn, Allina, Eric, and Vymar each commanded a group of soldiers. Some of the archers had moved up the two nearby towers, leaving about twenty archers on the ground. They were split between Allina and Seralyn. The remaining soldiers were split among our melee-focused companions. The adventurers that decided to join were in Eric¡¯s squad.

    The size of each squad was a bit too big for my liking, but this was better than nothing. I hoped this would prevent casualties as best as possible.

    Please hurry, Valtheril.

    ¡°It¡¯s coming. Spread out!¡± I shouted.

    The squads spread out around the towers, a large distance between each group. I knew the elven arrows could cross large distances. I reckoned that distance would be even greater with the assistance of added height.

    The monster would be here within a minute or two. No matter how many precautions I¡¯d taken, this could still result in a mess.

    Or it could result in us completely smacking the monster to shreds. I had no idea what to expect.

    Better to be safe than sorry¡­

    I looked over to see where everyone was positioned. I wanted to know exactly where everyone was, and not screw this up.

    I stood near the tower. Nira stood next to me, and I held the stake in my hands. The back end of it was still on the floor and Nira stood on top of it. We were ready to begin a charge whenever the opportunity presented itself.

    I looked behind me, at Nira. She seemed determined and nodded.

    I turned my head towards where the beast was coming from. The four squads were ready to engage.

    I focused all my willpower on my legs. I could feel it approaching¡­ I knew exactly where it was.

    ¡°Vymar, it¡¯s coming for you!¡±

    It started surfacing far before I expected it to.

    It appeared above ground, about fifteen meters from the squad. For the most part, it looked like a large Borer. There were two distinct differences. It seemed its mouth was positioned further into its body. I hadn¡¯t even noticed it had a mouth at first. It was as if I was looking at its rear end until the flesh retracted, like lips, and its teeth showed.

    It made sense, considering it had to dig far wider tunnels. A mouth at the front would make it hard to move around.

    Its color was also different. Instead of the usual beige to yellow color, this thing was dark brown.

    Not long after surfacing, a volley of arrows was fired by the archer squads on the ground, followed by a volley from the towers.

    They were simply deflected. None of the arrows penetrated its skin.

    That didn¡¯t bode well.

    The question of what exactly this thing was was going to have to wait.

    Another volley of arrows was fired, but like the first, it was completely deflected.

    It appeared we could count out the archers.

    The beast still moved forward. The soldiers in Vymar¡¯s squad spread out as the beast moved over the ground where they previously stood. They were sure to slash its sides with their weapons. The elite soldiers caused quite a bit of fire damage; at least, it looked like it would do quite some damage. The beast simply ignored the cuts and scrapes and charged forward before closing its maw and retracting the skin back over it.

    It then slowly burrowed itself in the ground again.

    I observed its behavior and noticed that it wasn¡¯t the fastest when it came to re-burrowing after it had surfaced.

    When it was underground again, I tracked its movements. It didn¡¯t seem to repeat the same action that it had before. Instead, it went deeper and deeper.

    Vymar¡¯s squad regrouped on his location.

    It suddenly stopped digging and went straight up.

    ¡°Draco, it¡¯s coming from directly under you!¡± I shouted as loud as I could. ¡°Disperse when I give the word!¡±

    He raised an axe to notify me he¡¯d heard me.

    I waited until the beast no longer had the option of changing its direction.

    ¡°Now!¡± I yelled again.

    The soldiers in his squad instantly ran away from where they¡¯d been standing. Seconds later, the beast emerged and chomped air.

    It then dragged itself forward again while being assaulted from all sides. Draco¡¯s weapons seemed to inflict minor damage. An inherity-empowered arrow from Seralyn found its mark and penetrated its thick skin. It appeared her new bow, combined with her ability, caused her to be quite a bit more lethal.

    When it raised its head before bringing it down to the ground to start burrowing I signaled Nira.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± I said.

    A gust of air came from behind me and the back end of the stake was lifted. I started charging towards its head.

    We built up momentum in a matter of seconds. I held the stake with my two unbladed arms while I held my bladed gauntlets in front of me. They would join the attack. Hopefully, a large stake together with two blades impaling this beast¡¯s head at maximum velocity would do some damage.

    The soldiers moved out of the way at Draco¡¯s signal, clearing the way for Nira and me.

    I roared. I don¡¯t know why. It seemed to add extra mental strength to my attack the moment the stake impacted the oversized Borer. It impaled the beast¡¯s skin, and the momentum, together with Nira still trying to carry the stake forward with strong beats of her wings, caused it to penetrate deeply. The stake disappeared almost entirely into its monstrous body.

    My blades embedded themselves into its skin, too.

    I retracted them and slashed them around wildly, causing a bit more damage before its head disappeared into the dirt, taking the stake with it in its body.

    I hoped that would do some work. How did this beast¡¯s organs work anyway? Did it have a brain?

    ¡°Let¡¯s do that again,¡± I said to Nira. She nodded and took to the skies again.

    I stood there, watching for a second.

    Damn, she was fast.

    I ran back to the second stake we¡¯d prepared. I arrived at the same time Nira did. I reckoned I was still faster than her, but this wouldn¡¯t be the time to test or think about it.

    The enormous Borer had burrowed again in the meantime and was currently descending. I picked up the second stake and saw Nira jump on the rear end of the stake.

    I focused on the vibrations in the ground again.

    ¡°Incoming on your position, Velariah! Wait for my word!¡±

    She raised her sword up high in recognition.

    I waited again and gave the elf my signal. ¡°Now!¡± I yelled.

    They dispersed quickly and the beast surfaced again, biting into nothing but air.

    The soldiers in Velariah¡¯s squad started stabbing and slashing the beast while it dragged itself forward over the ground. It turned its head to reveal its large maw and almost managed to surprise one of the soldiers who was dragged out of the way by another soldier.

    That was possibly a life-saving action.

    It then started burrowing again. Its head was facing us when it did so. I imagined if we charged into it from this direction, we¡¯d hit where, in any normal creature, its brain would be.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Nira,¡± I called out to the harpy behind me once more.

    The log was lifted. A gust of wind hit my back.

    I started my charge, a massive spear in the form of a stake held tightly with two hands as I held the two bladed gauntlets in front of me, ready to impale.

    The soldiers were quick to react when Velariah called for them to step aside to let Nira and me through. We reached the beast unhindered and pierced the beast¡¯s head.

    The stake went all the way in. I was convinced it had done damage, as the beast stopped the process of burrowing. I retracted my blades from its flesh and stepped back. Its maw opened widely and it seemed to be focused on me, although I couldn¡¯t quite see eyes that would confirm my sentiment.

    The elite soldiers from multiple squads moved up to the beast¡¯s sides and started slashing away. Red glows of fire from the effects of their weapons were triggered one after another.

    With the addition of two long stakes in its body, it seemed the damage started to mount. It didn¡¯t seem to want to burrow anymore, and instead, moved its maw around slowly trying to grab whatever it could with its teeth.

    Seralyn¡¯s magic arrows shot through my vision into the beast in rapid succession. I could see Velariah¡¯s blade glow with her own holy magic, she slashed deep cuts that caused fluid to drain from the oversized Borer. Draco had transformed into his black-scaled form and was hacking away wildly with rapid, heavy blows. His armor was stained with the monster¡¯s innards.

    It opened its maw as far as it could and continued to crawl in my direction, albeit very slowly, and seemingly weakly.

    There were no soldiers between me and the beast. I raised my fangs and stood still to aim.

    I shot a highly pressurized stream of venom into its maw. I didn¡¯t stop until my reserves had completely run dry.

    ¡°Suck on this!¡± I yelled for effect.

    I got carried away in the thrill of battle. I didn¡¯t realize I¡¯d said it until after I had.

    It closed its maw and tried to burrow again, seemingly wanting to escape. The elite soldiers intensified their attacks. It seemed this was the perfect opportunity for them to go all out and use inherity-fueled attacks of their own. Red, blue, green, yellow, orange, all colors that I could imagine were mixed in the flurry of attacks that ensued.

    Allina seemed to have some tricks of her own up her sleeve. She shot arrows that seemed to be infused with electricity. The lightning seeped into the creature wherever her arrows hit. Some other archers shot colorful shots of their own.

    Not all soldiers present seemed to have abilities. All the elite guard soldiers seemed to possess them, and a few archers. Only three or so of the standard guard soldiers seemed able to infuse their weapons with magic, or use special attacks.

    The beast stopped burrowing after a short but intense flurry of attacks.

    It then stopped moving altogether.

    It seemed to be dead.

    A familiar smell reached my nostrils. All the fire that was used in the attacks caused the oversized Borer to smell of cooked chicken. It smelled nice.

    One bite wouldn¡¯t hurt, right?

    WHAT THE FUCK AM I THINKING ABOUT?

    I slapped my head with a gauntlet.

    I just thought about eating the most disgusting creature I¡¯d ever seen in my life¡­ both lives¡­

    I carefully walked up to the monster and stabbed a sword into its flesh, behind its mouth. I had some trouble penetrating its skin, but once inside, I could cut without too many issues. Velariah mimicked me on the other side and started cutting with her longsword, her inherity active.

    Together, we severed its head from the rest of its body. There was no way this thing wasn¡¯t dead now.

    ¡°Nice work,¡± Velariah praised me. ¡°That was some amazing support you provided.¡±

    Vymar walked up to the two of us.

    ¡°Support is putting it lightly. I apologize for my earlier comment. The General was right to trust you.¡±

    ¡°Not a problem,¡± I stated. ¡°I completely understand where you were coming from. Do you have any idea what that thing was?¡±

    Vymar shook his head. ¡°I have never seen anything like that. This reeks of tampering with nature. This is an unrecorded species. As such, it falls to us to find out how this thing came to be.¡±

    ¡°I was an unrecorded species too, until not so long ago,¡± I half-joked.

    I had no idea why I said that, it was probably the effect of knowing that the danger had faded.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say to that,¡± Vymar admitted.

    ¡°Forget it. I don¡¯t even know why I said that,¡± I admitted in earnest as I shook my head.

    I looked at my hands, they were still slightly shaking. Velariah took one.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, El.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know.¡±

    Draco, Nira, and Seralyn converged on our location. Eric and Allina joined in as well.

    ¡°You guys okay?¡± Velariah asked as they approached.

    ¡°We¡¯re fine,¡± Seralyn spoke. ¡°That was¡­ exhilarating.¡±

    Yeah, there was no doubt about that. I felt as if I had consumed three cups of coffee within half an hour. My legs were still slightly shaking, both from the sprinting and the adrenaline that was fading fast.

    ¡°It was interesting, for sure,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°But what was that thing?¡±

    Nobody spoke up.

    Vymar eventually broke the silence. ¡°It falls to us to find out. If these things show up more often, we need to prepare ourselves.¡±

    The sound of hooves on the grass made me shift my attention. Valtheril approached on a white, two-headed horse.

    He basically jumped off as soon as he reached us.

    ¡°What happened here?¡± Was the first thing he asked.

    ¡°That¡­ thing showed up. According to Elania, it dug its way through the ground, from the forest to here. We managed to slay it, but we didn¡¯t exactly have an easy time doing it. Unless you know what it is, I¡¯m lost.¡±

    Valtheril shook his head, then sighed.

    ¡°Allina, Vymar, I¡¯m going to need reports from you. Please be detailed when it comes to its strengths and weaknesses, including what elements worked and which didn¡¯t.¡±

    He stared in front of him for a few seconds.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like this one bit.¡±

    ¡°Why did you go to the dungeon in the first place?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°I got a report from the guild, saying there might be a potentially unstable core with tainted corium leaking.¡±

    ¡°What a bunch of crap,¡± Velariah commented. ¡°We have been there a few times in the past week, and there¡¯s nothing wrong with the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I ascertained as well,¡± Valtheril replied. ¡°Vymar, Elania, Velariah, Allina; with me. I¡¯d like to speak in private.¡±

    He walked away from the others. The ones whose names were called out followed him, including me.

    Once we were a fair distance away, Valtheril turned to speak to us. ¡°You have any idea why I asked you here?¡±

    ¡°Seems to me that someone sent you a bogus report,¡± I stated.

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Valtheril concluded with a stern expression.

    ¡°It seems I was led away, and then that showed up.¡± He pointed to the slain, monstrous Borer. ¡°One would think that report was fabricated with the sole intention of luring me away. I cannot imagine that¡­ thing being the work of someone, but I¡¯m not going to exclude the possibility.¡±

    ¡°That would be shocking,¡± Vymar spoke. ¡°But it is something I thought of as well.¡±

    ¡°But why?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°I cannot be sure at this time,¡± Valtheril spoke. ¡°Strange things have happened as of late. It seems I¡¯m going to have my hands full investigating, starting with the Lore keeper. I reckon she knows where that report originates from.¡±

    ¡°I would imagine so¡­¡± Allina spoke. ¡°I assume this information is to remain between us?¡±

    Valtheril nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t ask strange questions to anyone regarding this. I¡¯d like for this investigation to remain secret.¡±

    We all nodded.

    ¡°Good. I guess I don¡¯t have to tell what happens if information gets out, do I?¡± He looked at each of us with fiery eyes.

    Nope, not at all.

    ¡°Good,¡± He finished.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be expecting your reports delivered to me, personally, at my mansion, before dusk.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Vymar and Allina both replied and saluted.

    He simply nodded and the two ranking officers walked off to where the battle just took place.

    Valtheril then sighed. ¡°What a mess.¡±

    ¡°¡®No kidding,¡± Velariah let out.

    ¡°Anyway,¡± Valtheril continued. ¡°Have you had your ritual yet, Elania?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°There was a delay on one of the herbs. Grandmaster Ineus asked me to come back in an hour or so, which I assumed has passed now with all this happening¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, what are you waiting for then? Go for it.¡± He smiled for the first time since his return.

    ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± I smiled back.

    He laughed slightly as Velariah and I walked back to our companions.

    ¡°How are things here?¡± I asked when we reached them.

    ¡°Miss Elania, I wanted to thank you, personally, for your assistance in battle. Your ingenuity has probably saved a couple of lives,¡± Eric said.

    ¡°Thanks, Eric, that¡¯s very kind of you,¡± I shook the hand that he¡¯d extended.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be off to celebrate at the guild with my companions. I hope we can fight together again sometime.¡±

    He bowed slightly and walked off.

    ¡°Seems Elania is quite the charmer, isn¡¯t she?¡± Seralyn grinned.

    ¡°She sure is,¡± Velariah replied.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I let out.

    I only caused them to laugh harder.

    I smiled. Perhaps I¡¯d been way too harsh on Seralyn earlier. That was funny.

    ¡°You guys wanna join me for the ritual?¡± I asked, causing the elves to stop laughing.

    ¡°That¡¯d be lovely,¡± Draco said.

    Nira and the elves nodded.

    We walked back towards Dawnleaf. I couldn¡¯t help but stare at the corpse of the massive Borer variant. The archers seemed to make their way back to the forest while the village guards moved back to the checkpoint. The elite guards and Allina remained and seemed to inspect the beast, probably for that report.

    We had to make a quick stop at the checkpoint where I retrieved my spear and my scabbards, which I put on my blades after cleaning them.

    We reached the village, in which there seemed to be quite a bit of commotion. There were more than a few villagers outside the walls staring at the battle site.

    There were also a few villagers staring at the hole in the palisade.

    Oops, my bad.

    We moved on and made a beeline for the large tree. The place was virtually empty. The only treemender present was Pylanor. Besides him, only Grandmaster Ineus was there.

    The treemender walked up to us.

    ¡°I wish you luck, Miss Elania,¡± Pylanor smiled before he walked behind the counter and took a seat.

    ¡°Pst,¡± Velariah poked me. ¡°You should take off your armor and leave it with Pylanor.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a custom?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s necessary,¡± She said. ¡°The ritual is about you, and you only. Armor interferes with the writing. I don¡¯t think you¡¯d be happy paying the full sum twice now, would you?¡±

    ¡°Oh, shit, we forgot to get the money,¡± I let out, realizing we didn¡¯t bring it with us.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, El. Our home is literally a two-minute walk from here. We¡¯ll stop by after the ritual.¡±

    ¡°If Ineus doesn¡¯t mind¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, El,¡± She said again.

    ¡°Okay, then.¡±

    The Grandmaster had been looking over at us and smiled after we finished our conversation. It served to accentuate his wrinkles even more.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem. Two minutes more or less doesn¡¯t make much of a difference when I need to travel to pay off the guild from which I bought the reagents anyway.¡±

    I heaved a sigh of relief, before taking off my armor pieces one by one. I placed my chest piece on the counter, followed by each of my gauntlets. I handed my spear to Pylanor, who placed it against the wall behind the counter.

    The Grandmaster opened the sliding door at the back of the large room and entered, beckoning me to follow.

    ¡°Will we all fit in there?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The room is rearranged for rituals. It¡¯s not a problem,¡± Velariah reassured me.

    I nodded and followed Ineus into the room.

    When I entered, I saw him lighting incense that was spread out over the hands of a stone statue. The statue in question seemed to be of a female elf. The figure held its hands, palms open, in front of it.

    The statue on the floor was the only thing in the room. The shelves at the sides of the room seemed to have miraculously disappeared, as had the table that previously stood in the middle.

    The table I could understand, but it seemed a bit of a hassle to move the shelves out of the room. I wondered how they did that.

    I could hear the others enter the room behind me. I looked over my shoulder and past my rear to see Draco entering last and closing the door, before locking it.

    ¡°That¡¯s Velineri,¡± Velariah commented, pointing at the statue.

    That had to be the first depiction of the goddess I¡¯d seen so far. It seemed that all she was wearing was a simple piece of cloth that was folded around her body. Her beauty was undeniable.

    The scent of incense started to fill the room. A strong odor of lavender entered my nostrils. The sheer amount of incense used caused the smell to be quite overwhelming, as was mentioned. It made me feel slightly lightheaded.

    Ineus was pulverizing a collection of herbs in a mortar which he held in his hand.

    ¡°Are you prepared?¡± He asked.

    ¡°I think so,¡± I said softly, slightly anxious.

    ¡°Please hold up your left hand¡­ one of them.¡± He corrected himself mid-sentence.

    I held up one of my left hands in front of him, ready to have the paste deposited in it. Instead, Ineus pulled a small knife out of his robes.

    ¡°Vel?¡± I asked as I retracted my hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s part of the ritual. Some of your blood needs to be mixed in the paste,¡± She answered. ¡°I figured you didn¡¯t want to know that.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I didn¡¯t.¡±

    I held up my hand again. Ineus made a quick cut and held the mortar under it, collecting some drops of blood.

    Draco handed me a bandage which I wrapped around my hand. The grandmaster, in the meantime, mixed the blood through the paste.

    He took one drop of the paste and dropped it on the burning incense.

    After that, he put away the knife in his robes once again, and pulled out a sheet of paper with this world¡¯s common beige-ish color.

    ¡°Please hold up a right hand next.¡±

    I stretched out my upper right hand and Ineus deposited the mixture that was in the mortar on my hand. He spread it out all over my palm and fingers with the pestle he had been using to grind the herbs.

    The Grandmaster knelt down in front of the statue and put down the piece of paper before the statue¡¯s feet. He then took one of the incense sticks and spread out its ashes over the paper.

    He stood up once more.

    ¡°Please put the palm of your hand on the paper and keep it there while I cast the incantation.¡±

    I lowered myself to the ground, my legs occupying a fair deal of the room when I did. I then placed my hand on the paper and waited.

    Grandmaster Ineus spoke a series of words that I could not understand. He spoke them as one would expect words to be spoken from a priest who prayed in Latin. That was the best description I had for his way of speaking. It was almost like singing, but not quite that. It was more like¡­ chanting.

    I felt the paste move from my hand to the paper. My hand felt extremely hot in the process, it was as if it was holding a hot pan.

    I kept my hand in place, and soon felt the heat dissipate. The paste was all gone from my hands now and seemed to be dancing around on the paper, before it seemed to sink through the paper and disappear.

    The Grandmaster stopped his incantation.

    ¡°It is done,¡± He spoke. ¡°You may remove your hand now.¡±

    I removed my hand and looked at the paper.

    Black letters started to appear and change. It looked as if somebody was continually replacing a letter with another letter continuously. More and more such letters appeared on the paper. I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off of the paper, even as my head started to spin as a result.

    The changing of letters slowed down.

    Eventually, lines appeared, then paragraphs.

    I was still on the ground, watching the letters dance before me. The others behind me didn¡¯t utter a single word.

    Eventually, the changing of letters completely stopped.

    I started reading, unable to contain my curiosity.

    Name: Elania

    Race: Arachne

    Age: 24

    Inherity 1

    Toxin Assimilation

    Grants the wielder complete immunity to all venoms and poisons that have the sole purpose of directly harming, or immobilizing the body. In addition, allows the wielder to synthesize any toxins that have previously been neutralized for their own use.

    Inherity 2

    Adaptive Body

    Evolutions allow for body enhancements and improvements of existing enhancements. In addition, allows minor adjustments to be made to the physique.

    Included enhancements:

    Regenerative Blood-???-Exoskeleton Hardening-???-Arachnid Communication-Tremor Detection-???-???-???-Healing Molt-???

    Inherity 3

    Corium Enhancement

    Allows Corium to be absorbed at a faster rate than usual for self, and nearby allies. Higher evolution levels increase this speed further.

    Inherity 4

    Silk Weaver

    Allows for the infusion of magical and physical properties in created silk. New options become available after evolutions.

    Currently learned:

    Sticky

    Non-Sticky

    Strong Water-resistant

    Very Weak Fire-resistant

    I stared at the piece of paper for minutes.

    The very first thing that struck me was that I had a whopping four inherities. As far as I knew, there were no records of anyone having more than two.

    I then started reading more closely.

    Some of the things listed, I was already familiar with. However, other things were completely new to me. My eyes ran over the multiple question marks many times, trying to figure out why there were question marks in the first place.

    I¡¯d discuss that with the others.

    Also, ¡®Arachne¡¯? That¡¯s what I was, now?

    I guess it was better than ¡®unknown¡¯.

    Another thing was striking; apparently, I was 24 years old. I guessed that was my age before coming here, but I couldn¡¯t be quite sure.

    The Corium absorption seemed very interesting. This was exactly what I¡¯d need to survive in this world. With this, I imagined I could grow stronger far faster than a normal person. The best part was that it would also apply to my party members, although I wasn¡¯t quite sure about the range.

    However, the most interesting thing was definitely the Toxin Assimilation inherity.

    I was completely immune to venom and poison that would harm me? How awesome was that?

    Wait.

    Weren¡¯t caffeine and alcohol technically poisons too?

    Were they excluded because I drank them with the intention of the poisonous part to do something else than harm me?

    Odd.

    Also, I could use venoms and poisons that tried to affect me for myself? Did that mean I could use the same paralytic poison that the goblins made with their yellow mushrooms?

    How did that work, though? Did I simply have to think about the properties in the same way I did with my silk?

    I was going to try that out immediately after returning home. I couldn¡¯t wait to share this information with the others.

    I was in high spirits. These abilities were amazing!

    I had a broad smile plastered on my face.

    My companions walked up and looked down at me and the paper that was still on the floor. Ineus stood where the shelves were previously placed at the side of the room.

    ¡°That looks like you got good news,¡± Velariah was the first to speak.

    ¡°It¡¯s far better than that,¡± I said. ¡°Like, FAR better.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that certainly sounds interesting,¡± Seralyn said.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to share this with you guys,¡± I said softly and stood up, paper in my hands.

    I handed it to Velariah. ¡°Please put that in your pack, and let¡¯s make our way home.¡±

    Velariah nodded and put it away.

    I turned around and unlocked the door.

    ¡°You don¡¯t mind walking with us, right?¡± Velariah¡¯s voice came from behind me. Likely directed at Ineus.

    The Grandmaster answered. ¡°Stretching the legs never hurt anyone.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s only two minutes away, anyway,¡± Velariah answered.

    I opened the sliding door and shock struck me. Behind the door was the same human adventurer that gave me a hard time in the second battle in the guild trials.

    Pain coursed through me before I realized what happened.

    The human ran off as quickly as he¡¯d appeared as I looked down, my mind racing.

    A sword had been driven straight through my heart. It had gone all the way through my torso, blood was running down the blade.

    ¡°EL!¡± Velariah screamed behind me.

    ¡°PYLANOR!¡± Ineus¡¯s voice called out loudly.

    I heard the treemender rush his way over to me as I felt my legs give out beneath me, my arms started to lose strength as well.

    Velariah was upon me first, her hands took hold of my head and forced me to look at her. Pylanor and Nira followed shortly afterward and had their hands on me, forcing their magic into my body.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare leave me, El!¡±

    I knew I couldn¡¯t do that. This wound was fatal.

    My life¡­

    My new life¡­

    Vel¡­

    Darkness crept in and I started losing my sight.

    ¡°Vel,¡± I spoke weakly and raised an arm with the last strength I had. I dragged her face to mine.

    I prayed that the gods would be kind enough to bring us back together sometime¡­

    ¡°I love you, Vel¡­¡±

    I took her in for one last kiss before darkness took me completely.

    Faragi

    There will be an epilogue for Arc 1 that I''ll also publish because I wouldn''t be comfortable with stopping publishing with a cliff like this. May take a few days though >:)

    Special shoutout to my new Patrons <3

    Ritwik

    Virnor

    Ryudor

    Leonguarde

    Stunted

 1.87 Arc 1 Epilogue â€“ Arachne

    Pain.

    Pain?

    Why is there pain?

    Everything is dark too, and cold. I am definitely dead.

    Then why was there pain?

    My chest hurt.

    Was that emotional pain?

    Vel¡­

    I felt my senses sharpen slowly. Sensations were returning.

    I couldn¡¯t possibly be alive¡­ right¡­?

    I tried opening my eyes. They were heavy, but I managed to open them slightly.

    All I could see was white.

    Turns out I was dead, after all.

    Then, the white moved.

    A face appeared.

    I couldn¡¯t see whose it was. I tried to move a hand to it.

    I touched the face, and through the haze, saw the face¡¯s eyes open.

    ¡°El?¡± The face spoke.

    ¡°EL?¡± Velariah¡¯s yell shook my core.

    ¡°EL, YOU¡¯RE AWAKE!¡± She screamed, took my head, and kissed me.

    ¡°Vel, is that you?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe it.

    This had to be heaven¡­

    ¡°Be careful with her. She¡¯s still recovering.¡± I could hear Pylanor speak.

    Recovering?

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ alive¡­?¡± It took all of my strength to even whisper.

    ¡°Yes¡­YES!¡± Velariah screamed as she wrapped her arms under my upper arms, hugging me. I could hear her sob softly.

    ¡°I said be careful,¡± Pylanor spoke again. ¡°Here.¡±

    A red vial appeared in front of my face a few seconds later.

    ¡°Drink this, El.¡±

    My mouth was opened forcefully by Velariah¡¯s hands and she poured a bit of the liquid inside. I managed to gulp it down before she poured some more. Soon, I managed to get all the contents of the potion in my stomach.

    Almost immediately after, a shot of energy flowed through my body. I could finally open my eyes properly. The haze lifted after blinking multiple times.

    I was laying on a bed in the treemender¡¯s oak. I was on my belly with my legs and pedipalps dangling at the sides. Velariah sat at the side of said bed and looked to be in a terrible state. She had bags under her eyes. The whites of her eyes and the area around her eyes were red. I could see she¡¯d cried¡­ a lot.

    The curtains around the bed were closed. I could see Pylanor open one of the curtains to walk through, before closing them again.

    ¡°What happened?¡± I asked.

    Velariah moved on the bed and spread her legs around the sides of the bed, lifted my human torso, and took me in for a tight hug, her head resting on my shoulder.

    Pylanor was the one to do the talking.

    ¡°Your heart got pierced with a sword,¡± Pylanor stated matter-of-factly. ¡°A fatal wound¡­¡±

    I looked down. The sword was missing. Bandages around my chest obscured the wound from vision.

    ¡°But I¡¯m alive¡­? So¡­how?¡±

    ¡°Nira and I immediately started healing you after the incident. I expected it to be futile until I noticed you still had a pulse.¡±

    I looked at him with disbelief. My heart got destroyed, how could I still have a pulse?

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t until later that I found out why. Apparently, you have a second heart. Master Endomir informed me of this.¡±

    I shook my head.

    ¡°Wha?¡± I said with even more disbelief.

    ¡°In here.¡± He tapped my spider abdomen with two fingers.

    I couldn¡¯t believe it.

    I couldn¡¯t be more thankful, either.

    I finally raised my arms to wrap them around the elf, who seemed close to tears again.

    ¡°Shh, Vel,¡± I tried to soothe her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for scaring you like that. I didn¡¯t know, either.¡±

    The elf didn¡¯t reply. She was hugging me as tightly as she could.

    I moved a hand in her hair and ran it through it several times.

    ¡°I was scared to death, El¡­¡± She whispered.

    ¡°So was I¡­¡± I whispered back.

    Pylanor sat down on the bed behind Velariah.

    Velariah and I hugged for several minutes before the treemender spoke. ¡°May I?¡±

    He had a hand raised.

    The white-haired elf nodded and removed herself from the bed, allowing Pylanor access to put his hand on my head.

    His magic flowed through me and I felt it converge where my heart was. The area heated up briefly before the magic flowed back into his hand.

    ¡°Your heart seems to be almost healed but is not currently functional. I¡¯d advise taking some rest until it¡¯s properly healed.¡±

    I sighed. I totally understood. I still wanted to go home to the mansion and talk with the others, though¡­

    ¡°What happened with the guy who attacked me?¡± I asked as Velariah sat down on the bed again.

    ¡°The guards got him. He¡¯s in a cell, awaiting interrogation.¡± Pylanor said. ¡°I heard Valtheril himself will be taking care of it. The General has been busy with a lot of things lately so he hasn¡¯t gotten to it yet. He¡¯s pretty much been starving the guy. I imagine that will help with forcing him to talk.¡±

    ¡°Wait. How long have I been out?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Two days. Today is the third. Lady Velariah never left your side.¡±

    ¡°Vel¡­¡± I spoke softly.

    Pylanor left the curtained-off area and returned moments later with a green potion. He handed it to me and I drank its contents quickly.

    ¡°Some extra healing, now that you¡¯re awake.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Master Pylanor.¡±

    ¡°You should also thank Nira. She helped me a great deal on the first day. She kept channeling her magic into you until she collapsed. I had to lay the poor thing on a bed of her own.¡±

    I smiled.

    That harpy was really something¡­

    ¡°Is it okay if I go home?¡± I asked.

    I didn¡¯t want to stay here. If rest was what I needed, I could do that at home.

    Pylanor seemed lost in thoughts for a moment.

    ¡°I can see why you¡¯d prefer that. I am not opposed to the idea, but please, do come back here soon.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°I will.¡±

    Pylanor opened the curtain while I tried to stand. My legs were weak; terribly, terribly weak. I wondered if that was a result of missing my second heart.

    I would imagine it was.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get the soldiers ready to escort you,¡± Pylanor said as he walked to the large entrance.

    I looked at Velariah, who was trying to help me stand.

    ¡°My father assigned two elite soldiers to guard you while you were here. We didn¡¯t know if somebody would try to do that again.¡±

    I nodded in acknowledgment.

    I managed to stand, but I seemed to be slow. Walking took far more effort and focus than before. Velariah helped me by supporting one of my shoulders.

    Two of the soldiers with expensive armor stood at the entrance to the tree. One of them helped me walk by supporting my other shoulder, while the other one walked behind me with his weapon drawn.

    The streets were quiet. Some of the guards that Valtheril brought with him were stationed throughout the city. I didn¡¯t like the optics of it.

    I imagine he¡¯d done that as a precaution while he worked on what was truly going on.

    A few minutes later, we reached the mansion. Elly opened the door and hugged me. I¡¯d never imagined she¡¯d do that.

    How badly had I scared everyone?

    The soldiers stayed outside and guarded the doors.

    I entered and noticed my equipment was already present.

    Elly was helping Velariah with hers. She asked if I wanted anything to eat which I declined. Something to drink would be enough. I wasn¡¯t hungry in the slightest, I could go for days without food, after all.

    I then heeded Pylanor¡¯s advice and made my way to the bathroom, where I climbed into the hammock with the necessary trouble. I simply let my legs dangle from the side once I¡¯d finally settled in.

    I wasn¡¯t looking forward to resting all day. I hoped my blood would make sure I would be up and running soon.

    It was odd to know that my blood was special in that it had healing properties. The ritual had confirmed that, and so many other things which, up until the other day, were speculation.

    And then I got stabbed in the heart¡­

    I still couldn¡¯t believe I was alive.

    I felt like the gods favored me.

    I¡¯d been so, so incredibly lucky.

    I tried to make myself comfortable but found that I couldn¡¯t.

    It didn¡¯t take long before Velariah entered the room with a canteen. She closed the door behind her and handed it to me.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± She asked softly, her hand on my back.

    ¡°I feel like shit,¡± I admitted in earnest. ¡°The potion¡¯s effects are wearing off. I¡¯m tired and weak.¡±

    I turned my head to look at Velariah¡¯s beautiful, but worried eyes.

    ¡°And I¡¯m angry¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what to say¡­¡± She said as she moved a hand through my long hair. ¡°I¡¯m just happy you¡¯re alive. About your anger¡­ I think Valtheril wants to wait with the interrogation until you¡¯re back on your feet¡­ all eight of them.¡±

    I smiled.

    I was happy to be alive and be with her¡­ her comment made me feel a bit better.

    She jumped into the hammock as I drank some water. Just drinking that already made me feel much better. I imagined I needed it too; I¡¯d probably lost quite a bit of blood.

    I put the cap on the canteen and tossed it somewhere behind me in the hammock.

    Velariah hugged my human torso from the side, worming her legs under my own.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never been more thankful of you being half-spider, El,¡± She spoke softly, her hand running through my hair again.

    ¡°Arachne,¡± I said.

    ¡°Huh?¡± She asked in confusion.

    ¡°I¡¯m an Arachne. That¡¯s what the document said.¡±

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± She whispered.

    ¡°Apparently, I¡¯m twenty-four years old, too.¡±

    ¡°Minor details,¡± She said with a smile.

    ¡°To you, maybe. While I agree that age is a minor detail, I don¡¯t think the race thing falls in the same category. At least I know what I am now, Vel. Even if I¡¯m the first, it gives some kind of closure¡­¡±

    I sighed deeply.

    ¡°You should get some rest,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to hear about my inherities?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to, but we can talk about it when you can walk¡­ and are healed¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s probably for the best¡­¡± I admitted with regret. ¡°Let¡¯s have the others present too, I¡¯d love to see your reactions when you all hear it for the first time,¡± I smirked.

    Velariah hugged me tightly and then gave me a deep kiss.

    I was so happy I got to continue experiencing the love I¡¯d found in this new world.

    She made me relax. Soon, I found the pillows in the hammock too comfortable to resist. Sleep came quick and easy.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I felt refreshed.

    I could easily open my eyes and noticed the elf staring at me.

    That was slightly creepy.

    ¡°Good afternoon, El,¡± She said.

    ¡°Good afternoon, Vel.¡±

    I stretched my arms, all four of them.

    ¡°I feel great. I didn¡¯t expect a few hours to make so much of a difference.¡±

    Velariah grinned. ¡°It¡¯s been two days and a few hours, El.¡±

    ¡°What the hell?¡±

    I looked down my chest and noticed it was completely bare. The bandages were gone, no scar was left behind.

    And I was currently flashing Velariah.

    I quickly laid myself down again.

    ¡°No need to be shy, Elania. I¡¯ve seen way more than that.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    She inched closer and grabbed my face with her hands to kiss me.

    ¡°I missed doing that,¡± She said after breaking away.

    ¡°Can¡¯t do without me for two days eh?¡± I joked.

    ¡°You¡¯re feeling much better, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    I nodded.

    She then moved a hand under my torso and placed it on my chest.

    ¡°Vel, now is not the time.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± She grinned. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going for that. It seems your heart is beating again.¡±

    ¡°Really? Just like that?¡±

    ¡°Apparently so. It does explain why you¡¯re feeling so well.¡±

    ¡°I guess having a working heart helps, no?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you got your sense of humor back. Stay here for a sec.¡± Velariah wormed herself a way from under my legs and hopped out of the hammock and prepared to exit the room.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t planning on going anywhere¡­yet.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a second, anyway.¡±

    Velariah left the room and I simply relaxed in the many pillows. I placed my hand on my chest and, sure enough, felt my heart beat again.

    I really was crazy resilient, wasn¡¯t I?

    Velariah returned seconds later. She locked the door once more and jumped back into the hammock. She then proceeded to try to force herself under my body with the necessary effort.

    ¡°If you want to hug, you have but to ask,¡± I said. I assisted her by raising my torso and helping her in place with two legs and my pedipalps.

    I then lowered myself again.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to ask. It seems I¡¯m going to have to get back to strength training again. You¡¯re fairly hard to move, you know that?¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± I spoke softly.

    I wrapped my front two sets of legs around the elf¡¯s frame and hugged her dearly. A deep kiss turned out to be inevitable.

    ¡°Hmmm, I love you, El. I¡¯m so glad to have you here with me.¡±

    ¡°You better not try to seduce me,¡± I smiled.

    ¡°As much as I¡¯d love to. I just got Elly to invite the others over. They should be here soon.¡±

    I kissed her once more.

    ¡°Love you too, Vel. By the way, I assume that shirt was thrown out, right?¡±

    Velariah nodded. ¡°Had to toss out your bra, too. Though, to be fair, those bandages looked hella sexy on you. They really¡­ accentuated your curves, you know?¡±

    ¡°Vel, you temptress!¡± I chuckled.

    ¡°Tee-hee.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so going to make you pay for all that teasing one day¡­ I already have an idea how. You¡¯re not going to believe what I can do.¡±

    ¡°Ohhh, now I want to know. Tell me, tell me!¡±

    She almost jumped in anticipation. Shame I had her pinned down in the hammock.

    ¡°Nope!¡± I teased her.

    ¡°You tease!¡±

    ¡°Tee-hee.¡±

    A knock came from the door.

    ¡°Velariah? Your party members have arrived.¡± Elly¡¯s voice interrupted us.

    ¡°Well, seems you get your wish,¡± I said as I removed my limbs that held her.

    I raised my human torso and Velariah jumped out of the hammock with a speed I¡¯d never seen before.

    Did she have coffee, or was she just that excited?

    Who was I kidding? I knew it was the latter.

    I stepped out of the hammock, happy that my legs were back at full strength. Walking over to the mansion had been less than easy.

    A bra and shirt were tossed at me. I caught them and thanked the elf.

    I had to admit I was quite excited myself.

    I quickly got dressed and followed the elf to the dining room.

    Our companions were already seated at the table. The only person that was absent who I had expected to be present, was Valtheril. I quickly shook it off. He was probably drowning in paperwork right now.

    Poor guy.

    ¡°How are you doing, Miss Elania?¡± Draco spoke as soon as I entered the room.

    Elly had already moved two chairs aside so I could stand at the table.

    ¡°I¡¯m completely fine again. It¡¯s quite shocking, truly.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an understatement,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re okay, though.¡±

    I nodded to the brunette before turning to Nira who was seated to the right of where I stood at the table.

    ¡°Thank you, Nira. Master Pylanor told me what you did. I can¡¯t thank you enough,¡± I spoke softly.

    The harpy shook her head. ¡°I did what I had to.¡±

    I smiled as Velariah positioned herself on the chair to my left. She laid the inherity paper in front of me on the table.

    Elly walked in from the kitchen and placed cups of coffee on the table for the others. She brought a cup of tea for me. She then walked upstairs.

    I added sugar and milk and took a sip as I eyed the inherity sheet once more.

    Name: Elania

    Race: Arachne

    Age: 24

    Inherity 1

    Toxin Assimilation

    Grants the wielder complete immunity to all venoms and poisons that have the sole purpose of directly harming, or immobilizing the body. In addition, allows the wielder to synthesize any toxins that have previously been neutralized for their own use.

    Inherity 2

    Adaptive Body

    Evolutions allow for body enhancements and improvements of existing enhancements. In addition, allows minor adjustments to be made to the physique.

    Included enhancements:

    Regenerative Blood-???-Exoskeleton Hardening-???-Arachnid Communication-Tremor Detection-???-???-???-Healing Molt-???

    Inherity 3

    Corium Enhancement

    Allows Corium to be absorbed at a faster rate than usual for self, and nearby allies. Higher evolution levels increase this speed further.

    Inherity 4

    Silk Weaver

    Allows for the infusion of magical and physical properties in created silk. New options become available after evolutions.

    Currently learned:

    Sticky

    Non-Sticky

    Strong Water-resistant

    Very Weak Fire-resistant

    I chuckled.

    I could still not believe any of this.

    ¡°I believe you¡¯re all dying to know what my inherity is,¡± I said.

    ¡°Bad choice of words...¡± Velariah said from my left.

    ¡°Uh, yeah, perhaps.¡±

    I cleared my throat and spoke again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about the delay. We will talk about what exactly happened after I received this. I first wanted to talk about what this piece of paper says. I¡¯ve let you wait long enough.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to feel guilty, Miss Elania,¡± The lizardman said.

    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right¡­¡±

    I looked at the sheet again. ¡°Anyway,¡± I started.

    ¡°You guys are not going to believe any of this.¡±

    ¡°Get to the good part already,¡± Seralyn said, slightly irritated that it was taking this long.

    ¡°I have four inherities.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Seralyn reacted almost immediately.

    ¡°No fucking way,¡± Velariah said directly after the other elf.

    Draco and Nira didn¡¯t seem to know what to say. This was more or less the reaction that I had expected.

    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± I continued. ¡°Moreover, these inherities are insane. The best part is, one of them affects all of you, too.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The lizardman finally spoke.

    ¡°Let me list them,¡± I said as I took a deep breath.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to state my third inherity first. That¡¯s the one that you will benefit from as well. It literally says: ¡®Allows Corium to be absorbed at a faster rate for self, and nearby allies. Higher Evolution levels increase this speed further¡¯.¡±

    I was being looked at with disbelief in everyone¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°What. The. Fuck,¡± Velariah said, word by word.

    ¡°That bad, huh?¡± I said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t recall such a thing existing,¡± Draco continued.

    Seralyn shook her head.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ nothing short of insane¡­¡± Velariah finally said.

    ¡°I had the feeling that may be the case,¡± I said.

    ¡°El¡­ you have no idea how valuable that is¡­¡± Velariah continued.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know any inherities besides the ones you told me about, and the ones I¡¯ve seen. Even without knowing about a wide variety of inherities, I know this is ridiculous.¡±

    I waited for a few moments. ¡°Trust me, I know¡­¡±

    It was both a boon and a bane. If this became known, I¡¯d be in even more trouble than before. I doubted I¡¯d be lucky enough to survive a more serious attack. On the other hand, I could grow stronger much faster than the average person. Moreover, my party members would benefit from this as well. I would probably make a fair amount of money with coffee and silk. I had already made up my mind that I would share the money with my party members.

    A steady influx of gold combined with this inherity would make it so that power differences between party members would stay at a minimum.

    I liked the prospect of that.

    I wanted to do this together.

    I looked around to see the others still with disbelief on their faces.

    We would do this together.

    Faragi

    Thank you all for reading this far <3

    I''ll be stopping the publishing on RR/SH/WN for a while until I''ve got a decent amount of chapters into the second arc (the story is still continuing on Patreon for all tiers. However, keep in mind I''m doing several other things at the same time such as rewriting older chapters and potentially starting a second series.)

    I want to have a proper backlog so I can publish without stressing too much and potentially increase the quality as much as I can.

    If you are interested in helping out by increasing this fiction''s quality by pointing out odd things/illogical things etc from the earlier chapters, please join my discord server at: https://discord.gg/TqFjdv8uaE

    There is a link to all the published chapters in google docs where people can leave comments/suggest edits.

    As usual, a special shoutout to my new Patrons <3 Thank you all so much <3

    Nelson

    Skyell

    ToadSage

    xheladin

    spAzzo

    BakaOnna777

    Dinorunn

    reaper

    See you all in Arc 2 <3

 Update Notice

    Hey everyone.

    I just wanted to let people here know that I have started working on a second series called The Knightly Elven¡­ Spider? which is available on RR/SH/WN.

    I''m using this at the moment to gather some more inspiration for Elania and be able to work on separate projects as one story can get a bit exhausting for the mind, to put it lightly.

    That does not mean by any means that I''ll stop writing on Elania. In fact, I''m now 22 chapters ahead on Patreon, but it does mean I''m delayed a bit when it comes to rewriting earlier parts of the story. I kind of want to wrap that up and get some more advanced chapters before I continue publishing Elania as I do not wait to take breaks mid-arc.

    For those interested in this new series, it will have many of the same themes as Elania but I''m trying my hands on litRPG. There will still be GL,Fluff and character strength progression, perhaps even more than with my first story.

    I would suggest everyone who read this far to check it out and see if they like it :)

    Thanks everyone for your support and please keep sending those cookies. I love them <3

 2.1 Test Subject

    Faragi

    Sorry for the delay people. I got more invested in The knight Elven... Spider? than I expected D:

    I''m going to copy/paste the same message that I posted with the latest chapter of TKES.

    I have now finished the first arc of TKES ending at chapter 98 (99 with epilogue which is still WIP) I hope you guys will enjoy the final evolution descriptions. I''m quite anxious about it. It''s likely to receive a bunch of edits xd

    Anyways, since the first arc of TKES is at an end, I will try to work on both TKES and Elania at the same time. As such, I''ll be releasing Elania chapters once a week for now as I do not know how much I will be able to work on it and I feel this is a very safe release schedule. Once I have arc 2 of Elania finished or slightly before that if I feel my backlog is big enough, I''ll start releasing chapters faster. I just don''t want people to wait endlessly.

    ¡°Anyway,¡± I said. I wanted to continue this, not be quiet forever. ¡°After that, we get the inherities which were somewhat known. We just didn¡¯t know what form they had. My fourth inherity is called ¡®Silk Weaver¡¯. It allows me to infuse magical and physical properties in my silk. It seems that new options become available after evolutions. Then, there¡¯s a list with currently learned properties, which brings me to a question. How do these lists work? It also says my age on the paper, but I assume that is outdated in less than a year. Do I need to do a new ritual in order to keep up to date?¡±

    Draco shook his head. ¡°You can update it forcefully. Just drop a drop of blood on the paper and everything that can be updated, will be, such as age. Lists are a thing for some people. New things can be added to lists and old things can be removed.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s pretty neat,¡± I replied.

    ¡°It is more or less what we hypothesized before,¡± Velariah said. ¡°We even hypothesized that fire-resistant thread may work after an evolution.¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± I nodded.

    I checked the paper again. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s probably worth mentioning that apparently, I¡¯m an Arachne. I¡¯ve been wondering for a while what I was.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think anybody here really had issues with it, but I guess it¡¯s useful to know in certain instances,¡± Draco commented.

    ¡°Well, it gives some sense of identity, you know. It¡¯s not that I have anyone to compare myself to, though. I¡¯m not even sure if I want there to be others like me.¡±

    ¡°Not gonna happen as long as you¡¯re with Velariah,¡± Seralyn grinned.

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Elania. I had to.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, now we get to the interesting parts. My second inherity is quite¡­ interesting. I¡¯m going to literally state what it says once again.¡±

    I took a deep breath.

    ¡°Adaptive Body: Evolutions allow for body enhancements and improvements of existing enhancements. In addition, allows minor adjustments to be made to the physique. It then goes on to list things such as Regenerative Blood, Exoskeleton Hardening, Arachnid Communication, Tremor Detection, and Healing Molt.¡±

    ¡°Wait, Arachnid Communication?¡± Seralyn asked. ¡°You telling me you can talk to spiders?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I can¡¯t. It seems to be a one-way thing¡­ at least, for now. Knowing that it¡¯s an ability has me frightened that it may no longer be one-way once I evolve my inherity.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you could try with Minia?¡± Velariah suggested. ¡°At least try to get over your fears¡­¡±

    I sighed deeply.

    ¡°I will have to¡­ I think¡­¡±

    I checked the paper again.

    ¡°You know, in between those abilities attributed to Adaptive Body, there¡¯s a bunch of question marks. It seems some abilities are hidden or something?¡±

    ¡°Hum,¡± Draco hummed. ¡°I haven¡¯t personally encountered such a thing before. I didn¡¯t know it was a thing, either. That sounds¡­ interesting. It might be worth checking if that has happened before.¡±

    ¡°Because?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It seems to me that this is different from a list that gets abilities added to it,¡± He continued. ¡°It¡¯s as if these abilities are already set in stone, they are just not available yet. At least, that¡¯s how I would look at this.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ makes sense, I guess?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your last one? I assume you saved the best for last?¡± Velariah looked at me with wide, glowing eyes.

    I nodded. ¡°I most certainly did. This is the one I like most, for certain.¡±

    I took a deep breath again, in preparation for the long sentence that was to follow.

    ¡°Toxin Assimilation,¡± I started. ¡°Grants the wielder complete immunity to all venoms and poisons that have the sole purpose of directly harming, or immobilizing the body. In addition, allows the wielder to synthesize any toxins that have previously been neutralized for their own use.¡±

    ¡°Complete immunity?¡± Velariah stared at me. ¡°That¡¯s far beyond what I thought possible. Also, assimilation? What the hell? You can create any poison that you got afflicted by at least once?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°It appears to be that way. I haven¡¯t tried it out, yet. I kind of wanted to wait until you were all here. As you may remember, Vel and I messed around with paralytic mushrooms. If what this paper states is correct, that means I should be able to create venom that has the same properties. Who wants to be my test subject?¡±

    Everyone was quiet for a few seconds before Velariah spoke up. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll just go through this again¡­¡±

    ¡°Why do I feel like you don¡¯t actually mind it?¡± Seralyn said with a grin.

    ¡°Oh, shut it.¡±

    Velariah entered the kitchen and returned moments later with a drinking glass and the large knife from before.

    I pulled up my fangs and thought about the paralytic mushrooms and how I wanted to infuse those properties into my venom and have it be non-lethal. I filled the glass under the table. After I¡¯d filled it halfway, I put the glass on the table to see a yellow liquid inside.

    ¡°I¡¯m fairly positive it worked,¡± I said. It wasn¡¯t hard to see that this wasn¡¯t the usual color of my venom.

    Velariah walked into the bathroom and returned with the orange anti-venom potion.

    ¡°Good call,¡± I commented.

    ¡°Safety first,¡± She said, before sitting down and taking the knife. She created a small X on her left arm.

    ¡°Can¡¯t believe I¡¯m watching someone who willingly lets themself be paralyzed,¡± Seralyn mentioned.

    Nira stood up and walked behind the elf, her small scepter in hand. She seemed to be ready as well in case something went wrong.

    ¡°Thanks, Nira. I think I¡¯ll be fine, but I appreciate your concern.¡±

    Nira nodded. ¡°It¡¯s better to be ready.¡±

    Velariah uncorked the potion and drank some of it. She then poured a few droplets of the venom into her wound. She put the knife and the glass back on the table before she positioned herself straight up in her chair.

    I put an arm around her so that she wouldn¡¯t fall out of it when the paralyzing effects set it.

    ¡°Talk to me, Vel. How¡¯s it going?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s work-brblgbgr.¡±

    ¡°I think she means to say she thinks it¡¯s working,¡± Seralyn grinned.

    ¡°Thanks, Sherlock,¡± I responded.

    ¡°What¡¯s a Sherlock?¡±

    ¡°Never mind that.¡±

    ¡°Vel? You¡¯re okay, right?¡±

    ¡°Bagrgrg.¡±

    I was going to assume she¡¯d be fine. She had drunk some of the anti-venom, likely as a precaution in case some traces of lethal venom remained. I wondered if we could truly test that without risking anything some day.

    Well, of course there was testing it on monsters.

    I was stupid.

    They were the perfect test subject.

    I wonder what Arch would think if we used his monsters as test subjects¡­

    I could hear something falling down the stairs, but it wasn¡¯t loud enough to be Elly.

    Draco stood up and walked to the door before the stairs. ¡°Are you okay, Miss Elly?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Elly¡¯s voice came. It sounded as if she was still on top of the stairs. ¡°That was Gray. He just woke up and was a little too eager to go down.¡±

    Draco opened the door and a wild puppy came running to me. He seemed happy to see me; he ran quick circles around one of my legs.

    ¡°It appears he is fine, Miss Elly,¡± Draco said loudly so that Elly could hear him.

    ¡°Thanks, Draco,¡± Elly¡¯s voice came again.

    The lizardman then closed the door and took his seat once more.

    I crouched to give Gray the affection that he demanded. I could only imagine how much he¡¯d missed me. I¡¯d been out for four days after all.

    After giving him a good scratch behind the ears I placed him on Velariah¡¯s lap. He proceeded to stand up against her chest and lick her face.

    ¡°Mrgrgrggl,¡± The elf let out, seemingly frustrated.

    I giggled at the sight.

    ¡°Regret your decisions yet?¡± Seralyn taunted the other elf, a broad smile on her face.

    Nira giggled as well before taking the puppy in her arms and sitting down on her chair. She was much better at petting him than Velariah at the moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m wondering¡­¡± I said softly. ¡°I know how all the other inherities work. The thing I¡¯m not exactly clear on is how this Adaptive Body inherity works. Take the minor changes to the physique part, for example. What is considered minor? Seralyn joked about wings earlier, but¡­ what if I could?¡±

    ¡°Damnit, El. Stop scaring your party members,¡± Seralyn said with a grin. ¡°Nobody wants to see flying spiders. Besides, Nira is our dedicated flyer.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Nira said, looking up from Gray. It appeared she was too busy with the puppy to follow the conversation properly.

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s something that you¡¯ll have to find out. Same thing goes for the unnamed abilities that you mentioned.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, El¡­¡± Velariah spoke with the utmost effort.

    It would seem the poison was starting to wear off.

    ¡°Welcome back, Vel,¡± I said.

    ¡°Tha¡­nks.¡± She was still struggling.

    ¡°I have to admit, your inherities are beyond what I think anyone would consider possible,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°It seems you are destined for greatness.¡±

    ¡°Oh, please. Don¡¯t make me feel special. I¡¯m odd enough as it is. I don¡¯t want you guys to see me as something I am not. I fully intend to stick with you guys. I¡¯m already resolved to that, and a few other things.¡±

    Draco nodded. ¡°I understand. It¡¯s admirable.¡±

    ¡°Maybe, but all I care about is that we do this together, as a team.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re very kind,¡± Nira said.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You guys accepted me without knowing what I could do. I much prefer that than teaming up with people who will use me for their own gains. I¡¯m talking about this Corium inherity, obviously.¡±

    ¡°You have no idea how jealous my father will be when he hears about this.¡±

    It would seem Velariah could speak properly again. She still didn¡¯t move, however.

    ¡°Heh,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know how much of an increase it is. It doesn¡¯t explicitly state it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still unheard of,¡± Seralyn added. ¡°At least, as far as I know.¡±

    ¡°There are certainly still questions that remain unanswered, but this ritual already revealed so much¡­¡± I spoke. ¡°Speaking of, Vel, I assume you arranged the payment while I was out?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I tied up the loose ends once more. I sold the silk we had ready. We are now at fifty gold.¡±

    ¡°Probably a good idea.¡±

    ¡°Fifty gold? What the crap?¡± Seralyn let out.

    ¡°Long story¡­¡± I said. ¡°Anyway, we should figure out what the hell is going on here. All these things that happened and me getting¡­ stabbed, can¡¯t be a coincidence. I¡¯d like this, and the goblin problem, resolved before we head for Zerdania.¡±

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Velariah said as she put a hand on the table and leaned slightly forward. She still didn¡¯t move much, but she seemed to be getting there.

    ¡°We should find my father and talk to him.¡±

    ¡°Any idea where he is?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I bet he¡¯s at the guild or the checkpoint.¡±

    ¡°I think it would be better if we spoke to him here, no?¡±

    Velariah nodded. ¡°That would be the best, yes.¡±

    The elf shoved her chair back and prepared to stand up. I was quick to react and caught her before she collapsed. She wasn¡¯t at full strength yet.

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Speak to Elly¡­¡±

    I put my arms under her shoulders and assisted her with walking to the stairs. I opened the door for her and she spoke with all the strength she could currently muster.

    ¡°Elly?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± Came the voice from upstairs.

    ¡°Could you summon my father? We¡¯d like to talk to him.¡±

    ¡°Certainly.¡±

    Seconds after, the maid walked down the stairs with a feather duster in hand. She laid it on the table, next to the crate that housed Minia.

    She then exited the room through the double doors leading to the hallway.

    I sighed. ¡°I wonder what Valtheril found out so far.¡±

    I assisted Velariah once more to get her seated again.

    ¡°I guess there¡¯s another thing we¡¯re going to have to do,¡± She said. ¡°Next to clearing dungeons and slaying monsters.¡±

    ¡°What would that be?¡± I asked curiously.

    ¡°Gather all the poisons and venoms we can find and use them on you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a pretty good idea, actually. There ought to be some poisons with useful effects, besides paralyzing and straight-up killing.¡±

    The white-haired elf nodded.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re going to hunt poisons so we can use them on one of our party members,¡± Seralyn laughed. ¡°This goes against any conventional logic.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not conventional, though,¡± I chuckled.

    ¡°You could say that again,¡± Velariah added.

    ¡°I¡¯d also like to talk to Endomir sometime soon. Who knows what other things I learn about myself. I would have loved to know I had a second heart earlier¡­¡±

    ¡°Another heart for Velariah to steal,¡± Seralyn grinned.

    ¡°She already has,¡± I said as I took the white-haired elf¡¯s hand and held it on the table.

    ¡°Did Valtheril tell you guys anything?¡± I quickly threw out the next question.

    Draco shook his head. ¡°I feel like he has been waiting for you to feel better. The culprit was locked up and the General assigned a squad of elite soldiers to act as temporary guards in and around the town.¡±

    Anger filled my body as I thought back to the human that stabbed me. He¡¯d even done it in broad daylight! What the hell was he thinking? There was no way he was going to get away with it.

    Just thinking about it made me realize just how stupid he had been.

    I remained quiet for a few minutes as I thought and observed Nira playing with Gray. It seemed he¡¯d taken another one of her feathers, which she grabbed back. She was now using the feather as a toy.

    My heart (hearts?) melted at the sight of the cuteness.

    I could hear the outside doors open, followed by heavy footsteps that signaled Valtheril had entered the mansion. Within seconds, the doors to the dining room opened and a stern-looking Valtheril entered. Elly followed behind him and entered the kitchen.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re doing fine, Elania. Needless to say, I¡¯m pretty pissed at what happened.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t hard to read that from his face.

    I simply nodded.

    He sat down at the head of the table, still in full armor, and placed a hand on the wood.

    Everyone seemed to be anxious about what he was about to say.

    He gritted his teeth and slammed the table with his fist, leaving a clear dent because of his gauntlet.

    I could almost see sparks fly out of his eyes. He was beyond pissed.

    I didn¡¯t dare to open my mouth. It seemed the others were experiencing the same sentiment.

    Even Velariah looked shocked.

    ¡°Elania, I¡¯m truly sorry. If it¡¯s of any consolation, I¡¯ve kept the guy that did this to you in chains. I want to interrogate him and was wondering if you¡¯d like to join me. After I¡¯m done, you can do anything you want to him.¡±

    Revenge¡­

    Did I want revenge?

    They say revenge is sweet.

    ¡­

    I didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°I¡¯ll join you,¡± I spoke softly.

    ¡°Would now be okay?¡± He asked.

    He seemed to be in somewhat of a hurry. Part of me understood that perfectly.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if I could manage, though, but I felt like I should start stepping up to my fears. I had promised to try with spiders. I felt this was going to be part of my personal development as well.

    I nodded again.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°No, but I feel like I have to.¡± I looked at the General, who still seemed to barely contain his anger. ¡°Is it okay if Velariah joins us?¡±

    Valtheril nodded. ¡°If that puts you at ease.¡±

    ¡°It does,¡± I said.

    He slowly stood up from his chair, which only added to the aura of suspense that surrounded him.

    ¡°You guys are welcome to stay here, if you¡¯d like. If you need anything, just ask Elly,¡± He said before walking towards the exit.

    I helped Velariah with her armor before putting on mine.

    I didn¡¯t think I was ever going to leave the house without mine now. Perhaps that was the reason he had attacked me back there? I didn¡¯t have my armor on for the ritual¡­

    I left my weapons in the hallway and followed the General, who stepped through the streets with determination, his armored boots could be heard from far away as he walked down the streets.

    We passed the guild hall, and walked towards the warehouse next to the guild in the side street. The doors were already open and the torches in the building were lit.

    After entering the building, Valtheril closed the doors himself.

    I looked around to see the human that had attacked me bound. His hands were chained together behind one of the support beams. His feet were bound together as well and held down by chains connected to large metal balls. He was barely clothed. All he had was an almost completely torn shirt. His shorts seemed to be in a better state, something for which I was thankful.

    Upon seeing us walk up to him, he started pulling his chains, struggling to break free.

    Yeah, that wasn¡¯t going to happen.

    Upon seeing him, I felt anger flow through my veins. Everything I had thought before seemed to vanish. I felt like sinking my fangs in him and ending his life.

    I quickly shook my head.

    What the hell. That wasn¡¯t me.

    ¡°You okay, El?¡± Velariah asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay¡­ just¡­ you know¡­¡±

    ¡°I get it. Let¡¯s just have my father do the talking.¡±

    Valtheril threw a glance at me before he continued to walk up to the human in chains. He knelt down to one knee and slapped him across the face.

    ¡°Speak!¡± He commanded.

    Faragi

    Make sure to do check out my other story. If you like Elania, chances are you''ll like this one as well <3

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 2.2 Torture

    I took a few steps closer. The human was still recovering from the slap and spat at the ground in front of me.

    ¡°Peto!¡±

    Valtheril slapped him again.

    ¡°In New-Elven. I know you speak it, filth.¡±

    Damn, he was pissed.

    ¡°Fucking monsters don¡¯t deserve to live,¡± The human said with disgust, and a slight accent.

    ¡°Are you working for anyone?¡± Valtheril slapped the human¡¯s face once more.

    His cheeks started to become bruised from the abuse.

    ¡°I work for no one.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a lie!¡± Valtheril punched him in the stomach.

    I reckoned this was where that enchantment would shine. Valtheril would know exactly when a lie was told to his face. He wasn¡¯t quite giving it away either. This behavior from the General would simply be seen as bluffing.

    I, however, knew that this definitely meant that there was someone else behind the attack besides this scum.

    The human spat in Valtheril¡¯s face. Valtheril, in return, drew his sword and held it under his chin.

    ¡°One finger less wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference, would it? I wonder which one I¡¯ll take first.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you I¡¯m not working for anyone.¡±

    ¡°This would be much less painful if you just give me a name.¡±

    ¡°Fuck you!¡±

    Bad idea.

    I knew that talking like that to a General who knew you were lying would not do much good.

    Valtheril slowly got to his feet and walked up to the beam behind which the human¡¯s hands were bound. He gripped his sword and stabbed it into the beam. I couldn¡¯t quite see what happened behind the wood, but I saw two fingers land on the stone floor.

    Blood and screams followed shortly after. The human writhed in pain as two of his fingers were severed from his hand. He tried kicking with his legs, but the chains held him down with too much force.

    Valtheril¡¯s sword then glowed with the same white light that I¡¯ve seen Velariah¡¯s sword glow with. Sizzling came from behind the beam and the human screamed even louder.

    Did Valtheril just cauterize the wound?

    Ouch.

    Valtheril sheathed his sword and knelt down before the human again. ¡°Feel like talking yet?¡±

    The human groaned in pain but didn¡¯t say a word.

    ¡°El?¡± Velariah whispered to me, before taking one of my arms and leading me away from the human. Valtheril gave us one glance before he turned his attention to the human again.

    ¡°Which fingers would you like to give up next?¡± Valtheril¡¯s commanding voice was easily heard, even on the other end of the warehouse.

    ¡°Hey, El. I was just thinking. Since he seems to be playing tough, and he thinks you are a monster, why not use those¡­ monster properties to get him to talk.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, unsure what the elf was getting at.

    ¡°I meant those¡­¡± She pointed down to where I hid my fangs under my body. ¡°Maybe those will get him to talk. Try using some scary story about him rotting away from the inside, slowly, painfully, something like that.¡±

    ¡°Vel, you¡¯re pure evil. You might be right, though.¡±

    Velariah reached inside her pack and fished out the cyan anti-venom potion that we still had with us. ¡°Here,¡± She handed it to me. ¡°Use that as a bargaining chip if he isn¡¯t cooperative.¡±

    I nodded and turned around. Valtheril was about to slice off another finger or two with his sword but I stopped him.

    ¡°Let me try¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Valtheril said as he sheathed his sword. ¡°Go for it.¡±

    He stepped aside and I lowered myself to the human. I tried to move my legs in the creepiest way I could imagine as I slowly moved them and myself forward. I made sure to bend all the joints and show them off in clear sight. I then put my pedipalps on his shoulders, making sure to poke his skin with the tiny claws at the end. I may have ¡®accidentally¡¯ pierced his skin a bit with them.

    I then pulled up my fangs and held them in clear view, making a digging gesture with them as they were in front of his face.

    ¡°So,¡± I started. ¡°The General promised me I could do whatever I wanted to you. I imagine being melted from the inside isn¡¯t exactly how you imagined leaving this world.¡±

    ¡°You fucking monster!¡± He spat in my face.

    Anger rose in me once more. I wiped away the spit.

    I pinned my front two sets of legs in his side, making sure to cause him a lot of pain with my claws. I sank my fangs in his stomach, causing him tremendous pain just from that. I didn¡¯t inject any venom just yet.

    I placed a pedipalp under his chin and forced him to look at me.

    My anger caused me to do things I never imagined I¡¯d do.

    ¡°Even better idea. I¡¯m going to pump a bunch of eggs inside your stomach and have them hatch inside of you. I daresay getting eaten alive by spiders from the inside is an even worse way to die.¡±

    I was bluffing. I had no idea if I could actually do that, but my threat seemed to get the desired result.

    His eyes grew full of fear. I could feel his heartbeat rise through my limbs and fangs.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who it was. He wore a black cloak. I couldn¡¯t see his face, we met at night. He was an elf. One of his ears was cut off at the top,¡± He talked quick, with a shaky voice, clearly trembling from the prospect of ending up as spider food. ¡°That¡¯s all I know, I swear.¡±

    ¡°Which ear?¡± Valtheril asked sternly.

    ¡°His left, I believe¡­ or no, it was the right. Yes, definitely the right.¡±

    Valtheril nodded from behind the human, where he couldn¡¯t see the general.

    This human spoke the truth.

    So far, I¡¯d only met one elf who would fit that description.

    Valtheril walked over to the warehouse doors and pushed them open. He then motioned us to follow him.

    I released my grasp on the human and removed my fangs from his flesh. Blood trickled down from the two puncture wounds that were left behind.

    I imagined that wouldn¡¯t kill him.

    I joined Velariah and Valtheril on the outside, behind one of the open doors.

    ¡°Master Lorin?¡± Velariah said the same name that I thought of when I heard the description of the person behind the human¡¯s attack.

    Valtheril rested an arm against the door and leaned on it with his head.

    ¡°He did seem hostile towards me ever since I met him,¡± I  stated. ¡°But plotting to kill me¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Where was Lorin before you got attacked?¡± He asked.

    ¡°He was in the oak before the huge Borer showed up. When I returned for the ritual, he was gone,¡± I spoke. ¡°Can¡¯t you talk to him and detect lies?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Arresting a treemender without solid evidence isn¡¯t exactly appropriate. They hold a special status within Elven hierarchy.¡±

    He slammed his fist on the large, wooden door. ¡°I need more.¡±

    ¡°You think he is the one that delivered that bogus report to the guild?¡± I asked. ¡°Is there anything you could do with that info, if that¡¯s the case?¡±

    ¡°Handwriting¡­¡± He thought aloud. ¡°Whoever wrote that report must have talked to him. I could work from there¡­¡±

    He thought for a second.

    ¡°I talked to the Lore keeper, but she didn¡¯t know who gave her that report. I¡¯ll get her to work on cross-referencing the handwriting to any adventurer¡¯s signatures next. I¡¯m hoping to know more soon. If I find anything, I¡¯ll let you guys know.¡±

    ¡°Anything we can do?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not much. Not at the moment, besides being careful. I¡¯ll keep the soldiers guarding the village while I try to get to the bottom of this. I¡¯d advise not to get close to Master Lorin in the meantime.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t have any reason to get close in the first place,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Although we were planning on seeing Master Endomir sometime soon. I guess we¡¯ll put that on hold for now.¡±

    Valtheril nodded, then sighed.

    ¡°All this bullshit is delaying my plans regarding the goblins too. I do wonder if everything is connected.¡±

    ¡°Tell us if we can help¡­¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°I will if there is anything.¡±

    Valtheril closed the large doors to the warehouse. ¡°You guys should go home. I¡¯ll continue my investigation.¡±

    ¡°What about the human?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have Master Pylanor check him for any signs of magic that affected his mind. I¡¯ll need to keep him alive until after the investigation. There are those things and a few other factors that will decide his fate.¡±

    I thought back to the human mage that wanted to fry me seemingly ages ago. Could he have been controlled too? His behavior and actions led me to believe he was acting on his own. He had been far higher rank, too. I think Valtheril was just a massive miscalculation in his plans.

    This human, however, did things that didn¡¯t make any sense.

    But why didn¡¯t he want to speak about who commanded him to do this? Did he hate me that much? He did seem to have a personal interest in killing me, either way.

    I didn¡¯t think I would feel remorse if he were to be executed.

    I thanked him and walked home with Velariah.

    After the usual routine in the hallway, we were soon seated at the table again, discussing our plans for the near future. Elly was making lunch for our party while we were struggling to come up with ideas.

    ¡°Well,¡± Draco said. ¡°I am going to assume we are going to have to scrap going to the dungeon, too.¡±

    ¡°Judging from the things going on in Dawnleaf and with Elania suffering from targeted attacks, it¡¯s probably better to avoid places where it¡¯s hard to escape, so yes,¡± Velariah replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting so tired of this shit,¡± I said. ¡°This is not how I would imagine things to go when I woke up here. This was exactly what I wanted to avoid.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve made great progress, though, El. We can¡¯t lose sight of our goals because of all this. My father is smart. He will get to the bottom of this all. After that, we fix the goblin problem and then¡­ chocolate and dungeons.¡±

    I laughed. ¡°Yeah, that does sound amazing. I can¡¯t wait.¡±

    I would love to be able to live without all these problems surrounding me and instead, focus on one thing at a time.

    Despite the multiple injuries and surprises we¡¯d been through, I still looked forward to adventuring.

    This promise of power was very attractive, too. I felt the want for more power slowly creep into my mind and soul.

    I felt like the feeling went beyond simple survival.

    ¡°So?¡± I asked with a sigh. ¡°What shall¡­can we do in the meantime?¡±

    ¡°Well, strength training is one thing,¡± Velariah started. ¡°We can also still make money with your fancy ¡®silk weaving¡¯ inherity. We could also get our armor picked up. I asked Dworag to get started on it. I didn¡¯t hesitate to ask, especially after what happened.¡±

    ¡°Note to self, armor is pretty important,¡± I smiled.

    Elly entered the room with coasters, and a loaf of bread, neatly sliced. The coasters made me think that she was about to serve soup.

    My stomach grumbled.

    I hadn¡¯t eaten in four or five days. I only realized just now.

    I hope she had prepared plenty¡­

    She walked back and forth a couple of times to serve plates, bowls, and spoons.

    It was going to be soup! I was delighted.

    A large pan of steaming chicken soup was finally brought to the table.

    ¡°Seriously, El. The way you¡¯re looking at that pan makes me fearful that Elly is going to steal your heart,¡± Velariah laughed.

    I burst into laughter. I think Velariah realized why, soon after. I laughed uncontrollably at the joke I was about to make. I couldn¡¯t believe myself.

    I must have looked stupid doing that.

    ¡°Well, I heard I have two. You don¡¯t even have to share! I have one for each of you!¡±

    Seralyn laughed as well.

    I finally managed to stop. ¡°Terrible joke, I know, I know. Don¡¯t worry, Vel. You can have both.¡±

    ¡°Looks to me you¡¯re going to have way too much fun with this,¡± Velariah chuckled.

    ¡°I most definitely will.¡±

    We had a hearty lunch, during which I still chuckled every now and then at the possible jokes I could make regarding my new anatomy.

    Yeap, I definitely looked stupid.

    ¡°Glad to see you¡¯re in a good mood,¡± Velariah smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t help it.¡±

    We finished lunch¡­ Well, I finished lunch¡­ eventually¡­ The others had already finished ages ago. I just had to do proper restocking on my reserves.

    We then went on to discuss our future plans.

    ¡°I kind of promised to get Velariah a new set of armor,¡± I mentioned during the conversation. ¡°That¡¯s what she was talking about earlier.¡±

    ¡°Neat,¡± Draco commented. ¡°You could use a new set. Especially now that your leg armor is half destroyed. A new set is probably going to be more worthwhile than having it repaired.¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± Velariah said. ¡°It¡¯s going to have plenty of enchants too, so I¡¯m pretty happy with it. I have to be honest, though. I have Elania to thank for it.¡±

    ¡°No need. You pooled your money with mine to pay for my ritual too. It¡¯s only fair.¡±

    I turned my attention to Draco. ¡°You know, you could use some new armor too. You¡¯ve been using that for a while now and it didn¡¯t do much good the last time it got truly tested. I imagine that if you had had some proper enchants, I wouldn¡¯t have had to sacrifice my leg.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Draco looked down at the table, ¡°Suppose you¡¯re right.¡±

    ¡°Shit, I¡¯m sorry, Draco. I didn¡¯t mean it like that.¡±

    I covered my face with a palm.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Draco. I just¡­ don¡¯t want to have you get injured when I can help, you know¡­¡±

    ¡°I understand, Miss Elania. No offense was taken. I also understand your concern and can see you¡¯re determined in the matter. I¡¯ll accept your offer. I do intend to pay you back when I can, though.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±

    I had half expected Seralyn to comment on the matter but she remained quiet. Nira wasn¡¯t the jealous type at all. She seemed to be staring at Gray, who was eating from a proper dog bowl now.

    ¡°Sounds like a trip to Dworag is in order,¡± Velariah said as she shoved her chair back and stood up with her hands still on the table.

    ¡°I¡¯m curious to see what he made for me. I¡¯m so excited!¡±

    The excitement in the elf was visible in her entire body. She was almost jumping with anticipation. A child in a candy store with money to spend on whatever they wanted was nothing compared to Velariah right now. I was surprised she managed to hide it so well before and during dinner.

    This elf was truly puzzling at times.

    ¡°Let me get the gold,¡± She said before she raced upstairs.

    Seriously, she could fall down the stairs and break something with that kind of carelessness. Stairs were many a human¡¯s mortal enemy¡­

    It didn¡¯t take long for the hyperactive elf to return with a well-filled pouch of gold. The sound of clinking coins had a charm all of its own.

    The others and I followed her to the hallway where Draco helped her with her armor, possibly for the last time. I wondered if her new armor was going to need anyone to help her. I imagined she was going to use featherlight enchants on every single piece. If I recall correctly, every piece would have three gem slots.

    I put on mine and brought my spear with me. I reckoned the spear was going to be the first item I was going to replace by the time I was going for an upgrade of my own. It had served me well.

    I wondered if I should go for a spear again, or perhaps something different. I was going to need training if I were to pick a new weapon, and I wasn¡¯t sure if it was going to be better. A spear seemed to be ideal for me.

    A halberd could be an option, but it was far more unwieldy than a spear, and I¡¯d possibly need to build up more muscle to handle one.

    I was going to need to do strength training too when we got back¡­

    ¡°Hey, Vel?¡± I asked once we set foot outside.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°Have you done any strength training while I was out?¡±

    ¡°I have. How did you notice?¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°I didn¡¯t, I was just curious if you¡¯d already spent time on it.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± She responded, seemingly slightly disappointed.

    Seralyn grinned.

    It seems Seralyn fed on awkward moments. It appeared they served to fuel her soul in some way.

    It didn¡¯t take long for us to reach the almost empty village square. The town guards and elite soldiers were still scattered throughout Dawnleaf. Their presence was almost ominous.

    I hoped we could return to normal soon. This was just idiotic. I liked this village. Now, almost nothing of what gave this village its charm remained.

    We reached Dworag¡¯s workshop and Velariah entered.

    I waited outside with the others and wondered if Dworag would have the stones to flirt with me in front of all the others. I hoped not. Maybe I should yell at him about the relationship I was in?

    The dwarf¡¯s flirting somehow amused me and I felt bad for feeling that way. Did that make me a bad person?

    The elf and dwarf exited the building after a minute or so. Dworag didn¡¯t look all too happy.

    ¡°Miss Elania, I heard what happened. I¡¯m sorry you had to go through that...¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°Thank you, Dworag, but I¡¯m fine now. No need to dwell on it.¡±

    ¡°Aye, I understand. Word of advice, though. Pretty much the whole village knows what happened. I¡¯d be careful if I were you. People might see you as a threat because you lived through something like that.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t thought about that yet. Would it really be that bad?

    Please don¡¯t tell me there¡¯d be people trying to hunt me because I was seen as an alpha trophy now.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be careful. Thanks for the advice. Has Velariah told you why we¡¯re here?¡±

    ¡°To pick up your new armor. I also heard you want to commission something for Draco, correct?¡±

    He looked at the lizardman who nodded in response.

    ¡°And I was told there were special circumstances when it comes to the design, correct?¡±

    ¡°It has to have elastic straps that can support my second form,¡± Draco replied.

    ¡°Let¡¯s have a look inside to find something you like that we can reference to then, shall we?¡± Dworag suggested.

    Draco then looked at Velariah, then at me.

    ¡°Go for it,¡± I said.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be back in a bit,¡± The dwarf promised before walking inside with Draco in tow.

    I was left outside with the others.

    ¡°Damn, El. You seem to have it tough,¡± Seralyn commented with a neutral expression, her arms crossed.

    ¡°Maybe. I don¡¯t know, honestly. At least I know I should be able to gather strength more quickly than usual, so that should help to deter anyone from trying to hunt me to put on their wall as a trophy.¡±

    It made me a bit more hesitant to leave Dawnleaf, knowing that we could be followed by assassins or the like. Then again, I do wish them luck in trying to keep up. Perhaps we should do a few more rounds in Arch¡¯s dungeon before heading out?

    Maybe we could borrow some of the soldiers to guard the entrance?

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Seralyn,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°We will be able to deal with whoever tries to attack her. I doubt there are many people around here who would actually try it. There¡¯s probably going to be severe punishment for that human bastard, if not straight-up execution. It will most likely happen in public too.¡±

    Ouch. That sounded like a great deterrent for anyone who dared to even think of doing something to me. I could see why this used to be a thing back on Earth as well.

    ¡°She¡¯s tough,¡± Nira spoke softly. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right,¡± Seralyn answered, slightly skeptical.

    I looked at the closed door of Dworag¡¯s shop.

    I hoped we could do something soon. I hated wasting time doing nothing. Sure, there was strength training we could do at home, but Corium would be far more precious.

    Valtheril had better get to the bottom of this quickly¡­

    I hated this feeling of not being able to help with something that mainly involved me¡­

    Faragi

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 2.3 Cult

    I let myself get lost in thought for a few minutes. I was surprised Velariah and Seralyn didn¡¯t disturb me during it. It was the door opening that broke my attention away from my mind.

    Draco and Dworag walked out, and the dwarf asked us to follow him to his smithing area.

    Once we arrived behind the building, I could see an armor stand with a full-body plate. I knew this was Velariah¡¯s new set based on its dimensions and the pride that glowed in Dworag¡¯s eyes as he stared at it.

    I observed it with him. Streaks of gold were woven over the silvery steel, giving the set the feeling it was of much higher quality than if it had been one color. It was weird how that worked, considering gold was softer than steel.

    This set of armor would surely cover much more than the hardened leather set she was currently using. The protection it offered was going to be far superior, too. The only downside of this was its weight, but I could see some gems already placed in several slots across the body.

    The main thing that struck me was the helmet. It seemed to be a literal copy of an ancient Greek helmet. There was a clear slit for the eyes. Right in between the eyes, the slit extended downward. A small metal strip extended over the nose area, offering some additional protection. The only thing it was missing to go for the typical Greek look was the plume on top of it.

    Velariah seemed captivated by the marvelous pieces of equipment before her.

    In the meantime, my eyes had shifted to Dworag¡¯s anvil. On it lay a helmet that was an exact copy of the one on the armor stand. I could see that this one was meant for me, not because of the helmet, but because of the four vambraces that were placed next to it.

    I walked over to the anvil and picked up one of the vambraces and observed it. It seemed to be made of the same type of steel that was used for the set of plate armor, complete with gold decoration. The vambraces extended to cover the entirety of my arms and elbows.

    I noticed Dworag shift his gaze to me.

    ¡°Can I?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Aye. Go for it.¡±

    I loosened the straps and slid an arm in the first one before fastening the straps again.

    This would be so much more of a hassle with only two arms¡­

    The piece of equipment fit me perfectly and reached all the way to my shoulders. They were still exposed and I started to wonder if there would be anything that would fit me when it came to it. Then again, I only really had to cover the top. My lower arms didn¡¯t have shoulders¡­ or well, they didn¡¯t have to cover shoulders as broad as my top ones.

    Dworag noticed me staring at my shoulders.

    ¡°I got something for that, Miss Elania. Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°You do?¡±

    ¡°Aye.¡±

    He entered his shop and returned with a set of shoulder guards that seemed to have some segments of smaller plates, like scales, attached that fell over the upper arm. Said segments had a leather strap beneath them that went around the arm.

    ¡°I¡¯ll toss this in for free as a token of appreciation for your patronage. You guys are starting to earn me quite the coin.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for your¡­ honesty, Dworag,¡± I said as I started putting on the other vambraces.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t lie to those eyes of yours,¡± He winked.

    There it was.

    That smile.

    That damned smile.

    ¡°Damn, El,¡± Seralyn laughed behind me. ¡°How many more hearts do you want?¡±

    I covered my face with my palm at her comment.

    I continued putting on the vambraces while I covered my face. Soon, I recovered enough of my dignity to put on the shoulder guards that Dworag had put on his anvil.

    I glanced over to Velariah who was putting on her new set with the help of Draco.

    My focus was quickly brought back to my own armor. I finished putting it on and fastening the many straps and moved my arms around. For some odd reason, all this extra armor made me feel¡­ empowered, as if I could take on the world!

    It was also surprisingly light.

    ¡°Hey, Vel. Did you have Dworag put in featherlight enchants in every single piece or what?¡±

    ¡°Yeap. Already paid for those, too. They are wonderful aren¡¯t they?¡±

    ¡°They truly are¡­¡±

    I wondered what other enchants I could put in this gear. Physical damage resistance would probably be a no-brainer. I had no idea what I was going to put in the other slot yet.

    I took the helmet and put it on my head. Almost immediately, I noticed that I hated this helm.

    My peripheral vision was obstructed, my hearing was limited and it was just straight-up uncomfortable.

    I took it off as fast as I had put it on and asked Dworag if he had any other model. I made up the excuse that I needed that peripheral vision because of my fighting style.

    It wasn¡¯t far from the truth.

    Velariah seemed to think about it the same way. She mentioned this helmet was also highly uncomfortable for her ears, an issue that I didn¡¯t have.

    I grinned at the comment.

    That must have been very uncomfortable indeed.

    Dworag took the helmets in his hands and took a good look at them.

    ¡°I should have realized that sooner. I¡¯m sorry for that.¡±

    He entered the store again and soon walked out with two much simpler-looking helmets. These resembled steel caps that went over the head, and then a metal bridge covering the nose. At the bottom of the helmet, which stopped above the ears, was chainmail that extended downward.

    He handed one to each of us and we tried them on. This was a thousand times better already. Perhaps it didn¡¯t quite offer the heavy protection that the other one did, but our style seemed to revolve around trying to not get hit. I imagined someone like Draco would benefit from something like that way more than the elf and I.

    ¡°It¡¯s not enchanted yet, is it?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Aye, these have four slots, though. They are also more expensive because of that and the increased quality of materials used.¡±

    These didn¡¯t seem like they were of high quality. Maybe looks were deceiving?

    ¡°How much?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Twenty gold.¡±

    Oof, that was quite expensive for only helmets.

    ¡°Each,¡± Dworag continued.

    Holy shit.

    ¡°Uhhhhhh¡­¡± I let out.

    I started calculating in my mind. This would bring the cost for my armor up to thirty gold and Velariah¡¯s full set to sixty, I think.

    ¡°How much do we owe you for all this?¡± I asked to be certain.

    ¡°The old helmets were five gold each. The set, vambraces, and new helmets¡­ I can do seventy for all that.¡±

    Well, fuck. We were twenty gold short.

    ¡°Vel. You better have Elly get extra groceries for the coming week. It appears I¡¯m going to have to make a lot of silk¡­¡±

    And then there was going to be Draco¡¯s set too.

    This was going to drain me, literally.

    ¡°If you¡¯re paying for Draco¡¯s set as well, I can¡¯t quite tell you how much it¡¯s going to be yet. It needs a few¡­ adjustments. The good news is that it won¡¯t require as much material,¡± Dworag said.

    I looked at Velariah, who fished out the coin pouch.

    ¡°We have fifty gold for now,¡± She said. ¡°We will be able to deliver the rest to you quite soon.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± The dwarf said. ¡°Payment can come later, just take it with you. I¡¯ll start working on Draco¡¯s set later today. I¡¯ve got an important commission I gotta finish first.¡±

    He added coals to his burning forge and poked around in them with a blow poke. I took that as a signal he was about to go to work.

    ¡°Thanks a lot, Dworag,¡± I said.

    As I turned around to leave the area, I saw Velariah hand him the coin pouch.

    We soon found ourselves in the middle of the village again, where we discussed what to do next.

    Seralyn wanted to go her own way but Velariah talked her out of it.

    ¡°We¡¯ve stayed together for four days now. I suggest we keep doing that, at least for now,¡± The white-haired elf said.

    ¡°Wait, you guys have been staying in the mansion this entire time?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°Velariah deemed it unwise to split up. She said that whoever went after you, or at least gave the command, could also go after your party members.¡±

    ¡°She might have a point there,¡± I said.

    ¡°Ugh, fine,¡± Seralyn gave in. ¡°You better start getting new games, though. These old ones are starting to get boring.¡±

    ¡°I doubt there¡¯s much we can do there,¡± I admitted. ¡°Although¡­¡±

    Cards weren¡¯t hard to make, technically at least. They wouldn¡¯t quite be of the same material and polish they were back on Earth, but my companions didn¡¯t know any better. The number of different games you could play with a deck of cards was insane as well.

    ¡°I might be able to make something¡­¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯m not going to play all evening. I¡¯m going to have to pay for that armor some way, and I¡¯d like to not have everyone watching.¡±

    ¡°If you want to have fun with Velariah, you have but to ask us to leave,¡± Seralyn grinned.

    I sighed.

    Velariah giggled.

    I was taking off my helmet for comfort reasons when a thought entered my mind.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t bother to take your old armor with you, Vel?¡± I asked the elf.

    ¡°It¡¯s not worth anything. I let Dworag have it. Maybe he¡¯ll give us a discount sometime.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he giving us an awful lot of discounts already?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with more? No, but really, he has more use for it than me. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get something back, perhaps some enchants would be nice.¡±

    We walked for a bit before Velariah asked another question. ¡°How do I look? I forgot to ask.¡±

    ¡°Vel, you always look good. You know how I think about it.¡±

    ¡°Enough with the blatant flirting already!¡± Seralyn chuckled.

    ¡°Getting a bit jealous?¡± Velariah teased her.

    Seralyn sighed and went quiet.

    Maybe that was a bit harsh, Vel.

    We reached the mansion and knocked. For some reason, Valtheril opened the door where I was expecting Elly.

    ¡°Nice armor you got there,¡± He said with a slight smile. ¡°Come inside, I was in the middle of a discussion. We could do with your input.¡±

    A discussion? With whom?

    Valtheril opened the other door and we immediately walked into the dining room. We only had enough time to leave our new helmets in the hallway.

    Valtheril took his place at the head of the table again. Two guests joined him at the table. Pylanor and the Lore keeper were both seated before him.

    This could get interesting¡­

    I greeted both of them and took two chairs away from the table to stand at it. I could see a few pieces of paper laid out on the table before Valtheril and noticed that the crate housing Minia was gone.

    ¡°As you all know,¡± Valtheril started as soon as everyone was seated. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to find out about all the strange things happening in and around Dawnleaf. Now, the information regarding the necromantic happenings is still classified, but I am almost certain that¡¯s separate from the issue at hand.¡±

    He reached for two pieces of paper and took them in one hand.

    ¡°We have identified who wrote the report, thanks to Kantasia¡¯s work.¡±

    Wait, who was Kantasia?

    I saw the Lore keeper nod.

    Oh.

    So that was her name. I never knew.

    ¡°I have already dispatched soldiers to find and arrest him. In the meantime, Master Pylanor, please tell me what you know.¡±

    How much had they talked about before we got here?

    ¡°As I said before; lately, certain supplies have been going missing from the underground vault. We initially blamed it on a rat infestation that we dealt with, but these recent events have led me to believe that may have been a simple cover-up to mislead us.¡±

    He paused for a few seconds and scratched his nose.

    ¡°From my research on that beast that was slain outside the village, I have to conclude that it was¡­ unnatural. It is my opinion that someone tampered with Borers and caused one to grow to such size and acquire multiple other changes in the process. The missing reagents could have played a part in that.¡±

    ¡°And as far as I know,¡± Valtheril took over. ¡°Only the treemenders have access to that vault.¡±

    That would even put more suspicion on Lorin.

    ¡°What¡¯s more,¡± Pylanor continued. ¡°The blade that was used to pierce Elania¡¯s heart¡­ I found traces of an extremely potent poison known as Red Death. It is made from Red Pozims, mushrooms which we store in a special vault. Of course, we don¡¯t use it as poison directly. Rather, we carefully extract specific essences from its stem which have healing and anti-venom properties, but if they were to fall into the wrong hands¡­ well, you have seen what they can be used for. Whoever gave the command to kill Elania must have really wanted her dead.¡±

    I shook my head.

    ¡°I¡¯m still at a loss for words how you survived,¡± Pylanor looked at me. ¡°That poison kills within seconds.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my inherity,¡± I spoke honestly.

    ¡°Must be a powerful one,¡± He said.

    ¡°It truly is.¡±

    ¡°This really narrows down my scope of investigation to only a few people¡­¡± Valtheril thought aloud. ¡°I already have a suspect in mind, I could actually arrest them and bring up charges as it is, but I¡¯d like a confession from an accomplice first. I¡¯m going to ask you to stay here until the arrest has been made of whoever wrote that fake report.¡±

    ¡°Not a problem,¡± Pylanor said. ¡°I could check Elania while I¡¯m here. She promised to find me, but she never showed up.¡±

    ¡°Oops,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that.¡±

    Pylanor chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s alright. You do fascinate me, though. Your regenerative ability is quite something. Is that a second inherity or something?¡±

    ¡°Something like that, yes.¡±

    I figured there was no point dancing around the question

    Valtheril would notice me lying if I did, anyway.

    ¡°Do you guys have anything to add?¡± Valtheril asked as he eyed each of us in turn.

    I shook my head, as did Velariah. We could only report what we had seen.

    Valtheril sighed deeply as he relaxed in his chair. He laid the papers down and rubbed his eyes.

    ¡°Oh, Vel,¡± He let out softly.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Velariah asked. Her ears were sure to pick that up.

    ¡°Oh, nothing.¡± He pretended he didn¡¯t just say her name.

    What was that all about?

    ¡°You guys don¡¯t happen to know a certain Luke Rogers, do you?¡± The Lore keeper asked.

    I shook my head, as did the others.

    ¡°I expected as much. He¡¯s only silver-ranked, so I doubt he¡¯d be able to draw much attention.¡±

    ¡°Which is probably exactly why he was the one to write that report,¡± Valtheril continued.

    ¡°He isn¡¯t the same person who delivered it?¡± I asked.

    ¡°He isn¡¯t. Kantasia has already confirmed that person¡¯s identity as one of Luke¡¯s party members. I confirmed that he didn¡¯t know the report was fake. He is currently in custody for safety reasons and will be released as soon as the arrest is made. Don¡¯t worry, he isn¡¯t being held in chains or anything like that.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± I let out.

    ¡°The guild doesn¡¯t screw around with reports like these. These are considered top priority and urgent investigations. Submitting a false report stating a possible out-of-control dungeon, though, is going to have consequences.¡±

    I didn¡¯t dare ask what those would be. I had a feeling I already knew.

    Valtheril continued and answered without me even asking about it.

    ¡°If he knew there was no such thing as an out of control dungeon core, or simply made it up to get me away from here, the usual punishment in such cases is death. However, if he confesses as to who made him do it, I¡¯m willing to lower the sentence.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re certain you¡¯ll get him?¡± I asked.

    Valtheril smiled. ¡°I guess you haven¡¯t heard yet. I put the village on lockdown as soon as I got word of the assassination attempt. Nobody went in or out. I had permanent watch over the village gates and patrols around the village day and night. Trust me, nobody got out.¡±

    The General crossed his arms while he was still leaning back in his chair.

    ¡°Now, I¡¯ve lifted the lockdown and allowed people to go out, but only if they can show proper identification. Everything is documented. It¡¯s a simple matter of waiting for him to try to leave the village. In the meantime, patrols on the streets are checking every adventurer they come across.¡±

    He had this all planned out it seemed.

    Elly exited the kitchen with cups of coffee. She started placing them before everyone on the table. It was amusing to see Pylanor eye the cup with black liquid in front of him. Elly walked back to the kitchen to get sugar and milk and the treemender asked what this drink was.

    ¡°It¡¯s called coffee,¡± Valtheril said proudly. ¡°I received the recipe from a now-deceased adventurer. It¡¯s a drink that gives you a boost of energy, and it tastes good to boot. Be warned, though, one can feel the urgency to visit the toilet after drinking it.¡±

    ¡°That sounds¡­ interesting?¡± It seemed Pylanor wasn¡¯t quite sure what to make of it.

    Elly returned with sugar and milk. I had a great time observing Pylanor experiment with sugar and milk while he kept taking sips to taste after each addition. The maid then walked upstairs.

    It didn¡¯t take long before Pylanor seemed to enjoy the drink.

    Another victim falls to the coffee cult.

    Great success.

 2.4 Exercise

    The quiet got interrupted by loud banging on the front door.

    ¡°General? Are you there?¡± A voice shouted.

    Valtheril didn¡¯t reply. He simply stood up after shoving his chair away from the table and made his way over to the hallway.

    He re-entered the dining room, dragging a human in chains across the floor behind him. The General held a silver-colored tag in his hand and observed the writing on it.

    Valtheril tossed him to the ground with enough force so he landed on his bum. It seemed to hurt him, although he acted tough, like the other guy in the warehouse.

    The human wore simple leather armor, it wasn¡¯t too different from the archers in Allina¡¯s squad. He had a scabbard bound to his belt that looked sized for a greatsword, except the weapon was missing; the guards had likely disarmed him upon capture.

    His hands were chained behind his back and another set of chains was wrapped around his frame, disabling him entirely.

    ¡°Well then, Luke... I assume you know why you¡¯re here,¡± Valtheril spoke ominously.

    The human tried to stand up, but Valtheril kicked his legs from under him, causing him to crash to the ground on his back.

    I winced in pain at the sight.

    ¡°I suggest you speak up,¡± The General continued.

    ¡°You¡¯re not getting a word from me!¡± He said.

    ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d say that...¡± Valtheril¡¯s smirked. ¡°Elania?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Are you hungry?¡±

    Oh.

    I saw what he was getting at.

    ¡°Not really, but I think I can make some space for one person.¡± I put my front two legs forward so they were in front of my human torso and raised my fangs, ready to strike.

    Luke¡¯s face shot white at the sight of me. His stomach wasn¡¯t strong enough to get through it unscathed, either; he vomited over his clothes.

    Yikes.

    I was not going to eat him anymore. Not that I planned to in the first place...

    ¡°One of your people in green instructed me to do it! I don¡¯t know anything else, his face was covered! Please don¡¯t kill me.¡±

    ¡°Notice anything off?¡± Valtheril continued. ¡°His ears, perhaps?¡±

    ¡°His right ear was missing part of it. Don¡¯t eat me, please,¡± He begged again.

    ¡°Did he offer anything?¡± The interrogation continued.

    ¡°He offered me gold...¡± The human spoke weakly, his face still in shock.

    ¡°How much?¡±

    ¡°Ten whole pieces.¡±

    That was a lot for him, I guessed. It was also easily earned. All he had to do was write a few words.

    Valtheril tossed the tag he was holding to the Lore keeper at the table who nimbly caught it.

    ¡°Your adventurer¡¯s license is hereby terminated and your money will be confiscated. You¡¯ll await final judgment in custody. If you cooperate, you may just live.¡±

    Valtheril walked into the hallway and returned with two of his elite guards.

    ¡°Take him to the cells,¡± He commanded.

    The guards dragged the chained being out of the room and closed the doors behind him. Valtheril reseated himself at the head of the table.

    I waited in anticipation for what he would say.

    ¡°That¡¯s two confessions with the same information. A missing part of the right ear,¡± He said while looking at Pylanor.

    ¡°Master Lorin?¡± Pylanor spoke with some form of disbelief.

    Valtheril nodded. ¡°As far as I know he¡¯s been hostile to Elania ever since¡­well, before she set foot in the village. It seems he has at least some motive for wanting her gone.¡±

    ¡°But why?¡± Pylanor asked. ¡°She¡¯s been nothing but helpful. I heard she was a large part of the village not suffering any casualties in that last battle.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I intend to find out,¡± Valtheril concluded. ¡°Would you say there¡¯s enough evidence to make an arrest? You¡¯ve seen this confession firsthand. I hope you believe me when I say that that bastard that stabbed Elania confessed the same.¡±

    Valtheril shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s not even worthy of that name.¡±

    Come to think of it, I never did learn his name. I looked at Valtheril, hoping he would spill the beans.

    ¡°Max Goodwill,¡± He said after he saw me observing.

    Yeah¡­

    I could see what he meant¡­

    ¡°Told you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say there is,¡± Pylanor answered the earlier question. ¡°He¡¯s the only treemender with a specific injury like that. It makes me wonder why he didn¡¯t hide his ears properly. Was he just sloppy?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s one of my concerns as well. He doesn¡¯t strike me as stupid,¡± Valtheril said in response. ¡°I¡¯ll have him arrested and see what he has to say for himself.¡±

    I truly hoped his arrest would at least make my new life somewhat less hectic. All this sitting around doing nothing was a dent in my power gain, after all!

    ¡°Does that mean we¡¯re free to go anywhere again?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°After the arrest is made, you¡¯re free to do as you please,¡± Valtheril replied.

    He stood up from his chair again. ¡°Master Pylanor, you coming with?¡±

    The treemender stood up as well and nodded. ¡°Just a sec. Elania?¡± He said my name as he raised a hand.

    Oh, right.

    I stood in front of him and he laid his hand on my forehead before sending his magic through me. It flowed through my entire body before converging on his hand again.

    ¡°As I expected, perfectly healthy. You¡¯re nothing short of a miracle, Elania.¡±

    I chuckled at his words. I didn¡¯t know how to reply to that. The fact that I even appeared in this world was a miracle in itself.

    I wondered if he knew just how accurate that sentence was.

    The Lore keeper stood up as well and handed the documents to Valtheril who, while still standing, crossed out the adventurer¡¯s name on the guild form and scribbled down his signature next to it.

    ¡°I¡¯d like you to dig up any other papers with his signature and handwriting, Kantasia. Anything that can be used to examine this man¡¯s value will likely be used in his trial.¡±

    The Lore keeper nodded and made her way to the exit. Valtheril and Pylanor joined her after nodding to me and my companions.

    I sighed deeply after they left the room.

    ¡°That was¡­ messy,¡± Velariah mentioned.

    ¡°No kidding,¡± I replied as I looked into her eyes, then to the floor where there was still some yucky vomit from the human.

    ¡°Could you even eat a human?¡± Seralyn asked. ¡°I mean, physically¡­?¡±

    What was that kind of question?

    Actually, could I?

    ¡°Uhhh, I don¡¯t think so?¡± I replied with a puzzled face.

    I looked down to my pedipalps and fangs below them.

    ¡°I still have to figure out how spiders eat, not that I¡¯m in a hurry to do so. I don¡¯t exactly have a mouth down here.¡±

    ¡°Maybe later, who knows?¡± Seralyn chuckled.

    ¡°Oh please no¡­¡± I begged. ¡°I swear, I feel like all these awkward suggestions might actually come true one day. You know what my inherity said¡­¡±

    ¡°It would certainly cut down on your time eating,¡± Draco smiled.

    Oh, no. Not him too.

    ¡°Where is Minia, anyway?¡± Seralyn asked while she looked at where the crate stood previously.

    Velariah walked to the door that led upstairs and opened it. ¡°Elly?¡± She asked. ¡°Could you come down here for a sec?¡±

    ¡°Coming,¡± Elly answered from upstairs.

    She noticed the small puddle of yuck pretty quickly after entering the room. ¡°Oh,¡± She let out before entering the kitchen.

    ¡°Where did you leave the crate with that spider?¡± Velariah asked as Elly re-entered the room with a dishtowel.

    ¡°I left it in your room. I figured it would be a better place than here.¡±

    No. No, it was not.

    ¡°Probably is,¡± Velariah said. ¡°I doubt guests will appreciate a frigging spider looking at them.¡±

    Hello? What about me?

    Seralyn chuckled. It wasn¡¯t hard to guess she was laughing at me.

    Something about being a half-spider and whatnot.

    I was truly going to paralyze her someday.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to do some training,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°What? Now?¡± I asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want me to create a game or something?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll look at that later. This is going to take priority.¡± She then turned to our other companions. ¡°Will you guys be okay for the time being? Just ask Elly if you need anything.¡±

    Draco nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t think it will be a problem.¡±

    A sound came from the stairs and I saw Gray appear from the still-open door. He looked around for one second before running up to me, circling around two of my legs, and then ran up to Nira and jumped on her lap.

    Nira did something I could not have seen coming. She plucked out one of her own large feathers and used it to play with the pup.

    ¡°From the looks of it, I think we¡¯ll be fine,¡± Seralyn smiled at the harpy¡¯s affection for Gray.

    I decided to give Gray some attention too before going to the bathroom. I couldn¡¯t have him forget about me, after all.

    When we entered the bathroom, I noticed a few things were different. In the corner to the back left stood a chest that I didn¡¯t recognize. I saw the crate that housed Minia next to it, with the jar of grasshoppers next to that.

    How long would those grasshoppers live, anyway?

    The dumbbells and weight plates were placed in front of the chest.

    I wondered what was inside.

    ¡°That¡¯s for my clothes,¡± Velariah mentioned as she closed and locked the door. ¡°I had Elly bring it down while you were out.¡±

    ¡°I never noticed it before.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you were too busy with me.¡±

    Velariah appeared before me and put her hands behind my head to bring me down to her height. A kiss on the lips followed and I felt my legs weaken as my heartbeat rose.

    ¡°Ugh, this armor makes this so much worse,¡± Velariah said as she started taking off her new armor, starting with the shoulder plates.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take it off first. We¡¯ll put it with the helmets later,¡± She continued.

    ¡°Fair point. It¡¯s not exactly the most comfortable thing to wear all day.¡±

    We took off our equipment, one piece at a time, and placed it against the wall where the pillows previously lay. I observed her taking off her new chest plate. It seemed this one was far easier to take off, due to its design with straps at the side, than the leather chest with chainmail she¡¯d been previously wearing.

    ¡°Hmmm, I much prefer you this way,¡± She said seductively when she finished. She took me in for another kiss.

    ¡°I¡¯d be lying if I said I didn¡¯t feel the same way,¡± I said with a smile before taking her in for a deep kiss of my own.

    ¡°El, if you want to do this instead of training, I don¡¯t mind but we got to be quiet,¡± She joked, I think?

    I shook my head. ¡°We should really work on training,¡± I then took her in for yet another kiss while I held her back with my lower pair of arms and pedipalps.

    ¡°Shame,¡± She said softly, after I broke away for the final time.

    I simply smiled.

    She walked over to the chest and took the weight plates off the dumbbells and replaced them with slightly bigger ones.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get you started with five pounds, shall we?¡±

    Five pounds sounded extremely light, compared to what I lifted earlier. Thing is, I had no idea about exercise. I knew it was better to not go for as heavy as possible from the get-go but that was about all I knew.

    I nodded and she handed me the dumbbells to my upper hands.

    ¡°Ten repetitions of fully stretching the arms forward and slowly raising the weights to your shoulders. Let¡¯s see you do it.¡±

    I did as I was told and started the exercise. Velariah corrected my form where needed.

    This wasn¡¯t so bad.

    I thought.

    After I finished the ten repetitions, I started to feel my muscles. I wasn¡¯t expecting it, from only five pounds. The elf then instructed me to do do the same with my other set of arms, allowing my first set to rest for a few minutes. I then had to go through everything a second time which had me gritting my teeth as I finished.

    At the end of it all, my arms felt sore.

    ¡°I truly hope you were not expecting me to use these arms on you tonight¡­¡± I said as I started lifting the weights with my lower set of arms.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine¡­ I think?¡± She seemed to say that with a hint of tease in her voice.

    I waited a few minutes after my first repetition and repeated it.

    Velariah increased the difficulty considerably by hugging and running her fingers over my skin under my shirt.

    The moment I finished the tenth repetition, I put the dumbbells down and used my pedipalps to lift the elf from under her shoulders. I brought her to the wall and used my front two sets of legs to hold her in place while I kissed her like mad.

    ¡°El, this is such a bad idea¡­¡±

    ¡°I know, I know.¡± I kissed her one last time and released her. She landed before me and stared into my eyes.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind continuing that another time, though,¡± She smiled.

    I had to restrain myself or I¡¯d take this far further. I was glad I could still control myself¡­for now.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get to your next part of training,¡± She said softly, obviously still recovering from the assault of my mouth.

    ¡°More training? Vel, my arms are already sore. Any more and I won¡¯t be able to do it again tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°I mean¡­ other training,¡± Velariah called behind her as she walked over to her chest.

    ¡°What other training could you possi-¡±

    Oh no.

    OH NO.

    She walked over to the crate with the spider and gestured for me to join her.

    I did not want this.

    I did not want any of this.

    But I knew I would have to get over my fear of spiders. I mean¡­ I was practically one myself. It was such a stupid, ironic, occurrence.

    I reluctantly walked over to her and saw her remove the glass panel from the crate. I gritted my teeth as I observed her lower her hands into the crate.

    How did people have the strength to do that¡­ Truly?

    I lowered myself to the ground behind the kneeling elf and waited with fear in my heart for what was to come.

    She turned around with Minia on her palms. The spider¡¯s attention was instantly fixed on me. All of its large eyes seemed to peer directly into my very soul.

    ¡°We got to get you over that fear of yours,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°There¡¯s no reason to be afraid of spiders, you can take that from me. Hell, I¡¯m sleeping with one.¡±

    I wanted to speak but couldn¡¯t. My eyes stared back at the jumping spider in her hands. I prayed it wouldn¡¯t do as its name suggested.

    It moved its pedipalps and rubbed them together, something that made me jump back previously. However, I didn¡¯t move away this time.

    ¡°I think she likes you, El,¡± Velariah smiled.

    I moved one of my pedipalps up and made a waving gesture.

    Surprisingly, the spider in Velariah¡¯s hands mimicked my movements.

    ¡°Well, this is just weird¡­¡± I said softly.

    Velariah grinned with a broad smile.

    ¡°What was that part of your inherity called again? Arachnid Communication or something right? Think you can communicate with it?¡±

    I sighed. ¡°I have no idea¡­¡±

    I took a deep breath before I spoke. ¡°Yo, Minia. How about you jump in Velariah¡¯s hair?¡± I asked nonchalantly.

    The spider then turned around and promptly jumped in her hair.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± I let out.

    ¡°Oi, El. I don¡¯t mind spiders, but I¡¯d prefer to keep them out of my hair!¡±

    She carefully moved her fingers through her hair, fished the spider out, and set it down in front of her on the floor.

    ¡°Could you try something else?¡± Velariah asked as the spider turned to look at me again.

    ¡°Uhh, I don¡¯t know?¡± I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath once more. ¡°Minia, play dead.¡±

    ¡­

    Nothing happened. The spider simply stood there, looking at me.

    ¡°Maybe she didn¡¯t understand that?¡± Velariah suggested.

    ¡°I have no clue, Vel.¡±

    I focused once more.

    ¡°Run around,¡± I commanded.

    Still, nothing happened.

    ¡°Think that was a coincidence?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I doubt it. Did you do something differently the first time?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I literally have no clue¡­¡±

    Velariah then took one of my hands.

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue working on that fear of yours, shall we?¡±

    ¡°How do you intend to¡ª¡± Fear suddenly coursed through me. ¡°Nononononono,¡± I let out very quickly as I saw what she was doing.

    Velariah was forcing my hand towards the jumping spider. I tried to resist, but her strength was simply greater than mine. Before I could stop her with my stronger limbs she had one of my fingers touch the spider¡¯s head.

    After that, she let go and I quickly retracted my arm.

    ¡°Vel!¡± I let out.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t so bad now, was it?¡± She asked softly.

    ¡°I¡­I¡­¡± I stuttered.

    She was right. The spider hadn¡¯t even reacted to my touch. Even if it was going to do anything, it would be meaningless. Even if it did strike me, I was immune to venom. Even if it left somewhat of a wound behind, I would heal within minutes.

    I sighed.

    I hated that she was right.

    ¡°See?¡± Velariah spoke again. She then moved a hand of her own to Minia and ran a finger over the spider¡¯s head; she somehow petted it.

    What was worse, I could see Minia enjoy it.

    What the fuck?

    How did I know that the spider was enjoying the touch?

    I started freaking out before I realized that must have been part of my inherity.

    I couldn¡¯t believe what I did next. I voluntarily moved a hand to the spider and ran it over its body, from its head to abdomen.

    I could feel Minia enjoying it.

    For some reason, it made me feel happy.

    How could this be?

    I hated spiders¡­ right¡­?

    Right¡­?

 2.5 Spiders, Fruit, and Pizza

    Vel, what are you doing?

    This elf kept turning my world upside down.

    I couldn¡¯t feel empathy for spiders.

    I just couldn¡¯t...

    Yet here I was¡­

    Velariah took one of my hands and took a finger to pet Minia, and I just let it happen.

    A very faint feeling of enjoyment came from the jumping spider. It was barely there, but I noticed it, nonetheless. This was a living, breathing animal and it seemed to be delighted.

    I hated it.

    I hated that I felt for this thing.

    Why?

    My head started to hurt from the thoughts that raced through my mind and I took my forehead in my palms as a reflex. Velariah took my lower set of hands in hers and asked me if I was alright.

    ¡°I..I.. don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°El...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay, I think? I...¡±

    I sighed deeply.

    ¡°This spider¡­ I seem to feel its emotions¡­ somewhat...¡±

    ¡°Are you okay, El?¡± Velariah let go of my hands and took my other hands in hers, forcing me to look into her eyes.

    She looked worried.

    ¡°I could feel it being¡­ happy. I felt...happy myself when it felt that way. It¡¯s messing with my brain. I don¡¯t know what to do...¡±

    ¡°El...¡± Velariah said softly.

    ¡°I know my fear of spiders is likely misplaced, especially with what¡¯s dangling behind me. I...I just don¡¯t know¡­ I never imagined I could feel this...¡±

    ¡°El, it¡¯s alright.¡± Velariah took hold of my shoulders and brought me to her face before kissing me. I simply closed my eyes and let her do whatever she wanted.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, El,¡± She spoke softly as she brushed my hair behind my ears. ¡°It¡¯s okay to feel that way. If anything, it makes you even more beautiful than anything else.¡±

    ¡°Because I feel spiders¡¯ emotions?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Velariah said, before kissing me again. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Your heart continues to grow. It¡¯s beautiful to see.¡±

    Velariah broke away and looked at the spider that was still standing between us, looking at me.

    ¡°Besides, it¡¯s quite cute. Wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡±

    I looked at Minia. Her large eyes were still fixated on me. She seemed to emit a sense of¡­ curiosity? Or was that¡­ admiration?

    Those eyes¡­

    It made her look far less¡­ creepy than the usual spiders that I used to find in my bedroom back on Earth. It was almost¡­ cute?

    WHY?

    I was completely lost¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, El. There¡¯s no need to be scared. Minia doesn¡¯t want to cause us any harm. No spiders do.¡±

    I knew that¡­ and yet¡­

    ¡°I guess it is somewhat...¡± I paused for a second. ¡°Cute...¡±

    There.

    I¡¯d said it.

    I brought a finger to the spider again, slowly and carefully. I felt slight shock and fear when it grabbed my finger with her pedipalps but soon relaxed as I stroked the top of her head.

    I couldn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°I¡¯m proud of you, Elania,¡± Velariah smiled at me. ¡°You¡¯re doing much better than I had hoped.¡±

    I didn¡¯t reply. I was fixated on the tiny animal before me. I felt feeble emotions coming from the small being. I could make out¡­ joy¡­ gratitude¡­ hope...?

    Was this my inherity kicking in?

    ¡°What is she telling you?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°She seems¡­ thankful and hopeful. I¡¯m not exactly sure why.¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s hungry? Wanna feed it?¡±

    I hesitated for a bit before nodding.

    The elf stood up and retrieved the jar of grasshoppers before returning. She put the jar down next to her but Minia¡¯s attention was never averted. The spider continued to look at me with curiosity. Not even food could break her concentration.

    Velariah handed me a grasshopper. She had one of its legs between two fingers. I took it from her by carefully taking one of its other hind legs.

    It tried jumping away, to no avail.

    I held it at the spider¡¯s side, at a fair distance. I wanted to see her jump for some reason.

    Minia did exactly that. Without even turning to face the grasshopper first, she jumped on it and grabbed it, before sinking its fangs in her victim. I quickly let go as soon as the spider was on her prey. It seemed I wasn¡¯t quite used to such sudden movements coming from a spider yet.

    Also, what was that coordination?

    It didn¡¯t even turn, yet she jumped on her prey with deadly accuracy.

    Just how good was this spider¡¯s eyesight?

    I secretly wished my coordination would one day be just as good.

    Minia¡¯s prey struggled for dear life, but it ultimately succumbed to her venom. Minia then walked back before me and deposited the dead grasshopper on the floor.

    I could sense Minia feeling¡­ was that¡­ pride?

    Wait¡­

    Did it just give me a gift?

    Isn¡¯t this behavior awfully similar to cats? They would also sometimes kill random things like birds and mice and bring them to their owner as a ¡®gift¡¯.

    Velariah laughed.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this,¡± The elf said.

    She then curled her lips into a smile. ¡°You gonna eat that?¡±

    ¡°What the fuck, Vel?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.

    ¡°Nono, Minia. You should have this,¡± I said as I picked up the grasshopper and held it before the spider¡¯s face.

    Minia took the insect back in her pedipalps and seemed to bring it to her mouth.

    ¡°I still need to figure out how spiders actually eat,¡± I said with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure Master Endomir knows. We should talk to him when we get the chance.¡±

    ¡°We should. Any information could be useful.¡±

    Velariah smiled and carefully took the spider back in her hands. ¡°Let¡¯s get Minia back in her little enclosure, shall we?¡±

    I could see the spider turn to me as Velariah turned around and I felt a sense of¡­ loneliness coming from it¡­

    Somehow it made my heart sink.

    ¡°Actually, Vel¡­¡± I started speaking with a soft, slightly hesitant voice.

    I couldn¡¯t believe I was doing this.

    ¡°Hm?¡± She said as she turned around.

    ¡°Just¡­ leave it outside the crate...¡±

    I was such a wuss. I had let a spider play with my emotions. It had me feeling¡­ guilty¡­

    ¡°If you¡¯re okay with that...¡± I finished.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay with me. I just thought you¡¯d be scared?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s feeling lonely, I don¡¯t want to feel bad for putting it in a cage...¡±

    ¡°That inherity of yours is really fucking with you isn¡¯t it?¡±

    I nodded slowly.

    Velariah knelt and put the spider back on the floor. Minia walked up to me and then jumped onto my right pedipalp

    I focused on the faint stream of emotions coming from the arachnid and could feel¡­ gratitude once more.

    ¡°Thank you¡­ Vel...¡± I spoke slowly. ¡°For your help¡­ Minia really isn¡¯t so bad...¡±

    ¡°Aww, El.¡± She crept closer to me on her knees.

    She hugged me and whispered into my ear. ¡°I¡¯m so happy, El. We¡¯ll overcome your fears¡­ together.¡±

    I never knew I could feel this way. Velariah sure let me see much more than I would on my own. I was more than glad to have her in my life...

    I took her head from my shoulder and brought her before me, where I kissed her passionately. This little adventure had only served to make me want her even more than I already did.

    ¡°Hmmm, El,¡± Velariah let out softly as she took my hands from her chest. I didn¡¯t even realize I had them there. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t do that now...¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t even realize...¡± I whispered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry. I love you, El,¡± She said before kissing me again.

    ¡°I love you too, Vel,¡± I said after breaking away.

    I turned my head to the side, where I saw Minia on my pedipalp, observing us with wide eyes.

    ¡°That¡¯s one curious little spider, isn¡¯t she?¡± Velariah said with a smile.

    ¡°She is¡­ it¡¯s kind of fun to see, though.¡±

    Velariah broke the hug and stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s finish up our training and get some silk, shall we?¡±

    ¡°What? Are we still not done?¡±

    Velariah smirked. ¡°One more round to go.¡±

    She walked to the dumbbells behind me and took them in her hands. I stood up and moved my pedipalp to the wall. It seemed Minia understood what I wanted as she jumped from my limb onto the wall.

    I then turned to Velariah and took the weights in my hands.

    ¡°Pray that I¡¯m going to be able to use these arms tomorrow,¡± I said with a sigh.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine,¡± Velariah reassured me.

    I did my exercises under the watchful eyes of Velariah, and the even more watchful eight eyes of Minia. My arms became increasingly sore near the end of it, and I hoped I would still be able to lift my weapons the next day in case we went out to the dungeon or quests.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± I groaned as I put the dumbbells on the floor after I finished.

    ¡°Good job, El,¡± Velariah said as she walked up to me and ruffled my long hair. She then crouched to get the dumbbells and put them in front of the chest.

    ¡°You can relax now.¡±

    She walked up to the pack she¡¯d previously put on the crate in the other corner and took it to the tub, where she sat down and fished out a spool.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do the work this time,¡± She smiled.

    I smiled. I could do with some rest.

    ¡°Except that this leaves me drained, and you know it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I think Elly will start on dinner soon. You can recover all you need.¡±

    I sat down before the wooden tub and rested my arms on the edge while I waited for Velariah to get to work. I closed my eyes and felt myself relax fairly quickly.

    ¡°How about Elly?¡± I asked.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I mean, she is doing far more now than before, right? How about all the costs for groceries now that I live here? It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t eat much¡­ Then there is Gray as well. She is pretty much taking care of him full-time.¡±

    ¡°Elly¡¯s pay has been increased by a fair bit. Don¡¯t worry about it too much, El. She doesn¡¯t pay for the groceries herself. Besides, food isn¡¯t that expensive for us.¡±

    ¡°Still, I was thinking of getting her something.. You know?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s alright. Do whatever you feel like doing, El. Though, I feel like I already know what your decision will be.¡±

    ¡°You think ten gold will be appreciated?¡±

    ¡°Seriously, Elania? She might faint if you give her that much.¡±

    ¡°You said it yourself. I¡¯ll do it anyway. Besides, it¡¯s one day of work for me, possibly less than that if I eat a lot in a single day.¡±

    I paused for a second while Velariah ran her hands over my spider abdomen with affection. I loved the feeling it gave me.

    ¡°Also, we will have plenty of time before we depart. There are many things we still have to take care of here. One day more or less doesn¡¯t make much of a difference.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too nice, El.¡±

    ¡°Elly deserves it.¡±

    I relaxed further as Velariah ran her nimble hands over my spinnerets, causing me to start the silk strands. From there, it was a simple matter of relaxing as Velariah slowly pulled out the threads.

    ¡°She is very sweet, isn¡¯t she? I¡¯m impressed at her skill with Gray. She said she had to clean up wolf poo inside the house only once.¡±

    ¡°That is impressive, indeed,¡± I replied.

    Our conversation quieted down as I simply relaxed and let Velariah¡¯s hands do their job.

    Money-making never felt this good¡­

    I could fall asleep like this. I wondered if that would actually cause the silk production to stop.

    I could hear Velariah call out and realized that I had been in some kind of drowsy state, as if I was between waking and sleeping.

    ¡°El, are you okay?¡± She asked.

    I shook my head rapidly, forcing myself back to reality.

    ¡°I must have relaxed a bit too much. I¡¯m fine, Vel.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m starting to get jealous of you, you know? All those extra body parts of yours seem to enjoy my touch a bit too much.¡±

    I smiled. ¡°You have no idea.¡±

    ¡°I think Elly just finished dinner. You hungry?¡±

    I thought for a moment. I didn¡¯t feel as hungry as I expected. I felt drained, sure, but not hungry.

    ¡°Not so much. Then again, we plan on repeating this process tomorrow. I need to keep this body sustained,¡± I said.

    ¡°Lame excuse to stuff your face. I know how much you love our maid¡¯s cooking,¡± Velariah smiled before she took my head in her hands as I turned around.

    ¡°A quick kiss before dinner,¡± She said as she planted her lips on mine. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to more, tonight.¡±

    ¡°You temptress,¡± I let out. ¡°I fear I may be too worn out for more, though...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Velariah smiled and peered into my eyes. ¡°Cuddling with you is the second-best thing.¡±

    I chuckled and took her in for a hug before I noticed Minia still staring at us from the wall.

    She¡¯d be fine waiting here for a bit, right?

    I left her behind and followed Velariah to the dining room. The sight that awaited me made me smile.

    Plates were already placed on the table, indicating that dinner was almost ready. Draco and Seralyn were playing a game of checkers.

    The reason for my smile was Nira. She had Gray on her lap, who was looking at the harpy with great interest. Nira was playing with him, covering her face with her wings which caused Gray to cock his head. It appeared he was wondering where she¡¯d gone. Nira then revealed her face by quickly retracting her wings, causing Gray to stick out his tongue and continue staring.

    It was so damn cute.

    ¡°Welcome back,¡± Seralyn said without turning her attention away from the game before her. ¡°Hope you guys had fun.¡± She smirked at her remark.

    ¡°Sure did,¡± Velariah said.

    Seconds later, Elly entered the room with oven trays with stuffed bell peppers.

    Seralyn and Draco finished their game. There were only two turns left to play, anyway. Apparently, the brunette had handily defeated Draco, which came as a surprise to me.

    She sure did improve a lot, didn¡¯t she?

    It came as no surprise that this food, too, was of the highest quality I could imagine. Seeing so many vegetables and meat stuffed together inside bell peppers gave me an idea for something that I guessed Elly would have no problems with making.

    ¡°You guys ever heard of pizza?¡± I asked when I was the last one still eating.

    I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m stupid. There¡¯s no way that¡¯s going to be called the same in this world. It¡¯s basically some form of bread dough that is rolled out flat. The edge of it is slightly elevated. One then adds tomato sauce on the dough and tops it off with all kinds of meat, vegetables, and cheese before baking it in an oven at high temperature so the dough gets nice and crispy.¡±

    ¡°El,¡± Velariah started before sighing. ¡°I just finished dinner, why do you have to make me hungry again?¡±

    ¡°I was just wondering if it exists here. When I see all these ingredients¡­ they are very commonly used in pizzas.¡±

    From their absent reactions, I got the idea that this dish was yet to be invented. It didn¡¯t necessarily make me feel sad or anything. I knew this dish was one of the easiest there was.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t heard of anything like it,¡± Draco started. ¡°Sounds delicious though.¡±

    ¡°Oh, but it is,¡± I spoke. ¡°The best part is that you can make endless variations regarding the toppings. All kinds of fish, meat, vegetables, cheese, hell, even fruit is used.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°Here is a fun story. There is a certain fruit in my world called pineapple. Now, there are some people who put it on pizza...¡±

    I chuckled again and started laughing.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Velariah asked with a smile.

    ¡°For some reason, it is seen as a grave sin to put it on pizza by a fair deal of the population.¡±

    ¡°Your old world sure is weird,¡± Velariah said, an incredulous expression on her face.

    ¡°I have to be honest though. A lot of it has grown way out of proportion. It seems to be a trend that people are eager to go with. It¡¯s more of a joke than anything else.¡±

    ¡°You otherworld humans are crazy, you know that?¡± Seralyn said.

    ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯m not human anymore, though,¡± I replied.

    ¡°What is this¡­ Pineapple you speak of, anyway? I haven¡¯t heard about it,¡± Draco asked.

    ¡°In almost any other language besides my own, it¡¯s called ¡®ananas¡¯, or something that very closely resembles that. Do you happen to know that, by any chance?¡±

    Draco shook his head.

    Oof. This was going to be tough.

    I ate my last bell pepper while I thought of a good way to explain what a pineapple looked like.

    ¡°Well,¡± I started when I finished my dinner. ¡°It¡¯s a fruit with somewhat of a hard¡­ outer layer.¡±

    I started making gestures with my hands to indicate their size.

    Having four hands was crazy handy. I didn¡¯t even have to move my hands after I had them in place.

    ¡°They are about this big and have strong leaves sticking out on top of the fruit. The outer layer is somewhat prickly. I could draw it if you guys want me to?¡±

    ¡°I already know what fruit you¡¯re talking about,¡± Velariah laughed. ¡°We get them transported to Dawnleaf sometimes. They are yellow on the inside right? And very sweet.¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s as I expected. They are called Conefruit.¡±

    ¡°Conefruit? That¡¯s even worse than pineapple!¡± I laughed. ¡°And I thought English was bad.¡±

    Nira looked at me as if I¡¯d gone crazy. She obviously had no idea what I was talking about.

    ¡°My old language,¡± I explained.

    I imagined Conefruit made some sense, though. They looked more or less like pine cones¡­

    Pine¡­ Cones¡­

    Waaaait a second...

    ¡°Is there anything special for the dough?¡± Elly asked, obviously interested. She broke me out of my newfound discovery of the likely origin of the word ¡®pineapple¡¯.

    ¡°Olive oil. Do you have that?¡± I asked.

    She nodded.

    ¡°Then it¡¯s just a matter of adding a tablespoon or two to the dough, possibly a bit of sugar as food for the yeast, and that¡¯s about it. Theoretically, you can try experimenting with different kinds of flour. I don¡¯t know what works best. I have no idea what kinds you have available.¡±

    ¡°I will most certainly try.¡± Elly seemed resolved to make this world¡¯s first pizza. I figured I would just let her have fun with it and give her all the credit for it.

    ¡°Elly, the only thing I¡¯m asking, please don¡¯t tell anyone that is not us that I was the one to invent this, okay?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Elly.¡±

    After dinner, I observed Velariah, Seralyn, and Draco play some more checkers while Nira played with Gray. Observing my friends simply filled my heart with fulfillment. After an hour or so, I decided to call it quits and make my way over to the bathroom.

    Creating silk, and having an extensive dinner after, had me feeling tired.

    Velariah stood up and wanted to come with me. I had told her she could stay here but she was having none of it. I resigned to my fate and bade the others goodnight.

    ¡°Goodnight, Miss Elania. Hopefully, we can do some more¡­ adventurous things tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Draco. I hope so too.¡±

    Nira and Seralyn bade us goodnight as well and we retreated to the bathroom.

    Faragi

    Wonder how many people get offended by the pineapple part :^)

    Special thanks to my new patrons <3

    Hopskzzle

    hansa79

    Breeze - Night

    tiffy tang

    Oryso

    Aelynn

    Necrotyr

    Hyena-Princess

    Note for TKES: Since we''re close to the end of the month, I think ill delay its publication until after the first and drop multiple chapters at the same time (5+) on first publish.

 2.6 Betting Elves

    Once we were in the bathroom and Velariah had closed and locked the door, my attention was locked on Minia. She was still positioned in the same spot where we left her, and ran a few circles when I approached.

    She felt¡­ happy that I was back.

    Poor spider.

    I couldn¡¯t believe I had just thought that.

    Yet here I was¡­

    I started taking off my clothes and deposited them in the sink as usual.

    ¡°You¡¯re just gonna leave Minia there?¡± Velariah asked behind me.

    She walked up to me and put her clothes on top of mine.

    ¡°I suppose it will be fine?¡± I said with a question. ¡°As long as she doesn¡¯t suddenly jump on me, I don¡¯t mind.¡±

    I turned to see the spider raise a pedipalp.

    Did that mean it understood what I just said?

    How did this Arachnid Communication thingy work anyway?

    I had the feeling it was still quite limited due to my evolution level being low. I wondered how much I could communicate with Minia if I evolved.

    Never, ever, would I have imagined myself somewhat looking forward to this¡­

    Velariah jumped into the hammock as I stared at the spider, trying to understand what it was feeling.

    It made me wonder if all spiders would react to me the way this one had.

    Maybe I had been too harsh on the Hellspiders very early on in my journey¡­

    ¡°You coming, El?¡± Velariah asked.

    I nodded as I stepped into the hammock. I gave one last look to Minia before I turned my attention to Velariah¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Vel, don¡¯t look at me like that¡­ Those eyes of yours¡­ I can¡¯t resist them, you know?¡±

    ¡°You like them that much?¡± She asked with a smile as I started to place my front two sets of legs around her frame, my pedipalps joining them.

    I nodded. ¡°I truly do. They are beautiful. Where did the blue come from?¡± I asked.

    ¡°My mother,¡± She spoke. ¡°She had blue eyes¡­ Somehow, I ended up with one of hers and one of my father¡¯s. It¡¯s one of the few things I still have that remind me of her...¡±

    I could see her mood become slightly gloomy at the mention of her mother. I should have expected as much when I asked the question. It made me feel guilty for even asking.

    I gave her a quick kiss in an effort to distract her. The elf beneath me replied with a giggle as I moved my pedipalps slightly to get more comfortable.

    ¡°I do love yours too, El. Red really suits you.¡±

    ¡°Because of the hair?¡± I smiled.

    She nodded. ¡°It¡¯s also a color that isn¡¯t found in either elves or humans, it adds a bit of¡­ exoticness to you.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°Really, Vel? I¡¯m a freaking half spider, and you refer to my eyes as exotic? I can¡¯t believe this.¡±

    Velariah laughed.

    ¡°If anything, yours are exotic to me too,¡± I said with a smile before kissing her again.

    ¡°Hmmm, how are your arms, by the way?¡±

    ¡°They are still a bit sore, but I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m too tired to do anything.¡±

    ¡°Shame,¡± She said before taking me in for a deep kiss.

    I took hold of her hands with my upper set and placed my lower set in her hair from under her arms. I spread her arms over her head and gave her another kiss before placing my head on her shoulder.

    I loved this.

    I loved holding her like this.

    I could feel from her heartbeat that she loved it too.

    ¡°Hmmm, I can already feel your arms getting stronger,¡± Velariah teased me.

    ¡°Just you wait. I¡¯ll leave you completely helpless soon enough,¡± I teased back.

    I already knew what her reply would be.

    ¡°Looking forward to it.¡± She smiled and turned her head to kiss me once more. ¡°I hope we get to do some more things tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°You mean¡­ as in, fighting, or...?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, some of both would be good.¡±

    ¡°Temptress!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie. You love it, El.¡±

    ¡°I do.¡±

    I kissed her one last time. ¡°Good night, Vel.¡±

    ¡°Good night, El.¡±

    I placed as many limbs around her frame as I could from this position. I ended up placing three pairs of legs at her sides and my pedipalps, while still holding her hands with mine. I relaxed with my head on her shoulders and soon found my mind slowing down, feeling nothing but the elf¡¯s body and love as I was sent to the world of dreams.

    __________________________________________________________________________

    What a crappy night.

    I¡¯d never had a night this bad before. Not when I was with Velariah, at least. My head hurt for whatever reason. My arms seemed mostly fine, though. They were slightly sore but not nearly as much as I¡¯d expected.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± I groaned.

    ¡°Hmmm, you okay, El?¡± Velariah said while hugging me.

    I clapped on the lights. ¡°I need a cup of coffee¡­ scrap that, I need a jar of coffee¡­ maybe more.¡±

    ¡°Awww, my poor little spider.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for the sympathy, Vel...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She asked.

    ¡°My head hurts...¡±

    ¡°Here,¡± She said softly while kissing my forehead. ¡°Better?¡± She rubbed my eyes and I could see her smile when she stopped.

    ¡°A bit, I think?¡±

    Velariah brought my head closer and planted a kiss on my lips. ¡°Better?¡±

    ¡°Much better,¡± I smiled.

    Not really, but I didn¡¯t want to make her feel bad.

    I released my limbs and let them dangle at the sides of the hammock while trying to relax on the elf¡¯s chest.

    This was not the best start to the day.

    Velariah seemed to recognize that I wasn¡¯t feeling well. She put her hands in my hair and played with it for a while. I could even feel a faint sense of compassion coming from beyond the elf¡¯s head.

    I looked up and saw Minia staring at me from the wall.

    Could spiders feel sympathy?

    I knew dogs could, through facial expression and body language. I wasn¡¯t aware spiders had the same capacity.

    Then again, Minia had already conveyed several other emotions to me.

    I placed a pedipalp on the wall. Minia walked up to it and took hold of it with her tiny palps. It looked as if she was hugging it.

    At least, that¡¯s what it felt like in my mind.

    Maybe these conflicting emotions were why my head was hurting so much right now.

    ¡°That¡¯s so cute...¡± Velariah said as she looked at the spider.

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± I mumbled as I laid my head down on her chest again.

    ¡°El, your mind is truly beautiful, you know?¡± Velariah said as she continued to play with my hair.

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± I let out again.

    ¡°Anyway,¡± She continued. ¡°We should get up. There¡¯s a lot of things to do today.¡±

    ¡°Such as?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You know¡­ check the guild for quests, see if it¡¯s safe to go to the dungeon again. Stuff like that.¡±

    She waited for a few seconds. ¡°You want a painkiller?¡±

    I nodded.

    Velariah wormed herself from under me and jumped out of the hammock. I could hear her rummaging around in her pack before I felt her hand on my head again.

    I opened my eyes to see a small yellow vial before them.

    ¡°Here,¡± She said.

    I took the vial and pinched my nose. I quickly downed the vile liquid and felt a warmth speeding to my head, easing the pain.

    It made me feel much better.

    ¡°Thanks, Vel. I assume you still have more of those?¡±

    ¡°Plenty. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    I stepped out of bed and fished my one piece of clothing from the sink. I did my routine in front of the mirror while Velariah got herself clothed. I wanted to wait for the elf, but she said I should go to the other room already. I totally forgot she¡¯d need to use the toilet.

    I had her quickly strap the saddlebags to my spider abdomen while I equipped the pieces of armor that I had in this room.

    I shook my head at my own stupidity for forgetting Velariah had to use the toilet far more often than me as I opened the doors.

    Seralyn, Draco, Nira, and Elly were already present at the table, drinking coffee.

    How jealous I was¡­

    They were already armored, which made me wonder just how early they got out of bed.

    What was more, Valtheril was also present, and he didn¡¯t exactly look happy.

    ¡°Good morning,¡± I said. ¡°Everything okay here?¡±

    Valtheril nodded. ¡°Everything¡¯s going okay. The only issue is that Lorin went missing.¡±

    I sighed.

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t going to be easy.

    ¡°Which, in my opinion, confirms his guilt,¡± Valtheril finished. ¡°I talked to your companions. They told me you were thinking about going to the dungeon.¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°The way is open if you like. I¡¯ve completely lifted the lockdown. I think it¡¯s pretty clear who is guilty here. I¡¯ll take care of the rest. If you do plan on going there, I have a squad of soldiers ready to join you to guard the entrance.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, sir. That¡¯s very kind,¡± I said politely.

    ¡°Do you think we can take on Master Lorin on our own?¡± Seralyn asked. ¡°I mean, if he somehow turns up and attacks us.¡±

    ¡°There is no telling. I don¡¯t know what he is capable of. It¡¯s perfectly possible he kept some abilities hidden. I know him to have a nature-based healing inherity, as do all treemenders. Anything beyond that, I do not know,¡± The General replied honestly.

    He paused for a second as he sipped on some coffee. ¡°It¡¯s better not to attack him until he attacks you first. I still need to interrogate him.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Seralyn said.

    Velariah entered the room, fully armored. ¡°What¡¯s going on with everyone here?¡± She seemed to be asking the question half-jokingly.

    ¡°Master Lorin¡¯s missing,¡± Draco filled her in.

    ¡°So he was behind this. Any idea where he went off to?¡± Velariah asked.

    Valtheril shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m still trying to figure out how he escaped the village in the first place. I¡¯ve requested for the rest of the troops to be transferred here from Duskleaf. They should have plenty of supplies now.¡±

    Ah, so that¡¯s where they were. I was wondering that before.

    ¡°Some of them will probably have to sleep in the Treemenders Oak, though. I¡¯m not quite sure on the capacity in the inns...¡±

    He looked at our companions. ¡°If you guys don¡¯t mind, you could transfer your things and stay here for a while.¡±

    ¡°I have no objections. If it¡¯s the space you need, I¡¯d be happy to help,¡± Draco said.

    Nira nodded.

    ¡°Well, guess I¡¯ll be picking up my stuff somewhere in the afternoon then.¡±

    ¡°You live in an inn?¡± I asked before I even knew it.

    I thought she had her own home.

    Seralyn shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve stayed in an inn for years now.¡± Her voice broke up and her facial expression changed for the worse. ¡°Orphanage until I was old enough to join the rangers. I¡¯ve stayed at an inn ever since...¡±

    I felt guilty for asking. I didn¡¯t know this side of the brunette. An orphanage she said? That certainly explained a few things about her behavior. I wondered what caused her to end up there¡­

    I felt bad for her¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± She shook it off.

    ¡°Elly, you mind preparing some breakfast?¡± Velariah asked, seemingly breaking away from this touchy topic on purpose. She then turned to the others. ¡°Have you already eaten?¡±

    ¡°We have,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°We were waiting for the two of you.¡±

    ¡°As usual...¡± Velariah sighed.

    ¡°No problem, Velariah,¡± Elly said as she stood up and walked to the kitchen.

    ¡°As I¡¯ve already told the others... Velariah, If you plan on going to the dungeon, there¡¯s a squad of soldiers outside the guild hall. I¡¯ve put them under your command. It¡¯s just an extra safety measure for now.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, father.¡±

    Elly returned, and after a quick breakfast and half a cup of tea, we were preparing to head out when Velariah mentioned something.

    "You gonna leave Minia just like that?"

    "Well, we can''t really take her with us now, can we?"

    ¡°At least you could say goodbye. Who knows how she¡¯ll feel with you suddenly disappearing?¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    ¡°Wait wait wait,¡± Seralyn interjected. ¡°Is this Elania getting friendly towards spiders?¡±

    Velariah nodded. ¡°She¡¯s made great progress already.¡±

    I sighed and walked back to the bathroom.

    I found Minia still waiting on the wall. A faint stream of happiness at seeing me came from her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be gone for a while, Minia. Please don¡¯t feel sad.¡±

    Why was I even doing this again?

    A shocking reaction came from the spider on the wall. She raised a pedipalp and made a waving gesture, as if she was telling me goodbye.

    I shook my head as I raised one of my own to wave back.

    At least Velariah didn¡¯t see that¡­

    I left the room and looked around. ¡°Where¡¯s Gray, anyway?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s upstairs,¡± Elly said, while taking the dishes. ¡°Sleeping.¡±

    Interesting¡­

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going,¡± Velariah said. ¡°I¡¯m excited to see what Arch has in store for us today.¡±

    Now that she mentioned it, Arch did seem to have different enemies each time we visited. I wondered if that was on purpose¡­

    As if he was preparing us for the many kinds of enemies that could be found in dungeons¡­

    It certainly wasn¡¯t outside the realm of possibilities.

    ¡°If we have some time after, I¡¯d like to speak to Master Endomir,¡± I commented as we walked to the hallway to fetch our remaining gear.

    ¡°Spider questions?¡± Velariah asked.

    I nodded. ¡°He probably knows more than me¡­ well, maybe not anymore, but he can still fill me in.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good. Let¡¯s check the guild first, though. If there¡¯s anything good, I want to get my hands on it before somebody else snags it away.¡±

    ¡°Fair,¡± I smiled.

    I put on my gauntlets and took my new helmet with me. I¡¯d prefer to leave it off until we started combat. Velariah seemed to think about it the same way.

    Once outside, it wasn¡¯t hard to see that the village somewhat started going back to normal. There were far more people outside. However, the number of guards that were stationed all around was still high as ever.

    Before the guild hall stood a squad of five elite soldiers. They saluted when we approached. I saluted back as the others entered before me.

    In the guild, the Lore keeper seemed to be drowning in paperwork. It appeared she even had an assistant taking care of people¡¯s business. A young male elf was in charge of sending people on quests. He was quite inexperienced, it looked like. While I was waiting for Velariah and Draco to check the quest board, I could see that the Lore keeper had to step in a few times when the assistant only gave half the information.

    It looked a bit silly. Maybe this was some sort of internship?

    ¡°Well crap,¡± Velariah commented. ¡°Seems we¡¯re too late¡­ or too early. There¡¯s not much of interest, yet. It seems they are looking for someone to repair the village wall. I wonder what happened to it?¡± She asked with a wicked smile.

    Seralyn grinned.

    ¡°Then there are some repairs requested for some of the fencing around the fields. It appears those Borers did a number on their foundations. Hmmm.¡±

    She continued eying the papers on the board. ¡°Digging for the canal has also started. I know you¡¯re a good digger, El. Whatcha say?¡± She looked at me with a grin.

    ¡°No thanks. I¡¯d love to help with it, but I need something that benefits me. Gods, I hate saying that, it makes me feel greedy.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not greedy at all,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Your situation calls for it.¡±

    ¡°She has a point,¡± Draco added.

    ¡°Thanks guys.¡±

    It seems they were still looking at available quests and had shifted their attention over to the lower-ranked ones.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just go to the dungeon. I don¡¯t think those will do any good,¡± I said.

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Seralyn added.

    ¡°Alright, then,¡± Velariah spoke, ¡°Let¡¯s greet our assigned squad, shall we?¡±

    They all saluted again when we approached. The squad leader stepped forward when Velariah did the same.

    ¡°Sergeant Kaniar, at your service, ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°Please, drop the formalities,¡± Velariah spoke loud and clear. ¡°We¡¯re not exactly the most formal group,¡± She paused for a second. ¡°Say, Kaniar, we plan on clearing the dungeon, I¡¯d like you and your men to stand guard at the entrance.¡±

    ¡°As you wish.¡±

    He ended the salute and he and his men followed as we made for the village¡¯s southern exit.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t much of an officer, are you?¡± I teased the white-haired elf once she was next to me.

    She shook her head. ¡°I really am not. I¡¯m happy my father didn¡¯t pressure me into a military career. Guess it¡¯s a bit harder to do that, since he also chose the adventurer¡¯s life before it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been wondering, there aren¡¯t many differences between soldiers and adventurers are there? It feels to me that adventurers have greater potential regarding power, am I wrong?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you are,¡± Velariah grinned. ¡°Remember how I told you skill with a weapon can be just as important as Corium gain? It¡¯s for this reason that many people start out in the army, or at least military training, before switching their careers to full-time adventuring. Besides the obvious weapon skills, one also learns basic survival skills, and very importantly, discipline.¡±

    ¡°Discipline is not to be underestimated. That was the same with us,¡± I said, referring to military training on Earth.

    We reached the grasslands that stretched out for a bit before the fields started. Once we were off the road, Nira took to the skies. She circled overhead as we continued our trip.

    I imagined she¡¯d be completely fine flying for extended periods of time, now. If I had known my blood had special properties earlier, I could have probably used that to heal her wings faster. She had had many days of rest as it was, now. She should be okay.

    It was good to know if there happened to be a next time, though.

    I looked up at her. Her large white-grayish wings beat against the wind as she flew through the air. From down here, it wasn¡¯t hard to see she was paying attention to the forest next to us. She was an excellent scout.

    A little over half an hour later, we reached the tunnels leading down to the dungeon. We walked down the tunnels with the soldiers still following close behind us. Draco led the way with one of his special torches.

    ¡°Is this where you¡¯d like us to remain?¡± Kaniar asked when we reached the opened metal doors.

    ¡°Yes, please,¡± Velariah replied.

    We walked down the stairs when Seralyn spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯m betting on Draco to evolve his inherity next. Anyone willing to go against it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you up on that,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°I¡¯m putting my money on Elania.¡±

    What?

 2.7 Analysis

    ¡°Hey, Vel?¡± I asked, slightly agitated but also playful.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t even have money of your own. All of it is mine at the moment.¡±

    Seralyn grinned. ¡°Looks like somebody is going to be in debt.¡±

    ¡°Not if I¡¯m right,¡± Velariah grinned.

    ¡°What makes you bet on me anyway?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Just a hunch,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°She¡¯s done her fair bit of killing in the dungeon. It honestly wouldn¡¯t surprise me if she did evolve her inherity.¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± Seralyn chuckled. ¡°Not hard when Arch seems to spawn monsters that fit her well, poison and all.¡±

    She seemed lost in thought for a second. ¡°Speaking of, you should be able to use any poison that was used on you, right?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°I believe that¡¯s how it works.¡±

    ¡°So, what about the Red Death poison that was used on you? That¡¯s one hell of a potent poison.¡±

    ¡°I think so, yes. I should try it out while we¡¯re down here.¡±

    We walked down the first cave tunnel. For some reason, it was completely empty once again.

    Thus, we reached the large, open room unhindered.

    I unsheathed my blades and held my spear at the ready as we approached. The room ahead of us was completely dark; all the torches had been extinguished.

    I didn¡¯t like the looks of it. I put on my helmet as Draco and I both approached the room, with Nira holding the torch close, so we could see what was directly in front of us. Both of us held our shields before us, bracing against the darkness.

    It turned out to be the smart thing to do.

    Before we even reached the large room, a large figure pounced on the two of us from the darkness. I was ready and impaled it mid-jump, before it crashed on my shields. I forced it to the ground and sank my fangs in it. I wanted my venom to be as lethal as possible. I didn¡¯t specifically think about the Red Death poison. I hoped this would ¡®pick¡¯ whatever was most potent.

    After a very brief struggle that lasted no more than a few seconds, the animal that pounced on us was dead. Draco walked forward and blocked the way as I observed what I had just killed.

    On the ground before me, was a lioness.

    A frigging lion had just jumped on us. It wasn¡¯t just any lion either. Its claws had nails that were at least as long as a butter knife. I winced when I first noticed them. I imagined those could rip through flesh within seconds, causing death by exsanguination if they tore through arteries.

    Ouch.

    ¡°You guys okay?¡± Nira asked.

    ¡°We¡¯re fine,¡± Draco called from the front.

    I left the corpse and walked up to the lizardman. This beast was probably worth a fair penny, its hide alone would be excellent, but there were those claws as well, and possibly a trophy.

    That was something to worry about later.

    When we reached the doorway, the torches around the room suddenly lit up, one by one, clockwise from where we stood.

    ¡°Very fancy, Arch,¡± I said with a smile.

    ¡°Best not to insult the dungeon,¡± Velariah said from behind me.

    ¡°I¡¯m praising him.¡±

    The light allowed us to see what was going on inside the room. I was immediately left questioning how in the hell we were going to get through this.

    The lioness was not alone. There seemed to be a pride of lions inside this room, complete with three males, easily made out by their colorful red and orange colored manes.

    And they had horns¡­

    The males did. They, however, didn¡¯t seem to have the same claws the females had.

    As things stood, they were simply chilling. I doubted they¡¯d keep doing that for long.

    Most of them were sleeping, scattered throughout the room. I almost felt bad for barging in on sleeping lions.

    ¡°What the hell are Zerdanian Savannah Lions doing here?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°These are not dungeon specific?¡± I asked, noticing how Velariah referred to the region we¡¯d eventually set off to.

    ¡°Nope, they are not. That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking.¡±

    ¡°How are we supposed to know?¡± Seralyn asked. ¡°It¡¯s a dungeon. Rules are wonky here.¡±

    ¡°How much do you know about these things?¡± I asked. These things were still unknown to me. If there was anything I could know about them before engaging them, I¡¯d like to know it.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t much to know about them. The females tear you to shreds, while the males barbeque you with lightning.¡±

    Wait, what?

    I turned my head as far as I could to face her. ¡°What?¡± I asked incredulously.

    ¡°The males use lightning magic, at least the ones in Zerdania do. Their magic is focused in and fired from their horns.¡±

    ¡°So we need to either kill them, or break their horns, is what you¡¯re saying?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Hah, good luck with that. The lionesses won¡¯t let you get close. We will have to deal with those first. If possible, I¡¯d advise not breaking the horns, they are worth quite a bit.¡±

    ¡°Seralyn, you think you can get them? I¡¯d hate to deal with claws and lightning at the same time.¡±

    ¡°Possibly. I should be okay, if you can keep them off my back.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d suggest we try fighting the same way we did before,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°Elania and me guarding the doorway with Seralyn firing from behind. That way, they can¡¯t all attack us at once.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have my sword ready behind you guys,¡± Velariah said as she unsheathed her blade. ¡°Seralyn, the floor is yours.¡±

    The archer stepped forward with a nocked arrow and forced her magic into it. The arrowhead burned bright and seemed to catch the attention of some of the lionesses that weren¡¯t sleeping.

    She released her arrow, which hit its target, right in the flank. One of the male lions was killed almost instantly. I could see electricity form around its horn, but it dissipated as the beast died.

    That was a relief. I wasn¡¯t sure what to expect from an electrical attack.

    The attack from our side did draw aggression from several lionesses, and it seemed to wake up the remaining sleeping lions.

    Uh-oh.

    Lions were known for hunting in groups, like wolves.

    We were lucky there were walls to our sides, offering a fair amount of protection.

    We would have been done for, if it wasn¡¯t for that one simple truth.

    We had about five lionesses making their way to us while the rest of the pride watched us from a distance. All in all, I estimated there to be a dozen or so females.

    Three of them pounced on us.

    I managed to impale one of them with my spear and pump venom into the creature with my fangs, as another slashed away at the carapace below my human torso. The last one was occupied with Draco.

    I could hear a few slams from his shields and roars of pain coming from the target he was in combat with, but I was focused on what was going on in front of me.

    As soon as the lioness that jumped upon me fell victim to my venom, the next one was already swiping at me. I managed to stab it with my two blades, causing it to stop in mid-air as it impaled itself. Its claws continued to scratch as it slowly died, hitting my new vambraces with its long nails.

    I had never been happier to stop by Dworag¡­

    As it died, I stabbed the one under my human parts with my spear and brought my fangs down again, injecting yet another lethal dose of venom.

    As it died, I felt a terrible headache returning, combined with slight drowsiness.

    Not now...

    White light glowed to my side, followed by the roar of another dying lion. I assumed that was Velariah¡¯s work.

    Another arrow was fired and barely missed my side. One of the lions waiting was struck down by an arrow to its head. The arrow promptly caught fire, as the dragon-blessing was activated, setting the already dead beast on fire.

    Speaking of overkill¡­

    ¡°Please be a bit more careful,¡± I called out. ¡°I¡¯d hate to get an arrow in my back.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine with your armor, but don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t hit you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m worried about something else right now,¡± I spoke as I felt another wave of drowsiness hit. ¡°I think my evolution just triggered. We need to finish this fast.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t rush things,¡± Draco said. ¡°That would be a mistake.¡±

    There was a bit of quiet in the battle as neither side made a move. Draco and I still stood at the ready to deal with any possible attack. We¡¯d killed off half a dozen of the lionesses and there was half a dozen to go. They seemed to stare us down.

    One of them pounced and found itself impaled on my spear. Another one followed directly afterward and was stopped by my shields. As I knocked it to the ground, Velariah stabbed her blade into the beast¡¯s head, instantly killing it.

    From the corner of my eye, I saw one of the male lions standing at the back. Its horn started to glow slightly and I saw crackling in the air surrounding it.

    ¡°Brace!¡± Velariah called out behind me.

    I did just that. I raised my shields to protect myself from a ranged attack as another lioness saw that as an opening and pounced at my chitinous lower part. That was a bad idea, I could just sink my fangs in it and¡ª

    My shield got struck by lightning. A bolt the size of my fist impacted the steel. The metal conducted electricity all the way through my arms and upper body. My shields were jerked upward, and a second bolt impacted the area where my human torso fused with my spider parts.

    My human parts were jerked backward to my spider abdomen and my arms went limp.

    I couldn¡¯t move them anymore.

    ¡°El!¡± Velariah shouted.

    Fuck.

    An inherity-powered arrow shot past me in the direction of where the attack that had just struck me came from. At the same time, another lioness pounced on me, dead-set on slicing me in the small area of my human torso that was now revealed.

    I found that I could still move my spider parts and raised my front four legs in an effort to stop the attack aimed at me.

    I could still see what was going on before me with the necessary strain on my eyes as I had to look all the way down.

    The lioness was stopped by my legs and Draco transformed into his black-scaled version and brought an axe down behind the beast¡¯s head.

    He didn¡¯t fully cleave through it. I assumed that was because I held its body with my legs, but he seemed to do a good amount of damage judging from the amount of blood that oozed from the beast¡¯s neck.

    Velariah stepped forward while I felt magic coursing through me. This wasn¡¯t the numbing kind, instead, it was warm.

    That must be Nira¡¯s.

    Meanwhile, the lion that was clawing away at my carapace was still there. Seeing as I could still move my lower body, I grabbed it with my legs and palps and sank my fangs into it, feeling the last reserves of venom being drained to kill it.

    Another flash of white came from my peripheral vision, and another roar of pain from one of the lions was heard. After that, came another flash of red that followed an arrow impacting something close to the front.

    I slowly felt sensation return to my arms as Nira was working behind me.

    ¡°Just one more,¡± Velariah called out. ¡°You hanging in there, El?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m hanging alright,¡± I commented on my situation. I still wasn¡¯t able to pull my human torso back up. Not only that, but the exhaustion was starting to become harder to deal with. My headache seemed to be getting worse too, despite Nira¡¯s efforts to heal me.

    Fuck¡­

    ¡°I¡¯ll get it,¡± Seralyn said as she fired an arrow.

    I couldn¡¯t see whether it had hit or not. A roar came from where it was aimed and I saw the lion run up to us, ready to impale the first of us it ran into with its horn.

    I found some strength returning and raised my human torso slightly to see what was going on clearly.

    Draco was still in his black-scaled form and bashed the lion¡¯s head with his left shield, before bringing down his axe with his right hand with such force that it severed its head.

    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡±

    I saw Draco¡¯s black-scaled form briefly emit a white light before dimming back to black. When he turned around, I saw him reaching for his head.

    ¡°Was that what I think it was?¡± Seralyn asked.

    Draco nodded.

    ¡°Seems you owe me, Velariah,¡± She grinned.

    ¡°Hold on a second. Didn¡¯t Elania say she evolved her inherity earlier?¡±

    I nodded with the tiny bit of strength I could. Nira still let her magic flow through me and I found myself slowly rising up as strength returned to my torso.

    ¡°I did.¡±

    ¡°Means you owe me, Seralyn. She was first.¡±

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    A loud roar came from the room and I looked to see what had caused it.

    In the middle of the large open room, at the center of the circle. stood something that resembled a massive lion, except that it had wings like a dragon. Its manes were red like fire and when it roared again, I could see some flames coming from its maw.

    What the hell was that thing?

    It roared again and a fireball impacted the wall next to the doorway.

    I wasn¡¯t going to be able to fight¡­

    Not with an evolution kicking in¡­

    ¡°We should get out of here, quickly,¡± I spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much longer I¡¯ll last.¡±

    Without a word, we made our way back through the cave tunnel leading up to the large room. I still couldn¡¯t move my human torso too much, but I could at least see where I was going. Besides, I didn¡¯t need it to move anyway.

    I imagined the sight must have been hilarious. I was still bent over backward as I ran up the stairs. Once I was at the top, I could feel the waiting guards throw a few odd glances at me.

    The worst part was that I didn¡¯t want to raise my human body. I just wanted to lie down and drift away into sleep...

    My headache only served to fuel my desire to just knock myself out.

    ¡°We¡¯re going back to Dawnleaf. Thank you for guarding the entrance. Did anything show up?¡±

    ¡°Not a soul, Ma¡¯am,¡± Sergeant Kaniar said. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re fine. Elania here got paralyzed by lightning¡­ well¡­ part of her did.¡±

    Why was it always me?

    To be fair, I didn¡¯t expect this kind of effect. I guessed if this was what lightning magic did, it was best for me to be the one to get hit. I could still move¡­

    I was still cursing in my mind at the worst possible timing for my evolution to trigger. If this was how things were going to be, I could get myself into some real trouble one day¡­

    Kaniar led the way out of the tunnels with a magical torch of his own.

    Nira was positioned on my back, healing me as we walked towards the village at a brisk pace. Her healing certainly got rid of the paralysis effect. After some time, I walked upright again and was able to move my arms around. Seralyn handed me my scabbards which I used to sheath my blades once more.

    Walking became increasingly difficult. I found myself slowing down as the headache and exhaustion wrecked my entire body. Not even an energy potion helped to stave off my imminent collapse. In fact, it only made the pain in my head worse.

    The adverse reaction made me decline the painkiller potion that Velariah offered me.

    I barely made it to the cobblestone road near the village before I collapsed, my legs giving out from under me. Velariah¡¯s arms broke my fall before my head would have hit the stones. I thanked her in my mind before my world blacked out.

    _______________________________________________________________________

    I was standing before the Hellspider Queen that guarded Arch¡¯s Core Room.

    The spider clicked its fangs together but the gesture didn¡¯t freak me out as much as it would have before.

    ¡°Arch?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you in my dreams again?¡±

    The dream was so vivid. I could see everything before me clearly. I could recall myself getting exhausted, and ultimately, passing out. My presence here in front of the spider confirmed this was another lucid dream.

    ¡°I am.¡± The voice of the queen entered my mind. ¡°It would appear our communication has become¡­ easier. I have to use far less strength than I had to before to uphold our mental link.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s neat, I guess? Was there anything you wanted to talk about?¡±

    I decided to get straight to the point. I knew the experience of time in dreams could be iffy. Who knew how long I had before I would be pulled out of here.

    ¡°I wanted to let you know that I am intrigued by the progress you¡¯ve made so far.¡±

    ¡°Well, you kind of forced me into taking you more seriously.¡±

    ¡°That I did. I hope you recognize why I had to.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°By the way, what was that large monster that showed up right before we left?¡±

    ¡°You like it?¡±

    I swore I could hear Arch laugh through the spider.

    ¡°I combined the properties of several other monsters to create that. It took me a while but I daresay it provides a good enough challenge for you guys.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ You can create anything you wish?¡±

    I was starting to get intrigued by how dungeons operated.

    ¡°Alas, I can¡¯t. I am restricted to replicating whatever has entered my premises.¡±

    I was confused. It must have been visible in my expression because Arch continued.

    ¡°Some adventurers that entered a few days ago had materials in their armor that were taken from those creatures. I believe they are called Zerdanian Savannah Lions. From those materials, I could replicate the organic structures of the animals. I then took one of those creatures, made it bigger, and added some properties of the dragon that you encountered before. Ember was her name, right?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°But we didn¡¯t have any dragon material with us.¡±

    Realization struck me. ¡°Unless you mean...¡±

    ¡°Your weapons. Part of her power resides in them. It was enough for me.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°Of course the beast that was before you is nowhere near as strong as the dragon. My resources to create creatures are limited to my power. I think I did a decent job at creating it, though. It should still be somewhat of a challenge without being overly powerful.¡±

    ¡°Why, thank you. How nice of you,¡± I said with some playfulness.

    A thought entered my mind.

    ¡°Does that mean you distribute the power in a beast¡­ I mean, do you cut corners somewhere? I don¡¯t quite know how to explain...¡±

    ¡°I get what you mean,¡± The spider before me replied. ¡°Yes, that is the case. Those lions that you fought, I kept them as close to their wild counterparts as possible. Theoretically, I could make the males¡¯ lightning attacks stronger, but it would be at the cost of other properties, such as speed.¡±

    ¡°Interesting. That information could be quite useful. Thanks a lot.¡±

    ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve said a bit too much, but you and your companions have been a blessing to me. I should be the one to thank you.¡±

    So polite. Perhaps Arch wasn¡¯t half-bad after all.

    ¡°Hey, Arch,¡± I asked, suddenly remembering something else.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Do you have anything to do with that giant borer that showed up near the village?¡±

    ¡°I was wondering if you¡¯d ask me about that. That was not me. I am not quite sure how that came to be either. Perhaps if you brought some of its body to me so I could analyze it?¡±

    Fuck. I hoped there would still be something left after I woke up. Please don¡¯t let this take more than a day or two¡­

    ¡°If there¡¯s anything left when I wake up, I will certainly do that. I believe Valtheril and others were going to try to find out on their own, but if you¡¯re willing to help...¡±

    I sighed. ¡°Just promise me you won¡¯t try to replicate that thing.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t. Besides, where would I put that thing? My floors are made of stone. It would be completely useless.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s time for you to wake up. Congratulations on your evolution, Elania. I hope your new changes won¡¯t bother you too much.¡±

    That didn¡¯t sound good.

 2.8 New Changes

    New changes?

    I could only think about it for a moment before I was pulled out of the dream. All colors blended together and my headache returned, stronger than ever before.

    I woke up (at least, I think I did) but I couldn¡¯t see a thing after opening my eyes. Everything was white.

    From what I could tell, I was lying on pillows. I wasn¡¯t in the hammock, instead, I think I was on the floor.

    It would be quite miraculous to awake in the hammock. I imagined I was dragged home by my companions. Getting me inside my usual bed would be a bit of a stretch.

    I groaned because of the headache and wanted to rub my eyes but for some reason, I couldn¡¯t reach them. There was something between my eyes and my hands that acted as some kind of sheet.

    ¡°Urgh,¡± I groaned again, loudly this time.

    ¡°El?¡± I could hear Velariah¡¯s voice from beyond the door, followed by a scraping sound across the floor.

    I heard the doors open and close and saw a shadow approaching me through this weird white sheet.

    ¡°The fuck is going on? I can¡¯t see shit.¡± I complained.

    ¡°It¡¯s just your molt.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I asked in disbelief. Why would there be a molt in front of my face?

    ¡°Here,¡± Velariah said before I felt her hands on my face. ¡°Let me help you.¡±

    She helped me raise my human torso before continuing.

    The elf pried a bit with her fingers before she peeled off a thick, old layer of my skin, freeing my eyes. When she did, I was staring into her eyes. My headache was slowly diminishing.

    ¡°Why is there a frigging molt on my face?¡± I asked.

    Something wasn¡¯t right.

    I was staring at Velariah, yet my vision was also¡­ red?

    Was I going blind?

    I started panicking. Everything I could see was filled with a weird, red haze. It was as if I was looking through a sheet of transparent-red paper.

    ¡°Vel, what the fuck is going on?¡± I asked. I was quite scared.

    ¡°Uhhhh, El,¡± Velariah said as she seemed to stare at my behind. ¡°You¡¯re not going to believe this.¡±

    Her expression was one of surprise, rather than shock or fear. She placed her hands on my cheeks and started peeling off the layer of skin.

    ¡°Tell me. What is it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll show you instead. As I said, you¡¯re not going to believe it.¡±

    She continued peeling the skin off of my face until she reached my ears. She peeled off more skin and suddenly the red that was in my vision became much clearer.

    I was looking at my own hair.

    Wait, what?

    The red was brushed aside and I was looking at Velariah¡¯s intrigued face.

    Wait a second.

    Didn¡¯t she just disappear to my right?

    Why was I looking at her now?

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± I let out.

    I turned my head to the left and looked away from the elf.

    I could still clearly see her in front of me. She started giggling, too.

    Not only that, but I could see¡­ the bathtub, toilet, sink and cabinet, and the hammock, all in one field of vision and VERY clearly. There was no peripheral vision whatsoever.

    ¡°El, you totally grew another pair of eyes.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I still couldn¡¯t believe it, despite just confirming my vision had changed considerably.

    I wanted to look in the mirror. I tried standing up but failed. I forgot I still had a molt I needed to get rid of.

    ¡°Take it easy, El. Let¡¯s get you out of that molt of yours first.¡±

    I sighed.

    ¡°Seems your¡­ human parts also molted quite a bit,¡± Velariah mentioned as she moved her hands down to my stomach. ¡°Not sure why.¡±

    I looked down to see her hands removed a thick layer of old skin from my belly button and downward.

    I could also observe the entire right side of the room at the same time. This was so weird¡­

    It actually made my head hurt. Just when I thought I got rid of that headache. I closed my eyes and felt some of the pain ebb away.

    I could still see Velariah and the right side of the room. My left side was still covered by red and a sheet of molt, resulting in a blurry sight.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting dizzy...¡± I admitted.

    ¡°Just relax, El. I¡¯ll do the work. I can imagine you may need some¡­ time adjusting.¡±

    ¡°I may need more than a little time. I still have no idea what the fuck is going on.¡±

    ¡°I have no idea why this is here,¡± Velariah said while staring at my stomach. ¡°But this is sexy as hell.¡±

    ¡°Huh? What the fuck happened down there?¡±

    I opened my eyes again and felt my headache grow in intensity as I looked down.

    Small fragments of chitin were embedded in my flesh, creating a pattern. Two larger symmetrical chunks were located below my belly button, just above where my skin transitioned into chitin. From the outsides, near the top of the fragments, four smaller fragments completed something that looked like a U- or V-shape, running up above the sides of my belly button. Additional chunks were located at the sides of the larger fragments and seemed to follow the line where my body was fused.

    The whole could have been a stylish tattoo, except that these chunks of chitin were actually tangible.

    ¡°Ugh, more changes I didn¡¯t ask for,¡± I commented.

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®didn¡¯t ask for¡¯? I saw you looking at Minia when she jumped on the die and grasshopper. Did you wish your eyesight would be as good or something?¡±

    ¡°Uhhhh,¡± I let out.

    Was that it?

    Did I not quietly wish my coordination would be as good as Minia¡¯s one day? Did my body interpret that as ¡®improve eyesight¡¯?

    ¡°I think I did, by accident. Still, I wasn¡¯t expecting¡­ this.¡±

    ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be a negative thing, right?¡± The elf asked.

    ¡°My headache tells me otherwise.¡±

    ¡°I think that¡¯s because you¡¯re not used to it, yet.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vel.¡±

    Velariah rose. She sat on her knees and finished removing the molt from my human torso.

    ¡°You know, this really is sexy,¡± She said as she ran her fingers over the chunks of chitin. Her touch sent shivers down my spine as the skin was still very, very sensitive.

    ¡°What about the eyes¡­?¡± I asked, unsure what she would think about them.

    Velariah shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t mind them. Wait,¡± She moved her hands to the other side of my head and freed my other eye from molt as well. She then brushed my hair out of the way.

    ¡°Can you even¡­ close those?¡± She asked.

    My field of vision was broadened even more. I could see around me at an almost full 360-degree angle. Even my behind could be observed pretty clearly, without me having to turn my head.

    I could see all of my legs at the same time, as well, but I had trouble working out what was left or right when I wanted to move my legs while I was observing them. I found that I simply had to not focus on observing them, and instead move them on instinct as I had before.

    What a struggle¡­

    I placed a hand over my left eye and closed my normal eyes. I imagined I¡¯d be able to focus on one at a time.

    I did not see or feel anything that resembled an eyelid. I carefully moved a finger to feel the skin around my eye and accidentally poked it, even with all the care in the world.

    ¡°Ouch,¡± I let out. ¡°What do these things even look like?¡± I asked, unable to observe myself in the mirror.

    ¡°Uhh, how to explain. You know those two big eyes that Minia has in the center?¡±

    Oh no.

    ¡°Yeah, they look like that. Yours protrude out of your skin just like hers.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck. You mean I can¡¯t even close them? How the hell am I supposed to sleep at night?¡±

    ¡°With two eyes open? I guess?¡± Velariah seemed to take this a bit too lightly.

    I actually got frustrated. ¡°There¡¯s no way I can sleep properly. I¡¯m just going to get everything poking into them when I try to lie down. Fuck this!¡±

    ¡°Calm down, El. There¡¯s probably something that prevents that.¡±

    ¡°You want me to put a cup over them when I try to sleep or what?¡±

    ¡°El, calm down.¡±

    ¡°How am I supposed to calm down when I¡¯m going to die of insomnia?¡± I continued my rant.

    ¡°EL!¡± Velariah practically shouted, causing me to react with shock.

    ¡°Chill, El. You¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    I looked down at her lap and spoke softly. ¡°I hope.¡±

    ¡°Shhh, you¡¯ll be fine,¡± She said softly as she hugged me, her hands on the back of my head.

    ¡°I am truly a freak now...¡± I continued with my soft voice.

    Even if this was a biological advantage. I probably looked ridiculous¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°And you know I don¡¯t care.¡±

    I nodded slightly. ¡°I know...¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get you out of your old skin so you can look for yourself, shall we?¡±

    I nodded again.

    I let Velariah do as she wanted. She seemed to be taking this quite seriously this time around, mirroring my current mood.

    She started with one of my legs and tried removing the molt, to no avail.

    ¡°Uh, El. I don¡¯t know how to say this, but your molt is quite¡­ tough.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s¡­ hard, tough.¡±

    I pulled a leg in front of me and noticed the molt wasn¡¯t white. I should have seen this earlier, but I somehow didn¡¯t register this as being off. My leg looked exactly the same as before my evolution. I knew, however, there was a layer that needed removing.

    Come to think of it, why didn¡¯t my earlier molts look like this? What came off then was more or less what one would expect from a snake.

    Was I just that stupid at the time?

    I never even thought about it.

    ¡°Uhhhh,¡± I let out. ¡°How do I get out?¡±

    Velariah stood up and ran a hand over my old exoskeleton, stopping when she reached my spider abdomen.

    ¡°It seems there¡¯s an opening at the top where the old chitin is cracked. I assume that¡¯s where you get out, no?¡±

    Why couldn¡¯t this be like the other times? That had been far easier.

    I looked at where Velariah had her hands and noticed the narrow crack that ran along my backside.

    ¡°I see what you mean.¡±

    ¡°Well. That¡¯s one thing I¡¯ll have to get used to, I guess,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°What is?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You looking at me without me knowing.¡±

    Oh.

    I had unknowingly observed her hand without turning my head. I was still looking in front of me with my human eyes.

    That must have been awkward for her.

    ¡°How about you get on your back and then I try to lift your old skin, see if I can glide it off of you in one piece.¡±

    That brought me back to the molt that my grandmother had saved.

    If we could get this thing off of me in one piece, I imagined she¡¯d go crazy over something like this.

    I shook my head at the thought as I prepared to simply roll over. I needed some help from Velariah as my legs couldn¡¯t grip the floor too well, but I managed.

    ¡°Well, here goes nothing,¡± I let out, as Velariah started pulling on one of my legs.

    All of my legs were up in the air and I bent my human body forward to assist Velariah in pulling the old skin up.

    It seemed my body had secreted something like oil to assist with the process. The old exoskeleton slid off quite easily. I had to twitch my legs whenever Velariah reached the joints as she pulled, but it didn¡¯t go as bad as I had expected.

    ¡°How long have I been out, anyway?¡± I asked as we worked together. I forgot to ask earlier. It wasn¡¯t hard to, with all the madness going on.

    ¡°Four days. It¡¯s afternoon right now.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°At this rate, I¡¯m going to be unconscious for longer than I am awake. Any news?¡±

    Velariah freed another one of my legs. We were going through this one leg at a time.

    ¡°Not much. Things are pretty much the same as when you went into your slumber. It took those five soldiers, Draco, Seralyn, Nira and me to drag you home. I¡¯m sorry we couldn¡¯t place you back in the hammock, you were too heavy. I imagined getting the pillows down here was the least we could do...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, thanks for that,¡± I said in earnest. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to do that, though...¡±

    ¡°El, you couldn¡¯t help it. Stop worrying about things you can¡¯t help.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I should.¡±

    Velariah freed my last leg and spoke up once more. ¡°Now to get that behind of yours out...¡±

    ¡°Just hold on to it at the end. I¡¯ll try to wriggle myself out.¡±

    ¡°Good idea,¡± Velariah replied.

    She walked over to my rear and took hold of the chitin near my spinnerets with both hands. I wriggled my behind and used my arms to drag myself away from the elf. It didn¡¯t take long for me to be freed of my old exoskeleton; my pedipalps, and fangs came out cleanly in the process. This weird oil was quite something.

    Suck on this, WD-40!

    I panted as I was finally freed, exhausted after losing my second skin.

    ¡°Holy crap,¡± Velariah commented. ¡°We actually managed to get this thing off in one piece. It¡¯s kind of creepy, but also intriguing.¡±

    I raised my torso a bit to look at what she was talking about.

    Sure enough, the entire thing had come off in one piece. I never would have imagined myself simply¡­ admiring a spider molt. The entire thing looked exactly like my lower half. It was still completely black and awe-inspiring.

    And Velariah started playing with it¡­

    She placed the molt upright.

    It actually kept standing¡­

    Velariah laughed. ¡°This is awesome. I have a literal copy of you.¡±

    ¡°What are you going to do with it?¡± I asked with a smile.

    ¡°Scare the neighbors? Or maybe¡­ hmmm.¡±

    She stretched out the molt¡¯s legs, forcing the part where the old exoskeleton connected to my human part to the ground. Then, she did something I did not see coming.

    She placed herself in it!

    Velariah literally entered my old molt and knelt down.

    ¡°How do I look?¡± She asked with a smile.

    ¡°Like me? I guess?¡± I smiled back.

    She looked ridiculous.

    She then placed her hands inside the molt and raised the molt¡¯s pedipalps.

    ¡°Look at me, I¡¯m Elania, I¡¯m going to web you up,¡±

    The sight of Velariah messing around with my old skin caused me to laugh. This was such an odd scene.

    She looked behind her and observed the large spider abdomen and legs. ¡°Damn, El. You sure do carry a lot with you, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°You know it.¡±

    I paused for a moment and simply delighted in the sight of Velariah exploring my body from the inside. She even found the fangs and raised them with her hands inside the molt.

    ¡°You know¡­ I never mentioned this before, but your fangs are weird as hell, you know?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know, Vel. I didn¡¯t care much for spiders. I preferred to stay away from them. Speaking of, where is Minia?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s in her crate. I didn¡¯t put her in there. She moved into it herself. The glass top is off, so she can get out anytime.¡±

    Velariah continued observing my old fangs. ¡°I mean. These fangs of yours¡­ they have like three segments before the actual fang. It¡¯s more of a fang on a mini-pedipalp than anything else.¡±

    ¡°I do prefer to keep them that way,¡± I replied. ¡°The flexibility allows me to hide them when I don¡¯t use them.¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Velariah hummed. ¡°It also gives them extra reach, which is useful, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare make weird suggestions to how my body should change when I next evolve. Seralyn was the one that brought up the extra eyes the other day. I¡¯m going to blame all of this on her.¡±

    Velariah chuckled. ¡°I doubt we have any influence on it, really.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°Who knows?¡±

    The elf placed her hands inside the pedipalps again and raised them. ¡°I¡¯m so going to save this molt.¡±

    ¡°Do whatever you want with it,¡± I said with a smile.

    ¡°I do wonder what it¡¯s like to be an¡­ Arachne was it?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a lot of work adjusting, especially the first days. I can tell you that much.¡±

    ¡°You feeling any better yet?¡± She asked with a teasing smile.

    ¡°I am. Thanks, Vel.¡±

    ¡°You still want to look into the mirror?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll have to eventually...¡±

    I rolled myself over and stood up. Velariah was still inside my old molt as I stood up.

    ¡°You¡¯re having an awful lot of fun, aren¡¯t you?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s fun to be inside you, El,¡± She said with a seductive smile.

    ¡°Wow, that was terrible,¡± I chuckled at her horrible attempt at a joke. ¡°You must have really missed me in the time I was out.¡±

    ¡°I did,¡± She said softly as she lowered the molt¡¯s spidery limbs.

    I walked over to her and lowered myself to her.

    ¡°Do let me know when you learn how to walk in that,¡± I said with a smile before kissing her.

    ¡°Hmmm, I¡¯d love to have to learn how to walk around in this. I could return those quality hugs.¡±

    I smiled at her remark before I stood up and walked to the sink. As before, I had to not look at what my legs were doing or I¡¯d lose my footing.

    Velariah had been right when she said that my eyes looked like Minia¡¯s large ones.

    Two large, red eyes, which I imagined were larger than my human ones¡¯ full size, were located between my eyes and ears. They protruded from my skin, just like hers.

    They were huge¡­

    They were red¡­

    Seeing myself in the mirror caused my headache to resurface. I imagined it had something to do with all the signals being mixed together and then reflecting back. I had no idea how to explain this¡­

    I could see Velariah walk up to me, both in the mirror, and with my eyes.

    Holy shit, this was confusing.

    I was also surprised by the fact that parts of my ears were clearly in the way of their vision when looking at my rear, yet somehow I didn¡¯t see them¡­

    Was this the same thing that was going on with my nose, where my brain simply chooses to ignore it?

    But I didn¡¯t have two eyes at the side, so why?

    I should stop overthinking this. It only made my headache worse.

    ¡°And?¡± Velariah asked once she was next to me, looking into my right-right eye.

    What a hassle.

    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know what to make of it. Having a broader field of vision is great and all but¡­ you know, this makes me look even less human.¡±

    ¡°You know I don¡¯t care, El. I prefer you alive, you know.¡±

    ¡°Heh, makes sense. Well, I guess I can easily see what I¡¯m doing with my silk now, I guess?¡±

    ¡°There you go. It really isn¡¯t so bad,¡± She comforted me.

    ¡°And my legs...¡± I added.

    ¡°See?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see plenty, Vel.¡±

    ¡°Heh, funny.¡±

    Velariah smiled at me as she pulled on my hands to get me facing away from the mirror. She then stared at me from top to toe. I was suddenly made aware that I wore nothing but my underwear.

    ¡°Do tell me, El. How does this look with those extra eyes of yours?¡±

    ¡°Wha¡ª¡±

    She planted her lips on mine before I knew it. I closed my eyes in reflex to enjoy the sensations.

    Yet, I was still looking at her as we kissed.

    This was so weird.

    Faragi

    Thanks to all my new patrons <3 I''m doing shoutouts for you in my other story as that one is updated daily

    Don''t forget to read it if you like this one!

    The Knightly Elven... Spider?

 2.9 A Special Day

    ¡°This is so weird,¡± I said after the elf broke away. ¡°I could literally see myself kissing you.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s a bad thing?¡±

    I smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t think so? It¡¯s just¡­ weird.¡±

    I grasped for my head as another jolt of pain coursed through it.

    ¡°Ugh. It does seem I¡¯ll need time adjusting. My head can¡¯t handle all this.¡±

    Velariah brushed my hair behind my ears, carefully, so as to not poke my new eyes.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be the only one adjusting, El. Isn¡¯t your hair just frustrating?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m more worried about my helmet¡­ I won''t be able to utilize my expanded vision with it...¡±

    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s a good point,¡± Velariah replied, ¡°It¡¯s something to worry about later, though. Do you want a painkiller to deal with your headache?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t know if that will cause any side effects. I feel like this headache is my brain adjusting. I don¡¯t want to accidentally change the process or anything.¡±

    I closed my human eyes.

    ¡°Besides, if I do this, it doesn¡¯t hurt as bad.¡±

    ¡°It looks funny.¡± The elf smiled. ¡°Blindfolds will have no effect on you now.¡±

    ¡°Depends on how you wrap them around my head, but yeah. I get what you mean.¡±

    ¡°Just take it easy for a bit,¡± She advised. ¡°You just molted too. I guess we will head out for the fields?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°It seems to help my carapace. Maybe it will help me get used to this as well.¡±

    I looked into the mirror once more, my normal eyes still closed.

    I shook my head at the sight of two fully dark-red spider eyes about an inch in diameter between my eyes and ear, near my temples. It would seem my hairline had slightly receded to make place for them. They protruded about a centimeter out of my face. I imagined that was the reason why I could see so well to my sides and behind me. Only a small part directly at my back was out of my vision range. It was easily solved by slightly turning my head, though.

    Velariah saw me looking and commented.

    ¡°You¡¯re still beautiful, El. Nothing will take away from that.¡±

    ¡°You mean it, or are you just saying that to make me feel better?¡± I asked, slightly gloomy.

    ¡°No, I do mean it. Even with those weird, spidery eyes, you¡¯re still beautiful.¡±

    I turned around and hugged the elf tightly, all four of my arms and my pedipalps were used.

    ¡°Thank you, Vel. I was quite scared this would put you off.¡±

    ¡°You know you can¡¯t do that. No matter how weird or spidery you may get. I¡¯ll still love you.¡±

    I smiled and felt tears form in my closed eyes. I rubbed my eyes to get rid of them and saw Velariah put her arms around the back of my head at the same time.

    Yep.

    It was definitely awkward to still be able to see with my eyes closed.

    Velariah kissed me again while holding the sides of my head. She accidentally poked a finger into my eye as she cupped my ears.

    ¡°Ouch,¡± I let out in reaction and Velariah immediately let go.

    ¡°Oh shit, I¡¯m sorry, El. It seems I¡¯ll need to get used to that too.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±

    I looked up from Velariah to the mirror once more. ¡°I do hope these things won¡¯t stay as sensitive as they are. This is just¡­ meh.¡±

    I put my upper arms in my hair. ¡°Not to speak of my hair. I wouldn¡¯t know what to do with it¡­ I intend to hide these eyes with it when not doing anything. It would suck for my hair to irritate them all the time.¡±

    ¡°It would be perfect camouflage, though. I doubt anyone would notice your eyes through your hair. The colors are strikingly similar,¡± Velariah replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought too.¡±

    Velariah peeked over to the far side of the room.

    ¡°Say, El?¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious what Minia thinks of you now?¡±

    ¡°Hadn¡¯t thought about that yet. I wonder if my Arachnid Communication works better now.¡±

    ¡°Time to find out,¡± Velariah said as she broke the hug.

    My eyes went over the empty silk-covered bowl as I moved towards the open crate.

    ¡°I assume you have Gray somewhere else?¡± I asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s in the main room. Last I checked, he was sleeping in front of the fireplace.¡±

    ¡°What about the others? Are they still here?¡±

    Velariah nodded. ¡°As I said, things are still pretty much the same as when you went to sleep. They transferred all of their belongings upstairs. Draco is currently out and about. Nira and Seralyn are currently learning how to make coffee from Elly. I hope you don¡¯t mind her teaching them.¡±

    I smiled.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    I stopped walking for a second. ¡°Also, sleeping is putting it lightly. I had another dream with Arch in it. He told me a few things about what he could do as a dungeon. He also told me that perhaps he could analyze that massive Borer if we could bring some of its body to Arch. He told me that maybe he could give us more information regarding its origins.¡±

    ¡°Uhh,¡± Velariah thought aloud. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be a problem. The corpse is still there. It¡¯s guarded by my father¡¯s soldiers as Pylanor and others are researching it. I have to warn you though, it¡¯s starting to get a bit smelly. You may want to hurry up with whatever you plan to do.¡±

    ¡°Yikes, and here I was thinking I could take some time off.¡±

    ¡°I guess a day or two wouldn¡¯t hurt. I¡¯m just giving you some advice.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vel.¡±

    I walked up to the crate that housed Minia, to see her appear on the edge the moment I approached the crate.

    I sensed her emotions again, far stronger this time. No words or anything of the sort entered my mind yet, just basic emotions but less muddled.

    She was happy to see me, and also¡­ surprised.

    I lowered myself so I could take a closer look.

    ¡°You don¡¯t mind my eyes either, do you?¡±

    She was confused.

    I sighed.

    ¡°At least I know what you can see now, I guess.¡±

    I saw Velariah walk up to me before kneeling next to the crate. Minia turned to look at her with her large, frontal eyes.

    ¡°What do you think about Vel?¡± I asked the spider.

    It seems the spider at least somewhat understood what I meant. She extended a pedipalp forward and Velariah reached out a finger.

    I observed what looked like a mini high-five.

    I smiled at the sight.

    Maybe this spider wasn¡¯t so stupid after all. It made me feel bad for hating on them all my life.

    Then again, not all spiders were as pleasing to the eye as Minia.

    I felt another stream of emotion coming from her. She thought Velariah was¡­ cute?

    ¡°This spider is hella smart,¡± I chuckled. ¡°She thinks you¡¯re cute. In like¡­ a puppy-cute kind of way.¡±

    The elf moved her finger over the spider¡¯s head, patting it. I felt Minia enjoy her touch. I was sure she would have closed her eyes if she could.

    ¡°Your turn,¡± Velariah smiled.

    I did as she did and extended a finger to pet the spider. It eagerly accepted it and enjoyed my touch. I still couldn¡¯t believe the progress that Velariah had me make with spiders¡­

    I decided to see if it would understand my commands better this time.

    ¡°Minia, can you play dead?¡±

    The spider jumped to the floor in front of me and landed before rolling onto her back and curling up her legs before remaining still.

    ¡°Well, what do you know? You can actually command spiders to do things. That¡¯s¡­ kinda creepy, but so awesome.¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± I chuckled. ¡°I imagine this would make for great torture methods. Imagine someone chained up, unable to do a thing. Then I show up with an army of small spiders that crawl all over them...¡±

    ¡°What the fuck, Elania? That¡¯s brutal.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I imagine they¡¯d talk in no time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d think so, yes...¡±

    I looked at Minia who still lay motionless.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Minia. You can get up now.¡±

    The spider rolled over once more and stood up to look at me. I decided to reward Minia. I grabbed the jar of grasshoppers and took one out to feed her. She didn¡¯t waste any time and jumped on it in the blink of an eye.

    Her movements really did make me wonder how far I would be able to jump if I practiced it. I imagined it wouldn¡¯t be quite as far, relatively speaking, because of my much larger weight.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be heading out, Minia. We¡¯ll be back later.¡±

    I waved with one of my pedipalps and Minia mimicked the movements.

    It was odd, but cute for us to interact this way.

    I think?

    I stood up and stretched my arms before putting on the shirt that Velariah had already prepared for me in the sink.

    A quick brush if my hair wasn¡¯t out of place either.

    Before leaving the room, I made sure to cover my extra eyes with my hair before opening my human ones again. I regained most of my former vision this way, except that a large part outside of my human field of vision was now red. It seemed I had already started to adjust. It didn¡¯t cause all kinds of weird overlaps anymore with a red haze before my human eyes.

    Velariah deposited my molt on the pillows before following me as I opened the doors.

    Seralyn, Draco, and Nira were all seated at the table, seemingly anxious for me to join them. There was no game or food on the table so I had to assume that.

    I thought Velariah said Draco was out?

    ¡°Good afternoon, Miss Elania. I hope everything went well?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°As well as it could have.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± Seralyn commented. ¡°It was taking a while. I was almost starting to get worried¡­ and bored¡­ mostly bored.¡±

    ¡°Everything alright?¡± Nira asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine...¡± I spoke slowly. ¡°I just need¡­ some time adjusting, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Oh my. What happened this time?¡± Seralyn chuckled as I walked to the table.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to know?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Now I¡¯m curious,¡± She replied.

    All eyes were on me, as usual¡­

    Heh, funny.

    I took my hair on my hands and brushed it behind my ears, revealing my new eyes.

    They went dead silent.

    Shock seemed to be their first reaction, followed by curiosity.

    ¡°Seems I was right, after all,¡± Seralyn smiled.

    ¡°Yeah, I remember you saying this would be the first thing. What did you say was next again? Wings, right?¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Can¡¯t wait...¡± I finished, sarcasm dripping from my last words.

    ¡°I¡¯d love to see how that works,¡± Velariah laughed. ¡°I don¡¯t think it would work, though.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by adjusting, Miss Elania?¡± Draco asked.

    I closed my human eyes again, earning weird looks from Nira and Seralyn to my right.

    ¡°All this sight is giving me a killer headache. It¡¯s less when I close my eyes like this, but still. I think I¡¯ll need some time before we head out again.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in luck,¡± Seralyn spoke. ¡°There¡¯s not much to do currently. Quests for goblin camps and supplies are being handed out again, but most of them are not interesting at all.¡±

    ¡°That means that I¡¯ll be making money with my silk again, I guess.¡±

    Velariah walked back into the bathroom and returned with her pack, which she put on the table.

    ¡°Come to think of it,¡± She said. ¡°Should we check your inherity sheet again? Check if anything showed up with regards to your silk?¡±

    I thought for a second. ¡°Not a bad idea. Where do you keep the document, anyway?¡±

    ¡°Upstairs,¡± She replied. ¡°In a safe. They are valuable papers, you know?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Totally understandable.¡±

    I could see Seralyn and Nira still staring at my right eye while I looked at Velariah with my left with my head forward, facing Draco on the other side of the table.

    ¡°You guys having fun over there? You know I can see you, right?¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Seralyn grinned. ¡°I was just wondering how much you can see.¡±

    ¡°Almost full circle around me. I¡¯m still trying to figure out how to use it exactly. It¡¯s quite disorientating, truly.¡±

    ¡°I can imagine,¡± Nira said softly. ¡°And you¡¯re sure the headache is from that?¡±

    ¡°Go ahead. See if you can find anything wrong with me.¡±

    I was fairly confident in my ability to judge things like these. Especially after going through molting. One of my Adaptive Body subskills was Healing Molt for a reason, after all.

    Velariah ascended the stairs while Nira stood up to put her hand on my forehead.

    Her warm magic flowed through me twice before disappearing back into her hand. I could see Nira shake her head at my side.

    ¡°I can¡¯t find anything wrong. Maybe Master Pylanor would...¡±

    ¡°Forget it,¡± I said. ¡°I already know what it is. No need to burden him with something so trivial.¡±

    Nira nodded. ¡°I understand.¡±

    Velariah returned with my inherity sheet and laid it on the table before walking into the kitchen.

    Oh right, there was that.

    Blood¡­

    The elf returned with the very same large knife she used the last time.

    ¡°Seriously, could you buy a new, small knife for this stuff? That one is quite frightening.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps. For now, this is the best I can do.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you hungry, Miss Elania? I thought that was one of the first things you did after molting.¡±

    ¡°Uhhh,¡± I thought aloud. ¡°Now that you mention it, I¡¯m only slightly hungry. I¡¯m surprised it¡¯s not worse.¡±

    Velariah grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I just spoke with Elly. She¡¯ll make you some omelets in a bit.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vel.¡±

    Velariah created a tiny cut on one of my arms, enough for a single drop of blood to form. I let it drip onto the paper and observed the words on it as they changed slightly.

    Name: Elania

    Race: Arachne

    Age: 25

    Inherity 1

    Toxin Assimilation

    Grants the wielder complete immunity to all venoms and poisons that have the sole purpose of directly harming, or immobilizing the body. In addition, allows the wielder to synthesize any toxins that have previously been neutralized for their own use.

    Inherity 2

    Adaptive Body

    Evolutions allow for body enhancements and improvements of existing enhancements. In addition, allows minor adjustments to be made to the physique.

    Included enhancements:

    Regenerative Blood-Multi Eye Vision-Exoskeleton Hardening-???-Arachnid Communication-Tremor Detection-???-???-???-Healing Molt-???

    Inherity 3

    Corium Enhancement

    Allows Corium to be absorbed at a faster rate than usual for self, and nearby allies. Higher evolution levels increase this speed further.

    Inherity 4

    Silk Weaver

    Allows for the infusion of magical and physical properties in created silk. New options become available after evolutions.

    Currently learned:

    Strong Sticky

    Strong Non-Sticky

    Very Strong Water-resistant

    Fire-Resistant

    Weak Steelthread

    I stared at the paper with all my eyes.

    ¡°What does it say?¡± Velariah asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

    ¡°I missed my birthday...¡± I said softly.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Velariah let out.

    ¡°My age¡­ it changed to twenty-five...¡±

    ¡°Aww, no need to be sad,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Happy birthday, El. Here,¡± She took my head and turned it to face her before she kissed me.

    I was shocked and embarrassed at her doing something like this in front of the others. She didn¡¯t do it for long, though.

    I saw Seralyn giggling to my right while Draco put on a small smile.

    ¡°Congratulations, Miss Elania. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have time to get you a gift.¡±

    ¡°Happy birthday,¡± Seralyn said, before Nira repeated the same words.

    ¡°Thanks, guys, but I don¡¯t actually know when it was.¡±

    I smiled at the positivity that radiated from my companions.

    ¡°We¡¯ll just take today; the fourth day of the sixth moon.¡±

    I never bothered to check how the calendar here worked. It appeared the moon was used as a reference, just like it had been on Earth in the past.

    ¡°I still need to know how seasons work here. That doesn¡¯t tell me much.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s summer after this month,¡± Velariah said. ¡°The first three months of the year are winter, then three spring, three summer, and then three fall.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ actually pretty easy to remember.¡±

    ¡°Your old world was worse?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Not really. The seasons were placed weirdly in the months compared to this world, I guess. Nothing you can¡¯t get used to.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Elly walked down the stairs with Gray in tow. She smiled as she entered the kitchen and Gray ran up to me. I gave him some pats and ruffled his fur.

    ¡°Anything else?¡± Seralyn asked, impatiently.

    ¡°Chill, Seralyn. I¡¯m happy to see Gray didn¡¯t freak out at seeing my eyes. Let me have a moment here.¡±

    She sighed as I gave some more affection to the wolf pup. Nira took over from me as I raised myself to check the paper once more.

    ¡°As to whether there is anything else, yes. One of the question-marked sub-abilities under adaptive body got changed to ¡®Multi Eye Vision¡¯. As if I didn¡¯t know that one yet.¡±

    Seralyn chuckled briefly.

    ¡°In addition, under Silk Weaver, My Sticky and Non-Sticky silk got changed to ¡®strong¡¯. Furthermore, my Water-Resistant silk is now considered very strong, and my Fire-Resistant got changed from very weak to¡­ normal? Then there is one new one called Steelthread which is considered weak. I don¡¯t quite know what it is, but it sounds interesting.¡±

    ¡°Sounds¡­ interesting indeed,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°I hope for you that the water-resistant version is easier on your body now. The tailor seemed quite interested in getting his hands on more.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°No harm in trying, right?¡±

    I had to admit I was mildly interested in seeing what I could do after my evolution. This whole silk business didn¡¯t bother me at all anymore. Besides, It was a great source of income.

    Steelthread sounded hella interesting too¡­

    My excitement was only dampened because of this headache. I just wanted to lie down and relax in the sun¡­

    But first, I needed to eat something. I saw Elly enter the room with a plate of cheese omelets.

    It really bothered me that I wasn¡¯t as excited about her cooking as before. Was that because of my headache?

    Faragi

    Special shoutout to all my new patrons <3

    Don''t forget you can ahead of you''d like on Patreon (Up to chapter 2.60 for TKES currently, and 2.26 for Elania) It would also help me out a great deal <3

    (Again, you get all advance chapters in any tier for the time being. If anything changes, I will look for a proper compensation and warn people very well ahead)

    If you haven''t read TKES yet, please give it a shot, I''m intending it to be quite similar to Elania, yet different at the same time. I''m very active on that one for the moment.

    The Knightly Elven... Spider?

    (Elania 2.12 is NSFW. I''m considering uploading this one on RR also this time around. Thoughts?)

 2.10 Gifts and Sunshine

    I still enjoyed Elly¡¯s cooking. It just felt there was something¡­ missing. I didn¡¯t know how to explain it.

    It made me nervous.

    I disregarded the odd feeling as a simple side-effect of my most recent molt. Maybe I¡¯d stored up plenty of sustenance before going out.

    Velariah and I prepared to move out. Draco requested permission to read some of the books that were stored upstairs, and Velariah had given him permission to do so. Nira seemed interested in the idea and wanted to join him. Elly would help them find whatever they needed.

    I wasn¡¯t quite sure what Seralyn was planning to do, but I imagined I didn¡¯t have to worry about her.

    I decided to leave my helmet behind. I could see without wearing it that my eyes would cause all kinds of problems with it. Velariah took hers with her but didn¡¯t put it on.

    Once fully armored and packed, The elf and I headed out for the fields. I covered my eyes with my hair again, not quite wanting to give this information away to anyone else yet.

    The weather was sunny as usual and I felt like it was getting even warmer than before.

    It was probably true, considering that summer was right around the corner. I did luck out in that regard, coming to this world in the most favorable season possible to get through my first few days of survival.

    This had turned into so much more than survival. I could have never imagined this¡­

    I smiled as I looked at Velariah next to me. We had already reached the fields and were currently finding a nice spot on the grass, somewhere at a decent distance from the checkpoint.

    I could still see the corpse of the massive borer we killed near the tower on the other side of the dirt road. Plenty of soldiers were guarding it, ensuring nobody could try anything funny with it.

    ¡°Has anyone else tried to go to the dungeon?¡± I asked as we reached our destination and Velariah sat down on the grass.

    ¡°Yep. Some adventurers tried their luck. That human... I believe Eric was his name, correct? He and some others fought against that monster we left behind last time. They actually defeated it too, while only suffering minor injuries.¡±

    ¡°Not bad,¡± I said as I lay down in the grass. ¡°I wonder if Arch will make another copy of it, so we can try our luck against it as well.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps if you ask him nicely. I was actually looking forward to fighting it myself. I¡¯ve never seen or heard about anything like it,¡± Velariah suggested.

    ¡°Do you know how creatures in dungeons come to be?¡± I asked. ¡°I mean, why certain creatures exist in certain dungeons?¡±

    ¡°As far as I know,¡± The elf started. ¡°I¡¯ve been told that dungeons seem to copy whatever is brought inside them. If someone brought in a boar inside a dungeon, the dungeon would be able to spawn boars.¡±

    I nodded to Velariah who was sitting in the grass before me. She had placed her pack at her side and was looking at me from above me.

    ¡°Arch told me something like that during my dream. He also said that he is able to combine certain traits in certain animals and monsters to create new monsters. These new monsters have a certain power cap that depends on the strength of the dungeon. While that thing looked quite dangerous, with Arch¡¯s current power, I imagine it couldn¡¯t have been terribly strong.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s quite interesting information, El. How did he create that thing, though? It seemed to have¡­ dragon wings? If I were to guess.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because Arch was able to copy aspects of Ember, due to our steel that was blessed by her. Apparently, some of her power still resides in the steel.¡±

    ¡°I see...¡± Velariah smiled. ¡°Also, is there any reason you covered your eyes?¡±

    The elf brushed my hair behind my ears again and my vision expanded once more, only to be filled by one of her beautiful smiles. The sudden increase in light that was absorbed by my eyes did increase my headache slightly, but I imagined this was part of the adjusting process.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind it, you know?¡±

    ¡°I just did that to not scare people in town, and to keep it secret for now. You know, with all the stuff going on that is aimed at me. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if this was a reason for someone to attack me again.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t think so. My father has been working tirelessly to find out what the other adventurers, especially the humans in town, know. So far, he has come up dry. Our only lead so far is Lorin¡­ who is missing.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯ll miss him. Unfortunately, I¡¯d rather have him in jail if he is behind this.¡±

    ¡°My father has sent a missive to the king at the royal capital. If Lorin doesn¡¯t show up anywhere within the next thirty days to answer questions, he¡¯ll be declared an outlaw. It¡¯s¡­ quite unusual for this to happen, but he has support from both Master Pylanor and Grandmaster Ineus, who also served as witnesses to the crime, and Master Pylanor to the testimony of Lorin¡¯s involvement. His disappearance doesn¡¯t speak well for him at all, either.¡±

    ¡°You think he knows about your father¡¯s special enchantment, and that¡¯s the reason he fled?¡±

    ¡°Unlikely, but possible.¡±

    Velariah crept closer to me on her knees.

    ¡°But that¡¯s enough serious talk. It¡¯s your birthday, El. You should enjoy the day.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vel. By the way, when is yours?¡±

    ¡°First day of the fourth moon. The first day of spring.¡±

    ¡°That means your birthday wasn¡¯t long before I came to this world, I guess?¡±

    ¡°A few weeks out. I guess you could call that not long,¡± She replied.

    ¡°Aww, now I need to wait almost a year before yours. At least I¡¯ll have time to get you a proper present.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the best present I¡¯ve ever gotten,¡± She smiled in a teasing manner.

    ¡°You temptress,¡± I smiled back.

    She leaned forward and I eagerly took her in for a kiss.

    I chuckled as she broke away.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Velariah hummed.

    ¡°It¡¯s so incredibly awkward to see myself kiss with my eyes closed,¡± I chuckled again. ¡°At least I¡¯ll be able to see Seralyn coming from behind me now. That¡¯s quite something, I guess?¡±

    ¡°See,¡± Velariah said. ¡°I told you it¡¯s not so bad. We can probably come up with some ideas to train this new eyesight of yours, too. I imagine proper control over it will be a huge boon in combat.¡±

    ¡°Being able to observe my legs and most of my rear should prove quite useful, for sure.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of legs,¡± Velariah smiled at me seductively. ¡°When do you plan to use them on me?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± I smiled. ¡°It is my birthday. Or so I¡¯ve been told.¡±

    ¡°Tease!¡± Velariah grinned as she hugged and kissed me again.

    I bent over forward and laid her on the grass under me. ¡°I can¡¯t really do it here, though, you know?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± She replied. ¡°How¡¯s your headache?¡±

    ¡°Honestly? It¡¯s quite bad. This bright sun doesn¡¯t really help with it.¡±

    I closed my human eyes and relaxed with the elf under me. She seemed to relax as well and spread her arms and legs.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just try to relax and give it some time. I do wish I could close them, though. I love taking in the sun with my eyes closed. It feels refreshing, especially after a molt. It¡¯s just¡­ heaven.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°Then again, if I kept them closed the entire time, there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll ever get used to them¡­ or get rid of this headache¡­¡±

    ¡°Awww, my poor spider,¡± Velariah cooed as she put her hands in my hair and ran them through it.

    I smiled at her playful naming as I brought in my front four legs to place around her frame while my pedipalps hugged her backside.

    ¡°How does it feel to be held by a spider?¡±

    ¡°Pretty good, actually,¡± She answered nonchalantly, which caused me to giggle. ¡°Though, your non-spider parts are a large part of it, I have to admit.¡±

    ¡°Soooo,¡± I started with a wicked smile. ¡°Does that make me a spider with benefits, or what?¡±

    ¡°Hum, I guess you could call it that.¡±

    I giggled at her response and kissed her once more before I spread my legs and pedipalps and simply relaxed as I closed the only two eyes I could close.

    The sun did wonders for my exoskeleton. I started wondering how I was going to have to do this in winter.

    Would some sort of infrared, or heat lights be a thing in this world?

    Auto-dimming, magic-fueled lights were a thing, so I had high hopes.

    I found out that I could still relax pretty well, despite my vision being filled with the vibrant colors all around me. My headache seemed to gradually ebb away, not nearly as fast as I¡¯d like, but progress was there.

    ¡°Hmmm, I don¡¯t mind being your benefit,¡± I said after a long pause. ¡°I love you, Vel.¡±

    I removed her gauntlets and interlocked my lower arms¡¯ fingers with hers as my upper hands were in her long, white hair on the grass.

    ¡°I love you too, El,¡± Came her response.

    I further relaxed, but Velariah¡¯s voice interrupted my daydreaming about a minute later.

    ¡°You want to work on the silk, or?¡±

    ¡°Does it look like I¡¯m planning to move anytime soon?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just wait here until you decide to let me go then,¡± Velariah smiled.

    ¡°What if I don¡¯t let you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine too, I don¡¯t mind.¡±

    I giggled and put my head next to hers. This new sight was extremely confusing. I was now looking at the grass and the sky. I was happy that it didn¡¯t appear like bright sunlight was an issue for these new eyes. Not being able to close them would be quite problematic on bright days such as these.

    Velariah brushed my hair with her hand as I took in the sunlight to allow this new carapace to harden properly. It seemed she had already adapted more than I had; her hand never poked my new eyes again.

    I imagined we lay there for about an hour when Velariah asked me to let go. I rolled off of her and placed my head on a set of arms while the elf walked to my rear with her pack.

    ¡°You wanna see what this Steelthread does?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Was hoping you¡¯d ask that. I¡¯m praying that thinking of the name will give it the properties that it¡¯s supposed to have.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± She touched my spinnerets as I thought of the name of the silk. Soon enough, I felt threads exit my body.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned,¡± Velariah said. ¡°It¡¯s literally what it says it is.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll show you in a sec. Let me finish this spool.¡®

    Interestingly enough, thinking about the name worked. In addition, I didn¡¯t have any issues producing it, unlike the effort I had when creating waterproof silk.

    A minute or two later, Velariah tapped my behind to signal me to stop producing. She walked up to me and I raised my torso to check out what I¡¯d made.

    Velariah knelt down and showed me the spool. The silk was still white, but it seemed to behave exactly like the iron wire that I knew back on Earth. The strands of it were far thinner but it seemed like Velariah had combined the four strands (I had four spinnerets) into a single wire.

    I examined the white threads and tried pulling them, but they wouldn¡¯t stretch at all. Their tensile strength was quite insane. They could also be bent in all shapes and stay that way.

    ¡°Huh,¡± I chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s actually quite interesting. I can create steel wires now, except they¡¯re white. I wonder if they are as strong as silk...¡±

    ¡°Steel is stronger, no?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Heh, no. When both materials are of the same mass, silk can withstand more tensile force before it breaks. That¡¯s about the only spider fact that I found interesting.¡±

    I split the wire into separate threads.

    ¡°I imagine if I leave them split like this, they could actually act as knives. Imagine something running into these razor-thin threads that won¡¯t bend when something hits them.¡±

    ¡°Ouch, El. That sounds pretty brutal.¡±

    ¡°It reminds me of a certain scene in a certain movie in my old world. Some guy got cut into tiny pieces by extremely concentrated beams of lights. That scene still haunts me to this day.¡±

    ¡°Wait, people die in those movies?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°No, they don¡¯t. It¡¯s¡­ complicated.¡±

    ¡°You otherworlders are weird,¡± Velariah laughed. ¡°Anyway, what do you think about this stuff?¡±

    She held up the spool in her hand.

    I thought for a few moments. ¡°I mean, I imagine this could be used in armor, no? I¡¯d say give that spool to Dworag and have him test out its properties. I am a bit hesitant to use it myself, considering that I know it¡¯s going to be much stronger after another evolution or two. At least, I would imagine that¡¯s the case. Apparently, this is considered weak.¡±

    ¡°Spider silk chainmail,¡± Velariah chuckled. ¡°And here I thought I¡¯d seen everything. Do you have any idea how long it takes to make chainmail?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°Crazy long. Do you have any idea what this would do to the industry?¡±

    I sighed. ¡°Oh no.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Velariah said. ¡°This stuff looks like it¡¯s going to be far easier to process than chainmail. I can see smiths preferring this.¡±

    ¡°Well, just see what Dworag can do with it for the moment. I imagine it¡¯s not much¡­ yet.¡±

    ¡°Sure. You want to try some fire-resistant thread next?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°And then some water-resistant, see if that¡¯s easier on me now.¡±

    And so Velariah worked on my rear as I created fire-resistant thread. As was the case with the water-resistant earlier, this was quite draining for me. It took me quite a bit of effort to sit through the process of filling an entire spool. By the end of it, I almost decided to call it quits. I panted as the elf approached me.

    ¡°You okay, El? That seems to have been rough.¡±

    ¡°It was,¡± I said. ¡°Try the water-resistant next.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? Don¡¯t you want to wait for a bit?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I want to know how easy this is now.¡±

    Velariah went to work when a question I had on the tip of my tongue earlier finally clicked in my mind.

    ¡°By the way, Vel. You have two moons, right?¡±

    ¡°We do, yes.¡±

    ¡°Then which one do you use as a reference for your months?¡±

    ¡°One of them is visible the entire night. That¡¯s the one we use.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°You only had one, right?¡±

    ¡°We did, yes. It was also used to measure days way back in the old days. I believe in some religions, it¡¯s still used to this day to measure months, but I¡¯m not quite sure about that.¡±

    I paused for a second. ¡°Did you even name your months?¡±

    ¡°We did not,¡± Velariah said. ¡°We tried to, but as usual, the humans and elves wanted to call the months differently. Hell, even the dwarves and gnomes wanted representation. Ultimately, we decided to just settle on first, second, etcetera. It¡¯s quite important everyone is on the same page when it comes to things like these, you know?¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re calling us weird,¡± I said with a smile.

    ¡°You still are. By the way, I¡¯m done here with a spool. How are you feeling?¡±

    ¡°Pretty good, actually. I wouldn¡¯t mind doing more of that, but I¡¯d suggest making at least one with normal silk, considering the strength has increased. Who knows if it¡¯s worth more now?¡±

    ¡°I doubt it would matter when you look at what this is used for, but I get your idea. Let¡¯s do that.¡±

    I simply let my body relax while Velariah worked. I had to focus on making sure I¡¯d create normal silk for one spool, before switching back to the water-resistant version. Things went far easier than the last time, which made me hopeful for fire-resistant thread somewhere in the future.

    I was certain that one would have plenty of combat applications.

    This tailor better keep quiet about where he was getting all this wonderful silk.

    I thought that, but I knew the connection between a massive half-spider walking around Dawnleaf and high-quality silk clothing was going to be an easy one to figure out.

    I hoped nothing bad would come of it. This was too easy to make money. I didn¡¯t want to give up on it.

    About half an hour later, Velariah finished and put her spools of threads away in her pack. She then lay down in the grass once more.

    I slowly skittered over to her, moving my human torso over the elf¡¯s as I moved forward.

    ¡°¡®Sup?¡± I said in the most anticlimactic manner I could, once my face reached hers.

    ¡°Damnit, El. You totally ruined it with that.¡±

    ¡°What was I supposed to say? ¡®Hello, my little elf. Welcome to my web?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, that does sound tempting,¡± Velariah smiled seductively, her eyes filled with a certain spark.

    ¡°Damnit, Vel. You¡¯re far too eager for me to use my¡­ spidery abilities on you.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s your birthday, after all. I¡¯ll let you do whatever you want,¡± She teased, before kissing me softly.

    I opened my normal eyes to look into hers, and placed my pedipalps on her shoulders.

    ¡°Hmmm, tempting¡­ I think I might take you up on that offer tonight.¡±

    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll have Elly prepare a grand meal tonight, so you can go all out,¡± She continued teasing.

    I gave her another kiss and placed my head beside hers once more.

    ¡°I gotta admit,¡± I started. ¡°This evolution was quite something, wasn¡¯t it? There has been quite a bit of improvement, especially to my silk. I wonder how fast my third inherity will allow you guys to evolve yours now.¡±

    ¡°Good question,¡± Velariah said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to guess when one evolves. I guess you are something of an exception because of what you have to go through. I would imagine that Nira may evolve sometime soon.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t my healing ability somewhat counterproductive when it comes to her inherity?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, but she¡¯ll get there, thanks to yours.¡±

    I smiled. ¡°I imagine that helps.¡±

    Things went quiet between the two of us. I simply enjoyed her and the sun¡¯s presence. Both warmed my heart, maybe in different ways, but they did.

    My headache was slowly disappearing as well.

    I smiled and kissed the elf¡¯s cheeks before relaxing deeply once more.

    Faragi

    I''ve added some art to the first chapter of  The Knightly Elven... Spider?

    I''m hoping to get some kind of collaboration going where I can add art to both stories. Make sure to check it out :)

 2.11 That Smelly Smell

    ¡°Hey, Vel?¡± I asked after many minutes.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m certain you did.¡±

    I started grinning as I was about to fire a horrible joke.

    ¡°It¡¯s true. I can¡¯t keep my eyes off of you.¡±

    Velariah burst into laughter. ¡°No way you just said that.¡±

    ¡°Hey, Vel?¡± I asked with a wide smile.

    She didn¡¯t reply. The elf was still laughing out loud.

    ¡°I have eyes, only for you.¡±

    Velariah¡¯s laugh increased in intensity. I had all my eyes open to take in more of her amused expression.

    ¡°Holy crap, El. Do you have any idea how bad these jokes are?¡±

    ¡°Pretty bad?¡±

    ¡°Worse.¡±

    I grinned. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought, too.¡±

    Velariah¡¯s laughter died down to a giggle, and then to a smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re adjusting so well, mentally that is.¡±

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s not much I can do until my next evolution. I doubt I¡¯d lose these eyes, either way. I guess when I¡¯m used to it, I¡¯ll learn to live with them, maybe like them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine,¡± Velariah smiled.

    I observed the sky with my right eye as I still had my head next to Velariah¡¯s. The red glow of evening had started to set in.

    ¡°We should get some of that borer to Arch,¡± I mentioned. ¡°It¡¯s a bit late already, though.¡±

    ¡°Hm, you¡¯re right. You didn¡¯t bring your weapons with you¡­ or your helmet. We should talk to the guards or Master Pylanor to set some apart. I imagine they aren¡¯t going to leave it there, rotting in the sun, forever.¡±

    ¡°Fair point. Well...¡± I said as I raised myself off of the elf. ¡°Let¡¯s go then, shall we?¡±

    I extended a hand to help her get up, which she accepted.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± She asked, looking at my side eye.

    ¡°Not too bad, actually. It does get better over time. This field of vision, though¡­ it¡¯s so much.¡±

    ¡°I can imagine. Must be nice to not really have any blind spots.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I suppose it is. I¡¯ll have to work on some coordination issues with my legs, but I imagine it¡¯s going to be quite something in combat, especially once I truly weaponize my legs.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, a sexy spider killing monsters. I¡¯d love to see it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re truly a succubus, Vel.¡±

    ¡°Tee-hee.¡±

    ¡°Come to think of it. You did mention you have succubi in this world, right?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We do. I just don¡¯t know where. My father mentioned them a couple of times, but all the info he got is from books. My knowledge doesn¡¯t extend any further than his.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Velariah grinned.

    ¡°You gotta be kidding me,¡± I let out, knowing she laughed at something that I never intended as a pun.

    ¡°You make it too easy, El.¡±

    I shook my head while smiling as we walked over to the towers. The massive beast¡¯s body still lay where we had killed it. As we approached the elite soldiers, who seemed to be the only ones around, Velariah pinched her nose.

    ¡°Ugh, the smell is horrible.¡±

    I took a deep sniff.

    ¡°I don¡¯t smell anything?¡±

    ¡°What the hell? How lucky is that,¡± Velariah said dumbfoundedly.

    When we neared the corpse I started to smell something too. However, this was certainly not the same thing that Velariah smelled. The smell of delicious chicken entered my nostrils once more. For some reason, it smelled even better now than last time.

    One of the soldiers approached us and asked what we were doing. Behind him came another soldier. He lowered his visor and pinched his nose. I recognized him to be Vymar.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± He spoke. ¡°I¡¯ll take it from here.¡±

    The other soldier acknowledged him and walked away. I imagined he was happy to distance himself from this¡­ delicious smell.

    ¡°Have you found out anything of your own so far?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Nothing yet,¡± The Major replied. ¡°Master Pylanor is doing his best, but this seems to puzzle even him. I do believe he¡¯s been making some major progress lately. We¡¯ll see what comes of it.¡±

    ¡°As to what we¡¯re doing here, we¡¯re looking to get some of the beast to run some analyses of our own,¡± Velariah stated, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like to take some of its body and have it cooled.¡±

    Vymar nodded. ¡°It¡¯s all yours.¡±

    He made a gesture with his hands that said exactly what he had just put into words and the elf and I approached its massive corpse.

    As we neared it, the smell of crispy, fried chicken became more and more intoxicating. I started salivating and my mind started to shut down. I knew this feeling was horribly, horribly wrong, but I couldn¡¯t control my movements.

    When we were about a meter out, I lunged to the beast, placed my legs and pedipalps on it, and sank my fangs in its flesh.

    ¡°El! What are you doing?¡± I could hear Velariah call from behind me.

    I had no idea what I was doing. My body was acting on its own.

    My venom entered the large beast¡¯s body and I licked my lips.

    Sweet, delicious chicken, how I missed you.

    I had no idea what my spider part was doing, it seemed to have a mind of its own.

    And it wanted this monster.

    My fangs were still inside the monster¡¯s flesh. My venom had stopped flowing a while ago. My body seemed to be¡­ waiting.

    ¡°Elania?¡± Velariah asked softly from my side.

    I needed this monstrous chicken. I needed it!

    I felt something enter my fangs. Liquid was being sucked in instead of pushed out. The feeling was weird at first, but I found myself relaxing.

    I closed my eyes as I started to enjoy this feeling.

    Whatever I was sucking out of this beast was being sucked inside my spider abdomen. I could feel it flow all the way to my behind.

    This feeling was one of the best I¡¯d ever experienced.

    The chicken smell seemed to be disappearing, too.

    My fangs kept sucking until I felt wherever it was being redirected become full. I was pretty sure there was some kind of stomach that was completely filled now. The smell of chicken had completely disappeared, and my rational mind started taking over.

    ¡°Elania?¡± Velariah asked again, softly.

    I shook my head and looked at her.

    ¡°What did you just do?¡±

    ¡°I...I...¡±

    I didn¡¯t know.

    But I did know¡­

    ¡°I think¡­ I just¡­ ate?¡±

    I looked down at my fangs and limbs that were on the monster¡¯s corpse.

    ¡°I¡­ I am pretty sure I just ate¡­ I couldn¡¯t control it. This thing¡­ it smelled like deliciously fried and baked chicken.¡±

    I removed my limbs from the beast and took a few steps back.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± I let out softly, while looking at my hands¡­

    I felt like I had just committed a crime. What was worse, it had felt¡­ good¡­ exhilarating, almost.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± The elf asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I think? That felt¡­ good,¡± I said honestly.

    ¡°Gee, El. I don¡¯t know how to feel about that.¡±

    ¡°I am unsure what to feel about this, either. I didn¡¯t know I could do this. I don¡¯t know if I can consciously do it. I¡­ I don¡¯t know...¡± I almost whispered the last part.

    I paused for a second as my mood worsened.

    ¡°I¡­ I lost control. Vel, I lost control.¡± I started panicking.

    ¡°Easy, El.¡±

    ¡°Vel, I couldn¡¯t control it...¡±

    The elf reached to my waist and pulled me down with her hands to hug me.

    ¡°I¡¯m scared¡­¡± I admitted softly. ¡°What if I do that to any of you?¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t. I know you won¡¯t.¡± She tried to console me with a hand in my hair and one on my back.

    I didn¡¯t know what to say. I kept quiet as Velariah hugged me.

    ¡°I think you saw that thing as prey, El. I believe you don¡¯t see us as prey. You¡¯ll be fine,¡± She consoled me again.

    ¡°Thank you...¡± I whispered.

    ¡°Shh, it¡¯s okay.¡±

    Velariah¡¯s voice was so soothing¡­

    There was no way I was going to cause her any harm.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± She called again. ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t think I smell like chicken, do I?¡±

    Her joke brought a small smile to my face.

    ¡°No,¡± I whispered. ¡°No, you don¡¯t.¡±

    She broke the hug and looked into my eyes. ¡°I guess you figured out how spiders eat now. That¡¯s something, I guess?¡±

    I chuckled slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is it, spiders have mouths, right?¡±

    ¡°I think they do,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°How are you feeling¡­ you know... after that?¡±

    ¡°Honestly? I feel¡­ great. I think this is the first time I¡¯ve ever been truly full. I feel like my stomach is about to explode¡­ wherever it is.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Velariah started before she glanced over to my behind. ¡°It certainly seems to have been filling.¡±

    I turned my head a bit to the left and used my new eye to observe my spider abdomen.

    It had grown after that¡­

    I was bloated.

    I was certain the volume of my rear had increased by at least ten percent, maybe more.

    ¡°Lucky Elly, I guess. That grand banquet I had planned will have to be canceled.¡±

    I chuckled and shook my head. ¡°This is not how I imagined my birthday dinner to look like.¡±

    Velariah laughed. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re doing better already. Don¡¯t let this get to you, El. I have complete and utter faith in you.¡±

    ¡°I guess you have more than me, then.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so gloomy, El. It¡¯s gonna be fine.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    Some memories entered my mind of when my spider parts had been out of control before.

    ¡°You know, now that I think about it, my spidery parts seem to be very fond of you. Remember the times I couldn¡¯t control them? Alcohol, coffee and the like?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, they got quite¡­ grabby, didn¡¯t they?¡± She smiled.

    ¡°I think they like you.¡± I smiled back.

    ¡°Well, do tell them I like them too.¡±

    ¡°Will do,¡± I said with a broad smile.

    Velariah was such a blessing¡­

    The white-haired elf pulled out an empty vial and a knife. She walked up to the beast¡¯s corpse and cut out some organic material, which she put in the vial before corking it.

    ¡°This is enough right?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Any amount should be fine for Arch, as far as I know.¡±

    ¡°Good. Then we can get the hell away from this stinking mess.¡±

    ¡°You know what? I don¡¯t smell anything anymore¡­ This is so weird...¡±

    ¡°Lucky you.¡±

    ¡°Guess so, huh?¡±

    We left the monster behind us and walked past the guards, back to the first road. Vymar gave us a glance but didn¡¯t inquire about what had just happened. I thanked him in my mind for that.

    ¡°You have anything else you planned to do?¡± Velariah asked.

    I shook my head. ¡°I kinda just wanna go home¡­ It¡¯s getting late, I doubt there is much else we can do today.¡±

    I looked at the skies which had become dark red. It had to be evening already, and I didn¡¯t think it would take long before nightfall.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. We¡¯ll have to stop by the shops tomorrow, I think. Everything is closed right now. I do wonder what they think and how much we can ask.¡±

    ¡°How many spools did we fill again?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Eight water-resistant, one normal, one fire-resistant, and one Steelthread. I¡¯m hoping to get two gold for each water-resistant, now what you seem to be able to supply them in higher numbers.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°By the way, random question. What would the most expensive suit of armor look like¡­ price wise?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a good question. I don¡¯t quite know the answer to that. Maybe my father does, though.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m actually quite curious,¡± I admitted.

    ¡°Getting a bit ahead of yourself, aren¡¯t you?¡± Velariah smiled.

    I shrugged. ¡°Maybe I am.¡±

    ¡°There is somewhat of a problem, though. I see what you¡¯re planning to do, but keep in mind that high-level armor has its restrictions. You need to be a certain rank at the guild to be able to buy it. This system was put in place to ensure there would always be a supply for those who would need it the most.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ sucks. I understand¡­ but it still sucks.¡±

    ¡°It does. I think what Dworag is offering is about the best you can get at the moment, if not the best. You should see the inside of his shop. There are a few very expensive items lying around. Honestly, I don¡¯t even know why he has them on display, it¡¯s not like there are many high-tier adventurers here that can buy them anyway. I swear, that dwarf is just a showoff at times.¡±

    I grinned. ¡°That does sound like him. Maybe he¡¯s trying to impress the ladies?¡±

    Velariah giggled. ¡°Maybe. Who knows?¡±

    ¡°He does seem to have eyes for me, tho¡ª¡± I halted myself. ¡°Fuck.¡±

    Velariah laughed. ¡°Yup, you did it again.¡±

    ¡°Apparently so,¡± I replied with a smile.

    I shook my head and giggled as we continued our walk through the village. Velariah eyed the massive oak in the middle of the village intently as we passed. I could see an idea form in her head from the way she was looking at the tree, and then the ground after we¡¯d passed.

    ¡°Hey, El?¡±

    ¡°What did you brew up this time?¡±

    ¡°I just got an idea.¡±

    ¡°I could see that, yes.¡±

    ¡°Heh, you did it again,¡± Velariah chuckled before continuing in a serious tone. ¡°Did you have any ideas for your old molt?¡±

    ¡°Uhh, not really.¡±

    ¡°I have the feeling we could give or sell it to Master Endomir.¡±

    ¡°You think it¡¯s worth anything?¡± I asked, surprised by her statement.

    ¡°To him? Sure it is. It¡¯s a perfect molt, completely intact. I reckon he would pay good money for it.¡±

    ¡°Sneaky Vel,¡± I smiled.

    ¡°And for your next molt, because who knows if it comes off as perfectly as the first one, we could take bits and pieces of it to Dworag.¡±

    I looked at her with my human eyes. Even if I didn¡¯t have to turn my head, I wanted to convey my surprise.

    ¡°You know, your exoskeleton is tough. It¡¯s also very light. I just know it¡¯s going to be useful to him in one way or the other.¡±

    ¡°You might be onto something here...¡±

    ¡°Opportunities, El. You gotta see them, and then you have to take them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m imagining Draco using shields made from my own body¡­ it¡¯s¡­ a weird thought.¡±

    ¡°Possibly. But hey, if it works, it works, right?¡± Velariah smiled.

    ¡°It does.¡±

    We reached the mansion and knocked. As soon as we entered, Velariah put down her helmet and took off the rest of her armor. I did the same. Soon enough, we joined the others in the main room at the table.

    It seems that Draco and Nira¡¯s hunt for books hadn¡¯t been entirely fruitless. Both of them seemed drawn in by books of their own. Gray seemed to be looking at the paper in front of Nira from her lap between her wings. Seralyn was currently rubbing something on her bowstring. I think that was called waxing? I hope I recalled that correctly.

    ¡°¡¯Sup guys,¡± Seralyn was the first one to talk.

    ¡°Not much,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°Got some silk and¡­ actually, we didn¡¯t do much besides that.¡±

    Velariah seemed to think for a moment. ¡°By the way, Seralyn, do you want some water-resistant silk for your bow?¡±

    ¡°Water-resistant? That would be great. Why the hell am I even waxing anymore?¡±

    She dropped her bow on the table and Velariah reached into her pack to retrieve one of the spools. She held it in her hand for a moment before turning to me.

    ¡°I forgot to ask...¡±

    I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°Is it as strong as your other silk?¡± The archer asked.

    ¡°Uhhh,¡± I thought out loud. ¡°That¡¯s a good question. I never bothered to check. My normal silk should be stronger now than it was before, that¡¯s one thing I know.¡±

    I thought for another moment. ¡°I wonder if the ¡®very strong water-resistant¡¯ part refers to the infusing of the part that makes it water-resistant or whether it refers to its strength as a whole.¡±

    Velariah handed the spool to Seralyn, who took a thread of silk and tried to pull it apart and stab it with a finger.

    ¡°This is definitely of higher quality than the normal silk you gave me last time. I have no idea how any of this works for you, but I must thank you for this.¡±

    How kind of her¡­

    ¡°I hope you had a good time,¡± Draco said, looking up from his book.

    I wondered what he was reading¡­

    ¡°If it was with Velariah, she most certainly did,¡± Seralyn commented.

    Ah, there it was. Good old Seralyn.

    ¡°I did. Thank you, Draco.¡±

    I walked up to Gray who was peeking at me from between Nira¡¯s wings and gave him the affection his cuteness demanded.

    ¡°He¡¯s really got you in his grip, hasn¡¯t he?¡± I commented to the harpy with a smile.

    She nodded and smiled. ¡°He¡¯s a lovely little pup.¡±

    Elly entered the room from the door that led upstairs.

    ¡°Welcome home, Velariah. I¡¯m afraid your father won¡¯t be home until late at night. Should I prepare dinner?¡±

    Velariah nodded. ¡°Feel free to start.¡±

    ¡°Uhm,¡± I started just before Elly was about to enter the kitchen. ¡°You don¡¯t have to make anything for me. I¡¯m not hungry.¡±

    I felt like it was important she¡¯d know, considering the amounts she would have to make for me alone. It easily doubled the workload.

    ¡°No problem, Miss Elania.¡±

    ¡°Not hungry?¡± Seralyn said with a frown as Elly entered the kitchen. ¡°Come to think of it, you do look like you¡¯ve eaten quite a bit¡­ if that abdomen of yours is anything to go by. What the hell did you guys do?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± I started. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I want to share that. Should I, Vel?¡±

    Velariah shrugged. ¡°Dunno. Your call. It¡¯s not that big of a deal, I think.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then,¡± I said before swallowing.

    ¡°I found out that I can eat with my fangs¡­ Don¡¯t ask me why or how, because I don¡¯t know for myself. Velariah and I went to get a piece of the monster we killed about a week ago, and my body acted on its own.¡±

    ¡°Color me intrigued,¡± Seralyn said in a somewhat serious tone. ¡°What did you do?¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± I paused for a second. ¡°You see¡­ the monster corpse smelled like wonderful, delicious chicken. Don¡¯t ask me why. When I got near it, my body acted on its own, sank its fangs in, and pumped some kind of venom in the beast. A few moments later, it sucked up liquid until my¡­ I guess spider stomach¡­ was full.¡±

    Nira looked somewhat unsettled. Draco and Seralyn didn¡¯t seem to care about these somewhat gruesome details.

    ¡°Interesting...¡± Draco simply stated.

    ¡°Well,¡± Seralyn spoke. ¡°I guess that¡¯s one way of doing it. Cuts down on the time we spend at the guild if you make that a thing, too. I don¡¯t see the problem.¡±

    It was interesting how carefree Seralyn could talk about things like these. I figured she had a point, though. If I could control this, I could cut down on the time I spent eating by quite a bit.

    There was also the part where it had felt¡­ really, really good, but I wasn¡¯t going to tell anyone but Velariah about that part.

    That would be our little secret.

    Faragi

    Next chapter is NSFW. You''ve been warned

 2.12 A Present (NSFW/18+)

    Faragi

    NSFW chapter. The nsfw part is in spoiler bracket.

    I stood at the table and rested my head in a palm as the others ate. The smell of Elly¡¯s cooking was amazing, as always. Ironically enough, she¡¯d prepared chicken fillets¡­

    I sighed. My mind wasn¡¯t quite here.

    I was somewhat happy that the smell of normal food was still alluring. I was certain I could have eaten some if I wasn¡¯t bloated.

    It was but a glimmer of light in the darkness that clouded my mind.

    Talking about what happened with the others turned out to be taxing.

    I thought of what had happened to my body so far. I¡¯d grown extra eyes, I¡¯d ¡®eaten¡¯ something that I would never have gotten near in a far too macabre manner.

    My body was changing to be more and more spider-like and it had me worried¡­

    Sure, my inherity sheet said that minor adjustments could be made to my body, but what if at some point there would be nothing left of my humanity?

    I had my eyes closed in thought, the ones I could close anyway¡­

    Velariah to my left seemed to notice my mood. She didn¡¯t look too happy to see me like this. Nira to my right also seemed slightly worried, though I doubt her worry was anywhere near my level.

    My headache had almost disappeared entirely. It seemed these new eyes were starting to become more and more natural to me.

    I was probably too worried about all this, I knew.

    Even after dinner was finished, I remained quiet. I was certain the others knew how I was feeling at the moment. Thankfully, they didn¡¯t ask anything.

    I sighed deeply as the others quietly went around doing whatever. I saw Nira and Draco grab their books again, and Seralyn went upstairs. Velariah took the vial with borer material from her pack and brought it to the kitchen before returning.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to our room, shall we?¡± The white-haired elf asked softly.

    I nodded. Maybe it was better to just go to bed early tonight? I kind of just wanted this day done and over with. Maybe I¡¯d feel better tomorrow.

    ¡°Good night, Miss Elania,¡± Draco said.

    Nira repeated Draco¡¯s words.

    ¡°Thanks, guys, and I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t feel too well right now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s understandable,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    I gave Gray some head pats and scritches before heading to the bathroom with Velariah.

    I don¡¯t know why, but somehow I was looking forward to seeing Minia¡­

    Velariah closed and locked the door behind me as I stepped over the hammock. I could see Minia on the wall above the head-end of the hammock. She was happy to see me¡­ but also¡­ concerned.

    I sighed once more.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Elania?¡± Velariah walked up to me and hugged me, her head not reaching higher than my chest.

    ¡°Meh, I¡¯m just feeling down. I imagine it will be better tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Whatcha feeling down about?¡± She looked up at me with a caring look in her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m just scared. It¡¯s probably misplaced, but I can¡¯t help it.¡±

    ¡°Scared of what?¡± Velariah asked softly.

    ¡°About giving up all of my humanity. I feel like I lose more and more of who I once was. With these new eyes and a new way of eating, I just feel like I¡¯m becoming more¡­ spider than human.¡±

    ¡°El...¡± The elf whispered. ¡°You know that¡¯s not true. If anything, you feeling that way means you¡¯re becoming more of both.¡±

    ¡°You think so?¡±

    Velariah nodded.

    ¡°Your emotions are far more human than some people that I¡¯ve encountered in the past, El. I see what you mean and I know that it scares you, but you won¡¯t ever stop being you, Elania. It¡¯s one of the reasons I fell in love with you.¡±

    I put my hands on her back and patted her.

    ¡°Thank you, Vel. I¡¯m truly grateful to have you...¡± I whispered.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be here for you...¡± She took my lower set of hands and held them tightly.

    I lowered my torso and took the elf in for a proper hug.

    ¡°You really need to stop worrying about things like these, El,¡± Velariah whispered. ¡°You will always stay you. I also doubt Velineri would dare to take away from your beauty...¡±

    I managed to smile slightly at that comment. ¡°You think so?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s kind. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve caught her attention by now. Your efforts in this village are sure to have pleased her. You¡¯re helping her children, El. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll watch over you.¡±

    Velariah planted a soft kiss on my lips, causing me to relax and clearing some of my worries from my mind.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure she loves you as much as I do,¡± Velariah continued with a soft voice.

    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right. I¡¯d hate to turn into a full-on spider. I don¡¯t mind this body, I¡¯ve come to love it, but I daresay this is more than enough.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, maybe you¡¯re right.¡±

    ¡°What? You want me to grow even more eyes, or what?¡± I asked, confused.

    Velariah shrugged. ¡°Spiders have eight, I wonder why they have that many in the first place. You think they can see different things than us?¡±

    I smiled slightly. ¡°I can speak from experience that these two additional eyes don¡¯t allow me to see anything that I couldn¡¯t see before. I just see¡­ more. Much more.¡±

    ¡°Well, I think they are cute. It helps that they match your hair,¡± Velariah smiled before kissing me softly again.

    Velariah glanced over at the bathtub.

    I knew where this was going.

    ¡°Hey, El? You want to¡ª¡±

    ¡°Take a bath?¡± I finished her sentence.

    ¡°Nothing escapes your sight, does it?¡±

    ¡°Not anymore, I¡¯m afraid. I think I actually should, though. I haven¡¯t cleaned myself in what? A week? I¡¯d also like to get rid of anything that reminds me of that borer.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good point. It also allows us to waste some time. It¡¯s your birthday and I still haven¡¯t given you a present,¡± She smiled seductively while still hugging me. ¡°I was planning to give that to you after getting you nice and clean.¡±

    ¡°Damn, Vel. I can¡¯t believe you were actually serious about that.¡±

    ¡°You seem like you need it,¡± She stated matter-of-factly.

    ¡°Hmmm, I could do with some distraction. It¡¯s true that you¡¯re my favorite distraction. Thanks for lifting my spirits, Vel.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m happy I could be of help,¡± She said while hugging me even tighter than before. ¡°You don¡¯t deserve to feel down. You¡¯re too kind-hearted for that.¡±

    ¡°Stop it, Vel. You¡¯re making my heart melt¡­ maybe both.¡±

    ¡°Seems you got your humor back, good. Come, let¡¯s get you cleaned.¡±

    I undid my clothes and laid them in the sink. I prepared the towels as well while Velariah got herself undressed.

    I was quietly watching her with my left-left eye while she removed her clothes.

    I couldn¡¯t help but stare. Fortunately, there was no way she was going to notice.

    Maybe these spidery parts weren¡¯t so bad after all.

    ¡°You¡¯re staring, aren¡¯t you?¡± Velariah smiled at me.

    ¡°Huh? No?¡± I said as I innocently reached for the sponges.

    ¡°I know you were, El. Your body language tells me everything I need to know.¡±

    ¡°Well, damn...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± She smiled again. ¡°Stare all you want, it makes me feel appreciated.¡±

    I tossed the sponges in the tub while Velariah turned on the faucet. She had stripped completely nude and I was lost in her beauty¡­

    Her curves, her hair, her eyes, her smile¡­ She was already messing with my mind...

    She stepped into the tub and adjusted the water temperature before plugging the drain.

    ¡°I¡¯m so going to make a proper showerhead someday...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s some kind of vessel with holes that is placed at the end of a tube that is usually made of some flexible material. Water goes through the tube and falls down from above in small streams. I imagine it would make cleaning my huge body far easier.¡±

    ¡°Sounds interesting. Flexible material you say?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s basically an extension of the pipe that leads the water to the faucet.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s for another day. You¡¯re kind of ruining the mood, El.¡±

    I smiled. ¡°I guess I am, huh?¡±

    ¡°Come,¡± She beckoned me over with her hands.

    ¡°I thought you wanted to waste time,¡± I smiled in a teasing manner.

    ¡°With you here, dummy.¡±

    I stepped into the large tub as Velariah made space for my body. Almost immediately, she used the sponges to clean my chitinous parts.

    ¡°You¡¯re looking forward to getting freaky after this, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Velariah nodded. ¡°El, you have no idea how much I want you.¡±

    I chuckled and took her in for a kiss while she continued cleaning. My pedipalps were around her back, and I could feel her heart beating fast through them.

    ¡°I think I do,¡± I smiled and kissed her again.

    ¡°You better not get ahead of yourself.¡±

    I didn¡¯t reply to that. I simply enjoyed Velariah¡¯s touch with the sponges on my chitin. She started working on my legs.

    ¡°You¡¯re surprisingly clean. It seems we may be done here faster than I imagined.¡±

    ¡°I literally shed my skin, Vel. What did you expect?¡±

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s one way to get rid of dirt and grime.¡±

    I giggled and leaned on the edge of the tub while the elf worked behind me.

    I was curious about Velariah¡¯s wishes. She seemed like she wasn¡¯t joking about the times when she had mentioned for me to use my silk on her. Would she enjoy being stuck in webs while doing it with me?

    It was my birthday, right?

    She¡¯d said she was fine with everything, right?

    I smiled at the thought. If that¡¯s what she wanted, why would I object?

    For some reason, I was looking forward to it. I thought it was weird at first, but I loved this elf more than anything in the world. I would happily use whatever I had at my disposal to make her feel good.

    How to pleasure your elf girlfriend in another world as an Arachne? The thought made me giggle in my mind.

    I guessed I would find out soon.

    I closed my eyes and enjoyed the elf¡¯s work as she scrubbed my rear. There wasn¡¯t much to clean, but the feeling of a sponge and her hands was still lovely.

    The most interesting part was that I could still see her work because of my expanded field of vision. She seemed to enjoy what she was doing.

    I couldn¡¯t keep my eyes off of her¡­

    My human heart pounded against the wooden tub.

    About twenty minutes later, Velariah announced she was done. She unplugged the stopper and allowed the water to drain for over a minute or two while quickly cleaning herself, before plugging it again.

    ¡°Now it¡¯s time to relax,¡± She said before worming herself between me and the tub edge.

    ¡°You say relaxing, but your eyes say something completely different,¡± I commented.

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m fine with whatever,¡± She said seductively.

    ¡°Have the others gone upstairs, yet? Do you have any idea?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re waiting for,¡± She said before she groped my breasts and kissed me.

    ¡°Waiting, my ass,¡± I said after she broke away. ¡°I¡¯m going to teach you some manners after we¡¯re done here,¡± I said in a teasing voice.

    ¡°Yes, please,¡± The elf¡¯s eyes practically begged for me.

    ¡°Soon,¡± I smiled, before kissing her and lowering myself.

    I placed my front four legs around her frame as I started playing with her body. My upper hands held hers while my lower hands ran over her soft skin from her hips to her breasts. I was unable to resist, but I¡¯d wait with the real deal until later.

    I had¡­ ideas...

    ¡°El...¡± She moaned softly.

    She didn¡¯t get the chance to speak more before I already had my lips on hers.

    ¡°Shh, Vel. I¡¯m just warming you up. I have plans for you after we¡¯re done here.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, looking forward to it,¡± Velariah let out as I continued to stimulate her with my many touches all over.

    I was getting more confident with her, and it was showing in my actions. I was not going to hesitate with Vel. I wanted to make her feel the best I could make her feel.

    Our kissing intensified and at one point I¡¯d let Velariah¡¯s hands go free. She saw her chance and ran her hands over the chitinous chunks that were embedded in my flesh around my belly button. The touches drove me crazy and I started using my tongue to add more power to my passionate kisses.

    That continued for a while until I felt my muscles around my mouth tire. I slowed down and let the warm water that filled the tub relax my large body. I still played with the elf¡¯s nipples and allowed my torso to rest on hers. Our lips still touched in small kisses as I observed her with my new eyes. My human eyes had closed a long time ago, likely out of habit.

    ¡°You¡¯re the best, you know that, El?¡± Velariah whispered.

    ¡°Why?¡± I asked with a smile.

    ¡°I simply never imagined loving someone would feel this good.¡±

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s a lot to love with me in particular, I guess,¡± I said, referencing my many limbs and oversized body.

    ¡°I have to admit that it¡¯s quite¡­ how do I say this without sounding creepy?¡±

    ¡°I already know you have the worst leg fetish, Vel,¡± I said before planting another soft kiss on her lips.

    ¡°That¡¯s only because they belong to the most beautiful woman I¡¯ve ever seen. But yeah, the feelings you give me¡­ I¡¯m addicted to you, El.¡±

    ¡°Cute.¡± I smiled.

    I placed the ends of my pedipalps behind her shoulder blades and used them to massage Velariah¡¯s skin. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the additional touches.

    ¡°This is exactly what I mean,¡± She whispered.

    ¡°You¡¯re one lucky elf.¡± I grinned.

    ¡°I know,¡± She said before moaning softly. I was still running my hands all over her while hugging. I was going to make sure Velariah was the most relaxed and comfortable she could be.

    Time seemed to pass slowly as the tub was finally filled. I turned off the faucet with one of my hind legs. It was surprisingly easy now that I could actually see what I was doing. I continued massaging and stroking the elf¡¯s skin with my hands fully submerged.

    I then relaxed with my head on hers, my lips on her lips, and let time pass us by.

    ¡°Hey, El?¡± Velariah whispered after what felt like hours.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°Is this birthday of yours getting any better yet?¡±

    I smiled. ¡°It started crappy, but it¡¯s quickly becoming the best birthday I¡¯ve ever had. Thank you, Vel.¡±

    The elf put her hands in my hair and kissed me deeply.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that.¡±

    ¡°And I haven¡¯t even gotten to my present, yet...¡± I said as seductively as I could.

    Damn, I sucked at this... romance thingy.

    ¡°Hmmm, El, you¡¯ve got me all worked up...¡± She said before giving me another kiss.

    It seems my plan so far had been successful. Velariah seemed to have trouble resisting me. More than once did her hand reach out for the crevice in my carapace, but I¡¯d taken hold of it and redirected it each time.

    ¡°Patience, Vel,¡± I whispered.

    ¡°Hmmm, you tease!¡±

    I sure was. I teased her for several more long minutes, causing Velariah¡¯s heartbeat to work overtime as I fueled her desire for me.

    There was no doubt in my mind that the elf was practically begging me for release.

    ¡°Give me one minute, please,¡± She asked and nodded to the doors.

    I let go of her and she stepped out of the tub, grabbed a towel, wrapped it around her, and walked to the doors. She unlocked them and opened one slightly, peeking around the corner, before closing and locking it again.

    ¡°It seems everyone¡¯s gone to bed,¡± She said with a smile. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I have to check my own home.¡±

    I pulled out the stopper with a leg and stood up, allowing the water to fall off my body. I gently swayed around a bit to speed up the process before I stepped out of the tub, accepting the first towel that Velariah handed me.

    She dried herself quickly before assisting me.

    The moment she finished, I turned around in the blink of an eye and took hold of her hands while lifting her with my pedipalps. I then walked to the wall to the right of the head end of the hammock, lifted her, and held her up against it.

    I used my free set of hands to run fingers over her stomach.

    I kissed her passionately, my tongue making its way inside her mouth.

    ¡°Hm, is it time for my present yet?¡± I asked seductively while raising my fangs to run them over her stomach slowly as my hands moved to her hips.

    ¡°By all means, yes!¡± Velariah was practically begging.

    I tickled her skin with my fangs as I whispered into her ear.

    ¡°But my present isn¡¯t wrapped up. It kind of ruins it, don''t you think?¡± I said before I kissed her again.

    Velariah seemed to have completely surrendered. I could truly do everything I wanted.

    I loved this feeling. I hoped that it wasn''t a spidery instinct creeping in.

    I didn¡¯t give her a chance to speak. I didn¡¯t remove my lips from hers as I used my hind legs to bring sticky silk forward, nimbly passing the thread from leg to leg until it reached Velariah.

    I replaced my pedipalps under her shoulders with my two front legs. I was going to need those more dextrous limbs to stick her to the wall more easily.

    I started with the elf¡¯s legs. Silk was stuck to the wall, before I zigzagged it around her legs, moving up. I made sure to use plenty so she wouldn¡¯t be uncomfortable. I then made sure to bind her right below her breasts, leaving plenty of open skin that I could touch. Finally, I made sure her arms were completely covered. She was not going to be able to move a single limb.

    ¡°El, you tease,¡± She said with a soft moan after I finished with her arms. I could now let go of her shoulders and she remained in place perfectly.

    ¡°I like my presents wrapped,¡± I smiled before kissing her. I then used my hands to run them over her squishy breasts, pinching her nipples, while running my other set over her hips, all while lowering my mouth to her belly button, which I kissed gently.

    I held my pedipalps right next to my face on her stomach and felt her muscles twitch in reaction to all my touches.

    ¡°Hmm, and it seems you¡¯re enjoying this,¡± I cooed.

    I raised my front four legs and placed the first set under her shoulders, gripping into the sides of her back. My second set was placed behind her back, just above the straps of silk that ran under her chest.

    I gently contracted and retracted the final joints in my legs and I caressed her skin in many places on her body. Velariah¡¯s heartbeat continued to rise as I was driving her crazy.

    ¡°How does a spider massage feel?¡± I asked with a smile.

    ¡°El...¡± The elf moaned, her eyes closed.

    I continued kissing the elf¡¯s belly, I even ran my tongue over her freshly cleaned skin and inside her belly button. Velariah¡¯s muscle contractions combined with her rapid heartbeat confirmed that she was experiencing exceptional pleasure.

    I brought in another pair of legs to use on Velariah and found that despite only having one pair on the ground, I was still completely stable.

    My front set moved to hold on to her arms and I could feel her struggling against the restraints. The feeling of her struggling only served to turn me on even further.

    That was certainly some kind of spider instinct there.

    I think?

    I massaged her all over, and continued to play with her chest as I moved my lower set of hands down from her belly to Velariah¡¯s completely soaked nether regions.

    ¡°Seems you forgot to dry yourself properly,¡± I joked before I kissed her again.

    ¡°El, you know damn well that¡¯s not from bathing,¡± She managed to say before another moan escaped her lips.

    She was too cute like this.

    My hands and extra limbs were too much for her to handle, it seemed. I was, after all, using fourteen separate limbs to stimulate her.

    ¡°I never knew you were into this kind of stuff this much...¡± I said softly before forcing my lips on her again.

    Velariah moaned during my long, passionate kiss as my fingers found the sensitive spots in her groin. I made sure to move my fingers gently and slowly while rubbing her pearl.

    She was breathing through her nose heavily as I refused to break the kiss. Her arms struggled against my silk and legs with each breath she took, but even with all her strength, she was not able to even budge it.

    She opened her eyes briefly as I slowly moved two fingers inside her warm mound and all I could see in them was pure, unadulterated lust and need.

    My fangs never stopped running over her belly either, and I could feel she loved every second of it.

    I never imagined I would be using them on the person I loved¡­

    Velariah¡¯s vulva was begging for more. She was getting wetter by the second as I continued my barrage of stimulations all over, and now also inside, her body.

    I took her in for one last deep kiss as I felt her body nearing her breaking point. Velariah¡¯s tongue eagerly accepted mine and used it as her last means of offering some kind of resistance to her bindings. Nothing was left of the dominant elf that made me experience unbound pleasure not so long ago.

    Velariah¡¯s moans and nose-breathing intensified as she came closer and closer.

    I opened my mouth only for a moment to tell her I loved her.

    My fingers sped up in rhythm with her body. Velariah opened her eyes very briefly again, during which I could see her love for me sparkle before they closed again and I felt her entire body spasm as she climaxed.

    My massaging and kissing her didn¡¯t stop, and neither did her convulsions for a good twenty seconds or so. She had accidentally bitten my tongue a bit during her orgasm. It wasn¡¯t hard and didn¡¯t hurt. I think she was quite shocked herself.

    When I broke the kiss and continued massaging her body, she was still panting heavily. Her eyes were closed as she leaned her head back against the wall. I felt her limbs grow weak as all strength left her body.

    ¡°El...¡± She managed to whisper during her panting.

    ¡°Hm?¡± I smiled as I looked into her eyes when she opened them.

    ¡°El, I...I...¡± She seemed to have trouble speaking under her heavy breath.

    ¡°Shhh, just relax,¡± I said softly, before giving her small, soft kisses on her lips.

    ¡°I love you, Vel. I hope you enjoyed that.¡±

    She seemed to catch her breath after a minute or so of struggling.

    ¡°I did¡­ I love you, El... ¡±

    Another minute or so later, she managed to compose herself.

    I never knew I was that good.

    ¡°I love you, El, but I thought it was your birthday...¡± She seemed to refer to me only pleasuring her.

    ¡°And you¡¯re a wonderful present, the best I¡¯ve ever had.¡± I ignored her meaning.

    She smiled as I planted another kiss on her lips. ¡°Do you mind unwrapping this present now?¡±

 2.13 A Pleasant Surprise

    ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t expect you to be so much into that,¡± I said, lying atop Velariah in the hammock. We were still not wearing any clothes and Minia was watching us from the wall. I honestly wondered if she knew what we did earlier. She didn¡¯t seem to convey a whole lot of emotions, other than the fact that she was happy because I was happy.

    ¡°El, you¡¯re half spider. It only makes sense for you to use your¡­ spidery abilities in the bedroom.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°But still. Weren¡¯t you scared or anything when stuck in webs like that?¡±

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m never scared when I¡¯m with you, Elania.¡±

    ¡°Awww, that¡¯s so sweet.¡± I kissed the elf in response.

    ¡°Besides,¡± Velariah continued. ¡°I love how you¡¯ve grown more comfortable in all this.¡±

    I didn¡¯t reply. I simply kissed her once more as I clapped to turn out the lights.

    Finally, I could rest my eyes. This darkness wasn¡¯t a whole lot different from closing my eyes. I just needed to be careful when laying my head to the side to not poke my new eyes.

    I carefully laid my head down and found the new eye on that side to be no issue when I held it between two pillows.

    I would love to be able to close them, though¡­

    ¡°Having a spider girlfriend is truly amazing...¡± Velariah said dreamily.

    ¡°Hmm, an elf is fine, too,¡± I replied.

    ¡°Thank you, El,¡± She whispered. ¡°I hope you had a nice birthday.¡±

    ¡°I had an amazing one, mostly thanks to you, Vel. I love you,¡± I said, before kissing her once more in the dark.

    ¡°I love you too, El. Good night.¡±

    ¡°Good night.¡±

    I held on to Velariah with as many limbs as I could and held her in a tight hug. I could feel her heartbeat start to slow down as we both relaxed into peaceful sleep.

    _______________________________________________________________

    I woke up with the elf still snoozing peacefully below me. There was something that stood out, however. It appeared my spider eyes had another sheet of white before them through which I saw my red hair only vaguely.

    ¡°Vel?¡± I shook her awake in slight panic as I turned on the lights.

    Wait, she was still completely clothless.

    ¡°El? What¡¯s up?¡± She asked, rubbing her eyes.

    ¡°Did I molt again? How many days has it been?¡±

    ¡°Huh? What are you talking about? It¡¯s morning.¡±

    I brushed away my hair to fully reveal my spider eyes and saw Velariah staring,

    ¡°Oh,¡± She spoke softly. ¡°I see what you mean. No, you didn¡¯t molt, not as far as I¡¯m aware.¡±

    She looked at my side eyes with great interest. ¡°What happened?¡±

    A very specific thought entered my mind.

    Could it be?

    ¡°Can I?¡± Velariah asked as she extended a hand to my head.

    I nodded. ¡°Please do, I can¡¯t really see what I¡¯m doing.¡±

    ¡°Four eyes, but you can¡¯t see. How ironic.¡±

    ¡°I meant that I don¡¯t want to accidentally poke it.¡±

    ¡°I know, I was just kidding.¡± She giggled.

    I sat up and let my legs dangle from the edge of the hammock as Velariah got on her knees to remove this layer of what I knew as molt.

    I was still intrigued by the fact that this only appeared around my eyes.

    I disregarded it as hopefulness took its place.

    Velariah managed to remove the two plaques with ease. My vision remained unchanged.

    Now came the true test.

    I slowly, and very carefully, moved a finger under my right eye, tracing the skin that led up to it.

    Then, I felt something that wasn¡¯t there before.

    I was overjoyed and cheered in my mind when I found that I¡¯d somehow grown an eyelid overnight. I gently lifted it with my finger, trying to get a feel for the muscles that controlled it. This seemed to be how I needed to learn how to use new body parts, after all.

    I could see Velariah before me, looking at me with interest and relief. She knew that not being able to close my new set of eyes had been weighing down on me.

    These eyelids were large, though, far larger than the ones in my normal eyes. It wasn¡¯t too surprising considering these eyes were straight-up bigger, and needed more to cover them, as they also protruded a fair bit.

    I pulled down my upper eyelid and repeated the same process with my left eye.

    I had closed them!

    I had closed my eyes, and I couldn¡¯t be happier.

    I must have looked like a fool. I never imagined I could be this happy about being able to close my eyes. There would be no more hair accidentally getting in them, or anything of the like.

    I had a large smile plastered on my face.

    I focused on the muscles that I¡¯d just felt when manually closing my eyes and opening them.

    ¡°Woah, El.¡±

    ¡°Oops, did I scare you?¡±

    ¡°A bit. Suddenly having two large eyes open in front of me was a bit...¡±

    ¡°Creepy?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not really. I just wasn¡¯t expecting you to learn how to use them that fast, I guess.¡±

    I closed them again, and kept them closed.

    ¡°Sweet relief...¡± I said softly.

    ¡°You seem quite euphoric today.¡± Velariah looked me in the eyes. She seemed just as relieved as me.

    ¡°Vel, you have no idea...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, I don¡¯t. Anyway, what did you plan on doing with that silk?¡±

    She pointed her head towards where I¡¯d bound her to the wall the night before.

    ¡°We can hardly let Elly clean that up now, can we?¡± She continued.

    I sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll get rid of it, I guess.¡±

    My eyes went from the silk to the large molt that still lay next to Velariah¡¯s clothes-chest.

    ¡°What are our plans for the day? Will we invite Master Endomir over to come and have a look at that?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s that,¡± Velariah said as I stepped out of the hammock. ¡°There¡¯s checking with the tailor about prices for that new silk. You may want to check with Dworag when it comes to modifying or getting a new helmet. Other than that, it¡¯s just the usual stuff. We could go to the dungeon, or see if any interesting quests popped up.¡±

    ¡°Think your father is doing alright?¡± I asked out of concern.

    ¡°If you mean his health, he¡¯ll be fine. He¡¯s been through worse ¡ª far worse. If you mean his investigation, I reckon he¡¯s making progress. There¡¯s not much we can do at the moment, anyway.¡±

    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right. I was looking forward to going to the dungeon. I guess we have to see if we can trade my old helmet for something better suited. I doubt adjustments to it will work.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°If only I could not use a helmet at all.¡±

    ¡°Every warrior¡¯s dream. Unfortunately, they are the difference between life and death,¡± Velariah commented. ¡°Also, you should take care of your weapons sometimes, or better yet, have Coldanus do it for you.¡±

    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right, once again. I have no clue how to do it, and from what I¡¯ve seen so far, I trust his work.¡±

    ¡°Vel?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes?¡± She replied as she hopped out of the hammock and made her way to her chest.

    ¡°Where are my clothes?¡±

    The bags which held them for so long had disappeared.

    ¡°I have them here in my chest, together with mine. Here...¡±

    She tossed me a black bra and shirt to match it. I caught them and started putting them on in front of the mirror.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking...¡± I started.

    ¡°About?¡±

    ¡°Getting a different weapon. I don¡¯t feel like my spear is quite cutting it. I find it hard to use when I charge, which seems to be my most effective method of combat in open areas. I was thinking¡­ Do you have swords on poles? I have a feeling they should do nicely.¡±

    ¡°Uh, I know the weapon you mean, but we don¡¯t have them in this village. You¡¯d have to ask Coldanus to craft one specifically for you.¡±

    She put on some underwear before continuing. ¡°That would kind of make riding you pointless, though. That¡¯s not a bad thing, per se.¡±

    ¡°Hm, I guess you¡¯re right. I should get Dworag to cancel this saddle thing then. In case you¡¯re feeling bad about that, I¡¯ll probably need your or someone else¡¯s help to learn how to use it. I¡¯d prefer yours, if possible.¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll be able to help you with it, at least to some degree.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vel. I do fear I¡¯ll have to get back to training soon as well...¡±

    ¡°Oh, you guessed that right. Swinging a sword on a pole won¡¯t be easy on the arms.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°I figured as much.¡±

    I put on my clothes and continued my routine in front of the mirror. I used the time to practice blinking my new set of eyes. I got the hang of it quite quickly, although, for some reason, blinking them was highly uncomfortable. It seemed I was better off either leaving them open or closed.

    I kept them closed for now. I imagined it would be good to open them for a while to get used to them further, but right now, I was going to enjoy this.

    I finished brushing my hair and gave the brush to Velariah while I started removing the silk from the walls.

    It came off far easier than I expected, even when I used my human arms. I had everything balled together by the time Velariah finished.

    ¡°Where do we put this?¡± I asked, staring at the soccer ball-sized ball of silk. ¡°I imagine we aren¡¯t going to sell this.¡±

    ¡°Uh, that would be quite awkward. I suggest just tossing it in the fireplace when nobody is there. Here,¡± She said while extending a hand. I gave the ball to her, and she put it away in her clothes chest.

    ¡°We¡¯ll get rid of that later. You ready to head out?¡±

    I nodded.

    I was about to walk over to the door when I noticed Minia. I hadn¡¯t actually given her any time yet.

    I walked up to the small spider and reached out to her, petting her. Minia let out a flow of appreciation and gratitude which made me smile.

    I waved with one of my pedipalps and said goodbye to the spider before turning to Velariah, who was looking at us with great interest written on her face.

    We entered the dining area, where the other party members, surprisingly, were not present.

    I had to do a double take. I even opened my other eyes to see if my normal eyes were deceiving me.

    They were not.

    ¡°Are we early?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I have no clue...¡± Velariah replied.

    Elly entered the room from the kitchen. ¡°Good morning, Velariah, Miss Elania. If you¡¯re looking for the others, they are currently going through books upstairs. I was just preparing breakfast, I¡¯ll be done in a bit.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Elly,¡± Velariah said before taking a seat.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I spoke. ¡°By the way, you can drop the Miss before my name too.¡±

    ¡°Not a problem,¡± She said before walking back into the kitchen. The smell of freshly baked bread was cut off when she closed the door.

    I closed my side eyes again and moved the usual two chairs aside to make space for me at the table.

    ¡°Any idea what got them interested in books so suddenly?¡± I asked.

    Velariah shrugged. ¡°No idea.¡±

    ¡°Vel, how about you make sure that the others stay upstairs? I¡¯ll get that silk and toss it in the hearth.¡±

    ¡°Good idea.¡± Velariah stood up and made her way upstairs while I walked back into our room, stepped over the hammock, and fetched the ball of silk from the chest. Minia gave off an aura of confusion, and I told her I forgot something.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see you later, Minia,¡± I said while waving again.

    I entered the dining area once more and made a beeline for the hearth, which was currently burning low. I placed the ball of silk on the wood and it went up in flames almost immediately.

    It seemed non-fire-resistant silk was highly flammable.

    At least I¡¯d gotten rid of it quickly.

    While Velariah was still upstairs, I walked to the hallway and grabbed my helmet. I put it on and opened my new eyes to see if this piece of armor was worth salvaging if proper modifications were made.

    The top part of the helmet seemed to cover most of my extra eyes. If anything, Dworag was going to have to make holes for them. The thing that worried me most though, was the part that they protruded from my head, as such, anything even nearby would drastically limit my field of vision.

    What a struggle.

    I reckoned the best possible solution would be a horizontal slit. The problem with that was that a lot of the protection that a helmet gave would be forfeit.

    Then again, If I stood at full height, there wasn¡¯t a lot that could even come close. Spears and the like would probably be the only things that could reach me. Trolls and large enemies could still pose a threat, though¡­

    Hopefully, the dwarf would have some kind of solution¡­

    I took the helmet off again and closed my side eyes. I put it back where it was before making my way back to the table in the other room.

    Elly was setting the table for breakfast and I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. My party members entered the room, followed by Gray.

    I imagined I could have saved the ball of silk for him to play with. The thought of him playing with that silk, in particular, made me change my mind.

    I lowered myself as he ran up to me to circle around a couple of my legs before ending up in front of me. I petted him lovingly as the others took their seats.

    ¡°Good to see you doing much better than yesterday, Miss Elania,¡± Draco said while Elly walked in with the last items for breakfast; cups of coffee and one half-cup of tea. She placed everything on the table before going upstairs. It made me conclude she already had breakfast. At least, I hope that was the case.

    ¡°Thank you, Draco. Has Velariah told you guys?¡±

    I looked over at the lizardman who nodded in response.

    ¡°This is so much less of a struggle now. Though, I have to admit, seeing with only two eyes again feels a bit¡­ shallow. I don¡¯t know how to explain it.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t lying. Despite being happy I could now switch from two to four eye vision at will, using only two eyes made me feel uneasy. It made me feel¡­ incomplete.

    I imagined training would have to be done¡­

    ¡°Any plans for today?¡± Seralyn asked during breakfast.

    ¡°I think Elania and I will have to make a stop at several shops first. After that, we could go to the dungeon, if you guys want. I was kind of looking forward to fighting that thing we left behind last time.¡±

    ¡°Some other adventurers already killed it, though,¡± Seralyn said.

    ¡°I have good hopes that Arch has a spare one somewhere,¡± Velariah said with a smile.

    ¡°A spare giant lion-dragon hybrid monster. Now, that¡¯s something,¡± Seralyn grinned.

    ¡°It¡¯s Arch we¡¯re talking about here,¡± I commented.

    ¡°Good point,¡± Draco said. ¡°It¡¯s kind of a special case when you can talk to the dungeon, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°You have any ideas for monsters?¡± I asked. ¡°I could always ask him to come up with something,¡± I grinned.

    "Thanks for reminding me. I have to take that vial of borer material with me," Velariah said.

    "You think the dungeon will be able to help?" Nira asked.

    Velariah shrugged. "It''s worth a shot."

    I nodded to her remark.

    We finished our breakfast and stood up to go about our daily business in the village.

    "You guys got any plans for today?" I asked the others.

    "I planned on checking the guild for any quests," Draco said.

    "I''ll see the local bowmaker and have him string this wonderful new silk of yours to my bow," Seralyn continued.

    "I didn''t have any plans," Nira spoke softly. "I guess I''ll join Draco at the guild and wait there until you guys are done."

    "Good idea. I imagine Kaniar and his squad are waiting for us there. Do let them know we are likely to go to the dungeon today. Actually¡­ do we still have his squad¡¯s support?"

    I imagined things may have changed while I was out.

    ¡°We do,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°Until my father is certain the village, and you, are safe.¡±

    That was good to know. It was unfortunate I was still not considered to be safe, though¡­

    ¡°Right,¡± Velariah started her conclusion. ¡°We¡¯ll see you guys at the guild when we¡¯re done, then.¡±

    We entered the hallway together. Seralyn was the first to leave as Draco, Velariah, and I were still putting on our armor.

    Draco and Nira left soon after as I waited for Velariah to finish, with my helmet in my hands.

    ¡°Do you think Dworag will be able to fix my vision issue with this helmet?¡± I asked. ¡°I tried figuring out a bit on my own earlier, but I saw no easy solution.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll probably find a way. He¡¯s a smart dwarf.¡±

    ¡°And flirtatious,¡± I added.

    ¡°There¡¯s that, too,¡± Velariah replied with a smile.

    Velariah finished with her armor and strapped the leather belt with her pack around her waist before we headed out.

    The skies were cloudy for a change. It was muggy and I felt like there was going to be rain soon, possibly quite a bit, too.

    Maybe this wasn¡¯t the best weather to head out to the dungeon. Then again, I had yet to hear about rain underground. I hoped it would stay dry, though¡­

    I had all my eyes open and my hair brushed behind my ears to get further used to my huge field of vision.

    My mind was already wandering off to the beast in the dungeon. My mind was looking forward to fighting, and beating it. I was kind of disappointed another group had already managed to kill it, but I had no doubt Arch would ¡®create¡¯ another one of those monsters.

    But first, we had a round of errands to do¡­

    Of those errands, Coldanus would probably be the most interesting one.

    I was curious to see what he could make.

    Some kind of naginata would be cool, if not effective...

    Faragi

    For those who don''t read TKES:

    I have finished a rough draft of the prologue for my next (eventual) story (Plant Girl). Feel free to check it out and comment on it.

    prologue-ish

 2.14 Rocks and Firewood

    Business at the tailor was finished quite quickly. Apparently, Velariah was able to haggle enough to get two gold for each water-resistant spool of silk. The fire-resistant one was not interesting enough for the tailor, she said. However, he was going to see how well it handled heat, in general, to see if it could possibly be used for desert clothing.

    Velariah notified me she had received seventeen gold and five silver coins. They had agreed that the stronger version of the normal silk was worth one and a half gold pieces.

    I was unlikely to make more of those if the water-resistant was just as easy to make, though.

    I was quite happy about all of this. I could effectively double my daily income. I hoped he would keep buying¡­

    Our next stop was Dworag¡¯s. It didn¡¯t take long to end up behind the shop, where Dworag was eying my new eyes curiously. I tried blinking them in the creepiest way I could, but this dwarf was persistent in staying close.

    He really was a weird one.

    ¡°Aye, this is going to be an issue,¡± He commented while looking at my helm. ¡°I think I may be able to make adjustments that should suit you.¡±

    He took a piece of coal and put the helmet back on my head before marking certain areas on the helmet with the coal that I assumed he would cut out and change.

    ¡°I¡¯ll work on this for you later, Miss Elania,¡± Dworag said.

    Velariah reached into her pack, pulled out a spool, and handed it to the dwarf as I stood back up.

    ¡°Think you are able to do anything with this?¡± She asked.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± The dwarf said, eying the silk.

    He rolled off some of the thread and I saw his eyes light up.

    ¡°Steelthread. A new addition to Elania¡¯s arsenal.¡±

    ¡°This looks¡­ interesting. How strong is it?¡± He asked as he bent the threads as we did before.

    ¡°Apparently, it¡¯s still weak, according to Elania¡¯s inherity sheet. It seems to grow stronger as she evolves, so I was wondering if this would be something you could use.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to test its strength out. It looks like something that I could work with.¡±

    ¡°Will it suit as payment?¡± Velariah asked with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯ll accept it, on the condition that if Elania manages to make this stronger, I get my hands on it first.¡±

    Velariah looked at me.

    ¡°Deal,¡± I said.

    ¡°Hah, I can¡¯t wait,¡± The dwarf seemed fired up. He tried to pull the thread apart but failed.

    I had to admit, it seemed quite strong for something that was considered ¡®Weak¡¯.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to what you can do with it, Dworag,¡± I said, preparing to leave.

    ¡°And I¡¯m looking forward to what you can do with those beautiful new eyes of yours, Miss Elania.¡±

    Ah, there it was again. I was wondering when he would find the opportunity to flirt.

    ¡°Thank you, Dworag. We will return soon,¡± Velariah quickly said.

    Dworag went back inside his shop after waving us goodbye.

    Our next stop would be Coldanus.

    The question was: Is he awake?

    We walked a short trip through the village before Velariah entered the weapon shop with the idea I had in mind. I wanted a long pole with a curved sword on top. It had to be curved if I wanted it to use in charging attacks, so the blade would cut and slide off the target. This was why I wanted to replace my spear, at least for the outdoors.

    I had charged with it before and lost it¡­

    I would still have plenty of use for a spear in more confined areas.

    I waited for a few minutes before Velariah exited the shop. I looked at her with four eyes that begged her for information.

    ¡°Placed the commission. His shop assistant estimated the cost for a high-quality weapon of your choice to be between twenty and thirty gold. Of course, I said it would be no problem. I asked for the best materials available, so I¡¯m guessing it will be closer to thirty.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s not an issue.¡±

    Looking up to the sky almost made me depressed. I had hoped for it to be sunny. I imagined some more sunlight would be good for my carapace. I didn¡¯t quite know how much sunbathing was ideal after a molt.

    ¡°Shall we see if Master Endomir has an interest in your old exoskeleton? I imagine Elly would be able to help him out.¡±

    I nodded again. ¡°Let¡¯s do that and then go to the guild.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    The treemender¡¯s oak wasn¡¯t far. We entered the tree and only noticed two treemenders about, Pylanor and some guy that I didn¡¯t recognize. He noticed our approach and also looked at my new set of eyes with great intrigue.

    ¡°Greetings, Master Pylanor,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°Where are the other treemenders, if I may ask? This place has been quite empty as of late.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the General,¡± Pylanor replied with a smile. ¡°He is having most of us work in the fields to grow those new crops. He seems to be in quite a hurry to have them produce fruit.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°Anyways, if Master Endomir shows up, could you tell him we have something that may be of interest to him? If he wants, he could visit us during the evening at our mansion.¡±

    ¡°I will relay the message.¡± He then turned his attention to me. ¡°How is it going, Miss Elania? Are you holding up alright?¡± He seemed to be somewhat worried about my wellbeing, which I appreciated.

    ¡°Honestly? I¡¯m growing tired of being targeted and being a prominent figure in this investigation going on. I truly despise it.¡±

    ¡°I can imagine. How did you gain those new eyes, if I may ask?¡±

    ¡°My inherity,¡± I replied without thought.

    ¡°You have two?¡±

    Oh shit. I¡¯d said too much.

    I thought for a moment before replying. Having two inherities was a thing in this world. As long as he didn¡¯t know I had four, I¡¯d be alright. I should stop stressing about this.

    I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s quite¡­ interesting how that one works, so to say.¡±

    He chuckled. ¡°Interesting indeed. Don¡¯t let Master Endomir find out. I¡¯m pretty sure he is all too eager to examine you closer.¡±

    ¡°I figured as much, which is why we have something that may be able to quench his curiosity, at least somewhat.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to let him know.¡±

    ¡°Have you found out anything about that massive borer yet?¡± Velariah asked in a pretty straightforward manner.

    ¡°I have found out a couple of things so far, which I have already shared with your father. I can¡¯t quite disclose what they are, unfortunately. It seems to be going in the right direction. That¡¯s all I can say.¡±

    Velariah nodded before speaking softly. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    I nodded as well and bade Pylanor goodbye as Velariah led the way to the guild hall nearby.

    Kaniar and his squad were waiting inside the guild hall. They seemed to be discussing something. I didn¡¯t feel like eavesdropping and followed Velariah to the corner where Draco and Nira were already seated. Draco had a quest paper in his hands, which gave me hope it was something interesting.

    Seralyn wasn¡¯t present yet, but I imagined it wouldn¡¯t take long for her to show up.

    Velariah ordered drinks for the four of us as we passed the waiter.

    ¡°Anything interesting?¡± She asked the other two of our companions while she took her seat.

    ¡°Not that interesting,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°But this will be a necessary quest. It¡¯s a goblin extermination mission. A recent, verified report located a large group of them in the forest to the northwest.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that in the direction of the witch?¡± I asked.

    Velariah nodded. ¡°It is. They won¡¯t be able to get anywhere near her home, though. You¡¯ve seen firsthand what that barrier of hers is capable of.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I know. I¡¯d rather not relive that.¡±

    ¡°Anyway,¡± Draco continued. ¡°It appears that they have teamed up with trolls. That¡¯s quite interesting in itself.¡±

    ¡°That so?¡± Velariah said with a frown. ¡°Haven¡¯t heard about them teaming up before. Think that¡¯s a result of the recent actions taken against them?¡±

    ¡°Possibly so,¡± Draco replied.

    ¡°If there are trolls involved, it¡¯s all the more reason for me to get that new weapon,¡± I commented.

    ¡°What new weapon do you have planned?¡± Draco said.

    I looked around to see if anyone would be able to overhear what I was about to say. With these new eyes, I didn¡¯t even have to turn my head. I imagined that would draw less suspicion, too.

    ¡°See it as a curved sword on a pole. In my old world, it was called a naginata in a certain country whose military was quite intriguing to me. I¡¯m aiming for a somewhat longer pole because of my size and to use it for charges.¡±

    ¡°Sounds¡­ effective,¡± The lizardman smiled.

    ¡°It was massively effective in that country in the period in which it was used. Velariah actually told me the weapon exists here, too. I doubt it¡¯s called the same.¡±

    ¡°I think we simply call it a polearm,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Makes sense. It is a type of polearm, after all,¡± I replied.

    I saw Seralyn enter the guild hall at the same time that the waiter brought us our drinks.

    Oops, maybe we should have ordered for her, too.

    ¡°You guys didn¡¯t bother to order for me?¡± Seralyn said with a faked pout as she placed herself on the bench against the wall.

    ¡°Would you like to order?¡± The waiter said, while he placed the drinks on our table.

    ¡°Yeah, some milk would be good, thanks,¡± Seralyn replied.

    ¡°What took you so long, anyway?¡± Velariah asked the other elf.

    ¡°I had the arrowheads re-sharpened as well. I figured it would be a good idea to get it done at the same time, considering you two were out, too.¡±

    ¡°Now that Seralyn is here,¡± Draco started, ¡°It appears we have an applicant for our party. A young human mage specializing in water and ice magic would like to trial with us. The Lore Keeper is ready to schedule an interview with him whenever we want.¡±

    Ice and water? That sounded like it would be effective against a large, winged lion that breathed fire, at least, if conventional logic was anything to go by.

    There was one tiny problem though.

    ¡°Sounds interesting, but I doubt it¡¯s a good idea at the moment. Moreover, it¡¯s a human,¡± Veleriah worded my exact doubts.

    For all I knew, he was ordered to infiltrate our party and try to take me out. The timing was a bit too convenient.

    ¡°Elania?¡± Draco asked.

    ¡°I think Velariah is right. I wouldn¡¯t mind a human per se, but not now. Let¡¯s notify the Lore Keeper and have her tell him that we¡¯ll look into it later.¡±

    I sipped on some strawberry juice. ¡°Vel?¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°You think it would be too much of your father to ask him his reasons? You know... ¡±

    I paused for a second. ¡°Or would that be too much? I know he¡¯s busy and all.¡±

    ¡°Hum,¡± Velariah let out. ¡°We will see when we are ready. For now, I say we leave our party as it is. I¡¯m having a great time with who we have.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°I think we¡¯re a great team, but then again, I¡¯m probably the least experienced with how other parties operate.¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± Seralyn said, smiling.

    Now, what was that good for?

    ¡°Arg, I¡¯m dying for some action,¡± Velariah distracted me. ¡°Seralyn, how was the weather outside?¡±

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s going to rain.¡±

    The waiter returned with Seralyn¡¯s drink. Draco paid for all of us while the brunette quickly gulped down her milk.

    ¡°You guys wanna head out to the dungeon?¡± Velariah asked impatiently. ¡°I¡¯m going to feel incomplete if we don¡¯t kill another one of the monsters from last time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just remember I¡¯m not currently in possession of a helmet. Aaaand we still have to pick up my weapons.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going. Maybe we¡¯ll get there before it starts raining.¡±

    Draco smiled at Velariah¡¯s eagerness and stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll just inform Kantasia.¡±

    It still felt weird to hear the Lore Keeper¡¯s name. I guessed it had taken too long for me to first hear it. Now I wondered if I¡¯d ever get used to it.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s get going then, shall we?¡± I said, closing my side eyes to appear more human in public.

    Deep inside, I knew that that would probably be futile. It wasn¡¯t as if there were a whole lot of other things that made me appear less human.

    We left the guild hall as Velariah talked to Kaniar¡¯s squad and Draco finished his talk with the Lore Keeper. We¡¯d stop by the mansion first to retrieve my weapons.

    We¡¯d barely left the guild hall behind, when a few drops of rain fell from the sky. It wasn¡¯t much, but I felt each and every drop on my carapace behind me.

    Wasn¡¯t this the first time I¡¯d actually been in rain?

    I wasn¡¯t sure. The weather had been so sunny in general that I¡¯d almost forgotten what rain felt like. To feel every drop on my rear felt weird¡­

    We decided to pick up the pace. After a quick stop at the mansion for me to gather my weapons, we moved towards the dungeon at an almost jogging pace.

    I had no trouble with it whatsoever, but Nira had to take to the skies.

    I wondered how long she¡¯d be able to stay in the air with rain. I got my answer within ten minutes as the rain intensified. She was forced to land as her feathers had become soaked with water.

    ¡°Just hop on, already,¡± I told her.

    ¡°Thanks...¡± She replied softly before jumping on my rear.

    We reached the dungeon and entered the tunnels as the rain had started to become an actual downpour.

    What a shitty day to be outside.

    Whose idea was this again?

    Draco led the way down to the dungeon entrance with his torch. The soldiers followed behind me.

    All of us were completely soaked. If we were to engage in combat right now, it certainly wouldn¡¯t be comfortable. I would prefer to start a fire and dry up a bit before starting a fight down in the dungeon.

    ¡°Hey, Draco?¡± I asked as we arrived at the large metal doors.

    ¡°Yes, Miss Elania?¡±

    ¡°Is there anything we can use to start a fire?¡±

    ¡°I have nothing with me that we can use as fuel. I was hoping that maybe there¡¯d be something down in the dungeon.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°I hope so. I¡¯m not the most affected by this, but you guys, especially Nira, seem to not do as well as me.¡±

    I looked at the harpy. Her wings seemed to weigh a ton with all the soaked-up water. They dragged across the dirt.

    Leaving her like that would probably result in her catching a cold.

    An idea popped up in my mind.

    I invited the soldiers to go down with us and wait at the bottom of the stairs instead of here.

    Draco opened the doors and I went downstairs first. Velariah followed me and asked me what I was planning to do.

    ¡°Well,¡± I said overly loud. ¡°Damn, that rain sure was terrible. We¡¯re soaking wet! I hope we run into some monsters that could possibly fuel a fire. I wonder if the dungeon has any of those?¡±

    Velariah chuckled. ¡°I see what you¡¯re doing.¡±

    Draco, Seralyn, and Nira joined us, followed by the soldiers.

    The temperature down here was quite a bit lower than it was outside in the rain. I wanted to get a fire up as quickly as we could to ensure nobody would fall ill as the water in everyone¡¯s clothes cooled down.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go guys,¡± I said, readying my spear for attacks. ¡°I¡¯m feeling lucky.¡±

    We left the soldiers behind at the bottom of the stairs. Kaniar had a torch of his own, which he used as a light source while they waited.

    We entered the first part of the dungeon, the cave-like tunnels with stalagmites and stalactites, and found it occupied by several monsters which were ideal for what we needed.

    ¡°Thanks, Arch. I¡¯ll make sure to repay you for this,¡± I said as I looked at one of the tree-like creatures that walked around the area.

    It was literally a trunk, the size of half a human, with a couple of branches. It had no leaves. It did, however, have a pair of full-red eyes, very much like my own. These creatures seemed to move with small roots that they used as legs, eerily similar to the mushroom creatures we fought before.

    ¡°Seems we got our firewood,¡± Seralyn commented.

    ¡°Exactly,¡± I replied.

    ¡°These things have a name?¡± I asked Velariah and Draco.

    ¡°Treants,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°Common low-level creatures in certain enchanted forests. They are not a threat, however they are usually surrounded by more¡­ dangerous creatures.¡±

    ¡°Is the forest next to Dawnleaf enchanted?¡± I asked next.

    ¡°The area that is located in the Elven kingdom is not. Part of it in the Human kingdom is.¡±

    ¡°Very interesting...¡± I said.

    ¡°Enough talk,¡± Seralyn interjected. ¡°I¡¯m starting to get chilly, and poor Nira here seems to be doing far worse than me.¡±

    I opened my side eyes again to see Nira shivering.

    Poor Nira. I¡¯d allowed myself to be distracted by talking about magical creatures.

    Draco charged forward with his dual axes and brought them down upon one of the creatures from behind.

    The treant in question seemed to die within seconds, as a dark-brown substance oozed from where his axe had impacted.

    He gripped the treant by the upper branches and tossed it towards us. It landed on the ground before Velariah¡¯s feet. Draco then switched his attention to the next.

    His next attack piqued my interest. His right axe impacted the creature¡¯s bark. The next moment, a long cone of what looked like a small stalagmite floated in the air where his weapon had just swung from. It hovered in the air for a second or so, before it flew and impacted the treant with its spiked side, just above the wound.

    The creature fell dead and Draco let go of his weaponry and stared at the rock embedded in the monster.

    As did I¡­

    What was that?

    Velariah, Nira, and Seralyn seemed interested as well.

    ¡°My new ability. I learned this when I evolved my inherity before Miss Elania passed out. I kind of wanted to see it for myself.¡±

    ¡°That looks like a pretty neat ability, Draco,¡± Velariah commented at the sight of the attack. ¡°How does it work?¡±

    The lizardman removed his axe from the creature. ¡°It appears to be an ability that I can only activate after striking a target with an axe. It¡¯s a form of earth magic that creates a spike of rock that strikes near the impact location.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s really neat,¡± I said.

    I was slightly jealous that I didn¡¯t possess something like this. This was an actual form of magic. I hoped that one of my unknown abilities would be something with magic.

    ¡°What did you name it?¡± Seralyn said as she walked forward and grabbed the large log.

    ¡°Don¡¯t have a name yet. I wanted to see it first.¡±

    Velariah unsheathed her sword and walked forward to one of the treants that was approaching us. She caused her blade to glow with a faint white light before cutting into the creature from the side. After it died, Velariah re-sheathed her sword and picked it up.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the soldiers and get a fire going. You can think of a name in the meantime. Our healer is freezing,¡± She said.

    Draco nodded.

    ¡°Sound plan.¡±

    Faragi

    Check out my Patreon for more chapters and early access to new ones. 15+ Chapters ahead for this story and 25+ for my other. I''ll also plan on starting a new series soon, but have no schedule for that as of right now. It will be patreon only for a good while before I even think about publishing.

    Thank you all for your support <3

 2.15 Questionsâ€¦

    Using once-living creatures as literal firewood may be odd, but they did the trick. We had a fire going in no time and had everyone, minus Draco, warm themselves at it. The lizardman went to get more wood, since had a fair amount of people to dry.

    ¡°Will you be okay?¡± I asked Nira. She had her wings spread out in front of her to dry them quicker.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Thanks,¡± She said with a smile as she nodded.

    Draco soon returned with two more ¡®logs¡¯ and used them to create a second campfire. The soldiers sat down next to it and thanked him.

    ¡°Any idea what you¡¯re going to call your new ability yet?¡± Velariah asked as we warmed ourselves by the fire.

    Draco shook his head. ¡°No idea. Something like ¡®Earth Spikes¡¯ or something?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not really earth, though, is it?¡± I asked. ¡°It looked like rocks to me.¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right, Miss Elania.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s call it Rock Spikes and be done with it then,¡± Seralyn said with a grin.

    ¡°I like it,¡± Velariah added.

    ¡°I guess Rock Spikes it is,¡± Draco said while observing one of his axes.

    I turned myself around to warm my large rear by the fire. Velariah grinned when I did, and I awkwardly waited with my back turned to the others. A few minutes later, Seralyn called out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know about you guys, but I¡¯m all ready to conquer this dungeon...¡± She waited for a few seconds and lowered her voice. ¡°Again.¡±

    ¡°You ready, Nira?¡± I saw Velariah ask the harpy thanks to my large field of vision.

    Nira nodded in response. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    Velariah then turned to me. ¡°El?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ready. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    We left the soldiers behind as we started our advance through the dungeon. Three more treants in the first tunnel were slain. If the soldiers needed any more wood, they could pick it up for free. I thanked Arch again with a whisper for his generosity.

    We carefully advanced to the large, open room. Draco and I made up the vanguard with our shields raised. The room was completely dark, and I remembered very well what happened last time.

    I was not going to be caught by surprise.

    I barely had time to notice it. A large fireball flew in my direction. I ducked behind my shields as the ball of fire impacted on my shields and shattered into thousands of flames that slid off the sides of the shields.

    So much for that generosity.

    The torches caught fire one by one in the same overly dramatic manner as last time. I was not disappointed when I saw the same monstrous lion with dragon-like wings and mane as red as blood before us, in the center of the room.

    It seemed it was time for a rematch.

    Seralyn fired an arrow shortly after. The inherity-fueled arrow flew true and was bound to strike the beast in its skin below its head, but it somehow bounced off some kind of invisible wall next to its body, moments before it struck.

    ¡°The fuck?¡± Seralyn said in annoyance.

    ¡°Some kind of barrier, it looks like,¡± Draco commented. ¡°We¡¯ll have to destroy it.¡±

    ¡°And how do we do that?¡± I asked.

    The lizardman smiled. ¡°Just hit it ¡®till it breaks.¡±

    That sounded simple. Not.

    The beast appeared to possess the same large claws that the lionesses had. Due to its size, I imagined there would be quite a bit of force behind them. Blocking may not be the best option.

    There would be no real option for me to use my thread either. I had nowhere to connect it to in this room. When we fought the scorpion I was able to utilize the corner it was in, but I would have no such luck here.

    I imagined this would be a hit-run-block kind of fight.

    Then again, the overall difficulty of this fight could not be too high, considering Arch¡¯s perceived danger level.

    It had to have a weakness somewhere.

    Maybe this beast wasn¡¯t so tough, and this barrier was its best defense.

    In any case, we¡¯d have to break it.

    I wish I had my new weapon. I reckoned that in this open area, I would be able to utilize it well.

    I trusted my armor to keep me safe against this beast¡¯s attacks. My only concern was my head, I was missing my helmet, after all. With this beast¡¯s size, I would have to be careful, it could reach my head if it wanted to.

    We¡¯d have to do this the good old-fashioned way.

    ¡°Right,¡± I stated, my eyes never leaving the beast, which stood idle, ready to attack us if need be. ¡°I assume we spread out and try to get hits on it while it¡¯s focused on another person. Seralyn, do you think your arrows do damage to this barrier?¡±

    ¡°They should,¡± Draco said. ¡°Barriers usually shatter after a certain amount of damage is done to them.¡±

    ¡°Good to know, I guess,¡± I said, and unsheathed my blades.

    ¡°In that case,¡± Seralyn said, nocking another arrow and empowering it. ¡°Eat this!¡±

    She fired the arrow which, again, impacted the invisible barrier near the beast¡¯s face. A large number of sparks came from where the arrow struck.

    I charged ahead, immediately getting the beast¡¯s attention. It tried to slash me as I passed to the right. Its claws struck my shield, but didn¡¯t stop my charge. I counter-attacked with my spear but found it blocked by the beast¡¯s barrier.

    The lion-esque creature turned to face me and roared. As it did so, I saw fire forming in its maw. I held my shields ready to block an incoming fireball, but another arrow struck the beast¡¯s barrier, temporarily confusing it.

    The moment of hesitation wasn¡¯t unused. Draco charged in and brought both of his axes down on the beast¡¯s head. I stepped aside and saw a fireball eject from the beast¡¯s maw, which failed to hit anything. Two rock spikes followed after Draco¡¯s double axe impacts.

    The lion¡¯s attention was now on Draco, who was put on the defensive. It clawed away, but the lizardman had no issues blocking its attacks. I created some distance between me and the monster and charged its side with my swords and spear pointed forward.

    At the same time, I could see Velariah on the other side of the beast bringing her sword down from overhead. Her blade glowed with white light and was blocked as all our attacks had been. An immense amount of sparks flew off the beast¡¯s barrier as it struck.

    When I struck at nearly the same time, I also saw the same happen before me. I was almost blinded by sparks as several flew into my side eyes. I didn¡¯t quite manage to close them as quickly as I had closed my human eyes.

    I winced in pain and took a few steps back as I felt pain course through my side eyes.

    I had a lot to learn, it seemed¡­

    I saw the monster¡¯s attention switch to Velariah, while another one of Seralyn¡¯s empowered arrows struck its barrier.

    I forced myself to recover quickly and charged at the beast from behind to assist the elf.

    Velariah handily dodged two strikes from the monster and ducked under one of its wings, striking it with her sword above as she passed under it.

    The monster roared in pain as its wings were, apparently, unprotected by the barrier it possessed. Red blood dropped down from where the elf knight¡¯s sword had struck.

    I arrived and struck with all three weapons once more. This time I did close my eyes in time as another barrage of sparks was sent my way.

    The second I opened my eyes I saw Draco, in his black-scaled form, bring both his axes down on the beast¡¯s left wing, the uninjured one. The attack was followed by two Rock Spikes, which embedded themselves in the beast¡¯s already injured wing.

    It roared in pain once more as it launched a fireball at Velariah. The projectile hit her straight on her chest armor and knocked her back slightly. She remained on her feet but seemed to be in pain.

    ¡°Vel, get to Nira,¡± I called out. Another arrow struck the beast as it was about to launch another fireball at the unsteady elf.

    I attacked the beast from up close with my blades and spear, stabbing as rapidly as I could while under constant assault from the sparks that flew around.

    ¡°Got it,¡± Velariah replied as she retreated to where Nira and Seralyn stood in the doorway.

    Draco kept assaulting the beast¡¯s left wing, which now dragged across the floor as the monster seemed to have lost control of it. I saw about six Rock Spikes embedded in it and several more cuts from the lizardman¡¯s axes, each of them bleeding.

    Draco reverted to his normal form as the beast turned to fight him with his claws. He blocked two attacks before a fireball was aimed at him. He blocked it without issues, but had to take several steps back.

    I continued my assault until I saw cracks in the air around the beast¡¯s form appear. I stopped my attacks as I observed what was going on.

    The cracks expanded outward and enveloped the monster¡¯s entire form before glowing orange and red. It then spontaneously shattered, sending an intense amount of sparks into the air as it exploded in a wave of heat.

    A second or so after the barrier shattered, an inherity-empowered arrow embedded itself in the beast¡¯s mane, drawing blood.

    Another roar was heard as it cried out in pain and turned to me. I was about to strike with my spear but was put on the defensive as it tried clawing at my chest. I blocked each and every attack as it seemed enraged and fixated on clawing me to pieces.

    Unbeknownst to it, I had already raised my fangs and took a moment to aim.

    After a successful block, its head was exactly where I wanted it to be, and I unloaded my complete reserves into its face and eyes, spraying the monster with the deadliest kind of venom that I possessed.

    I took a few steps back as the monster appeared to have lost vision. It was clawing wildly and fired another fireball that missed everything; it impacted the ceiling and disappeared without doing any harm to any of us.

    Seralyn continued with her barrage of arrows, landing hit after hit in the beast¡¯s side as it still tried to claw around it without striking anything.

    ¡°Do you think that will do the trick, Miss Elania?¡± Draco called. He was also awaiting what would happen, just like me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I don¡¯t think approaching it now is a good idea.¡±

    Its movements were far too erratic and unpredictable. With some luck, it would simply die without us having to put ourselves at further risk.

    Its movements seem to slow down as the monster¡¯s legs stood still. It was currently clawing widely at its face and eyes which were covered in dark-green venom.

    It was wounding itself with its large claws in the process.

    I almost felt guilty.

    Velariah, in the meantime, seemed to have regained her composure, thanks to Nira¡¯s help, and charged back into the fight. She brought her glowing sword down on where the beast¡¯s wing was connected to its main body and completely severed it with a powerful strike.

    The wound that was left bled profusely, causing the beast to scream with rage again as it continued clawing at its eyes.

    I was positive that its eyes had disappeared already. They have probably melted like that troll¡¯s.

    Disgusting but effective.

    Velariah walked around the beast and mimicked her attack on the other side, severing the wing that had already been severely damaged by Draco, before stepping back. The blood the beast was losing was sure to kill it soon enough.

    Seralyn wasn¡¯t taking chances, it seemed. She continued firing empowered arrows until she yelled she was out.

    The beast¡¯s movements had slowed enough to the point where I thought a coup de grace was appropriate. Its roars had been reduced to whimpers as it continued clawing away at its face. I created some distance and charged to one of its wingless sides.

    I drove all my weapons as deep inside as I could, hopefully striking its heart. I was no expert on lion anatomy, but I guessed its heart would probably be somewhere behind its front legs.

    With three weapons at my disposal, I was sure to hit it, I thought.

    I pulled out my blades, but could not get my spear out as easily, and stepped back.

    It seemed that it had not yet done enough damage.

    Velariah finished the job with an overhead sword strike in the beast¡¯s neck. The sword didn¡¯t quite decapitate the monster, but it had gone halfway and cut through the most important vitals, quickly ending its life.

    Its feet gave out and our adversary collapsed.

    I wiped the sweat off my face that all this exercise and heat had brought.

    ¡°Nice work,¡± Draco complimented us as he approached.

    ¡°Same to you, Draco. It seems your new ability did quite a number on its wing,¡± I replied.

    Seralyn and Nira approached us.

    ¡°That was¡­ quite an interesting fight. I have to admit,¡± Seralyn said.

    ¡°It sure was,¡± I said. ¡°That was the first time I had to deal with a barrier too. I didn¡¯t think such things would be a thing.¡±

    ¡°But they are,¡± Velariah said with a smile. ¡°And this probably won¡¯t be the last time fighting against a form of barrier. They are quite annoying, to be honest. You saw that the monster doesn¡¯t lose any strength until the barrier is broken. It¡¯s almost impossible to weaken it.¡±

    ¡°Except its wings were not protected,¡± I let out.

    ¡°Correct,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°Technically, we could have ended this fight by cutting off its wings and waiting for blood loss to do its job. I reckon that was a possible weak spot.¡± He then looked at me and the others in turn. ¡°But I guess this works just as well.¡±

    ¡°Some good experience for when we next run into something like this, I guess.¡±

    I stared at the lion/dragon hybrid. ¡°You guys think this will be worth anything?¡±

    ¡°Pretty sure some of its body parts would make for great crafting materials,¡± Draco said. ¡°I imagine its head would also make a nice trophy¡­ except that it¡¯s ruined...¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ sorry about that...¡± I apologized.

    He was right, though. This beast¡¯s head, in a good state, would make any hunter back on Earth jealous.

    ¡°By the way, did you come back to retrieve the lions from last time? You know, before we had to hurry back,¡± I asked.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t,¡± Velariah said. ¡°We had the guild retrieve them instead. They took part of the sales price as a cut. The rest, we divided among Draco, Nira, and Seralyn.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°Did you want any of it?¡± Velariah asked.

    I shook my head. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I was just wondering. You know I can make plenty of money as it is.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± Seralyn asked.

    Velariah reached into her pack and pulled out the vial with the Borer material. ¡°We take this to Arch.¡±

    ¡°Yuck,¡± Nira commented at the sight of the vial.

    I smiled at her comment. She¡¯d seen far worse, yet she commented on this.

    The torches suddenly extinguished which put me on edge. We were suddenly in complete darkness.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Velariah asked.

    Her sword started glowing, providing us with some light. Draco reached for his pack and pulled out a new torch, which he quickly ignited.

    Just in time too. From the darkness came a large spider that seemed to be an exact copy of Minia, just magnified. I imagined it reached to Velariah¡¯s shoulders and it approached us with fangs and pedipalps raised.

    Why did it have to be spiders?

    I didn¡¯t mind Minia at all, but seeing one of this size¡­ I was disgusted by it.

    Its movements were quick, too quick for me to react in time. It was within reach of Nira in no time. It was about to strike when I yelled.

    ¡°Stop!¡±

    I hoped my inherity wouldn¡¯t fail me. I had no doubt we could kill this thing, but I didn¡¯t want to¡­

    The large spider froze the moment I said it.

    I sighed deeply.

    ¡°Arch?¡± I called out the dungeon¡¯s name.

    I got no response.

    I looked at the spider that was still frozen. Nira had quickly abandoned her position and retreated behind me.

    Seralyn drew her bow and readied an arrow.

    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± I said.

    She looked at me with confusion plastered all over her face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill it,¡± I spoke softly.

    I walked up to the spider and attempted to communicate with it. I didn¡¯t quite know the limits of my inherity, but Minia seemed to understand simple commands.

    ¡°Step back,¡± I commanded it.

    The spider lowered its fangs and palps and stared at me with its huge eyes.

    ¡°The fuck?¡± Seralyn called behind me. ¡°You taming spiders now?¡±

    ¡°Shush,¡± Velariah silenced her.

    ¡°Arch, what the hell are you trying to pull here?¡± I asked.

    The dungeon¡¯s voice, through the spider guarding its core, entered my mind. ¡°I was curious what you would do.¡±

    I frowned. ¡°Curious?¡±

    ¡°It would seem your command easily beats mine when I don¡¯t control my minions manually.¡±

    ¡°And this is how you wanted to test it?¡±

    ¡°Keeps you on edge, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    I sighed.

    Once again, he was right. If that had been anything but a spider, Nira may have suffered a serious injury.

    That didn¡¯t mean I agreed with his methods. In fact, I was quite pissed.

    ¡°Arch, if you were wrong, you could have killed one of our party members. You¡¯re lucky I have a good deal of self-control,¡± I said angrily.

    ¡°Elania, I¡¯m sorry. Know that I would have stopped it before any harm would have come to Nira.¡±

    The voice in my mind paused for a second.

    ¡°Besides, it¡¯s only a spider. It¡¯s kind of a cute one, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡±

    ¡°You making fun of me now?¡± I spoke. ¡°I¡¯ve only recently come to terms with small spiders, now you toss this in my face,¡± I said, still with as angry a voice as I could.

    ¡°Anyway,¡± Arch spoke, seemingly desperately wanting to switch to a different topic, ¡°I believe Velariah brought material from that monster you talked about. I¡¯m analyzing it as we speak.¡±

    ¡°Thanks...¡± I said softly. This was one of the more important reasons we had come here. I wanted to show my anger and have Arch know I wasn¡¯t pleased with his methods, whatsoever, but I did not want him to start hating us.

    ¡°Cheer up, Elania. You¡¯ve just learned another important lesson, perhaps two.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right...¡± I admitted with a deep sigh.

    The second lesson being that I could, apparently, control spiders in dungeons as long as the core didn¡¯t exert direct control over them. I continued looking at the spider before me and tried to detect emotions as I did with Minia. I could feel none, whatsoever.

    It just felt¡­ empty¡­

    It made me feel uneasy.

    I was impressed that I could control spiders of this size, though.

    I guess it was somewhat cute¡­

    However, the fact that it seemed to be without a soul messed with my brain. At least, I think it was the soul that was missing? I couldn¡¯t quite put it differently.

    ¡°Well, well, well,¡± The Hellspider Queen¡¯s voice entered my mind again. ¡°Look what we have here...¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You may want to inform Velariah¡¯s father of this.¡±

    ¡°Of what?¡± I asked again, my impatience growing.

    ¡°Dungeon magic.¡±

 2.16 Answers?

    ¡°Dungeon magic?¡± I asked, unclear as to what he meant.

    ¡°This creature was created by a dungeon, that much is certain. It also seems it did not go feral when it escaped the dungeon¡¯s bounds. Instead, it seemed to follow very clear instructions until the end.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s he saying?¡± Velariah said, standing next to me, eying the spider in front of us warily. She had taken off her helmet and was listening intently to my monologue.

    ¡°Hold on a second, Vel. I¡¯m not quite sure how long Arch can communicate with me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, Elania. As I¡¯ve explained before, it seems I need far less energy to talk to you now. Anyway, as to why the creature seemed to follow instructions or why a dungeon would do this is outside of my knowledge. I suspect someone instructed the dungeon in some way. I don¡¯t see any other explanation.¡±

    ¡°But how? I thought I was the first one to communicate with a dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Dungeon cores can still hear everything that is said inside their domain. It¡¯s just that you¡¯re the first person that can communicate in two ways. Maybe someone threatened to destroy the core? That would be¡­ disastrous to say the least.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you protect yourself?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We can. It takes a very strong adventurer to destroy a core. We have a last-resort type of magic that we can use to defend ourselves should we ever be in actual danger, but there is a risk of us losing control.¡±

    ¡°So this someone that managed to pull this off must have been an extremely strong individual?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Or they must have had some way to coerce or persuade the dungeon to do this and be able to control the monster when it left the dungeon¡¯s confines somehow.¡±

    ¡°That seems more likely. If it takes an extremely strong person to destroy a dungeon, they could have done this themselves without using this monster, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡±

    ¡°A solid conclusion. That seems likely, yes.¡±

    ¡°But I would assume all of this means that there is another dungeon somewhere in the forest that we don¡¯t know about?¡± I asked.

    ¡°If that¡¯s where the monster came from, I would assume so.¡±

    ¡°Another dungeon?¡± Velariah gasped softly.

    I nodded. ¡°Thanks a bunch, Arch. I¡¯ll make sure to let Valtheril know. Actually¡­ he doesn¡¯t know I can talk to you.¡±

    I put a hand on my head in thought. Should I expose myself to Valtheril?

    ¡°I wish I could help you answer that,¡± Velariah seemed to read my mind, ¡°If you share any information from Arch with him, I assume he¡¯ll want to know where you got it from.¡±

    ¡°I think I can trust him. I want to trust him, Vel. For gods¡¯ sake, I¡¯m in a relationship with his daughter...¡±

    ¡°Anyhow,¡± I said as I turned to the others. ¡°Quick recap. It appears that the Borer we fought was created by a dungeon. Arch suspects it came from an unknown dungeon located somewhere in the forest and that someone coerced or persuaded the dungeon to create this creature. We don¡¯t quite know why. He also mentioned that someone must have been able to give instructions to it after it had escaped the dungeon¡¯s domain. It followed those specific instructions until we killed it.¡±

    ¡°The puzzle pieces are starting to fall together, aren¡¯t they?¡± Velariah said, obviously deep in thought. ¡°This monster appeared and seemed to have the intention of killing. You had a perfect countermeasure and did a great deal to stop it. Right after that, you have your ritual, which you had to do unarmored. Directly after exiting the room, someone attempts to assassinate you. Whoever is behind it picked that specific moment because you didn¡¯t wear any armor. I daresay the Borer was a failed experiment. After it failed, they had to try to get rid of you some other way¡­ That¡¯s how I see this, at least.¡±

    ¡°You may be right. I don¡¯t quite know if that¡¯s the full story, but something is bothering me.¡±

    ¡°Do tell.¡±

    ¡°Someone was in this other dungeon. I don¡¯t know where it is. If it¡¯s far out, I doubt Lorin could have been the one behind this monster. There would have to be someone else that could do such a thing...¡±

    ¡°That seems plausible. We¡¯ll have to inform my father, for sure.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be careful when you tell him,¡± Seralyn commented. ¡°We have one great advantage,¡± She said with a smile.

    ¡°Which is?¡± I asked.

    ¡°They have no idea that you can talk to a dungeon. If this other dungeon was used, so to say, against their will, you could possibly ask them to spawn a spider-like creature to use to talk to the dungeon. That way, you could easily reveal their identity. Maybe promise it revenge?¡±

    ¡°Seralyn, you¡¯re amazing,¡± I said. I never would have thought of that.

    ¡°I know, I know. No need to thank me,¡± She said smugly.

    ¡°You will have to be careful to not leak that information. My father needs to make sure that none of that information can get out.¡±

    I heard the Hellspider Queen laugh wickedly in my mind. ¡°I like your party¡¯s style, Elania. Do let me know what comes of this.¡±

    ¡°I will, Arch. I will.¡±

    ¡°So,¡± Draco entered the conversation. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to find out where this dungeon is on our own? Considering you can¡¯t really share where you got the information of another dungeon¡¯s presence from.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± I admitted. ¡°The forest is vast. Do you think we can get Valtheril to make up some story about a suspected dungeon being present in the forest? Would they buy it?¡± I asked Velariah.

    ¡°Actually...¡± Velariah started. ¡°Don¡¯t you think he already knows there is another dungeon present? Remember that wolf? Why do I get the eerie feeling they are related?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s... A good point.¡± I admitted. ¡°But that information is classified, he said. If they are related, he might have a reason to start a search on his own, without having to use our own information.¡±

    ¡°That would make things a lot easier,¡± Velariah continued.

    ¡°So complicated...¡± Nira said softly.

    I sighed. ¡°I know. I don¡¯t like any of this, either.¡±

    I looked at the spider before me who started moving away, backward.

    ¡°It seems we¡¯ll have to talk with Valtheril first,¡± I said. ¡°If anything, we can have him inform the guild about a dungeon somewhere in the forest while we are out on that goblin quest. That would cause no suspicion to be drawn to us whatsoever.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know if it was necessary in the first place, but I liked to play things safe.

    ¡°Possibly,¡± Velariah said, before losing herself in thought again.

    ¡°Actually, Nira?¡± I started.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t you get promoted to gold rank if we complete that quest?¡± I turned to Draco. ¡°That was a gold-tier quest, right?¡±

    Draco nodded. ¡°It is... And yes, she will be promoted.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Seralyn said.

    She was currently crouching over the beast we had killed, collecting her arrows.

    ¡°Damn that barrier,¡± She let out, clearly annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to resharpen these things...¡±

    ¡°We should get your weapons a proper round of maintenance when we pick up your new weapon, too,¡± Velariah said.

    I nodded. ¡°Honestly, I can¡¯t wait. I lost my spear¡­ again...¡±

    I walked over to the monster and crouched to pull my spear from its side. It took quite a bit of effort to get it out, but in the end, I won.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be working on those muscles tonight, El.¡± Velariah smiled when I looked at her.

    ¡°Yes, mistress Vel,¡± I replied with a grin. ¡°What do we do with this thing, anyway?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say have the guild pick it up again,¡± Draco said. ¡°I imagine going through the rain with that thing will ruin its pelt quite a bit.¡±

    ¡°Any idea what this thing is worth?¡± I asked.

    Velariah shrugged. ¡°Depends. Its parts will most likely be up for auction. We¡¯ll have to see.¡±

    I took one last look at the slain monster. It sure was an impressive creature from up close.

    ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± I asked when I turned around towards the exit. ¡°I mean, after we talk to Valtheril.¡±

    ¡°I heard there are a bunch of goblins that need killing,¡± Seralyn replied.

    ¡°Yes, but when do we head out towards the quest area?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say as soon as possible,¡± Velariah said. ¡°If we can get this goblin problem out of the way, it will allow us or my father to focus on the other issue at hand.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like you plan on heading out today...¡±

    ¡°Any objections?¡± She stared at me, then the others.

    ¡°Well, yes,¡± I stated clearly. ¡°I want my new weapon first. I¡¯m not messing around with trolls.¡±

    ¡°Miss Elania is right. We can¡¯t take this lightly,¡± Draco assisted me. ¡°This quest is also quite a ways out. I¡¯d like to do some proper restocking on supplies beforehand.¡±

    Thanks, Draco.

    ¡°Hm,¡± Velariah let out, seemingly disappointed. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m just anxious to get things done. We¡¯ve done a whole lot of nothing lately.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°I get it, Vel. Believe me, I¡¯m feeling pretty guilty about holding you back, but we can¡¯t rush this.¡± I turned to Draco. Technically, I didn¡¯t have to as I could see him clearly thanks to my new eyes, but I imagined it would feel kind of creepy to not face the lizardman when talking to him. ¡°How far out is that quest and is there nothing else in the neighborhood?¡±

    ¡°The location of the camp in question is quite far out. We¡¯ll probably be away for more than a day. As to whether there is anything nearby¡­ Not really, unless you like manual labor.¡±

    ¡°What kind?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Chopping trees.¡±

    ¡°Meh,¡± I let out. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the guild first. Who knows if anything popped up?¡±

    While cutting trees could help with my plans to build more muscle, I just knew I was probably going to overdo it and get myself sore arms the next morning. I¡¯d stick to Velariah¡¯s training instead. That seemed to be planned out perfectly to avoid any serious pain.

    We walked back through the cave leading to the stairs. I walked next to Velariah while the others were ahead of us. I¡¯d re-sheathed my blades with the scabbards that lay in the doorway.

    ¡°Hey, Vel?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°How are you doing? That fireball from earlier seemed to hit you pretty head-on.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m doing alright. This new armor took the brunt of the hit. Whatever damage it did to me was healed pretty quickly thanks to Nira.¡±

    ¡°That makes me happy.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for asking, El...¡± She turned to me and smiled.

    I couldn¡¯t help but smile back when looking into her all-too-honest eyes.

    We reached the soldiers, who were still sitting at the campfire. They got up quickly and got ready to follow behind us.

    Draco still held his torch and was the first to ascend, the rest of us following behind, with the soldiers taking up the rear, also with a torch.

    ¡°I sure hope it stopped raining,¡± I said as we walked through the tunnels.

    ¡°It appears to have stopped,¡± Draco called from the front.

    When we stepped out of the tunnels and into the fields, I had to confirm that what Draco had said was true. The sky was still cloudy, but at least the rain had stopped.

    Ah, to be home and have a nice cup of hot chocolate¡­

    Maybe one day¡­

    We quietly made our trip through the soggy fields. We arrived at the guildhall about fifty minutes later, slightly delayed due to the terrain. Draco informed the Lore Keeper of the loot we left behind, ready for the guild to pick up and sell. He gave her part of the beast¡¯s mane as proof.

    The others had ordered lunch while I was looking at the quest board. I wasn¡¯t interested in food right now.

    The weather wasn¡¯t fit for adventuring at all, but I decided to see what was available.

    The answer was: nothing.

    Draco had already gotten his hands on the one interesting quest.

    ¡°Hey, Draco?¡± I asked when I sat down on the small bench.

    ¡°Yes, Miss Elania?¡± He asked me between two bites.

    ¡°You asked us earlier to come up with a name for your ability. How does that work? I mean, do they appear on your inherity sheet, and if so, do they get the name that you came up with?¡±

    I asked because it appeared that the abilities that I had acquired so far seemed to have their names set in stone. I wasn¡¯t quite sure if it was supposed to work that way. Hell, I wasn¡¯t even sure about my ¡®Silk Weaver¡¯ inherity. Could I come up with new types of silk and have them listed there? That was kind of how I came up with the sticky variant, right?

    ¡°Yes, and yes,¡± Draco replied. ¡°You can name new abilities yourself. They will appear on the sheet under that name.¡±

    ¡°Very interesting...¡±

    I turned to Velariah. ¡°What did you call your shiny sword ability?¡±

    ¡°Lightblade.¡±

    I giggled. ¡°Take you long to come up with that name?¡±

    Velariah grinned as well. ¡°Not really, no.¡±

    ¡°How about you, Seralyn?¡± I referred to her flame-empowered arrows.

    ¡°Destruction Arrow.¡±

    I burst into full-blown laughter and covered my face. That was such a ridiculous name for something that wasn¡¯t high-tier magic.

    ¡°What?¡± She asked with a sly smile. It seemed she knew exactly what I was laughing at. ¡°I liked the name, okay?¡±

    Velariah laughed as well. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to evolve that multiple times before you can actually call it that.¡±

    ¡°Imagine if Draco named his ability in the same manner,¡± I continued laughing. ¡°Rockslide, or Giant Rock Avalanche.¡±

    I grinned for a bit before continuing. ¡°Or Giant Meteor of Doom!¡±

    Draco smiled at my suggestions. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it as it is now. Maybe someday I¡¯ll be able to call it that. Who knows?¡±

    ¡°Looking forward to it, Draco,¡± I said as I raised my glass of tea. This was probably the closest thing to hot chocolate. I needed something warm and coffee was out of the question.

    Nira smiled at our interactions. It made me wish that she¡¯d get an evolution soon as well.

    ¡°Do we know where Valtheril is?¡± I asked, staring at my pedipalps on the table.

    ¡°No idea,¡± Velariah said. ¡°I hope he¡¯s at home, either at the table or in his office upstairs. There are too many places he frequents to keep track of him.¡±

    I looked around with my still open side eyes. There weren¡¯t many people in the building currently. I imagined the rain had something to do with that, but I didn¡¯t want to discuss our findings here, just in case.

    ¡°El?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Hm?¡± I replied, still staring at the table with my human eyes.

    ¡°Think you can drink tea... You know¡­?¡±

    I stared down at my fangs. ¡°Hum¡­ I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t exactly control myself last time. I could try it, I guess. Why? Are you that curious?¡±

    She nodded and smiled. ¡°I am.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try that at home some time then. It¡¯d be hella awkward to do it here.¡±

    ¡°Damn, I almost expected you to do it here...¡± Velariah giggled.

    ¡°Not today, Vel,¡± I chuckled.

    ¡°Hehe, it was worth a shot.¡±

    I waited until the others finished lunch as I hoped Valtheril would be home. With a bit of luck, Coldanus would have my weapon finished by tomorrow too. I was probably going to be making a lot of silk tonight, though¡­

    Then again, I was able to earn gold quite a bit faster now.

    I was getting excited about a new weapon again. Thinking about it made me realize that this feeling was so out of place for me. At least it would have been a month or two ago.

    We walked back home through the wet streets. Once we¡¯d arrived at the mansion, I took some time to clean my legs of built-up dirt by tapping them on the cobblestones before entering.

    ¡°You look quite funny doing that,¡± Velariah said, standing by the doors as I entered.

    ¡°Funny. Do you have a towel or something? I don¡¯t want to get your floor all dirty.¡±

    ¡°Sure, just a sec.¡±

    The small doormat inside the mansion was just not going to cut it.

    What a struggle¡­

    Velariah took off her sabatons before walking to the bathroom in her socks. She returned with a towel which I gladly accepted to clean my ¡®feet¡¯ the best I could.

    After doing that, and taking off my armor, we headed for the main room. Valtheril wasn¡¯t present and neither was Elly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go upstairs to check if my father is in his office.¡±

    Draco nodded to the elf and took a seat. Seralyn and Nira joined him at the table, but I was conflicted.

    I kind of wanted to check on Minia¡­

    I shook it off and placed two chairs to the side to make space for me to stand at the table.

    ¡°Elania,¡± Seralyn spoke. ¡°Do tell me. How are you currently doing, you know, in your body? I¡¯ve wondered for a while now.¡±

    Seralyn asking a serious question? I never imagined I¡¯d see the day.

    ¡°Honest answer? I¡¯m actually doing great. Better than ever, in fact. I owe Velariah a great deal.¡±

    Seralyn nodded. ¡°I had the feeling that was the case. I know I joke around a lot, but I am happy for the two of you.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Seralyn. I know I haven¡¯t been the nicest person to you, either. I¡¯m sorry about that.¡±

    ¡°Heh, it¡¯s alright. I kind of deserved it, I guess.¡±

    What was with this elf? Was she truly becoming a better person?

    I closed my spider eyes. A small wave of relief flooded over me. It seemed there was still some strain on my mind from using them as long as I had. I was suddenly able to relax quite a bit, despite feeling incomplete this way.

    I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, followed by heavier footsteps. That had to be Valtheril.

    They entered the room and Valtheril closed the door behind him. His face seemed to be more relaxed than last time, which gave me hope that things were going in the right direction. The General was still in full armor and looked truly intimidating, especially when his face had this look of complete seriousness.

    ¡°I heard you have some¡­ interesting things to tell me,¡± Valtheril said as he took a seat.

    ¡°I figured this was information that was too important to not tell you,¡± I spoke with honesty. ¡°And I have the feeling that some of it is already known to you.¡±

    Valtheril put on a smile and leaned forward with both his arms on the table.

    ¡°Oh? Do tell.¡±

 2.17 (Mis)use of Power

    ¡°First off, we believe there is a dungeon in the forest.¡±

    Valtheril frowned. He was obviously not expecting this.

    ¡°A bold statement to make. What makes you think that?¡±

    I wondered how Valtheril would react to my next statement. He could, after all, detect if it was a lie.

    ¡°The dungeon told me.¡±

    He narrowed his eyes and stared at me.

    Nope, it wasn¡¯t a lie.

    ¡°How? What did you do?¡±

    ¡°You see, a subpart of my inherity allows me to communicate with spiders¡­ to a certain degree. The dungeon outside the village controls a huge spider which it uses to communicate with me. I can talk to the dungeon that way.¡±

    Valtheril rubbed his eyes with two fingers while his elbow rested on the table.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this,¡± He said with a sigh. He then fixed his gaze upon me once more. ¡°But that¡¯s not everything, right?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°The dungeon calls itself Arch. We took some of the Borer material with us and had him analyze it¡­ long story¡­ In short, he concluded that the massive Borer we killed was created by a dungeon and was then controlled by an individual who gave it orders. It then followed those orders until it died.¡±

    Valtheril kept looking at me, as if expecting more.

    ¡°We thought it could have to do with the assassination attempt on me, seeing as that happened not long after we removed the threat. It is as if they intended to finish me with that first, before resorting to more¡­ direct measures, that¡¯s how it feels at least. We also thought that the necromantic magic that was used on that large wolf could have something to do with an unknown dungeon.¡±

    ¡°I see why you would think that. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t quite disclose that information yet.¡± He turned to Velariah. ¡°What would you have me do?¡±

    ¡°We wanted to let you know about this and have you start a search for this unknown dungeon. We don¡¯t know if you have any other sources that may indicate there to be one. We understand that this is not a source that you can simply share with people. As things stand, this dungeon must be found and registered.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s for certain,¡± Valtheril commented.

    ¡°We have one advantage,¡± I added. ¡°None but us know that I can talk to a dungeon. Whoever was in control of that beast must have colluded with the dungeon in the forest and either coerced or extorted it into creating this creature. If we can find the dungeon, we could possibly have it spawn a spider-like creature and establish communications with it. If it¡¯s cooperative, it may reveal the identity of whoever is responsible for that monster.¡±

    ¡°But we would have to find it first. To set up exploration to find it from an unknown source is a bit¡­ risky, to put it lightly,¡± Valtheril said.

    ¡°Exactly our problem¡­¡± I sighed.

    ¡°The other solution is to organize more quests to search-and-destroy small goblin encampments and hope they stumble upon it, but that¡¯s risky too.¡±

    His face flooded with anger as he gritted his teeth. ¡°Damn goblins.¡±

    ¡°About the goblins...¡± Velariah started. ¡°We were planning on heading out to destroy one of their encampments to the northeast.¡±

    ¡°Be careful, Vel,¡± Valtheril said, his voice suddenly becoming much softer. ¡°Latest reports have it that there is a large gathering of goblins in the northern part of the forest.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be careful,¡± Velariah promised.

    ¡°Do you think Pylanor will come to the same conclusion?¡± I asked. ¡°About the beast being formed by dungeon magic?¡±

    ¡°He might,¡± Valtheril started. ¡°But that does give me an idea. If he, somehow, does not arrive at that conclusion, I could try to steer him in that direction, as to justify a search for it. That¡¯s better than nothing.¡±

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true,¡± Draco suddenly said. ¡°The other option would be to start a rumor about a possible dungeon, but, once again, that¡¯s risking lives.¡±

    Valtheril nodded. ¡°That¡¯s correct. Elania, from what I¡¯m seeing, I may need your help again sometime soon¡­ in the alchemy lab.¡±

    I nodded, understanding that he meant assistance with creating anti-venoms. I should probably share that information with my other party members soon.

    ¡°Not a problem,¡± I replied. ¡°How are we doing regarding the goblins, anyway?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve had moderate success. It¡¯s not going as quickly as I¡¯d like, but casualties have been low. I¡¯m not too unhappy about that. It appears that the southern forest is slowly being cleared out, but it seems that the goblins are starting to band together with other goblin tribes and even trolls in the northern part of the forest. I had counted on this as a possibility.¡±

    ¡°Round ¡®em up and exterminate them all at once?¡± Seralyn asked.

    Valtheril nodded. ¡°Why do you think I have a hundred and fifty soldiers in the village right now? We''ll soon get to the point where we will finally be free of this threat. One piece of good news, though: the human kingdom has started to go on expeditions of their own, effectively cleaning the eastern part of the forest.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, I guess,¡± I let out.

    ¡°Agreed. They¡¯ve left this threat untouched for too long. It was about time they started to move against the goblins.¡±

    Valtheril leaned back in his chair and a small smile appeared on his lips.

    ¡°Another piece of good news is that it seems the first coffee plants have started fruiting. We¡¯ll soon enter a more prosperous future for the village. I don¡¯t know how I can thank you enough...¡±

    I knew that was directed at me. ¡°I¡¯m happy as it is. I don¡¯t need more. Sure, the money in the contract is nice and all, but I¡¯ve already been given much more than that,¡± I said.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it,¡± He said, before standing up. ¡°I must once again thank you for this information. I¡¯ll go see Master Pylanor.¡±

    Right after he said that, I heard knocking on the door.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s Master Endomir,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get it,¡± Valtheril said before he made his way to the hallway.

    He re-entered the room with Master Endomir next to him and spoke up. ¡°I¡¯ll be off, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be home for dinner. I¡¯ve got a bunch of things to take care of.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°Please take care.¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± The General responded before leaving the mansion.

    Endomir looked at me with great curiosity. It was slightly creepy, but I could at least understand him. He, for some reason, was fascinated by insects and spiders and gathered a good amount of knowledge about them. He had been of help to me earlier with my little problem as well, so I didn¡¯t mind.

    I at least liked his spirit.

    ¡°Miss Elania¡­ I was told you had something that I would be interested in, correct?¡± He asked politely.

    I nodded. ¡°I have an almost perfect molt in the bathroom. I was wondering if you¡¯d like to buy it.¡±

    His eyes grew wide.

    ¡°That¡¯d be¡­ interesting. Can I see it?¡±

    Eager as expected. I smiled as I walked into the bathroom. I returned moments later, dragging my old molt across the floor.

    ¡°Holy crap, El,¡± Seralyn commented. ¡°Wasn¡¯t one of you enough?¡±

    ¡°Very funny,¡± I said. ¡°Fortunately for you, it¡¯s only my lower half.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ impressive,¡± Endomir commented as I placed it on the ground. ¡°Can I?¡±

    He pointed at the large molt with a finger, seemingly wanting to inspect it from up close.

    I nodded.

    He knelt before the molt and ran his hands over the chitin and lifted a leg to see it from up close. He had seemed so interested in inspecting me up close, I was happy he was finally able to more or less do it without creeping me out.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, Elania, what color is your blood?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    I was dumbfounded at the question.

    ¡°It¡¯s red, why?¡±

    ¡°Even your lower half?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ yes?¡±

    I thought back to when I first came to the village. I recalled when the goblin arrows had struck my behind. I could see red blood coming from the wound.

    ¡°Yes, it is,¡± I said with more certainty.

    ¡°Very interesting...¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m currently looking at your leg structure. Spiders have blue blood which they use to contract and retract their legs through blood pressure. They seem to have no muscles to do it. I¡¯m wondering how it works in your case.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I have no idea. I can feel my legs and move them, I don¡¯t quite know the workings behind it.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you have difficulty walking when your heart was out of commission?¡± Velariah asked from next to me.

    ¡°Huh, I guess that makes sense, then. If blood pressure is used, then I imagine missing one of my hearts does that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m wondering why your blood is red, while spider blood is blue...¡± Endomir seemed lost in thought.

    ¡°I know why blood is red,¡± I replied. ¡°I can¡¯t quite say why spider blood is blue, though.¡±

    ¡°You know why blood is red?¡± Endomir turned to me, seemingly shocked.

    He didn¡¯t know? I imagine they weren¡¯t that far yet.

    ¡°Iron,¡± I said. ¡°Iron is the reason that blood is red.¡±

    Endomir seemed intrigued. ¡°Interesting hypothesis.¡±

    He thought I wasn¡¯t sure?

    Maybe that was for the better.

    I doubted he¡¯d use this knowledge to cause harm, but I still had to be careful. These people just weren¡¯t as advanced as humanity back on Earth yet¡­

    Endomir turned back to the molt and knocked on the carapace, causing a hollow sound to reverberate through the room.

    ¡°Lightweight and strong. Have you not thought about selling this to the armorsmith? I imagine he¡¯d be quite interested in this material.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°I have. When I molt again, I¡¯ll take it to him. I wanted you to have the opportunity to buy the first one.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll buy it. How does fifteen gold sound?¡±

    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡±

    Free money was the best. Well, there was the part where I had to get out of it, but I¡¯d have to do that either way.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this...¡± Seralyn commented.

    Nira giggled at the brunette¡¯s comment.

    The treemender seemed overjoyed to have this molt for his¡­ I guess he had a collection somewhere?

    I wasn¡¯t going to ask¡­

    I thought for a moment. Did I not have questions for Endomir about my body? I believe I was going to ask how spiders ate, but it seems I more or less figured that out on my own. Even if it wasn¡¯t quite the same, the reason I would ask questions like those was to see if I could utilize the knowledge to my advantage. In this case, that specific question was moot.

    What else could I ask?

    I couldn¡¯t come up with anything¡­ I had the feeling I was forgetting something, but I had no idea what.

    Perhaps that was just me.

    Endomir pulled out a coin chest from under his robes and started counting. He then handed me two square gold coins, four normal ones, and two square silver coins. I thanked him as he turned his gaze back to my molt.

    I smiled at the sight. He was like a kid in a candy store, staring his eyes out. I imagined this was probably a dream come true for him. It made me happy I was able to help out.

    Who knew if he would be able to find out a thing or two about me through that molt? I¡¯d love to see it.

    Endomir carefully dragged the molt behind him as he made for the exit. I helped him by making sure the molt¡¯s limbs wouldn¡¯t be damaged by the doorposts. Once he was outside, he waved goodbye, all too happy with his newest prize.

    ¡°What a weirdo,¡± Seralyn said when I returned to the room.

    ¡°He¡¯s been of great help, though,¡± I replied. ¡°Did you know spiders have blue blood? I didn¡¯t. I¡¯m actually wondering why that is. Who knows, I might benefit from knowing that someday.¡±

    ¡°If red blood is because of iron, do you think blue is because of some other metal?¡± Velariah asked.

    I started thinking. ¡°Hmm, two things come to mind. There¡¯s cobalt, I know that metal is often depicted as blue. The other thing that comes to mind is copper, I believe copper in solutions has a blue color.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know how to find out. I hate it when that happens, but there¡¯s nothing I can do about it.¡±

    ¡°Your knowledge sure is interesting,¡± Draco said.

    ¡°Blood being red because of iron is common knowledge in my old world. At least, I think it is.¡±

    I smiled. ¡°Trust me, there¡¯s much more interesting knowledge in this head of mine.¡±

    ¡°Looking forward to seeing it.¡± Draco smiled.

    ¡°One day, Draco, one day.¡±

    ¡°What do you guys want to do?¡± Velariah changed the topic as I repositioned myself at the table.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go out in a bit,¡± Draco said. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to get a large number of supplies for when we head out. We will probably need some tents or sleeping bags.¡±

    ¡°Good idea,¡± The white-haired elf said. ¡°I think Elania and I will make another stop at Coldanus¡¯s shop in the afternoon or early evening to see if he can get it done before we head out tomorrow. Elania?¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± I replied.

    ¡°Shall we go for another round of silk so we can pay for your weapon and any extra costs, in case Coldanus decides to charge extra for making something like this on short notice?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s do that.¡±

    ¡°Have fun, lovebirds,¡± Seralyn grinned, as we walked over to the bathroom.

    I simply smiled at her comment, but I doubted she was able to see it.

    I entered the room and stepped over the hammock, before opening my side eyes.

    They traced the walls, but I didn¡¯t see Minia anywhere. Where had she gone off to?

    Seriously, where was she? She could always be found near the head end of the hammock on the wall, waiting for us to return, yet, she wasn¡¯t there.

    I decided to look in the last place where she could possibly be; the crate.

    And it seems I was right. Minia was inside some sort of housing made of silk, like a pup tent. She stood in it, completely motionless and I couldn¡¯t feel any emotions come from the spider.

    I was a bit worried, but I could feel she was alive.

    Was she molting?

    She sure had eaten a lot lately.

    ¡°Is she okay?¡± Velariah asked, looking over my shoulder.

    ¡°Seems she¡¯s molting, at least I think she is.¡±

    ¡°Poor Minia. At least she has someone who can sympathize,¡± I saw Velariah smile next to me.

    ¡°Heh, funny.¡± I smiled back at her.

    ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll be able to make a nest like that too?¡± Velariah asked leaning, her head against my side.

    I took hold of her side with my arms as I lowered myself to her height.

    ¡°Hmm, our own little love nest. It has a certain charm to it.¡±

    ¡°You make it sound so much more interesting that way,¡± Velariah replied.

    I grinned. ¡°I wonder if I could.¡±

    ¡°You probably can,¡± She said while grasping my lower set of arms and turning me away from the crate. She then put her hands on my cheeks and pulled me in for a kiss.

    ¡°Are you okay, Vel?¡± I asked when she broke away. ¡°I mean, physically.¡± I pointed a finger where the fireball had hit her earlier.

    Velariah pulled up her shirt and showed me a burn wound that was located just below her chest. Her movements made me blush slightly as I stared at her chest in the process.

    I ran my finger over the wound that was about two inches large. ¡°Does it hurt?¡±

    ¡°Not really,¡± She spoke. ¡°But it made me wonder if I should get a fire protection enchantment on my chest. The problem is that we never know what we¡¯re up against.¡±

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s one of the reasons that higher-tier armor with more slots is also far more expensive, right? You can simply enchant it against everything.¡±

    Velariah nodded. ¡°It¡¯s very useful for all-rounders, though, for certain creatures, you want to focus entirely on a single school of defense when you know what you¡¯re going to fight. My father taught me that.¡±

    ¡°Must be extremely strong creatures then. I¡¯d like to not run into one of those anytime soon.¡±

    The elf nodded again.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there one specific gem that protects against all schools of magic?¡± I asked.

    ¡°There is...¡± Velariah started.

    I knew exactly where this was going. Her voice became much softer as she said that, which could only mean one thing.

    ¡°But it¡¯s going to cost a thousand gold, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Fifteen hundred, in fact. They are made from incredibly rare gems and extremely hard to craft. but yes, they are mighty expensive.¡±

    I sighed. I had seen this coming from a mile away.

    ¡°It protects against all schools just as well as all gems combined, and it only takes a single slot. It¡¯s not hard to guess why it¡¯s so expensive.¡±

    ¡°I do wonder if the tailor has that much...¡± I said.

    ¡°Heh, as long as he can make a name for himself, he might be working overtime. I heard the new clothes made from your silk have started to gain some attention from the higher-ups.¡±

    She smiled. ¡°And my father may have had a few words with some people and recommended them to visit the tailor.¡±

    ¡°Such blatant misuse of power.¡± I smiled as I put my hands on her hips and chest (my hands were still under her shirt), my pedipalps on her shoulders, and pulled her in for a kiss.

    ¡°Hmm, I like this misuse of power,¡± She said seductively.

    I gave her several more small kisses and simply enjoyed her touch.

    ¡°At least we have something to work towards, I guess,¡± I said after a good minute of affection for the elf.

    ¡°We have plenty to work towards...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± I asked with a grin.

    ¡°Who knows? Anyway, let¡¯s get to work, shall we?¡±

 2.18 Silk

    ¡°Actually, Vel...¡±

    I ran my finger over her burn wound and saw her grit her teeth.

    Yep, she was acting tough again.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to leave you with that. It seems to hurt you, and I¡¯d rather not have a scar on your unblemished body.¡±

    She didn¡¯t seem to know what to say. I took hold of one of my pedipalps and created a small wound with one of the claws in one of my index fingers, drawing a few drops of blood.

    Regenerative Blood, apparently absurd, and yet effective too.

    Velariah smiled slightly as I smeared some blood on her wound. ¡°You¡¯re too kind¡­¡±

    ¡°I just don¡¯t want you in pain...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s... cold. It feels kind of nice¡­ refreshing...¡± She said as I worked.

    I finished covering the damaged skin with my blood and kissed Velariah again. ¡°Now we can get to work,¡± I said with a smile.

    I walked over to the tub and leaned on the edge as Velariah fetched her spools. ¡°You think Dworag will have the helmet finished tomorrow as well?¡± I asked.

    I opened my side eyes to see Velariah grab a pillow, which she used to sit on before touching my spinnerets gently.

    ¡°I reckon he will have it done, yes. The way he acted¡­ I feel like he wants to fix his work.¡±

    I took a moment to focus on the kind of silk I wanted to create. Water-resistant threads were soon slowly pulled from inside me.

    ¡°He couldn¡¯t have known I¡¯d grow these extra eyes, though. It¡¯s not like the product was broken when I got it or anything.¡±

    ¡°Well, you know Dworag. He has taken a liking to you. I also think that Steelthread of yours is something he is very much looking forward to using.¡±

    ¡°I gotta admit, I¡¯m quite looking forward to it myself.¡± I paused for a few seconds. ¡°I¡¯m starting to get a bit worried about the leg armor idea. It seems my carapace gets stronger through each evolution. Will I at some point still need armor? Will it grow stronger than steel?¡±

    ¡°I imagine it will. It would surely save a bunch of money if it turned out to be unnecessary. If only there was a way to test how strong your natural leg armor was¡­ I mean, I could hit it with my sword, but if things go wrong... you know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d lose a leg¡­ again.¡±

    ¡°Maybe the Steelthread would be ideal for it,¡± Velariah said. ¡°I imagine you could wrap it around your legs quite easily, or have Dworag try to make something with it.¡±

    I thought for a second. ¡°Having plated armor would probably be too much of a hassle anyway. Imagine all the measuring that would need to be done.¡±

    Velariah chuckled. ¡°Likely.¡±

    ¡°I wonder what he will come up with regarding the weapons,¡± I said.

    I had something of an idea in my head that resembled the idea of a ring bayonet. A strong ring around one of my legs, above the final segment, could be great. I did not want the possible blade to extend past my feet or I¡¯d have trouble walking. I¡¯d have to retract the final segment of my leg and then stab or slice.

    I guess it was close to the Wolverine idea. He balled his hands into fists before slashing too, after all¡­

    I chuckled. ¡°We¡¯ll have to sell this silk today. I wonder if we can get extra for it being fresh.¡±

    Velariah laughed. ¡°Dunno. I can try, though.¡±

    I allowed myself to relax while she worked. I had all my eyes closed and was thankful I was able to. Relaxing like this was a thousand times better.

    ¡°You¡¯re enjoying this, aren¡¯t you?¡± Velariah said after a while.

    ¡°I am.¡±

    ¡°Silly El.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a spider. What can I say? We make webs, you know? Who said I couldn¡¯t enjoy it?¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± She chuckled. ¡°I guess I got to learn that the hard way the other day.¡±

    ¡°Shut up. You enjoyed that.¡±

    ¡°Tee-hee.¡±

    I smiled while she continued. ¡°You know, I am wondering if I could create anything like what Minia made. With some pillows, I imagine it could be quite comfortable¡­ It¡¯s kind of like a sleeping bag.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t your legs be a problem?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°Dunno. I kind of don¡¯t want to ruin your bathroom though...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s your room now, El. You can do whatever you want. If you want to make this your nest, go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Nest, huh?¡± I grinned.

    ¡°I have to admit, the idea of it is quite...¡±

    ¡°Unnerving?¡± I suggested sarcastically.

    ¡°More like the exact opposite.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this is another one of your fetishes.¡±

    She remained quiet.

    ¡°Why am I not surprised?¡± I grinned.

    ¡°Hey! I got a spider girlfriend. I¡¯d like to experience all the benefits that come with it!¡±

    I laughed. ¡°Alright, then. I¡¯ll make you a nest one day.¡±

    I had a terrible joke enter my mind. ¡°At least Elly won¡¯t have to clean the spider webs.¡±

    Velariah chuckled. ¡°It would be a shame if she did.¡±

    We remained quiet for several minutes before Velariah said she was finished.

    ¡°How much do you have?¡± I asked as I stopped my silk production.

    ¡°Ten spools. I reckon we kind of want to stick to that amount.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. For some reason, I¡¯m still not drained or hungry. I¡¯m curious how much of a reserve I built up when I ¡®ate¡¯ that Borer.¡±

    ¡°Quite a bit, it seems,¡± Velariah replied.

    I turned around and took Velariah in for a hug while she still sat on the pillow. ¡°How is your chest doing?¡±

    ¡°No idea. Why don¡¯t you have a look?¡± She asked with a sly smile.

    I happily obliged and raised her shirt, only to see the wound completely gone. All that was left was some of my dried blood which could easily be washed off.

    Velariah looked down at the wound as well. ¡°Damn, El, your blood really is special.¡±

    I let her shirt fall down and gave her a kiss. ¡°Thank you, Vel.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡± She seemed like she didn¡¯t know what I meant.

    ¡°For accepting me¡­ all of me. I never imagined I could live, let alone have this much fun, as a half-spider.¡±

    She kissed me lovingly as we embraced each other. ¡°No need to thank me, El. I truly love you. I¡¯ll gladly accept and explore everything there is to know about your new self together with you.¡±

    She made my heart race with those sweet words of hers. I replied by wrapping my front two sets of legs and my pedipalps around her frame before kissing her again.

    I then hugged her tenderly for several more minutes.

    I wished these moments could last forever.

    ¡°You wanna do this for the rest of the day, or what?¡± Velariah asked. I wasn¡¯t sure if the question was serious. I simply nodded in response.

    ¡°Well...¡± She paused for a second. ¡°There¡¯s not a whole lot we can do until dinner. We still have plenty of time before shops close¡­ Why the hell not?¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Vel,¡± I said as I put my upper hands in her hair on her shoulders.

    I cuddled her with my eyes closed and simply let the warmth within me grow as time passed. I forgot about all worries that were in my life and seemed to forget about the ones that I would have to deal with later, too.

    This elf was a drug¡­

    ¡°El?¡± Velariah¡¯s voice came after a long period of hugging.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°I need to pee.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°You totally ruined it.¡±

    ¡°I know. I¡¯m sorry,¡± Velariah said softly.

    I let her go, stood up, and left the room, giving her some privacy.

    When I entered the dining area, I could see nobody there.

    Odd.

    Where had they gone off to?

    Elly entered the room from the kitchen, and saw me looking around.

    ¡°The others have gone out, if you¡¯re looking for them.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I replied. ¡°I think Velariah and I will head out for a bit soon as well.¡±

    Elly nodded.

    ¡°Is Gray upstairs?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Nira took him for a walk.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°Can I help you with anything, Elania?¡±

    ¡°Uh, some water would be nice, thank you very much.¡± I smiled at the maid.

    She nodded again before entering the kitchen and returned with a glass of ice-cold water, which I quickly drank before placing the glass on the table. I then made my way over to the hallway to equip my armor.

    It didn¡¯t take long before Velariah joined me. She brought her pack with her.

    ¡°Eager, aren¡¯t you?¡± She grinned.

    I shrugged. ¡°I figured I might as well.¡±

    ¡°Where are the others, by the way?¡± She asked as she started putting on her own armor.

    ¡°Elly told me they were out. Apparently, Nira has Gray with her.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t surprise me in the least.¡±

    ¡°They do seem to get along pretty well,¡± I said with a smile. The thought of them together was just too cute to not smile at.

    Velariah had a smile on her face for the rest of the time she spent equipping herself. When she finished and fastened the belt of the pack around her, we headed out.

    The clouds had mostly disappeared and the sun was shining brightly again, which was a welcome change compared to earlier. My mood was lifted almost immediately. Velariah reached for one of my hands and held it, forcing me to lower myself, so she wouldn¡¯t have to hold her arm in an uncomfortable position.

    ¡°It warms my heart to see you happy, El. I hope you don¡¯t mind being put into this comparatively low-technology world.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± I said as we walked towards the tailoring shop. ¡°Sure, there are some times that I get bored, those gaps would quite easily be filled in my old life, but I¡¯m still happy to be here. Besides, I didn¡¯t have you back on Earth.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that.¡±

    We reached the tailor and Velariah let go of my hand to enter the shop. It didn¡¯t take long for her to walk out again.

    ¡°El, you have no idea how jealous I am of your ability to make money. Twenty gold within an hour is quite insane.¡±

    ¡°You want me to turn you into an Arachne as well, or what?¡± I asked with a grin.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Can you?¡±

    Wait, was she actually serious?

    The grin on her face told me it was a joke, but I couldn¡¯t help but sense some kind of seriousness in her voice.

    I shook my head. ¡°Of course I can¡¯t. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d do it, even if I could.¡±

    That was quite the ethical dilemma. I hated those.

    I decided to quickly change topics.

    ¡°We¡¯re at like, forty-seven gold now, right?¡± I asked.

    Velariah nodded. ¡°More than enough for a new weapon of high quality. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing you use it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a bit hesitant. I know it¡¯s going to be good, excellent even for my style outdoors, but I¡¯m not going to be able to train it much before heading out.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a sword on a pole,¡± Velarah stated matter-of-factly. ¡°Against goblins, and possibly trolls as well, it¡¯s as simple as just making sure you have a good grip on it before running it into their bodies.¡±

    ¡°Think four arms will be enough to have a good grip on it?¡± I chuckled.

    ¡°I reckon it¡¯s plenty.¡± She smiled.

    We reached the weapon shop and halted before it. Velariah turned to me and asked me what enchants I wanted.

    ¡°Hum, what would happen if I put nothing but piercing enchants on it?¡±

    ¡°That...¡± She looked at me with large eyes. ¡°Could actually turn out quite nicely, considering the way you intend to use the weapon.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought, too. I have to admit, I¡¯m slightly disappointed with the effects I¡¯ve seen so far. The one I feel has the biggest impact is the block one that Draco and I have in our shields. I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve felt the difference the others made much.¡±

    ¡°While that might be true...¡± Velariah started. ¡°In combat, it¡¯s the little edges that can mean the difference between life and death. I¡¯m sure you noticed a huge difference when we fought those trolls in the forest and the time you fought one before that. That flimsy spear you had when I found you was hot garbage.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I suppose you¡¯re right, but weapon quality probably did most of the work there.¡±

    Velariah shrugged. ¡°As I said, it¡¯s the little things. Let¡¯s see how triple piercing damage will work out, shall we?¡±

    I nodded, and Velariah entered the building, a hefty pouch of coins in her hands.

    I looked around the village while I waited for the elf. This massive tree in the center never ceased to amaze me. Its size and beauty were simply¡­ out of this world. It easily matched a sequoia tree in height.

    For some reason, it seemed to be more¡­ magical than on other days. I couldn¡¯t explain it. I got the feeling from looking at its leaves dancing in the wind.

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± Velariah spooked me with her voice. I didn¡¯t have my side eyes open so I didn¡¯t see her approach.

    ¡°Oops, didn¡¯t mean to scare you. Sorry about that, El.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°It truly is beautiful.¡±

    ¡°A gift from Velineri,¡± Velariah spoke softly. ¡°Have you noticed anything odd about it?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°I was just wondering about it. It feels¡­ more magical¡­ I can¡¯t put it into words. There¡¯s something there that wasn¡¯t there before...¡±

    ¡°Hopefully, we¡¯ll be back soon after leaving for that quest. You¡¯ll find out why this village is called Dawnleaf.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Is there something happening?¡±

    The elf nodded. ¡°Our yearly village celebration in honor of our goddess is coming up.¡±

    ¡°Is that why you¡¯re in such a hurry?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯d like to not miss it.¡±

    She stared at the tree for a good minute or so. ¡°You¡¯ll love it too. It is magical. If you think the tree seems off already, wait until you find out what happens when the tree reaches its magical peak,¡± She said softly.

    ¡°You seem to be looking forward to it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to compare it to anything else, El. It¡¯s truly beautiful.¡±

    She seemed lost in thought when looking at the large oak.

    ¡°Thanks, Vel. Now you got me all excited too,¡± I said with a smile.

    Velariah hugged my side. ¡°I really want us to be here¡­ together.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll make sure we¡¯re home in time,¡± I said, as I returned the hug.

    ¡°Was Coldanus up yet?¡± I asked, after a while of staring.

    ¡°He was. He promised to get it done by morning. He actually seemed kind of excited to work on this. He did charge the full forty gold, though.¡±

    ¡°I did not expect anything less, to be honest. At least I know his work is good.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯d better be, with those prices,¡± Velariah chuckled.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± I replied. ¡°Is there anything else we need to take care of before we leave?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°Draco was going to take care of supplies and some tents. We just need to hope Dworag is finished tomorrow to pick up your helmet and then this new weapon. Unless I¡¯m missing something, I daresay we are about ready.¡±

    ¡°In that case,¡± I started. ¡°What will we do until dinner?¡±

    I looked at the sky. The red glare of evening had not begun to set in yet¡­ or was it barely starting? Anyway, there¡¯d be some more time to kill before dinner and sleep.

    ¡°No idea. Do you have anything you want to do?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Actually...¡± I thought for a second. ¡°There was a thought that crossed my mind earlier. You know how I first came up with sticky silk by simply thinking about it? The same thing happened for the water-resistant and fire-resistant versions. They were on my inherity sheet after I already discovered them. The Steelthread appeared before I tried making that. It appears to me as if there are two ways for me to learn new types of silk: thinking about their properties, or finding out about them with an updated sheet after evolving.¡±

    ¡°And you just thought of a new type you wanted to try? Is that where you were going?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Correct. I was thinking of creating highly-elastic silk. I imagine that could be quite useful for certain types of clothing, and perhaps a few other applications too...¡±

    Another thought crossed my mind. ¡°And I may just have thought of a way to improve my bathing experience.¡±

    ¡°Oh, now I¡¯m interested,¡± Velariah stated.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to need that vessel thingy that I talked about. You know, something like a hollow disc of iron with small holes in it. It also needs to have an opening where you can push water into.¡±

    ¡°Sounds easy enough for Dworag to fix. Let¡¯s place that as the next order for him tomorrow when we visit him. I¡¯d hate to disturb him now.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go home, then. I¡¯d love to see what you¡¯re capable of, regarding your silk. Do you have anything else in mind that could work?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to think of more things. I imagine if I can at least create something with the properties in mind they would evolve when I do, right? I mean, just look at how much effort I had with the fire and water-resistant silk at first. The latter is now a breeze for me.¡±

    ¡°Do you think you can color it?¡± Velariah asked out of the blue as we started our walk back to the mansion.

    ¡°Hum, that would be quite something, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s worth a shot.¡±

    ¡°It is,¡± I replied.

    I thought about the possibilities on the way home. Maybe this ability was far more flexible than I had initially thought?

    Faragi

    Apologies for the slow updates on this story. I''m scrambling to find time to work on both this and a new project I''m working on :(

 2.19 Experimentation

    It wasn¡¯t long before we found ourselves in the mansion again. Seralyn was present in the dining area, restocking her pack of elven necessities.

    ¡°What are you guys up to?¡± Seralyn asked after Velariah had simply said hi to her and started making her way to the bathroom.

    Velariah took a spool from her pack and held it up for Seralyn to see. ¡°We¡¯re gonna have a look and see how far Elania can push this ¡®Silk Weaver¡¯ inherity of hers.¡±

    Seralyn grinned slightly. ¡°Yeah, you guys have fun with that.¡±

    I knew she was going to spin it in an awkward way.

    Yet I smiled at her comment as Velariah and I entered the bathroom.

    Before we got to work, I decided to check how Minia was doing. She was still standing motionless in her web bed. I knew she was alive which was the one thing that kept me from panicking. The conclusion of her molting wasn¡¯t a far-fetched one.

    ¡°Told you she was cute,¡± Velariah said, as she sat down on the pillow again.

    ¡°I hate to admit that you¡¯re right.¡± I sighed. ¡°Who knew I¡¯d ever come this far?¡±

    Velariah chuckled. ¡°I knew.¡±

    I smiled as I got in position, my head resting on my arms on the edge of the tub. ¡°Let¡¯s get this experimentation underway,¡± I said as I thought of my silk as being elastic, somewhat like rubber bands.

    Rubber¡­

    Could I make something resembling rubber?

    I thought about it as deeply as I could. Forget elastic alone, I¡¯d try to have it mimic rubber¡¯s properties. If I could create something like that, I could potentially use it to create tires for carts. They wouldn¡¯t necessarily have to be filled with air, just rubber alone would already be useful. I could look into it deeper from there.

    If this worked¡­

    I felt Velariah¡¯s touch and refocused on what I knew about rubber. The clearest image I could come up with would be rubber bands. I simply took that as a start.

    ¡°What the hell is this?¡± Velariah asked after a few seconds of pulling out silk.

    That sounded good.

    ¡°Just finish that spool,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll check it afterward and explain what it is. From your voice, I can make out that it¡¯s exactly what I want it to be.¡±

    ¡°Okay then,¡± She said, sounding puzzled.

    A few minutes later she completed her work and tapped my rear.

    ¡°Time for you to explain what the hell this is.¡±

    I turned around and took the spool which she was holding up for me.

    I touched the silk and smiled. I then pulled on a string slightly and released it, causing it to snap back in place, much like a rubber band.

    ¡°This, my dear Velariah, is called rubber. At least the properties are like rubber. I¡¯m quite surprised it was this easy to make. I¡¯m not drained or anything like that.¡±

    She squinted at me with a quizzing look.

    I continued. ¡°I thought of this instead of it simply being elastic. Rubber is elastic, water-resistant, and durable. I thought we could maybe use this to wrap around wheels. That¡¯s pretty much how vehicles moved in my old world. It made vehicles far more shock-resistant and allowed for much more comfortable transport. It also provides more traction for when there are low-quality or no roads at all.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this. You¡¯ve done it again,¡± She said with disbelief.

    ¡°Of course, we have to be careful with this. I didn¡¯t intend to implement that all of a sudden, but I wanted to know if I could create something like this.¡±

    I looked at the spool in one of my hands and smiled. ¡°Turns out, I can.¡±

    ¡°Rubber you say? Interesting...¡±

    ¡°It has all kinds of uses,¡± I responded. ¡°Too many to name, honestly. You can also put this under your shoes, for example. More grip means you can run faster, something that would be quite useful in this world.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ amazing...¡±

    ¡°I think we should try that out first, at least for our party. I imagine you have a shoemaker or something in Dawnleaf?¡±

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°The tailor has some simple shoes for sale, but the closest shoemaker is located in Duskleaf. I imagine you want to find something to hide the fact that it¡¯s silk, right?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Exactly where I was going.¡±

    ¡°Dyeing is probably the easiest way to hide it. Compress it so that nobody can judge it from its structure and then dye it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more or less what I thought as well.¡±

    ¡°Can I...?¡± She asked as she pointed to the spool.

    I gave it to her and observed her do the same things I¡¯d done before. She pulled out the thread to its maximum elastic capacity and let go, causing it to strike her finger when it snapped back.

    ¡°Ouch.¡±

    I covered my face with a palm and grinned. ¡°You have no idea how much that happened back on Earth. You fell prey to one of the classic blunders.¡±

    ¡°This stuff is crazy. You¡¯re right that it seems like this provides a lot of grip. Just from running my fingers over it, I can already see what you mean.¡±

    I let her play around with our new invention for a bit before I got back in position. ¡°Let¡¯s see if I can give my silk a color now, shall we?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Velariah said. Her voice sounded a bit sad at having to put away my newly dubbed ¡®Rubber Silk¡¯.

    I sure sucked at naming things.

    I thought of normal non-sticky silk, seeing as that seemed to be my ¡®default¡¯. I imagined if anything could be dyed it would be this. As the elf slowly pulled it out, I tried to think of different colors, just in case some of them didn¡¯t work.

    ¡°Nothing¡¯s happening,¡± Velariah soon said. ¡°I don¡¯t think this works.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°It was worth a shot. What else do we have?¡±

    ¡°I just had an idea. Do you remember how you said you could use your Steelthread to perhaps cut into animals who run into it? Do you think there is an option to infuse it with venom at the same time?¡±

    ¡°That would be quite something, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± I replied. ¡°I believe my inherity sheet said I should be able to infuse silk with magical properties, so I don¡¯t think venom is outside the realm of possibilities. Do you have anti-venom ready?¡±

    ¡°I do.¡± I heard her take out a vial from her pack.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s try.¡±

    I thought of a weak venom, just in case things went wrong. I didn¡¯t quite know the extent of how specific I had to think in order to come up with the results I wanted. When I thought of the strongest venom I could produce when we fought the monster in the dungeon, it appeared to work just fine. I decided to think along the same lines and think of the weakest venom I could come up with, while thinking about Steelthread at the same time.

    As Velariah worked, I could clearly notice that this needed more effort than just thinking about silk. It wasn¡¯t terrible at all, but I needed to focus. This was a good sign, in my opinion.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Velariah called. ¡°This clearly works.¡±

    I stopped producing silk and opened my side eyes and slightly turned my head so I could see her.

    Velariah held up a string between two fingers on each hand. The most noticeable thing was that the string was dark green. More importantly, it was still Steelthread. I was wondering if combining those two would work, and apparently, it did.

    ¡°Neat. It¡¯s got camouflage to boot. This is great knowledge for when we¡¯re going to fight the goblins.¡±

    Velariah grinned. ¡°I guess we found out you can dye your silk after all. Though, I doubt the tailor would be happy with something that could kill his customers.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a problem, isn¡¯t it?¡± I chuckled. ¡°What¡¯s next? Hmmm.¡±

    I started thinking.

    Magical properties, huh?

    I wonder what exactly that meant. Could I make a thread that would spontaneously combust when something ran into it?

    I imagined I wouldn¡¯t use something like that in the forest, for fear of causing a fire, but it could be worth trying out on a smaller scale. It could have its uses in dungeons.

    But¡­ could I?

    ¡°Let me try something,¡± I said as I stood up. I then, very carefully, created a small line on the floor. I picked it up with one of my pedipalps with the utmost care in the world, before I struck the lower end of the thread with my other pedipalp.

    The results were nothing short of awe-inspiring. The thread caught fire and got consumed by it before a second had passed. A small wave of heat reached my face after the fire had disappeared just as soon as it had appeared.

    ¡°What¡­ The fuck,¡± Velariah seemed at a loss for words.

    I stared at where the thread had previously been. I was just as lost as the elf.

    ¡°I had no idea I could do that...¡±

    I scratched my head.

    ¡°Just what the hell am I?¡± I continued.

    It was a rhetorical question, yet Velariah seemed to find it needed an answer.

    ¡°You¡¯re just you, Elania. Don¡¯t think this makes you a monster.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t looking for an answer to that question. This just seemed a bit¡­ excessive, which is why I said what I said. I know who I am. Don¡¯t worry too much about that.¡±

    I smiled at Velariah to let her know I was feeling fine.

    ¡°I¡¯m honestly surprised that this is within my capabilities. I have no idea how to look at this. It seems extremely strong, but I can see this backfiring too.¡±

    ¡°I guess it fits your style of planning wherever possible before engaging in combat.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    I shook my head. Combustion Thread. I still couldn¡¯t believe it.

    Just what was present in my rear? Would I ever explode if I caught fire?

    Not something I wanted to find out.

    Was this created biologically, or through magic? I wonder.

    ¡°At least we found something that can easily start a fire if we are ever out of torches or anything,¡± I chuckled.

    ¡°Good point,¡± Velariah said with a smile. ¡°Just don¡¯t ever use that kind on me, please.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± I grinned.

    ¡°Any other ideas?¡± Velariah asked me, her face changing back to a more serious expression.

    ¡°Let me think...¡±

    There were probably going to be too many kinds of silk that I could produce, the problem was that most of them would likely be very niche. At the moment, I was focused on thinking about what could be of use in combat. It appeared I couldn¡¯t color them, so I assumed transparent silk would be out of the question. The closest I would get to camouflage was going to be my venom combined with the forest background. Very thin threads might work too, but they wouldn¡¯t be strong enough to serve any use.

    Besides, I would have no idea how to control individual strands. Somehow, all my silk, besides the spread variant that I had dubbed ¡®shotgun silk¡¯ would merge together in one thread from my spinnerets. I wondered if there was something that could solve that.

    Maybe if I could move each individual spinneret?

    That would probably look creepy, though.

    ¡°I don¡¯t quite know¡­ do you know of anything?¡± I concluded after a while.

    ¡°If you can use your venom on your silk, I assume you¡¯ll be able to use the paralyzing venom too, no?¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to assume that¡¯s the case. I can see scenarios where that might be useful. I¡¯m going to try to create some. I planned on refreshing my inherity sheet. I might as well make sure that everything I know will show up on it. It will also give me an idea of their potency.¡±

    Velariah nodded.

    I then created a small amount of silk that I tried to infuse with the paralyzing venom from the mushrooms. I found that it took no effort to create this once more. I hypothesized that venom-infusing would not take a toll on my body whatsoever because it combined my other inherity with it. I did seem to be quite¡­ proficient with venom, after all.

    The resulting silk took on a yellowish color. It wasn¡¯t hard to see where the color came from, but I was a bit disappointed. I would have preferred for it to be green, for obvious stealth reasons.

    I held the small string before Velariah.

    ¡°Seems that works, too.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°I would have not thought this possible, but then again, it appears these inherity sheets don¡¯t lie.¡±

    For a moment I thought about creating barbed wire silk, but even if that was possible, I was not looking forward to creating it. I imagined it would be quite¡­ painful.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Velariah asked. ¡°You look as if you just hurt yourself.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing, just a random idea that I won¡¯t even try.¡± I simply shook it off. ¡°I can¡¯t quite come up with something else at the moment, can you?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll probably come up with more things later,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°How are you doing, by the way, do you feel like we could do ten more spools, or do you need to eat first?¡±

    ¡°In a hurry?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We still owe Dworag twenty gold. If we can do ten spools of water-resistant silk, we¡¯d have that paid off.¡±

    ¡°Oh shit, you¡¯re right.¡±

    ¡°Seems someone is of the forgetful kind,¡± She said with a smile.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s me alright.¡±

    I sighed before continuing. ¡°I¡¯m actually feeling perfectly fine. I think I¡¯m still running on that Borer. I haven¡¯t noticed myself getting hungry in the slightest. I should be okay with ten more spools. I reckon when we are in the forest, I can probably find something to hunt and... You know¡­ ¡®eat¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Elly¡¯s cooking isn¡¯t good enough anymore?¡± She asked with an evil grin.

    I shook my head. ¡°Elly¡¯s cooking is the best. It¡¯s just that¡­ you know¡­ The other way of eating seems to keep me going for much longer.¡± I peered into Velariah¡¯s eyes. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t enjoy a grand meat tonight. I¡¯m just aiming to be economical here.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so convincing when you put it like that...¡± She said with a sly smile. The elf then stood up from her pillow.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to check on Elly, I imagine she is working on dinner right about now.¡±

    ¡°That late already, huh?¡± I said.

    I couldn¡¯t say I minded it. In fact, I¡¯d like to get to tomorrow as soon as possible. My adventurous self was beating my frightened self pretty hard.

    I was also curious how my new silk tricks would hold up in a fight.

    Velariah left the room and I got in a position to produce more silk. I then closed all my eyes and let my mind wander off.

    One of the thoughts that ran through my mind was whether it would have been better for me to stay human when coming to this world. If the same things happened that had happened after I appeared here, I was positive I would have died very early on. Not only that, but a human female with no combat experience to speak of, no training or gym prowess, in a harsh world such as this¡­ I would have been weak, very much so.

    I smiled.

    This body was truly amazing. There was no way I could still deny its usefulness. I had everything I needed in this; power, speed, and, not completely unimportant, a steady supply of cash.

    I had but one worry remaining, not that it was important. Well, maybe it was, I didn¡¯t know. I was simply left wondering how this body and my inherities would scale once our party gained more strength. Would my (mostly) physical abilities be able to keep up with actual magic? If Velariah could replicate anything that resembled her father¡¯s attack, I didn¡¯t know if I could compete with her anymore.

    I wasn¡¯t even calculating Draco¡¯s and Seralyn¡¯s abilities. If Draco could summon an actual meteor, and if Seralyn could create massive explosions with her arrows, I truly feared I would fall short without abilities such as those of my own.

    Then again, some of my abilities were still unknown, even to this damned inherity sheet that was supposed to be oh-so all-revealing.

    It made me grow a pair of eyes in addition to my human ones, that was it. While they had their use, I wasn¡¯t denying that, it was still just that, a pair of eyes.

    I sighed.

    Maybe I was getting too far ahead of myself. I hoped I¡¯d be able to get some abilities of my own, but only time could tell. There was no need to worry about it now.

    Velariah returned and locked the room. I simply acknowledged her by opening the right of my side eyes, before closing it again.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s kinda creepy,¡± She said chuckling.

    I responded with a hearty laugh of my own.

    ¡°I just talked to Elly. She will try to have dinner ready at about the same time we finish.¡±

    ¡°Perfect.¡±

    ¡°I also brought your inherity sheet with me.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Vel. Let¡¯s get Dworag¡¯s payment ready first, shall we?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do that. I hope you¡¯re looking forward to steak,¡± Velariah said in response.

    ¡°Elly¡¯s making steak? Lovely,¡± I answered cheerfully. ¡°In my old life, I was hardly ever able to afford steak. It¡¯s quite expensive back in my world, you know?¡±

    ¡°Lucky you.¡±

    ¡°And even then, this world¡¯s tastes much better.¡±

    I started salivating already at the thought of delicious food. I almost didn¡¯t notice Velariah touch my silk-producing organs.

    I relaxed once more as money started flowing from my behind onto the spools that Velariah held.

    Yep, this life was just perfect.

 2.20 Anticipation

    I guessed we were at it for about an hour. Velariah and I hadn¡¯t spoken much. I was far too relaxed near the end of it. Velariah¡¯s tapping on my behind brought me back to reality.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± She asked.

    I had to take a moment to register how exactly I was feeling.

    ¡°I¡¯m still fine. How many spools did I make now without eating a full buffet?¡±

    ¡°Many. Makes you wonder if you¡¯re able to use more threads in combat now without exhausting yourself.¡±

    ¡°It does, huh? I¡¯m going to assume the answer is that I am able to.¡±

    ¡°Anyway,¡± Velariah continued. ¡°We¡¯re done here. Let¡¯s get some steak. I¡¯m starting to get hungry myself.¡±

    I opened my human eyes and turned around to face Velariah, who had just stood up.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get something to eat first. We¡¯ll update my sheet after. I¡¯m kinda curious how it will register things...¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± Velariah said before putting her hands on my cheeks and giving me a quick kiss.

    I then followed her into the dining area, where the others were already seated. Elly was among them, and stood up to walk to the kitchen when we entered.

    ¡°You guys had fun?¡± Seralyn asked with a grin.

    ¡°Be careful,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve found out about a new weapon I possess.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°Do tell.¡±

    ¡°It would appear I can make thread that can spontaneously combust when something impacts it.¡±

    ¡°The fuck?¡± Seralyn let out.

    ¡°And Elania created threads that resembled something that she called ¡®rubber¡¯.¡±

    Velariah reached into her pack and took out the spool in question.

    ¡°Here,¡± She said as she handed it to the other elf.

    Meanwhile, I looked around to see where Gray had gone off to. It didn¡¯t take long for me to spot him in front of the hearth, sleeping.

    I wondered if Nira made him run while she was flying. There were people back on Earth who walked their dogs while cycling, too.

    Would he be able to keep up?

    ¡°What is this stuff?¡± Seralyn looked slightly disgusted, but she couldn¡¯t keep her fingers off the rubber silk.

    ¡°Elania said it resembles something that is used for many purposes back in her old world. It appears that people put stuff like this under their shoes for extra grip. I¡¯m not quite sure about all the uses myself yet, but that alone is already quite interesting.¡±

    ¡°What did you call it again?¡± Seralyn asked. ¡°Rubber?¡±

    I nodded as I positioned myself at the table. ¡°A valuable resource with unlimited uses. What I know about rubber is that it comes from a certain tree, but how and what, I do not know. Being able to create something with similar properties is, quite honestly, nothing short of insane.¡±

    ¡°You mentioned putting it under your shoes. What other uses would be easy?¡± Draco asked.

    ¡°Well, the most prominent other use I can think of is putting it around wheels. Pretty much all vehicles on Earth have tires made of rubber with air compressed inside them. I could possibly create something similar when we return, but just putting this around wheels alone should make carts and such much more shock-resistant and able to travel faster due to better traction.¡±

    ¡°Very interesting...¡± Draco mused.

    I grinned at his reaction. At this rate, I might even see him trying to ride a bike someday. I was curious what that would look like¡­ and how often he¡¯d fall.

    Scrap that. I was more interested in seeing Seralyn fall.

    Elly returned with the dishes and placed them in the middle of the table. Plates and cutlery had already been arranged prior. She then returned to the kitchen to bring in drinks.

    ¡°It¡¯s interesting indeed. I¡¯d do all that, and more, except that I¡¯m trying to stay under the radar.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a radar?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Uh, oops. I meant, stay low.¡±

    ¡°But what is it?¡± She asked again.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ complicated¡­ very, very complicated. I¡¯ll explain it someday. Actually, I don¡¯t even know if I can, but I¡¯ll try.¡±

    We started our extensive dinner of steak, potatoes, and vegetables and talked some more about the plans for the next day.

    ¡°Do you have everything we need for tomorrow?¡± I asked Draco.

    ¡°I do, but it¡¯s a bit too much for me to carry alone.¡±

    I smiled. ¡°No worries. I have those saddlebags for a reason. We can stuff many things in those.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Miss Elania,¡± He said with a nod.

    ¡°I have my potions stocked up. I assume yours are fixed as well, Velariah?¡± Seralyn asked.

    The white-haired elf nodded. ¡°How about you, Nira. Do you need anything?¡±

    The harpy shook her head. ¡°I got everything I need in order to heal. I may ask for an energy potion if things get out of hand, but other than that, I don¡¯t need anything.¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± Velariah chuckled. ¡°The idea is to not let things get out of hand.¡±

    ¡°Except we don¡¯t always control it,¡± I added.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to get better at making sure we do then.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. Controlling the battlefield out in the open was probably one of the strong suits of this body. I already learned about that when we had the battle with the trolls earlier. My silk had done so much work. I imagined, with my improved stamina and eating habits, I could last much longer, too.

    We continued eating in silence for a while. The others soon finished as I kept going. I knew now that my reserves could be bigger than I had anticipated, and that when full, I could create loads of thread without physically draining myself.

    ¡°What was the reward for this quest, by the way?¡± Velariah asked, after observing me eat for a while.

    ¡°It¡¯s a gold-tier group quest. The reward is set to twenty gold. Do keep in mind, however, that there are active bounties on goblins right now. If we manage to kill many of them, our reward will be increased accordingly.¡±

    Not the worst quest reward. Not comparable to my ability to make money, but it was decent nonetheless, especially if one considered that the reward would only have to be split between three people.

    After about an hour or so of eating in total, I had finished dinner at last. I wasn¡¯t anywhere near as full as when I¡¯d eaten the Borer, but I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell Elly that. I simply said I was full and thanked her for a wonderful meal.

    That did make me wonder, though. How much of that Borer was actually eaten? I found it hard to determine exactly how much of it entered my body.

    I should probably be on the lookout for a Unibelea or something out in the forest, just to make sure I was going to be as full as I could be.

    I hoped I knew how to replicate my earlier ¡®eating¡¯.

    I was confident I¡¯d be able to figure it out.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s it for me. I¡¯m going off to bed so we can leave early tomorrow morning. I¡¯d hate to miss the festivities, after all.¡±

    Festivities? Was this what Velariah talked about earlier?

    Seralyn looked at me and must have noticed my confused expression.

    ¡°She hasn¡¯t told you yet?¡±

    ¡°Some, but I¡ª¡±

    ¡°I want it to be a surprise,¡± Velariah quickly interjected. ¡°It¡¯s her first time. Let her see for herself.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°I won¡¯t spoil anything. Good night, guys.¡±

    ¡°Good night.¡± Nira was the first to answer.

    The rest of us bade her goodnight as she walked up the stairs.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll follow her example...¡± Nira said softly and hesitantly.

    She stood up to pet the sleeping Gray before wishing us goodnight. We wished her the same before Velariah stood up.

    ¡°I guess we should call it a day as well. Let me just ask Elly to make some coffee tomorrow when we get up. That stuff is truly miraculous.¡±

    I simply grinned at her comment and noticed Draco smile at me. The elf then disappeared into the kitchen where Elly was doing the dishes.

    She returned seconds later and wished the lizardman goodnight.

    ¡°Good night, Miss Elania, Lady Velariah.¡±

    ¡°Good night, Draco,¡± I said to him.

    I did what Nira did earlier and gave Gray a few strokes of affection before joining Velariah, who had already entered the bathroom.

    After entering the room, closing and locking the doors, a pillow flew at my face.

    I managed to block it with my arms, thanks to my four-eye vision.

    ¡°Damnit, El. You know using all your eyes isn¡¯t fair.¡±

    I grinned. ¡°Unfortunately for you.¡±

    I placed the pillow back in the hammock where she¡¯d grabbed it from. I then stepped over the hammock to the elf, who already had my inherity sheet in her hands.

    ¡°One thing that we haven¡¯t thought about yet,¡± I said as I approached. ¡°What do we do with Minia?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I mean, with regards to feeding her, etcetera.¡±

    ¡°Elly can do that just fine,¡± Velariah reassured me.

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true. I hope she won¡¯t miss me, though.¡±

    Velariah shook her head and smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve completely turned around, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    I nodded before speaking softly. ¡°I guess I have. It does help to know that whatever is in front of me isn¡¯t actively trying to kill me, or giving me the impression that it might try to. Then there are also the emotions that she conveys to me¡­ it¡¯s just¡­ it would feel wrong to hate her...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t start doubting yourself now,¡± Velariah said before pulling me down to plant a kiss on my lips. ¡°I¡¯m actually jealous that you¡¯re able to communicate with her. It¡¯s so cute when you do.¡±

    I smiled. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m curious how far I¡¯ll be able to take this. Her emotions are already far easier for me to pick up now. She seems to hold us both in high regards.¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± Velariah chuckled. ¡°It was quite obvious to see from the moment she jumped on you that she was infatuated with you.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°I feel bad for acting the way I did early on.¡±

    Velariah hugged me. ¡°That¡¯s understandable. There¡¯s no need to feel bad. I doubt Minia minds.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask her someday.¡±

    ¡°Someday maybe. For now, let¡¯s see what this paper tells you, shall we?¡±

    I nodded, kissed her once more, and took the paper from her as I broke the hug. I brought up a pedipalp and created a small puncture wound in my index finger once more before letting a drop of my blood fall onto the paper.

    Words appeared and disappeared, the letters arranging themselves like puzzle pieces. Eventually, they had settled once more and I started reading.

    Name: Elania

    Race: Arachne

    Age: 25

    Inherity 1

    Toxin Assimilation

    Grants the wielder complete immunity to all venoms and poisons that have the sole purpose of directly harming, or immobilizing the body. In addition, allows the wielder to synthesize any toxins that have previously been neutralized for their own use.

    Inherity 2

    Adaptive Body

    Evolutions allow for body enhancements and improvements of existing enhancements. In addition, allows minor adjustments to be made to the physique.

    Included enhancements:

    Regenerative Blood-Multi Eye Vision-Exoskeleton Hardening-???-Arachnid Communication-Tremor Detection-???-???-???-Healing Molt-???

    Inherity 3

    Corium Enhancement

    Allows Corium to be absorbed at a faster rate than usual for self, and nearby allies. Higher evolution levels increase this speed further.

    Inherity 4

    Silk Weaver

    Allows for the infusion of magical and physical properties in created silk. New options become available after evolutions.

    Currently learned:

    Strong Sticky

    Strong Non-Sticky

    Very Strong Water-Resistant

    Fire-Resistant

    Weak Steelthread

    Rubber

    Very Weak Combustion

    ¡°Hum, okay...¡± I let out.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Velariah asked, a hint of worry on her face.

    ¡°It seems that only the Rubber and Combustion thread were added. There¡¯s nothing new regarding being able to infuse silk with venom. I¡¯m assuming that means that the potency is equal to the venom that is used.¡±

    ¡°That would make sense, in a way.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°So, my Rubber thread does not have Strong or Weak or anything before it, I¡¯m assuming that means it¡¯s at ¡®normal¡¯ strength, if you could call it that. The Combustion thread, interestingly enough, is classified as ¡®Very Weak¡¯. That makes me wonder how far that will go.¡±

    ¡°I would say that¡¯s not a bad thing, not at all,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Agreed. It means it¡¯s going to be far stronger. The room for improvement is something I¡¯m excited about.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m looking forward to it as well,¡± Velariah said as she gently took the paper and rolled it up. ¡°For now though, we should go to sleep.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± I said with a frown. ¡°I was half-expecting you to have other plans.¡±

    Velariah grinned. ¡°I¡¯d love to, but we do need to get some proper rest. We¡¯ll likely walk a fair bit tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I admitted.

    The elf then walked to the crate in the corner, ducking under the hammock as she went.

    ¡°I¡¯ll put it back in the safe tomorrow morning,¡± She said as she returned.

    I quickly washed my hands to get rid of the blood, while Velariah undressed. All I had to do after washing my hands was take off my shirt before joining her. Before I did join her, however, I took one last look at Minia. Nothing had changed about her situation.

    ¡°Do make sure that Elly gives her some water too,¡± I said as I approached the elf, who was waiting for me in the hammock.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell her that,¡± She said with a smile as I entered the hammock, extending her arms upward to take me into a hug the moment I stepped in.

    I eagerly accepted her hug as I wrapped my front two sets of legs around her torso and my back two sets of legs around her legs. My pedipalps were placed behind her shoulders.

    She used her hands to pull my face to hers and started giving me soft kisses.

    ¡°I thought you wanted to sleep?¡± I asked after answering several of them.

    ¡°I do,¡± Velariah said with a smile. ¡°And this is the best way to fall asleep.¡±

    ¡°Hm, you may be right,¡± I answered before I took her in for a deep, passionate kiss.

    I closed my eyes and turned off the lights before simply enjoying Velariah¡¯s affection. I felt my senses dull fairly quickly as she forced me to relax.

    ¡®¡°You¡¯re right,¡° I spoke softly. ¡°This is the best way to fall asleep.¡±

    ¡°Told ya,¡± Velariah whispered back. ¡°Good night, my little spider.¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Little.¡±

    I kissed her one last time. ¡°Good night, my little elf.¡±

    ____________________________________________________________________________

    Sleep wasn¡¯t easy for me tonight. I drifted in and out of consciousness constantly. Not even Velariah¡¯s soft body and peaceful, slow breathing helped to put me under. By the time I¡¯d finally fallen asleep, the elf was already gently shaking me awake.

    ¡°Urgh,¡± I said groggily, without opening my eyes.

    ¡°Bad night?¡± I could hear her ask.

    I nodded slowly. ¡°Terrible.¡±

    ¡°Will you be okay?¡± She asked with a shaky voice. ¡°You¡¯re not going to molt again, or anything are you?¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t planning on it, no.¡±

    Velariah stroked my hair lovingly and hugged me. ¡°Let¡¯s get up. If you need anything at all, please let me know, okay?¡±

    She clapped on the lights after speaking.

    Velariah¡¯s worry for me was evident. I didn¡¯t want her to feel that way, so I simply nodded, hoping that would make her cheer up. Having two people feel terrible wasn¡¯t exactly what I wished for.

    I nodded again and stepped out of the hammock. I blindly made my way over to the mirror above the sink. I could find the way with my eyes closed easily at this point.

    I opened my eyes, almost expecting there to be something wrong with my face, but fortunately, there was no issue with it.

    I started washing my face. Hopefully, that would help.

    Velariah grabbed the brush from my hands before I got the chance to work on my hair at the same time and started doing it for me.

    ¡°Thanks...¡± I said softly.

    I sighed while I continued. ¡°Do you never have problems sleeping?¡±

    ¡°Rarely,¡± The elf answered.

    ¡°Unfair,¡± I let out.

    ¡°Any idea why you have those nights?¡± The elf asked.

    I shook my head, causing her to yelp as she was still brushing my long hair. ¡°No idea. It¡¯s been a lot better since I came to this world. I used to have it way worse...¡±

    ¡°Maybe your mind is just too busy. If that¡¯s anticipation for the upcoming festival, then I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    I shook my head again. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case, but I¡¯m no expert on the mind.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully, it¡¯s nothing serious.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± I replied. ¡°Even if my sleep was bad, this body¡¯s natural stamina will more than make up for it. I can last like two days without sleep, without issues. I just need to wake up properly. If only I could drink coffee...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s quite unfortunate. I got your hair fixed, by the way, can I have the mirror?¡±

    ¡°Go for it.¡±

    I stepped aside and walked over to Velariah¡¯s clothes chest. I opened it and fished out the black shirt and bra. I imagined these would provide the best camouflage out in the forest.

    Not that my rear was easy to hide, but hey.

    I put them on and glanced at Minia, who was still in the same position as before, ever unmoving.

    How much time would she actually need? My molting seemed to range anywhere from two to four days. Though, I guess three times perhaps wouldn¡¯t give the most accurate idea.

    I rubbed my eyes to get rid of the last sleep crust. I opened my side eyes and saw Velariah appear next to me to grab her own set of clothes for the coming day.

    I had Velariah strap the saddlebags to my rear, seeing as we were going to need them to carry supplies.

    A few minutes later, we walked into the main room. Unsurprisingly, the others were already there, in equipment and all. Elly had coffee, tea and breakfast served.

    Good morning wishes came from all of them, which I returned out of politeness.

    I was not having a good morning... yet. I hoped it would get better, given a bit of time.

    The white-haired elf took my inherity sheet upstairs first, before joining us for breakfast. She then asked the maid to take care of Minia while we were gone.

    She said it would be no problem at all.

    ¡°So,¡± I started as we finished breakfast. ¡°We have everything we need, yes? Draco, could you put whatever you can¡¯t carry in these bags behind me?¡±

    ¡°Will do. I already have everything prepared.¡±

    He loaded the saddlebags with what looked like tent materials. Canvas, pins, and several poles were loaded up, the poles stuck out the top due to their length. I watched Draco package them and saw he was careful enough to make sure they would stay in place, even when I ran.

    He also packed some extra food, which was wrapped in leaves, and some apples.

    ¡°Alright,¡± I said as he finished. ¡°We¡¯re going to stop by the tailor, Dworag, and Coldanus quickly to pick up a few commissioned items. I assume you guys are tagging along? We¡¯ll be done pretty quickly.¡±

    I could see nodding throughout.

    It was time to start getting rid of Dawnleaf¡¯s enemies.

    One goblin at a time.

 2.21 Weapon Testing

    We headed out, completely packed and armored for a journey that would likely take more than a single day. Despite planning to pick up my new weapon, I still brought my spear with me, just in case. I¡¯d grown fairly proficient with it, I¡¯d say.

    More than I imagined I would, anyway.

    After a quick stop at the tailor to get the money to pay off my helmet, we made our way to Dworag¡¯s shop, where I was currently waiting outside. I was eager to see what he¡¯d done to the helmet to support my new eyes.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Dworag to exit his shop with said helmet in his hands.

    I observed it as he held it up in front of me.

    ¡°I hope this will help with those new eyes of yours.¡±

    It seemed he had taken a fair deal off the sides and created some form of grate structure with small steel bars. Over those smaller bars, he¡¯d fitted chainmail with larger rings. I imagine the idea was for me to see through those rings.

    I accepted the helm and put it on to try whether his craftsmanship had done the trick.

    ¡°That thread that you gave me is mighty strong. If you¡¯re right in that it will grow stronger, I¡¯m looking forward to creating items for you with it. I used the strongest mail I had laying around for this and enchanted it with two block enchants to boot. I¡¯m confident the structure will hold.¡±

    I could see so much more than before with the helm on. Sure, the chainmail obscured a fair deal of my vision, but I could easily see through it. It appeared my eyes had a way of filtering out obstructions to a certain degree. Moreover, it seemed Dworag had made it more comfortable too. A thin layer of cloth lined the inside of the helm.

    I fastened the leather strap under my chin that made sure the helmet stayed in place. Even though it was far more comfortable and useful than earlier, I¡¯d probably still leave it off, or loosened until battle.

    Velariah handed him the last part of his payment, leaving us with just enough money to pay for my polearm.

    ¡°Thanks a lot, Dworag. I¡¯ll make sure to get you some after I¡¯ve evolved it.¡±

    ¡°Just stay safe. We¡¯re all eager to get rid of these goblins, but don¡¯t get yourself in trouble.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine. Thanks again.¡±

    With that, Dworag walked back inside his shop and we started making our way over to the weaponsmith.

    ¡°Vel?¡± I asked while she walked next to me.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°When exactly is that festival thingy you told me about?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. You will know when it¡¯s time when you look at the tree. When the magic around the tree grows as dense as it is right now, it¡¯s usually a day or four, give or take.¡±

    I looked around as we walked through the town center. Instead of the usual stalls being set up for food and wares, there were far more in the process of being set up. I imagined that had something to do with the festival.

    Her comments got me quite curious about what was going on with this tree¡­

    I couldn¡¯t see anything off with it, but the entire air around it felt¡­ magical, dense. The tree was in full bloom, but it had been ever since I first laid eyes upon it.

    I shrugged. I guessed I would find out soon.

    We reached Coldanus¡¯s store, and Velariah entered once more, the rest of our coin in hand.

    I smiled as I saw the others had their eyes fixed on the door. I could only assume they were eager to see what this weapon looked like. To be fair, so was I.

    My anticipation only rose as it seemed Velariah was taking longer than I expected. I hoped nothing was wrong.

    I was relieved when the door opened and she exited with a long pole in her hands, with, at the end, a curved scabbard of red-painted wood with strips of metal bound around it.

    ¡°This thing better be worth the money,¡± Velariah said with a smile as she handed the pole to me.

    I observed the weapon and concluded it was about two and a half meters in length, excluding the blade, which should be more than enough to reach beyond my legs¡¯ total span. The pole was made of solid wood that was painted black. Near the butt end of the pole were many red threads wrapped around the pole, for grip.

    I saw Seralyn grin to my side as I eagerly took the bladed part before me and removed the scabbard.

    The first thing that revealed itself was the three transparent gems embedded in the steel where the blade began. The steel itself caught my eyes. It wasn¡¯t silvery or even the slightly glowing red color that I was used to. Instead, the steel seemed to take on a yellowish hue.

    The white-haired elf noticed me staring.

    ¡°It¡¯s lightning steel.¡±

    ¡°From a lightning dragon, or?¡± I asked as I ran my fingers over the blade. I could feel some electricity connect to my skin. It was like static but less intense. It wasn¡¯t entirely unpleasant, I had to admit.

    ¡°Nope,¡± Velariah continued. ¡°Although, they do exist. This ore was mined from a Ruby-tier dungeon. It was expensive, but this was the best steel he had currently available. I hope it suits your style.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t quite know how this lightning effect will work. Will it do damage or will it disable targets the way I was disabled earlier in the dungeon?¡± I said.

    ¡°This should do both,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Although the disabling effect may not be as effective as the one that was used on you.¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°Every little bit helps, right?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful weapon, Vel.¡±

    I ran my eyes and hand over the blade further. I wasn¡¯t an expert on weapons, but when I ran a finger over the cutting-edge, I saw a small cut appear on my finger without effort. This blade was extremely sharp. Not only was it sharp, but it also had a certain¡­ allure. It wasn¡¯t fancy in any way, but the weapon itself¡­ looked beautiful, at least in my opinion.

    With the blade included, the total length of the polearm reached about three and a half meters, maybe a bit less.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t wanna be on the receiving end of that,¡± Seralyn commented with a grin.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t intending to have you be,¡± I replied. ¡°Unless you force my hand, of course.¡± I grinned back.

    ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful weapon, indeed, Miss Elania,¡± Draco observed the blade from next to me. ¡°May it serve you well.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it will. Might just need to do a bit of training with it soon, though.¡±

    I re-sheathed the weapon and gripped it behind the blade, the pole resting against my midsection. I carried my spear in the same way in one of my hands on the other side.

    I should ask Endomir what that part of a spider is actually called. I cursed at myself in my mind for forgetting the question.

    ¡°But I did figure it would be easy enough to just run the blade into goblins and possibly trolls.¡±

    I looked at the others. ¡°Anything else we need to take care of?¡±

    I saw Velariah counting as she listed several things. ¡°Food, water, potions, weapons, armor, tents. I think we have all we need.¡±

    She looked over at Draco, who carried a fair deal of supplies with him. The lizardman nodded at her.

    ¡°Time to head out, then, I guess,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Do fill us in on the exact location please, Draco.¡±

    We started walking towards the village¡¯s eastern exit as Draco explained some information from before and added some new.

    ¡°So, as you may know, we¡¯re dealing with goblins and trolls that have banded together. It wouldn¡¯t surprise me if there were hobgoblins among them. From the information that the Lore keeper had, we¡¯re talking about a small village far out to the northeast. It¡¯s located in a large clearing and has huts made of hides, mud, and wood.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be able to spot it from afar, if it¡¯s a large clearing,¡± Nira said.

    ¡°Good idea,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°Just be careful and only do it when our surroundings are clear. We might draw them to us when you fly up and they spot you.¡±

    Nira nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll be careful.¡±

    ¡°Perfect,¡± Seralyn added.

    I smiled as I led the way with Velariah. Nira would certainly prove to be a valuable ally when it came to scouting and heading in the right direction.

    The bad start to the day had come to an end, as I expected. I was feeling perfectly fine once more as we moved onward, from the gates to the forest edge, and then through the forest, in the same direction where the witch of the forest was housed.

    I shuddered. I hoped we wouldn¡¯t run into her.

    I walked through the forest for the first time with my side eyes open. I had to admit, despite the ground near the village being mostly dirt, it was still hard to keep track of everything in my vision. More than once had leaves rustling actually forced my attention to focus on them entirely.

    I tried to get used to these new eyes, but it seemed I was going to need more time than I thought, especially in the forest.

    Maybe it was just that I didn¡¯t know when goblins would come out of nowhere to ambush us. Then again, there wasn¡¯t a whole lot of vegetation around here where they could ambush from. I was certain I was overreacting at the moment.

    ¡°You okay, El?¡± Velariah asked me.

    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just a bit on edge, I guess. I¡¯m trying to get used to seeing too many things at once. I¡¯m seeing enemies everywhere where there aren¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°These areas are generally safe. Not always, but generally. It¡¯s okay to be vigilant, but don¡¯t exhaust your mind that way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±

    I needed to relax a bit. If anything, we still had the elves¡¯ powerful hearing covering for us.

    Nira seemed to have trouble keeping up the pace because of her claws. They sank away with each step through the mud, which had not fully dried yet after the downpour the day before.

    I saw her walk up to me before asking me if she could get a ride.

    I was surprised she actually asked me, but I nodded with a friendly smile.

    Having her fly would be out of the question, at least for now.

    I think we weren¡¯t going to make use of that ability until we knew we were close, or perhaps even after spending the night somewhere relatively safe.

    What place would be safe in this forest infested with goblins, though? I imagined the best we could do was create a safe spot of our own, using my silk to span barriers around our camp while somebody kept watch for the night.

    And for that, I was currently on the lookout for any animal we could hunt for me to feast upon so I¡¯d be able to create such large amounts of silk.

    No luck so far, but we still had a long way to go.

    Our party remained quiet as we advanced through the endless forest. An hour or so after starting our journey through the woods, we reached denser vegetation. Plants and roots seemed to be slowing Velariah and Seralyn down, at least to a certain degree. Draco seemed to simply ignore the roots as his powerful legs just snapped them as he moved.

    I decided to help them out a bit by forming the vanguard and using my new weapon to clear something resembling a path.

    Why use a machete when you have a freaking naginata?

    I had Nira hold my spear as I carved a way. This simple exercise also helped me to get more familiar with my new weapon and how it was handled. The pole was surprisingly light, despite being so big and then having a large blade at the end of it. I had honestly expected it to weigh a ton, but that was definitely not the case.

    Come to think of it, we actually forgot to do my strength training last night.

    A movement to my right caught my attention. Without turning my head I saw three of the pine cone-tailed squirrels rush up a tree. It didn¡¯t take long before one of them suddenly dropped out of the tree, an arrow stuck in its side.

    Seralyn collected her prey and put it away in her pack. ¡°I¡¯ll try to get some more for you guys tonight,¡± She said.

    ¡°That reminds me of something,¡± I said as I turned my attention to Velariah. ¡°I remember you mentioning earlier that Unibeleas are poisonous and have to be cooked all the way through, yet Elly cooked steaks from it that were still slightly red on the inside and everyone ate those without drinking anti-venom. What¡¯s up with that?¡±

    ¡°Our local butcher makes sure to drain the blood and treat the meat with a special paste before he sells it. Unibelea meat isn¡¯t the cheapest because the herbs used in that paste aren¡¯t. It¡¯s nothing we can¡¯t easily afford, though. Of course, you can always get non-treated meat that you have to cook like, all the way through, but that kind of ruins the flavor.¡±

    ¡°I see. That explains a few things, thank you.¡±

    We continued for a few minutes before another arrow shot through my vision. Again, a squirrel fell from a tree and disappeared into Seralyn¡¯s pack shortly afterward.

    ¡°And that¡¯s two,¡± She exclaimed happily.

    I was so going to try to find a Unibelea, just to shove it in her face.

    It¡¯s on, Seralyn.

    The next thing that showed up after half an hour of walking through the forest was neither a squirrel nor Unibelea.

    I instantly halted and raised a hand, signaling to stop when I took notice of a goblin to my right. They quickly, and quietly drew their weapons in response, as did I.

    It was already too late. He had spotted us and started running away. Nira hopped off my behind and I started the chase. Without uttering a word, I left my party members behind to make sure this one goblin wouldn¡¯t escape to warn any nearby allies.

    I caught up to it within seconds and used my near polearm to strike. The goblin¡¯s head turned around at the same time my weapon sliced from the side, cutting off his head cleanly.

    Yikes.

    At least I¡¯d given him a quick death.

    I left his body behind as I quickly returned to my party members. They still stood at the ready with their weapons and Nira held my previously discarded scabbards in her hands.

    ¡°Are there any more?¡± I immediately asked.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t seen any,¡± Draco replied.

    ¡°Neither have I,¡± I concluded.

    ¡°We best stay alert from here. As you know, they are hardly ever alone. I don¡¯t think there will be many here. If our information is correct, most remaining goblins have grouped up together,¡± Velariah added.

    I nodded and gestured for Nira to jump back on my spider abdomen before we continued. I still had my weapons unsheathed in case any further attacks occurred.

    Nothing noteworthy happened for hours after that. I wondered if that one goblin was just a deviation of the standard. I doubted it. We¡¯d have to be careful on our return journey.

    The vegetation made room for more dirt and a more sparse population of trees.

    We decided to take a break here. We¡¯d walked enough without breaks. If I were still human, I¡¯d never have been able to keep going for this long. Velariah and Seralyn seemed only mildly uncomfortable. Draco showed no sign of exhaustion at all.

    We sat down and drank some water. The others chewed on apples as I looked out for possible danger.

    Swift movement to my left caught my attention. The others started finishing their quick lunch as I told them something was up.

    ¡°What did you see?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. It seemed to move between trees. I¡¯m trying to get a better image of what¡¯s going on. I suggest you pretend as if nothing happened, but be ready to fight.¡±

    The joys of not having to turn my head to observe what was going on to my left. I stealthily fastened the strap of my helm while looking.

    The movement happened again, but this time I caught it clearly. There was no doubt there was a goblin that just ran from a tree to another tree, and then hid behind it.

    ¡°It¡¯s a goblin. Be ready.¡±

    Movements happened to my right as well, and I knew we were surrounded. They had tried creeping up to us using the trees as cover. Unfortunately for them, I saw a little too well what was going on here.

    ¡°Multiple goblins to the left and right,¡± I said softly. ¡°Seems we¡¯re surrounded.¡±

    ¡°Excellent,¡± Seralyn replied eagerly, but not overly loud. ¡°That means I can shoot in any direction.¡±

    ¡°What do we do?¡± I asked, hoping for some kind of plan. I wasn¡¯t too worried about myself getting out of this, but I couldn¡¯t simply leave them all to fend for themselves.

    ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± Velariah started explaining. ¡°If we¡¯re surrounded, we simply punch through their lines in one direction and then work our way from there. These goblins rely on their numbers. Once out in the open and no longer with an advantage, these goblins are nothing, to you in particular.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Draco added.

    ¡°Guess I¡¯m leading the charge then, huh?¡± I chuckled.

    ¡°Whenever you¡¯re ready,¡± Velariah said with her hand on her hilt.

    I looked at the others who nodded.

    I stood up slowly and observed exactly where I knew the goblins to be to one side. There were three of them hiding behind trees to my right. I imagined if I could take those out, I¡¯d create an opening for the others to fight their way through. That didn¡¯t mean I was going to stop after killing them.

    Draco rose after me and brushed the dirt off his armor.

    I chuckled at his theatrics.

    I planted my polearm¡¯s butt end in the dirt before taking hold of it with my two free arms. I quickly got it into a position from which I would be able to cleave it through enemies before I started my charge.

 2.22 Ambushed!

    The goblins that I had sighted didn¡¯t sit by idly as I suddenly turned and rushed at a nearby tree. However, the goblin behind the tree in question got surprised as he didn¡¯t see me coming. My blade severed his head from his body as I turned to the left after running beyond the tree.

    The goblins that hid behind nearby trees started charging at me and I questioned their intelligence once more. I kept them to my left and ran my new weapon through three of them without any effort.

    Literally severing torsos from legs turned out to be a gruesome, yet easy feat with this weapon, my speed, and the triple piercing enchant.

    I¡¯d created more than an opening. I saw my companions behind me running up to me, chased by a group of about fifteen goblins.

    We weren¡¯t sure how many there were in total and whether this was all of them.

    And there were still several more on this side. I didn¡¯t stop to think about how many there could be, I simply charged to the next goblin that I saw, one with a bow. His arrows stood no chance against my armor and shields, and I soon was upon him and cleaved him in two by simply running past him and stretching my polearm¡¯s blade out to my side.

    Maybe this weapon was a bit too effective.

    A few goblins from this side of the encirclement decided to try their luck and directly attack my friends, who were rushing to me to break out of the ambush, but were met with arrows and steel and quickly killed off.

    They soon arrived at my position where several goblins lay dismembered in the dirt.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with these guys? Why do they fight losing battles?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Who knows?¡± Velariah replied as she got in a position to fight the incoming goblins.

    Several goblin arrows came flying our way. Nira almost got hit by one, but Draco saw the attacking archer and blocked the shot for her. The harpy thanked him as she hid behind a tree.

    Seralyn started firing at the approaching group of goblins, mowing down several with a flurry of attacks. At the same time, Velariah stood ready as I looked around to see if any goblins were around me that could possibly attack Nira.

    Confident that there were none, I charged at the mass of green, my weapon at my side. I ran as fast as I could and kept up the speed, even as I felt my weapon plow through light armor and goblin flesh. I would have closed my side eyes, but figured I would need them to pay attention to what was going on.

    These eyes were an actual blessing in combat, especially when fighting archers, as they allowed me to observe even as my human eyes were obstructed. I still used a shield to block my face, likely a combination of habit and being unsure if these arrows would be able to pierce the chainmail part of the helmet. I doubted it was the case, but didn¡¯t take any risks.

    When I turned around and observed the carnage I¡¯d caused, I saw five goblins dead and the remaining goblins start to hesitate. They slowed down and seemed to talk among themselves.

    I could have predicted this happening.

    An arrow was fired at me which was deflected by the chitin below my waist.

    Seralyn¡¯s arrows struck down another two. There were only eight goblins remaining and Velariah started a charge of her own, causing the goblins to panic.

    I charged again and circled the group, causing their confusion to intensify as I struck down a goblin to my left and another soon after. Draco remained behind and stayed near Nira. That was probably a smart idea. I wouldn¡¯t need his assistance with a small group like this out in the open.

    Velariah reached the goblins as I struck down the last archer; I¡¯d been prioritizing them. I grouped up with her and prepared to use my weapons more directly. I wasn¡¯t going to run around this group with her in the way.

    It felt odd to think of her as being in the way¡­

    I quickly shook off the thought and cursed for thinking about her as a liability. She most definitely wasn¡¯t that.

    Velariah charged with her blade glowing faintly white and severed a goblin in two as I covered her with the length of my new weapon and struck down a goblin who approached her with a set of daggers. Their numbers were reduced to three and then two as another one of Seralyn¡¯s inherity-empowered arrows hit one right between the eyes.

    The two remaining goblins turned around and started running as fast as their small legs could carry them. Unfortunately for them, both Seralyn¡¯s arrows and my long legs were much faster than theirs.

    With that, the battle had ended within minutes.

    A shockingly overwhelming victory was ours.

    ¡°Well,¡± Velariah said as she wiped the blood off her sword on the loincloth of a fallen goblin, ¡°that was terrifying¡­ for them.¡±

    I looked at the blood on my polearm¡¯s blade. ¡°Yeah, I noticed the fear in their eyes. At least they didn¡¯t suffer.¡±

    I wiped the blood off my blade in the same manner Velariah had.

    ¡°Why do you wipe the blood off again? I never knew, even though I¡¯ve seen it happen in movies on Earth all the time.¡±

    ¡°Corrosion,¡± The elf explained. ¡°The blood makes steel corrode.¡±

    ¡°But I thought your inherity prevented that?¡±

    ¡°Force of habit,¡± She shrugged. ¡°Besides, I want to keep my scabbard clean.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense, I guess.¡±

    ¡°You girls think this was totally unnecessary?¡± Seralyn asked as she approached with Draco and Nira. ¡°What do you think? Desperation?¡± She referred to the goblins¡¯ completely fruitless attack.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know,¡± Velariah answered. ¡°Could be. Could also be that they thought they had a chance when they saw the opportunity to ambush. Maybe they thought they couldn¡¯t escape which is why they kept going until only two were left. In any case, we got rid of a few more of those pests.¡±

    That was true.

    ¡°Either way,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°We should continue. Are you girls alright?¡±

    I nodded, as did Velariah.

    Nira walked up to me and pointed at my spider abdomen. I simply nodded as I knew what she meant and she hopped back on after gathering my spear and scabbards from where we had taken a break.

    Seralyn collected the arrows that she¡¯d fired.

    We then continued through the forest, the vegetation increasing in density once more as we proceeded.

    Several hours later, the red glow of evening was upon us. We continued for about an hour before we decided to make camp in a less vegetated area. This would give me enough time to set up a silk fence to make camping safer.

    Draco would set up the tents together with Seralyn, while Velariah and Nira kept watch as we worked.

    It was then I realized I wouldn¡¯t be able to fit in one of the tents.

    I shrugged. I wouldn¡¯t sleep tonight anyway. It made me wonder just how long I could go without sleep in total.

    I worked on the webs while the others worked on their things. I made sure to make the net about a meter high. We had picked a lovely spot clear of plant life within a square of four trees. The square was about five by five meters, giving us plenty of space to place the tents and start a campfire without being overly large for me to cover with webs.

    I made single lines of threads at different heights in order to conserve as much as I could. Once I was finished and darkness started falling, I connected the six long threads that I¡¯d made together with one line, which I would use to feel if anything got caught in the silk.

    I dragged the line to the middle of our camping spot. Three tents were set up around a fire and I connected the thread to the ground near it. I then sat down next to the campfire with Velariah at my side and one of my legs on the thread.

    Seralyn had already started cooking the two squirrels that she¡¯d shot down earlier and asked who wanted some. The smell of freshly cooked meat made me salivate but I politely declined, as did Nira. I had Draco hand me an apple and munched on it as I regretted not being able to find any proper prey to hunt before nightfall.

    I sighed and took off my helmet. Hopefully, I¡¯d find something tomorrow.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Velariah asked as she put her hand on one of my pedipalps. She had also taken her helmet off and I saw her eyes dart to the cooking meat every now and then.

    ¡°Oh, I was just thinking how I would have liked to find some¡­ bigger game.¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± She chuckled. ¡°Yeah, I doubt these squirrels do much to sate your hunger. We¡¯ll find something tomorrow. Don¡¯t worry about it. You¡¯re not hungry, are you?¡±

    She suddenly looked slightly worried.

    I tried washing her worries away with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m not. I just don¡¯t want to suddenly feel drained when I use my¡­ abilities, you know?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°I get it. It¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you like¡­ eat your own silk? I heard spiders do that sometimes,¡± Seralyn said.

    I looked at her facial expression, but couldn¡¯t find any hint of teasing in it. It seemed she was stating a fact.

    ¡°They do? What the fuck?¡±

    Velariah nodded. ¡°They do. I¡¯ve seen Minia do it while you were out. I took it as a cue to feed her. She actually started dancing after catching the grasshopper. It was cute.¡±

    The mental image of Minia dancing after catching prey made me smile. Still, though, eating my own silk? I¡¯d never thought about it. The idea did not appeal to me in the slightest either. That stuff came out of my butt!

    Nira seemed to giggle at Velariah¡¯s story.

    Velariah grinned. ¡°I totally understand you not doing it, though.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I don¡¯t think I will. I¡¯d have to be truly desperate to do that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep my eyes open for any game tomorrow, Miss Elania,¡± Draco said.

    ¡°Thank you, Draco.¡±

    Velariah moved herself in front of me and placed my pedipalps around her waist. I hugged her from behind as we stared at the fire slowly roasting the squirrels. Things went quiet and the sounds of the forest at night started to become the prominent sounds around us.

    Crickets and some nocturnal birds were among them. I quietly hoped I wouldn¡¯t attract any spiders. I mean, I didn¡¯t mind the cute spider that was Minia, but I didn¡¯t want¡­ more.

    Besides, I knew not all spiders were cute.

    Some just came straight out of nightmares.

    Seralyn checked whether the meat was cooked before dividing it in three portions, one for the lizardman and one for each elf. They complemented their meal with some dried meat from Draco¡¯s bag.

    I heard a wolf howl far away from our position. I knew they¡¯d be no match for us, but I¡¯d rather have this night pass quietly.

    ¡°Do we have any idea how much further we need to travel?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I reckon about half a day. If Nira doesn¡¯t mind, it would probably be a good idea for her to observe exactly where we are in the afternoon tomorrow.¡±

    Nira nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±

    I did a quick calculation in my head. That meant that the earliest we¡¯d be home would be the day after tomorrow. I hoped I could last that long. If needed, I might have Nira try to take over my watch duty. She could, after all, also feel whether something would get itself stuck in my webs with her wings.

    After the meal, Draco chopped up a few logs he had prepared earlier which would serve as firewood for the rest of the night, and put them aside. He then decided to call it a day and went to sleep in one of the tents.

    Nira and Seralyn each went to sleep in separate tents as well.

    Velariah stayed with me. She said she¡¯d help keep watch, but I already knew she was going to end up sleeping on the job, anyway. Especially, when she was in my arms and the others were not there to keep her awake.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this romantic?¡± She said softly after about half an hour.

    I was certain the others were already asleep.

    ¡°Alone in the woods at night, next to a cozy fire,¡± The elf continued.

    I smiled and kissed her cheek from behind. ¡°It sure is. Although, we¡¯re not exactly alone, are we?¡±

    ¡°Close enough,¡± She grinned.

    ¡°It is pretty cozy, though, I have to admit. If only we weren''t out in a forest where death could be hiding behind every tree.¡±

    ¡°No need to be that scared, El. We have your eyes and webs protecting us.¡±

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true. Anyway, you should get some sleep, Vel. I may need you to keep watch instead of me tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then,¡± She said as she turned her head and pursed her lips, inviting mine.

    I accepted the good night kiss and held my mouth on hers for a while, getting lost in the feeling.

    ¡°Good night,¡± Velariah said as she leaned back against me as I continued hugging her from behind.

    ¡°Good night,¡± I said one last time as I kissed her hair.

    She closed her eyes and I felt her heartbeat slow down over the next few minutes until she was soundly asleep and smiling.

    This is where the long night started.

    I had barely started my watch and I was already bored to tears.

    The sounds of the forest continued without end. Because of all the sounds, I had to use quite a bit of energy to focus on any that could mean danger.

    I was blessed with this new pair of eyes, though. They were extremely effective at spotting movement. As time went on, I started relying on my sight, rather than my hearing, which allowed me to relax more.

    Minutes turned into hours. Once half the night had passed, I did wonder for a moment if I should wake someone to keep watch with me.

    I shook my head and decided I¡¯d let them sleep. There wasn¡¯t much they could do to help me that I couldn¡¯t do on my own.

    As I had expected, I did not tire at all.

    It was a surprise to me at this point that I generally had no trouble falling asleep at home. There was no excess of energy that kept me up at night.

    It was odd, but not entirely unwelcome.

    I would have no idea what I¡¯d do if I had to stay awake a night before being allowed to sleep.

    A swift movement caught my attention to my right, but I quickly relaxed again as I noticed it was just one of the squirrels with two cone tails running up a tree. I imagined Seralyn would have been happy to see it. Shame she was asleep.

    Throughout the night, I added some more wood to the fire to keep it going. Before long, the first rays of sunlight started breaking through the trees.

    I was happy to see the sun coming up. It meant this dreadful waiting was at an end at last.

    It took about an hour or so for the area to be completely illuminated. I heard stirring in one of the tents, and before long, Draco exited his.

    ¡°Good morning, Miss Elania,¡± He said politely as he eyed me, and then the elf that was still sleeping soundly in my arms. ¡°Do you mind taking some webs down?¡±

    I thought for a second on why I would have to do that before my mind clicked.

    Yeah, I imagine it would be hard to go to the toilet when trapped.

    I very carefully tried to stand up and lay the elf down, but she stirred and opened her eyes as I did so.

    Oh well, I guess she''d have to get up eventually.

    ¡°Morning, El, Draco,¡± She said as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

    ¡°Good morning, Lady Velariah,¡± Draco replied.

    ¡°Morning sleepyhead,¡± I smiled at her as I turned to take a section of the web down.

    My pedipalps had no problem breaking the threads. It appeared I could use the claws at the end as some kind of knife if I wanted to.

    Draco thanked me and kept looking around as he walked off to a distant tree.

    At the same time, Nira walked out of her tent and grabbed some water from Draco¡¯s bag. Seralyn joined us not much later.

    When Draco returned we started a simple breakfast.

    ¡°Anything happen last night?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°Besides a squirrel, there was no movement whatsoever.¡±

    ¡°Damn,¡± She said softly.

    I knew it.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s a shame, but I still have hopes of running into something large today. Who knows we might even run into a Bunbear. If we find a Unibelea, I guess I¡¯ll have you guys get some meat from it first before I ruin it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nice of you,¡± Velariah said, as she sat in front of me again, watching the fire that we were slowly letting burn itself out.

    Once it did, Draco was the first to stand up. He went to work on taking down the tents and folding the canvasses, before placing the tent materials back in my saddlebag. The elves and Nira helped him while I took down my webs and pressed the silk together in balls which I placed in my saddlebags. If anything, I could use those as toys for Gray when we got home.

    Even if I wasn¡¯t going to eat my silk, I should still recycle it in some way.

    They finished packing and loading everything as I made sure that this campfire was completely dead before leaving it. I could only imagine how many forest fires were accidentally started because people did not let them burn out completely.

    Once I was satisfied, and the others were ready, we continued our journey. We still had a quest to complete, after all.

 2.23 A Job Well Done

    As we continued our journey, the scenery around us changed. Things started out quite densely vegetated, with a lot of ferns and roots covering the forest ground, but went to grey and brown soon enough from nothing but dirt.

    Trees were still aplenty, there was just nothing growing anywhere in between.

    We took it as a sign we might be nearing our goal. Nira took to the skies to observe our surroundings. She came down as quickly as she went up, shortening her time exposed. Once safely on the ground again she spoke.

    ¡°We¡¯re getting closer. I could see a large clearing up ahead.¡±

    ¡°Any idea how many goblins we¡¯re dealing with here?¡± I asked.

    Nira shook her head. ¡°Couldn¡¯t see.¡±

    ¡°Does it really matter, though?¡± Velariah smiled. ¡°You just plow through them anyway.¡±

    ¡°You forgot about the trolls,¡± Seralyn added.

    I nodded. I hadn¡¯t quite tested my new weapon on trolls yet. I knew it was enhanced with three piercing enchants, which should help out against their tough skin, but I didn¡¯t know how well.

    ¡°If anything, we should get through this methodically,¡± Draco said, ¡°As we usually do.¡±

    ¡°Agreed,¡± I said.

    The issue here was that my threads could be seen from a mile away due to the lack of vegetation. I think that forced us into a very specific fighting style.

    ¡°What were you thinking, Draco?¡± I asked. ¡°Try to have me take out the trolls, while you deal with the goblins? Maybe have Seralyn help me out?¡±

    ¡°That does sound like the way to go about this, yes.¡±

    ¡°Keep in mind, I have no experience with trolls yet. They are on a whole other level than goblins.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine,¡± Velariah reassured me. ¡°Just keep running and don¡¯t let them hit you.¡±

    ¡°Heh, thanks for the advice.¡±

    The elf grinned in response.

    Nira jumped back on my behind and I handed her my spear once more.

    ¡°Draco, you better make sure to protect Nira out in the open,¡± I said.

    ¡°As I had planned,¡± The lizardman replied.

    We had planned our strategy, but experience told me that in actual combat, changes would have to be made on the fly. There was no doubt in my mind that I would end up killing a few goblins as well. Whether it was with my new polearm, or my shield blades, or even my legs, it shouldn¡¯t be too much of an issue as long as I didn¡¯t lose sight of my task during all this.

    Ah, the advantages of four eyes¡­

    I had to admit, all this armor had me feeling a lot more confident. I would just have to be careful with the trolls. Their weapons of choice would make any armor a non-factor, after all.

    Good thing I was fast¡­ and flexible.

    We slowed down in our approach as we focused on our surroundings. If we could take out any scouts before they warned the others, we would have a huge advantage in the element of surprise. My shock value was not to be underestimated.

    We found one, which Seralyn quickly, and most importantly, quietly, took out with an arrow to the face.

    After that, it was a short walk to their ¡®village¡¯, which consisted of a bunch of dirt huts with leaves for roofs and a couple of huts made of branches that looked like the big bad wolf could just blow them over.

    It was quite pathetic if I had to be honest.

    We laid low a fair distance from the village in order to observe the figures that seemed to not have any idea danger was this close. I only observed one troll from our position, and he was sleeping near a campfire with a pot hanging above it.

    The other green figures going about seemed to be mostly goblins. Here and there, a few hobgoblins went about their business, which seemed to consist of cutting down trees and skinning some animals they¡¯d caught.

    ¡°So,¡± Seralyn said quietly. ¡°We hit them hard and fast. Any objections?¡±

    As crude as her ¡®plan¡¯ sounded, it could be quite effective. Especially with the lack of trolls from what I could observe, this could be easier than expected.

    ¡°How many goblins are we looking at here?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°If I had to guess,¡± Seralyn replied, ¡°about fifteen from what I can see, but their camp extends in the other direction, so there¡¯s no easy way to estimate.¡±

    ¡°Elania, could you rush through, kill what you can kill, and return to us with an estimate on their numbers while we attack the front?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°You sure you want to go about it that way? Doesn¡¯t sound very methodical to me.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Whether we attack the front together or do it this way, they will all be alerted. Better do as much damage as we can with a charge so their morale is impacted as much as possible.¡±

    I had to give her that. Allowing them to rally without suffering casualties in the rear while that could be avoided was a bad thing.

    I nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±

    I fastened my helmet once more as I prepared for my charge.

    ¡°El?¡± Velariah asked softly.

    I looked at her.

    ¡°Stay safe.¡±

    ¡°With all this armor?¡± I chucked. ¡°I think I¡¯ll be fine. Thank you.¡±

    I appreciated her concern but it looked a bit clich¨¦ to do this in front of the others, so I replied with nonchalance.

    I just hoped I didn¡¯t jinx it.

    ¡°Right,¡± Seralyn continued. ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡±

    She nocked an arrow and took aim as Nira hopped off of my rear.

    I had to admire her confidence in being able to hit a target from this distance. I think we were a good hundred meters or so out.

    I removed my scabbards and handed them to Nira. Velariah unsheathed her sword as well and got ready to charge. I took a deep breath and looked at the white-haired elf.

    She nodded.

    I nodded back and started my charge, Velariah running behind me as fast as she could with Draco and Nira in tow.

    The moment I appeared in the village, the goblin¡¯s reaction was utter panic. They had not heard me coming and were scrambling to get into their huts to arm themselves. The commotion woke up the sleeping troll, who was hit with an inherity-empowered arrow in the head. It blasted a hole the size of a fist in his skull when it exploded, instantly killing him.

    I was ready to take him out with my polearm, but instead shifted my attention to the goblins that were in my path. Most of them were still unarmed, which meant I could disregard any possible retaliation. Not that they could do much against me in the first place¡­

    I almost felt sorry for them.

    My polearm¡¯s blade easily severed limb from body, and even torso from legs, as I carved a path through their village, leaving a trail of bodies and screams in my wake. The few goblins that did get close to my torso were either trampled under my strong legs, or dismembered by my blades¡­ and then trampled by my legs.

    This body was just too strong.

    I switched my polearm to my right side as I approached a new troll who had reacted to the commotion. Unfortunately, he was in time with his swing, which forced me to step aside to dodge it. My blade, however, still managed to nick his neck after he brought his mace down.

    I felt the impact and noticed distinct troll blood on my blade as I continued onward. I ignored the creature, knowing there was no way he could catch up, and cleaved through several more goblins as the huts and panic flew me by.

    Several small arrows were fired at me, which all were deflected by my armor. I believe one of them impacted my spider abdomen and remained there, but I paid it no heed, knowing it did zero damage.

    I ran into another troll who did not seem as prepared as the first one. He brought his mace down too quickly, and I swiftly changed my path so that I would pass him on the other side, while altering my polearm¡¯s position so that it was on my left once more, and ran past him as fast as I could while aiming low.

    After passing the troll, I reached the end of the village. I was surprised that there were only three trolls about. It led me to believe that several more weren¡¯t in the village at the time.

    I had counted about a hundred goblins, of which I¡¯d probably killed a good number. I¡¯d say twenty or so.

    While the remaining eighty may pose a problem to my allies, I was certain that a few had already fled as they saw me taking down a good number of them on my own.

    As far as I could tell, there were about ten hobgoblins mixed in that number as well.

    I turned around, intending to take a large number of goblins out once more so that the others wouldn¡¯t have to deal with them all at once. I was certain they would be able to take on quite a few on their own, though.

    Seralyn alone would be able to take on quite a few before they could even get close.

    As I turned, I could now clearly see the damage I¡¯d done to the troll. One of his legs had been completely severed by my attack, and the other was hanging on by a literal thread.

    I had aimed for the legs, knowing I could get through them more easily than the torso, but looking at this¡­ I think I would be fine targeting higher up.

    This troll was as good as dead.

    He was still screaming in pain as I ran past him to continue my culling.

    The goblins seemed to be more coordinated than I had expected. Instead of running in all different directions, they grouped up with spears at the ready. I could see one goblin shouting words in incomprehensible language behind a group of them.

    He looked to be some kind of higher-up. From the short duration that my eyes were centered on him, I could see he wore two daggers that each glowed with a distinct color, one red and one white. The daggers were connected with a chain behind him.

    As I approached the group of goblins before him, he extended one of the daggers and a fireball came flying at me.

    The attack had been preceded by an obvious action and, as such, I was ready to block whatever was thrown at me.

    The fireball impacted one of my shields and I carved through the group with my polearm. Each impact from a goblin sent a small shockwave through my arms as I held on to the weapon. After feeling six impacts, I switched my weapon¡¯s direction once more and cleanly cut the torso from the legs of a goblin that was unfortunate to stand in my way.

    A ball of white was fired at me from my rear, and I ducked to avoid the impact. It flew past me, regardless. The attack would have missed, even if I hadn¡¯t done that.

    I started nearing my companions, who were locked in a battle of their own. The goblins were too split up for them to worry about anything, though. Several goblins lay dead at my position already, having been killed off by Seralyn¡¯s arrows.

    Velariah didn¡¯t have any issues with dealing with whoever came near her. Her sword made quick work of these green-skinned creatures.

    We reached each other, and Draco, Nira, and Seralyn approached us as well. Another arrow was fired, which I saw killing off a lone goblin that was still approaching us.

    ¡°I counted about a hundred, killed about thirty to forty,¡± I quickly stated. ¡°Two trolls beyond the first one. One was left bleeding, the other is bleeding to death.¡±

    ¡°Only three trolls?¡± Draco asked in surprise.

    ¡°Exactly what I thought as well.¡±

    I turned around and observed the goblins scurrying around their village, still trying to recover from my shock charge. None of them seemed to be approaching us for the moment, but I imagined we¡¯d better not leave them untouched for too long.

    ¡°We should be on the lookout for reinforcements,¡± Velariah suggested, to which each of us nodded.

    ¡°In the meantime,¡± She continued. ¡°Let¡¯s get this so-called stronghold cleaned up.¡±

    I took that as a cue to start another charge.

    I ran through the village once more. Most of the goblins that remained were now properly armed.

    I shook my head.

    These poor souls should have negotiated when they had the chance.

    Their weapons couldn¡¯t even reach me. With this new weapon of mine, even less so.

    I cut goblin after goblin in half and saw their morale shaking as I carved another path. Behind me, Velariah and Seralyn did their own number on the goblins. Even Nira joined in the attack as she chased down a few goblins that fled the village and sliced through their bodies with her sharp talons.

    At that, Draco joined in the attack as well.

    I ran into the troll from earlier and noticed I had caused a wound in his chest. It wasn¡¯t as deep, as only the tip of my pole sword connected with his body, but it was enough to cause blood to ooze from it. This time, I repeated the same action I did with the last troll.

    I feigned attacking one side until he had no time to change his attack pattern anymore, before switching to his other side and attacking him from behind.

    My weapon severed one of his arms and sank into his torso¡¯s side until it was about halfway through.

    I had to hold on to my weapon with the necessary strength but found it gliding through his body thanks to the curve that was in the blade. It left a deep cut in his back as well as I passed him, causing him to scream in pain and rage before he toppled over.

    I had to have hit his vitals with that attack.

    Nearby goblins, who saw me taking out a large troll without any effort, started panicking and dispersing. I only cut down a few of them as I was still trying to go through the village in as much of a straight line as I could.

    I ran into the magic-casting goblin once more who seemed to have formed a new group around him. He didn¡¯t look as confident this time around.

    I sliced through a hobgoblin with ease before reaching his group once more. Another fireball was cast from his daggers, together with a ball of white, which appeared to resemble Velariah¡¯s magic.

    I dodged the fireball and blocked the holy ball with both shields, not taking risks, before taking another four goblins down with my polearm, since they¡¯d neatly arranged themselves in a line, making it all too easy.

    Ideally, I would have wanted to take out the caster, but I didn¡¯t want to take unnecessary risks, either.

    I continued on to the end of the village once more, killing off several more goblins. When I reached the end, I noticed the troll whose legs were all but gone lay dead. That made three confirmed troll kills.

    I turned around again and continued my rampage. The goblin caster desperately tried to cast two more spells at me, but after his fireball, his holy ball seemed to fail, as his weapon glowed white, but no spell was fired. After blocking the fireball and cutting down the last of his guards, I turned around specifically for him and noticed him trying to flee.

    As if that was going to happen¡­

    My speed was too great for any goblins to get away.

    I easily caught up to him and swung my polearm, removing his legs from under him. He landed on his stomach, and I decided to put him out of his misery as fast I could by beheading him.

    I left him there to return to my allies. I¡¯d have to look at his weapons later, they seemed like they could be worth something.

    When I reached my party, they seemed to be slowly going through the village, picking off any survivors. The battle was already won.

    Seralyn was out of arrows and picked them from the corpses that she passed, before instantly firing them again at the few goblins who were still trying to flee. Their morale was completely shattered.

    ¡°Well,¡± I said as I approached them, ¡°that seemed to be an effective way of doing things.¡±

    I referred to my shock value which had caused more than a few of the creatures to give up.

    ¡°You certainly left behind a trail of death in your wake,¡± Velariah replied.

    ¡°How many do you think got away?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not too many,¡± Draco replied.

    ¡°I tried to get as many of them as I could,¡± Seralyn added. ¡°Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t get them all.¡±

    ¡°A few escaped from me, as well,¡± I said. ¡°What will we do about them?¡±

    ¡°I doubt there is much we can do,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t want us to split up. We don¡¯t know if there are more trolls about. I would think there are more somewhere out there. I¡¯d say the best we can do is stick together and try to comb the area a bit.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s do that, then. Let¡¯s see if there are any survivors here, have a break, and then search the area, shall we?¡±

    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Velariah responded.

    The others nodded.

    Thus, we scoured what remained of the village. The only goblins we found that were still alive were those unable to stand and run due to the injuries that I¡¯d delivered to them.

    We finished them off and searched the huts for any more stragglers, but found none.

    We took any valuables we could find, which turned out to be not a whole lot, but some silver coins here and there started adding up.

    I made sure to collect the magic daggers that were connected by a chain and showed them to my friends.

    ¡°Quite an interesting weapon,¡± Draco commented. ¡°I¡¯ve not seen anything like it. Two elements you say?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°It appears to be able to channel fire and holy magic.¡±

    ¡°Should be worth a few gold then,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°Maybe more than a few.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°I hope so.¡±

    Velariah focused on the gruesome task of collecting goblin and troll ears together with Draco after we made sure whatever remained of the village was completely deserted.

    They spent quite some time doing it as there was a large trail of bodies throughout the area. Seralyn collected all her arrows in the meantime.

    An hour or so later, we converged in the middle and started a well-deserved break.

    I cleaned my blades on some cloth we collected before sitting down with the others and loosening the strap under my helmet.

    ¡°Good job all,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°I daresay we did that about as well as we could have, even if a few goblins managed to escape.¡±

    I nodded in response. ¡°Nice job indeed.¡±

 2.24 Bun Burgers

    Draco made a campfire in the center of the goblin camp using some wood liberated from the goblin huts. He had no issues tearing apart their wooden huts with his sharp axes. We would later set whatever was left aflame before we departed.

    Seralyn and Nira were scouting the nearby area for any leftover goblins while we prepared to have something to eat.

    I stared at the polearm which I¡¯d laid in front of me as Velariah handed me an apple.

    ¡°Gotta eat something, El.¡±

    ¡°I doubt eating apples will do much to sustain this body. We¡¯ve been incredibly unlucky with game, haven¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°You could say that again.¡±

    I accepted the apple and took a bite, not registering the flavor as my gaze was still fixated on my new weapon before me.

    ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡± The elf asked as she sat down next to me.

    ¡°Nothing. It¡¯s just¡­¡± I took a deep breath before I continued. ¡°The ease with which I was able to kill those goblins, both physically, but also mentally, was¡­ shocking truly. In my old life, I never would have imagined myself resorting to violence like this. How easily I¡¯ve been able to adjust¡­ it¡¯s¡­ I don¡¯t get it.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about your old world. It does sound like a place that¡¯s simply too perfect. No killing on a day-to-day basis is incomprehensible for me.¡±

    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s the same way, just reversed for me.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a reason to start doubting yourself, Miss Elania,¡± Draco interjected. ¡°It¡¯s either kill or be killed here. We don¡¯t have the luxury of reflecting our virtues.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. While I don¡¯t doubt myself with regards to this, I know it¡¯s necessary, it¡¯s still so weird to be so¡­ strong, I guess you could call it. Now that I¡¯m starting to utilize my power better, it¡¯s shocking to see what I can do. I never would have imagined this being possible, let alone me actually doing it.¡±

    I took another bite of the apple as Velariah rested her head against my side. I put an arm around her while I used the other arm on my right side to hold the fruit.

    ¡°So,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°What did we learn during this quest, other than the fact that Elania truly is a one-woman army.¡±

    ¡°That trolls and goblins are confirmed to work together, at least in some way,¡± I said with my mouth full.

    ¡°That would be the most important finding,¡± Draco added.

    ¡°Just great,¡± Velariah said with a sigh. ¡°That probably means that we¡¯ll have to rid this forest of trolls as well. Not that I have an issue with that, but still.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s going to make things take longer,¡± I said her unspoken words.

    ¡°Yeap.¡±

    ¡°You know¡­ I¡¯ve been thinking,¡± I said as I observed the fire crackling before me. ¡°Call it a gut feeling, but I somehow have the suspicion that this supposed dungeon in the forest is going to be close to that one cave where we fought the troll warlord.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s where you woke up, right?¡± Velariah asked.

    I nodded. ¡°That, and all the other things that happened in its vicinity are too much of a coincidence. Unfortunately, it¡¯s just that, a hunch, I can¡¯t expect to change Valtheril¡¯s plans for a proper combing of the forest, based on that.¡±

    I sighed again as I sheathed my polearm. ¡°I just hope things will turn out okay.¡±

    ¡°My father is a capable man,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°You¡¯ve seen how hard he works. I¡¯m sure everything will be fine in the end. What we should do right now is focus on finishing this quest properly by burning down whatever is left and relaying the things we learned to the guild. I¡¯d like to get back to Dawnleaf as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°For this festival thingy, right?¡± I asked.

    Velariah nodded, her head still resting against my side.

    ¡°Do you know anything about this festival?¡± I asked the lizardman on the other side of the campfire.

    I saw a smile grow on his snout. ¡°Certainly,¡± He said, withholding the information I sought, seemingly on purpose.

    This was just mean.

    Velariah started giggling at Draco¡¯s response. ¡°As I said, you need to see it for yourself. Spoiling it is just no fun.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    A loud gurgle came from my stomach. I was getting more hungry with each passing moment. I decided to stand up, and unsheathe my blade again. I needed something to eat or I would go crazy.

    ¡°You going out on a hunt?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°I am. I don¡¯t want the same to happen as before. You know? Where I couldn¡¯t control myself.¡±

    ¡°Fair. Mind if I come with you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Will you be okay, Draco?¡±

    The lizardman nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me. I¡¯ll be fine. Besides, I think Nira and Seralyn are just about done.¡±

    I fastened my helmet again and opened all four eyes. I was hoping I would have an easier time spotting prey.

    ¡°With some luck, we¡¯ll be back soon. You guys can clean up here in the meantime, I suppose,¡± I said. Draco replied with a simple nod as Velariah stood up to join me in my search for food.

    The elf and I left him behind as we walked off together.

    ¡°You better not scare the food away,¡± I said in a teasing manner once we found ourselves between trees again.

    ¡°Says the giant spider,¡± Velariah teased back. ¡°Also, I doubt anything will escape you even if I scare it away.¡±

    ¡°Good point,¡± I noted.

    We made sure not to wander off too far from our temporary camp. If anything happened, I¡¯d like to be able to assist as quickly as possible. The trees in this area were fairly open, so if Nira took to the skies, we would be able to spot her from here quite easily.

    After wandering about for ten minutes, it seemed my luck changed. It wouldn¡¯t be my first choice of prey, but I wasn¡¯t in a position to be picky. A hundred meters out from our position was a bunbear. The creature was clawing away at the bark of a tree. I was trying to figure out why it was doing it and looked at Velariah for an answer.

    ¡°I have no idea. I would guess it¡¯s marking its territory?¡±

    Even though Velariah¡¯s words weren¡¯t loud, they seemed to be loud enough for the bunbear¡¯s sensitive hearing to pick it up as the creature turned its head to the two of us.

    ¡°And apparently we have entered its territory,¡± I let out as the bunbear started charging at me. I readied myself for a charge of my own, my new weapon at the ready.

    ¡°Seems so,¡± The white-haired elf said as she drew her own weapon.

    ¡°Guess this is my territory now,¡± I said as I charged at the charging animal.

    I made sure to run at it head-on. Then, at the latest possible time, I stepped aside, causing the creature to charge at nothing but air. In the meantime, I felt my polearm¡¯s blade pierce its flesh and run through its side. I had to exert more force to hold on to the weapon, but I managed. This is where strength training would certainly be beneficial for me.

    I continued onward for a short while as my momentum carried me forward before turning around to see what my attack had caused.

    In the distance, I could still see Velariah stand ready with her sword, but noted that it would be unnecessary for her to do anything. The bunbear was down in the dirt, its side cut open, bleeding heavily.

    When I approached the animal, it was already dead. It had lost far too much blood.

    ¡°Well,¡± Velariah said as she approached at the same time. ¡°That was quick. I hope your method of feeding works. Cooking this thing would take ages, and I don¡¯t know if we have that kind of time. I¡¯d like to be on the way back today.¡±

    ¡°And make camp a fair distance away from this goblin ¡®village¡¯, correct?¡±

    ¡°Read my thoughts, there. Sticking around here is just asking for trouble, even if we did wipe out most of the goblins,¡± Velariah sat down next to the bunbear. ¡°Well, what are you waiting for?¡± She said with a sly smile.

    ¡°I hope this works,¡± I said as I raised my fangs and plunged them into the bunbear¡¯s side.

    As if on cue, as soon as I thought about wanting to eat this creature, I felt the same liquid pushed from my fangs into the bunbear. I let my lower half do whatever it wanted and apparently, that included putting my pedipalps and front two legs on top of the bear hybrid. A few seconds of pushing liquid into the creature later, it abruptly stopped.

    Then, nothing happened for a few seconds until I felt my fangs suck in whatever my special venom had done to this creature¡¯s meat.

    The feeling that flooded my spider half was just as satisfying as the first time. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the liquid flowing through my fangs all the way to my stomach located somewhere in my abdomen.

    ¡°Seems someone is enjoying this way too much,¡± Velariah teased me.

    ¡°I have no idea why this feels so good. I just don¡¯t,¡± I said in response.

    ¡°Ever wondered if your spider half has a brain of its own?¡± The elf suggested. ¡°Does it enjoy doing this maybe?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe I have two brains,¡± I replied. ¡°But I can¡¯t be sure. It does seem like my spider half is doing this on instinct, though.¡±

    ¡°Odd,¡± Velariah concluded.

    ¡°At least it¡¯s a quick way to eat.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡± Velariah trailed off. ¡°Hey, El, remember the times you got drunk and your lower half did shit on its own.¡±

    ¡°I never got drunk.¡±

    ¡°But your spider half did. It seemed to be keen on grabbing me with its pedipalps and stuff. Are you sure you don¡¯t have two brains?¡±

    ¡°Interesting hypothesis,¡± I said, before shrugging. ¡°Maybe I do, who knows? I¡¯m not intending to cut myself open to find out.¡±

    I relaxed as a steady flow of warm liquid continued to be sucked into my stomach. It made me chuckle as I started thinking about how this was possibly the closest I would get to the feeling of drinking coffee. By the time I was finished, the bunbear had been reduced to a sorry hollow husk. My spider abdomen was slightly bloated.

    ¡°Well, at least this seems to put you in a good mood,¡± Velariah commented after I let go of the bunbear¡¯s corpse and hid my fangs under my body once more.

    ¡°Yeah, it feels nice. I just compared it to drinking coffee in my mind.¡±

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°You and your coffee¡­¡±

    ¡°I miss it, okay?¡±

    Velariah stepped in front of me, forced my torso down and planted her lips on mine. I closed all my eyes and relaxed as I lost myself in the kiss. I was disappointed when she broke away¡­

    ¡°And I miss doing this to you.¡±

    ¡°That why you followed me?¡± I asked with a smile.

    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Velariah grinned in reply. ¡°Anyway, we should head back. We still have some traveling to do before nightfall. Besides, you know I want to be back in Dawnleaf as soon as possible.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°All this talk about this supposed festival has made me want to get back as soon as possible as well.¡±

    ¡°Great. Let¡¯s get going then.¡±

    I followed Velariah back to our temporary camp. When we got back, I was not surprised to see that Seralyn had caught two more rabbits. I was, however, surprised to see that she wasn¡¯t skinning them or anything.

    It seemed Draco had already torched what buildings would burn, and smashed the rest to rubble. I noticed that Nira¡¯s claws had fresh blood on them. They had killed more than just rabbits, for sure.

    ¡°Seems you guys killed some more goblins,¡± Velariah spoke my thoughts.

    Seralyn nodded. ¡°Yep. got five more added to the kill count.¡± She formed a sly smile. ¡°Didn¡¯t stand a chance. Got their ears packed already.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re ready to move out,¡± Draco added. ¡°I would ask if you two succeeded but¡­¡±

    ¡°Your butt already shows,¡± Seralyn said before grinning wildly.

    I covered my face with a hand while Velariah joined the other elf in laughter.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t quite put it like that¡­¡± Draco said.

    I tried to ignore them and change the subject. ¡°Let¡¯s just move out.¡±

    Seeing as the others had already packed everything and were ready to head out as it was, I just turned around and started walking in the direction of where we came from. Soon enough, Velariah joined my side and asked if I was okay.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, truly,¡± I said softly. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ you know, that was a bit¡­ awkward.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I suppose you¡¯re right. It was funny, though, you have to admit.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°I would have probably made the same joke, so I don¡¯t blame her.¡±

    ¡°Heh, good to see you still have a sense of humor.¡±

    Through the eyes at the side of my head, I could see that Nira had trouble catching up with us as her claws were hard to navigate the forest floor with. She used her wings to leap forward, before taking a few quick steps, to then leap again.

    I realized it was quite rude of me to simply leave her like that, so I halted until she¡¯d caught up. I preemptively lowered myself so she could step on with ease.

    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± She said softly when she did.

    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± I apologized.

    The only upside to her having to ¡®walk¡¯ a short distance was it wiped some of the blood off her claws. I still got some on my thorax, but it wasn¡¯t anything that a good bath couldn¡¯t get rid of.

    After moving through the forest for a while, we entered the more overgrown area where it was important to keep our eyes open. Despite the potential for danger lurking behind every tree or bush, we didn¡¯t encounter anything. Over the course of the next couple of hours, I did feel my strength being drained at a rapid rate. I was starting to have trouble keeping my eyes open.

    ¡°You okay?¡± Velariah asked at some point.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m starting to hit my limit. I¡¯m exhausted.¡±

    ¡°Think you¡¯ll be able to keep it up for a little longer? It¡¯s almost evening, and we¡¯ll be out of this overgrown place soon enough.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try, but I won¡¯t promise a thing.¡±

    ¡°Do you want a potion?¡± She continued.

    I shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s unnecessary. We should save them for when we need them when we¡¯re out.¡±

    I willed myself to keep going, knowing we¡¯d be out in a more open area soon.

    ¡°I can¡¯t promise I¡¯ll be able to web up a perimeter,¡± I said after another minute or two.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. We¡¯ll have two of us on guard duty at a time. You should get your rest. You¡¯ve done so much last night and today.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Vel.¡±

    ¡°No. Thank you. It¡¯s always a pleasure to see my sexy spider in action.¡±

    I didn¡¯t have to turn my head to see the huge smile she had on her face. It forced one on my face as well.

    As Velariah had mentioned, we soon entered an area of the forest where vegetation was sparse. We continued for a minute more until we found a nice open place where we would be able to spot enemies from far away. As if on cue, Draco took the tent materials from one of my saddlebags while Seralyn went out and gathered firewood. Nira hopped off of my back and started helping Draco with setting up the tents.

    Without words being spoken, everyone got to work. I was left standing, unsure what to do Velariah walked up to me after exchanging a few words with the lizardman.

    ¡°You can just take it easy, El. We¡¯ll get this sorted.¡± She then handed me a canteen.

    I nodded and spoke softly. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    I uncorked the container and started drinking. I quickly emptied the canteen and handed it back to the elf before I spread my legs over the dirt ground beneath me, and allowed my body to drop to it. I removed my helm and put it in the dirt before me.

    Evening fell over the forest as the sky had already been its signature red for a while. It was starting to get dark as the others were working quickly to get a camp set up. Nira and Draco were still working on the tents, while Seralyn sat down next to the campfire she¡¯d made, and started skinning the two rabbits she¡¯d caught. Velariah was walking around, keeping an eye open for any movements in the surrounding area.

    I yawned. I would love to just go to sleep, but I¡¯d like to see everything set up before doing so. Besides, I was kind of yearning to have Velariah next to me. It would be a lot more comfortable sleeping on her shoulder.

    I was happy to see her approach me when the tents were set up. ¡°How are you still awake?¡± She asked as she sat down next to me.

    ¡°I was waiting for you¡­¡± I spoke softly as I rested my head on her shoulder and took in her scent. It brought peace and quiet to my mind.

    ¡°How sweet,¡± She replied with a whisper before turning her head to kiss my hair. ¡°Anyway,¡± She continued as she brushed my hair back with her hand so it wasn¡¯t in front of my face. ¡°You need your sleep. We¡¯ll handle the rest.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Vel,¡± I whispered. I was unsure if Seralyn would be able to hear it, but I truly didn¡¯t care at the moment. ¡°Love you,¡± I said before I gave her a quick goodnight kiss and closed my eyes.

    ¡°Love you too, El. Good night.¡±

    The exhaustion soon became too much for me, and I drifted off into peaceful sleep.

 2.25 Quakes

    When I awoke I found that I was still in much the same position that I had been when I fell asleep. My head was still resting on Velariah¡¯s shoulder. The elf in question had her head resting against mine and was snoring softly. I carefully lifted my head up and rubbed the sleep crust out of my eyes with my free set of hands.

    The steel gloves weren¡¯t the perfect tool for it, but it was impossible to do with my other arms as they had the sheathed bladed gauntlets attached.

    I yawned and noticed Draco and Nira positioned on the other end of the still-burning campfire. They had probably been awake for a few hours. Seralyn was nowhere to be seen, so I assumed she was sleeping in one of the two tents.

    ¡°Morning, Miss Elania,¡± Draco greeted me like the gentleman he was.

    Seriously, if it wasn¡¯t for the axes and the fact that he was a lizard, I¡¯d think he was one of those British butlers from TV.

    ¡°Good morning. Nothing much happened, did it?¡±

    Draco shook his head. ¡°Nothing out of the ordinary.¡±

    ¡°Good. I slept like a rock. I doubt you would have been able to wake me.¡±

    Draco¡¯s snout formed a slight smile. ¡°Not to worry. I have my ways.¡±

    ¡°Sounds ominous¡­¡± I said with a smile of my own.

    Velariah stirred and soon yawned while rubbing her eyes. ¡°Is it morning already?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Afraid so,¡± I said.

    ¡°Good.¡±

    Well, wasn¡¯t she optimistic?

    The white-haired elf took her hair in her hands and moved it behind her head. ¡°Let¡¯s eat something and be on our way then.¡±

    Draco, in response, reached into his pack, which he¡¯d placed next to him, and pulled out a canteen for Velariah. He also handed her one of the leaf-wrapped packages of meat jerky.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± She said, before opening the package to eat.

    ¡°Can I have one of those too?¡± Seralyn¡¯s voice came from one of the tents.

    Draco, without a word, reached into his bag again and held up a package behind his shoulder in a nonchalant manner. The brunette walked up to him and took it, thanking him in the process. It was interesting to see her act in a much more¡­ normal manner compared to when I first met her.

    ¡°Seems everyone is in a hurry,¡± Draco spoke calmly. ¡°It¡¯s understandable, though.¡±

    With those words, the lizardman stood up, walked to the tents, and started taking them down. Nira turned her head to him and when she saw what he was up to, she decided to help him.

    ¡°Hope you had a good night,¡± Seralyn said while eating. ¡°You two are cute together, you know that?¡±

    I let out a small chuckle at her comment. It didn¡¯t affect me as much anymore as it had before.

    ¡°I certainly did,¡± Velariah spoke. ¡°But I¡¯d much rather sleep in my bed at home.¡±

    ¡°You mean your¡­ hammock,¡± Seralyn corrected her.

    ¡°My¡­ our hammock, yes.¡±

    ¡°Whose idea was that anyway?¡± The brunette asked.

    I raised one of my hands. ¡°Mine.¡±

    I paused for a few seconds.

    ¡°You have no idea how hard it is to get comfortable when you drag a ton behind you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I don¡¯t.¡±

    The two elves continued eating in silence while I was thinking about how things would be back at home. I was curious to know the progress that Valtheril had made in a few days. I was even more curious to know how the coffee plants were doing. A bit of extra cash was never unwanted. And I doubted it would stay just a little. From what I¡¯d seen so far, the dark brew had risen enough in popularity to ensure a good flow of money.

    I then found my mind wandering off to Gray, and beyond that, Minia. She¡¯d been unmoving for days and I was hoping the cause for that was what I thought it to be. It felt weird to admit, but I¡¯d found a special place in my heart for her.

    I shook my head. I couldn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you?¡± Velariah asked after she saw me shaking my head.

    ¡°I was just thinking about home, and how there is still plenty left to do for us before we can move on from it.¡±

    I had always been proud of myself for coming up with the best of excuses. This time was no different.

    ¡°Yeah. You¡¯ve been quite the surprise for many of us,¡± Velariah said. Through my right side eye, I saw she had a smile on her face.

    ¡°You know, when I first met you, all this was exactly what I wanted to avoid. Now that I¡¯m in the middle of it, however, I don¡¯t quite know how to feel about it.¡± I inhaled deeply and sighed. ¡°On one hand, I still think that¡¯s still true, a little bit. On the other hand, it was probably wishful thinking. There was no way I was going to stay hidden forever. In a way, I¡¯m happy that things turned out this way.¡±

    Velariah nodded. ¡°I could not have said it better, myself. You¡¯ve been a blessing for all of us in Dawnleaf, even if some people don¡¯t recognize that.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I know it¡¯s impossible to please everyone, but trying to kill me is a bit excessive, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m just hoping we can get to the bottom of that. I¡¯m glad that Valtheril can do what he can do.¡±

    I looked at Velariah after that, hoping that she knew that I was hinting at his ability to detect the truth. ¡°And that includes punishing people according to this world¡¯s laws. I know there are many people in my old world that would probably not agree with them, but the way things work here is just so different in general. In my opinion, these people deserve what¡¯s coming for them.¡±

    Velariah nodded again.

    ¡°Well said,¡± Seralyn interjected. ¡°I was looking forward to seeing those bastards hang, but the way you threatened that guy in the mansion¡­ I have to admit, there¡¯s a certain charm to that method of execution as well.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t intend to eat humans,¡± I stated clearly. ¡°And I¡¯m pretty sure you know that.¡±

    ¡°I mean, I do, but still.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill them if I have to, but only then, and I won¡¯t eat them,¡± I elaborated so that there would be no confusion about anything.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard,¡± Velariah said, before taking a few sips from the canteen, to then close it and hand it to Seralyn. ¡°It¡¯s hard to imagine what we would do in your¡­ I would say shoes, but you can¡¯t really wear shoes now, can you?¡±

    I let out a chuckle at her comment.

    ¡°I mean,¡± Velariah continued. ¡°I don¡¯t think I would do it, unless there was perhaps a very specific scenario where I would starve if I didn¡¯t. Then again, things had to get extreme before it got to that point. I hope you never have to make that decision.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°The one upside about this,¡± I pointed to my rear with a thumb, ¡°Is that it indeed has to truly spiral out of control. Something about stocking up before we head out. I do think I¡¯ll need to be a bit more careful with my silk, though.¡±

    The elf nodded. ¡°I do think you had accounted for it and did a proper risk-reward calculation beforehand, correct?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Plenty of stuff to eat out here in the forest.¡±

    Both elves finished their breakfast. Seralyn placed the canteen back in Draco¡¯s bag before standing up to help our companions with the tents. Velariah placed her hand on one of my pedipalps and lightly tapped it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get this done and get home, alright?¡±

    I nodded as we both stood up.

    Moments later, we had the tents disassembled and stashed away in my saddlebags. It appeared Nira and Draco had already eaten, so we didn¡¯t have to pause. Instead, we moved out as quickly as we could.

    Nira was on my back once again while holding on to the scabbard. I held the weapon over my shoulder as we continued our way back to Dawnleaf. It wouldn¡¯t take us too long to reach the village. We¡¯d made great progress as it was the day before.

    ¡°So,¡± Velariah said as we walked, ¡°How do you like your new weapon?¡±

    ¡°In all honesty?¡± I asked as I tilted my head to look at the blade on the pole. ¡°This fits me far better than a spear, at least in open areas.¡±

    ¡°I noticed that, but¡­ do you like it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an odd question,¡± I answered. ¡°I don¡¯t think I have quite the relationship with weapons that you have. It¡¯s a lot more effective. In that regard, I guess you could say I like it.¡±

    Velariah shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s a fair answer.¡±

    She then chuckled, which caused me to turn my head. Velariah turned hers to look into my eyes, then chuckled louder.

    What was up with her?

    ¡°And you¡¯re only going to get better. Just wait until we get back to strength training. I¡¯m going to completely wear you out when we get home. We have a bunch of catching up to do, after all.¡±

    Seralyn grinned wildly after hearing Velariah¡¯s words. It wasn¡¯t hard to know that her mind held something entirely different than what Velariah actually meant. I shook my head at it.

    ¡°What? No comment on how I¡¯m too strict when it comes to training?¡± Velariah said with a sly smile.

    ¡°What am I supposed to say?¡± I said. ¡°Wasn¡¯t strength training more or less my own idea? I¡¯m going to have to do it whether I want to or not.¡±

    ¡°Spoken like a true soldier,¡± Velariah said with a smile.

    ¡°Thanks¡­ I guess.¡±

    We continued ever onward. I always kept all my eyes open, looking for any danger, but at some point, I came to a sudden halt. The others instantly stopped when they saw me standing still. Before they could ask anything, I had placed a finger on my lips so they wouldn¡¯t try to speak and break my concentration.

    I was focused on my legs. I could feel some vibrations run through the ground, and I was trying to figure out where the danger would come from. I closed my eyes while putting all my attention into this. The vibrations became stronger, but I couldn¡¯t figure out where they were coming from. They kept growing in intensity and seemed to span an enormous area.

    I was slightly panicked as I couldn¡¯t pinpoint where the tremors were coming from. After half a minute or so, they weakened and then subsided completely.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Velariah whispered. I opened my eyes to see a worried look on her face.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I admitted. ¡°I could feel the ground shaking¡­Wait a second¡­¡±

    Things suddenly started to make sense. The relative proximity to the mountain ridge with volcanoes should have given it away.

    ¡°Earthquake?¡± I asked softly. ¡°Do you ever have earthquakes?¡±

    The white-haired elf nodded. ¡°We do. They are quite rare, and never impactful. They aren¡¯t strong enough to cause any kind of damage. You felt one?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°I think I did. I should have known about this, your village being this close to a volcanic ridge. Something with tectonic plates and whatnot.¡±

    ¡°Tectonic whatnow? Plates? Is that another one of your otherworldly dishes?¡± Seralyn asked. I could clearly tell that she had no idea what I meant. I turned my head to Velariah, hoping that she knew what I was on about, but she shook her head, indicating that she too, didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°Draco,¡± I addressed the lizardman. ¡°We¡¯re almost out of the forest, aren¡¯t we?¡± I asked.

    He nodded. ¡°We are.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll explain what I mean once we¡¯re out of here.¡±

    Perhaps the one person that seemed most interested in what I had to say, was Nira. As soon as I¡¯d mentioned that I knew a thing or two about earthquakes, she¡¯d cocked her head and stopped looking around her. She remained fixated on me. I could see the feathers behind her ears twitch for the rest of the time we were in the forest. Was that an indication of anticipation?

    Fortunately, she didn¡¯t have to wait long. We soon reached the edge of the forest. I did notice that our speed had increased a bit to get out of it faster. Knowing that my companions were eager about what I had to say about this subject put a large smile on my face.

    ¡°Soooo¡­¡± Velariah started, as soon as we¡¯d passed the edge of the forest on our way towards Dawnleaf¡¯s eastern road. ¡°About those tutorialic plates¡­¡±

    ¡°Tectonic plates,¡± I corrected her. ¡°It¡¯s the foundation of mountain ridges, volcanoes, and earthquakes¡­ quite literally actually.¡±

    ¡°How does that work?¡± Nira asked, full of bewilderment.

    ¡°So, I can only speak from experience from my old world, but I am going to assume that much of it is the same here. You see, our planet, and likely this one too, isn¡¯t entirely solid. Most of it is a hot ball of molten lava, with a crust of solid material. That is the surface on which everything lives. This crust basically floats around on top of the lava.¡±

    I left out the part where lava would be called magma as long as it hadn¡¯t reached the surface. That would just unnecessarily complicate things.

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Draco commented.

    The others, well, I could literally see them process this info. I reckoned it helped that they tended to believe what I said. If I were to tell this to anyone else, I doubted whether they¡¯d believe me as easily.

    ¡°That¡¯s the basics. Does everyone follow so far?¡±

    I looked around to see slight nods from the elves and the harpy after a few seconds. I then extended my bladed gauntlets forward. ¡°Okay, so here is the part about how mountains form. You see, this floating crust isn¡¯t one piece. Think of these scabbards as separate floating islands on this lava.¡±

    I paused a few seconds more before I started slowly moving the scabbards against each other. ¡°This would be so much easier if I could draw this, but I think you can get the general idea from this. You see, these islands move and that causes things to happen...¡±

    I tilted the scabbards so that they would form an upside-down V-shape. ¡°This is what can happen when plates crash against each other.¡±

    ¡°Mountains,¡± Draco said. He had already figured it out.

    I nodded. ¡°Keep in mind, this process is incredibly slow. It takes millions of years for mountains to form. Hey Draco, can you figure out from this how volcanoes form?¡±

    I was curious if he¡¯d figured that out too.

    He shook his head. I had no doubt he¡¯d be able to figure it out given time, but it seemed that this was a bit too fast.

    ¡°Look again.¡± I decided to give them that extra bit of time and I moved the scabbards in the same manner.

    ¡°Lava goes up through the gap,¡± Nira said.

    I nodded. ¡°Areas, where these plates meet, are generally riddles with mountains, often volcanic in nature, because the lava doesn¡¯t have much of a hindrance flowing up. I am confident this mountain ridge is a result of plates moving like this.¡±

    I smiled and shook my head. I never expected to share high school knowledge with adults who would then be as shocked as my companions were. It didn¡¯t make me feel superior to them. I could imagine certain people feel that way. Rather, I was happy to see that they were so interested in stuff like this. I was happy to share.

    ¡°So what about earthquakes?¡± Seralyn asked, referring back to the thing that had started this all.

    ¡°In all honesty? I don¡¯t believe I can provide you with the full answer to that. If I recall correctly, these plates slowly moving will sometimes build up pressure which can then suddenly be released all at once, causing the surroundings to shake. That¡¯s the earthquake. Those happen much more often where these plates meet, which is why I am so very surprised that this was the first one I actually felt. They can occur thousands of times in a single day, but you won¡¯t feel or see any of that as they are just too weak.¡±

    ¡°Thousands of earthquakes in one day?¡± Velariah said with a gasp.

    ¡°As I said, they are too weak to even notice. What I do know is that earthquakes can also be a precursor to volcanic eruptions¡­ which is exactly what happened after we met Ember.¡±

    ¡°What interesting knowledge,¡± Draco said with a smile. ¡°I never would have figured that out.¡±

    ¡°What surprises me,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Is that this information sounds all so unbelievable, but when you look into it, somehow, for some reason, everything makes sense in the end.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what science does,¡± I said. ¡°This knowledge is a result of many years of research and experimentation. This is just how things work. I can¡¯t help it.¡±

    ¡°What other secrets are in that head of yours?¡± Seralyn asked. ¡°Are any of them dangerous?¡±

    She seemed to be deadly serious when she asked it.

    ¡°Yes,¡± I confirmed. ¡°I believe it all makes even more sense now, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    She nodded.

    ¡°But yeah,¡± I continued. ¡°I don¡¯t believe this information is dangerous. If anything, it¡¯s just the foundation for this specific field of science.¡± I shrugged. ¡°These foundations have led us to create instruments that I believe, I¡¯m not quite sure here, can to some degree predict when a volcano is about to erupt. Now, it¡¯s not much of an issue in this world as it appears people don¡¯t live close to them, but in my old world, it would be valuable.¡±

    ¡°Because of its fertile ground,¡± Velariah put one and one together.

    I nodded.

    The white-haired elf shook her head. ¡°Truly unbelievable how everything falls in place.¡±

    ¡°Told you,¡± I said with a smile as I saw Dawnleaf nearing. ¡°I hope everything going on will fall in place just as nicely.¡±

 2.26 Reports, Spiders And Preparations

    I smiled deviously as we walked into Dawnleaf. The others were still left stunned by my show of fairly common Earth information. The tree in the middle of the village caught my attention almost immediately. Nothing seemed to be odd about it, save for the magical density that had grown even larger, but it forced me to look at it.

    I was still wondering what was going on with it and this supposed festival, when I realized that the various market stands had been arranged to form a line along the outer edge of the settlement¡¯s center. Then, in the center of the half-square made by the guild and most of the shops, there was an unlit bonfire. Preparations seemed to have been made, but it wasn¡¯t quite time to celebrate just yet.

    ¡°Neat, we¡¯re still in time,¡± Velariah commented on our way to the guild.

    ¡°Seems to me tomorrow¡¯s the day,¡± Seralyn answered.

    I had no idea what was going on with the timing of the festival and how the elves seemed to somehow feel when it would be. I turned my head to Draco who shrugged.

    ¡°It¡¯s an elven thing. I don¡¯t have the affinity they do for the tree.¡±

    ¡°The tree tells them?¡± I asked, frowning.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Velariah said excitedly. ¡°We can sense the built-up magic in the tree better than anyone. Tomorrow will be a great day.¡±

    ¡°You still won¡¯t tell me?¡±

    ¡°Nope!¡± Velariah said with an evil smile. Seralyn soon joined her in that.

    Nira hopped off of my back when we reached the guild hall before entering the building to find it completely deserted, except for the female barkeep and the lore keeper who I now knew as Kantasia.

    ¡°Place is usually pretty empty as people prepare for tomorrow,¡± Velariah explained when I tossed a glance at her. ¡°I doubt you¡¯ll see any elves here today.¡±

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± I let out. This festival thingy was getting more complicated by the minute.

    ¡°Do you guys want to have lunch here or should we ask Elly to make some later?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with either,¡± I said. Draco, Nira, and Seralyn nodded after my statement.

    ¡°Let¡¯s have some later then. We¡¯ll finish business here and be on our way.¡±

    After Velariah said that, Draco took off his backpack, placed it on the desk, and informed the lore keeper of the successful extermination. Kantasia pulled out a sheet of leather from under the desk and placed it on the wood. Draco then laid out all the ears we¡¯d collected, which honestly, were quite a few. The lore keeper looked at them in awe, but scribbled down exactly how many there were at the same time. At the end of it all, she started counting out money from a large pouch.

    ¡°And that¡¯s thirty-six gold total,¡± The lore keeper finished counting the coins and left them on the wood, where Draco took out twelve coins and handed them to Seralyn who quickly put them away in her pouch. He then handed twelve to Nira as well before putting the last in his own coin purse.

    ¡°You guys wanna visit Dworag first, or go straight to the mansion?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get home first,¡± Velariah suggested. ¡°I¡¯m going to guess my father is home. Let¡¯s see if we can get an update on how things stand here, shall we?¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a wonderful idea,¡± Draco commented.

    With that, we left the guild hall behind and made our way to the mansion just as a small group of three human adventurers arrived at the guild. They had obviously not seen me before as their reaction to my weapons and body had them jump back a fair distance. I smiled in amusement and ignored them for the most part. They were still trying to recover from the shock as they left my vision.

    We reached Velariah¡¯s mansion a few minutes later where Elly opened the door and informed us that Valtheril was upstairs in his office.

    ¡°Does he have time to see us?¡± Velariah asked, leaving her armor on as we would be heading out again later.

    I took all four gauntlets off and placed them in the corner, joined by my polearm. They would be quite unwieldy indoors.

    ¡°I¡¯ll inform him of your return right away,¡± Elly said before opening the next set of doors and making her way upstairs. In the meantime, we simply waited at the table.

    When Elly returned, she informed us that Valtheril would be down in a couple of minutes.

    Velariah nodded. ¡°Would you mind preparing lunch in the meantime?¡±

    ¡°Certainly not.¡±

    The elf disappeared into the kitchen and left the five of us waiting in anticipation of what the general would have to say. While waiting, Velariah removed the tenting materials from my saddlebags and brought them to the hallway. She put the chained daggers on the table and then pulled out one of the balls of silk from the other bag, which made me wonder where Gray was and what he was up to.

    Fortunately, I didn¡¯t have to wonder for long as I heard heavy footsteps descend down the stairs, followed by lighter, more rapid footsteps. When Valtheril opened the door, Gray ran out ahead of him and immediately jumped at one of my legs, his tail wagging wildly.

    ¡°Well, someone is happy to see you,¡± Velariah grinned.

    ¡°Welcome home,¡± Valtheril greeted us warmly and took Velariah in for a short hug before taking his place at the head of the table. He wasn¡¯t wearing any armor. I could only imagine how boring his day must have been so far if he hadn¡¯t left the house and was left to do nothing but paperwork.

    ¡°So,¡± He started, his hands resting under his chin. ¡°I¡¯m going to assume you want to know how things stand here.¡±

    A few nods from our groups made the general continue. ¡°Unfortunately, the reason behind certain things remains a mystery to me. Especially the part where a hidden dungeon is involved in all this. Goblin extermination is proceeding smoothly. The human kingdom to the east has actually been of great help. I¡¯m hoping this will strengthen our relationship further. Our lumber is of great importance to them. Likewise, their bricks and glasswork are invaluable to us.¡±

    That was a welcome bit of news. Strengthening political ties through trade was one of the oldest tricks in the book. It was good to know that my former race could be reasoned with even if my experiences with them so far hadn¡¯t been the best. Then again, the assassination attempt on me which was ordered by an elf, so I wasn¡¯t sure I was justified in feeling especially wary towards humans.

    ¡°As for the people behind your assassination attempt,¡± Valtheril continued, his voice stern, yet calm. ¡°The person directly tied to attempting to kill you has been executed. Because of the upcoming festival, I decided to do it in a private setting. Luke has been stripped of his adventurer¡¯s license and the wealth he acquired from all this. After his initial stubbornness, he has proved to be cooperative, thus he lives, but he¡¯ll sit behind bars for a while. Master Lorin, well¡­ gone without a trace, with no leads.¡±

    ¡°That blows,¡± Velariah let out, clearly frustrated.

    ¡°There¡¯s not much I can do about it, either. How did your quest go?¡±

    ¡°Hardly had anything to do,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°Elania crushed goblin and troll alike with that new weapon of hers.¡±

    ¡°It went well is what she means to say,¡± Velariah said with a smile. ¡°And we¡¯re home in time for the festival too.¡±

    ¡°Great. I¡¯m looking forward to the updates from the guild regarding the goblin situation.¡± Valtheril shook his head, but didn¡¯t seem annoyed or even angry when he did so. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m looking forward to reading more reports.¡±

    I chuckled at his comment. I couldn¡¯t believe it either.

    ¡°Just don¡¯t overwork yourself,¡± A concerned Velariah said.

    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Valtheril replied. ¡°I¡¯m going to check their report and then I¡¯m done for the day. Tomorrow is a day off, so I doubt I¡¯ll overwork myself. Have you guys noticed anything strange on your journey perhaps?¡±

    I had lowered myself to give Gray the attention he was demanding. Velariah tossed the ball of silk in her hands to me and I nimbly caught it with three hands before holding it up to Gray¡¯s face. The wolf puppy was more than a bit interested, especially when I started shaking the ball.

    ¡°I guess the biggest takeaway from our quest is that the goblins appear to have grouped up with trolls, but you already knew that. Whether that¡¯s some kind of alliance, we don¡¯t know, but that¡¯s what we observed,¡± Velariah explained.

    I threw the ball and Gray jolted off to catch it before bringing it back to me. Somehow he understood exactly what I was trying to do. I was impressed by it. I didn¡¯t know that a wild wolf puppy would be this knowledgeable.

    ¡°The guild is already aware of this as well, but in all honesty, I doubt it will change anything about the situation,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Very little,¡± Valtheril responded to his daughter. ¡°Although it may mean that we¡¯ll have to increase the quest difficulty towards gold rank, at a minimum, just to prevent casualties on our side. It¡¯s likely that we¡¯ll also set a minimum number of party members required. Trolls are tough.¡±

    I retrieved the ball of silk from Gray and tossed it to Nira, who barely managed to catch it. I¡¯d taken her by surprise. The puppy was quick to turn his attention to the harpy while I turned mine back to the conversation.

    ¡°They are, but we seem to do well against them, at least now we do,¡± I added. ¡°We¡¯ll continue to assist until this forest is safe.¡±

    I looked at my companions who nodded in agreement. This had been our plan for a while, after all.

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. After tomorrow, Vymar will lead the battalion stationed in Dawnleaf into the forest to start setting up perimeters with the rangers of areas that have been completely cleared. Later in the week, the reinforcements stationed at Duskleaf will arrive and we¡¯ll do a clean sweep towards the east where we meet up with the humans to then proceed north. Hopefully, we¡¯ll have this all done and over with within the coming week.¡±

    He sounded optimistic, way more than last time he talked about this operation.

    ¡°Good to hear,¡± Draco finally spoke. ¡°The forest has been problematic for too long.¡±

    The general nodded and turned to me. ¡°By the way, you should check the fields. I¡¯m sure you¡¯d love to see how it¡¯s going there.¡±

    ¡°You mean¡­?¡±

    Valtheril nodded. He was speaking about the coffee plants. I would certainly make a stop there to see how things were going. I couldn¡¯t believe it had only taken such a short amount of time to grow proper coffee plants on a large scale.

    I smiled at Valtheril as he shoved his chair back and stood up just as Elly walked in with a loaf of bread and several toppings for it on a large plate. ¡°I¡¯ll be off to the guild. I¡¯ll see if I catch you later tonight. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be at the festival tomorrow¡­ just like everyone else.¡±

    ¡°Take care,¡± Velariah said as the general walked off into the hallway and closed the doors behind him.

    I stood up and started making my way to the bathroom. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a bit,¡± I said as I opened the doors.

    I could see Draco nod from one of my side eyes, whereas Velariah stood up and followed me, slight confusion on her face, before it changed into a sly smile as I realized she knew what I was getting to.

    I stepped over the hammock while the white-haired elf closed the door behind me.

    ¡°You couldn¡¯t wait to see her, could you?¡±

    ¡°I want to know if she¡¯s okay,¡± I said softly.

    I walked to the crate when a certain spider peeked over the edge at the top. I had to do a double-take but confirmed it was Minia. The reason I had to look twice was because she¡¯d grown, and not by the amount I had been expecting.

    ¡°Is that normal?¡± I asked the elf.

    ¡°Uhhh,¡± Velariah mumbled as she walked closer to take a better look as well.

    The jumping spider had grown almost fifty percent in size and would now take up most of my palm. I knew that molting was how spiders grew, but it wouldn¡¯t result in growth of these proportions at all.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that it is,¡± The elf said.

    I could feel a stream of emotions coming from the spider, but the predominant one was confusion. I lowered myself and brought a finger down to carefully pet the spider to let her know I was okay.

    It sent out a wave of happiness as I did so. With Minia¡¯s molting, I could feel the connection between us was stronger. Her emotions were clearer for me to make out¡­ more direct in a way.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to take a wild guess and say it has something to do with my inherity. Do you think it¡¯s part of the arachnid communication part?¡±

    ¡°This is considered communication? Making spiders grow larger?¡± Velariah said in confusion.

    ¡°You have any better ideas?¡± I asked.

    The elf shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    Minia did something I wasn¡¯t expecting. She rapidly tapped her pedipalps on the wood of the crate as I stroked her back. It made a sound that had something akin to a purring of a cat. It made me chuckle.

    ¡°What the hell is she doing?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°She¡¯s just happy we¡¯re back. I think she¡¯s like¡­ purring?¡±

    ¡°Unbelievable.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m happy she is okay, though. Let¡¯s see if Elly still has any grasshoppers around.¡±

    I bent my torso over the crate to find the glass jar hidden behind it. There were still some grasshoppers inside. When I pulled out the jar, Minia¡¯s attention was instantly fixed on the insects inside.

    Velariah chuckled. ¡°I think she¡¯s hungry.¡±

    ¡°I know she¡¯s hungry. I can feel it.¡±

    ¡°Well, you better feed her then. I know how grumpy spiders can get when they¡¯re hungry.¡±

    ¡°Very funny, Vel,¡± I said with a grin as I put my hand in the jar to take out one of the grasshoppers. I then placed the insect on the ground and it promptly jumped away.

    Minia, however, wasn¡¯t impressed at all. She skittered down the crate, onto the floor and sneaked after the insect, staying a fair distance away until the insect sat still. It was then the spider jumped on it from afar and pinned it down as she injected venom.

    ¡°Holy crap, she¡¯s so fast,¡± Velariah said. ¡°It never ceases to amaze me.¡±

    ¡°I know, right?¡± I said as I crossed all four of my arms, watching the spider in action.

    I turned around and sat down on the floor with Velariah sitting down in front of me, practically begging me to hug her from behind. I did just that and imagined she regretted not taking off her armor now.

    I removed my helmet and placed it on the ground next to me. Velariah did the same and we watched Minia, who was dancing around happily with her prey between her fangs.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I used to be afraid of her,¡± I let out. ¡°She¡¯s so funny. I mean, look at that.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Velariah said with a chuckle. ¡°She¡¯s like, my second favorite spider.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you just said that.¡±

    ¡°I had to, El. It was too easy to not make that joke,¡± The elf said slyly.

    ¡°True, I guess,¡± I conceded.

    Velariah took my head with her hands and brought it down onto her shoulder to then turn her head and kiss me. From my side eye, I could see Minia staring, which caused me to chuckle mid-kiss.

    ¡°She¡¯s watching,¡± I said, explaining my behavior. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it was just too funny.¡±

    ¡°She knows exactly what is interesting to look at,¡± Velariah said, amused. ¡°But come,¡± She continued as she stood up. ¡°We still have to have lunch and then visit Dworag after that. I wonder how Draco¡¯s armor is coming along.¡±

    ¡°I doubt he managed to finish that in just those few days. I mean, he¡¯s fast, but that seems a bit excessive.¡±

    ¡°True, although any piece that¡¯s finished will help.¡±

    ¡°You also forgot to mention the coffee fields,¡± I said as soon as the thought entered my mind. ¡°I¡¯d love to see how that¡¯s doing, for the money if nothing else.¡±

    ¡°Suuuuure,¡± Velariah said with a far too big smile. ¡°For the money. It¡¯s not like you have the weirdest coffee fetish or anything.¡±

    ¡°One day,¡± I said. ¡°One day, we¡¯ll have decaffeinated coffee that I can drink. I swear it can¡¯t be that hard to figure out.¡±

    ¡°One day for sure,¡± Velariah confirmed as she walked to the door, stepping over the hammock. ¡°You hungry?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°Not at all, no. A cup of tea, or rather, half a cup would be lovely though.¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s not keep the others waiting.¡±

    We entered the dining area where the others were waiting for us. Seralyn was smiling and I knew it could be nothing good.

    ¡°So, was she happy to see you?¡±

    She asked it in a half-serious way, but I couldn¡¯t detect sarcasm in her voice.

    ¡°She¡¯s alright. She actually grew quite a bit, which makes us wonder if my inherity has an effect on her.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ interesting,¡± Draco commented.

    Nira was looking at me with interest on her face. Gray sat on her lap with one of the silk balls in his mouth. It seemed I¡¯d been right in assuming it would make a great toy for him.

    I took my place at the table and poured myself some tea.

    ¡°Yeah. Her emotions are far clearer to me now as well. Makes me wonder just how far this inherity of mine goes.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± Draco said. ¡°In due time.¡±

 2.27 Reinventing the Wheel

    ¡°At least I won¡¯t have to worry about anything related to spiders anymore,¡± I said. ¡°That is, if what happened in the dungeon is anything to go by. Yay for that, I guess.¡±

    ¡°You have no idea how funny that sounds coming from you,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°I guess it¡¯s fitting for a queen spider to be able to talk to her underlings.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a quee-¡± I started before I was cut off by both Velariah and Seralyn¡¯s laughter. I covered my face with my two right hands¡¯ palms. I decided I would just let them enjoy this moment.

    ¡°The number of eggs you produced the other day tells otherwise,¡± Seralyn said, still grinning.

    I still had my face covered in my palms and shook my head at the elf¡¯s weird sense of humor. ¡°I don¡¯t have to fear spiders anymore,¡± I started slowly. ¡°But now, there is all the more reason that you should.¡±

    That managed to shut the brunette up real quick. I could see a sly smile on Draco¡¯s face as I said those words.

    The rest of our lunch was finished in silence, all with a smile on my face. When we finished, I asked about our financial status. The white-haired elf chuckled at my question.

    ¡°Seriously, you keep forgetting. For the moment, we¡¯re completely broke, thanks to your generosity to our party members.¡±

    ¡°Crap,¡± I said in response. ¡°And how are we with outstanding payments?¡±

    ¡°We have a clean bill,¡± Velariah said. ¡°But we don¡¯t know yet what Draco¡¯s new set of armor will cost.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Guess we have work to do later today. The good news is, I am stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey.¡±

    ¡°What the hell is a Thanksgiving?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°Uhh,¡± I started, realizing I had yet again spoken too much. ¡°It¡¯s a historical holiday where I come from. Again, long story, but an important aspect of my culture.¡±

    ¡°The stuffed turkey part does sound good though,¡± Velariah said. Even though we had just eaten, I could see her almost salivating over the thought of poultry. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll ask Elly to order one¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing,¡± I said. ¡°And sure, if you want, go for it. Though, we normally have it in late fall, when it¡¯s cold and dark outside. I¡¯m not sure if it will give quite the same feeling.¡±

    ¡°Who cares?¡± Seralyn said. ¡°Food is food!¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°Maybe I should teach you some more about my old world someday if you¡¯re that interested in it.¡± A moment of silence and a nod and smile from Draco followed.

    ¡°Back on the topic of money,¡± Velariah said. ¡°We still have those weird daggers. Now, I was thinking of taking them to Dworag. Even if he is not specialized in weapons, I have a feeling we can get a better price for it there than at Coldanus.¡±

    ¡°Why is that? I thought your dad talked to Coldanus to not rip us off?¡±

    ¡°True,¡± Velariah said. ¡°But the thing is, these daggers are unique, which makes it hard to put a value on them. Coldanus will one hundred percent use that to rip us off anyway.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense.¡±

    The elf stood up and walked to the far end of the table where the daggers still lay. She then placed them back in my saddlebags as the others stood up to leave as well. For a moment I considered telling them that they could each go their own way, but on second thought, it may be better for all of us to stick together. It would probably be a good idea to do that for the foreseeable future.

    If I was still being targeted, whoever did would also know my friends by now. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they targeted one of us to get to me.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Velariah asked, her hand on my back.

    ¡°I was just thinking about how we should stick together, as clich¨¦ as that sounds.¡±

    The elf chuckled. ¡°I think each and every one of us already had that in mind. Anyway, let¡¯s get to Dworag, shall we?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Velariah continued, unable to contain her excitement. I had to admit that after our latest adventure, I was looking forward to doing some shopping on my own. It was kind of odd, since I had just recently gotten a new weapon and armor and wouldn¡¯t get anything for a while as I wanted to make sure Draco got a good set of armor first. I guessed I was simply looking forward to seeing the improvements we made as a team.

    We walked to the hallway where we fully equipped ourselves again before heading out. Once in the center of town, it wasn¡¯t hard to see the preparations for the festival still hadn''t finished. Even more wood was carried and stacked near the tree, presumably for the bonfire. The treemenders, who were usually gathered inside the tree, were walking around to observe everything that had been done so far. They also kept glancing to the branches above them.

    I shook my head. Some things about this new world would probably forever remain a mystery to me.

    ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± Velariah said with a smile as we neared Dworag¡¯s shop. Velariah entered the building while I led the way through the alley. That was¡­ until I got stuck.

    ¡°What the fuck,¡± I let out when the walls on either side prevented my spider abdomen from going forward.

    Seralyn burst into laughter. ¡°Damn, Elania. How much did you eat the other day?¡±

    ¡°Too much apparently.¡±

    I sighed as I forced myself free by using my powerful legs to move backward. Once I was out of the alley, I shook my head and addressed the others. ¡°You guys go ahead and check out how far your armor set is coming along, Draco. Do let me know the costs.¡±

    ¡°This is unfortunate,¡± Draco said calmly. ¡°If you want, we can ask Dworag to come here.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Do that if you want, but he does seem fond of showing his stuff in his workplace.¡±

    The lizardman nodded and entered the dwarf¡¯s store as well, leaving me behind with Seralyn and Nira. I crossed my arms and started thinking about how Nira had never gotten anything new besides the scepter we bought a while ago. Didn¡¯t she use some kind of jewelry that helped her channel her magic?

    ¡°Hey, Nira?¡± I called out her name.

    ¡°Huh?¡± She let out, cocking her head.

    I suppressed a chuckle when I saw the feathers behind her ears twitch in reaction. ¡°Do you have anything you¡¯re working towards?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saving for a specific amulet.¡±

    ¡°Anything I can do to help?¡±

    The harpy shook her head. ¡°Thank you, but it¡¯s okay. The amulet I want isn¡¯t available here anyway.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Her words made me think about the availability of goods. Here in Dawnleaf, we had an armorsmith and a weaponsmith. When it came to gemstones, or enchantments, it seemed some basic ones were available at those shops. Velariah had mentioned something about a rather expensive enchant before. There were bound to be specialized craftsmen for those, right? What other crafts would there be that existed to help adventurers?

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Seralyn asked slyly. I swear, that elf could see my thoughts.

    ¡°About how a few things work in this world, in case you¡¯re actually wondering.¡±

    ¡°Such as?¡± She asked. I daresay she was genuinely interested.

    ¡°The thing that Nira just mentioned. Do you have specialized jewel crafters in this world?¡±

    ¡°Of course we do. You¡¯ll find quite a few in the capital from what I¡¯ve been told. I reckon we¡¯ll eventually go there. The problem with jewelry, especially the ones imbued with magic, is that they are ludicrously expensive.¡±

    ¡°What are we looking at here? At minimum?¡±

    ¡°Upward of a hundred gold will get you the first items worth considering,¡± The elf said. ¡°Once you go over the two hundred mark, you will also find the first enchantments that will add special effects to weapons and armor.¡±

    That sounded interesting enough. ¡°What about the fire gems and such. Do they not count or something?¡±

    Seralyn clicked her tongue. ¡°Well, technically, they do, but they are very basic gems, you know? No, I¡¯m talking about effects such as Draco¡¯s ability to summon spikes that strike his target.¡±

    ¡°Wait what,¡± I said confused. ¡°That sounds strong as hell!¡±

    ¡°Expensive too, and it¡¯s not that easy though. One needs to attune the enchantment first by evolving while they have the effect in use. One last thing...¡±

    ¡°Here comes the bad news right?¡± I asked.

    Seralyn nodded. ¡°Effects such as those are only sold to ruby-rank adventurers and higher.¡±

    ¡°I knew it,¡± I said with a long, drawn-out sigh.

    ¡°Believe me, we have about the best we can get, right now. We¡¯re already blessed with featherlight enchants being as easy to make as they are. They are among the most useful things to exist.¡±

    ¡°You can say that again.¡±

    The door to Dworag¡¯s shop opened and out came Dworag in front, followed by Velariah and finally, Draco. The lizardman couldn¡¯t be bothered to look up from his new and shiny armor. Given the only thing that changed about his equipment was the new legplates, he still seemed overjoyed with them.

    As much as he would show joy anyway.

    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t know it, he just didn¡¯t express as much. In this case, he seemed to show it by showing us intrigue in his new stuff.

    ¡°Ah, Miss Elania,¡± The dwarf said, causing me to shift my attention to him. ¡°Good to see ya.¡±

    ¡°You too, Dworag. How¡¯s it going?¡±

    Oh shit. Why did I have to say that?

    ¡°Good, now that I¡¯ve seen you again,¡± He said, his beard shifting from the smile underneath.

    I knew it.

    ¡°Say,¡± he continued. ¡°I¡¯ve been made aware of something.¡±

    Uh-oh.

    ¡°Something called¡­ rubber thread, was it, Miss Velariah?¡±

    The white-haired elf nodded.

    ¡°Oh,¡± I let out. ¡°I should have probably told you about that earlier. I have a feeling I know where this is going.¡±

    I cursed myself for not seeing the use for the rubber silk when it was right in front of me - Draco¡¯s armor. I could slap myself for being so stupid. I let out a deep sigh.

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Velariah said. ¡°We already talked about it inside. Fortunately for us, Dworag hasn¡¯t had much time to work on Draco¡¯s armor yet; he barely managed to finish his greaves and he did so by compensating. Perhaps  you should explain, Dworag.¡±

    ¡°Aye,¡± The dwarf said. ¡°You see, I told you I¡¯m adjusting a high-quality armor set I have laying around to fit your friend, but in doing so, I have to remove the back half. Now,  I was thinking, with this thing that Velariah mentioned, about it being elastic yet sturdy, I could leave the backside on if I were to use that instead. It would be a simple matter of replacing the straps and then widening the armor a bit at certain points.¡±

    ¡°Uhhh,¡± I let out as I thought about it. ¡°I would love to help out with that, but I have yet to figure out exactly how to best use this rubber thread of mine. To be fair, I¡¯ve been thinking about what to do for the rest of the day and you¡¯ve just given me an idea¡­ more than one actually¡­¡±

    ¡°Not sure if I like the sound of that,¡± Seralyn commented.

    ¡°Oh shush, you,¡± Velariah said before turning to me with large eyes. ¡°I certainly like the sound of that.¡±

    Draco was looking at me with intrigue in his reptilian eyes as well.

    ¡°Should I put this work on hold then?¡± Dworag asked.

    I nodded. ¡°I think I¡¯ll be able to figure out what I need to figure out without too many issues. It would be a waste of a perfectly good set of armor. You can make the adjustments that need to be made while I work on the straps. I¡¯ll just create sheets of rubber, I think you¡¯ll be able to work from there.¡± I looked at Velariah after that, hoping she could confirm that what I had planned would work.

    ¡°That should work,¡± Velariah added. ¡°We can just cut it out that way.¡± She paused for a second. ¡°Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s as good as your other kind of thread,¡± Dworag said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind some of that. We can probably work something out.¡±

    I smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to be a problem. What were you looking to get for Draco¡¯s armor set anyway?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± The dwarf thought aloud. ¡°I¡¯m tempted to give you a good discount if your rubber is as good as Miss Velariah made it out to be. How does forty gold sound?¡±

    ¡°Good enough to me.¡±

    It was funny how I could simply shrug at amounts like these which would be considered expensive. I could literally make this within a day. A day of work for something as life-saving as good armor was a bargain in my eyes.

    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll be looking forward to our continued cooperation.¡± The dwarf took a small bow before walking back into his shop, motioning Draco to follow him.

    As he disappeared into the building, Velariah turned her attention to me. ¡°Other ideas?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°I want to get my hands on a wheel and a steel rod. We¡¯ll have to get the wheel first.¡±

    Velariah scratched her head and Nira cocked hers as I smiled watching them think about what I¡¯d cooked up this time.

    ¡°As I said, might as well use the rest of the day to experiment, right?¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve certainly piqued my interest,¡± Seralyn added.

    ¡°A wooden wheel isn¡¯t too hard to come by in this village, is it?¡± I asked.

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°Should be plenty of those at the lumber processing plant. Unless they just send out all of the ones they have in a shipment, we should be okay.¡±

    ¡°They are the same kind that was on the carts at the guild, right?¡±

    The elf nodded. ¡°Yes, why are you asking?¡±

    ¡°Reasons,¡± I said with a smile.

    The trust was that I had plans to test my rubber thread for a specific purpose. For that, I needed to have a wheel that had a certain outer ring thickness and width.

    ¡°Great,¡± I continued after my small pause. ¡°A metal rod, probably¡­ Coldanus?¡±

    ¡°I would ask why you would need a metal rod, but I¡¯ll let you show me instead,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Those ideas of yours are beyond what I can imagine.¡±

    ¡°I intend to show you, don¡¯t worry. Though, I just realized I will need the rod made into a ring. Think Dworag will be able to do that?¡±

    ¡°I think so?¡± Velariah answered with a question. ¡°He has a bunch of tools inside his shop as well. I reckon some of those can be used to bend rods.¡±

    ¡°Nice,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll need to get that wheel first and have some adjustments made...¡± I trailed off.

    ¡°Fuck. We¡¯re out of money¡­¡± My voice lost its energy.

    ¡°I¡¯ll lend you the money,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°I¡¯m far too curious for this to be delayed. Hell,¡± - She clicked her tongue - ¡°I¡¯ll even give it. You¡¯ve given away your share of the quest so...¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said with a smile. She seemed to have difficulty saying it, but I respected her for saying it nonetheless.

    Draco walked out the door with his old greaves equipped once again, his eyes on me, probably curious what I was planning.

    I sighed, then chuckled. ¡°Yeah, I won¡¯t keep you guys waiting any longer. Let¡¯s get that wheel¡­ actually...¡± I paused for a second. ¡°While we¡¯re here, we might as well visit Coldanus first. Vel, seeing as I can¡¯t enter, I need a rod that has about the same thickness, slightly less, than the wheel of a cart.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t have to be of good quality, copper I guess would be the easiest to work with. That¡¯s easier to bend than iron or steel, right?¡±

    Velariah chuckled. ¡°Yeah, definitely. Not sure if he has any copper rods laying around though, I¡¯ll  check.¡±

    Seralyn reached into her leather pack and pulled out a coin purse while we walked towards Coldanus¡¯s shop. Once she found it, she tossed it to the other elf who then entered the building.

    ¡°I have to say,¡± Draco said while we waited outside. ¡°I am quite curious. Mind if I ask what the plan is?¡±

    ¡°The plan, my dear Draco, is to create a tire. I¡¯ll do it inside the mansion as I don¡¯t need anyone but you guys to know about this. I just want to know if I can do this and who knows? It might come in handy somewhere in the future.¡±

    I thought about our plans of going to Zerdania. If I was going to be pulling a covered wagon, rubber around the wheels might be just the thing I needed. I wasn¡¯t sure if wooden wheels would fare well in the desert sands.

    It was of no issue for now. We would look into that later. It was far too early to even think about that stuff.

    ¡°A tire?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°You will see. It¡¯s hard to explain, and probably even harder to create. I¡¯m learning as I go as well. I know the result I¡¯m working towards but I don¡¯t quite know the steps along the way. I hope that makes sense.¡±

    The lizardman nodded. ¡°Certainly.¡±

    It didn''t take long for the white-haired elf to exit the building, a long, copper pole in hand. Its length was over the top, but the thickness seemed to be precisely what we were looking for.

    ¡°Think this will do?¡± Velariah asked.

    She handed the rod to my one free hand. It was as long as my weapon but heavier due to it being solid metal instead of mostly wood.

    ¡°Looks fine to me,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s get our wheel sorted next.¡±

    I laid the far end of the rod on my abdomen and smiled. ¡°Turns out this day is going to be more interesting than I thought, after all.¡±

 2.28 Elven Wood

    Along the way to the lumber processing plant, I started thinking about how to tackle the biggest issue that would arise when trying to make a tire. We would stick to one, just as a means of demonstrating how it works. Perhaps we could figure out some way to make use of it for later. The more I thought about it, though, the less feasible it seemed to me to make an inner tire that could be filled with air. I had no means of pumping air into it, and no proper way to seal it off, either.

    I had planned to use the copper rod to wrap silk around it, and hopefully, try to fill it with air, but on second thought, it might be better to leave that last part altogether. I wondered if wrapping silk around the rod and then bending it around the wheel would allow it to resist shocks.

    If only there was some kind of material that could be used instead of copper. Something that was malleable without much effort, yet sturdy enough.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Velariah asked, smiling mischievously. ¡°I can see you thinking, you know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a bit lost. I just realized that I had to scrap part of my plan and now I¡¯m looking for something else that might be of use when it comes to using this beyond a simple demonstration.¡±

    ¡°What do you need?¡± Draco asked politely.

    ¡°Ugh, fine. I¡¯ll tell you what my plan was,¡± I said, slightly disappointed that I¡¯d have to ruin the surprise. ¡°You see, I wanted to carve an indentation around the wheel in which this copper rod would be bent, but I¡¯d wrap the rod with rubber thread before doing that. I want to test its ability to resist shocks that occur on the road and it would be a good idea to test its traction in loose sand as well. The issue is that this rod seems hard to bend, and it¡¯s also quite heavy. I was wondering if there is any light, sturdy, malleable material that can be used instead.¡±

    ¡°Why not just use your thread around the wheel and be done with it?¡± Seralyn asked. ¡°Seems you¡¯re making this overly complicated.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps that would work, and that was going to be part of my plan, but with this rod in between and layers of rubber around it, it should be way more shock-absorbant, at least I think it would be.¡±

    Seralyn shrugged. ¡°Your call.¡±

    ¡°Light and malleable, yet sturdy¡­¡± Draco thought aloud, his hand on his chin. ¡°I think I may know something, but I forgot its name. Seralyn,¡± he addressed the elf. ¡°I¡¯m sure you know what I¡¯m talking about.¡± He pointed at her bow.

    ¡°You mean Elven wood?¡±

    ¡°Elven wood?¡± Draco asked confused. ¡°Is that how you call it nowadays?¡±

    Seralyn sighed. ¡°We do, yes. Apparently, Cyradynadion cacaprian hardwood was too complicated for foreigners, so we decided to just refer to it as elven wood.¡±

    ¡°The what?¡± I let out.

    ¡°Cyradynadion cacaprian hardwood?¡± Seralyn reiterated, causing me to open my eyes wide at the ease and speed with which she said it.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard it twice now and I still have no clue what the hell you just said. Cyprano¡­what?¡±

    ¡°Elven wood,¡± Velariah said. ¡°A special type of wood that grows in forests near elven cities. It can be bent into any shape or form as long as you keep it moist with sap from the same tree.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s oftentimes used for beginner to intermediate tier bows,¡± Seralyn continued. ¡°It¡¯s very easy to work with and can mass-produce them. It¡¯s not the most sturdy despite the original name, but it''s light, and I think, sufficient for this.¡±

    ¡°And how do we get it? It sounds rare.¡± I said, fearing the worst.

    ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± Velariah said. ¡°There are literally farms of it near Goldleaf. To get it, we simply place an order at the guild for the wood and some large vials of sap.¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s do that after we¡¯re done here, then,¡± I said when we reached the end of the road to the large wooden building. I heard loud sawing noises coming from within.

    ¡°So you know what we need right?¡± I asked Velariah. ¡°There needs to be space for the rod, but there should be plenty of room between the rod and the edges.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. Don¡¯t worry. It might take some time to get done, though.¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really have anything better to do.¡±

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true.¡±

    I handed the copper rod to Velariah, who entered the building together with Seralyn. I let my body collapse to the ground as I heard we¡¯d be here for a bit, and I started thinking about other applications that rubber might have. Draco and Nira sat down with me and watched me. I imagined they too could tell I was thinking deeply as they didn¡¯t speak a word.

    Surely there had to be other uses for rubber in armor right? Would it serve as proper lining for plate armor? I had just mentioned the part where it would make excellent shock-absorbing material. I imagined getting pummeled by maces would be a lot less painful if your armor was lined with a layer of rubber.

    How resistant would it be to cutting?

    I ran a finger over my lips and closed my side eyes and concentrated on ways to test it out.

    Draco¡¯s lips formed a smile as he watched me think. Nira seemed to be curious about what I was going to come up with this time.

    I could always make a thread as thick as I possibly could and have Draco try to cut through it, but the strength of rubber lay in having more than a mere thread.

    Hold on a second¡­

    Were erasers a thing in this world?

    The thought was so random that it almost passed me by, but erasers were incredibly useful. I could very easily test if my silk could be used for that purpose. All I¡¯d need was a little ball and that¡¯s it.

    That was one thing to keep in mind.

    Back to armoring applications, though.

    I started playing with ideas in my head. About how I could line the insides of plate armor with a layer of rubber and then a layer of steelthread. I knew that that specific thread would get stronger with future evolutions and the idea of having multiple layers of material seemed like a solid idea. That was a thing back on Earth, right? Composite armor?

    I didn¡¯t know the specifics but the multiple layer technique, I believe, served to make it harder to penetrate. Adding in the rubber would also reduce the blunt force behind blows. All in all, it sounded like it deserved some proper testing sometime soon¡­

    I felt awfully excited about trying things like these out. Simple lining, I could likely do myself, and I trusted my party in keeping things like that a secret.

    I nodded at my ideas.

    ¡°Seems like you have things figured out,¡± Draco said, still smiling.

    ¡°Not really,¡± I replied. ¡°But I have a few ideas for things to try. I don¡¯t think it will be of much benefit to us in the foreseeable future because we¡¯re dealing with trolls and goblins, but who knows?¡±

    The lizardman nodded at that and I continued thinking, working things out just slightly more because we had plenty of time.

    Eventually, my mind decided to jump to how it all started, rubber bands. It made me think if there were any applications for rubber bands. Slingshots were a thing, but I doubted we would get many benefits from them. I chuckled when I thought about me using one of them, or rather, about how I didn¡¯t have enough hands to use them with what I was currently wielding.

    My biggest question, however, remained. This was a world with all kinds of magic. How would rubber fare against that? Guns weren¡¯t a thing, so I didn¡¯t have to worry about that, but I imagined it could have been easier to use my new type of silk against that than magic due to how straightforward they are. There were simply too many types of magical abilities to even set up something to test things.

    And yet, it felt like one of the best things I could do in this world. Testing and training would allow me to learn the limits of my body and then elevate them. I sighed as my thoughts finally came to a rest.

    ¡°Anything the matter, Miss Elania?¡± Draco asked politely as always.

    ¡°Just... thinking about things, planning, and whatnot. There is so much to do¡­¡±

    ¡°Never a dull time.¡±

    ¡°What do you do in your free time, Draco, if I may ask?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t usually have much free time,¡± The lizardman replied. ¡°But I usually try to find someone to spar with, or I check available quests and see if there¡¯s anything worthwhile. Not much point in doing that anymore, though.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°Because we¡¯re a good team, and we certainly don''t lack the funds.¡±

    ¡°I was just thinking,¡± I continued. ¡°We should do some more training. There are a few things I want to try out when it comes to my own abilities. When your armor set is finished, I¡¯d love to check how you do with it. Maybe we will all benefit from that?¡±

    Draco closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them. ¡°That sounds like a great idea. If Nira is willing to help as well, we could try to take things a bit more seriously, too.¡±

    The harpy reacted to her name by suddenly looking at the lizardman''s face, before turning to me.

    ¡°Is that a good idea, you think?¡± I asked. ¡°Last time I checked, I ran a troll through with this blade. Not sure how much confidence Dworag¡¯s armor demands, but¡­¡±

    Draco shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to put it, but there¡¯s not a lot of skill involved when it comes to doing that.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s not hard at all.¡±

    ¡°So I was thinking to just test it in short-range melees, practice it as if it were a sword. I¡¯m sure Miss Velariah would agree with the idea.¡±

    ¡°Seems we¡¯re on the same page then. I was already planning to do the same thing. Do you think it¡¯s a good idea to be more reckless in spars, though? Will Nira be able to manage?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t go overboard,¡± Nira said softly. ¡°I think I¡¯ll be able to manage for the most part if things go wrong. We have potions and treemenders nearby if things do get out of hand.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s my blood as well.¡± I paused for a few seconds. ¡°Maybe I should extract some? Do you think I could use them as an alchemy ingredient, Nira?¡±

    The harpy shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not an alchemist. You¡¯d have to ask a treemender.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t planning on that. I guess if we want to use it, we¡¯ll have to use it as it is.¡±

    I looked at the cobblestone road beneath me for a few seconds. ¡°Hey, Draco?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°How sharp are your axes?¡±

    ¡°Very. I always carry a whetstone with me as well. Though, so far, I haven¡¯t had to use it. Any specific reason you ask?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s always a reason I ask things. You know that.¡± I said.

    Draco smiled as I stood up. With nothing to do, I figured we might as well check a few things. I lowered my spinnerets to the stones and created a few thick threads of rubber silk. I kept them short to not waste my energy.

    Once done, I picked up the four threads, each about a centimeter thick, and laid them on the ground in front of Draco. ¡°Have fun cutting those.¡±

    I unsheathed my own weapon to get more information on this substance, seeing as my own weapon would slice due to the way the blade was shaped, whereas Draco¡¯s would strike with more force behind the blows.

    I sat down and used the sword part of my weapon like a knife to cut through the thread. I didn¡¯t have to put in any effort to do so. Draco brought down one of his axes and cut through the thread cleanly as well.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ unfortunate,¡± I said. ¡°I was hoping this was stronger than that.¡±

    ¡°I guess a thicker layer will help in that regard,¡± Draco said.

    ¡°We really are on the same page, aren¡¯t we?¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°Though, I wanted to use different layers of different materials. I¡¯ll probably leave some of the experimenting to be done by Dworag. He should know a lot more about how armor works than me.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps,¡± The lizardman spoke. ¡°But I imagine some of the concepts in your head are as new to him as they are to me.¡±

    I looked at Nira who had been awkwardly following the conversation. I didn¡¯t want to leave her out of all this, so when Draco picked up one of the threads to inspect it closer, I turned my attention to her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you ever get annoyed with walking with us, Nira? I mean, sure, I¡¯m carrying you around, but you know?¡±

    The harpy looked at me, confusion plastered on her face. ¡°I¡¯m fine with it? As long as you don¡¯t mind, it¡¯s the fastest way for me to get around.¡±

    ¡°But would you not rather just fly?¡± I asked.

    Nira shrugged and spread her wings behind her. ¡°Sometimes I would, but what happened to me earlier¡­¡± She shook her head.

    ¡°You¡¯re being careful,¡± I suggested to which the harpy nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± I concluded. ¡°By the way, how much are you able to carry while flying, anyway? You didn¡¯t seem to have much of an issue with that log earlier.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t exactly measured it,¡± She said. ¡°While it was doable, I don¡¯t think I can carry anything that is much heavier than that log.¡±

    ¡°Doubt it will be necessary,¡± I said.

    At the same time, the door opened and Velariah stepped outside, the metal rod in her hands which she handed to me. ¡°How are things going here? Also, what won¡¯t be necessary?¡±

    Draco and Nira both looked at me. It seemed I was going to have to do the explaining.

    ¡°Things are fine here. We just talked about how much Nira would be able to carry. She said she wouldn¡¯t be able to lift much more into the air than that log the other day to which I said I doubted it would be necessary.¡±

    ¡°I see. Well, anyway, things are proceeding smoothly. We¡¯ll be done here soon enough. You guys discussed anything interesting?¡±

    ¡°Draco and I came up with the idea to do some sparring after he gets his armor fixed. Remind me to make some more of this new thread for Dworag, and to try to make actual strips of it instead of threads. Not sure if it¡¯s possible, but I¡¯m gonna try anyway.¡±

    ¡°Sparring sounds like a good idea to me. I welcome some practice. I¡¯m very much interested to see how I hold up against Draco as well.¡± She smiled with her last sentence.

    That was a tough question. When I first saw them fight, it seemed Draco was very much the better fighter, but he wasn¡¯t nearly as mobile as Velariah. The elf would have an easier time dodging attacks whereas Draco seemed to have the build, and armor, to take blows head-on without issues.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it, Miss Velariah,¡± The lizardman said, smiling back at her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a bit, with a wheel, if they don¡¯t screw up the last bit that is,¡± Velariah said as she walked back inside.

    ¡°Now I¡¯m looking forward to it too,¡± I said as I picked up one of the rubber threads from the road.

    I started wrapping it around the copper rod and noted that it didn¡¯t truly stick to the metal surface. It wasn¡¯t like my sticky silk at all in that regard. I had to wrap the thread around itself in order to keep it in place. I then hit the road with the end of the rod to see how well it would absorb the shock.

    I didn¡¯t put much force behind the blow, but did notice that it bounced back up slightly by itself.

    ¡°So far, so good,¡± I stated.

    I looked at the silk and wondered just how durable it was. My experience with rubber bands was that if you stretched them out enough times, they would start chipping. This damage would increase over time and cause them to eventually snap. If I was going to wrap a substance resembling that around this rod and the wheel, I needed to make sure it wouldn¡¯t break like that, or find a way to solve that issue.

    I laid down the rod and took the last thread. I started stretching it time and time again to see what would happen. At some point, I used one of my pedipalps to create a small chip in the thread. I continued testing the limits of the thread as Draco and Nira looked at me with intrigue. I bet this looked ludicrous, but for me, it made sense as I knew what I was looking for.

    Eventually, the small chip grew and the thread snapped.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± I let out. ¡°I should have known.¡± I sighed. ¡°Looks like there are going to be some more issues to solve¡­ as usual, really.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what just happened, but I think you¡¯ll find a solution,¡± Draco said in an attempt to cheer me up.

    I nodded. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. There¡¯s plenty of time to work on this after today anyway. I assume we¡¯ll head back into the forest after the festival, right?¡±

    ¡°I would assume so,¡± The lizardman replied. ¡°But I think things are coming along nicely if the general¡¯s words are anything to go by. Not sure how much we can still get done that isn¡¯t already done.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Fair enough. We did wipe out a large gathering of goblins earlier. The trolls are the ones making things hard.¡±

    The lizardman nodded and after that, things went quiet for a few minutes until the door opened again and Seralyn walked out. Velariah followed, rolling a cartwheel before her. It was hollowed out more than enough for the rod plus silk wrapped around it to fit inside.

    ¡°Well then,¡± The white-haired elf spoke. ¡°Do we want to make a stop at home or what¡¯s the plan?¡±

    ¡°Not sure,¡± I said. ¡°I think it might be better to do it at home in a more private setting. Dworag¡¯s isn¡¯t too far from there anyway.¡±

    She nodded. ¡°Alright,¡± The elf said as she rolled the wheel over the cobblestones. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. I want to see the result of this experimentation.¡±

 2.29 Silk & Duels

    I let Velariah lead the way back home. I had expected our party, combined with the weird objects we were carrying to attract more attention, but the village was pretty empty. The only people about were too busy with making sure everything was in a tip-top state for the festival the next day to even notice us.

    Once home, we left the wheel and our weapons in the hallway before Velariah and I made our way into our room. I would have felt bad for the others to have them wait, but fortunately for them, Gray was all too eager to keep them Nira in particular, company. I didn¡¯t plan to have them wait for too long, but to get a good layer of silk around this rod would take quite some out of me.

    This had better not leave me starving again¡­

    ¡°By the way,¡± Velariah said. ¡°About that sparring thing between me and Draco, why wouldn¡¯t we do a bit of training today?¡±

    ¡°You were serious when you said you¡¯d wear me out, weren¡¯t you?¡±

    The white-haired elf chuckled evilly. ¡°Oh, you better believe I was.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s never a bad idea to practice though. I¡¯m just worried about the power of my new weapon.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Velariah hummed. ¡°We could just do the same we did earlier and focus on your defense. If you want to practice swings from close range with a weapon like that, you might as well just hit a dummy instead¡­ which we should probably have you do at some point.¡±

    ¡°Not a bad idea, I suppose.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± The elf continued. ¡°Look, the weapon you use right now is excellent for open-field combat, which is what we did in the forest. The spear you have will still have its uses for tight corridors like the dungeon tunnels. It was a smart choice to start with a spear as it''s the easiest weapon to learn, but oh-so-important. Now that is exactly how you will use those weapons. As such, there is not a high priority to use that polearm any different than you already did. You shouldn¡¯t use it for melee fighting. Its best use lies with charges. You have two additional weapons and eight legs you can fight with at close range already. That¡¯s why I suggest to focus on defense.¡±

    ¡°I think you have a point. There is little value for me to not use devastating charge attacks in the open.¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Velariah reaffirmed, shaking her head. ¡°Really, I wouldn¡¯t want to fight against you in a real fight. You¡¯re much, much stronger than you think you are.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯m trying my best.¡±

    ¡°I know. Let¡¯s get working on wrapping that rod, shall we?¡±

    I nodded and got in position, thinking about the properties I wanted my silk to have. In the meantime, Minia found her way up on the tub¡¯s edge and stared at me. I felt she wanted to keep me company.

    Velariah then took the rod, touched my spinnerets with it, and started spinning it around. I relaxed as I thought about what Velariah had said. Focusing on defense was something that just seemed to be the smart option, almost always. Of course, I had my shields, but there was only so much force I could absorb. They were pointless against something like those troll maces. My polearm wouldn¡¯t do much against that either, but I imagined it could have its uses to learn how to parry strikes from certain weapons from afar, or certain monster attacks for that matter.

    I never knew what awaited me, after all. I wanted to be prepared for whatever.

    ¡°I¡¯m wondering¡­¡± I said at some point. ¡°Is there something I could do against ranged attacks? When I see Seralyn at work¡­ her accuracy when it comes to aiming for the eyes¡­ it¡¯s scary.¡±

    ¡°Other than covering with a shield, and making sure you have proper armor? Not a whole lot you can do. Then again, if you do that, and manage to close the gap quickly, which you absolutely can, they stand no chance.¡±

    ¡°I see. I was just wondering because these goblins don¡¯t seem to be the best, but what if we came across better archers?¡±

    ¡°No point in worrying about it,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Just keep evolving your inherity and buy the best armor you can get, which is what you should be doing anyway.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± I paused for a few seconds as Velariah continued behind my back. ¡°But yeah, I¡¯m up for some practice. Let¡¯s see how well I do. I kind of want to have a duel with Draco as well.¡±

    ¡°Any duel with you isn¡¯t fair with four arms to work with, you know that?¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°That bad huh?¡±

    Velariah chuckled as well. ¡°Well, kind of. You can just keep up your shields and then use a spear to stab. It¡¯s insanely effective.¡±

    ¡°Still, Draco has his magic attack.¡±

    ¡°He won¡¯t use that in a duel, El. What are you thinking?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s not that. I mean, will I ever have something like that?¡±

    ¡°Hard to say. Just keep evolving your inherity and hope for the best. There were plenty of question marks on that paper. I¡¯m hoping on a spell myself, have been for quite some time.¡±

    ¡°I guess we''ll have to find a new dungeon soon enough. Kind of curious about what this hidden one in the forest is like. Thanks to Arch, we learned to be prepared for anything.¡±

    ¡°Always keep your eyes open. Something we found out the hard way,¡± Velariah recapped.

    ¡°I¡¯m wondering what secrets dungeons hold, and I¡¯ve been in this world for much less time than you. How do you feel about that?¡±

    ¡°Do you mean secrets as in, what they can tell you?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°I never gave it a thought,¡± She admitted. ¡°Since until recently, it was considered impossible to talk to dungeon cores. I reckon my father has a lot of questions for them, but he¡¯s far too caught up with his work at the moment, which is probably for the best. He can''t be losing focus with something this important.¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem like the person to lose his focus,¡± I said.

    ¡°He really isn¡¯t.¡±

    I chuckled and remained quiet while Velariah finished behind me. I felt my strength being drained, but I had plenty of sustenance to endure. I could have gone on for a lot longer when the elf tapped my abdomen.

    ¡°All done,¡± She said.

    I petted Minia, and turned around to observe our work. The copper rod had been completely wrapped in a layer of silk about half a centimeter thick. I pinched it to feel the texture somewhat reminding me of a rubber tire.

    ¡°Looking good,¡± I said. ¡°Now to bend it around the wheel. I¡¯m kind of curious about the look on Dworag¡¯s face.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not taking a liking to him, are you?¡± Velariah asked with a sly smile. ¡°Has his flirting finally gotten to you?¡±

    I laughed for a good few seconds. ¡°Nah, don¡¯t worry about it. Nothing could replace my elf. That makes me think¡­¡±

    I turned around to Minia who was still standing on the edge of the tub. I crouched and held up a palm for her to step on. ¡°Don¡¯t you get kind of lonely here when we¡¯re out?¡±

    From the team of emotions that flowed from her to me, I understood that it wasn¡¯t so bad.

    ¡°Still, wouldn¡¯t you like a friend or something?¡±

    She was fine with just me and Velariah.

    ¡°Okay then. We¡¯ll head out again. We¡¯ll be back later.¡±

    She waved at me with a pedipalp as we were about to leave the room. I waved back in the same manner.

    ¡°A friend for Minia?¡± Velariah asked. ¡°You do realize the only viable option would be another spider, right?¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± I said. ¡°But she is fine it seems. I¡¯d hate for her to be lonely¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too sweet.¡±

    We walked into the other room where the others were still waiting. Well, Seralyn was the only one waiting. She had a hand under her chin with her elbow on the table and was using her other hand to tap the tabletop with her fingertips. Clearly, she was in a foul mood from all that waiting.

    Nira was having a great time with Gray and Draco was watching the two in amusement.

    ¡°Hope y¡¯all ready,¡± Velariah said. ¡°¡®Cuz Elania and I figured we might as well do some training today.¡±

    ¡°Finally,¡± Seralyn sighed. ¡°Some action.¡±

    Draco smiled. ¡°How did it go?¡±

    ¡°Judge for yourself,¡± I said, as I extended the rod so he could pinch it as well.

    ¡°I can see how this makes travel by carriage or wagon much more comfortable.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just that,¡± I said. ¡°With rubber wheels, you also have better traction in many different types of terrain, meaning whoever is pulling the vehicle will have to put in less effort. This results in being able to travel greater distances in the same amount of time.¡±

    The lizardman ran his hand down the pole and nodded. ¡°I can see why you want this. This would make travel to Zerdania much quicker.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± I said. ¡°Though, I don¡¯t know if it will be enough to travel through a desert. Loose sand is the bane of carts and wagons.¡±

    ¡°I thought we were done waiting,¡± Seralyn interjected as she stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    I gave Gray a quick pat on the head before we headed out again. Perhaps it was good that there were so few people around. There was nobody to ask any questions.

    We reached Dworag soon enough and I couldn¡¯t help but try to see if I fit through the alley this time while Velariah entered the shop to summon the dwarf after having the lizardman take the wheel.

    I was amused to see that I did in fact fit this time, although my abdomen still scraped the walls.

    ¡°Damn girl,¡± Seralyn said from behind me, and I already knew exactly what would follow when I heard the teasing tone in her voice. ¡°You lost a bunch of weight. What¡¯s your secret?¡±

    And I was right.

    ¡°Silk. Although it¡¯s hardly a secret.¡± I replied as seriously as I could. ¡°Have fun trying to use that one simple trick that doctors hate.¡±

    I grinned as I tried to imitate one of those weird clickbait articles on the internet. When I turned my head, I saw Draco smile at my response. I guessed it was funny even if he didn¡¯t know the origin of what I just said.

    I noticed that once we got to Dworag¡¯s smithing area, the forge wasn¡¯t burning and had gone cold. It was odd for me to imagine since he wasn¡¯t an elf, so I didn¡¯t think he had much of a connection to the upcoming festival, but who knew? I couldn¡¯t blame him for taking a day off, though.

    However, I got the nagging feeling he wasn¡¯t actually taking a day off.

    ¡°Greetings, Miss Elania, and party,¡± The dwarf said warmly as he exited the building. ¡°Was just cleaning up my shop, but I can always make time for you.¡±

    I guess there was my answer.

    ¡°Hey, Dworag. I¡¯d ask how you¡¯re doing but I think I know the answer.¡±

    He winked.

    Yup.

    ¡°Thanks, I guess. We have somewhat of a job for you, if you¡¯re okay with it.¡±

    ¡°Aye. Miss Velariah told me something about a lil¡¯ project of yours.¡±

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a bit of an experiment, but do keep quiet about it please.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t want to upset my favorite customer,¡± He replied.

    ¡°Thanks¡­¡±

    ¡°Now what needs to be done?¡± He then asked.

    I placed the rod on the ground as Draco rolled the wheel forward.

    ¡°I need this silk-covered rod to go around this wheel. There¡¯s a groove in it. Cut it if necessary. It has to be a near-perfect fit. I¡¯m sure this will be no issue for your skills.¡±

    ¡°The dwarf scratched his head, then ran a hand through his beard as he placed his hand around the pole. He lifted it. I think he was measuring its weight.¡±

    ¡°Copper?¡± He asked to which I nodded.

    ¡°Not an issue then. I¡¯ll need a few minutes inside. Draco, could you help me?¡±

    The lizardman nodded as he rolled the wheel inside, following the dwarf with the rod.

    ¡°So,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°Who¡¯s going to go against whom after we¡¯re done?¡±

    ¡°Eager to shoot one of us?¡± Velariah asked slyly.

    ¡°Not a bad idea. A good way to test your new and shiny armor.¡±

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll be helping Elania with her defense. I¡¯m sure she wouldn¡¯t mind Draco as an opponent as well. I guess we¡¯ll all be going against one another at some point.¡±

    ¡°Looking forward to it,¡± The archer said with a smile.

    ¡°Is it useful for you to practice with us as well?¡± I asked the brunette.

    ¡°Not really,¡± She said, crossing her arms. ¡°For me, it all comes down to accuracy. While I could try to shoot you while you¡¯re running, it¡¯s just dangerous. I have other ways to practice that don¡¯t involve living targets. I do enjoy watching you guys go at it, though.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fair, but don¡¯t you want to practice melee combat sometimes?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± She asked rhetorically. ¡°My inherity doesn''t offer me anything for that type of fighting. The idea is for me to stay away. I¡¯ve got Draco to cover for me if things do get to me.¡±

    She had a point there. She should never be close to where the fighting was, but unlike Nira, she had no way to get away if things got sour. She had already experienced that on our way to the Searing Peak. I was surprised that she still showed this kind of attitude.

    I looked at Nira who¡¯d been quiet for a while. ¡°Is there anything that could help you?¡±

    ¡°Practice you mean?¡± She asked.

    I nodded.

    She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s possible to cast my spells, but I don¡¯t gain anything from it. I can¡¯t make them go faster or anything. I¡¯ll be there in case one of you gets injured.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll try not to do that,¡± I replied warmly.

    The harpy smiled and nodded. We then simply waited in silence for Dworag to finish his job. I was impressed he estimated it would only take a few minutes. I doubted he would be able to stick to his word, but to my astonishment, the door opened not too much later.

    Draco led the way with the wheel before him. Dworag followed him, a large smile on his face.

    ¡°A job well done, if I do say so myself.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Dworag. What do we owe you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already arranged that with Draco. Don¡¯t ya worry.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Draco.¡±

    ¡°No problem, Miss Elania. How does this look?¡± He rolled the wheel in front of me so I could get a better look. I rolled it around to see the silk-wrapped rod fit perfectly in the groove. It had been bent perfectly and I almost couldn¡¯t make out the seam.

    ¡°It¡¯s as good as Dworag makes it out to be; excellent. This is great. Thanks a lot.¡± I nodded. ¡°Right. Let¡¯s get this home and prepare for some practice.¡±

    ¡°If you need something like this again,¡± Dworag said. ¡°Just let me know. I always look forward to our business.¡±

    ¡°We may or may not come again for something like this. Can¡¯t really tell yet.¡±

    ¡°In any case, I¡¯ll be here if you need me.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    I waved at him as I rolled the wheel forward. On the way back home, I let the others have a close look at what exactly the rubber silk achieved. The only downside was that the metal inside made everything a lot heavier than it had to be.

    I shrugged. It had just been a simple experiment. The next time I¡¯d try anything like this, I¡¯d try to get my hands on some of that elven wood that was mentioned. We could probably place the order for a bunch of that soon while we worked on the tasks in the neighborhood.

    We brought the wheel to the bathroom before we head out again. I grinned as Velariah seemed to have a hard time containing her eagerness to go sparring. Even through her helmet, I could still make out that much because of her body language.

    That, and the fact that she was walking ahead of everyone else, constantly waiting for us to catch up. Draco let out a grin as well.

    ¡°I think she wants to beat you,¡± I said to the lizardman.

    ¡°I think you may be right.¡±

    ¡°You wanna have the honor of going against her first?¡±

    ¡°It would be my pleasure,¡± He said politely, but with a sly smile.

    I chuckled and made sure my helmet was fastened tightly. Thanks to Velariah¡¯s rapid pace, we reached the fields surrounding the village in the blink of an eye. She looked around and unsheathed her weapon before pointing it forward and turning to us.

    ¡°Who wants to go first? Elania?¡±

    ¡°Nope. Let¡¯s have you start with Draco. I heard you¡¯re eager to get your revenge for what happened at the trial.¡±

    ¡°Very well then,¡± She said. ¡°Prepare yourself.¡±

    Draco smiled as he took his axes from his back. Seralyn, Nira, and I made sure to keep our distance and found ourselves a spot to watch the upcoming duel.

    ¡°Ready when you are,¡± Draco said as he assumed a defensive stance with his shields.

 2.30 Harvest Time

    Velariah did one last check to see if her helmet was properly fastened before she carefully approached the lizardman with her sword drawn. This wasn¡¯t anything like the first time they¡¯d met where Velariah charged in blindly. Perhaps she¡¯d learned from that?

    However, back then, Draco didn¡¯t use any weapons. I knew he was strong, but Velariah had improved considerably. This time, she also had much better equipment to go with it. Then again, so did the lizardman.

    It was still odd to me these duels were done with real weapons instead of something like wood. Who was I to question how things worked here, though?

    Draco focused on defense as the elf approached and finally swung her sword when she got in range. It was easily deflected. She then stepped back as Draco attempted to stab her with the top of one of his axes. After that, she circled the lizardman, looking for an opening. Draco kept facing her, not allowing her that one opportunity.

    Another lunge followed. Once again, Draco easily deflected it with a shield and counterattacked with a strike from his elbow in the middle of the evasive maneuver, but Velariah was ready and ducked under the lizardman¡¯s arm, throwing a kick his way.

    She hit the back of his knee, causing him to lose balance, albeit very temporarily. It wasn¡¯t enough for her to strike.

    ¡°Very good,¡± He said as he recovered his stance.

    The elf didn¡¯t reply. Her eyes were focused and she seemed to be in some sort of trance, completely filtering out the comment that could be seen as a taunt.

    She struck once more, aiming for Draco¡¯s weapons in an attempt to disarm him. Unfortunately for her, his raw strength was far superior to hers. His weapons would not budge.

    Velariah quickly jumped backward as the lizardman swung one of his axes. A second one followed but was blocked by her sword. The force almost made her lose her blade, but she stabilized quickly, dodged another blow, and used her gauntlet to punch Draco¡¯s chest.

    Draco groaned, but almost immediately recovered and landed a punch of his own on Velariah¡¯s armor, who groaned significantly louder. She jumped back and assumed a fighting stance, ignoring the pain.

    She stepped forward and attempted to bypass Draco¡¯s defenses with a flurry of blows, dodging some of his own in the process. The reptilian, however, blocked each and every attempt of an attack. This went on for a while until Draco was the first one to land a significant hit. He swung his shield when the elf didn¡¯t expect it, and she was unable to dodge.

    The impact sent her sword flying, causing it to stab the grass and remain where it landed a meter or two away from the fight.

    ¡°Damnit!¡± Velariah let out, clearly frustrated. She kicked the ground in her anger and then stood still, watching the sky before sighing. ¡°Well fought,¡± She said.

    ¡°As did you, Miss Velariah,¡± Draco replied politely. ¡°You¡¯ve improved significantly.¡±

    Seralyn clapped. She¡¯d more than enjoyed the show before her. Nira then walked to the two and cast her healing magic on either one of them in turn. There were no considerable injuries suffered during the spar, but it couldn¡¯t hurt to take care of the bruises that had undoubtedly occurred.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s my place to say this,¡± I started as I approached the two. ¡°But despite the awesome fight that you put up, it seems Draco has a bit of a natural advantage when it comes to strength.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Velariah said as Nira finished healing her. ¡°Technically it¡¯s not entirely fair, but you can¡¯t expect fights to be fair in the outdoors now, can you?¡±

    ¡°True¡­¡±

    ¡°Hopefully, I¡¯ll be able to make up for our differences with my inherity when it evolves. I have good hopes as the little magic that I can make flow through my sword seems to be eerily similar to my father¡¯s. If I could learn his spells¡­¡± She said dreamily.

    ¡°That¡¯s gonna take a while from what I can see.¡±

    The elf nodded. ¡°Unfortunately, yes. It took him long enough. The good news is, we have you.¡±

    ¡°Corium Enhancement,¡± I said softly. ¡°One of the most ludicrous inherities ever heard of, I¡¯m sure.¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± She said. ¡°Most definitely.¡±

    ¡°That was neat,¡± Seralyn said excitedly as she approached. ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡±

    ¡°You two can go,¡± Velariah said, looking at me, and then Draco. ¡°We can practice after that.¡±

    ¡°Uh, sure, but how should I fight? I can¡¯t really charge at him with my polearm now, can I?¡±

    ¡°Just use your bladed gauntlets and your legs. That should be enough to put him in his place.¡±

    Well, someone was salty.

    I looked at Draco, who nodded in earnest.

    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s do that then,¡± I said as I took a few steps back and unsheathed my blades. I laid my polearm in the grass and prepared myself.

    I still wasn¡¯t comfortable fighting like this. I lacked a good amount of experience going up against other humanoids with weapons at short range. Fortunately, this was but a spar and the goal was to disarm my opponent.

    If only I knew how to. Draco was unlikely to let go of his armament, as was I to be honest. The fact that my weaponry was built around my gauntlets would make losing them impossible.

    Well, on the other hand, I did have a bunch of legs that seemed to possess immense strength. I reckoned my best shot was to knock him down. I concocted some plan in my head to achieve that goal.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± I said after taking a deep breath, assuming the same kind of defensive formation that Draco had earlier.

    He nodded in response and did the same.

    Our spar started and I skittered over with some ideas. I stabbed with my swords, which were unsurprisingly, easily deflected. I kept paying attention to any attacks of his own, and when he did finally swing, I was prepared and blocked it.

    I knew about it and yet I was surprised by the force behind the blow. I managed to keep my shield steady, but at the same time, Draco swung his other axe. I parried with the necessary effort before I made a move of my own.

    I swung my right blade at him, which he easily blocked, followed by a left swing, which required just slightly more effort. At the same time, I stabbed his stomach area with my pedipalps, which caught him by surprise.

    I followed it up by a sword swing and then another, both of them were blocked. Thanks to my pedipalps, I was able to keep up the pressure and assault him with a flurry of attacks. It didn¡¯t matter that they were all blocked. I just needed him to focus on defense.

    My attacks intensified when my second set of legs joined in, aiming for his weapons. I figured that if I did that, he¡¯d consider them a threat. As long as I could make him believe that, I could work on my plan.

    This fight wasn¡¯t too difficult for me. My defense, or rather, my fear of defending properly was probably my weak point, but if I could attack freely like this, I didn¡¯t have to defend. Draco was unable to find the time to swing his weapons and was now starting to struggle to keep up with all the attacks coming his way. If I had my spear to join in too, I felt I would have won at this time already.

    Seralyn was watching with excitement, and Velariah was simply staring, likely unable to grasp that I didn¡¯t seem to have the hard time she and I both were expecting.

    I gave Draco just enough of an opening for him to try to attack me with both axes at once. I parried the attacks and kept my swords locked with his axes as I pounced on him with my front six legs, knocking him towards the grass.

    He landed with a thud, and when he did, he found that I had two legs on his shoulders and chest, and two more keeping his hands down. My blades were next to his head as I leaned over him.

    Draco looked at me and a smile grew on his lips. ¡°Well fought.¡±

    ¡°Go Elania!¡± Seralyn said, cheering from the sideline. ¡°I bet you just made Velariah crazy jealous!¡±

    ¡°Shut it!¡± Velariah replied.

    I grinned as I let go of the lizardman.

    ¡°Yup. The natural advantage is certainly a thing,¡± I said. ¡°That just felt unfair.¡±

    ¡°It was certainly a challenge,¡± Draco said as I helped him up. ¡°I have to admit I didn¡¯t see that coming.¡±

    ¡°Can I surrender already?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Nope!¡± Seralyn said with a wicked grin. ¡°It¡¯s time to get your ass kicked!¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°My advantage might be too great for you to overcome in a sparring setting, to be honest.¡± I paused for a second as I crossed my set of arms not wielding weapons. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll accept surrender, but I¡¯ll still need to practice.¡±

    ¡°Awww,¡± Seralyn said pouting.

    ¡°It¡¯s pointless,¡± Velariah said. ¡°We all know how things will end if I challenge Elania.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the fun part,¡± Seralyn said.

    Poor Seralyn. She had so been looking forward to this.

    I walked back to my weapon and removed the scabbard. Velariah, in the meantime, unsheathed her weapon as well and created some distance between us.

    It certainly helped calm my nerves to know that I was wielding excellent armor and that I had two shields to offer even more protection. Having four arms was such a blessing when I lacked the experience.

    I tried to calm down my breathing as I prepared to parry the strikes that would be directed at me. I wasn¡¯t sure how well a polearm would do, but I felt obliged to know how to do it. I imagined it would be somewhat similar to using a spear, except that I had a much bigger blade area.

    There probably wouldn¡¯t be too many uses for this. The only thing I could think of were mounted lancers and then perhaps monster species that were still unknown to me at this point.

    I remained stationary as Velariah charged with her weapon sideways. I aimed the steel of my blade to intercept it at the last moment. It interrupted her charge and almost made her drop her weapon.

    I was right. This wasn¡¯t too different compared to a spear. If anything, the confidence that the elf had given me during our practice back then seemed to be the most important factor. I knew I could block with both blade and pole.

    Velariah then directed a few strikes in the air, which I successfully parried. Sometimes I missed as I was too slow, but I felt myself gradually getting better. This was an excellent way to learn how to handle the blade at range.

    We sparred like that for the good part of an hour before we decided to take a break.

    ¡°Not sure how much this will help you,¡± Velariah said. ¡°But you¡¯re doing a good job so far.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I replied with a warm smile. ¡°And I know this is most likely pointless, but you know?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°At the very least, you¡¯re learning how to use a weapon like that. We should definitely do this sometime where you focus on doing damage with it from a stationary position. Though¡­¡±

    The look in her eyes unsettled me.

    ¡°Though what¡­?¡± I asked, fearing for the answer.

    She laughed maniacally. I certainly wasn¡¯t going to like this answer.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be doing some weightlifting later. A lot of your weapon expertise will revolve around that.¡±

    Shit.

    It wasn¡¯t until she said it that I noticed my muscles had gone sore from all that practice. ¡°Fuck,¡± I let out. ¡°After all that? You plan to put me through even more?¡±

    ¡°Tee-hee.¡±

    Seralyn grinned. Of course, she did.

    ¡°Want me to try some healing?¡± Nira asked softly.

    I shook my head. ¡°Won¡¯t do anything.¡± I sighed. ¡°If we¡¯re going to do that later, can we call it quits for now?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s do that,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Can¡¯t wear you out too much or you¡¯ll be sleeping through the festival tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯d be nice to finally figure out what all this fuss is about,¡± I stated, stretching my arms. I looked at the sky and noticed the first hints of red light starting near the horizon. The day was almost at an end.

    ¡°We should probably head back, soon,¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯d first like to take a look at the fields. I simply can¡¯t put it off any longer.¡±

    ¡°I was wondering when you were gonna say that,¡± Velariah said, smirking. ¡°You need to have your fix of coffee, after all.¡±

    ¡°Soon¡­¡± I said as I sheathed my weapons and started slowly moving towards the coffee fields, allowing the others to catch up quickly.

    When we got there, my eyes (all four of them) couldn¡¯t believe what they saw. Rows upon rows of coffee plants with bright-red, ripe berries stretched out before me. I couldn¡¯t believe they already bore fruit. I skittered to the closest bush and plucked one of the berries, observed it, and opened it. Everything was the exact same as the wild ones we¡¯d harvested, meaning, they could be harvested whenever.

    I could already see the gold streaming into my pockets. I felt pity for those who were going to have to peel such an enormous amount of cherries.

    ¡°Unreal,¡± I let out.

    ¡°Is that a good or a bad thing?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe all this was grown in such a short time. Those treemenders really live up to their name.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s useful, for sure,¡± Velariah said. ¡°That elven wood we talked about before is also grown in the same manner, at least until the saplings are of decent size. After a certain point, it doesn¡¯t seem worth the energy required anymore. I think my father thought otherwise when it came to these plants.¡±

    ¡°Deep down, he is the curious type,¡± I let out with a chuckle. ¡°But he and I seem to be on the same page, very much so, when it comes to¡­ well, ¡®fixing¡¯ some of Dawnleaf¡¯s problems. I bet this new trade good is part of the reason why he was able to get that many soldiers to assist us with the goblin problem.¡±

    ¡°Certainly,¡± She said. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s enough drooling from you. Let¡¯s go home.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t drool!¡± I retorted.

    ¡°But you would if I left you here any longer,¡± She said slyly.

    She giggled as we turned around and made our way to the village. It was clear that Nira, Draco, and Seralyn would stay in the mansion for a while longer. No one knew exactly how much, but I had little objections. If anything, it made the evenings more interesting. Perhaps we should look for some more activities we could do?

    It felt good to relieve myself of my armor when we got home. I may have pushed myself a bit far with handling a weapon for so long without the muscle that was normally associated with people who wielded such an instrument.

    After briefly greeting us, Elly made a beeline for the kitchen, apparently not wanting to burn whatever was cooking. The smell was delicious so I couldn¡¯t blame her.

    When we entered the dining area, Valtheril was sitting at the head of the table, a few pieces of paper laid out before him. However, he didn¡¯t have his usual expression on his face. Rather, he seemed to be quite relaxed as he sipped on a cup of tea, his eyes darting over the papers.

    ¡°Good evening,¡± He greeted us before he finished reading one of the sheets and laid it on top of another.

    ¡°Evening father,¡± Velariah said. ¡°How are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Excellent, actually. Everything¡¯s in place for tomorrow and then the day after. I¡¯ve had some talks with the guild and issued new quests and despite how desolate the place is now, we still had some adventurers sign on to join the goblin extermination efforts.¡±

    He nodded, his eyes full of confidence. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve hardly felt better than now. Come to think of it¡­ Elania?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°How are the coffee plants? Are they ready to be harvested?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°As far as I can see, they are.¡±

    ¡°Excellent,¡± The general said again. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind me running the story of me learning the secrets of coffee from a deceased adventurer.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll work on setting up a bit of infrastructure to process them in the coming days as well, and prepare some for transport to Duskleaf and Goldleaf. Perhaps I¡¯ll send some to the village-beyond-the-mountains too. How are all of you doing?¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± Velariah spoke for all of us. ¡°We¡¯ve done a bit of training and explored one of Elania¡¯s ideas. All in all, a pretty productive day all things considered. It seems we¡¯ve arrived just in time too.¡± Velariah¡¯s eyes traveled to the kitchen door.

    ¡°It¡¯s a simple soup,¡± Valtheril said, smiling. ¡°Your timing wouldn¡¯t have mattered much.¡±

    Velariah chuckled.

    ¡°Any other news?¡± I asked as the others took a seat.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Valtheril said. ¡°I¡¯ve told you what I know. I hope to know more in the coming days, but tomorrow is an important day for our village. Let¡¯s try not to spoil the mood with more serious talk, shall we?¡±

    I smiled. I liked the general¡¯s current mood. He was somewhat serious, yet showed deep care for traditions and the happiness of Dawnleaf¡¯s people. I still had no idea what it was, but this festival seemed to be very important to the elves.

    I considered asking him, but maybe Velariah and Seralyn were right.

    Maybe I had to see for myself.

 2.31 Dawnleaf

    We had dinner in relative silence. I had the feeling all of us were focused on tomorrow, me perhaps even more so than the rest. I blamed all the teasing.

    After dinner, it was time for Velariah and me to retreat to our room. I shuddered at the prospect of being her guinea pig when it came to strength training, but I imagined the soreness would get better over time. She was a harsh teacher, but she did love me.

    That¡¯s what I thought. I started to doubt that after she put me to work with the dumbbells. As I was suffering, she had the evilest smile on her face. She was enjoying this far too much.

    And then there was Minia staring from the wall, a stream of confusion coming from her. Her new size made it much harder to miss her. I would have never thought it, but I was thankful she¡¯d grown bigger. Accidentally squishing her would break my heart¡­

    After I finished, Velariah did the repetitions as well, but with some added weight plates. I watched with admiration and slight jealousy while she performed. She didn¡¯t seem to have the same kind of soreness that I got from the job, which sparked my ire even more, but I¡¯d get there¡­ eventually.

    Moments later, we were lying in bed, me cradling her in my legs as usual.

    ¡°I swear, if this festival isn¡¯t as good as you¡¯ve made it out to be, I¡¯m going to tie you up for a day.¡±

    ¡°El,¡± Velariah said softly. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re trying here. I¡¯m looking forward to that now.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just impossible, you know that?¡± I said, smiling.

    ¡°I know,¡± The elf replied before she used her hands to pull in my head, and pressed her lips against mine for a deep kiss.

    ¡°I really hope you''ll like it,¡± She whispered.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure I will. It¡¯s going to be my first event in a new world. One with magic, unlike my old one. I¡¯m very excited to see what¡¯s going to be there.¡±

    ¡°There will be magic, alright,¡± Velariah said, a hint of teasing in her voice. ¡°But come, let¡¯s go sleep. We¡¯ll have to get up, before first light, after all.¡±

    ¡°Before first light?¡± I asked.

    Velariah smiled warmly. ¡°Tomorrow, you will learn about the origin of this village¡¯s name.¡±

    ¡°Alright then,¡± I replied before giving the elf another kiss. ¡°Looking forward to it. Good night, Vel,¡± I said as I clapped out the lights.

    ¡°Good night, El.¡±

    The sound of knocking on the door woke me up, but only slowly, as I was still groggy due to how early it was. My internal clock was definitely disrupted by this.

    The knocking sounded again, and with it, Velariah shook me with enough force for me to moan without actively trying to produce sound.

    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± She whispered to me. ¡°We¡¯re coming!¡± She then shouted to whoever did the knocking.

    She struggled to escape from my grasp but managed to do so and practically jumped out of the hammock to get dressed.

    ¡°Better hurry, El.¡±

    ¡°Just gimme a few minutes. You can go have breakfast, I¡¯ll join in a sec.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no breakfast today,¡± She said, putting on a shirt before walking back to the hammock. She pulled one of my arms as she continued. ¡°Up, El!¡±

    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± I said, scrambling to get up, rubbing all four eyes as I slowly made my way out of bed. A quick face wash helped, but what I really needed right now was coffee. Sweet delicious, energizing coffee¡­

    ¡°Seems like you¡¯re having a terrible start to the day.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not even day yet. That¡¯s the problem here,¡± I moaned.

    ¡°I promise you, you won¡¯t regret it.¡±

    I nodded, trusting that what she said was true, and put on a shirt and my tag. I then said a quick goodbye to Minia as Velariah then led us into the living room, where Elly was present. Footsteps followed from the stairs and soon, Seralyn, Draco, and Nira, with Gray on a leash,  were there too.

    ¡°Thank you, Elly,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Would you be so kind to take care of Gray for the day?¡±

    ¡°With pleasure,¡± Elly reacted with a smile.

    ¡°Hope it¡¯s not too much trouble on your day off,¡± The white-haired elf added.

    ¡°Not at all.¡±

    ¡°Thanks a lot,¡± Velariah said, before turning to me. ¡°Let¡¯s get armored up, minus the helmet, and head out. You can leave your weapons here. I doubt you¡¯ll need them.¡±

    ¡°Hope I won¡¯t need the armor either, but okay,¡± I replied.

    Velariah chuckled as we entered the hallway. Several minutes later, we entered the village, Elly behind us, taking a different route to walk Gray first. The streets were still covered in the darkness of night, but illuminated by the many standing torches along the streets.

    I wondered how Velariah would react to the idea of street lights that would turn on and off by themself and not use any conventional fuel. If I were honest about it, I didn¡¯t miss it. Seeing all these torches, and experiencing their physical warmth brought a certain coziness that no lighting in my old world could.

    Even so, there were still poorly-lit areas, which made me slightly wary, but the short route towards the center of the village had an abundance of guards, keeping track of each and every movement.

    Once there, the little worry that I had was just washed away by a flood of light. I¡¯d completely forgotten about the bonfire, and now that I saw it, it was breathtaking.

    A fire burned in the middle of the village, far enough away from the tree to not, by accident, set it alight. The stands that were previously placed at the outer edge of the center were slowly being filled with all kinds of food. Among them were pastries of many different kinds, sausages, cheese, and about anything I could imagine that could be produced here.

    Other stands held glasses of drinks and fruit, and yet others displayed cookies, shaped like leaves.

    The place was completely packed, and I was only able to observe all of that because I towered over everyone, especially when I lifted my torso.

    I had never before seen this number of people together in Dawnleaf. They all seemed to look at the tree every now and then while socializing with others. When I looked at the dark silhouette of the tree, I could feel an immense amount of magical energy surrounding it. It far exceeded what I felt previously, and I couldn¡¯t help but stare and take in the sensations that it brought.

    ¡°Soon,¡± Velariah said from my side when she saw me looking. ¡°Want something to eat?¡±

    ¡°Not really hungry, but those cookies do look delicious.¡±

    The elf chuckled and took my hand. ¡°Let¡¯s get some then.¡±

    I was surprised to find out that everything available was free. Apparently, everything had more or less already been paid for by a fund that was set up specifically for this event every year. I couldn¡¯t complain, though. Snacks for breakfast, who wouldn¡¯t want that?

    Shortly after that, Valtheril came into view. I noticed him talk to some of the guards before he stopped at a stand with some small barrels on it.

    I smiled as I watch him have a pint. I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be the type for alcohol considering how serious he came across, but who could blame him? This was a day of festivities. I was sure he was able to contain himself. Besides, I did like the ever-so-serious general¡¯s lighthearted smile today.

    He finished his drink and made his way over to us, his face unusually relaxed.

    ¡°Hey,¡± He greeted us warmly, his attention mainly fixed on me. ¡°How¡¯s it going? Enjoying the festival so far?¡±

    ¡°Everyone seems so happy,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to not enjoy that.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. The main event is going to start anytime. Please do enjoy all that Dawnleaf has to offer.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯m sure we will.¡± I turned my attention to my party members, who nodded.

    ¡°We¡¯ll make sure to do just that, Sir Valtheril,¡± Draco added politely.

    ¡°Good to see it,¡± The general replied. ¡°Today is a time of joy and celebration. I like to say that this is what we fight for. Let today be worth all that we¡¯ve sacrificed.¡±

    I nodded in admiration at his words as he walked off to the bonfire. From the corner of my panorama vision, I noticed a group of elves carrying instruments towards an unoccupied area near the it. I¡¯d not seen any before, but it would make sense for this world to have them. Drums, violins, guitars, and trumpets were among the ones I recognized. They were laid down on benches that seemed to be prepared specifically for them, and left behind for later use.

    I took in the air of joy that surrounded us on all sides. People were talking, laughing, and filled with anticipation, as was I. Our party¡¯s attention was on the tree, and the bonfire in front of it, which warmed me to the core.

    More food and drink were brought to the party, and I was happy to see Elly appear after some time as well. She joined us together with Gray, who was more than happy to circle my legs and receive Nira¡¯s affection.

    ¡°It¡¯s starting,¡± Seralyn called out, grabbing my attention as I looked to see what she was looking at. She had her head raised high, to view the crown of leaves of the central tree. A quick look around made me realize that more and more people did the same.

    ¡°It is,¡± Velariah added, staring in awe with her.

    I looked and was unable to see, but I felt the immense amount of energy in the tree suddenly spike and expand tenfold, sending waves of pressure from its trunk through the crowd. I had trouble breathing, but only very briefly as the dense magic was suddenly absorbed by the tree and flowed upward, to its crown. A tear was left in my eye from the phenomenon.

    ¡°Easy, El. Just relax,¡± Velariah said as she stood at my side and watched me struggle.

    I did as she said just before another wave washed over me. This time, it was easier to endure, and the sudden ripple of magic filled me with an strange burst of energy. I allowed it to envelop and warm me in its embrace while I looked at my party members who seemed to experience the same feelings.

    It was¡­ beyond magical. This feeling, it transcended anything I¡¯d ever felt before. Power and warmth spread through every fiber of my being, making me feel like I could take on anything, making me forget about all that bothered and threatened me.

    Velariah took my hand, adding to the comfort I was experiencing when I noticed the very first rays of sunlight pierce the darkness on the horizon. Shortly after first light, I felt the incredible amount of magic that had manifested at the tree¡¯s roots flow upward, more steadily now compared to the very first burst.

    I stared at its leaves and was mesmerized as more light fell over the village. The leaves, one by one, slowly changed from their usual green into a vibrant, blue, their margins sparkling with a light blue, almost white color. As the sun continued its ascent, more and more leaves turned, changing the tree into a majestic spectacle to behold.

    I, like everyone else, was speechless, causing an odd, but tranquil silence to fall over the village. All that could be heard were the embers of the fire, and the slow, rhythmic pulsating of magic that flowed through the tree, its branches, and leaves.

    There were no words to describe what I was watching, and I was sure my mouth was wide open, as we all stared at what was unfolding high above us. Viridescent made place for enchanting turquoise which lit up the settlement with its potent glow.

    ¡°Unreal,¡± Was all I could say, barely, whispering as the moment was surreal.

    ¡°Shhh,¡± Velariah hushed softly. ¡°Focus on the moment.¡±

    I heeded her words a second time, and just took in everything going on, searing it into my brain, hopefully, to never forget the magic that this moment brought. I couldn¡¯t be more thankful for having the extra eyes at the side of my head. They allowed me to take in everything, not missing a single thing.

    I thought I wanted to have my phone to take pictures, but Velariah was right. Living the moment was far more important than looking back on images of this somewhere in the future.

    I stared until the sun had fully appeared on the horizon. When its full visage was revealed, the tree reacted once more. The magic flowing through the tree stopped, and the white at the edges of the leaves disappeared, leaving only blue, making them less bright in the process, ending its culmination. Still, the resulting view was breathtaking.

    The musicians started playing pleasant tunes, and peoples¡¯ attention was drawn back to the festivities, food, and drink. I was still staring when Velariah poked me.

    ¡°Dawnleaf,¡± The elf said. ¡°Now you know why.¡±

    ¡°Unbelievable,¡± I said as I had to shake my head to get back to the present. I felt like I¡¯d been floating for the past few minutes as everything unraveled, and just now, I felt my feet on the ground again.

    ¡°You okay?¡± Velariah asked with a teasing smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. That was beautiful.¡±

    ¡°I can see you enjoyed it. The tree will remain like this and go back to normal overnight. For the rest of the day, we celebrate. There will be some more entertainment in addition to the music later on. I wonder what is planned for this year¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°Nobody does besides the people involved. Last year, several members of the guild were invited to see who could climb the tree the fastest.¡±

    ¡°Sounds dangerous,¡± I replied.

    ¡°Nah,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°We had mages ready to save anyone that fell. Ultimately, nobody did.¡±

    ¡°Beautiful wasn¡¯t it?¡± Seralyn came between us, addressing me. ¡°Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t notice you staring. Your jaw almost hit the floor. It was fun to see¡±

    I shook my head at her words.

    ¡°It was special. That¡¯s for sure,¡± I replied.

    ¡°You guys wanna get some more snacks?¡± The white-haired elf asked.

    I looked at Draco, Nira and Elly, who¡¯d been quiet so far.

    ¡°Sure, why not?¡± Draco agreed.

    ¡°You¡¯ll love the guild¡¯s pasties. They¡¯re the best. I always look forward to this day, just to get my hands on some,¡± Velariah happily exclaimed. I chuckled as we followed her.

    Along the way, we picked up some sausages for Gray who was going crazy over them when we sat ourselves down on the benches that were set up in one quarter. From here, we had an excellent view of everything going on.

    Many seemed to have the same idea as us, went to grab some food, and sat down to just enjoy the view. The tree was still beautiful, after all. Even the treemenders who were usually busy seemed to enjoy a day off. I noticed both masters Endomir and Pylanor take seats not too far from us, and just talk and laugh.

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I said as I took a bite of the still-warm, savory pasty that Velariah had suggested. It was filled with meat, vegetables, and onions, but there were spices in it that I couldn¡¯t recognize. It gave the whole both a sweet and savory taste at the same time, something I hadn¡¯t deemed possible. Nonetheless, it was divine.

    ¡°Does Elly not know how to make these?¡± I asked, earning a grin from the maid, which confused me.

    Velariah shook her head. ¡°I wish she knew, but it¡¯s a guild secret. One they aren¡¯t eager to share.¡±

    ¡°Shame,¡± I said.

    ¡°I know right,¡± She replied with a grin.

    Valtheril appeared and walked over to the chatting treemenders to share a few words with them, before moving over to us.

    ¡°How is my favorite party doing?¡± He asked as he took a seat. ¡°I believe it was your first time seeing that too, right, Draco, Nira?¡±

    The lizardman and harpy both smiled, and Draco spoke for both of them.

    ¡°I feel honored to be able to observe something like that.¡±

    Nira nodded in agreement.

    ¡°How about you, Elania?¡± The general continued. ¡°Did you have anything like that?¡±

    He referred to my old world without actually mentioning it. Even though nobody was close enough to hear it, it was still smart of him to conceal that.

    ¡°Never,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen many incredible things, but nothing came even close to what I just saw. Like Draco, I too feel honored to be here.¡±

    Valtheril chuckled. ¡°I am the one who should be honored to have you here. I¡¯ve been able to make some trade agreements regarding the new product, thanks to you. It¡¯s allowed us to partially fund this festival.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to help,¡± I said.

    ¡°Once again thank you,¡± He said as he stood up. ¡°Hope you enjoy what we have in store.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure we will.¡±

    He walked back to the treemenders and sat down to talk with them. Apparently, Valtheril knew some good jokes, as, within a few seconds, both Endomir and Pylanor laughed heartily.

    ¡°What a day,¡± I said. ¡°It seems everyone forgets or just doesn¡¯t care. Makes me wish this day could last forever.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately it can¡¯t,¡± Velariah said, putting a hand on one of my pedipalps. ¡°Which makes it even more important to celebrate properly. It¡¯s only once a year, and as my father said, this is what we fight for. Make it count.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sure as hell going to enjoy every moment of it.¡±

 2.32 Plays, Duels and Games

    We enjoyed our lunch and our drinks while watching the bonfire and enjoying the music as well as the spirit of the people surrounding us. Even though daylight had already driven away the darkness, there was still a certain charm to the fire.

    Gray was mesmerized by it as well. The normally ever so active wolf pup just stood at my side and watched the flames dance. It made me wonder if he wanted to have a closer look, but I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be a good idea as he didn¡¯t seem to fathom certain dangers yet. Fortunately, Elly still had him on a leash, so he¡¯d be safe.

    I petted him and let out a giggle as his focus wasn¡¯t ever broken.

    ¡°Even he feels the magic,¡± Velariah suggested.

    ¡°Sure looks like it,¡± I replied with a smile.

    The music continued, and as more people removed themselves from the main square to sit down, the treemenders under the leadership of Kantasia started to open up the area by blocking it off and asking people to leave it. At the same time, men coming from the warehouse moved to the center, carrying painted wooden panels which they put up and connected to one another.

    I could already see what was going on.

    ¡°Interesting,¡± I let out. ¡°Wonder what they¡¯ll play.¡±

    ¡°Play?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°A play, yes,¡± I said. ¡°Theater. Look, they are setting a stage.¡±

    I pointed to the panels which started to form a grassland with clouds in the sky. They worked swiftly and while they were assembling the background, others carried additional props that were going to be used. Among them were painted trees cut from wooden boards, and miniature huts, like the goblin ones we¡¯d seen, either glued or nailed together which were brought behind the stage.

    Then, the actors showed up. Members from the guild in costumes which was, in fact, actual armor walked onto the set, causing the crowd to go quiet and Valtheril to stand up. All eyes were on him as he took position and addressed the onlookers.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen,¡± He said loudly so everyone could hear. ¡°As you all know, today is a day of celebration, and I wanted this year to be in the theme of our major victories this year. Some of you may never see combat with your own eyes, so I talked with the guild and we decided to bring the fight here, to the middle of the village, to show what being an adventurer can be about. Let us remember the actions of our heroes, and let¡¯s thank them for making the future of Dawnleaf look brighter than it has ever been. We will show today, one party, but there are, of course, many, too many to show. We honor them all today.¡±

    He paused for a moment as he looked at the actors before he continued.

    ¡°And with that in mind, enjoy the show!¡±

    He took his seat among the audience once more and the play started.

    I could tell it was simple in concept as what was shown had become a fairly average life to me. Nonetheless, as he¡¯d said, it was interesting for anyone that wasn¡¯t interested in putting their life on the line.

    The party started in the village, where they took on a quest to slay goblins in the forest. The depictions were eerily similar to our meetings in the guild hall, where they talked, drank, and planned before heading out.

    Then, in the forest, the group of adventurers made up camp where they were suddenly ambushed by the green-skinned menaces, which, Valtheril had said from behind me, were children from the village¡¯s orphanage. They wore simple costumes and small wooden swords.

    Their large numbers were no match for the party, but then suddenly, a troll showed up. One of the burly men who worked in the warehouse presented a big obstacle for the heroes of this story. The exposed parts of his skin were painted in the same blueish-grey, and he had a proper pair of boar tusks strapped to his face, which had me, and several others giggling at the sight. Of course, he also possessed the mandatory troll mace, although this too, was made of wood.

    A hard fight followed in which the party had to work together and cover for each other¡¯s weaknesses. Wooden weapons clashed and arrows with corks for arrowheads were shot by the party¡¯s archer. The mage took a cup of water and splashed it on the ¡®troll¡¯ screaming ¡®water blast¡¯, which left many people in the audience laughing.

    A bit of humor was sprinkled in the play which made it lighthearted and not nearly as gruesome as some of the fights were in reality. Another example was when one of the fighters received a corked arrow to the back of the head which led to the female ranger screaming at him for getting in the way.

    Honestly, she reminded me of Seralyn.

    I grinned. Perhaps she had been the inspiration behind the character?

    After a tough battle with the troll, they finally managed to bring it down. I was impressed that even in a play, with the necessary drama, they still managed to depict a battle like this quite well. Trolls were powerful foes, and not to be underestimated. I imagined that was one of Valtheril¡¯s goals - letting people know what we were up against.

    The adventurers then cut off the troll¡¯s ears - cloth patches - before they returned to the village where they celebrated the good end of their quest with food and alcohol. That¡¯s where the play ended, a reason to celebrate.

    Everyone who participated, including the children took a deep bow as everyone else applauded their performance, and Valtheril walked back to the stage.

    He thanked everyone that made this possible and wholeheartedly wished everyone would enjoy this day to the fullest.

    Though, I knew him and I had no trouble seeing that there was a deeper meaning to all this, even if it hadn¡¯t been made obvious. We had a fun and interesting play played out before us where all went well, sure, but there were occasions where things didn¡¯t end well. That was a given.

    The fact that Valtheril had the orphans that arose as a result of conflicts and misadventures join in made it all the more clear. I got the notion that the general had set all this up, in part, to try to raise awareness, maybe even get them adopted. It suited him to not mention anything about this on a day of celebration, but people would be able to figure it out themselves if they wanted to.

    ¡°Hope you enjoyed it,¡± Valtheril said as he passed us on his way back to the two treemenders, before coming to a halt.

    We nodded in agreement while the general put on a mischievous smile.

    ¡°I took some inspiration from your party,¡± He said.

    ¡°I knew it!¡± Velariah called out. ¡°I knew I was looking at Seralyn.¡±

    ¡°I was thinking the exact same thing,¡± I added.

    Draco merely smiled while Seralyn seemed to be looking for an answer. In the end, she was left shaking her head, but it seemed she could take the joke when a small smile appeared on her lips.

    ¡°Hopefully it serves as a lesson for people not to go into melee recklessly. Especially when someone is taking aim,¡± She said.

    I grinned at her typical answer, as did the general when he continued his stroll.

    The stage was being dismantled and the musicians took their place again. They didn¡¯t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

    ¡°So,¡± I said. ¡°You guys wanna do something or are you content just sitting here?¡±

    ¡°Was wondering when you¡¯d ask that,¡± Seralyn spoke. ¡°I could go for some booze right about now.¡±

    ¡°Me too,¡± Velariah added.

    I chuckled. ¡°Will you be able to contain yourself?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± She replied, slightly irritated. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯m more worried about you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± I replied with a chuckle.

    We made our way back to the stalls to get some drinks.  In the meantime, I noticed that there was some activity at the guild hall. A few heavily-armored adventurers walked out and made their way to the center of the village where the play had previously been held.

    After we got our liquids, we saw the musicians move to the edge while peoples¡¯ attention was drawn to what was going on in the center now. It looked like they were going to have some show duels.

    ¡°This looks like it¡¯s going to get good,¡± Velariah said as she hopped over to where we were previously seated, her drink still in hand. I was surprised and impressed she didn¡¯t spill any.

    I looked at Draco who shrugged, clearly unimpressed. I shook my head with a smile as I joined her. I had to give it to her though, these spars and guild trials sure were a pleasure to watch.

    The first duel was about to start, and even the performers started watching, playing their instruments in tune with what was going on. I felt like I was watching old cartoons where characters¡¯ movements were narrated by music. Seeing it in that light put a smile on my face.

    We were looking at a sword versus spear fight. Up until not too long ago, I would have believed that the sword would win in a one-on-one fight, but I was forced to change my mind on that. It became clear once more in this fight that the spear¡¯s superior reach, nimbleness, and ease to use outmatched the sword.

    Hell, this guy seemed to be an expert with the weapon, parrying sword blows to then turn it around and punch the swordsman with the butt end of the pole. Perhaps I should ask him to teach me.

    A dance followed and weapons kept clashing, but ultimately it was the spear that was victorious as he managed to land a hit on the opponent¡¯s armor, which apparently was the win condition. The two shook hands and the audience clapped excitedly.

    ¡°This looks fun,¡± Velariah said as the next two adventurers took the stage. ¡°You should go and grab your weapons, El.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not seriously expecting me to hold a show here, right?¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± The white-haired elf said with a sly smile. ¡°If we really want to have a show, we¡¯ll have you take on me and Draco at the same time. I¡¯m sure many people would want to see that.¡±

    ¡°You gotta be joking.¡±

    Seralyn grinned at the suggestion.

    ¡°I¡¯d be up for that if you¡¯re interested, Miss Elania,¡± Draco said politely.

    I sighed. ¡°Fine. It¡¯s not like I have anything better to do. Let¡¯s grab our weapons.¡±

    Seralyn and Nira stayed with Elly as Velariah, Draco and I went to pick up our armaments. I chose to use the spear over my polearm as I imagined it would do better in this setting. After putting on our helmets, we headed to the town square again where the next fight was already taking place.

    ¡°You¡¯re up next,¡± Seralyn said with a grin. ¡°Already arranged it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much,¡± I replied, sarcasm dripping from my words.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± The brunette replied with glee, pretending to ignore my tone.

    I sighed and unsheathed my blades, putting the scabbards down on the bench next to the harpy who put a hand on them to keep them safe. We then watched as an adventurer using a sword and shield easily dispatched his foe who used an axe.

    Now that was what I would expect to be the expected outcome based on weapon choice. The sword was still an extremely versatile weapon, after all, much more so than the axe.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go,¡± Velariah said as the audience applauded once more.

    I looked at the lizardman who smiled widely before he followed the elf into the open area. I followed shortly after and heard some gasps escape from the onlookers¡¯ lips. Velariah was right when she said people would want to see this. Their eyes were large and fixated on the three of us.

    Two versus one. I wondered how this would go.

    I readied my shields and spear while Draco and Velariah prepared their axes and sword.

    ¡°Ready?¡± Velariah asked to which I nodded.

    She then charged at me, faster than I¡¯d expected, but I was ready for her nonetheless. I easily parried her sword with my spear from a distance, but Draco advanced on me at the same time, forcing me to switch my attention to him with my other arms.

    I absorbed the blows of his axes with my shields while kicking Velariah back with one of my legs to give me some more time to deal with the lizardman who was already raising his weapons again. I parried them this time and took a few steps back while pushing him away with two legs because the elf was charging at me again.

    I thrust my spear in her direction, but she dodged the stab and was now swinging her sword at my armor. Not wanting to lose so quickly, I pulled back one of my other arms and caught her strike with one of my blades. Draco ran towards me again, and since I was one sword down, I had to use my spear to parry one while blocking with my free shield.

    ¡°Damnit Elania,¡± Velariah let out as she backed off. ¡°That¡¯s far too many limbs to fight.¡±

    ¡°You wanted this,¡± I reminded her how she was the one to suggest this spar.

    ¡°Not just me. Hear!¡±

    She referred to the audience, some of whom cheered.

    She readied her sword again to thrust forward as she started another charge. She nimbly dodged two of my legs, forcing me to use my spear to face her. I pushed Draco back with two legs to free up my weapon and barely managed to parry her blow.

    I was finally able to perform a strike of my own, but it was easily blocked by the lizardman¡¯s shield. I followed up with another from my second weapon, but that one was blocked too.

    I got the feeling that I would be better off trying to counter-attack when in a two-on-one fight.

    I switched my attention to Velariah, and tried to keep Draco busy now that I¡¯d put him on the defensive. I struck out with my legs, and forced him to block, just as I parried the elf¡¯s sword. I was then finally able to use a window of opportunity and brought my second blade to her, hitting her armor in her stomach region.

    ¡°Damnit,¡± She let out as she recognized her loss. She let go of her weapon and slowly backed off, allowing me to give the lizardman my undivided attention.

    From here, it was easy. Four arms and four legs that I could easily utilize for combat purposes against just two limbs were too much of an overwhelming natural advantage. I could keep lashing out, and although Draco blocked every attack, there wasn¡¯t anything he could do against what I was about to do, even if he wanted to.

    Just like before, I made him trip and pinned him down to the floor, my spear next to his helmet as loud applause broke out from the crowd. Draco smiled behind his armor as he accepted an arm to help him up.

    ¡°Guess I better get used to getting beaten in a duel,¡± He said with a lighthearted voice.

    ¡°Duels perhaps, but I feel like you¡¯d be able to still win if this was a real fight.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps. Perhaps not.¡±

    Velariah retrieved her sword and grinned, already over her loss.

    ¡°Told you they¡¯d like this.¡±

    I looked around to see the onlookers cheer and clap, filled with excitement, more than I¡¯d seen from them in the other duels.

    ¡°I guess you were right. Now, I just hope I won¡¯t be asked to join every single guild trial because of this.¡±

    The elf grinned. ¡°Who knows?¡±

    We walked back to our friends who had gotten us something to drink after all that. When we sat down again, the next adventurers seemed to be more hesitant to show their skills, possibly knowing it would be hard to achieve the same kind of animation from the villagers.

    I had to admit, watching these other adventurers was a lot less interesting than watching an eight-legged, four-armed arachne fight two others in a melee.

    I thanked Nira and Seralyn for the drinks and turned my attention to Velariah.

    ¡°Do you know if there is anything else planned for the day?¡±

    ¡°Activities?¡± She replied with a question. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Why, are you getting bored?¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°While I don¡¯t mind watching, I do think I prefer to do something with my friends. What about you?¡±

    ¡°That sounds fair to me. We could play some games, and since today is a rare day where my father is not working, I can ask him to join us.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like it could be fun,¡± I said. ¡°In fact, I may know of a game that he¡¯d like very much,¡®

    ¡°Oh?¡± Velariah exclaimed with a curious look in her eyes. ¡°Do tell?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t think I¡¯d tell you that easily, did you?¡± I said, teasing her. ¡°Let¡¯s ask him first. Then, let me think how I can create said game.¡±

    ¡°Will do!¡± She said as she darted off to her father a few benches down.

    I was left chuckling and Draco politely asked if he may know the name of the game I had in my mind.

    ¡°Chess.¡±

 2.33 The Game of Kings

    The lizardman¡¯s eyes grew wide with interest at the mention of the name.

    ¡°Never heard of it, but that was to be expected. Anything you want to say about it before you give us a demonstration?¡±

    ¡°I think the demonstration is the best way to show what it¡¯s about, so not much, except that it¡¯s called the game of kings,¡± I paused for a bit before holding up two fingers. ¡°For two reasons.¡±

    ¡°You know how to stir someone¡¯s curiosity,¡± Draco said with a grin on his face. ¡°But we will find out in a bit.¡±

    I nodded as I thought about how to set up the game. We already had a checkers board and game pieces. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard to figure something out. For the long-term, we¡¯d simply commission proper, actual chess pieces, and a new eight-by-eight board. For now, we could use what we have with a bit of improvisation, probably in the form of paper, to explain the basics ¨C which was practically all I knew.

    I chuckled at the thought. I knew how to play chess, I knew the rules and all that, but I¡¯d never bothered to actually play it, that much I remembered from my old life. I had no doubt that whoever took even the slightest bit of interest in the game would surpass my skills within a day.

    I wouldn¡¯t be this world¡¯s first grandmaster, and I was content with that.

    One excited Velariah approached us, Valtheril following behind her, his usual serious expression on his face. Though added to that was a hint of indulgence, curious to see why his daughter was so fired up.

    ¡°It seems Velariah is more than riled up for you to show me some kind of game,¡± he said as he came to a halt. ¡°But what makes you think I¡¯ll have any time to play it?¡± he asked in utmost seriousness.

    ¡°Would you believe me if I said that I had more or less accounted for that?¡±

    ¡°Now, I¡¯m interested,¡± He said as he crossed his arms.

    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°Then allow me to demonstrate at home.¡±

    It felt odd to have the general follow me for once as we made our way back to the mansion, all of my companions eager to see what this was all about. As soon as we were inside, and taking off our armor, I started explaining a few things as to why I thought this was interesting for Valtheril.

    ¡°The game is played between two people, and is a battle between two armies clashing. In my old world, it was historically played between higher-ups, noblemen and kings. It¡¯s a game of wits, strategy, and foresight, which is one of the reasons why I think you¡¯ll like it.¡±

    The general nodded as I continued.

    ¡°So yeah. If it¡¯s something you find interesting, feel free to use it during talks and negotiations. I imagine it might them a bit easier, perhaps more interesting.¡±

    ¡°Strategy, you say?¡±

    I nodded as I finished taking off my apparel.

    ¡°Elly, would you be so kind to make some coffee?¡± He asked the maid, who nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.

    ¡°Could you grab the checkers board and pieces?¡± I asked Velariah. ¡°And some pencil and paper.

    ¡°Sure,¡± She said, before darting off to our living quarters.

    ¡°I hate having to do it in such a primitive way,¡± I said to Valtheril. ¡°But I guess it works for now. There is the option for me to ask the lumber processing plant to create a proper version of the game, which is another point of interest.¡±

    ¡°Sales,¡± Valtheril said. ¡°We can sell it.¡±

    He¡¯d caught on quickly.

    ¡°Yup,¡± I replied. ¡°But you know there¡¯s an issue with that.¡±

    ¡°I doubt I can use the same excuse where I learned it from a deceased adventurer a second time.¡±

    He led the way into the next room, and sat down at the head of the table while rubbing his chin, lost in thought and looking for a solution. The rest of us quietly followed and sat down in silence, none of us daring to break his train of thought. In the meantime, Velariah returned as well, excitement written all over her face until she saw her father thinking deeply.

    She quietly put down the board, pieces and gave me some paper and a pencil and I ripped them into small pieces that I¡¯d draw some symbols on, and put on the checkers pieces.

    I started with the pawns, although I just drew two of them, one for each player, just to make the idea clear, and for future reference when it came to crafting the actual three-dimensional unit. It was then I realized my drawing was absolute garbage, and, while the king, queen, rook and bishop were doable for me, as they simply consisted of their headwear in forms of crowns and a miter, and then a tower¡¯s battlements, but the horse¡­

    I was certain a horse was the mortal enemy of many a would-be artist.

    ¡°Vel?¡± I asked with a whisper. ¡°Can you draw a horse¡¯s head?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± She said as I handed her the pencil.

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± The general suddenly let out, watching Velariah draw. ¡°I might have a solution, but I¡¯d like to see what this will be first.¡±

    ¡°So,¡± I said as I took the board and placed it in front of him. I placed the pawns in two rows of eight, cutting off the last two rows horizontally and vertically. ¡°This game is played on a board of eight by eight fields, so please ignore those at the sides. They aren¡¯t used.¡±

    He nodded and looked at the board, then at Velariah who finished the first horse head and happily handed the piece of paper to me.

    ¡°Nice work, Vel. Now, I¡¯ll need three more.¡±

    ¡°Say what?¡± She reacted with shock.

    Seralyn burst into laughter and Draco and Nira couldn¡¯t help but grin either.

    ¡°So, usually,¡± I continued my conversation with Valtheril. ¡°The pieces in this game are cut from wood and shaped to be the characters they represent. This can be done as simple or intricate as one wishes. That¡¯s the production aspect of it all.¡±

    ¡°I see. And what are these characters supposed to be?¡±

    ¡°There are the king, the queen, the bishops, the knights, the rooks, or towers, and then there are the pawns. Each of those has a unique way of moving across the board, and they always start in the same positions. I¡¯ll demonstrate when we¡¯re done setting things up.¡±

    He held his hand under his chin and watched me place the first black knight on the board, behind the pawns.

    ¡°The players take turns, each moving one piece in their turn. The goal of the game is to defeat the enemy¡¯s king. It¡¯s done by moving their pieces and removing the other player¡¯s pieces from the board by moving a piece on top of the square that they occupy.¡±

    ¡°And each type moves in a different way you said,¡± He said as Velariah finished the second drawing and handed it to me.

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    Elly returned with a platter, with on top of it, a pot of coffee, sugar, milk, and cups. She¡¯d also gotten a glass of strawberry juice for me and placed it before me.

    I thanked her and asked if she could perhaps get another pencil so we could speed this process up a bit.

    ¡°Sure,¡± She said as she looked at the board and then the general, who seemed properly intrigued now, before making her way upstairs in an unusual hurry.

    ¡°Armies, strategy, foresight. A battle of wits. This is starting to become interesting.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite unbelievable that I''m explaining, to a general of all people, how to play this game. In my old world, this game was used throughout the ages, but the means of combat it represents has been long obsolete. It¡¯s interesting because I think you have a fair share of commanding people on an actual battlefield, doing the same steps that are done on this game such as thinking what moves your opponent will make and counter those.¡±

    His lips curled into a smile.

    ¡°I certainly have. Those are not unfamiliar concepts to me at all.¡±

    Elly returned with several pencils, sat down, and asked if she could help.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a hand as well,¡± Draco offered.

    ¡°Thank you guys,¡± I said as I started drawing a rook. ¡°You can copy this one if you want. We will need four of these, four knights and then four bishops. I hope bishops are a thing in this world?¡±

    ¡°They are, but they are only found in the larger temples, and then, of course, the cathedral in Goldleaf.¡± The general shook his head. ¡°Sometimes I wonder if they truly follow the goddess¡¯s teachings. Imagine worshiping the goddess of nature and then there isn¡¯t any of that to be found in the area. The entire city is like that, just way too fancy buildings all over the place, seemingly built without even putting a second of thought into planting some trees.¡±

    He was visibly frustrated with the entire place, including some of the decisions made there, which led me to believe he had his own personal reasons to stay here when he could.

    ¡°If I may ask. What about the treemenders then? They follow the goddess too, right?¡±

    ¡°Treemenders have a special status. I¡¯m sure we told you before. They are followers of the goddess and the church, but they aren¡¯t the ones preaching it. Instead, they serve her directly by doing.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just wondering,¡± I said. ¡°Since this game uses the headwear that my world¡¯s clergy does. What do they wear here? I imagine it would be better to use that instead.¡±

    ¡°They wear this ridiculous hat,¡± He said before laughing out loud. ¡°And they think it makes them look smart or something.¡±

    ¡°Something like this?¡± I said as I drew the shape of a miter.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± He said. ¡°Like that, and then there¡¯s a tree symbol in it.¡±

    ¡°Want me to draw those?¡± Seralyn offered.

    ¡°Sure. Thanks.¡±

    And so, we had most of us working on setting up the game. When we were finished, I put down all the pieces belonging to black on the board and started explaining how all of them moved. I left out the part of castling for now and just stuck to the basics. I had to explain it several times for him to understand and then once more when all the pieces were finished and my companions could focus on the game itself.

    ¡°This is far too complicated for me,¡± Seralyn admitted. ¡°I much prefer that other game.¡±

    ¡°As expected,¡± Velariah said with a mischievous smile. ¡°You don¡¯t have the patience, nor the wits for something as majestic as this.¡±

    ¡°Pft,¡± She said, pouting.

    ¡°So, shall we play a game, then?¡± Valtheril suggested.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s the best way to learn. I have to admit, I don¡¯t necessarily like the game myself and completely suck at it because of it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± Valtheril assured me. ¡°As long as I can get to a state where I can teach others, it¡¯s fine, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the goal, yes. Let¡¯s just try not to think about it too much.¡±

    We started our match, and Valtheril and I were both messing around, moving pieces quickly, and randomly, but within the rules, without thought, taking each other¡¯s pieces as the game progressed. The game ended with a victory for me, causing him to learn the terms and meaning behind ¡®check¡¯ and ¡®checkmate¡¯, but I knew that if Valtheril had only half the interest that he was showing, he¡¯d beat me in no time.

    ¡°I suppose this is where I introduce some of the more advanced things in the game. Don''t worry, though, as it¡¯s only two things: promotions and castling.¡±

    Valtheril nodded and I set up the board to demonstrate what castling was, and the rules behind it. When it could be done and when not. Then, I went on to explain how a pawn could be promoted to any other piece when it reached the end of the board.

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± He merely said after my explanation and as I readied another game.

    My eyes went from Valtheril to Draco, who was at least as curious as the general.

    ¡°Hey, Draco. You wanna give this a try?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to. Thank you, Miss Elania.¡±

    I carefully pushed the board away from me so that the lizardman on the other end of the table would have an easier time accessing the game.

    Valtheril sipped the last of his coffee and the second game began. It was played quick, just like before, which was probably not as was intended, but the two players seemed to have a fun time learning the basics. The general won in the end, but it had been a close match.

    ¡°It¡¯s deceptively simple,¡± Valtheril admitted.

    ¡°But of course, the difficulty lies in the strength of your opponent,¡± I added. ¡°Easy to learn, hard to master.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an intriguing game. Very much so,¡± The general said. ¡°And I personally know some people who would love to test their wits against each other, and I can already tell that this is how it¡¯s going to be done.¡±

    I smiled at his enthusiasm.

    ¡°As for the production and place of origin,¡± He continued. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it for a while, and have a proposed solution to your problem.¡±

    The six of us were eagerly awaiting his response, and he seemed to add the necessary drama by pausing to think it over once more.

    ¡°What could be better than having the king himself introduce this? I can simply say I learned this from someone and have him promise me to keep it a secret that he learned it from me, and I from you. We can have the pieces crafted here by people such as Master Pylanor and use the same board, so we don¡¯t draw any suspicion from the lumberyard workers. You could, perhaps have them make a second board and say the first one broke, perhaps even make it eight by eight. That¡¯s up to you.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re confident in all this?¡± I asked. ¡°Will the king not be too highly interested in whoever taught you this?¡±

    ¡°For the good of the people,¡± Valtheril said. ¡°He won¡¯t mind not knowing. He¡¯s a good friend and a trustworthy man. The people won¡¯t even dare question the origin if it comes from their ruler himself. From there, we can have it spread. I¡¯ll make sure to have the king form a contract with the local craftsmen¡¯s guild to sort the mercantile part of this.¡± He paused for a few seconds. ¡°Speaking of which, I think you¡¯ll receive your first payment for the coffee in a few days. It might be slightly delayed due to the imminent military action, but I don¡¯t believe you¡¯re desperate for money at the moment.¡±

    ¡°Not really, no. It¡¯s nice to have, but that¡¯s fine. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Hope that signals the end of the talks,¡± Velariah said impatiently. ¡°I want to play a game too.¡±

    ¡°Allow me to make this a bit easier for that,¡± Draco said as he stood up to offer the elf his seat.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± She said as they switched seats and the general opened the match.

    I was smiling evilly throughout. Valtheril had a plan, I could see it on his face. He was determined, focused, and most of all, quiet as a mouse. Velariah was excited, eager, and played the same way that Draco had previously played.

    It was no surprise to see Valtheril completely smash her with a landslide victory. He¡¯d already adjusted, and started planning his moves in advance, trying to trap his opponent.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± The white-haired elf let out at her crushing defeat. ¡°I need more coffee for this.¡±

    ¡°Should I make some more?¡± Elly offered.

    ¡°Please,¡± Valtheril said as he placed the pieces back in place on the board. I noticed him making a mistake by accidentally switching the king and queen and I let him know.

    ¡°An easy way to remember is that the queens are always placed on the color of their piece,¡± I added.

    ¡°Good to know,¡± He said, before showing a smile. ¡°So who¡¯s next?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be interested in more,¡± Draco mentioned. ¡°Let¡¯s go for a slower style, shall we?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I had in mind too,¡± The general said.

    Elly brought in some more coffee, half a cup of tea for me, and sat down to watch what appeared to be a meticulously played game of chess. They were beginners, of course, but they still seemed to think deeply about each and every move. I never thought it would be this fun to watch this game.

    ¡°What was the name of this game again?¡± Valtheril asked about midway through.

    ¡°We call it chess.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Uhhhh,¡± I stumbled, thinking about the origin of the name. ¡±I have no clue.¡±

    ¡°How about we name it ¡®king¡¯s game¡¯?¡± The general suggested.

    ¡°That sounds good to me. Makes a lot more sense, too.¡±

    Valtheril nodded and made his next move. It took a good while for the game to finish, but he once again proved to be victorious, leading me to believe these would be the first wins of a very long streak.

    ¡°You know what?¡± He said as Draco rearranged the pieces. ¡°I¡¯m going to get Master Pylanor. I want him to see this. I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡±

    He stood up and made his way to the hallway, leaving me smiling from ear to ear.

    Velariah grinned at the sight of me, shaking her head.

    ¡°What is it with you and getting people addicted to things?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just using  what little free time he has to demonstrate something that has multiple uses, especially for him.¡±

    ¡°He does seem to be incredibly happy with it,¡± She continued in a soft voice. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see that.¡±

    ¡°I wonder what Master Pylanor will think of it,¡± I said. ¡°He looks like someone that would enjoy this too.¡±

    ¡°No doubt he does,¡± Draco added. ¡°It¡¯s a great game.¡±

    ¡°What do you think, Nira?¡± I asked the harpy who¡¯d been quiet for a good while, simply petting Gray on her lap, who, obviously, had no clue what was going on on the table.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ interesting,¡± She said softly.

    ¡°Wanna try it out?¡± Velariah offered.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s have you go against Seralyn,¡± The white-haired elf then said. ¡°I¡¯m very curious to see how well she¡¯s paid attention.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, fine,¡± The brunette replied with a sigh as she sat up straight and we moved the board between her and the harpy.

    I wished them luck with the game as we waited for Valtheril to return.

    Today proved to be a day of discovering new things, and I was happy to see a completely different side of Velariah¡¯s dad in the process. A side that I hoped to see more of in the future. Perhaps, when operations were finished around here, we could experience just that.

 2.34 Checkmate

    This was clearly not a game for Seralyn. She simply didn¡¯t have the patience needed for it, and frustration was clear on her face. Nira, on the other hand, quiet as she was, seemed to simply enjoy anything we did together.

    For Seralyn, it was a blessing when the doors to the living area opened, and Valtheril, followed closely by Master Pylanor, entered the room.

    ¡°Neat,¡± The brunette said in relief. ¡°You win Nira. Have fun, Elania.¡±

    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t it lively here?¡± Pylanor said as the general invited him to take a seat.

    Draco, like the gentleman he was, stood up and offered the treemender his seat so he and Valtheril would have an easy time playing together. At the same time, Elly poured him a cup of coffee, making me smile at the warm welcome he was receiving.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± He said politely, looking at the chessboard which Velariah was taking care of, rearranging the pieces and shoving it to the two men. ¡°So what is this all about? You seemed unusually excited to show me this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d better,¡± Valtheril said calmly, and with a sly smile. ¡°We, this party and I, worked together for weeks coming up with this.¡±

    I had to give it to him. He knew how to sound confident, even when lying. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I''d have believed every word of what he just said.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t take you for that type,¡± Pylanor said.

    ¡°Well, we wanted to keep it secret,¡± The general continued. ¡°You see, we have big plans.¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re telling me that instead of working in your office, you worked on this instead?¡±

    Valtheril chuckled.

    ¡°That¡¯s partially true, but you know damn well that one of my priorities here is to ensure a solid economy for Dawnleaf. While that coffee recipe was a blessing, may goddess Velineri rest his soul, I¡¯ve been wanting to come up with something to provide entertainment, and, at the same time, is easy to produce. I asked Velariah and her party to help me, considering they hang out here a lot, and I trust them when it comes to keeping secrets.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe how good he was at lying. Scratch that, I couldn¡¯t believe how good my companions were at keeping straight faces knowing he was just spouting nonsense.

    ¡°Alright,¡± The treemender said before Valtheril continued.

    ¡°And I¡¯d like your help polishing the product.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Pylanor let out, taking a sip of coffee and taking a good look at the pieces on the board. ¡°I can see it looks messy. What¡¯s the idea?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a game of two armies clashing on the battlefield. This game requires two players and they take turns moving pieces. The idea is to capture the other player¡¯s pieces by moving them on top of a square they possess, but each piece can only move a certain way. The game ends when the enemy¡¯s king is captured.¡±

    ¡°Is there any reason why there is empty space behind one army and not behind the other?¡± The treemender pointed at the unused rows. ¡°Is that for an ambush or something? Defender¡¯s advantage?¡±

    Valtheril shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s a remnant of an idea we had earlier. Technically, you could consider it a different game, but it¡¯s just that, a prototype. We changed the board size to eight by eight for this game instead. We found it worked better.¡±

    What a legend.

    ¡°So some of the reasons I wanted you for this are quite simple: I trust you to keep this information for yourself as we don¡¯t want others to copy this, and,¡± He pointed at a piece with a horse head. ¡°I think you have the tools to create what I have in mind. For example, I¡¯d like a horse¡¯s head, noble and fierce, to be carved and put on some sort of pedestal to function as a piece in this game.¡±

    ¡°I think I see what you mean,¡± Pylanor said, drinking some more of his coffee. ¡°So, I make those pieces. What¡¯s the plan after that?¡±

    ¡°After that, I¡¯d like to introduce the game to the king. I¡¯m more than confident he will love this.¡±

    ¡°Jeez,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you still haven¡¯t started it.¡±

    A daring comment, but she was right. The general nodded at it and suggested he¡¯d just show Pylanor.

    He explained the rules with as much confidence as ever, not giving away in the slightest that he¡¯d only learned about them today. That had to be one of Valtheril¡¯s most remarkable features. He was so self-assured it was scary. It was almost as if he knew more about the book, the art of war, than me.

    Wait, perhaps he did.

    Bet he doesn¡¯t know all those iconic quotes though. ¡®If you know your enemy, and you know yourself¡¯¡­ and such.¡±

    Maybe I¡¯ll share them with him someday. It wouldn¡¯t surprise me at all if he was familiar with some of them, maybe not literally, but I was certain he knew of some concepts.

    After a quick explanation, Valtheril and the treemender started a game wherein more things were made clear. As before, the first match was just messing around and used to elaborate on some things, before a second, slower and more well-thought out match followed.

    It still didn¡¯t take long for Valtheril to win, but Pylanor simply smiled at it as he looked at the resulting board setup.

    ¡°You turned your profession into a game. That¡¯s what this is, isn¡¯t it?¡± The treemender asked with a sly smile. There was no doubt in my mind that he thought Valtheril was the mastermind behind all of this.

    I was truly shocked.

    ¡°How good of a job did I do?¡± The general asked with an equally sly smile.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like this. I think you¡¯re right to introduce it to the king. You wanted to keep this secret to give him a head start so he could beat the lesser nobles, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± The general said loudly, letting his fist drop onto the table as he chuckled heartily. ¡°Damnit, that¡¯s exactly why I wanted you here. You know me too well.¡±

    Master Pylanor smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯d love to help you out. You did a great job coming up with something so refreshing as this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not the only one you should praise. Velariah in particular did a lot of work as well, but everyone here did their part.¡±

    ¡°You all did a wonderful job. I can¡¯t wait to see what exactly this will bring to the village, but I¡¯ll leave all that to you. Say, would you like to do another round?¡±

    Already hooked, I saw.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Valtheril replied excitedly.

    ¡°And I¡¯d like another round of coffee,¡± Seralyn added before looking at Elly with puppy eyes. ¡°Please?¡±

    Nira giggled at the sight, and Gray who¡¯d been sitting on her lap all this time stuck out his tongue and cocked his head looking at the archer.

    ¡°Sure,¡± The maid replied happily, who looked at me, her eyes asking if I wanted anything to which I shook my head.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    She nodded and disappeared into the kitchen while the board was being rearranged into its starting position.

    ¡°So, how are you all enjoying the festival?¡± Pylanor asked as they started playing. ¡°Elania, Draco, Nira, have you experienced it before?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± The lizardman was the first to talk. ¡°And now that I¡¯ve seen it, I doubt I¡¯d ever want to miss it again.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing,¡± I added. ¡°And I agree with Draco. It¡¯s wonderful to have observed the tree and the festivities after its eclipse, but I also feel happy to be back inside with just my friends.¡±

    Nira nodded in agreement. It was widely accepted she was fairly shy and preferred to be out of the crowd.

    ¡°It was beautiful,¡± She said softly.

    ¡°The play was also great fun,¡± I said. ¡°But I heard about what the activity was last year, and I have to admit, I¡¯m a little sad we didn¡¯t have that this year.¡±

    Velariah burst into laughter.

    ¡°Damnit, El. You¡¯re right. I completely forgot about that.¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± Valtheril hummed the question.

    ¡°Elania is the best climber you¡¯ve ever seen. She can climb against vertical walls like the one in our bedroom. Even better, she can climb to the ceiling and literally stick to it without issues. She would have beaten everyone, and it wouldn¡¯t even have been close.¡±

    ¡°Master Endomir will kill me if I don¡¯t tell him about this information,¡± Pylanor said casually. ¡°You don¡¯t mind if I do tell him, do you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Go ahead,¡± I said warmly.

    The general and treemender moved a few pieces in silence and utmost concentration. A few minutes later, Elly walked in with more coffee, and she had some freshly-baked cookies to go with it. I only just now registered the delicious smell coming from the kitchen, that¡¯s how occupied I¡¯d been.

    Strange that the others hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about it. Maybe Elly had been wanting to disguise it? I didn¡¯t think ovens in this world would be as airtight as in my old one, though.

    Oh well. Cookies. I can¡¯t complain.

    ¡°So,¡± I started, munching on a cookie. I sort of regretted not getting some milk to go with it. ¡±Today I learned where the name ¡®Dawnleaf¡¯ comes from, but what about the other settlements? I keep hearing Goldleaf and Duskleaf, but I believe that the tree here is unique, isn¡¯t it?¡°

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Valtheril said. ¡°Dawnleaf predates both. Duskleaf is the closest and the most valuable trade partner, and was set up specifically for that reason. It¡¯s name was formed with that in mind long before it grew into the village it is now. As for Goldleaf, well, it used to have goldfields, which grew into mines, but nowadays, they are about exhausted. There are several more villages in the province, all have their names based on these three. Makes it easy for travelers from far away to find it.¡±

    ¡°Interesting piece of history,¡± I commented. ¡°Thank you for that.¡±

    I wondered if Goldleaf became the provincial capital due to the so-called gold rush. I imagined something similar happened here where many people were drawn to that one place, explaining why the settlement grew into a capital, but on the other hand, it seemed quite obvious that that was what happened.

    ¡°Elly,¡± I asked the maid¡¯s name. ¡°I feel sorry for asking, but could you get me some milk, please?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± She said smiling when she got up, making me feel relieved.

    ¡°A bold move,¡± Valtheril said in response to the treemender¡¯s latest action in the game. ¡°But one I had foreseen.¡±

    He moved one of his own pieces and Pylanor was left staring at the board, not in disbelief, but rather, in confusion. I hadn¡¯t been paying attention to the match, but the sly smile on the general¡¯s face told me everything I needed to know.

    ¡°Did I miss something?¡± Pylanor asked. ¡°I don¡¯t see how that was a good move.¡±

    ¡°Yet,¡± Valtheril added. ¡°You will see soon.¡±

    What the crap? How good did this guy get within the past hour?

    Two moves later, we found out that he¡¯d been right when he made the move that won the game.

    ¡°Well,¡± Pylanor said with a grin. ¡°I suppose you built up quite a bit of experience before you challenged me. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing what I can do in a few weeks.¡±

    ¡°That a challenge?¡± Valtheril asked slyly.

    ¡°Certainly,¡± Pylanor replied with the same mischief before leaning back in his chair.

    ¡°Feels good to have some time off,¡± he continued. ¡°Hope we can keep the same kind of rest after tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°You know I¡¯m doing everything I can to make your job easy,¡± The general replied, referring to the number of wounded people that would need medical attention from the treemenders. ¡°But sometimes, there¡¯s no avoiding casualties.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Pylanor replied with a nod. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t hope.¡±

    ¡°Good news is that most of the heavy lifting is already done. It¡¯s just a cleanup mission more than anything, and our battalion is more than equipped to deal with unforeseen circumstances.¡±

    ¡°If you guys don¡¯t mind,¡± Seralyn suddenly said. ¡°I¡¯ll be upstairs for a while.¡±

    I looked at the archer as she stood up, trying to figure out what made her decide to leave us for the time being. I couldn¡¯t quite figure out if it was just boredom, or whether there was something else. Her feelings were always masked and hard to read at times.

    ¡°Take care,¡± Draco said calmly, and with a certain worry, but also mindfulness.

    The brunette nodded and left the room and even Velariah didn¡¯t seem to know what to say at the moment. The three men seemed to be the most composed and Draco carefully placed the chess pieces back in place and invited the treemender for a game, quoting that he thought they were on about even levels.

    I watched but didn¡¯t pay too much attention to it, as, strange as it may be, I was slightly worried about Seralyn. I hoped that it was because this new game bored her and not anything deeper than that. I shrugged it off and took another cookie, thankful that I didn¡¯t lose my taste for sweets.

    The games continued over the next couple of hours, kept fresh and lively by talk from our companions, reciting our adventures to Pylanor and Valtheril. The general didn¡¯t get to talk much with Velariah so this was an excellent time to catch up on what we¡¯d done so far. He was particularly interested in the way I fought, which was to be expected judging from how he¡¯d stared at my unconventional weapons.

    He was amused when I explained I¡¯d picked this weapon because it would take like no time to learn it. Normally, one would have to learn how to ride a horse, and then learn how to use it on horseback, but all that, obviously, didn¡¯t apply to me.

    Safe to say that it wasn¡¯t surprising that he said I¡¯d made a smart choice.

    Eventually, Seralyn had made her way down again, and she seemed a lot less bothered by the games that were still being played. Honestly, she looked quite¡­ happy. I was glad to see that taking a little time away from all the commotion had done her well.

    Just in time too. The conversation was starting to slow down and a revitalized Seralyn knew just how to blow new life into it. Her way of storytelling was just something else. The manner in which she talked about the most bloody, most gruesome ways we slaughtered the goblins at the camp the other day, including her own, perhaps overglorified, shots from away put everyone in a good mood.

    Then, she got to know the combination of coffee and alcohol, something which she asked about before. I of course knew a thing or two about mixing alcohol with coffee, but I wasn¡¯t an expert in the matter per se. However, I did know that the fifty-fifty beverage she was currently mixing wasn¡¯t a good idea.

    But she didn¡¯t seem to mind.

    The drink disappeared within seconds, and I just knew this was going to result in the worst headache for her the next day. What I wasn¡¯t so sure about were the short-term effects. I was eager to find out.

    She surprised both friend and foe when she challenged Draco to a game of chess, all while keeping the largest, most devious smile on her face.

    For real, it was one of the scariest things I¡¯d ever seen.

    Things got worse when she, somehow, surprisingly¡­ honestly, I had no idea how she did it¡­ beat Draco, resulting in her cheering loudly, drunk on both alcohol and coffee at the same time. She then shoved her chair back and ran to Gray, who was more than happy to share in her excitement.

    The rest of us, including Valtheril, were left laughing at her actions.

    The day progressed, and eventually, evening came, the games and stories still going strong, given new life now that our party was whole again. Master Pylanor, after going over the chess plan with Valtheril once more, left, and soon after, we decided to head out for one last time to get a last glance of the magical tree.

    We didn¡¯t bother to armor up as we just walked outside to watch. The tree towered high above us, and we could see everything from here just as well.

    With the red glow of evening already here, and darkness slowly beginning to creep in, the blue leaves emitted an even more otherworldly glow as they reflected the last bits of altered sunlight. It left me in amazement, just like before, and I was certain I¡¯d remember just how enchanting the sight was for many years to come.

    And I intended to see this every single year. Velariah was absolutely right. There was no way one would miss this.

    We headed back inside while Elly walked out with Gray for his evening walk.

    It was mutually agreed upon that we¡¯d go to bed early as we would need our rest for the next day, and we said our goodnights as Velariah and I retreated to our room.

    Soon after, we were laying in bed, my legs hugging her frame as she ran a hand through my long hair. Minia wanted to be close too and watched from the head end of the hammock.

    ¡°You were right,¡± I said softly before kissing the elf. ¡°No way in hell I wanted to miss this day.¡±

    The white-haired elf giggled quietly.

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy you liked it. This is probably the most important day for us.¡±

    ¡°Kind of makes me sad that I¡¯m not an elf,¡± I replied. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine what you feel, what kind of connection you have to the tree.¡±

    ¡°No need to be sad,¡± She whispered. ¡°You¡¯re unique in your own right, and you can feel things that I can¡¯t even dream of.¡±

    ¡°Like you pulling out silk from my behind,¡± I joked.

    Velariah chuckled, louder than she wanted, before shaking her head.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, but you know what I mean.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± I said, before kissing her again. ¡°Let¡¯s go to sleep. Good night, Vel.¡±

    ¡°Good night, El.¡±

 2.35 The March Begins

    I slept well, but I guessed the anticipation got to me somewhere during my dreams as I woke up at some point with Velariah still sleeping soundly beneath me. I knew Elly would wake us up in time if needed so I figured it was still early. However, it took me a good while to fall back asleep, and by the time I woke up again, this time to knocking on the door, I was left in a terrible state.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± I groaned.

    The elf had a much easier time than me. I could hear it in her voice, and I hated it.

    ¡°Time to get up, El. Can¡¯t leave everyone waiting.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± I said as I started rubbing my eyes, and then the ones at the sides of my head too. ¡°Fuck.¡±

    ¡°Bad sleep?¡± Velariah asked, her voice becoming caring after watching me in agony.

    ¡°It was okay until I woke up. I feel like I just fell asleep before being woken. Don¡¯t you hate that?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the worst,¡± She replied, before running a hand through my hair. ¡°We should get up, though. Let me know if you need a potion.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± I said with a nod before stepping out of bed, making my way over to the sink in the hopes that some water to my face would help.

    ¡°Miss Velariah, Miss Elania?¡± I heard Elly¡¯s voice through the thick wood of the door.

    ¡°We¡¯re coming, just a few minutes.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± The maid replied.

    ¡°Ah shit,¡± I let out, after washing my face, when my eyes spotted Minia still in the same position where she¡¯d been when we fell asleep. ¡°We¡¯ll have to make sure Elly feeds her.¡±

    ¡°She knows. No worries.¡±

    I nodded and then went to put on some fresh underwear and clothes. When I finished, I waited a few seconds for Velariah to have done the same, before I had her install the saddlebags to my abdomen. She then put on her own belt bag and gave it a light slap with her hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s time we fill these up. Are you feeling a bit better?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, a bit. I¡¯ll be groggy for a little bit, but I¡¯ll be fine. Could really do with some coffee right about now¡­¡±

    ¡°One day,¡± Velariah said optimistically, causing me to chuckle.

    ¡°Yeah. One day.¡±

    I said goodbye to Minia, and told her we¡¯d be away for a few days. Something which she seemed to understand now, thanks to the increase in levels of communications between us.

    When we arrived in the dining area, only Valtheril and Draco were present, and I could hear (and smell) Elly working in the kitchen. The chess board was still on the table, and both of them were looking at it, even though it was in its starting position and neither seemed to be making a move. I wasn¡¯t quite sure what they were thinking, but it wasn¡¯t something to worry about.

    The more interesting thing was that, next to the game, potions of all colors were lined up. Velariah didn¡¯t hesitate and took a few of each kind into her bag, fully resupplying, which seemed to be the intention of these potions as Valtheril didn¡¯t comment on it whatsoever. I could make out the ones I knew to be energy, healing and base anti-venom, but there were also some black ones. My curiosity got the better of me and, after wishing them good morning, I decided to ask what those were.

    ¡°Weapon enhancement oils,¡± Valtheril said in response to my question. ¡°They amplify the effects of the different types of steel that there are. Expensive, but the idea is to slay whatever is in our way, anything that is in our way.

    Damn, he was serious about this.

    ¡°Please,¡± He held up his hand to the many potions. ¡°Why not take all of them. You have plenty of space.¡±

    I knew these saddlebags were a good idea.

    ¡°But what about our tents?¡±

    The general shook his head. ¡°No need for those. We¡¯re heading into the forest with a small army. There will be guards during the night, and there won¡¯t be any rain for a few days. Better to take as many combat-related supplies as possible.¡±

    How did he know that there wouldn¡¯t be any rain? What kind of connections did he have? The weather stations on earth would kill him for his secrets if he turned out to be right. I mean, when did their forecasts ever come true?

    I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and Seralyn, Nira, and Gray following behind them, walked into the room.

    ¡°Morning,¡± Velariah said to the two.

    ¡°Good morning,¡± Nira was the first to reply in her usual soft voice with Seralyn following suit shortly afterward.

    ¡°Good morning,¡± Valtheril greeted them. ¡°Please stock up with whatever you want or need. Elly is making breakfast as we speak, and she¡¯s already prepared travel rations as well.¡±

    Elly¡¯s cooking, but in travel form? Hell yes.

    Just as the general mentioned her name, she entered the room with cups, a pot of coffee, and half a cup of tea for me. The little bit of caffeine in that was sorely needed. After serving, she made several more trips to the kitchen to serve breakfast and a small mountain of leaf-wrapped packages containing food, including bread and even a jar of strawberry jam, which made me smile from ear to ear.

    ¡°I followed your advice regarding the lemons, Elania,¡± She said warmly. ¡°I figured I might as well if you¡¯re going to be away for a few days.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m sure it works.¡±

    The ability to keep bread fresh for several days was ideal for situations like these. Nobody likes stale bread in the morning.

    We had a quick, but full breakfast before making sure all the preparations were finished. This included loading the items into my saddlebags and dividing potions among all members of our party. It was when we finished armoring up that the general stood up and bid his goodbyes to Elly who would be in charge of the mansion for the duration of the mission. I said goodbye to her as well and asked her to ensure that Minia stayed well-fed.

    She giggled and said she had it all under control.

    Valtheril asked if we were all ready to move out to which we responded with nods. He then was the first to step outside, his heavy boots resonating with each step he took.

    He was truly a sight to behold.

    We arrived at the center of the city, in front of the guild hall, where many adventurers were gathered, and seemingly, awaiting his arrival. I looked around and saw that many of them stood together with others - I was practically able to make out what parties they belonged to - but there were also a few that seemed to be there as individuals without party affiliations. Among those was Eric, who looked at me with surprise and relief before making his way over.

    ¡°Hey,¡± He greeted me. ¡°I heard what happened, and I¡¯m terribly sorry about it. I never knew. I¡­ I should have known.¡±

    The poor guy seemed wrecked by guilt at the mention, or rather, omitted mention of his old party member.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t beat yourself up over it,¡± I started, causing him to nod slightly. He¡¯d been looking away, apparently unable to face me properly. ¡°He made his decisions, and they were poor, tempted by gold. I cannot say how he was before such promises of riches, but I think you¡¯re being dishonest with yourself for saying you should have seen it coming. Besides, I¡¯m fine now.¡±

    ¡°I-¡± He shook his head. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re doing fine.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be doing nearly as fine as me,¡± I said. ¡°Where is the rest of your party?¡±

    ¡°We disbanded after all that. Some went back to the human kingdom, fearing retribution, and I couldn¡¯t convince them of anything else.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ sad,¡± I said softly.

    ¡°This is where Elania asks you to join our party,¡± Velariah entered the conversation.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t do that,¡± Eric said, shaking his head.

    I thought about it for a moment.

    ¡°I mean,¡± I let out before sighing. ¡°Damnit, Vel,¡± I muttered. ¡°If you want, you can join us for the duration of this mission. I imagine that would be a lot more comfortable than going in alone, without any familiar faces.¡±

    Velariah nodded.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± He asked in earnest.

    ¡°Yes. After this is over, you¡¯ll have plenty of time to form a new party. I heard there¡¯s been quite the influx of new people at the guild after the last major battle. Perhaps even more so after the festival yesterday. Hopefully, some of them will still be here by the time we¡¯re done.

    ¡°That¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say.¡±

    ¡°How about ¡®thank you¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. That will do. Thank you,¡± He said, nodding with a newly formed smile.

    Valtheril had eyed and overheard our conversation, and he nodded when I looked at him. I wasn¡¯t sure why, but if I were to guess, I imagined it had something to do with his ability to detect lies. Whatever the reason, he wasn¡¯t opposed to the idea.

    He then walked around, inspecting the people that had gathered as he went, before making his way into the guild hall.

    ¡°Where are the soldiers, by the way?¡± I asked, turning my attention to Velariah. I¡¯d only seen the town guards. The elite soldiers that Valtheril had brought in were nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Take a wild guess,¡± She said, placing her hands on her hips while looking at me with a mischievous smile.

    ¡°Are they outside?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We have a winner!¡± She said cheerfully, making me shake my head.

    I should have known.

    I covered my face with my palm causing Seralyn to giggle at my stupidity.

    ¡°Pretty sure my father will give us some instructions once everyone is here, but-¡± she started looking around. ¡°I don¡¯t know if more people will show up. Pretty sure we¡¯re the last ones.¡±

    I looked with her to see how many people were amassed here. I thought that, all in all, we¡¯d possess over seventy adventurers, possibly more. A good number of them wore armor that I could only attribute to novices, presumably here because goblins were considered easy targets, and the payout was substantial. I just hoped they were told not to underestimate their nasty venoms.

    Good thing I¡¯m here in case things go horribly wrong for them, I suppose.

    It took a while but finally Valtheril exited the guild hall. He circled the mass of people and took position near the center of town where he cleared his throat and then clapped his gloved hands together, silencing the chattering that was still going on.

    Then, he spoke with a confidence that I¡¯d rarely seen, let alone experienced for myself.

    ¡°Welcome everyone. Let me start by saying I thank you all for joining us in this mission. For both the safety and future of Dawnleaf, it¡¯s about time we deal with a threat that has plagued us for many years.¡±

    He paused for a few seconds to cast his gaze over all those present.

    ¡°I see many new faces, but also some battle-hardened ones. Let it be clear that for this mission, everyone will be considered equal.¡±

    He let another pause slip.

    ¡°We have stockpiled resources and prepared as well as we can to deal with all types of attacks that will undoubtedly be used against us, not the least of them being their venoms. Let me repeat and elaborate what I mean when I say everyone will be considered equal.¡±

    His eyes narrowed as he seemed to be staring into each person¡¯s soul.

    ¡°What I want, what I expect from you is to take this calmly and carefully. Everyone¡¯s lives here are worth just as much, and I want everyone to understand, especially the new adventurers among you, that this is not the place or time for heroics. We will sweep the forest as a unit. Do not charge in alone. Do not throw away your life for a chance at glory. By doing so, you may put others at risk.¡±

    Again, he let his eyes glide through the crowd.

    ¡°I hope you will trust me when I say that I¡¯ve seen losses that could have been avoided. It is precisely for these reasons that rules exist, and I will see them followed here, in this undertaking.¡±

    A few people nodded, and everyone seemed to understand the meaning in his words.

    ¡°The plan is as follows: parties stay together, while my battalion will stretch out in a long line so we do not miss a foot of ground. We move slowly and exterminate any goblin or troll alike; no mercy.¡±

    It was hard for me to grasp that concept. I was under the impression that not all goblins were evil. Hell, I¡¯d met one from up close on my first day, and he seemed all but bloodthirsty, especially after I¡¯d disarmed him. In fact, he could be reasoned with, but I also knew that for the better of the village in which I now lived, and for its ultimate safety, we couldn¡¯t risk goblins repopulating the forest.

    It made my heart wrench, but I knew this had to be done.

    ¡°If you need assistance, there will always be reinforcements in your area. Do not hesitate to call upon them. There will be couriers with provisions and anti-venoms following us as we go, and try to divide the parties with healers so we cover a larger area. Let me repeat that above all, we do not want to suffer ANY casualties.¡±

    A noble goal. That was for sure. A plausible one too, with this many people, experience, and plenty of resources to assist those in need.

    ¡°We will sweep the southern part of the forest from west to east, and about halfway through, we meet up with the Flamarr kingdom who will be clearing the forest from east to west, so for our archers: be careful, and don¡¯t fire prematurely. After we merge, we push north in the same manner, until the entire forest is liberated from these pests.¡±

    He paused one last time before speaking again.

    ¡°Are there any questions?¡±

    Nobody spoke up, and some people shook their heads. Valtheril gave it a few seconds before he started marching towards the exit of the village, briefly pausing before he called out loudly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move out, then.¡±

    The entourage followed him as he walked down the street towards the palisade with our party somewhere in the middle of the long line. My eyes were wide open at the spectacular sight, and as if it wasn¡¯t impressive enough, the townsfolk moving from the road to the sides, to watch, clap, or simply observe, definitely was. It made me feel as if we were already done, and returning from a successful mission.

    Outside the walls, the soldiers stood ready and organized in ranks and rows, three hundred men and women strong, reinforced by the regiment that was previously in duskleaf, and some lightly armored people that seemed to be the couriers that Velariah¡¯s father had mentioned. They carried backpacks that contained all the supplies, leaving the soldiers lighter and more effective for combat.

    Vymar was positioned before them and greeted Valtheril with a salute when he approached, who merely replied with a nod.

    ¡°Alright men,¡± The general spoke loud and clear. ¡°You know the drill. Let¡¯s start moving south, spacious single file. We¡¯ll have the adventurers spread out as evenly as we can.¡±

    I was a bit confused as to where our exact position would be, and I believe many others with me. However, I got the feeling that everything would sort itself out since Valtheril¡¯s warriors were taking the lead when they started moving south, towards the edge of the forest.

    Large gaps were formed and the general turned to the rest of us that were still in one large group.

    ¡°Once the soldiers are in position, just find a place for your party and insert yourselves in the line. They will adjust accordingly. As mentioned before, to spread out the healers, Vymar will assist.¡± He then turned to our party in particular.

    ¡°Velariah, would you be okay being the first party?¡±

    ¡°Meaning the southernmost?¡± She replied to which Valtheril nodded.

    ¡°Sure,¡± The white-haired elf said, before gesturing to the rest of us to follow. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    She followed the line of soldiers moving in the direction of the dungeon with the rest of us in tow. Behind us, I could see Vymar go through the rest of the adventurers, checking how many healers were present and how to organize their presence on the battlefield. We were a fair distance away when I saw him send out another small party our way.

    Nira was traveling on my back so we wouldn¡¯t lose speed. For a good while, until the first soldier in front of us came to a halt, it was eerily quiet. I think everyone was preparing mentally and trying to get into a focused state of mind.

    We reached the end of the forest and the soldier right in front of us asked us to remain where we were; this would be our position in the net that was about to trap the goblins. He, and five others before him continued, creating large gaps. Each person had about ten meters between them, give or take.

    That would mean that with three hundred soldiers we¡¯d create a line that covered three kilometers. That was on the low end considering that there¡¯d also be adventurers, and even though they¡¯d stick in a group, it would still add quite some distance. I reckoned that in total, we¡¯d cover well over three kilometers, perhaps closer to four.

    Hah. Suck it imperial system. Where are your feet and miles and all that now?

    Having a train of this many people also meant that it took a good while before everybody was in position, much to Seralyn¡¯s dismay. She had her arms crossed and sighed out of frustration as time passed. Then, at long last, a flash of light grabbed my attention. In the distance, we saw Valtheril¡¯s signature spell, but with no enemies outside the forest, it was more like a signal flare.

    The knights drew their weapons in unison and started their march.

 2.36 Expedition: Day 1

    We moved together with them, our weapons drawn and on the lookout for anything that could resemble our enemy. The march was slow, but steady. At this rate, there wasn¡¯t any possibility of letting anything slip past our lines. The only thing it did mean, was that this was going to take several days, probably uneventful for the most part too, as we knew that the southern part of the forest had been mostly cleaned up already.

    Eric didn¡¯t seem to be too comfortable for the time being, and he asked if he could follow us from a distance, making up the rear with the couriers. I found the question odd, but I didn¡¯t think it would matter much. He said he¡¯d join us for the night.

    ¡°That¡¯s alright,¡± Velariah said effortlessly. ¡°Just remember you don¡¯t have to be scared of us, as monstrous as some of our party may look.¡±

    I shook my head at her comment, but smiled inwardly. Eric assured us he wasn¡¯t afraid of anyone, adding that the person carrying supplies behind us was a friend of his who¡¯d just arrived from Zakar, the closest human town beyond the forest.

    I watched him walk off, a bit of uneasiness left in my mind at his behavior, so I decided to change the topic as soon as possible. It did allow me to ask some questions that would probably be best not heard by the human.

    ¡°Think anyone will run into this dungeon this way?¡± I asked my companions. ¡°Seems to me, this is about the best chance we¡¯ll get.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t be too sure about that, Miss Elania,¡± Draco spoke without even looking my way, ever focused. He had his axes ready to strike, or to use the shields to deflect attacks. ¡°It was only by pure chance that you stumbled upon the other dungeon. Who knows how long it may have taken for anyone else to discover it?¡±

    ¡°He has a point, you know?¡± Velariah added.

    ¡°That¡¯s true, I guess, but given Arch¡¯s information, we have to assume that this other dungeon is accessible, at least by one person. Now, I can imagine them trying to hide it with camouflage in the form of plants or whatever, but there should be at least something that stands out.¡±

    ¡°She has a point, you know?¡± Seralyn added with a mischievous smile.

    ¡°Look, all I¡¯m saying is: where would you hide a dungeon in such a way that it hasn¡¯t been found?¡± I continued. ¡°I mean, someone did, but they clearly didn¡¯t notify the guild.¡±

    ¡°Underground,¡± Velariah spoke her mind. ¡°Or somewhere extremely dangerous, or somewhere where nobody ever comes, for whatever reason, but that is unlikely to happen with a damn army combing the place, so I¡¯d say it¡¯s one of the former. If not, we¡¯ll find it easily.¡±

    ¡°A cave, perhaps?¡± I floated the idea.

    ¡°Also unlikely,¡± Velariah said almost immediately after whilst shaking her head. ¡°Those are popular places to hide, for both animals and elves or humans alike. If they housed a dungeon, we would have known about it by now.¡±

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s somewhat true, but keep in mind that goblins have been around here for a good while, which should have affected how many people venture into it. Just how long have they been here? Is there a chance a dungeon can randomly appear within that time frame?¡±

    ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know,¡± Velariah admitted. ¡°They¡¯ve been around for as long as I''ve lived, but I think my father would have mentioned something about that when you told him.¡±

    ¡°True, I suppose¡­¡±

    We marched forward for a couple of hours until a signal was given and we came to a halt. At first I thought someone had spotted something somewhere, but apparently, it was only to take a break before continuing. It was kind of weird to even think about how I would have suffered if I hadn¡¯t possessed this body. I imagined I would have needed several breaks to even get this far, yet now I didn¡¯t even feel a hint of exhaustion. I didn¡¯t feel hungry at all either, and I likely wouldn¡¯t for a few days. I¡¯d made sure to eat plenty recently.

    ¡°So much for goblin extermination,¡± Seralyn said as she sat down on the dirt. ¡°I wonder if the others found anything.¡±

    ¡°Boring, but I can¡¯t complain,¡± Velariah said, sitting down next to her. ¡°It doesn¡¯t change the pay, but even if it did, we¡¯re not here for that.¡±

    As if lightning had struck her, Velariah stood up with unparalleled speed and held her sword at the ready. Seralyn and Draco quickly followed suit and had their weapons ready, aiming at the bushes in the distance that Velariah was looking at.

    ¡°Heard something?¡± I asked with a whisper.

    The white-haired elf nodded, and I looked around to see the nearest soldiers standing up as well, alternating their gazes between Velariah and the shrubbery.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Seralyn asked with her bow fully drawn.

    Then, I noticed something as well, invisible to me to my normal eyes, but the ones at the sides of my head were sharper than those. Something dragged itself through the foliage, something with a familiar glimmer.

    I felt a smile grow on my face as soon as I realized what it was.

    ¡°Calm down,¡± I said. ¡°No need to be afraid of that.¡±

    The elves looked at me with confusion whereas Draco looked at the greenery and then at me with a wide smile. I thought he noticed it too, but it was fun to see the scared reactions of both Velariah and Seralyn for a bit until the monster that hid itself was finally revealed.

    The white-scaled body of an iobgnol came into view as the curious and immense creature slithered our way, leaving Draco and me giggling when the others realized there was nothing to be afraid of.

    ¡°Well, whaddaya know,¡± Seralyn commented. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect to run into one of those, seeing how rare they are. How did you know about them, Elania?¡±

    ¡°Velariah and I ran into one when I first met her,¡± I said. ¡°She said these things bring good luck. Seems she wasn¡¯t wrong about that, seeing how things went from there.¡±

    ¡°You thought I was lying when I told you?¡± Velariah asked with a smile. The massive albino snake approached her curiously and let the elf pet it. ¡°Do we have anything to give?¡±

    ¡°I guess some meat would do? We better hurry, though. The soldiers aren¡¯t going to wait for us.¡±

    I pointed in the direction of the knight that was to our right that had started moving again to get back in line.

    ¡°Well, we cannot risk getting bad luck,¡± The white-haired elf said as she hurried to my saddlebags to fish out a package of dried meat which she quickly fed to the giant snake as I ran a gloved hand over its gorgeous scales.

    I would have remained with it longer but Velariah was right. We couldn¡¯t fall behind or we¡¯d risk our lines being broken, so after she fed it, we chose to get back to our positions as fast as we could.

    ¡°Were you scared the first time?¡± Nira asked from my back once we were back in position.

    ¡°Uhm, yes,¡± I replied softly.

    ¡°It was way worse than that,¡± Velariah added. ¡°She truly believes she was gonna get eaten. Now I know snakes can open their mouths pretty damn far, but I¡¯m nonetheless positive she wouldn¡¯t fit.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s forget about that,¡± I said, slightly embarrassed. It was made worse by the fact that I should have known a thing or two about snakes. At least that much I had learned in my old life.

    Fortunately, my friends remained quiet after that as we simply focused on the task at hand.

    We kept the conversation to a minimum to stay concentrated, but we still couldn¡¯t help but discuss our plans after this was all over. We did establish that we couldn¡¯t call it ¡®over¡¯ after just the goblin extermination part. We needed to make sure we were aware of this dungeon and try to get answers to a few questions that remained.

    Either way, it would be hard leaving Dawnleaf behind, but in order to progress as adventurers we were more or less forced to. There were many dungeons out in the world, and to grow stronger, we¡¯d have to visit more than just Arch.

    We noted that since we had more or less set our sights on Zerdania, we¡¯d have to find out about dungeons on the way there, in addition to the transport issue we¡¯d already started working on. I wanted to be a hundred percent certain we had everything we needed to traverse a desert.

    Nothing much happened for the day. We ran into some common forest critters such as rabbits, birds, and we even ran into a few of the weird six-legged lizards, but that was about it. At the end of the afternoon, we got a signal from the line of soldiers and made camp under a few trees, in an area where there wasn¡¯t a lot of vegetation.

    Moist dirt covered this area of the forest, and it was bound to get our armor dirty if we were to sleep on it. It wasn¡¯t very comfortable either to say the least. Now, I could provide some softness in the form of silk, but I decided not to for the simple fact that it would drain my reserves.

    The couriers and other support that followed us were called to the front. They would keep first watch as the soldiers went to sleep. Within our party, it was quickly decided that Velariah and I would watch over us for the first half of the night, and then Draco and Nira for the second part. Seralyn and Eric were allowed a full night¡¯s rest, something with which the archer didn¡¯t seem to have any problem. Eric wasn¡¯t the most enthusiastic, but he didn¡¯t protest either. Complaining about it wouldn¡¯t make him look as trustworthy as we thought, or so I reasoned.

    The four of them had a hard time trying to fall asleep on the cold, hard forest floor, but eventually, they were dreaming. No doubt they would be sore in the morning, though, or rather, somewhere in the middle of the night.

    ¡°Not sure what to say,¡± Velariah whispered as she sat in front of me between my pedipalps.

    The day had turned into night, and quiet surrounded us, save for the few nocturnal creatures that were active. Every watch had created a campfire so that no goblins could pass us by undetected and the one before us provided some additional heat, despite the nights not being cold in the slightest. Certainly not with all this armor we were wearing.

    ¡°Then don¡¯t say anything,¡± I whispered back as I hugged her with my free arms. ¡°Just enjoy the moment. I know I am.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s sweet, but you know I¡¯m going to talk anyway.¡±

    I grinned. ¡°I do, but what will you talk about?¡±

    ¡°Dunno. The future I guess?¡±

    ¡°Lame,¡± I said with a grin.

    Velariah grinned at my response.

    ¡°It¡¯s just so weird,¡± She continued. ¡°This is something I¡¯ve looked forward to for so long, but now that we¡¯re here, it¡¯s all so calm.¡± She shook her head. ¡°And honestly? I never imagined it would be done. The freedom our people will have, it¡¯s¡­¡± She sighed deeply.

    ¡°Impossible to imagine?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I suppose that¡¯s one way to put it.¡± She took a deep breath after a bit of a pause and continued.

    ¡°You know that a good part of our village¡¯s income is the very lumber that grows in this forest. Imagine the increase in yield now that they won¡¯t have to be escorted anymore. Scratch that, imagine how many more people will now want to join the woodcutter¡¯s guild, now that the most dangerous part of the profession is gone. Not only that, but our trade route with the Flamarr kingdom will flourish, and we desperately need their goods.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see the problem?¡± I said, a bit confused as to where Velariah was going with all this.

    ¡°There¡¯s none. I¡¯m just¡­ happy to see it all come to pass.¡±

    ¡°As am I, Vel. We¡¯re not done just yet, though.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± She let out with a sigh. ¡°But we¡¯ll get there, and then, after everything is wrapped up here, we can go and look for that ¡®chocolate¡¯ thing of yours.¡±

    ¡°You know that we don¡¯t even have confirmation whether it is what I¡¯m looking for. I have a good idea it is, but I can¡¯t know for certain.¡±

    ¡°The idea of an expedition is quite something though. I¡¯ve been cooped up here all my life, never left the province, and even though I know I will have trouble leaving it behind, I still look forward to the adventure that lies beyond our borders, you know?¡±

    ¡°I know. I¡¯m looking forward to it as well, but I will miss Elly, Gray and Minia.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think you can take Minia with you? You seem to have taken quite the liking to her.¡±

    ¡°How am I going to keep her safe?¡± I asked. ¡°If there was an option to take her, I¡¯d gladly do it, but I don¡¯t see one.¡±

    ¡°Why are you even considering taking her in the first place?¡± Velariah asked, surprised.

    ¡°Well, to be honest, I¡¯ve been thinking about her most recent molt. Strange as it may seem, I think it has something to do with my inherity. I¡¯m sure you can agree with that.¡±

    ¡°For sure.¡±

    ¡°So,¡± I continued. ¡°That made me think. Does my other inherity have an effect on her as well? I¡¯m talking about the corium one. I¡¯m not exactly sure about it, but what if this was some sort of evolution for her? Would her being near me allow her to evolve again?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I don¡¯t even know what to say, El. It just sounds so weird, but at the same time, it sounds within the realm of possibilities.¡±

    ¡°Another thing, I don¡¯t know how long jumping spiders live, but I imagine it¡¯s not anywhere near a wolf¡¯s lifespan. If we¡¯re gone for a while, I fear she may just¡­¡±

    ¡°I understand, El,¡± Velariah said in a calm voice as she took hold of one of my hands. ¡°That would feel terrible. I¡¯m sure she¡¯d feel terrible with you gone for so long too.¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°We may have to look for a way to take her with us, then,¡± The elf concluded. ¡°I think some kind of container could work. Something that you can use to keep her out of danger.¡±

    ¡°Poor Minia,¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine that being fun for her.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s about the only way to keep her safe. Do you think she would understand?¡±

    ¡°If I told her, perhaps,¡± I whispered, finishing the conversation for a good few minutes until Velariah said something completely different.

    ¡°Hey, El. I wanted to¡­ you know, thank you,¡± She whispered with an obvious hint of sadness in her voice.

    ¡°What? For what?¡± I asked. Her statement confused me. Why would she need to thank me for something?

    ¡°For yesterday. I realized just now.¡± She paused and sighed deeply. ¡°The festival. It was the first time without my mom. I wanted to thank you for helping me forget about it. I had a great time yesterday and wasn¡¯t distracted from the joyful occasion that it should be.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say,¡± I admitted. ¡°I can hear you still miss her. I would have loved to meet her.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d have loved her,¡± Velariah said weakly before shaking her head. ¡°She was the sweetest. She would have loved to see everyone¡­ how far I¡¯ve come¡­¡±

    A tear fell down on my metal glove, followed by more as Velariah sobbed in utter silence. I felt her pain, but I couldn¡¯t say I knew what she felt. I knew I had family back on Earth, but I didn¡¯t know what happened to me or them. Hell, I couldn¡¯t even remember their names or faces. I knew for sure now that I was far better off than I initially thought.

    I hugged her tightly, my helm against hers, as more tears fell down.

    Earlier I had thought she was ¡®over it¡¯, but I felt that one couldn¡¯t simply say that. Perhaps she¡¯d never fully get over it and, in my opinion, that was fine. I felt like she¡¯d truly been looking forward to her mother seeing her grow into the adventurer she now was, and her words, and her tears, spoke for themselves.

    ¡°I love you, Vel,¡± I whispered, trying to ease her heartache. ¡°I love you, and I¡¯m sure she¡¯s looking down from somewhere, and is very proud of you.¡±

    She put a hand on mine and nodded slowly, regaining her composure at a slow pace as she leaned back onto me. Time passed and minutes of silence turned into hours. I remained alert, but didn¡¯t feel time pass as quickly. It was only when I saw movement at the sides that I realized it was time for us to rest.

    The couriers woke up the soldiers, which prompted Velariah to wake up the others. They¡¯d keep watch and we went back to the same position we were in before, and fell asleep quite quickly.

    I woke up to the sound of horns, which abruptly pulled me from my dreams. Unlike the day before, though, I didn¡¯t feel horrible.

    Lucky me I guess.

    ¡°Is that danger or what?¡± I asked, trying to get my wits about me as fast I could.

    ¡°That¡¯s ten minutes we have for breakfast,¡± Velariah explained as she got up from my ¡®lap¡¯ to grab food and drink from my saddlebags. She handed me a piece of bread and I looked at her with a questioning gaze.

    She chuckled and told me it was to see if my trick had worked.

    ¡°Oh,¡± I let out as I took a bite and found out that it was still fresh. I quickly swallowed and opened my mouth to speak again.

    ¡°Why did you let me taste it again?¡± I asked in confusion. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s pretty clear, no?¡±

    Eric seemed to be confused as to what was going on, but he did seem intrigued when he tasted some of the bread. He had his eyes locked on it as he ate, then thanked us before moving back. He said he¡¯d talk to his friend and then join us for the rest of the trip. It seemed he was much more confident than the day before, which was good to see.

    Seralyn grinned as she munched down on some bread herself. Draco was simply smiling, as was Nira.

    ¡°Wonderful ideas you have,¡± The lizardman eventually said. ¡°I don¡¯t even taste lemon. How did you even know about this?¡±

    I drank a bit of water as he spoke, all while thinking of a good way to explain this concept.

    ¡°I apologize for putting it so bluntly, but I fear it¡¯s going to be hard to explain as I¡¯d need to explain things starting from the very basis of microscopy, you know, the instrument that allows one to see things that are so small, and impossible to see with the naked eye.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± He said with a smile, crossing his arms. ¡°I¡¯d love to hear it on the way. Makes this quest a little bit less boring.¡±

    ¡°I suppose I could,¡± I said. Then, the sound of horns blared again, causing the soldiers to stand up and assume formation again. ¡°I suppose I could.¡±

 2.37 Expedition: Day 1 (Cont.)

    I looked behind me to see if Eric was about to join us, as I tried to think of a quick way to explain the general idea of preservatives. This wasn¡¯t really a subject I could talk about freely in his presence.

    ¡°Why does food spoil?¡± I asked, but before anyone answered I decided to do it myself. ¡°It¡¯s because of tiny organisms, ones so small that you cannot see them with your eyes. They eat it, and multiply incredibly quickly. These little creatures are also the reason behind many diseases and illnesses. I hope that, one day, I¡¯ll be able to create the instrument needed to view them, just to show you.¡±

    I smirked as I gave my friends a little time to take in the information before I continued.

    ¡°Now, there are certain things that don¡¯t spoil. Take sugar as an example, or honey, or even alcoholic drinks that contain above a certain threshold of it. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re familiar with these.¡±

    ¡°Seralyn is an expert on alcoholic drinks I heard,¡± Velariah said, grinning.

    ¡°Well,¡± I continued, knowing I didn¡¯t have much time. ¡°Sugar and alcohol prevent these things from multiplying, or they outright kill them. We call these substances ¡®preservatives¡¯ when they are used for the explicit reason of acting as such an agent.¡±

    ¡°And the lemon powder does it as well?¡± Draco asked.

    ¡°Yeap,¡± I replied. ¡°To a certain degree. Of course, you can¡¯t keep bread from spoiling forever, but you all know a couple of ways to preserve food already. Drying and smoking are very common ones. This just adds one additional method to one specific type of food.¡±

    ¡°Very interesting,¡± Draco said. ¡°So what if you take the alcohol out of, let¡¯s say, wine, and then add it to something else?¡±

    ¡°How the hell are you going to take alcohol out of wine?¡± Seralyn said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know how to?¡± I asked in surprise. ¡°Everything needed for that was present in the room in which I had the ritual. I find it hard to believe they don¡¯t know about this.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps they do,¡± Velariah said. ¡°But I¡¯m certain they keep it a secret. They hold many, and as nice as some of them are, they protect them well.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense,¡± I replied. ¡°And it¡¯s not something we can simply ask either, lest we draw suspicion.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°But yeah, you¡¯re right, Draco. You can use alcohol as a preservative, if you can separate it. To be honest, it¡¯s not even that hard.¡± I smiled widely. ¡°Not with the right tools, as is the case with many things.¡±

    ¡°What do you miss most?¡± Velariah asked softly, seeing how enthusiastic I was getting talking about things that were considered new principals here.

    ¡°Not sure what I miss most. I suppose the most convenient thing to have around at all times was probably my phone.¡± I smiled and looked at the treetops. ¡°Gods, if you hear about all the things it could do, you¡¯d never believe it, not in a thousand years.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have you tell me all about it someday,¡± Velariah said happily.

    ¡°I knew you¡¯d say that,¡± I replied.

    Movement behind us caught my attention and Eric came running until he caught up. Without a word, he drew his sword and started moving forward in the same manner the soldiers did.

    ¡°You silly,¡± Velariah said. ¡°There¡¯s no need to show off. You¡¯re only going to hurt yourself.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± He asked, clearly confused.

    The white-haired elf shook her head.

    ¡°Just put your weapon away. Your arms will be sore by the time a fight is about to break out.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± He let out as he heeded her advice and sheathed his sword.

    ¡°I guess I might as well mention that in our group, we don¡¯t try to show off. I say try, because somehow Elania always managed to do it anyway, but it¡¯s not our intention. Remember my father¡¯s words.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± He said with a nod before turning his head to look at my weapons, all three of them. ¡°I can see what you mean.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I can¡¯t help it,¡± I said in response. ¡°Not like I got much choice in having four arms and whatnot. Might as well put them to good use, no?¡±

    ¡°And that she does,¡± Seralyn added with just a bit too much of a devilishly wicked grin. I shook my head knowing exactly what she was referring to, causing her to grin even louder.

    Velariah merely sighed at the comment, and I wasn¡¯t sure if Eric had gotten the deeper meaning of it. If he did, he was great at hiding it. I merely sighed and kept my mind focused on what was before me. An area with more vegetation was coming up, and I didn¡¯t want to be the victim of an ambush.

    My companions recognized the danger and ceased their talking, staying alert in case of attacks. It proved to be unnecessary as there wasn¡¯t a single goblin to be found for the next few hours.

    ¡°I¡¯d have expected something by now,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Just shows you how well the other parties have already done their job,¡± Draco replied.

    ¡°True,¡± The elf replied.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that according to the latest information, the only resistance is up north. I doubt we¡¯ll find anything, to be completely honest,¡± I added.

    ¡°Easy money,¡± Seralyn said in a carefree manner. ¡°Just the way we like it.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t expect this kind of quest,¡± Eric said. ¡°Not in the slightest. Not with the effort put into this by general Valtheril.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re talking about us not running into anything, right?¡± Velariah asked for clarification.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± He said. ¡°My elven isn¡¯t the best. I meant to say that I expected to face much more resistance. Otherwise, it doesn¡¯t make sense to put in this much. Does that make sense?¡±

    ¡°Makes perfect sense,¡± The white-haired elf continued. ¡°And don¡¯t worry. You speak the language better than the vast majority of humans. Far better¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Eric replied with a smile. ¡°I do my best to learn it. Speaking of, how did you learn it, Elania?¡±

    Crap.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± I stumbled. I had no idea how to explain any of this to him.

    ¡°She prefers not to talk about that. About any of her past,¡± Velariah chimed in.

    Thank you for saving my butt there, Vel.

    ¡°I see. I¡¯m sorry,¡± Eric apologized. It made me feel bad because he couldn¡¯t know. Now he probably thought I went through several traumas, which were obviously untrue. Well, that was if one didn¡¯t count the first moments I woke up as this.

    I merely nodded when he looked my way as we continued our journey. We came across nothing but usual forest wildlife in the forms of birds, squirrels and the like. Seralyn, for once, left them alone. I was half expecting her to shoot some for dinner, but I imagined that her firing arrows could be conceived the wrong way by nearby soldiers.

    I swore, as lighthearted as we were, there was a certain tension that was starting to build up. The longer we went without running into enemies, the closer we got to our goals, but it also made me fearful for when we did eventually run into trouble. What if there was a large alliance of goblins and trolls that somehow went unnoticed? Either way, it was unlikely we¡¯d run into them until we had joined forces with the human kingdom to push north.

    ¡°By the way,¡± I started, completely changing the subject. ¡°Where are the rangers? I expected them to join as well.¡±

    ¡°Defending the village,¡± Velariah said calmly.

    ¡°That¡­¡± I let out. ¡°Makes complete sense.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m such an idiot.¡±

    ¡°True,¡± She said with a grin. ¡°But that¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°Why thank you.¡±

    Eric alternated his gaze between the two of us and seemed confused. Both of us ignored it and simply moved forward until the signal was given for a break.

    A quick and quiet lunch followed, and after that, we kept marching until night started falling. The second day had passed without seeing any action, but at least Eric had gotten more comfortable, as was shown that evening when we were sitting near a campfire.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t get over how Elania decided to use the palisade as a weapon in that battle. Does she always have ideas like that?¡± He said during dinner.

    ¡°Yup,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Here we go,¡± Seralyn commented, her eyes growing wide in excitement, knowing full well what Velariah was going to say next.

    ¡°This one time, near the new dungeon near Dawnleaf, we were exterminating huge spiders, and Elania used a fire crystal in the best way I¡¯ve ever seen it used,¡± Velariah continued, ignoring the other elf¡¯s remarks. She started grinning, unable to contain herself as she recited the story once more.

    ¡°She strapped it to the tip of a spear with her silk, activated it, and then shoved it down the queen of the spiders¡¯ throat, causing it to explode and burn the creature from within.¡±

    Seralyn chuckled.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ one way of doing it, I suppose,¡± Eric said in amazement. ¡°Pretty smart, too.¡±

    ¡°Except she used me as bait. I wasn¡¯t so happy with her plan at the time, but looking back at it, it¡¯s kind of hilarious.¡±

    ¡°What can I say?¡± I said with not entirely feigned pride. ¡°I see opportunities, I take them. Speaking of opportunities, have you checked out the new dungeon?¡±

    ¡°I have. A while ago already, in fact, with my old party. It¡¯s smaller than I expected a dungeon to be.¡±

    ¡°Was it your first?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Yeah. It wasn¡¯t like what I¡¯d been told. Enemies came at us instead of us having to fight our way through to advance. It was¡­ quite the experience.¡±

    ¡°Glad you liked it,¡± Velariah said with a smirk. ¡°We¡¯ve had several trips to it now and each time we were presented with a different challenge. Proved to be quite fruitful in so many ways, learning how to fight as a team, finding weaknesses¡­ staying alert.¡±

    ¡°Quite an important one,¡± The ever-so-silent Draco suddenly spoke up.

    Velariah chuckled at his remark.

    ¡°And yes,¡± She continued. ¡°We¡¯ve even been able to evolve our inherities.¡±

    ¡°All of you?¡± Eric said, his eyes wide in disbelief.

    ¡°Well, all of us except Nira. She¡¯s undoubtedly next on the list. Ain¡¯t that right, Nira?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± The harpy looked surprised to have a question directed at her. ¡°Yeah. I hope so.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty crazy. How much did you kill in there?¡±

    ¡°Quite a bit, to be honest.¡±

    ¡°You got me all excited for some exploration of my own in there now.¡±

    ¡°Hope you can still sleep,¡± I grinned. ¡°Guess it¡¯s about time to say good night. Who will take the first watch?¡±

    ¡°Eric and I will take care of that,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°We had our rest last night.¡±

    ¡°And Miss Velariah and you can sleep all night if you like,¡± Draco added. ¡°Nira and I will take the second watch.¡±

    ¡°That sounds great,¡± I said before yawning. ¡°And with that, I think it¡¯s time to call it a day.¡± I started leaning back, my head against my abdomen, trying to find a spot that was comfortable. ¡°Good night everyone.¡±

    Velariah stretched, stood up, and sat down at my side, resting her head between two of my legs.

    ¡°Good night everyone,¡± She said.

    Draco wished her and me good night, and the others followed. I let out one last yawn and soon found myself drifting off.

    I woke up to the sound of horns for the second time, but I felt refreshed this time, energized by a full night¡¯s sleep. The campfire was extinguished and we prepared for breakfast. During that, I decided to ask a question that had been on my mind.

    ¡°Vel, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask this, but if we¡¯re going in a straight line, don¡¯t that mean that we¡¯ll have to completely redo the line, as in, send people back where we came from, after meeting up?¡±

    ¡°You see the soldiers at the sides?¡± Velariah asked. ¡°They lead where we go, and I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve been going in a straight line. I think we¡¯re creating a fan, but I¡¯m not quite sure. I trust my father in this.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case,¡± I said. ¡°Then that means we¡¯re walking far more than the groups on the other end of this line.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°Oh well. Doesn¡¯t matter too much, I suppose.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the end that matters, right?¡± Draco asked. ¡°But come, I think we¡¯re moving again.¡± He tilted his head to the nearest soldier who stood up after his breakfast and was watching to his left, waiting for a signal. When it had apparently come, he signaled us with his sword, and Velariah relayed the signal to the soldier to our right.

    I was mentally prepared for a long, actionless day, but it didn¡¯t take much longer than two hours before the first change in rhythm.

    Thanks to the openness of the terrain in front of us - there was nothing but dirt and trees - we were able to see soldiers approaching us head-on. They seemed to be less equipped to a degree, at least I thought they were due to the missing decoration on their armor, which was mail instead of plate. They didn¡¯t seem to carry enchanted blades, either, but I doubted they were as professional as the battalion that Valtheril had called it. Nevertheless, I was confident they were more than well-equipped to deal with goblins and with a little help, I didn¡¯t think trolls would be an issue either.

    Their tactics seemed to be the same as ours; a long line spread out to comb and make sure no spot went unchecked. When they neared, they greeted us with gestures, to which one of our soldiers replied with gestures that I understood as ¡°Hello¡±, immediately followed by ¡°We go that way now,¡± as he stretched out his arm to the north, to which one of the human soldiers replied with a thumbs up.

    They rearranged their battle line, as did our knights. I was slightly confused, but as long as we just held the position we had before, we should be fine.

    The battle line started being rearranged when the sound of hooves, joined by slight tremors in the ground, made their presence known. From the east came a mounted soldier belonging to the human faction, who exchanged a couple of words with one of their own. When he finished, he nodded and made his way to the west. I imagined he was either an officer or someone who relayed messages over the battlefield.

    In the meantime, we were told to wait.

    A few minutes later, I heard the horse coming back, but when I looked, it wasn¡¯t the normal, one-headed horse, but an elven one with two, ridden by one of Valtheril¡¯s knights.

    ¡°We¡¯re halting for the time being while communications are underway. Wait for the signal to advance,¡± He told us before moving to the next person.

    ¡°It seems that there are the answers I was looking for.¡± I said as I watched him leave.

    ¡°Told you my dad would take care of it,¡± Velariah answered. ¡°I think there were a few things he just didn¡¯t tell.¡±

    ¡°As is expected in warfare,¡± I said with a nod. ¡°I get it. Want to eat something while we wait?¡±

    ¡°Might as well,¡± The lizardman said, his arms crossed and a small smile on his snout. ¡°Who knows how long we have to wait. Things like these tend to take a while.¡±

    Communication¡­ a classic problem of warfare, especially in low-tech civilizations such as these. Whereas signs, flags and perhaps signal fires could do the trick normally, in here, everything was made harder by the trees and how they limited vision. I thought about it for a few moments and wondered if I could, perhaps, come up with something resembling a basic electrical telegraph. I mean, I could make steelthread, after all. If it could conduct electricity, I was confident I could experiment some and ultimately get there.

    Experimentation and discovery was fun, but I would probably be better off not bringing something like this into this world. Besides, electricity could be a problem. Now I knew there were spells that used lightning, and thus electricity, but I didn¡¯t know if they would be appropriate for instruments like these.

    Still, it was interesting to think about the limits and moreover, the possibilities of the things I could do with these inherities.

    ¡°How is that thinking going for you?¡± Velariah¡¯s voice ended my daydreaming.

    ¡°Ah, I don''t know. Was thinking about some applications for my silk.¡±

    ¡°Came up with anything?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°Nothing, really.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± She replied. ¡°Want something to eat?¡±

    ¡°Nah. I¡¯m okay.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to eat a lot,¡± Eric commented. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re getting enough?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that,¡± Seralyn said with a chuckle. ¡°You should have seen her before we left. Trust me, she¡¯s eaten enough for days.¡±

    Velariah sighed and clarified what the other elf meant.

    ¡°Elania can go for long periods without food.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty useful,¡± I added. ¡°Means it¡¯s one less worry when we go out on journeys. The amount of extra weight I¡¯d have to carry just for food would be exceptional.¡±

    I chuckled as I shook my head. ¡°Oh well. What shall we do while we wait?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps share some stories?¡± Eric suggested politely. ¡°I enjoyed that last one. I imagine you have some more.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s alright,¡± Seralyn said with a smirk. ¡°But why don¡¯t you share one first?¡±

 2.38 Expedition: Day 2

    ¡°Oh, damn,¡± Eric replied. ¡°I doubt any of my adventures are as interesting as what you went through.¡±

    ¡°Surely there has to be something,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°I suppose I could tell you why I decided to become an adventurer. I fear my career as one is too short to really have experienced anything worthy of mention.¡±

    ¡°That will do just fine,¡± The white-haired elf reassured him with a smile after taking off her helmet. I mimicked her actions, welcoming the sweet relief of fresh air in my hair.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be honest here. I am the son of a blacksmith in a small village, and my dad took me out for hunts in the nearby forest. Due to all that, I had some experience with the bow, and some practice with a spear and sword. I decided to settle on the latter, it seemed to be more befitting of my style.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of,¡± I interrupted his story. ¡°What happened to your shield?¡±

    Back at the guild trials, he used a kite shield, but he didn¡¯t have it with him right now.

    ¡°Left it at the inn. Didn¡¯t want to carry the extra weight, and, if possible, I prefer the extra agility that not using it offers. Heard we might run into trolls, and using it against them would be less than pointless.¡±

    ¡°True,¡± I said with a nod.

    ¡°Anyway,¡± He continued. ¡°One day, there was an unusual increase in wild beasts around, and they had gotten more aggressive than usual too, so the village requested help from a nearby guild to help cull them. Seeing the adventurers in action, their movements, their coordination, their skill, it entranced me. Ever since that day, I wanted to be an adventurer, but my father held me back as long as possible, insisting that if I wanted to be one, I¡¯d need proper training first.¡±

    He took off his helmet, revealing a smile of his own.

    ¡°And so I did. I stayed in Zakar during the week and went back home for the weekend to see my father and mother. He also helped me with a few tips and tricks when it came to swords. His knowledge really helped me out.¡±

    He unsheathed his sword and held the blade with his gloved hands.

    ¡°He is the one that crafted this, allowing me to save a fair amount of coin, and to be honest, I am proud I am able to carry a piece of him with me.¡±

    ¡°Did he pass away?¡± Seralyn asked, not entirely subtle about it.

    ¡°Heh,¡± Eric chuckled. ¡°No. I¡¯m sorry. I can imagine why it may have sounded like he did.¡± He shook his head, a smirk on his lips. ¡°No, he¡¯s alive and well.¡±

    ¡°He must be a good smith,¡± I commented. ¡°I¡¯m going to assume he¡¯s been in the profession for quite a while, and that sword looks razor sharp.¡±

    ¡°He is quite good,¡± Eric said with another smile. ¡°The adventurers that I talked about earlier went to him to get their equipment repaired, and when they bought some new items, they were extremely happy with their performance, so much that more people started showing up. We eventually moved to the same village, or well, I guess it¡¯s a city now, where I trained. Made my life much easier, although my mom doesn¡¯t like it much. She preferred the countryside.

    He looked down at his sword and let out a small chuckle before his smile slowly disappeared.

    ¡°I think she would like Dawnleaf. The village is amazing, The surroundings are breathtaking, and the people are kind. Don¡¯t think Coldanus would like the competition much, though.¡±

    Seralyn was left grinning at the mention of the name, and even more by the fact that Eric managed to say it so casually. He seemed rather confused at the brunette¡¯s reaction, and I then realized that because of the language barrier, he likely didn¡¯t know the other meaning that could be given to the name.

    I smiled at his innocence. He was trying so hard to learn the language, and had somehow skipped the more¡­ degenerate parts.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He asked, noticing me smile as well.

    ¡°Just keep studying New Elven and you will eventually find out,¡± Velariah said, before sighing deeply.

    ¡°I see. Well,¡± He said before taking a last look at his sword. ¡°It¡¯s a good sword. Shame it didn¡¯t help me much in the trial. Still, it was a good learning experience.¡±

    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± I apologized in earnest. ¡°But what brought you here anyway? Why didn¡¯t you complete your guild trial back in Zakar? That¡¯s the name of the city, right?¡±

    ¡°It is, and the reason for it is quite simple. I had a few people that a friend introduced me to. They were party members of his, and they were eager to get in on the action here after they heard that significant money was being paid for goblin extermination quests. So, while I wasn¡¯t officially a guild member yet, I decided to join them as the next trial date was two weeks from then, and just decided to do it here at the first opportunity, just to finalize proper adventurer status.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense,¡± Draco said. ¡°Sorry you had to run into Elania, but still, welcome to the guild.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Eric said with a wide smile.

    ¡°What happened to your friend?¡± Nira suddenly asked. She¡¯d been listening intently to the human¡¯s story.

    Eric sighed deeply.

    ¡°We¡¯re still friends, but he went back to the kingdom after what happened with Elania. To be honest, the last time I saw him, he wasn¡¯t quite himself.¡± Eric rubbed his eyes with two fingers and shook his head. ¡°He seemed depressed, and in no state to fight. I think he blames himself for the incident, you know? He should have seen it coming and all that? I¡¯ll admit that I feel the same in a way, but he seemed much, much worse off than me.¡±

    ¡°That sounds horrible,¡± I said. ¡°If you ever see him, please tell him there was nothing he could do about it. The guy that attacked me was bought off.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s still something we should have sorted out,¡± He replied. ¡°We should have made sure our party members would be loyal, and fight for good.¡±

    ¡°Money can corrupt many, even those of otherwise pure intentions. Again, there¡¯s no way to know,¡± I added. ¡°He made his choice, though, and he paid the price.¡±

    ¡°That he did. The law about attacking other adventurers is quite clear,¡± Eric replied, nodding. ¡°Did you find out who bribed him?¡±

    Velariah shook her head and answered for me.

    ¡°We may have, but we don¡¯t know for certain. Besides, it''s an ongoing investigation so I cannot give any information about it.¡±

    ¡°That''s reasonable,¡± Eric concluded the topic. ¡°Now, I believe it¡¯s your turn for a story, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell her about the time we went to see Ember?¡± Velariah asked, poking Seralyn¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°About how we saw a dragon, and after we were done talking to her, we had to run for our lives as the volcano erupted beneath our feet? Great time. Makes for good stories to tell.¡± The ranger replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

    ¡°It does, right? You also summarized that way quicker than I would have. I¡¯d have talked about those giant scorpions and how she blessed our metal, which we used for our weapons. You know, that kind of stuff.¡±

    ¡°Dragon-blessed iron?¡± Eric inquired. ¡°You acquired it yourself?¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± Velariah said proudly. ¡°A crate full of it. Managed to create quite a bit of stuff made from it.¡±

    ¡°I feel like I am obliged to add that we were never in any serious danger from the volcano erupting, as epic and dangerous Seralyn made it sound,¡± I said. ¡°Ember warned us well in advance. The only real danger we ran into was on the way back, when we had a pack of lynxes attack us. If I recall correctly, you were the one receiving a nasty wound, Seralyn. Made me rush from the mountains to Dawnleaf to get you to a proper healer. Damn, I can still feel the soreness of my muscles after that when I think about it.¡±

    ¡°You wanna go that way?¡± She replied, smirking as she saw an opportunity. I realized I may have made a mistake and was afraid of what she¡¯d cooked up in that brain of hers. ¡°Fine. Then tell him about the time you got your leg chopped off.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The human let out, looking at me with shock in his eyes.

    ¡°We had to deal with a troll warlord not too long ago. Gave us one hell of a fight,¡± I explained. ¡°Draco got in a precarious situation and I managed to save him, but the troll leader smashed one of my legs to bits with a giant mace. Not the best feeling, let me tell you.¡±

    ¡°But how?¡± He let out, staring at my arachnid legs. More specifically, at the fact that there wasn¡¯t a single one missing.

    ¡°It grew back when I molted. Pretty handy, I¡¯ll admit.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what?¡± He seemed even more confused than before, which sent Seralyn into a fit of giggles.

    Now she¡¯d done it. She got what she wanted.

    ¡°It¡¯s a spider thing. They can grow back legs when they molt. Pretty sure you can ask Master Endomir and he¡¯ll tell you more things about spiders than I know.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ wow. Lucky you I guess.¡±

    ¡°Quite,¡± I said with a grin. ¡°But yeah, the pain I went through is something I¡¯d rather avoid. I was lucky to have my friends and Nira there as I blacked out, and apparently, I was bleeding heavily.¡± I looked at the sky before I uttered the last few words. ¡°Oh well. Happy it all worked out in the end.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s safe to say I¡¯ve never been in any such danger or pain,¡± Eric said.

    ¡°Good,¡± Velariah replied almost immediately. ¡°Try to keep it that way.¡±

    ¡°I will.¡±

    ¡°So, how long is this going to take?¡± Seralyn commented, staring at the soldier to the left who¡¯d gotten comfortable sitting down on the ground to eat something.

    ¡°With an operation of this scale?¡± Velariah started an answer. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t surprise me if it took hours.¡±

    ¡°Boring,¡± The ranger said in frustration, kicking the dirt before sitting down with a sigh, her arms crossed.

    ¡°Things need to be done right,¡± Draco tried talking sense into her. ¡°Better not to rush this.¡±

    Seralyn didn¡¯t reply, but she did acknowledge his words with a nod, showing she at least understood.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case,¡± Eric continued the conversation. ¡°Elania, how did you get the idea for weapons like those?¡± He pointed at my unconventional armament. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering about that for a good while.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t think they look awesome?¡± I asked with a smirk. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say where I got the idea from. I wanted to have something that I could use to both defend and attack with.¡±

    ¡°And the other weapon?¡± He asked curiously, pointing at my polearm.

    ¡°That, I can use without getting close. I ran it through trolls with extreme ease.¡±

    ¡°Remind me not to pick a fight with you,¡± He said with a chuckle.

    ¡°You already did,¡± I said, grinning, causing him to laugh out loud in response.

    ¡°What will you do after we finish our quest?¡± Nira asked. ¡°Will you stick around in Dawnleaf?¡±

    ¡°Not sure,¡± Eric replied, his smile disappearing as he looked down at the ground in thought. ¡°I feel like I should at least return home for a bit. You know, talk to my parents and stuff, tell them what happened. But before that, I think it would be good to do as you suggested and see if there are any people around here looking for party members. I¡¯m not exactly sure what the best order of things is going to be but I¡¯ll figure something out.¡±

    ¡°Hope you can get a new party soon,¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine doing this profession alone anymore.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, and so do I, but I¡¯m willing to wait if it means finding the right people.¡±

    Draco and I both nodded as silence followed. Everyone sat down and seemed to simply wait until the signal was given to move forward. During the wait, the messengers passed a few times, back and forth, both human and elf, and every time it happened, I hoped it would mean we could move, but unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t the case.

    As Velariah had hypothesized, it took a good while, potentially close to two hours, before horns sounded. The soldiers were quick to stand up and raised a hand. At last, the sign was there.

    ¡°Finally,¡± Seralyn said in utmost frustration and with one of the deepest sighs yet. ¡°It¡¯s about time.¡±

    ¡°Keep your wits about you,¡± Draco said. ¡°This is where resistance is far more likely to occur.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± She replied as she reached for her bow and an arrow. ¡°And we shouldn''t run into any more allies.¡±

    ¡°You should still be careful who or what you shoot,¡± The lizardman suggested calmly.

    ¡°I know, I know.¡±

    She calmed down after that as we continued the trek through the woods. It was getting late into the afternoon, but the red glow evening hadn¡¯t quite set in. We entered a more densely vegetated area covered by vines and brush. Shortly after, Seralyn nocked an arrow and let it fly, causing us to ready our weapons and assume a combat stance.

    ¡°Goblin,¡± She called, loud enough for the soldiers on either side to hear.

    She readied another arrow as we continued our advance. When we were a few meters out of where the arrow had struck, a group of five goblins appeared from the bushes and rushed at us.

    We held our ground and didn¡¯t counter-charge. We had no vision of where they had come from, and for all we knew, there were more lying in wait. We followed Valtheril¡¯s words to the letter, and it wouldn¡¯t be an issue here. Five goblins wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against well-equipped adventurers, and their number was swiftly reduced by one within a second after Seralyn let loose another arrow.

    I sliced my long-range weapon through two of them and the remainder of their small group was killed off by Draco, who cleaved one of their spears before chopping off his head, and Velariah, who stabbed the last one, her sword reaching further than the daggers he was holding.

    After that, we moved forward, keeping a close eye on possible hiding spots as we caught up with the main battle line. No more green-skinned creatures were found, and we made sure to meticulously search through the dense undergrowth.

    When we ultimately reached a clearing filled with grass where nothing could possibly hide, Velariah was the first to speak about the recent incident.

    ¡°What do you think? Desperation?¡±

    ¡°That was exactly what I was about to suggest,¡± Draco said with a nod.

    ¡°It sure looked like it,¡± Seralyn added.

    ¡°It¡¯s sad, in a way,¡± I said softly. ¡°It feels so pointless for them to throw their lives away like this.¡±

    ¡°Desperation makes you do strange things,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it too much.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t. I¡¯ve already prepared myself for this.¡±

    Our heightened state of alertness didn¡¯t seem to be necessary for the rest of the day, as soon evening fell, and our small army came to a halt for the night. We quickly built a campfire with some wood that was being carried around by the couriers, before having a quick dinner. Nira and Draco were granted the full night¡¯s rest for the day, and Velariah and I would take the second watch.

    We wished Eric and Seralyn good luck and said our good nights before going to sleep.

    Seralyn woke me up by shaking my arm and went on to wake up the other elf as I regained my bearings after the short amount of sleep I¡¯d gotten.

    ¡°Anything happen?¡± I managed to ask.

    ¡°Nothing. It¡¯s been quiet so far. Good luck to you two, I¡¯m gonna go to sleep.¡±

    ¡°Good night,¡± I told her as I forced myself awake to keep watch for the rest of the night.

    Velariah stood up briefly to add some more wood to the fire before she took her position between my pedipalps again. I had to admit, I was mildly jealous that she had a somewhat comfortable position to sleep in.

    A few minutes later, both Eric and the ranger were fast asleep, leaving us to watch over the surroundings, and their safety. I was slightly more nervous than the previous nights as we¡¯d seen actual combat in the past day, however short and insignificant it may have been. Still, it did prove that there were still goblins around, and if they suddenly ambushed us with the assistance of trolls, we were in for quite some trouble.

    Fortunately, the area before us was fairly open and illuminated by the two full moons in the night sky, blessing us with the ability to see reasonably far.

    I chuckled at it. I just knew that Valtheril had chosen these days for that exact reason.

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Velariah asked in all seriousness.

    ¡°Was just thinking how the moonlight is perfect for vision, and how I¡¯m quite sure your dad decided to move out because of it.¡±

    ¡°Huh, you¡¯re right. Hadn¡¯t even thought about that. Makes perfect sense.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s pretty smart. Always a step ahead.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a reason he got the rank he has,¡± Velariah said with a chuckle of her own.

    ¡°Yeah. No doubt. It¡¯s amazing how easy it is now to talk to him, considering his status and all.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°When I first met him, I never imagined I could talk to him the way we did the other day. Damn,¡± I said, smiling as I shook my head. Velariah couldn¡¯t see it, but I couldn¡¯t help myself. ¡°That was quite the first experience.¡±

    ¡°That most certainly was rough,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Happy everything worked out as well as it has.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I concluded.

    My weapon rested at my side, so I used my free arms to hug her frame while waiting for morning to arrive. That time came a few hours later when the sun rose and bathed the world in light. Not much later, the horns sounded, indicating the start of day three of the operation.

 2.39 Expedition: Day 3

    The others woke up and after we were given a short while for breakfast, we were on the move again, on higher alert than ever before.

    ¡°Expectations for the day?¡± I asked no one in particular within the first minute.

    ¡°I have a gut feeling we¡¯re bound to see some more combat today,¡± Draco said. ¡°We had better stay alert.¡±

    ¡°Always,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯m hoping there will be fewer plants and stuff and more dirt. It really makes things easier.¡±

    ¡°Make sure to check the trees, though,¡± Velariah suggested. ¡°And don¡¯t pass them too closely.¡±

    ¡°Already avoiding that. Not that I can pass them that close in the first place.¡±

    ¡°Good point,¡± She noted.

    ¡°We need reinforcements over here!¡± The soldier to our left shouted in our direction. ¡°A party has been requested further down the line.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll get it,¡± Velariah said, changing course and moving towards where the knight was pointing. He, in turn, moved to fill the gap that was created and at the same time I heard the horns blowing again, two short toots this time.

    ¡°That¡¯s the signal to halt,¡± Velariah clarified. ¡°But I think you figured that one out.¡±

    ¡°Easy to understand,¡± I said. ¡°If there¡¯s a request for backup, we better have everyone stop so we can clean up before continuing.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± She said, nodding. ¡°Our entire operation revolves around the idea of moving as one. If we need the others to stop, or you suspect more time is needed, give the signal.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep it moving,¡± Seralyn said as she moved towards the front, an arrow nocked. The next soldier pointed us further down the line as did the next.

    When we arrived at the scene of the fight, we found a smaller party of three elves alongside two soldiers locked in battle against ten or so goblins. The equipment belonging to the adventurers seemed to be of high enough quality; mail armor combined with hardened leather and long spears which were mighty effective against the green-skinned creatures should be more than enough, even if outnumbered. However, as Valtheril had said, if there was any uncertainty at all, call for help.

    Perhaps they just weren¡¯t too experienced in combat.

    That thought was quickly brushed away when I saw them use their weapons to great effect, felling goblin after goblin. It made me wonder why they called us in.

    It was then I saw the multitude of green corpses near their feet. They¡¯d already killed many and, deciding to waste no more time, I charged in to assist them. As soon as I did, an arrow flew past me and struck down a goblin that had just appeared from behind a tree. When I saw it fall, I heard a roar in the distance that sent shivers down my long spine.

    ¡°Troll!¡± Velariah shouted from behind me. Both she and Draco had trouble keeping up, but did what they could to warn the others, potentially because she wasn¡¯t sure if they had recognized the sound with which we¡¯d become familiar.

    Nira used her powerful wings to launch herself off my back when I neared the party in need of help and moved behind the main line of battle, away from danger, as I completed my charge.

    My polearm cleaved through the flesh of five green-skinned creatures as I used a leg to stab another to my other side. My momentum was enough to strike them down and kill them without allowing them to suffer. After that, the remaining goblin was dispatched quickly by the others as the elves and lizardman took their position, knowing there was more to come.

    ¡°Looks like we have a concentrated but disorderly attack here,¡± Velariah stated. ¡°Any injuries?¡±

    The two males and one female belonging to the relieved elven party shook their heads while, at the same time, the iconic roar of a troll was heard again, joined by another, and another.

    ¡°Seems we got multiple trolls incoming,¡± Draco said quickly.

    ¡°You fought trolls before?¡± Velariah quickly asked.

    ¡°No,¡± One of the unknown elves said. I could hear in his voice that he was trying to be confident, and while he did a good job at it, I could hear the inexperience that I once possessed.

    ¡°Right,¡± Velariah continued. ¡°Spread out, and for the love of the goddess, don¡¯t get hit. Your armor is useless against their blunt weapons. They are slow, so try to isolate them and team up against them. We can provide the damage needed.¡±

    ¡°We will lead the way,¡± One of the soldiers stated clearly, their experience showing. I was convinced they had dealt with trolls before and, if not, they knew how to execute what we¡¯d just suggested.

    They, and Velariah, Draco and Eric, moved forward and spread out while I walked off to the side, intending to strike when our enemies were locked in combat and relatively stationary.

    A few seconds later, the source of the roars made themselves known. Three large trolls came running towards us, their large maces raised and their every step shaking the ground. The elven adventurers were visibly taken aback at the sight of such adversaries, to no surprise. It was obviously their first time seeing trolls, and the bloodlust in the enemies¡¯ eyes was something that would send many a man running for the hills.

    I admired their courage to hold their ground, even if more seasoned warriors were at their side and nearby.

    The elf, lizardman, human and two knights spread out and got the trolls¡¯ attention without issues and I waited. Seralyn fired off an arrow and hit one of the trolls in the forehead, quickly followed by another which hit her intended target: the eye.

    The recipient screamed in pain and rage before charging to the nearest target, Velariah. The knight nimbly dodged the troll¡¯s attack but had to use her sword to deflect the next blow which came sooner than she anticipated, and from an odd angle. She managed to reduce the impact, but she staggered and tumbled over backward. I didn¡¯t waste any time and ran to her aid while she kept rolling over the ground.

    She managed to stand up again and keep the enemy focused on her as she slowly stepped backward, keeping the grey-skinned creature at bay.

    He never saw me coming.

    While his attention and fury were fixated on the white-haired elf, I reached the monstrous creature and drove my blade deep into his flank, cutting halfway through before it was separated from his flesh.

    A reverberating shout of pain followed which was joined by his mace being brought down onto the ground, sending a shockwave through it. I ignored the tremors and dashed behind the troll while his hammer was on the ground and plunged my dual swords into its back, striking its vitals and finishing it off.

    I quickly withdrew my blades and ran over to the others, noting that one of the other remaining enemies was already dead. It had several cutting wounds over its body, some of which were charred due to the dragon-blessed steel, but its death was due to an arrow that had penetrated its eye socket deep enough to embed itself in its brain.

    Its assassin was currently supporting Draco and Eric. They and two of the three adventurers were attacking the last remaining enemy, each dodging the heavy blows before the other two used the temporary opening to deliver blows of varying lethality. Some did nothing, but others created large cuts, drawing blood. I was about to help, but our enemy charged forward and brought his mace down from above his head, barely missing one of the elves who jumped out of the way, falling onto his butt.

    Eric saw an opportunity and rushed forward, stabbing the troll in its side. His sword had trouble penetrating the monster¡¯s tough skin, but with all his strength behind it, he managed to get it in a couple of centimeters. It wasn¡¯t enough to kill the enemy, but a couple more of those attacks would certainly cause it to bleed out.

    Draco smelled blood in the water and used the troll¡¯s short attention span to run up behind him, leaping into the air to bring down both axes into his enemy¡¯s back.

    The troll¡¯s rage-filled eyes went wide with shock before the haze lifted, its knees giving out and its torso toppling over forward, hitting the ground with a thud.

    ¡°And that,¡± Draco said as he removed his axes from the corpse, ¡°is how you deal with trolls.¡±

    I grinned. I had to admit he looked heroic in his deeds. The words that he just spoke complemented it all too well.

    Eric chuckled as he, with all his might, retrieved his sword from the troll¡¯s corpse.

    Seralyn chuckled as well and went to fetch her arrows before something spooked her. In no time, she had an arrow ready and aimed it at the source of her sudden reaction. She fired a shot and within a split second, I felt, and heard, something impact my shoulder plates.

    I realized it was an arrow and raised my shields, while trying to spot my enemy.

    ¡°It¡¯s dead already,¡± Seralyn called. ¡°Just a straggler, I think. I don¡¯t see more. Elania, do you sense any?¡± She asked, referring to my ability to feel the vibrations in the soil.

    I focused and felt a slight tremor. Something heavy was still moving around, but it felt as if it was far away.

    ¡°There is something,¡± I said. ¡°But it¡¯s not close. It¡¯s heavy, and feels like a troll.¡±

    ¡°Just one?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Just one,¡± I confirmed. ¡°Forward, I¡¯d say about a hundred yards out, but wait¡­¡±

    I closed my eyes and directed all my attention to my legs, trying to get an idea of where this bulky creature was going.

    ¡°It¡¯s moving away from us,¡± I pointed my finger to my northeast. ¡°In that direction. Pretty much our old position, but further forward.¡±

    ¡°Think it saw what happened?¡± Draco suggested as he stepped forward. ¡°And it¡¯s getting reinforcements?¡±

    ¡°Plausible,¡± Velariah concluded. ¡°And that would be the safe assumption. Should we get more reinforcements ready?¡±

    One of the soldiers joined in and shared his thoughts.

    ¡°I think that would be the wise call. A counter-attack may be imminent.¡±

    ¡°Especially since the line is thin there since we left our original position,¡± I added.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get back then. Will you come with us?¡± Velariah asked the party and soldiers.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to remain here,¡± The knight who spoke earlier replied, ¡°But the adventurers are free to assist.¡±

    I suddenly felt more shockwaves in the ground, but due to their pattern, I was quick to make out that the origin was that of a horse. A minute or so later, one of the elven messengers arrived, just as we were prepared to fall back in line. He noticed the corpses and asked if everything was alright.

    ¡°No issues here,¡± Draco spoke. ¡°But it seems there may be enemies incoming a bit further down the line.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± The messenger-knight replied. ¡°We¡¯ll remain halted for a while longer. There were a few smaller skirmishes here and there, so I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be moving for the next fifteen minutes, perhaps longer. I¡¯ll remain nearby so that you can call for reinforcements quickly should you need them. ¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Velariah nodded and thanked him. He returned the gesture with a small bow before he led his horse away.

    ¡°Seems we may get more action than anticipated,¡± I commented on our way back, this time with the party of not-so-inexperienced-anymore adventurers.

    ¡°I know, right?¡± Seralyn said triumphantly. ¡°It¡¯s great. Fucking trash has annoyed us long enough.¡±

    The disdain in the archer¡¯s eyes when she said that was frightening. It was as if¡­ scrap that, she most definitely had issues with goblins on a personal level. Then again, so did Velariah, and I imagined there were many other elves with the same kind of hate towards them. Again, I hoped they¡¯d get some closure after all this.

    We reached our initial position and sat down, getting some food and drink, and simply rested, recovering some of the strength we¡¯d used before. The battle wasn¡¯t that tiring, but it was entirely possible we¡¯d see more soon.

    ¡°Thank you for the help earlier,¡± The same man as before spoke, munching on some obviously stale bread that was provided by one of the couriers. ¡°I¡¯m Krelion, the leader of this ragtag band of adventurers. This here is Katus,¡± He said, pointing to the other male who held up his hand. ¡°And this is Melsa.¡± he then pointed at the female elf, easily recognized by longer, black hair protruding from her helmet onto the back of her mail chest. ¡°We took some advice from others when we geared up for this quest, but seeing you guys in action was something else.¡±

    ¡°Glad you enjoyed the little show,¡± Velariah said. ¡°If one can even call it that. This, for us, is a good way of dealing with them. Also, good job on your weapon choice. Spears are quite the counter.¡±

    ¡°I should have brought one as well,¡± Eric said with a chuckle. ¡°They do seem much more effective.¡±

    ¡°They are,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°But you still did a great job back there. I wanted to let you know earlier, but I didn¡¯t get the chance. Was that your first encounter with trolls?¡±

    ¡°It was,¡± He replied lightheartedly. ¡°How did I do for a first time?¡±

    ¡°Excellent,¡± Draco responded. ¡°You saw the opening, you took it. Well done.¡±

    ¡°If need be,¡± Velariah continued, ¡°it¡¯s possible to kill them through the death by a thousand cuts method, which at first might seem like a good idea, and it works to a degree, but...¡±

    The new adventurers and Eric all had their eyes locked on the white-haired elf explaining a thing or two about trolls.

    ¡°One thing to know is that trolls, when they get increasingly injured, go into a blood-crazed rage. They become faster, stronger, and will stop at nothing to kill you. Besides, the method I mentioned will tire you out significantly, and if you¡¯re exhausted and up against an enemy who only seems to get stronger, well, you can imagine what happens. That¡¯s why we try to be decisive, and we are, mostly thanks to our equipment.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Katus, who¡¯d previously remained quiet spoke. ¡°Those axes seemed to go right through one as if he was butter. What the hell is up with those? I¡¯m not even speaking about¡­ Elania was the name, right?¡± He looked at me when he spoke the last words, earning a giggle from Velariah.

    ¡°Elania is¡­ how do we call it? An exception, I guess.¡±

    In the meantime, Draco laid down his axe-shields in front of himself, still stained with disgusting troll blood. I was certain that all of us had thought about cleaning our weapons, but the possibility of more combat soon would render doing that pointless.

    ¡°These are made by Coldanus. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re from around here, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of him. You had to get those spears from somewhere, after all.¡±

    ¡°Yup. We¡¯ve heard of him,¡± the female, Melsa finally spoke. ¡°Haven¡¯t had to deal with him personally, but I can still feel the pain in our wallets after buying those spears. Doesn¡¯t sound like the most enjoyable person to be around.¡±

    Velariah winced, but grinned at the same time.

    ¡°Well, he does make the best weapons in the area, a pretty large area at that. That is, provided you have the coin to pay for his exorbitant prices. We provided the metal ourselves so we got a good discount there. Dragon-blessed steel is something else, as you¡¯ve seen.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good,¡± Draco said. ¡°But there was quite a bit of force behind that attack I did.¡±

    ¡°I wonder if my father could create something like it,¡± Eric said, staring at Draco¡¯s armament. ¡°If I get him the right material.¡±

    Velariah shook her head, and it looked like she was going to say something, but she kept her mouth shut and averted her gaze from the human.

    ¡°What were you going to say?¡± Eric asked curiously.

    ¡°Coldanus is over six hundred years old. He¡¯s worked the forge for the majority of that. Just mastering the art of working with blessed steel takes up a good deal of that time.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Eric said with a sigh of disappointment.

    It was sad, but Velariah was right. There wasn¡¯t a way a human could get the same amount of experience an elf could get due to the major difference in lifespans between the two races.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± She said.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Eric replied. ¡°That just means I¡¯ll have to save up and get something commissioned from him, but that won¡¯t mean I¡¯ll part with my other sword. I knew from the very beginning it wouldn¡¯t last forever.¡±

    ¡°It got you quite far,¡± Draco said politely. ¡°And it will continue to take you forward for the foreseeable future. Your father knows his trade well.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Eric replied, his spirits lifted by the lizardman¡¯s kind words.

    ¡°Right,¡± Seralyn said, seeing her chance. ¡°Nice stories and all, but what about the mission? Elania, any update? Still sense anything?¡±

    I shook my head.

    ¡°Nothing. Whatever it was, it¡¯s out of my detection range.¡±

    ¡°You can sense enemies?¡± Krelion said in astonishment. ¡°Is that some kind of magic?¡±

    ¡°Feel,¡± I said. ¡°I can feel the vibrations in the ground. I can more or less judge how big something is, and, depending on its size, somewhat pinpoint its location.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ pretty damn useful,¡± He replied with a chuckle.

    Seconds later, I was made aware of approaching hoofsteps.

    ¡°And now I can sense that the messenger will soon be here, coming from the north,¡± I said, crossing my free pair of arms.

    They seemed to have a hard time believing what I just said, but when they heard the horse¡¯s steps before me, they looked at me in shock.

    ¡°Told ya,¡± I said with a grin.

    The elven scout, a different one this time, came to a halt close to us before relaying a message.

    ¡°Everything is clear. We¡¯ll move out on the next signal.¡±

    He spoke calmly and got straight to the point. As soon as he¡¯d finished speaking his words, he was off again.

    We readied ourselves, to Seralyn¡¯s great delight, and a few minutes later, the sound of horns reverberated through the forest again. With it came the continuation of our mission.

 2.40 Expedition: Day 3 (Cont.)

    Our advance continued unimpeded despite our belief that a counter-offensive could be launched on our location at any time. Every now and then, I stopped, poking around the dirt, trying to feel anything that could indicate our enemy¡¯s movements. I managed to detect some tremors a few times, but in every instance, the creatures they originated from moved away from us.

    We made sure to introduce ourselves properly now that we were out of immediate danger, but we didn¡¯t go into too much detail about our history. There were still a few issues that needed our attention, and we figured we could talk things over in the evening.

    ¡°I have no idea what is going on,¡± I said, after Velariah watched me stand still for the tenth time or so. ¡°It seems they are in full retreat. All movement is going away from us.¡±

    ¡°Any estimate on their range?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°Not close enough for you to shoot them.¡±

    ¡°I think she may mean something else,¡± Draco said.

    ¡°Like what?¡± I asked, knowing that this was most likely what the elf was talking about.

    ¡°That they are watching us, and moving back as we advance.¡±

    ¡°That was not what I meant,¡± Seralyn replied in confusion. ¡°But okay.¡±

    I knew it.

    ¡°Unless I¡¯m missing something here,¡± Velariah spoke up. ¡°I don¡¯t think goblins, trolls, or even hobgoblins can see that far. I mean, I haven¡¯t seen a thing, and I think Elania would have let us know if she¡¯d seen anything with those four eyes of hers.¡±

    ¡°Not a thing,¡± I confirmed.

    ¡°So,¡± She continued. ¡°What are they doing? How many of them do you sense, anyway?¡±

    ¡°Just one,¡± I said. ¡°One creature that feels like a troll. I¡¯ve gotten quite familiar with the vibrations they make. It does seem to be waiting before retreating over and over again.¡±

    ¡°Which would fit my idea of them watching us, but that¡¯s out of the question,¡± Draco added. ¡°At least if this is a normal troll.¡±

    ¡°But there are all sorts of foliage in the way,¡± Eric said.

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking,¡± Velariah spoke, her head bowed down, lost in deep thought. ¡°But I¡¯m coming up dry here.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t the only one. I was breaking my head over the situation as well, and extended it to our mission as a whole. Was there only one? Were there more of these instances spread out before our entire vanguard? What was their objective? Did they even have one? Questions came in a steady stream but answers remained hidden.

    ¡°Are they planning something?¡± Velariah continued her train of thoughts out loud.

    ¡°Is it bad to assume they are?¡± Krelion entered the conversation.

    ¡°That would be a wise choice, but what are we going to do about it?¡±

    ¡°Is there something that can stop an army like ours?¡± I added. ¡°I can only think of one thing, and it wouldn¡¯t necessarily be stopping what we have, but it can cause casualties.¡±

    ¡°Traps,¡± Draco concluded quickly.

    I nodded in response.

    ¡°That would make sense,¡± Velariah said. ¡°They have had more than enough time to set those up. Still, I don¡¯t see the connection with whatever is in front of us.¡±

    ¡°Maybe they¡¯re trying to pick off whoever is unlucky enough to fall for a trap. That¡¯s one thing I could see happen, at least if we¡¯re talking about pitfall traps,¡± The archer continued.

    ¡°Hold up,¡± I called out. ¡°If there¡¯s the possibility of traps, then that would also mean there¡¯s a possibility of them hiding underground, either to stay hidden and escape our net, or to ambush us, perhaps from behind.¡±

    ¡°Shit,¡± Velariah cursed. ¡°You¡¯re right. However, I feel like my father would have taken this into account.¡±

    ¡°Unless he was absolutely confident they were either made unaware of our incoming attack, or he knew they wouldn¡¯t have enough time to do something like that,¡± Draco responded.

    ¡°But they most definitely have had enough time to do that at night,¡± The white-haired elf argued. ¡°Gods, I hate this feeling.¡±

    ¡°I suppose we just trust the general in his judgment,¡± Eric suggested. I¡¯m sure he thought about this.¡±

    Velariah sighed deeply. ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯m probably overthinking things. I just fear that one day, he¡¯ll make a mistake, and it will cost lives.¡±

    ¡°He won¡¯t,¡± Seralyn assured her. ¡°Not with this operation. It¡¯s too close to home, and I mean that in more ways than one. He¡¯s thought about this for weeks. I¡¯m certain he hasn¡¯t missed a thing.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine,¡± I said, trying to calm her down and cheer her up at the same time. ¡°I¡¯ll walk in front if you want me to.¡±

    She shook her head and chuckled.

    ¡°Nah, that¡¯s fine. I suppose I¡¯m just very much on the edge. Especially with what appears to be going on up ahead.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say I¡¯m willing to go on ahead and take it out,¡± Seralyn said, a sly smile forming on her face. ¡°And I¡¯m more than happy to do that, but I can¡¯t really go against your father¡¯s words now, can I?¡±

    I leaned to the side, putting a hand on Velariah¡¯s shoulder as we continued, trying to relieve her stress as we moved on.

    We walked until lunch break with nothing barring our way, which led Krelion to ask if he and his party should perhaps move back to their original place. Velariah agreed that perhaps their presence here was unnecessary, but I made sure to mention that whatever presence was ahead of us, was still there, which made them decide to stay, just in case we were attacked.

    The extra company wasn¡¯t so bad either. After some more time passed, and the mood lightened up, they started sharing stories about their time in Dawnleaf. Apparently, they¡¯d joined in the earlier quests to eradicate goblins, and had killed several smaller groups, but once the news broke that trolls were involved, they decided to stay away from those. That was, until this one showed up.

    Besides goblins, though, their experience in combat was lacking. They were childhood friends, and lucky enough to come from fairly wealthy families, which allowed them to at least get pretty good armor. Despite their prosperity, and prospect of a relatively easy life, they felt like they lacked purpose, and thus decided to join the local guild.

    Originally from Aymlon, a small village near Goldleaf, they moved here as there was nothing to do for adventurers in the area, which made me wonder why there even was a guild there, but whatever, I guess.

    When Nira asked the question for me they said that there were quests, but only for copper and iron ranks, and they included exactly what I¡¯d previously seen; finding lost pets and manual labor and the like.

    It made me chuckle when I heard about it.

    After that, Velariah went on to tell the story of our first real quest, in great detail as usual, for what felt like the thousandth time. It had me shaking my head, and Draco smiling throughout the entirety of it all.

    We then exchanged some tips and tricks that we used in combat, in particular with regard to our weapons and how we used them. I also mentioned that if they wanted, they could lace their weapons with my venom, to which they, including Eric, looked surprised.

    I shrugged and said it was something we¡¯d used more often, sometimes to great effect.

    When the horns sounded again, we marched once more, but even though the ominous presence that seemed to move with us remained, we didn¡¯t run into any fight whatsoever for the rest of the day. When night fell and we had the campfire lit, we decided that three people would keep watch tonight. The first three would be Draco, Nira, and Krelion, followed by Velariah, Melsa, and me.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope the night is as quiet as the day,¡± Seralyn said. ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to teach these goblins a lesson, I don¡¯t like being woken up prematurely.¡±

    I would make fun of her for her comment, but she and I were the same in that regard. Sleep for me, especially now, was hard enough as it was, and I savored the time that I could spend in dreamland.

    Velariah planted herself before me, and I hugged her from behind, wishing her, and the others, good night.

    I was gently shaken awake by Draco¡¯s large hand. The lizardman whispered that it was our time to take over and I nodded, trying to force myself to wake up while the elf in my arms was slowly coming to, as well.

    ¡°Thanks, Draco. Make sure to get some rest, okay?¡± I told him once I was fairly certain I was awake.

    ¡°Will do,¡± He replied with a smile.

    ¡°Good night, Draco,¡± Velariah said softly.

    He nodded as he went and woke up Melsa, before trying to make himself as comfortable as he could on the dirt and dozing off. We were left watching¡­ and waiting.

    It didn¡¯t take too long for me to heave a sigh of pure and utter boredom.

    ¡°It never gets easier, does it?¡± Velariah asked, staring at the campfire, adding some wood when she noticed the flames were starting to die down.

    ¡°It really doesn¡¯t, but I have a feeling we¡¯re starting to make progress. There can¡¯t be too much left of this forest,¡± I replied.

    ¡°You might be right, there, and we did kill a few enemies. I wonder how much the others got served.¡±

    ¡°How long have you had to deal with this?¡± Melsa asked. ¡°Your archer, I believe Seralyn was her name, she seemed deeply bothered with the goblins.¡±

    ¡°We all are,¡± Velariah responded. ¡°They¡¯ve been a major threat to our village for years, making unarmed travel through the forest impossible, and ambushes and skirmishes have led to many an elf¡¯s death. Regarding Seralyn, well¡­¡± She took a deep breath and sighed.

    ¡°While she doesn¡¯t talk about it at all, she is an orphan, and when I see the fire in her eyes when talking bout goblins, I just so happen to get an idea how it came to be.¡±

    She looked up to the sky and sighed again.

    ¡°I lost my own mother to them about a year ago, and we¡¯ve had plenty of other difficulties in the village leading to a steady decline in prosperity over the years. This, for us, marks the end of an era.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss,¡± The other elf said softly. ¡°I never knew all of this was so deeply rooted.¡±

    ¡°Things have improved a lot recently,¡± Velariah continued, her voice soft, but happier. ¡°Commerce is booming, and with the festival recently, I have no doubt that a recently discovered trade good will bring wealth to the village. It¡¯s going to spread like wildfire.¡±

    ¡°What trade good?¡± Melsa asked curiously.

    ¡°Coffee,¡± Velariah answered excitedly.

    ¡°That was the drink served at the festival right? The black one?¡± Melsa asked, to which Velariah nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t like it. Krelion and Katus didn¡¯t like it at first, either, but then something happened to them, as they said, and they just kept on drinking until their cups were empty. No idea what it was, but they said they were eager to try some more after we are done here. Where does that stuff come from anyway?¡±

    ¡°From some stupid berry we deemed useless for ages,¡± Velariah said with a chuckle. ¡°One adventurer found a way of preparing them in such a way as to create an energizing drink. This recipe of sorts eventually ended up in my father¡¯s hand after the owner passed away, and he saw opportunities in it.¡±

    ¡°Your father is the general, right? He does seem like a smart man.¡±

    Velariah nodded.

    ¡°He¡¯s earned the trust we put in him, and boy did he deliver as of late.¡±

    ¡°Maybe I should try the drink again when we get back. You do make it sound pretty good.¡±

    ¡°You definitely should,¡± I said before I even noticed. ¡°Just add milk and sugar to taste. I know I need some. Undrinkable otherwise.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Melsa said. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Somewhere during the day we¡¯d cleaned our weapons, but we¡¯d been slow and some of the blood had stuck to the blade. Now that there was nothing to do, I rommaged through my saddlebags with a leg and rectrieved a canteen and a piece of cloth.

    I felt mildly guilty for using water, but we had so many supplies that I was certain we could last for weeks. The few drops that I intended to use to clean my steel wouldn¡¯t be missed.

    I sprinkled a bit of the canteen¡¯s contents on my polearm and wiped off the last remaining, yucky, darkened, troll blood. Velariah chuckled and unsheathed her sword and took the container of liquid as I started cleaning my other blades.

    ¡°Those are some very nice weapons,¡± Melsa commented. ¡°Did Coldanus craft those as well?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± Velariah spoke for the both of us. ¡°All of it is Dragon-blessed steel, except for Elania¡¯s polearm. That¡¯s lightning steel.¡±

    ¡°All that must have cost a small fortune,¡± Melsa continued.

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve been making trips to the dungeon near town almost every single day,¡± Velariah said without hesitation. ¡°And we also did some of the quests to kill goblins and a bunch of trolls as well. We were lucky to get these in time for this operation.¡±

    I knew some of that was lied, but I couldn¡¯t blame her.

    ¡°Hopefully, we¡¯ll be able to get some more equipment from this as well,¡± The black-haired elf continued. ¡°Before we move on to the next settlement.¡±

    ¡°Are you traveling around a lot?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re constantly on the move, looking for worthwhile quests such as this one.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    I had thought about the concept, but with our circumstances, money wasn¡¯t, and wouldn¡¯t ever be, an issue. To be fair, the quests in Dawnleaf weren¡¯t bad for money, and then there was the dungeon as well. Though, part of the missions that were offered had to do with the goblin problem, those would be gone after this.

    It made me wonder. Those quests no longer being available would be a good thing for the village, but a bad thing for adventurers seeking to earn money. That was an odd thing to consider.

    Velariah finished cleaning and closed the canteen before tossing it, together with the cloth, to Melsa, who thanked her and used it to clean her own spear.

    ¡°The others are going to have to be fast with breakfast if they want to clean their weapons,¡± Velariah said with a wicked grin.

    ¡°I guess so,¡± The other elf replied.

    The sound of a wolf¡¯s howl in the distance made all three of us look up in an instant, but the sound was far away, and didn¡¯t belong to anything posing a threat to us. Nevertheless, it did show that despite out casual conversation, we were still very much on the edge of our seats, nervous.

    ¡°Damnit,¡± Velariah cursed. ¡°Had me there for a moment.¡±

    ¡°Meh,¡± I let out. ¡°I think we¡¯ll be fine. If they had anything in mind, they would have attacked by now. Morning is right around the corner. We should be seeing the first light soon.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t wait,¡± She said, leaving back into me after sheathing her sword.

    ¡°So, Elania,¡± Melsa started a question.

    I immediately knew exactly what she was going to ask and prepared myself to lie once more.

    ¡°Where are you from?¡± She finished the question, confirming my suspicion. ¡°I mean, I¡¯ve never seen anything like you, nor have I heard of any such stories. I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, but I didn¡¯t know when would be a good time. I¡¯m not even sure if it is now.¡±

    I looked down into Velariah¡¯s hair sticking out behind her helmet and sighed deeply, hoping the knight would get the memo, and pull the same stunt as before.

    ¡°She has a long and complicated past,¡± Velariah said bluntly, but with a somewhat muted voice, mimicking the same resignation that was there in my sigh, just to add more meaning to her words. She continued to impress me. ¡°And she would rather forget about it. I know it, and she figured that there was no need for more people to know.¡±

    ¡°I see. I¡¯m sorry for asking.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not from around here,¡± I said, telling a half-truth. ¡°But I¡¯ve found a home here, and I wish to protect it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± The black-haired elf whispered. ¡°Very touching. I feel compelled to thank you for helping out the elves.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say,¡± I replied with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m happy to help.¡±

    A silence then followed, during which Velariah excused herself for a bit. She returned and happily placed herself back in my lap as we continued our watch.

    A good while later, the first rays of light were visible above the trees, and I could feel the relief flood over us both when dawn had finally come. It still took a few hours before the morning was fully underway, and the time to wake up was once more signaled by several horns blowing.

    The others woke up and we prepared a quick breakfast, but the second horn sound never came.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure ten minutes has passed by now,¡± Seralyn was the first to speak. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    I tried to sense any vibrations in the ground, but there seemed to be no movement going on anywhere in the area.

    Velariah looked at me as I shrugged and offered her thoughts.

    ¡°Dunno. I suppose we have some more time today or something. We¡¯ll just wait until we¡¯re signaled to move.¡±

    We waited some more but no signal was given, even after waiting for over half an hour, which made all of us visibly uneasy.

    Then, the sensations, and soon, the sound of hooves made itself known.

 2.41 Expedition: Day 4

    The rider stopped at several intervals until he finally came into view as he talked to the closest soldier. It was a different messenger than before, but that in itself didn¡¯t tell us much for there were plenty of them handling communications. When he got to us next, we were finally made aware of the reasons behind the delay.

    His words made me chuckle, especially the part where he said that General Valtheril had deemed it unsafe to continue from this point forward without proper scouting, so that was being taken care of right at this moment. More information would be delivered later, and in the meantime, we¡¯d just have to wait.

    I sighed when he left, and Seralyn was with me in that regard.

    ¡°Well, Crap,¡± I said. ¡°But he¡¯s probably right.¡±

    ¡°He always is,¡± Velariah added. She shook her head and chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to argue with him, you can trust me on that, but then again, if you¡¯re always right, what gives? Especially when it comes to life-or-death situations.¡±

    ¡°It seems our concerns were not misplaced, after all,¡± Draco commented.

    ¡°If there are scouts out,¡± Eric said. ¡°Won¡¯t they find whatever was ahead of us all day yesterday?¡±

    ¡°Elania?¡± Velariah said my name, and without any more words necessary, I knew what she meant.

    ¡°No idea. I haven¡¯t felt anything except for the messenger. Didn¡¯t feel anything last night either. Whatever it was has either not moved for hours, started tiptoeing, or it disappeared.¡± I sighed. ¡°But yeah, hopefully, we learn what it was soon.¡±

    ¡°Question is, what do we do in the meantime?¡± Seralyn¡¯s impatience was evident in her voice once more.

    ¡°Clean our weapons,¡± Draco spoke, walking to my saddlebags to retrieve some water. ¡°And I suppose some sharpening wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea, either.¡±

    Seralyn sighed, deeply.

    ¡°I suppose we might as well,¡± She said, her voice resigned as Draco opened a cloth package containing two whetstones, one of which he gave to the archer.

    I hadn¡¯t seen her do it before, but in my mind, it just clicked. As good as the arrowheads were, they¡¯d need sharpening every now and then, and I was certain she¡¯d already shot all of them multiple times at this point.

    ¡°Is that something you have to do as well?¡± I asked Velariah as I watched Seralyn clean and then sharpen an arrow.

    ¡°You mean because of my inherity? The answer is yes, but also no.¡±

    I frowned at her as I watched her think, and then explain.

    ¡°You see, my inherity prevents wear, and damage to my weapon that results from combat, or better put, when I have the weapon in my hands. It won¡¯t stop anything that can happen to it from happening outside of battle, and that includes corrosion among other things. This means I¡¯ll have to sharpen it at some point, but that likely won¡¯t be for a good while.¡±

    ¡°Consider yourself lucky,¡± I heard Seralyn say with slight jealousy.

    ¡°At least you have something to do now to kill time,¡± Velariah fired back.

    ¡°We can talk some more,¡± Eric suggested. ¡°I mean, what you just said about your inherity is quite interesting. I¡¯d love to hear more if you want to talk about that.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s little to it,¡± Velariah said as she unsheathed her blade. ¡°There is what I just said, and then,¡± Her sword started emitting faint white light. ¡°There¡¯s this, but it¡¯s not much, yet, I¡¯m very happy with it. My magic seems to be closely related to my father¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°It is, but what about you? I don¡¯t think any of us know what your inherity is yet.¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± Eric let out, chuckling. ¡°It¡¯s, well, it could be interesting, but not so much for me right now.¡±

    ¡°Now I¡¯m curious,¡± I said.

    ¡°You see, my inherity states that any enchantments that I apply to weapons are more effective. There are two issues here. One, I don''t have the money for any enchantments that are worth it, and two, I don¡¯t know how to evolve it. I mean, my guess is to use enchanted weapons, but I have yet to confirm it.¡±

    ¡°And you don¡¯t have an enchanted weapon, do you?¡± Velariah asked.

    Eric shook his head.

    ¡°Unfortunately not.¡±

    ¡°When we get back to Dawnleaf, allow me to introduce you to Coldanus. Maybe we can arrange something. My father had this talk with him a while ago, and since then, he¡¯s been nice to us. Well, as nice as he can be, anyway.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be in your debt.¡±

    ¡°And how about the rest of you?¡± I questioned the adventurers that joined us for the time being. ¡°Anything worthy of note?¡± I asked with a hint of mischief.

    ¡°Melsa probably has the most interesting one,¡± Krelion replied. ¡°Mine and Katus¡¯ are, or well, could be interesting, but they just aren¡¯t as straightforward.¡±

    ¡°And what might that be?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°Spear expertise,¡± Melsa said, still sitting down next to the campfire which she¡¯d kept going. ¡°When I attack with spears, I do more damage. Can¡¯t wait until it evolves.¡±

    ¡°Very useful,¡± The white-haired elf said. ¡°Especially on this mission.¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± Krelion continued. ¡°She¡¯s the lucky one. As for me, anything I ¡®brew¡¯ will be of higher quality.¡±

    ¡°Brew?¡± Seralyn let out, confused. ¡°As in, potions and the like?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I assume. As I said, it¡¯s not very straightforward.¡±

    ¡°What about you, Katus?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°You know what Krelion has with brewing? I basically have the same, except that it has to do with cooking.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like the best kind of inherity to have if you want to be an adventurer,¡± Velariah said softly.

    ¡°Unless you find a way to manipulate it,¡± Draco added, a finger raised in the air.

    ¡°I mean, that¡¯s the idea, right?¡± Krelion continued. ¡°For me, I¡¯m trying to learn alchemy. There are plenty of useful concoctions, and I imagine a good way to evolve is to use them in dungeons in the form of weapon oils. Katus has received the short end of the stick in that regard. We¡¯re still trying to figure out how to evolve his, but we haven¡¯t found anyone with a similar inherity that we could learn from.¡±

    That sounded like an extremely inconvenient inherity to have, unless one were a cook, in which case, one could earn quite some cash, especially when schooled in the culinary arts. However, every inherity could be evolved, and cooking would ensure one method would remain in the absence of Corium.

    One would have to use one¡¯s inherity to kill dungeon creatures to obtain said Corium, but how would that work in this case?

    ¡°Tell me once that head of yours finds a solution,¡± Velariah interrupted my thoughts. I hadn¡¯t even noticed her standing before me, and as soon as I reacted to her words with slight shock, her lips curled into a devilish smile.

    ¡°Are you good with solutions, Elania?¡± Krelion asked after I ignored the elf. I felt like I was close to having a breakthrough idea. I had a habit of having those, after all.

    ¡°Shhh,¡± Velariah shushed with a grin. ¡°She¡¯s thinking. Don¡¯t disturb her.¡±

    Cooking¡­

    Killing¡­

    Killing with cooking¡­ but how? Poison? Bait? Would that work?

    ¡°Say, Vel. Do creatures in dungeons ever eat?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Why?¡±

    ¡°If Katus cooks up something that is straight-up toxic, and it kills a Corium-bearing creature, would that work?¡±

    ¡°If they eat it, I supposed it would, but that¡¯s also where the problem lies. It¡¯s a big if.¡±

    ¡°Then, I guess the only solution is to make something and then force them to eat it. A bit of a workaround but I don¡¯t see any other ways.¡±

    ¡°A hassle,¡± Katus said. ¡°But one that could work. I¡¯ll be honest, I¡¯ve thought of the idea, but hearing it from someone else does make it sound less ridiculous.¡± He chuckled as he shook his head. ¡°And how about the rest of you?¡±

    ¡°Well, Nira is the one blessed with healing magic,¡± Velariah explained. ¡°Seralyn¡¯s accuracy is unmatched for a reason, and Draco, well, why don¡¯t you tell them?¡±

    ¡°My inherity increases my damage with axes and reduces the damage I take,¡± The lizardman said proudly. He left out the part where he had a second inherity. None of us decided to bring it up, either. Velariah had told me earlier that some people choose to keep their abilities a secret, and even though we talked about it in a casual setting right now, it would not be a bad idea to keep some things hidden. There was no way I could just go out here and say I had four inherities, for example. There was no doubt that was going to come back to haunt me someday.

    ¡°And what about you, Elania?¡± Krelion asked politely.

    I thought for a moment and decided to settle on the obvious. The first time I¡¯d met Eric I didn¡¯t possess the extra eyes I now had, so if I mentioned I had an inherity that had nothing to do with it, it would cause suspicion, or at least, he would know that I didn¡¯t possess just a single one. If I then didn¡¯t mention I had two, it would draw even more suspicion, and that was something I couldn¡¯t deal with.

    ¡°I only found out recently,¡± I admitted. ¡°It¡¯s called adaptive body, and it enhances my body whenever I evolve. We shared this story just recently with Eric, but on one of our earlier missions to deal with trolls, I had one of my legs severed. After an evolution, it had grown back completely.¡±

    ¡°Just like that?¡± He asked, to which I shook my head.

    ¡°Nope. When I evolve, I can feel it. I get itchy all over and start to become drowsy. From there, it doesn¡¯t take long until I pass out, and stay out for a few days.¡±

    ¡°That sounds incredibly inconvenient.¡±

    ¡°Hm, perhaps, but I¡¯d gladly take it if it had been offered to me. I¡¯m more than happy to have my leg back.¡±

    The party leader chuckled and nodded. In the meantime, Draco finished his work and offered his whetstone to Eric, who hesitated briefly but accepted the gesture anyway.

    ¡°Velariah,¡± Melsa suddenly spoke. ¡°Last night, you mentioned all this is the end of an era. When we are done, what will you do?¡±

    ¡°What I will do?¡± Velariah replied, before sighing. ¡°I¡¯ll go wherever my friends go. Dawnleaf will be in good hands, and while it¡¯s my home and I love the village, like you we will have to travel around.¡±

    ¡°Any idea where to?¡±

    ¡°Not sure yet. We were thinking of heading north, but we¡¯ll need to do a bit of research on where we can find dungeons appropriate for our level of skill.¡±

    ¡°Smart,¡± The raven-haired elf replied. ¡°Why don¡¯t we do that, Krelion?¡±

    ¡°We could, but we¡¯re focused on money first. Though, if you want, we could try to tackle the dungeon here.¡±

    ¡°You might want more than three people for that,¡± I said. ¡°We didn¡¯t struggle much, but it can be challenging to deal with the obstacles it presents you as a smaller party.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll remember that,¡± The elven male said. ¡°Thank you for the advice.¡±

    I nodded and continued to watch Eric sharpen his blade, using the additional light of the campfire to check the edges. He seemed to be careful and precise with his movements, much more than I would have thought necessary for this. Perhaps that was another thing I¡¯d underestimated. Knife ads did make things seem so simple. Then again, modern whetstones were probably far more advanced, and knives weren¡¯t really the same as medieval swords now, were they?

    Time passed but eventually the same messenger showed up again, notifying us that we¡¯d move out soon. He told us to be aware of possible traps, especially the hidden pitfall kind, and advised us to stab the ground in front of our feet with our weapons to check.

    ¡°Well,¡± Velariah said when he left. ¡°There you go. I told you my father knows what he¡¯s doing.¡±

    ¡°I just love how we all seem to think alike. I¡¯m pretty sure you got that from him,¡± I said with a grin.

    ¡°Perhaps I did,¡± She replied with a grin that rivaled mine.

    Eric and Seralyn finished up and handed the whetstones back to Draco, who put them in my saddlebags while the others put out the fire.

    ¡°Glad we didn¡¯t sharpen the spears,¡± Krelion said, noting the irony of the situation. ¡°We¡¯ll take the front. Our spears will ensure we won¡¯t break our backs trying to stab the soil.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll join,¡± I suggested. ¡°I can cover a good amount of ground on my own, and well,¡± I giggled slightly. ¡°I have eight spears to help out.¡± I rose a few of my legs and brought them down onto the ground, earning a chuckle from Velariah.

    ¡°Well then,¡± She replied. ¡°Seems we got it all sorted out. Let¡¯s get ready. I want to rid the world of some more goblins today.¡±

    ¡°Now there¡¯s an idea!¡± Seralyn said in a much too happy manner. Honestly, it bordered creepy.

    I looked at Draco who shook his head after the interactions, showing his calmness about the situation.

    A few minutes later, the horns sounded and our journey, after a few hours of delay, continued.

    The new party and I formed the vanguard, trying to spot and feel for any traps as we moved. About an hour of travel followed until the horns sounded again, forcing us to come to a halt as there was probably combat going on somewhere.

    ¡°Nothing nearby,¡± I said while we waited. ¡°Also lost track and haven¡¯t picked it up again of whatever was ahead of us yesterday. I¡¯m a bit frustrated that we never figured out what it was.¡±

    ¡°Eh, whatever,¡± Velariah said, simply shrugging it off.

    After a few minutes, the next signal to move was given, but we soon came to a halt again.

    ¡°This is gonna go on for a while, isn¡¯t it?¡± Seralyn asked.

    ¡°Probably,¡± The white-haired elf replied. ¡°We can¡¯t always be the lucky ones to face enemies.¡±

    ¡°If only we could,¡± Seralyn said calmly.

    This went on for a good part of the day. Intermittent pauses for other groups to get to work, all while steadily advancing our army through the forest. Then, after a few hours of that, it was finally our turn as we came across an immense clearing.

    Our party, and the soldiers to our left and right, all came to a halt and a messenger was called somewhere down the line. WIthin a minute, the sound of horns reverberated through the woods, and excitement rose within Seralyn as she readied an arrow while looking at the same thing we were all looking at.

    Within the open area, the goblins had built some sort of fortification, with stakes and a makeshift palisade surrounding an encampment. The whole thing looked like it had been set up in a very short time, days at most, but it would still serve its intended purpose; we couldn¡¯t just rush the place, as much as some of us may have wanted to.

    A few platforms had been built, on which we could see goblin and hobgoblin archers from afar. Luckily for us, we were out of their range for their low-quality bows which couldn¡¯t shoot nearly as far as Seralyn¡¯s recurve.

    ¡°Neat,¡± The archer called as she nocked an arrow, and empowered it with her inherity, setting the tip aflame. ¡°Finally, something to shoot.¡±

    Before anyone could react, she¡¯d already fired her shot, aiming for the palisade and hitting it, causing the dry wood to catch fire, but unfortunately, it didn¡¯t spread fast enough. The goblins inside quickly doused it with a bucket of¡­ was that pee?

    Yuck.

    ¡°Well, it was worth a shot,¡± Seralyn said.

    ¡°Ok, but for real now,¡± Seralyn called out to everyone present. ¡°What¡¯s our plan?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see any trolls. How about you, Elania?¡±

    I used my legs like jacks to raise myself, allowing me a better view of the goblins inside the encampment.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see any. There seem to be two exits, one here, and one in the back.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll abuse those,¡± Velariah finished my sentence. ¡°We have three spears and your long polearm. We should have an easy time holding a chokepoint and kill them one by one. Alternatively, we can harass them from afar, and we definitely should. We should stay back until Seralyn¡¯s taken out the archers.¡±

    ¡°Neat,¡± The archer called, nocking another arrow and empowering it before taking aim.

    ¡°The others will hold the chokepoint, Miss Elania,¡± Draco called out. ¡°You and Miss Velariah should make sure we can¡¯t get flanked from the other exit.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re staying to protect Nira?¡± I asked

    The lizardman nodded.

    ¡°And my role?¡± Eric asked.

    ¡°I¡¯d say help Draco or the others if they need assistance,¡± Velariah said. ¡°Though, I doubt that¡¯s going to be the case, so just do whatever you think works best.¡±

    He nodded. ¡°Understood.¡±

    After he said that, Seralyn loosed her arrow, hitting a goblin archer right in the chest before quickly firing another, taking down a hobgoblin. The rest of us were watching the prodigy that was our party¡¯s archer take down our enemies one by one, until they figured out they were not going to win the ranged battle and started hiding behind their flimsy wooden walls.

    She chucked and aimed for the wood once more, trying to get it to burn. If we could burn their encampment down, this would be a breeze.

    She tried, but to her dismay, our enemies seemed to have enough waste liquid to put out the flames.

    ¡°At least they can¡¯t throw that at us anymore,¡± I noted.

    ¡°I know,¡± Velariah said. ¡°We should be thankful to Seralyn. I can smell the stench from here, ugh.¡±

    ¡°Aight, that¡¯s it for me,¡± Seralyn said after firing a few more arrows. ¡°I¡¯ll keep the rest of my ammunition in case it¡¯s needed. The rest is up to you for the time being.¡±

    Velariah nodded and unsheathed her sword, pointing it forward.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

 2.42 Expedition: Day 4 (Cont.)

    We didn''t charge in wildly. Instead, we walked up to the encampment in a slow, and organized manner because there was no real threat. When one of the goblins did decide to peek and take aim, he was taken out by Seralyn¡¯s deadly accuracy from afar before he could let go of his arrow. Once close enough, Velariah and I split off to the rear exit.

    Strangely enough, when we got there, there wasn¡¯t a single goblin that tried to flee, something which I¡¯d expected to happen. Instead, a few of them guarded the entrance with the crude, small spears they possessed.

    When we closed in on them, I could tell from their facial expressions that they were mortified.

    ¡°Should have brought my spear,¡± I commented.

    ¡°I think your current weapon will do well enough, even from a stationary position, especially versus goblins.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± I said with a nod as we closed in. It wasn¡¯t like these creatures had any reach at all, so I should be safe no matter what.

    We charged the last few meters and I instantly struck down two goblins as soon as I got within range, my haphazard weapon movements being more than enough to slice through them. Velariah lashed out as well, splintering a weapon with her sword, empowered by her holy magic, before stabbing a green-skinned creature through the chest.

    Unfortunately for us, we couldn¡¯t be supported by Seralyn here and we soon had an arrow and then another fired at us. I blocked one aimed at me with my shields, but due to the second shot¡¯s terrible accuracy, it missed my defenses and got stuck somewhere in my abdomen. No damage was done by it, but I disliked the idea of the enemy getting a lucky shot.

    ¡°We really need a spellcaster for our party,¡± I said, striking down another goblin. ¡°We only have Seralyn to attack from a distance, and she can¡¯t help both flanks in a situation like this.¡±

    ¡°First priority when we get back to town,¡± Velariah said. ¡°For now, we¡¯ll have to do without.¡±

    For a moment, I felt something in the ground. Something heavy impacted it from somewhere nearby, but after that, there was nothing, which made me think I imagined it though I knew I didn¡¯t. There was also no other follow-up to it so I couldn¡¯t identify where it came from.

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong,¡± I spoke the gut feeling that I had.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Velariah asked, ready in a defensive position with her gauntlet raised to block projectiles.

    ¡°Felt something in the ground. Nearby. Don¡¯t know where. It¡¯s quiet now. Vel, I don¡¯t trust this at all.¡±

    ¡°What do you want to do? Push forward?¡±

    ¡°We can, but I want to keep an eye out on our surroundings, so let¡¯s go about this carefully.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    The knight stepped forward, quickly disarmed goblins by, well, disarming them. Literally. After that, a quick decapitation followed while I too used my massive reach and struck down several others. In the distance, at the other end of this small camp, I saw another archer being taken down by our own ranger. At the same time, the elven party impaled creature after creature, their reach simply no match for us.

    Then, suddenly, I felt a series of tremors in the ground. Heavy creatures, trolls judging from their typical seismic activity, were converging on our location and in unusual numbers.

    ¡°Vel, back! Get to the others, get them ready. We¡¯re being ambushed by trolls,¡± I shouted, fearing the nearby goblins with the urgency with which I spoke.

    ¡°Got it!¡± She called back as she retreated and hurried her way back through the entrance to walk around to the other side.

    ¡°And have Nira call reinforcements!¡± I yelled back at her.

    I was certain she¡¯d heard me, and thankful to have at least a bit of experience in a situation like this. I wasn¡¯t sure if this had been set up, with the goblins to be used as bait, and I didn¡¯t judge it out of the question. The fact remained that we were being ambushed and we didn¡¯t have much time to make decisions. However, calling reinforcements as soon as possible would be the first priority. Second, I imagined it would be useful to clear out this place as quickly as possible so we couldn¡¯t be attacked from two sides.

    I was in a position to do it, but even if my armor was of high quality there was always a risk to it, more so than when just cleaning through the goblins in a methodical fashion. I narrowed my eyes at the multitude of armed green-skinned creatures before me, and figured that our best chances only existed if we could finish this fast. There would be questions later, but whatever came we¡¯d have to see. For now, there were goblins to be slain.

    I completely turned off my mind and brought my weapon to my side before I started charging straight through our enemies, trampling and cleaving them along the way. Then, when I almost ran straight into the others, I turned around and repeated the same carnage as before.

    I took a few blows in the process, but almost all of them hit either my armor and shields, which I was using to great effect. Few attacks hit my legs, but I was lucky to have superb natural armor in the form of chitin to protect me. One hit did strike a weak spot, though. A sword that was surprisingly sharp, for it being of goblin origin, managed to find its way between two of my leg segments and cut into the area. I had no idea what it had hit, but I knew that the pain that resulted from it was highly annoying.

    Yes, annoying.

    It wasn¡¯t too painful, but it was a sharp sting that just remained and moaned for attention, like certain sprains that I hadn¡¯t felt ever since I lost my human legs.

    I ignored it and struck down the last few enemies, who didn¡¯t even bother to flee. They died with terror in their eyes and, again, I felt sorry for them in a way.

    But I didn¡¯t allow my feelings to linger. As soon as the last goblin was struck down, I went to help my allies who just finished up their part of the extermination. Velariah was there and she¡¯d already informed them of the situation. When I approached, I could hear her talk about some sort of plan.

    We weren¡¯t given much more time as the newcomers made themselves known. Massive, bulky trolls converged on the little encampment from three sides, leaving just a small gap where we originally came from.

    ¡°Nira¡¯s out to get help,¡± Velariah informed me. ¡°We just need to get the hell out of here and make sure they don¡¯t penetrate our lines. Possibly take some down in our retreat.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± I said with a quick nod. ¡°If we can separate them, I can possibly hold quite a few busy.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s move quickly!¡± Velariah called out as she led the way and started running back. In our withdrawal, Seralyn managed to snatch a few arrows, which she fired off again moments later, aiming for the eyes of the approaching monstrosities.

    She wasn¡¯t as accurate as usual, probably because she was constantly on the move now.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to buy time,¡± I suggested, looking through the area to see several more trolls join the fray. I counted seven of them, and there was no telling how many more were on their way. The ground was simply shaking too much.

    I watched my companions continue to run off, and the two soldiers that had been closest to us soon came sprinting towards them.  After they all came to a halt, they readied their weapons, and Seralyn continued her assault on whoever she had the best chance of hitting.

    At the same time, I made my way to the troll that was closest to them, using my speed to my advantage and dodging the blow that inevitably came. From there, I did a quick turnaround and sliced the back of his knees, completely severing one of his lower legs and severely injuring the other.

    An immobilizing wound that was fatal given time. That was my goal here.

    My allies got themselves ready and started to spread out into a combat formation, but still stepped backward, knowing there were simply too many trolls for them to take on. I was lucky to be able to pick off one that was separated, but that was where my luck ended.

    Trolls weren¡¯t nearly as dumb as they looked, and certainly not as stupid as goblins. As soon as they saw one of their own fall to me, they started gathering in groups of two, and then three as they closed in. This would make striking them down in the same fashion much harder and incredibly risky for me.

    We needed numbers to separate them once more to take them on. Right now there were ten on our side, against nine trolls, and they had more on their way. That, I could feel.

    In order to buy more time, I feigned attacks, charging up to them and forcing them to be on the defensive or risk getting their limbs cut off. I stayed well out of range and slowed them down considerably. I saw several openings where I could get attacks in but I refrained from doing so, figuring it wasn¡¯t worth the risk, just like Valtheril had told us.

    A bellowing roar followed when Seralyn managed to strike down another grey-skinned monster with a well-aimed destruction arrow to the throat; oozing icky blood followed, and the troll collapsed. At the same time, two more soldiers had shown up in support, their weapons drawn.

    Not a moment too soon, either. As much as I was able to keep them occupied, I couldn¡¯t do it forever. Some of our adversaries started ignoring me, and a group of three started charging at my friends, intending to pulverize them beneath the heavy weight of their primitive yet deadly maces.

    I wanted to help them, but I couldn¡¯t have them be overwhelmed by even more trolls, so I went back to stalling and trusted they could deal with just three of them. I was certain they could with the numbers advantage they had, but kept an eye on them, which was easy when I had four.

    I circled another group of three that intended to help out their brethren, temporarily stopping them in their tracks as they had to defend themselves. I feigned attacks and kept my distance.

    In the meantime, I was watching the elven party use their spears to moderate effect. They had taken our advice to heart and were actively dodging incoming attacks while forcing their enemies to spread out.

    They didn¡¯t hit any strikes, but the tips of their weapons were an excellent distraction. As their enemies were fixated on smashing the elves to bits, Draco, Velariah, and the soldiers walked up behind them.

    When the opportunity was there, Draco leapt into the air to bring down both axes in the back of one of the trolls, followed by rock spike¡ªwhich I thought was overkill, seeing as his axes embedded themselves deep enough to shatter ribs and slice through vitals.

    Velariah, lacking the lizardman¡¯s natural tallness, instead opted to resort to my strategy: use her white-hot blade to slice through the beast¡¯s legs.

    While she didn¡¯t cut through all the way, it was plenty to bring her target to its knees, for it to then be stabbed by two spears from the front. While those didn¡¯t penetrate as deep as they would have had they been of decent quality, Velariah¡¯s sword from behind did. A stab through the heart was all it took to instantly finish it off.

    As for the last one, well, the soldiers showed once more why they¡¯d been referred to as ¡®elite¡¯. Their attacks were incredibly powerful, just like our weapons, but they had years of training, and almost superhuman strength behind their blows, resulting in cuts that rivaled my weapon¡¯s.

    I was impressed to see the speed with which they completely dismantled their enemy. They worked together to strike weak spots, resulting in limbs that became powerless before they were severed. Ultimately, a strike to the neck area was what did it in.

    Seeing them in action made me wonder. They were professional soldiers and not adventurers, but what rank would they have if they were?

    I shook off the thought as I had to focus on what was going on near me. More challengers had shown up and I made the decision to keep them occupied, allowing the group I¡¯d previously kept busy to run towards our party unhindered. Now that they had killed the first three trolls, I imagined they could deal with these.

    Better a slow drip than a swarm.

    As I charged, I noticed a lone troll approach from behind the trees at the edge of the clearing. It wasn¡¯t too far from the ones I was aiming for, so I decided to charge that one instead after making sure there were no others to support him. After all, every enemy that I took out was one less to deal with later. I carefully assessed the risk and went for it.

    He and I both noticed and then charged at one another. My agility easily outclassed his strength as he brought down his hammer, to which I only had to take a small sidestep, and before he was able to lift it again, I¡¯d already cut several centimeters into his flank.

    A roar of pain and rage followed, which prompted two more trolls to come to his aid, but they were far too slow. I managed to cleave into my enemy once more before I made my retreat and allowed the gushing wound to do the rest.

    I then turned my attention to the other group that I had initially planned to delay and found they were already headed my way, eager to avenge their not-quite-dead-but-soon-to-be comrade. I took them for a game of cat and mouse, but soon had to abandon them to keep another group busy that threatened to overwhelm my party. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending how you looked at it) they were oblivious to my lightning presence on the battlefield and I managed to severely wound one with a slice to the back with my polearm.

    Then, something which I¡¯d almost forgotten about happened. The paralyzing effect from the lightning steel brought the troll down to his knees and then to his side as I saw him twitch as if he¡¯d been electrocuted.

    I was impressed the effect worked on enemies of this size and with the insane resistances that they had, but there was no way I was going to complain.

    Another masterful and empowered arrow from Seralyn ended its companion¡¯s life before it could even react, an arrow stuck in its eye socket.

    Seriously, how did she keep doing that?

    That one arrow changed things significantly and I could only imagine our archer¡¯s smile in my mind at the opportunity that this opened. There was only a lone combatant remaining and I could easily take him down.

    He turned around and I feigned a charge, waiting for him to bring his weapon down to then do a surprise attack, but instead of swinging, he waited. Instead of bloodlust, there was focus in his eyes.

    It was too late when I saw what he did. When I got too close I had to eventually avoid him, and when I did, he hurled his hammer at me as I passed.

    I had the wind blown out of me as the hulking object impacted my armor from the side, and I stumbled just before I fell over forward.

    My armor had absorbed a good deal of the impact, but hellish pain was coursing through my body, and my sight had become blurry.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± I screamed as I scrambled to move forward and away from danger. I had managed to increase the distance between the two of us just before I almost faceplanted the ground, but trolls were fast.

    I heard a roar come from behind me, and with the little sensations I felt in my legs, I used them to drag myself forward as best and fast as I could. My vision started returning, albeit slightly, and during the process, I saw a flash of fire, followed by another roar from behind me. Then, a thud followed, and then there was nothing, silence.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, El. You¡¯re safe.¡±

    Velariah¡¯s soothing voice washed over me as I saw her figure appear before me, an arm extended to help me get up.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± I moaned in pain. ¡°Thank you, Vel, but ugh.¡±

    I took a deep breath and found I had difficulty doing so.

    ¡°Here,¡± She offered me an uncorked vial containing foul, green liquid. Without even waiting for me to raise my hand, she put it to my lips and forced me to chug down the contents. At the same time, feathery wings that I recognized as Nira appeared at my side, and within seconds, I felt her magic flow through me, healing my internal damage.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said weakly. ¡°How are we doing?¡±

    ¡°Tuh,¡± The white-haired chuckled. ¡°Good now that reinforcements are here. The trolls are being taken care of as we speak.¡± She turned her head in the direction of where I now heard sounds of battle coming from. ¡°And it ain¡¯t looking pretty for them, let me tell you that.¡±

    ¡°I assume that means we¡¯re winning?¡± I said, recovering some more of my voice thanks to the ongoing healing effects.

    ¡°Definitely. Did you really have to go and get yourself hurt again, though?¡± She asked in a half serious, half teasing tone.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t know trolls actually trained for the fucking Olympics now, could I?¡±

    ¡°The what now?¡±

    I shook my head and sighed deeply.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when we get home.¡±

 2.43 Expedition: Day 4 (Cont. 2)

    ¡°How are you doing, though?¡± Velariah asked after a few more seconds had passed.

    ¡±I¡¯ll be fine. Couldn¡¯t be happier to have this armor. Still, I imagine I have quite the bruise after that attack.¡±

    ¡°Bruises will heal,¡± The elf said calmly. ¡°And Dworag will fix your armor right up until it¡¯s as good as new.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± I turned my attention to Nira. ¡°Thank you for the help. I feel much better already.¡±

    ¡°No problem. Glad to see you¡¯re okay. That looked painful,¡± She said softly while continuing to heal my wounds.

    The sounds of battle died down after a few more roars that I traced back to trolls reverberated across the clearing. My vision was now fully back, and the pain had started to lessen enough to allow me to focus again.

    When I looked across the field, a few things became clear.

    Our reinforcements had arrived in record time. There were about thirty of Valtheril¡¯s soldiers present, currently cleaning their blades and checking if the trolls were dead. Others were setting fire to the defensive structures the goblins had erected, and some were already leaving to fall back in line. In addition, I felt hooves trample the ground, circling around the area, and I imagined these were scouts.

    Our enemy had been completely annihilated; their corpses were spread through the area. As far as I could tell, we¡¯d suffered little enough, besides my injury, of course. There seemed to be one other soldier that had received a mallet to his armor as he sat down with his arm in a strange position, and his pauldrons sat on the ground next to him.

    Another soldier knelt at his side, an empty potion in his hand. He seemed to be making sure the other was alright, and received a nod in response.

    Yet, his arm was twisted, and I could tell he was in no position to fight any longer. It didn¡¯t take long for another ride to come and have him hop on his horse. When they rode towards Dawnleaf, it was easy to guess they were off to see some proper medical treatment.

    ¡°Seems you were right,¡± I said. ¡°They have been taken care of. That was quite the attack from their side, I must admit.¡±

    I counted the bodies and got to about fifteen dead trolls. That number included the one I¡¯d left to die earlier. With no other damage done to his corpse, I could only imagine it was my wound that had done him in.

    In addition to the trolls, there were a few goblins that had joined them somewhere during the battle. Most of them were archers, but few of their arrows had hit. Their projectiles were scattered throughout, but I only saw one person who¡¯d received a hit, and it hadn¡¯t pierced their armor.

    Seralyn¡¯s arrows on the other hand had found their marks. She was currently walking around and collecting them, pulling them out of the enemies she¡¯d slain¡­ and there were quite a few of them.

    ¡°What a mess,¡± I let out as I saw the makeshift fortifications go up in flames after taking in everything I could see.

    ¡°Mess for sure,¡± Velariah continued. ¡°But that¡¯s what we''re here for, and if they show up in large numbers like these, well, it makes our job easier.¡±

    ¡°And harder at the same time,¡± I noted. ¡°I really need to be more careful. This armor will only protect me so much.¡±

    ¡°You do,¡± She agreed. ¡°But at the same time, you saved our asses. Things may have gone way worse if you hadn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t go and make me feel good now. You could have run.¡±

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t want to.¡±

    ¡°But you could have,¡± I said again. ¡°Anyway, now that this is done. What do we do next?¡±

    ¡°We wait,¡± She said. ¡°We¡¯ll take a break now, a bit of a longer one, to make sure we¡¯re all ready when it matters most.¡±

    ¡°Miss Elania,¡± Draco said as he approached. ¡°Are you well? That looked painful.¡±

    ¡°It was,¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°But I¡¯m okay. No need to worry. Thank you, Draco.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to see. You were great, as usual.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re a real flatterer.¡± A smile appeared on my face, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

    ¡°And you still have your sense of humor. Good to see.¡±

    The others approached as well, led by Eric. His eyes immediately darted to the dent in my armor, but a nod from me appeared to put him at ease.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised I haven¡¯t lost anything,¡± I said, hinting at, and pointing my head towards the saddlebags attached to my sides. ¡°These things are the best.¡±

    Velariah chuckled as she walked over to the bags in question.

    ¡°Want something to eat, or drink maybe?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Some water would be nice, thank you.¡±

    We all sat down, intending to make the most of this break. A few more words of admiration were said by the elves and I accepted them hesitantly. When I asked how they did, it became clear they''d learned a lot in the short time they knew us. Despite not being directly responsible for the death of anything, their actions had enabled Velariah, Draco, and a few of the soldiers to easily dispatch several monsters, and we made sure to let them know that this in itself was invaluable.

    The pause lasted a good while, and eventually, more hooves sounded from afar, going back and forth. It seemed there was quite a bit of communication going on again.

    Slowly but surely, the soldiers that remained started falling back, eventually leaving our party alone with the two that were stationed to our left and right.

    But still, there was no signal to continue.

    Afternoon turned into evening, and eventually, a messenger showed up telling us that we were done for the day. This prompted Draco to collect some firewood, and Seralyn to go out hunting in the area directly behind us.

    She said that she was craving something else to eat, and promised us to not stray off far. Just to be safe, we decided that Nira would join her because she could alert us faster than anyone besides myself. However, everything we¡¯d already passed through should be considered safe either way.

    The skies turned red, which meant there wouldn¡¯t be too much time left before darkness would set in. Draco had already finished the campfire so there would still be plenty of light left either way, and, like the optimist he was, he¡¯d pulled out several metal pins he¡¯d brought that were going to be used to cook whatever Seralyn would catch.

    ¡°Quite the optimist, aren¡¯t you?¡± Velariah spoke my exact thoughts. How she did it, I had no idea.

    Honestly.

    It was kind of creepy.

    ¡°Don¡¯t kid yourself, Miss Velariah. You know she¡¯ll come back with a rabbit or two, maybe three,¡± Draco replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s funny because it¡¯s true,¡± I added.

    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right,¡± The white-haired elf said with a smile and a shrug. ¡°But I do wonder what your reaction would be if she came back with nothing.¡±

    ¡°Nothing?¡± I heard Seralyn¡¯s voice from behind the bushes at the edge of the clearing. Apparently, she¡¯d heard us from quite far away.

    Elven hearing was really something else, huh?

    ¡°You know I¡¯d never show up with nothing,¡± She said triumphantly. ¡°You¡¯ll never guess what I found.¡±

    She was still not in sight, which meant she was clearly playing with us. Either she¡¯d found nothing, or she¡¯d found something very interesting. Judging from the cockiness in her voice, option one was out of the question.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see it,¡± Velariah said.

    ¡°Ta-daa,¡± She said as she appeared, holding a.

    HOLY FUCKING SHIT. WAS THAT A MASSIVE TURKEY?

    A turkey, larger than any I¡¯d ever seen, was held up with both hands. It was so heavy that, despite her muscle, she¡¯d have to seriously strain herself to even try holding it with one.

    I wasn¡¯t the only one staring; we all were. The grin on Seralyn¡¯s face was one of pure joy and pride.

    ¡°Holy crap¡­¡± Velariah was the first one to speak.

    ¡°I know, I know,¡± The archer said. ¡°I¡¯m amazing. I hope y¡¯all are hungry.¡±

    ¡°That has to be the largest Kul-Kul I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± The knight continued in amazement. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen many, to be completely honest, but still.

    What did she just call it?

    Kul-Kul?

    That was a new one. Not too hard to see where that name came from, though. The beast was dead, but when it was still alive, I reckoned the sounds it made weren¡¯t so different from the ones back on Earth.

    ¡°An excellent catch,¡± Draco said with a large smile.

    ¡°Yep,¡± Seralyn said as she sat down. ¡°And extremely useful in more ways than one. Would you like to clean it, Draco?¡±

    ¡°With pleasure,¡± The lizardman said with a nod.

    ¡°Do try to be careful, I¡¯d like the feathers, undamaged, especially the right wing¡¯s ones. I intend to use those for myself. Maybe take those off first.¡±

    That was a lot of information to take in at once, and only part of it made sense to me. The last bit of her sentence made it clear she was going to use them for arrows, but what was this about right wing feathers? What did that have to do with any of this?

    I let it slip for now, but when we were alone again, that meant our party and nobody else, I¡¯d definitely ask a few questions that were on my mind. I didn¡¯t want to accidentally give away that I wasn¡¯t from here, or actually look dumb in front of our new, temporary companions.

    I had a hard time containing my curious nature, but watching Draco carefully pluck the turkey¡¯s feathers was a decent enough distraction. As Seralyn had requested, he separated the feathers that came from each of the fowl¡¯s wings, and after he was finished with them, the archer took each stack, wrapped them up in some cloth, and placed them in my saddlebags.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need the rest,¡± She said. ¡°You can go wild.¡±

    The lizardman nodded and sped up the process as everyone else watched in silence, and I swore I could see them starting to salivate. I had to admit, even though I wasn''t hungry, I wouldn¡¯t, I couldn¡¯t say no to some turkey.

    Everything else in this new world had already tasted heavenly, and free-range, wild turkey might just top the list.

    I was so going to find out.

    ¡°And we should probably cut this thing up a bit. Cooking this thing in its entirety is going to take hours, and we just don¡¯t have that kind of time,¡± Velariah suggested.

    Draco seemed to have at least a bit of experience doing this as his next few actions were done with elegance. He removed the beast¡¯s tail by twisting it, and the beast¡¯s beard by pulling. Then, he asked if anyone had a clean, sharp knife, and he was given one by Krelion.

    I had a great time watching how this was done. The concept of personally cleaning and preparing one¡¯s catch held major appeal to me. Buying it in stores, ready to put in the oven just seemed so¡­ boring all of a sudden.

    Draco¡¯s actions surprised me. He created a cut near the breast and with a few agile hand movements, removed the entire layer of skin and feathers, revealing pink flesh underneath.

    Holy crap. That looked way easier than I could have imagined.

    Then, he cut off the breasts and had Seralyn place them above the campfire on a skewer.

    ¡°Have you done this before?¡± I asked, watching him make this appear easy.

    ¡°Just once myself, and one time being told how to do it,¡± He replied. ¡°It¡¯s hard to forget once you know how it¡¯s done.¡±

    ¡°I can see that.¡±

    ¡°Only issue is that my claws are too big to properly gut it, so I may need one of you to help with that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that,¡± Seralyn offered.

    ¡°You got experience with it too?¡± I asked, surprised.

    ¡°Yep. You don¡¯t?¡±

    Her voice had her typical teasing tone in it which left me stunned and unsure how to react.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, El. I have no idea how to do any of this either,¡± Velariah said soothingly, and with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m as fascinated as you are.¡±

    ¡°I hope y¡¯all are hungry,¡± Seralyn continued with a wicked grin. ¡°And I hope you will stay hungry. Even as you¡¯re going to watch us gut this.¡±

    Eric shrugged. ¡°Can¡¯t be worse than what we¡¯ve seen today, no?¡±

    ¡°I suppose that is true.¡± The archer grinned.

    ¡°Also,¡± Draco said. ¡°There is the other way of doing it, which is completely plucking it, but as Miss Velariah said, we can¡¯t sit here all night. This is the quick and easy way.¡±

    I nodded and watched him cut off the inedible parts of the legs, before cutting off the large quarters, which were placed onto another skewer to start cooking.

    ¡°Have to admit I¡¯m impressed,¡± Krelion spoke up as Draco¡¯s work neared completion. He just cut off the head and opened its rear up in preparation for Seralyn to remove its guts. ¡°At both of you. Must be amazing to have someone who can hunt and then properly clean and prepare prey.¡±

    ¡°Certainly beats eating dried rations and bread every day,¡± Seralyn replied in a serious tone as she sat down.

    ¡°Well,¡± Krelion said with a chuckle. ¡°I suppose I know what we need to look for, for our own party now.¡±

    We let out a hearty laugh as the work continued. In the meantime, we decided that tonight¡¯s watch consisted of Nira and Seralyn first, and then Eric and Draco in the second round. Seeing as we¡¯d dealt with a large-scale attack this day, we considered the chances of anything funny happening at night extremely low, thus the choice of having only two people stay up.

    Then, it¡¯s a matter of watching Seralyn get her arm all bloodied, all while the food was cooking in the background. I had to admit that it wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as I¡¯d expected from their talk, but I reckoned by now, I was getting used to a fair deal of gore.

    The last bit of preparation was done, and slowly but surely, meat was getting ready for consumption, and as they were taken off their skewers, new pieces were put on. The loot was then divided evenly and we started what was going to be a lengthy, but wonderful dinner.

    In the meantime, the world had already gone dark, adding even more to the ambiance. Stories about the day were being shared, and laughter followed some of them, especially the part where the goblins had used their own bodily fluids to put out fires.

    I wasn¡¯t focused on them too much, knowing exactly what happened and also feeling a bit guilty for being so careless. I was just munching some of the best meat I¡¯d ever tasted in silence with Velariah seated before me.

    ¡°You¡¯re awfully quiet,¡± She said with a whisper, not gaining attention from the others. ¡°Anything wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m just a bit¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± I had trouble putting my thoughts into words and hoped that she¡¯d get it from that as I didn¡¯t feel like explaining it in great detail.

    ¡°I think I know what you mean. Today was rough, but hopefully, the worst part is behind us now.¡±

    ¡°That would be nice,¡± I spoke quietly. ¡°We¡¯ve been out only for a few days, and I already miss Gray and Minia.¡±

    ¡°That little spider¡¯s really grown onto you hasn¡¯t she?¡±

    ¡°More than I like to admit,¡± I said, wrapping my lower arms around her waist.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be going home soon. Then, the next part of our adventure begins.¡±

    ¡°Zerdania,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°There¡¯s still so much we need to do before then.¡±

    ¡°There will always be stuff to do before then. We just can¡¯t do it all. Better get used to that.¡±

    ¡°That would be for the better, I guess. Can¡¯t prepare for everything.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll prepare as best we can before we head out, though, but there will always be surprises. Might wanna start thinking of a way to take Minia with us.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find something for that. What I¡¯m worried about is how we get a covered wagon through the desert.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± She said with a grin. ¡°You¡¯ve already made great progress on that. We¡¯ll order some of that Elvenwood as soon as we get back, and hopefully, that¡¯s the solution to the problem.¡±

    ¡°Good idea,¡± I said, nodding. ¡°And I was hoping to find another party member as well before we leave, but seeing as it¡¯s short notice, I doubt it¡¯s a good idea to take someone who we haven¡¯t known for a while.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s a bit difficult, isn¡¯t it? I was going to suggest trying out some people. I mean, we have an open search, but even if we find someone suitable, we¡¯ll be off for a good while. Chances are, they aren¡¯t going to sit around and wait for us to return.¡±

    ¡°May just have to call that off¡­ or decide to stay in Dawnleaf for a while longer.¡±

    ¡°We both know that that ain¡¯t gonna happen,¡± She said with a chuckle. ¡°You know how I am, I know how you are. It won''t happen.¡±

    ¡°Definitely accurate,¡± I said with a grin of my own.

    ¡°How¡¯s the Kul-Kul?¡± She then asked as I ate the last piece of meat I had in my hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s simply amazing. I wasn¡¯t hungry, but hot damn, I¡¯d like some more of this.¡±

    Velariah giggled at my reaction.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re in luck then. There¡¯s so much of it that I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to be an issue.¡±

    ¡°Now that¡¯s just what I like to hear.¡±

 2.44 Expeditionâ€™s End

    Wild turkey, shot not too long ago while in the middle of a military operation and a day of death and slaughter behind us. There wasn¡¯t much else that could have made me feel like this world was so different than Earth. And yet, the closeness to my friends that this occurrence gave me was priceless, and I wouldn¡¯t want to return back home for anything.

    In this moment, I was truly happy that I lost so many memories. There was no pain, no grief, just unknowing, and that was something I could live with.

    We ate, laughed, talked, and then ate some more. There was so much meat that we ended up sharing with the nearest soldiers, who were surprised to have a meal handed to them, but welcomed it nonetheless. In fact, even after that, we still had some leftovers, which were dried and then wrapped in some leaves. They¡¯d serve as a snack for tomorrow.

    Finally, it was time to call it a night. It had gotten way later than we¡¯d gone to sleep the past few days already, and I felt sorry for those who were on watch duty today.

    Velariah cuddled up against my front after the others had laid themselves down trying to get comfortable. Once she was as well, I hugged her and whispered ¡®good night¡¯ into her ear.

    ¡°Good night, El,¡± She whispered back.

    I woke up to bright light shining into my eyes. The morning had come without anything happening, and I had slept surprisingly well which had me feeling energized. This was further proven by me waking up well before the horns sounded.

    ¡°Morning, El. How are you feeling?¡±

    ¡°Great, actually. How about you?¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t get much better than this.¡±

    I could hear it. She too was awake well in time, and she sounded happy and relaxed. I could only imagine the burden that was lifted off her shoulders by the ruin we¡¯d brought upon those who¡¯d plagued Dawnleaf for so long. Still, we weren¡¯t quite there yet, but I knew our mission was getting close to its end. There wasn¡¯t much forest left to comb.

    ¡°No kidding,¡± I said. ¡°Think we¡¯ll finish today?¡±

    ¡°Possible. Very much possible. I doubt there will be many goblins left after yesterday. We weren¡¯t the only ones that encountered them judging from the many pauses we had.¡±

    I looked around and saw the others were still sleeping, minus Eric and Draco obviously. The two of them were still seated next to the campfire, and the lizardman acknowledged me with a nod.

    ¡°Morning, Miss Elania, Miss Velariah.¡±

    ¡°Hey, Draco, Eric. Quiet night?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It was,¡± Draco said with a nod. ¡°And it looks like it¡¯s almost time to start the day.¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± Velariah said, before letting out a chuckle. ¡°And I would say I¡¯d be happy to go home to get a proper meal, but after last night, that doesn¡¯t sound so credible anymore.¡±

    Eric chuckled, and Draco smiled widely before speaking.

    ¡°That was certainly something else. I never even properly thanked her.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll get plenty of time for that today,¡± Velariah responded. ¡°Speaking of, let¡¯s wake them up so they can enjoy breakfast without pressure.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just looking for an excuse to wake them, aren¡¯t you?¡± I asked with a sly smile on my lips.

    ¡°Maybe,¡± She replied in an equally mischievous tone. ¡°You didn¡¯t think my excuse was good?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty good, I¡¯ll admit that.¡±

    Not much later, everyone was awake and having breakfast, during which the horns inevitably sounded. The usual ten minutes after that, they sounded again, forcing us on the move once more.

    Today felt much better than yesterday. Even though we were constantly looking for traps and I was left checking for tremors that could indicate enemy movement, the general and predominant mood was elevated and relaxed.

    We didn¡¯t talk much, but when conversation did arise, it was mostly about last night. With everyone in a good mood, I even saw a chance to slip the question that was on my mind the day before.

    ¡°Seralyn, what was that yesterday? I mean, regarding the¡­¡± I had to halt myself as I almost slipped and called it a ¡®turkey¡¯. I was thankful I realized what I was about to ask in time. ¡°Kul-Kul feathers. As you know, I have no experience with archery and would like to know more.¡±

    ¡°To put it simply,¡± She replied. ¡°Kul-Kul wing feathers are the best feathers there are. Strong, yet supple, there isn¡¯t anything out there that beats them. Unless, of course, we¡¯re talking magical feathers, which are difficult to come by, require practice, and may or may not require your inherity to be compatible with them.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Nope, these are always a solid choice.¡±

    ¡°What about the left or right wing part? That has me completely puzzled.¡±

    ¡°You can only use the feathers of the same wing on an arrow. Otherwise, its flight gets all fucky.¡±

    I chuckled at her words. Scientists on Earth probably had the exact explanation ready as to why this was a thing, and, while it intrigued me to know more about it, this would have to do. Besides, this was way funnier.

    ¡°If you¡¯re right-handed like me, you use the feathers from the right wing. If you¡¯re left-handed, you use the left wing¡¯s feathers.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so interesting. I never knew about that,¡± I replied in amazement. ¡°Did you, Velariah?¡±

    ¡°Nope. This is the first time I hear about it. Never thought it¡¯d be that complicated.¡±

    ¡°I keep telling you archery is an art. All you do is swing a piece of metal around. I mean, you can¡¯t even miss.¡±

    ¡°And you don¡¯t have to put yourself in any kind of danger,¡± Velariah said before chuckling. ¡°But anyway, interesting stuff. Did any of you know this?¡± She asked, looking to her sides, at the others who also shook their heads.

    It seemed this wasn¡¯t common knowledge here, after all.

    And here I was afraid I¡¯d look stupid for asking.

    ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to teach me how to shoot one day,¡± I let out. ¡°Funnily enough, I¡¯d love to see how terrible I am.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to find you a bow first, then,¡± She replied. ¡°Doubt this one will do, and I¡¯d prefer to not have others use it anyway.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s perfectly understandable. I wonder what kind of bow I¡¯d need. Suggestions?¡±

    ¡°A simple recurve should do. Hey, Velariah, you should wear her out some more with that strength training of yours. It really helps out when it comes to drawing a bow.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re working on that. Don¡¯t you worry.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been getting plenty of exercise the past few days,¡± I nodded at my polearm. ¡°There¡¯s no need to hurry.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of hurry,¡± I continued after a few seconds of pause. ¡°Today seems quiet.¡±

    It had been an hour or so with uninterrupted movement. There wasn¡¯t even a sound that could indicate anything was out of the ordinary. It was just the usual, cheerful forest sounds in the form of birds and a few other critters in and near trees that were heard.

    ¡°Don¡¯t jinx it now, El,¡± Velariah called out with a bit of a forced chuckle. I could tell she meant it as a joke, but it was clear she thought my assumption could cause things to take a turn for the worse.

    ¡°The quiet is what we aim for, isn¡¯t it?¡± Draco said casually but focused. ¡°Or at least, it¡¯s our mission to make it so, and we¡¯ve come quite far already.¡±

    ¡°Not far enough,¡± Velariah said, determined.

    The lizardman nodded but didn¡¯t say a word.

    After that, it was quiet for another two hours as we slowly advanced. It was after this time that we were interrupted by the sound of horns, but after a mere five minutes, we were signaled to move again.

    Then, there was the incessant running back and forth of horses. I wondered what was going on as we weren¡¯t called to stop, but on the other hand, it meant that stopping wasn¡¯t needed.

    Another boring hour followed until we ran into our first encounter.

    Before us in a small opening in a giant bed of dried leaves, lay a large Saibon Boar. It was sleeping peacefully, and none of us had the intention of waking it up, much less starting a fight with it.

    When combing the forest like this, it was bound to happen that some people would run into the more dangerous wildlife. It may have already happened before, several times even, but this time it seemed it was our turn.

    However, Saibon boars were a protected species, and we were lucky to have found a sleeping one. Everyone instinctively knew what it meant, and we walked around it in a large arc, trying to make as little noise as possible.

    Once we were far enough away, and in relative safety, it was Seralyn who cracked the joke.

    ¡°Can¡¯t believe how that thing has managed to stay asleep with these horns sounding every so often.¡±

    ¡°We should be thankful it¡¯s not a Bunbear,¡± Velariah joked back. ¡°That definitely would have been awake.¡±

    ¡°So we¡¯re lucky for once,¡± The archer responded. ¡°Neat.¡±

    Nira giggled from my back, just as the sound of another horse passing by was heard. For a moment, it had me worried the large animal behind us would wake up, but we¡¯d already created more than enough distance and were clearly out of its hearing range.

    ¡°Speaking of luck,¡± Velariah continued. ¡°Up ahead, we¡¯re almost at the end.¡±

    I paid close attention to what she meant and saw that the trees were starting to grow more and more apart from one another. After another few minutes, I believed I saw a lighter shade of green that stood out against the darker one belonging to the woods themselves.

    ¡°Stay alert. Soon we¡¯ll be done.¡± She spoke the words with conviction, but it didn¡¯t take a therapist to hear the incredible amount of relief in her voice. Everyone was silent and continued on and I couldn¡¯t help but feel a smile grow on my lips.

    And then, after a while longer, it was finally there, the end of the forest that we¡¯d grown to love and hate at the same time.

    Velariah sighed deeply as she took her first steps outside, into the pasture beyond, looking up, and then left and right.

    Outside the woods, as far as the eye could see, a line of soldiers formed as they left the vegetation behind. Elves to the left, and then a few more to the right, before the line continued with human soldiers who¡¯d been assisting us. The rear was brought forward and all the supply carriers and other retainers stepped outside as well.

    Horses with messengers ran back and forth, stopping at several officers to relay messages, but none of that seemed to be on the average person¡¯s mind.

    Some people were cheering, others were quiet. Yet others looked at the heavens above and fell to their knees. One of those people was Velariah.

    She¡¯d collapsed and had her eyes closed. The ever-so-serious elf didn¡¯t seem to be able to hold back any longer as a few tears rolled across her cheeks. Nobody said a word, and to distract themselves, they took some water from the saddlebags before taking a few steps back.

    I, on the other hand, felt obliged to get to her and lower myself to hug her from behind. Trying to help her contain her emotions. It was all too clear what, or rather, who she was thinking of at this exact moment.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I whispered. ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±

    ¡°Finally,¡± She managed to say between sobs. ¡°Now, she can truly rest in peace.¡±

    I had no idea what to say. I thought about what the correct words would be, but I couldn¡¯t find any, so I chose to remain silent, and just keep hugging her. Her sobs soon ended, but she held her eyes closed, lost in thought.

    ¡°Thank you, El,¡± She ultimately muttered.

    I nodded, but kept her close until at last, she sighed deeply and moved to stand up, at which I removed my hands from her stomach.

    ¡°We¡¯re done,¡± She said softly. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe it. Today was¡­ odd. I didn¡¯t expect to finish like this.¡±

    ¡°What did you expect?¡± I asked with a whisper. ¡°More goblins? Hell, I feel like what we found yesterday was more than enough considering all the earlier missions that were completed.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, but still.¡±

    She looked up to the skies, her serious expression returning.

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy this is over. It feels so strange though. Suddenly, I feel so¡­ empty.¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯ve been working towards this moment for so long,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that this isn¡¯t uncommon, so don¡¯t feel bad about it. All I can say is that there¡¯s plenty to still look forward to.¡± I shook my head with a smile. ¡°I sure am bad at this, am I not?¡±

    ¡°Nah,¡± Velariah said, turning around and for the first time, smiling. ¡°You¡¯re pretty good at what you do, whatever you do. You¡¯re right. There¡¯s plenty to look forward to.¡±

    Another messenger passed us, grabbing our attention for a moment, before the elf continued.

    ¡°We may be finished, but it seems there¡¯s still work to be done.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± I replied. ¡°We¡¯ll leave that to your dad.¡±

    ¡°I wonder how he feels about all this¡­¡± She thought aloud.

    ¡°You know, I think he feels the same as you, but I don¡¯t think he quite realizes that yet. I think he wants everything finished here, every t crossed, every i dotted, before he comes to that conclusion.¡±

    ¡°That does sound like him. Hey, El, could you pass me some water?¡±

    I nodded as I reached for the saddlebags with one of my legs, fishing out a canteen and handing it to the white-haired elf. She drank some, heaved another deep sigh, and sat down in the grass. I placed myself behind her and sat down as well. It was at this point the others, Nira included, decided to join as well.

    It was awkward for a minute as nobody knew what to say. That was, until Seralyn broke the silence.

    ¡°So¡­¡± She let out. ¡°Now what?¡±

    ¡°We wait,¡± Velariah answered. ¡°We¡¯ll get more info soon. Have something to eat and drink, I suppose.¡±

    ¡°I mean, what is next for us?¡±

    Both the elven party that had joined us and Eric looked at the elven knight with curiosity sparkling in their eyes. Technically, this was none of their business, but I didn¡¯t think anyone really cared.

    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s the usual,¡± She said. ¡°Training, throw in a dungeon run here and there, and find information on any on our way. Elania just said to me that there¡¯s plenty to look forward to.¡±

    ¡°There certainly is,¡± Draco said. ¡°But first, I suppose a celebration is in order.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll get to that when we get back to town.¡± She looked at our newfound allies. ¡°And I¡¯d be happy to invite all of you to celebrate with us.¡±

    Krelion chuckled and smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯d be happy to join you. Katus, Melsa?¡±

    The other two elves nodded, as did Eric.

    ¡°Can¡¯t think of a better way to close this out. Thank you for your trust.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re more than welcome, Eric,¡± I said. ¡°You earned that.¡±

    ¡°You know what?¡± Seralyn suddenly asked with a smirk. ¡°I¡¯m just gonna say it. Elania, I¡¯m happy you didn¡¯t evolve your inherity. I can¡¯t imagine having to carry you across such distances.¡±

    ¡°What the hell?¡±

    My outburst caused her to grin, hard, before it eventually erupted into laughter, contagious laughter. Velariah, Draco, and even Nira joined in as I shook my head. Yet, I couldn''t hide my own smile.

    ¡°That actually happened?¡± Eric asked after the laughter died down.

    ¡°Just once,¡± Seralyn replied. ¡°Had to hightail it out of a dungeon the moment she felt it coming.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still surprised they managed to get me home. Must be all that exercise paying off,¡± I made a joke of my own, prompting a few grins and chuckles.

    A mounted soldier, one of the officers of Valtheril¡¯s battalion, made his way from group to group and eventually reached ours, explaining the current situation.

    ¡°The mission is over,¡± He said loud and clear. ¡°Scouts will continue to roam the forest for the near future, but right now, we are reassembling in the west, where we¡¯ll make camp before returning to the village. Please make your way over at your earliest convenience.¡±

    Velariah nodded in acknowledgment and started packing our belongings.

    ¡°We better get moving,¡± She said, while looking at the humans further east. ¡°It seems they are planning to do the same, but in the opposite direction. We¡¯re the easternmost group, so we¡¯ll have quite a ways to go.¡±

    ¡°At least we do plenty of running,¡± I said. ¡°Does that count for exercise too?¡±

    ¡°Only counts for one fourth in your case,¡± Seralyn said with a grin.

    ¡°Because of eight legs. I get it. Haha.¡± My sarcasm was terrible, so terrible it caused Velariah to have another fit of laughter. When she finally calmed down, I merely smiled at her as I swung my weapon onto my shoulder and started walking, leading the way.

 2.45 Return

    It took a good part of the day before we reached the camp that was reportedly set up. In fact, we didn¡¯t reach it until dusk, and the reason we knew we reached it was because of the several campfires that were easily visible in the distance due to the falling darkness.

    Even with nothing barring our way and with grass beneath our feet which made traveling significantly faster, it was still quite the walk. As much as we¡¯d been slowed down in the forest, it wouldn¡¯t surprise me if it took yet another full day of moving before we¡¯d reach Dawnleaf.

    The camp was simple, but it did have one noticeable feature in a large tent that sat at the center. The fact that it had two soldiers stationed at the entrance was enough of a giveaway that this was the commander¡¯s post - Valtheril¡¯s post.

    The two soldiers that had been next to us in line walked up to it and introduced themselves to the men guarding it, likely to inform the general that the last of the men had arrived.

    I looked around a bit further and noticed an area that had makeshift beds, which were honestly nothing more than some thin, rolled-up mattresses. Something which could be transported easily.

    That quarter was turned into a hospital of sorts, with some of the beds occupied by elven men and women with bandages around arms and legs. The wounded were few, and none of their injuries looked to be significant. I imagined that with the help of all healers, now in one place, the injured were going to be just fine in no time.

    Another quarter seemed to be set up for supplies. Several folding tables made up that part of the camp, with potions, bottles of water, and packages of food. In addition, there was a large pile of small, dry logs intended to be used as firewood. Some of the carriers emptied items from their bags and others took some in return. It looked to me like a redistribution of sorts.

    A hand opened the tent and a man in particularly exquisite armor walked out, looking around for two seconds before spotting us and making his way over. Vymar, easily recognized by the emblem above his visor, took off his helmet and greeted us.

    ¡°Glad to see you doing well. Heard you had one of the biggest fights thrown at you.¡±

    ¡°One of the biggest?¡± Velariah said, her eyes narrowed.

    ¡°There were quite a few, especially towards the end. Our estimates have it that about five hundred goblins, fifty trolls, and a couple of handfuls of hobgoblins have been exterminated. A full count will be carried out over the next days and weeks as their corpses are removed from our forest.¡±

    ¡°Not a bad body count,¡± Velariah said, her arms crossed. ¡°Didn¡¯t realize there were still that many holed up.¡±

    ¡°Most of them were spread out all over the place,¡± The major continued with a nod. ¡°But there were still a few bastions of resistance in the lesser-traveled parts.¡±

    ¡°How about casualties on our side?¡± The white-haired elf asked. ¡°How bad is it?¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± The officer chuckled. It was one of disbelief, yet at the same time, amazement. ¡°When I heard the general¡¯s words, I took him for a fool. I thought it would be impossible to achieve that dream and that it was just meant to keep morale up and high.¡± He shook his head while pausing for a few seconds. ¡°I can¡¯t believe the madman, pardon my language, pulled it off. We have no reported deaths. We did have a few more serious injuries, but after some triage and emergency treatment by the guild¡¯s healers, they were sent to Dawnleaf in non-critical conditions. I¡¯d be surprised if any of them didn¡¯t make it. Other than that, well, cuts, bruises, some arrows that struck but were mostly blocked by armor, so the wounds aren¡¯t too bad.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s incredible,¡± Draco said. ¡°Great to hear all went well.¡±

    ¡°As well as things could have gone. I¡¯m still impressed by how we did. If you need anything, feel free to take whatever you want. I believe there¡¯s some alcohol as well, should you be interested in celebrating the victory that way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°But I can think of at least one who is.¡±

    ¡°Score!¡± Seralyn said cheerfully, one arm raised in the air. It left me shaking my head, but I couldn¡¯t hide a small smile.

    ¡°Either way,¡± Vymar continued. ¡°Great job out there. Your father is a bit busy at the moment, but I assume he wants to make a round later in the evening. He¡¯ll probably stop by to talk to you then.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Velariah said with a nod. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    The major nodded as well before he walked off towards the back of the camp, passing the many adventurers and soldiers who were seated around campfires. Following his departure, Seralyn saw her chance to procure some booze and Draco suggested making a campfire we could call our own.

    Soon we were seated around a cozy fire, eating the turkey leftovers that we still had in addition to some fresh meat and blackberries that we got from the supply area.

    There was some talk about the number of goblins that had been killed. None of us expected it to be that high. Then, Eric brought up my injury, or rather, lack of serious injury from the mace impact.

    ¡°Well, I have pretty good regeneration abilities,¡± I said. ¡°And in addition to that, Nira is a great healer.¡± I looked at the harpy who turned her head away shyly. ¡°But what really kept me safe there was this armor.¡± I turned my attention to the new party we¡¯d been with for the past few days. ¡°Dworag is good. Like really, really good. If you have some time left here, I¡¯d highly suggest seeking him out. We can even come with you if you like, maybe strike some kind of deal. Wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to have that be the very first thing we do when we get back.¡±

    I paused there and looked at the lizardman whose eyes told me that he knew exactly what I was talking about.

    ¡°Because he¡¯s going to be busy, very busy,¡± Draco filled in.

    ¡°There will be many people who will see him in the days to come,¡± I added. ¡°So we want to be ahead of them. That is, if you¡¯re interested in the offer, or suggestion, call it whatever you like.¡±

    ¡°No, that sounds great,¡± Eric said optimistically. ¡°You¡¯re great at selling his stuff.¡±

    ¡°This is where we find out she gets a cut,¡± Seralyn said with a grin. ¡°Thanks for the demonstration.¡±

    Velariah and Draco both smiled while the three other elves seemed to think about their next course of action.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll have a look at what he has. Don¡¯t know the exact payout yet, but it can¡¯t hurt to get acquainted, perhaps get that deal you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    ¡°Weapons would be our priority,¡± Katus said. ¡°At least, we¡¯ve made it a point to get some better ones, but thinking about it, and seeing it, armor might not be a bad idea to get first. I suggest we at least have a talk with the smith.¡± He looked at both Krelion and Melse who nodded in agreement.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s just hope that nobody else got the same idea,¡± I said with a smirk.

    ¡°We¡¯ll just have to get to him first,¡± Velariah said playfully. ¡°And I can think of nobody who can run faster than you, El.¡±

    ¡°Are you suggesting we race the last bit when marching towards the village?¡± I said with the same mischief she had in her voice.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be against that.¡±

    ¡°Well then. I¡¯ll make sure to do that. You think your dad will get mad, though? Won¡¯t it look a bit unprofessional?¡±

    The knight shrugged.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it will matter much, and I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯d understand too. Maybe he¡¯ll even laugh about it once he finds out.¡±

    We shared some laughs and continued our small celebration - the real one would follow later once we were back in the village.

    It went on for quite a while, and evening marched forward undeterred, yet there was no sign of Valtheril leaving his tent. Eventually, we decided to just go to sleep. There were plenty of soldiers still stationed around the camp to keep it safe, so there was no reason for us to stay up. It was a nice prospect for each of us to get a full night¡¯s rest and we weren¡¯t going to let that go to waste.

    The soft grass was certainly more comfortable for our companions to sleep on. For me, it didn¡¯t matter much. What did help was not wearing helmets. I could finally enjoy the soft touch of Velariah¡¯s hair against my cheeks when she sat down in front of me.

    ¡°I missed this,¡± I whispered when the others were trying to fall asleep, keeping the words out of their ears. ¡°This feels so much nicer.¡±

    ¡°It does,¡± She whispered back. ¡°But I can¡¯t wait until we¡¯re back in our own bed. So much more comfortable than this.¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow,¡± I said softly, taking a small pause. ¡°And I¡¯d love a proper bath as well.¡±

    ¡°So much we need to do.¡±

    ¡°True, but let¡¯s sleep for now.¡±

    She nodded before wishing me good night.

    ¡°Good night, Vel.¡±

    I woke up to people walking around and hesitantly opened my eyes while yawning. Draco, Nira, and Eric were already awake, and Seralyn was in the process of packing the tent. When I finally had all my eyes open, I saw several soldiers working on taking down everything that was still standing. The tent had already disappeared and they were now folding the beds that remained.

    ¡°Seems it¡¯s almost time to head out,¡± I said, half disappointed, half happy.

    ¡°Morning Miss Elania, Miss Velariah,¡± Draco greeted us.

    ¡°Morning, Draco, Nira, Eric,¡± I said before yawning again. ¡°Had a good night?¡±

    ¡°As good as it gets,¡± Eric replied. ¡°How about you?¡±

    Velariah yawned and stretched her arms before shaking her head rapidly hitting me with her hair as she forced herself awake.

    ¡°Pretty good, but I think it¡¯s safe to say we all prefer a proper bed.¡±

    Both he and Draco grinned.

    ¡°So, how are we all doing?¡± The white-haired elf asked out of nowhere. ¡°Seralyn? Are you dead?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± The archer replied with her good old cocky voice. ¡°Didn¡¯t have that much to drink.¡±

    ¡°Glad to see you¡¯re getting smarter.¡±

    Our new companions woke up as well, and breakfast was quickly taken care of, just before one of the soldiers blew a horn in the middle of the camp. I¡¯d seen him bring the instrument to his lips, but the inconceivably loud noise that followed took me completely off guard. I winced in pain as my eardrums were assaulted.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± Seralyn spoke my exact thoughts. ¡°If it¡¯s not alcohol giving me a headache it''s a damn buffoon with an instrument.¡±

    ¡°That seemed entirely unnecessary,¡± Velariah added.

    A few more priests followed as we prepared to move out ourselves. All our supplies were repackaged and Nira took her place on my abdomen as I put on my helmet again. Everyone else finished their breakfasts as well and as the soldiers got in formation, I saw Valtheril appear among them, making his way over to us. He wasn¡¯t wearing his helm, yet his facial expression was hard to read, as was usual.

    His other body language did make him look quite relaxed, though.

    ¡°Hey there,¡± He said in a not too formal manner. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to see you, but I was too busy yesterday. Apologies for that.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re always busy,¡± Velariah said with a smirk. ¡°We¡¯re used to it.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± The general replied with a hint of mischief. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m happy to see you¡¯re all doing well.¡±

    ¡°No need to worry. We can take care of ourselves.¡± She looked down at his feet as a smile grew on her face. ¡°Still, thank you,¡± She added softly. ¡°And congratulations.¡±

    ¡°No need to congratulate me when I should be the one thanking you, all of you.¡± He looked around our group with his usual confidence. ¡°I know there will be fair recompense at the guild when it comes to monetary value, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all well aware that this goes much further than that.¡± He nodded. ¡°And for that, I wish to personally thank you.¡±

    He took a step towards Velariah and put an arm on her back, pulling her in and kissing her forehead. The sight was one I wouldn¡¯t expect to see mere weeks ago.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see you at home. There are still a few things I need to talk about on the way. I¡¯m hoping to be off-duty for a while after that, though I fear there will be all kinds of files making their way to my desk.¡±

    ¡°As usual,¡± Velariah said with a sigh and a smile when the hug was broken. ¡°I¡¯ll pray you get some time off. You deserve it, I think.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, and take care for now.¡±

    He nodded once before raising a hand to wave us goodbye as he walked off.

    Velariah didn¡¯t speak about what just happened and just put on her helmet before leading the way, beckoning the rest of us to follow without gestures or words.

    What followed was hours of silence. However, none of us seemed to be bored despite the lack of conversation. I did recall, however, that there was still plenty to talk about as soon as we split up from our new companions, and I was looking forward to explaining the concept of the Olympic games. I was certain my friends would be very much interested to learn more about a piece of history from my old world.

    There was one break that lasted a generous half an hour and after that, it was a straight line for the village which came into view at the end of the afternoon. It had me all excited to finally see the mansion and Minia again. The red glow of evening wasn¡¯t quite here yet, which had me hopeful that Dworag was still at his shop.

    ¡°You guys ready?¡± I asked when we were about a hundred yards out, eager to blow some life into what remained of our journey.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Velariah replied, all pumped up. She immediately started sprinting forward, passing the soldiers in front of us who looked at her. I could only imagine the confusion that was on their faces.

    Draco grinned and followed after her, followed by the three elves from the other party.

    ¡°Can¡¯t believe I¡¯m gonna do this,¡± Seralyn said with a sigh before following suit.

    I chuckled and then darted after them, quickly catching up and passing them. I saw Nira giggle as we made our way towards the village entrance, where we waited until the others arrived.

    ¡°Not fair,¡± Velariah said as she arrived, panting. A sprint in full armor was quite taxing, there was no doubt about it. Once more, I was thankful for the innate stamina that I possessed.

    I smirked at her as we got the attention of some of the villagers. Our arrival prompted a chain reaction and people stopped what they were doing to make their way to the gates to get a glimpse of the approaching army.

    From here, it did look quite impressive. Several columns of armored soldiers were marching led by mounted troops with Valtheril and Vymar at the center. Their formation was unbroken despite our little stunt, their discipline and training keeping them in check.

    Some adventurers who weren¡¯t bound to the army saw what we did and followed our lead. I couldn¡¯t tell if they had the same idea in mind as we did, or whether they were just dying to get back to civilization.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry,¡± Velariah said as soon as the others joined up. ¡°I have a feeling we¡¯re not alone in this plan.¡±

    I nodded and skittered through the ever-increasing crowd that started to gather here. Some were even clapping, their gratitude made known.

    ¡°That¡¯s one hell of a sight to return to,¡± I said after looking behind myself and turning back.

    ¡°Dawnleaf is free,¡± Velariah said calmly. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to remain at just clapping, at least not for those who have lost over the years.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what to say to that so I merely nodded. I¡¯d seen her own reaction and it had broken my heart at the time. I didn¡¯t feel like staying behind to watch others go through the same.

    We quietly made our way to the Dwarf¡¯s workshop and to the back area while Velariah entered the shop to summon him.

    ¡°If you want to check what he has,¡± I said to Eric and the elves. ¡°I imagine he¡¯d be more than happy to show you around inside as well.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Krelion said. ¡°We¡¯ll definitely do that after.¡±

    I nodded just as the door flung open with a loud thud as it hit the wall next to it. From the doorway appeared an overly happy dwarf with his short arms stretched out.

    ¡°Ah, Miss Elania. How I¡¯ve missed your face these past few days.¡±

    ¡°Hey, Dworag. Hope you¡¯re doing well,¡± I said meekly, trying to hide my embarrassment.

    I was getting used to the flirting but having him do it in front of new faces was a bit much,

    ¡°Oh, and I see you brought company,¡± He said, having a quick look around, his eyes resting briefly on each individual¡¯s armor before moving to the next.

    I smiled as I already knew that he knew what we were here for.

    ¡°Yep,¡± I said after his eyes found the dent in my own armor. ¡°We¡¯re going to need some help.¡±

 2.46 Found

    ¡°Help? Always ready ta help you out. What needs to be done? Wait, didn¡¯t you just get back? Why not take some rest first?¡±

    ¡°We did,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°But we wanted to get here before anyone else had the same idea, to be totally honest.¡±

    The dwarf let out a bellowing laugh.

    ¡°Smart woman you are. So you are successful? And I was the first you came to visit?¡±

    I nodded twice, once to each of his questions as he asked them.

    He stepped forward and extended an arm.

    ¡°Then let me be the first to congratulate you.¡±

    I gladly accepted it and shook his hand before he put it on his side.

    ¡°Now, what can I do to help?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± I said. ¡°First of all, I need some repairs on this chest piece. After that, I wondered if you¡¯d be willing to help out some people we met and fought with. I wanted to convince them that you¡¯re good at your trade, and I also hoped I could convince you to give them a discount.¡±

    ¡°A discount, eh?¡± He said, stroking his beard as he thought about it. ¡°Well, they do seem like they need something made by an expert¡¯s hand. I suppose I can knock off at least a few coins of whatever they purchase.¡± He tugged his beard again before looking me in the eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s get you out of that armor so I can go to work then, shall we?¡±

    His words, taken out of context, would fit his flirtatious nature, but there was nothing but seriousness in his voice when he said them. It made me look at him in confusion, and he answered the question that I had.

    ¡°You said there will be more people stopping by, no? If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like to get to work as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Ah,¡± I let out. ¡°I see. Thank you Dworag. I won¡¯t keep you waiting.¡±

    I took off the chest plate and he addressed the others.

    ¡°Feel free to look around inside, but try to hurry up. I planned to close shop for the day.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s alright,¡± Krelion replied. ¡°We¡¯ll stop by again tomorrow. We¡¯re very thankful for your help and don¡¯t want to burden you.¡±

    Dworag shrugged. ¡°Works for me.¡±

    ¡°Thank you again.¡± The leader of the elven party continued. ¡°And you too, Elania, Velariah. If you don¡¯t mind, we¡¯ll be off to the guild to collect our rewards and then head to our inn.¡±

    ¡°Take care,¡± Velariah responded, waving them off. Once they exited the alley, she turned to the rest of us. ¡°I suggest we head back home as well, unless you feel like stopping at the guild now, but I fear things may be quite hectic there right now.¡±

    Nira was quick to nod, which put a smile on my face.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good point,¡± Eric said. ¡°I¡¯ll be off as well. I suppose I¡¯ll see you somewhere at the guild tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°We can always pick up the reward in the morning,¡± I said. ¡°So yeah, if you¡¯re there then, we¡¯ll bump into each other.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± He said with a nod. ¡°I¡¯ll see you then.¡± He waved and left as well.

    ¡°And I¡¯d love to just get home as well,¡± I continued after he was gone. ¡°Perhaps get you guys something to eat.¡±

    ¡°Hell yeah,¡± Seralyn said, overly excited. ¡°Some proper food. I¡¯m in.¡±

    ¡°Well then,¡± Velariah said with a grimace. ¡°Let¡¯s have Elly cook up something.¡± She turned to the dwarf who was inspecting the chest plate I gave him, his fingers running over the metal, seemingly ignoring our conversation. ¡°Thank you Dworag. We¡¯ll probably stop by again tomorrow if that¡¯s not a problem.¡±

    ¡°Not at all. You guys get home safely and enjoy some rest.¡±

    When walking home, it was no surprise to see the white-haired knight¡¯s prediction come true. Rows of adventurers were waiting outside the guild hall in a more orderly fashion than I had thought, but it seemed the ones in front were eager to get in. Upon closer look, I thought I saw Vymar appear in the entrance, which would probably explain a thing or two.

    No skipping in line with that guy around. That¡¯s for sure.

    The best part came when we arrived at the mansion, where our mere knocking on the door caused movements inside. The clicking sound of nails on stone, followed by scratching on wood gave away that it was Gray. When a bark followed, I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.

    When Elly opened the door, the wolf pup immediately jumped at me, and then Velariah, and then me again, his tail wagging with excitement.

    ¡°Welcome home,¡± Elly greeted us as she smiled at the canine.

    ¡°Hey Elly,¡± Velariah greeted her back. ¡°How are things here?¡±

    ¡°Excellent. Quiet, but everything¡¯s going alright. Your father is here already as well.¡±

    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s interesting. I¡¯d expected him to linger at the guild.¡±

    ¡°I am not one to question him about it,¡± Elly replied. ¡°But he is still working on something, I believe. He¡¯s writing some things down at the table.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Guess I¡¯ll ask myself,¡± Velariah said as she bent forward to pet the little wolf. ¡°And it seems you¡¯re doing well, too. Thank you for taking care of him so well, Elly.¡±

    ¡°My pleasure.¡±

    We got rid of our armor and weapons as Velariah asked the maid to prepare some dinner, which, apparently, was already being prepared as we spoke. Once in the living room, the others sat down at the table next to Valtheril who was indeed busy with whatever he was doing, but did greet us warmly, so I didn¡¯t think it was anything bad.

    I, in the meantime, made my way over to our sleeping quarters after leaving Gray in Nira¡¯s care. The heterochromatic elf saw what I was doing, chuckled, and smiled.

    After closing the door, I stepped onto the bed, finally able to rest my legs and have them hang freely. I didn¡¯t know why, but even when sleeping or lying down on grass, I would still feel the tension building in them no matter how much I tried to relax them. Here, in this hammock of  silk, was the only place where I would feel that tension disappear completely.

    I let out a deep sigh, just as a certain spider I¡¯d already spotted earlier made her way across the wall until it jumped onto the hammock, right in front of where I was resting my head on a pillow.

    ¡°Hey, Minia. Missed me?¡±

    Her emotions told me a definitive ¡®yes¡¯

    ¡°I missed you too. Glad to see you¡¯re doing well.¡±

    I extended a finger and petted the spider, whose happiness rose with each stroke.

    ¡°What have you been up to, hmm?¡±

    She was confused. I assumed it was because she couldn¡¯t understand the question. It really made me wonder if my inherity affected her in some way. Her recent growth was unnatural, that much I was certain of, but more interestingly, it allowed me to understand her better, and she me. Just how complex could our communication be if this process repeated itself?

    Talking with spiders. I never thought I would have been this excited about it, especially after my first talk with Arch. I remember very well just how creeped out I was at that moment.

    All this had me remember my hypothesis from earlier.

    ¡°Minia, would you like to come with us to the dungeon one day?¡±

    Again, she couldn¡¯t understand the question, and a stream of confusion was projected into my mind.

    ¡°Go with us, outside,¡± I clarified.

    She was more than interested in that. She would love to come with us.

    ¡°I have to warn you though, it can be dangerous, and I may have to take some precautions to keep you safe.¡±

    I had feared that sentence was too intricate, but it seemed she knew the concept of ¡®keeping safe¡¯.

    ¡°Alright,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll go to the others now. ¡®I¡¯ll be back later, okay?¡±

    She then seemed to ask a question that translated into very simple words: ¡®can come with?¡¯

    ¡°If you want to, I guess it¡¯s alright.¡±

    She then jumped into my hair, ticking my skin as she readjusted herself so she was facing forward.

    ¡°Just don¡¯t randomly jump off or jump at anyone else, alright? I¡¯m not sure how they would react.¡±

    She agreed to the terms, and with that, I made my way back to the living room.

    ¡°Well, look at you,¡± Velariah said almost immediately after laying eyes on me.

    ¡°I know, I know,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t even start. How are things here?¡±

    ¡°Excellent,¡± Valtheril said, scribbling down what looked like a signature before neatly stacking the papers and taking them with him as he stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡± He excused himself and left to go upstairs.

    ¡°You guys discussing our next plans already?¡± I asked as I took my place at the table.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°We¡¯ll start with that tomorrow I guess, as well as finish up all the loose ends; armor, money, place the order for elven wood at the guild hall, etcetera.¡±

    ¡°How about lodging?¡± Seralyn asked. ¡°Will we still stay here for the foreseeable future?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind,¡± The other elf said. ¡°There¡¯s still no trace of Lorin and¡­¡± She paused, seemingly realizing something. ¡°Hold on, you guys heard nothing about the dungeon, have you?¡±

    We shook our heads almost in unison.

    ¡°Strange. Maybe my father knows more.¡±

    Heavy footsteps came from the stairs, heralding the general¡¯s presence. When he walked back into the room, he once more had a serious expression written on his face which didn''t disappear as he sat down. All of us remained quiet wondering what he was going to say, but instead, he seemed to take his time to think things over and nobody dared to disturb him.

    ¡°So,¡± he eventually spoke. ¡°The battle is past us, but we¡¯re not done yet, as much as I want to celebrate.¡±

    ¡°What is the matter?¡± The white-haired knight asked.

    ¡°We found the dungeon that you mentioned.¡±

    His words shocked us all. It was clearly visible on our faces, as well as the question ¡®How?¡¯

    ¡°If you¡¯re asking yourselves how, it¡¯s simple. Some of the soldiers were in fact highly skilled with a specific kind of magic, illusion magic. I estimated that with this many people, there wouldn¡¯t be a way for a dungeon to go unnoticed, except if it had a way to hide its entrance, and I was proven right in that regard. There¡¯s an entrance that¡¯s disguised with a spell. In addition, beyond that, there¡¯s a rune-locked door, which is worrying, to say the least.¡±

    ¡°A high-level dungeon? This close to Dawnleaf?¡± Velariah said with a gasp.

    Valtheril nodded slowly, indicating the severity of the find.

    ¡°I may have to go down there myself to make sure things are stable, but I believe you¡¯d like to be present, Elania, considering you have some way of communicating with it.¡±

    ¡°That,¡± I let out softly, doubt creeping into my mind. ¡°Remains to be seen. We don¡¯t know if it¡¯s hostile, if it was forced into doing what it did, or whether it¡¯s cooperative. If it¡¯s the latter, I can instruct it on how to communicate with me, but if not¡­ well, I don¡¯t really know what to do then.¡±

    ¡°That would mean it¡¯s nigh impossible to find out who collaborated with it.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°It could still be Lorin, but we can¡¯t know for certain.¡± I paused before an idea entered my mind. ¡°Wait,¡± I said quickly, just as it struck me. ¡°Has anyone entered the dungeon?¡± I asked Valtheril.

    He shook his head.

    ¡°Three soldiers remained behind, but nobody¡¯s entered yet.¡±

    ¡°What if Lorin is in there?¡± I suggested. ¡°Seems like a perfect hiding spot, no?¡±

    ¡°Plausible,¡± The general said. ¡°Unlikely, but plausible.¡±

    ¡°How do you enter a dungeon with a rune-locked door?¡± The usually quiet Nira suddenly asked.

    ¡°You either use a runed orb, obtainable from magic shops and only sold to adventurers with a high enough tier for the dungeons,¡± Valtheril said. ¡°Or break open the door with a spell powerful enough to break through, which is what I¡¯m going to do.¡±

    ¡°What about the door then?¡± I asked. ¡°Won¡¯t anybody be able to enter if the door is broken?¡±

    He smirked.

    ¡°A dungeon will simply remake the door, usually after the adventurers inside leave. It gets plenty of mana from the visitors to do that.¡±

    Another thing learned.

    ¡°Right,¡± The general suddenly spoke, determined, as he lowered his hand to the table and balled it into a fist. ¡°How much time do you need?¡± He asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to leave as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Uhm,¡± Velariah and I both hummed at the same time. I chose not to speak and look at her, allowing her to do the talking.

    ¡°One day,¡± She said. ¡°We need to sort out a few things tomorrow. After that, I think we¡¯re good to go.¡±

    ¡°Excellent,¡± He spoke. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for this, and I ask for your understanding.¡±

    ¡°You got it,¡± Velariah continued. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Believe me, we want this over with as quickly as possible as well.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± He said, shoving his chair back as he stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll inform the me-¡± He halted himself mid-sentence. ¡°Actually, no. I won¡¯t do that.¡±

    He slowly lowered himself back into the chair, just as Elly arrived with the first parts of dinner; bread and butter. If I were to guess, she was going to serve some soup.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to let things be for now and be here with you all for once,¡± He continued. ¡°Do tell me, did anything interesting happen during the mission?¡±

    Draco put on a large smile as Velariah started recounting several notable events. She obviously started telling her dad about the large battle we had, and how many goblins she and the others killed. She didn¡¯t hesitate to talk in great detail about how I mowed through trolls with my powerful new weapon.

    And then, of course, there was the turkey, or Kul-Kul as they called it. We still had those feathers with us, but as things stood, we¡¯d get no time to process the ones Seralyn wanted to save and to sell the rest.

    ¡°That reminds me, Elania,¡± Velariah suddenly called my name. ¡°You were going to tell us about something called the ompics, right?¡±

    ¡°Olympics,¡± I corrected her. ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Before I could continue, she already talked again, excitement rising within her eyes which left me smiling.

    ¡°A troll hit her by throwing a hammer,¡± She clarified to her father, and the others since they weren¡¯t close enough to hear me say it. ¡°And then she said something about him training for the Olympics.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°Where to start. Guess I¡¯ll start with the history.¡±

    I explained a bit of old Greek mythology and the mountain on which their gods resided, which was where the event got its name from. That little bit obviously couldn¡¯t be skipped. Then, I went on to elaborate on the event¡¯s history and how every four years the strongest Greeks would participate in several events that would put their bodies to the limits to see who would come out on top.

    I named the old sports that I could think of such as boxing, wrestling, jumping, running, javelin and discus throwing. In addition, I knew the older games included horse events, including chariot races, but I didn¡¯t know exactly how and why. I was certain I¡¯d missed several events, but there was no way of them knowing that anyway.

    Then, I went on to talk about the modern version of the games, which allows all nations to compete and added many different, new sports, such as swimming, weightlifting and a myriad of other spots. I chuckled as my eyes moved over to Seralyn.

    ¡°And yes, there¡¯s archery too.¡±

    ¡°Sick,¡± She replied. ¡°That would be awesome to compete in. What range are we talking about?¡±

    ¡°Honestly? I have no idea. I believe it was somewhere around two hundred and fifty feet. I¡¯ve looked it up at least once, but my memory is a bit fuzzy.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a decent challenge at least,¡± She said. ¡°I should start practicing.¡±

    ¡°The Olympics are not a thing in this world, you dummy,¡± Velariah grinned while verbally ¡®bonking¡¯ Seralyn.

    ¡°Until it is. And then I want to be prepared,¡± came her reply.

    Velariah shook her head and sighed.

    ¡°And what about the hammer?¡± She asked. ¡°They throw hammers? Is that correct?¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s a metal ball on a steel wire connected to a grip. I honestly have no clue why they call it a hammer, but I imagine they used to throw hammers in the past.¡±

    ¡°You people are crazy, you know that?¡± Seralyn let out. I could tell she wasn¡¯t entirely serious about it with that smirk of hers.

    ¡°You¡¯re one to talk. Climbing trees and all.¡±

    ¡°Guess what we¡¯re doing next year when we have the festival,¡± Valtheril suddenly said in a far-too-casual manner.

    Oh, no.

    The look in my eyes caused him to burst into laughter.

    ¡°Just kidding.¡± He said when Elly returned with a large pan of soup. I¡¯d been right and I couldn¡¯t wait to have some. ¡°But really, the concept is quite interesting. The strongest compete against each other and train for years to be the best at something. That¡¯s something I can only admire.¡±

    I knew that he¡¯d like the story to some degree as well. Hell, a good part of his life so far has been spent on training. No doubt he¡¯d appreciate others doing the same.

    ¡°Thanks for the amazing piece of history from your world, Elania,¡± he said as dinner was being served. ¡°I¡¯d love to learn more whenever you feel like it.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯d love to tell you more when I think there¡¯s something interesting that I can share, but there¡¯s just so much at the same time that I wouldn¡¯t know where to start, not what is considered safe.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± He assured me. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna wring you dry or anything,¡± He then said with a mischievous grin.

    I chuckled at his words and took some bread, dipping it in the soup absent-mindedly while thinking about the dungeon we were intending to visit the day after tomorrow.

    I wonder just what secrets and treasures it houses.

 2.47 Powder and Lightning

    After dinner and a few comments about the spider on my head later, mainly from Seralyn, it was time to say good night to the others. It wasn¡¯t that late yet, but I had something I wanted to talk about, and quite honestly, experiment with, in our room. For that reason, I went to the hallway and fetched my polearm, much to the surprise of the others. I saw their curious eyes follow me all the way to our bedroom as Velariah followed me with a giggle, very much aware of their stares.

    After closing the door, she closed the gap between us and took me in for a kiss, causing Minia to jump onto the hammock. She smiled widely as she broke away and her gaze shifted to the weapon in my hand.

    ¡°So, what''s your plan with that? Please enlighten me.¡±

    ¡°Something I thought of while out in the forest,¡± I said as I removed the scabbard, running my hand over the blade, feeling the little electricity the steel contained connect with my fingers.

    ¡°It really is like a nine-volt battery,¡± I whispered the exact words that were in my mind.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Velariah asked. ¡°Is this another one of your experiments?¡±

    ¡°Well, no, but also yes. Hmmm,¡± I let out as I thought aloud. ¡°How to explain¡­?¡±

    I let my eyes run over the steel of my blade before I move it in front of Velariah.

    ¡°The power of lightning,¡± I said. ¡°Feel it.¡±

    She did as I asked and touched the blade before looking at me with confusion.

    ¡°I feel it, what of it?¡±

    ¡°Well, in my old world, we called this electricity, which is basically a form of lightning that we ¡®tamed¡¯ so to say. We have many things in my world that are operated by consuming a steady stream of electricity. This power could be stored in things we call ¡®batteries¡¯, which, in a way, are similar to the heat- and coldstones that you use. They can be transported and be used in tools you take with you out in the world. One very specific type of battery would feel almost exactly like this if you touched it with your tongue or a wet finger.¡±

    ¡°¡®Wow,¡± Velariah let out. ¡°Tamed lightning? That¡¯s impressive. ¡°You know, we have tried storing lightning in stones as well, but any attempt has been unsuccessful.¡±

    ¡°What if I told you I know how to do it?¡± I said with a smirk.

    ¡°No, you do not.¡± She said, trying to sound convincing, but my smirk made her doubt herself almost immediately. ¡°You do.¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to believe how simple it is. That is, assuming you know what vinegar is.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we always have some. What else do you need?¡±

    I could see in her eyes she was excited to watch what I was going to cook up next.

    ¡°We already have everything. Well, almost. I wanted to do a bit of experimentation regarding my inherity.¡±

    ¡°What kind of experimentation?¡±

    ¡°Easy, Vel. If I¡¯m going to explain everything at once I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll overload your brain.¡±

    ¡°Then start with the beginning,¡± She said, as impatient as ever.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I was doing, dummy. Then, you interrupted me.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay, continue.¡±

    ¡°Here is the thing,¡± I started explaining further. ¡°Electricity can be manipulated in a multitude of ways without using magic by just using the science thing I talked about earlier. One of the things we learned is that electricity can travel through metal quite easily. Some metals work better for this purpose than others. We call these conductors, and the best-known one is copper, which is also easy to get, but silver is another, as is gold. Here is the thing, steel is also pretty good.¡±

    ¡°Ohhhh,¡± Velariah let out, interrupting me again as things started dawning on her. ¡°And now you wonder if your steelthread does the same thing.¡± She then paused for a second before I saw another figurative lightbulb turn on in her eyes. ¡°And you¡¯re wondering if you can create threads specifically for the purpose of forcing lightning through them.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± I said. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t quite end there. If I can do that, I¡¯m curious how far I can take it. I have no doubt I can create a battery, and if I can do that, and make threads with the properties I want, I can create something that can make a fire in seconds. Ideal for when we¡¯re out.¡±

    ¡°And what¡¯s wrong with Seralyn¡¯s magic? It¡¯s not like it takes long to light a fire when she uses her inherity¡¯s power.¡±

    ¡°Let me have my fun for once, will you?¡± I said with a grin. ¡°I can¡¯t believe how excited I am. And here I thought I was never going to use this seemingly useless knowledge.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one excited,¡± The elf replied. ¡°You got me all worked up now as well. I assume you want to use tomorrow to pursue these things?¡±

    ¡°You think I have the patience to wait?¡± I asked rhetorically. ¡°Hell yeah, I¡¯m gonna do this tomorrow. In fact, I wanted to check out one part now.¡±

    ¡°Always happy to help if you want me to.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± I replied while thinking of what else I¡¯d need.

    ¡°How did you suddenly come up with these ideas, though?¡± Velariah asked while digging up my inherity sheet. It seemed she was one step ahead of me in that regard.

    ¡°Communication,¡± I said. ¡°I grew frustrated at one point during the campaign at how long it took for messages to be delivered. I know of a method that is ancient and should be simple for me to replicate. Now, I¡¯m not saying I want Valtheril to know of it and use it. I guess it¡¯s more of an ¡®I want to know if I can do it¡¯ question, and who knows, maybe someday we can use it.¡±

    ¡°And what is that method if I may ask?¡± Velariah asked me with a sly smile.

    ¡°Alright, remember when I said metal conducts electricity? You make thin wires of metal and then send lightning through them. It will travel to the other end of the wire near-instantaneously, creating a steady flow. Alternatively, you can send short pulses this way, which can be seen as a message. We used to have a specific alphabet in my old world for this purpose. You would create short and long pulses which would stand for letters or a word, or a message. Three short, three long, and then three short pulses would be a call for help. We call it a telegraph system.¡±

    ¡°That distance¡­¡± Velariah let out, her eyes large with surprise, ¡°Is there a limit to it?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I have no idea. As far as I know, it¡¯s infinite, but I¡¯m pretty sure that electricity can¡¯t travel through metal endlessly. The current gets weaker as it travels further, so there may well be a maximum range.¡±

    ¡°By the goddess, that is insane. I know you¡¯ve come up with the most otherworldly ideas already, but if something like this exists¡­ I just can¡¯t wrap my head around it.¡± She shook her head. ¡°And yet, when you explain it like this, it all seems so, I don¡¯t know, fitting, or logical in a way.¡±

    ¡°This is just the tip of the iceberg. If you were to see my world, you wouldn¡¯t believe anything your own eyes saw.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s an iceberg?¡±

    I blinked and had to do a double-take to see if she was joking.

    She wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°Uh, it¡¯s a floating mountain of ice, usually found in the arctic areas of the world.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like quite the sight.¡±

    I chuckled.

    ¡°It is for certain, but I¡¯ve only seen them in pictures.¡±

    ¡°That has to be one of the strangest things. Being able to see things without ever going there,¡± Velariah said. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe such a thing can exist.¡±

    ¡°You have magic,¡± I fired back. ¡°Do you have any idea how many people on Earth would throw everything that we have away, just for the chance to become good at magic?¡±

    ¡°Judging from your tone, quite a few.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± I said with a nod. ¡°Anyway, shall we try?¡±

    ¡°Sure. but do you have any way of testing it, I mean, without the battery?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, I can probably check it with my polearm, and if not, I can test it again with a battery tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± She replied as I got in position and started thinking about copper, its softness, its electrical conductivity, and everything else that I knew about it. This had worked for steelthread, so I was hoping I¡¯d book the same results this time around. At the same time, Velariah took her place behind my abdomen and started gathering the threads that were formed.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s doing something alright,¡± She commented as she and I both felt the stiffness of the resulting silk.

    Just seconds after she said it, I felt the thread snap.

    ¡°Oops,¡± The white-haired elf called out. ¡°My bad.¡± She apologized and pulled on the silk, slower than before, but the thread snapped yet again.

    ¡°Damn it.¡±

    ¡°Hold on,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s grab the inherity sheet. I have a feeling I know what¡¯s going on here.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah. You¡¯re right.¡± She seemed to suddenly realize. ¡°I¡¯ll go get a knife.¡±

    She left the room as I looked at the paper. Without the words being there, I could already guess what was going to be there as soon as I¡¯d spilt a drop of blood on it. It didn¡¯t take long for her to return with a wide smile as she closed and locked the door again.

    ¡°You won¡¯t believe the looks I got.¡±

    ¡°I can imagine,¡± I replied, chuckling.

    ¡°And you look like you already know what¡¯s going to happen.¡±

    I nodded as she sat down on the edge of the bathtub, knife in hand and waiting for me. I offered my hand and after she¡¯d made a small cut, let the first droplet hit the paper.

    The words started disappearing, reappearing, and rearranging before ultimately settling down as the sheet finalized itself.

    Name: Elania

    Race: Arachne

    Age: 25

    Inherity 1

    Toxin Assimilation

    Grants the wielder complete immunity to all venoms and poisons that have the sole purpose of directly harming, or immobilizing the body. In addition, allows the wielder to synthesize any toxins that have previously been neutralized for their own use.

    Inherity 2

    Adaptive Body

    Evolutions allow for body enhancements and improvements of existing enhancements. In addition, allows minor adjustments to be made to the physique.

    Included enhancements:

    Regenerative Blood-Multi Eye Vision-Exoskeleton Hardening-???-Arachnid Communication-Tremor Detection-???-???-???-Healing Molt-???

    Inherity 3

    Corium Enhancement

    Allows Corium to be absorbed at a faster rate than usual for self, and nearby allies. Higher evolution levels increase this speed further.

    Inherity 4

    Silk Weaver

    Allows for the infusion of magical and physical properties in created silk. New options become available after evolutions.

    Currently learned:

    Strong Sticky

    Strong Non-Sticky

    Very Strong Water-resistant

    Fire-Resistant

    Weak Steelthread

    Rubber

    Very Weak Combustion

    Very Weak Copperthread

    ¡°Yeap,¡± I concluded. ¡°That¡¯s about what I expected.¡±

    Vellariah looked at me with expecting eyes.

    ¡°Very weak copperthread,¡± I clarified. ¡°Explains why it''s so brittle. Seems I¡¯m going to need an evolution or two before I can make proper use of the properties I intend to use it for.¡±

    ¡°So what do we do with this?¡± She held up an unbroken piece of thread, about ten centimeters long.

    ¡°How malleable is it?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Dunno,¡± She said as she handed it to me. ¡°I¡¯ll leave that for you to find out.¡±

    When I played with it for a few seconds, I found out I could twist and bend it as if it was a copper wire without it breaking. However, when I tried to pull it apart, it broke extremely easily.

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± I let out. ¡°So it has almost no tensile strength, but it can still be shaped without breaking as long as you¡¯re careful. Not the best, but I think I can work with this.¡± I paused for a second, thinking about my other newly-acquired thread. ¡°Makes me wonder if I can use my steelthread as well. Does it conduct electricity? I suppose we¡¯ll find out tomorrow. Wanna get some more silk prepared?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Velariah replied optimistically. ¡°I¡¯m very much looking forward to seeing what this can do¡­ and how you plan to make this thing that can store lightning.¡±

    ¡°Coins, Vel, coins. You¡¯ll see.¡±

    ¡°You totally ruined my sleep for the night.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± I said with a smirk. ¡°Let¡¯s get a few threads and then at least try to get some.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    And so we did. I created several more steel and copperthreads and tried making the latter a bit thicker. I was partially successful, and it did increase their resistance to being pulled apart slightly but it was still far from the copper I was used to. It made me think it may just be a good idea to combine several ultra-thin threads and then keep them together¡­ like wires.

    The possibilities with an inherity like this were seemingly endless and it had me stunned. Yet, it also made me even more worried. If any of this knowledge got out, I¡¯d be in serious trouble, but then again, the concept of wires and electricity wasn¡¯t known here. Even if people found out the wide variety of types of silk I could make, minus the rubberthread perhaps as I could see people coming up with uses for that, they would likely have no clue of its true value.

    ¡°By the way, Vel. What we¡¯re going to do tomorrow¡­ Do you think it wise for Elly and Valtheril to be present?¡±

    ¡°I doubt my dad will be home tomorrow, to be fair, so I doubt you¡¯ll have to worry about him. As for Elly, well, if you don¡¯t want her to know about this, I think she¡¯ll understand if you ask her to leave us alone for a bit.¡±

    ¡°Might just do that,¡± I said. ¡°You see, the thing about technology is, in the right hands, it makes life easier and safer. Now, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m a saint or anything, but I think I¡¯m not going to abuse any of it to gain power. I do intend, however, to continue experimentation and hopefully later combine it with other things as a matter of self-defense and survival.¡±

    ¡°Like that other thing you mentioned? Something with powder?¡±

    ¡°Gunpowder,¡± I said with a nod. ¡°Or black powder, but I¡¯m being very, VERY careful with that. I¡¯ll definitely look into it, but I just don¡¯t know when it is a good idea.¡±

    ¡°Is it something you¡¯d like to look into before we depart?¡± She asked. ¡°I mean, if you plan to use it for self-defense, wouldn¡¯t it make sense to have it ready before we head out into the unknown?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I replied. ¡°But I think you may have a point there.¡±

    I let out a deep sigh.

    ¡°Perhaps I do need to look into this sooner rather than later. Problem is, there is so much that I know about, but don¡¯t easily know how to replicate. I know how to make the powder, but bullets, and moreover, rifled barrels will be a major issue.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Velariah asked curiously.

    I chuckled and smiled as I walked to the hammock and prepared the pillows. Minia knew what this meant, reared her back legs, and jumped all the way onto the wall.

    ¡°Have I ever explained how a gun works?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. I may have forgotten, though.¡±

    ¡°Well then, my dear Vel. Allow me to enlighten you once again,¡± I said as I started taking off my only piece of clothing. ¡°A gun is basically a hollow, metal tube. In this tube, you put the powder, and after that, you put in a projectile known as a bullet, which, in the first guns, was basically a solid metal ball. There is a tiny hole at the other end that allows you to ignite the powder which then explodes inside the tube. This pushes the bullet out with immense force. The armor we have is probably useless against its destructive power.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± She started before pausing to take off her own clothes, all while shaking her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s little to say. The first guns were pretty bad, but when they were improved over time, they ended the use of any melee weapons as soldiers would simply fall before they could even get close enough to use them. There are some pretty brutal examples of that in my old world, and now I know for sure that I haven¡¯t told you about that yet.¡±

    ¡°Because you were afraid of how I would react to such information?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°I figured earlier that it wasn¡¯t exactly what you¡¯d like to hear, but I also don¡¯t want to keep this from you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s interesting to know about your history, but you also didn¡¯t have magic¡­ I wonder if high-tier metals, infused with magic and enchantments will stop those bullets.¡±

    ¡°Not something I¡¯ve thought about,¡± I admitted. ¡°But it may very well be the case. As I said, I¡¯ll have to experiment, but I¡¯ll also need Dworag¡¯s assistance making a barrel.¡±

    ¡°A barrel?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what we call the main tube.¡±

    ¡°Ah yes, you mentioned something about rifling. What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s comparable to what Seralyn talked about earlier. Thanks to her, I can now explain this with an example you can understand.¡± I smiled as Velariah climbed into the hammock. ¡°The feathers make her arrow spin mid-flight which ensures its stability and makes it way more accurate. You can do the same with bullets by making spinning grooves inside the barrel. It¡¯s incredibly important for accuracy and range, but again, I can¡¯t do that myself.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t break your head over it. If you want, we could get my father involved with Dworag and have him keep his mouth shut.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d hate to force that upon him. Perhaps we should talk to your father first before we do anything like that.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough.¡±

    I stepped into the hammock and took in Velariah for a close hug in the way that only I could.

    ¡°But that¡¯s something for tomorrow,¡± I said softly before closing the gap and kissing her soft lips. ¡°For now, let¡¯s try to get some sleep.¡±

    ¡°Sounds great. Can¡¯t wait for tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Neither can I,¡± I whispered before clapping out the lights. ¡°Good night, Vel.¡±

    ¡°Good night, El.¡±

 2.48 The Wonders of Science!

    It took a while to fall asleep, but at some point I had, and the rest that followed was excellent as I woke up feeling refreshed, well, as refreshed as I could be, anyway. Seriously, those commercials about people waking up smiling were as fake as fake could be. Everybody knew it was a scam and that such happiness could only be achieved after a nice, hot cup of coffee.

    I wondered if decaffeinated coffee could wake me up in quite the same way. Perhaps I could mix it with those energy potions to get the desired result.

    That sounded like it could work.

    I¡¯m a genius!

    ¡°Morning, El,¡± I heard Velariah say from beneath me.

    ¡°Morning, Vel,¡± I whispered back before giving her a quick kiss. ¡°Slept well?¡±

    ¡°Decent, but I¡¯m glad I¡¯m awake.¡±

    ¡°That bad, eh?¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± She replied with a giggle. ¡°Even though today is a day off, I have the feeling we¡¯re going to be quite busy.¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. Let¡¯s get some breakfast and then we¡¯ll get to work.¡±

    She smirked and I let go of her and stepped out of the hammock, turning on the lights in the process. I noticed a certain spider looking from the wall, vigilant as ever.

    ¡°Morning Minia, hope you are doing well too.¡±

    When I looked at her, I felt the familiar stream of emotions coming from her, I could sense she was happy and content.

    I smiled and quickly got dressed, as did Velariah. Then, it was time for breakfast which was already served.

    ¡°Seriously,¡± I let out as I walked into the room where the others were already seated and waiting. ¡°How does this keep happening? It¡¯s not even that late yet, is it?¡±

    ¡°I know exactly where you can save time,¡± Seralyn replied with a far too ominous smile.

    I simply shook my head as I took my place at the table, just as Velariah entered the room as well.

    ¡°Morning, Miss Elania, Miss Velariah,¡± Draco greeted us politely. ¡°Hope you slept well. Have you any plans for today?¡±

    ¡°You bet we have plans,¡± The white-haired elf said optimistically as she hurried to the table and immediately started buttering some bread. ¡°You¡¯re gonna love it.¡±

    ¡°Not sure if I like the sound of that,¡± Seralyn replied, her smirk wiped off of her face.

    ¡°I think you¡¯ll like it,¡± I added in a calm manner.

    Draco smiled widely, a smile that didn¡¯t disappear for the entirety of breakfast¡­ which was rather short. Velariah made sure of that. The speed with which she was stuffing her face was unmatched, well, it was matched by me, I supposed.

    ¡°Alright,¡± She said after finishing. The others weren¡¯t quite done yet, but she didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°What do we need?¡±

    ¡°Copper and silver coins,¡± I said. ¡°An equal amount of each. The more the better.¡±

    ¡°Got it. What else?¡±

    ¡°A bowl of vinegar, and a bowl of vinegar mixed with salt to clean any dirty coins. We¡¯ll also need a pair of scissors and thick paper or something like that.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±

    I nodded.

    And with that, she sprinted off to the kitchen.

    ¡°What have you done to her?¡± Seralyn asked in surprise as Nira was left giggling at the hyperactive elf.

    Neither Elly nor Valtheril were present so I figured I could at least let slip a little bit.

    ¡°I promised her to show magic without possessing magic.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Draco said. ¡°Now that sounds interesting.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it is. Trust me.¡±

    We finished our breakfast, just as the knight dashed through the house, collecting everything we needed and putting it on the table. Then, we decided to have this experiment done in our room where we could lock the door, just in case.

    I sat down next to the bathtub with the others in a circle around the objects in the center. If anything, it felt like a game night, despite the day only just starting.

    ¡°Twenty of each coin?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re not messing around, are ya?¡±

    ¡°You never specified how many you need. I figured it would be better to have too many than too few.¡±

    ¡°I suppose it doesn''t matter. Here¡¯s the thing, the more coins, the stronger the battery.¡±

    ¡°Battery?¡± Seralyn let out. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Shhh, let her do her thing,¡± Velariah replied. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡±

    I then checked out the paper she¡¯d brought. It seemed to just be a thicker version of the paper that was used to write on. It wasn¡¯t quite cardboard, but I supposed it would have to do. The first thing I did was look for any coins that were dirty and submerged them in the vinegar and salt mixture. I waited a bit before taking them out, and when I did, they were shiny and seemingly brand-new.

    I then started going through the process step by step, cutting even circles from the paper, and drenching them in vinegar, before stacking everything in two piles, alternating between coin, paper, and another kind of coin. I then used the copperthread I¡¯d created the day before and connected them to the poles with a bit of normal silk.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Seralyn eventually said, unimpressed. ¡°And now what?¡±

    ¡°Now, I¡¯m going to try to see if I can make this battery generate heat.¡±

    I connected the batteries in series using the wires and then completed the circuit by using a small piece of steelthread between the two copper wires to close the circuit. If I correctly recall, more heat would be generated if I did it this way because steel¡¯s resistance is higher than copper.

    But, I could be wrong here. Even more reason to experiment.

    I was excited to see what would happen but was disappointed to see nothing. I touched the piece of steelthread and noticed it was starting to get slightly warm, but it wasn¡¯t anywhere near the power it needed to be able to set things alight.

    ¡°Well, fuck,¡± I let out.

    ¡°Is it not working?¡± Velariah asked. Did we do something wrong?

    I shook my head.

    ¡°It is working. It¡¯s just that the power it generates is too little to make this thread hot enough.¡±

    ¡°Any way to fix that?¡± She asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking¡­¡±

    I wished I¡¯d paid better attention. Increasing the number of cells used in a battery would increase the volts, I knew that much, but I didn¡¯t know if it would increase the power output by much. Besides, the sheer size of a battery any bigger than this would just become unwieldy.

    What about the fluid?

    Vinegar is a mixture of water and some kind of acid. I wasn¡¯t sure what kind of acid, but I knew it wasn¡¯t very strong. I was certain that almost everyone knew about battery acid, and it was clear to many people that leaking batteries was a bad thing, partially because the acid in them was dangerous.

    If I had a stronger acid, would that generate more power?

    ¡°Hmmmmm,¡± I let out with a sigh, my eyes fixed on the working, yet mediocre battery before me.

    ¡°Do you think Master Pylanor has something that¡¯s quite acidic? I¡¯m looking for something stronger than vinegar.¡±

    ¡°Acidic?¡± She asked, before I saw her pupils go to the edges of her sockets as she seemed lost in deep thought.

    ¡°Acidic,¡± She said again. ¡°Why don''t you try your venom? That stuff seems potent.¡±

    ¡°Would that work?¡± I asked. ¡°Actually, you know what? Let¡¯s try.¡±

    I took the bowl of vinegar and emptied it into the sink before getting back in position and placing my fangs inside.

    ¡°So I need something acidic, but I also need a bit of water mixed in,¡± I stated before closing my eyes, praying I could do this. My inherity stated I could create any venom or poison that had previously affected me, but I didn¡¯t quite know which I needed in this situation, so I hoped that I could mix it in the same way I could manipulate my silk.

    I needed something extremely acidic, yet it needed to contain water as well.

    A lime green venom flowed through my fangs into the bowl, which had me taken aback. At the same time, my thinking did seem to have some kind of effect. I hadn¡¯t seen this color before.

    ¡°Woah, that¡¯s bright green,¡± Velariah stated. ¡°It looks kind of cool.¡±

    ¡°I hope that worked,¡± I said.

    I then disassembled the batteries, cleaned the coins, and cut new paper circles which I drenched with my watery venom. It wasn¡¯t the thick, oozing liquid I was used to in the slightest.

    ¡°If this works,¡± I said, reassembling my earlier creation. ¡°I¡¯m gonna be truly shocked.¡±

    Draco chuckled and observed what I was doing with great interest, as was the ever-so-quiet Nira. I finished my work and started connecting the wires again.

    ¡°Well, here¡¯s the moment of truth,¡± I said as I connected the steelthread to the copperthread, short-circuiting the whole in hopes of getting heat generation.

    Almost immediately, the short piece of thread started changing color, first to black and then to red as its temperature increased dramatically.

    ¡°What the-¡± I let out before I saw it glow an even hotter white.

    I quickly broke apart the two threads, with my pedipalps of course as I felt like I¡¯d burn my fingers if I tried using them.

    I wasn¡¯t the only one left shocked. All the others were still looking at the thread that was cooling down quickly, and none of them seemed to have any idea what to say.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Seralyn was the first one to speak. ¡°What. The. Fuck. Was that? You don¡¯t have any magic, right, Elania?¡±

    ¡°Nope, unless you count my abilities, but no, this wasn¡¯t magic. This was electricity.¡±

    ¡°Lightning,¡± Velariah clarified.

    ¡°How was that lightning?¡± The baffled archer asked.

    ¡°This is what happens when you send lightning through thin wires,¡± I explained. ¡°It generates heat, enough heat to start fires in cases.¡±

    ¡°But how¡­?¡±

    ¡°Science,¡± Velariah said with a single word.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite impressive,¡± Draco said calmly. ¡°What uses does this have?¡±

    ¡°This?¡± I asked. ¡°Not so much. I was trying to make something that could start a fire, you know, just to see if I could put something like that together. This, however, far exceeded my expectations. Honestly, I¡¯m shocked.¡±

    ¡°I can see that,¡± Seralyn said surprisingly calmly. ¡°But you just created magic out of nowhere.¡±

    ¡°This has nothing to do with magic,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°This has to do with the way different substances interact with one another and how we learned over hundreds of years how to exploit those interactions to amplify things in a way that is useful to us. You saw it glow white-hot, right?¡±

    Each one of them nodded slowly.

    ¡°Well,¡± I continued. ¡°That¡¯s how we create light in my old world. We send this electricity, or lightning as you will, through a very thin metal thread that will glow a bright white. When everything is exploited and optimized for light, you create something that is far, far brighter than anything a fire can do, and yes, even brighter than the light orb we have in the bathroom.¡±

    ¡°Can you make anything like that?¡± Velariah asked.

    ¡°A lightbulb,¡± I said softly as I started thinking about her question. Could I make one? If there was someone with sufficient skill when it came to blowing glass, I should be able to create something that at least resembled one, only the issue was, there was some kind of gas inside, and I had no idea where to get it.

    Sure, I knew about neon lights, and I believe some cars used xenon, which led me to believe other noble gasses were used, perhaps argon or krypton, but again, how the hell was I going to find those in a low-tech world, let alone use them?

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t,¡± shaking my head in disappointment. ¡°Besides, once again I¡¯d need help from others, in particular, a skilled glassblower, and then a whole bunch of other things that just can¡¯t be done with the technology we have here.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Velariah reassured me. ¡°It¡¯s fascinating to hear about it nonetheless.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for sharing that, Miss Elania,¡± Draco said with a small smile. ¡°It was very¡­ enlightening.¡±

    ¡°Oh no you didn¡¯t,¡± The white-haired elf said before bursting into laughter.

    ¡°Oh yes he did,¡± Seralyn added with a chuckle.

    Nira was left giggling and I was left with a smile that ran from ear to ear.

    ¡°Still,¡± I said, looking at the disconnected threads that ran from my makeshift battery. ¡°Generating heat like this should still have plenty of applications. Not that I¡¯m going to explore all of those, and it¡¯s not necessary either, because as Velariah said before, we can use Seralyn¡¯s inherity to light a campfire quite easily.¡±

    ¡°Does this mean that you can do that other thing you talked about?¡± Velariah asked. ¡°The tele thing?¡±

    ¡°Telegram,¡± I said. ¡°And technically, I believe so.¡±

    ¡°Hold on a second,¡± Seralyn interjected. ¡°This lightning thing. You said you create light with it AND you can use it to generate heat AND you have something else as well? Just what else can you do with it?¡±

    I chuckled and let out short, soft laughter before smiling slyly.

    ¡°Everything.¡±

    ¡°Everything?¡± She and Nira both asked at the same time.

    I nodded.

    ¡°Everything. Heating, cooling, cooking, transport by land, by sea, and even through the sky, send messages to the other side of the world in a fraction of a second as well as pictures. You can use it for just about anything you can imagine. You can show the exact time of day on something you strap around your wrist precisely to the second. The possibilities are literally endless.¡±

    ¡°And just how much of that can you do?¡± She then asked, baffled.

    ¡°Almost none. I know a fair deal of things, but most of this is far, far beyond me¡­ unfortunately.¡±

    ¡°You should tell them about the other thing,¡± The white-haired elf suggested.

    ¡°Gunpowder?¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°Are you sure I should? I¡¯m afraid it will scare Seralyn.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The archer let out. ¡°Something I should be scared of? Why?¡±

    ¡°Because it made bows and arrows obsolete,¡± I responded. ¡°Well, in a way at least. Actually, hold on.¡±

    I had thought about it before. Seralyn¡¯s inherity had to do with increased accuracy with ranged weapons. If I were to make some kind of primitive gun, the accuracy would undoubtedly be terrible¡­ but what if Seralyn used it?

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± I let out.

    ¡°Not sure if I like the sound of that,¡± Seralyn commented.

    ¡°I mean,¡± I continued. ¡°I have a wild idea in my head that I¡¯d like to try out, but It would have to be in a private setting, and the best place I know we can put this into action would be the dungeon. I have the craziest idea for your inherity, and¡­ you know what? Screw it. I¡¯ll go and prepare the powder as soon as I can.¡±

    I was done waiting. I wanted to get this done as soon as possible now as it would give me another means of defending myself. It would take time working out, and as Velariah had mentioned earlier, it could be useful to have this ready before setting off to the desert and beyond.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need Dworag¡¯s help to make the barrel, and-¡±

    Realization struck me.

    ¡°Oh, fuck. We completely forgot about going to the guild hall.¡±

    ¡°Oops,¡± Velariah said with a devilish smile. ¡°You think Eric¡¯s been waiting for us?¡±

    ¡°I damn hope not,¡± I said, feeling sorry for the guy. ¡°But we should go there anyway just in case he is.¡±

    ¡°And to collect our reward,¡± Seralyn added. ¡°But you still haven¡¯t told me what this thing is, and more importantly, how it has anything to do with my inherity.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± I said, deciding to keep her in the dark and guessing.

    Damn, teasing felt good, especially when done to her.

    ¡°Though, Vel,¡± I called her name, remembering something we talked about earlier. ¡°If we¡¯re going to Dworag, do you think your dad can join us to make him aware that this is supposed to remain secret?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure Dworag will agree to those terms either way, but I reckon it doesn¡¯t hurt to have my father there. Especially if you want him to help you out with other things too.¡±

    ¡°Just wondering what kind of story we should come up with if he asks what all these things are for and where I got the ideas from.¡±

    ¡°Or we just tell him to not ask.¡±

    ¡°I mean, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Anyway,¡± She continued. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the guild. I¡¯ll check with Elly if she knows where my father is.¡±

    We nodded and had her lead the way back to the living room. I stayed behind for a minute to disassemble the battery and clean the coins, paper, and bowls, not wanting to leave behind a trace of my experimentation. If I wanted to, I could make it again on very short notice.

    I left the coins in the sink but took the other things with me to the dining area, where I placed the glassware on the table, just as Velariah left the kitchen.

    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re due to visit the treemender¡¯s oak,¡± She said carefreely. ¡°My father said he¡¯d be having a talk with master Pylanor.¡±

    ¡°At least for once we know where he is,¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°That¡¯s something alright.¡±

    ¡°Now we hope he¡¯s not locked in unending conversation,¡± Velariah said, walking towards the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

 2.49 Smithinâ€™ & Mixinâ€™

    Despite Velariah¡¯s eagerness to head out, we couldn¡¯t skip donning our armor, that was minus my chest piece which was in Dworag¡¯s hands. Elly left at the same time we did, taking Gray with her on a walk, and I of course couldn¡¯t help but give him some attention before we split up.

    In the treemender¡¯s workplace, the huge oak, there was more activity than usual, which mostly had to do with some of the injuries that were sustained in the battle against the trolls and goblins. None of the curtains were closed, however, and despite bandages on display, it couldn¡¯t be that bad.

    But I knew that even minor injuries such as sprains could lead to needing a lot of rest so I was in no position to question the experts here.

    Pylanor and Valtheril were nowhere to be seen, but the door to the back room with all the equipment of an alchemist¡¯s wet dream was heavily guarded by a grand total of three of the General¡¯s soldiers. There was no guessing where they¡¯d gone off to.

    Velariah made a beeline to the three men and started asking them a question. A nod followed which led to the elf¡¯s next inquiry. After receiving an answer she walked back to us.

    ¡°A few minutes more. We might as well go to the guild hall to pick up our rewards and whatnot.¡±

    Nodding, we followed her.

    Unfortunately for us, Eric wasn¡¯t present. In fact, the place was surprisingly empty. I¡¯d expected it to be filled to the brim with adventurers eager to spend their newly-acquired coin, and while I did notice one drunkard who seemed to live up to that, there wasn¡¯t a whole lot to see here.

    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s interesting,¡± I commented. ¡°Where did everyone go?¡±

    ¡°How much do you want to bet they already spent their money yesterday?¡± Seralyn asked. ¡°I¡¯m gonna assume that¡¯s what you were thinking about. Was I right?¡±

    ¡°Hate to say it, but you were. Still.¡±

    I turned my head to the quest board to see that the wooden panel was almost completely empty. I could imagine people having taken available quests, but it would not surprise me if there just wasn¡¯t anything in the first place. The board being empty told me little.

    ¡°Or,¡± Velariah said, ¡°Hear me out. People drank so much, they got the worst hangovers and are all staying at home.¡±

    ¡°Hm, that seems plausible.¡±

    She chuckled and walked towards the lore keeper who was always present without a fault, holding a pouch she just fished out of Draco¡¯s backpack. Moments later, she was filling it with a bunch of silver coins, and I believe I saw a couple of gold ones too. All in all, the pay was handsome, but for us, and in a way unfortunately, it paled in comparison to what I could do with this body.

    Being able to create money with what was basically my butt still didn¡¯t sit well with me in a way. My friends were understanding, but there was no doubt I¡¯d earn the ire of others if they knew. Not just that, not working hard for money just felt less rewarding on a spiritual level. Though, I did fully understand the value of having better armor and equipment. It could mean the difference between life and death, and as such, I wouldn¡¯t complain.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s that,¡± Velariah happily exclaimed after turning around, a heavy pouch stretched outward. ¡°I hope you have fun dividing this later.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not,¡± Draco replied as the knight deposited the pouch where it originally came from.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s hope my father is about done.¡±

    I smiled as she left the building again, her energy radiating onto all of us in the form of wide grins as we followed.

    It took another minute or two of waiting in the oak, but then finally, the door opened and Valtheril and Master Pylanor finished their talks. They spotted us waiting, and the General made his way to us while the treemender gave us a smile before walking to one of the patients.

    ¡°Seems you are eager to see me. What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°Father, can we have a moment of your time?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m all ears.¡±

    ¡°I just want to ask something. Can we do that in private?¡±

    Velariah pointed at the backroom and her dad nodded.

    I figured it was the smartest move to do it like this. Perhaps he would know more about Dworag¡¯s willingness to help with our plans and perhaps his loyalties, but the dwarf had never struck me as dishonest. I¡¯d much prefer to ask him over Coldanus.

    It didn¡¯t even take a minute and the two already returned, with Velariah nodding to us, seemingly to convey that he had agreed. They then led the way towards the dwarf¡¯s workshop.

    Valtheril entered while the rest of us walked around, halting in the alley, all while my mind was working overtime once again.

    ¡°Did he state any terms?¡± I asked Velariah. ¡°Did he agree just like that?¡±

    ¡°He did. And there are no terms.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to explain to him what I intend to do with Dworag¡¯s work?¡±

    She shook her head.

    ¡°Nope. I explained a couple of things and he¡¯s respecting your desire for secrecy.¡± She chuckled. ¡°I daresay he likes and trusts you.¡±

    ¡°I mean¡­¡± I let out, unsure what to reply. ¡°Wasn¡¯t expecting that, but I suppose there¡¯s a good deal of trust involved.¡± I looked at her and let out a sigh. ¡°I want this to be a tool of self-defense for myself. We¡¯ll find out whether it¡¯s beneficial or of any use for Seralyn. If, and that¡¯s a big if, it¡¯s useful, we could consider using it in private settings like dungeons, but there are many things we¡¯ll have to take into account if we want to do anything like that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Velariah said reassuringly. ¡°We¡¯ll find a way. We always do. I think part of my dad¡¯s thinking is that he also wants to give you plenty of freedom to make you feel more at ease. It¡¯s no secret to him that you¡¯ve been of significant impact on the village as a whole.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps that¡¯s true,¡± I said as I started walking again. ¡°I¡¯m thankful either way.¡±

    We stepped into Dworag¡¯s work area where the forge was all heated up. Several pieces of armor that I recognized as the soldiers¡¯ were laying around, apparently already fixed as they were in pristine condition. Among them, I found my own chest plate, as good as the day it was first made.

    ¡°Hot damn,¡± I let out. ¡°He sure works fast, doesn¡¯t he?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but make my way over to my equipment, picking it up and inspecting the metal. There had once been a massive dent, but there was not a trace of it remaining.

    ¡°Impressive.¡±

    ¡°Not as impressive as those eyes of yours,¡±

    I sighed, then smiled and chuckled as I shook my head.

    ¡°Dworag. How¡¯s it going?¡±

    He approached us from the back of his shop, Valtheril following him closely, and with an inquisitive look directed at the dwarf. I was impressed that the short, bearded man still dared to flirt with me even with the general right there.

    ¡°Good, and it appears you have yet another request.¡±

    ¡°A special request, yes, and I hope Sir Valtheril has made you aware of the contingencies related to it.¡±

    ¡°Aye, he has, and I agreed to the terms. I¡¯ve been working for hours now to get all this armor fixed, yet when I was made aware of this, my hands started itching, curious to see what you¡¯d like done.¡±

    ¡°Wait, are you done?¡± I asked.

    ¡°For today, yes. There are a few more items left that I¡¯ll work on tomorrow, but I¡¯ll gladly work on anything you come up with.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it,¡± Valtheril suddenly interrupted. ¡°I¡¯ll be back home if you need me.¡±

    Velariah thanked him as he left through the alley, leaving me to think about the design of one of the most primitive types of firearms - the matchlock rifle. There were still a few problems I was facing, such as the stock and trigger, but the base could be worked out. In fact, since we had the day off, we could try to create a stock out of a piece of wood. I knew just the perfect candidate for that job.

    ¡°So,¡± Dworag said, his hands on his hips. ¡°What needs working on?¡±

    ¡°So,¡± I started. ¡°I need a tube, made from strong steel that can withstand quite some force. Do you have any kind of rod at hand so I can explain better what I need exactly?¡±

    He nodded.

    ¡°Just a sec.¡±

    He walked into his shop and returned momentarily, a rod, or rather, a large iron pin in one of his hands.

    ¡°Will this do?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it will do just fine.¡±

    I then instructed him on the specifics, about the hole that would have to be created going down the rod, about how it should be as straight as possible and not all the way through. Then, there¡¯d also have to be a small hole at the side to allow ignition of the powder inside and a small bowl of sorts; the pan. In addition to all that, the walls of the barrel would have to be quite thick. I had no idea whether his steel would be adequate, but I also had no idea about the chemical makeup of the normal steel we used.

    I figured just any strong metal would do.

    Additionally, we needed a rod that would fit inside the tube. Whether it was wood or metal didn¡¯t matter much.

    Dworag scratched his head. He clearly had no idea what this was going to turn into, which was probably for the better. It made me realize that perhaps it was not a good idea to ask him for the metal balls that would be used as ammunition.

    ¡°I can get that done before the end of the day, maybe even before the end of the afternoon. About payment¡­¡±

    He seemed to think for a few moments.

    ¡°Two gold coins isn¡¯t ripping you off, is it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine Dworag,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about asking too much. I mean, you know.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that reminds me of your chest piece.¡±

    ¡°How much was that?¡±

    ¡°Three silvers.¡±

    I turned my head to Velariah, who giggled as she reached for Draco¡¯s backpack. The lizardman had seen the writing on the wall already and had turned his back to the elf. After she paid the smith, I took my piece of equipment and had her help me put it back on.

    ¡°Fits like a glove¡­ again. Thank you Dworag.¡±

    ¡°Happy to see it being put to good use. Kind of an odd thing to say, but you know what I mean.¡±

    ¡°I know. Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    We said our goodbyes and then, on my suggestion, went off to the lumber yard. On the way, I described what I wanted as best I could. We¡¯d need a sturdy piece of wood that could still be shaped with either tools or just a sharp knife. I showed the dimensions of what I was looking for with my hands and Velariah assured me something like that wouldn¡¯t be rare at all.

    ¡°This is getting weirder and weirder,¡± Seralyn commented as the four of us waited outside.

    ¡°Wait until you see the finalized result,¡± I said with a grin. ¡°Also, Nira, I¡¯m going to need your skills when it comes to woodworking.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± She let out with a yelp. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen your work back in the cave. I have no doubt that with some proper tools, you¡¯ll be able to make exactly what we need. If you want, of course.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll be glad to help. It¡¯s just that this whole thing seems a bit complicated so I¡¯m not too sure.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll just draw what I have in mind¡­ and then burn that piece of paper right after you finish. It¡¯s quite simple and doesn¡¯t have to be perfect at all.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± She said, a bit more sure of herself already. ¡°If you say it will be fine, I trust you.¡±

    ¡°Then, there is one more thing that needs to be done¡­¡± I said with a certain hesitation. ¡°A crucial piece of the puzzle¡­¡±

    ¡°And what may that be?¡± Draco asked, his eyes as innocent as ever.

    ¡°Guano,¡± I said, trying to sound convincing without embarrassment. ¡°And I know just where to get that.¡±

    ¡°What the actual fuck,¡± Seralyn said in utter disbelief. ¡°Hold on, you mean to tell me you create a weapon from poop?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m telling you. Don¡¯t let anyone else know, though.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Seralyn said. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I need to see this for myself. This just sounds ridiculous to me.¡±

    ¡°I just hope I get the method to do it right on the first try. I¡¯ve never actually done it, just read about it.¡±

    Velariah exited the building with a block of wood of an excellent shape and a smile on her face. It quickly changed into a grin when I told her about the next part. We¡¯d have to make a quick stop at the treemender¡¯s oak again to get some filtration paper, and then get a container from home, and some cloth to wrap it in. I imagined walking through town with a stinky bowl would attract attention.

    So the next fifteen minutes were spent on getting that all solved. We managed to get the paper from Pylanor without issues and then dropped off everything we¡¯d collected so far at home before taking a bag and the largest wooden bowl with us from the kitchen. The others then stayed behind as Velariah and I went off together to the edge of the forest where I could get at least a bit of privacy when emptying my¡­ I didn¡¯t even have a clue what organs spiders had down there on the inside.

    One bowl full of guano, and not a single comment about it from Velariah later, we made our way back to the mansion, during which I explained what had to be done with this. We¡¯d have to mix it with warm water, filter it, and then leave it for a good while. If my memories served correctly, we¡¯d have white crystals form over time in the solution that remained.

    ¡°How, and why do you know this?¡± Velariah asked curiously after Elly opened the door and greeted us, returning to the other room afterward.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good question,¡± I replied. ¡°Why are we interested in certain things? It¡¯s a bit of a philosophical question and I suck at those. This matter just fascinated me, as did the seemingly mundane process of creating it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly the reason why you want this to remain a secret, right? The simplicity of something so destructive?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°The ingredients are so common and easy to come by. Normally, sulfur, the yellow stuff I harvested from the volcano, would perhaps be the hardest to come by as these white crystals can be harvested from feces. Though, if you don¡¯t have guano, it¡¯s much harder to get decent yields, I¡¯ll admit it. There¡¯s one more ingredient and you won¡¯t believe how easy that is to get.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± She asked as we were halted in the hallway to unequip our armor.

    ¡°Charcoal.¡±

    ¡°You gotta be kidding.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m not.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just crazy.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± I said. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t clear why I¡¯m being very very cautious about all this, maybe now it is.¡±

    ¡°It was clear already, but now it is even more so. Are you sure you want to go through with this?¡±

    ¡°I am. There are too many instances where this will be beneficial to us when going down in dungeons, and there¡¯s the self-defense portion as well in case we are ever attacked by other adventurers or soldiers. Let¡¯s hope that doesn¡¯t happen, but if it does, it¡¯s better to be prepared.¡±

    ¡°Fair,¡± She concluded as we finished. ¡°I¡¯ll take this to the kitchen. Can you help our Nira with your awesome drawing skills?¡±

    ¡°My drawing skills suck, and you know it.¡±

    She giggled as she took the bagged bowl and took it to the kitchen, all while Seralyn stared her down.

    I made my way over and saw that Nira had already been given a few tools in the forms of a chisel, a small hammer, and a small knife that seemed to be specifically made for this purpose. Some paper and a pencil lay ready for me as well.

    It seemed Elly had spoiled them with a cup of coffee and a platter of cookies, of which I grabbed one as I took my place at the table.

    ¡°Everything went well, I hope?¡± Draco said.

    ¡°Yeah. a good part of this is going to be a matter of time,¡± I replied. ¡°Including this.¡± I took a piece of paper and laid the block of wood flat on the table next to it. ¡°Don¡¯t feel pressured, Nira. I really appreciate your help.¡±

    She shook her head, while petting Gray at the same time. The pup had been sleeping in the corner of the room and had apparently woken up when Velariah and I entered the room.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m happy I can help.¡±

    I smiled warmly as I took the pencil and started drawing.

    ¡°This might be pretty hard to make, so just take it easy.¡±

    She nodded as I drew the stock, then the trigger, and the barrel as well. Those were obviously not for her to work on, but I used them to explain about recoil and that the wood had to withstand it. I didn¡¯t know if it was anything she¡¯d need to take into account when working on it, but I figured it was better to mention it, just in case.

    ¡°That thing looks so weird,¡± Seralyn commented.

    I was intentionally leaving out the specifics of how a gun worked, just to play around with the archer some more. It was clear she was starting to become more and more anxious about having to use something like this the longer she was kept in the dark and I just felt delighted about it all.

    Did that make me evil? Perhaps.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try,¡± Nira said as she took the hammer and chisel. ¡°It looks easy enough.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be perfect,¡± I said. ¡°As long as it does the job, it¡¯s good enough.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± She said as she got to work.

 2.50 Assembling

    ¡°Hey El,¡± I heard coming from the kitchen.

    I walked over to the door and Velariah opened it, showing a glass bowl filled with what appeared to be just water.

    ¡°Is it supposed to be clear?¡±

    ¡°As far as I know, yes. All the garbage is now separated from the stuff I need. It¡¯s still in there, but as the water cools down, it doesn¡¯t mix as well, so you¡¯ll see crystals appear over time.¡±

    ¡°Interesting. Should I just put this on the table to see if that theory of yours is correct?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not really a theory, though,¡± I said with a smirk.

    ¡°It¡¯s science.¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡±

    She placed the bowl on the table and sat down, grabbing a cookie for herself as Elly walked down the stairs, followed by Valtheril. He narrowed his eyes briefly as he looked at the bowl of water and then at Nira working on the wood, before assuming his relaxed expression from before as he walked off into the side room after giving a quick nod.

    ¡°Some more coffee?¡± Elly asked politely.

    ¡°I¡¯d love some,¡± Velariah replied.

    ¡°Could go for another,¡± Draco said. ¡°If that¡¯s no trouble.¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± The maid responded. ¡°Anyone else?¡±

    Seralyn and Nira shook their heads, prompting her to walk back into the kitchen.

    I then asked Velariah if she still had any of my rubber silk saved. She had, and fetched it.

    I created a small ball out of it and used it to erase the barrel and trigger on the drawing I¡¯d made. Nira looked at it with a strange look in her eyes, but when the general walked back into the room and up to the table to see what she was doing, I could see that she understood why I did it.

    ¡°I suppose this all is part of your invention?¡± He asked after he took a seat.

    ¡°Yup,¡± I replied as I continued to watch the harpy work. I could see she was slightly nervous now that Valtheril was present, but continued nonetheless. ¡°Part of it, at least. Dworag is working on the other half.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯d love to see the results, but I promised to stay out of this matter.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine how frustrating that must be,¡± I replied. ¡°But know that I wouldn¡¯t ask something like that if I wasn¡¯t sure it¡¯d be for the better.¡±

    ¡°Elania,¡± He said, causing me to freeze. ¡°You should know by now that I trust you wholeheartedly. That, combined with the fact that you know things I cannot even comprehend, and I¡¯m not afraid to admit that fact, is more than enough to keep me out of this. The very last thing I want is a war to break out. Even if your inventions give us an incredible edge to defeat the would-be attackers, what is there to gain? We are at peace right now and our relationships are fast improving due to the additional trade goods and now the cooperation between us and the Flamarr kingdom with regards to the forest. Things haven¡¯t looked this good in a long time. I can¡¯t, and I won¡¯t allow this to interfere.¡± He narrowed his eyes on me, then slowly alternated his gaze between each of us. ¡°And I do trust you all to not leak any of this.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re being extraordinarily careful, father,¡± Velariah replied softly. ¡°Elania¡¯s made us all very much aware of the dangers involved, yet we determined it was still worth pursuing this for self-defense reasons.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a purpose I can respect.¡±

    ¡°And we figured the best place to test it would be in the dungeon, for several reasons, including easy privacy.¡±

    ¡°The logical choice,¡± Valtheril concluded. ¡°Good to hear you¡¯ve thought this through.¡±

    Elly returned with a large pot of coffee and enough cups for everyone but me. She made a second trip and brought in the rest of the necessities such as sugar and milk, and a glass of a strawberry smoothie for me.

    Score.

    After placing them, she looked at Nira¡¯s handiwork for a split second, clearly interested, but then made her way upstairs.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Velariah continued. ¡°Elania and I figured now would be the time to explore these ideas she¡¯s had for a long time. We are planning to eventually move out to Zerdania, and we¡¯d like to have this ready before then.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave you to it then,¡± He said with a smile, shoving back his chair. ¡°If you need me, I¡¯ll be upstairs for a bit, dusting off some old books.¡±

    ¡°Research?¡± Velariah asked curiously.

    ¡°Research,¡± The general replied in affirmation. He never even poured a cup of coffee for himself.

    What a waste.

    ¡°Well,¡± Seralyn said after Valtheril had disappeared. ¡°Don¡¯t know about you, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll watch this all day. I think I¡¯ll go to my room and, dunno, fix my arrows or something, I suppose.¡±

    Poor her. She was left in the dark about what this would become and it seemed to be getting to her. Even if that wasn¡¯t the case, and I¡¯d misjudged, it was still no secret that she had a hard time sitting around. I was already surprised she''d lasted this long.

    Although, building a battery with venom and coins was probably a lot more exciting than watching a harpy slowly but steadily carving a stock from a block of wood.

    I, on the other hand, was completely content with doing just that. It proved to be useful too, as Nira did ask a few questions as she worked such as how thick the resulting craft should be. Despite not caring much about the looks of the object, I could see she was interested in having it appear somewhat decent, so I guided her hands for some parts of the process.

    A few hours, some coffee and tea, and a bunch of cookies later, we had what I could call a crude, but well-made and solid stock for what would be this world¡¯s very first rifle. Minia hadn¡¯t stayed idle on top of my head. Her curiosity peaked and she¡¯d jumped onto the table to look at Nira from all angles as she worked, putting a large smile on my and Draco¡¯s faces.

    ¡°Well,¡± I said as the harpy made the finishing touches and smoothed out the timber with a piece of sandpaper that had seen better days. ¡°I¡¯ll admit it, I¡¯m impressed. It looks beautiful. Thank you so much, Nira.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± She said with a shy smile. ¡°It was fun to do. I hope it works.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it will.¡±

    I heard footsteps descend the stairs, and from my previous experience, I would guess that it was Seralyn. She somehow always managed to find the perfect time to show up, whether that was good or bad at that moment.

    ¡°Sup,¡± Was the very first thing she said as the door flew open. ¡°Are you guys finished yet?¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± Velariah said triumphantly. ¡°You chose the best time to come out of the woodworks¡­ get it? Wood works?¡±

    I covered my face with all four of my palms at the worst pun I¡¯d hear in a long time, but couldn¡¯t help but feel an involuntary smile grow on my face. Nira was left giggling, and Draco seemed to mimic my reaction.

    ¡°Funny,¡± Seralyn replied, and without giving it much thought, changed the subject. ¡°So what¡¯s next?¡±

    ¡°Guess we could check up on Dworag?¡± The white-haired elf suggested while looking at me. ¡°Maybe check the guild to see if Eric is there and apologize?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s do that first. I think we owe it to him,¡± I said in agreement. ¡°But first, let me get Minia back to our room.¡±

    I held up the palm of my hand and the spider jumped onto it without hesitation. I placed her back on our hammock in the other room and told her that I¡¯d be home as soon as I could.

    Before I could leave, however, she seemed to want to tell me something. When I held my head closer to try to grasp her emotions better, I could tell she was getting hungry,

    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get you a snack, shall we?¡±

    I skittered to her previous enclosure to find that the jar of insects was still there, filled with plenty of grasshoppers. I took a good look at the creatures inside and realized that I found these much scarier than Minia, whereas it would have been totally different earlier on. That didn¡¯t mean I had a fear of grasshoppers. Far from it. But when I looked at their faces and strange mandibles and weird, emotionless eyes, they were just so¡­ I didn¡¯t know what to call it.

    Minia just had so much more personality.

    I fished inside with a set of tweezers and pulled one of the grasshoppers out, only to place it on the hammock, where it jumped away from the spider before sitting still, expressionless.

    Minia prowled forward slowly and when she was close enough to jump, she went for it.

    I shook my head at the sight and couldn¡¯t help but remain astounded at how fast she was.

    ¡°Well, enjoy your meal,¡± I said with a grin and waved as I left the room.

    She was holding on to the dying grasshoppers with many of her legs, but still managed to free up two to wave back at me.

    ¡°Seems someone is in a good mood,¡± I heard Velariah say when she noticed my smirk.

    ¡°Yup. Got any problems with that?¡±

    ¡°Not at all.¡± She held up the same linen bag that we had used to cover up the bowl of guano earlier, except this time, it was clear there was a wholly different object in it. The shape made it quite obvious and I understood what was going on.

    ¡°We¡¯re taking this with us,¡± She continued. ¡°I¡¯m sure you know why.¡±

    ¡°So nobody else can find out about it by accident,¡± I responded.

    ¡°Well, yes,¡± She said, slightly confused by my answer. ¡°But if Dworag is finished, we can check if things fit together well.¡±

    ¡°And that too,¡± I said in agreement. ¡°But fitting is the least of our worries. We can always work the wood some more if need be.¡±

    ¡°Oh well, you¡¯re the expert,¡± She said with a sly smile before running off to the hallway, leaving me behind to sigh.

    ¡°Expert is one hell of a big word¡­¡±

    I lost track of how many times I¡¯d donned my armor today, but I¡¯d learned the hard way that going without it could spell disaster. After a hop, skip, and a jump, we found ourselves at the guild hall. It was late afternoon, and there were quite a few people about, collecting their rewards and ordering meals to fill their stomachs.

    Eric was there as well, seated right next to the entrance, and immediately greeted us on our arrival.

    ¡°Hey,¡± I greeted him back. ¡°Sorry about this morning. We were quite busy, and well, honestly, I kinda forgot.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay. All is well, I hope?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, smiling. ¡°We¡¯re doing well. How are you?¡±

    ¡°As good as it gets. I¡¯ll be heading back home tomorrow for a bit before figuring out what I¡¯ll do next. I wanted to properly thank all of you for the hospitality and help during my stay here.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re always welcome in Dawnleaf,¡± Velariah spoke for the party. ¡°And if you do decide to come by again, feel free to knock on our mansion and ask the maid, Elly, for us. If we¡¯re not at the guild or the dungeon, chances are we¡¯re there, and if you tell her I gave you permission, it won¡¯t be an issue.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s very kind of you. I¡¯ll remember that. There¡¯s no doubt I¡¯ll visit this place again sometime soon.¡±

    ¡°Looking forward to it,¡± Velariah concluded, before nodding slightly. ¡°We still have a bunch of things to do, though, so we hope you¡¯ll forgive us for leaving you here.¡±

    ¡°No, no, I can understand. Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Eric,¡± I said with a warm smile. ¡°We¡¯re looking forward to your next visit. Take care out there.¡±

    ¡°Same to you.¡±

    He smiled as we walked off, not stopping until we were out of sight behind the tree.

    Velariah was about to walk into Dworag¡¯s shop, but just before that, we heard a ticking sound of metal on metal coming from behind.

    ¡°Can¡¯t believe he¡¯s still working,¡± She said before changing direction and leading the way down the alley.

    At the other end stood a certain dwarf, using a pin and surprisingly small hammer to hit the inside of a breastplate with not too much force. Upon closer look, it was clear he was removing several small dents. As soon as he noticed our presence however, he dropped both tools and turned around to greet us with open arms.

    ¡°Ah. My favorite party. Have I got some good news for you.¡±

    ¡°You managed to finish the request?¡± I asked, genuinely surprised. I knew he said he could probably get it done before the end of the afternoon, but still.

    ¡°Aye.¡±

    He picked up an item wrapped in cloth from next to his anvil and held it out in front of me.

    ¡°See for yourself. Let me know if it¡¯s okay or if it needs more work.¡±

    I looked over at Draco and from just one look into my eyes, he understood what I was getting at as he walked to the alley and stood there, watching if anyone would come this way. In the meantime, I opened the package and stared at what looked like an actual proper gun barrel.

    It was as straight as it could be and the tiny hole at the side was exactly where I wanted it. I skittered to one of the lit forges to get some additional light so I could stare down into the object, but as far as I could see, this was an excellent example of what I had in my head.

    ¡°How¡¯s it looking?¡± Dworag asked as he handed me the steel ramrod to go with it.

    ¡°Perfect,¡± I replied, causing Velariah to pull out a money pouch from her belt pack. I then considered asking him for small round, metal balls which would serve as ammunition, but quickly came to reconsider.

    The connection of ammunition would be too easy to make, and despite Valtheril talking to the dwarf about keeping this all a secret, I figured the safest course would be to have someone completely unrelated to Dworag fix those.

    Velariah paid the two gold and I was left staring at the dwarf¡¯s creation, puzzles forming in my head. I supposed it all boiled down to one person once more ¡ª Valtheril.

    I covered the metal half of the weapon with cloth again and thanked Dworag for his work.

    ¡°No problem,¡± He replied. ¡°I¡¯m here whenever you need something fixed. As long as I can do it, I will.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said warmly before we left again, heading for home.

    Once we were back at the table it was time to put the two parts together. Before that, though, I noticed the container on the table was starting to show signs of crystals forming, which had me relieved. This was one of the parts I¡¯d been most worried about but I was happy to see I¡¯d at least done something right.

    How much the yield would be exactly remained to be seen, however. This was probably what would set us back the most as well, considering that this was the main ingredient of gunpowder.

    The pieces didn¡¯t fit well because when we created the stock, we forgot to account that the barrel would be partially set in the wood. Thus, we needed a bit more work done on it to create an indenture in which the barrel could rest before we fastened it.

    When Draco asked how we were going to do that I had said we¡¯d use my silk before I knew it.

    ¡°Will that do?¡± He asked in all honesty. ¡°You said something earlier about a lot of force being applied to it.¡±

    ¡°I think it will be fine. The pressure is applied to the wood and my silk is quite strong. I can probably use different layers, or even different types to make sure everything stays where it is.¡±

    I could already see a layer of steelthread to keep the barrel in position, and then a layer of strong silk around it to support it. In fact, I could wrap as much around it as I wanted to and it would still not be an issue for its power.

    ¡°An easy solution,¡± The lizardman continued. ¡°But also a smart one.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡±

    ¡°You forgot cheap,¡± Seralyn commented with a smirk.

    ¡°And that,¡± Draco confirmed with a smile of his own.

    I covered the barrel again until Nira finished for the second time. I then tried to fit it again and found that it did, like a glove.

    ¡°Awesome work, Nira. Just awesome,¡± I said with admiration, earning a shy smile from the harpy. ¡°I¡¯ll get this finished in our room later, but this is great. Thank you so much.¡±

    She merely nodded while Seralyn stared. Her eyes told me she was just dying to know how this contraption worked and I decided to reply to her inquisitive gaze.

    ¡°Soon, Seralyn, soon.¡±

    ¡°How soon?¡±

    ¡°Probably the moment we return from this next mission¡­ if you can even call it that. I¡¯m gonna assume this mixture is settled by then.¡± I pointed at the bowl. ¡°And I¡¯m gonna have to ask one more thing from Valtheril when he is finished with his dusty tomes.¡±

    Within two seconds of me having said that, I could hear heavy footsteps coming down the stairs that could only be attributed to the person I¡¯d just mentioned.

    ¡°Seriously, the timing of you people is insane.¡±

    Faragi

    Don''t know if I mentioned it on this story yet, but I''m very busy moving to a different apartment and arranging all the necessary stuff associated with it. Sorry for the delays.