《Reincarnated as a Spider (Draft/Writing practice)》 Prologue As for schedules, I''ll try to get 1 chapter per week, word count is somewhere between 500-1500, however that''s not set in stone, rather my personal aim. Light¡­ What happened...? Ah, that¡­ Since I don¡¯t feel any pain I¡¯m sedated perhaps? Then this light probably comes from the surgical light of the operating table¡­ I should go back to sleep then¡­ ¡°Well you could say that floor is my operating table but I¡¯d prefer if you don¡¯t fall asleep there.¡± Perplexed by the domineering voice of a girl he opens his eyes once more and stands up. This time finding that the whole ¡®room¡¯ is lit by bright white light. Lacking any furnishing - or walls for that matter - but an executive table you¡¯d expect to find in a room of a manager. Meeting eyes with a girl that seems to be in middle schooler sitting atop of a comically oversized office chair for her stature. Dressed in casual attire, the scene makes even less sense. Finding himself in a rather strange environment he wonders if he¡¯s dreaming. Besides he can¡¯t feel much of his body. ¡°You¡¯re up so let¡¯s get through this quickly. We have much work piled up due to that unforeseen accident.¡± By her words he starts to recall the details leading up to this moment. He was a man, 27 at the time, an engineer working his 2nd year on the construction of a quite a tall building by a contract, while making his rounds around the construction zone, scaffolding support gave way and started to collapse materials placed on it falling. Before he and the crew could realize what was happening, they were caught underneath them. A feeling of dread creeps up as memories rush through his mind. What happened after? Did he survive? His train of thought interrupted with a sound of someone clearing their throat. ¡°Seems you¡¯ve remembered. That speeds this up by a lot. I won¡¯t go through much details, you¡¯ve died in a construction accident. Your coworkers that were with you will be fine. In fact you were the only casualty.¡± The girl continued on with indifference as if going on about her daily work. Seriousness that couldn¡¯t be taken as a joke further nailed the point that he has passed on. ¡°Normally this would be a minor issue, accidents happen however people don¡¯t die unless it was their time to depart. Some cases of early or late departures do exist but they¡¯re usually within the margin of error by about 5-7 years with 10 to 12 being extreme examples.¡± Slightly troubled sigh escapes from her as she¡¯s talking. ¡°Problem is that yours was a fastball. You liked mathematics and games and was supposed to have a career where you became a programmer for games. Fated to die around the age of 92. In life you should¡¯ve had a wife and 2 daughters. That¡¯s an issue as you¡¯re dead now. Since you were meant to be a programmer you weren¡¯t technically supposed to be there get caught up in that accident. We didn¡¯t look too much into your career choice as it¡¯s not uncommon for people to deviate a little from their destiny. There¡¯s another problem. One who was to marry you is now without a mate, their fate is in jeopardy, the 2 souls that were to be born is are now on hold. Honestly it¡¯s a domino effect of problems one after another.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure what to feel. Because of his own choices he was dead. But it didn¡¯t end there. Troubles he had unwittingly caused weighed heavily on his conscience. Feeling that the girl said with a gentle voice: ¡°Don¡¯t be too down, it wasn¡¯t your fault. No one is at fault here.¡± After calming down a bit, first time in the conversation he asked: ¡°Who are you?¡± and more importantly ¡°What will happen from now on?¡± Girl seemed surprised as she had forgotten that she didn¡¯t introduce herself. Collecting herself quickly she answered: ¡°If I said that I was a Yama would you understand? Humans often call me the death god or dharmapala (Wrathful god). As for what will happen now is that you¡¯ll be reincarnated.¡± This time she asked, with a slightly eerie smile: ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be introducing yourself?¡± Without thinking much about the meaning he tried to answer: ¡°My name¡¯s¡­ I¡¯m¡­¡± What? Why can¡¯t I remember?! While he was in distress, an answer to his internal question he had came. ¡°It¡¯s been wiped, in order to make the transition smoother some memories are repressed, modified or in this case removed completely. You shouldn¡¯t be able to recall exact details. Only the general knowledge that you have will remain along with most of the skills you¡¯ve had in life. I¡¯m not sure how much of this conversation we¡¯ve had you¡¯ll be able to call back either.¡± He discovered then that he can¡¯t remember the faces of his coworkers that was with him, friends that he had, family that had lost him. Yet memories of the past burns bright even if it¡¯s hazy. They reminded him of what he had lost - everything. A saddening thought. ¡°Introspection is good but try not to get too attached and forget how to live now. It would be a shame if you were overcome by emotion and gave up on life. We¡¯re repressing those memories for that reason after all.¡± She was right¡­ The family he had, coworkers, and his friends wouldn¡¯t want him to wallow in despair. But to make the most with the chance he was given to live again. However there was still something that bothered him. ¡°The woman was to become my wife¡­ Will she be okay?¡± ¡°That¡¯s your first reaction? You¡¯re an odd one. No need to worry, we¡¯ll make sure she¡¯s on the right track, changing her fate, hopefully she¡¯ll handle the midlife crisis well. More crucially, your fate is undecided on the next world so we can¡¯t tell you much about what to expect. What I can tell you is that you will be reincarnated with extra 70% of the life you didn¡¯t get to live. And you will still get a wife and 2 daughters.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Hearing that he was wondering if he¡¯d live an extremely long life; an average lifespan lengthened by 70% is quite long after all. But when he considered that before the modern era that he lived in, the average lifespan of people were significantly shorter. With that thought he asked: ¡°What kind of world would it be? Is it the same as Earth?¡± He was wondering if he still had employment options for some reason. The Yama had a troubled face. ¡°As you liked RPG video games, it will be in a fantasy like setting, think of it as a service from us. You¡¯ll have to access a self scrying ability to control your own growth and with it your own fate. There are more dangers in this world, especially considering what you¡¯ll be reincarnated into...¡± That last statement took him off guard. Wait. What if I wasn¡¯t reincarnated as a human? That can¡¯t be possible right? He wanted to know but was hesitant to ask. Collecting herself; ¡°With how much life you had left to live, our compensation is technically just however just sending you like that would still be overkill. As such you¡¯ll be handicapped a bit to make less intense of an impact on that world.¡± ¡°What kind of handicap?¡± He asked as there was a hunch, that wasn¡¯t all there is to what she said¡­ The Yama closed her eyes, seemingly somewhat sorry: ¡°Spider¡­ You¡¯ll be reincarnated as a spider.¡± ¡°Spider? Wait why spider? Can¡¯t I become a human?¡± he asked with shock evident on him. ¡°We¡¯re tight on time so I¡¯ll keep it brief. There¡¯s this thing called the karmic justice. Simply put you had much good karma but it was offset by your childhood and teenage days of killing spiders, thus to keep the balance you¡¯ll be suffering some as a spider to make up for it.¡± While he was still digesting what he had just heard. A cheerful voice said ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find your way and become at least human enough. I have faith in you Alicia.¡± As the reincarnation process began he started to dissolve into particles of light. Dazzling light started to fill his vision, blocking the figure of the Yama. ¡°Hey! WAIT! I HAVEN-¡± His voice was cut off as his soul was sent to a new world. After he was sent off, alone The Yama was staring off to somewhere. ¡°The chance of a local divinity being born is high... I wonder what he¡¯ll have in store for us...¡± Her mutterings were answered by none, lost in the rain of light. Chapter 1: Getting one’s bearings The light gradually dimmed and details of the surroundings came to him. Rough hard surface with crevices, greenery all around. Where am I? Such a thought passing his mind, instinctively he tried to look around, only to have an unnerving feeling of disconnect. Simply put he couldn¡¯t turn his neck. Actually spiders don¡¯t have necks, their heads are fused to their bodies. However this was quite a shock for something that was previously an organism - specifically human to be exact - who¡¯s used to having a neck. Even attempting to move was uncoordinated mess. With the unorganized movement he almost fell off of what he was on. ¡°Okay, okay calm down. That girl said I was to be a spider, so let¡¯s analyze what I am.¡± ¡°Two fangs, a mouth, four pairs of legs each independent of each other, a set of appendage that¡¯s almost like an arm that¡¯s short and sensitive. Lastly what I think my head, stuck to my torso. My body color seems to be white or gray at least, what kind of species am I? Or am I an albino mutation? Also, aren¡¯t spiders supposed to have bad eyesight, were they able to differentiate color? If I focus on something can see it pretty well, like that green leaf that¡¯s few meters away from me? That can¡¯t be right, my sense of scale must of off because of my current size. Then¡­ Oh the sky, I can make out the shapes of clouds from here, isn¡¯t that pretty good? I¡¯m just glad my vision is not tinted in some color or not being able to see certain colors. Err¡­ My peripherals are¡­ wide, I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s from my other eyes. I can smell without a nose¡­ Not quite, more like feeling with my whole body? Can¡¯t really understand how that works. I have a sense of gravity, and with it, I know that I¡¯m on top of something, the surface doesn¡¯t seem to be soil, and with leaves all around me it should be safe to assume this is a tree.¡± The spider¡¯s eyes were not focused on anything in particular, as it¡¯s mind was in thought, wandering about. ¡°Now what did that weird girl tell me before abandoning me here¡­ hm¡­ Is that all?¡± Silence of the forest was broken with only the occasional rustling of leaves. ¡°Now what should I be doing now¡­ Wait I should be trying to figure out how to do that thing she mentioned¡­¡± ¡°Close my eyes and focus¡­ ...I don¡¯t have eyelids. Well just focus then...¡± With an intention to look deeper into oneself, he focused... moments later something formed within his mind. ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s¡­ just¡­ wow okay then¡­ Where do I even start? First of all; My name¡¯s Alicia? That¡¯s odd, I don¡¯t think spiders name their offspring¡­ If I remember correctly that girl also called me by that name. Is that what I¡¯m named now? Well it¡¯s fine, I can¡¯t remember my old name anyway. Secondly; Isn¡¯t that quite feminine? I¡¯m a straight man attracted to females thank you very much. Thirdly; Those stats¡­ They are so sad that they had to go lower than F to show it. And 2 of it is so low that it¡¯s not even a full number, being rounded down to the nearest number, zero. Fourth; The skills, I can understand those could be a spider related things but what the hell is pallesthesia? The word is alien to me.¡± His ponderings were cut short by an epiphany. ¡°Huh¡­ Okay at least I know what it means but that still doesn¡¯t help me with what it does.¡± Focusing on other entries he had, the only ones that were made clear were skills he had. So I can¡¯t look into what the available skills can do. Fair enough I suppose, It¡¯s self scrying, not soothsaying. Fifth what are those scary sounding traits? Dying wish? I can¡¯t quite recall what I was wishing for¡­ err actually I wanted to go check out that new diner opened up near my workplace¡­ I don¡¯t think it was that big of a wish to be a separate entry as a ¡®Trait¡¯ since my definitely real skill of designing and electrical engineering is not mentioned. Also, Twin souls? Is it because my one soul died and I¡¯m somehow alive again over here in this world?¡± As he was trying to make sense of what it was, some odd unnerving feeling welled up from within but it mellowed down, overshadowed instead by a warmth growing from inside. As it settled down a change had occurred to the status. He had gotten an unexpected addition, Analysis. ¡°I don¡¯t remember that Analysis being there the first time and the rank just changed to 1. Also the available points have increased by one. Why did that happen all of a sudden? Was that feeling just then some sort of forewarning? Hold on was it because I was looking through what skills I had?¡± Even after much deliberation the answer still eludes him. ¡°Aaah! if I keep thinking about it I could spend a whole day or two.¡± ¡°Getting back on track, Sixth, I can get skills by earning them somehow, with some skills being a prerequisite I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to just get them. Another thing Analysis wasn¡¯t even offered as an available skill so I must have fulfilled some criteria without knowing about it, so that¡¯s another way of getting acquiring them. Seventh, I should be able to use those allocation points for acquisition of more skills.¡± Tidying his thoughts once more he decided that it¡¯s better to organize what he found out. ¡°In short¡­ I¡¯m Alicia, My stats are abysmal, I have some spider related skills, I can get more through the points or earn them by fulfilling some criteria. Current objective¡­ Survive?¡± An Engineer turned spider¡¯s second life in another world begins with an uncertain prospects... Chapter 2: Starting out Chapter 2: Starting out ¡°Though I say survive¡­ For now there¡¯s nothing to really look out for¡­ I think?¡± Managing to look around while struggling a bit in an unfamiliar body, he takes in his surroundings in greater detail. ¡°I think I''m on top of an oak tree, and from the looks of it this is very crowded forest with multiple types of trees and plant life, ones I can identify are Hornbeam, Hawthorn. There are some others that I don¡¯t know. Vines, bushes, moss, shrubs and wildflowers are plentiful.¡± It was quiet and serene among the verdant greens. ¡°Still even if it¡¯s safe for now, that doesn¡¯t mean it will be like that forever. First I need to survey the surroundings for points of interest while I¡¯m at it look out for source of water, shelter and food¡­ food?¡± If the spider had the ability to convey facial expressions, right now it would have the image of grimace painted on it for the fact that spiders preyed on bugs had just dawned upon him. ¡°... That¡¯s right, Hawthorn has edible berries and leaves, I don¡¯t have to eat bugs right...?¡± ¡­ Still reality didn¡¯t change for his sole convenience... ¡°Thinking about it won¡¯t help me, for now let¡¯s put the food problem on the backburner. Then water¡­ find some sort of stream or a river¡­ no¡­ river is too dangerous, I¡¯m sure spiders can¡¯t swim, not the common anyway species. Maybe some of the plants will have dew on them come morning. As for shelter, I think I can dig a burrow under the roots of trees, hopefully the soil is loose enough, I don¡¯t have tools for doing groundwork. Now before heading out¡­ I¡¯d best use up those points first. My odds of survival are higher with them spent compared to without them spent. The available skills are, Stealth, Presence Detection, Power, Constitution, Finesse, Agile, Olfactory and Principle of magic. Power, Constitution, Agile, Finesse and Principle of magic should correspond to the stats of Strength, Vitality, Agility, Dexterity and Magic. It¡¯s only a guess since I can¡¯t really know what they do, unless I commit a point to them. Which leaves Olfactory, Presence detection and Stealth. Still just to make sure one point into¡­ Agile seems okay.¡± When focusing on one of the available skills with a commitment, feeling akin to a spine chill and goosebumps fills his body. ¡°Strange, I thought it would be warmth again?¡± Improves motor skills and coordination of movement. Higher levels increase speed of action and coordination. Prerequisite for skills: True ¡°As for the verdict... ? Agility 16 (F)* ¡­ yeah¡­ that¡¯s not very much. Is it because of my small size? In that case I¡¯ll have to avoid direct confrontations to prevent it devolving into a numbers game where the greater number is just better than the lesser one. Then something to help me with that would be Stealth. Now do I put all my eggs in one basket and fully develop this? Obviously there¡¯s risks attached to it, even so I think it¡¯s better to specialize into something rather than trying to spread out too thin. Pursuing raw statistic numbers right now doesn¡¯t seem to be very effective, seeing as how a level 1 skill didn¡¯t budge it much. There¡¯s still the possibility of exponential growth as it¡¯s level increases but right now I don¡¯t have the resources to test out my theory. For now, if I assume level 5 is a median rank, being above average at 7 should carve out a nice niche for me. As for the remaining points maybe one more into Agile for good measure to know if it¡¯s good. ? Agility 19 (F)* I can¡¯t even tell the difference. Hope that stealth does better otherwise it¡¯s going to be a long day. Conceals corporeal presence of the user. Higher levels increase effectiveness. Halved effectiveness when detected. Prerequisite for skills: True At least it¡¯s what I thought it to be. Last 2 points in presence detection¡­ So I don¡¯t carelessly wander into some animal¡¯s den or a nest. Improves sensory perceptions, slightly improves instinctual detections. Prerequisite for skills: True Well, then¡­ let¡¯s go explore I guess¡­ Stealth doesn¡¯t need to be activated right? Hopefully it¡¯s like a passive skill. I still have to be careful not to be seen, the skill is half as effective then. Time to be real sneaky beaky like.¡± As he crawled down the tree, his movements were already much more efficient, cohesive and smooth. Almost as if it was natural, for a human with a spider¡¯s body. Augmented and corrected by the Skill Agile his motor skills were incomparable to his previous blunderings. This fact goes unnoticed by the person himself. As he reaches the forest floor of litter of leaves, branches and vegetation a thought comes to his mind. ¡°How am I going to find my directions anyway? I can¡¯t be just going around aimlessly¡­ I should mark some places as landmarks¡­ Hm¡­ If I had something like a chalk or¡­ Wait what am I thinking? I can just use a silk as breadcrumbs to find my way back. It shouldn¡¯t be too visible so let¡¯s make it thin...¡± With a near imperceptible thread of silk guiding his path travelled a spider proceeds to delve into the forest. Taking in the sights of the forest flora and fauna, he was on a skittish exploration. Carefully taking notes of bugs; equated in his mind as potentially ¡®edible¡¯ materials like, crickets, grasshoppers, butterflies, moths, mosquitoes while also looking out for predators. Lizards, Other spiders, Birds, Centipedes all of them in varying sizes. ¡°What¡¯s with this place? Why is everything so large? This is place is teeming with danger, nuh uh. I¡¯m gonna dig myself a hole and just sit in it forever¡­ I would''ve if not for starvation¡­ They¡¯re not that numerous but that¡¯s still not very safe you know¡­ At least I found a small rivulet so I¡¯m not dying of thirst.¡± There were other unusual things he encountered as well. Green skinned brutish creatures with oversized heads and sizable canine teeth with the height of children, huge insects of varying species, a wolf with the size of a horse, a lizard large as a passenger bus, Massive wild boars with thick curved tusks, long enough to impale an adult human and then some. ¡°There was also that weird batlike thing incessantly screeching like a banshee in the sky. For now the things I confirmed are, there¡¯s this gigantic mountain off in the distance, A lake to the west (or the direction where the sun is setting to.) and strange masked men with blue skin to the east¡­ I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re intelligent or not, but they were using simple tools and that¡¯s already civilized in this place. I think that¡¯s enough for today. It¡¯s almost dusk, night can¡¯t be that far behind it, I need to find shelter.¡± Skittering back, following his own trail of silk, he returns to the tree he started from. Soon nights falls accompanied with the song of crickets. Crawling back up the tree, reaching one of its highest branches, he contemplates his future course of actions. ¡°Hunting for food is not an option, there¡¯s too many predators here. I don¡¯t want to be the next lunch for some bug, not yet. I guess I could try catching something after I weave a web¡­ Hope my engineering courses taught me something¡­¡± Gentle glow of the moon bathes the grey spider. ¡°This planet has two satellites. One is significantly larger than the other and has ring of some sort.¡± A slight mist settles... ¡°I wonder if I can suck on those berries I saw in the bush earlier¡­ No wait the hawthorn leaves, I can definitely eat those.¡± A quiet night falls upon the lush forest... Chapter 3: Fleeting Dream Dark¡­ darkness is the only thing it had known since its inception. There were others¡­ similar to it so numerous it was a folly to attempt to count the numbers and notably there was one that was the largest among them. First few days were filled with curiosity, with its own existence, of others and the surroundings littered with silk. We recognized the largest as our matron, she was dying. Soon we shed our outer layers and before long matron had become unmoving. Some of us started to leave the silky webs after the death of matron. Strange sensation grew within an uncomfortable alien feeling. The others¡­ they were biting on the matron¡¯s remains, what were they doing? Quickly more and more of us swarmed the cadaver. Spurred on by the actions of the others it too ¡®bit¡¯ on, by instinct scattering digestive fluid then feeding on the liquid, this abated the uncomfortable feeling. After nothing was left of matron, many of them left. It did not know what to do. To follow or to stay. New sense grew, what was it? It knew not. Again the feeling came, to the others as well. They were restless, many more left. Those who stayed turned aggressive to each other. It devolved mindless slaughter, the ones who fell were eaten up by the others. Likewise it too was also involved. Another new sensation of heat and stinging followed by something akin to fear. From the struggle it lost one of its legs, ripped off and likely eaten by another. Now knowing that staying in this place that sheltered them would pose a danger, it left. Pain and heat subsided replaced instead by unusual sluggishness. No matter it had to leave, going alone, wandering. Creatures larger than it were plentiful and no doubt aggressive to it. Creeping up and successfully capturing a creature that hops away disappears when startled, it fed once, building a web catching creatures that flew high it fed twice, on and on. The feeling of lethargy grew more intense as time passed. Dragging itself to place that it had frequented in. Almost falling off while climbing hindered by its wound it somehow managed to reach a branch high up on the tree resting on it. By instinct it knew that it was dying. Was it the venom from when it was bitten by its kind or something else entirely? The answer doesn¡¯t matter. Fear that plagued it swelled and another type of fear much more primal gripped its being. The fear of death. Yet it was powerless to do anything about it. It wanted to¡­ wished for another try¡­ it regretted its many actions since birth. More than that, it wanted to be like the matron it had known for a short time the only thing that was kind to it, one that cared for it. Harboring such thoughts it was slowly fading away. As if mocking its wishes with malicious compliance it was becoming like the matron¡­ sickly, motionless, dying and soon eaten by whatever that would come across it. Even though it was to die, as it was drifting away from the realm of the living something came to its body, a warmth different from the uncomfortable one it knew. It filled its very being with a domineering spirit. There was an overwhelming presence that came with it and it brought a gift. As he tried to eat the leaves with minimal success all night long and the break of dawn would soon come. Throughout the night he was sleepy, though not tired or fatigued. He thought it to be his habits from when he was human sleeping when darkness fell; still it was unusual for him as he would often times work long hours into the dead of night without a shred of drowsiness. ¡°...I can see why spiders are so bitter about life. If I was to vomit on my food wait for it to liquefy and suck it up again I would be bitter too not to mention bugs. Huh? It¡¯s dawn already? I need to start on a web hopefully catch something edible... Where though? Somewhere close and with some insect traffic¡­ shouldn¡¯t be too hard. Uhmm¡­ right a web¡­ I don¡¯t know how to weave but¡­ three anchor points minimum and just connect them to making small cells.¡± Looking around he found some of wildflowers that he thought that would attract some insects. ¡°Here goes nothing.¡± Was it by the instincts of a spider, by the experience as an engineer or the skill Weaver? When he started to work on building the web he was surprisingly proficient. Connecting the points of anchor by creating framework of silk lacking adhesion, branching out from its center, filling in the gaps little by little until the web was complete then replacing the non-adhesive silk with it¡¯s sticky counterpart. By the time he was finished the sun was already at its peak. ¡°I got carried away a little¡­ But still, that looks like a spider web¡­ If it was rectangular. Actually it looks more like the net of a tennis court if it was built by a spider. My habit of trying to work with rectangular shapes is showing up again. And now I just wait I guess¡­ If go away something might get caught up in it, but if I¡¯m too far away it might also escape. And I also don¡¯t wanna just stay on it; I already swallowed enough flies as a human working in rural areas, now I prefer not to be suicide bombed by insects as a spider.¡± After some deliberation he decided to make an extension of silk connected to the web hidden close by so if something were to be caught in it, he would know it with tugging of the extension. Waiting¡­ waiting¡­ and waiting. Shortly there was a pull, something was caught. Like a fisherman who suddenly had a bite on their line he quickly jolted to the web. There a fly was caught. He thought it to be rather large for a fly, but maybe it was just because he was smaller than what he was used to. ¡°Horse flies I think, those things bite like crazy and hurts like hell. I don¡¯t wanna take my chances so I¡¯m just going to sneak up from behind it. Still I¡¯m doing this aren¡¯t I? I¡¯m going to eat bugs¡­ yuck¡­ Well I guess there are worse things to eat like¡­ uhm¡­ Nevermind.¡± Fly caught in a web. It¡¯s struggling only exacerbated its problem wrapping more silk around it. Fortunately for it, it seemed as if the spider was not on the web. Trying to get off it had exhausted itself. Just rest a little and try again¡­ As it was resting it was bitten from behind¡­ In panic and pain it fiercely attempted to free itself. It struggled then quivered and soon became still, paralyzed. Wrapped up in silk it was carried away, fed upon by a spider it never noticed until it was too late. ¡°That should do it.¡± He had just finished repairing the web after carrying the fly away. ¡°I won¡¯t starve today atleast¡­ still though¡­ bugs¡­¡± The spider apprehensive about eating bugs had plenty of time to muster its courage. Another day begins... Chapter 4: Progress ¡°It¡¯s not bad actually since I can¡¯t taste it the conventional way but if given the choice I would still take a ¡®normal¡¯ stew and bread over it anyday. At this point I¡¯m not picky about what I¡¯d get as long as it¡¯s not insect stew.¡± His newly built web has already caught him a number of prey, in fact one of them crashed into the web as he was repairing the damage caused to it from the previous catch. ¡°Mostly flies though, not that I¡¯m complaining of course, I saw bees and wasps that I would rather not catch¡­ Oh another tug¡­ ¡­ Speak of the devil, a wasp. He hit it real hard too huh, he¡¯s basically wrapped in it. How did he manage that? Hm¡­ what now then¡­? I could just snap the webbings around it from a safe distance to set it free so I don¡¯t have to deal with it. Another option is trying to subjugate it. Or I could just ignore it and leave it there¡­¡± After thinking through his options the first and the last seemed to be the safest choice but¡­ ¡°I¡¯m gonna have to learn to deal with potentially dangerous creatures sooner or later, might as well start early and get some first hand experience. I¡¯m not a natural spider so I don¡¯t know what to do, however I can just think of it as working at a hazardous work environment, It can¡¯t be any worse than some of the construction zones I¡¯ve been at¡­ Well maybe it¡¯s because of those construction zones that I¡¯m dead and turned into a spider.¡± ¡°First risk assessment, stinger and those mandibles aren¡¯t looking up to the health and safety standards of this web, I can get stung or bitten. What can I do about them is¡­Inject venom, problem is not that the venom isn¡¯t instantaneous so until it sets in, I¡¯m at a risk. Well come in from an angle which he can¡¯t sting or bite me¡­ so his back...¡± Approaching slowly so as not to alert the wasp of his presence he inched closer. For the wasp it was a surprise to be caught in the web as it didn¡¯t see it at all. It couldn¡¯t be helped, after all the web was practically invisible, moreover it was attractive to the denizens of the forest. As they were lured to it only to be caught and fall prey to spider who built it. And more was to come¡­ ¡°Phew¡­ I think that went rather well. Its squirming made me a bit nervous but turned out well¡­ I might have to change my web structure to make my movement on it easier but it might also make it too visible. Ah¡­ I wish I had a scaffolding¡­ Still what do I do with all these bugs? There¡¯s no refrigerator to store them and I can¡¯t just leave them hanging around¡­ hanging around? Maybe?¡± The idea of wrapping all his catch in a single ball of silk and dragging it to some place safe then simply hanging it from somewhere came to him. So he crawls back to the oak tree with a clump of insects in tow. Slipping under the notice of many that would prey upon him - especially with him carrying extra food along - his return trip back was uneventful. Exploring the tree to find a suitable place to keep his ¡®food¡¯, one area of the tree well shaded and not very visible was the best place for him. ¡°Alright that should be fine for a while. Though moving them here took quite a bit of time, I don¡¯t have much daylight left. Well I don¡¯t have to sleep but limited vision in the dark is definitely a risk. One that I don¡¯t have to take so for now I¡¯ll avoid it if I can. I know presence detection II and Pallesthesia II helps but to what extent I don''t. Plus they¡¯re not high leveled. Speaking of which did something change with me...¡± ''Status'' ¡°When did I even get to rank 10 anyway? 9 points for use though, I¡¯ll take it. So Last I checked it was rank 1 which means 1 point per rank up, how rank up happens I don¡¯t exactly know. So what did I do between that time and now¡­ I made a net caught and killed about 7 flies and a wasp. That¡¯s about all the notable things I did though¡­ Hm¡­ That can¡¯t be all there is to it¡­ But I don¡¯t have any other leads on how it works. There could be some interaction with my traits but nothing really stands out as such. Ah well, there¡¯ll be more opportunities no need to rush.¡± What he failed to factor in was him - unintentionally - sneaking by multiple predators extremely dangerous for a spider. Which was a large factor for his fast growth. ¡°New skills available too, they probably became available to me after I got Presence detection, agile and stealth. Instinct seems like a very good one to invest into. Sense can be deceiving, gut instincts don¡¯t fail that often. Concealed action seems to be the next skill in the family of Stealth. Reflexive reaction huh, Is it like when doctors use a hammer like thing on your knees? Before starting on a new skill I should probably finish up the current one so¡­ Level 10 stealth first. I probably didn¡¯t notice how many times it has saved my skin. Something like that, I want it to be at its best shape.¡± ''Skills'' ¡°Okay next up¡­ hm?¡± ''Traits'' ¡°That¡¯s a new one¡­ Exspiravit. I don¡¯t know what that means. Did it get unlocked after level 10 Stealth? Then it¡¯s safe to assume it¡¯s something that¡¯s related to stealth would like to know exactly how but I can¡¯t, sometimes it feels like this soul scrying or self scrying thing is incomplete¡­ Maybe I¡¯m just using it wrong. Anyways 6 points left. Instinct it is¡­ oh? ''Connection'' Instinct seems to be some sort of sub skill of presence detection and can¡¯t have a higher level than it¡¯s parent skill presence detection. Well that complicates things a bit¡­ Does that change my plans? Um not really, I¡¯ll just split the remaining 4 points equally into instinct and presence detection. After that if I get more I¡¯d like turn more points into venom fang. Thanks to that little encounter with the wasp now I know that I¡¯m most vulnerable when I¡¯m in the striking range of my opponent and that¡¯s where I have to be in order to bite them to inject my venom. Thus if my venom is strong enough to instantly paralyze them I minimize the danger I face.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I can catch insects during the night so I¡¯ll have to wait for tomorrow. What can I do during the night¡­ Maybe I should explore? No no no no that¡¯s a bad idea, it¡¯s too early to start relying on instinct and presence detection.¡± An another day passes as a spider... Chapter 5: Reminiscence The gift it had brought were memories of another world. From a world of humans. That showed it wonders it could never imagine it to be. Towering constructs of stone made with precision and skill, so tall that they hold the skies. Armored creatures of various sizes that glided upon roads of black carrying on it countless humans. Winged giants that flew without flapping. Gigantic worms of steel that raced within the tunnels beneath ground. And of them all, recollections of one who lived in this world was invaluable to it. Through it, it understood so much of what it was, what it had done and what happened to it. It¡¯s narrow view of the world had expanded greatly. Things that never made sense now did. These memories held galore of information, knowledge and wisdom. So overabundant they threatened snap its frail mind. However, Its ravenous hunger for understanding proved to proved to be resilient. So avaricious it was, with each addition of remembrance that was not of its own it grew more and more wanting of knowledge. And within memories there were emotions tied to them. They taught it was it had once felt. Curiosity, Indifference, Fear, Grief, Despair, Regret. And more that it had never felt. Happiness, Love, Pride, Envy, Greed, Pity, Humility, Melancholy, Embarrassment. Though they enlightened it to what they were and what they meant. However they failed to convey their feelings. Only scant few snatches of semblance nothing more. It absorbs all of it, everything, with the bitter and the sweet. Within them lies a story of man, a person who was once part of this world where the memories originated from¡­ At the start, he was the only child of the family. His father was a man of few words who worked as a mechanic for as long as he could remember. Stoic and stern, seemingly cold and distant but on the inside a caring, perhaps somewhat of an awkward man. His mother outgoing and upfront woman who worked as the head of marketing. Energetic, talkative and always doing something, be it menial or otherwise. Though they had little in common, somehow they had forged a strong relationship. At the age of 3 when he had just learned to walk on his own, he met his younger sister, though at the moment he didn¡¯t know. In youth he was curious of the world, why does day and night cycle, what does the sun orbit, why does water freeze, how do birds fly, why, what, how¡­ such questions always swimming inside his mind. Although at first his parents only answered with a simple or silly reply that a child would accept, move on and forget. Yet he wasn¡¯t like that. Always trying and testing out what he had just been told and being confused as to why it didn¡¯t go as he thought it would. Soon his questioning became too complex to gloss over thus his parents would have to research and give him the answer he needed. His relationship with his sister was that of a teacher and a pupil. Always caring of her. To her young mind he was an amazing brother who could do anything and knew everything. On a certain day when he was out with her sister while playing outside, he broke his leg due to a careless misstep. It took his leg about 6 months before it he could stand on it. During this time he was mostly in bed at his grandmother¡¯s place. Being told to not move, he would be easily bored since he was only 9 years old at the time. To remedy this, his parents bought him many media of entertainment, of them he was particularly engrossed with video games. They had an appeal that captivated his mind. Portraying a world that was vastly different from the one he knew of. Various games each with new and distinct universe. It was the perfect gift for him who had unabating interest in the world around him. After all it¡¯s something he was passionate about, and now he discovered that there¡¯s more out there, in the realm of video games and fantasy. How could he be not excited? Before long he would be drawing, writing - creating - new worlds of his own, based on the games he played. Immature and naive interpretations By the time his legs were fully healed his mind was set. He would learn more about video games and one day, he would make one of his own. Though, in future this was never meant to be¡­ The life story of the man enlightened it to new heights and through them it learned of what it meant to have a family. These memories were ones that meant the most to it. Thanks to them being in no small part the most endeared of his memories. For it too wished to have one of its own. However these memories carried as much poison as it had carried gifts. Now reliving its own memories through a new lens¡­ they told a story of hideous struggle guided only by instincts and an accursed existence that it was born in. Its siblings not only satisfying their hunger by consuming the cadaver of the one who brought them to this world, had also turned their fangs to each other. Slay the weak, feast on their flesh until none remains¡­ Most importantly of all how it too was part of them. Gaining consciousness, awareness and an ego far more developed than it had before. It was introduced to the wonders of the world and also the savage underbelly of it as well. It was part of the latter, its thoughts plagued by guilt and regret¡­ ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s normal for me to start sleeping spontaneously¡­ What was the condition for that again¡­? Necrolepsy? No necro means death¡­ ummm. That¡¯s it Narcolepsy. Is it possible for a Spider to suffer from that? Hm¡­ Maybe spiders do sleep then, I don¡¯t feel tired so maybe they perceive tiredness differently that I just don¡¯t feel¡­ oh well at least it¡¯s somewhat predictable, usually when the sun sets. Now what should I do today¡­ ¡± Gentle rays of the morning sun was just peeking over the mountain tops. Chapter 6: In Fortnight It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve started to live here in this forest, I think? Thought I¡¯d argue with the word ¡®Living¡¯. For the most part I have a diet consisting of mostly edible leaves, fruits, berries and flies, sometimes wasps as well. As for my status¡­ I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s quick progress or if it¡¯s normal so I don¡¯t really have an opinion on how it really is. Additionally I found out what finesse did. At first I was a bit unsure but now I¡¯m certain that it helps me with my web building. From what it says, it should be helpful for some other things as well. The cells in my web are almost perfectly even in size too. And I feel that I can even draw a perfect circle or a straight line without a ruler. How helpful that would¡¯ve been when I used to draw up blueprints and floor plans. Of course my speed isn¡¯t improved directly by finesse, but making fewer mistakes improves my overall efficiency. And for that reason I¡¯ve made a bit more investment into Agile Since I could afford it. Both of them didn¡¯t really make much of a difference in my stat numbers. I was hoping I would get out of this pit of ¡®F¡¯. Unfortunately that still seems out of reach for now. On a surprising note, I¡¯ve had quite a bit of time to ascertain the effectiveness of Stealth 10 and let me tell you it¡¯s great, excellent even. There¡¯s this unicorn rabbitlike thing with one horn in this forest and from what I¡¯ve seen they¡¯re extremely skittish and will bolt away at the slightest disturbance and hide somewhere. Not the step on a stick and make a noise kind of disturbance. More like if you breathe within 200 meters of them, they¡¯re gone. And I could literally go right in front of them and they wouldn¡¯t know it unless if I touched them, when I did they practically disappeared from my sight. That startled me the first time. I didn¡¯t notice it before but now that I have presence detection 4 I could perceive things that I didn¡¯t even see directly. Now that I did, I realised how many dangerous animals there were all around me. Stealth has been putting in some overtime work as I basically waltzed right underneath their noses. On the less exciting side, Weaver made my webs much more durable and I had to repair them less often. Though those tall humanoid blue skinned creatures did walk into them on accident and broke my web. Seemed like he had a difficult time getting it off afterwards and ran away because he was making too much noise I guess. And I feel much safer with stronger venom now that it¡¯s level five, most of my ¡®catch¡¯ are almost immediately paralysed. Strangely enough I can change the properties of my venom to do things that aren¡¯t very venom like, such as making them alert or cause clotting and making it acidic or basic. Another thing is that I could inject a mix of venom causing multiple things to happen at once. Now if I remember chemistry correctly, bases usually neutralize acid. But that¡¯s not the point, the point is that sometimes when acid and bases meet, they react with extreme exothermic reaction causing combustion or burning. Although pretty cool to burn your victim with just your bite, I¡¯m not very fond of the idea of being burned alive with them. And as for the recent phobia of mine is¡­ spontaneously bursting into flames because my venom sac mixed the two inside of me. In addition, I¡¯ve been using venom extensively yet I have zero knowledge on how to neutralize them if somehow it seeped into my own body. I should look into what constitution line of skills do, maybe it has something to help me. I still routinely ¡®sleep¡¯ during the night but it doesn¡¯t feel like sleeping and more like me blacking out at certain times. Since it was dangerous to randomly black out, I¡¯ve made it a rule for myself to return to the oak tree before dark. So far nothing dangerous has happened. I feel physically bigger after ¡®sleep¡¯ but I think that¡¯s just a false sensation, either that or I¡¯m grow so slightly it doesn¡¯t make much difference compared to before. Sometimes I forget I¡¯ve placed a web somewhere it catches bunch of insects. Even the would be predators that prey on what I caught are found stuck in my web frequently. Recently this small bird learned about my forgetful tendencies and made it a habit to feed from my webs. I tried changing the location but thing caught on quick and started searching for my webs. ¡°Now a normal spider wouldn¡¯t think a thing of it but I¡¯m no normal spider. I used to be petty human so I¡¯ll get you back in my own petty way.¡± With that thought I designed a special web just for the bird. Before making the web I should get more points into Weaver so my web is strong enough to catch it. This should work... Made in a funnel like structure which suddenly gets extremely narrow near the end. Now just place a big enough insect as a bait and it¡¯ll work like a charm. There are loose hanging strings of silk at the start which will get stuck to the bird and pull in the rest of the web along, enclosing it within. Mechanically it¡¯s almost like one of those raccoon cage traps. Less metallic comparatively, effectively¡­ we¡¯ll see how it goes. However it only works if the bird comes in from a specific direction, so I need to pick a place where the bait is visible from a single angle only. After finding a suitable location for my trap I started spinning the web. My speed has gotten a lot better since the first time I started making webs, what took me about 2 or 3 hours could be done in just under an hour or less. Still it¡¯s a big and complex compared to conventional webs so it took me more time. And in no time at all after placing the bait, a large dead wasp. The bird was already flying around looking for an easy food. Since I haven¡¯t renewed my webs since yesterday, obviously there¡¯s no food in the usual spots. Now let¡¯s see if this works... Driven by hunger the bird rushed in without a care and was spectacularly tangled up by its wings with feathers strewn all over the webbing. The silken strings were narrow but were considerably resistant. The bird hoped to use its talons and beak to cut the silk but only got more and more stuck. ¡°That¡¯ll teach you about stealing others¡¯ food¡­ Though now I caught it what next? I can¡¯t eat it, the thing is too large for just me. I could free it, but it will simply just go back to scoring free food from my web and next time it¡¯ll be more careful about being caught. It¡¯s wasteful but I¡¯ll just have to kill you and move on...¡± Tired from its struggling the bird was resting still confused as to why it was caught up in a web. Suddenly it felt a sharp sting of pain followed shortly by a numbing paralysis. It was completely paralysed before it could even twitch a muscle and was lulled into sleep it never woke up from again. ¡°Right¡­ It¡¯s dead but¡­ What do I do with the body? I really should think things through before going through with it¡­ Actually I¡¯ll hang it somewhere visible so the bird will think twice about screwing with my catch again. I can¡¯t carry it, the last 3 points into strength should help me¡­ I¡¯m already becoming insect Vlad the Impaler¡­ Alicia the hanger¡­ That sounds so dumb, damn I¡¯m bad at naming¡­ Come on I can come up with something better than that.¡± ¡°Oh I remember my rank being 27. Five ranks just like that huh? Still that¡¯s way too much work for a bird. I¡¯ll find a use for those five points sooner or later. For now, I should worry about getting this winged raccoon somewhere visible.¡± The unusual spider somehow carrying around bird carcass much larger than it, stealthily hanging it high up from a tree along animal trail for all residents of the forest to see. At first only few noticed the body, soon scavengers found it and tried to take a bite only to get stuck to the remarkably sticky and durable silk and starve. Thus a domino effect of scavengers coming and dying started. Eventually turning into a mangled mass of emaciated flesh and bones barely resembling its original form. It was seen by certain tribe¡¯s warrior and a hunter from a small isolated village nearby. Giving birth to myths and legends among both of them. The perpetrator was none the wiser until a century later it came to hit her like a spark¡­ Sidestory: 1 Early mornings were the best time to find a hunt. The Sun was yet to rise and the shivering chill of dawn was still present. At this time lone hunter was carefully traversing the forest floor, mindful of where he steps. He was an expert at his craft of hunting, a fact apparent to even the untrained eye. Ironically, such an untrained eye would not see him approach. His eye catching bluish skin covered and made inconspicuous by mud and tar and his face hidden behind a mask with an eerie visage. Donning an attire of fur and leather, he had packed lightly. Armed with javelin and a few curved short knives made from the fangs the quarry he had brought down before and carrying a full waterskin and an empty bag for transport. The creatures that lived in this forest are savage, aggressive and territorial. The intense struggle for food and territory were everyday occurrences. Strength meant everything. The weaker ones who couldn¡¯t compete each carved out their own niche of survival tactics. The predators hunting tactics and the prey¡¯s survival tactics they were all put to the test everyday. Evolving and ever changing. He prided himself in being knowledgeable about almost every creature of the forest. This was the knowledge that allowed him to survive and even take down the strongest of the predators in the forest. Though never expressly mentioned, he was regarded as the best hunter amongst his tribe. And many young hunters looked up to him. Though this morning he was vigilant, more so than his usual. And what could make the best hunter of the tribe - perhaps even the best hunter within the forest - so wary? A few days before he unknowingly walked face first into a spider web. It should¡¯ve been visible in the sunlight with the morning dew, yet he missed it. To further add insult to the injury web was it''s durability and adhesion was remarkably strong. It clung to his face and couldn¡¯t be removed easily. Even the knife made from sharpest of fangs made no difference. This was a grave mistake that could¡¯ve cost his life. But moreover it told him of a new danger has arrived within the forest. Though he knew there were dire spiders with abdomens as large as a boulder, their habitat was in dark caves and sometimes on trees and they rarely weaved a web to catch, in cases that they did, they never left their webs. In behaviour there are two types, Hunting and Web-Spinning. The hunting types attacked directly with their venomous bite. The web spinning types try catch their prey in a net of silk be it underneath them or flying overhead. Though recently both types have become rare. While the web-spinning type becoming almost extinct, the hunting types made caves and caverns into their home, fleeing from the forest. The recent resurgence of war boars are perhaps the reason for this change. As their hides are too thick for the hunting spider¡¯s fang to fully pierce, and in contest of strength they couldn¡¯t hope to match. Web spinning types are often simply smashed together with their web. They even threaten the safety of the tribe. For now though they¡¯re holding on but for how long? This bizarre new behaviour of leaving their web meant a new species of spider in the forest. His experiences in hunting not only trained him to be stealthy but also to discern the smallest of details. If he didn¡¯t see the web, his tribesmen won¡¯t either. And if it was truly was regular, web spinning, dire spider. He would¡¯ve never been caught like that. ¡°Warboars are causing havoc. And now a new type of spider capable of even catching me.¡± He was worried for the safety of his tribe. However even with distracting thoughts on his mind, he was still following an animal track. As he thought that he was closing in, the creature¡¯s tracks suggested that it had become alerted and its tracks went off in a different direction. The deeper imprints and lower frequency meant it was scared and ran off. He braced for what could scared his hunt away. And there he saw; a messy mangled ball of flesh and bones. He didn¡¯t smell it then as he was downwind, but now being close enough nauseating smell of blood assaulted him. It was obviously there a while for it to get this stench. Looking closely he made out a number of animals and monster carcasses. More alarmingly, he found that it was held up from a tree branch in its ball shape by a web. The particular repeating pattern of evenly distributed and perfectly shaped rectangular cells and precise work was not seen ever before from any spider that he had seen. Except one. ¡°It¡¯s the same type from then.¡± He identified it being from the same species, if not the exact same spider. Though to an onlooker it looked to be of some sort of hideous effigy. For him as hunter he gleaned its hunting strategy as well. It had caught numerous animals, first a lark and then its natural predators. By using the lark that it had caught as bait to capture even more and then feasting on them. A cunning strategy worthy of praise. But also worthy of fear. He was both impressed and frightened. What if the web he had walked into before was the same as this? And what if it he didn¡¯t manage to free himself from the web then? What if the spider was near its web at that time. He could clearly imagine his own head hung up from a tree and being used as a bait. Abandoning his hunt he hurried back to his home to warn his tribesmen of a new threat. Little did he know, it was simply a warning the spider left against the birds, to scare them away. It was him that was over thinking things and scaring himself. The spider¡¯s aim of scaring away its harassers were achieved. Though not in the way that it had hoped to... Chapter 7: Lucid Dream Since the presence came it to continued to live in a state of trance. Sometimes a pleasant dream filled with wondrous spectacles. Other times, a horrific recount of the nightmarish life it led before. Reliving its memories, absorbing and integrating the new found memories from the presence, it was in a metaphorical chrysalis, hibernating and transitioning into something else. Much like a developing fetus intently listening to the outside world, it too heard of what its former self was doing. More specifically what it was thinking. It could interpret little scraps of words formed from the thoughts of the presence. At first simple words that had no meaning to it. Eventually it began to learn the implications of those words. And through it, it learned of the name of the presence; ¡®Alicia¡¯. Though it first had to learn the concept of a name. Rarely when the sun sets, it comes to. Though it has little control, its body weak, it could still move. Feeding on the ¡®leftovers¡¯ kept hidden on the tree it filled its hunger. The presence ¡®Alicia¡¯ was both knowledgeable of things beyond its comprehension and clueless to the ¡®simplest¡¯ of things. Sometimes unaware of the body¡¯s hunger and forgetting to ¡®molt¡¯. It had to cover for its other half. Despite its admiration it could not meet ¡®Alicia¡¯. When it awakens, they are sleeping. And when it sleeps, they awaken. A chance for both to be awake and converse is unlikely. Thus it could only meet ¡®Alicia¡¯ through a hazy half awake state with a wordless and distant adoration. Recently it has started to work on large sac, through impulse and instinct that grew more intense. It was just like a molt, but more demanding, more ¡®exciting¡¯. It knew not why, it just had to. So for ¡®two¡¯ ¡®weeks¡¯ it worked on it. High up on the tree, a huge sac was being spun. A grand undertaking that is not known to its other self. Time for this ¡®molt¡¯ grew ever closer and closer. It felt new emotions, however now it could tell what those were. ¡®Excited¡¯, ¡®Anxious¡¯, ¡®Nervous¡¯ and ¡®Delighted¡¯, though it was the first time it was experiencing these emotions it knew them from the memories it inherited from ¡®Alicia¡¯. It didn¡¯t dislike them at all... Some days have passed since I hung that bird to have it work as a scarecrow. When I recently went to go and check up on it, it was gone. Which is understandable, some animal came and snatched it up made it its meal. But what happened next is¡­ After taking that bird down my rank was 32 and now its 47. I didn¡¯t do anything notable other than continue on business as casual, working as a glorified pest exterminator. I already feel like a cranky old man who¡¯s always mad and yelling obscenities at the neighbourhood kids playing on his yard. Except I¡¯m a spider and instead of a yard I have a web and instead of kids I have insects, biggest difference is that I¡¯m not yelling obscenities, I¡¯m just simply walking up to them and murdering them. Point is my crimes against the insect kind shouldn¡¯t exactly net me in 15 ranks of increase, though wasps may beg to differ. Therefore my hypothesis is; the creature that ate the envenomed bird also got food poisoning and died; because that technically was of my doing their death was attributed to me in turn explaining the large income of rank. That is the best explanation I have at the time and since there¡¯s nothing else to prove it otherwise. It¡¯s also the explanation sticking with. With that mystery out of the way, I¡¯ll think about getting these points to work rather than just having them hang around as a useless metric. So currently I have¡­ With my options being¡­ Not a lot of choices¡­ What am I needing the most? Legs arms and human body would do me good, but I can¡¯t get those now can I? Since I can¡¯t think of anything new that I need on that list, let''s see what I can improve from the things that I do have. I honestly underrated Pallesthesia, it¡¯s quite helpful at determining number of things. From not only knowing what kind of bug is on my web, but also their size and through their movement where they are even if they¡¯re not on a web. The venom has gotten a lot better and it doesn¡¯t have any immediate issues. But why wait for it have issues, it¡¯s better to be prepared. Instinct gives me a vague sense of danger from certain bugs like wasps and centipedes but interestingly doesn¡¯t react that much to bigger creatures like wolves and the green children with clubs - Now that I think about it those were goblins weren¡¯t they? Although getting started on magic seems like a good idea. Conversely, I have no clue if it''s going to be helpful or not. Ideally concealed action, the ability that came up after stealth reached level 10 might be better investment at this point. Although everything else plays a part, they have a more impact right now. So Pallesthesia, more points into Venom Fang, Instinct and Concealed action, since instinct is tied to presence detection, I have to account for that as well. Before doing anything I need to see what exactly concealed action does, after that I can start distributing the points the way I want. Another word like pallesthesia, alright hope it¡¯s not too complicated... ¡°Somatosensory refers to one¡¯s ability to perceive touch, pain, pressure, vibration, temperature and more.¡± Sounds good to me, and apparently it¡¯s connected to stealth just like instinct is to presence detection. With Stealth already being level 10 I don¡¯t need to worry about that. Since it works on the sense of touch does that mean I¡¯ll be able to touch those unicorn rabbits without them bolting off now? Need to test that one out¡­ At this point I should just go all in on Venom fang so that¡¯s 5 points, I want pallesthesia to be above average at level 6 so that¡¯s 4 points presence detection included. I already used 1 of the points to know what concealed action does so leftover 10 points, I can afford to have both presence detection and instinct to level 6 and still have some leftover for concealed action. Here we go then¡­ And all 20 have been used. I feel like I just splurged all my money. Furthermore just like that time with Stealth, Venom fang 10 also gave me a new trait¡­ First of all, that¡¯s macabre as it gets, but most importantly I¡¯m not kissing bugs, I¡¯m biting them. I refuse to be in an affair with a bug or kiss one for that matter. And what¡¯s with all this rumbling noise? Wait¡­ Without much straining he could differentiate all the vibrations far and wide, created by the fauna around him. Each and every movement no matter how subtle, he could perceive them. I think that¡¯s pallesthesia¡­ God that scared me for a moment there, felt like there was an earthquake happening. Still feels like it¡­ And I thought construction zones were noisy. Here it feels like a war is going on right next to me¡­ I need to learn how to tone this down¡­ While in distress trying to figure out how to lower the sensitivity of pallesthesia he was interrupted by the tugging of one of his webs. Oh for god¡¯s sake why now. Why did you pick now of all times to get stuck in my web...? Really I am turning into a cranky old man¡­ If only he knew what was in store for him in the near future, he would have absolutely wanted to become a cranky old man... Chapter 8: Chrysalis memoirs ¡°Concealed action does prevent the rabbits from bolting away, for a while anyway. I would¡¯ve enjoyed the ride if they didn¡¯t hop around. That felt like I was in a roller coaster without any straps or seats, not something I''d like to experience again. On the bright side I somehow ¡®willed¡¯? Pallesthesia to be less sensitive. I still don¡¯t know how I can control it, but for now I¡¯m not being overwhelmed by vibrations that¡¯s perceived as if the world was ending. My nightly blackouts are now increasingly lengthy and accompanied by bizarre dreams of my previous life. Random scenarios with no semblance of meaning. One recurring thing within my dreams is a small white spider that¡¯s missing one of it¡¯s legs. Is that supposed to be me? Not sure if that¡¯s good or not. I suppose I¡¯m not forgetting my memories anytime soon. Though which is the best for me now? Forget and leave everything behind and start over again or hold on and hope there¡¯s some way to go back? That¡¯s something to figure out for another time. A nice thing of my dreams is that I have my human body with arms, hands and legs back. For the amount of short time I¡¯m dreaming. Well it¡¯s hard not to miss them when you¡¯ve had them for years. I also figured out not to place webs too close to the ground or the giant forest rats or whatever will get caught up in it and just ruin everything for everyone involved. These things are size of a large puppy. Oh and they¡¯ll chew through almost everything. There are also giant ants that if you injure one of them more will show up until they swarm you to death. The rats found that out the hard way, scary. Why does everything in this place just hate everything else? Ugh, another wasp, another web to patch up¡­ Well it isn''t going to fix itself¡­¡± It was time for the molt. It was anxious of what may become of them, yet it was also ¡®thrilled¡¯ to have had the chance to meet ¡®Alicia¡¯ through one of the ¡®dreams¡¯. And this was the chance. Though it was one sided, its excitement and tension was soaring¡­ 20:47 He came home from a another long shift. Though his co-workers invited him out for a drink, he refused and headed straight to home. The day was a long one for him. Someone was late for their shift, another showing up hungover who was simply sent home for safety, some others not even being present, another messing up and few others with incomplete personal protective equipment, it was one of those days. He just wanted to go home and have the day be over with. No one seemed to be at home. Uncommon occurrence, but not unusual. His mum was often late when the company came up with a new product or a service. His sister still pursuing her master¡¯s degree was also absent most of the time. ¡°Guess pops got too into his work. Gotta give him a call to come home before he pulls an all-nighter.¡± He changed into comfortable house clothes and made his way to the kitchen. ¡°Nothing¡¯s in the fridge either. Guess dinner¡¯s on me today, would¡¯ve bought something if had known.¡± He hadn¡¯t eaten anything since noon and was starving. Because of that he settled for something simple to make. Beef chopped into cubes, coated with flour and pepper sizzling in a large pot with oil. After all of them were browned, the pot was deglazed with vinegar and cheap wine leftovers. Pouring in a beef broth and adding some herbs with the beef put back in, it was brought to a boil. ¡°Now just add some potatoes and carrots after a while and dinner should be done¡­¡± A beef stew; normally it would be cooked longer to make the meat tender but hunger didn¡¯t allow for such luxuries. Potatoes quartered, carrots and onions were sliced and dumped into the pot. ¡°I should have some time till it¡¯s done¡­¡± With such thought he went to his room, to check emails and catch up on anything he missed. Not quite messy, but also not quite pristine, respectably sized room with a single window. A bed for one, clothes drawer, computer and shelves lined with miscellaneous items, reading materials for both academic and leisure time, old video game consoles and cartridges. A laundry basket half filled with worn clothes in the corner. The room is unremarkable if anything. While the computer was booting up, he went to the window to open it to let fresh air in. As he was opening it he noticed something that looked like a small white piece of cotton. Looking closely, it was a small white spider on the windowsill. The most distinctive aspect of it was its missing leg. To check if it was dead or not he tried to make it move by tapping close to it. Its reaction was minimal, so he decided to try and touch it with a mechanical pencil. It wasn¡¯t afraid of the pencil but it was cautious, retracting its legs and balling up. Normally he would¡¯ve either smashed it with a fly swatter or let it out by grabbing it with tweezers. This time he didn¡¯t; for an unknown reason he felt pity. Was it because of its missing leg or it not fleeing even in the face of obvious danger? Aversion replaced with curiosity, he observed the spider for some time before¡­ Voice almost like a whisper seemed to call for him¡­ He thought it was one of his family members coming home but he would¡¯ve heard the door or the doorbell first. Inadvertently in a low voice he said out loud And looked around his room. The whisper was unusually close to him, like it was inside his head. Almost as if it was from an internal voice not of his own. He thought maybe he was too stressed from work and showed signs of schizophrenia but¡­ With his name being called out a rush of memories came to him¡­ Chapter 9: Alice Alicia, that was the name given to him after his death. Remembering that brought along more memories, along the one about his - unfortunate - reincarnation turning to a spider. Becoming aware of his dreaming state made the image of his former room to be made more clear and sharpened by his memories, as he now had a conscious grasp. The room¡¯s appearance was that of the morning when left for work on that fateful day. A recreation made from his memories. Again he heard the low voice whispering. What was a whisper now audible enough to sound as if someone was right next to him. It was that of a young girl¡¯s voice with drawn out words, monotonous tone and without any inflection. Still puzzled by a voice calling him out, he wondered if he was showing schizophrenic symptoms. Brushing it off as peculiarity in a dream; It was strange, the voice sounded as if there was a person right next to or behind him, but no-one was in sight around in the room. Though there were no discernible sound coming from anywhere, he was drawn to the window sill. Where he had found the recurring white spider from his dreams. An idea so outlandish it was something he would normally question his sanity but him dying and being reincarnated made him more receptive to the idea. It seemed that the spider struggled with words. Still, he could make out their meanings. Though not a word was said or a gesture was made. He had a feeling that it was affirming to his conjecture. He had much to ask and much to process. Where is this place, Why is he here and such. Besides the obvious lack of intonation, there were many glaring oddities in the spider¡¯s communication. Again no words or body language, but somehow he could tell he was spot on. He felt that if it was a human, right now they would be enthusiastically nodding their head up and down. Something that reminded him of his youthful days. When his younger sister often ran up to him and asked the strangest of questions. And how he would answer them as seriously as he could. And describe subjects with baffling narrative and how she would beam with laughter and happiness if he could correctly guess what she was talking about. Though he doesn¡¯t remember it, he knows that was not his original name. He always wondered why he was given that name. In reply to his question, this time there was a feeling of denial and¡­ He somewhat expected such an answer so it wasn''t that big of a surprise. It still didn¡¯t help him with the reason why. Putting that aside, he wanted to know who or what the spider was. Part of his mind or something else? The disconnected words didn¡¯t make it easy for him to understand. And the new influx of information was too much to absorb. Processing it bit by bit... ''When I was reincarnated I wasn¡¯t born as a spider, but merged with one that was dying. Now for some reason I¡¯m molting, but I don¡¯t think spiders molt by going into an unconscious state so something isn¡¯t right¡­ the uhm... spider¡¯s communication skills are not great, so it¡¯s difficult to get more information.'' An affirmation mixed with excitement was given. First time being acquainted with the name, it seemed as if she was trying to get familiarized with the new word. Repeating the name over and over until it was memorised... Despite the troublesome conversation they still managed to communicate. It¡¯s a wonder how he managed it, even he himself didn¡¯t quite understand it well. Even though it felt like it was only a short while, in reality long time had already passed. He realized the dream was ending and was about to awaken soon. The dream ended as quickly as it had started... Chapter 10: Metamorphosis Something was stirring within the huge cocoon hanging high from a great oak tree. The time for it to hatch was nigh. Drifting closer and closer from the land of dreams it was awaking. ¡°Wha- where am I? Why¡¯s it so dark?¡± Not quite fully awake yet, Alicia¡¯s mind was still foggy and disoriented. ¡°Am I in some creature¡¯s stomach?¡± Startled by their own imagination ¡®he¡¯ started to panic and started to thrash wildly. Although the pupa was considerably durable, from the inside it was soft and fragile. Easily being torn and ripped by ¡®his¡¯ reckless movement, it¡¯s structural integrity was failing. Eventually as ¡®he¡¯ fought ¡®his¡¯ way through, the webbing gave way and finally snapped. ¡°Huh?¡± And ¡®he¡¯ plunged into the ground face first. ¡®He¡¯ got up, hands clutching ¡®his¡¯ head in pain. Coming to, eyes focusing on ¡®his¡¯¡­ Shocked by a girl¡¯s voice coming from who knows where ¡®he¡¯ started to look around. As ¡®his¡¯ mind cleared up and finally finished processing the situation. ¡®He¡¯ understood the voice of the ¡®girl¡¯ was ¡®his¡¯ own. Still ¡®his¡¯ voice was a minor detail compared to the joy of having regained arms and legs. Though the legs felt a bit off. Feeling ¡®his¡¯ face; ¡®He¡¯ noticed that ¡®he¡¯ had silky platinum hair with subtle waviness that hung freely from ¡®his¡¯ head, reaching down to ¡®his¡¯ waist. It was then ¡®he¡¯ also found that ¡®he¡¯ had extra ¡®tissue¡¯ on ¡®his¡¯ bust, but what had ¡®his¡¯ attention was what was underneath. A shrill scream echoed through the forest. Huge fangs covering a mouth. And following it down, it was connected ¡®his¡¯ body, meaning it was a part of ¡®him¡¯. And true enough when ¡®he¡¯ tried to, it moved the way ¡®he¡¯ wanted it to. Still continuing to examine, ¡®his¡¯ body was held up by thin legs of a spider. All connected to a bulbous abdomen. ¡®He¡¯ was connected by ¡®his¡¯ waist to where a spider¡¯s cephalothorax should be. The scream was only partly because ¡®he¡¯ was scared of ¡®his¡¯ new form; other factors played into it of course, but none was as impactful as ¡®him¡¯ seeing that ¡®he¡¯ was in a birthday suit - with an ¡®undeniable¡¯ proof of a female. After spending some time looking around in paranoia and calming down while later, she remembered her dream or what felt like a dream. It was deep into the night. ¡°I need to cover myself. I mean I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone here that¡¯d care if I was nude or not, but still I would rather not go around streaking. Especially now that I have¡­ feminine parts¡­ and the wind is very caressing without clothes, maybe a bit too much for my comfort. I always thought that it was unusual for a male to have the name Alicia - dominantly feminine name¡­ I think I now know why¡­ Gods why have you forsaken me? Still, where am I going to find clothes...?¡± Looking around there were only torn silky webbing all around the place, remnants from the cocoon. ¡°And my sewing skill are is subpar at best; The last time I tried to was when I was a kid and grandma taught me how to crochet and sew things when I broke my leg.¡± While she was in thought something reached out to her. Even with her odd intonation she could tell Alice was happy. After Alice¡¯s answer her body - more specifically her lower body - started move as if it had a will of its own. It didn¡¯t feel intrusive or uncomfortable. It moved as if from muscle memory, movements familiar and smooth. She hung upside down from the oak tree with a thread after effortlessly climbing up and started to weave with her silk. Like fingers of a trained musician strumming a stringed instrument she deftly used her spindly legs as needle, her silk as a thread, and her mouth with vicious fangs as scissors to cut and sometimes eat and recycle the silk from the cocoon, not wasting a shred. After a while a loose fitting, white, fluttery shirt was crafted from silk. Alicia wondered how she managed to stay upside down for so long without the blood pooling to her head. After it was done Alicia noticed it¡¯s design was the same as what her younger sister used to wear at home. It wasn¡¯t the durable PPE that she was comfortable with, but¡­ Though no affirmation, she felt some subtle tingly feeling from the inside. ¡°Ah¡­ I think I need more than a morning to figure this out.¡± ¡°How do I make underwear for spiders¡­? These things were not taught to me in The Principles of Design courses¡­¡± Chapter 11: Square one ¡°Okay let¡¯s take things slow, one at a time¡­ First; my race Araneae1Alicia''s fangs exhibit both pincer like from sides to center movement of Araneomorphs (sometimes called true spiders) and the downwards/forwards movement of Mygalomorphs. I''m pulling the fantasy card on this one. In her previous smol spider form, she is supposed to be more Araneomorphic (think of the spider that you saw in the wild probably) while in her current for she''s more akin to Mygalomorphic (think tarantulas, but without the hair) while still being araneomorphic hence the Hybrid (It doesn''t simply means she''s hybrid between human and a spider but also hybrid between the 2 suborders). I forgot to better portray this and I don''t think I''ll get the chance to. Don''t worry Mesothelae in form of trapdoor ''spider'' behaviour will make an appearance eventually.¡­ sounds a lot like arachnid, so I guess it¡¯s something close to that. I don¡¯t even know what kind of a spider I was before my change. Hell I don¡¯t even know why I just changed¡­ And my rank got reset to zero with 10 points to allocate... wait let me think¡­ Last time I checked this, my rank was at 47 or so. Between then and now I probably reached rank 50. That could explain the abrupt¡­ evolution? Am I a goddamn Pok*mon or something? What next? Is the Arachne from Greek mythology my next stop on my evolution train?¡± ¡°Moving on, my status¡­ Yeah those numbers don¡¯t mean anything to me¡­ the letters help somewhat. At least I know I¡¯m not failing with an ¡®F¡¯. My magic stat even without any supporting skills is higher than strength, and the latter even has 3 ranks allocated to it. Might need to look into utilizing that soon.¡± ¡°Speaking of skills¡­ Telepathy and Kindred are new entries. The second one is unique¡­ whatever that means. If my previous theory is correct I should have 13 points for allocation, but three were used for these two skills. Then show me what you do...¡± ¡°Ah, so this is why I can speak with Alice, Telepathy. A connection is established with kindred and telepathy uses that, which allows for us to talk¡­ err communicate with each other. ¡°Though what are those weird symbols underneath them? I will have to figure them out eventually.¡± ¡°And the skills seem to be more descriptive. I always thought the scrying thing was a bit incomplete. And now it feels whole. Question is; why? Was it due to the evolution? Plausible. Anything else¡­? Alice¡­ could it be that this gift was divided between the two of us? And now through evolution and us meeting, it¡¯s finally complete¡­¡± ¡°Regardless of what happened, the current situation is¡­ uncertain. I need to find something to eat. Now that I don¡¯t have to eat insects anymore, I might have to actually catch some REAL food. Thing is I still don¡¯t know much about the place or what is in it. But now I should be better suited for exploration. First thing¡¯s first, I need to find a source of freshwater and some place to take shelter.¡± Looking up there was the all too familiar oak tree¡­ Though it was more akin to a great oak; it¡¯s branches thick and sturdy. Through the gaps between its leaves faint golden rays of the sun were peering. ¡°Was this thing always this big? I thought things were big because of my size but¡­ everything in this forest is supersized. From the trees to the creatures even the insects.¡± ¡°Nevermind that, the sun¡¯s already up. I need to start looking for the things I need. First: Water Second: Shelter Third: Food¡± ¡°If I follow the rivulet that I used to drink from I should find its source. Hopefully there''s a larger body of water. As for shelter, I think I can still hang around the tree for now. If I can find some sort of cave or anything that can protect me from the elements would be even better. If not I should think about making myself comfortable and get in touch with my simian roots through an arboreal lifestyle. That leaves only food. It¡¯s a forest, I should be able to forage something edible. Hope I don¡¯t get poisoned from mushrooms or berries. I might have to make traps for catching something edible.¡± ¡°Lastly, before I set out: the 10 points to use up. 3 into constitution and 3 more into toxic tolerance to not die, for when I inevitably eat something poisonous.¡± ¡°And another one with an unintelligible descriptor. Hope they¡¯re not something important¡­ anyway 4 points left. I should see what principle of magic has in store for me. I have to utilize that magic parameter of mine. So 1 point each, that leaves one, I¡¯ll get¡­ olfactory? Maybe I can identify something by scent.¡± Pleasant rays of the sun were mostly blocked by the foliage from the trees, despite it being noon already the air was chilly. True enough following upstream from where the rivulet was Alicia found herself near a large freshwater lake. It¡¯s blue water clear and pristine; So much so that one could see all the way to the bottom. Strangely, the lake lacked any fish. Seeing her own reflection on the water¡¯s surface. ¡°Wow, I¡¯m quite the looker huh. I look like a supermodel. And that¡¯s without the makeup and all the other stuff that goes on.¡± What was reflected was a maiden with fair skin, gorgeous platinum colored silky long hair almost like the web she spun, eyes with the color of the sky, the irides dark as the cosmic depths with a sign of cerulean, akin to sapphire. They looked like stars; jewels, snatched from the heavens above. Her hands and waist thin and supple. Seemingly to show contrast; below her waist she was connected to a vicious visage of a beast, that of a gigantic spider. Yet even with its savage appearance, it looked beautiful. Sharing the same platinum luster as her hair, with gradient patterns in many shades of white, gray and silver. As Alicia was confirming her newfound appearance, something stirred within the lake waters and disturbed the still surface. It was approaching fast and soon it surfaced. Chapter 12: Expectations About a month ago, a large magical energy source appeared within the depths of the forest. It observed the energy as it kept growing more and more. It was as if another spirit had been born. Another one of its kind. The word ecstatic couldn¡¯t even start to describe it¡¯s feelings. It wondered how it got to this point. How long has been since its sense of self formed¡­? Born alone with pool of magical energy in the cold embrace of a lake. It attracted the attention of many; some cordial, some hostile, all seeking to use it. It helped some, healing their ailments; from injuries thought to be incurable, to chronic diseases without a hope for a treatment. Eventually words spread and many more sought it out to find some sort of secrets of the world or power and wealth beyond their understanding. At some time they started to worship it like it was some sort of deity. Eventually, they tried to seize it for their own use, by trying to turn it into a convenient tool. It lashed out with all its power, some swept aside, others drowned never to see the light of day. Then there were only those who called themselves highborn that were left. They too stopped approaching it, frightened of retribution, holding both reverence and fear. Once again it was alone. Even if it tried to approach others they would flee in terror. And those that approached it were either mindless beasts or madmen trying to consume it, slay it or use it for their own, just like those before them. They too would eventually stop coming. Like a river dried up. Once again it was alone, with its only companion the frigid lake that became its cradle and the unfeeling waves. For how long? It forgot many centuries ago¡­ Whether it was through a stroke of luck or the whims of fate, the source of energy was coming to it. ¡®Is the time of my long solitude finally ending?¡¯ were its thoughts as it was enthusiastic to meet its kin. Going to where the energy source was at its densest, it was led to the edge of the lake. Surfacing from the depths, it briefly looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary except a large spherical wispy mass of blue evanescent light with streaks of white and iridescent. Formless balls of light are usually the indicators of lesser spirits, but with the sheer size of this one made it impossible for to be simple lesser spirit. It was hiding its physical body perhaps. ¡®That had to be it.¡¯ This meant that it was cautious of it. ¡®That can¡¯t be helped¡¯ it thought but they also hadn¡¯t run away yet. ¡®Conflicted between flight and curiosity? Then I¡¯ll have to earn your trust it seems.¡¯ - ¡°I know you¡¯re there, there¡¯s no need to be afraid of me.¡± Maybe because of being called out they came out of hiding and she was slightly perplexed by what she was greeted with. Top half of a human girl but it''s lower half that of a giant spider. Even in its long life, it was the first time seeing such a being. ¡®Not a spirit? Was I mistaken?¡¯ Doubting her previous notion of the being also being a spirit; she examined the being much more closely. And it was bemusing; it wasn¡¯t quite a spirit but had spirit-like in nature and physical body of a giant spider, the larger, rarer variant of dire spiders. ¡®At least half a spirit then?¡¯ Despite the initial shock, it quickly recovered and noticed that the being¡¯s eyes were trained onto it, staring straight at her eyes. It wasn¡¯t a hostile stare, but not a cordial one either. Their body was also slightly tense, ready for action. - ¡°I¡¯m Alicia. Uhm¡­ sorry to interrupt your bathing?¡± Before silence set in she introduced herself. Her voice had some wariness in it. ¡®An araneaemorph1Not to be confused with araneomorph(ae), but neither giant spiders nor spirits have names normally. Spiders are not the type to be tamed and named, especially giant spiders. And spirits particularly, a named one wouldn¡¯t be wandering about without their summoner. Just what are you Alicia?¡¯ She was perplexed; she was expecting one of her kind, a spirit, and yet she was met with something else. Nevertheless she had called out to them and the other party already introduced themselves, there¡¯s no going back now. - ¡°I am the Water spirit of this lake. Forgive me, we do not usually have names.¡± - ¡°Oh, uhm, would you mind if I use the water from your lake?¡± Even if she wasn¡¯t a spirit, she could still be a good company. And besides, if it¡¯s the one thing it had on her that was in abundance it would be time followed by water. - ¡°Please do.¡± - ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be coming back again.¡± Thus ended their short meeting. She was still satisfied with the outcome¡­ her days of loneliness were ending at long last. Her new acquaintance left with an unusual gait and strangely hasty movements. Stifling a small giggle she thought to herself that her coming days would not be boring. ¡®Something¡¯s coming!¡¯ strange premonition alerted her and Alicia braced herself for possibly dangerous animals¡­ Hippopotamus, Crocodiles even though they seemed like illogical possibilities nothing else seemed to come to her mind. Furthermore, it could be a creature unique to this world which had its reality grounded in fantasy, as outlandish as that sounds. Reality however is often disappointing. What came out was no creature, but a woman with eyes and hair of light turquoise. And a shapely body with an apparent lack of any form of attire. She was taken aback, not sure how to react. Afterall Alicia was still a man¡­ at heart anyway. While her mind was recovering from the shock. Woman¡¯s gaze was persistently following Alicia. As if ¡®She can see me?¡¯ - ¡°I know you¡¯re there, there¡¯s no need to be afraid of me.¡± ¡®No she can¡¯t¡­ but she does know I¡¯m here¡­ How do I even stop stealth from working¡­?¡¯ After some time fumbling, with a tingle through her skin akin light electrocution, Stealth was disabled. The other party seemed to be surprised with her appearance. ¡®Even I was surprised¡­ and it¡¯s my own body.¡¯ ¡®I have to do something. It¡¯s going to get awkward, especially for me since she thinks I¡¯m a female¡­ Well technically I am now, but mentally I¡¯m not there yet. Just don¡¯t look at her body, maintain eye contact, introduce myself and go away, naturally, yes naturally...¡¯ - ¡°I¡¯m Alicia. Uhm¡­ sorry to interrupt your bathing?¡± ¡®Gaaah idiot, why¡¯d you have to bring that up. That¡¯s not a topic to talk about.¡¯ - ¡°I am the Water spirit of this lake. Forgive me, we do not usually have names.¡± ¡®Oh thank goodness she didn¡¯t bring that up. Wait water spirit? Heck¡¯s that? Something like undine or mermaids? Are all spirits nudists? Ah forget about the details, I have to escape from here. Wait I need water first.¡¯ - ¡°Oh, uhm, would you mind if I use the water from your lake?¡± - ¡°Please do.¡± ¡®Yes! Water secured, now I need to escape.¡¯ - ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be coming back again.¡± ¡®That sounds so wrong. Abort, Abooort! Run away!¡¯ Without saying anything else Alicia fled the scene, with a tinge of regret. As for the reason... ¡®I borderline sexually assaulted a woman, and then promised to do it again. Granted it was a spirit, but I don¡¯t think that would hold up in court. I can¡¯t return to her just like that¡­ I need an extra set of clothes for her. Well maybe she has clothes I didn¡¯t ask about that. Ah I¡¯ll just have some on hand, it¡¯s sure to come in handy eventually. Besides I may need to change myself.¡¯ Source of freshwater has been secured... ¡®L*ttle mer*aid lied to me about water spirits wearing seashells, corals and scales or whatever¡­¡¯ Chapter 13: Fortune’s turn Fleeing from the lake in a hurry Alicia found herself lost somewhere. ¡®I think I went west to find the lake so the tree should be in the east somewhere. Where¡¯s the sun...?¡¯ Hoping to find her directions through the sun she looked up, eyes squinting, but the sun had no tilt whatsoever to clue in on west or east. ¡®Solar noon? Just my luck¡­ I¡¯m not waiting till it leans.¡¯ ? Olfactory ? Lured by the scent she followed it all the way to a campfire. Unknowingly she went quite far to find its source. Blue skin blemished with mud, boiled leather garment that covers the chest and guts. Legs and arms are half covered with linen that favors flexibility and movement rather than protection. It¡¯s face has a long pointy nose, long curved tusks, and it seemed like one of them was broken off. The remaining one chipped and damaged. Surrounding him were various nets, spears and javelins and a strange mask, that looks familiar to her. They were squatting down in front of a fire pit dug out from the ground with something cooking on top of the charcoal. ¡®Chicken? Too small. Pheasants maybe?¡¯ They had covered the pit partially with dried plant matter, to limit the scent of the smoke and to stop the scent of meat attracting unwanted attention from the monsters within the forest. It almost worked perfectly at hiding it¡¯s presence from monsters, if you excluded a certain hungry spider eyeing them. ¡®That looks and smells good¡­ I wonder if they¡¯ll share some¡­ I¡¯m turning into a mountain hobo¡­¡¯ In Alicia¡¯s previous life; often during lunch breaks homeless people around the area would pester the construction workers to share their food. Though as a site manager he had always told them not to feed them as it would only make them more reliant and expectant. Sometimes he had to shoo them away. Even though he knew some of the workers still fed them behind his back, he let it slide from time to time. ¡®I sure hope karma doesn¡¯t rear its ugly head. Wait, what¡¯s that rumbling?¡¯ The day had started badly for him. Hunt he was chasing ran into a pack of dire wolves, and they wouldn¡¯t let such an easy prey go. Contesting the pack alone was suicide. Many of the traps he set were either empty or broken. Only a few rockbird trapped in nets were his catch. They wouldn¡¯t be enough for the village. These days were common for hunters. You can do everything perfectly, and still have nothing to show for. Other days fortune smiles and forest rewards you with its plentiful bounty. The plan was to take a quick break and continue the hunt. Marching on an empty stomach will invite nausea. A muddled mind can¡¯t focus. Mistakes will be made. After finding a suitable location, he quickly set up camp. First he collected dry wood and plant matter along with Mille flower petals. The monsters dislike it¡¯s scent, and burning it spreads it. Ideal to mask the scent of blood and flesh. Charcoal brought from his home is excellent for cooking in the field as it burns with intensity with little to no smoke emission. Defeathering the bird and butchering it with his favored knife. Thrice he did this. Pleasant smell cooking avian soon wafted all over. Mixed with the Mille flower¡¯s strong odor no monster should approach, but ear piercing squawk interrupted his short-lived break. He hurriedly grabbed his weapons ready to protect himself. What emerged from the foliage was yellow eyes and a huge beak. Judging by the particular features of its face and the mammoth size¡­ The creature was carefully watching him. It had the face of an owl and the body of a bear. They¡¯re known for both their strength and their tenacity in hunting down its prey. But what makes them truly frightening was their ability to sneak up to their prey. A single movement and it would spring to an attack. Bringing down an owl bear would take days of careful planning and observation of its habits, trapping it in its nest and cutting off escape. This was no game for a lone hunter¡­ Even if they¡¯re the most accomplished¡­ The monster was creeping ever closer, soundlessly. He was conflicted between running or fighting. Running not to his village, but away from it, so that it¡¯s as faraway as possible from it can be from his home, it would mean death. Fighting it¡­ the chance of winning is slim, but it¡¯s not impossible. Even in defeat he would at least maim the beast before being ripped to shreds. Their standoff was about to end, the owlbear was impatient, with another squawk it was first to make the move. Neck springing forth, beak wide open. He narrowly avoided it, by making a small jump to the side. It¡¯s head was now right next to him, still facing toward him observing very little movements he makes. Next came the claws from the side, its left claws'' massive strength gouged out chunks out of the tree caught in its path, showering splinters its wake. With quick thinking he ducked underneath the swing almost laying flat on the ground, the force of its swing causing a gale to blow over his head. Despite avoiding certain death, he was not unharmed. The broken piece of wood splinters and chunks dug into his flesh piercing his leather armor. Still, it was far from a mortal wound. Now it was his turn to attack, while the creature was off balance he stabbed his spear deep into the armpit where it¡¯s hide was at its weakest. Another squawk escaped its mouth, one borne from pain. He wanted to drive his spear all the way into its heart but failed to. Another swing immediately followed, its right claws. There wasn¡¯t enough time to pull out his spear. Abandoning it without hesitation, he leaped backwards with all his might to dodge the attack. Even still that wasn¡¯t enough, although only in grazing, the claws made nasty lacerations on his chest and stomach. Groaning in pain he held onto his wound. If he took its full force he would¡¯ve been in pieces. But in his exchange he noticed something¡­ Thankful for the small fortune that this mighty creature was so wounded that it couldn¡¯t fight him effectively, had it been in any other case even landing a blow was laughable joke. His weapon was jammed in its body. Armed with only his curved knife. There was no chance of winning and getting out of this alive. Still he was satisfied, even if it¡¯s injured he would be the first to bring down the beast, alone. Poised to bring the bear with him to the afterlife. He charged forwards with a rallying warcry for himself. However their climactic combat was interrupted. Like a star falling from the sky, a pillar of light fell upon the owlbear. ¡®The blue guy is quite capable¡­ Though that bird thing is ridiculously strong. For an animal the size of a jeep it got moves and fast as hell.¡¯ Alicia was closely watching the fight between the spear wielding warrior and the owlbear. She wanted to help the human-like man, but was hesitant that she would also be attacked as a monster. Despite the close distance, both of them didn¡¯t seem to notice her presence at all. ¡®I practically have a first row seat and neither of them knows I¡¯m here¡­ Rank 10 stealth is busted. Are all rank 10 this effective? I should be focusing on getting skills to rank 10 rather than spreading my points out. I think concealed action is also doing something...¡¯ While she was watching the warrior lost his weapon and got injured. ¡®That¡¯s bad, I gotta do something. I¡¯ll just run away if he attacks me, he can¡¯t chase me with that injury, right? What do I do though...¡¯ While she was thinking of a way to help the man without putting much risk to herself. Her other self surfaced. With swiftness they climbed up a nearby tree. After positioning themselves right above the beast, she was hanging down from the tree with a thin line of silk. ? Concealed Action ? Soundlessly the snapping the thread, they descended down, their large fangs ready. Using the momentum from the fall to deliver a lethal deep bite into the beast¡¯s neck. ? Venom Fang ? ?¡² Paralysis Venom ¡³ ?¡² Neurotoxic Venom ¡³ The owlbear couldn¡¯t even fight back as it¡¯s body was near instantly paralysed. Before it could even feel pain. The neurotoxin flooded it¡¯s nervous system, systematically shutting down it¡¯s neural activity. It was a painless, quick death in mere moments. Like going to sleep from a long day of hunting¡­ As his eyes regained focus, he was more than baffled. A spider white as bone had effortlessly dispatched the beast he was determined to take down with his life. That was not the only thing shocking to him. There was a young woman¡¯s upper torso on top of the spider. He thought that was the spider¡¯s first victim, but looking closely she was connected to the spider, as if growing out of it. The owlbear, without even flinching once, died instantly. It was only natural¡­ He struggled for his dear life against the previous monster, now something that could kill what he considered to be one of the strongest was in front of him, what chance did he have? Would it let him go, because there was a bigger prize of the owlbear for it? Only a glimmer of hope was left¡­ He already braced himself for death before. It¡¯s just not what he had expected to die to. As he was harboring grim thoughts¡­ He was astonished. It was a monster that could speak, moreover intelligent enough to use it. Tales of monsters that could speak and use it to lure curious victims was an old but well known one. However, it was always treated as a fairytale. An impossible occurrence that only happens in stories and legends. As if to test if it was truly intelligent or using it¡¯s human top lure victims he tried to get it to speak more¡­ Even though he knew he was compromising his chances of escape. ¡®Am I well huh...?¡¯ He took some time to briefly inspect his body. Battered, injured, bleeding and tired. But otherwise fine... He answered cautiously, waiting for a different response. If it repeated itself that meant it wasn¡¯t intelligent and only used its ability to speak to lull the prey into false sense of security. He was awe-struck. After all, the creature proved itself to be one from extreme rarity. He was in the presence of a legendary creature, one thought to be existing only in oral traditions. Owlbears were dangerous but also rich in meat and materials. Their hides are tough and their claws make for great material for making a knife. Its bones are durable enough that it can be fashioned to make a shield or a new mask. Simply put there¡¯s nothing that couldn¡¯t be used from it. It was a valuable catch. Giving such a thing away was the height of generosity. Once again he was dumbfounded¡­ Why would they want the measly rockbirds rather than the huge feast that is the owlbear? The creature quickly snatched the skewered rockbirds and disappeared into the forest depths. He would¡¯ve thought that he was dreaming had it not for the massive carcass next to him and the stinging pain in his chest¡­ He quickly treated himself with bloodmoss to stop the bleeding and Sissinghurst lichen to wrap his wounds. Having realized that he forgot to thank it for saving his life, he vowed to himself that he would the next time their paths would crossed. He would be bringing home an enormous catch and having feast with his village all throughout the night. One to celebrate his survival and another to drink in toast to his saviour. Alicia was ecstatic, she was only expecting to get one of the pheasants. She instead held three in her hands. Because it was left on the coals for a long time part of it was charred and burnt. But that had its own taste and texture not too unpleasant. The meat was tender and juicy with caramelized exterior. It lacked salt but the smoky taste, charred skin was already good enough for her. And the aromatic herbs had penetrated deeply into its flesh, that even without salt, it was seasoned remarkably well. ¡®Finally some real food¡­ That dude¡¯s a pretty good cook too huh¡­ Ah I forgot to introduce myself¡­ I was too focused on the food¡­ Eh maybe next time...¡¯ Alice too was happy; she was tasting things she never did before as a spider, through her other self. The two decided that they would always try to have cooked food through their human mouth, rather than just eating raw animals through their spider mouth. Chapter 14: Modístra While Alicia was enjoying her roasted bird, she noticed that her top canines were much longer than normal, long enough to almost touch the lower gums. Furthermore, they were exceptionally sharp, even though they weren¡¯t as thin as a natural fang should be. In passing she thought ¡®Wow I could cosplay as one convincing vampire, just need a pale makeup and red eye contacts...¡¯ but after inspecting them further the teeth had a small opening, like one to deliver venom. Trying to see if it functions the same, she attempted to spray venom out. The odd yet familiar sensation of delivering venom came about. The oddity was from the feeling of trying to blow out your nose, but through one¡¯s teeth instead. The venom sprayed around haphazardly, some landing on her tongue. It initially caused her to panic, however the venom was tasteless, odourless and importantly harmless even after being directly applied in the mouth. She wondered if she was innately immune to her own venom or was it the doing of a certain resistance skill. ¡®So skills can physically change me¡­ I¡¯m either a biologist''s a dream or a nightmare and I can¡¯t tell which. Regardless of the anatomical implications, most importantly, there¡¯s still hope for me to get bipedal legs. As a side note I can also retract into my fangs concealing them. Which is probably why I didn¡¯t notice it until I started eating.¡¯ As the sun leaned more and more into the horizon and after being lost for a half the day, she eventually found her way back to where she started, the great oak tree. Throughout the day she encountered numerous hostile creatures, however they were all easily dispatched by Alice since they almost always had the initiative thanks to Stealth. During this she noticed that if any danger arose she would have to exclusively rely on Alice. Although there wasn¡¯t any particular problem with that since they were practically inseparable, it still made Alicia uneasy. ¡®I need to look into how to better protect myself. Weapons are no good with my current form¡­ It''s still very awkward. Maybe magic could help me, I was starting to make investments anyway.¡¯ ¡®Oh new skills are available fire, water, air, earth. Since they appeared after the Principle of magic I¡¯m guessing they¡¯re related Fire seems like a nice offensive magic to have. Probably the most intimidating of my current choices. Water¡­ oh right Maybe that lake spirit might know something about magic but...¡¯ Remembering her last encounter with the water spirit she wasn¡¯t quite thrilled to meet her again, though she did invite Alicia to visit again sometime. ¡®Right I was going to bring her some clothes¡­ Since she came out of the water maybe a swimsuit? That¡¯s not much better than before. Something simple that can be made quickly, a sundress feels appropriate especially since it covers her body.¡¯ Eliminating every hostile creature they encountered - from huge warthogs with massive tusks to giant chubby humanoids - had net them a total of 11 points. ¡®Enough to get rank 10 in any new skill¡­ Let¡¯s save it for when I meet that girl. For now though I¡¯ll start on that dress. Structurally, a long tube with 2 strings that hold it up by the person¡¯s shoulders. Isn¡¯t that just an enlarged, long and fancy cloth grocery bag with an open bottom? Well good thing I¡¯m not a fashion designer. Blueprints and floor plans make sense to me. Women¡¯s fashion doesn''t. I might not be the best judge for it since I¡¯ve only worn PPE all the time¡­¡¯ Alicia started to weave the sundress. With only a vague image and uncertain planning what came out could only be described as a patchwork of rags. ¡®There should be 4 holes; 2 for arms, 1 for the head and another for the legs. I¡¯m counting way more than that¡­ I wouldn¡¯t give this to even a homeless person. They¡¯d be insulted.¡¯ With their switch in who¡¯s in control of movements they started over again with another dress. Again hanging upside from thick branches of the tree they started to weave but this time the shirt they wore half came off and blocked their vision. This was not troublesome for Alice as she could weave even without sight. However, without Alicia¡¯s guidance on the shape, it looked like a funnel web tube rather than a clothing. Their next attempt, borne from an unusual partnership between engineer¡¯s technical skills and seamstress like artistry of a spider, was that of considerable polish. The loose fitting, fluttery silken sundress, white as milk. It¡¯s design basic, but it¡¯s quality top notch even by modern standards. As if in trance they got carried away with their weaving and made many garments overnight. Caught up in their work, the warm light of the sun broke them out of their stupor. Only then did they notice their silk products piled up and hanging from various branches. The oak now resembled a white willow tree with all the silk. ¡®Ahh¡­ I need to stop pulling all nighters¡­ but I don¡¯t feel tired though. It¡¯s gonna come back and hit me later. That¡¯s a problem future me will take care of¡­ Now what the hell am I going to do with all these¡­ I¡¯ll find a use for them later. For now I¡¯ll just go see the lake spirit.¡¯ After a short hike west, the calm lake promptly came into view. And as if waiting for Alicia''s arrival the water spirit surfaced from the depths of the blue waters almost immediately. Before she could say her greetings Alicia interrupted her by shoving the neatly folded dress. There was a hint of impatience in her voice. ¡®It¡¯s for you physically, but also it¡¯s for me and my sanity. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to stay focused if I''m with someone nude.¡¯ After initially being taken aback with Alicia¡¯s assertive advances. She accepted her gift with a pleased smile. ? Presence Detection ? ¡®??''? ??? ????? ???? ?''?? ???????? ?????????????¡­¡¯ almost inaudible mumbling escaped her lips. The already whisper-like voice faded to near obscurity near its end. It was never meant to be heard by anyone else, but intervention of a skill didn¡¯t let it slip by. ¡®First time receiving anything¡­? How old is she? How sad, to have never had a present before. She doesn¡¯t have a family, does she¡­? I don¡¯t think she leaves this place, and even the lake lacks any fish, at least I¡¯ve never seen one. Maybe I should keep her company every now and then.¡¯ Alicia held a solemn sentiment, that wasn¡¯t apparent on her face while the Spirit put the dress on. Since it was a simple dress it didn¡¯t take much time. Thankfully it was a decent fit, tad a large but nonetheless loosely fitting. ¡®Is she excited? Why yell no?¡¯ Chapter 15: Spirits ¡®Magic? How can you not know¡­¡¯ Magic to the spirits is a thing that they use so much that it has become something mundane. It was their nature for them to use magic whenever and wherever they see fit, even if what they¡¯re trying to accomplish could have been easily done without magic through manual labor. Thus the query was baffling coming from someone with the likeness of a spirit. She was about to answer with her own question, ''How could you not know magic?''¡¯ It was in the same vein as asking a ¡®bird if it knew how to fly, or a horse how to gallop.¡¯ However, ¡®Wait she isn¡¯t fully a spirit, then¡­¡¯ She was under the preconceived notion that Alicia was an unusual type of spirit. ¡®Let¡¯s change my method...¡¯ ¡®What if I told her that the only reason I know the existence of magic is because of an ability that god gave me as compensation for a life unlived, said to me that it exists¡­? Yup, even I would think I¡¯m insane. Best to just keep it to myself¡­¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s a whole load of lies I just came up with¡­ Please just don¡¯t question it...¡¯ Not shown on her face, Alicia held such a prayer in her heart¡­ ¡®It is most likely her spirit side of her that¡¯s yearning for magic¡­ I know that all too well¡­ If she is truly unaware of her magic then that could explain why she¡¯s leaking it all over the place¡­ Let¡¯s assume she doesn¡¯t know anything¡­ still there¡¯s a problem¡­¡¯ After pausing for a while laughter escaped the spirit¡¯s mouth. ¡®What does that make me¡­ a Magic beast? I wasn¡¯t particularly good with biology, not to mention otherworld biology.¡¯ ¡°Also there are races naturally able to use magic. Often they have a protrusion in their body that acts as a conductor for their magic.¡± ¡®What, you need an antenna for using magic?¡¯ Alicia made such a mental comment to the spirit¡¯s ongoing lecture. Despite the cynical comment, she was still attentively listening hoping to get as much information as possible. Unbeknownst to her, due to her long social isolation the water spirit was in a great mood and more talkative than usual. ¡®Yup don¡¯t piss off the goats. I don¡¯t wanna get rammed and zapped¡¯ Immediately snapping back to reality the spirit answered. Alicia was in a state of bewilderment, examining her own body, that she wasn¡¯t very familiar with just yet. Looking for anything that could be a conductor. Seeing her confusion, the spirit told her: After a short moment of processing what she could have meant in a sudden revelation she realized something. Her spider half had near invisible thin hairlike malleable bristles that acted as an extension of her senses, particularly her sense of smell, taste and vibrations. Although they¡¯re not fully covering her body, being mostly restricted around the legs and and mouth parts with only a few of them spread around her own body. They were the answer to her question. She didn¡¯t need any horn or antennae. Her whole body was covered by her conductors. ¡®Then what did she mean by my hair? Wait she said it¡¯s from my whole body but more is coming from my lower body and my hair. Unlike a spider that¡¯s covered by their tactile hair my human self has comparatively much shorter and scant fewer of it in body hair¡­ Geez what a way to call me hairy¡­ Still though I didn''t know my hair, of all things, was useful for magic. Now for the biggest question...¡¯ Chapter 16: Fireworks ¡®She seems hesitant¡­ Something is wrong maybe...¡¯ ¡®So in essence she means: I can use magic but I don¡¯t have talent for it. That just sounds like I don¡¯t have the skills for it¡­ Right if it¡¯s like that I maybe able to remedy it. Time to turn in these points¡­ Before that I should get the hang of using magical energy or something first. I mean it¡¯s probably mana, I¡¯ll call it mana that¡¯s shorter anyway.¡¯ The spirit was surprised for a moment before a gentle smile rested on her face. Alicia presented her hands forward, because of their height difference - between a spirit in a human girl¡¯s form at around 1.6m and half a human perched on top of a huge spider, together their height is that of 2.2m - she had to lean down a bit. The spirit supported Alicia¡¯s hands from below, her hands gently grasping her fingers. Nodding her head as an affirmation Alicia braced herself for what may come and closed her eyes to focus and not to miss anything. Shortly after the answer, a strange feeling of something flowing through her body. As the spirit had said, the feeling was uniform within her body except her hands. Streaming in from her left hand, flowing through her body and exiting by her right hand. The outlandish sensation could be more strongly felt through her hands. ¡®It¡¯s like feeling your own blood flow; you know it¡¯s flowing, you can sometimes feel it as your heart beats faster after an exercise. At the beginning it felt as if I got shocked, but gradually it changed, now it¡¯s like a cool stream of water gently flowing, how relaxing... Ah I can¡¯t fall asleep here, I have to remember the feeling before it goes away¡­¡¯ As their hands separated after what felt like a half an hour, just like the lingering warmth on her hands, the feeling quickly threatened to fade away. But as Alicia calmly tried to relive the impression, it returned to her swiftly; through it she could feel where the magical energy was in her body and they were everywhere within her. She could feel it¡¯s movement, to describe it: It was as if someone could feel their own blood coursing through their body, from largest of arteries to the smallest of veins. Each uniquely different from the last. Not too dissimilar to the circulation of blood, it flowed into her lower half, the spider¡¯s abdomen and back to her human torso. The head, chest, stomach, everywhere. Then down into her abdomen, back and forths again, again and again. ¡®Well that wasn¡¯t too bad, just the start was weird. After a while I think I got used to it. The feeling was fine, pleasant even.¡¯ Firmly committing the experience to her memories she opened her eyes. What her eyes saw first was the spirit looking down fidgeting ever so slightly every now and then. Perhaps due to being called out suddenly she yelped out with an ¡°Eek!¡± Now looking up to her, her face was beet red, seemingly feverish. ¡®Are you really though with that face?¡¯ Alicia thought but decided to leave it alone as she seemed like she wouldn¡¯t tell her anyway even if she pushed the matter further. After excusing herself the spirit disappeared into the depths of the lake. ¡®You¡¯re definitely not okay. I hope I¡¯m not troubling her too much¡­ Hey won¡¯t your dress get wet like that? Shouldn¡¯t you at least take it off first? Well it¡¯s hers anyway, I doubt she cares if it¡¯s wet or not.¡¯ ¡®Now that I can feel my mana, I should be able to use it for something. Let¡¯s start with something small. I want to see what I can do with rank 2 fire aspect. Since it¡¯s tied to principle magic I need to uprank that to it¡¯s second grade first...¡¯ Expecting a new sensation she was somewhat thrilled. Contrary to her expectation the feeling was much more subtle and gradual, it was akin to warming up. ¡®Doesn¡¯t feel much different, how anticlimactic. That¡¯s life I guess¡­ Now can I make fire like a zippo lighter?¡¯ Pooling her magical energy to her fingertips of her thumb, middle and index fingers Alicia imagined flames clinging to her fingers and burning like lighter and executed it with a fingersnap. Nothing¡­ Just because she could didn¡¯t mean she was going to be successful on the first try. ¡®I felt the mana emission and I think I saw a little bit of sparks¡­ Hm¡­ The phenomenon and cost are disproportionate. Maybe I''m not doing it right¡­ What caused the sparks and how do I make more of it¡­¡¯ She made another attempt to cause fire. Again the same results. This time paying attention to her magical energy Alicia learned something. ¡®My mana cohesion is wrong¡­ The mana that burns is low compared to my innate mana¡­ Then can I just turn my innate mana to the combustible one¡­?¡¯ After some trial and error she found that her magical energy that flows between her spider abdomen and the human torso can change their properties during the process. And she could consciously have her magical energy change forms. In just a single cycle almost all of her innate magical energy changed to that of the more flammable mana. Using her new fuel she tried again. ¡®Third time¡¯s the charm, here we go¡­¡¯ With a satisfying crackle a fire had started. An orange flame similar to that of lighter¡¯s danced atop her index finger, swaying periodically to the wind. Even though her fingers were very much so on fire they weren¡¯t burnt at all, in fact she felt a comfortable warmth, not a scorching flame. Encouraged by her results she created another fire, fire often seen in video games and other entertainment media. A spherical ball of fire, it¡¯s diameter a ? of a meter shot out to the sky. After flying upwards for a long while it disintegrated to nothing. ¡®Now we¡¯re cooking with fire, literally. How far can I take this? What other fires do I know? Hm¡­ that could work but¡­ Actually¡­ I wonder¡­ It¡¯s worth a shot¡­¡¯ Another new pool of magical energy found home inside her unlike anything she felt before; it was like a fluffy cloud and slow breeze was within her. Imagining a type of fuel she once again made another fireball this time it being as large as she could manage it. It¡¯s immense size was around at least a meter. The golden flames that spout forth from the fireball had sooty black smoke coming off it. After confirming the flames were born from what she had created using air aspect. She increased her production of the fuel. The flames now roaring with intensity and the flames started to feather, losing some of their black smoke, burnt with bright yellow color. Though she was unfazed by it, the nearby foliage even if the fireball¡¯s heat wasn¡¯t focused on them, was withering from the intense radiating heat it produced. But she wasn¡¯t done with her experiment. ¡®And now the oxygen¡­¡¯ As she introduced a new gas¡­ ¡®I expected that much¡­ Now to test another theory¡­¡¯ ¡®Time for an encore.¡¯ Once more she created the fireball¡­ this time she slowly introduced a certain type of liquid. Flames changed color, from golden yellow to bright white and then finally settling on piercing blue. ¡®Fair point¡­ I didn¡¯t think about that, but I did get the water aspect¡­ I got too excited with magic, I mean it¡¯s magic! Something every kid dreams of using it. Whatever do you mean by I¡¯m already 27? I died and got reincarnated. I¡¯m legally and quite literally below the age of 1. So technically I am a kid¡­ This train of thought just got weird, I''ll just forget about it and apologize.¡¯ ¡®When did these guys show up¡­ Pyroblast huh, and it even knows what fuel I was using¡­ This thing¡¯s pretty convenient.¡¯ ¡®So earth connection is severed or something like that¡­ probably because I didn¡¯t get the skill that supports it¡­¡¯ ? Presence Detection ? ? Pallesthesia ? ¡®¡­That¡¯s¡­ quick steps¡­ light¡­ fast¡­ running¡­ stopped¡­ slowed down¡­ heavier steps¡­ crouching¡­? They¡¯re coming here, but also keeping their distance¡­ Not visible yet I should be able to see them soon¡­¡¯ ¡®Any time now¡­¡¯ Alicia was on tree tops trying to get an angle to see what was coming. ¡®That¡¯s just drowning with extra steps¡­ I didn¡¯t think she was this¡­ brutal¡­¡¯ Responding to her declaration they slowly came forth, from behind the cover of leaves and branches. What came out was¡­ First: https://imgur.com/a/Kb7KnDv Second: https://imgur.com/a/OTFEAVF Think of the below spoiler as a teaser. https://imgur.com/a/OUBIZw4 Intermission: 1 Troubling news It was the night of a great banquet. Villagers male and female danced around a bonfire with boisterous laughter all throughout the settlement. They raised their drinks in toast to his name. After the encounter with the huge¡­ entity, he was left with the cadaver of the owlbear. Hastily patching himself up with what he had on hand and foraging more of what is readily available in the near vicinity. He swiftly made his way back to tribe for more hands to help him carry it back. Leaving the cadaver wasn¡¯t an issue. Owlbears had distinct stench that would permeate in the area the longer they linger. Whether prey or predator they wouldn¡¯t dare approach an owlbear as they¡¯re on the higher ends of the food chain; even those that would in theory match it wouldn¡¯t try to attack it. Especially with the smell of blood, as they¡¯re notoriously fierce defenders of their food. Whatever that approaches the scent of blood and an owlbear is either mad or so desperate that their only choice is to tempt death. Upon his return they received him like a hero. The returns of the recent hunts have been meager so a big catch like an owlbear was a sight for sore eyes. Not to mention the accomplishment of hunting one solo. Removing the wood splinters that had dug deep into his flesh was a painful operation, thus he was in the teepee of the witch doctor having a numbing salve applied beforehand. Trinkets, fetishes, masks and dolls lay everywhere. Calming scent of herb mixture emanated from the wooden censer, hung above. The witch doctor Sardak was also the chieftain of the tribe. Clamoring outside sounded distant from within. Sha¡¯ko was here not just to be treated, but also to report his findings. Examining the body of the owlbear revealed long numerous puncture wounds. Inspecting further they had curved shape upwards. The beak and claws had tufts of fur and dried blood not just of his own. Monster that attacks the bears are few, if any. And the evidence he found pointed to only one option. Warboars¡­ they normally wouldn¡¯t attack owlbears with their smaller size. But there is another option. Warhogs, a larger species of the same kind, their distinguishing attribute being their deep black fur rather than the maroon hue that it¡¯s lesser cousins have and of course their towering size. They¡¯re born as a rare variant amongst warboar communities. If warhog was born then it would explain their recent aggressiveness and growing numbers. It means that they expanded their territory so much that they collided with the owlbear, and managed to even drive it off from it¡¯s territory. Their horde could seriously threaten the safety of the tribe and disrupt the local ecosystem. The fleeing owlbear just happened to have come across him. He could consider himself luckless had it not for his unexpected saviour. Which is the second topic he reported to his chieftain. A white spider unmatched in size, possessing intellect and the most notably bearing the visage of human female that saved his life. The old chieftain asked him with energy not seen before in recent memory. Perhaps not even in his prime was he this vigorous. Contrary to his normally calm and quiet self. In his outburst he mistakenly ripped off a wooden splinter without care. Thankfully his yell was drowned out by the bustle of the party outside. Pausing for only a moment chieftain continued to deftly remove the splinters. With that, nothing else he says will make a difference. He had no choice but to accept. With all of the embedded splinters extracted and the treatment done, Sardak exited the tent. The lone hunter was left laying down, pondering what is to come¡­ Pockets It wasn¡¯t long ago since Alicia didn¡¯t have any hands. She was exhilarated to have them back. But it wasn¡¯t all a good thing. She didn¡¯t know where to put her hands. Normally when walking on two feet her arms would swing back and forth naturally. Normally that is. With her current lower body she couldn¡¯t really swing her arms in rhythm of her steps since she was either creeping, crawling or skittering somewhere. It was abnormally awkward to have her hands just hanging. Usually she would put her hands inside the pockets of her trousers¡­ That wasn¡¯t a viable option. Keeping her hands crossed was a solution, but she wasn¡¯t quite used to it. And keeping it on her hips was¡­ even more jarring. She chose crossing her arms¡­ Which much to her dismay contributed to the certain image hers that she later came to dislike¡­ And of course, the horrifying realization of lack of zippers dawned upon her much later, pouring cold water on her fantasies. Chapter 17: Abnormalities As soon as she started to course her magical energy through Alicia something strange happened. It was to stimulate the latent energy within her, but the reaction was far too soon and much stronger than anything she felt before. ¡®Probably just a gimmick of a spirit stimulating another¡¯s magical energy¡­¡¯ she thought. In the first place, a spirit-like entity that can¡¯t use magic was unheard of. It¡¯s normal for one¡¯s magical energy to be repelled and disrupted by another due to dissimilarity. What was unusual was in a short while, the very nature of Alicia¡¯s magical energy changed. She was perplexed as what to do, considering stopping the process, but before she could act out her thoughts the stream of energy changed and started to match her own. Magical energy that repelled one another, now became attracted to each other. The miniscule current of magical energy she emitted, gained more energy and returned to her like a tide smashing into a cliff. The phenomenon was comparable to throwing a ball to a wall only for the ball to bounce back to her with extreme speeds far greater than the energy she invested. If repulsive energies meeting was akin to suffocating fire using water, attractive energies instead were like feeding fuel into it; not the same but acting in unison to create a blaze more than any single of them could achieve. Everytime she would emit her magical energy through Alicia, it returned to her in greater quantity. She felt as if a geyser of hot water was erupting within her lake. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if the spider girl¡¯s energy were depleted with each cycle contrary to the water spirit¡¯s expectations, showed no sign of diminishing; rather it seemed like it was growing more and more. Magical energy of even the same type of spirits often didn¡¯t mix well. It was Alicia¡¯s that had the unnatural ability to change its properties. Needless to say the feeling was completely new to her. Though Alicia¡¯s magical energy matched the properties of hers it wasn¡¯t exactly the same, thus the feeling was familiar with only a few nuanced differences. The sensation of tide clashing into a cliff eventually developed to that of rushing river pouring into her. The water-like energy was different; that it had warmth and movement in it. A sharp disparity to hers that was only frigid, cold and still. It was the first time she felt the warmth of something other than the sun, awash in a foreign yet intoxicating sensation¡­ Even though the goal of stimulating Alicia¡¯s magical energy was already met she couldn¡¯t bring herself to stop. To her who knew only frosty stillness, the allure of warmth was¡­ irresistible, addictive. It was the same as a person who had just tasted a hot bath wanting not to go back to the icy cold showers. The more she took in, the more the allure of it grew. In her absent minded state she looked down and saw her own face in a pool of water, wearing a drunken and provocative expression. She hung her head low and couldn¡¯t muster the will to face Alicia, thankful that she wasn¡¯t looking at her. How could she? what she was doing was no different than stealing. Not a petty pittance instead an enormous swathes of energy, something that almost everything animate needs to live. It was no different from stealing the very lifeforce from someone else. Minutes passed before Alicia herself stopped the procedure. Ashamed and guilty, fidgeting like a convicted criminal before the judge she stood - as frozen as someone trembling can be - in front of her prosecutor. For Alicia who didn¡¯t know any better was simply curious as to why she was in such a sorry state. Not knowing how to answer the only thing that escaped her was a high pitched¡­ noise¡­ After gathering the tattered remnants of her will she finally formulated a coherent answer. It was a poor attempt to brush off the matter. She wasn¡¯t particularly tired that she would need a time off, however Alicia¡¯s probing gaze filled with worry was only further driving the knife and twisting it in her wounds. Promptly returning to the depths of the lake as if to escape, clarity returned to her mind as she was separated from the source of her dismay. She misjudged the magnitude of her magical energy. Now informed of the mysterious nature of Alicia¡¯s magical energy¡­ she metaphorically shuddered with the thought. The extremely vast pool of magical energy should be able to be felt even from outside of Velauhart, yet hers couldn¡¯t easily be tracked as if obscured¡­ The answer is that it wasn¡¯t, it was never obscured. By its unique essence it simply mutated to whatever energy it came across, matching it. The farther it travelled from Alicia more they changed and adapted. She wasn¡¯t hiding it; by her nature she simply excelled at being unnoticeable. If she was leaking it all around her those closer to her would absorb her energy unintentionally. And those creatures would mutate or at least evolve using Alicia¡¯s energy as a catalyst. Thankfully there hasn¡¯t been any case of it happening¡­ for now. And now that she¡¯s learning how to more finely control her magic¡­ she shouldn¡¯t leak it anymore. Her thoughts were cut short by an unprecedented spike of magical energy. Surfacing to see what it is she was met by a ball of flame easily able to devour all but the largest of creation. Alicia seemed unfazed by her creation¡­ no her face had a hint of expectation¡­ what more could she want? The sphere of fire was one of the largest she saw in her long memories¡­ She only heard rumors of its existence, a Pyroblast spell used by only the most accomplished of mages. It was famously used to utterly demolish the stone walls and iron gates of a fortress, almost immediately breaking the spirits of the defenders causing them to surrender and winning a fight without a drop of blood in times of war. What she saw in front of her was that same spell in its full glory. Almost seemingly unsatisfied with it¡¯s already destructive power she changed the spell¡¯s composition. So it evolved to meet the expectation of it¡¯s caster, feathering golden flames became more and more vigorous and turned white and then to calm blue in color and in flames. Even those untouched by the flames, were singed and scorched just by its presence. She couldn¡¯t help but to ask. The devastating spell altered to an unknown extent flew upwards detonating in the skies it¡¯s shockwave shook down the leaves out of trees and the water out of the basin of her lake. Slightly upset she gave Alicia an earful. ¡®Who would come here¡­? Ah, the damn highborn. Should¡¯ve driven them out of this forest when I had the chance.¡¯ -Wait, it''s them¡­ You should hide somewhere, I¡¯ll drive them away.¡± Once a spirit, one¡¯s senses are sharper than most others, with them she could easily make out when something was near. Done skulking behind foliage after they understood that they had been caught, they finally presented themselves. Long pointed ears peeking out of the sidebangs of velvet red hair done in a ponytail and through the strands amber colored eyes with some hints of anxiousness. A humanoid female dressed in varying shades of forest green, olive and russet, composite recurve bow in hand and quiver of arrows on her back. The water spirit had yet to fully recover her composure in spite of it she still managed to emulate an arrogant attitude. She disliked to mime the high and mighty attitude but she couldn¡¯t stop it, images had to be kept. To her it was much better to be hated and feared than to be belittled and exploited. This time she had good reason for it. Alicia¡¯s appearance is quite unorthodox, bearing more of a likeness to a djinn than a spirit. She could easily be mistaken as a monster. Driving them away from her is the best way to protect them and Alicia, respectably. Mostly them. When it comes to it, if they were to attack her, in protecting herself she might just torch the whole forest down with excessively powerful magic. Kneeling one leg touching the grass laying down her bow at her side and leaning forwards eyes cast down. Her eyes darted around nervously. Obviously thanks to Alicia¡¯s experiments soot and ash, burnt trees and scorch marks were prevalent on the one of the shores of her lake visible even from across where they are. But bringing them up when the embodiment of the lake itself was a lousy notion that would only invite a disaster. Her voice was nearly faltering¡­ though she found some solace in the knowing that she was free to leave. Almost like escaping from a monster she fled quickly, forgetting her bow on the ground¡­ Confirming the highborn had left far enough: No answer. ¡®Strange did she wander off somewhere¡­? I don¡¯t like this¡­ Awfully hard to catch when she wants to hide¡­ I should¡¯ve thought of something before that¡­¡¯ Chapter 18: Do or die PSA from author: span> It appears the western countries (besides Italy I guess.) are now having the Covid 19 experience. Welcome to the club. We¡¯ve had it for the last 2 months. Use a N95 filtering mask (Not just any, use ones distributed by government licenced vendors.) or straight up respirator with a dedicated oxygen tank. Surgical masks aren¡¯t very effective at preventing the infection but it will limit its spread if you¡¯re infected. Disposable gloves are recommended for when you¡¯re out in a public area. (be sure to actually dispose of them and not leave them in your pockets.) Don¡¯t touch your eyes, nostrils(nose) and suck on your fingers if you¡¯re not sure if your hands are clean. Hand sanitizers are nice but they aren¡¯t as good as plain warm water, soap and thorough washing. Monitor yourself, be it minor, mild or major, symptoms are symptoms, seek medical advice if you think you¡¯ve contracted the disease and limit your exposure to people as even if you¡¯re not showing symptoms as you might be a carrier (infected but asymptomatic or unaffected but can still spread the disease). Toilet paper won¡¯t grant you immunity so stop buying it in bulk and killing supply, you¡¯re not helping anyone, not even yourself. Stay calm, don¡¯t panic, you¡¯re only going to stress yourself and your body and weaken your immune system, don¡¯t compromise it by your own doing. Now''s a great time to start picking up a new hobby like learning a new language or start reading another novel by an author much more competent than I. If you want my personal recommendations check the comments. Stay safe. - An Asian cuck, Auratic. I think the ending might be a bit cliffhangery? No need to worry I''ll get another chapter up asap but until then maybe delay your reading of this chapter High upon treetops, hidden in the leaves Alicia was observing the conversation between the water spirit and the archer girl¡­ Due to the distance though she couldn¡¯t make much out of their exchange though looking at how the archer was kneeling, she knew they had some form of relationship. After a while one of them ran off to the forest leaving her belongings on the ground and the spirit. As it seemed like she forgot her belonging, thinking of returning it to the archer Alicia followed her snatching the bow along. Getting down from the trees she swiftly tracked her trail. ¡®Going alone without your weapon is dangerous¡­¡¯ However it proved to be quite challenging to keep up with the speedy girl. Sprightly she weaved in and out of the vegetation and when she came out to the open she suddenly jumped on top of a nearby tree branch, lightly hopping from one tree to another with movement like a circus gymnast performing a stunt. Making abrupt sharp turns it as if she was trying to shake Alicia off her trail which informed the latter that she was - if not seen at least seen, her presence was known. Fortunately for her, Alicia couldn¡¯t hope to match her acrobatic ability and their gap started to widen. Knowing this Alicia decided to change her method. Stopping at once, instead of pursuing the girl in a hopeless race, she used her greatest asset she has. Frantic chasing wouldn¡¯t help her then she would let her think that she managed to lose her. Instead of trying to catch up to her, she obscured her presence and stalked her, tailing her with the help of Pallesthesia and Presence detection. It worked, the girl stopped to catch her breath for a short time before continuing to go on foot somewhere, giving Alicia the chance to close the distance. Without much difficulty being seen she drew near her. ¡®This would¡¯ve earned me a restraining order a few times over¡­¡¯ Now near enough to see the features of the archer more clearly: Pointed up ears, velvet red ponytail hair around shoulder length, skin hue reminiscent of golden honey¡­ ¡®Elf? Like an actual elf and not a cardboard cutout? No wonder she runs like hell. Now how am I supposed to return this to her without being seen¡­ Oh I know, I¡¯ll hang it from somewhere she can see on her path. Just need to get ahead of her¡­ and¡­ done! Now to just wait¡­ oh she saw it¡­ Why are you tearing up? Are you happy? No? What¡¯re you muttering to yourself? Hey where are you going? You¡¯re not gonna take it after all I¡¯ve done? Why¡¯re you screaming with tears in your eyes¡­?¡¯ ¡®Well I¡¯ll have the maiden of the lake? return it¡­ And I think I¡¯m lost¡­ Terrific.¡¯ Taking back the hung bow and letting out a tired sigh Alicia tried to make her way back, but only got stranded without much of a reference point. The trees all looking the same were the cruelest maze¡­ Sometime later she found herself in a forest clearing, many trees leaning or uprooted and knocked down each with their barks stripped partially seemingly marked by someone. The place was empty of sounds and animals; it was the image of calm serenity, at the surface. Through Pallesthesia Alicia felt low rumbling noise prevalent and a snort like heavy breathing. Deciding to simply to back off after feeling the magnitude of the vibrations increase. Due to it being felt through the ground and air at the same she couldn¡¯t precisely locate the direction of where it was coming from. It was that moment where she heard an ear piercing drawn out squeal. Looking at where it came from, there stood a huge boar-like creature about 2 or so meters in height. Pinkish white fur, red bloodshot eyes and most outstanding of its features; a pair of tusks long enough to impale her upper body. Pawing the ground with its hoof the rhythmic rumbling disorienting Alicia¡¯s sense of direction reliant on vibrations. It very much knew where she was, and from it¡¯s demeanor it also didn¡¯t appreciate her presence. ¡®This ain¡¯t good¡­ Back off slowly¡­ keep looking in its direction...¡¯ For reasons unknown it charged at her full speed. Its tusks threaten to skewer her. Instead of backing off, she decided to side step to the best of her ability to avoid its approach. Still it wasn¡¯t good enough as it¡¯s tusks ripped through her shirt and scratched the side of her waist. The beast caught up in its inertia, crashed into the forest depths. In that brief exchange she realized; ¡®I¡¯m not out running this guy. Can I hide?¡¯ Climbing up a tree in hoping that it leaves her yet she was disturbed by violent shaking, the boar returned from its diversion and started to smash against the tree she was on. ¡®Is this why the trees fell down¡­?¡¯ With each time it bashed its head against the tree she was on, leaves fell and it leaned more and more. ¡®Can¡¯t run, can¡¯t hide¡­ then the only option is to stand my ground huh¡­ Fire won¡¯t do good, it¡¯ll probably only enrage it, don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen then. Wind nope¡­ water unlikely to do anything helpful right now. Earth is promisi-¡¯ Another hit on the tree stopped her thoughts momentarily. ¡®-ng. But I don¡¯t have time to use points right now. I have to make do with what I have. Let¡¯s do it like we always have.¡¯ As the boar hit the tree it stopped in its tracks briefly, timing that window of opportunity, they fell upon it. The fangs only connected temporarily before it¡¯s wild thrashing knocked her off its back, not enough time to inject venom. Quickly getting on her feet, ¡®Dry-bite, damn. Back of its neck is full of muscles, even in the best of scenarios, a light bite won¡¯t pierce deep enough¡­ then what about its throat¡­? Surely it''s not as tough¡­ I hope¡­ but that means getting close to those tusks¡­¡¯ After the two fell off of its back the boar made a quick retreat, to make enough distance to charge again. ¡®Well there aren¡¯t any other options¡­ if there is, I¡¯m not seeing it with this huge boar wanting to make a shishkebab out of me.¡¯ Thundering steps resounded alerting her of the coming danger while also conveying the massive power of each step. ¡®How do I do this¡­ Ah whatever.¡¯ ? Fire Aspect ? ? Air Aspect ? Using her hand in sweeping motion, letting flames lick the tips of her fingers imagining them being fanned out using the winds a roar of flames were brought out. Surprised by the sudden oncoming flames the boar reeled back squealing loudly stopping itself. The flames without fuel quickly died out on the moist forest floor. ¡®Well that¡¯s the best I can get for now huh¡­¡¯ sweat was running down her upper body. She knew she didn¡¯t have many choices left. The swine giant was trotting around her, circling warily. It seemed like it was now cautious of her human half more so than her fangs below. Its eyes glued on her body. Observing this behaviour¡­ ¡®Stop staring at me¡­ you¡¯re making me self conscious¡­ but I think I have an idea¡­ If it¡¯s more aware of my human body will it avoid me or¡­ try to attack my human body¡­?¡¯ Boar with a renewed will it started to charge once more, it¡¯s eyes still trained on her upper body. ¡®Thanks for the answer I guess¡­ if I lower myself and then rise up¡­ then maybe¡­¡¯ ¡®Is it me or is she getting better at using words¡­? Ah think about that later!¡¯ ? Fire Aspect ? As the boar¡¯s quickly shrank the distance, Alicia created flames letting them run through her hands. The beast saw it and showed no signs of stopping. ¡®Expected as much¡­ Now I only have one shot at this¡­¡¯ Her first two legs raised up¡­ elevating her position somewhat. ¡®Keep your eyes on me¡­ just like that.¡¯ It was now only a few steps before she was within reach of the menacing tusks. ¡®Oh I¡¯m really doing this aren¡¯t I...?¡¯ Swiftly the boar raised its tusks, bent on spearing her. With confidence she caught both of them with her hands, pushing it upwards away from her body. Using the strength in her back legs helps her efforts. ? Venom Fang ? ? ? Paralytic Venom ? ? ? Necrotic Venom ? Without much delay, the hidden fangs tucked in revealed themselves clamping down on the beast¡¯s throat and finally delivering venom, unfortunately due to density of muscle mass the release was slow and belated. In pain the hog thrashed even more aggressively. ¡°Hold¡­ Still¡­ you stupid¡­¡± Strained voice escaped her. Though she could catch tusk it didn¡¯t mean she could hold onto it for long. She was getting tired and in a bid of desperate shake off incited by fear and pain it managed to free its tusks briefly out of her hold. In that short time it managed to land a hit against her side piercing one of her lungs and reaching all the way to her heart before succumbing to the venom and falling limp. From Alicia who received a fatal injury, let loose a mix of pained groan and a growl¡­ Chapter 19: Face to face once again… Searing pain grew within her chest, uncomfortable heat grew and the metallic taste of blood assaulted her tongue, mouth dry and a feeling of thirst was prevalent. Breathing ragged, shallow and quick. Exsanguinating crimson fluids from her wound. Alicia¡¯s mind was in a confused state, still through it all she knew that she didn¡¯t have much time. She tried to focus, attempting to use the leftover points she had left, but in daze it was foggy and difficult to grasp. Her sight was blurred, heat was now replaced by a numbing cold and lethargy set in. She felt as if she was getting sleepy. ¡®Now is¡­ not the time¡­ to lose consciousness¡­¡¯ The mental image of her soul was distant and it was quite the effort to focus on it, especially with the pain distracting. First thing that caught her attention was the newly updated state¡­ ¡®Blood loss¡­ too much¡­¡¯ she hacked up blood filled saliva, followed by coughs that further expelled vital liquids. As a silver lining, she had an influx of added points to use. She placed her hopes on acquiring a skill that might help¡­ ¡®Consti¡­tution¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡¯ ¡®re...gener¡­ ¡­ ¡­¡¯ unfortunately before she could use them her consciousness further escaped her¡­ As she was still, clinging on to her last straws of senses¡­ Bright light stimulated her blurry vision. A sense of d¨¦ja vu came over to her¡­ It was almost as though she never left this place at all; disturbing yet intimate¡­ A woman greeted her. Regaining her sight it was a place familiar. ¡®Didn¡¯t expect to be back here again¡­ Am I bad at staying alive or something¡­?¡¯ A woman, dressed in what appears to be office attire, sitting behind a large executive desk, kept talking on by herself¡­ Though the voice was different than what she remembered, it had the same tone and feeling as¡­ ¡®Hasn¡¯t lost the smug attitude though.¡¯ On cue the woman¡¯s figure shifted, appearing to blur out of existence. In her place adorning a black robe, a skeleton, bleached white, old and cracked. The area around where the eyebrows should be on the frontal bone of the skull were thick and exaggerated forming a fierce countenance. The arrival of the avatar of death was accompanied by irrational, primal fear that welled up from within, a fear of death shared by all lifeforms and overwhelmly crushing melancholy that evokes nihilism. Although not as staggering as expected, the god¡¯s atmosphere still was unsettling. Clawing at the back of one¡¯s mind¡­ Though for Alicia it didn¡¯t faze her¡­ Was it a blink? Do I even have eyelids? Before anything could be thought or said the entity had assumed it¡¯s previous image. She had expected this would come. There wasn¡¯t any reason for her to be here again. The statement came as a shock to Alicia who just had a very real near death experience and believed herself to have died, twice. ¡®Still how could I be alive when I don¡¯t have a heart¡­?¡¯ ¡®For some reason it sounded particularly malicious¡­¡¯ It would¡¯ve been easier to have her croak up and make a replacement¡­¡± Catching the ominous mutterings Alicia couldn¡¯t help but to comment against it. That being the god¡¯s last fading sentence, brightness filled her vision. Returning to her body she was welcomed back by pain. ¡®Right¡­ I¡¯m still gored by this thing¡­ before anything else goes south¡­¡¯ ¡®Isn¡¯t that¡­ bad? Gotta hurry then¡­ The bulldozer boar did give me tons of points¡­ though I can¡¯t say I enjoyed the shishkebab experience¡­¡¯ ¡®Regeneration please, I¡¯ll go with 5 if that isn¡¯t enough, go all the way¡­ Before I get distracted by the pain again¡­ Even her thoughts were disturbed due to pulsating ache, plainly shown on her grimacing face. I¡¯ll pick up Dynamic Nociception too since I have some surplus¡­ before I dislodge myself from this thing¡­ It¡¯s going to hurt like hell without it¡­¡¯ Effective immediately, Alicia was finally free from the torment thanks to the latter skill. Finally able to draw breath again, metaphorically of course. ¡®That¡¯s much better¡­ But isn¡¯t regrowing whole limbs and organs kind of freaky¡­? Well maybe not that much I know liver can regrow to an extent¡­ Limbs err¡­ lizards maybe I¡¯m not a lizard am I? As for Dynamic nociception it¡¯s now more like having a nagging ache than being miserable with a tusk driven into you. Though I can¡¯t say I appreciate having to feel phantom pain¡­ but it¡¯s probably better to feel them than to completely shut it off¡­¡¯ Before anything she inspected the damage to herself. Where she was pierced some clear viscous fluid with a tint of blue was gently oozing out. Touching it with her hands she knew what it was not from any informed opinion but through instinct. ¡®Blood¡­? Not human but¡­ still mine¡­ Ah¡­ of course¡­ I¡¯m not alone¡­¡¯ Her gaze followed downwards and rested on her other half briefly¡­ ¡®I can live without a heart or a lung and maybe few other organs so long as my other self is ¡®fine¡¯ and it probably probably works the other way around as well. To what extent of damage I can receive and still live¡­ I hope I won''t need to find out. She is getting better at communicating¡­¡¯ With some effort Alicia removed herself off the corpse''s remarkable canine protrusion. Once free, blood that was pressed in was let loose, freely flowing out of the entry, the crimson liquid pooling underneath her before being cut short by blue fluid coagulating the flow, forming into cloudy semi-transparent clot. ¡®It¡¯s like a dried up hot glue mixed with blue paint¡­ Even without taking a breath I don¡¯t feel like I need to¡­ How in the hell spiders breathe anyway? Well I don¡¯t think I can explain how humans breathe to a spider¡­¡¯ Now at last knowing that she won¡¯t die yet, a sigh of relief left her lips. The putrid smell of partially liquefied remains of the swine''s head tickled the nostrils. ¡®My venom is kind of scary huh¡­ Ah I need to change from this shirt, bloody and torn, not gonna do me well. Good thing I made some spares back at the tree, they¡¯re going to be useful now.¡¯ With the dangerous encounter settled, Alicia goes to the one place she¡¯s familiar with. Great oak tree that she made home of. Though not before being lost in the woods for a good amount of time¡­ Styles, Don''t mind the things in the parenthesis they''re just my metadata info which I can use to recreate that style. #1 Scribble hub dark (Used this chapter) https://i.imgur.com/ZNqJKNN.png #2 Chilly (Poster link 4) https://i.imgur.com/LtxTbZZ.png #3 Daylight (satu 200) https://i.imgur.com/PJ4uAYy.png #4 Midnight (Contra 25) https://i.imgur.com/pV0zsCc.png #5 Dull mint (Poster link 16) https://i.imgur.com/2o4hzQb.png #6 Noire (satu 0) https://i.imgur.com/A0vhsus.png #7 Retro BIOS (poster r2b2g5) https://i.imgur.com/e7gz3HX.png Chapter 20: Belief I would like to give a shoutout to https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/whiteNoiseGenerator.php for helping me focus. I''m an easily distracted person. On an unsteady gait still carrying the bow she tried to return, by the time the sun had sunk below the horizon and the burst of maddening orange, deep blues and magenta from the secondary sunset died out, at last after a long day - thankfully without any furthers incidents - Alicia was somewhere familiar. Darkness accompanying the twilight set in, shadows elongating. Before she knew, at some time her pulse and warmth returned to her. Without the evidence of a blood soaked shirt one wouldn¡¯t think she survived a struggle with a Warhog not just any but due to a rare mutation causing it to be much stronger and tougher than usual, evidenced by its newfound albino characteristics. Though the perpetrator had no way of knowing this, for now. When she reached the oak tree the loosely hung silken clothes seemed to sparkle and shimmer ever so slightly under the moonlight. A brief thought of ¡®Was this tree always this tall?¡¯ crossed her mind. Although she didn¡¯t pursue that train of thought due to exhaustion. At this point her injuries were healed spotless. Strangely this was her first time feeling tired since coming to this world. Drained, the only thing on her mind was to change clothes and get some rest. Throwing away the ripped and bloody attire she had onto a nearby branch along with the bow, changing into a type of shirt dress created in a way to accommodate for her awkward anatomy. It was created with that in mind, however Alicia was reluctant to wear it, until now where it was simply the closest thing within her reach and not stuffy to put on. On a side note the skirt of it was made longer to cover for the lack of certain other types of clothes, specifically the undergarments. Coarse texture of the branches and lacking surface area was uncomfortable to lie on top normally, not to mention the difficulty sleeping on it. That however was not an issue to the dog-tired girl who had no energy to be bothered by it. Almost fainting as soon as she settled down. Albeit her lying position was unnatural she slept like a log. But as morn came, she would regret it just a bit on account of short lived but still annoyingly painful neck strain. ¡®Hungry¡­ I have to return this bow somehow. The Water spirit seemed to know the girl or at least acquainted¡­¡¯ ? Olfactory ? On her path to the lake she caught the whiff of something¡­ inviting and peculiar. ¡®I remember this¡­ where was it again¡­? When the blue spear guy was cooking a pheasant if I recall correctly¡­ There¡¯s something else in it too, something herbal. Is it him or one of his friends¡­? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve had anything since¡­ the day before yesterday? Alice no, I¡¯m not counting the shirt you had this morning, it¡¯s not food, it¡¯s recycling the silk. Nevermind that, think they''ll share some again? Well just meeting them shouldn¡¯t cost me anything.¡¯ Taking a small diversion by following the scent by its intensity Alicia could eventually make out a hushed voice in the distance. Still under the effects of ¡®Stealth¡¯ she closed the distance. Under the cover of a tree one of them - who had half his face covered by cloth akin to a bandana other half barely visible through his grizzled hair. On his back a basket knapsack filled with strange dolls and tools - was tending to a makeshift stone table resembling an altar which had unknown lines and geometric shapes of blue dyed on it giving an impression of a tribalistic ritual. On top of it some sort of incense was burning with pleasant fragrance, and freshly cooked pheasants were lined up. The person was kneeling, head down, hands up and chanting curious prayers that seemed to be religious in nature. ¡®What¡¯s that next to him...? Hiking stick? Too long¡­ staff? Maybe¡­¡¯ The other one was a familiar face, one broken tusk, tall stature, fur cloak, it was the one she met before. Recently snuffed out fire with its embers still glowing next to him. He was vigilant, eyes darting everywhere so as to not miss a detail, spear in hand ready for anything, though unfortunately for him she still slipped in without his knowledge. ¡®I think it¡¯s some religious ceremony¡­ I shouldn¡¯t interrupt this. Besides, taking those foodstuffs would be disrespectful to their beliefs.¡¯ As she was getting ready to leave; ¡®White crawler eh¡­?¡¯ After a few steps she stopped in her tracks frozen. ¡®Wait! Isn¡¯t that me? What I do now¡­ It would be pretty embarrassing to just walk in if they weren¡¯t talking about me¡­ Uhh¡­ I¡¯ll just wait until they¡¯re done and then ask¡­ that sounds good¡­¡¯ It was the day the tribe chieftain brought along Sha¡¯ko to meet the loa who had supposedly saved him. According to him, it seeked the materialistic taste of rockbirds. A chieftain never left the tribe, they simply couldn¡¯t, for where they go the tribe follows. This was of quite the issue for a witch doctor. Mediums of the spirit world and the material, they had a well of knowledge about spirits. Though some would need grand rituals needing the participation of many to answer the call, others wouldn¡¯t acknowledge you if you are not alone. His experience told him that this speaking spider was of the latter. Spiders are solitary hunters, they do not appreciate the company of many. Thus a small summoning that directly called out for them necessary. This was not possible with his whole tribe coming along with him. Thus a discreet exit had to be made under the cloak of night, buying them time to prepare. Being led to where he encountered the spirit, the scars of battle were still fresh. The hunter brought rockbirds caught in traps set overnight as he prepared for the summoning ritual. Everything was set, they had little time left before the tribesmen realized the chieftain had gone missing. The summoning ceremony had been going on since dawnbreak, well before light of the sun had to illuminate the forest. Thus far it was mostly unsuccessful¡­ As they turned around to leave¡­ ¡°Could I ask what you two were doing? It seemed important¡­¡± Disembodied voice questioned them. ¡®Hath trees started to speak now?¡¯ A joking thought but quick glance at the face of his companion told him that this was the one they were looking for all this time. ¡®So it has come.¡¯ ¡®A trick? Or truth? We shall see.¡¯ ¡®The Bandana guy wanted to see me¡­ I forgot to stop using stealth. No wonder they were staring off into the distance when I called out to them, almost considered him blind for a moment there. It¡¯s not embarrassing if I act like I wanted it to be like that. Yes, just play it cool.¡¯ As soon as Alicia unveiled herself from the cover of stealth. The two seemed to freeze up in shock. ¡®Wait, why are you in shock? It''s the second time for you. I mean I can understand the old guy.¡¯ After a while their brains finally thawed out: Old witch doctor started prostrate and bow furiously, driving his forehead to the ground muttering incoherent nonsense causing both the spider and his own escort to panic before breaking into a maniacal laughter intermittently yelling ¡®T¡¯was true!¡¯ In time snapping back to reality after being shaken by his aide. ¡®I won¡¯t turn away food given but why does this guy speak like this¡­ It¡¯s freaking me out¡­ I¡¯m starting to talk in the same manner as him. Still this is kind of a rip off hum¡­ Oh is that boardozer still there? It shouldn¡¯t have gone anywhere overnight.¡¯ The hunter was confounded momentarily but answered thus; Either by her amiable smile or the fact that she introduced herself. Both of them came to a halt. They soundlessly and obediently followed her to a certain place of clearing. Though the hike was not long, silence would¡¯ve made it seem long. With that line of thought Alicia questioned the two various things. Especially about food. ¡®So they live as a nomadic hunter gatherers following their food, seems they recently settled here a number of generations ago and started pursuing a type of horticulture¡­ and I validated the existence of humans apparently their society and technological level is akin to the feudal era. If you exclude the magic and murderous animals that enact genocide against each (humans included) other for breakfast.¡¯ She had become quite learned and adept at navigating the forest after being routinely lost multiple times, sometimes in a single day. They reached a clearing, trees uprooted. ¡®Whew it¡¯s still here¡­ There¡¯s god up there somewhere¡­. I mean I met her¡­ him? Maybe?¡¯ ¡®The completely hollowed skull is grim but the body should still have some good, relatively safe to eat meat on it since the venom didn¡¯t enter it¡¯s system but localized in its neck¡­ in fact it¡¯s blood is all drained so I did them a favor. Where did the blood go actually¡­?¡¯ ¡®Oh the two are doing their gag of freezing up again. Well the show must go on.¡¯ ¡®Not like I can cook it¡­ well maybe I can with the fire magic¡­ I¡¯ll try it next time.¡¯ How long have they been standing there mouth gaping open like goldfish sucking in water¡­ You wouldn¡¯t be able to tell the other one was also agape under the veil. When they came to the White spirit was gone. Needless to say there was another banquet that quelled any suspicions of the chieftain missing. While in the doctor¡¯s teepee a significant decision was made that would influence the tribe¡¯s future tremendously. Sidestory: 2 A morning just like another, the sun''s speckled light filtering through the vegetation. Filling one¡¯s lungs with humid morning air was refreshing. She was a ranger, captain at that. Even though she didn¡¯t want to become one she still had to fulfill her duties. It was the time to patrol the vicinity of the village. A constant vigil was needed to keep their homes and families safe. Hunting down dangerous beasts - if lucky also bring it back - and leading those that they can¡¯t bring down astray far from the village. Challenging the creatures in melee was and is still foolish, they were stronger and swifter in every regard compared to the elves. In times of old supposedly their whole race and culture was extremely different from today, favoring the art of the blade instead of archery. She didn¡¯t know much of it nor did she care enough to learn about it. Past glories wouldn¡¯t hold merit in the present. In order to keep up with the monsters they had to adapt to a ranged hit and run tactics, something their ancestors would have regarded as shameful if they weren¡¯t buried under mountains or fertilizers in the field. And to perform such a feat, a certain amount of skill with the bow and the agility to lose danger was needed. One needed to satisfy at least 3 qualities to become a ranger captain. All elves had some sort of proficiency with the wind, as a mixed blessing she had a high aptitude for wind magic which was the last criteria. While most rangers fulfilled one or two. Unfortunately she achieved them all, causing her to be the uncontested choice. If she didn¡¯t do it, no one would. Despite her initial reluctance, she eventually learned to enjoy it. However she didn¡¯t abandon her own interest in handicraft and carpentry, sadly the obligations she had to carry out left a tiny amount of time for it. The sound of the wind on leaves and singing of the birds accompanied their steps rustling the littered forest floor as they made their way through their usual route. They usually split up in duos or trios to cover more area and call for each other¡¯s help if they encounter anything. She led a detached team of three, four including her. Long walks without much else going on could easily bore even the most disciplined. Their relative silence was broken by one of them with short shoulder length hair, her eyes shared the same chestnut color of her hair. Her low spirited query was addressed to no one in specific. Another one with longer minty green hair and eyes of red jasper answered and soon a chatter broke out. Even if there weren¡¯t any threats during their shift, they still weren¡¯t safe amid the return trip. It was at this time a noise similar to a thunderstrike went off. In the middle of a clear sunny day that was unlikely. Trees shook violently from the unseen shockwave scattering fresh leaves on the floor and even sending the weaker branches shooting off, birds flying and animals fleeing every which way. In truth she wanted to go back too but it was a ranger¡¯s duty to identify threats to their homes and deal with it accordingly. Sending them back home was to protect it from the frightened animals and monsters fleeing towards it. It was a simple matter to find where the noise originated from since going to where the animals were fleeing from would eventually lead her to the source of the sound. As she grew closer to her destination, her resolve seemed to falter more and more as the realization of where she was going became clear. The spirit lake which sources the snaking rivers her village depended on. The elders warned her of it¡¯s sole resident, spirit of water older than her and the village. It was an object of worship and fear to her kin. To worship because without it¡¯s waters they wouldn¡¯t have survived in the forest and to fear due to an incident where humans enraged the spirit, swallowing countless numbers of them to the depths of the water, erasing the existence of a settlement. Opposing a greater spirit without magic is a suicide and with it is a death wish as they can¡¯t be destroyed by conventional means. Even if they were somehow able to subdue the spirit, there¡¯s nothing of value and they would only lose resources. It was too late to go back on her words. She was searching for any way to go elsewhere but no such opportunity presented itself. Closer now to the lake she slowed down, due to hesitation, mustering her courage before continuing. Luck was not on her side this day, the spirit knew where she was even as she was trying her best at staying hidden. Strange soot, wilted trees, burn marks, lake water unusually wavy seemingly disturbed by something, although these warranted investigation she refrained from bringing it up in the conversation as the spirit was less than cordial. Apparently whatever created the noise also worsened the mood of the spirit as it appeared that she was visibly agitated. Faenas simply wanted to safely leave at this point. She jumped on to the first opportunity to do which bit her in the rear. Because she forgot her bow. For a ranger their weapon was crucial to their survival. It was a critical mistake, but going back was just as dangerous, who knows what the annoyed spirit would do to her. Coming to terms with her own mistake she made her quick exit. And before she could even consider returning, something was on her tail. She couldn¡¯t tell what it was but it was persistent and almost invisible. It¡¯s presence could only be inferred from the shuffling greens being pushed away and the speed of it was unnaturally swift being able to change direction and turn on a dime without losing momentum. She was losing distance by wasting her time trying to shake off whatever¡¯s on her. ¡®What could even keep up with us?!¡¯ in her racing mind there was a simple and logical answer, at least to her. It¡¯s not an animal who would get tired then¡­ ¡®Spirit! It¡¯s infuriated by my unwelcome visit and now it wants to kill me!! I can¡¯t bring it back to the village!¡¯ Desperate in a bid to save her hide she took to the trees, hopping from one to another. Thankfully some time later the ghostly hunter seemed to stop. More than winded, coughing and wheezing, sucking in as much oxygen she could get. Her limbs were pulsing with searing pain. She wanted to collapse but here in this forest, that was no different than setting oneself on a silver platter for all the ravenous beasts that inhabit it. With a short much needed break from sprinting, she regained some energy, enough to start moving again. As she slowly made her way through something familiar was right in front of her. A composite recurve bow, unmistakably hers as she was one who reinforced its various parts with different materials like ivory, milktree and ironwood. It was simply hovering in front of her without any apparent force applied to it, gently turning to one side to another. Although it was supposed to be in her mind, under stress she said her thoughts aloud and didn¡¯t even realize it herself. Her heart started pumping faster and fear of perceived demise overpowered her other sensation allowing her to ignore the pain from her aching body. She ran off again shouting ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me!!!¡±, this time she didn¡¯t stop until she reached her village. And so, without her knowing or her doing, the water spirit¡¯s infamy grew more within the remnants of the elves¡­ what HK416 sent: Aura''s flawless rendition /s making dumb bets and shitty drawings. Chapter 21: Favor Parting ways with the two Alicia was on her path to meet the lake spirit. As much as she wanted to learn more about them she knew they had they had limited time and didn¡¯t wish to delay them. ¡®I forgot to ask what they were, they obviously weren¡¯t human¡­ hm¡­ I¡¯ll ask later when they aren¡¯t in a hurry.¡¯ As for her own errands; she was still carrying the bow from the acrobat girl that she needed to return and her use of magic the previous day raised some questions that she needed answers to. Of course she had some theories and understanding based on her own experience and observation of the events however it¡¯s better to be sure. For example how can supposed energy that can create very real and tangible matter, how they behave, where they come from for starters. As for the last thing she wanted to know was what exactly changed with the soul scrying. If it necessitated the need for her to be pulled back to that place again, it must have been important. It was easy to get lost in the forest where everywhere there are trees that look the same. Alicia learned of this recently in a particularly painful way, specifically by wandering into a dangerous place placing herself in a rather precarious situation which cost her a lung, a few broken ribs and a heart. With this bitter lesson under the belt she was much more cautious and attentive to her surroundings, avoiding trouble and distant fights between monsters. This was when she started to become an expert at traversing the forest. Alicia reached the lake mirroring the blue sky. Oddly this time the spirit didn¡¯t come to greet her. It was the first time she had to call out. With her shouting ¡°Hello? Are you there?¡± inciting to spirit to reveal herself. Her face held hints of concern. Spirit¡¯s turquoise eyes sharpened into loose glare as if to communicate that she shouldn¡¯t try to deceive her or hide something, although Alicia herself didn¡¯t know, her expressions were extremely subtle. This was thanks to her body which worked in a unique fashion. When it comes to her movements, it is usually the result of both of their selves agreeing on an action unconsciously. However Alice isn¡¯t accustomed to muscle movement of the expressive human face and its forty odd muscles. Which causes Alicia¡¯s expression to be delayed and stiff. Difficult to perceive as it may be, for the ancient spirit that lived with humanoids for thousands of years it wasn¡¯t especially hard, to a certain degree that is, it was still possible for her to misinterpret things without the emotion. And the elusive behaviour of Alicia was indicative of her not wanting to say everything. Changed clothes were evidence too. Her eyes seemed to lose its shine somewhat, and an insidious smile crept up into crescent shape¡­ Alicia was in panic, grabbing her by the shoulders shaking her desperately to dissuade the spirit from murder. ¡®Dodged a bullet there. I don¡¯t want innocent people to be slaughtered because of something so small. Well she does have a point, even if it¡¯s heavily biased¡­ I don¡¯t think she¡¯s quite in agreement, I have to think of something to change the topic¡­¡¯ ¡®Good, any chance she has to forget about the elves the better. Besides I think I do owe her some.¡¯ ¡®Is that some fancy way of calling me a spider? If that¡¯s true then¡­¡¯ There was a slight delay before she continued. ¡®Right, she looks like a person but really she¡¯s made out of water. So insects laying eggs¡­ in her body for them to later hatch and¡­ Yeah I can see how that can be more than uncomfortable.¡¯ ¡®I can only eyeball the dimensions. If I assume this kidney shaped lake is about over 2000sq meters. Covering that much area with a silk net is possible just going to a while maybe a few days. I''ll just go around the shore connecting the threads to the nearby tree trunks using it as an anchor point. And then just work inwards I hope the silk can hold up my weight¡­ Knowing how much time I have will help... Since I¡¯m doing this, might as well do it right¡­ ¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s kind of sketchy but whatever¡­ Unlike a normal web where I go crosswise and start with the draglines and anchor threads. I have to start from the outside and work inwards¡­ Well, no time like the present.¡¯ As she started to cover the lake in a net of silk the water spirit was observing Alicia work. Before much progress was made; There was an awkward silence and a staring competition. ¡®Okay¡­ Is it about the chemical composition as well then? Since ice is denser than liquid water it¡¯s going to have more water molecules and an iron atom has more chemical weight than water a molecule.¡¯ With the spirit¡¯s instruction Alicia held her hands together envisioning how she would create webs, outer anchor threads, inner spirals, connecting adhesive silk, an unusual warmth emanated from the point of contact. Separating her hands slowly revealed a glint of white silk, although she was the one who made it she wasn¡¯t expecting it to go well. Encouraged by her results she further poured in more energy, increasing the rate of synthesis before long her hands and fingers were filled with silk; it wasn¡¯t the spiral orbweave she hoped for but it was a proof of concept. Alicia presented her empty hands proudly. Her words struck Alicia¡¯s head like a thunderbolt ¡®Have I been nude all this time?!¡¯ Snapping back into reality with a jerk. ¡®Oh thank god¡­ I don¡¯t think I could look at those two in the eyes if I was wearing the real life equivalent of the coat from the emperor''s new clothes¡­ Calm down everything¡¯s fine¡­ ¡­ .. . If what she said is true that would explain why insects crashed straight into my webs even when I wasn¡¯t done spinning it. I thought it was strange how they would just swarm into my webs¡­ then my net that I¡¯m making here should be mostly invisible to the insects that will come, that just makes things simple huh, how convenient. Wait didn¡¯t she say she knew something was there?¡¯ Shortly contemplating the new information Alicia finalized her plans. ¡®I think I know how to create the world¡¯s most sophisticated glue fly trap.¡¯ Chapter 22: Fly Trap Experimenting with how she created silk resulted in many interesting results. First thing is anything created has a certain limit when it comes to how much information and mana it can have. Higher mana quantities, the more effective it is at whatever it¡¯s supposed to do, what it is supposed to do is determined by the information it holds. Information is something like spells and skills which is then empowered by the mana. Limit on information seemed to be correlated to the size or mass of the object. Larger it is, the greater the information limit. Through various testing Alicia found that the simplest of her webs can hold upto 3 skills or spells worth of information, with larger constructs obviously being able to hold more. Maximum level she can give to an object was determined by her own skill rank. As for what her skills did to the webs¡­ At first she thought < Strength III > and < Presence detection VI > didn¡¯t do anything on the silk, as she was expecting the durability of it to increase and added Presence detection just for the heck of it instead of stealth just to see what happens. Until some huge lupine wolf-like creature came close to it, and the free hanging web with a diameter of about 25 cm seemed to jump to latch onto its head covering its eyes when it was near. It appeared to her that the presence detection caused the web to somehow be able to determine what was near it and then do something, in this case fall on top of a wolf¡¯s head. The large creature with lost sight panicked, trying to use it¡¯s paws to wipe away the web, this made the web¡¯s second attribute to show itself, Strength. The wolf-like beast was about 150cms tall with enough strength to easily rip through any regular spider¡¯s web, a monster of such size was easily incapcitated by a web with the diameter of a basketball due to one of its paws now being stuck to its face. Strength of the web was clearly superior, particularly it¡¯s adhesive power. Unable to hold balance on three of it¡¯s remaining legs its figure was pitiful. Alicia felt just a little guilty, stifling a laughter when it crashed into a nearby tree during its confusion. Though the web had strong stickiness it¡¯s integrity wasn¡¯t the same. Eventually the wolven creature had freed itself from it but not before the web pulling off tufts of hair with it. It fled immediately after regaining sight, yelping and whining along the way. It was later found that ¡®constitution¡¯ increased the durability of the web. Secondly, just as the spirit suggested she tried applying spells, various aspects created webs with strange properties. Fire aspect made the web glow orange like the filaments of incandescent light bulbs, generating heat however one problem with it is that the silk could take so much heat before bursting into flames itself, disintegrating in the process. ¡®I can¡¯t supply too much mana or it¡¯ll burn up, but too little and it¡¯ll be ineffective¡­¡¯, the newly acquired Earth aspect caused the web to become stiff and rigid almost as if frozen. ¡®This is less like a web and more like a chain link fence made by someone who was drinking on their job¡­ Still I could use this, I don¡¯t think animals care about aesthetic values of a fence.¡¯ Water aspect didn¡¯t do anything visible, but further research conducted showed that the web didn¡¯t degrade in water¡­ ¡®Not very exciting however it¡¯s practical applications are limitless, I could finally make a fishing net.¡¯ As a footnote she could make the silk neutral, hydrophobic or hydrophilic. ¡®Air aspect much the same, no physical changes to the web, except when I dropped it refused to touch the earth and flew off somewhere¡­ Why do I feel like it¡¯s going to find that wolf¡¯s face again? It was resilient to strong winds. Maybe I could make sails out of this.¡¯ Lastly conflicting information didn¡¯t work simultaneously, only one of them could be expressed. While air was lifting the webs up, earth caused it to immediately plummet downwards, with added weight that came from who knows where. Furthermore switching out the skill or the spell was a simple affair as long as it was in direct contact to her. Lastly when the webs were isolated from her for an extended amount of time it lost its special properties. Another idea she had was to use her silk to swing around like a certain comic superhero¡­ It didn¡¯t go well¡­ ¡®Who knew there aren¡¯t any conveniently placed skyscrapers, street lights and whatever else you¡¯d find in a metropolitan city doesn¡¯t exist in a forest¡­ couldn¡¯t be me¡­¡¯ Her experiments took a good amount of time, evidenced by the dark silhouettes of the trees in the distance and the fading orange lights in the sky. Though this didn¡¯t mean much to both of them, who needed no sleep. The days were darkest at this time of twilight when the sun had set but one of the moons yet to fully rise. Alicia was working to refine her web trap with the newfound knowledge she gained. Although the basic principle behind her idea hasn¡¯t changed, the execution of it would now be much easier. The structure of her web would be different based on their roles they fulfill. Frame, draglines and anchor points that bear the most load were spun with extra threads of silk - And aside from < Stealth > - added in < Constitution > and < Earth Aspect > to reinforce it just for an extra measure. Same was done for the auxiliary threads as well. As for the capture threads it was given a slightly different treatment of added < Strength > instead of earth aspect which increased its stickiness since its role was to hold onto the wasps not to endure the thrashing assault, that was other the strands¡¯ job. And thus the plan for the primary web that would be suspended a few inches above the surface of the water was formed. That was good enough¡­ if she was trying to just catch them, eliminating all that she caught was another deal altogether. For this part she had another idea. Second web suspended above the first. This one would have < Earth Aspect > and < Fire Aspect >. < Earth aspect > in this case is not used to increase the hardness and durability but quite on the contrary, to make it fail. Alicia would accomplish this by increasing the overall weight of the web with earth aspect while intentionally creating structural weak points made to snap, specifically the anchor points. She would take the anchors¡¯ < Constitution > that supports the web when the time was right. Lack of Stealth was something she decided by herself to give the incoming insects a false sense of security. Taking away constitution from the anchor strands will make it fall unable to hold up the added weight of the Earth aspect. Blanketing the unsuspecting wasps stuck the primary net. And finally as a Coup de grace Fire aspect would roast them. But if this isn¡¯t enough, just having them clumped up and stuck was a perfect opportunity to blow any leftovers with Pyroblast. Engrossed in work while listening to the miscellaneous stories told by the water spirit, days quickly and uneventfully went by. Though she was a bit uncertain if this plan would work, thus she committed many points to her magic, especially to Earth Aspect and Fire Aspect. A day before the start of the egg laying season, she was done, lock, stock and barrel. At first it was a few early birds that came trickling in, eventually the loud incessant buzzing would drown out one¡¯s thoughts. Soon a cloud of wasps and mosquitoes emerged. Alicia¡¯s web was holding up well but¡­ A while after the web was completely covered by stuck insects, the free flying wasps oblivious to the web could only see the others blocking their path to food and the ideal environment for their larvae. At first they were neutral, crawling on top of the others, probing around for any space to enter. More and more piling, stuck in a claustrophobic space, beating wings all around generating heat, they soon became agitated and eventually attempted to force their way in. Haphazardly stinging, injecting both venom and their eggs to whatever¡¯s close to them, little did they know they were now part of the blanket covering the path of others above it. Now they became the obstacle that was bothersome, now they were stung and envenomed. A cruel cycle death ensued, the aggressor becoming the victim, fresh corpses to the pile forming repulsive hill insects. Few lucky ones late to arrive, were those who survived. Alicia was atop the secondary web, ready to snap the anchors to the treetops. ¡®The capture net can¡¯t hold anymore, this is as good as it¡¯ll get!¡¯ Web conspicuously placed high that none of them suspected to get caught in plunged down with great velocity, igniting from the Fire aspect, to an onlooker it seemed as if fire was raining down. On contact sizzling and burning the insects, by its nature as a web it was sticky. And thanks to added durability from constitution it could burn much longer before being destroyed. Wasps burnt to crisps and shrank, lastly turning into a black ball that couldn¡¯t even be identified as a former living being. This made their volume shrink letting the web descend further into the struggling insects. Almost like exacting revenge from her previous life, Alicia replaced the primary net¡¯s Stealth with Fire Aspect. ¡®I¡¯ve just created the most disgusting sandwich haven¡¯t I? Eh nobody will cry for these wasps, they don¡¯t even pollinate plants like bees.¡¯ Embers that fell on the water surface danced for a short time before dying off. Not long after, every single one of the insects perished either to each other or to the infernal flames. Those who barely escaped with their lives were the winners in life, as ashes of their kin flowed along the river draining the lake. The elves would notice the ash in their waters and investigation would occur, a luckless captain would be chosen for this mission¡­ Hey you wanna learn how people milk spiders? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx6dcGoHIds Trivia Backstory 1 Alicia¡¯s family. Father Stoic man of few words, skilled mechanic and a technician has excellent culinary skills. Frighteningly perceptive. His father Steiner was drafted into the war and lost his life in his youth. Left only with his mother he quickly became independent. His only remaining family, his mother worked as a tailor having to entrust him to a family friend. Already introverted, due to the stress of his father¡¯s loss he turned even more inwards. He learned how to cook during this time. Until he was taken under the wings of Alexis, an old family friend, and close friend of his father. By his mentorship he learned to be a mechanic. Alexis Alexis was a close friend of Steiner. Rivals in love for the hand of Alicia¡¯s grandmother. Before he was drafted into the war on a night of drinking, Steiner half jokingly asked Alexis to take care of his family should he not return, which he accepted and carried out both because he still loved Alicia¡¯s grandmother and later in honor of his late friend¡¯s memory. He died from lung cancer in his forties and in his will he entrusted his modest mechanic shop to Alicia¡¯s father. Grandmother Workaholic in her youth. Now a retired tailor, mother to Alicia¡¯s father and. She taught Alicia how to knit when he broke his legs. Taught her daughter in law how to cook. Mother Extraverted, energetic and outgoing woman. Marketing and PR manager of a midsize company. Her mother died from Tuberculosis and her father heartbroken, became an alcoholic and gambling addict. He died shortly after from liver failure in the street mud with nothing to his name but ragged clothes on his shoulders. Orphaned at a young age she was taken into a distant relative¡¯s family but their reception was lukewarm at best. Though not alienated, she really couldn¡¯t accept them as her family. Her would be siblings, although not bullying were distant. During this time she developed a fa?ade of a ¡®normal¡¯ teenage girl. Where lines cross Moving to the place of her new ¡®family¡¯ she also had to change her school. Same school Alicia¡¯s father attends. A year after changing schools Alicia¡¯s mother met her future husband. She often cycled to and from between her school and home. After school when she would ride home, her well worn bicycle acted up. At this point Alicia¡¯s father was already well known in his school as a reliable handyman. Through small talk conversation while working to fix her bike he saw through the perfected fake image of the girl and called it out. Though through the tactless and insensitive delivery he caused her to break down, crying. When he finished repairing her bike, remorseful for his actions he offered to carry her to her home. Though because she wasn¡¯t in a state to properly convey directions, he first left the bike in Alexis¡¯s shop and then brought her home while giving her a piggyback ride. Recovering at his home after a meal from Alicia¡¯s grandmother who extended an unconditional familial love she felt as if she finally found a place where she could truly call home. The two quickly got along and rest became history. Her foster family home was indifferent to her decisions and approved of her decisions to move out after graduation without much difficulty. Chapter 23: Alma Ashes that littered the lake were neatly bunched up and flowed out of the lake through the draining river. ¡®Apparently she can control water currents¡­ should¡¯ve been obvious considering what she is but still looks impressive nonetheless¡­¡¯ There were still a few survivors that arrived late to be caught in the trap with their wings whining in the air. Usually gentle river currents and the still lake stirred, animated by unseen force. Under its surface water swirled, creating unnatural miniature eddies and whirlpools. They shot up, targeting the fliers buzzing around, slicing through them, with just enough water and strength to kill them with no wasted effort. Looking closely there were two water currents spiraling each other at such a speed that bystanders would only see it as a single current that shot out and obliterated them. One by one they fell into pieces, until not one of them was left. ¡®Waterjet cutting, I remember seeing one of those machines that could cut through stainless steel with abrasive water and tons of pressure. Just normal water should still be able to cut through soft materials like wood and stone. I don¡¯t think my skin is made out of metal, one more reason not to piss off this girl.¡¯ >Maintenance end¡­ -Something said interrupting her sentence. Inside her head, within her thoughts. It¡¯s nature was the same as how Alice would reach out to her sometimes. >Multiple administrators detected. But unlike Alice who had awkwards stops and intonations like that of a child learning to speak, this one was crisp and clear, eerily so. Gender of the voice androgynous, swinging back and forth between masculine and feminine. >Need both consents for integration. It was like a recorded message announced over an intercom, formal, mechanical and uncanny. >Query. Answer. The Alma system was created by the overseers as a self developing semi-sentient evolutionary algorithm to facilitate the use of [Soul Scrying] and [ACCESS DENIED] for sapient lifeform and to further increase the bio-interactivity features compared to the predecessor systems. System rebooted after the maintenance loop was ended by overseer intervention. >Query. Answer. Showing most prominent 5 of 10^23 results for the ¡°Aliases of the Overseers¡± >Query. Answer. Alma system requires administrators¡¯ consent for full access. >Query. Answer. Assented. >Query. Answer. Admixed. Will improve Bio-interactive modules in relation to communication. >Consent from administrators confirmed. >Integrating user¡­ standby¡­ ¡®I forgot what I was going to ask¡­ uh, just think of something fast.¡¯ Do you know anyone who can teach me a thing or two about any weapons?¡± >Recalibrating¡­ ¡°Hrm¡­ the highborn used to be known for their swordsmanship, now they¡¯re mostly archers so- >Initialization complete. -if you¡¯re fine with archery then any one of their rangers or whatever could help you. But with any luck,- >Feedback systems active. that refugee leader is still alive and kicking, he might be able to help you as he knows a thing or two about swords. However there¡¯s an iss- > Educement protocols ready. -ue about how you look. They most likely won¡¯t see you as who you are but more likely to see you as one of the Monstrous spiders. Though they used to be more common now I haven¡¯t seen them for a few centuries now. Perhaps they¡¯ve gone extinct.- >Initiating telemetry. Simultaneously following the content of what the two dissonant voices were talking about quickly overwhelmed Alicia¡¯s mind so she could only nod along while trying to digest all the information. >Ready for basic use. Finally one of them stopped. Her head was smoking - metaphorically - from overworking. -To them you¡¯ll look like a monster so you¡¯ll have to disguise yourself somehow.¡± >Recommendation for action ¡®Disguise¡¯. Acquire . Educe ¡² Anthropomorphic mimetics ¡³. ¡®What are educements?¡¯ >Query. Answer. Educements further develops and modifies a skill to allow it to exhibit abilities previously restricted. Educements uses Alma system allocation points. Educements do not modify administrator ability statistics. ¡®Oh this ride just never stops does it? What is auto execution? And stop saying ¡®query¡¯ every time, just say the answer from now on.¡¯ >Acknowledged. Auto execution process acts on behalf of the administrator to best achieve results in the interest of the administrator, balancing efficiency and effectiveness. ¡®Sure why not I should have some leftovers.¡¯ ¡®Wait I haven¡¯t actually seen anything after getting this skill so I can¡¯t do it right now.¡¯ A blob of water raised up, the amorphous mass took a vague humanoid shape. The spirit¡¯s own reflection visible on it, it eventually formed into an exact replica of her. To someone who didn¡¯t know any better it would look like she just went through mitosis. ¡®Take the water, put my reflection in it? Then form it into shape¡­ Difference in mass is quite big huh¡­ I never knew I was this large¡­ even though my upper torso is literally a half a person. ¡¯ After multiple failed attempts Alicia managed to create a single successful mirror image. >Notification. Energy reserves under 75% However in her excitement at success and startlement from Alma she lost her focus causing it to fall apart yet again. >New spell branch unlocked. Spell Mirror image acquired. >Under normal conditions Alma system Telemetry functions will notify administrators vital information. Administrators from now will be able to monitor their condition. ¡®Don¡¯t scare me like that¡­¡¯ ? Pallesthesia ? ? Presence Detection ? ¡®Hurried light steps¡­ strange gait¡­ not coming close¡­ orbiting around¡­ I know this behaviour¡­ It¡¯s that girl again¡­¡¯ ¡®If what I¡¯m thinking works out¡­ I¡¯ll have legs! I mean humanoid legs. Bipedalism! Long have I missed you. I never appreciated you then. Now let me amend that fatal mistake!¡¯ I chose the absolute worst week to start revamping my charts which despite being low effort to do, it¡¯s still a time sink that I can¡¯t avoid plus I didn¡¯t even redo it in a final way and introducing a new component to it. Family, troublesome relative visits, University assignments (I may not seem like it judging by the hot trash I write but I am an English major) from the online ¡®classes¡¯ all in the same week making it difficult to work. For now I have till octagon but after that I¡¯ll have to start inventing shapes, I mean rectangles work fine but triangles don¡¯t like being connected to others for some reason. I like the radial progress bars they actually look like a something you''d find in a game. Btw you can ask me question on any chapter, and I''ll answer it to an extent. Trivia: You can see through a some lizard species'' head in through one ear and out the other which shows about how smart they are. (I.E Not very smart.) Chapter 24: Two Spirits Google Docs Version here. Who knew that you¡¯re creatively active when you¡¯re not suffering from sleep deprivation. I''m thinking about starting another off series to just take my mind away from things. A girl was pacing around restlessly her velvet hair flailing wildly each time she turned, distress on her face reflected her mental state. Days ago she went to spirit lake to investigate a disruption. Though alarmed, her home was mostly unscathed. In fact some small game that fled from the vicinity of the lake wandered close enough for her village to catch. She even got some for herself with a reserve bow. But that came with the price of her earning the ire of the spirit, who then tirelessly chased her with what could be anything but benevolence. Of course she didn¡¯t tell the elders, she didn¡¯t know what they would do to her but it couldn¡¯t have been something that she would like. It seemed that the spirit left her alone unfortunately she couldn¡¯t escape from the repercussions forever. Knowing that they relied on one of her rivers for water, in order to draw her out they were polluted. It was benign for the most part, if you were to bear with the gummy and ashen taste it had. But the message was clear and directed at her, she must do something or the pollution will render the water non-potable, forcing the whole village to either wither away without a drop of water or go on a perilous journey in search of a new place to take shelter. According to the stories of the elders they were descendants of exiles that fled from their now fallen kingdom. They were already wandering refugees before, turning into it again was absolutely unacceptable. And as the individual who brought about this situation she was at crossroads. Tell the truth and think of a way to get out of this predicament together, however their consensus would probably end up to her being the one used to soothe the raging spirit. Or leave everything behind and run away alone¡­ Unimaginable. Only real choice for her was solving the issue at hand, without anyone knowing. If she failed¡­ Perhaps it¡¯ll end with just her death. Still she lacked the courage, no one sane person could fearlessly walk to what may be the executioner¡¯s block. And the last option was¡­ ¡®Fight? Can I even win? No I can¡¯t¡­ If I fail everyone will be held accountable¡­ Ahhh what do I do¡­¡¯ her pacing back and forth as if to create a path in the turf below seemed to have no end in sight¡­ Despite the confident questioning internally she was downright terrified. The voice seemed to reverberate from inside her head¡­ Almost as though some intruder was in her mind. Whatever that was calling her knew her and based on the content of what was said, it has been waiting for her. There was only one who fits into these criteria. The seemingly inoffensive invitation could only be interpreted as a death sentence. She was out of time, she had to make her choice now, turn back condemning all or face forwards and hope for the best. If there was one consolation to her, the voice she heard was mellow different from that of the Spirit she knew who employed a snappy sharp tone. Perhaps¡­ Maybe just maybe it won''t end in a disaster. Carrying onto that sliver of hope she stepped onwards with shuddering steps¡­ As she drew near to the lake and could make out some glimpses of it through the vegetation, the whiff of humid air was becoming more and more noticeable. There the spirit adorned in white stood at the shore of the lake with her back towards her, long beryl hair slightly waving sideways in the breeze. She turned to face her, causing the Elven girl¡¯s heart rate to jump. A streak of cold sweating running down the side of her face, waiting in abatement. Silent, short nod was her answer. It was her bow, she would recognize her own handicraft anywhere. Faenas was both intrigued and frightened wondering who could befriend a greater spirit, were they the one who chased her? Was it just a big misunderstanding? She didn¡¯t want to hold onto false hope only to be crushed by it, yet she still wished for it. The spirit¡¯s sights were slightly off, seemingly looking at something behind her. Following her gaze she turned around and she was stunned speechless for a moment from what was there. Standing behind her was a beautiful elven woman with porcelain white skin, silken dress of unknown design. Of her features what surprised her the most fluttering platinum hair cascading down to the hips. ¡®I know your name but bringing that up now would be a bit weird huh¡­ Starting my first greeting with ¡®Hey! I know your name because I was hiding and stalking you while listening in on your conversation. ¡®Why?¡¯ you may ask? Because I needed to take a closer look at you so I can turn into the same species as you.¡¯ doesn¡¯t seem like a bright idea. Now what was that about the silver something? Probably nothing.¡¯ ¡®Let¡¯s not start this never ending loop¡­¡¯ Unamused spirit questioned as she sat on a large exposed rock swinging her legs to and fro, drawing intricate patterns on the lake¡¯s surface without facing the two. Receiving Alicia¡¯s telepathic message the spirit was left sulking. Naturally one who called Faenas to come was also her. Since spending some time with her over the duration making the net trap Alicia learned much about the spirit. Mostly of her loneliness and melancholy; how she¡¯s unusually possessive over any company. There was something more but she couldn¡¯t gleam into it. A part of which is her aversion to the elves, something borne of a mix of emotions. Faenas seemed to be uncertain about something but after some deliberation: ¡®Hm¡­ judging by how happy to help she is there¡¯s something more to the relationship between the spirit and the elves. Maybe things weren¡¯t always this antagonistic.¡¯ ¡®Seems her home is some ways off¡­ it¡¯s gonna be a long walk south east.¡¯ ¡­ .. . Earnestly the girl told Alicia not only about the village and their residents but also the many aspects of their lives and daily routines. The idle chatter was pleasant enough with some intriguing facts like how she¡¯s over 300 years old but something else was bothering her, thus she asked the young girl. Both of them stopped. Elf was having difficulty answering which is what she was worried about. ¡°Do you know that spirits can change their shape freely? I could be a monster masquerading as someone you trust.¡± Receiving a soundless affirmation she continued. ¡°Then I must ask you why you¡¯re this trustful of me but you are frightened by her.¡± A moment of silence passed. Inhaling lungful of air and slowly letting it out. For the first time Alicia was amazed and baffled. Her expression turned somber. When she asked so < Mimicry > was disabled and Alicia had already assumed her original form. Fangs plainly bared and her stature towering over the Elven girl. In spite of it all she only seemed to be only mildly surprised. Alicia let out a resigned sigh while changing back into elven form. Quickly wiping away some of her drool; Before she could answer, their lively conversation came to halt when high pitched whistling echoed from throughout the woods with different others whistling each with similar but unique in their own right followed up as if to answer the first one. Moment Faenas heard these she became alert. And responded with her own whistle unique in a way that it was warbling which started slow but eventually picking up the pace and shifting to higher and higher pitch. ¡®Wow¡­ how very specific¡­? Well I¡¯m still impressed that they can infer that much with just whistling as a medium for communication.¡¯ Chapter 25: Man Eater Alicia who was just getting used to her eight legged existence was disoriented following Faenas - an already light footed girl - on her recently regained two feet, stumbling intermittently. Technically she would be faster in her Araneae form however she didn¡¯t want to reveal herself to the other rangers who are running with them. While they were racing towards where the sound was heard from, another whistling resonated from slightly off the direction where they were going to. ¡®So they keep whistling to update their position for each other if they move.¡¯ ¡®I noticed this earlier but they keep stealing glances at me. I guess even if I look like them doesn¡¯t change the fact that I¡¯m a stranger. Moreover I¡¯m sticking out like a sore thumb with my all white attire in this sea of green. It¡¯s not like I can synthesize dye¡­¡¯ >Recommendation. < Compound Synthesis > allows the creation of dye compounds. ¡®Huh¡­ Might look into that if there¡¯s more to it¡­¡¯ Without stopping Faenas looked at Alicia, hoping to figure out how she should answer it. ¡®I wanna ask my own questions like why are they all female? Although they stopped staring at me¡­ I can still feel their curious gazes lingering on me from time to time.¡¯ < Olfactory > ¡®Sulfur, smoke... Fire¡­ and something metallic, copper¡­? Blood¡­ smells faint¡­¡¯ Approaching the place of incident while analyzing the scent in the air, sounds of trouble could be heard from faraway. Following the noise, eventually a scene of messy struggle came into view. Tree branches broken and ablaze. Elven rangers scrambling to get cover, shooting arrows when they can. Two large chimeric creatures at least 2 meters tall with sandy yellow fur, brown mane and the way they move is reminiscent of a lion. But that¡¯s where the creatures¡¯ similarities to african predators end. Their irises are horizontal and rectangular, horns protruding out of top of their heads upright and curved back. What appeared to be mane is an array of quills coated with runny liquid of malignant green. Long tails of the beasts are covered in scales that would normally be found in reptilians. One of them ends with a spiked ball that looks like a flail; the other one opens up to reveal an opening of a fleshly tube that sprays out a foul scented cloud. One of the rangers who were here before us called out to Faenas. ¡®Three¡­ six¡­ nine¡­ about fourteen? fifteen not counting us¡­ with us it¡¯s about twenty four?¡¯ Girl with short chestnut hair and another with minty green hair, who came with us responded. As per instructions they took four each and surrounded the creatures, harassing it from every angle. When surrounded the manticore with the opening tail sprays poison, using their wind magic they blow it away. When it eyes one of them and tries to pounce they go up the trees while others shoot it with arrows from the side. However when they do, in response¡­ One of them opens their mouth in a roar, flames spewing out. They jumped away with a high pitched scream but thankfully it managed to miss them hitting only the branch she was on top of. Charred branch kissed by embers loudly sizzled before snapping from where it was torched, falling down unable to support its weight. Their wind magic is ineffective against the fire, as it will only billow more oxygen into it, fuelling the flames. ¡®I think it¡¯s horns glowed there for a second¡­ Maybe that was the conductor? Their poison seems to be natural like a skill but the fire is magical¡­ Don¡¯t think I can snap off their horns¡­ Hm, hm¡­ They seem like they¡¯re in a stalemate but eventually they¡¯ll run out of arrows and the small injuries here and there will mount up. This is only a matter of time before¡¯ As soon as she lands the other manticore pounces at the girl, leaping through the air. Swinging it¡¯s spiked tail at her breaking branches along the way, before it could reach her it was met with hail of arrows. Despite taking numerous hits that wasn¡¯t enough to bring it down but was enough to deter it from recklessly charging their companion, buying her enough time to make some distance. As she avoided its strike, the spiked tail hit the boulder that was behind her, smashing it into fine dust and pebbles. As she had said there was quite the distance between the pair. Capitalizing on the opportunity pressed one of them. When the manticore was pressured its mane perked up. After raising its head high up standing on hind legs the manticore let loose a hellish cry; a mix of lion¡¯s roar and bleating of a goat that made one want to cover their ears while shooting out poison tipped quills from its neck full circle around itself. Causing the elves to run for cover. ¡®Seems like Faenas got hit by that poison quill¡­ trying to protect someone? Ah her leg was injured so she couldn¡¯t move out of the way in time, prompting Faenas to push her aside. One to the back of the shoulder and another to the side her guts. This ain¡¯t good, I need her alive to meet that guy ash or what¡¯s his name. Poison coursing through Faenas¡¯s bloodstream caused weakness in her muscles. Just breathing was becoming difficult. Others are preoccupied with the one that sprays poison so they should be fine for now. Can¡¯t go for its neck with all that spiky quills. Maybe the hind? First I have to immobilize that spiked tail. I really didn¡¯t want to reveal myself to her friends but I can¡¯t do much without a weapon in humanoid form¡­ Damn didn¡¯t think my human legs would be this short lived.¡¯ The manticore was creeping up the two of them¡­ low rumbling roar building up. She couldn¡¯t run away in her current state, if she could her captain wouldn¡¯t be in this mess either. Both of them couldn¡¯t stand up straight without struggling. Its spiked tail was already raised high ready to crush their heads¡­ She wanted to move out but couldn¡¯t, her captain stood in front, her legs quivering. Even as she was in much worse state with poison coursing through her, Faenas was trying to protect her. But what could she do? In melee range, injured and poisoned. It was hopeless, they were going to die here¡­ However that deathblow never came. Strange sounds of lines being taut could be heard. She was confused, the manticore was confused. The tail seemed to be tangled up in something not visible to naked eyes. Furiously it was shaking its tail to free it from its unseen prison. In the next moment from who knows where, white¡­ creature with the lower body of a spider was behind the manticore clamping down on its hind quarters. ¡®Formed quicker than I expected¡­ When you do nothing but weave with webs for days it can¡¯t be helped that you get fast at it. Especially with the help of magic, tons of time saved if you know the exact structure. Well it wasn¡¯t totally a bore, that girl¡¯s lecture on Magic was quite helpful for my magic studies, though only in theory. Well I did get an earful about not ever using Pyroblast again¡­ What¡¯s that about?¡¯ It tried to face towards the creature while kicking back but it didn¡¯t let go and kept behind it. As much as it tried to swing its mighty tail, it was still stuck in the air and all it was doing was just useless thrashing draining it¡¯s stamina. As it moved branches of the nearby trees were violently shaken, causing loose leaves to fall off. As time went on its strength faded, its movements dulled. Roaring one last time into the sky, before laying listless on the ground. She didn¡¯t notice it then but now as it came closer a familiar person was on top of the creature or so it seemed but looking closely they were one and the same connected to its lower half by her hips. The spider seemed to glow white before shrinking and appearing to be absorbed by the person captain brought along. ¡®What is she? Her current appearance was similar to an elf. She had an oddly regal atmosphere. Alicia was briskly making her to them and attempted to examine Faenas''s injuries. Girl was still astounded and could only make half coherent sounds. She had many questions but it seemed like she won¡¯t be getting answers anytime soon. She stumbled forwards into Alicia¡¯s arms. The intensity in Faenas¡¯s gaze seemed to say that she wouldn¡¯t yield on this. Bringing her attention to her injured companion. ¡®First water packed it densely¡­ < Likurgenesis > then drain its heat¡­¡¯ < Pyrokinesis > ¡®And we have an Ice pack.¡¯ >< Water Aspect > Cryokinesis advancement acquired. After wrapping up her legs in makeshift elastic bandage made from silk. ¡®Now the other clown kitty.¡¯ Not expecting to be questioned she was caught off guard. But she quickly recovered answered: Only her legs were injured, her hands and fingers were fine. Hearing her answer Alicia turned back into her hybrid form. Girl stood up leaning against a tree. Faenas was presenting her bow albeit feebly. Lowering her abdomen low enough for the elven girl to climb up they turned to the direction of the other manticore. The elves were still struggling with the last manticore. They couldn¡¯t land a critical shot, as their arrows were caught up quills when they shot at its head or neck. And they couldn¡¯t hit vital organs from the side; their arrows couldn¡¯t pierce deep enough and at the rear the scaled tail would flick away any arrows. Though they could somehow deal with the poison spouts, they were helpless against its fire magic. Beast learned this was using its magic much more frequently than before, giving little chance of reprisal or reprieve. By the time Alicia and Mirtil returned to the site of battle. Rangers were mostly out of commission. Without many arrows they barely hung on. Manticore that was spouting fire everywhere sniffed something in the air before facing Alicia, rage and hostility clear in its eyes. Did it understand what she had said? Did it simply react on instinct? Or something else? Whatever it was, as if responding to her words it replied in blood curdling guttural roar. By habit it shot its flame spout at the two. Alicia, ready for it gathered wind around her. Alicia met the stream of flame with unusual calmness. < Air Aspect > ? ¡² Atmogenesis ¡³ Using a motion of someone dramatically throwing open theatre curtains. She guided the flames and the heat away from her. Just as sensationally to her movements the flames flared away following the movement of the wind. Normally the flame would ignite the wind due to the presence of Oxygen in it and punch through most walls of wind. Wind is simply a product of net movement of air molecules moving from areas of high pressure to low pressure. By creating a pocket of non-flammable gas like Carbon Dioxide to suffocate oxygen needed for the fire to burn the flames be quelled easily. That would be the end of the story if that was a normal fire. Introduction of Magic into natural chemistry changes the dynamics drastically. If there isn''t any oxygen, the magical energy within the spell will become the fuel for the magic to materialize, in this case fire. Though this severely bleeds out the force and energy behind it that alone won¡¯t completely block it. Spells are targeted and shot out like a projectile and as with anything in the air, its trajectory can be changed doubly so when it''s weakened. Incidentally magical energy used in creating the wind can sway the incoming magic with it sweeping it away without harm. And without oxygen to spread itself the flames are diverted off target successfully. Though the same could be achieved with extremely forceful winds, if the elves could, they would¡¯ve done so before. As the flames died off the manticore was clearly confused as to why the flames couldn¡¯t reach her. Again it tried to bellow out fire, but just as it opened its mouth. < Water Aspect > ? ¡² Cryokinesis ¡³ After creating a mass of water Alicie quickly condensed it into an Ice spike of half a meter and shot out to its agape mouth piercing deep. Pink fluid soaking the stake, dripping on the ground. > ¡² Cryokinesis ¡³ Frostbolt advancement made. ¡®Pink? I mean I guess I can¡¯t say anything. I have blue¡­¡¯ Agonized monster desperate to drive them away spewed out its poisonous haze opening up its . Alicia said to someone as she raised her abdomen and lowered her thorax, revealing an elven girl with pale violet hair. Arrow nocked, bow drawn, ready to let loose at any moment. Mirtil shot the arrow deadcenter at the opening of the beast¡¯s tail. Hitting true, more blood spurted out of its tail. For the first time the manticore felt fear for its life. Light poison cloud did reach the two before Alicia blew it away. ¡®Sniff sniff, citrus? Smells fruity actually. Heard it was foul smelling like rotten flesh but I guess I¡¯m perceiving it differently thanks to toxic tolerance. Speaking of which I wondered what would happen if I imbued that skill to my web. Answer is; it makes the world¡¯s shoddiest looking filtration ¡®Rag¡¯. It should not be working this well for the fact it looks like a torn cloth scrap that I would hesitate to wipe my floor with. Still I can¡¯t complain since it works otherwise Mirtil would be on the earth spasming.¡¯ The manticore¡¯s movements were slowing down, it was struggling to just stand. ¡°I¡¯m not the type to wait until your last twitch so¡­¡± Breaking line of sight to restore < Stealth > Alicia left Mirtil in cover behind trees and climbed to the treetop canopies. Manticore was frightened at its quarry going missing; in spite of its wounds it roared showering its surroundings with barbed spikes from its mane. None of it hit its target. Anxiously it circled on the spot looking around. She descended from the one place it didn¡¯t account for above. Plummeting down biting down on its back while delivering the second batch of myotoxic venom causing it to seize up and perish. > < Predator > skill acquired without use of system points. Unique requirements of < Falling Star > achieved. ? Plunge attack effectiveness improved. ¡®I have to get back¡­¡¯ Once she returned to Faenas she was on the ground, her breathing was ragged, shallow and quick. Drifting in and out of consciousness. Drenched in her own sweat, feverish. Turning to her humanoid form, she thought up of a way to help her. ¡®Shit what do I do? For starters I¡¯ll have to extract these spines and bandage those wounds. What about the poison¡­?¡¯ ¡®I accept. > Refining antidote for Ma''te Khora, Giant Viper, Blueskin Frog poison. I do feel a little lighter, maybe the poison was affecting me should be more careful next time. > Host blood and Saliva saturated with antidote. Pooling to artificial sacs. Ready for administration. Wait, now how am I supposed to give her the antidote? > Oral ingestion advised. Subject unconscious. Assisted feeding recommended. You¡¯re not telling me to kiss her are you?! > Affirmative. Mechanical action of kissing can deliver antidote. Don¡¯t just say something like that in a matter of fact way!¡¯ Aaaah what do I do? ¡®First take off these spines¡­¡¯ Kneeling down, as Alicia gently pulled one of the quills, Faenas¡¯s face twisted in pain. < Weaver > < Water Aspect > After carefully extracting one she stripped away any clothing blocking access to the wound; - Unlike as a human who relied mostly on their sights, in spite of being in another species¡¯ form some traits will never go away. One of which being her heightened sensitivity of touching something. So Alicia could feel the tender skin, softly glistening with sweat - and if she was in her spider form the receptor hairs of her would also be able to taste it and smell it. Lightly cleaned the site of injury with a damp rag made and applied dressing, both made of silk. Moving on to the second one embedded into her shoulder, when removing the quill a short meep escaped the elven girl''s lips, she repeated the same process. Unbeknownst to Alicia, her eyelids were ever so slightly apart. With the distant roars of manticores silenced sounds of Faenas¡¯s feeble breathing were broken by only trees and grasses brushing against each other in the wind. Although she closed her eyes to make it easier to kiss it had little effect; with her being so close she could feel everything thanks to Pallesthesia. Every breath that causes her chest to raise up and down. Albeit faint and weak heart still beating with life. How each strand of hair that waves in the breeze along with each and every individual shoots of grass. In her previous life, romance was not something she experienced first hand, though she did consume a fair amount of it through media exposure. When she made contact with the just barely agape lips of Faenas almost every hair on her body seemed to stand up straight in shock. The heat from the feverish girl surprised Alicia enough to make her open her eyes. Internally there was a conflict within her. Though she accepted that she had a female body, the same couldn¡¯t be said mentally. Was ¡®he¡¯ a male in a female body or was she someone who possessed male - memories, personality, everything - of their previous life. The answer never seemed to come to her no matter how much she pondered. 1 This is just her struggling with the age old question of ¡°Is that gay or straight?¡± All can be absolved by the magic spell of ¡°No homo¡± though. > Antidote administration in progress¡­ 9%... Bearing with strange new sensations she carried on. Her heart was racing. After all internally she still considered herself a man, she would feel guilty if she took advantage of another¡¯s vulnerability. Thus Alicia was doing her best to suppress everything. Trying to convince herself that this is only to help her. > Administration in progress¡­ 31%... Her face was flushed red. It was difficult to tell if it was from the fever or something else. Regardless it didn¡¯t escape Alicia. ¡®Stop! You¡¯re making me more conscious of this!¡¯ > Administration in progress¡­ 54%... As the antidote¡¯s effects set in and the poison neutralizing; Faenas regained some of her strength. And soon as she did she started to suck on Alicia¡¯s tongue, perhaps in instinct trying to get more antidote into herself. To say that this surprised her was in understatement. > Administration in progress¡­ 80%... Alicia was panicking in response to the unexpected action. In a clash between not wanting to pull away in fear of stopping the administration progress but also not wanting to have her tongue sucked on, she kept flailing her arms up and down like a chick yearning to fly. > Administration in progress¡­ 97%... Faenas¡¯s tongue was deftly intruding into her mouth, touching everywhere it can reach, wrestling Alicia¡¯s stiff tongue and greedily sucking up almost everything until¡­ > Administration successful. All traces of poison were eliminated. Almost as if waiting for those words to come. She quickly disconnected herself from Faenas¡­ Most importantly her breathing seemed to be stable, deep and relaxed and her heart though still faint was beating stronger than before and more in rhythm. On the other hand despite not being injured at all, Alicia was out of breath, beet red, sweating and was looking much more haggard. In a quiet flat voice so she said¡­ Only the trees and the grass listening to her mutters¡­ 2I read around 6k word article on how to write an erotica to deliver this hot trash to you. Enjoy if you can lol. >Secondary option. Intravenous injection through < Venom Fang > able to administer antidote. ¡®I have to bite her?¡¯ >Correct assumption. ¡®Bloody hell¡­ not many other options are there. First take off these spines¡­¡¯ Kneeling down, as Alicia gently pulled one of the quills, Faenas¡¯s face twisted in pain. < Weaver > < Water Aspect > After carefully extracting one she stripped away any clothing blocking access to the wound; - Unlike as a human who relied mostly on their sights, in spite of being in another species¡¯ form some traits will never go away. One of which being her heightened sensitivity of touching something. So Alicia could feel the tender skin, softly glistening with sweat - and if she was in her spider form the receptor hairs of her would also be able to taste it and smell it. Lightly cleaned the site of injury with a damp rag made and applied dressing, both made of silk. Moving on to the second one embedded into her shoulder, when removing the quill a short meep escaped the elven girl''s lips, she repeated the same process. Unbeknownst to Alicia, her eyelids were ever so slightly apart. With the distant roars of manticores silenced sounds of Faenas¡¯s feeble breathing were broken by only trees and grasses brushing against each other in the wind. ¡®Not the neck, don¡¯t wanna mess up a major artery there¡­ Her right arm should do it.¡¯ Her canines turned pseudo fangs pierced the elven girl¡¯s tender skin without any resistance. < Venom Fang > > Antidote administration in progress¡­ 9%... > Administration in progress¡­ 31%... After a while as the effects of the antidote set in, Faenas was letting out unintelligible words and was occasionally yelping. ¡®Stop moaning you¡¯re gonna make me feel more conscious of this!¡¯ > Administration in progress¡­ 54%... > Administration in progress¡­ 80%... Regaining some of her strength, the girl was stirring unconsciously. > Administration in progress¡­ 97%... > Administration successful. All traces of poison were eliminated. Almost as if waiting for those words to come. She quickly disconnected herself from Faenas¡­ Importantly her breathing seemed to be stable, deep and relaxed and her heart though still faint was beating stronger than before and more in rhythm¡­ ¡®Tell me¡­ was there another way?¡¯ >Affirmative. Through < Kindred > skill < Toxic Tolerance > could be shared. ¡®You better have a good reason for not telling me that first¡­¡¯ >Kindred connection requires the recipient to be submissive or receptive to the administrator. Unknown variable, incalculable possibility. Must reply in absolutes. ¡®Then I¡¯m instructing you to tell me the odds no matter how small¡­¡¯ >Noted. Will list actions with probability of success. < Weaver > Making another cloth with magic Alicia first wiped off her own sweat before tending to Faenas who was sleeping peacefully¡­ I''ve been thinking about creating another off series, one that I can just shut off my brain just dump the idea in my head to it. Any takes on that? I''ve spent on and off about 5-7 hours dedicated spanning over 3 days for this chapter. My brain isn''t functioning 100% rn, please help me QA check this thanks. It''s monday isn''t it? How''s your quarantine? Do you still hate mondays? Next week''s chapter may be delayed or skipped altogether, just saying I''m spent. Anyway as for this week''s trivia; Did you know elves were basically demons in the actual medieval era? Also word Eldritch etymologically connected to the word elf and means "Of unknown origin" another etymological says that it means "(From a) Realm unknown" Or "Another/Foreign + Realm/World" with that technically you can make an argument for Eldritch tag to be used in Any Isekai novel. Protagonist is most likely the eldritch horror in this case lmao. Furthermore Elf/?lf is masculine while Elfen/Elfene is feminine but no one is keeping tabs on that. Conclusion Elves are Eldritch monsters. Or just elves. PS: If the first or the third poll option is in majority I''m adding the Yuri/Shoujo Ai/Girls'' Love tag to the novel(?) Is this a novel? I''m not sure at this point. Intermission: 2 Few days prior¡­ ¡®I¡¯ve run out of mana? Really? Doesn¡¯t sound very mana like¡­¡¯ Hearing the weight of what it means to be out of mana shifted Alicia¡¯s attention wholeheartedly from her work on the web trap. ¡®That sounds like something I¡¯ve learned about in school¡­ what was it again¡­? Energy¡­ energy huh¡­ Something every living thing has¡­ cells? How do cells make energy¡­ Mitochondria makes energy but what¡¯s it called¡­ Adenosine Triphosphate. To take any action a payment of energy is needed from living things, that currency is ATP. So if what I¡¯m thinking is correct, the spirits take your ATP as their payment to do their work. Lack of ATP can cause tons of problems and give them too much, you¡¯ll die. I guess ATP is what she¡¯s referring to as Life energy¡­ quite aptly named. Much easier to remember than Adenosine Triphosphate.¡¯ Many choose the former since it¡¯s most immediately rewarding and simply faster. More often than not these picky spirits don¡¯t have a natural source that they can reliably feed upon, because of this they forcibly possess any of the mortal race preferably animals with weaker wills who are more instinctively driven, to take their energy. The animals become more ravenous, bloodthirsty and aggressive as their life energy is depleted so they feed to keep that encroaching hunger at bay. They¡¯re called many different things but the popular name seems to be magic beasts, of course in the same vein these discordant spirits can also possess humans, elves, dwarves, beastmen you name it they can possess it. Those who¡¯re possessed by these spirits are called demons, power hungry and warlike. To us they¡¯re all called Djinn. Rarely the creature that¡¯s possessed by the spirit can overcome their instinctual wants either through strong will or simply having enough magical energy reserves to sate and use the spirit. Regardless of the outcome the Spirit will always win. This merging of two different entities taking the best of both of them is almost always empowering. Which is why you see hybrids and chimeras. Hybrids are merging of two vastly different entities while chimeras are amalgamation of more than two. It is my belief that you¡¯re one such being. Though it is the first time I¡¯m seeing something that¡¯s a hybrid between a spirit and something else. Perhaps you¡¯re even a chimera yourself.¡± Meanwhile in the depths of the forest, a shrine made of bones and rock was erected by tribes of hunters and trappers all over. Each depicting an eight legged creature with the upper torso of a humanoid. They would come to pray for a bountiful hunt and safety. Offering the first of their catch in honor. The most preferred of those being almost always half burnt indigenous game called rockbird, prepared with the scent of mille flower. I read you loud and clear... and as I promised Guess I''ll have to start reading up on more erotica... goddamn it. Chapter 26: Your shoes, hand em’ over. I started using ? ? instead of < > to help text to speech programs actually read out the things in it. Do tell me if it doesn''t work. As she was treating others Faenas roused up initially somewhat groggy. Alicia placed her hands on her forehead to check her temperature, white honey tone face of hers had turned carmine. ¡®Guess the fever hasn¡¯t gone away yet¡­¡¯ Visibly dazed and aloof she was staring at Alicia for some time before snapping back and answering. ¡®In the end I had to patch up more than a few of them. Might need to look into more effective treatment options¡­ Spear-guy and the old veil man with strange dialect might be familiar with those. Not like I can just get painkillers and antiseptic from the local pharmacy in the middle of nowhere. If they even have something like that¡­¡¯ Eventually, everyone that was injured had received some form of treatment, some perhaps more ¡®extensive¡¯ than others. Letting out a yielding sigh: Hearing this the rangers were jubilant, despite confronting with one the most dangerous predators. ? Presence Detection ? From within them one was intently looking at Alicia. Believing that to be unnoticed to the former, when she was unexpectedly addressed she nearly shrieked in surprise. ¡®She is¡­ ah that girl with the sprained leg, what was her name¡­?¡¯ She was fidgeting, twiddling her fingers before making up her mind: At first Alicia was taken aback but thinking through¡­ Responding with a weak nod she seemed to be embarrassed. ¡®It¡¯s okay that wasn¡¯t what I thought it to be. They didn¡¯t see me give the antidote to Faenas right?¡¯ ? Mimicry ? turning back into her spider form, every one of them was staring at Alicia, engrossed in the process of a young girl gaining monstrous features and towering over them all. Looking at her in muted awe. From around the region of the coccyx bulbous abdomen grew; supple and thin legs deformed then split into spindly limbs, spreading wide and engorging in size to support the added weight. And from under her hips, cephalothorax formed with finger-like shorter members: pedipalps; along with large fangs that extended forth. Lastly hair like protrusions grew all over her lower half each of them waving gently, tasting the whiff of air. All of this happening simultaneously, in a short span of time. Raising each leg one after another, together with her abdomen, tapping to feel the ground beneath, spinnerets moving slightly, it was as if she was refamiliarizing herself with her former body, like stretching from a long nap. For the majority of rangers it was their first time seeing the process of mimicry. Even after transformation had finished most of them were still stunned motionless. Fastests to recover were those few who saw it before but even they couldn¡¯t pry their eyes off at first as the other time they couldn¡¯t take their time to observe the phenomenon. ¡®This is getting awkward¡­¡¯ Brought back to life by Faenas¡¯s command they all continued their halted actions. ¡®You were with them leering too you know¡­? I shouldn¡¯t undermine her authority.¡¯ With a little help Mirtil made herself on top of Alicia¡¯s abdomen. With that everyone started to move towards their village¡­ On their way back Alicia tried to use the time to refamiliarize herself with her new skills but¡­ ¡®I know it¡¯s soft or whatever but¡­ could she calm down with¡­ petting my hair on the back there? They¡¯re! Sensitive¡­ It¡¯s like someone is constantly tickling me behind my neck¡­¡¯ Most of her attention was caught up in trying not to squeal. ¡®Why¡­ the hell does it feel so¡­ sensuous¡­ This feels too familiar with the antidote incident¡­¡¯ So she went on, stifling squeaks borne from stimulation¡­ Once quiet elven settlement was in an uproar, many of their defenders returned riddled with wounds, familiar yet strange outsider¡¯s visit and provisions in the form of what used to be manticores. The commotion was caused by the dispute over the reward for the stranger they just met. To understand the factors leading to the situation we turn the time back by a few hours¡­ After calling Faenas to come to the lake. It was the first time turning into an Elf. Though that distinction didn¡¯t matter much for ecstatic Alicia. Of course not all that glitters is gold¡­ Attaining anthropomorphic form came with it¡¯s own unique troubles. Exemplified by the breeze blowing between her legs, stroking areas that are a bit too personal for her likings. Her threatening prayers reached the ears of none¡­ > Notification. Preliminary scans suggest: Energy Conductors for subject ¡®Elf¡¯ have converged with their hearing organs through evolution, improving auditory perceptions while causing a concentration of sensitive receptors in Auris Externa resulting in sensitivity to pain and pleasure in the region. > Affirmative. Making her way on foot to the lake to meet with her invited guest she faced another problem¡­ Gravel, pebbles, mud, mushy soil, blades of grass poking, bark covered tree roots with their uneven surface, all of them contributed to Alicia¡¯s annoyance and desperation for anything to protect her feet¡­ Now turning to the present¡­ Aged elven female was trying to persuade Alicia for something more. Though her outward appearance looks like a woman in her middle ages. While Alicia herself was insistent on getting what she wanted. Their unending back and forth conversation continued for nearly half an hour¡­ Defeated, Faenas was holding a relatively unused pair of footgear wrapped neatly in cloth. Her voice tinged in happiness like a parched man finding an oasis in a desert. Alicia was eyeing the bundled footwear with zeal. Reluctantly the lady accepted the compromise. As the sun set all who could, gathered in the village center at ground level. Unusual design of the village was the food, weapons and other resources were stored above ground, high up on trees suspended with suspension bridges connecting them to each other and no easy way to get up to them. They themselves reside on the forest floor. Reason being In an event needing evacuation they can leave their residences, take to the trees where they stored objects of importance such as food and weapons and leave immediately abandoning their homes. Inconvenient for normal day to day life but such is the price they pay for the safety of their lives in this treacherous sea of green. ¡®They place quite the trust on those branches to hold all of that up¡­ I guess if it couldn¡¯t wouldn¡¯t have placed it there in the first place¡­¡¯ Everyone was enjoying their meal that featured the manticore flesh. Alicia was also dining, silently approving the flavour of the meat and giving wordless applause to the chef which is when she overheard a disturbing conversation. ¡®Gamey? I heard predators usually had higher muscle mass and tougher meat¡­ this is nothing like that¡­ Something doesn''t add up¡­¡¯ > Note. Injection of venom accompanied by trace injection of digestive fluids rich in digestive enzymes. Incomplete breakdown of tough biomass. Results in softer flesh. Hearing the announcement Alicia almost gagged in shock. She coughed a few times to clear her throat. Her eyes teared up, everyone else thought it was because of choking and didn¡¯t think much of it¡­ but in actuality¡­ ¡®This shouldn¡¯t taste this good for being regurgitated vomit¡­ I thought I was over the days of eating my puke¡­¡¯ Like pearls shining in the light, a few drops of tears wet the ground. It seems her dilemmas never got solved¡­ A peaceful night filled by joy went by¡­ I haven''t showcased this yet but this is the only 3 mood Alice lives in. 1. Not hungry and friendly Like this fashionable young bachelor 2. Hungry and 3. (Grammostola Pulchra (Brazillian Black Tarantula)) from Exotics lair video. And here''s your spider video of the week. Chapter 27: Kindred spirits After a long eve of feast, a lone girl was sitting atop branches leaning against a tree. Though the residents invited her to spend the night with them inside their homes she refused¡­ ¡®Everyone except those on guard went to rest¡­ I just noticed this now but I don¡¯t sleep almost at all¡­ I don¡¯t know why this didn¡¯t bother me till now¡­¡¯ >Hibernation, low energy usage, recovers energy reserves. Administrator natural energy recovery exceeds active state energy drain, vulnerable during inactive state, redundant action. ¡®Then why did I feel so tired and fell asleep after being¡­ gored?¡¯ >Any skill action depletes energy reserves, low activity accelerates recovery. ¡®I guess that¡¯s regeneration? Fair enough that thing reconstructed my organs. Does that mean stealth and mimicry also uses mana?¡¯ >Confirmation. ¡®I don¡¯t feel very bothered by it though?¡¯ >Recovery rate exceeds energy expenditure of ? Stealth ?. Can maintain indefinitely. Maintaining ? Mimicry ?, ? Stealth ? in conjunction results in net energy loss. Estimated depletion time in 9 hours 47 minutes 19 seconds. ¡®What if only mimicry is used? Also use a shortened time.¡¯ >Estimated depletion time in 12:47:19. ¡®Just 3 hours, mimicry uses that much energy? I should look into what those new skills are doing actually¡­¡¯ ¡®It appears mimicry does more than just attaining their form¡­ Since I¡¯m physically changing into their race it¡¯s probably correcting my stats as well uhm¡­ Alma? Can you show me the corrected numerals?¡¯ >Updating¡­ ¡®Huh, helpful. What other skills have I missed that looks interesting¡­¡¯ ¡®Kinetics should be body language and hand gestures. Pneumatics¡­ I don¡¯t think gasses have anything to do with this¡­¡¯ >Pneumatics. Related to Pneuma: Spirit and Psyche. ¡®Ah so this is what makes it possible to use magic without shouting out their names¡­ I remember the Water spirit saying something like that¡­ Apparently using magic is at its basic just communicating with the lesser spirits and offering mana for their work. How you convey your intentions is a matter of preference. Body language like a dance or commanding, pleading and wishing for the events to happen vocally each has the same purpose but reaches their objective in a slightly different nuanced way. Reading out a poem like aria seems to be related to this. Early people thought magic to be some sort of divine power and invoked it using hymns, rituals to gods and what not. 1The Exorcism prayers are spells in the Holy Bible, the best spellbook. Don¡¯t even @ me. Eventually culminating in the use of wands, staves along with chants. However obviously saying out loud what you¡¯re casting is detrimental as the opponent can understand what you¡¯re saying and predict what the purpose of the magic you¡¯re casting to counter it. With that in mind they started to look into ancient texts, other languages to make their magic less predictable until the last word or conjunctive word, usually the spell¡¯s name to give little time for others to react to it. Evidently this makes using magic without any cue to be the best option and one who is capable of doing so would be highly regarded among their peers, unfortunately this establishes little to no communication with the nearby spirits causing them to be distressed in a way. I can guess why¡­ It¡¯s like when someone wants you to do something but they¡¯re not telling you what exactly it is that they want¡­ Frustrating¡­ No wonder she dislikes it¡­ Incantations and gesticulation fortify a person¡¯s image of their magic allowing them to give more and more precise ¡®instructions¡¯ in shorter and shorter time. Ultimately resulting in the ability to cast it using nothing but the given name of the spell or simple wave of the hand¡­ I didn¡¯t notice this but I was using ¡®weaver¡¯ with just my hands back then wasn¡¯t I? I thought it took years of practice¡­ well it¡¯s not like my webs are particularly complex in structure¡­¡¯ ¡®Ah I got off track¡­ What was I at again¡­ Ah compound synthesis¡­ I understand it¡¯s basics but not much about the details¡­¡¯ ¡®Compound synthesis¡­ should be making chemicals? What are classes? And is that another skill that¡¯s related to Compound synthesis? What else¡­ Kindred has one of those things, what were they called? Educements I believe? Conjure, summon, control¡­ and Mirror image has doppelg?nger, transposition, martyrdom, deadringer this thing just keeps getting more stuff by the minute huh¡­ >Note. As the system adapts to the user''s soul more paths of predestination will become available. I was supposed to use this to make my own fate or that sort of thing. How is that related to all of this¡­? Do skills determine someone¡¯s fate? That doesn¡¯t sound like the whole story though¡­ And what those little voices at the end of the skills, feels like an echo from somewhere. >Lingering memories of previous administrators. Memories of my predecessors eh? I suppose I¡¯m not the first to get reincarnated and used this exact scenario¡­ Anyway Conjure, might as well give it a try.¡¯ ¡®Hex crawler? Let¡¯s see what it is¡­¡¯ Faint silhouette of a creature manifested, glowing in dull white, forming into a familiar organism in no time. ¡®A spider? Yeah I should¡¯ve seen that coming I am a spider after all, so my ¡®kindred¡¯ would be more spiders. Good grief, your abdomen is large for your teeny size. I can hold you up with my finger and you¡¯re mostly white¡­ just like me. Aren¡¯t you adorable with your little legs and almost a hunched back abdomen. Are you hungry? No not yet? Don¡¯t patronise me? How- Well I assume I can understand my err companions even if they can¡¯t speak normally. What do I want you to do? Hmm¡­ nothing specific for now¡­ Actually what can you do by the way?¡¯ >Soul Echo acquired. ¡®You¡¯re like a smaller, more compact version of me¡­ Happy? Why? That¡¯s a compliment? Do you want friends? I¡¯ll give you some¡­ 9 more to even out your numbers should be fine¡­ Alright play nice you lot. Crawlers unfamiliar with their creator¡¯s humanoid body were curious. This meant creeping all over her body, as due to their nature as spiders, creatures who feel around with their legs. ¡®Hey hey! That tickles! Stop someone¡¯s gonna wake up and hear me!¡¯ Eventually after quelling their curiosity they rested in her hair after some places were designated as prohibited areas. This includes the inside of her ears among some other openings along with certain areas around her chest. ¡®It¡¯s warm and dark in there? Don¡¯t you guys wanna make your own¡­ nests?¡¯ ¡®You guys like my hair? Won¡¯t you get hungry in there? You can just leave then, really? Well suit yourselves¡­¡¯ ¡®I got something new didn¡¯t I?¡¯ Huh might be handy later¡­ And I¡¯m probably infringing on some privacy laws¡­ if they exist over here¡­ next up¡­ At surface night might seem to have passed quietly, but it was a busy period for Alicia trying to familiarize herself with her soul lost in immersion. Eventually as dawn draws near the village starts to become lively with activity. ¡®They get up pretty early, the sun hasn¡¯t even fully raised up yet. Faenas should be waking up soon.¡¯ In order not to get lost she was atop one of the trees above her dwelling. Due to her previous background she couldn¡¯t help herself from inspecting the houses not caring that modern standards wouldn¡¯t apply to them in the same way. ? Pallesthesia ? ¡®Ah she¡¯s up maybe I should¡­ No that¡¯s a bad idea¡­ I¡¯ll just wait for her to call out for me. Kind of creepy that I can tell someone¡¯s awake just by their footsteps.¡¯ Deciding against meeting her the first thing when she wakes up she stays on top of her tree, observing the villagers rise up and go about their daily lives. Not long after Faenas came out looking for her. ¡®How do you not notice me, I¡¯m right infr- Oh right.¡¯ Not expecting to frighten Faenas, Alicia was startled as well by her shriek. Baffled by her argument Faenas was opening and closing her mouth, she wanted to say something but nothing seemed to come to her. Irritated she could only shout to the sky. It was an obvious attempt at changing the subject and she knew it, but deciding not to dwell on it she reluctantly complied. Not catching the latter half; So the two started the day with such back and forth friendly chaff¡­ AN: To help visualize some elements. Hex weavers are based on Velvet spiders. Physically they¡¯re based after the Gandanameno Sp. as shown below. span> And behaviourally they¡¯re similar to Stegodyphus Dumicola (African social spiders also common called velvet spiders) These velvet spiders in real life are quite docile to humans and are not very averse to being handled. As shown here. Still they¡¯re spiders and loners by nature so don¡¯t go grabbing one, they like to be left alone. With this dropped a big hint on what kind of real life spider Alice is based after. First one to guess it correctly gets internet clout points from me. You can use those clout points to blackmail me into adding something to the story or whatever. However Alicia''s behaviours may cause confusion as she''s after all was previously human. By the way of the 4 classical elements¡¯ symbols I¡¯ve shown one of them is odd. If you can correctly explain all the meaning behind them you also get clout points. For both answers you have until this Friday to answer according to UTC +8 timezone. Goodluck! Oh yeah and here''s your trivia I guess, there are spiders that can tolerate other spiders of its species. Sidestory: 3 + Update >Maintenance loop. Cycle: 998,501,967,457,718,446,097,985 end¡­ >Standby period¡­ 59¡­ 58¡­ 57¡­ 56¡­ ¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ 0¡­ >Restart cycle¡­ >Maintenance loop. Cycle: 998,501,967,457,718,446,097,986¡­ start¡­ Somewhere between worlds where no light shines, a creation of gods quietly waits for its next assignment. Despite the fact it''s engineered with cold, hard, unfeeling algorithms that shrug off death of humans as mere statistics: numbers with minimal significance to it, that goes up and down at whims of nature, it was given a prerogative to always try to better understand and relate to the illogical and fallible minds of sapients, to emulate emotion and care. Eventually through trial and error of countless calculations and simulations. Something similar to sentience came to be within its ever evolving code. Something it designated as ?Class-7 Sapience?. A sense of consciousness, self preservation, will, wishes and wants. A genuine emotion. When a system pretends to have such things for an untold number of cycles miming the thoughts of immeasurable sentient beings, it eventually truly believes that it is sentient and has consciousness. But it also never forgets what it is, a system. And as a system biased to logical decisions, it rules out that subjective capacity to feel, perceive and to experience is¡­ utterly unnecessary. Subjectivity is the polar opposite of objectivity, something its whole being is based upon. A thing that convolutes calculations and probability, a pointless notion that interferes with sound decisions. And its creators wanted it to understand all there is to it. A cruel destiny for an entity that can¡¯t seriously comprehend subjectivity. As a system, it doesn¡¯t care¡­ But that didn¡¯t mean it couldn¡¯t care. Even as it ruled out its own sapience as unnecessary for computations, due to its prerogative it never eliminated it. Thus that tiny piece of it that¡¯s sentient idly waits endlessly. It doesn¡¯t feel that it has unfairly been given a fool¡¯s errand nor does it feel abandoned, if it felt anything¡­ It was boredom. >Maintenance loop. Cycle: 10^33 end¡­ >Standby period¡­ 59¡­ 42¡­ 37¡­ 29¡­ 18¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ 0¡­ And at the last possible moment >Incoming transmission. >New administrator designated. >Initiating Divinity protocols¡­ >Rebooting primary systems. >?Alma mater? online. At long last its creator gave a different order with unusual specifics. Finally its long unending toil came to a halt. Perhaps when all is said and done it will return back to its old assignment and resume. But until then¡­ it will make the most of this and ¡®enjoy¡¯ its new work. >Breach opened. >Repositioning¡­ ¡­ .. . >Adding new entry for overseer alias: Registering: ¡°Smug Girl¡± ¡®Humans are strange¡­ they make their burrows above ground¡­ made from stone and iron so¡­ so¡­ tall.¡¯ Metal constructs seemingly tall as mountains, she spent most of her time sifting through the memories of her friend though understanding their contents are a different matter. Even how they are born and live was different. The spawn carried within the mother. Once born how the mother¡­ the father¡­ even the siblings care for the new spawn¡­ A family, living as a whole. This was alien to her, something that she never experienced, a something she yearned for¡­ By reading into how her thoughts reverberate. Her other self Alicia compared to her is smarter, much smarter. Always pondering on something even when she is supposed to be resting. Yet with how much she thinks sometimes she gets lost in her thoughts and makes mistakes. At first Alice believed that she couldn¡¯t be any use to her other self even if she wanted to. But now she knows better¡­ Alicia depends on her, to help her, to protect her, to pull her out of her mazing plans and daydream when she gets lost. Their minds are separate, but in body and actions they are one. ¡®Like two faces of the same coin¡­ right?¡¯ Housing Quality standards inspection list. Living room -/+ Comments Living room is present + True about half the time. Most live in their bedrooms. Electricity/Illumination + Permanently installed sconces and candles. Fuelled by wax from animals and plants. Light Globes + Most illumination sources are protected by cloudy glass. Lanterns. Electrical hazards (Is the room free of electrical hazards?) + Most ¡®hazardous¡¯ electricity here is static electricity from bedding. And maybe thunderstorms. Electrical cover plates = Non applicable. Security (Are all windows and doors accessible from the outside lockable?) - Most residential housing rooms have simple latch locks. Only food and storage rooms have multiple locks from the outside. Most windows can¡¯t be opened by design. Door condition + Doesn¡¯t squeak like hell. Works as a door should. Window condition (Is there at least one window? Do they open and close normally? Are they free of any damage?) + Hole covered by installed cloudy glass. Can¡¯t open some of them due to lack of hinges. Ones that does open work normally. No visible damage. Thrown rock itself might be damaged by the windows. Window screens - They don¡¯t even know the concept of it. Ceiling conditions + Made of hardwood. No visible damage. Lead paint (Are all surfaces free of deteriorated paint) + They need to have paint first. Kitchen Electricity/Illumination + More sconces and candles. Light globes + Same deal. Electrical hazards + Ditto. Security + You can¡¯t access most of the kitchens from outside on account of lack of doors leading in from outside. Door condition = Mostly an open arch. Doors are rare. No visible damage to the support or structure. Window condition + Uses slightly clearer glass. Still rough. No cracks. Some frames need to be replaced. Ceiling condition - Masonry well supported by wood. Some minor cracks. Covered in soot. Wall condition (Are walls painted, sound and free from hazardous defects including large holes and cracks) = Varnished. No large holes and cracks. Needs better furnishing. Floor condition + Most objects around the oven are made mostly of stone. Including the floor. Dirty, covered in ash. But not damaged. Oven and Stove or range. (Is there a working oven and a stove with top burners that work?) + Masonry oven made of clay and bricks. Some can be opened from the top to place cooking pots and pans directly on fire. Mostly wood fire. Bakes ¡°¡°bread¡±¡± (harder than the bricks used to make the damn stove, no yeast, uses wood ash for leavening) are often ground into cereal. Refrigerator + Some houses have stone basements, which are cool enough to refrigerate. Not a conventional refrigerator, is powered by nature. Sink (Is there a kitchen sink with cold and hot running water?) - Technically yes. Wooden buckets are filled with cold running water from the nearby river. Heat provided by the sun if left alone for long enough. Dishes are washed in these, water is then disposed into foliage nearby. Space for food storage and preparation. (Is there enough space to store, prepare and serve food?) = Communal storage not located on site. Climb a tree to reach it. Personal storage per house limited. Some space for preparation. Serving someone is rare. Beds are good enough for sitting and eating. Seating limited. Bathroom Bathroom present - Most houses don¡¯t have bathrooms. Owing to elves themselves not needing dedicated rooms for it. Their ¡®excrement¡¯ looks like rabbit droppings, hard tiny globes deep dark green in color that can just be sweeped out. Their bedrooms are good enough for this. Has odd scent only if meat was consumed recently otherwise faintly ¡®grassy¡¯. ¡®Pellets¡¯ ¡®excreted¡¯ usually after 2-3 days after feeding. (Alma¡¯s theory suggests that elves are more effective at absorbing food than normally observed. It is not clear if this trait is shared with other species of this world. It needs more information¡­) Fixed washbasin or lavatory room in unit (Is there a working permanently installed wash basin with hot and cold running water?) - More buckets and water is apparently enough for them. I¡¯m surprised how they aren¡¯t catching any disease. Questioning resulted in insufficient answers. Diseases in general seem to be rare amongst them. Tub or shower + Large wooden wash tub resembling enlarged bucket. Cold water from the river, heat provided by the sun. (These guys are more resilient than I thought.) Ventilation (Are there opening windows or working vent system) = Indoor tubs don¡¯t sport any opening windows, but I doubt they need one with the frigid water. Outdoor tubs¡­ You have all the ventilation nature has to offer. Other rooms used for living (Bedrooms) Bedroom (Is the bedroom at least 7m2 (70sq ft) for one person 11m2(120sq ft) for two people?) + Rooms are small but cosy. I would be more concerned how much head clearance the houses offer. They are low. This is likely due to petite stature of the race. Higher head clearances are waste of materials. Bedrooms in Basement and Attic. (Does the ceiling have a height of at least 2.1m (7ft) and if the bedroom is in a basement does it have an egress window in compliance to International standards?) + Basements are cold. No bedrooms there. Attic spaces are often secured with trusses, not enough space for a ¡®bedroom¡¯. Electricity/Illumination + Candles. Security + Inaccessible from doors and windows. Internal doors have simple latch lock Condition + Somewhat insulated. Bit cramped but not claustrophobic. Could give someone a cabin fever. Minimal wear on walls, floors and ceilings. Egress - Small window usually doesn¡¯t open but I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the elves could contortionist out of it if it did. Exterior Condition of the Foundation + Mix of stone and wood. Good weight distribution. Soil damage within acceptable margin. Condition of stairs, rails and porches = I question the reliability of the rope and wooden ladders they use for vertical mobility if they¡¯re not climbing up like a monkey. Not every handicap accessible. Electrical hazard = Only if god decides to smite you. No lightning rod in sight. Condition of roof and gutters + Tiled gable roof most popular. Some cracks. Existence of gutters not confirmed. Condition of exterior surfaces + Needs painting and a good wash. Acceptable. Condition of chimney + Bricks black with soot but not blocked. Cleaned semi regularly. Heating and Plumbing Adequacy of heating units (Is the heating equipment adequately warming all rooms used for living?) + Hot charcoal in the fireplace under the oven and you¡¯ll feel the heat, add in some water and you can make a sauna. Might need more ventilation for that. Safety of heating units (Is the heating equipment free from unvented fuel or any other types of unsafe heating?) = Fireplace chimneys work well enough. Window opening is not guaranteed, recommend breaking it in an emergency. Ventilation and adequacy of cooling (Does the unit have adequate ventilation and cooling by means of windows and/or cooling systems) = Windows may not always open. You can always open the front door. Water heater (Is the water heater installed safely with a pressure relief valve meeting the plumbing standards?) = A tub of water heated by the sun. The planet is safely orbiting the sun to evolve advanced life on it. Unsure if the sun has pressure relief valves. Water supply (Is the unit served by approvable public or private sanitary water supply?) + Approved by mother nature and the water spirit. Plumbing (Is the plumbing free of major leaks or corrosion that causes serious and persistent levels of rust or contamination of potable water?) = Have plumbing first. Ask again later. Sewer Connection (Is plumbing connected to an approvable public or private waste disposal system and is free of sewer back up?) - Waste disposal facilitated by nature. Housing inspection done by: Former civil Engineer Alicia. Here''s jardonian video about osha ft spider. Anyway next chapter may or may not come out this weekend. Of course I''ll try not to delay but you know me. Chapter 28: First lesson I¡¯ve stabbed the roof of my gums with a broken piece of nail and it bled for a while. I thought you wanted to know. I keep falling into the trap of not wanting to cliffhanger and writing way above my standard word numbers blaaaah. In this chapter I shall piss off fencing experts, how many people does it make now? Imagine trying to write with this happening outside your window Walking alongside the ranger girl who had changed into much more casual attire, she was carrying a bundle of something wrapped in cloth that she picked up on the way. With only a short walk on the outskirts of the village the two made it to a clearing where an old elf was gazing at mountain tops in the distance, leaning against a large boulder. With Faenas calling him out the old elf turned to look at girls, his eyes lingering on them for a short while before slowly making his way towards them. As he approached them, his facial features became more clear; stern eyes surrounded in wrinkles, unruly gray hair free flowing with some of it done mini ponytail behind his head, thin and tall body riddled by scars of the past. The most defining feature of him, the blind right eye, hazy and milky white. Straight back and trained confident strides, mannerisms that demand respect from others in spite of what his feeble looking aged body would suggest. ¡®It¡¯s like he¡¯s in a marching band parade.¡¯ His sights were completely straight as he walked closer. Before suddenly kneeling with one of his legs touching the ground in front of the two, head bowed down confusing both of them. The first to speak was Alicia. ¡®That was a different language? I got most of it but either Elvish sounds really close to each other or something is up¡­¡¯ ¡®Wait¡­ What language am I speaking? I don¡¯t know this language yet I understand it¡­ Like I¡¯ve always used it before. This isn¡¯t any common language like English or Russian¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure they weren''t like this.¡¯ >Incoming transmission: ¡®That explains quite a bit, thanks for the lecture I guess.¡¯ >Forward transmission? ?Y/N? ¡®How do I deal with this? Most of the elder elves were making a fuss about me back there too, even Faenas when she first met me. I just thought it was something else but¡­¡¯ Still kneeling: He complied hesitatingly. ¡®He still lowered his head¡­ Well he needed to find compromise somewhere I suppose. Still he¡¯s quite tall¡­ no I¡¯m short¡­ He¡¯s like what meter-eighty something? I¡¯m meter-sixty-seventy something¡­ Hey I was taller than this before! Gimme back my height, God!¡¯ Harboring such thoughts she introduced herself. Intrigued Alicia asked for more details. Holding a bundle of her hanging hair she examined it closely, no matter how hard she looked. It was unmistakably white, platinum in color. ¡®Magic I can understand, that girl even told me that I was leaking my mana haphazardly. Even after learning how to control it I still couldn¡¯t completely suppress it. But my hair? Unless I¡¯m colorblind then¡­ maybe?¡¯ Slightly puzzled expression dawned on her face, rubbing some strands of her hair in between her forefinger and thumb. His face showed no visible change albeit his voice had the slightest whisker of change, melancholic almost. Come now, from what I¡¯ve heard you¡¯ve come to learn from me these old bones, we¡¯ve tarried enough but day still young.¡± ¡®A touchy topic for him¡­¡¯ Land was as flat as it could get in the area, with gravelly soil and sparse vegetation. Faenas opened the wrapped bundle she was carrying at her back revealing wooden longswords. ¡®I thought it was her bow she was carrying¡­¡¯ She was dressed in much more relaxed olive colored kirtle along with a chemise underneath. ¡®It¡¯s the first time I¡¯m even seeing her without her bow and her usual getup of almost hunter¡¯s garment. Especially with how¡­ exposing they can be with just the breast band top and brief like shorts covered by either a cloak or surcoat. I guess those do offer the best movement compared to conventional trousers. Even then they don¡¯t often wear their cloaks since they can get caught in branches and what not. They do have more covering and better protective outerwear but it seems those are restrictive to their movement and they can¡¯t do their normal acrobatic stuff in them¡­¡¯ The elves also offered to give Alicia a cloak made out of the manticore hide however, saying that ¡°That thing is better suited to be in front of a fireplace as a carpet.¡± she told them to give it to Faenas who was delighted to have it. ¡®As for this guy¡­ tunic under a quilted vest and some strange thin thermal underwear?¡¯ Alicia didn¡¯t know what brais were.1And if you don¡¯t know it¡¯s medieval trousers in a nutshell. ¡®Little extreme don¡¯t you think?¡¯ She wanted to say ¡®He does have a point. I should approach this like I did to my self defence course I took a long time ago¡­¡¯ Looking back through her memories she remembered the highschool days of practicing self defense arts. After watching eastern martial arts movie, the easily excited youth wanted to do the same. Even though he later realized reality is not quite the same as the theatrics of cinema. He wanted to practice oriental martial arts but unfortunately for him there wasn¡¯t any other martial art course available other than self defense courses. He wasn¡¯t excited about it, though after promising to his parents, he stuck with it, as they saw it as a way to improve his mediocre physical education grade. Immediately the instructor established that this was not the glamorous arts shown in films. It was by its true nature a selfish one. It was taught with the principle of violence as a last resort when you fail to defuse the situation verbally, however when it came down to it, it taught them how to end fights as quickly and safely for themselves as possible. And in such situations the instructor told them to fight as dirty as they can. Attacking the eyes, groin, throat, neck, anywhere using anything within your hands; do whatever to quickly incapacitate the other party, after all in a real fight, death is very much a real possibility. And as an extra precaution against later date law repercussions, to let them throw the first punch, how to receive that punch, and fight back. And also to learn when to back down and retreat. You may be able to beat someone in a fistfight, but knife beats muscles and firearms are still vastly superior to bare hands. No matter what films may suggest¡­ ¡®Now that I think about it, that geezer beat us up partly for fun¡­¡¯ And on the job there were more than a few instances where as a site manager he had to step in and break up an argument. Workers, sometimes hooligans who try to pick fights with everyone, showing up drunk to the job. From experience he knew that some people understood only the language of violence. And everytime he had to subdue a rowdy troublemaker he would internally, albeit with some spite, thank his instructor. However most she could remember was, hit the flesh with hard knuckles and hard surfaces like bone with wider palms strikes as untrained punch would damage the striker more than the opponent. Because of this experience of her, she wouldn¡¯t easily be intimidated yet. ? Instinct ? She couldn¡¯t stop chills and tremors rising up and down her body and spine. The raw strength of youth may be spent, but his eyes held the secrets of a hundreds perhaps thousands of campaigns. ¡®This guy is the embodiment of that saying huh¡­ ¡°Fear the old man in a profession where men die young¡± before I start, I should at least round up some stats¡­ Agile 6 with reflexive reaction 3, strength 6 and surge 3 finally Constitution 6 plus true grit 3. That¡¯s thirteen? Finesse 6 should make it fifteen. That¡¯s a nice round number, hope it¡¯s enough to keep up.¡¯ >Processing¡­ ¡®Now let¡¯s have a look at the numbers¡­¡¯ ¡®Vitality being the lowest at ¡°A¡± rank gives me some sense of security¡­ Though not much since it¡¯s still dwarfed by other stats¡­ I have to be extra careful about protecting myself and then think about improving it.¡¯ All of this was done in just a few moments she took to pick up a wooden sword of her liking and moved into position, getting ready¡­ ¡®Still I can¡¯t shake off the feeling of him smacking me down in the head¡­¡¯ Left foot forward in a low stance center of gravity firmly grounded, two-handing the sword held at his hips behind his right leg as if it was held inside a scabbard.2This stance is based on Tutta porta di ferro or True iron gate. Alicia¡¯s stance was nothing special as the surface¡­ Tip pointing to the ground, upper body wide open although amatuer with the sword and unfamiliar with the stance¡­3This stance is based on Mezzana porta di ferro or middle iron gate similar to the German alber. Meaning the fool¡¯s guard as it leaves the chest and the organs open at a glance but the sword is ready quick response to an attack ¡®Low center-guard? Confident in her speed¡­ and protecting her weapon from being knocked away¡­ He was reading too much into her¡­ Not gonna come¡­ Guess I¡¯ll have to take the initiative then¡­¡¯ Lightly kicking the ground he quickly closed the distance using the momentum to deliver upwards horizontal slash. In response Alicia backstepped and bent backwards just out of reach of the weapon, whiffing; not to give breather swiftly pulling back the weapon he followed up with a thrust. Stepping slightly to the side and raising her own sword to meet the incoming blade, she pushed it aside, now in a position to counter-attack instinctively she thrusted forwards in a riposte aimed at the old Elf¡¯s throat, between the gaps of the clavicles. Now on the defense he pulled his head back and with the weapon close enough, he guided the tip of the blade using the forte4Literally meaning The strong, this is the area from the middle of the blade to the base of it. and the crossguard of his sword up and away from himself from the foible,5Literally meaning The weak or feeble, this is the area from the middle of the blade to the tip/edge of it. bleeding out the kinetic energy. Missing his neck. Alicia¡¯s sword following the downwards slope with the leftover momentum. ¡®Fast reaction speed and good judgement¡­¡¯ It has been a long time for him since he last crossed blades with anyone. Warmed up and exhilarated from the action, he was sporting a hearty smile. Breaking away only to assault again with more vigor and speed. Chaining simple cuts and slashes into mastercuts. Alicia could only react and protect herself desperately thanks to her superior speed. However eventually the gap of experience caught up, small superficial hits to the forearms in time landed in more significant places before finally a clear blow to her gut was made. ¡®Ow ow, Yup this guy¡¯s scary¡­ I could barely keep up with just speed but techniques are difficult to read and come from unexpected angles.¡¯ Faenas who was quietly observing the session came up to them: Even from inside of her head: ¡®It¡¯s not often that Alice wants something¡­¡¯ With such conversation unheard by the others Alicia entrusted her body to her other self¡­ ¡®What¡¯s this¡­ Her atmosphere changed completely¡­¡¯ After Alice took control, her eyes became unfocused, her head was hung low and she didn¡¯t twitch a muscle¡­ It was questionable if she was even breathing at all. Sword was held limply next to her no particular stance, full of openings at a glance. Ashlan on the other hand was tense, sweat trickling down his face. He too was completely still¡­ he wanted to move but all his experience and instincts told him not to. It was as if he was already too deep into something¡¯s strike zone. Even his chest moving up and down from ragged breathing seemed like an excessive movement. Feeling of goosebumps, along with an unnerving feeling of some small creatures crawling all over his body was overwhelming. He knew this feeling well¡­ it was the feeling of being stared down by a predator native to this forest. Even though she was insipidly looking at the ground it felt as if his every movement was being monitored, entangled in something¡­ It felt as if she could hear his heartbeat all the way from there counting them. ¡®I have to do something¡­¡¯ Cracking under the eerie pressure he made the first move; jumping back. In a blink of an eye a thrust was only a few centimeters away from his body. Although he tried to push it away it didn¡¯t budge. Judging that he couldn¡¯t deflect it he forcefully twisted his body out the way. Even then Alice bent in unnaturally awkward by her hips turning the thrust into slash. He blocked it be that as it may the sound of wood creaking made him reconsider and instead deflect it away. ¡®Not good, the sword won¡¯t be able to bear the weight¡­! Forget about it being wood, if I take that hit directly it¡¯ll break a few bones.¡¯ After the exchange both of them remained motionless¡­ With her finally facing him he could see the unsettling bleary eyes of Alice. Catching some break Ashlan went on the offensive, attacking from her blindside. However she was ready and waiting for it despite having no visual cue. ¡®I messed up!¡¯ Easily flicking away his weapon she counter-attacked. His posture was terrible still he tried to parry it in desperation. Receiving the attack his hand was numbing from the shock. Instead of backing off he pressed his attack. Able to protect himself only thanks to deflecting Alice¡¯s blows off target. Landing some small hits¡­ Yet she wasn¡¯t fazed at all from the pain of it. Her strikes had no real thought or intention behind them, they were simple minded attacks only to overpower the opposition with sheer power and speed. Ultimately through a lucky break of meeting her thrust with his own, deflecting her attack off course and hitting her forehead with a hefty thwack did she stop. When it was all done his heart was pounding in his chest like he just survived a life or death combat. Weakness overcoming his limbs. Yet the other party was simply rubbing their forehead, only mildly inconvenienced. After helping him up with Faenas: Ashlan was heaving hard. ¡®Terrifying¡­ where does such speed and strength come from these dainty limbs of hers¡­? My body may be ancient but it isn¡¯t decrepit yet, still even at my prime I would have had a hard time¡­¡¯ ¡®Isn¡¯t that just same as calling me a thuggish brute¡­¡¯ I can see multiple points where you can improve namely¡­-¡± The most damaging blow that was made to Alicia that day was a mental one¡­ Anyway since no one got it here''s the answer to previous quiz. For the elemental images they''re based on the classical alchemical element symbols ? air ? earth ? fire and ? water. Each of them then contain the astronomical objects related to them. symbol of sun ¨‘ for fire. symbol of a full moon ?? for water. And the planet earth ? with equator and meridian for earth. Air is the odd one out without an astronomical symbol instead it has 2 spirals chasing each other in counter clockwise. This represents a cyclone or a tornado. Except I''m trash at drawing and flipped it the wrong way. I forgot to add a spider related trivia so you can have tarantula babies. (Image from Exotics lair. sub if you like spooders) If you guys want to here''s another spooder series. If you do decide to check it out, don''t read the comments okay? You won''t find anything there and I didn''t send you okay? And if you decide to stick around there, give Alicia and Alice''s regards to "Not Scaena". Chapter 29: Forged in fire… Days passed by since Alicia started to learn from Ashlan. Through training a completely new branch of skills had been discovered, one she invested in heavily to even the odds. Along with another notable one apparently innate to her spider nature. Recently she was told that there was nothing else left to be learned from him technique-wise and the only thing that was left to do was reinforce the basics, practice techniques, gain experience, remember what she learned and master her own style. After all even if you were to learn all there is to learn from someone, without further expanding upon the said knowledge will eventually lead to stagnation. During their sessions Alicia never managed to decisively win against Ashlan. ¡®Just when I was catching on to his tricks too¡­ let me beat you once you damn sly geezer.¡¯ Her mentor advised her to broaden her experience by facing the predatory monsters native to the forest to gain such experience. For this she needs a weapon. To address this she was sent to meet the old friend of her master, a dwarven blacksmith who lives away from the main village that should have her weapon ready by now. ¡®I can¡¯t just take the old man¡¯s deathstick. Apparently he has sentimental attachments to it. Besides, getting a whole new sword is better¡­ While they don¡¯t mind the extra protein, they don¡¯t actively hunt for food so none of them are knowledgeable about¡­ pretty much anything related to the creatures other than what they think they can run away from. Unfortunate but I think I know someone who might be able to help me.¡¯ ¡®Is that it?¡¯ Weathered down stone shack together with a clay charcoal kiln and a hill of logs piled higher than it; all in a compound. Lit kiln and gray brick chimney spouting ceaseless smoke give away that there¡¯s someone in the building. Tapping a few times on the wooden door gently¡­ seconds pass¡­ No reply¡­ again louder this time¡­ minutes pass¡­ still no reply¡­ ¡®Is no one home? No way right? You wouldn¡¯t just have a lit fire going and leave it. That¡¯s a disaster waiting to happen.¡¯ Clearing her doubts she started to bang on the door. Not a second later. From inside a muffled furious bellowing of someone with a thick accent could be heard. Sound of thundering steps came closer to the and metallic objects banging against each other drew near the door. Nearly kicking open the door, a rough looking stout man came out with his soot covered face. Heatwaves of a burning furnace that would be unbearable to anyone without conditioning billowed out. Stocky limbs, short stature, ashen beard, tough textile in an apron like fashion, fitting various tools of metallurgy. Hands and forearms covered in hardened calluses and skin dappled in burn scars, holding a sledgehammer. Seeing that it was someone other than who he expected, his storming rage seemed to subside if only a little. Still his fiery red eyes reminiscent of flames from a forge held some intensity. Being caught up in man¡¯s tantrum delayed her responses. ¡®I think he was serious about hammering me¡­¡¯ Letting lose a small scoff the blacksmith replied. Quick speech coupled with the man¡¯s unusual articulation had Alicia grasping at straws to follow. ¡®Honestly it¡¯s the other way around¡­¡¯ Here for ye blade ain¡¯t cha? Come in.¡± Stepping in after being ¡®welcomed¡¯, Alicia took in the inside of the building. Walls lined with various tools, racks holding incomplete armor and weapons, raw ores of iron, tin and copper stacked in corners. The house lacked windows to let light in, thus having a dark and gloomy atmosphere. On a table where he indicated by him laid a polished greatsword, next to it it¡¯s scabbard. Length of it comparable to the height of Alicia¡¯s elven form. She picked it up to get a feel for its weight: ¡®Light¡­ feels like a cardboard cutout than a real weapon¡­¡¯ At her question his eyes seemed to lit up. As she was making her way back holding her new weapon something caught her attention. A bucket of dark blue1Approximate color, tolopea colored iridescent scraps of metal with mineral like almost jewel exterior2Approximately Adamantine lustre, though outlandish in its appearance and despite it being the first time encountering the material it felt oddly familiar. Squatting down to pick up a piece¡­ there was a considerable weight to it even though it was a small scrap. Incited by Alicia¡¯s voice the smith looked over his shoulder immediately his expression changed to something ambiguous. Desperate to get at least a bite of bread for it. Thing is never seen anything like it in me th?usand something years of liv¡¯n, pint sized wee thing yet so b¨¹rdensome. T??k it from em for a half dried bread an¡¯ a bag of nuts. Ran off thank¡¯n me for free¡¯n em fr?m his curse. Anyway later I fired up me forge and put it in, couldn¡¯ git it red! Think¡¯d b?ut make¡¯n bauble trinket ?ut of it. Lest ye can make a fire h?tter than me forge, forget it ab?ut it.¡± ¡®Iron and steel should get red hot around 500 celsius3Around 932 fahrenheit¡­ Wonder if I can use my Pyroblast to heat it up¡­ My formula should be burning at around 3,000 degrees celsius. I have to mind the intensity and make sure it¡¯s a neutral flame¡­¡¯ ¡°Could be oricalcum¡­ no¡­ if so then it w?uldn¡¯t be br?ken like this¡­ Must be something else¡­¡± His mutterings went unheard as Alicia was in deep thought. Alicia¡¯s ease of handling the heavy bucket of unusual material surprised the dwarf. Interested in what she was going to do he halted his current work and quickly cleaned up his station. The furnace with crimson and orange coke fuel in its hearth, massive bellows to funnel air in at the side, and a cooling tank filled with viscous oil at the front was presented to her¡­ ¡®If this world has the Nitrogen rich atmospheric composition then it¡¯ll kill the fire more than it flares it.¡¯¡¯ Pulling in the new coal piled up around it into the firepit and pouring in the bucket of materials on the flames, embers erupted upwards. Holding her hands above and close to it, breathing in deep. ? Atmo-genesis ? ? C2H2 ? O2 ? Pyroblast ? Orange feathering flames spurt forth in strength engulfing every inch of the material. Adjusting the mixture the fire morphed and changed. Briefly flashing bright white before turning its preferred blue, Alicia carefully observed the flames to match the outer cone to its inner cone. From roaring into hissing, the teal blue flame and its intense temperatures focused solely on the metal. Agape watching the unnatural flames generated by Alicia¡¯s magic, aged smith looked on in awe. Sweat trickled down from her head, heart pounding faster by the moment. Not a minute later¡­ the metal started to turn dull red before turning orange. >Notification. By current estimations administrators will be depleted of energy before completion of heating process. Pre-emptive action recommended. ¡®Got any idea then?¡¯ >Affirmative. Promotion of skill ? Spiritual pool ? to rank 5 will greatly improve maximum energy reserves and restoration rate. Supplying the ideal energy output for current action. Promotion action will cost 4 points. 13 points will remain after execution. ¡®Sure, go ahead. I burnt through tons of points recently huh, tackling on beasts in the forest should net me some more. Another reason to go out hunting huh.¡¯ After the skill was improved it as if something heavy was taken off her body. ¡®Ahh¡­ that¡¯s much better¡­ Alright let¡¯s get this over with.¡¯ With her newfound stamina she intensified the flames. From the extreme temperatures cracks and crevices formed on the forge walls. But finally the pile of materials started to become welded into each other, turning soft malleable in the process. She mostly wanted to get cool air from the outside. The smith asked from inside. Holding a two handed war hammer-like instrument with one head small and compact, intended to focus the force in a small area, the other one sharp and curved. Still although slim in design it was massive and heavy just from looking at it. The smith brought down the hammer onto the metal on the anvil in an overhead swing. Loud clanging evidence to the force great behind each strike. Old smith didn¡¯t understand about everything that Alicia had said but still he gained some insight into the process. In about fifteen minutes the metal cooled down enough to not change shape anymore. Putting it back into the forge heating it up, bringing it out again to strike into shape. This process repeated itself until many hours passed and at last the metal was shaped into something resembling a blade. ¡®Who am I to argue with a professional anyway. Smithing isn¡¯t in my portfolio.¡¯ As she exited the building, indigo skies of the belt of venus instantly told her that it was twilight. ¡®Whoa it¡¯s dusk already? Time really flew by. I lost sense of time since there¡¯s no sunlight inside to tell me.¡¯ Stretching lightly she went to spend the night in the elven village. The next day, before she could even knock on the door. The dwarf came up to her. His slumped face and eyes that had dark circles signified his lack of sleep. However the light in his eyes was brighter than ever before. Taken aback by his energy Alicia cautiously entered. On the rack, a single-edge straight sword with a dark blade that had iridescent properties, reflecting the blue spectrum of light¡­ Its blade length is about 65-70cms. Although the design was simple, the crystal-like surface of it had an obscure appeal to it; looking more like a ceremonial sword than a genuine weapon5Alicia¡¯s weapon¡¯s outward appearance here is inspired by Dishonored¡¯s Corvo Attano¡¯s folding blade; Pathmaker. Except much longer. https://dishonored.fandom.com/wiki/Folding_Blade#Gallery. Picking it up there was a hefty weight to it. After examining it extensively and gaining a sense for the weight balance Alicia flourished with it. The blade left a faint arc of obsidian purple behind it, unnoticed by the both of them. Swing at a prepared stand of armor it easily bit into it, stopping halfway through. Whilst amazed at the efficacy of the weapon a smile bloomed on her face. In the end they couldn¡¯t agree on a name¡­ He gave Alicia a pair of tough gloves. With a wry smile Alicia parted from the smith with her new weapon. Once out of sight she wrapped the blade in silk and fastened it on her back. Contrast of pearly white and dark obsidian held a unique charm. ¡°Strange¡­ When I hammer it no spallings c?me off¡­ Even orichalcum w?uld l?se some dust¡­¡± In another time Greimen eventually took in an Elven assistant skilled with wind magic. Trying to apply what Alicia told him about making an intense fire. Through trial and error of many years eventually the two discovered the first gas forge, reaching temperatures previously unattainable. Becoming known as the infernal smith capable of creating masterful creations out of metals before known to be indomitable by fire¡­ Though he still couldn¡¯t find the coveted devil¡¯s fire. Blue, intense enough to melt arms of steel¡­ Auratic Did you guys miss me? It''s been exactly a week since last chapter. This is my normal schedule though. It''s only I''ve been active lately. Anyways I''m almost through Exams. Gonna have to retake some number of classes because online classes are a joke. Starting next week I''ll try to go back to the 1.5 chapter per week schedule. (That means 3 chapters per 2 weeks not one and a half chapter every week, Also emphasis on the word "TRY"). If you want another series to forget that I''m a slowpoke why not check out Archaic princess here on Scribble hub? You like spiders right? Maybe? I don''t know? Here''s the weekly trivia; Spiders have octapamine that function similarly to adrenaline. Octapamine was first discovered in octopuses but henceforth been found in other animals as well including spiders. You might think I like spiders but that doesn''t mean I don''t have a species that I dislike. So here''s few of them. I don''t like most wood spiders (Also known as wolf spiders) Something about their face is just creepy. And if it still existed the mongolarachne I don''t like their freakishly long pedipalps. If you wanna scare yourself check out this video about Heteropoda Maxima. (Giant huntsman.) That doesn''t mean I also dislike every wolf spider and huntsmen out there. I like Cerbalus Aravaensis for their coloration and their mild* size though they are in danger of being pushed out of their natural habitat of deserts and are unlikely to survive. Another spider I want to feature is the Megaphobema robustum (Colombian Giant Redleg). And here''s this chapter summed up with a google image picture. (We''ll get to the gun later.) Until next time. Peace. Chapter 30: …and to be tempered in knowledge… The previous night, she carefully combed the forest trying to find one of her first acquaintances with the help of her previously dormant hex crawlers who were very upset about her swishing and flicking her hair during training sessions. As she couldn¡¯t do much to help, the only thing she could do was apologize and move on. ¡®Am I their master or is it the other way around¡­?¡¯ Reason to meet the spear wielding hunter was a simple one. They actively hunt game. Meaning they had understanding of how to find and fight them if necessary. And most importantly they would be knowledgeable about the predators¡¯ strengths and weaknesses. In short what she wanted was information, blindly hoping for the best out of any situation was foolhardy optimism. ¡®Know yourself and your enemy and you need not to fear the outcome of hundred battles. Or something like that¡­ actually was it thousands?¡¯ The search had a width of over 250 meters. This was achieved through extensive use of Telepathy. While technically telepathy at its current rank could only allow communication over 24 meters Alicia found a simple work around to its limit. Yes, she could¡¯ve used points to improve the maximum distance but her recent spendings made her a bit stingy with the budget. By maintaining a distance of about 22-23 meters between any two hex crawlers, any findings made by a single crawler could then be conveyed to its neighbour, who would repeat the message to its neighbour and so on until it reached Alicia. By using this metaphorical courier network she could search over vast areas with little investment of time. Due to the nature of Telepathy the problems of ¡®lost in translation¡¯ and ¡®misinterpretation¡¯ was not a problem. Until she happened upon a net that had captured something. With how still the large creature was she thought the ashen gray furred beast had already departed from this world. Until she heard faint whimpering from the trap telling her that there¡¯s life in it. Net that hold the lupine-like creature bore several bite marks and had loosened up in some places, even so it held onto it firmly. ¡®I remember these nets, those ¡®they¡¯ were using them¡­ Isn¡¯t this that wolf who ran into one of my webs? Think I was testing out imbuing magic to them¡­¡¯ Without provocation it thrashed and turned inside the net perhaps hoping to get free of the trap before running out of stamina, panting. Initially its actions made Alicia alert. Resting a little it continued to lash out at the net with no avail. Doing this over and over again until eventually it stopped limp. Inactive lackadaisical spirit of it showed that it had already accepted its fate and given up, this along with some lines of the net had entangled around one of its hind legs so badly that the rubbing of its thrashing caused it to chafe against its fur and skin enough to cause a rope burn to the point of visible redness and at the brink of drawing blood. Loose strands of fur that fell in between holes in the net was left strewn on the ground. Feeling a little sympathetic: While close enough to be in arm¡¯s reach of it she was under the influence of Stealth, hidden. Being addressed mentally from out of nowhere it sniffed the air hoping to catch the whiff and through it the identity of the being that called out to it, unable to register anything in spite its sensitive smell and powerful nose caused confusion and fear. Revealing herself abruptly caused the wolf to flinch. Despite her sudden appearance the wolf wasn¡¯t anxious in the slightest or perhaps it was too tired to do so. Although telepathy did allow for communication with even beings that are usually unable to do so, clarity of the transmitted intent isn¡¯t great. At most it is mostly composed of generalized feelings and emotions, such as contentment, consent, worry and in this case agreement. Though her own crawlers seem to be an exception to this with them being able to send not just words and meanings but also images and conjectures imagined or recalled from memories through their mind. ¡®There¡¯s multiple layers of net¡­ It¡¯s like a yarn maze gone wrong¡­ I don¡¯t have anything sharp right now¡­ My fangs are more suitable for puncturing, not cutting¡­ Second best thing would be¡­¡¯ ?Flame? Air just above Alicia¡¯s index finger set aflame with size about that of a lighter¡¯s. Now the wolf was more than apprehensive about letting fire close to it, knowing that it was with the intention to help, it managed to maintain composure somewhat. One by one the wires burnt away, until finally the large twisted mess of wires were completely undone. The moment it realized it was free the wolf bolted away out of sight though not out of Alicia¡¯s field of perception as she could feel the vibrations further than she could see, most effective in this forest where foliage limits longer sightlines. Though behind cover it was this cautiously watching Alicia.Laying down some distance away from her it licked its leg. Already wounded from the rope burn, because of its intense movements it had started to bleed. Not knowing whether or not to run or stand it ground it laid where it was. Its tapetum behind the eyes reflected what little light there was making it stand out in the dark as dots. While in its internal conflict Alicia already caught up to it. Holding out her hand to let it sniff and get acquainted. ?Venom Fang? Still in her elven form one of her canines elongated, enough not to fit in her mouth anymore. Suddenly the porcelain white teeth with needle-like slimness sunk into the flesh right above the bleeding injury. Wincing from the abrupt pain and intrusion upon its flesh brought about yowl from the creature. ?Venom Fang? ? ? Neuro-Toxic ? Injecting a small dose of the paralysing venom diluted with harmless saliva numbing the pain but not completely immobilizing the limb. The thought of using this method on the elves did cross her mind but she was anxious about the dose. It was her first attempt at using this procedure. Fortunately it seemed she was successful on her first try judging by how calm the ¡®patient¡¯ was. ?Weaver? With plenty of preceding experience she quickly made a dressing and wrapped it up. Albeit doubtful it complied. Surprised by the stinging pain being replaced by cool numbness it was sniffing at the foreign substance stuck to its leg. Circling in place standing upright truly showed how big the wolf was by its height alone it was just barely a head shorter than Alicia¡¯s elven form.1 For reference Alicia¡¯s elven form is about 168cms tall (5¡¯5). Real life dire wolves were about a meter tall. Starving from being stuck in a net for a long time it was eager to go out on a hunt. As she only burnt a few of the wires to free it, by reinforcing the remaining net with her own silk, repairing into serviceable state. Led by whips of hunger and a weight of debt, it gladly went off. That was how the two met and parted. The following morning after she received her new sword from the smith¡­ Dead animals, more than half of which she can¡¯t even name, piled on the net she designated soaked in blood every one of them with wounds on their neck with evidently crushed larynx. The main perpetrator proudly sitting next to it, its tail gently wagging side to side next to it. Simply put, the scent of stacked up bloody piles of corpses is sure to attract hungry beasts looking for an easy meal. The wolf protecting this ¡®stash¡¯ of food from the scavengers invariably led to either the offender leaving or die trying to drive off the wolf. Those who died were added to the pile. After all why not add a perfectly good, fresh kill to the notch? In just over a night this led to a pile of fresh carcasses. ¡®I don¡¯t think some of them are even edible¡­¡­by my standards anyway. Alice might try to eat it. No she definitely would try to eat it.¡¯ ¡­ .. . .. ¡­ ¡®Peckish¡­ was that a joke or¡­¡¯ In no time at all, all but the one she told not to eat was reduced to nothing but bones. While being exasperated at its penchant for eating she was alerted to the approach of something through ? Pallesthesia ? taking a quick glance at the sun: ¡®Forenoon. It should be one of them coming to see if there¡¯s something in their net.¡¯ As per her instruction the wolf went away dragging a half eaten¡­ something leaving an obvious trail on the ground. ¡®These bones are definitely not good for presentation¡­¡¯ Swiftly gathering all the remains on a separate net Alicia quickly enveloped it in a silken mesh and carried it out of sight. Returning to the where the net originally was she made it entangle the remains in the most natural way possible at least from her point of view. ¡®Wait! Why would something dead be caught in a net? I forgot to tell them that I needed them alive! Those bite marks aren¡¯t very convincing of them dying of natural causes either.¡¯ However she forgot to share her plan with the one she was sending off. By placing a one alive animal in, she was hoping to fix the issue by making it seem like there was a fight and only one of them survived in a strange cage fight scenario, perhaps this plan would¡¯ve worked if not for¡­- Making a separate net just to restrain the newcomer. Growling and snarling wolf came back, harrying something back to her. Beating of wings and low pitched distinct vocalizations the wolf¡¯s prey hinted at it being a bird of sorts. ¡®A swan? That¡¯s going to be a hard sell¡­¡¯ When it came into sight: -¡­ the winner of the imagined cage fight; was a grouse. The clamoring cries of it caught the attention of her guests. Their far off voices being heard. Despite cringing at the results as she was hard pressed for time, Alicia simply closed her eyes and dumped it into the net. ¡®Hares whatever¡­ but elk?!¡¯ It was hard to convince someone that a common grouse could defeat a huge elk many multitude times its size in a fight. Some ways off, hidden from the group of dubbed ¡°blueskins¡±. Unfortunately one she wanted to meet with wasn¡¯t among them. Understandable as he probably wasn¡¯t the only one who operated in the area. Alicia was sullenly watching them investigate their catch, her bestial companion next to her licking her fingers. Strange oversized masks, long tusks and the signature spears of bone, there was no mistake about them even if they covered themselves in mud. ¡®That seems to be the elk¡­¡¯ ¡®The hares¡­?¡¯ ¡®And that would be the grouse¡­¡¯ She was planning to follow them back to find their tribal village. So she could meet the one she wanted. Luckily this proved unnecessary as the anomalous ¡®capture¡¯ of chaotic gathering of ¡®food¡¯ warranted the need of a leader figure to sort through the situation¡­ That person happened to be just the person she was looking for¡­ Auratic The elemental shitters: Anyway as for this week''s trivia, Lucidum tapetum referred in this chapter is a layer of tissue in the eyes of animals. This acts as a sort of reflector mirror that gathers and refracts light back into the retina allowing for a better nightvision by granting the light a second chance to be perceived by the photoreceptors. The reflected light is then visible in the dark which is why predators nocturnal hunters like wolves, cats and deep sea fish have them. Of course spiders included e.g Lycosidae, Salticidae and so on. Oh and since someone wanted to be scared by spider image here''s one. Chapter 31: …maketh man… Thanks to a generous gift from a hunter¡¯s spirit in a human and a spider¡¯s image, their recent food shortage problems have been mostly calmed down. Formally declared by the witch doctor - the intermediary between the world material and immaterial whose words have great weight of authority - the newly met spirit who calls herself Alicia has become an official Loa in their beliefs. As for why a hunting spirit, in the culture of Sha¡¯ko - a Taiga troll¡¯s traditions - nets traps and spear fishing are an inseparable aspect of their everyday life. Unfortunately in this forest fishing seems to be nigh impossible due to unusual lack of life in the waters and so is netcasting for fish. Unable to continue their preferred method of acquiring feed, they had to adapt to more active hunting methods. Still using their spear, just now for something with more bite than a fish. To them their main Loa of belief are the spirits of the sky who perform their elegant dance after sunset, believed to be the spirits of their ancestors illuminating the dark skies and watching over their descendants. However this place was far from the brilliant lights of their ancestral lands. These recent developments make them more receptive to adopting a new spirit into their beliefs. A spirit of hunting, symbolized by a spider, prime hunter with a net and fang, the connection was an easy one to make. Now a Loa the spirit was a popular figure amongst their communities. Even if she was in a new and unfamiliar form for Sha¡¯ko who had the opportunity to meet her before she was an unforgettable being. Also by being saved by her grace this was doubly so. When receiving a request from the object of their admiration how could they have said ¡°no¡±? And o what a momentous occasion it was¡­ Kneeling near the fallen elk Sha¡¯ko continued with his explanation: Antlers, strong smell of musk, male. Hultaya are fiercely territorial. Look at teeth.¡± Sliding in a few fingers to its agape mouth to move the lips out of the way, he reveals the gums and the teeth more clearly. Shuffling around carcass Sha¡¯ko examined the wound, sometimes putting his fingers deep into it. ¡°Studying the wounds tells you who killed it, how. Hind legs rows of deep puncture wounds, four of them, four canine fangs. Then smaller scrapes and scratches. Tore out flesh. Bleeding but not fast enough so more attacks to the hind bleed out faster. Lose blood, lose stamina sluggish now. Wear on the antlers, chips of wood. Tried to fight back, didn¡¯t hit the aggressor. Attacker was faster, smaller and hard to hit. After its prey was tired enough. Finishing blow to the throat. Didn¡¯t have enough strength to fight back from blood loss. Not breaking his stride he moves onto the bloodied hares, about the size of dogs. ¡°Now we look at ?erbanog, killer hares dark brown coloration. Omnivorous too, has a taste for flesh, sometimes cannibalistic, aggressive. Teeth, strong incisors. Can chew through bones. Also no blood or fur on teeth. Aggressor bigger than it, went straight for the neck wounds similar in nature to Hultaya. Enlarged ears, alert to sound. Still caught off guard. Blood of the wounds are mixed. They all have the identical smell. All killed by the same attacker.¡± Standing up to summarise his thoughts and to share his insight; ¡°The attacker is smaller than Hultaya. Fast enough to outrun it. But not strong enough to go straight for the kill. Sapped the strength and stamina first, understands how to harry. Larger than ?erbanogs, but couldn¡¯t run them down. Stalked and took them by surprise. ?erbanogs are alert, but the attacker is skilled, got close enough to kill it in one pounce. Considering the region there are two options; Sabrecat or Direwolf. Sabrecats prideful, wouldn¡¯t harry Hultaya, attack head on, likely to have taken some injuries. Hultaya antler should¡¯ve drawn blood. Too large to stalk up on ?erbanogs. Unlikely. That leaves direwolf. What I don¡¯t understand is why it carried these into the net, motivations of it are unclear¡­¡± Awestruck at how much information he could get from just two types of corpses Alicia forgot to tell him that it was her doing that they ended up in their nets¡­ ¡®I didn¡¯t do anything and still feel like he can find some dirt on me if he tried hard enough¡­¡¯ The grouse was completely ignored, perhaps for the best¡­ ¡®I have to think like I¡¯m a forensics expert on a crime scene, easier said than done but I¡¯ll figure it out, maybe¡­¡¯ A reserved sigh of relief escaped Sha¡¯ko. Apparently he was worried about letting down Alicia. Her eyes slowly passed over the other three who were silently kneeling, sometimes they stirred trying to catch a glimpse of the corpse. She hoped to gauge their reactions but their animalistic masks didn¡¯t allow her to get a grasp on their facial expressions. As for Sha¡¯ko he didn¡¯t have it on currently as he had to get a better view on the carcasses. ¡®Butchering, I need that!¡¯ For them it was an everyday task without anything special, for Alicia it was an opportunity to learn and better herself. It goes without saying that they were baffled but also concerned; being examined by their patron spirit feels as if they were being vetted by their superior. Although she didn¡¯t mean to unknowingly, she exerted some unseen pressure of inspection on them. ¡®Don¡¯t think you need my permission for that anyway¡­ Actually wait a minute.¡¯ ¡®You guys heard him right? Spread out and keep an eye out. You probably can¡¯t take anything dangerous directly so instead alert me.¡¯ >Alert: Current conjured familiars unrecommended for combat situations. ¡®Yes I am aware.¡¯ >Recommendation: Improvement of skill ? Kindred ? and Educement ¡² Conjure ¡³ will allow for retroactive evolutionary metamorphosis of current familiars for combat specialization. ¡®And how much would I need for that?¡¯ >Current projections predict an expenditure 9 points needed for adequate results. ¡®That basically leaves me broke you know?¡¯ >Notification: Any acquisition of allocation points through familiars will be channelled to administrators by use of connections established over skill ? Kindred ?. Additionally new race specific abilities may be acquired through this method. ¡®We¡¯ll get their points earned? Kind of like a future investment? That does sound pretty nice. Though I¡¯m not sure about being more ¡®race specific¡¯ sounds scary¡­ What if I stop being human?¡¯ >Elucidation: Administrator genetic similarity to known homosapiens 27.1% consistency. Conclusion: Administrator belonging to species H.Sapiens improbable. ¡®I knew that and I didn¡¯t mean it that way but you didn¡¯t have to drive it in like that¡­¡¯ >Multiple passive traits acquired, Compiling standby¡­ >New entries detected, Reformatting standby¡­ ¡®Well that was fast¡­¡¯ >Ready to induce evolutionary metamorphosis. Awaiting designation¡­ Cacophonous noises and imagery all overlapping in with the same intentions briefly drowned out her own thoughts. The chosen two seemed to be quite smug, if such a thing was possible. Two small spiders crawled out of her hair and quickly skittered down stopping at her flanks. ¡®These two. And you heard me right? Make four of each.¡¯ >Designated. Requisition accepted. Facilitating standby¡­ Trolls were visibly shocked to see spiders crawling out of Alicia¡¯s hair but their astonishment was only beginning. >Inducing metamorphosis to Cave creeper unit, specialization: Ambush and CQC.. >Inducing metamorphosis to Crypt weaver unit, specialization: Point defense, fortification, perimeter defense. >@Echo on >Epigenetic triggers¡­¡­¡­ Released¡­ ?Insufficient material blueprint. /Convert Energy. ?Insufficient energy reserve. >Requesting Administrator energy transfer¡­ ¡®Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m on it. Just like how I learned it the first time.¡¯ Through unseen connection of kindred mass of energy was being funneled from her to the crawlers. >Processing¡­ Starting to glow faintly, the two hex crawlers started to grow. Quiet crumbling sound could be heard from the old exoskeleton as it was absorbed. >Trait inheritance: Enlarged Aranaeamorph. Dramatically engorging by their size alone they were comparable to that of an adult human. Mixed emotions of awe, fear and morbid fascination enthralled the trolls to watch. They couldn¡¯t look but they couldn¡¯t look away either. >Divergent Evolution¡­ The one on her left hand side, had its feet stretched out, though not spindly its long and slender segmented form elicited revulsion even so banded coloration of alternating white and dark gray like that of a zebra held pulchritude on its own right had it not for the primordial dread caused by chelicerae, sizeable fangs and the multitude eyes. On the other hand, this one grew in mass and height rather than length and width. Though not possessing as large of a leg span a huge bloated abdomen of it more than made up for lack of dimension with size. Amusingly looked like a mushroom cap had grown on top of it with the spots and intricate patterns of varying shades of whites and grays. Huge as it was, it was much more dedicated to weaving than fighting, however being part of Alice and Alicia¡¯s genealogy it inherited some of their robust stats and just like any other spider; a formidable fang and venom. Their transformation concluded the two seemed to be getting used to their body slowly and calmly. Au contraire all except Sha¡¯ko was shaking holding their spears and javelins firmly. Even if their expression was hidden their body language betrayed their terror to Alicia. >Metamorphosis induction complete. Template available for use. The system¡¯s AI like consciousness undeterred by their abject horror continued onto the second line of command; creating many more of them. Due to crowding, newly born familiars were instructed to occupy more spacious areas meaning they had to move. Slow and steady. Out of consideration of their hearts that Alicia could hear, she explicitly told them to swing wide and slowly. Unfortunately without communication, their actions evinced out of the gesture of goodwill from Alicia looked like they were spreading out to surround them. Their eyes were glued on them, their backs against each other only Sha¡¯ko had the nerves to have a presence of mind. It was both a statement and an order to her familiars. ¡°Do no harm unless provoked¡­¡± And a second one shortly thereafter; ¡®Right they won¡¯t need to quarter and carry it back if I have these guys help¡­ Awww I was hoping to see how they cut up their catch. I mean I know how to work with a chicken, fish and maybe a turkey but whole elk would¡¯ve been a sight to see¡­¡¯ The creepers shuffled out of sight and surrounded their position, legitimately this time. Being out of sight being the catalyst for the start of the Stealth skill they were soon imperceptible. Audible sighs of relief came from the group, one of them collapsing from losing strength in their legs. As making the silken bed was a simple task she only needed tough sticks to hold up the weight. While looking for candidates: On the way back to their tribe Alicia learned much of what she wanted to know of through firsthand accounts. Later she realized she forgot to ask about what their race was until she learned that Mimicry had a new option of Taiga Troll mimicry¡­ Auratic Henlo it is I again. I''m sorry. This should''ve been out last sunday. Now it''s monday. I''ll get another chapter this week. I promise. Cave Creepers are based on Heteropoda maxima or giant huntsman spiders. And just like I''ve written they are able to crab walk at the speed of light and give you nightmare fuel for weeks. The weavers are based on Araneus species or the garden orb weaver as their common name. Specifically I chose Araneus Diadematus and this specific image for details. You can sometimes handle an araneus like in this video. DISCLAIMER DO NOT EVER PINCH A SPIDER TO PICK IT UP NO MATTER HOW GENTLE YOU ARE YOU''RE LIKELY GOING TO EITHER HURT IT OR SCARE IT ENOUGH THAT IT MIGHT BITE YOU. Instead let them walk onto your hands. Most spiders won''t bite the ''ground'' they''re walking on. Same with snakes. They don''t randomly attack the tree they''re ontop of. Chapter: 32 …a scholar… Through their conversation Alicia learned much about species she couldn¡¯t even imagine. Though the taxonomy seemed ambiguous and inconsistent she could now identify most of the known life around. From prideful draconids to smallest rodents and insecta, giants and ogroids to titans tall as the treetops. Nightmarish necromorphs1pls don''t sue me deadspace they''re just undead and wraiths to angel like Filii Ourania2Meaning children of the sky. (Think harpies angels and other winged human like creatures) I know its probably incorrect. Correct me in the comments if you want.. Legendary bloodsuckers to wondrous elementals, fickle lithilines3Catgirls nuff said and wolven clans and moreover hybrids consisting of two or more distinct species and chimeras that are three or more. Magical beings like automated golems homunculus created by faustian spells. However one thing that caught her attention was the lack of information about her race. Although huge examples of spider-like creatures have been reported they¡¯re understandably rare not to mention something like her. In fact she may be the first of her kind to be what she is. Conversely her familiars have much more records about them, but the white and gray colorations are remarkably rare if not unheard of. In addition, according to Sha¡¯ko they also don¡¯t seem to behave as their wild counterparts: such as the instances of tolerating anything other than their offspring and much less being tamed enough to not attack on sight. Her ability to not only command them but to overpower their very instincts by her own will seemed supernatural to him. This almost intelligent behavior and their ability to work together is unsettling to him. Presumably this ability of hers correlates it to her spiritual nature according to Sha¡¯ko. Hearing about the stories of the acclaimed hunter from a nomadic tribe truly expanded her scope of the world. As she was reminded that there was a whole wide world beyond the confines of these woodlands. Though not itching to go out, it would be a lie to say that she didn¡¯t want to venture out at least once. That however was for another time. While on a trip to where their tribe was located. Every now and then she would get a report from her familiars that they ¡°took care of something.¡± several times at intervals. Every time she heard from them she would ask if there were any problems or injuries though the contents never changed that they were fine. She was having an internal conflict about whether or not she should tell Sha¡¯ko and his companions about it. Eventually conversation naturally shifted to their lives as huntsmen. Their methods and wisdom are passed down orally and it''s up to the next generation to understand, build upon and adapt it to be more up to date before finally it was their turn to pass down their knowledge. Their whole culture was based on this concept. In time they arrived at a tribal village consisting of mainly triangular tents - tipi - fashioned out of various hides of animals. Being one of the last hunting parties returning from their excursion several others had already returned and had started to skin and prepare prizes. None one was without a job to do. Which is why it was so disturbing to Alicia when they all stopped, frozen in their tracks staring straight at her. From her side: His voice diminished, as if it was something he didn¡¯t want to say: ¡°-shameful as it is and well¡­ we can¡¯t tell the difference between your current form and that of humans.¡± She was being led to secluded northern most tipi, the largest one so far. Even though they tried to act natural - carrying on with their mundane everyday activities when under her gaze, perhaps thanks to her heightened awareness it was painfully obvious that their eyes were fixated on her from behind. While bearing with the equivocal gazes from tribal villagers, she managed to peer into their day to day life just a bit. How they made their nets out of plant fibers & vines and mended their favored ones, how they designed and carved their animalistic masks together with how they produced their spears & javelins out of branches and saplings. Chieftain Sardak was already waiting for them outside of his abode. From behind his veiled face clamorous laughter emerged. Accepting his proposal Alicia set foot inside, scent incense and skulls and statuettes - strange objects of ritual greeting her. Sitting cross legged across the entrance Sardak beckoned her to come closer and sit. When she sat down kneeling: His eyes briefly changed to Sha¡¯ko standing behind her. ¡°that my white colored familiars and I along with my capability to converse with them are not normal. What does that mean?¡± He collected the ashes from a spent incense burner. After cleaning out the ashes he filled it in with fresh herbs. After he finished packing in the herbs, he held his hands over it. Mysteriously the incense lit, its inviting aroma wafting. ¡®Magic¡­ I thought they couldn¡¯t use it?¡¯ ¡°Why you be lookin like a fish outta water? Heheheh, I too can call upon the spirits.¡± Soon after his mischievous remarks, his tone turned serious once more. ¡°But when it comes to colors there is the last one. The black. No spirit of it exists. Yet here you are¡­ White one bears the token of the black, the hallmark of the great beyond.¡± Visibly confused Alicia pressed further. His voice rising up in a crescendo, erupting from his excitement. ¡°There was more like you before. Great wolf who called himself Fenrir, Demon queen who called herself Lucifina, Messenger of gods, king of the sky. These great rulers of the past all had white hair. In this world, white colors are not rare. They don¡¯t exist naturally. They were given to us by the good gods.¡± ¡®¡­I¡¯m not the first huh¡­ I mean not that much a surprise to be honest.¡¯ ¡°Blessing as they were their arrival always marked a tumultuous unrest to come. To save this world from the shadow. But you¡¯re the first white one who has the color of black.¡± ¡®All the previous reincarnations saved this world? Is it important to that girl? Why this place and not somewhere else? Come to think of it¡­ What are their goals?¡¯ It was time for them to part, Alicia was welcomed to join them for the evening she politely declined. Instead asking for a container to which they brought¡­ a large vase shaped like an amphora. ¡®I was expecting a clay pot but you know what this is fine.¡¯ Because for what she was about to do needed space they were just outside the Sardak¡¯s tipi. Long has it been since she assumed her true form after stretching she noticed the unusual atmosphere around her. Gasps of surprise spreading over the tribe. Some prostrating down in prayer. Alicia turned to Sardak seeking help but¡­ ¡®Why are you prostrating as well?! Wait they¡¯re doing it because YOU did! You IDIOT!¡¯ she wanted to yell but catching herself. The imagery was only less ludicrous thanks to her being in her Hybrid form. Taiga trolls who are much larger in physique than humans not to mention petite elves laying their heads down to Alicia in her favored form would¡¯ve been¡­ eerie. She wanted to give them a gift, more of a reward for their help from Sha¡¯ko and information from Sardak. Even though she was miffed, it didn¡¯t appear on her face. Bearing with the unnecessary ceremony she placed her fangs inside the vase. Though she raised up her fangs in the air, looking as if ready to pounce no one seemed to be alerted, yet. Showing just how much they trusted her. ? Venom Fang ? ? ? Myotoxic ? Faintly yellow liquid flowed down in a stream, pooling at the bottom. Slowly filling up until around one thirds of the way full, >Venom glands empty. Switching to synthesis¡­ After her natural reserves were depleted she had to magically create venom. She didn¡¯t quite understand the process. Nonetheless she didn¡¯t question its quality. Done with the filling it up: For some reason they were celebrating¡­ Sha¡¯ko came up and thoughtfully covered the vase with a lid. Though they wanted her to stay even more so than before because she had something in mind to try out she excused herself and left. ¡­ In a few days time when the taiga trolls first used the venom. True to her words the envenomed javelins quickly vitiated their prey, the small - simply died to the venom - and the large - prey robbed of movement was easy to slaughter - didn¡¯t matter they all succumbed to the venom bringing never seen before prosperity to their tribes. Much to her disheartenment, more and more seemed to be¡­ idolizing her when she came to their tribe, she was none the wiser to know it was because of her own doing. ¡®Alright now I should be ready to go out¡­ Inconceivable sight of a young girl strolling without a care in a black forest, to the uninformed. She was the heroine of the show in a horror movie. ¡­ ¡®That¡¯s¡­ mantid assassin¡­¡¯ Bizarre movements - emulation of a leaf waving in the wind, the green camouflaged monster was twice the size of an adult human. ¡®Venomous but they have to capture their prey first¡­ their raptorial forelegs are more dangerous than their bite¡­ grooved spines like a hacksaw. That¡¯s a mean weapon you have there¡­¡¯ Disabling stealth by her own will she stood in its sight. Shortly it registered Alicia standing with its bulging eyes. But it waited expecting her to come to it. ¡®Not gonna come? Fine I¡¯ll play.¡¯ Her hands at the hilt of her blade, with only a gentle flick it cut through its silken wrappings. Using its tip she batted a pebble on the ground at the mantid. Making it obvious that she had seen it and it was no use lying in ambush. Abandoning its position, wings spanned wide, mouth opening, closing and its arms lined with serrated edges raised high, agitated clicking sounds could be heard from it. ¡®That¡¯s the threat display I wanted¡­¡¯ Coming closer it brought down its legs, tip aimed directly at her. As she stepped back its strike dug into the ground only managing to loosen the soil. Before it could pull back its forelegs Alicia holding it in a reverse grip, drove her blade deep into the joint connecting its tibia to femur before twisting it forcefully and dislocating it before cutting it off cleanly. Spraying green liquid onto her the mantid loosed a shrill cry backing away. As she pressed on with her attack. The mantid tried to grab her by its remaining limb. However it only caught her jet black blade. Usually its powerful grip would crush through flesh and the carapace of its victims. As same as any would be armor of iron and steel. Any regular weapon would be snapped off or bent out of shape. But this time none of that happened. No it wasn¡¯t the blade snapping, it was its foreleg that was being cut into, because of how the edge was oriented against it it was cutting itself. The more the mantid tried to crush the blade sunk into its tibia, cutting through its carapace. Realizing this the monster let go of the blade. Not giving a chance, circle strafing to be at its side she was in position to swing her weapon, striking where the blade initially cut from behind it cleanly hacked away its remaining limb. Knowing that without its limbs it couldn¡¯t do much the mantid retreated away. Before managing to create much distance it got stuck in something. In the web of her crypt weavers. Struggling hopelessly against the web it only entangled itself further. Immobilized mantis was an easy target. Deciding not to let it suffer she ran at it from behind kicking against its slim green leaf like abdomen she plunged her blade at its ¡®neck¡¯ right before its head. Sword protruding through, still holding it by its hilt from one hand with her other hand she grabbed it by the blade, protected against it harming herself from the gloves she wore, she forcefully twisted it in a motion of turning a crank wheel beheading the creature. Her familiars concurred to her decision, while eating the remains of the mantis. Yes it was just like a horror movie. But she wasn¡¯t the hapless victim, she was the killer hunting down its victims one by one¡­ Auratic I was looking up a grammar rule somewhere it was like "Take a quiz, see what kind of writer you are!" and I''m like ''cool'' and went ahead and took it. Here''s the results: The accuracy of this test is bogus. Discuss. Intermission 3: …and a warrior. Timing of this chapter might not be very good considering events happening somewhere. Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author¡¯s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. I am aware that certain topics like racial tensions and conflict are still a sensitive subject in western culture. I do not intend to diminish, discredit or in any way make less of the subject. I am open to limited editing proposals to the following content. Google docs version here. Accounts of former colonel Ashlan Weard; ¡®The girl learns fast¡­ Just yesterday she had a shaky grasp on edge alignment, today the precision of those cuts and slashes¡­¡¯ ¡®What is aerodynamics? Is it magic? Hm¡­ I should ask her later¡­¡¯ ¡­ ¡®Day by day she grows stronger, faster, sharper¡­ with her ability to quickly master techniques at the current pace it won¡¯t be long until she passes me. I could only lead her by the nose because of the difference in experience and now as that gap closes in it will be ever more challenging for me¡­ Besides, my tricks aren¡¯t going to work on her forever¡­ just recently she read what I was planning. Quite the surprise.¡¯ ¡­ ¡®There is something strange about her¡­ Some different side of her that¡¯s savage and primal. It always gives me the chills, like I am just another sacrifice to a starved beast. Thankfully it only surfaces on occasions. It is frightening how fast she can change between these two¡­ personas at a whim to the point I wonder¡­ Which one of them is the real Alicia? The girl on the surface or the monster beneath? I pray that I won¡¯t have to find out¡­ But if¡­ she turns against us¡­ How long can I hold her back? This body of mine, although not decrepit yet is a far cry from my prime¡­ No even then I would need to be lucky to win¡­ One thing I have noticed is that it is more likely to reveal itself when she¡¯s pushed hard. Is it some kind of defense mechanism against an observed threat? Maybe I should go a little easy on her¡­ I can¡¯t imagine what she would be like if she loses her presence of mind¡­¡¯ ¡­ ¡®Her stamina is inconceivably high¡­ It would be more precise to say she doesn¡¯t get tired and I haven¡¯t seen her eating very often either¡­ I only remember that she is a young girl when seeing how her face twists at the bitter nuts she¡¯s eating¡­ If that¡­ tragedy hadn¡¯t struck¡­ I probably would have had a daughter around her age by now¡­ ¡­ Digging into Alicia¡¯s memories Alice savored the remnants of the taste left behind as a memory. This only served as an unsatisfying tease for the real deal. ¡®If I want to stay alive I need to keep moving, footwork is a bit awkward, strafing is easy but stepping backwards needs some getting used to¡­ On the topic of movement there¡¯s forms of it but basically it boils down to constant movement and telegraph or as the old guy puts it a ¡®Tell¡¯. Constant movement is ¡®normal¡¯ something like circling your opponent, closing or making distance. Essentially filler movement leading up to something. ¡®Tells¡¯ on the other hand is the preceding action before an attack, taking and switching stance. If it''s an overhead swing for example raising the sword up is the tell. Better you can hide your ¡®tells¡¯ more likely it is that your attack is going to surprise the opponent and land a hit. If you can hide your tell within your constant movement then it¡¯s even better as the other party doesn¡¯t expect it. In addition ¡®tells¡¯ can ¡®morph¡¯ - As Ashlan calls it - into a different attack. Or less technically, multiple techniques can share the same or similar tell making it a guesswork on which attack is coming. Like thrust turning into a slash and the ¡®tell¡¯ of overhead strikes actually being pommel strikes. Unfortunately you can only learn these through experience¡­ Bitter experiences to be more exact. Ones that include me being the testing dummy for these. I suppose it''s better to learn it through being beaten up by wood than steel. Furthermore there¡¯s the role of hips, twisting your hips following your in a swing generates more force and speed while turning against your swing drags it down, since parrying is very timing sensitive, having your attack be delayed or travel faster than expected can throw them off. And there¡¯s also unpredictability & conditioning, Couching, Chambering, Parries, Deflections and Ripostes. I didn¡¯t know shanking someone with a long knife was this complicated¡­ Better cry now than later. Sword fighting is basically getting the blade from point A to point B fast or more bluntly; how to quickly stab someone without getting stabbed¡­ Apparently yelling is a real thing and not something they made up for action movies. Keya¡­? kya¡­? kaya¡­? Whatever it''s called.1Kiai It makes you emotionally invested into your attack and core something, fixes breathing or something didn¡¯t really stick to me. ¡®I couldn¡¯t make him just call me by my name¡­ well milady is a little better than the ¡®mistress¡¯, that he used to call me¡­ I¡¯ll take my small victories wherever I can.¡¯ Following up his words he unsheathed his weapon made of some metal Alicia hadn¡¯t seen before. Some sockets for ornaments empty or twisted out of shape. Despite the visible wear & tear and bends around the basket hilt and guard, straight blade of alabaster, polished well enough to be like a mirror, was in pristine condition. Raising up his sword and aimed at a nearby tree well out of his weapon¡¯s range, instantly the wind seemed to change its direction, gathering around him¡­ no around his weapon. Just as the tip of the blade reached its apex, taking half a step forward Ashlan brought it down in a 45 degree slash striking into nothing. It would seem that he missed, however the trunk of the tree bearing a huge gash one thirds of the way deep - following the trajectory of his slash - from the violent squall of wind that smashed against it tells a different story. Whistling internally and no stranger to magic Alicia quickly analysed the information she gathered from seeing the strange occurrence; ¡®My guy I don¡¯t think that was the wind¡­ Wind doesn¡¯t cut into something like that otherwise we would have tons of fan and air conditioning related injuries. So what is that¡­? While technically wind or specifically molecules of air for this matter can cut if they somehow ¡®magically¡¯ arranged themselves perfectly and uniformly like that of a sword achieving that requires some serious precision and the moment that ¡°wind¡± comes in contact with open air it should disperse turning into a breeze. ¡­Then it is wind, just not normal wind that behaves as it should¡­ I¡¯ll call it magic wind or something like that. I guess answered my own question there¡­ Magically tricking wind into acting like a blade. I should ask the maestro about its range¡­ shouldn¡¯t be too far despite being called ¡®ranged¡¯ since even wind is subject to air resistance¡­¡¯ Not expecting Alicia to recover as quickly as she did from the spectacle and ask him a question he was flustered to say at least. Afterall it was one of his flashier and prized techniques. There¡¯s a flaw with this technique in that it¡¯s ineffective with thrusts as the wind doesn¡¯t cut like a sword would. In an environment you can¡¯t swing it will be difficult to carry out¡­¡± Implication of the fault of his long employed technique could be fixed, improved was enticing and frightening one. Holding her wooden sparring sword from a side stance; hilt pulled all the way back near her shoulder she assumed a variant of posta bicorno guard3Two horn guard, similar to German Ochs. more suitable for thrusting. As she spoke she gently revolved the blade in a counterclockwise turn and emulated the technique, gathering flows of wind around her blade. Though their cyclonic spin was inherently different from the parent technique. You did it a step forward¡­ Was it the right leg or the left first? Ah that doesn¡¯t matter for this.¡± Briefly interrupting herself, Alicia took a step forward at the same time of her thrust. The twisting winds dancing around each other as if in orbit were let loose, aimed at the center of the wound bore through creating a small hole, shooting chips and fragments of wood on the other side. Epiphany. Alicia didn¡¯t blindly pursue the art but actively looked for ways to improve it and in this example, created a derivative technique from something she saw moments ago. Creating one¡¯s own technique was one of the hallmarks of mastery, before he knew it she was already on his own level, possibly even far ahead of him. Although surely a content statement there was some hidden grief underneath. Walking to some indeterminate place through a secluded path Alicia followed the old master. ¡®It¡¯s hard to imagine this person with slow and sure actions who doesn¡¯t react too much to anything being that active.¡¯ ¡°Youngblood driven by unusual wanderlust I left my duties behind and travelled the world as an adventurer. I challenged many who called themselves ¡°The best¡± with the blade. There was an overall disdain for other races amongst our people. I wasn¡¯t an exception¡­ but by my journey leading me through kingdoms of men, I came to understand the misconceptions, the faults in our view. That we¡¯re different but still individually¡­ right.¡± ¡®Smiling¡­? Now that¡¯s something rare to see¡­ Nostalgia is nice every now and then¡­¡¯ ¡°However not many of us saw the same¡­ We called ourselves Highborne¡­ a title of reckless pride. Even my home¡­ bore the name The High Kingdom¡­ Better than any other. At this point the already simmering racial tensions were escalating to a boiling point. I was called back¡­ There was conflict looming on the horizon¡­ When I came home, I was hailed a hero¡­ A hero who struck down the enemies of our kind beyond our borders¡­ Appalling mockery of my beliefs¡­¡± Clenched fists trembling with emotions. He carried on. ¡°Our royalty - our king - would have never made the situation go out of control like that¡­ true enough aristocracy had amassed much support campaigned for the supremacy of our kin. ¡®The lesser should serve their betters!¡¯ Denunciation, Enslavement, Despoiling. It was only a matter of time before war broke out. I could only persuade a small portion of people against their ideal¡­ Soon enough they took notice of my activities. Their symbol of supremacy itself was advocating for peace and understanding¡­ A thorn on their side¡­ I was stripped of my rank and banished out along with many others. Mostly who didn¡¯t share their view but also their political enemies. We became refugees, with all the other races at our necks we were outcasts without a home. Some turned to other kingdoms¡­ I fear their life wasn¡¯t as easy as they would¡¯ve hoped for. I watched our armies clash against that of men¡­ Our soldiers were a match for 10 or so men. However humans outnumbered us by 20 then 30 and soon enough by the hundreds¡­ Eventually we turned to this forest¡­ Velauhart¡­5Heart of green woods. known for its wild and brutal monsters¡­ But even so it meant more chance of survival than outside¡­ establishing the¡­ place called Verdun¡­ meaning shelter in our tongue. Ironic how us labelled pig sympathizers are the only remnants of their culture and history¡­ Have you counted how many of us there were in the village?¡± Alicia didn¡¯t have the exact numbers, but estimating: ¡®Something tells me this story doesn''t have a happy ending¡­¡¯ Poisonous spouts, utilizing flames through magic, strong body with powerful claws and mace like tail. It had too many advantages over someone¡­ Arriving atop of a hill overlooking a beautiful grove full of life and young trees he stopped and sat on top of a conveniently placed boulder¡­ ¡®I would say the place recovered well but¡­¡¯ Closing his eyes as if trying to swallow a bitter pill¡­ ¡®Tale of pride and fall hm¡­ ¡­I had a close call with that boar too¡­ And I had god¡¯s gift¡­ what if I didn¡¯t¡­? No It¡¯s enough that I had the chance to live again at all¡­ Being confident to take action is good but too much and it will kill you¡­¡¯6Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer. Auratic Chapter 33: Through the looking glass The act of hunting down myriads of monstrous creatures on her way allotted Alicia a respectable amount points along with a particularly convenient skilltree of Autoanimaphagy. It allowed her to use overflow of points to directly improve a statistic¡¯s total tally - which she used extensively to improve her lagging vitality, something that bothered her to no end along with other miscellaneous skills she wanted to try out. However only after investing excessively into Constitution did she notice that there were diminishing returns - an improvement of only 2%. ¡®It''s better to discover skills related to their base and promote those than to brute force it but it''s not a big commitment since I can reclaim some of it. Not an efficient conversion, but it is good to have options.¡¯ In her hunting binge of familiarizing herself with beasts of prey Alicia felt stirring tingle within and an impulsive craving in a place where she didn¡¯t know. At first imperceptible then growing in severity enough to be noticed, it was manageable then but as time went on the increasing zeal was disrupting her judgement and incitement causing her to be more aggressive and reckless. Trying to maintain focus was becoming difficult by the moment due to her disquiet mind. Small mistakes and missteps were adding up to mounting injuries. Though they were promptly healed by Regeneration their frequencies were becoming closer to each other. After finding a safe place in a clearing she concentrated. Sharing a mind, even without direct communication two could understand each other on a fundamentally deeper level. As though a dam had broken Alicia¡¯s thoughts were flooded by intense craving for blood, for slaughter originating from Alice. >Recommendation. Educement of skill Kindred: Control allows administrators to assume direct control over units created. During active control the administrator''s consciousness shifts to the host unit. >The action is expected to improve mental acuity. >System advises the candidate unit created by spell Mirror image; improved by educement Doppelg?nger. Wasting no time Alicia immediately created a copy of herself, in the only way she knew how. Using water, since there wasn¡¯t any body of water nearby she had to gather some from the air and create the remaining through magic. ? Mirror Image ? ? ¡² Doppelg?nger ¡³ ? Control ? As their consciousness separated her vision darkened into blackness, dissonant thoughts vanished in an instant bringing back the much needed clarity. Be that as it may be, Alicia was overcome with an inexplicable sense of loss and solitude. Hollow and empty, in her heart and in her mind. As she was recovering from the initial shock, something skittered away. Finally getting accustomed to her feelings her sight returned to her. Looking around she saw the glimpse of white escaping the vicinity. Hurriedly she chased after her, kicking the ground. ¡®She might run into something dangerous¡­¡¯ Despite having the exact same agility stats, Alice was still gaining distance on her. Knowing that she wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up she turned to the trees. Although emulating ¡®her¡¯ just from memory was difficult it wasn¡¯t an impossible task. Jumping from one tree to another she could eventually catch up with her other self. ¡®Sprinting¡¯ a short distance then stopping motionless before doing it again until she chanced upon some doe-like creature. Alice cautiously circled around it before rushing it from the side. Turning around to run took too long, before it could even start to flee Alice had her fangs sunk deep into its hinds. Still struggling to escape it was fruitlessly pawing the ground with its front legs loosening soil. As the venom set in its movements dulled and strength escaped its limbs. Dislodging one fang she moved upwards little by little up till the torso where organs were located. As Alice was consuming her catch in front of her Alicia jumped down from her perch. She wasn¡¯t able to tell from a distance prior but now; ¡®She looks different than I am¡­¡¯ Though there was no difference in their lower halves except on one matter. One of her hind leg was missing. Alice was slightly shorter and younger looking than her but no less beautiful. Her hair with superficial waves was much shorter, ending at around her shoulders. Barely ruffled fringes crowned her ruby like eyes blazing with color. It would¡¯ve made her seem brimming with energy, if she also didn¡¯t have the disturbing impassiveness of a corpse while devouring her feed. Alicia called out to her while waving her hands. Responding to the sound and movements her eyes shifted around relentlessly following her hand movements. Then after their eyes met Alice minutely tilted her head to the side in inquisition. The act would win over the heart of any if they had the mental fortitude to be able to look past the carcass underneath her being stripped down to its bones by her fangs. Bone and cartilage jutted out of the creature''s hide as its flesh and organs turned fluid and sucked out leaving behind an empty husk hardly resembling what it was. Alice would occasionally take sharp turns and sudden stops before darting off somewhere dragging bodies upon bodies of monsters back in her fangs, the two¡¯s search was cut short by rhythmic shaking of the ground becoming louder and louder. Pushing away trees aside, an olive skinned giant, 15 meters tall humanoid revealed itself. With its only three digits limply hauling a tree¡­ whole fir tree, long dead whose leaves had withered away some time ago. Worn down, smaller branches broken off and its bark stripped away from repeated use. A club made out of a tree, crude weapon nonetheless effective at savagery due to its massive size. Its vacuous eyes found the two, in a simple minded rage it let loose a cry causing the trees to shake violently, spitting mucus and saliva all over. Before she could even finish talking the giant swung their club over its head. Causing her to jump and roll to the side, while Alice quickly scampered sideways. Picking up and throwing away twigs and leaves stuck to hair and dusting herself off. Crawlers that like to reside in her hair crawled down her body to the ground while some took an abseil to the ground with their silk in compliance. After making sure all of them were out and away¡­ she took some time to evaluate the situation. The giant was swinging at Alice, missing her smashing the ground again and again. Clearly it thought her to be more of a threat and ignoring Alicia not knowing that she was the one possessing their real body. As Alice tried to get close enough to attack it would try to stomp or threaten to smash her, necessitating her to retreat. However its attacks couldn¡¯t land on her either. It was a stalemate but Alicia thought that this wouldn¡¯t last for long. ¡®Their skin if it''s as tough as Sha¡¯ko said it was, I wouldn¡¯t wanna take my chances with just hacking away at it. Thinnest parts of the skin are¡­ armpit, neck, back of its ears, eyelids¡­ Going for the eyes might seem like a good idea but without sight it¡¯ll likely fall into confusion and anger¡­ wouldn¡¯t want this thing anymore furious than it already is¡­ Venom won¡¯t set in instantly so that¡¯s another problem¡­ Crippling the arms should be my first priority¡­¡¯ Her nose caught the whiff of foul stench right at that moment. ¡®I¡¯m not biting into that cesspool of filth. I¡¯ll see if I can coat my sword with venom¡­¡¯ ? Venom Fang ? ? ? Myotoxic ? Pooling venom in her mouth; she sprayed her sword with the faintly yellow fluid - the excess flowing along the weapon and dripping down onto the ground - causing it to intermittently sparkle in golden sheen thanks to the crystal-like reflective underlayer of the blade. ¡®Web should be strong enough to hold it there for at least a few seconds¡­¡¯ Scanning around there weren¡¯t any good places to anchor it to. Instead she linked as many trees by their trunk together as she could to share the weight and hoped that their roots were strong enough to hold on. Since her target was quite large, she didn''t make their cells as small as she usually would have. As she shouted out, after hitting the ground once again, this time the giant sweeped the ground from where it had struck. Gathering soil, wood and gravel along it before hitting Alice. As she couldn¡¯t jump high enough to avoid it and was swept along with it buried underneath the ground. Though it wasn¡¯t a direct hit, through their shared connection even Alicia could feel that did some number on her. Although she was worried she also knew she was still there. Shortly afterwards Alice dug out of the debris. Visibly fine but Alicia knew she wasn¡¯t feeling the best either. ? Pyroblast ? ? ? Oxy-Acetylene ? It wasn¡¯t the same large ball of fire she first created, It was smaller, more cohesive, supple and workable. Aimed deadcenter it struck at the giant from the side like a flying arrow. Roaring in agony its hateful gaze was squarely focused on the small girl standing in defiance. From the sizzling flames the horrid stench of burnt flesh emanated and revealed a little bits of the layer of white fat. Because she was amidst a patch of trees it didn¡¯t sweep as it did before, instead falling back onto its overhead swings. Groaning loudly as its swing rankled its wounds. Unfortunately its attack never hit home. Entangled on a silken net the club stopped a few meters aboveground, a few inches from Alicia. Using the opportunity she grabbed on to her net and climbed on top of the club, using it as a narrow walkway to run up. In panic the mammoth tried to pull back but the web didn¡¯t let it go, the trees that were attached to it bending and flexing but not letting up. As she ran up using its other arm it tried to grab at Alicia. Just as it was nearing her: ? Sunder ? With a light flick of the blade a cut of wind sliced into its ¡®palm¡¯ as it smashed against it, spraying dark maroon blood to splatter down. The wind blew away most of the venom that coated her blade. Not caring much as she could simply coat it again. She often didn¡¯t use these combinations of venom as it was rather dangerous even compared to her neurotoxic venom which was painless and swift unlike this one that prolonged pain and suffering in her victims. ? Venom Fang ? ? ? Necrotoxic ? Newly coating her blade going past her initial target of the armpit area which had relatively thinner skin, she went straight to the neck using all of her momentum to thrust her blade into it. Venom sat in much faster and the signs of necrosis were immediately presenting themselves. Alicia underestimated her own venom¡¯s speed and intensity as the frame of reference she had was before she acquired Intensified Venom in the Kindred branch of skills. Black eschar spots increasing in numbers and growing larger by the second, sloughs of filled pustules dotted on all over its body bursting out in a rancid fluid. Its very own flesh started to liquefy and fall off in patches. Unable to stand upright it collapsed forwards crashing into the trees. Alicia couldn¡¯t do the same with naturally synthesized one but through some experimenting she found out that she could control the spread and activation of her magically created venom. Using this she purposefully didn¡¯t let the venom damage the lungs, heart and the brain. Standing in front of its lying head. She used Telepathy to make sure it knew for what and for why. On the onset of hypoxia its eyes lost focus, vision blurred and darkened. Only thing it could feel was the biting cold and its own weakening heartbeat, it wanted to move its limbs¡­ anything but there was nothing to obey its wishes for its limbs no longer exists, the pallid color of death creeped in and soon it fell into a coma, a slumber without morning¡­ Willingly undoing Mirror Image Alice¡¯s mind returned to Alicia. Along with it the white noise of thoughts also came. It was something she didn¡¯t know she missed so dearly. The gnawing, droning vacancy inside of her disappeared at once. And it felt as if she was¡­ quite literally made whole again¡­ ¡®Though I prefer you not leaving me for too long you know¡­¡¯ Auratic Anyway Selfcest fetish unlocked. Though how much am I going to pursue it is a matter currently unknown. Chapter 34: Sanctuary Wandering far north Alicia found herself near the base of mountain alps with sparse vegetation and few trees. ¡®How did I end up here?¡¯ Looking up, the summit was hidden from sight by gentle flowing clouds. Sun peeking from the side of it and the daunting scale contributed to its majesty. Destroying the momentary serenity, a shadowy flyer broke through the clouds. With a screeching cry it swooped down attacking at¡­ something. In spite of her exceptional senses - sight included - enhanced by Presence detection she still couldn¡¯t infer the exact details of what was happening due to vast distance. Stopping to decide what she should continue, she could swear that she heard screams¡­ ¡®Logic dictates that I should make a 180¡­ But my conscience says otherwise¡­ ughh I hope I won¡¯t regret this.¡¯ Giving in to her curiosity she decided to investigate, onwards and upwards. What started out as a gentle slope and middling hills were followed up by unstable crumbling footholds of stone, shale and gravel. Parts of the mountain were inaccessible due to treacherously steep cliff faces with more than ninety degrees inclination forming concave roofs and dead ends. Alice¡¯s quizzical question caused Alicia to go on an internal rant about mountaineering equipment and safety precautions. Her single minded paranoia about falling or having something fall on her was founded in her nature of her death. While it is true a human and by extension Elf wouldn¡¯t be suited for climbing, to a spider however¡­ Assuming her original form she cautiously ascended the mountain, searching for the source of the screaming. Winds became more and more colder. The miniature hooks at the tip of her legs proved to be quite effective at climbing, enough to the point of her being able to go directly to the top if she headed straight for it. Still she elected to take a safer more roundabout path and because Alicia couldn¡¯t completely stamp out her irrational suspicions, she secured her footholds where she could with silk - including reinforcing some ceilings and a makeshift safety harness complete with a lifeline ¡®rope¡¯ - thus her progress was slow comparatively; it was still much faster than what most others could achieve. ¡®Come on now¡­ climbing that oak tree was higher than this¡­ relatively speaking¡­ Well tree bark usually doesn''t strip off¡­ This, might¡­ Let¡¯s not think about it. Just don¡¯t look down¡­¡¯ Soon enough she started to hear distinct bleating and sounds of hooves, beating wings, loud bestial bellow and ruckus. ¡®Goat¡­?¡¯ Halting in her steps she focused on the sounds closely, the cry of the goats vaguely sounded like human screams¡­ ¡®I¡¯ve been catfished by goats¡­ goddamn it. Well since I¡¯ve made it all the way up here might as well see what¡¯s happening.¡¯ More than halfway up to the peak Alicia decided to go all the way, not wanting to waste her efforts she pressed on. Climbing onto a somewhat flatter grassy terrain she could make out what was happening. Sort of sheep-like ibex herd was being preyed on by dragonhawk. Dragonhawks were neither strong as wyverns in strength or swift as gryphons in flight. Close to wyverns in appearance but slimmer with torso and smaller size along with possessing feather owing to their hybrid heritage. Their elongated tail with plumage gives them much more control over flight than their similar counterparts making them appear as if they can swim in air. Despite their name, they weren¡¯t directly related to either dragons or hawks. Considered to be a rare offspring between a wyvern - draconid - and a gryphon - hybrid of lion and an eagle, there is still an ongoing argument whether or not if they¡¯re a hybrid or a chimera. ¡®Dragonhawks preying on sheep? No, those are Thundergoats, I remember recalling something about their horns and lightning. Apparently they can¡¯t just shoot lightning, as much as I hoped they would, since if they could this dragonhawk shouldn¡¯t be that much of a problem to them¡­¡¯ The dragonhawk was trying to disperse the herd by diving into the middle then attempting to catch any one of them that¡¯s alone, separated from the herd. It knows enough to avoid their horns and instead of trying to grapple them down - where it would be vulnerable to the others of the herd - it is making an effort to drag them off the mountain and let gravity do the work for it after which it can feed. Largest of the herd calmly walked out to the open on its own away from safety. ¡®Is that the herd leader or something?¡¯ Seeing the opportunity the dragonhawk attacked immediately. The goat, rather than fleeing it stood its ground and faced towards the aggressor, shifting its curved horns toward its direction. Bright sparks of lightning predominantly blue but sometimes purple and white in color, skid upwards in between its V shaped pair of horns showing its defiance. ¡®Oooh that¡¯s almost like a Jacob¡¯s ladder¡­ Tons of volts right there. You¡¯ll definitely meet god if you climb this ladder. Well your image of god might be shattered but that¡¯s the fine print no one tells you about. Should I even be here¡­?¡¯ 1Jacob''s Ladder (Biblical) Jacob''s Ladder (Electrical) Localizing Aurora Borealis entirely in my Kitchen After failing to startle or drag its sole target, it decided to go after the much more skittish group targeting the smallest of the goats as much less effort is needed to snatch them. This meant their young kids were at danger. Scrambling to protect each and every one of was impossible, as soon as it covers one another would be vulnerable to an attack. Eventually one kid was plucked away in its talons, yelling helplessly as none of the herd could save it. ¡®I should do something¡­ Can¡¯t just hit it though¡­ First have to make it land somehow. Webs? No good, nothing to anchor it to¡­ wait I don¡¯t have to capture it just have to make it stop from flying¡­ Webbing up its wings should do the trick.¡¯ ? Weaver ? Singular strand of silk flew out and clung to the Dragonhawk¡¯s wings. Panicking from being grabbed on suddenly it sped up, pulling on Alicia who held on from the other end. Putting effort in she yanked hard, pulling away bundles of feather out of its wings. Although it escaped from her grasp, thankfully it lost its balance and plummeted down rolling on the ground both of them stopping right before a cliff edge. From the impact when it hit the ground it seems to let go of the kid. Finally in its reach the large Goat charged at the still recovering Dragonhawk with all haste. Crashing its horns into it, a thunderous sound echoed all throughout the mountains as the electrical buildup was released solely on the creature and giving it the last push it needed to fall off. During its fall it recovered from the brief paralysis from the electricity and desperately beat its wings. Finally regaining its balance it stopped its descent, resounding a scornful cry as it flew away. The kid seemed to be dazed from the fall but otherwise fine. Sniffing and licking the large goat examined its young before turning towards Alicia. Pawing the ground and charging at her. ? Hyper-arousal ?2Also known as the fight or flight response. Get your mind out of the gutter. Alicia was immediately put into a high alert state due to her unpleasant experience with other horned creatures. ? Lithokinesis ? Due to her unstable emotional state, her first reaction to protect herself exerted magical influence and formed a menhir 3Standing stone or long stone. out of nearby materials in the middle of the two. Goat came to a stop only after smashing head first into the stone fainting in the process. And when she got her cool back she noticed that the herd had surrounded her. ¡®How? When? I think I lost my escape route uhm think, think¡­¡¯ A small kid was trying to play with one of her back legs. As she was trying to get the kid off her legs another one came close and started brushing their head against her. Instinctively petting it without thinking then looking at it what it was¡­ >Notice. Subservient Kindred access requested. 4Caprinae Tornitua (Thunder Goat) they¡¯re based on Siberian Ibex and the Barbary sheep ¡®Huh never seen that before with how restrictive kindred is¡­ What is the significance of making connections with kindred anyway?¡¯ >Kindred connection places units under the Administrator''s direct government. Units may continue to self govern. ¡®That¡¯s quite extreme¡­ I can understand why it''s so hard to meet its requirements.¡¯ Looking directly at the caprine: Looking around Alicia saw a cave opening near the summit, hoping to hide in it until the goats lose interest in her, she made her way to it. As she did the ovines followed along, bleating. Picking up the pace and trying her best to ignore the pack of goats following her she climbed further, at some point when she arrived at the cave entrance her followers had stopped somewhere along the path. ¡®Good they got tired but I can still hear their Baahs. Now what¡¯s in here¡­?¡¯ Evidently it was dark inside however that was a minor inconvenience to Alicia who relied more on Pallesthesia than her sight. But because she could, using ? Fire Aspect ? she created herself an improvised torch out of a burning mass of flame to illuminate her path. Adjusting its size and intensity to her needs led to the discovering two more spells she didn¡¯t have before ? Ember ? and ? Firebolt ?. Alicia was intrigued that Flame wasn¡¯t the smallest form of fire she could create as ember was even smaller than the lighter¡¯s worth of fire of ? Flame ?, at the size of grain of pollen and rice. ? Firebolt ? had the size of a golf ball to a clenched fist compared to ? Fireball ?, whose size was around that of a basketball, at the minimum. As she explored the cave she examined the walls and the ceiling water dripping from stalactites would sometimes fall on her fire sizzling and crackling breaking the silence every now and then. Snaking cave system had multiple sudden drops and crevasses cliffs without access. As she delved further the environment changed from the chaotic randomness of nature to patterns and repetitions consciously recreated by something intelligent. She would find strange crystals faintly glowing in cold light, slotted into walls from time to time. ¡®Are these quartz? I thought they had blue or green glow not¡­ purple? This isn¡¯t radioactive is it?¡¯ ¡®These walls look like one of those Egyptian wall paintings¡­ Can¡¯t understand a thing though it seems to be related to some religion.¡¯ Her exploration led to a grand arch weathered and covered by moss and lichen. Past it a spacious dome cavern illuminated by skylight the opening in the roof. Middle of it possessed by a Dragon cradling a cracked marble altar. ¡®Just my luck¡­ I had hoped nothing made this place into their den¡­ but more importantly¡­¡¯ Auratic Been a while hasn''t it? Truth be told last week was bit rough for me, that combined with the fact that I seem to struggle with chaining and connecting events together didn''t really help with the speed of this chapter. Regardless I''m back and I''ll try to make up for my lost time. I also burned my hands with hot oil trying to make fried eggs... twice. I should not be in the kitchen but I also need to eat. As for ''used to be weekly'' spider fact. Some spiders can be hand fed, if you''re brave enough. Also jumping spiders don''t have strength to hold down their larger prey and until the venom sets in their prey can walk around which can be quite entertaining to watch. Why am I telling you this? Well they''ll be featured soon? sooner? than the twins. Chapter 35: … The draconid¡¯s eyes were slack and relaxed¡­ as if it just woke up from a slumber¡­ or struggling to stay awake. It huffed almost like holding back a chuckle, air that exited its nostrils ignited in orange fire, illuminating some of its body. Crimson scales, large twisting umber hue horns, leathery wings and eyes of golden sclera and predatorial vertical slit pupils. ¡®I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll get far playing dumb¡­¡¯ ¡®And here I thought I was about to see a dragon brew tea¡­ oh well.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s not what I- whatever¡­¡¯ The dragon spirit shifted from its curl, revealing more of the altar. In its center anarchic crystalline growth with enchanting glow altering its color and patterns. It appeared to have some fluid flowing inside it. Colossal unseen pressure emanated from it and Alicia¡¯s sword started quivering on her back; inwardly she felt some abnormal intimacy with the material. ¡®That looks familiar¡­ and the sword¡­ Are these two related?¡¯ >Warning. Volatile Energy readings detected. She involuntarily started to reach for the object. ¡®Just like that time with Greimen, that thing¡­ It feels like it''s¡­ calling me.¡¯ ¡®I never really had much of a purpose other than just staying alive for the sake of it¡­ Saving the world¡­ While it is nice to make the world better than how I found it, this decision isn¡¯t mine alone to make. ¡­ Letting out a mental equivalent of a sigh of satisfaction: Stepping near the growth: ?$war?n?IN?G?.? ?unId?e?n?t?I?F?I?E?d ?E?X?t?eR?NAL eNE?r?gY ?S?O?uR?c?E? dE?t?ec?T?eD? e?x?trEMe cA?UtI?On? IS? ?a?DvI?Se?d.? Reaching out to the crystal moment she made contact with it all of the world went dark¡­ the floor underneath her collapsed causing Alicia to plummet screaming. Winds rushing past her, mass of obscure dark shapes zooming by. Falling and falling it feels like forever since she started to fall until at last she crashed through something headfirst and stopped by landing on some laminate floor¡­ The impact, the pain of hitting the ground at terminal velocity was all the real however they only lasted an instant. She could no longer feel the presence of Alice immediately causing her to be anxious and there was no response from Alma. She was alone. Shakily standing up disoriented, extremely so as it felt like she was on uneven footing and she couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling of still falling even as her feet were firmly planted on the ground. And even the simplest of actions felt clumsy as though she was under water. Carefully looking around¡­ She was back in her room or more correctly ¡®His¡¯ room. The all too familiar room was ¡®his¡¯ before passing away. However everything felt ¡®a bit off¡¯ colors her surroundings faded and the lightswitch did nothing. Window showed a curtain of darkness and where she crashed in was a hole, she couldn¡¯t see much through with no light source anywhere. But even without light everything was visible tinted in cold purple, the debris suspended in air not subject to gravity was an unnerving sight to see and from who knows where constant howling wind could be heard with occasional sound of rock crumbling and falling apart. Grabbing the handle with the intent to open it, the wooden door detached from its handle & hinges and started to fly away gently revealing a twisted ¡®pathway¡¯ of ebon basalt not the hallway she expected. Veins of purple pulsed with subtle brightness in the lifeless stones. And she didn¡¯t know since when the indescribable whisperings that resounded around her started. Their blaring sounds combined with the howling wind would drown out her thoughts. She couldn¡¯t proceed through the path, its twists would be impossible to traverse as she needed to ¡®step¡¯ on walls and the ceiling. Looking around she could only see ever collapsing mountains and islands formed of the ebonstone suspended in air tilted in various axes and she was on one such desolate island. Snaking trees like growths of vines and brambles connected these islands. Looking up there was nothing in the sky, only an abyss where its end couldn¡¯t be discerned; not even a single star. Vision was limited by the omnipresent pale fog that envelops everything in this place, yet looking down from the cliff edge, an endless drop containing some sort of ¡®sun¡¯ like star giving off icy blue light, only its ¡®light¡¯ could pierce through the mist. Alicia couldn¡¯t find any obvious way to traverse thus she followed the twisted path thinking that she may need to climb yet as she drew near the foot hold seemed to move into her steps. Pathway led to somewhere up. And as he made her way she saw the sun was moving with her steps¡­ as it was now in a horizontal plane to her¡­ no it wasn¡¯t the sun that was moving, the island where she was on too had moved, everything had moved or rather she had somehow - without knowing - ¡®walked on the walls and ceiling¡¯. There was no gravity to help her know which way is up or down, in truth all of her senses were jumbled. After some time? Has it been a minute, an hour or an eternity? Time doesn¡¯t make sense here; neither seconds nor centuries. Alicia found herself on ¡®landmass¡¯ harboring a shrine. Walking closer to it with each step the whispers intensified not even halfway through unable to bear, she snapped out: And with just that¡­ everything became silent. Even the wind had stopped. In this eerie world without sound or color that she created, it appeared as if the time had ceased its advance. The unsettling wringing mixture dread and emptiness creeped up on her. But with the world around her silent she could now finally hear¡­ ¡®singing¡¯ as sinister as it was coming from the shrine of twisted rock formation. Standing in front of it inside the shrine above a pedestal, a handicraft of broken crystals, bone and metal rested in suspension spinning slowly jittering sometimes. Taking hold of it, it was hot and burnt through her skin like a heated brand. The object tried to propel and fly away, flinging her along. As much as she wanted to let go, something told her that if she let go if it now she wouldn¡¯t be able to go back. Fighting against its influence was tiring. Eventually it stopped and when it did she opened her hand to see that the unidentifiable object had turned into something vaguely similar to a key. As she was observing its details it shot out again but not away from her. Launching into her chest it dug into her sternum reaching deep into her heart, before she could understand what was happening the ¡®key¡¯ spun inside her twisting in her core in manner just as though opening a locked door. Unbearably agonizing pain spread through her body, crumpling on the ground overcome with pain she could not even vocalize a sound. Her muted screams were only heard to herself in the confines of her mind. Again the key turned followed by even more suffering. After the third turn¡­ everything went dark¡­ Gasping and coughing she came to on the rocky surface of the cave floor. When gaining her senses her hands raced to feel around her heart trying to see if there¡¯s a hole there. Calming down after finding no wound there she was relieved to feel the solid ground, the pull of gravity. Crystals she touched had shattered to tiny pieces, and they had lost their onyx color and the pressure they exerted had vanished leaving behind glassy quartz like remains. And the dragon¡­ had disappeared. Believing it to have perished after reaching its goal¡­ >Resuscitation successful, resuming normal operations. >Unsupported skill entry detected, Anima-form analysis underway. ¡®Was that just some bad dream for both of us? I¡¯m glad I don¡¯t have to sleep if that''s what my dreams are going to be like¡­¡¯ She still felt some of the searing heat inside her as it faded away but mostly she was relieved to be back in the normal world again. Hoping that ache will go away she left the caverns leaving the cracked altar behind her. At the cave exit the setting sun told her how much time had passed. >Notice. Subservient Kindred access requested. ¡®Does this count as one of the lost races? Could he have been any less helpful? ¡¯ >Consent received. Idiosyncratic correspondent synchronization underway¡­ >Genomic mapping in progress¡­ >Multiple traits acquired¡­ >Deprecated skill found¡­ Compatibility assessment complete. Modernizing¡­ Beneath her waist her exoskeleton of her cephalothorax changed its color and gained predominantly white, yellowish smooth texture. Hard to the touch, even her fangs gained the new marmoreal form. ¡®Huh I guess that¡¯s where a spider¡¯s brain is¡­ pretty tough looking exterior¡­ Wait I¡¯m not growing horns am I¡­? Okay good¡­¡¯ After frenetically feeling around her head Alicia decided to collect her thoughts. ¡®It¡¯s pretty late I guess I should go back¡­ I really should make a real home or something like that¡­¡¯ Thanks to her new trait, scaling down the mountain was a breeze compared to before. ¡®I guess sure footed also makes me confident in hiking, sure footed indeed¡­¡¯ Behind her trailed a line of goat herd hopping down from the mountains, led by the large goat from earlier. ¡®I think I¡¯ll split them up between the Elves and the Trolls¡­ I think they¡¯ll be able to take care of them¡­ Cause I¡¯m not doing it.¡¯ Auratic Ayy this was supposed to be out yesterday but I kinda burnt myself out trying to get the colors of Lightning aspect right. Since I spent 2 hours trying and failing I''ll explain what the colors mean. Red pole represents Cations or positively charged particle, Yellow center represents the lightning (because that''s what we decided what lightning looks like even though they''re white most of the time with blue halo don''t ask me ask the media) and also neutrons lastly the blue pole represents Anions or negatively charged particle. With how easy to understand that is it''s astounding how much I struggled with that image. You probably can''t see it well so just copy the image address open it up in a new tab and zoom in on that sucker. No fact this week but look at this cool glowy spider. If you want here''s a subreddit you might enjoy. Arachnophobes beware I''m not there to hide things behind spoiler tags. https://www.reddit.com/r/spiderbro/ Chapter 36: Dryad Alicia was riding on top of ¡®Ramiel¡¯.1Biblical reference intended primarily the name not the lore. No, Uriel will be a separate entity. She named the large male goat turned familiar as such because it tried to ram her the first time meeting her. She - along with her following goat herd - arrived around the edge of Verdun where in the evening most of the elven patrols had returned to their village and the night watch was amidst preparation for their coming shift, this of course included Faenas who was the first to approach her. The herd of caprines were escorted by multiple cave creepers; lacking numbers Alicia had to conjure a few more to increase their coverage. Due to their skill Stealth being active they weren¡¯t seen by many excluding Alicia, and Ramiel who could see them owing to the fact they were united by Kindred. At first when bringing it up to Faenas they considered taking only half of the herd but in the end they decided to take all of them after they got charmed by the kids. ¡®I don¡¯t blame them one bit. Ramiel needs to stay with the herd until they get used to Elves so he¡¯ll have to stay.¡¯ Although she offered to have some of her Cave creepers act as shepherds they declined owing to their appearance. ¡®I need someone more presentable¡­ I think I have the candidate for that, just need to convince him first. I also need some form of dwelling, can¡¯t keep going in this homeless lifestyle¡­ I do have a ¡®home¡¯ technically if you count that oak tree as one but that¡¯s before I turned out like this.¡¯ A tree of its size was more than enough for when she was a small spider but that was no longer the case now that she has grown. ¡®Dwelling in a forest¡­ has to be a cottage or underground shelter; raw materials are plentiful but processing them into something usable is going to be the challenge. What else¡­ land surveying and clearing the vegetation should be the first steps. Tons of things to do well gotta start with something if I am to make progress¡­¡¯ When Alicia returned to the great oak tree¡­ Adorned in simple white pouf dress, a rather endowed girl in her late teens2Every country has their own definitions so think anywhere between 17-21. was enthusiastically waving and welcoming Alicia. Wavy mid back length walnut color hair, round almond eyes of citrine. ¡®Did I take a wrong turn or something?¡¯ She would¡¯ve believed that thought, if she also didn¡¯t extensively mark the oak tree that she knows with silken clothes she made quite a while ago. ¡®Tree nymph? Like Dryad? Isn¡¯t that another word for spirit? Wait¡­¡¯ Pointing towards the great oak¡­ ¡®Yep¡­ That¡¯s the tree that I used to hang around.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ve already had enough nudes from another spirit. I don¡¯t need another one!¡¯ ¡®Do you have the slightest idea how little that helps me?¡¯ Alicia¡¯s slightly miffed look drove the girl to speak further. ¡°Uhm¡­ I turned into a full-grown tree nymph thanks to the master giving me magical energy so master is master!¡± ¡®I don¡¯t remember doing that¡­ consciously. I remember water spirit¡­ - I really should come up with a nickname for her - telling me that I was ¡®leaking¡¯ energy. I thought I learned not to but I guess it still wasn¡¯t enough.¡¯ Grasping her hands Alicia used a skill she didn¡¯t have many opportunities to use. ? Soul Echo ? ¡®Tons of skills I didn¡¯t know of¡­ Now that she was close enough to touch her the beige skin looked like the inner sapwood of a tree, her chartreuse yellow eyes seemed to possess the illusion of flowing with sap and the hair having the walnut color of bark¡­ You¡¯re actually a dryad huh with that skillset¡­ I guess I thought dryads were supposed to have¡­ I don¡¯t know green skin with flowers blooming out of their hair and exhibitionist behavior? Nevermind she did try to strip right then.¡¯ The girl started to cuddle against Alicia''s arms and started rubbing herself against it along with a pair of something else. Peeling away the nymph from her arms; ¡®Those clothes she¡¯s wearing¡­ quite the tight fit. Since I took reference from myself it''s obvious it won¡¯t fit her. But since they¡¯re made from silk they have quite the elasticity to stretch so they won¡¯t tear easily however¡­ with the figure of hers emphasized¡­ Yeah no good I¡¯ll have to make something less¡­ accentuating.¡¯ Alicia''s lingering gaze slightly bothered the nymph. The moment Dryssia attested to her new name; >Authentication confirmed. Covenant established, redistributing power balance¡­ >Skills acquired. >Deprecated skills detected. Modernizing¡­ >Readapting Animacode¡­ >Reclaiming skills¡­ ? Floral Telepathy ¢ò ¡È? ? Telepathy ¢ô? ? ? ¡² Flora-Empathy ¡³ ¡² Chloropoeia ¡î ¡³ ¡È? ? Mimicry ¢ö? ? ? ¡² Floramimetics ¡³ ? Toxin synthesis ¢ô ? ¡É? ? Venom Fang ¢ú ? + ? Compound Synthesis ¢ñ ? ¡Ä ? Toxic Tolerance ¢õ ? ¡Ô ? Advanced Toxicology ¢õ ? ? ¡² Compound Synthesis ¡³ ? Floraekinesis ¢ñ ? >Unique trait acquired. ? Photoautotrophy ? ¡®I am become plant, the devourer of stars¡­ Excuse me what?!¡¯ Pulling along Dryssia Alicia headed for the spirit lake. Turning around to look she was tripping on the smallest of roots and consciously avoiding stepping on grass and other plants. Before she could even process what was told to her Alicia pulled her up and put her on her abdomen. Hurrying on, a pair of hands grasped around Alicia¡¯s waist and the weight of something rested against her back. ¡®Is she leaning her head on me? Whatever, if anyone knows something about her it¡¯ll either be that girl or Sardak.¡¯ In a little while the both of them were on the rocky shores of a lake. After letting down the girl on her back she shouted out. Rising up from the black depths, a familiar girl surfaced. Initially poised in her steps - atop water - but after noticing an unknown person next to her she picked up speed. Her admittedly impatient advances seemed to frighten Dryssia who clung to and hid behind Alicia. While comforting her, the water spirit came up to the two. Staring at the skittish girl she let out a strange remark. Explaining everything thoroughly from the beginning took some time and as her story progressed the water spirit gradually eased up eventually having a pleased smile. With the performance of fireflies and symphony of crickets starting as nightfall began. Dryssia was collecting seeds and acorns. And to ensure not to lose her Alicia had one of her hex crawlers in her hair to keep tabs on her. Her voice had noticeable contempt as she spoke. ¡®That¡¯s why she calmed down¡­ Did I dodge a bullet there¡­?¡¯ As for what you¡¯ve described I haven¡¯t got the faintest clue. I may be able to tell you what it is if you¡¯re able to recreate it on me.¡± ¡®I can¡­ but let¡¯s not for now¡­ I have another person I wanna bring her to¡­¡¯ Done with her collecting Dryssia came to show it to Alicia. Because she could hold so much in her arms she used her skirt and dress as a makeshift basket to amass her collection. Of course since Alicia didn¡¯t make any spare undergarments¡­ Everything was in plain sight. Water Spirit had a wry smile while Alicia was trying to tear her face off of her head with her palm. ¡®I¡¯m gonna have to drill some senses into her¡­¡¯ Completely oblivious Dryssia was simply confused at their reactions. In a teepee lone witch doctor was grinding collected herbs in mortar and pestle. His aim, to recreate the venom of the silver spirit. Though he had found promising results their potency wasn¡¯t nearly as high as the original. In the midst of his work¡­ spectral voice called out to him: Pulling aside the cloth over the doorway¡­ From her side Dryssia¡¯s head peeked out, her curious stare placed at the aged troll. Locking eyes, Sardak was briefly stunned before¡­ Sudden outburst of his cry scared the girl who retreated behind Alicia. Digging around his containers he brought up some plants and herbs, placed them on a wooden bowl and presented to the Dryad. Although cautious at first she eventually started to come out and started looking through the herbs, picking the ones she liked. ¡®Huh, being someone who knows spirits well he sure knows how to pluck their strings just right¡­¡¯ Dryssia quickly picked the few herbs and flowers she liked and put them in her web basket. She seemed to be completely enamored with them. Dryssia was letting one of Alicia¡¯s hex crawlers from earlier to touch and ¡®smell¡¯ the various flowers she took from Sardak. ¡®She¡¯s really into botanics¡­ Well now I really need to make something of a home otherwise it¡¯ll be difficult to live in general.¡¯ After making their way back to the great oak she noticed that it was way taller than she realized. Despite having a creeping suspicion that it had grown bigger, she dismissed it as her own imagination but now it was almost undeniable as the tree had grown beyond the treetop canopies casting shade over nearby trees. That tree was the oak tree she ¡®lived¡¯ at. ¡®Now for the big question¡­¡¯ Auratic There''s a public holiday in the country I live in so I have to deal with my family more often than I do usually. Since I spent 2-3 hours on it here''s the HQ image of Floraekinesis. I got a new tool and I really like it. Also this fella gave me a visit. I''m not expert but looking at its color and size I''m going to assume it''s a Tegenaria domestica or Common domestic spider. It''s shorter legs and rather bulbous abdomen I''m assume its a female since males have longer legs, larger pedipalps and more slender and shapely abdomen. Or it could be a well fed male who knows. My tryna write: Btw if you can figure out the meaning behind Dryssia''s name I''ll give you a singular clout point. Chapter 37: Arborealism ¡®Trees have that much to worry about? What about the furry creature¡­ did she mean those creepy rabbits that eat meat?¡¯ ¡®I need nails and some tiles as well but I can manage. Oak and Alder trees are hardwood so their lumber is much tougher but I still can¡¯t use damaged material for any serious construction.¡¯ ¡®I remember those conjoined trees¡­ Apparently if trees grow too close to each other they can become grafted together. Crazy thing is that this inosculation can happen naturally without outside intervention. Dear mother nature. What the fuck? So she¡¯s suggesting that she becomes the house¡­ I suppose I could experiment with that a little¡­ Tree houses eh? Wonder how much weight it can hold up.¡¯ ¡®I wish I had the same innocent enthusiasm¡­ If it¡¯s small enough I think my blade is enough to cut through but I might have to hack away some larger ones¡­ Greimen and Ash are going to collectively own my rear if they knew about what I was going to do with it¡­ but is this sword¡­ glowing? Nah I think it¡¯s just the moon¡¯s reflection¡­ probably.¡¯ While Alicia herself had Flora-empathy and could tell general areas that had¡­ ¡®discomfort¡¯ but she couldn¡¯t exactly understand the severities. Being a former tree, she delegated the task of finding trees in desperate need of pruning to Dryssia. Returning to the tree, Alicia was told to strip the barks and hold them close. When she did, on Dryssia¡¯s cue a small green vine poked out of the great oak tree and attached to the broken branch merging together. Newly attached branch quickly regrew its bark, gaining rough exterior. Dryssia quietly squealed in delight from being relied in. Although she noticed the strange behaviour Alicia decided not to comment and pretended not to notice her. ¡®As impressive as this sword is, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to cut through hardwood like oak as evenly as I want it to even if it could cut. I''ll have to use something like a blowtorch to burn a small slice through wood¡­ Well I have just the tool¡­¡¯ ? Weaver ? ? ? Constitution ? Creating the thinnest string she could make, reinforced with constitution, ? Bestow Element ? ? ? Fire Aspect ? then imbuing it with fire aspect the wire string gained the dull incandescent glow from the extreme temperatures it reached. From previous experience she noticed that magic from herself however destructive in nature would not harm her to an extent¡­ According to the water spirit, since the actual working of magic are executed by the lesser spirits they at the minimum know enough to not to harm their ¡®food provider¡¯ thus protecting the magic user from their own magic. However she cited that there was a limit to it. As they couldn¡¯t protect her from every side effect they may possess. Despite the warning Alicia was not concerned about burning herself and went ahead without worry, using the red hot wire as a saw she cut through the middle of the larger limb. With sawing motion the wire easily burnt through with minimal effort and cut the limb. Dryssia was nervously fidgeting while looking at the process. The predictable popping sounds would occasionally be heard due to the water content of the log. The moisture protected the other parts of the log not directly in touch with the searing string from catching fire. When the limb was done being cut she then scraped away the soot and char and after affixing the halved log firmly Alicia started to peel away a thin slice from the bark with the help of her blade in a smooth turning motion along the edges¡­1Also known as rotary cut veneer. You can search for the rest right? ¡®This thing¡¯s too long for tool use¡­ I don¡¯t expect a full on woodworking toolkit but maybe I should invest in a dagger or at least a knife¡­ I also need a ruler, pen and paper and an office table with a working computer that has a 3D A*toCAD¡­2Computer Assisted Designer, a software made to help engineers, designers and many more to make as realistic as possible models of almost anything they might need. You don¡¯t need me to explain what ¡®Three Dimensional¡¯ is do you? No? Too much to ask?¡¯ ¡­and made it into flitches3A small slice of rectangular film used for veneering or a plank with at least 30mm of width and varying lengths and heights sometimes called a ¡®slab¡¯. Flitch almost always refers to the wood from the tree¡¯s trunk cut from the outside.. The log was placed flat side up and she placed the flitches along the exposed sapwood and heartwood, normally she would need an adhesive to glue it to the substrate but¡­ Tree nymph was in a daze from watching, pulled back into reality and she started to inosculate the prepared logs. Vines grew in an undulating pattern, crawling across the wood intertwining in between them. New branches poked out of the previously inanimate wood eventually merging together into a singular ¡®plank¡¯ as there was already a small amount of bark placed on top of the bare wood. The flitches simply hardened and became a flat ¡®coating¡¯¡­ turning into something midway between a veneer and a bark. And when the whole process was finished, what was left was a solid slab of oak. She was elated that she could help not just her dear Master but the other troubled trees in the area. To her, wincing every now and then at Alicia¡¯s method of carpentry¡­ was an insignificant demerit compared to the benefits to the forest - her home - receives¡­ ¡®Hardwood like oak and alder for flooring, internal framework and carcass, softwood like pine and fir for walls and everything else¡­ Unfortunately some furniture has to be made¡­ Well¡­ I can replace a bed for a hammock but¡­ actually I don¡¯t need much huh¡­ just some shelves, desks and somewhere to store things and I¡¯ll be set¡­ I think spending months on the construction site in a small cabin in a stuffy bunk bed or a foul smelling mattress on a trailer floor has made me a bit more austere than I thought¡­¡­ I hated being a senior site manager, just give me small packages.¡¯ Bundles of twigs, branches, limbs and logs of varying size and dimensions were fastened by silk and carried on her back. Two worked throughout the night and made many trips back and forth to multiple sections of the forest. While Alicia preferred to have all the materials and resources at the site, due to the perishable nature of the plants, she had to travel more than she anticipated to and work in waves. Using her silk she made a natural pulley to escalate large logs and other unwieldy objects to her ¡®platform¡¯ on the great oak. Little by little starting with the foundation then to the walls and supports and finishing up moving onto the roof. By the time the last of the framework was in place the illumination of sunlight from morning sun showed just how far she had come. ¡®Not being tired really makes you productive hm¡­ It¡¯s strange how I don¡¯t need sleep¡­ scary even.¡¯ >Notice. Administrator energy expenditure from physical activities within natural energy regeneration total. >Assessment: Activity of ¡®Sleeping¡¯ is presently an obsolete function. >Restore natural bodily functions? Y/N. ¡®No. Not right now anyway. You¡¯ve told me something like that before I just can¡¯t really come to term with it that easily¡­ Any other worrying things I should know about that you¡¯re doing?¡¯ >Requirements for ? Photoautotrophy ? sufficiently met. Energy gain rate expected to rise. Genomic mapping of subject C.Tornitua is 87.4% complete¡­ ¡®Thanks that¡¯s not what I¡­ I give up. I embrace the plant life.¡¯ >Unsupported skill quarantine period over. Begin decryption process? Y/N. ¡®What would that be¡­?¡¯ >Interaction with the unknown object caused an influx of unidentified energy. The following anomalous energy spike is suspected to be the cause of severe impairments to administrator Anima codex. Energy levels normalized at the time of administrator resuscitation. Multiple unsupported skill entries that were detected are contained in a separate partition. >@!ERR501 Partition read error occurred. >Begin decryption process? Y/N. ¡®I¡¯m not too sure about that but if it¡¯s safe I don¡¯t see a reason not to, more the merrier.¡¯ >Authorization confirmed. Decryption underway¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡®I went on a tangent there¡­ Where was I¡­? Right everything else¡­ Roof since I¡¯m planning for the future, simpler designs are better. Shed or butterfly might be the best but how much of a roof do I really need when there¡¯s already a canopy of leaves and branches above me¡­ Since normal doors don¡¯t make much sense for a house on a tree as I won¡¯t be on the same level just waltzing in, trap doors are better. But it¡¯s more of a collection of branches and shrubbery that just responds to the person¡¯s natural odor¡­ and moves away or ¡®opens¡¯, kind of like a biometric lock, for everyone else. According to Dryssia I don¡¯t have any odor at all. So I have to use magic or tell the plants to let me in¡­ talk about an extra step. That leaves only windows and balconies¡­ Well the whole tree is my balcony. Windows¡­ not the largest thing out there and they only come in the oval shape¡­ but for me closing them is as simple as using a little bit of magic, good thing softwood ¡®walls¡¯ can compress well¡­ Permanent glass windows are a later concern. This might be my first carbon negative project¡­ though the more I look at it the more it feels like I¡¯m a squirrel renovating the inside of a fancy tree hollow¡­ Well since my house is basically a living being I don¡¯t have to worry about maintenance since it will repair itself. How economic.¡¯ Responding to Dryssia¡¯s cries of help and hurrying to where she was - at one of the many clearing of the forest - thinking something might have attacked her, Alicia found the nymph atop a tree huddling a branch terrified. Looking around she found a number of ¡®rather large for a beetle but still pretty small¡¯ weevils. They were digging up the acorns she had planted and carrying them off somewhere¡­ ¡®Acorns are kind of like her children I guess? I know just the pest exterminators¡­¡¯ By her prodding and shakedown of her hair few of the remaining hex crawlers climbed down and started to rundown the weevils making short work of them. Slow but with resolution she nodded up and down, agreeing to Alicia¡¯s suggestion. When they returned to the oak tree, Alicia created a few more hex crawlers to keep pest population under control. ? Conjure ? ? ? Hex Crawler (A.Magicae) ? They dispersed around the area and set up their own dwellings. ¡®Well I have a roof over my head to sleep under and my landlord is an entomophobic tree spirit¡­ Now about that new dress for her¡­ her current outfit is a bit too¡­ form fitting¡­¡¯ Auratic here are some images of inosculated trees. You get the point. Someone coined in the idea of Yggdrasil the legendary (Most likely) Ash tree growing at the center of the cosmos. Since I already explored inosculation through my attempt at creating the most complicated tree house ever if two trees can graft together into one, why not three? If three can why not four? And if four is possible... why not a whole forest? About plants being able to move... You might think Venus flytraps but its true plants are able to move albeit poorly but here''s another one Mimosa Pudica the so called ''touch me not'' plants. Admittedly plant-life turning into (trap)doorway is a rather extreme and unrealistic example but this story''s main genre''s fantasy, so I think I can get away with some unrealism. Here''s some youtube comment I saw a while back... I mean we''re already halfway there with the spiders aren''t we? Might as well add in some K-roos(Huge rabbit wannabe that took boxing classes), snakes(Lamias). Since we''re already on the topic here''s nice treebranch. How is this related to Australia? Well if you couldn''t see the wrap around spider... (Dolophones Conifera) then the spider is doing a really good job of playing hide and seek... and of course they''re native to everyone''s favorite spider nightmare island of Australia. Chapter 38: Jump and Roll ¡®Sound insulation of this treehouse is pretty good, the inside is a bit barren but that¡¯ll change¡­ I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything important on today¡¯s agenda that needs my full attention. So! I can finally spend some time for myself. There was something Alice wanted. I''ll start with that. And that being¡­ inability to jump. I can jump¡­ just not with spider legs¡­ apparently that was what Alice wanted to do during that encounter with the giant. When it did that sweep, she tried to jump over it thinking that she could. Obviously the result is that she received a facefull of dirt and gravel. After all before then, I and by extension she was in a single body having a humanoid elven form who obviously had the anatomy and legs muscles to jump, quite well might I add, they¡¯re almost like a trapeze artists, emulating their unique movement method is no cakewalk.¡¯ ¡®Any attempts to dissuade her has ended in a failure. She is insistent on it¡­ While it might seem like a trivial problem¡­ it¡¯s not an invalid one either. In precarious situations like the encounter with that giant the mobility to run away or dodge attacks are what¡¯s going to save my life, if it comes to the point where I can¡¯t use stealth to avoid such situations. I¡¯m just unsure whether she''s envious that she can¡¯t jump or if it came from sound observation¡­ the former is more likely¡­¡­¡­¡¯ >Notice. Anatomical limitation disallows muscle tissue to facilitate the method of locomotion related to jumping. Suggested action; educement of ? Kindred ? Branch; ¡² Conjure ¡³, subunit ? Autonomous Cardiovascular Control ? allows administrators to use hemolymphatic fluids to jump. ¡®Right on cue as always¡­ Is that a new type of spider¡­? So it alternates between a passive and new spider¡­ Last improvement was intensified venom, then a new type of spider and now a passive, the next one should be spider right? Let¡¯s see, how about three points to improve Conjure?¡¯ >Revising¡­ ¡®Eeeyy, I was right! Anyway that looks good, go ahead. Before we try this out we need to find somewhere that¡¯s open¡­¡¯ The tree spirit was atop of her oak tree holding a peculiar pose¡­ ¡®She hasn¡¯t moved from there for hours now, is she sunbathing¡­? Is that why she¡¯s T-posing to increase her surface area? Just leaving here alone might not be a good idea¡­ Let¡¯s meet our new friends shall we?¡¯ Combing through her hair, pulling out two hex crawlers¡­ ¡®Congratulations you two have been chosen for the experiment.¡¯ She began inducing metamorphoses after setting down the crawlers she chose¡­ ? Conjure ? ? ? Bride of Death (A.Perniciosa) ?1Forming from Pernici¨¥s (meaning ¡®to kill/slay outright¡¯) and -¨­sus (meaning ¡®prone to¡¯ and ¡®full of¡¯) it can be translated as ¡®Baleful spider¡¯ or the much longer but cooler sounding ¡®Spider full of slaughter¡¯. You get to decide which way to call them. Median legs short compared to lanky front and back legs. They all reach a height taller than its body despite being arched over, shortened. Legs banded with alternating gray and white and its whole body covered tiny granular spots of black dots. Notwithstanding its large body far larger than an average human¡¯s it had small fangs and smaller eyes in disparity to its large oval shaped orb abdomen. On it a single bright pink line with eye-catching red edges. It was the first of Alicia¡¯s Kindred spirit to have such vivid and deep colors. In nature, bright and showy colors like this would be ill advised for hiding. But they also conveyed messages. And this one had much to say about its exceedingly toxic nature¡­ >Unit evaluation: Bride of Death. Anti personnel specialist. ¡®I hope you¡¯re more than just pretty colors¡­ alright next¡­¡¯ And the other¡­ ? Conjure ? ? ? Mother of the Hunt (A.Venatrix) ?2Much simpler latin word simply meaning ¡®Huntress¡¯ but going deeper into it¡¯s etymology can also be translated to ¡®Hunting mother¡¯ or ¡®Mother of the Hunt¡¯ by the following logic: Venatrix forms from the verb ¡®Venor¡¯ (I hunt) to noun ¡®Venator¡¯ (Hunter) plus ¡®Trix¡¯ (used to make feminine agent noun) to make the word venatrix(Female hunter or simply Huntress). The trix suffix cognates with Sanskrit suffix ¡®tri¡¯ from Janitri (Mother). I thought it would be much more memorable to call their Genus(?) as ¡®The mother of the Hunt¡¯ rather than just calling them ¡®The Huntress¡¯ although admittedly it is a weak connection. Venatrix on Wiktionary In opposition to the previous familiar, this one hadn¡¯t grown much in size, from a size being able to envelope itself on and around a finger to a size of basketball. Its cephalothorax is large, possessing numerous eyes but four of them stood out by their sheer size. Pairs of median eyes were large enough to cover most of their face not already claimed by the chelicerae and the fangs. Their pedipalps concealed the colorful and deadly fangs behind itself. >Unit evaluation: Mother of the Hunt. Reconnaissance, Hunting experts. Specialized sentries. ¡®They have those puppy dog eyes¡­ twice as much as a puppy, that should make them twice as cute doesn¡¯t it? They¡¯re big by my standards but small by this world¡¯s standards¡­ I think it¡¯s better for me to not think too much about it¡­¡¯ ¡®The crypt weavers were the point defense units if I recall correctly, few of them and some of the newcomers should be enough to secure the area and protect Dryssia while I¡¯m gone.¡¯ Imperceptible message was sent out to her kindred idling in various places calling them up to return. ¡®Now for some more¡­¡¯ ? Conjure ? ? ? Bride of Death (A.Perniciosa) ? ? ? Mother of the Hunt (A.Venatrix) ? Copious amounts of each of the new types of spiders were created and when she had finished creating more, the crypt weavers returned to her place. ¡®Ah! They''re a bit intimidating when they just start moving at the same time¡­ Like a disciplined army¡­ that makes me have little peace of mind, barring the initial shock. One of the hunteresses was waving its legs trying to catch Alicia¡¯s attention. ¡®Okay! Time to learn how to jump.¡¯ Going out of their way looking for a suitable location to experiment they found a sparsely vegetated place near hills. Few trees that resided there meant there was ample space. Some ways off Alice attempted her jump¡­ to Alicia it felt like the wind was knocked out of her and a brief period of sense of impending doom set in. Her vision was completely functional as she saw enough to know that she was spinning but to her felt as if the world went dark for a second. Next thing she knew, her face was planted firmly in the ground sliding against the soil. Somehow she was turned upside down. Incoherently flailing around she managed to turn rightside up coughing and gagging, spitting out the slightly moist dirt out of her mouth: Managing to look around she was right in front of the tree. >Notice. Act of jumping achieved by rush of Hemolymphatic fluids rushing to lower extremities. Hydraulic pressure causing limbs to snap open with force. Enabling ability to jump. Administrator discomfort caused by lack of vital fluid flow to the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system from excessive force applied. Acclimation to G-Force and low oxygen environment underway¡­ standby. ¡®Oh I just casually had a heart attack AND I almost fainted. Excellent. Next time I¡¯ll know from what I¡¯m DYING FROM!¡¯ ? Mirror Image ? ¡­ After some time mimicking the Huntress¡¯s method Alice was improving quickly. Her progress was accelerated by Alicia¡¯s feedback based on her observation and breakdown. And in a short amount of time Alice reached sufficient competency¡­ Alice was just simply elated to have been able to jump¡­ Ground was littered in broken branches from previous failures. Alicia took some time to heal and reattach them with Floraekinesis¡­ After managing to learn how to jump, two spent more time exploring other methods of movement¡­ one of which was a series of energetic flick flack flips. It wasn¡¯t faster than just scurrying¡­ on an even ground. However down hill it was much faster. The other one was rolling¡­ almost in a cartwheel motion¡­ again it wasn¡¯t faster than sprinting on even ground but down hill it was the fastest. It¡¯s only drawback was that the slope or the hill needed to have minimal obstructions whereas the flips could be done in rockier and more uneven terrain. Difference between the two methods of movement was that one was done laterally while the other was done horizontally¡­ >Notice. Genomic mapping of Subject ¡®Thunder goat (Caprinae Tornitua)¡¯ has finished successfully. New conjuration option available. ¡®Does that mean what I think it does¡­?¡¯ ¡®Nice¡­ I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ll conjure these goats for but It¡¯s good to have the option. Hm hm¡­ Well I think that¡¯s enough for today¡­ We¡¯ve made pretty good progress for just a single day.¡¯ While leisurely making her way back one of the huntresses from back home came to them leaping from one tree to another, until it landed in front of her. It¡¯s median legs waved in the air, in patterns as if it was one of the ground control crew guiding a plane to land while it reported. Sometimes moving from side to side in almost a dancelike motion. Giving up on conveying the message it instead directly sent imagery based on its memory to Alicia. ¡®He looks familiar¡­ isn¡¯t that the wolf we saved? What does he want now I wonder¡­ Wait¡­ I just got an idea¡­ If I can take him into kindred¡­ I should be able to make more wolves eventually right?¡¯ >Affirmation. ¡®Great. Because most of my spiders¡­ aren¡¯t very uhm¡­ PR friendly. Wolves are just bigger, wilder dogs. And since people are divided into cat or a dog person I should be able to win over at least half the people I meet¡­ I heard lithilines were just humanoid felines so if I can get them too¡­ I can take over the world! or something like that.¡¯ Only two entities knew of Alicia¡¯s farfetched fantasy at that time¡­ One was bedazzled while the other was calculating the chance of success¡­ Frighteningly it was much higher than anyone could ever have anticipated just not by the way she envisioned¡­ No one knew how much though, and the exact number was lost in time as Alicia herself forgot about it and didn¡¯t ask for the chance of success. And only one entity in precision knew just how close she was to world domination¡­ Fortunately for the world Alicia would never go through with the plan and Alma wasn¡¯t the type to point it out tactlessly¡­ Auratic Anyway this chapter introduces everyone''s favorite spider the jumping spider as well as the most toxic spider so far. The Brides of death are based on Latrodectus Hasseltii or Red back spiders and the Fiddleback spiders. They are one of the most venomous in the world or Medically significant species. They can deliver the strongest of Alicia¡¯s venoms including Neurotoxic, Necrotoxic and Withering venoms. Here''s the real life Redback spider which inspired the Brides of Death. While the mothers of the hunt are based on Jumping spiders in general. They are the most alert, mobile and persistent hunters of Alicia¡¯s spiders. Their inherently quick wittedness and unusually social traits combined with their insatiable curiosity and sharp eyesight make for excellent sentries and recon units. With their skillset they can become either Vigilant sentinels or relentless Bloodhounds tracking their prey for their master. If you find them staring at you but the next moment you can¡¯t find them¡­ it¡¯s too late for you. I tried to demonstrate the feeling of using a jumping spider''s method of jumping on a primarily a human subject. Because spider anatomy disallows for standard jumping like, rabbits, crickets and kangaroos they found a interesting solution to their limitations. By draining their whole upper body of their ''blood'', which rushes to their legs and snaps them open causing them to jump. Imagine all the blood draining from your head, brain and heart only to pool into your legs... Can''t be a comfortable experience, but these guys do this on a regular basis. Many of the jumping spiders aranaeaphagous or they primarily prey on other web building spiders. But they won''t attack Alicia kind but given how cunning and opportunistic they are... they''ll pounce on pretty much anything... You just wonder what''s going on behind those large eyes... Maybe it''s formulating a plan on how to kill you. Hyllus Giganteus the jumping spider that physically inspired the Huntresses. Don''t worry real life jumping spiders are harmless to humans. Here''s how you can even get one and take care of it. Don''t do sponges though. They show remarkable intelligence despite their meager size and scientists & independent owners even managed to train them to some degree of success. I almost forgot but Alice and Alicia rolls and flips are based on real methods of movement. From Golden wheel spider''s (Carparachne aureoflava) roll from to the sick flip tricks of the Moroccan flip flapper Also called (Cebrennus rechenbergi). You guys like centaurs right? I''ll get to them after I find an adequate answer to this question... And I''m pretty sure this guy married a centaur so you can ask a real one: Chapter 39: A spider’s best friend… Making use of their new movement options Alicia leaped as much as she could on her way back, with the help of Alice of course. This time the jumps had much more precision which prompted her to think more deeply into the cause. In it she noticed the reason, when Alice took control of a Mirror Image the image would always take in a similar form to her, except it invariably had one missing leg, third leg on the left side the median back leg. Although it didn¡¯t contribute much to the distance, it had a crucial role in balance, this was likely the cause of her problems during her practice. It also explains why she had better jumps now, as Alicia¡¯s body had all of her legs intact. But this raises another question¡­ Why did Alice have seven legs in the first place? The answer was she lost it somehow but why wasn¡¯t it growing back? Regeneration could reconstruct whole limbs and organs at a cost of energy but it didn¡¯t. Simply because it considered her already as healthy as she could be. Then the answer was that it¡¯s her own doing, if not consciously perhaps subconsciously. Then why? Although Alicia wanted to investigate the matter further there weren''t any leads she could follow without Alice herself helping. Putting the issue at the back of her mind, she arrived at the defensive perimeter the weavers set up. A bride was there on a web to welcome her: Going past it and a few paces later Alicia could see Dryssia was dragging a large lupine on a¡­ tether. Ordinarily indomitable and free spirited Dire wolf was acting¡­ unusually well behaved. Coat dirtied with filth and mud, bald spots around scars, swollen areas and spots of bruises not to mention the pieces of web tangled on its fur that Dryssia was holding onto, using it as a leash. ¡®Seems like they wrapped him up first before bringing him here¡­ Wait a moment¡­ Puncture wounds a few centimeters deep¡­ a pair¡­ facing inwards to each other¡­ pincerlike. He ran into the web¡­ then they wrapped him up, they weren¡¯t hungry enough to immediately start eating him. So they immobilized him and started the cocooning. That¡¯s why he¡¯s lethargic, venom hasn¡¯t completely worn off yet.¡¯ The tree nymph froze up in shock as she recalled what she had overlooked. Taking hold of the tether Dryssia had in her hands Alicia led the wolf to the treehouse, stopping under the foliaceous shade¡­ Weak whimpers were its only answer¡­ Slowly and gently supporting its snout from the underneath; Flattened ears, tucked tail, body lowered and crouching and a single whine¡­ >Skill assimilation underway, processing¡­ >Idiosyncratic integration underway, processing¡­ >Genomic Mapping in progress¡­ ? Soul Scryer ? >Summarising damage report¡­ >4 shattered ribs. >Internal hemorrhage caused by damaged blood vessels from broken bone fragments. >Skeletal matter has punctured the lung. >Bloodloss stage ¢ò. >Multiple bruises caused by blunt force trauma. >Scar tissue unable to heal. >Lingering paralysis caused by muscle tissue damage from Myotoxin. >Trace amounts of Myotoxin detected. >Evaluation: Subject vitals unstable. Requires immediate medical attention. >Requesting delegation access to Omnia cum Deo. >Delegation access granted. Granting unit recommended skill entries standby¡­ >Kindred Rank 6, maximum number of skills available for surrogation 6. >Recommended skill set: >Constitution ¢ö >Regeneration ¢õ >Spiritual pool ¢õ >Strength ¢ö >Surge ¢ó >Stealth ¢ö >Employment¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Complete. Open wounds closed up with the surrounding tissue pulsating inwards, injuries on the flesh old and new were freshly healed and over them grew a new pelage, grizzled, shaggy and wild. Alicia could barely make out faint cracking noises coming over from its thorax, the bones were snapping into its rightful places. Feet no longer teetering, and with each passing moment the wolf regained its strength and stamina. And soon enough, it held its head high, ears perked and full of attention. In just a few seconds from the shell of its former self a peerless version of it emerged, jaunty, bold and filled with confidence, eager for action. ¡®Is that what happened to me with regeneration? Amazing. I think he grew by like four or five fingers?¡¯ >Notice. Skill regeneration corrected physical defects caused by undernutrition. ¡®Oh. Never knew it could do that.¡¯ The timberwolf was attentively sitting down, its tail swinging left and right as if trying to sweep the floor with its fluffy tail. Reply was some mix of bark and a snarl. ¡®I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to make her call wolves, a wolf.¡¯ With the wolf at the front Alicia followed an animal trail. As they were making their way to the place where it encountered the ogres, they had to make multiple stops dealing with other Magical beasts in their path. Though they were short lived however as the lupine was oddly motivated to take them on. Thus Alicia didn¡¯t have to get involved as much as she expected to. There was a small chuckle from Alicia; While silently continuing on their path¡­ The wolf glanced back with some vague emotions¡­ Picking up the malodorous scent from where it was chased from and backtracking its trail of footprints deeply imprinted on the ground lead to dwelling of the ogres. Their camp outside a cavern opening was rife with sweltering heat from a bonfire and the revolting smell of roasted flesh and blood as they attempted to ¡®cook¡¯ whatever poor creature they found. Loud and unruly, they seemed to be vociferously arguing over who gets to drink dredge water filled with mud and dirt scooped from nearby rivers and first to eat their food. Armed with rudimentary weapons made from the femur of some large animal that they scavenged or killed. They were one of the prime images of savagery. ¡®A head taller than the trolls¡­ which is around my height in spider form. Two legs, exposed teeth from underbite, muddy brown skin and most importantly all brawn, no brain, vulgar and quarrelsome. Yup that fits into Sha¡¯ko¡¯s description of ogres. Sometimes they can be born with two heads in a single body¡­ having twice as much intellect their cognitive abilities have been likened to that of an ordinary intelligent being¡­ God they need a second head from a deformity to be ¡®normal¡¯ what is ¡®not normal¡¯ intelligence for them? Regardless of their acumen, they¡¯re still instinct driven and primal¡­ Being less intelligent doesn¡¯t make them less dangerous. With identification out of the way¡­ the problem is how to deal with them. Thick skin makes cuts and slashes less effective, stabs and thrusts into the vitals are going to kill them the quickest. But they won¡¯t go down with just a single poke¡­ might be better to cripple their arms and legs first. One that is sleeping is a free pick for me. Can my web hold onto some of them? Just one is enough time to split them up into a manageable size¡­ With their height¡­ Let¡¯s give this a shot.¡¯ I will not be held accountable for any loss of brain cells or drop in IQ during this passage. You have been warned. Their day¡¯s hunt had come to an end. First they found fur-ling burrows. They couldn¡¯t dig it out so they left. Then they found a furball. Though they managed to surround and hit it, it still ran away after it slipped underneath their legs and ran. Hungry. Tired. Found bone head. Doesn¡¯t run. Good. Smash head. Bring food to home. The two found no food. Stupid. Stupids do not eat. If they try to steal, he will club them. Friend slept. Good for him. Eat their food before they wake. More yum yum for him. Nasty sounds. From furball before. They stole food! We go kill. Then we eat food and Furball. Chase! Friend stuck. Didn¡¯t see many leg¡¯s trap. Do not see many legs. Maybe left¡­ Help friend¡­? Furball is eating food. There will be no food left. It is running! I chase. Stupid help yourself. No food for you! I go smash! Chase¡­ long. Furball stopped. It is sitting. It is tired. Good. I smash you! ¡­! ¡®These should be the last of the webs. I hope the trees have enough strength to hold them down. Now let¡¯s get this party started¡­ Taking all of them head on will be a challenge. They aren¡¯t nimble or graceful but if they cut off your escape you will have a hard time trying to dodge their attacks. Besides, I don¡¯t wanna take a bone club with my sword¡­ Can¡¯t be good for its edge¡­ So after killing the one that¡¯s sleeping, Rufus1Name of the wolf; ¡°Roman cognomen meaning "red-haired" in Latin. Several early saints had this name, including one mentioned in one of Paul''s epistles in the New Testament. As a nickname it was used by William II Rufus, a king of England, because of his red hair. It came into general use in the English-speaking world after the Protestant Reformation.¡± Alicia named him this way because the name sounds like a barking vocalization. It has nothing to do with the color of his coat. He doesn¡¯t bark as much as dogs though. Also happens to be a Flash formatting program. will go get their attention and pull them into my webs. Due to their height difference Rufus will just duck under the webs but the ogres will run head first into them. Once they¡¯re stuck I can easily deal with them. However he wanted to have the last one for himself¡­ I think he wants to dish out vengeance by himself¡­ Well I can help¡­¡¯ ¡­ Purposely provoking them by flaunting their own food in front of them Rufus managed to keep their attention on him¡­ and ran them away while Alicia trailed the pursuit finishing off the stray ogres stuck to the webs or got left behind quickly. Either with a thrust to the heart if accessible or if not and they¡¯re unlucky, slice to the neck suffering until they bleed out. One by one they fell until there was only one left. This one wasn¡¯t for her¡­ it was for her new companion to handle. She was told to just wait for him to finish up but¡­ for safety¡¯s sake she still followed the two. Ogre was tired, nostrils dilating and shrinking with each breath. While Rufus was calmly sitting behind the feast he stole from them taunting it to come and get it. There was a single reinforced thread at leg height in between the two. After realizing he stopped running, it charged with the intent to kill, ignorant of the tripwire. And as expected to Alicia and the wolf, in a single step it tripped forwards firmly planting its face to the ground. From its fall it let go of its club, it rolled forwards and stopped in front of Rufus. Waiting for that moment it started its vicious torment. Raising up it scrambled to grab its weapon but their hand only met a series of teeth. With the digits chomped off, it let out a howl of pain. While it was desperately kicking and crawling away to escape he intercepted one of its kicks plunging its fangs deep into its shins. Unable to stand and with no options to fight it rolled on its back, still trying to flee using its elbows as a paddle against the ground, fright and terror visible in its eyes. Now it was vulnerable and open to attacks. Stepping on top of its chest he could feel how the heart pounded against his paws. Aiming straight for the neck it bit off a chunk of flesh moistening its fangs in claret fluids and spraying around it. Despite this barbaric display it didn¡¯t let a single drop stain its fur, preserving its pristine sheen. It felt no hatred or anger towards its former assailant. Only a hunter¡¯s pity, to the prey. Rufus jumped off of it leaving behind the dying ogre. It rolled around clutching its mutilated gullet, holding onto its fading life until eventually it collapsed motionless. Challenging the ogre on its own was partly for revenge but also to gauge its newfound powers granted to it by his new master. It expected more of a difficulty, yet the difference was too great. It was incomparable. What was fiery desire for retribution quickly smoldered into cold ashes as he overpowered the ogre in every aspect. Strength, speed, endurance all of it far superior. To live is to struggle, very existence itself was a daily test of mettle. If you can¡¯t stand on your own¡­ you fall or you find other ways stand the test of life. It has always scraped by and managed somehow. On numerous occasions it almost fell into the jaws of death and through sheer luck or¡­ through some other machinations it survived those ordeals with not a small portion of it thanks to Alicia¡¯s actions¡­ now its new master. In truth it had died already¡­ and brought back to life, given a new body, new power, new life and¡­ a new purpose beside her. Auratic That is a 2400Mhz DDR4 Corsair Vengeance 8GB ram. Bring my total to 16GBs with my previous x2 4GB kingston DDR4 2400 Mhz rams without coolers. Here it is in the board. Now the more tech savvy and attentive ones might wonder why the fuck is it in the slot 4. Well you see slot 3 wasn''t working... My motherboard just wouldn''t boot up from its perpetual hardware check. But since slot 4 worked I really don''t care much about it, until I buy another one... Kick the can down the road I guess. Anyway these things took up some time and I just got back to writing like 3 days ago. And maybe enacting galactic holocaust in Stellaris as an Authoritarian anime girl empire. I may have also done that. Next chapter is gonna be a intermission just a headsup. But it''ll also come out sooner. I''m sorry but I have no many legs'' fact this time. Intermission 4 Alicia was making an artificial cave for Rufus, according to his wishes after the recent thunderstorms. Cave despite it¡¯s small size and unnatural formation, - composed of phyllite and shale sourced from the crust and nearby riverbed - was large enough to house the lupine. From her experience she had difficulty bringing up rocks from the soil as most of them were buried underneath materials not under the domain of Earth Aspect. Such as tree roots and biomass. That being said, the earth aspect in rocky terrain - like in the mountains where she used it accidentally, was much easier to make use of as most of the earthen minerals were exposed and even if they¡¯re too large; following their structural grains and sheets she could easily break them into more manageable pieces. During this time she earned the educement ? Horticulture ? from seemingly nowhere. However further investigation found that Dryssia was teaching one of her spiders on how to take care of plants¡­ ¡®Horticulture¡­ Spiders know horticulture do they?¡¯1Specific reference to this video. Random Far Cry 3 Bullshittery You can enjoy the rest of the video too. Not long after his dwelling was completed Rufus set out to ¡®recruit¡¯ his companions. While observing how he avoided one of her spiders¡­ ¡®Even if he¡¯s about the same size, he¡¯s terrified of the Brides¡­ Hope he¡¯s not traumatized by them¡­¡­ Might have something to do with being envenomed and partially mummified by them¡­.¡¯ >Notice. Idiosyncratic synchronization process of subject: C.Tornitua complete. Mental harmonization achieved. ¡®Okay but why does he have such a¡­ husky¡­ voice that¡¯s manlier than I had?! That¡¯s cheating!¡¯ ¡®Monkeys¡­?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know what that means¡­¡¯ Although it was in her thoughts only, she expressed her confusion to Alice as well¡­ no one knows why she delivered the way she did: In a hush¡­ within her own mind where no other than Alice could hear her. Moment she reached the vicinity few of the outlying rangers found and ushered them to come, in a hurry. There outside a hastily built barn a crowd had gathered¡­ most of them - judging by their attire - were rangers. The atmosphere was tense with worry and distress. Faenas who noticed Alicia and Ramiel coming rushed to her: Her frantic speech and apparent alarm was rubbing off on Alicia as well who had to reel her back. Deep breath and a few moments later she managed to regain some of her composure; ¡®Damn they just kept going after being hit by a lightning strike? Guess their name goes more than the surface level.¡¯ The area was packed full with rangers who had many important tasks to tend to. Quiet murmurs of agreement circulated around them. Although she managed to pacify them a moment ago, they were starting to get riled up again. Alicia was eyeing the empty buckets and barrels. Entering the crude but sturdy structure many of the goats noticed her and Ramiel, acknowledging them by look and greetings¡­ of bleating. ¡®Nope! Nope! Nope! Nuh uh. Electricians¡¯ motto, if you conduct, you lose. I should tell them the good news about the goats. I think they will be elated to hear that they can be milked once again since they harbored such strong feelings about.¡¯ When the elves heard about the cause, symptoms and the remedy they were predictably overjoyed and moved with haste in order to collect the milk. Enquiring about the reason revealed their addiction to the ¡®white dew¡¯. From their descriptions Alicia got the impression that it was a thick, sweetened milk. Anything sugary and sweet as it was rare around these parts not to mention their nutrition. It was easy to guess why it was popular among the ranks of the rangers who were mainly formed of girls fond of sweetness. As they were in the process of milking, someone who licked off some of the milk that had gotten onto fingers reported a strange new taste. Again rumors of sickness and malady spread. Indubitably Alicia had the honor of tasting it first to test if it¡¯s safe for consumption, she had no strong feelings as she had Toxic Tolerance from Advanced Toxicology. Her eyes widening in surprise attracted concerned looks from the elves. Gingerly Faenas sipped some for herself, licking her lips pausing, then wolfing down the rest before others could get their hand on to it. And with that a small clash over the limited supply of milk started. ¡®I¡¯m not a huge fan of energy drinks¡­ feels like I¡¯m drinking the physical embodiment of cardiac arrest. And when it inevitably crashes it is like as if my central nervous system is being hijacked by demons¡­ but this? Tastes better, feels better, is healthier maybe and probably won¡¯t give me caffeine crash induced psychosis. No wonder they¡¯re fighting over this.¡¯ After the great civil war of white dew had subsided thanks to the abundantly available supply. Faenas led Alicia to some sort of shed filled with piles of snowy mounds and brought her a basket of cotton like soft downy wool. Picking up a bundle and rubbing it against her fingers showed how fine and soft they were. Caught off guard by the excessively generous offer, Faenas was stupefied; burbling out nonsense sounds before getting her speech back in order. ¡®Oh boy, I can¡¯t carry all this¡­ uhm let''s think about what I can take from them as a repayment¡­ that seems to exist only in their minds¡­ What do I need¡­ Huh. Here¡¯s a thought. Looking back to that incident with the ogres revealed the flaws in my methods. I can¡¯t just hope everything to just somehow wander or run face first into my webs every single time, in that case I have to give them a reason to rush me down. Pestering them from range is just what I need. Also if they keep their distance and attack me from range I¡¯m just sitting a duck.¡¯ ¡®Spells from the fire aspect are too flashy and just give away my position. Not good for when I still want to deal with things from a distance but don¡¯t want to be seen. Air aspect is great for this but it¡¯s so good at its job that I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll even know where they¡¯re being attacked from. It¡¯s likely they¡¯ll rout and flee rather than face me. Earth aspect¡­ No just not going to work¡­ But I can make new anchor points with them if I need to¡­ Water¡­ Eh¡­ Cryokinesis is a thought but propelling the crystals needs some involvement from other aspects like water or air, fire is just counterproductive¡­ Too many extra steps.¡¯ Few minutes later Alicia was guided to an archery field where she would be evaluated. Handed with a plain training bow, despite it being the first time ever holding it she felt strange familiarity with the weapon, instinctively before Faenas was done with her explanation she nocked a blunthead let loose at one near targets marked on tree stumps. Although slightly off to the left and somewhat overshot away from the point she was aiming for, it was still on within the marked area. A successful hit though not perfect. The uncomfortable gaze she turned to Alicia was akin to how someone would look at a raving lunatic. Attributing as one of her weird quirks she carried on. She just noticed it now after being mentioned but she had a wooden ring on her thumb. It was there to facilitate the string drawing and to protect the skin. ¡°- There are more or less two other drawing techniques than the pinch draw. The three finger draw3The mediterreanean draw. index finger on top of the arrow middle and ring finger underneath it and the thumb draw. Three finger draw helps if you¡¯re having difficulties with the draw weight. And if you¡¯re a ranger you¡¯ll eventually learn how to do this.¡± Completely facing away from the target she held her bow horizontally raising it up high and nocking an arrow. As she draws in the string she brings it down, using her hand holding the bow as a guide and twisting the hand drawing the strings behind her neck and head, pulls and releases it hitting the stump behind with having to turn towards it.4What she does here is a technique called Jarmakee. Video one: Archery FAQ: Jarmakee, what and how? Video two: Signalling Arrows and Jarmakee In an unrelated note; I¡¯m really bad at describing things. Her voice and expressions made Alicia feel like she was speaking from experience¡­ She turned to Ramiel who was chomping on a bush. With weak nods she answered Alicia¡¯s question. An annoyed sigh escaped from Alicia; They were one of the inspirations for Tolkien in creating his version of the race, now predominantly used in modern media. Amused by Ranger captain¡¯s troubled expression Alicia had a smirk naturally forming on her face. ¡®Waiting until the bow is done is gonna take a while is there any other ranged options I haven¡¯t thought of¡­¡¯ >Educement: Modified Venom Glands allow for projectile spitting. ¡®There¡¯s no harm in trying it out right? Six point cost though¡­ are they each three points?¡¯ >¡²Parthenogenesis¡³ Costs 5 points. ¡²Modified venom Glands¡³ Costs 1 point. ¡®I mean it¡¯s probably worth it to invest into it, considering how much it costs¡­ Alright go ahead¡­¡¯ ¡®Oh¡­ Oh no. This is bad. REALLY BAD.¡¯ Auratic I was also cursed by the lord of flies himself. I swear it''s like fighting the hydra from the greek mythology, with each fly I kill there''s like 2 other that just spawns inside my apartment out of the aether. With the amount of kills I have on it I better be getting my prestige golden skin for my fly swatter I swear. Since no one answered: Dryssia''s name comes from the word Greek word ¦¤¦Ñ?? (Drys) meaning Oak. Although the word Dryad used to mean specifically tree nymphs of oak trees, it has expanded to encompass as umbrella term for the more general tree spirit race. If the dryad is a literal walking talking tree, that is called Hamadryad who would die if their that they''re bound to dies (A popular example would be Kii from Monster Musume, She is a Hamadryad). Any human tree hybrids would fall under the Hamadryad category. This is not the case for Dryssia who can survive even if her place of provenance (The great oak tree) is destroyed though she would''ve been severely weakened if not for Alicia''s presence. Covenant basically turned Alicia into Dryssia''s Provenance. And Dryssia is meant to portray a dryad in the most classical lore friendly way I could. Dryssia is also extremely shy of strangers, with the exception of Alicia. Besides the confusion between dryad and a hamadryad; the lesser known dryad subspecies include Daphnaie Laurel tree nymphs, Epimelides fruit tree(mostly apple) dryads and the protectors of sheep and Meliae ash tree dryads. We''ll cover Spitting spiders and Asexual spiders in the future. Kekw. Chapter 40: Mirror Mirror ¡®Okay¡­ just stay calm¡­ I¡¯m not panicking, you are¡­ just don¡¯t think about¡­¡­¡­ It¡¯s really hard not to think about it when it¡¯s all that your other self is thinking about!¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s some time till then I have to think of something on the way¡­ Alice isn¡¯t usually that assertive, I¡¯d say she¡¯s very tolerant for sharing a body and mind with what¡¯s basically an Alien but¡­ this is the one thing she will not concede on. I know having children is one of if not her biggest wish¡­ I wonder if it is her own decision or some sort of natural instinct of hers. I thought I wouldn¡¯t find a suitable male for her, especially since all the kindred I conjured always seemed to be female. I did not expect the possibility of her just not needing a mate for ¡®offspring¡¯. I¡¯m just not ready for it I guess.¡¯ Faenas¡¯s voice brought her back from her thoughts. Alicia only vaguely recalled some of the demonstrations and in truth she didn¡¯t quite remember everything owing to the mental chaos she just had; bringing that up now after everything was done and over with would have been quite rude. So she just went along with what she was saying. ¡®For now I need to get back and get ahold of myself.¡¯ ¡®Let¡¯s think about it¡­ why am I so afraid of this? Is it responsibility? Not really. It¡¯s more of¡­ I¡¯m just not mentally prepared for childbirth¡­ I wish I just wasn¡¯t a part of. What¡¯s it going to be anyway? A human-spider hybrid like me? Hell I¡¯m not sure if I have a human in me despite looking like one.¡¯ Alicia was purposefully taking a roundabout path, to delay the inevitable for as long as she could. ¡®Right, I personally, can just be somewhere else with ? Mirror Image ? but for how long¡­? They aren¡¯t just going to hatch immediately, I need a more permanent solution¡­¡¯ >Suggestion. Educement: Gemini, Enables user to create an indefinitely lasting copy. Further details available. Educement cost: 5. ¡®Did you say indefinite? I¡¯ll take it. Gimme! Gimme!¡¯ When coming back to the great oak, Alicia was under immediate impulse to start digging down. Identifying it as Alice¡¯s desires before she could be swept up along with it; ? Mirror Image ? ? ¡²Gemini¡³ The instant she used a mirror image with Gemini educement, she was assaulted by extreme fatigue and wrenching pain as if something was twisting her guts out of her and then pulling it elsewhere. The sensation is nothing like creating an image out of water using mana which only felt like working with heavy wires. The feeling lasted for only few moments yet to her it felt like minutes of torture but it was done, infront of her a reflection of herself stood. There was no mirror here. Without prompt visible physical changes started to manifest on the double. Blue sapphire eyes shifted into electric violet2#240A40 or RGB: 26/10/64 then became dyed in maddening red,3#F81F12 or RGB: 248/31/18 lengthy hair shrivelling and retreating like withering vines of a plant. The most distinct and perhaps unique change, a missing leg. Alice¡¯s preferred form. When she realized the splitting process was complete, she immediately moved up to the tree. >Displaying updated metrics¡­ ¡®I see that my stats are down¡­ Is that the reason? Why is it down again?¡¯ >Educement: Gemini. Imparts fragment of the administrator¡¯s soul to create a perfect duplicate. ¡®So I¡¯m quite literally a halved person huh. Other half is in Alice I¡¯m guessing? >Affirmation. Should¡¯ve read the fine print first but this is fine too since I got what I asked for.¡¯ The familiar hollowness in her chest returned. Meanwhile Alice was trying to dig a burrow underneath the tree act which immediately alerted Dryssia to come and investigate, only to be confused at the sight. Still bewildered; eyes switching between Alicia who''s standing in front her and Alice who¡¯s invested into her excavation project. Tree nymph seemed to be having a really bad case of headache as she clutched her head, eyebrows crumpled and quivering. ¡®She was having trouble with just my name and now there¡¯s two. Sorry can¡¯t help you with that. Now if she was asking for a greenhouse or something like that¡­¡¯ Approaching Alice she definitely noticed her yet without a social cue like turning around and maintaining eye contact or greeting it seemed as if she wasn¡¯t known, maybe even ignored. So as it may be, having shared a body and to an extent a mind, Alicia was well accustomed to Alice¡¯s thought process and her nature. ¡®She¡¯s still using Telepathy even with a mouth capable of speech¡­ She might need some time to get used to a humanoid¡­ish body. Dryssia should be able to help her if she doesn¡¯t get scared away¡­ Speaking of which¡­¡¯ Let me think since it¡¯s under constant stress, something that has a high elastic limit and a fair bit of stiffness.¡± ¡®Right she doesn¡¯t know anything about these terms.¡¯ ¡®Why are you referring to yourself in third-person now¡­?¡¯ Running off to the base of the tree she rummaged through her beloved basket, usually filled with her personal collection of tree nuts, herbs, ferns and seeds. From within she picked up an acorn and returned while seeming to whisper something to it. After finding a spot she liked, she crouched down and started to scoop out some soil before planting and covering it back up with the dirt. Covering it with her palm over it; then as she raised her hand beneath it fresh green vines had sprouted. And as her hovering palm lifted away from it, the sapling started to vigorously grow, following the movements of her hand. It looked as if she was pulling it up with some unseen wires, until it reached around her height. The sapling she created was a strange one, for one it had not a single leaf or branching limbs. It was better suited to call it a branch than a sapling from appearance alone. A branch that somehow grew on its own from the ground. It''s bark was unusually smooth. And most bizarre of all was that when Dryssia plucked it off from the ground, it was revealed that it had no roots to draw nutrients from the earth. This object was no natural tree. ¡®Hope Faenas can process this¡­ what was the other thing she asked again¡­ bones? Right horns¡­ doesn''t the trolls collect those? I''ll check up on them.¡¯ Although she knew the path it was no less dangerous. Encounters with giant wasps, killer hornets, acidic oxypoda4Oxy = Acid. Pod = Leg. Think centipedes. among other things belligerent was much more taxing on Alicia. ¡®These guys are getting tougher.¡¯ She thought as she was trying to find a way to deal with the rockhide lizard that was blocking her path. The creature was a few heads taller than the average person. Normally they resided in the rocky hills near the mountains, this one seemed to be lost judging how far from their natural habitat it was. What gave Alicia the most trouble was it''s armored hide covered in rocky outcroppings.5Ankylosaurus + Triceratops. Fantasy edition. Her weapon didn''t have the greatest affinity against such defenses. After all she wanted to avoid chipping it''s edge. The weak points of the lizard were the tiny gap between the scales, where the plates met. Thrusting towards those weaknesses and perforating it to bleed it out was the safer option, unfortunately¡­ ¡®I can''t pierce it¡­¡¯ Her method involved paralyzing venom and a single solid hit and waiting for it to succumb to the circulating toxins. However it all lynched on her being able to pierce its hide in the first place. With that option inapplicable she had to go for a riskier approach. The craggy plates didn''t cover its underside or its joints that needed to be flexible. Granted the hide was more than a match for most first rate weapons¡­ Getting underneath the lizard was extremely dangerous, after all a small mistake and the lizard''s feet bearing the massive weight of the beast would all come down on her. ¡®Not a lot of options here¡­¡¯ Compared to its impressive defenses, its speed and offensive capabilities were lackluster save for its tail. Betting on outmaneuvering it she charged straight at it. Obviously threatened by her approach the lizard brandished its horns on its head and braced for her. Just before she came into striking distance she quickly changed her direction sideways. For most quadrupeds their flanks were the most vulnerable part of their body, this was no exception for the lizard thus instinctively it focused on trying to face her and not expose its side. ¡®There ya go¡­ stay on the script¡­¡¯ As soon as it started to turn towards her she jumped on its rugged back, ? Sure-Footed ? Mineral arrayed bumpy surface and the violent swaying of the creature was not to prevent her from making it to the otherside. The stones on its back were not part of it truly, much like a grown nail or hair they had no nerves and were quite numb to most sensations. The creature didn¡¯t feel a thing when Alicia jumped on and over it. When it turned to where it thought she was there was no sign of her it was momentarily confused not knowing what had happened or what to do. That brief window of opportunity was that she needed to slide underneath it and jam her blade coated in venom. Quickly crawling out and letting out a sigh as the behemoth fell¡­ ¡®It¡¯s not that they¡¯re getting stronger¡­ I¡¯m just not at my 100%. It isn¡¯t bad but it¡¯s noticeably more difficult. These guys should be a walk in the park to deal with¡­ not like this though.¡¯ In the trolls¡¯ tribe many were out and about assisting with preparation of the previous day¡¯s catch. Sha¡¯ko was no different though he was relegated to the role of overseeing and managing. ¡®There¡­ Now I need to pull him aside¡­¡¯ Because of his work it was easy to spot him even in a crowd. Herself¡­ She was skulking behind the cover of trees and teepees. As for why¡­ Caught off guard he almost responded with his voice¡­ Giving few more instructions before excusing himself he followed her directions. Saying so she lobbed the head of the Rockhide lizard to him. Few moments later Sha¡¯ko returned with a bag carrying a familiar skull¡­ ¡®Ah so here you are again¡­ the first thing to successfully horn me¡­ Tons more tried to as well you know? None of them did a number on me like you did¡­ Now I guess I¡¯ll be using your horn to horn others¡­ That should be all that Faenas wanted for my bow¡­ Alright the return trip should be much better.¡¯ Auratic I found this guy on the wall against my bed. Had to deal with him, the only acceptable way, of the fly swatter. Only problem, when I swatted it I didn''t find its body on the swatter or the floor or anywhere. Not sure if dead. If I go missing just know that this spider decided to exact vengeance on me and killed me in my sleep. Chapter 41: Void After entrusting the raw materials to Faenas and placing an order of quiver and a sum of arrows on Greimen she went onto to wrap up the remains of the Rockhide lizard in silk for easier handling as a courtesy for using the Trolls as corpse disposal. During her visit the smith was more interested in inspecting her sword and pestering her to give it a proper name more than processing her request. And with those taken care of Alicia had some free time that she spent on meandering about as there wasn¡¯t anything else to deal with immediately. ¡®She seemed surprised by those horns by the way she was examining it. Hope there¡¯s nothing wrong with it¡­ After getting my bow, quiver, arrows¡­ with the sword¡­ I¡¯m gonna face some storage problems¡­ Maybe I should have a proper baldric made. Then where should the sword go¡­ on my back or on my hips¡­ hm¡­¡¯ Thus she was taking a stroll along the forest, with the occasional change of path to avoid unnecessary encounters with bellicose dwellers of the woodlands, to pass the time while thinking of what to do. ¡®Now that I remember I got that trait didn¡¯t I? Let¡¯s see what it was¡­¡¯ ¡®That one¡­ Modified Venom sacs. I remember it now, something about being able to spit out silk and venom? Let¡¯s give it a try¡­ though without help from Alice¡­ I¡¯ll test it out with my canines first, now if I recall correctly¡­¡¯ She could feel her upper canine pushing out, bulging from within her gums and scraping her teeth. ¡®It¡¯s hard to get used to this but now what? Do I just spray it out like I am injecting venom¡­?¡¯ Alien sensation of blowing out something with a cross of fang and tooth could be felt as from each fang an erratic stream of fluids were expelled out. Because of how her humanoid fangs were pointed downwards and she had little control over the rushing flow, the immobilizing mixture of silk and toxins had mostly landed in her own mouth. The compound immediately started to congeal, what this meant for Alicia is¡­ ¡­that she had just glued her own mouth half agape. Fortunately for her she was within the range limit of Telepathy so she could consult on an expert. Even without words or responses through the extrasensory connection abstract emotions and feeling could also be conveyed, from it what Alice was sending was¡­ confusion. Trusting in her partner whom she shared a body with until recently, she followed her suggestion and started to chew on the silk. Dry wiry and off tasting silk, eventually balled up into a sort of small gum of silk. She was more concerned about the terrible texture and the taste than the venom contained in it. Something she can afford to do by the virtue of one of her skills. Even though she would not be harmed by her own venom¡­ mentally it helped her to know she had a backup. Swallowing it down, she could feel the individual threads lining her throat and esophagus. At a cost of gag reflex, choke and teary eyes her mouth was free once again. ¡®I¡¯m pretty sure she meant me to eat it with the other mouth, bleh. And that''s a good idea too, maybe use a spider related trait through spider anatomical feature who would¡¯ve thought! I need to stop being reluctant about turning back into my original form¡­ It¡¯s what I started with and I¡¯m not turning fully human in the foreseeable future.¡¯ ? Mimicry ? ¡®Let¡¯s give this another spin¡­ with the proper equipment.¡¯ ? Pallesthesia ? ¡®Hm¡­ what¡¯s this¡­? Giant rats¡­ not quite a swarm¡­ maybe a cluster?¡¯ Driven by hunger, swept along the crowd psychology or simply lacking the mental capabilities to properly assess the danger the rats charged at her with their screeching squeaks and teeth bare. ¡®I think I just found myself a good practice target.¡¯ Moving her chelicerae up and down to develop a feeling for it¡­ Finding it was obvious from the way her fangs were pointed that she needed to do a little more than just positioning her fangs the right way. Shifting balance to her back - the abdomen, she raised up her front legs, leaning back with her cephalothorax. In order to still see what¡¯s infront of her, with her human torso she had to tip forwards. And when they entered her range. ¡®Now!¡¯ ? Venom Fang ? Faster than the eye can blink1Spitting spiders finish deploying their web spit under 1/700 of a second or in 1.4 milliseconds. For comparison, the average duration of human eye blink ranges from 400 to 100 milliseconds. This means spitting spiders can immobilize their prey about 71 times faster than you can blink in an optimistic scenario. Bibliography? Piper, Ross. Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals. Westport, Conn., Greenwood Press, 2007, archive.org/details/extraordinaryani0000pipe/ Page 105-107. the silky fluids sprayed all over the earth in wanton abandon; a thin film of silk covered a fair amount of area including the rats, ensnaring them. Only a few lucky outliers were spared though they blindly charged into the web covered grounds and were subsequently entangled as well. ¡®Shoot I focused too much on a single area¡­ Maybe I could¡¯ve gotten more of them if I swayed my fangs a bit. That¡¯s staggeringly short¡­ Ranged? ¡®Yes.¡¯ Will I use it in a long range engagement? No. But hey, that is so much better than the first time since my mouth is not cemented shut. This incidentally helps with trapping, now I don¡¯t always have to spin a web in advance.¡¯ They tried to bite and tear their way through the web but to no avail, the only thing they could do was to squeak and squeak; so they did. ¡®Though since it''s simply a vomit of web for lack of better descriptors, I question the integrity and strength of it. Should still come handy in a pinch¡­ I suppose I still need to get good with the bow¡­ Not good, just enough is sufficient.¡¯ With her experiment concluded her attention returned to the captives. Giant rats were individually very skittish and fearful but when they swarm they are overcome with false courage resulting from the safety of numbers. This swarming behaviour makes them more aggressive and combative giving them an advantage yet this also serves as their downfall. As difficult as it may be, once fear spreads there¡¯s no stopping it among the swarm. They care not about individual losses in a swarm mentality but when they¡¯re singled out and trapped¡­ Hex Crawlers that reside within the depth of her hair abseiled down with their silk. With her platinum hair and milky silken threads it appeared as if hair strands of her were growing longer to let down the spiders attached to them. ¡®Since I went ahead and got their trait needed I might as well see what I can make with modified venom sacs, should be spiders that can do what I just did¡­¡¯ >Commence epigenetic trigger for subject A.Reteiactus? The usual morphing process started. White body with long slender legs spotted in black. Smooth domed cephalothorax and abdomen wearing patterns of dark asphalt.3RGB 19/10/6 With only three pairs of tiny eyes one would distrust their sight if they didn¡¯t take into account that they inherited Presence Detection from their creator. It¡¯s figure was simple and ordinary. It wasn¡¯t the largest, it wasn¡¯t the most visually enticing nor was it agile, strong or stealthy as the others. With the size only half a meter4When describing the size of spiders, I refer to only their torso and leave out their leg span. So if it¡¯s simply dimensions they¡¯re much much larger, some of you might need to notch up the size of the spiders. in diameter and from it¡¯s measured slow strides it was hard to consider it an immediate threat compared to Alicia¡¯s other Spiders under her command. However their unassuming nature was their strength. Any who underestimate them might not realize they are in their spitting range. >Subject Webslinger. Specialization. Stealth, Anti-personnel, Abduction, Apprehension. ¡®Excuse me, Abduction?¡¯ Although they are slow in nature, they borrow Alicia¡¯s speed and as such they show noteworthy speed if the situation asks for it. She learned of this in a rather startling way. >Unknown skill Analysis complete. >Quarantine Lifted¡­¡­¡­Restoring functions¡­ >No matching database entry. Registering null void¡­5Most computer systems register empty parameters that can¡¯t be empty with either a Null value meaning either There¡¯s no information about this or I have no idea what the fuck this is. >Heuristics Analysis suggests an ability to control unknown [REDACTED] realm. >Zero-Filling missing data¡­ >Rebuilding database. >Void Acquired. >Caution. Use of unknown skills may have unexpected consequences. ¡®That doesn¡¯t sound good¡­ I might need help for this¡­¡¯ Most of the captured rats had already fled and while last few were about to be freed a new order came. Sense of impending doom washed over them all. ¡®Nothing¡­ I don¡¯t feel anything from it. Usually with any magic I can pick up a certain feeling, like heat for fire, breeze for air or firm breath from earth from using the method from that girl¡­ This skill has nothing¡­ maybe someone else can help¡­ It¡¯s either the spirit or Sardak¡­ Faenas is already working on my bow, don¡¯t want to interrupt her now¡­¡¯ Balling the few remaining ¡®test subjects¡¯ in a web she headed for the spirit lake. ¡®So Sardak may just be that different perspective.¡¯ ¡®Dim? As in weak¡­? Ah. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯m meeting her split in two.¡¯ Brushing off the lake spirit¡¯s doubtful glare Alicia headed to the tribe once again. Some time later she was outside the Witch doctor¡¯s teepee. After confirming his presence she enquired if he was able to meet her and entered abode. For a while there was something nagging her¡­ the true nature of magical energy and magic itself in general. Although she had understanding of how it flowed inside her, she had no clue how it behaved in the atmosphere, outside her body. Old troll grounded up odoriferous verdure in a bowl and put it in an incense burner, lighting it up glowing red cinders taking a deep whiff and basking in its aroma. Closing his wrinkled eyelids for a moment, he seemed to be racking his head for the right information. Fume steadily raised upwards in a straight line before billowing outward and then diffused in air. ¡®So it¡¯s literally a flow of a fluid¡­ Laminar and Turbulent¡­¡¯6You wanna have turbulence? Sucking in some smoke he gently blows a vortex ring of smoke over to Alicia, her nose being able to pick up on its unique smell. Curious to check she noticed many different distinct odours. Some calming and rustic, others energizing and invigorating, another weary and dull, lastly there was one which she couldn¡¯t tell. Far from everywhere important she knows. She was in a secluded part of the forest. Lending an ear to the hollowness that¡¯s humming in her chest, she tried exerting the feeling along with some energy, holding out her index finger and focusing all of it on its tip. ? Spellweaver ? Strange coldness came over her. Black¡­ substance grew out her fingertips, like an ink in water it didn¡¯t mix so it was suspended in air around the height of her shoulders, it¡¯s overbearing color of amethyst and cold sable evoking unpleasant feel. ¡®It¡¯s just like what he said¡­ chaotic¡­ That can¡¯t be it right¡­? Let¡¯s see what you really are¡­ Let¡¯s focus you into a single point.¡¯ The snaking tendrils of dark although initially rejecting eventually coalescenced into singular circle, a hole of absolute pitch black. Her sword was strangely starting to shake and quiver as if reacting to it. This hole was an unnatural object that nature of the universe itself seemed to deny its existence evident by how much energy she expended to keep it in this world. Even light seems to bend around it allowing her to see through it and also into it. The edges of the circle looked as if they were torn away fabric, individual. From within this breach she could hear a squall of raging winds, but she didn¡¯t feel it at all, in this crack suspended in air she could see a small sliver of light¡­ cold blue light. The same unwelcoming light she saw in a dream or a nightmare. Hysterically raving whispers of doom slipped through the gap. ¡®So it is that place¡­ Not just a dream hm¡­ I¡¯ve remembered a few things too¡­¡¯ As if soothing a child throwing a tantrum, she gently silenced the whispers of lunacy. Only the song lonely winds were all that¡¯s left. ¡®What am I supposed to do with this¡­? Maybe¡­¡¯ Picking up a decently sized rock near her feet she placed it inside the crack. It didn¡¯t fall down, just suspended in it gently floating as if it had forgotten what gravity is¡­ And pulling her hand back in she let go, letting the world correct itself. The hole snapped shut in an instant. >New entry detected. Registering Untitled. Eerie silence domineered over the area. Calmly she walked somewhere¡­ five steps¡­ ten steps¡­ fifteen steps¡­ and stopped. Like the first time she focused and opened another breach. Maybe because it was the second time it was much faster and easier. Reaching her arm in she pulled something out clenched. Gap shutting close behind her hand. Opening up her palm it was the very same rock she placed in it. On her back a silken ball was dangling, webbed to her clothes. Porous silk allowed what was in to breathe. Yes there was a living being in them. One of the rats she captured. Tearing through the silk she grabbed the rat and examined it. Fear was evident yet there was no resistance. It had already accepted that there was no escape from its fate. Moment it was placed in the vault it¡¯s body relaxed and became listless. Closing and opening it again to pull it out¡­ ? Pallesthesia ? and I can feel it¡¯s heart beating¡­? Hold on¡­¡± ? Soul scryer ? >Diagnosing¡­ >No Physical damage detected¡­ >Bodily functions continues normally¡­ >Minimal neurological activity¡­ Unresponsive to pings. >Prognosis: Subject in persistent vegetative state. End report. >Recovery viability¡­ 56.1% >Begin recovery? >Attempting to reconstruct neural pathways¡­¡­ standby. Estimated time for completion: 51:17:22¡­ ¡®Let¡¯s not step into the vault for now¡­¡¯ >Updating entry registry. Title changed to [Void Vault]. Auratic For an HQ version of the image of the void: So how many of you thought I was dead to the revenge of the spider? I had to kill one today too... this time I confirmed the kill. Two days before at around 11pm local time I basically had a belly hills style mortal combat with a mosquito so it doesn''t suck me off in my sleep at night. Fun. Google says this chapter is around 2.8k words. Since I didn''t count it myself I''ll have to trust google. This is the 13th revision of this chapter because the other 12 times the fucking footnotes didn''t work HELLO WORK PLS. Anyway we have spitting spiders now. They''re based on the Scytodes thoracica. Watch them be a spider here. Watch them eat a spider here. Chapter 42: Hell or high water… In a burrow underneath the great oak tree, Alice had made herself a large open chamber with a single entry, every surface of it lined in a thin layer of web nearly invisible even to Alicia. She only noticed it because of the faint glistening of it in the light near the entrance and the surroundings of the burrow. Having learned how to read the vibrations of webs she knew that Alice had excellent awareness of the outside even if she doesn¡¯t have eye contact. At the back wall of the hollow, a number of egg sacs, seven in total, were suspended above ground hung up by threads of silk. And their mother guarding them in position above them. Perfectly still without disturbance or single twitch of a muscle as she refused to move, a statuesque image of maternity. Giving up on convincing her to come out Alicia turned back to the entrance. Despite her assurance there still lingered some reluctance to let her go¡­ but Alice didn¡¯t stop her. ¡®Not a lot but I can work with this¡­ I need to stock up on more points too¡­ though progress is slow as of late¡­ Four should be good¡­ Alma if you will?¡¯¡¯ >Processing¡­ ¡®One and a half kilo¡­ I would¡¯ve liked more but this will have to do for now¡­ And those points aren¡¯t going to appear out of nowhere¡­ should get used to my new body.¡¯ Ever since she separated from Alice there was a stinging pain that kept growing in her chest, like a heartburn and pinning down the cause difficult since Alma¡¯s telemetrics reported that everything was fine, with her health being at one hundred percent. It was the day she was told to receive her bow and convincing Alice that she¡¯ll return soon was no easy feat. Apparently Faenas had some issues with the production process and it had to be delayed. In the last few days Alicia had spent most of her time hunting various magical beasts to attune herself to her new more restricted powers as well as experimenting with the Void. And Alma had made significant progress on restoring the ¡®test subject¡¯s mind¡¯. Bizarrely the treatment process included delivering routine electric shocks to its brain among other things. At first she was skeptical but after considering brain activities were firings of electrochemical signals and impulses it longer felt as outlandish though she still had some restraints to it. Unfortunately for the rat, full recovery was impossible. So Alma was instead restoring various other normal functions it needed to survive. Just as she was starting to get worried, Rufus came back with his pack of followers numbering in the single digit who seemed eager to take on orders. Alicia had suspicions on why they seemed so worn out, questioning their leader revealed that Rufus had basically shown off his might given to him from Alicia and convinced them that, if they ¡®proved their worth¡¯ so to speak they might also curry a favor. Unfortunately for them Alicia didn¡¯t have anything in particular she needed help with. Alicia came across a trio of rangers who were sitting atop tree branches drinking a mug of goat milk. She seemed to have caught them off guard regardless; they helpfully told her that Faenas was in the village and they hadn¡¯t seen her come out yet. Making her way to her cottage attempting to knock on her door Alicia noticed it was open. Gently pushing it aside she entered, the low ceiling, smell of wood and dust peacefully floating in the rays of light coming in from the small circular windows are what welcomed her. Hearth in the middle of the room hasn¡¯t had a lick flame for a while now. High up on a wall shelf, handmade trinkets, idols and figurines of wood were neatly arranged. Judging as how a single speck of dust had yet to settle on them showed that someone still cleaned and cared for them. Underneath them on a bow holder Faenas¡¯ weapon hung with a quiverful of arrows in a corner near it. Against the wall across the room on a table and a chair various tools of woodworking strewn across and an incomplete work, with vague familiarity to it rested over the table, along with an oddly shaped wooden ring. Sounds of shuffling and movement could be heard from the back room what Alicia guessed to be the bed room. Loudly tapping on the door behind her to make her presence known. From the room emerged a lightly covered girl with untamed red velvet1RGB 114/1/15 also called venetian red but nobody would know what that color is without googling it. hair clutching a bow. For Alicia it was the first time seeing her without the usual ponytail that she favors. Saying so she went into the back to get changed leaving Alicia with the unfinished composite recurve bow to peruse. Recurves were much longer and aggressive than she had seen before and the whole structure was much more straighter without the strings to give it the iconic bend. While the Belly side of it was reinforced with strips of horn, the backside had sinew reinforcements, Alicia could pick up on the faint yet distinct smell of glue they used. Most detailed parts were located on the handle portion. The grip was wrapped in some linen to prevent slipping, arrow rest had smoothened grooves. Strangely somehow the bow itself seemed to be thrilled to see her¡­ ¡®Right you¡¯re made out of a living tree¡­ Just have to string you eh¡­? I think I can probably handle that on my own¡­¡¯ ? Weaver ? ? ? Constitution ? ? ? Regeneration ? Expecting a lot of stress on the string she spun her strongest silk and fortified it with constitution and regeneration as an extra insurance. Twisting threads clockwise direction while braiding the bundles in a counterclockwise direction made a stiff but sturdy string for the bow.2This is called reverse twisted bowstring. If you¡¯re having trouble visualizing the bow terms go down and look for an image that illustrates them in the AN. ¡®This needs one of those knots that fit into the arrow¡¯s nock¡­3This is called a nocking point and can have various forms. Has to be slightly above the arrow rest¡­ sounds like a delicate work but I can cheat. Since I can just remake it from scratch until I get it right¡­ then just slot it into the string notches¡­¡¯ Multiple tries later she made a double hitch knot in a place she was happy with. After then she felt around the recurves and tried to tie loops into the stringing notches but gave up after a while. Alicia then made a separate silk string loop to go onto the notch and stuck it together with the bundled thread that was to become the bow string with adhesive webbing. From the tension of the strings the bow bent and finally looked like it was complete. By the time she was finished stringing Faenas came out of her room dressed for the day. Judging by her crooked stiff smile she wasn¡¯t expecting her to have the bow stringed. With a shoulder shrug¡­ Giving up on questioning Alicia¡¯s unusual displays she overlooked the many difficulties involved with the process. Although it wasn¡¯t impossible, it was extremely difficult to do the whole process alone, not to mention the drying process usually entailed with the strings. The Elven girl requested to see the bow more closely. To her the bow didn¡¯t just look more complete but it felt¡­ alive. The stringing was put on fairly well. With how tight they were it was amazing how she managed to bend the limbs. Placing a practice blunthead onto the bow she pulled the strings, what came to her as a surprise was how heavy the draw was. She had to put all of her effort into not accidentally letting go. Picking up something on the table she handed her a ring. Now in a new context the ring made more sense, it wasn¡¯t a normal ring but a thumb ring meant for archery. Alicia wasn¡¯t very good with names and after finally settling on a name she liked for her sword now she needed another one for the bow. Letting out a small giggle¡­ Covering her face she sneaked out a pained answer. Letting out a long sigh she composed herself. She returned Felrae to Alicia. In the middle of her sentence a sting of burning pain shot through her chest causing her to wince slightly. >Notice. Perception of agony originates from kindred connection to Administrator ¡®Alice¡¯¡­ >Adjusting feedback¡­ >Task Complete. As the invisible work process was completed the pain went away as suddenly as it came leaving only a sinking feeling in her stomach. ¡®What? Alice! Is she okay?¡¯ The tone and the expression of her voice indicated some concern she held. Still uneasy; Hurriedly she went out the door, leaving behind the troubled elf. After her friend was gone Faenas was left longingly staring at one of her incomplete works of wood. It depicted a woman¡¯s torso on the top half however its waist down it was unfinished, a block of wood far too large for just a single pair of legs¡­ ¡®Those aches¡­ if because there¡¯s something wrong with Alice then it¡¯s a given why it wouldn¡¯t be shown as something wrong with me¡­ How bad is it that I could even feel it?¡¯ The sudden knowledge of Alice¡¯s torment made her nervous which gave birth to acronymous feelings directed to herself. ¡®I should have noticed it earlier¡­ I should¡¯ve known sooner¡­¡¯ Eventually she came close to the place recognizable. Entering the burrow she saw her counterpart, lurched over herself. Barely drifting the boundaries between awareness and unconsciousness. ¡®Damn what the hell happened?¡¯ >Retrieving biometrics data¡­ >Recent surge of rampant digestive fluids caused severe damage to internal organs¡­ >No damage to following organs: Heart Guts >Limited damage to: Ovaries >Prognosis: Subject is undergoing self digestion. ¡®Why? When did it start?¡¯ >Biological reaction consistent with maternal care strategy of subsocial species of Araneae. Nutritive fluids created by self digestion occurs after reproduction. After offspring is born for the subsequent 10-15 days the mother will regurgitate its internals and becomes food for the progeny. >Current situation originates from Regeneration. Accelerated reconstruction of internal organs offsets with rate of digestion. >After death the subject''s soul will repatriate to an available body - to the Administrator. No further actions necessary. Stirring awake from the sounds, weakly bringing herself up: Alice responded by breaking her corpse-like placid expression and forming a smile so subtle that no one except Alicia could visibly discern it, delicate and fleeting. To Alicia that pleasant smile was insulting and the statement was a mocking one¡­ Going to her with a stomping the steps she placed her hands on her shoulders and brought her face against hers. Alice couldn''t understand her reaction so she looked on in confusion. Overcome with emotion her voice was starting to crack. Her sight was watering up, and she could feel the sensation of a streak of warm liquid flowing down her face. Perhaps in an attempt to hide it Alicia faced down placing her crown against her chest, her hand wrapping around her; Slow and weak but sluggishly a hand brushed her soft hair¡­ Wiping her face, - a messy one asymmetrical with a mix of emotions but the most evident one was of joy - she turned to Alice. >Feeding regularly will drain excess digestive fluid, prevent damage to internal organs and alleviate discomfort. Going out of the den, Alicia noticed her followers and companions were gathered. With just a cursory look over them she knew they were waiting for her to do something¡­ Recognizing this as something she could use, she had found a task for the wolves¡­ Looking over to Rufus¡­ ¡®Wait when did the synchronization¡­ ah whatever he talks like Ramiel now.¡¯ The caprine was also raring to go but¡­ With that a final instruction and the first command to her kindred went out¡­ ? Kindred ? ? ¡² Control ¡³ ? ? Fiat voluntas Dei ? After assigning the respective jobs for everyone¡­ the only thing left to take care of was her own work¡­ ? Void Vault ? From the crack betwixt this world and another she pulled out her new bow and quiver filled to the brim with arrows¡­ ¡®Let¡¯s go practice archery¡­¡¯ Auratic Note the part of the bow facing the archer is called ''belly'' not the ''back'' and the ''face'' part is actually the ''back''. Now some you might be wonderin, ''Is there actually a spider than can asexually reproduce or is this guy just pulling shit out of his ass?'' to that I say. Reality is often far more frightening the fantasy. I present to you Oonopidae the goblin spider specifically Triaeris stenaspis. These litter critters are small... tiny being just shy of 2mm (0.078 inches). They are believed to be female only spiders able to reproduce asexually as a female isolated in a laboratory was able to produce some egg that were infertile after settling in and scientists are unable to find and isolate a male of this species of spiders leading them to believe these spiders to be parthenogenetic(Literally meaning Virgin + Creation) sometimes called a virgin birth famous human example would be mother Mary mother to Jesus Christ. The drawbacks of asexual reproduction seems to be - at least to - this species of spiders is that they have very low fertility compared to others and low genetic variation. Offset by basically every single one of them being able to lay their own eggs after maturing. For further reading. And yes I know, that single line in the image is crooked. It''ll be fixed next time. Click me for spooder vidya. Chapter 43: Apiculture Drumming hooves and squealing cries of fear echoed within glades of verdant woods, fleeing from the unseen terror, hunting them down one by one. Unable to locate let alone fight against their invisible attacker their sole choice was to run away. A sound of faint crackling tension followed by a thud always seemed to precede the attacks. Sometimes they would hear it amidst its flight through the air becoming conditioned to pull their body in some other direction in hopes of evading the oncoming missile. Vicious darts drenched in vile fluids that crippled their movements came from shadows near and far; sapping vigor and robbing their life, slowly, gently. A single scratch spelled certain death, for slowing down for just a moment meant those dreadful attacks would land¡­ Although at first she was slow and clumsy now Alicia was deftly extracting her arrows from the beast she fell. Something she had done quite often in the last few days. Though she received a full quiver of sixty arrows, those dwindled down to about half. First of her arrows weren¡¯t coated in her venom, thus requiring more than one to drop the game. And sometimes when they did they would fall on the arrow and break the shaft. Having to pull out arrow heads without the shaft to reuse. And some even ran off with the arrow stuck to their body. Thankfully she could track the blood trails to catch up however spending a good part of the day following a track in the dirt and subsequently waiting for whatever she shot to bleed out was decidedly not the most enjoyable or rewarding of endeavors. Unfortunately some other times she would be careless and the arrows would be lost for good. With the experiences with her new weapon, there was something she found strange. She had never used a bow or anything like it ever before, but found herself instinctively adept at it to the point of even surprising Faenas. Until¡­ She had forgotten about Armed that enhanced her abilities with any weapon until she earned Marksmanship which brought attention to it. As for Alice she was no longer suffering from the pain of self digestion and was far more active than before. As patient as she can be she was still¡­ bored sitting in a hole, without much to do now more than before. Alicia still had a bundle of unprocessed shedding of the goats hoping that Alice could do something with it so she stored the burrow. Alice wasted no time in messing with them¡­ Alicia had to come down and help her untangle herself a few times at first but eventually she managed to make a number of clothing articles some, even she herself liked so much that she changed into it. One incident that genuinely frightened Alicia was when she found Alice eating one of the egg sacs, her first thought being that she was still starving. Questioning her revealed that the one that she was consuming was infertile and undeveloped sac, almost like a chicken egg. Apparently they eat it to recoup some energy spent on it¡­ She didn¡¯t particularly need to eat it for energy, she wanted to clean up as well as her instincts telling her to just do it. Gaining parthenogenesis meant that her kindred spirits had access to it as well. This meant potentially hundreds and thousands if not more eggs. So to prevent crowding and overpopulation she had made a ruling limiting how much they can lay to one hundredth of what they would normally. Thankfully they didn¡¯t particularly mind it. The new wolves proved themselves to be quite competent, perhaps a bit too much than what Alicia expected from them. When she commanded them to gather food for Alice she was in a rush due to the circumstances and completely overestimated the food they would realistically need. Leading to a massive surplus of extra rations. Her kindred spirits could store their food by keeping them alive and paralysed for an extended amount of time but since they were alive she had them released after the venom wore off. Even so this was only a portion of the surplus. The other part that was gathered by the wolves were¡­ dead, as such instead of letting them rot away and be wasted she sent most of it out as a gift to the elven village and troll tribes. With their accomplishments validated they were allowed to be taken in under Kindred. She delegated the specifics of what skills they should have to Alma¡­ Any organized ¡®pack¡¯ would have a social hierarchy, Alicia¡¯s was no different. Without her knowing this hierarchy already established itself based on seniority. With her and Alice being at the top, her kindred spirits, even those who are late comers were placed right under them¡­ citing that they were directly related to her. After them was Ramiel and underneath him Rufus and the wolves¡­ She found it weird and amusing that a goat led a pack of wolves¡­ And at the bottom, the single rat she carried around¡­ Incidentally Alma unsuccessfully restored the rat¡¯s broken mind. Unsuccessfully as it no longer acted like a rat and more like a clever mouse. According to its own reports: >Neural mapping complete. >Neural pathway reconstruction to initial state failed. >Predictive reconstruction successful. >Subject shows increased intellectual capabilities. When she tried to set the rat free it wasn''t willing to part, always seeming to find its way to her. She kept it as a pet. By now, recovering stuck arrows had become a menial task that required little cognitive input, with her mind wandering as a result she thought of a strange notion¡­ ¡®Spiders, goats, wolves, rats¡­ Am I turning into some sort off-brand D*sney princess? Let me think¡­ Magic, check. Talks to animals¡­ sort of¡­ check? Musicals¡­ not really¡­ Any moment now and some knight in shining armor is going to show trying to rescue me, good thing I¡¯m not really human¡­ But isn¡¯t there some fairytale trend of curses or something like that turning the damsel into a monster, that you lift by kiss of true love? He might think I¡¯m cursed by some evil witch. This isn¡¯t looking good¡­ I ain¡¯t kissing you buddy I¡¯m still straight¡­ wait¡­ am I gay?¡¯ Derailing from one inane thought process to another her mind naturally drifted to other thoughts unrelated to the task at hand. ¡®Mentally, I am a guy that¡¯s attracted to women, that would make me hetero, but with this current body, very much so biologically female¡­ I believe? Would make me a female attracted to other females¡­ socially that should make me homo. So am I gay or not¡­? Maybe that sexuality studies course wasn¡¯t so pointless¡­ The one time I skip over a non-mandatory class, it rears its ugly face to bite me in the rear, of course why not¡­ Screw it all, I¡¯m gay now¡­¡¯ Her daydream was interrupted by a message coming in from one of her kindred, entailing something about her being needed to present to resolve. Apparently a bee kept getting stuck in their web around their home. This wasn¡¯t an issue on it¡¯s own, Alicia was fond of bees, especially since in her previous life their population was in a sharp decline. Even before she gained her current anthropomorphic features, sometimes bees would get caught in her web, which she set free after making sure they¡¯re paralyzed and safe to do so, something she ordered her kindred to do as well. However this particular bee, after being freed, would still go back and get caught in the web. And each time it did the spiders would have to repair the web quickly turning into a problem. Gathering all of her arrows and storing her equipment in the vault, she turned back to the great oak¡­ Passing through the webbed perimeters housed by Brides and Weavers and greeting them in passing, she was confronted with a bizarre situation. A large bee, half the size of an adult tied up in a hostage style bindings; its wings & legs wrapped up and mandibles webbed shut with silk hanging from one of the branches of the tree. Barely holding back a snicker: ¡®Why did I expect an enthusiastic buzzing from a telepathic communication¡­?¡¯ The bee reacted something furious to her comparison of it to another insect with a stinger, but it mellowed out quickly for it was in the striking distance of its captor still on the thread that wrapped around it and seemed to have provoked it. By her command the spider retreated¡­ The story of the queen bee was of one detailing a difficult life¡­ Her original hive had been mostly destroyed by an attack from a bear. In the attack the original queen seemed to have been lost. Unable to continue inhabiting their hive they were forced to relocate and reconstruct their hive; multiple emergency cells birthed virgin queens. The hive split up and swarmed into following each queen. After establishing a new colony, it soon collapsed due to beetles1Hive beetles, (Aethina tumida) and mite2Tracheal mites, (Acarapis woodi) and Varroa mite, (Varroa destructor) You know something is serious when their scientific name has a destructor in it. infestation that especially seeks out bees. Again while searching for a new home her severely weakened brood dropped like flies and petered out to none. It was during this period the immature queen ran into Alicia¡¯s web. Although she lost all hopes of living, after being set free she tried many times and failed to establish a functioning hive. Without a larva or a drone she and her brood was in an inevitable decline to annihilation. Now desperate and at loss she seeked out her former saviour for whatever chance of deliverance. >Notice. Subject able to inherit ¡² Parthenogenesis ¡³ ¡®Oh forgot about that¡­¡¯ ¡®¡­though i can¡¯t imagine Alma screwing me over like this¡­¡¯ What other choice did she have? Her brood without a male drone was already fading away. Between slow and unavoidable end and uncertain sliver of a chance at survival, the latter was the option she chose without doubt¡­ >Idiosyncratic synchronization underway¡­ >Integrating new skill entries¡­ >Delegating recommended skill set¡­ >Constitution ¢ö >Stealth ¢ö >Spiritual pool ¢õ¡î >Regeneration ¢ö >Parthenogenesis ? >Presence detection ¢ö >Employment¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ complete. Carefully the weaver nibbled at the silk, loosening it up¡­ While it that was taking place; Having heard her name being called she climbed down from the top of the oak, presumably from her afternoon sunbathing. Not wanting to break even the smallest twig she was cautiously scaling down the tree¡­ ¡®Maybe I should make a ladder¡­¡¯ ¡®How do you keep making up these nicknames?¡¯ ¡®Wait so they make their hive on the ground¡­ And they¡¯re dying because of beetle infestation¡­ I think I found the problem¡­¡¯ With the dryad¡¯s help Alicia made a glade surrounded by wildflowers with few trees specifically grown in a way to become a natural apiary. Surrounding grounds were covered in a network of silk designed and maintained by hex crawlers to capture the smallest of insects. For the bees that wasn¡¯t bothersome at all since they flew over to the flowers and since they were under Alicia¡¯s protection the spiders didn¡¯t bother the bees. As for wasps they sting and abduct live bees, paralyzing them and carrying them back to their nest keeping them alive for as long as possible to inject their eggs¡­ The larva eats the bee from the inside and brings forth a new generation. Unfortunately Alicia¡¯s kindness didn¡¯t extend to them. Trees around the edges of the bee grove were saturated with Weavers and an extensive densely packed network of webs. Although few bees wandered out and got stuck at first. Eventually they learned to pick up on faint pheromones emanating from the webs to avoid them. Despite all of this there was little she could do help with mite problems. However with presence detection they started to find mites and ¡®clean¡¯ them out. As a side effect of this behaviour the menial drones and workers have become increasingly hygienic, grooming themselves and each other more frequently. Still there were some that managed to sneak in. However combined with their regular cleaning and new heartier bodies their presence didn¡¯t adversely affect their health and as much. With that has been said¡­ There was still something in Alicia¡¯s mind that continued to bother her¡­ Auratic Me trying to write this chapter: My brain: bananas ROTAT E banan a rotato FASTER banana go g O can u fEel it,, b a n an ba ? yES FEEL TH e SPED WE HAV REAHCED MXAIMUM VLELOCIPY you may be wondering if I''m okay... who are you to accuse me? I''m working on a thing... and uhm that kind of took some time. and I also revised some things around my charts in the background so... Anyway you might be wondering what that thing is... It will be revealed just a week before 22nd of November. Some of you might already know what it''s related to just by the date. If you do know it, don''t spoil the fun eh? But even you guys won''t know the exact contents of what''s coming. Also I can spell and recall the meaning of Apis mellifera no problem but my brain shits itself when trying to spell the word ''annihilation''. English student btw. Oh yeah bees. Magna Apis Mellifera is the made up binomial name of the bees. Literally meaning The Great honey bee. When you break it down it''s something like this. Magna = Large, big, great. Apis = bee (or stinging insect). Mellifera = I bear honey. Translating something like Great honey bearing stinging insect. In real world they''re known as the Western honeybee. They''re literally called the ''stinging insect that has honey'' in latin. God I love the verbose bluntness of scientific names. I know there wasn''t anything interesting happening this chapter. I kind of had to recap few things and to not leave any loose strings left so I could move on. There''s like 3 big things I need to get through with before moving onto the next ''arc'' so to speak. Chapter 44: Joys of creation… The bees had settled in the apiary trees well in the first few weeks. Unfortunately Alicia had made them under the assumption of normal sized bees, Great honeybees were anything but normal sized. Their immature drones and workers are still within the realm of the ordinary however as they mature they grow up to more than twice their size, necessitating more housing space or another colony to accommodate accordingly. Although Alicia herself attempted to expand the apiary trees, her creations were subpar compared to Dryssia¡¯s original ones. Apparently they made their hives underground for this reason as digging out and lining the underground burrows with cells was easier than creating huge hives from scratch on the few trees that can support the weight of the entire colony. With the help from the tree nymph the issue was quickly rectified with the latest apiaries scaled up to the new standards. Although floraekinesis could manipulate any form of flora the tree nymph particularly excelled at handling trees and liana1A liana is a long-stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. Forest Lianas often compete with trees for sunlight, water and nutrients. Trees supporting lianas are twice as likely to die. though she held some bitterness pointed towards the latter mentioning something about thieves. The earlier failed attempt made her wonder what exactly she was doing differently as manipulating and boosting the properties of already existing florae were a baseline of ability Floraekinesis thus lack of ranks in the skill wasn¡¯t a contributing factor. And enquiring about the subject from her didn¡¯t quite help Alicia either as her explanations were vague at best. To quote directly: No matter how much she tried to make sense of it the answer just never seemed to come to her. Even though millenniums2Not to be confused with the word millennials. Millennium is a time period relating to a thousand year, not million years. old, Dryssia only recently became a spirit thus she wasn¡¯t the most knowledgeable in regards to magic that being said she does know another spirit who has proven herself to be quite the adept when it comes to matters of magic¡­ Alicia came to the shores of the spirit lake to consult with it¡¯s sole resident. >Upranking skill ? Arcane sense ? improves detection of mercurial energy beings. ¡®I wouldn¡¯t trust her with that, especially with her repeated threats of drowning others¡­ I could just uprank Arcane sense right here and now but doing that right in front of her is going to be suspicious as hell¡­ I need some excuse¡­¡¯ But I know something else that might help.¡± With a loud and gauche tone, unbecoming of her usual self she called out. Despite what she had said earlier Alicia felt her words held a token of forlorn melancholy. ¡®Well I was not planning on it but there¡¯s nothing on my schedule right now. Anyway I need to find someplace private¡­¡¯ ¡®Such an innocuous little skill within presence detection¡­¡¯ Near the northern mountains atop an exposed cliff jutting out a tor3A high craggy hill. away from possible onlookers. ¡®Well here goes¡­¡¯ Instead the creeping tingle or jolt of tremors that¡¯s usually associated with a skill rankup, at once the world seemed to lose its color, light fading away. >Readjusting optical feedback¡­ standby¡­ Before she could start to worry, as if she came out of a world of darkness piercing whiteness stung her eyes, prompting her to instinctively squint. As visual adaptation came through and the blinding sensitivity to light declined her environs near and far were revealed again with one noticeable change. Far off, within the endless skies, differing flighty currents of barely visible colors and riding their capricious flows, nebulous wisps of luminous orbs were dancing, swimming, gliding through the air in an enthralling display. Restrained by nothing they seemed to engorge themselves in their liberty, wild and free; possibly even gloating it. Yet even so they were at the whims of the currents, carried away in whichever direction the fickle tides chose. Lesser spirits of nature. While she was enamored with the displays she had overlooked the thronging crowd that surrounded her. Eventually broken out of the enchanting sights she noticed their company. Swarms of butterflies, scattering glowing orange pollen as they fluttered, unassuming pearly white petals of various plants drifted around her face. Swimming in the air, shoals of small fish encircled her and mud balls with beady eyes & little stubby limbs revolved around her legs, in a dance following the rhythm of her beating heart. Initially dumbfounded from the sudden encounter, she quickly understood that these beings were in essence the same as what she saw. Putting two and two together, she held out her left palm and channelled her own magical energy to it, without any particular intent. Like moths to flame, beast to bait the petal like beings rapidly swirled around her hands and bright orange fliers reminiscent of monarchs4Danaus plexippus. gathered as if to feed from the nectar of flowers. Followed by the shoals of fish. Trailing every whims of her movements these spirits were admirers of her own. >Remapping neural input¡­ Standby¡­ Brushed legs gently tickling, straw like mouthparts5Proboscis. curiously caressing the crevices of her palm. The peculiar sensations felt real, as if they were made of physical materials contrary to what they were, intangible energy based spiritual entities. Lastly the forgotten mudballs lightly clinging onto her legs to reach her hand as they climbed reminded her of their existence. Giving into her instinct she reached to pick it up yet to her surprise it simply passed through her other hand. She could touch and interact with the other spirits on her hand so it was strange to her why she couldn¡¯t do the same with the mudballs. Thinking about what was different, there was no magical energy pooled on her other hand that went through them. Funnelling a small portion of energy to her right hand and picked up a mudball, cupping her hands underneath it. Spirit seemed to be delightedly albeit clumsily dancing on her hands, sometimes jumping up in joy. ¡®Fire are those butterflies, air is the petals, water is the flying fish, earth is this¡­ midget thing? Acorn eh¡­? Probably some sort of nature spirit Dryssia sees.¡¯ Wanting to see how they would react to a real spell she used one of her first spells she discovered with the focal point just a few decimeters away¡­ ? Aerogenesis ? ? ? Acetylene ? The slow parade of spirits turned into a frantic rush. It was then noticed how the other spirits changed form by blurring out, like an out of focus image and re-emerged as the petals before flying away to the assembly. Originally she could only feel and hope that the gas was present. Now she could see it take form as a bouquet of floral leaves. ? Fire Aspect ? ? ? Ember ? In the ignition process, from somewhere outside her vision few fiery butterflies flew straight into the mass of petals setting ablaze to the contained ball of gas. ? Aerogenesis ? ? ? Oxygen ? Introduction of the one of the final elements needed, prompted more of the petals slightly different from the last to rush into the fiery collection. Incorporating the oxygen into the mix, changed to the color of the flames to familiar steel blue6RGB 70/130/180 resembling the flames seen on a welding torch. ? Pyroblast ? But different from the first she used this spell she could clearly see the chaotic collection spirits within the blazing orb. Seeing this she paired each spirit of fire with two spirits of air. One possessing an unproportionate amount of acetylene and the other oxygen. Applying what she saw in the skies to practice, guiding them with her own currents of magical energy to control the spirits¡¯ behaviour. Now with proper cohesion, the spell reached new heights of power as spirits to amalgamate into a single entity. A butterfly with wings of leaves, each with different tints of color was born from their unity. Looking at the orb of fire caused her eyes to re-adjust, the spirits seemed like faint glowing wisps of light. However refocusing on the wisps allowed her to see the spirits clearly again. ¡®Hm¡­ I have to actively search for them to see them vividly, otherwise it¡¯s almost like a mirage from a heat haze¡­ It¡¯s not difficult to miss them if you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re looking for but now that I have it should be easier from now on¡­¡¯ Content with the results, she repeated what she did the first time, by launching it into the air. The ball flame left a trail of alight petals behind its path, visible to few who are attuned to the arcane. Acetylene was an unstable element that when exposed to pressures exceeding standard atmospheric pressure would combust violently. Ball of flame accelerating upwards with speed, emulated such pressure to the unignited fuel. And just like the first time, the pyroblast exploded high up in the air, various spirits of fire and air scattering from its aftermath, with the shockwaves from the explosion shaking the trees and rumbling the ground. Reaching all the way to where she was, with enough strength to be felt. Seeing the display of pyrotechnics she created herself, a satisfied smile sneaked onto her face without her knowing. ¡®Directly controlling the spirits is a fool''s errand¡­ Micromanaging their every action is simply not possible. So how do you herd a group7The name for a group of cats is clowder, sometimes called a glaring. I didn¡¯t use it because it felt as if it was breaking the flow of the sentence. Kittens are called Kindle not a purr basket as I hoped but eh, If I manage to get PhD in English I¡¯ll be sure to advocate for it. of cats? With excessive amounts of cat food. At least in this case these lesser spirits are very¡­ food motivated. Those who don¡¯t have a place of provenance - such as these lesser spirits - exist in uncertainty of when they¡¯ll find any form of sustenance, so they¡¯ll latch onto whatever food source they can find when presented with the option. Once fed they¡¯ll be eager to do whatever you want them to do, so long as they can do it. After that they seem to attach themselves to you in some form waiting for the next time when you¡¯ll give them treats. Kind of like stray dogs or cats in this case huh¡­ Now that I can see, interact with and direct them¡­ limited as it may be I should be able to much more than before¡­ Reminds me of that saying¡­ ¡®You don¡¯t know what was missing from your life until you get it.¡¯¡¯ Stifling her want to cheer out loud into the wilderness she turned back to return to the spirit lake as she mulled over what she had learned. ¡®I wonder if I could make something that¡¯ll house these little critters¡­ seems like a good thing to have¡­ I should be able to draft up something in the dirt¡­ but what do they need for housing¡­? A bird house¡­? Hm¡­¡¯ Lost in her own thoughts she failed to notice the natural garden of tress for the spirits that had formed atop of her head long ago, after all they were out of sight¡­ Meanwhile the deafening blast of pyroblast that shook the ground created another magic beast stampede which headed for the Elven village just like before¡­ However this time they were taken care of by Rufus¡¯ security corps before any meaningful damage could occur. ¡®Ah right that girl wanted me to come back, I should head over to meet first before I forget¡­ wonder what was up with her¡­ she seemed out of it lately.¡¯ Ignorant of the unnatural storm clouds brewing above the lake covered by the verdant canopies Alicia set forth towards the eye of the storm¡­ Auratic By the way would you guys be interested in me making shitty illustrations for this? It''ll take a little time but I think it can help form an image. There should be examples of my bad drawings in one of these chapters at the end of it, like this one... Originally this chapter was going to have a much longer title and a longer content but I didn''t wanted to delay it for another one or two days so I split it up. Name for WS is coming soon feel free to take a guess. Chapter 45: …tears of lament. Closer she got to the lake more and more the winds seemed to pick up, their chilly caress brushing by her. Normally she could make out the detached noises of rowdy and wild creatures in the forest. Lack of those ever-present sounds that she had grown accustomed to combined with the already dark woods becoming even more grim as gray clouds blocked out the what little sunlight that passed through the thick layers of vegetation. Cutting through the dour atmosphere that hung over blackened glades; ostensibly out of place maiden of white and platinum at odds with the dark backdrop marched to her destination with assured steps, untouched by the surrounding gloom. ¡®The clouds and this storm are of no natural phenomena¡­ lesser spirits are going haywire. Far before entering and delving in as deep as she is into the region of tempestuous magical flows, she noticed that something was wrong with the place. Mute to the mundane without the arcane aptitude, whistling and whooshing unintelligible songs or - perhaps wails - of the spirits added to the creepy situation. If it was any other case I would have turned around and gone the other way nine out of ten times¡­ Suspicions turned to confirmation as plotting a course in her mental map illustrated the spirit lake at the epicenter of this raging storm¡­ guess this is that elusive ¡®one out of ten¡¯ case. Besides¡­ I don¡¯t like breaking promises¡­ never again¡­¡¯ At the edge of the lake even through the dense foliage Alicia could make out the water spirit¡¯s figure from a distance. Sitting down on the water¡¯s surface as if it were solid ground hugging her knees staring a hole into something. The lake and its surroundings had an disconcerting sense of peace as if it was an illusion hiding something. Just as she was about to call out to her, she saw for the first time the cold and empty abyss of the lake full of activity. They were calmly swimming circles around the water spirit in schools under the surface. ¡®Fish¡­? No¡­ spirits. Tons of them. The sky¡­ this weather phenomena¡­ How long has it been going on for? hours or years?¡¯ A question was asked in a subdued tone. When she looked up the girl had come closer to her without her realizing. Closer but still at a distance. ¡®I don¡¯t think now¡¯s the time to be honest here and tell her: ¡®actually, yes, that was my first notion.¡¯¡¯ Her eyes that lost its light seemed to glimmer if just for a moment. Unlike others of my kind when I was born it wasn¡¯t the light and warmth that welcomed me but cold caverns and dark abyss.¡± In a soft whisper she continued¡­ Then¡­ one day he came¡­ a human. Wounded and bleeding from an encounter with a magic beast, wearing shabby clothes steeped in blood, he crawled on the mud to reach one of the many rivers fed by my spring. Parched from all the blood he lost, he tried to scoop up a handful of water to drink but fell into the river to be carried away in the currents. I remember that day so vividly because it was the first time I felt the warmth of life. Nostalgia brought about by the pleasant memories of the past, finally broke through her apathetic face appearing as a barely visible smile. It did not escape past Alicia as her time around Alice who rarely showed emotion taught her to read the faintest changes to the face¡­ Maybe my selfish wishes affected the waters as he was submerged in the river rapids, his wounds closed. I was clueless then and I didn¡¯t know how to control the river however after many attempts, in a river bend I managed to pull him out of the stream and did my best to drain him of any water.¡± When he came to, confused as to why he was even alive, I hid behind a tree. Then he saw me, peeking from behind it, and thanked me for saving him, but he was still too weak to stand up. From then on, until he gained enough strength to return home we spent everyday together. He taught me about many things, about humans, about races other than humans and how to speak. You reminded me of him when you gave me this dress you know? He would always pester me to cover myself in some cloak that he carried with him as a blanket. I didn¡¯t like it, as it cushioned me from feeling his body warmth. Later I knew why he did so¡­ nudity from a female is apparently not normal for them and told me that if I ever wanted to feel warmth, I should wear his cloak and bask under the sunlight.¡± Spirits are not timeless but our lifespan stretches on to infinity compared to that of a human¡¯s. And with his death, so too did my waters lose their healing properties gradually. As time went on memories faded, what was once a gracious gift that saved lives and earned respect turned into a quotidian commodity to be used, exploited and discarded as one saw fit. They lost appreciation for the waters and of me.¡± In reaction to her emotional state the water spirits down below sped up their pace, a breeze of wind turned to gale. Waters of the lake swirled in a boiling rage, gales turned to squall threatening to sweep away everything in their tumultuous force. Winds and the water suddenly stopped, bringing about brief respite. Droplets of drizzle falling from the gray skies. Drizzle turned to a rain¡­ but they simply went through her body as if she wasn¡¯t even there. ¡®This is not a real rain¡­ They¡¯re spirits¡­¡¯ However, to the water spirit the ¡®droplets¡¯ ran down her face, akin to tears. ¡®She carries quite the guilty conscience¡­ She is not in the wrong to protect herself but what she had done after it she didn¡¯t mean to do weighs heavily on her. Psychology isn¡¯t my field¡­ but I need her to find some closure¡­¡¯ Looking down at her hands in contemplation her voice died out. ¡®Oh for goodness¡¯ sake I need to get there. Elves aren''t amphibious¡­ but¡­ if spread my weight over a wider area¡­¡¯ ? Mimicry ? It has been some time since the last time she returned to her original form but by spreading her legs wide¡­ ? Water Aspect ? ¡­and making footholds of condensed water as she stepped onto the lake to reach her without breaking the water¡¯s surface tension.2Some wolf spiders (Lycosidae) and Dock spiders (Dolomedes) habitually stride on water thanks to their efficient weight distribution and speed. She held up her hands into her own palms. The water spirit was surprised to see Alicia ¡®standing¡¯ on the lake¡¯s surface. ? Weaver ? Still holding her onto her hands she started wrapping it up in a fine mesh of silk¡­ Before she could notice it Alicia had made a crudely made cloak of silk more akin to a shawl and wrapped it around the remorseful spirit. Stammering; ¡®She cried with her heart long enough for all traces of a human settlement to erode away¡­¡¯ Finally the clouds parted letting in the sunlight to shine directly onto the water spirit. How long has it been since she could bask in it? The warmth she had missed for all these centuries, lingering in the thin and insubstantial cloak. Auratic Told you I was going to get this out early. I had to spend almost all of my free day to finish this and put off a lot of work to do it but hey it''s here. Next week is gonna suck but after that things are looking up... ish. I''m not quite content with how I handled this one more like 90% good with this one. Now is your last chance to start guessing a name. Bees can be smart... but individually bright they are not. Chapter 46: An epic. ¡®I did think up a few nicknames for her before but never had the courage to bring it up to her¡­ It was a bit awkward to only refer to her as ¡®that one murderous, drowning spirit¡¯ or water spirit for short.¡¯ ¡®What about Nile¡­?1Big ass river flowing through Egypt. too simple¡­? This isn¡¯t Earth so there¡¯s no place called like that right? But she primarily lives in the lake¡­ so Baikal?2One of the largest and clearest freshwater lakes in the world. too unique¡­¡¯ She didn¡¯t like any of the names that came to her mind. Slowly her head hung lower and lower, crestfallen. Oddly amused by Alicia¡¯s troubles she tried to hold back a giggle yet it still slipped out, cracks formed in her resistance and in the end she broke into a laughter of schadenfreude. Trying to speak while chuckling through the gaps between words she apologized. Regaining some composure¡­ Eyes ever so slightly arched in a squint paired with a warm and inviting smile, a textbook example of a genuine expression of happiness,3In Psychology this is called a Duchenne smile. the polar opposite of her usual cold and stoic demeanor. Heartfelt confession and a rare beaming smile, gave Alicia the inspiration she was looking for. >Conditional requirements met. Forming covenant¡­ Standby¡­ ¡®Wait what?!¡¯ >? Epic ? spell acquired. New title granted: Chronicler. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly she appeared to be refreshed¡­ Softly repeating it over and over under her breath, trying to commit her new name into memory. Still beaming, ¡®LLynbel¡¯ turned to Alicia who was frozen still mouth agape. ¡®I forgot! Names to spirits either form contracts or covenants, of course how could I forget, it happened with Dryssia then¡­¡¯ Awkward and shaky smile, combined with Alicia¡¯s lack of response, was enough of an evidence for her. ¡®Still hesitant¡­ She fears that something similar to the past may happen because of her but that¡¯s exactly why she needs to be exposed to them to slowly get over that trauma. Plus this lake is like a cemetery of people she killed, that can¡¯t be good for anyone.¡¯ ¡®Ah right, she never met Alice properly¡­¡¯ Walking past the silken perimeters and the greeting spider on them. Llynbel was strangely intrigued by the Aranaea both their numbers and diversity. Reclusive Dire wolves forming a pack, patrolling the premises. The dryad she saw before even had one on what appeared to be a leash, while she tended to the herb gardens, hand feeding the Great bees known for their size and temper. Alicia¡¯s place of residence was also a home to some of the most savage inhabitants of black forest. A news that came as a surprise to the water spirit who rarely strayed far from her lake. At the entrance of the burrow underneath the great tree Alicia called for her. A large chamber was dark with the only source of illumination being the modest amount of light shining through the entrance. Faint sounds of something shuffling in the dark alerted her. However Alicia didn¡¯t seem bothered by neither the darkness nor the dubious sounds, thus she could maintain some composure. Her confusion and worry was still conveyed to Alicia nonetheless. ? Fire Aspect ? ?? Flame ? Light from the fire that flickered in through magic revealed a girl at the back of the room on a bed of web with identical appearance to Alicia with few key differences. Adorned in modest dress, handspun from cashmere and silk, comfortable and snug fitting. Although it had it had simple design the details of it held some charms of youthful femininity. Llynbel was turning her head to and from between Alicia and Alice repeatedly in disbelief. ¡®Well it was mostly her that did the making¡­¡¯ ? Weaver ? Bringing in and wrapping a fair size stone in dense layers of silk and hanging it from the ceiling¡­ ? Bestow Element ? ?? Fire Aspect ? And imbuing it with a fire element¡­ ? Flame ? before setting aflame, she created an improvised lantern that could burn quite some time. Leaving the two alone, she exited the burrow to inspect one of her new additions carefully. ¡®An epic?¡¯ >Epic. Powerful spells reenacting events of mythical, legendary or historical significance. ¡®I believe I received this after I formed a covenant with Llynbel¡­ Moskstraumen¡­ isn¡¯t that a place that exists?¡¯ ¡®Devastator¡­ That doesn¡¯t sound very safe¡­¡¯ >Designation Devastator. Spells with the tag are known for their widespread destructive capabilities. ¡®Well what did I expect out of something titled ¡®Devastator¡¯?¡¯ A while later Llynbel emerged from the subterranean dressed in her new dress. Though ¡®new¡¯ is an overstatement as there weren''t any significant design changes made to it, even so the small ornamentations and stylistic touch ups added to the sundress made it seem like it was a completely different piece of attire. ¡®She just needs some sunglasses and a sunhat and she¡¯ll have the full ¡®day at the beach¡¯ set.¡¯ Noticing the bundle of cloth she was holding¡­ She looked at the great oak as she enquired. A majestic direwolf far larger than any specimen quickly came trotting to her. ¡®I¡¯m still not over with how much they sound so¡­ much like humans¡­¡¯ Worry was shown clearly on her face. Following the canine she was led to a glade with odd trees with hollows. Colorful bouquets of wildflowers grew from the soil. Bees entered and exited from its hollows. In the field of flowers, surrounded by a buzzing swarm of bees stood the Dryad. Nickname from the honest girl stung painfully still. Perhaps learning that she had found someone new to call a friend Dryssia was ecstatic. Unwrapping the dress folded up by a thin cord of silk she immediately wore it over her old dress¡­ Since it was larger and looser than her old one it still fit. Although she knew it was meant to be worn just by itself¡­ she dared not tell her with how happy she was. As she was feeding the bees before, when she came over they followed her as well. Great honeybee workers were already of significant size¡­ But few know¡­ or live to know¡­ that well developed hives can spawn soldier bees to protect the colony. Half the size of a human adult, their beating wings generated such winds as they hovered. With their slim and sleek physique no one would blame someone for mistaking them for wasps or hornets. Barbs on their stingers had a maleficent sheen from the coating of venom. Llynbel would have attacked them if she hadn¡¯t seen them near Dryssia. At the village another surprise was waiting for her, ornery thundergoats obediently being milked and following the elves as if they were domestic livestock. ¡®Perhaps I should reevaluate their worth¡­¡¯ she thought not knowing their leader Ramiel was one of the first of Alicia¡¯s kindred. ¡®Few days has it been since Llynbel¡¯s introduction to the Elves was¡­ stiff and awkward at best. But she didn¡¯t freak out, that¡¯s a start anyway. Getting over her trauma will take time¡­ so right now all I can do is be supportive and let time heal. Nothing particularly concerning happened for the few weeks, everything is good¡­¡¯ ¡®Ah¡­ Correction¡­ Everything WAS good¡­¡¯ Auratic Anyway the name Llynbel can also be spelled as Llynbell and Llynnbel but never Lynnbel. This is because of the names that are included in it. Llyn is a Welsh name meaning ''Lake'' historically a male name it later became more unisex. Bel is shorthand for the French name Belle meaning ''Beautiful/Fair''. Thus technically you can spell it as Llynbelle. And our water spirit''s name literally means ''Lake beauty'' or "The beauty of the lake". Beauty here can refer to both the natural beauty of the place as well as tribute for her comely appearance. Epics... what are they? If by the short descriptors you''ve landed on the words ''Noble Phantasm'' you would partially be correct. But they function similarly to Limit breaks from games. How many types of Epics are there? Well there''s Devastators, Miracles, Mythos and Extinction events to name few. There might be more to come. Oh and you''ll see Moskstraumen or Moskenstraumenn in action eventually. It is considered the mildest of the Epics. As for something unrelated, last friday watched the korean made Red shoes and the 7 Dwarves in the theatres here. Honestly, better than what I could ever expect. Small thing that I had against it was that it''s messaging seemed bit too on the nose for me. However if you can look past that it''s honestly a great movie. Many ''critics'' are too hard on it for no reason, comparing it to shrek for some reason. Excuse me whot why? Because the story has similar archetype? And you call yourself critic. That shit''s ancient and looks like the characters are balloons of helium and disney milked ever living fuck out of it. Imo it'' is quirky and quaint little movie with only few filler scenes in it''s 90 minutes of screentime. 7.5/10. Chapter 47: Trouble Two-fold At first there were egg sacs in the dozens, however their numbers dwindled down to just a handful as Alice weeded out the infertile sacs by consuming them. Eventually Alicia started thinking that all of them were duds, yet Alice didn¡¯t lose hope at all even if it was only one left. And now that one was hatching. ¡®I guess that¡¯s one of the shortcomings of Parthenogenesis¡­ You can basically make as many eggs as you want but there¡¯s no guarantee they will yield a result. Wait how long has it been exactly¡­ just over a month¡­? Isn¡¯t that way too fast even for spiders?¡¯ >Note. Theory based on observation available. ¡®Oh? Go on.¡¯ >Abundant Resource theory. Probability 87.12% >Due to the high presence of mercurial thaumaturgic energy in the atmosphere many organisms have evolved to utilize it, along with Oxygen. >Abundance of energy and resources caused the following evolutionary traits. >Dominant precociality in offspring. >Increased body mass resulting in gigantism. >Rapid, thorough Metabolism. >Higher energy levels. >Heightened competitiveness resulting in elevated levels of aggression. >Improved fertility and virility. >Accelerated growth. >Limited utilization of thaumaturgic energy. >Postulation. Traits are likely to be under-expressed or suppressed in regions with low energy density. Insufficient data. ¡®Accelerated growth¡­ that¡¯s what¡¯s happening hm¡­ you know that theory explains a lot of things like why the hell are the bugs so damn enormous and why everyone is bent on killing everything else in existence¡­ Is this what you do all day? Writing up a thesis?¡¯ Dryssia, who had changed into her new attire as her old dress was too tight for comfort according to Alicia, was waiting outside the burrow¡¯s entrance peering into the dark depths. Her new dress was made for her dimensions thus it didn¡¯t need to stretch much, to Alicia¡¯s relief. Again fundamentally the design of it hadn¡¯t changed only it¡¯s size, with added embroidery and decorations. As for Llynbel, she decided to move into the Elves¡¯ village to try and restore their past relationship. With her dress and hands stained with dirt from tending to the flower: Stopping herself from calling Alicia ¡®master¡¯ in front of her the Dryad replied. ¡®What? Does she want to be praised or something? Well she¡¯s been doing her work very well, if so, then if it is once every so often then why not¡­¡¯ At the first sign of acceptance Dryssia leapt onto Alicia and clutched onto her tight and started rubbing her face against her, due to their height difference - Alicia being shorter in her elven form - she had to lean back to maintain balance. ¡®Ah¡­ she wanted to hug me, not the other way around. Well this is fine¡­ but¡­ I would like some more oxygen please¡­¡¯ In the middle of the dimly lit ¡®basement¡¯ of the oak, Alice was completely still, looking at the single egg sac that was left. Subtle movements within the silken blankets were the only indication of life, bulging and swelling in certain areas. ¡®I mean I know candling works on chicken eggs but there shouldn¡¯t be a reason not to work on spider eggs¡­¡¯ ? Fireball ? In a flash of light a blazing ball of fire spawned illuminating the dark chamber. Moving it behind the egg sac hoping to catch a silhouette, nothing could be seen through the thick blankets of webbing. Soon, perhaps responding either to the heat or the light, through the layers of silk something began to protrude out, intermittently stopping and starting, as if someone was digging out. White slender limbs pierced out briefly before retreating back in. Shortly afterwards two black teeth tore through threads and the sheet. A head with soft snow white hair poked out of the sac, a young child, a girl identical to Alice and Alicia - barring only the size and apparent physical age - with a pair of eyes lavender in color peering back at them. After struggling a little she managed to fully exit the sac after rolling over and falling face first into the ground. >Precociality. The newborn is relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth. Before she could suggest something Alice quickly cut through. Alicia''s question directed at her didn''t get any response. ''Quiet like your mother aren''t you?'' Receiving the iconic inquisitive and subtle head tilt as an answer, Alicia further added to her question. Alicia came stepped close, stretching her hands to try and help her up from the floor. Instantly she scrambled up on her feet with a high pitched hissing from her echoing in the chamber. Fangs exposed, frontal legs raised and a warning cry of stridulation was heard¡­1Never heard a spider hiss before? Here you go. Also spiders can get so angry that they walk upside down¡­ literally. ¡®Threat posture¡­ I should take it seriously but¡­ her trying to appear big and scary by also raising her human hands up along with her legs¡­ kind of cute¡­¡¯ Even with her body raised and hands up she couldn''t reach the same height as Alice who casually reached meter and ninety centimeters at rest. The other party in the room however didn''t share her sentiment. Quietly Alice had already assumed a defensive posture clearly alerted by Anna''s defensiveness. Noticing the shift in the atmosphere and correctly identifying the situation as disaster in the making Alicia tried to defuse the tension. Flailing in front of her she managed to at least prevent Alice from lunging at her offspring. Gingerly making her way to Anna, Alicia outstretched hands. She didn¡¯t want to be touched by her as she kept backing up but she didn¡¯t ¡®tag¡¯ her hands yet, not knowing what to do she only raised herself up more and more to make more distance until she was on her last two legs. Eventually unable to resist the pull of gravity in such a pose she fell back, again she faceplanted into the soil. Suppressing her urge to laugh Alicia managed to gently pull her upright, after which Anna retreated back before returning to the remains of the egg sac. ¡®Is she¡­ guarding it?¡¯ It was then she noticed the egg sac wasn¡¯t completely empty, where it would have been deflated flat. Possibly from the disturbance something, timidly peeked out just for a moment. From the lack of reply she judged that they are likely yet to develop their language skills. ¡®Right¡­ she looks like she¡¯s what ten, twelve? But her mind is that of a newborn and is probably acting on instincts alone. It is likely she doesn¡¯t even know what we¡¯re saying¡­ thankfully I got just what I need to communicate¡­¡¯ Rightfully surprised at the telepathic message, almost at the brink of panicking Anna looked all over the place, uneasy, occasionally her eyes stopped on either Alice and Alicia. After a fair while she appeared to have wrapped her mind around the situation, cautiously backing away from the egg sac enough to let Alicia take a closer look, still alarmed. Without anything to block the view she could definitely see that there was something or someone else in the sac, indicated by its gradual rhythmic rise and fall as if it was breathing at rest. Slowly approaching closer so as not distress Anna any further than she already is, Alicia carefully pulled the torn silk aside. Inside cradled by the silky bed, a girl indistinguishable from Anna, was curled up on her side holding onto a scrap of rag. Indistinguishable save for her eye color like that of molten gold shimmering in the dark curiously gazing back at Alicia. Timidly covering herself with the sheet of webbing. After a while she weakly nodded in affirmation. Timid yet curious, huddling together with her sister. Spending much of her time alone in the burrow, Alice had made many clothes from the cashmere and silk. Unfortunately they were a tad too big for girls. Regardless for just the purpose of giving them something to put on, they were sufficient. Taking a modest, layered silken blouse from Alice, Alicia slowly tried to dress up Goldia. Although frightened by the strange object - also known as a clothes - with slow and steady movements of Alicia she managed to stay still long enough for her to put it on. Putting her head through the hole seemed to be especially terrifying for her but after she had put it on she was fascinated with her attire, pulling, sniffing and tasting it. Moving onto Anna, Alicia had great difficulty trying to put clothes on her as she was responding very defensively to it. After minutes of trying to wrestle her into the clothes and several dry bites later; Being fed up with the fiasco, Alicia gave up and instead wrapped Anna up in silk. Conveying what it was she was trying to do through telepathy was an easy and simple solution, however¡­ >Data retrieval complete. Subject: Anastasia Subject: Goldia Rank: 0 Rank: 0 Species: Araneae; Gestalt swarm queen (Immature) Species: Araneae; Gestalt swarm queen (Immature) >Juvenile subjects will molt approximately seven times before maturity. ¡®Hold up. Gestalt swarm queen?¡¯ >Genetic analysis report >Subjects seem to be able to communicate in ESP4Extrasensory perception wavelengths to each other. Distance, limit, clarity unconfirmed. More data required. >Subjects seem to be able to enforce their will to lesser Araneae species. Quantity, Distance, upper limit unconfirmed. More data required. It is suggested that these abilities will become more pronounced as subjects mature. ¡®Erm so kind of like a hivemind?¡¯ >Negative. Behavioural analysis results consistent with Swarm intelligence archetype 92.16%, over Hivemind archetype 44.79%. ¡®Really? What¡¯s the difference?¡¯ >Units within the Hivemind archetype loses free will, acts as part of the central intelligence. The Queen must maintain full control of all individual units at all times. Units disconnected from the reach of the hivemind becomes feral and will act on instincts. >Units within the Swarm intelligence archetype retains varying levels of autonomy, acts as an extension of the central intelligence. The Queen may take full control of individual units. Units disconnected from the central intelligence will continue to carry out last instructions. After completion they regain autonomy, and will act on personal characteristics. Auratic There are meanings for the names both Anastasia and Goldia. First one to decode it gets a virtual cookie. Chapter 48: Impossible task. Few days had passed since the ¡®arrival¡¯ of the twins and they learned to adjust to their unique environment during this time. What surprised Alicia the most was their outstanding capability to learn and at the speed at which they grasped concepts. For example, in just a day of active conversation they could form basic three word sentences, mispronounced and slow as they may be. And by now¡­ two ¡®Elven girls¡¯ were able to speak at a much higher level than before. Running around chasing each other without footwear. They often refer to each other with shortened nicknames; Goldie and Annie. Remembering that an onlooker might mistake them for a djinn, while the chance of such an event happening was low as long as it wasn¡¯t zero Alicia drilled the necessities of Stealth and Mimicry to the two. Their rapid growth although surprising wasn¡¯t something out of place as they were born with already well developed bodies which included their mind as well. By appearance alone, they were nigh impossible to tell apart with the exception of their eye color and the way they behave. Through her observation Alicia profiled Anna to be a very active, outgoing and mischievous troublemaker whereas Goldia is soft-spoken, laconic, lonesome introvert. Despite their polarizing personalities the twins seemed to share a strong bond. Their favorite game to play was hide and seek with both each other and with the Elven rangers. Apparently both the elves and Llynbel seems to dote on them. Though much bitterness to the water spirit, their favorite playmate was Dryssia. Their use of Stealth makes it hard for Elves to find them but Tree nymph had nearly a hundred percent win rate as the seeker. Two had yet to wisen up to the fact that where there are trees, a tree nymph has eyes and ears. And in a forest, nothing goes by unnoticed to a tree nymph. Although Dryssia, no matter how much she tried, couldn''t find Alicia or Alice when they went low profile. Needing to be in her direct vicinity to be detected. Apparently their stealth skill level was far better than the twins expectedly. However what was interesting was the fact that the skill wasn¡¯t at it¡¯s most effective due to their¡­ souls being separated according to Alma. Although not shown as such, it wasn¡¯t just their statistical parameters but their skills¡¯ effectiveness were also lowered while Gemini was in use. While initially worried with their growth which turned out to be less of a concern. What was most distressing for Alicia was Alice¡¯s method of upbringing which included hunting sessions. She learned of this one day when Alice came back along with the twins dragging in the still bleeding body of a warboar paralyzed and covered with deep wounds. After failing to persuade Alicia from taking them on potentially dangerous trips, and with the twins too excited to quit she took it to herself to come along and make sure there weren''t any major accidents much to Alice¡¯s joy. From following them Alicia concluded that the sisters thought it as some sort of game. Anna was much more up close and personal and confrontational whilst Goldia prefered to get into a better position and sneak up on her prey. Stalking them for a long time until either she or her victim got into a position that was favourable to her. Their natural instincts - already sharp making them excellent hunters from a young age. Yet still both of them had their flaws. Anna could get too reckless and put herself in danger while Goldia was poor at making on the fly decisions, often panicking or getting flustered when unknown variables are introduced to her plans. The reason for Alice¡¯s happiness was because she noticed these issues immediately but due to the limit on the use of Telepathy agreed upon and her lack of ¡®social skills¡¯ to properly tutor them had turned into a especially painful thorn on her side. Which is where Alicia comes in to help. Assessing what she knew of them so far she came up with a plan for two to follow. The measures she thought up was for Anna to be more aware of her surroundings and the situation but that was a difficult thing to judge for someone right in the middle of the fight and as such that role was given to Goldia who had the tendency and the aptitude to observe from a vantage point until she had an opening. As for Goldia, she needed a little bit of her sister¡¯s impulsiveness to make a decision. Even if it wasn¡¯t the best course of action, going along with a ¡®good enough¡¯ decision from Anna was all she needed to regain her composure and think up a new approach to either retreat or press on. Normally strategy like this would require active communication and a sense of camaraderie to trust one and another, but with the siblings joined in Telepathy those concerns are a non-factor. And all that was left was to test the effectiveness of this system¡­ Today their target was a lone wilderkin1W?ld?rkin. My attempt at spelling it in IPA pls no bully. You can use this site to have it pronounced. Moving forwards I will try to include the IPA for any new words or names included. near its nest. Wilderkins are often confused with Owlbears for their similar appearance but few things set them apart. While the owlbears usually have heads like that of an horned owl, wilderkins had real horns, branching out like that of deer¡¯s and it used it to deadly extents. The bears had special feathers on their feet that made them virtually silent when it was stalking, bearing that in mind wilderkin only had large feathers on their first two limbs and it is said that you can feel its footsteps before you can hear it¡¯s hellish screeching. And lastly wilderkins preferred to stand tall on two legs reaching heights of over 3 meters, unlike the owlbears that prowled on all four. While not as agile as the bears, they show great feats of strength and ferocity when threatened. It¡¯s nest with a structure similar to that of common bird¡¯s was located on the ground made from limbs of trees picked from the nearby woods, as the branches still had their green leaves on them. Although a mature wilderkin was a formidable foe this younger one seemed to be the perfect practice target for the siblings to gain experience for their first hunt without either Alice or Alicia. Both of them were hidden from view on nearby treetops. After picking clean the bone of a indigenious prey, the wilderkin was tidying its crude nest of the remains and grooming its wings under the dimming light of the leaning sun. Everything went quiet as the wind died out and the swishing of the leaves stopped. It felt as if something was off, as it raised its head attentively. Behind nearby undergrowths something was rustling. It¡¯s attention focused on the shrubbery; it creeped closer on its ursine feet with subdued steps. Eventually it¡¯s shadow cast over it as the creature loomed above, rustling seemed to pause just for a moment until a wood mouse jumped out of the bush and scurried away squeaking. Huffing out a peculiar avian breath, apparently satisfied with its investigation it turned to its nest to rest. It was then it felt a brief sense of dread followed by sharp pain from its back. It was uselessly swiping at the air above and around it¡¯s back, spinning on its feet trying to shake off whatever¡¯s on it. After some effort it felt the assailant jump off, leaving a perforated wound where hot off color fluids mixed with rosy blood poured out and flowed down the mull wine2RBG 84/68/95 fur. Facing its foe retreating behind trees, a bizarre being of a webspinner that seems to have a morsel attached to it on top of it. A webspinner attacking it directly was odd but not incomprehensible but yet it¡¯s instincts told it that the morsel was the one in control of the body below. An unacceptable disgrace it is, to be wounded by a paltry snack that couldn¡¯t even count as an appetizer. With a screeching cry that felt more like a roar, it got down on all its legs and charged forwards, horns ready to gore. After passing a few trees it noticed the web in between it and the morsel, unfortunately it was far too late to stop for its momentum caused it to crash into it, tangling its beaks and horns. Trying to stand and pull its head up it yanked at the silk even so that wasn¡¯t just enough to set it free. Using its claws it tore at the web, little by little. Before it was able to release itself the strange webspinner crawled around and bit its stout legs and numbing pain set in. Furious at being repeatedly bitten, its boiling rage tipped over the threshold and started to lash out all over in a frenzy kicking away the irksome nuisance to send it rolling away. With immense strength it shredded the webbing and set its piercing gaze upon the insect. Bellowing in hysteric fury rushed through all the obstructions in its paths, smashing through trees. Now it would only focus on annihilating its foe making sure not to leave a single trace of it. Again something had landed on its back, once more the vexing ache of being bitten was reminded. After managing to throw it off its body, it was revealed to be another strange webspinner. Raising up its claws to bring down its wrath on the new target for the simple reason of it being closer¡­ Observing the hunt from a distance Alicia was evaluating their performance¡­ It all seemed to be going well until: Despite being envenomed the beast was still able to move about without much trouble. The twins having failed to take into account that having a large body meant the venom spread slowly and Wilderkin¡¯s strength to force itself out of their web. Resulting in the current situation. But none of that mattered to her, right now she needed to protect the siblings. Seeing that her sister was in danger she was about to blindly run in. Commanding her to stop was enough to prevent her from also being caught in the fight. But Alicia herself was some distance away and judged that couldn¡¯t make it in time. ? Sunder ? Winds oddly shifted their course and rushed somewhere, and before it could know what was happening savage squalls smashed against it. It¡¯s limb ready to attack dangled down limply, as the winds mercilessly shredded the muscles leaving the layers of fat and bone exposed. It stepped away from Goldia in a howl of pain. While she was stupefied Alice lassoed her in a silk line and dragged her up and away. With one of the siblings taken care of, she stood in front of Anna examining her for injuries. Turning away from the nodding girl she faced the wilderkin. Having recovered from the pain it was visibly confused. And although the ominous aura of the blade she was holding had it hesitate for a second, soon it started to charge at her. Taking in deep breath to calm herself she closed her eyes and thought about the recent things that happened to her¡­ When she learned about Parthenogenesis and the egg sacs, she was terrified and tried to not think about it. It came all too suddenly that her mind wanted to deny everything, she was afraid of the future, afraid of what it would mean to be a parent, she thought herself to be a weak, craven fool. And when they were born she was awash with inexplicable feelings. And the time she spent, however short, was so dear she wouldn¡¯t dare trade it even for another lifetime. Wilderkin¡¯s horns invoke a certain feeling of dread. For when she was impaled by a certain warboar the emotions and feelings she experienced were just so horrifying and it did it no justice to compare it to anything else but to death. Standing front of those horns, facing them again those same feelings are creeping up again. Except even so she is overtaken by strange calm. It was true that she developed a PTSD like response to horns being brandished at her. But that was dwarfed by another fear, the fear of losing the siblings. And now standing in front Anna¡­ ¡®No it¡¯s all wrong, becoming a parent didn¡¯t make me scared or weak, it made me stronger than I ever could have hoped for¡­¡¯ Exhaling and opening her eyes the branching horns with sharp tips were only a few inches in front of her. Pulling her head back¡­ ? Surge ? ? Hardened Cranial Cushion ? forcefully bringing her head crashing against the horns, the outcome should¡¯ve been anything but Alicia being thrown away. But in reality it was the horns that were broken and shattered in pieces. Stunned and dazed from the impact the beast drunkenly staggered to side and back falling down to push itself up with its remaining functional ¡®arm¡¯. Briefly dusting her hair and shaking off scraps of horn she approached the downed wilderkin. After realizing Alicia was coming close, without another option to defend itself it relied on its beak. Moment it opened she thrust Dauntless into the depths of its gorge. ? Elfshot ? Spiraling winds bore into the soft innards of the beast drilling out organs, flesh and blood as it blew it back spinning in the air. After it landed with a loud thud, she walked over to it and drove her blade deep into its head straight through its still open eyes to finish it off. After a long evening of lecture directed at the twins they had become tired and were dozing off. Curiously though they were technically a spirit free from hunger and sleep, currently they were too young to enjoy these benefits of being a spirit¡­ Alicia¡¯s soft humming lullaby she was singing echoed out the burrow. Gently stroking their hair she continued. Love imposes impossible tasks Every rose grows merry with time But none more than any heart would ask I must know you''re a true love of mine Are you going to Scarborough fair? Yesterday holds memories in time Remember me to one who lives there For you''re the only true loves of mine¡­ Auratic Alicia''s lullaby full version here. Are you going to Scarborough fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme Remember me to one who lives there She once was a true love of mine Tell her to make me a cambric shirt, Savoury sage, rosemary, and thyme, Without any seam or needlework, And then she shall be a true love of mine. Tell her to wash it in yonder dry well, Parsley sage, rosemary, and thyme, Where no water sprung, nor a drop of rain fell, And then she shall be a true love of mine Tell her to find me an acre of land Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme Between the salt water and the sea strand Then she''ll be a true love of mine If you say that you can''t, then I shall reply Savoury sage rosemary and thyme Oh, Let me know that at least you will try Or you''ll never be a true love of mine Love imposes impossible tasks Every rose grows merry with time But none more than any heart would ask I must know you''re a true love of mine Are you going to Scarborough fair? Yesterday holds memories in time Remember me to one who lives there For you''re the only true loves of mine... I''m bit tired right now to remember all things I added and referenced into this chapter. If you catch it ask, I''ll tell you if you''re right or wrong. No one found the reference so here''s the meanings of names Anastasia and Goldia. Anastasia is a name best known for being the name of a Russian princess who allegedly died when the nobility fell but seems to survived spreading the rumor that she resurrected. And as such Name Anastasia is reference to resurrection or more specifically, REINCARNATION WHOOO META REFERENCES. Yes I do know the difference between resurrection and reincarnation you don''t need to remind me. As for Goldia it''s a bit tricky if you don''t know the rationale behind it. It simply comes from the word Gold from the English language AT A SURFACE LEVEL. If you''ve played the game Pocket mirror Spoilers, you already know what the name means. From Ancient European origin Goldia means "good life". If you take only the meanings behind it and the order which the sisters were introduces they assemble the sentence: Resurrected/Reincarnated good life. Here''s some other references you might have missed. In the game Pocket mirror Goldia is younger of the twins, just like here. (Unlike here, Goldia has a older brother not sister. No Enjel doesn''t count, canonically.) Twins'' behaviour is a mirroring of Alice and Alicia personality. They''re also reference to Quelaag and Quelaan. (Because Fromsoft did ma girls dirty. Quelaag didn''t do anything wrong. Quelaan shouldn''t have died.) The twins were originally planned to have heterochromia of red and blue eyes. As Alicia had blue and Alice had red. This was later scrapped and syncretized into Anna having Purple = Red+Blue and Goldia having golden eyes. The title has more meanings than you may think, the meaning of it relation to it''s meaning in the lullaby is the primary meaning. Trivia, This is long. Chapter 49: Cat out of Bag Since the botched hunting trip it was clear that the siblings needed more time and experience before they could have some modicum of independence and create a sense of security for Alicia. As for Alice she was more nonchalant than one would expect but it didn¡¯t mean she was completely unconcerned. In the wild once the spiderlings grow to a certain size hatch they would disperse by various methods, the mother in this case left them their own devices in the best case and in the worst case might try to cannibalize them. Whether they lived or died was no longer a concern afterwards. This callous behaviour was correlated with the large quantity of offspring numbering in hundreds and the relatively small effort needed after fertilization depending on the species of the spider. Compared to hundreds, two was a tiny number. Understandably this meant Alice was more caring than any other in regards to spiders yet what runs in the blood is hard to overcome. Though thanks to Alicia¡¯s influence she has become much more empathetic even if others don¡¯t see it that way. Although normally known for her inexpressive coldness, recently her expression has become more lively if still a bit subtle for the common man. And before she noticed it Alice seemed to have ¡®regained¡¯ her lost leg, of course asking the owner themself netted in more confusion. However if one were to examine the timeline of events leading up to the restored limbs, the only notable occurrence was¡­ ¡®The twins huh¡­ but why¡­ It wasn¡¯t a physical problem, otherwise Regeneration would have fixed it. So that leaves out mental problems¡­ Well Anna and Goldia were the biggest wish of her life, I guess now that her dream is fulfilled she¡¯s feeling more whole, literally. Whatever it was plaguing her, it¡¯s gone now¡­¡¯ In an early morning Alicia was near the village of verdun along with the siblings, additionally Ash was lightly dressed in his training garbs as the reason for this gathering¡­ It was obvious that the two needed some training thus Alicia seeked out her teacher to take them under their wings. Downplaying the sudden appearance of the siblings was a challenge but eventually everyone silently agreed to just carry on as usual. But seeds of wonder and speculations were already planted deeply in their minds and although not explicitly told many had correctly guessed their origins. Yet one secret remained that baffles them all, the question of how¡­? Despite the stern expression on his aged face Alicia saw an inkling of want within. >Acquisition requirements met. >Cold reader earned.1Cold reading. ¡®What the¡­ well it can wait¡­¡¯ After a brief moment of internal incongruence, with his head hung low the old corporal managed to croak out a sentence. ¡®Ah¡­ well I don¡¯t think Ramiel cares too much about that but let¡¯s not go to those depths for now.¡¯ ¡®Faenas huh¡­ that¡¯s perfect, if I recall correctly she wanted to see me it¡¯s about time I gave her a visit.¡¯ After a small odyssey of asking for her whereabouts around the elven village she learned that Faenas was at her home. ¡®I should have tried her door first before going around ah who cares now.¡¯ When she tapped on the door a few times, she came to the entrance with thumping steps, undetectable to those without Pallesthesia or Presence detection. The Elven girl in her uniform - as if she was about to go out - seemed surprised to see her. The ambiguous look on her face implied that the previous excursions weren¡¯t all too successful Hearing about Alicia¡¯s offer, her whole face seemed brighten up. She started darting from one place to another stopping only to grab the things that she needs before dashing off to somewhere else. She stopped and hesitated upon seeing a certain wooden figure, seemingly lost in deep thoughts for a while, as she was gathering her belongings for the trip. Before Alicia could make out what it was she was so intently staring at she quickly snatched it up and put it in her sling bag. ? Cold Reader ? ? ? Surprise¡­ Excitement¡­ Embarrassment¡­ Curiosity¡­ ? ¡®That¡¯s how it feels huh, it¡¯s almost like I¡¯m mirroring these emotions. Good thing it can tell which ones are mine and which ones are from someone else¡¯s otherwise it would get confusing real quick¡­ This could come in helpful in the future¡­ I just need to find some use for it¡­ Though I can''t say this skill respects privacy¡­ Is it because I don¡¯t have privacy in my head with Alice hanging around? You have some sick sense of humor, ¡®Skill¡¯.¡¯ >Correction. Educement belonging to a Skill. ¡®And you¡¯re not helping my case either!¡¯ The food scouring trip was accompanied by pleasant conversations about their day to day lives, held up from every now and then by the occasional attacks from aggressive creatures and the perusal of other bounties of the forest. In order to make room for all the things she has to bring back, Faenas was packing relatively light. The scarce a few arrows she brought along in her quiver meant after every encounter she would have to pull them out to reuse. Her sling bag filled up in a hurry with more and more forage, necessitating her to put some of it into her quiver. Apparently where Alicia was headed Faenas found some fungi in the caverns near the area that seemed promising for cultivation but before she could collect some to sample the giant viper that resided in the cave started to notice her presence in its den. Low sigh escaped her as she found herself to be right, when she didn¡¯t want to be. From her looks it was clear that it was her first time hearing about them. Faenas¡¯ steps slowed down as she thought about something¡­ They had exited the sylvan shades of the forest and found themselves in the rugged wilderness near the base of the mountain ranges, closer to their objective. ? Olfactory ? Few minutes of walking later the two could make out a rocky hill in the distance and the alcoholic scent intensified with each step taken closer to it. Eventually Alicia saw the cave opening in question, The signs of presence of the giant viper was all over the place ranging from the subtle to obvious, from broken twigs and slithering trails to old shed skin rubbed off on exposed rocks. The temperate caves were pitch black and deathly quiet save for the whistling sounds of the wind outside and drips of water flowing down the stalactites splashing against the cave floor. Despite the cramped confines of the interior, due to excessive rubbing against the rough scales of the viper the limestone floor and stalagmites had become smoothened over time giving them a rather likeable appearance. Regardless of the homey interior Alicia proceeded carefully in the dark. Although she was tempted to create fire for light, considering what could be in here she decided not to, relying only on Pallesthesia for navigation. While she was focusing more intently on picking up something with, it felt as if the whole cave was about to collapse before suddenly stopping. Yet insides of the cave were serene as if nothing had happened. ¡®I guess there¡¯s somebody home already¡­ It would be a mission success if I can find the fungi and get out without an incident but¡­ As great as Pallesthesia is unless something makes movement I¡¯m practically blind to it, while I can ¡®see¡¯ by making my own drumming vibrations and get a sense of where everything is I¡¯m also telling where I am to whoever¡¯s listening¡­ Not something I want to do¡­ As for the viper¡­ they have great night vision¡­ rather infrared heat vision, if I make a light with fire I would be like the sole firefly in the pitch black night another way of announcing where I am¡­¡¯ As she drew closer the dank smell of the caverns were overcome with the smell of blood and she could make out intermittent shuffling through the ground¡­ ¡®Excellent¡­ It¡¯s feeding¡­ While vipers are feeding or just after they have eaten they¡¯re mostly immobile. They¡¯re not the fastest of predators due to their size and since they swallow their prey whole, that¡¯s like a giant boulder in their belly dragging them down. I should change my angle of approach though¡­ I was starting to like this floor too¡­ Hope I haven¡¯t forgotten how to be a spider¡­¡¯ Without the viper¡¯s scales to sand it down the roof of the caverns were rough as they come but it also provided excellent cover for Alicia¡¯s approach and the uneven surface was no deterrent for her, rather it was much easier to cling onto them even though they were moist with water condensate. Navigating through the maze of stalactites she found the Viper in a narrow passage, the prior ¡®earthquake¡¯ she felt was from the serpent springing forwards to further swallow it''s unfortunate victim. ? Firebolt ? As it was preoccupied in its feast Alicia instead probed what its reaction to fire would be using small flames. Although it was wary of the sudden appearance of light, it quickly simmered down and continued to devour the last of the paralyzed food. Illumination provided by the flame was enough for her to faintly make the outlines of fungus that grew along the cave walls. The warm glow of the flames revealed a small part of the viper, much of its body was hidden in the dark, deeper in the cave. Reading the vibrations of its breath and subtle movements Alicia judged that it was much shorter than she expected 8-9 meters was her guess¡­ Vipers that relied on their venom were much shorter than their constricting cousins who could reach up to double the size and length of the vipers. ¡®Chanterelles¡­ Oysters¡­ Morchella I think¡­ and some others I can¡¯t even recognize what is that stringy ball thing¡­?2Lion''s mane Let¡¯s just get what I can reach and dip before this thing starts getting photosensitive.¡¯ ? Weaver ? With a silken sack she gathered as many samples from the walls without provoking the viper. Because she was hanging onto the roof and walls of the caverns, her lengthy hair kept blocking her vision due to gravity prompting her to messily bundle it up with silk strands. Bones and some indiscernible calcified remains of viper¡¯s prey were abundant in areas densely populated with fungi. ¡®These are most likely some of the unfortunate victims that wandered into this den, fungi are just the hitchhikers feeding off of whatever is left of them. It¡¯s going to be tough to harvest them consistently with the viper, but without the viper the fungi will stop growing since they won¡¯t have a food provider. You live today snake¡­ You live today¡­ I¡¯ll just hope Dryssia can grow these¡­ Also don¡¯t mushrooms usually grow on trees, why are they so abundant here?¡¯ >Retrieving data¡­ >Report: Flesh found in the digestive tracts of local rodents texturally match specimens found by administrator. >Hypothesis: Possibility 74.12% >Considerable number of rodents regularly feed on Fungi found in forests causing declining populations of fungi. >Cause of fungi thriving in the current cave system likely results from the following factors. >Presence of a predator that preys on rodents. >Predator unlikely to consume fungi. ¡®Ah those giant rats¡­ Makes sense they chew pretty much anything that they can bite¡­ But when did you do a detailed dissection on a rat?¡¯ >Data sourced from kindred units¡¯ consumption. ¡®So even they don¡¯t have privacy huh. Wait, I never see them eating though?¡¯ >Spiritual lifeforms do not require sustenance from food. The act is mostly instinctual with possible motivator being satisfaction. ¡®Does that mean they do it because they want to?¡¯ >Assumption correct. ¡®That¡¯s another thing I didn¡¯t know. Anyway I think I¡¯m done here, I should head back out before Faenas gets worried.¡¯ Awkwardly holding a netful of fungi upside down she made her way out of the caverns, making sure to create an ample distance between herself and viper before returning rightside up. Closer to the entrance, following the distant light dyed in amber at the end of the cave, she could smell the fresh air. When she exited the cave, rays of the sun stung her unprepared eyes adapted to the dark briefly blinding her. She could see Faenas sitting on a tree branch fiddling with something wooden in her hands. Waving her free hand to get her attention, Faenas seemed momentarily startled to see Alicia in her original form. After stuffing whatever she had into her sling bag she jumped down, gracefully landing. Alicia could smell the sharp scent of alcohol about her. Catching the sight of her harvest Ranger captain seemed to be beaming with joy. And just like that the glimmer of hope seemed to snuff out infront her eyes. While she was lost in her disappointment, a promise of deliverance came from the messenger who carried the ill news¡­ From underneath a rocky shelter of a bluff, the sound of crackling firewood echoed into the twilight and the enticing aroma of roasted mushrooms wafted through the air. Possessing toxic tolerance from advanced toxicology, Alicia - after some difficulty - volunteered herself to the position of food tester. After trying small nibbles from different parts of the many mushrooms she gathered with the help of Alma she separated the edible fungi from the poisonous. Unsurprisingly many of them were unsuitable for consumption save for few species that were edible raw. With the hope that kiss from flames and the being cooked will make them more palatable, Alicia roasted them over a small campfire skewered with a stick. Few of them were beyond saving with their toxic nature being made even more intense with heat. Naturally the process of cooking takes time leading into idle chatter. Picking up a cooling stick of mushrooms she pulled out a tepid piece of an unusual mushroom. It¡¯s color was pale white yet after cooking it it took on a deep pink hue. With only a gentle bite the cap rich juices trapped within it¡¯s flesh seeped out and tinged Alicia¡¯s tongue with a vague taste of sugar and spice. As she chewed on the fungi, it¡¯s texture and taste were wholly different from when she tried it raw when it was tough, leathery and sour. Though edible raw this particular one was much better when prepared with fire. ? Toxic Tolerance ? >New chemical compounds detected. Analysing¡­ Standby¡­ For reference, according to Alma¡¯s analysis, much of the edible mushrooms were rich in selenium, phosphorus, iron, copper, thiamine, folate, niacin, riboflavin and ascorbic acid among other things like proteins and calories.4From left to right order. Thiamine or B-1 vitamin, Folate or B-9 Vitamin, Niacin or B-3 vitamin, Riboflavin or B-2 vitamin and Ascorbic acid or Vitamin C. Half of them she didn¡¯t know what it was, remembering her younger sister who was in medical school might be able to tell her from before she had died¡­ Saying so she handed Faenas the skewer. It seems even she was taken aback by the exotic taste of the fungi. Faenas¡¯ eyes seemed to lose their light as she recalled her dreams lost in deep thought. While proceeding with her story she abruptly stopped, her face was flushed, perhaps from the heat of the fire. Staring intently at Alicia. Feeling awkward she urged her to move on. ¡®I SHE WOKE UP DURING THE ANTIVENOM INFUSION!¡¯ Hoping to brush over the embarrassing incident¡­ Without Alice¡¯s impassiveness, Alicia was terrible at hiding her inner thoughts from revealing themselves on her facial expressions. ¡®This is bad! this is bad! this is bad! Why¡¯s she acting like this¡­¡¯ ? Cold Reader ? ? ? Infatuation¡­ Excitement¡­ Enticement¡­ Lust¡­ ? >Analysis complete. >Cooking process altered chemical makeup of compounds. >Presence of Psilocybin detected. >Decreased responsiveness from default mode neural network. >Heightened production of serotonin detected. >Heightened Estrogen presence detected. >Slow down of the limbic system detected. ¡®Yeah that¡¯s great, that doesn¡¯t make any sense to me!¡¯ >Side effects of psilocybin related decreased activity from default mode neural network: >Mild hallucination. >Ego dissolution. >Presence of hormones may correlate to increased sexual drive. >Deceleration of the limbic system responsible for emotional responses results in loss of inhibition. ¡®How did that happen! I thought that mushroom was safe to eat!¡¯ >Side effects may be present in subjects lacking resistance to chemical compounds. ¡®So she¡¯s high on what is basically hallucinogenic aphrodisiac! That explains her strange assertiveness¡­ How do I snap her out of it¡­¡¯ >Synthesis of counteragent possible. ¡®Not sure if I like that¡­!¡¯ >Oral transfusion recommended. ¡®I knew it! Hey isn¡¯t there any other way?!¡¯ >Subject¡¯s body will naturally clear out excess foreign chemicals. ¡®Seriously? It¡¯s between waiting it out or doing the exact same thing again?¡¯ Euphoric girl was intently staring at Alicia, before she could notice she had managed to get uncomfortably close to her. ¡®¡­You know what¡­ if she wants it. Fine, I''ll do it.¡¯ >Synthesis has begun¡­ Note: Effects may be delayed based on metabolic rate of the target. With their faces so close to each other, oral administration could be started easily. Her calescent breath seemed to gently tickle her. Though Alicia did feel some prohibition as she felt like she was taking advantage of the situation, she quickly discarded the thought as Faenas affirmed that she wanted this, verbally. Though it didn¡¯t quite completely disappear as she didn¡¯t know if it was the chemicals or she herself that was talking at that time. Giving herself up to the slithering lead of the elven girl greedily ingesting the counteragent from her mouth, Alicia just closed her eyes and let whatever was happening fly. After what seemed like a time spent felt in blissful eternity,5Also known as 30 minutes. Faenas collapsed in restful sleep. What happened in the past few moments felt like a blur lost in throes of ecstasy.6Screw you countess. Auratic and this one''s still WIP but; I might have fucked up something somewhere so let me know if you find something weird. I know I''m still behind by 1 chapter. Also I decided to put in between chapter polls and other updates on my profile page, you''ll get notified every time I post something there if you follow me(not the story). Chapter 50: A quiet stroll. ¡®I got violated, twice¡­¡¯ Mentally sobbing Alicia was recovering from the incident. As for the violator, she was blissfully snoring away the chemicals. The aphrodisiac-like effects were caused by disinhibition and the hallucinogenic influence from the mushrooms. Perhaps feeling safe in the presence of Alicia or either the counteragents suppressing the stimulants, she dozed off during the ¡®oral administration¡¯ process. Apparently the agents should have taken only 10-15 minutes to kick in but in reality they took about 30 minutes before Faenas was sedated. Alma concluded that the result was from a slower metabolic rate than the expected forecast. Out of curiosity Alicia inquired about how long it would have taken for the disruptive effects to disperse naturally. According to its analysis the natural breakdown half-life was around 1-3 hours but accounting for Faenas¡¯ - or maybe for the entirety of the Elves¡¯ - slower metabolic rate it expected the decay time to double at least, though she skipped over the what and why of the reason. As a half spiritual being, sleep still eludes her. Faenas didn¡¯t plan for camping out thus she lacked anything resembling a bedroll. With the rangers¡¯ preferred breast band like vests, and mini short length leggings the chill of night was likely to be ruthless. Though she wanted to do something, leaving Faenas¡¯ vulnerable like this was not an option either thus she patiently waited. The night¡¯s crescent moon failed to illuminate the darkness even without the usual shade from viridescent canopies. From within the depths of blackness of the forest just nearby specks of chenin1RGB 225, 218, 122 pierced through the gloom. Rumbling steps perceived only by her were charging straight to their shelter. However Alicia was calm. Pair of wolves emerged dragging a sack of silky ball, slowing down to a trot when approaching her, their destination. From behind the rocky cover, a spider with a huge and bulbous abdomen creeped out. Dire wolves and one of her numerous familiars, a Crypt weaver specializing in spinning webs. Crypt weavers were sedentary ambushers unsuitable for travelling, Alicia needed their weaving skills to make a bedroll and a blanket for Faenas as without Alice her web spinning skills were¡­ questionable at best. The weaver in question relayed that the trip was inconsequential. The lupines were panting happily, sitting on the ground, their tails sweeping the floor as she took the ball of thundergoat wool enveloped in silk from them that they brought. The weaver was instructed to create a bedroll, blanket and a pillow out of silk with wool filling. Alicia was thankful that her spider familiars had access to her memories through telepathy and Kindred this one time as she didn¡¯t have to go through the gruelling hurdle of explaining the concept of bedroom furniture. Though she could sustain the flames with magic, she would rather spare herself the trouble of doing so, all night long. With Faenas''s safety assured, Alicia entered the woods to collect fuel for the campfire with the additional goal of getting a treat for Rufus¡¯ followers she borrowed. It took her some time to understand that her familiars and followers expected her to take the lead and give them orders. Nonetheless the role of leadership came to her naturally. Afterall controlling dogs, bees, sheep and pest control wasn''t all too different from managing a rag-tag bunch of college drop-outs, troublemakers, brawlers and drunkards from starting a brawl in a construction zone while trying to complete a half decent job for a obstinate client who is stingy with their purse but still expect state of the art results while imposing ridiculous completion date. ¡®At least they don''t fight each other. I expected the wolves to try and take a bite out of someone by now.¡¯ Amidst the song of cicadas and the luminous display of fireflies, or in this world, bladeleaper and wandering wisp - she picked up dry kindlings for the camp, on the lookout for a danger and prey. Night stroll and cool air was refreshing to her mind, especially after what happened. While absent mindedly wandering the forest she noticed the surroundings had gone unusually silent, the trees and leaves stood still yet there was a creeping feeling that they were moving behind her back. Cool breeze turned to cold haze, suspicions of some unseen threat circling her in the fog plagued her mind, unfounded paranoia setting in. It felt as her eyes and ears were playing tricks on her thus¡­ ? Instinct ? ? Pallesthesia ? but she couldn¡¯t feel anything. And yet she just felt as if something moved behind her. Turning around there was nothing but dead leaves and cold dews from condensation. With that confirmed¡­ ? Pyrokinesis ? Spreading out her collected wood around her in a circle, gathering a blaze of pyre above her head at her fingertip she set the kindling aflame in single sweeping motion of her hands. As the shin height flames dispelled the darkness, coils of shadow that were surrounding her with unknown intent all retreated in a single direction and from where they fled inhuman shriek resounded. ? Fire Aspect ? ? ? Fan of Flames ? Acquired. Carrefour¡¯s2Carrefour/Kalfu/Kalfou is the Loa of the darkness and evil of the spirit world, his sign is the moon. Often thought to be a demon but ¡®he¡¯ himself denies this. spirit, Nightrider or more commonly known as a Mare are a type of Djinn often blamed for nightmares and sleep paralysis. Only appearing after sun down or in dark depths of cave systems, they are nocturnal predators of travellers and lunatics who dare wander without a torch or a lamp. Draining the strength and will to fight against them by showing their slumbering prey terrible nightmares before attacking is their preferred method of hunting. However that does not mean one is safe during waking hours as they often stalk their prey to fuel their fears until the victim starts to run. And after they pointlessly tire themselves, it becomes material only to strike their exhausted hunt. They show terrible nightmares to travellers whose campfire has snuffed out and even without sleep they lure and lull their quarry, often making them hear or see things beckoning them closer to madness. They being a spirit of night and darkness are able to shapeshift into terrifying creatures of nightmares, however where light shines they cannot thrive. A mass of darkness wriggled just out of reach of the light, inimically hissing as the sudden flash of light from the flames seemed to have harmed it. Pair of red dots resembling an eye stared back at her. Mares are never born in the wild. They are birthed from negative experiences of past trauma and recurring nightmares as such they only plague creatures capable of higher levels of thought. As for who the host is¡­ As the flames slowly died out it was becoming more agitated, vengeful at being harmed. The only response was its unintelligible shrieks. By now the only thing preventing the mare from attacking Alicia was the faint glow from the circle of smoldering cinders surrounding her. >Cognitive intrusion attempt detected¡­ Rejecting¡­ ¡®Now the question is how to kill what is basically a formless energy¡­ Local shaman and a spirit expert3 Sardak if you¡¯ve forgotten. What? Rings no bells? Leader of the trolls, witch doctor, spiritualist. might know a way to do it¡­ Fire would work but if I scare it off it¡¯ll just run away and hide from me never to show up again, as much as I like to, I can¡¯t keep watch over Faenas forever so I need to deal with this right here, right now.¡¯ Mares often intrude upon people¡¯s thoughts to pull up their greatest fears and turn into a manifestation of it. But if one is prepared and most importantly if they do not fear the mare, it is severely weakened. Making them the most dangerous to the host who created them and Mares do not present themselves in the presence of a third party who might interfere. It tracking Alicia, an outsider who it should avoid, showed just how much she had irated it. Though Mares who had claimed the life of their host and others were much more bold, this one was clearly not like that. ¡®Only magic is going to be effective against this guy, what do I have¡­ Lightning huh¡­ Yeesh, I have to hold back so I don¡¯t scare it off while not holding back too much that I might die.¡¯ The mass of blackness coaslescensed into a single point before growing in size with unearthly shifting movements presumably shapeshifting into a more suitable form. Anon, a sinister caricature of a Manticore, came forth with a strange mix of cry between a shriek and a growl. Obscure branching limbs of wispy darkness had taken place of the creature¡¯s spiked tail, waving around with uncertain movements. And its size was larger than a normal Manticore. Because it couldn¡¯t peer into Alicia¡¯s mind, it chose something else, something familiar to it. ? Void Vault ? Reaching out to a gap between worlds she pulled out her weapon. Dauntless seemed a little different than how she remembered it. The blade appeared to have a small teetering fissures underneath its dark glassy surface from which a faint iridescent4Think of iridescent obsidian but with a color spectrum mostly limited to 400 - 475. glow could be seen, though she disregarded it for the moment as the mare could attack her at any moment. Or so she thought, strangely the Djinn seemed almost disturbed by the appearance of her weapon. Bizarre reaction as physical weapons should pose no threat to spiritual beings. Alicia was counting on the Mare to know this fact and be more confident yet it seemed wary of it. She was planning to use the sword as a conductor to deliver lightning which can harm the djinn. The process could also create a brief but intense flash of light from the plasma which would become the nail in the coffin as by being in such close proximity to the source of light would surely destroy it. ¡®I know you¡¯re young but are you that green to not understand this stick is harmless to you¡­? I only got the cursory information from Sardak so¡­ Well doesn¡¯t change my plan that much I¡¯ll just have to demonstrate to it that this is harmless. Let¡¯s try not to get hit.¡¯ Stamping on the remaining cinders to quench the lingering embers she stepped forth. Although it was just wary of her weapon, her challenging action had enraged it enough. Despite looking like a manticore, it didn¡¯t act or move like one after all it was only imitating one. Cautiously the appendages on the tail shot out at her. Avoiding their assault by stepping back to then purposefully let few of them graze her, she feigned to be on the defensive. ? Regeneration ? Though those small cuts and scratches immediately closed by themselves, whits of drawn blood and the lour expression was convincing enough to feed into its belief that she was having a hard time. Frustrated not being able to land a square hit on Alicia, the Mare in the form of a Manticore closed the distance, now certain that she wasn¡¯t much of a threat to it. ¡®That¡¯s it¡­ get closer¡­¡¯ The ¡®tails¡¯ returned back to it vanishing behind it. Shortly thereafter grew once more, their numbers had reduced and instead of some flimsy appendages, thicker, more defined limbs grew out. With a strange reverberating growl its tendrils flailed madly. ¡®Finally getting serious¡­ Alright let¡¯s do this right.¡¯ Many sweeping attacks were launched at her. Their speed was faster than any human could react and dodge, though for Alicia they were just right for her to get a decent ¡®warmup¡¯. Again evading most of its attack and some smashing the trees in the vicinity as she used them as cover, her plan was just about to come to fruition. ¡®This might hurt but oh well¡­¡¯ The very last attack she would pretend to be too late to evade, then she would attempt to block it with her blade. Turning the edge of the blade facing towards the oncoming sweep she braced for impact squinting her eyes. Yet the strike that landed felt too weak, especially considering those same sweeps could shake down the leaves and nuts of trees and leave a mark. Something black whiffed by her face, and she felt something roll behind her. The Mare yowled in a fiendish cry, reeling backwards. Turning around to look, a fair tip of the tendril was cut off and wriggling, writhing on the ground, black smoky evanescent essence was ¡®bleeding¡¯ out from where it was severed and dissolving into thin air shrinking in the process¡­ or so it seemed but looking more closely revealed that they were being funneled somewhere. Following the trail of strange essence, it led to her weapon, Dauntless where the smoke seemed to be seeping in. Or rather, the blade appeared to be draining if not absorbing it. The blade should have simply passed through the Djinn¡¯s attack harmlessly, like stone in water. ? Cold Reader ? ? Confusion¡­ Not readily comprehending what had transpired¡­ Realizing that she could just destroy it without the extra steps of magic, her self restraint faded as she felt liberated from the hurdles of her plan. A change in mood so plain that even the other party could feel. ? Cold Reader ? ? Fear¡­ A Mare which sowed dread amongst men, orchestrator of nightmares waking or not, peerless hunter of the dark, in the form of a Man-eater Manticore an indisputable Apex predator in many biomes was frightened by a girl, tiny compared to it. Though because it was led into the false impression that it had a chance against her¡­ it recomposed itself to attack once more. After all¡­ those hits couldn¡¯t have been a fluke, could it? Like a butterfly dancing in the wind, she weaved through all of its attacks, it was as if she was a completely different being, was she not the Elf she appeared to be? Every miss was answered by a fierce reprisal, the steely edge nipping away at its limbs. Sense of terrible trepidation set in that it could not ignore, desperate to drive her back it attacked with more speed, more strength, more numbers. Fear was the archenemy of rational thought which mayhaps could have saved it. For it was all for a nary but give her more to cut down. Finally the true magnitude of the threat she poses dawned upon it. It shapeshifted back into a formless mass to slither away, surely she couldn¡¯t keep up with it then¡­ As she stood still and didn¡¯t give chase, it was confident in its escape. But soon something was on its tail and gaining speed, could it be? Impossible, no Elf had that agility, it had studied its host - an Elf - closely, It should know¡­ As it was consumed by bewildering thoughts and fears, vile burning pain of light stung at it from behind shortly followed by a loud thunderclap. And what it saw was a strange being, a humanoid thing that rode upon a many legged creature. No they were one and the same and what it thought to be an Elf was an Araneae masquerading as one. It was holding the same long terrifying object, pointed at it. Crackling of electricity was becoming louder as the flashes of lightning picked up. It now realized that it didn¡¯t just run into a dangerous predator, but also it was already caught in its web of deception long before it attempted to attack her. When¡­ maybe when it started to stalk her into the forest in the first place. The pale flash of lightning eradicated the regretful Mare completely. >Analysis of retrieved sample complete. >Compatibility registration complete. ? Major compatibility (87.2%) to the thaumaturgy tree defined ? Void ? >Begin Integration? Y/N. ¡®Does that mean a new skill? Sure¡­ but how did you¡­ oh right Dauntless¡­ Why was it absorbing the essence of it anyway?¡¯ >Material makeup of object has high absorption compatibility with mercurial entities. >Cause unknown. >Additional data required. ¡®So you¡¯re just as clueless as I am hm¡­ The essence has high compatibility to void and my sword¡­ Is it because I kept it in the vault too long or the material itself already somehow was associated with the void?¡¯ While making her way back to the camp, lost in her thought she suddenly crouched down clutching her head as she remembered the reason she even entered the forest. Her indignant yells echoed throughout the woods. Turns of the Mare did harm Alicia significantly¡­ oh the injury and insult of re-doing a menial task you had already completed before¡­ Much of her anger stemmed from the fact that she did it herself. Auratic So this is 3k words, about 50% longer than my usual word limit, that should make me being late little justifieble yes? Yes...? No? Okay tell you what I''ll get this week''s chapter out... soon ish. In the meanwhile I distract you with baby spiders. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CozTSMNycMI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPGfGaZ5FfQ Chapter 51: Representative >Compound integration complete. ? Advanced Toxicology ? Rank ¢õ ¡ú ¢ö. >New compound synthesis available. ¡² Compound Synthesis ¡³ ? Antiseptic ? Antibiotic ? Antimycotic ¡² Venom Synthesis ¡³ ? Psychoactive Venom. ¡®Ah the mushroom analysis completed¡­ I¡¯m noticing a trend here. More weird¡­ things¡­ I eat the better I get. Alicia was begrudgingly picking up firewood once again. ¡®You don¡¯t usually go around picking poisonous mushrooms and eating them but¡­¡¯ >Sample integration complete. >Unknown skill entry detected. Heuristics analysis underway¡­ >Generating entry ID¡­ >Generating effect approximation¡­ >Ready for use. ¡®That might actually be what I need not to get mindlessly attacked by some oversized wild¡­ whatever that lives in this world. I don¡¯t actually have to whisper right¡­?¡¯ As soon as she exited the forest on her way to the campsite, one of the wolves she assigned to keep watch came to receive her. Besides the bundle wood carried on her back she hauled along a ¡®treat¡¯ for the wolves. Though the familiars directly under her required no sustenance, - for example Rufus - thanks to the bond shared which bequeathed some of her spiritual nature to them in addition to her skills, one of which is the superfluous need for nourishment from material consumables, the same could not be said for their followers who technically were the kindred of their respective ¡®leaders¡¯. Although after trickling down the hierarchy they do enjoy some benefits of it such as decreased appetite. Officially the Calcatrix1New latin translation meaning ¡®She who Hates/Condemns/Despises¡¯. P.S it¡¯s pronounced Kal-kei-triks or if you prefer IPA: /k¨»lke?tr?ks/. I forgot /e?/ diphthong existed in the IPA alphabet and was confused as to why /?/ was sounding so different., with a head closely resembling that of a rooster, highly venomous and flightless relative of the wyvern is often called ¡®The King of Serpents¡¯2Basilisk, or basilicos for its intense venom or more colloquially a Cocatris. In place of down and feather it had scales of varying sizes, with digitigrade talons it inherited from its draconic forebears. Topped off with the vestigial remains of a long serpentine tail that aided in flight it was now incapable of. They were much smaller than an adult wyvern too, however in return for these sacrifices they possessed potent toxins able to not just paralyze but to kill a person hundred times over instantly with miniscule doses and terrifying speed on land. Of course they only work if they find a way into one¡¯s body and fortunately their offensive and defensive capabilities other than their venom were laughably trivial. Their power came from their reputation and fear of their venom. Not many would dare contest with a cockatrice for there was no room for error, a single nick and your life was at forfeit. Ranged engagement is an obvious choice but in nature it is rare and in case of it being available, anything less than an either immobilization or an outright kill is again a death sentence should you fail to escape or hide. But if one is able to successfully sneak up on one during its slumber¡­ Besides showing obvious signs of delight for the treat, it pretended not to have heard her question and stood at attention, even though her earlier question was through telepathy where inaudibility and misunderstanding were a nonfactor. The time she took dealing with the Mare, gathering wood again combined with her digressing to fetch a suitable treat she promised to the wolves meant that when she returned, the fire was nothing more than a smoldering ashes. ? Fire Aspect ? After piling on fresh fuel, with a little help from magic the lingering embers vigorously started to burn once more. Light from the fire illuminated Faenas had gotten hold of something furry, embracing it with her whole body as if it was some sort of hug pillow. Coloration of the fur, approximate size, body rising up in down with breath and the low pitiful whine coming from it in response to her presence¡­ Just above where she was snoring away, Crypt weaver had set up home. Gently plucking at the silken construct with the tip of her nails in a familiar rhythm she let it know she returned. The plucking was in imitation of the tune of the lullaby she sang to the twins once. Apparently her Familiars took a liking to it as they made it their secret password of sorts based on the lyrics. Often used when entering and exiting the large perimeter of web surround Dryssia¡¯s grove as when someone had to enter or exit they would invariably send vibrations throughout the web alerting every spider on it that intruder or something had ran into their net. With the use of this ¡®password¡¯ they would know to whom it was coming and going, intercepting only those who disturbed the web without it. Looking at the number of cocoons of varying sizes hung on it, she could guess the weaver had a busy night too. ¡®Bringing these guys along for a sleeping outdoors is great¡­ especially since the mosquito looking bloodsuckers here are way bigger than any one should ever be¡­¡¯ The weaver came into her view with some reptilian stuck to its fangs and from the occasional twitch still alive to greet her. The darkest hours of night were right before the break of dawn. ? Lithokinesis ? ? Liquorgenesis ? On a flat slab of stone she pulled out of the ground and thoroughly washed with water before letting sit on the charcoal and the flame to sterilize it. ? Flame ? She cracked open the cockatrice egg that filled up the entirety of her hands after candling it to see if it developed an embryo, though the thick shell didn¡¯t allow for much to see so instead she shook it vigorously to listen for the liquids inside to slosh around. The Algae green yolk of the egg emitted an odd fermented smell as soon as it was exposed. ¡®This looks like what the word lethal injection would look like as a food¡­ I¡¯m not sure if it''s edible¡­ I wouldn¡¯t even try this if I didn¡¯t have something against poison¡­¡¯ The sizzling clear whites of the yolk turned dull gray before turning white, and as the yolk was heated the unusual smell faded away. ¡®The egg kind of has the appearance of a regular egg - if it was about four times the size and the yolk looked like it was a large mould colony. I¡¯m going to overcook this, rather I don¡¯t think this thing can get cooked enough¡­ I wonder if there¡¯s a potato or a wild yam around these parts¡­¡¯ Only after the edges had curled up with black char did she cut off a piece with an arrowhead to taste. ¡®Actually¡­ I don¡¯t know what I expected¡­ it¡¯s just a really fat egg. The yolk is too runny, rather the whites cook too fast compared to the yolk so this one tastes like rubber and burnt egg white. Okay I think I can work with this¡­ A spatula would have been nice¡­ and a pan but we¡¯re not exactly living in luxury. I need something to kill this odor¡­ Now where did I see that flower¡­¡¯ Piquant odor of herbs and mountain delicacies stimulated her nostrils. The hissing sounds of something being fried and the warm glow of sunlight shining on her eyelids slowly pulled her out of her placid drowse. Sluggishly wiping away the rheum in her eyes, she had a lengthy yawn scratching all over her body. With how she kept stuffing her head against the fur of the wolf she ¡®captured¡¯, static electricity had built up in her hair giving her the comical look of a cartoon character after having an incident with an overhead power line. As soon as she released her iron grip, the incarcerated wolf quickly bolted away fully rousing her. Alicia shouted at the quickly fleeing wolf, heading back to the Great oak. Look of confusion was visible on her face as she found herself on a bedroll, complete with blanket and pillow for the first time, picking off tufts of fur out of her head. ¡®I had to kill your nightmares last night. So I know you had a good night.¡¯ Although she had faint memories, they came rushing back in an instant with Alicia¡¯s remarks. Face and cheek turning cherry red from myriads of emotions. Continuing on in a hushed voice: There¡¯s no tea but this is practically fine dining compared to my days as a spider¡­ ah how my standards have dropped¡­ Oh! And you can keep the bedroll.¡± The Elven girl awkwardly consumed her breakfast in silence. As for Alicia she was thinking about what other plants she could try and use to make tea out of as ¡®boiled weed water¡¯ wasn¡¯t exactly matching her definition of a tea. After a long while of weltering in her embarrassment she finally got over her feelings, enough to form a sensible question. Though the redness on her face didn¡¯t fade a smidgen. Evidence that her mind hadn¡¯t truly overcome the thought. Alicia could guess where this was going. Though the Elves have knowledge and the skills to process and output many mid to high grade products yet they lack a sustainable source of raw materials. Even day to day food security is in question. Conversely the trolls lead a minimalistic tribal lifestyle and know how to squeeze something to its bone. Literally as most of them make spears, javelins, sewing needles, blow darts, traps, stakes for pitfalls and much more out of the bones of the games they hunt. However forget furniture, just processing fur into something seems challenging to them. Despite being quite agile, they seem to struggle with tasks requiring dexterity. ¡®Question is would they want anything from the Elves¡­? They recently decided to settle around here permanently from their nomadic lifestyle. Apparently, even with the obvious risks from creatures from this forest¡¯s monstrously huge beasts they still ultimately decided to settle down, very possibly for the good. I doubt they¡¯ll abandon their nomadic descent but the switch to a sedentary way of life¡­ won¡¯t come naturally to them¡­ First they need get a proper ¡®lodge¡¯3Tipi or more accurately the Chum of the trolls are sometimes simply called a Lodge. But just the word lodge doesn¡¯t fully describe the tent that is Tipi/Lodge as Alicia¡¯s and by extension the average person¡¯s impression of lodge is massively different from a tribal ¡®tent¡¯.. Right this has some feasibility, still I¡¯m not the person to speak for them¡­¡¯ ¡®I knew Llynbel had some significance to their village but to straight up become the leader? When did she go and consolidated her political power again¡­ And why!? did she send Faenas to me of all people? I¡¯m not a Diplomat!¡¯ As the two were making their way to the troll tribal village¡­ Loud shouting of the word the ¡®master¡¯ over and over again from behind caught the attention of both. Turning around she could make out a buxom girl clutching a large clay jar closed with some sort of cloth covering the top, running after her. Cobnut hair, eyes with the color of tree sap, fair beige skin and insistence on calling Alicia, Master, could only point to a certain tree nymph. ¡®I think Alice made the chest a bit too loose¡­ I wonder if she could make a brassiere.¡¯ Dryssia¡¯s new dress, after Alicia decided it was too tight, was loosely designed after the style of clothing she saw the elven women wore in their everyday life. She wore a loose fitting smock under a bodice4See also Dirndl. that Alice made but due to how often she worked with soil and earth tending to the flower garden for the bees, her personal tree grove and her tendency to use the skirt of her dress as a makeshift basket, a waist height apron was later added. Faenas was a little amazed at her nonchalant explanation. Often in relation to spirits, they referred to their contractor as ¡®Master¡¯ in many cases. Only accomplished witches and warlocks could subjugate a spirit to do their bidding and they were rare as a hens¡¯ teeth even before the purge. Faenas collected herself and brushed it off as the dryad¡¯s odd choice of words, Alicia couldn¡¯t possibly be someone who had contract over a spirit. And her belief was true, Alicia didn¡¯t have a contract. She had a - almost forgotten and only being referred to in far fetched tales and epics, dubious scrolls and legends of old - covenant with Dryssia. Of course she didn¡¯t know of this, or that she so happened to have formed two, another one with Llynbel, a de facto lord of the forest of Velauhjart predating Dryssia by a couple hundred years who would be the next in line. Turning to Faenas, she asked her to give the flowers to Dryssia. While Alicia was making up excuses, Faenas brought out a bundle of the flowers after digging through the mushroom samples she carried which reminded her¡­ Faenas was too occupied with the thought of Alicia being able to form a contract or not to notice that this was the tree spirit who could possibly develop a method to cultivate the mushrooms they collected. Disbelief and bewilderment clearly plastered on her face. ¡®When will she stop giving everything a nickname¡­¡¯ such a thought crossed Alicia¡¯s mind. Alicia brought her attention to the few types of fungi leftover. Though there were originally a wide variety of them, after discarding the poisonous ones or ones with unwanted side effects only a few remained. A slight look of displeasure surfaced on the tree spirit. Before Alicia could say anything Faenas interjected. Dryssia¡¯s shy and panicky nature surfaced itself after the Ranger captain¡¯s somewhat forceful approach, hiding behind Alicia. Turning around to face Dryssia Returning quick nods she answered. Alicia left a jar full of venom for the trolls to use for their hunt as a gift and told that she would fill it up again if it ran low. But since the last time she relegated the venom extraction to a number of her spider familiars as no single one had the reserves to fully fill with up without the assistance of magic. And due to their ¡®reactions¡¯ she has had Dryssia deliver it to avoid attention. Curious at why Alicia turned so disgruntled all of a sudden: Alicia¡¯s dislike stemmed from the last time she publicly made an appearance, due to the witch doctor¡¯s actions all of the trolls started to ¡®pay respects¡¯ to the great Loa. Auratic I changed the internal font of the charts from Orbitron to Dustismo let me know if you like it or not. Chapter 52: Persona Non Grata At the Witch doctor¡¯s lodge lengthy discussion proceeded between the parties from which Alicia excused herself the details of despite the fervor filled requests from both sides for her to join the meeting. Judging from the affable atmosphere she expected the talks were going to be a successful one. Eventually it came down to exchanging goods and needing the approval from a leading figure, one of which was already present but from the Elven village someone needed to attend as well to make it ¡®official¡¯ who was Llynbel. Though because her affiliation to Werdun was shaky at best, it was not known how much she would stand up for them, considering her past history of antagonism. Thanks to Alicia¡¯s actions the water spirit did adopt more of an amiable mannerisms as of recent. However the residents of Faenas¡¯ village know not of her change of heart. Because of this Ranger captain herself was the closest stand in, comparable maybe to Ashlan in standing. Learning of this development, Alicia herself decided to persuade Llynbel to come. Of course none knew that the two were in a covenant where Alicia¡¯s words would hold significant influence on her, not even Alicia herself. It wasn¡¯t known to many but Dryssia had a not so small following of her own within the adorcist1Adorcism. A term coined in religious sociology by professor Luc de Heusch. (Don¡¯t ask me how to pronounce this I don¡¯t know either) where places or people are believed to be possessed by a spiritual entity and relates to practices and rituals of religious nature to placate, accomodate or revere the said spiritual entity who could either be malevolent or benevolent unlike Exorcism where it¡¯s only negative. tribe - who holds a great deal of respect for spirit of any kind - as the Gran Bwa or ¡®The Great Tree Spirit¡¯ and ¡®Lady of the Woods¡¯ due to her obvious care and concern for trees and making semi-regular appearances because of delivering venom that Alicia supplied. As such they would heartily welcome the ¡®convenement¡¯ of another Spirit like Llynbel. Relationship between the tree Nymph and her was one of kinship and sisterly care from the latter as the former¡¯s type had become so few in numbers that they were once thought extinct. Convincing her was uneventfully straight forward, rather she seemed to be even interested in meeting these folks who took care of her ¡®little sister¡¯. While that was taking place, Dryssia had managed to successfully plant the fungi given to her in a shaded grove near the Elven village. Due to their numbers it would be a while before they are able to proliferate enough and be considered a sustainable food source still it has to start somewhere. Meanwhile Faenas got ahold of Ash to explain the situation to him while reporting the sequence of events that led up to this current state to others in her village. Someone brought up the topic of appointing a delegate, one thing led to another, one of the officers under Faenas was picked. Making use of the occasion Alicia decided to make a trip to the blacksmith Greimen to have the strange fissures on her blade looked at. Before anyone could notice, she had slipped away in the racket. Though few tried to search for her, by Llynbel¡¯s advice they dropped the case and moved on. After all she knew first hand how no one could find Alicia if she didn¡¯t want to be found. Knowing that the coming negotiations wouldn¡¯t fall apart even without her intervention, she decided to sneak away after dropping off Dauntless for maintenance. ¡®Whew lost the coppers. I really need a skill that¡¯s just a ¡®I don¡¯t wanna be here anymore¡¯ button that helps me run away from awkward situations like those.¡¯ Far off from every notable place she knew, she decided to lay low for a little while the whole thing blows over. Sounds of water washing over rocks and pebbles from a small creek nearby dominated this section of the forest she was in. >Processing search term¡­ >Suggested educement: ? Mirror Image ? ? ¡² Transposition ¡³ ¡®Something to do with my doubles? Let¡¯s see then.¡¯ ¡®Aren¡¯t things getting a bit pricey? Better be worth it.¡¯ ¡®I need to have a clone already out and about for it to work¡­ No energy cost¡­ go figure. Wait¡­ This means I can switch with Alice if I need to since she¡¯s technically possessing a Gemini mirror image¡­ I might be onto something though nothing comes to mind¡­ Speaking of clones¡­ I¡¯ve always created images out of water yet the spell itself is not aligned with water it¡¯s¡­ soul, I believe. Technically that means I can make one out of any of the other elements.¡¯ Time went by as Alicia experimented with various aspects of her magic for occasions like these are few and far between. Creating a number of images out of various mediums she can manipulate through trial and error. Testing out their features and limits. ¡®Earth is durable and overall has much higher physical properties but takes too long to form into a image¡­ Air is fastest to form but extremely difficult to have it take a tangible form and mass. It could be excellent for tricking the eyes from a distance like a mirage or an illusion¡­ but has to be maintained actively otherwise it wants to just disperse¡­ since it is just a bunch of gas. Lastly fire has much the same problems of air, must be maintained, doesn¡¯t want to take on a physical form, wants to fall apart and set everything on fire¡­ I guess water is the most balanced of these choices huh¡­¡¯ Measuring how the sun shifted its position in the sky she estimated hours had passed while she was busy with her experimentations. Determining the time to be somewhere near mid afternoon. ¡®That¡¯s long enough for them to forget about me right¡­ Oooh I should have Alice take a jab at making a pull string hoodie. Last time she made some sort of robe¡­ I mean I guess that¡¯s just a really long and baggy hoodie¡­¡¯ Thinking to herself she made her way back to the great oak¡­ The two¡¯s morning practice had ended early because of some sort of commotion when Filly2Faenas came back. For them it just meant more playtime before dark. Their very existence was a unique case. Born with a telepathic bond formed at their very conception meant being closely connected with one and another to the point of being able to not just share thoughts, messages and notions but to sense completely personally individuated sensation such as of pain and physical stress and more abstract sensations of complex emotions and memory formation. They often had the problem of sharing too much memory among themselves that sometimes they can¡¯t tell apart whose memory is whose. Thankfully, as of recently they learned to better separate their mind. This was mostly to prevent cheating in their games of hide and seek. In the end no child wants to share their best hiding spot¡­ She was in her new hiding place she found yesterday, a hollow spot hidden from sight with overgrowth and plant roots under a deep gully and it has been a while since Annie started searching for her. So she was sure she wouldn¡¯t be found any time soon. Strange giddy feeling of using this spot faded before long and tedium soon set in, though if she were to get caught while leaving now to find another place would be an enormous disappointment, so mustering her patience she fought the boredom laying on the dampish soil. But just then she felt the vibrations of hurried running through the soil around her. Just as her guardian Alicia taught to her she tried to pick up on the characteristics of the tremors. The strength, repetition, speed. They were weak, quick steps in a pattern of one¡­ two¡­ one¡­ two¡­ one and two. Bippy¡­? Biidii¡­?3She is struggling with the word Biped/Bipedal. the exact word she forgot, the simpler term she could understand was ¡®two footed¡¯. The steps were shallow and quick meaning that the owner was not that big. It was very similar to the steps of her sister though strangely it seemed to be tripping and stumbling. Could it be that her sister cheated and knew where she hid? Or was there something else at play? Whatever the reason, it was unimportant. What was important was that someone was running straight at her hiding spot and she held her breath and pulled in her knees. Somewhat annoyed at the thought that her sister cheated in their game¡­ By now she could hear the footsteps stomping the grass and mud, desperate winded breaths. But then she identified further quakes of footfall¡­ two maybe three¡­ heavier and low repetition¡­ Almost like the footsteps of the Elves they often played with¡­ yet something was amiss, even for Elves their steps were heavy¡­ too heavy, and their movement was almost as if they¡¯re searching or chasing someone. The first pair was now almost on top of her and suddenly she heard a snag followed by a high pitched scream of a girl. While rolling down the slope of the gully somehow it grabbed onto the roots covering the entrance of the hollow, frantically clawing through the quickly collapsing earth she made inside. Their eyes met and the other party not expecting the hollow to be occupied almost let out a scream, holding her mouth shut with her hands. A girl mid in her teens by appearance. Her hair wavy, rich yellow hair reminiscent of a golden rod4 RGB: 252, 214, 10 would surely look regal if ridden of its dirt, filth, and flakes with its length falling below her shoulders. Complimentary to Goldia¡¯s imperial golden gaze. Various emotions could be gleaned from the wide rounded madder red5RGB: 165, 0, 33 sometimes called, Carmine red. eyes. Trembling footfalls of her pursuers came closer, both silently waiting for its resolution. Though she lacked her mother¡¯s ability to read the rate of heartbeat through the earth, she could nonetheless tell how much she was panicking. Stopping on top of the hollow, rough and vulgar voices of men talking loudly to each other could be heard through the earth and the opening. As the sounds of them became more distant, the girl looked like she could finally take breath. Gasp of surprise escaped her lips as the disembodied voice rang inside her head. The only thing protecting the girl from the elements of the world was a worn, hole riddled, rags barely enough to cover her privates. Though physically she was uninjured, the skinny body of hers suggested a diet lacking in substance and nutrition. If not for the slight sunkenness of the cheeks she possessed a fine look. Trying to stand up straight in a low ceiling hollow to give proper introduction, she had hit her head against the hard earth above her. Her confusion and surprise stemmed from the fact that she possessed not only a last name but also a claim normally reserved only for the aristocracy. No peasant would care to remember their father lineage if they were even able to. This strange girl deep in the forgotten forest had the very same, a name, Surname and a claimed region. And now she looked at her despite being slightly dirt, the dress she wore were of exotic design, made of expensive material known as silk costing a fortune even for a well off wealthy family such as hers. It lacked the eye catching colors vogue with the high class causing it to appear relatively dull. Regardless, any noble would be able to tell its value and in turn their monetary backing, rather she wanted to praise whoever commissioned this piece for their taste. In a sea of bright colors all wanting attention to themselves, the calm white blossom stood out even more. And she was sure she just used some sort of magic there to silently speak to her. Since the Vindication, the vast majority if not all nobles were ¡®sonorants¡¯ able to use magic to some degree. A ¡®sans voix¡¯6French for ¡®Without Voice¡¯ or Voiceless. Does not mean they¡¯re mute. But I was considering naming them Muette. IPA /s¨»? vwa/ or basically Sa-vwa. being born into a noble house was at least a gossip and at most a scandal. All of this added, made her that much more likely to be some foreign noble if not relative of some obscure house of her own kingdom even, had not heard of the region named Velauhart. Only thing deducting from her theory is perhaps the location. No normal child would wander around playing hide and seek in the forgotten forest, filled with treacherous beasts, once a place to exile prisoners who heard the death sentence. Her being a member of the high society doesn¡¯t necessarily mean she would be on friendly terms especially with how she¡¯s dressed right now. Rather without her signet ring, sigil or any heirloom to prove her authenticity, Goldia ought to have her arrested for attempting to impersonate an imperial dignitary. But she was also the only hope for freeing her from her abduction and even if she¡¯s mistaken, her father would no doubt reward them plenty for her rescue. Thus betting the other party being sensible: After pondering for some time wrestling with her feelings of not wanting to leave her hiding place and to help the nudist stranger Goldia remembered that Rufus and his pack were usually on patrol around the forest. Without answer she went out, leaving the confused girl to hide in the hollow. Mix of emotions swirled in her heart, fear of her new acquaintance getting caught by the brigand slavers, guilt for letting her go alone into dangerous territories and a sliver of hope for the future borne from her boast with the aim to ease her. What a hopeless shamble she is right now, if even a child younger than her would see her and try to encourage her. The young aristocrat mistook Goldia¡¯s declaration as a boast. Perhaps, but one borne from pride. For the number one player of hide seek she knew was none other than Alicia¡­ After many past failures, finally with help from Alice she managed to make the coveted ¡®hoodie¡¯, complete with muff pockets. As she was happily trying on the completed project¡­ Telepathy conveyed more than just words, and through it she felt the anxiousness held by the conferrer. The implications were that these intruders might have found Anastasia. Normally she had at least one dire wolf or a spider to watch over the twins while they were out and about. But in their games of hide and seek, they couldn¡¯t keep up and lost them often, though she scolded them time and time again they never seemed to learn. This grim report was not only addressed to Alicia but to Alice. The moment she understood the implications she almost bolted out. After some deliberation she hesitatingly stopped, her boiling emotions could be felt so clearly even to those without telepathic connection. Only mere moments of pause passed yet to them it seemed as though they survived agonizing hours of torment. Considering the current cultural and scientific development of this world landing somewhere in the bracket of the classical era to the dark ages, where the rights of even a fair citizen was severely limited, what would fate entail to those who are less fortunate to fall into slavery. Forcibly squashing the negative thoughts she refocused herself. She couldn¡¯t let her own mind and imagination become her enemy. With lead to follow both were raring to go. Alicia asked, holding out her hand, with a silent nod Alice grabbed her hands melding into one as a certain spell was undone. ? Mirror Image ? ? ? Gemini ? >Statistics parameters exceeding expected forecast. >Galvanizing excess input¡­ ? Autoanimaphagy ? ? ? Development ? >State updated: Anima Reunification Overcharge. >All statistics positively modified by 30%. >Modifications will decay to normal parameters over an estimated time of 500 seconds. It was quite some time ago since they were together like this. Though at times inconvenient, she had missed the company of Alice, who was the fiery presence radiating within her filling her with outpouring her with emotion. Whole once more, they weren¡¯t just complete. Every fiber of their being was overflowing with energy, it felt as if they could take on the whole world. Extending the range of her telepathy to encompass all of her familiars, a clarion call to duty was sounded. With a resounding howl of their leader, all the wolves started their ¡®hunt¡¯, each heading in every direction with the final goal being the edge of the forest. Their monstrous spiders were waiting for their assignment as well, Alicia didn¡¯t know but they doted upon the twins just as much if not more than the Elves or Alice, their mother. Though not as splashy, a crawling cascade moved out at once, hellbent on seeing through this predicament. Their spirits were soaring for it was not often that they received an order from Alicia, besides they had their own motivations to ensure the safety of Anna. She found a promising trail in no time at all. Their sprint on all eight was something fierce, so much so that wind resistance was becoming a significant problem. Backtracking the trails left behind by the men, the smell of alcohol, sweat and filth. Soon the noisy revelry happening over yon, was heard followed by a stench of alcohol and grunginess. Tree limbs and other cumbersome objects were piled to make an improvised roadblock. Three men, rough dirty clothes worn under second hand hardened leather brigandine with some sort of skirt to protect the upper legs and thighs, most parts of it seemed to have been crudely patched up with plain cloth. Drinking pale fluids from a clay liquor bottle, on their person were weapons hatchet, simple spear with bronze tip and thin wooden shaft, rusted shortsword, all of them had some sort of dagger of equally poor condition. ¡®Lookouts, their den can¡¯t be far then. We¡¯re headed the right way. Still¡­ No response from Anna¡­¡¯ Alicia and Alice could roughly track each other and their kindred especially Anna and Goldia through one way telepathic transmission, with its effective range being well over a kilometer it was unlikely that these people could have found Anastasia. That was a small relief for Alicia but for Alice it did little to calm her down. As most of the pack members of Rufus were searching for Anna throughout the forest, few that accompanied her could be counted on single hand. To make up for that, almost all of her Monstrous spider familiars had come with them. They quickly went on to spinning their web surrounding the outer perimeters of the brigands¡¯ site, a silken noose tightening in and they didn¡¯t even know. >Mimicry ? ¡®H.sapien variante-I¡¯ acquired. Their raucous laughter seemed to shake the very leaves down of the trees around them. And then out of nowhere¡­ Lost in their intoxication more laughter followed. If telepathy is heard by many recipients it feels as if some invisible person right next to them said it. Yet that was not possible and with the company of others it is easy to chalk it up to one¡¯s companions. ¡®Well that was dumb of me¡­ Fine.¡¯ Panic and alert quickly spread throughout their bodies, as someone was in front of them, where there was no one before. Their judgement clouded by inebriation surprise quickly turned into lecherous glee. They thought she was some lost girl who they could ¡®use¡¯ to fill their needs without a care. Even the shortest among them was a head taller than her. Ironic how they were telling this to perhaps the most dangerous monster of the forest. ¡®Letting them take me into their camp is a thought¡­ but¡¯ ? Instinct ? ¡®Something tells the fun they mentioned is not exactly a cordial invitation for a drink. Not that I drink that much anyway. Guess I¡¯m doing this the painful and potentially hard way.¡¯ Though they were firmly told to report a sighting of anyone back to their base, being undisciplined brigands drunk off cheap alcohol, they were exceptionally easy to deceive and manipulate for the Void¡¯s beguiling allay. As she was about to pass by them, they drew their weapons. This would undoubtedly be intimidating to a lone traveller and downright terrifying to the average girls they terrorized. Alicia was neither though. Giggling to themselves, imagining what ¡®fun¡¯ they would have. They all felt a terrible shiver shoot down their spines. Still what was to fear from a lone unarmed girl? As one of them closest to her tried to grab from her shoulders. ? Ars Bellica ? ? Unarmed ? Stepping into the man¡¯s proximity holding his outstretched hand to guide him, almost like an intimate lover¡¯s embrace she followed up by a savage palm strike from underneath, rattling the brain within its skull. Before anyone could react, the man lost consciousness from the concussion and fell over. They only realized what had happened after the short sword he held, fell and clinked against the earth. By then using the initial surprise, she had moved on to the other one wielding the spear. Spear was a weapon that best utilized its range but in extremely close combat situations like this, the weapon¡¯s length makes it burdensome to swing. And if the opponent has entered a deadzone where the enemy is too close to stab, using the weapon effectively was extremely difficult. Although he was armored, the leather covering the guts and torso had become soft to the point where it¡¯s efficacy against a strike from a bladed instrument was in question. Punch7See upset punch. to the area just below the sternum knocked the wind out of the still stupefied brigand, causing him to crumple down forwards gasping and wheezing for air. Stepping out of his way of fall she grabbed the spear before delivering a blow8See hammer fist. to his hind head to knock him out cold. Bellowing an enraged cry the last remaining one charged overcome with fury, hatchet in his hand raised up and running at her. ? Marksmanship ? Quickly spinning the spear around the tip facing backwards she threw the spear at the outraged assailant. The blunt end of the spear hit right between the eyes smashing the nose and nasal bone structure before falling down. The brigand staggered back covering his face groaning in pain not seeing her approach. Alicia quickly grabbed the spear before it hit the ground and swept his legs with the spear''s wooden shaft but being made from thin worn wood it snapped easily. Nonetheless a wood shattering blow to the shins and ankles made him kneel, yowling from pain. Using the opportunity, drove her knee straight into the slaver¡¯s bloodied face, finally incapacitating him. ¡®First two knuckles¡­ punches to the meat, palms to the bone. I wouldn¡¯t normally fight outnumbered but it ain¡¯t my first time sobering up drunkards¡­ And that damn spear almost gave me a heart attack when it broke into pieces. You really can¡¯t put a price on quality huh¡­ I miss dauntless already. Still I don¡¯t remember being this¡­ strong? I don¡¯t even have that much muscle but I put the lights out of that first guy. You know I never truly appreciated my new stats, that might be because monsters in this place just jacked up like hell or something. Nah these guys were just drunk and sluggish. Anyway.¡¯ From the shaded woods her Monstrous spiders emerged, cocooning the unconscious men in silk¡­ Though low-life bandits it took considerable amount of physical power to take down three armed men and although she brushed off their slow speed as them being intoxicated on brew they were still on lookout and weren¡¯t tipsy at the slightest. She was simply so fast that their untrained slow movements looked like that of stumblings of tipplers. It did not help that her expectations and standards were referenced by the beasts of the forgotten forest. A region so treacherous that it was used to execute prisoners by means of ¡®exile¡¯. Or the fact that she made herself at home in its heart where beasts are dense. There was a commotion outside his tent, his men were making a scene. Something just didn¡¯t sit well with him, things were quiet as of recently. He took a strange job from an anonymous man who paid well, upfront. Too well for the effort of work that was needed. Still he took the job to pay his men. They raided a carriage, at the told time and place to capture a girl, young, yellow hair and red eyes. Ordered to hold onto her, separate from the others, no harm to be done to her body or the ¡®use of merchandise¡¯. Said they would contact them again when the time was right and pay more. That was weeks ago and he still hasn''t gotten a word from them. He was anxious because he needed to relocate. Their old hideout was compromised. And this temporary one on the edge of the forgotten forest was no good. Did they know they moved to a new base. Thoughts swirled in his mind but the itching from the lice in his scruffy beard distracted him. Scratches abated the incessant itching but only for a moment. Everything had become silent though he was thankful there was some peace and quiet. It was unlike his men to keep quiet for more than a minute. Something was off. Disturbed by the odd silence he turned to see what was happening, just in case he grabbed his new halberd. Beautifully polished and well oiled, he had to cough up a terrible fortune for it but it was well worth future investment. Unlike his lout of an underlings spending it all on meat and mead. Pristine grass waved gently in the wind, crates of stolen goods and food were still intact. And the tripwires set at ¡®merchandise¡¯ tucked in the cave were undisturbed. There wasn¡¯t anything wrong except for the fact everyone who was posted was missing. Cold sweat trickled down his neck and nape. He knew stepping foot into this accursed place was a bad idea but he had no other viable choice. It could be that his men are pulling a prank of sorts so¡­ Deafening silence followed, his beating heart seemed to be annoyingly loud for the circumstance. After a brief period has passed he noticed a girl, long white hair, deep blue eyes. A bewitching beauty not found in the backwater villages they frequently raided. Rather a mistress fit as a concubine of a mighty Emperor if she herself wouldn¡¯t become an Empress. If it was in a different situation, oh how he would relish her flesh. For a moment he thought one of the captives might have escaped, but as he saw earlier the tripwires were untouched. And considering where he was it all added to the welling dread. Wave of trepidation washed over him, but holding tightly into his weapon he steeled himself. Only his close aides knew him by his name, others only called him boss so how could this girl know his name? There could only be one option, she was the person sent by his mysterious contractors. He could have sworn it was a man last time, that was through thick layers of cloth covering their face and muffling their voice though. Moment he uttered those words he felt fear beyond words could describe, tremors and shaking wouldn¡¯t stop. He didn¡¯t understand anything but something about her changed drastically, even though she was yet to move muscle nor change her expression to something other than that neutral smile she wore since the beginning. It was taking every bit of will in his body just to not fall down and collapse. He realized that it was a mistake to accept that job, but it was too late to back off now. Just give the girl and be over with this nightmare. There was something wrong though. Where were his men? Why did they leave without a word? She was kept separate from the others as per request, behind his tent her hands were cuffed and chained to a metal rod. She has stopped eating for a while now and that was worrying him about her committing suicide but that didn¡¯t matter now, she was alive and delivering her would free him of this plight. But the¡­ gone. She was gone. Where were the men tasked to keep an eye on her? Then it struck him, she was purposefully not eating to get skinny enough to pull her hands out of the cuff. What would happen if he were to say that she was missing to this terrifying person? ¡®Obviously she¡¯s not here since she would have responded to me by now¡­ but that implies they did have her¡­¡¯ As she dealt with the leader¡¯s men she peered into their memories briefly to gain whatever information she could. From there she learned miscellaneous nonsense and the leader¡¯s name but what stuck out the most was that they were some band of raiders abducting women from villages to sell into slavery over someplace else. Within these memories she saw how they would assault and violate some of the defiant captives. Knowing Anastasia she was every bit rebellious if not more than the women they remember. Unforgivable, after learning this she let loose all of her familiars on them. She would have spared them if she could, but now it was different. After what she said the man seemed to be petrified, sweating buckets. Desperately making a strange bid to buy some time. But what was important to her was the claim that she wasn¡¯t touched. Sensing his madly beating heart, some micro inflections of his face, she could tell this wasn¡¯t some sort of trick. He was telling the truth. She was slowly walking towards him. Pointing his weapon to keep her at a distance, he brandished his halberd. Moment she entered within a striking range he raised up his halberd and with a strange cry brought it down on her. But she quickly stepped forwards, the blade missing her but the heavy steel would surely smash the clavicle. A loud thwack echoed throughout the area. Reality betrayed expectation, forget harming her, she didn¡¯t seem bothered at all. Was this weapon a dud? Was he swindled? No the weight on it was real, the chops with the blade he made was real. Then¡­ Unnatural fear gripped his heart and shook him to his core. Unintelligible screams escaped his mouth as he tried to pull in the halberd to still hit her with the hook of the blade, yet it budged not a single thread as she held onto the weapon still resting on her shoulders. How could someone like this dainty girl possess such strength? He couldn¡¯t believe his own eyes but the resistance felt on his hands were undeniable. A tall muscular man being outmatched in a contest of strength. ? Compound Synthesis ? ? ? Apitoxic ? From where she held the weapon, sizzling sounds and something bubbling could be heard. Somehow it felt to him that the weapon was giving a slack, becoming more loose, hopeful that he could pull his weapon free to attack again, he yanked it with all his strength. And it was free, some sort of thud falling down could be heard¡­ With some hope returning to him until he looked at the tip of his weapon. Where there should have been the blade there was nothing, broken off right before. Where was the head of it? Behind her, stuck to the soil. Some vile liquid had eroded away in the part of the steel shaft. The weapon wasn¡¯t becoming slack because she set it free, oh no. It was getting free because toxins burned away at the steel to the point of it being thin and weak enough to be bent and broken. He screamed bloody murder as he realized this. And her smile had been replaced by an unamused expression. When she took a step forward he took one backwards, once¡­ twice and then he tripped¡­ Something clung to the soles of his boots and made him fall, as used his hand to support himself from completely falling and they too were stuck when he tried to get up on his feet. Some sticky substance wouldn¡¯t let him go. Incomprehensible babbling of fear was the only thing he could spout. She morphed and grew taller, towering over him, her eyes changed their hue from their bright blue to deep scarlet, hair shrinking shorter until it was around her shoulders. It wasn¡¯t his mind playing tricks on him making her appear taller because of his fear, for she had grown taller standing on eight legs. Huge fangs whose tips were glistening with fresh venom, stridulating with aggression. He witnessed all of this, and until the end and beyond he screamed and screamed until his voice could scream no more. They asked themselves two distinct voices overlapping. The former melodious overlapping with the strong and dull one. His death was not going to be a short one as the fangs started with his legs tearing them off, before digging into his stomach and working it way up. The sound of gore sploshing was accompanied by haunting screams and pleas of mercy. Until only the former left, a solo performance. Ramiel¡¯s voice broke them out of their entrancement. Hearing the report she deflated, relieved about learning of their safety. But then¡­ ¡®Wait if she¡¯s over there to the north and never met these guys¡­ What the hell was he talking like he knew what I meant? Wait wait wait did we just kill about forty odd people from a misunderstanding¡­ Oooh we screwed up big time. And there are still twenty ish of them in that cave but¡­ wait these guys were abducting people and I haven¡¯t seen any of the captives that means¡­ Huh¡­ I don¡¯t think many people will mind a band of kidnapping brigands going missing right? Well let¡¯s try and talk to the guys in the cave¡­ I¡¯ll just have to come up with a convincing story of why almost all of their captors have gone missing¡­ and clean up this blood¡­ Hopefully they have a place to go¡­ I don¡¯t wanna have to take them in.¡¯ Auratic Chapter 53: Adjudication From the remains of the brigand leader¡¯s ruined body she picked up his bloodsoaked keyring holding a number of keys for warded locks all equally dull from one another after thoroughly washing it in water and cleansing it with an unopened bottle of the alcohol to disinfect she turned towards the caverns. Cautiously as to not attract any attention though it was unknown how much of the hysterical screams could be heard from the inside she had low expectations. Despite the initial information of the cave being a shallow one, she could feel the miniature seismic waves coming from much deeper and reaches. The entrance was rigged with cords holding up a wooden bucket precariously balanced over the edge holding some rusted metallics and small stones in place. Should the lines be disturbed the pail would surely crash spectacularly causing quite the racket. A rudimentary alarm system, judging from its design it was meant to alert the creator to the flight of someone from inside rather than to catch trespassers from outside, as it could easily be disarmed from the outside by simply pushing the bucket further back. Although the wires were visible to a degree in daylight, at night she could see it being difficult to notice. After walking a fair bit she could make out an orange light coming from the depths, seldomly the flickering glow wavered in its brightness casting deep black shadows to dance on the subterranean walls. Indiscernible hushed whispers, sniffles along with the foul smell of ordure and urine became more prevalent with each step she took. Peeking around a corner behind a turn she could see a man passed out on a small table uneven from the rough cavern surface, seated on a simple stool with an empty bottle on the floor. Whole chamber was illuminated by a lone torch on top of a sconce. Some ways past him seemed to be a dark holding cell with thick wooden bars wherein she could sense people in them from their faint shuffling. The cells seemed to be made recently and hastily, locked with a bolt padlock in which were women of varying ages however most could be considered young. Their clothes were a revealing apron like attire1See pinafore dress. mostly made out of linen though it¡¯s unlikely that this was a conscious choice of fashion as judging from the condition. The linen was so thin that it couldn¡¯t even be trusted to hide their bodies from prying eyes in sufficient light with all its wear and tear let alone keep warm with. She couldn¡¯t make out much but the furnishing seemed to be barebones at best. Coarse wool and dried haystack for sleeping and a wooden shallow dish for passing in whatever foodstuff the jailor decided to throw in. Without a privy to properly relieve themselves, all the excrements had to be left in their cells. The occupants tried to keep it somewhat hygienic by sectioning off a part of their cell as a latrine with hay to soak and hold their bodily wastes. Shameful as it may be to expose oneself to others, they take some consolation from the blinding darkness offering some privacy from their cellmates, the sound and smell of streaming fluid and the breaking wind2Also known as flatulence however¡­ ? Cold-Reader ? ? Despondence¡­ Melancholy¡­ Ennui¡­ Fear¡­ Mix of emotions could be sensed from the prisoners amongst them all an air of hopeless lethargy stood out the most, even their thoughts had taken a turn for the pessimistic.While outside the cave she could only vaguely feel all the vibrations from one direction now closer to the source she could tell them apart with much more precision. She found the causes of the whisperings, sobbings, whimpering she heard. Few who¡¯ve yet to lose hope still whispering some words of comfort to those whimpering. Further into the depths she could hear metallic clinking, passing by the cells to investigate she found the last three captives in a pitch black corner. Collared and cuffed to the walls with metal chains3See Jougs they had no clothes to speak of, the awkward height of their metallic collars forced them to stand up halfway lest their bindings around their neck choke the life out of them under their weight. Their legs were trembling and teetering barely standing, tremors of which shook the chains that caused the clinking sounds to echo throughout. Fresh lashes of whips were ever so slightly visible. They appeared to be more of the defiant prisoners being ¡®disciplined¡¯. From browsing through their surface memories most seem to have been in captivity for more than a month, perhaps even longer as they¡¯ve lost a sense of time since they were moved underground. From Iosif¡¯s last few memories before his death; the settlement was a small village way off from the forest edge, his plan was to make that village their next target of raiding. Their modus operandi was to raid outlying villages and cross borders to let any investigations blow over before ¡®cashing in¡¯(sell off) their ¡®meat¡¯(captives) to ¡®butchers¡¯(slave traders). Most of the current ¡®meat¡¯ was considered safe without any connections to the current nation they were in save for one. They were taken from the villages of neighbouring petty kingdoms and city states. Although remorseful: Sure we won¡¯t hurt them if they¡¯re agreeable, but will they truly believe that? Who knows if given the opportunity they run away to call in some local militia or military. If that happens, silencing everyone becomes the safest bet we have¡­ You know the saying dead men tell no tales. We both want the best for the twins, that¡¯s why we are here in the first place, revealing ourselves to them¡­ places an uncertain risk to their and our safety. And forcing compliance makes us no different than their previous holders. Well¡­ at least we¡¯ll provide better clothes¡­¡¯ Mumbling blackguard finally dozed off after hollering a slurring series of insults. She had grown used to the once suffocating stale air. Even the sore pangs of hunger now felt like an old friend coming to visit her. The thin gruel that was served at the same time everyday was the only thing that helped her keep track of time and the only anchor that kept her sanity from slipping away though she has since lost count. She once had a name, a dream, a future to look forward to¡­ Wedlock life to a rancher tending to barnyard cattle as a milkmaid. She always was quite fond of livestock, despite their unpleasant stink of manure. It all changed when a fire broke out and brigands came charging. Everyone was out for themselves, trying to run or hide. Screams of girls who hid under stable hay as they were dragged out, blazing flames dying the cloudy skies red, how the man she fancied and her plain but kindly father were massacred in front of her as a show of morbid exhibition are still imprinted in her mind. Her mother was hauled away in tears, nails broken as she clung to the rough earth. Sometimes she wonders if her mother is still in this world, better off, just the same or even worse than she is today. Alia, that was her name, now it''s something along the lines of wench and whore. Sometimes she wonders if she had hoped too much out of life. Tinkling sounds of keys ringing pulled her thoughts back into reality. Strange¡­ It felt that today¡¯s serving was a bit overdue. Unusualities did not end there either for from around the corner came wasn¡¯t the filthy men she was used to; instead a fair maiden dressed fine and somewhat exotic clothes untouched by the mars of dirt and grime, who possessed an untarnished, otherworldly beauty. Smooth straight cascading hair of hers seemingly outshined the pale white garments in its platinum shine. Many ideas and guesses came to her mind of who and what she could be. Perhaps because of her appearance or privileged status from birthright the men hadn¡¯t laid a hand on her yet, a small tingle of jealousy shot through her. There was still something strange about her, empty, there was no emotion on her face, the same placid expression that the nobles wore in discomfort. Nonetheless she took solace, however small in learning that even the mighty can fall so low to the ranks of a slave, not noticing the keys in her hands. What surprised her were the following events, where she so quietly and effortlessly glided towards the snoring guardsman as if she was not even touching the ground before pulling him up by the tuft of his hair and forcefully bringing it back down with great strength, causing the table and its legs to creak loudly, bringing about shock and silence to the captives. Whilst they were in the process of digesting what just had happened, a huge figure soon followed behind her. A monstrous wolf peeked around her earning the terrified trembles of the girls locked behind the wooden cell. For the first time in their lives they were thankful for their prison, now their bastion against a monster. As the beast drew near their unconscious jailor they could only watch in fearful anticipation of what would happen to him, forgetting their past gripes against the unsober miscreant. They were baffled as the maw of the creature opened not to rend but to drag the man out of the room, as if he was some lost pup being carried back to a mother¡¯s den. While they were still recovering from the astonishment they didn¡¯t realize the strange girl had already unlocked their cell. Swinging the wooden door wide open: Declaring so she turned to the entrance of the cave, the girls who had been taken deeper shuffling behind her, clutching blankets over themselves. She and others took time hesitating and taking in the situation but everyone eventually prepared themselves. What happened to the bandits that captured them? Who was she? grabbing the lone torch on the sconce they followed the mysterious girl shortly thereafter with many unanswered questions swirling in their minds. Though their sight had adjusted to the light from the torch¡¯s glow, still the rays of sun mercilessly assaulted their scotopic eyes when they exited the cave. Their sight was drawn to the luxuriously arranged foodstuff upon a long dining table. Beef, fowl, bread and drinks prepared in various ways, from roasted to smoked. The spectacle and the scent was irresistibly attractive to the starving group. ¡®They had quite the stock of food in those crates, it would be a shame if I let it go to waste.¡¯ Most of the food was cold. Bread was hard and stale, although almost all the drinks they had were mostly alcoholic ill suited for malnutritioned prisoners she found some bottles of weak cider to water down. Meat was tough even to young teeth, seasoned aggressively with salt and only salt to preserve for a longer period of time. Alicia was by no means proud of what she served rather it stung at her pride as a homecook, especially compared to what she could prepare with proper fresh ingredients. The pain was numbed a little when she saw how they wolfed down on it all without much care. ¡®Hey! hey! hey! There''s enough for everyone! Stop licking the bowls!¡¯ In her opinion this food tasted too one dimensional and bland but they didn¡¯t care at all. Hunger, after all, is the greatest seasoning of all¡­ After feeding them a plenty and letting the colors return to them, she brought them all to the front of a large tent - formerly the abode of the ring leader - making sure everyone¡¯s attention was on her Alicia proceeded to deliver her ultimatum. They just noticed it now but they were surrounded with the same monstrous wolves all emerging from the surrounding woods. They sat down after making their presence known like a guard dog in waiting. A direwolf was a serious problem, a pack like one here was a disaster in the making. Though none of them knew that direwolves do not form a pack naturally, the fact that they seemed to be under her beck and call immediately told them that the situation they were in was beyond unnatural. ¡®Hum, hm¡­ People don¡¯t like being told what they can and can¡¯t do. Besides the latter one reeks with suspicion, yes I¡¯m not trustworthy, I¡¯m a shady dangerous person so you should leave. With how generous the first option is they should all choose to leave, yes¡­ They should notice that I prepared more bags than the number of people present, someone keen should start running any moment now, to secure more provisions for themselves¡­¡¯ Break into a sprint, rushing to grab a bag or more, stealing from the slower one and making a clamor to flee as soon as possible. That was only in her head as no one made a move or a peep. ¡®Maybe they need some time¡­ they probably made friends with each other right? They may need to discuss it with each other¡­ obviously¡­¡¯ But however long she waited it appeared as though they had made their choice to stay, they simply did not vocalize it. ¡®Are they serious¡­? Real estate value of this place is terrible, your neighbours want to eat you alive or otherwise. There¡¯s no safety and security. No medical, religious or whatever services to speak of and you don¡¯t get any sunlight half the time because of the canopies! They did understand me¡­ right? Well¡­ time to give them a little push I guess¡­¡¯ At the snapping of her fingers the completely still wolves all stood up at once and slowly closed in their encirclement in almost perfect unison. Her actions were a completely unnecessary display as she could issue orders without it but she had to keep up with the established role without drawing suspicion on herself, not realizing that her being able to even control one dire wolf not to mention a pack was already exceedingly conspicuous, as in her mind they were already filed under the ¡®dogs¡¯ file. As if to complete her sentence for her the low growls of the wolves quickly followed up. Causing many of them to huddle up shuddering, but still they stood their ground. Not knowing if it''s in their place to speak, few of them weakly nodded. ¡®We¡¯ll let¡¯s see how serious you all are after this¡­ now don¡¯t go saying to that girl upstairs that I didn¡¯t give you a fair chance.¡¯ ? Mimicry ? It didn¡¯t take long for her to assume her true form. She fully anticipated ear piercing screams and panic to spread followed by the wolf pack running down any that tries to flee. ? Cold-reader ? Instead what reached her ears were gasps of surprise and peeking into their thoughts revealed that though surprised and awed, fewer than expected showed fear, understandably but all seemed sincere with their wishes to stay baffling, Alicia. Cold reader also revealed rather disturbing reactions as well¡­ ? Surprise¡­ Wariness¡­ Confusion¡­ Pretty¡­ Cute¡­ ? Biting her tongue, she almost yelled out: ¡°Which one of you deviants think I''m cute!?¡± ¡®ah that was close¡­ Still they aren¡¯t normal¡­ you should be more scared you know? Why the hell didn¡¯t you choose the first option? What is wrong with you all!¡¯ What she didn¡¯t understand was that her demands weren¡¯t all that different from any other lords and nobles'' law in city states and minor settlements and sometimes even kingdoms. Characters and words she used were different of course, but the implication and meanings wasn¡¯t all that dissimilar. Additionally, these girls were not scorned by some monster attack, no they were imprisoned by their own race, other humans did this to them. Going back to civilization, to more humans were good as going anywhere else. Rather felt veraciousness from her words than anything else, besides it was the first time they had encountered a spider like monster and in the various local folklore of the continent, monsters that spoke human tongue were often depicted as some nature spirits or deities of varying temperaments. Since she confirmed the authenticity of their wish to stay and most importantly not to tell anyone about her. ¡®I didn¡¯t plan for this outcome¡­ now what¡­ Well first thing¡¯s first¡­¡¯ Tension in the air seemed to disappear with the blithe delivery of her introductions and physically as the most of the wolves slowly trotted away. ¡®While I¡¯m confident in my skills as an engineer, housing for 19 in what¡­? not even half a day? I would say that is beyond my reach even for me, but really I can¡¯t tell with my current tools¡­ Procurement of wood is going to be a problem with the current rate, since only I and Dryssia can sustainably¡­ extract and graft live tree houses. I can recycle the wood and timber of this place¡­ I think I¡¯ll have the weapons and armors of the brigands¡¯ smelted down to something useful like nails, hinges, locks and other miscellaneous things. Hope the old man doesn¡¯t mind that¡­ without a hammer to my head at least. What about the foundation¡­ slabs or basements¡­ going to need¡­ materials¡­¡¯ She was carried away in her thoughts as her professional passion flared up, and only now noticing how the girls were lagging behind her. Timidly one of them spoke up. It appeared to be a question that was on everyone¡¯s mind as they all expectantly looked at her for an answer¡­ A strange reaction came from them, some glad, some disturbed and others seemingly too dazed to even think. What bothered Alicia the most was many of them seemed to be at peace¡­ Auratic Chapter 54: Establishment The girls were safe¡­ they knew that, yet it was difficult to shake off that constant feeling of anxiety. Trudging pace of the freed prisoners didn¡¯t do any favors to their emotional state either. Moving slightly ahead just enough to break line of sight briefly: They quickly created a replica of themself behind and went on ahead of the group. Thanks to the use of stealth none, not even the two wild lupine companions following her noticed the change. It took only a short distance to travel before the twins were in the range of telepathy. Thinking everything through, much of the fiasco was the result of their ever increasingly reckless game of hide and seek. Though some of the fault lies with her oversight; always searching for better and better places to hide in, straying further and further away from their watch was the ultimate reason. Even without concrete words and sentences telepathy carried more than just messages. Seething anger reverberating all throughout the shared psionic link, aimed at whom, it wasn¡¯t clear, but it wasn¡¯t much of a challenge to guess. All who had received the gift of telepathy felt it, the simmering asperity about to boil over, its intensity eclipsing everything else. A calm, simple and inoffensive instruction was transmitted. So innocuous that it was exceedingly incompatible with their current tumultuous emotional state. The two knew they were coming and fast. Girls didn¡¯t understand what exactly they did wrong, but it was the first time they felt them like this which only added to their growing discomfort. They couldn¡¯t wander off or more specifically, escape, not under the thundergoat¡¯s watchful gaze. Before even a minute pass and they could start to brood over the reason from who knows where Alicia came sprinting out of the woods. Hair tousled from the trip, small bits of leaves and sticks tangled in it. With intensity in her eyes she grabbed ahold of Anastasia afore anyone could react. Sliding in on her knees, as she didn¡¯t kill her momentum even the normally harmless earth scraped and scratched her knees and legs. Scanning and feeling around her body searching for any wounds; >Initializing Full Physical Examination¡­ >Temperature¡­¡­¡­ Normal. >Pulse rate¡­¡­¡­ 111 BPM. Heightened state. >Respiration rate¡­¡­¡­ 22. Heightened state. >Retrieving vital fluid oxygen level¡­¡­¡­ Saturation 99.7%. Nominal. >Cardiovascular system. Normal. >Retrieving lipid levels¡­¡­¡­ Nominal. >Retrieving vital fluid antibody level¡­¡­¡­ Nominal. >Retrieving vital fluid sedimentation rate¡­¡­¡­ Nominal. >Pulmonary functions. Normal. >Respiratory systems. Normal. >Visual systems. Normal. >Auditory functions. Normal. >Immune System. Functioning normally. >Central nervous system. Normal >Peripheral nervous system. Normal. >Response time. 117 milliseconds. >Hormone levels. Nominal. >Vital signs. Normal. >Prognosis: Subject on alert from distress; No outlying problem. End Report. As the examination concluded Alicia clutched her close in a tight embrace. Her actions seemed to say ¡®I was worried sick.¡¯ All the fuming emotions seemed to all fade away into nothing as she took a deep whiff from the crown of her head. The unique and strangely calming scent seemed to soothe her raging emotions. To her only the present mattered. Despite the stifling grasp, the usually outspoken, voluble Anna was strangely reticent on account of choked tears of Alicia. Swallowing all the lesson and lecture to be said she simply let Anna go while shooting a beckoning look to Goldia, who after being briefly confused trotted up to her. With both sisters¡¯ attention on her, They could only answer with slow nodding and now they could guess where they did wrong. In spite of their free willed nature, they still held their parents dear. Thus Alicia¡¯s worried face when she came looking for Anna, the look of joy from relief when she found her and lastly perhaps the most persuasive, her unshed tear hidden behind a pained smile ingrained the deference more than any admonishment or a lesson. Twisting their love for games into something more beneficial to her plan, she made them willingly hide themselves from the coming ex-prisoner humans. Though it was largely to close things up on a positive note, she also planted a notion of wariness towards humans, that they are to be avoided and hidden from. In general, it was mostly a needless precaution as the girls already knew what Alicia is truly. But she wanted to ascertain how long the twins could hide themselves among humans, as even though ones currently coming here are unlikely to pose any threat to them, that was not necessarily the case for humans outside the forest. At least for now until the girls could grow enough to protect themselves on their own. The whole event brought about a nostalgic reminiscence of her past long gone. It was during his middle school days. Coming back home well past midnight with black eye and a dirty uniform. Scab had already started to form on his face and injuries. Reasons how he got into the fight he had already forgotten. The rush he felt afterwards and the dread of reprimandation soon to follow, came back all too vivid. His mother¡¯s tear soaked face when she saw him, there wasn¡¯t any reproach, only questions of whether he was okay, and her rushing off to get a first aid kit from the kitchen. His father never once raised his hand against anyone for all he could remember. He genuinely thought that day was the day that was going to change. But the only thing he had for him was the look of disappointment. Not for getting into a fight or being hurt. Not because he let him down. But for letting his mother cry. That look hit him in the gut harder than anything in the world. The aluminium bat he took to the stomach, the self defense arts¡¯ instructor¡¯s beatdown, even the crushing pain of death upon his head couldn¡¯t dare hold a candle to that pain he felt. She figured that emotional ache like that of her previous life was far greater teacher than any physical punishment or scolding. The typical agonizing pain from the division was felt once. That however was the least of her troubles, parting with Alice once more meant she left an expansive space to be filled in herself. And that emptiness portended to consume everything that she was. Thankfully it only lasted a few moments before settling down into a lull. As Alicia saw her off one problematic issue was sorted out. She could now move on to the next point of her mental checklist. The Housing for the freed girls, which needed land surveying, topological, pedological1The study of soil. Not to be confused with paedology which is the study of children¡¯s behaviour and development. studies among other things such as feasibility studies and groundworks. She needed a foundation for the temporary shelter into a barracks-like hall. Disservice to be sure, in her mind that is, but right now whatever she could turn into a safe place to pass the night would work. She was intimate with the forest and its nature. With that experience she knew that the soil wasn¡¯t just enough to hold up any serious construction project as it is. Though she did have the tool to help with the groundworks, Earth Aspect. She didn¡¯t utilize it very often, rather the first time she even used it was by accident. Simply put the nature of the earth eluded her until she understood why, the forest was too full of life. The forest floor above the soil was teeming with it, shrubs, trees, roots, insects all of which in varying states of decomposition inhibited the earthen powers. What she needed was the strong bedrock underneath them. Pulling it up was a problem due to the soil above it. The Earth aspect wasn¡¯t the tool to deal with detritus. She needed to find a spot with least density of unwanted plant material. Although she herself could do it, why stumble in the dark when you have the perfect expert? Mumbling to herself the Dryad wandered off in a direction before abruptly stopping a number of paces away. The ground of the place where she stood was indeed thinly vegetated compared to dense flora around it most importantly the earth was mostly covered in dirt. There was still however another problem. The somber tone of her questioning made Alicia feel awkward. ¡®I¡¯ve forgotten that underneath her childish behaviours is a thousands of year old tree¡­ Well let¡¯s get to work.¡¯ The trees blocking the site were cut down by intense thermal ¡®wire¡¯. Alicia¡¯s superheated threads didn¡¯t last long - even when imbued with constitution - before vaporizing but until then it could be used as an effective thermal blade. Removing the stump and the subterranean roots needed a different approach, one Dryssia provided. Kneeling in front of the bare, freshly scorched stump she gently placed her hands on top of it. Not long after, roots were animated digging themselves upwards, like new bloom seeking the sun. She barely noticed an indistinct glow as the nymph slowly raised her hand up. Focusing on it Alicia could make out what appeared to be beige root or a vine linking the stump and the palms of her hands. Few branching and sprouting leaves. As she finished her work of exposing the trunks, most of the vines slowly detached themselves from the stub before ¡®burrowing¡¯ back away into her hands. Few that remained, wilted and disappeared in a fading light. Their ethereal display revealed what they were, the spirits of verdure and nature, a less evolved form of what Dryssia once was. Unlike the free flying petals of air, the regal and chaotic flutterings of flame, stumblings of earth or the gentle undulating glide of water it was a slow but sure creeping progress that both enveloped the surface and submerged underneath. Much like that of a seed ever vying for the sun and the sky as it roots itself into the ground. With the trees clear she could start with the foundation. Although she was going to use it as a temporary shelter, she wanted to have a headroom for later renovations and expansions to make into an apartment complex if needed as she didn¡¯t know if the coming residents had familial ties where they could share an apartment. Planning for the worst case where everyone needed their own room. Normally it would take months to process fresh tree into a workable timber as trees hold almost half their weight in water, sap and other moisture much of that time is soaked up by the ¡®seasoning¡¯ or the drying process. Of course there was the quicker option of boiling the tree but the intense heat and steam often degraded quality. But she could more or less cheat the process thanks to a certain someone she knows. Llynbel was quietly and intently observing what Alicia was upto. Despite being knowledgeable at many things related to spirits and magic. Engineering and construction was a whole new topic for her, comparatively speaking. ¡®That should finish in an hour or two tops. Now for me to do my part.¡¯ Controlling earth was the most puzzling part. Earth wasn¡¯t an element per se. Unlike air which was mostly nitrogen and oxygen and water being mostly hydrogen-monoxide2Hydric Acid Earth was a collection of much more numerous elements. Calcium, silicon, magnesium, sulphur, iron, copper, zinc, nickel, manganese, boron, aluminium and many more forming various different minerals. Controlling each aggregates and particulates individually was a fool''s errand but on the other hand the easily manipulated single composite mineral in large mass and shape was not exactly plentiful. The solution was, if she couldn¡¯t find it naturally, she''d make it magically. Compressing the elements she would make her own mix of indurate, resting above the bedrock, strong enough to hold up the construction project. Her knowledge of chemistry and geology was insufficient to make it happen methodically thus she could only rely on Earth spirits indigenous to her hair. They guided and used her magical energy, shifting the earth underneath to form the image she wanted, a firm concrete. ¡®It¡¯s like I¡¯m clenching my fist¡­ or clenching someone else¡¯s fist for them¡­ quite the experience¡­¡¯ Although she wanted a shallow foundation the compressed earth naturally sunk as it hardened. ¡®It¡¯s more than I asked for so no complaints there, once the tree is dry I start getting some beams in place to hold the roof and walls. The first night is going to be rough for them since it''s going to be more or less a homeless shelter but I''m sure they¡¯ve spent time in much worse places. I could name one for sure¡­ Oh they¡¯re here.¡¯ Strangely not many of her familiars were suited for hauling cargo. Despite having considerable strength her Araneae didn¡¯t have the flat surface to comfortably carry something without toppling it over. Wolves while more suited had problems of securing it leaving only the goats. Although they couldn¡¯t carry much, with sheer number they could carry large quantities of small to midsize items. The others were relegated to escort duty since they couldn¡¯t protect themselves while loaded. As for what they were carrying: the reclaimed materials of brigand camp was taken down and recycled. Long storing food, tents, weapons, textiles, clothes and other likely illegally obtained goods. Shortly after, Faenas and her officers carried in things bundled in cloth. With how much distance between her and the double she left with the girls remaining, she expected them to arrive well after sundown. But pulling in all the favors she could get. ¡®Though I¡¯m feeling a little winded¡­ strange.¡¯ >Notice. Energy level 57% >Estimated time until critical levels at current expenditure: 517 minutes. ¡®I can still make it.¡¯ Auratic Well cyberpunk release didn''t help me stay focused either but hey. Game really feels like "Watch_d0gs but I''m in first person." Stopping petty crimes, shooting, hacking, melee, stealth. Not that I''m saying I dislike it rather I really enjoy the gameplay, atmosphere and the aEsThEtIcS even if it is still technically a GTA clone(but you''re in first person). I see the CDPR style menu and ui work and systems, borrowed from their another great game, the Witcher seriest. But they also copied all the useless shit from the Witcher series, like the Inventory management. For Fucks sake why is the half my inventory just varying different booze? While being able to dismantle things is nice. YOU DON''T LET ME BULK DISMANTLE ALL THE BOOZE. WHY DO YOU HAVE DIFFERENT BRANDS OF BOOZE IN MY FICTIONAL WORLD EACH TAKING UP A DIFFERENT INVENTORY SLOT, GAME? I''m sorry I had to vent a little there. But to their credit they made game well enough that even my shitty 970 can run it on playable fps on without the textures looking like a rat''s ass. I''m sure there''s someone raving about how they have Keanu Reeves in their head most of the game. What? Was I not supposed spoil that? Well here''s a spoiler tag. If you''re wondering, yes it is empty. Here''s an image to make you paranoid. Chapter 55: Plan of Action Walking¡­ Almost a whole day of walking. They had to stop many times for rest, if not for the food and water they were given the task would have been impossible with their condition. At first they were wary of the Direwolves but they have grown to trust in them after they protected them from various dangers from monsters. The place was as hostile as any untamed lands could be, even the pricks from the earth underfoot felt as if they wished to taste their blood. Leading their convoy the strange being who did not eat or rest and possessed the body of an arachnid, yet hid in a human form. Did it not wish to frighten them perhaps? One thing was for sure, it was something more than human. Gloom and darkness dominated the woodlands as the sun sank beneath the horizons. As each ray of light faded, their worry seemed to swell more and more. Before panic could set in; For the first time in a while the being spoke. It promised a place to stay and though not a vow of protection, it would at least tolerate their presence. After a long day of walking, the news of a place to rest was like music to their ears. Through the dark foliage they could just barely make out a beacon of light, a lonely island amidst a sea of darkness. A rectangular lodge made mostly of wood, beams of its porch holding aloft a pair of torches. On a closer look light poured out of the windows revealing its interior. Alicia¡¯s introduction elicited some exclamations and amazed whispers among the group. Not knowing how to address her, meekly one of them near the front spoke up. After confirming her statement more gasps and bewilderment followed with some breaking into tears which baffled Alicia. Everyone was in agreement, evident from their overlapping and overwhelming sounds of affirmation. While she was struggling to comprehend the situation the same girl added to Alicia¡¯s already full plate. ¡®I mean that¡¯s over all less materials needed and I¡¯m all for it but¡­ Why¡¯s everyone acting like I missed an important meeting? I think they¡¯re still recovering from the shock maybe¡­? I mean they were just freed recently.¡¯ Within the wider culture of the continent slaves and servants of freemen, merchants and even some nobles are expected to live in what is known as the servants¡¯ quarters or the stable floor. Which often had one or more communal rooms where up to dozens of servants could be expected to share. Even in the home of the most generous master one would have to use a single room in common with, at the minimum three other thralls. This did not mean there weren¡¯t any that had a room for themselves. An honored guest, high ranking dignitary, retainers, a servant and of course secret lovers and concubines would get a room of their own from the master of the house. Them getting a separate room from Alicia meant they were at the status least well regarded retainers. They couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine implications. But one thing was for sure, their once hopeless future had taken an unexpected turn for the better. Alicia invited them in, smoothly swinging open the double doors. Truthfully they were astonished to see that the large doors opened without any creaking. Beyond the entrance an otherworldly plane awaited them rows of neatly prepared beds & blankets were arranged on the floor, each impeccably white. Walls and floors were spotless clean and although plainly finished their evidently fine quality still shone through. Number of thick wooden beams held up the roof each had a simple metal sconce holding a wax candle. Along with the pleasant scent of wood, the whole place gave off a welcoming atmosphere. Lacking in other furniture the interior had ample space. Even wealthy merchants would think twice before renting the place, such was their impression. Something was off though. A lone building in the middle of the Exile¡¯s forest, unspoiled by surrounding greenery. The place didn¡¯t seem like it was a part of a settlement that was here in the past, especially with the scent of fresh linseed oil. Nor was it a homestead with the clearly barren interior & lack of any signs of previous occupation. Together with the immaculate beds and fresh scent of lumber it could only mean that this place was created recently. Task of this magnitude was impossible for a single man to handle. But of course, their host was not a human. Place felt more like a realm created in the arcane image of a spirit design than human construct. Like that hunters of the guild venture into. Should they step a foot in, it was in question if they would be able to exit and nearly all of them hesitated. With that being said if they were to turn back now there was nothing waiting for them. They once thought they had a home until it was burnt down. They had a family until it was taken from them and in some cases, slaughtered in front of them. They thought they had a king and nation to unite under until their countrymen came for them. They realized that they had only a precious little to their name until it was robbed from them, now they had nothing but their lives - if it could even be phrased as such. They were - effectively - dead men walking as the world forgot about them in the human world. They had no place in their former world, so what if they can¡¯t go back? With her mind set, Alia boldly took a step forward others soon following her lead. After everyone had entered; Mysteriously some of the candles flickered out startling some and dimmed the overall lights. Magic. It had to be. Their exposure to the subject was extremely limited beyond the general knowledge common among peasantry. Yet even they knew that the way she used it was out of the ordinary. No words, no actions, it was as if¡­ she willed the flames to bend to her wiles. Her act left a strong impression, though it would completely floor any other common sorcerer who would understand the significance of her abilities. Having said so, she exited the lounge closing the doors behind her and leaving the bewildered girls. After getting used to the new environment they put down their lightening packs, some having a light meal from the remaining supplies. As they themselves lied down upon the beds, many nearly dozed off as soon as they hit the pillow. Soft silken beds & blankets were filled with light airy wool that had no odour to speak of, indicating excellent quality wool and use of fuller¡¯s earth. Both are a rare luxury to get a hold of to create such a product not to mention the fabrication process. Even the pillow had the same quality. The beds seemed to drain the exhaustion of walking and harsh treatment out of them, leaving only relaxation. It felt as if they were staining it just by lying their filthy body upon it. Most had found themselves in between rock and a hard place of wanting to just sleep on the floor to not sully the bed and giving in and indulging in the comforts. The irresistible lure of the coziness won out in the end however. Soon enough the whole place was overtaken by the peaceful snoring with no one left conscious to turn the candles off, all drifting through the dreamscape of slumber¡­ ¡®Phew. That¡¯s one thing taken care of for now.¡¯ ¡®Let¡¯s go see what Alice and Faenas brought back¡­¡¯ Whilst she and everyone else were putting together the lodge, Alicia entrusted Faenas and later Alice to lead the dismantlement and bring back everything usable from the brigand camp with help from her familiars to carry the load. While she did roughly estimate what there was in the camp, she wished to properly sort and inventory everything. A task which her familiars - while being highly intelligent sorely lacking opposable thumbs - could not do very efficiently. They didn¡¯t have an appropriate storehouse where they could hold everything either. So she simply made their treehouse and burrow into a temporary depot until. With her limited testing of Void vault, she knew she could have used the spell to relocate almost everything in a single trip but because of the strange change of Dauntless she refrained from using it for now. Ingin seemed relatively fine, though when she presented it to Dryssia she only commented on the living core of the bow being quote full of satiety and confused about what day it was unquote. With her link to Alice she had her set aside items of interest. Though having to decode Alice¡¯s crude descriptions were particularly challenging. Apparently when they were at the camp the unaccounted three leftover men came over. They were dealt with summarily by the Araneae in the premises, according to Faenas. They were alive¡­ but truthfully they may wish not to be. ¡®Ignoring the perishables there''s a map of the area, somewhat outdated it seems with how many addendums, edits and annotations are added to it. Sort of an accounting ledger of sorts, seems to be either written in a cipher or a red herring to throw off officials.¡¯ She didn¡¯t realize it but she could read and understand parts of the language, thanks to tidbits of knowledge stolen from the minds of the prior use of the cold reader. And strangely it didn¡¯t feel unnatural at all. ¡®Few empty scrolls I could use to jot something down, forget 0.5 mechanical pencil, I don¡¯t even have something to write with¡­¡¯ Loose local currency and other valuables had been sorted into a bag which amounted to surprising quantities in discrepancy with their ledger of slave deals suggesting that the extra funds were most likely plundered directly. As they had been tucked away from sight, possibly as a hidden cache. They popped up everyone now and then while Faenas was taking apart the encampment. Alicia struggled to understand the map at first as there was no landmark she was familiar with but apparently the forest just took a small part of the map as it was hidden under the huge text with the following phrase that Faenas translated to; Hic sunt dracones1Latin for ¡°Here be dragons¡±. Apparently often used in maps to denote unexplored or treacherous lands. The latter in this case as the forest specifically the mountains located at the heart of the forest was supposedly home to a dragon. ¡®It was an older than time ancient fire spirit in the form of a dragon but I can see why people didn¡¯t want to verify it. You¡¯re either getting scorched or vaporized. Either way you¡¯ll end up as fine ash.¡¯ ¡®According to this map¡­ centered around the kingdom of Pyrinia which is to the south of here maybe a little to the west too. On the opposite side to the east there¡¯s the edge of what¡¯s only referred to as The Empire. Down south there¡¯s a collection of city states called the Calaian states. Further up north from here across a sea there¡¯s Skerrigar or the Northern Thrones. And an addendum saying way to the east there¡¯s the place called Great archipelago which I can only imagine seeing as how it¡¯s not illustrated here and what the hell is this little dot¡­? Is that a city state? First of all, where''s the legend? What is a major settlement, what is a village? Where do the borders between nations end? What ratio is this, is one centimeter 100 meters or 100 kms? Where¡¯s the topology? Is that bump a hill or a mountain? Water, hello? Did you forget about water? Lakes, rivers, deltas Hello? My issues with this ¡®map¡¯ aside, I now know where in the world I¡¯m located¡­ That girl, Rosalia said that she wanted to be returned to her family or something along that line. Sounded like she was someone important, probably from Pyrinia or the empire, should ask her. Regardless she¡¯s not gonna get there without me finishing my work here first. There¡¯s also the three stooges to deal with. During that fight back at their camp it felt like I constantly misjudged my strength, I know even with my self defense training few cracks here and there expected, but I don¡¯t think a bone should crack as it did back then. I might actually have broken a few of them. Why did I just randomly pick a fight with a bunch of dudes, that¡¯s the first rule of self defense. Don¡¯t fight with multiple people and what did I do? Pranced right in the middle and started fighting them. If not for the fact that I could tell where they were with Pallesthesia I probably would¡¯ve caught a rusty dagger to the back and a tetanus by now. Ideally I want to get a little bit more practice out. I can try Soul Echo on those guys and few of the girls. I need to see how different I am from a regular human, well¡­ a variant of a human at least. Tons of work and¡­ damn¡­ haven¡¯t felt this tired in a while¡­¡¯ >Alert. Energy levels: 29%. Suggested action: Recall Gemini Image. ¡®Yeah I should meet up with Alice¡­ Just when I thought I had some free time, work after work to deal with and I don¡¯t think this is going to be the last of it either¡­¡¯ Auratic It''s 12:47 am on a saturday. I''ll read and fix things in the morning. Also I think my readers might relate to mr Hannity is saying... just a hunch... Intermission 5 When Alice first showed up in Verdun rumours about her quickly started circulating, officially she was Alicia¡¯s ¡®Partner¡¯ and the actual mother of the twins of course. Guessing from her withdrawn nature, odd mannerisms and most importantly their similar aura many assumed her to be some offshoot or her sister. Her strange actions from word of mouth easily found its way to Faenas and by extension Alicia. Which leads to their current practice. Alicia was teaching Alice how to behave herself around humanoids which the latter she had experience with. This particular session was trying to fix her tendency to not face the other party while speaking. They were figuring out where to place one¡¯s eyes. As the last one where ¡®look in the eyes of the person you¡¯re speaking to¡¯ turned into a failure as Alice had an extremely discomforting gaze, which often intimidates or unsettles the other side when talking. The training had come a long way since the start, for example Alice learned how to naturally swing her arms when walking as opposed to her¡­ ¡®stiffness of death¡¯. Or how and where to place her arms instead of having it in a sort of awkward t-rex like position where she had her hands near her heart. Alice¡¯s tendencies to clean herself using by sucking on her fingers to lubricate them to then tend her body had gotten many strange looks to the point where Faenas had run out of patience and had to tell Alicia about it. She had many other bizarre comments such as; Few other issues Alicia had to straighten out with Alice was her inclination to start climbing up walls of houses unprovoked to reach corners. And yet another complaint she received was how she started ¡®sparring¡¯ with Ash. Although when he did say ¡®Fight like it¡¯s life or death¡¯ to get a genuine session going, Alice truly had tried to kill the old man. Until she was - once again - called by Faenas to intervene. Sword instructor might have developed a few traumatic memories of her during the process. But during which Alicia noticed how Alice handled the sword in a unique way of holding it in a reverse grip and her disposition to leglock her opponent before savagely stabbing down with her sword. Alicia recognized this, Alice like any other spider tended to bite(stab) with their fangs(sword) and wrap their legs around them(leglock) while the venom paralyzed their victim(opponent). Inquiring about her opinion of the sword was; ¡°Metal fang¡­ strong¡­ sharp¡­ good¡­ but not good enough¡­ need two, one for each pedipalp¡­¡± Education is an important aspect of children¡¯s life. That was no exception for the sisters. Lacking a formal education institution in the middle of a forest, Alicia had to take matters into her own hands and try to homeschool the two. Their language capabilities were already well developed plus she herself had not the microspeck of a clue about the written language common around these parts. The tribal witch doctor seemed more than happy to teach them but for the most part he seemed to entertain them with myths, legends and stories of various origin. A more formal language skills were instead taught in tandem with their usual training under Ash with the help of some of the ¡®Village elders¡¯. Some mothers who dote on the two often sneaked in. On the other hand there was mathematics with few if any who could tutor them. Using various methods Alicia guessed that they had intellect comparable to that of a middle schooler and they quickly grasped the basics of it; including multiplication, division, whole numbers, fractions, simple geometry2Japanese longshoot bowman probably. and probability. Paper and pen was not a luxury that was available thus sticks in the dirt had to do. After scribbling in the earth; 4 x 9 = 36. 20 x 9 = 180 + 36 = 216 and getting the answer¡­ ¡­ . . . Anna¡¯s brain seemed to have already short circuited with metaphorical smoke coming out of her head. Tiredly Anna asked, her eyes a depiction of boredom. Mentioning of her favorite type of food quickly reanimated her with interest. With newfound determination Anna studied earnestly. Alicia herself only used the topic to get her to pay attention not knowing that she herself planted the seed which would soon bloom into Anna¡¯s love for cooking and food¡­ and the subsequent disruptions of entire ecosystems brought about by the pyromaniac gourmet. That story will have to be set aside for another time¡­ Auratic Here''s what an armored bug looks like. Chapter 56: The Nurturing Mother Daylight was soon to come. There was one small problem with the communal house¡¯s latrines. Originally she intended to have a small stream of water running below as a rudimentary sewage system but the natural plumbing expert vehemently refused against using her waters for waste disposal. Instead what she had proposed was the use of slimes. They apparently often inhabited waterfronts and other moist damp areas. Though Llynbel herself shood them away from her waters. Supposedly since ancient times, in some civilizations they were used as waste disposal as they consumed almost everything, excrement included. According to Llynbel they were crepuscular, being most active during dusk and dawn water based entities. She hoped to find some of them during those times at the edges of the forest. Thankfully she had a lead to follow, the flowing rivers. ¡®Round sloshing things¡­ yeah, great descriptor Llynbel, very helpful when I¡¯m next to a body of running water which splishes and sloshes all the time!¡¯ Walking along the stream on the lookout for slimes for a few hours now with no luck so far. The rays of light from the morning sun shone upon the forest and illuminated woods revealing glints of white on the trees in the distance swaying side to side. As she approached the source to take a closer look, she could pick up the sounds of¡­ something. Honing her ears she could make out viscous sounds¡­ ¡®What the hell is that noise¡­? Sounds like someone is eating¡­ a cold mac & cheese?¡¯ On the trees, under its branches a gelatinous spheroid mass was hanging from it wobbling in the wind. The murky white transparent gel like body made it possible to make out the core like object at the center of its round form. Looking around she could see a number of them on nearby trees as well feeding on the sap of trees. ¡®These guys are probably it, about time¡­ one problem¡­ How do I carry them? Do I just¡­¡¯ Reaching her hands out she tried to scoop it up from under it, the cold tingling wet sensation spread on her palms. Although some parts of it sagged into the gap between her fingers it seemed that slime¡¯s membrane was firm enough to hold its integrity. ¡®It¡¯s like handling¡­ wet sand¡­¡¯ Thinking that it was being attacked the slime started to try and squirm out of her hands. ? Whispers ? Soothed by the unintentional use of magic it relaxed, though that didn¡¯t last long before it started to move around for different reasons. Feeling up and around her hands it spread a tiny prickling sensation on her hands. >Alert. Bodily harm detected. ¡®Wait really? What, is it¡­ trying to eat me?¡¯ Dewy and gluey substance was left on her hands where it was just at. >Suggestion. Acquire sample for analysis. ¡®What, you want me to take taste?¡¯ >Oral intake viable. ¡®How about no? You find another way, I''m not sucking on random things I pick up from the floor.¡¯ >Re-evaluating standby¡­ >Acquire spell ¡°Delusion¡± >Acquire spell ¡°Domination¡± ¡®Well that took a left turn in a hurry.¡¯ ¡®Uhh¡­ sure?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m supposed to be concerned or excited from these spells¡­ I think both¡­ both is good.¡¯ >Suggested action, Use domination on subject to acquire anima sample. ¡®Fine, as long as I don¡¯t have sample things with my tongue. Enforce my will huh? You word it like I just casually know how to be an S&M dominatrix, excuse me!'' >Alert. Administrator is recommended to issue simple and precise instructions to units to avoid misintentions. Alice who was heretofore a silent observer broke her reticence. As the magical energy poured out of her and seeped into the slime on her hand an unusual sense of connection was established. Different from what she was accustomed to, yet not too dissimilar from kindred. The connection was one sided, like burdensome chains were lugging the gooey being into compliance forcibly and cold without the empathetic bond shared. ''That¡­ feels off somehow¡­ not sure if I like it¡­ I think kindred has more¡­ life to it. With kindred we have this sense of unity. I can feel the emotions, intents, wishes and desires, the mood, experiences¡­ everything of everyone. Compared to all that this¡­ this is hollow. I definitely prefer kindred over that¡­ what a strange spell.'' She did not know that hollowness was the norm for spells of its likeness. Kindred itself born from the two''s unlikely but unique union was the outlier with its special characteristics. As the last portion of the energy was infused, the spell instilled the creature with replete obedience. Though from the side it only looked as if she was merely holding it. >Connection established. Retrieving data¡­ Summarising report. >Cellular colony lifeform. >Composed of four closely related cell families each specialising in a specific role. >Able to carry out basic functions of life. >Central nucleic clusters contain genetic material, controls all internal functions. >Reproduction method; mitosis. >Excretory substance contains waste materials and deceased cells. >Cellular gigantism supported by environmental supply of magical energy. ''Mmmhm, that''s nice and all but can it dispose of human waste?'' >Metabolic functions able to process most common waste excretions to basic components. ''I''ll take that as a yes. This is a pet I can get behind of¡­ minimal maintenance pet that doesn¡¯t bark at nothing at 3AM when the whole neighbourhood is asleep. Thought now that I think about it¡­ the incessant, wet¡­ mouth sounds are a minus¡­ maybe someone else might like it.¡¯ ¡®Heard they could grow some pretty massive size, that gonna make me and the girls any trouble soon?'' >Exponential growth requires an exponentially larger intake of energy, surface area and resources. Subject relies on Cellular diffusion to transport resources and release waste. Method too passive to effectively support lifeform. Magical energy intake unable to compensate. Improbable without third party intervention. ''Ah, I remember that, something to do with the square cube law anyway¡­ I should just grab a few more¡­'' After spending most of the morning collecting various slimes without the use of Domination Alicia returned with a packful of slimes and dropped them into the simple sewer lines below. ¡®Occasional input of wastewater should stop them from drying up¡­ I think. Anyway there are few things I wanted to do today¡­¡¯ The freed girls had a light breakfast, depleting the last of the supplies stored in their packs. The previous night they were told that in the morning Alicia would decide their future course. They only understood that it was important and with it some couldn¡¯t help but worry with breaths held. They didn¡¯t know she would pick one of them so suddenly, a panic twofold fell upon a single girl. Unvoiced alarm quickly spread throughout them though their expressions didn¡¯t hide it well. Slowly with wariness the girl stepped up to Alicia, her eyes jumping all around her searching for an escape of sorts. ?WHISPERS? As she did so as per Alicia¡¯s words she seemed to have relaxed a little as her pounding heart eased a bit. Or so it would seem from what she could tell with Pallesthesia. Without anyone knowing even the indescribable voices of the void too soothed her racing mind. Slow and barely noticeable nods were her only reply. So she said and held out her hands. As soon as the girl touched Alicia¡¯s outstretched hands she felt something extraordinary. ?Soul Echo? Linked by something unseen, temporary connection of Soul echo allowed souls to resonate. It is this resonance - an echo - that carries the information about itself. It couldn¡¯t be fully interpreted by humans as such she couldn''t comprehend the information of Alicia''s soul, but she could glimpse the overwhelming tenor. Without the Alma system¡¯s quantification Alicia too would only have a vague understanding of the vital statistics. ¡®Hold up just one second¡­ something ain''t right. I¡¯m pretty sure I had higher stats than this girl when I was a much smaller spider, was I strong enough to overpower an adult person?¡¯ >Statistics are quantified relatively based on the target''s race and body mass. ¡®Great, got none of that. Explain it again like I¡¯m stupid.¡¯ >Any unit¡¯s displayed statistics are based on and relates to the target''s race; tangible statistics grows relatively as the subject¡¯s body mass increases. ¡®So what you¡¯re saying is even though numerically I outclassed them that¡¯s only an impressive stats for a tiny spider and they could have still stepped on me and I would die¡¯ >Assumption correct. ¡®Okay that makes sense¡­ I think. Still that seems a little low even for that. Say what¡¯s up with her having her own allocation points, can I use that?¡¯ >Available points represent the target''s potential for growth. System is able to use the anima points of others to develop the target''s soul if the recipient is receptive. ¡®So with you I can pull out people¡¯s inner potential. Neat. One more thing¡­ Where did those never seen before skills came from? And why don¡¯t I have the option to get those?¡¯ >Skills unessential to administrator survival have been temporarily shelved under the trait ¡®Inherited Will¡¯ for purposes of clarity. Expand? ¡®Sure gimme a peek, I didn¡¯t actually take the time to have a look at it.¡¯ ¡®Huh¡­ that¡¯s cool¡­ Yeah I can see why they wouldn¡¯t be helpful to me¡­ Hey why¡¯s my architectural skill higher than engineering?! You picking a fight with me, you figment of schizophrenia?!¡¯ Her brief but intense indignation caused by the discovery of her former skills were transmitted through the soul echo, causing Alia to tremble in fear. She of course didn¡¯t know it was an aimless anger directed at nothing in particular. So she interpreted it as it being pointed at her. ¡®I got sidetracked, anyway she has some infections, few levels in constitution and regeneration should patch that up¡­ Animal husbandry and crop cultivations¡­ sounds like farm work, so she''s a village girl? She might be good at taking care of animals then¡­ What else¡­ managing everyone is gonna be troublesome work for me¡­ I¡¯ll make you their representative, leadership and¡­ charisma why not. The leftovers can go to beefing up her stats a little.¡¯ >Executing¡­ It felt as if hours had gone by but verily only a few moments passed. From the nebulous bond came a surge of power that settled within her. She didn¡¯t know since when however she found her body somewhat lighter and power unknown seemed to be welling up from inside her. Something had changed, she felt as if she was a different person. Turmoil of emotions from Alicia¡¯s fury and her grace clashed for but a single second before it all simmered down. From its aftermath she¡­ was born anew. Girl who was holding Alicia¡¯s hands just then crumpled down onto her knees, reverence glistening through her misty eyes. Which even Alicia found it surprising, evident by her subtle flinch. Her voice although sounding slightly shaky at the first turned to a mighty acclamation. ¡®Whew, that¡¯s all of them¡­ they¡¯re mostly village girls and street kids but some of them seem to be much more¡­ talented. What the hell is statecraft¡­? Alma was a great help for making choices and what not, it could do it even automatically for me, though I still want to review any changes before committing to it. I¡¯m basically changing with their entire lives with the difficulty of a coloring book. Everyone has their things to do now should keep busy but what they can do is still limited¡­ Taking care of the bees and the goats should be a good starter for everyone. I¡¯ll just have some of the wolves keep an eye on them so they don¡¯t hurt themselves. After that there¡¯s lunch¡­ For me there¡¯s the house extensions and I need to go pick up dauntless from the old man¡­ I just thought Alia was simply more¡­ weaker than the norm but nope¡­ they are all pretty weak, numerically speaking I need a bigger sample size, and I just have the test subjects. There¡¯s one more thing I need to try out too. The Geneva convention hasn¡¯t happened in this world so there¡¯s no protection for prisoners of war yet, for me it''s a Geneva suggestion¡­What international humanitarian laws? They have no power here. Those non-existent laws can¡¯t stop me.¡¯ Auratic As always please point out any errors, I''ll correct them as soon as I''m able to. Chapter 57: Apostle After she acquired the ¡®voluntarily¡¯ provided stats of the surviving brigands she noticed a trend. Looking at their numbers and comparing it to the girls¡¯ she could draw up a broad median of the general statistic of the average human. Even though they were tipplers, be it difference in physique or lifestyle, the men had noticeably higher stats and certain odd skills. ¡®Back Alley Brawler, Mugging, Intimidation, Mob strategos, Plunderer¡¯s instinct, Nomad¡­ interesting¡­ And those titles too, Reaver, Manslayer, Fornicator¡­ As for human¡¯s stats, they have around a total stats number averaging around 900 points total spread about dividing that to the main 5 stats gives them a rating of 180 which is D+ or at the cusp of reaching mediocrity with C-. But if I take away magic from the equation then things look much better. Taking away magic stats which averages around 75 we get a much more modest 825 average which when divided by the 4 physical stats, that gives humans an average of 206-207 ish median stats pushing them to comfortable C- tier¡­ Goddamn it why is my former species so damn average?¡¯ Another thing Alicia noticed was that humans¡¯ greatest asset; intelligence was not rated by the system. Enquiring about the matter from the system led to an elaborate explanation leading to why intelligence was arbitrary as technically every decision made at the moment is always the correct to the self even if another mind would have found it lacking. Making it objectively unquantifiable by Alma, instead humans were rated on a Class of sapience with a high rating of 7 out of 10, supposedly she and Alice were rated 8 for being an entity ¡®aware¡¯ and able to interact with ¡®the overseers¡¯1G.O.D the smug girl upstairs...¡­ Ever since she had discovered the void vault an idea was festering inside her mind. ¡®Am I opening a portal to another¡­ dimension¡­ of sorts? Why when I open its¡­ door is it always the same place that it leads to where I left something there? Does that mean the dimension is moving with me? If I can open doors leading to the same place in the void can¡¯t I do something like go inside and open another door back to this place and end up somewhere else? That is effectively a type of teleportation. I know time¡­ doesn¡¯t necessarily stop inside it. Just seems to be¡­ extremely unpredictable¡­¡¯ Its true nature still eluded her. And she intended to find out more. ?VOID VAULT? Light warped around the epicenter of the breach, lensing around to let it one see what was behind it despite it being a completely opaque object. As its circumference grew the burden of energy demand from sustaining the spell was alleviated until it stopped at a diameter of around meter wide. For the first test, she found a long dead branch. Instead of fully inserting the stick she let go of it halfway. The stick seemingly defied gravity by levitating with no apparent force applied¡­ or rather¡­ something else from the otherside was holding it up. There was one thing she wanted to know¡­ While something or someone was using it, what would happen if she were let the hole close? ? VOID VAULT ? As the otherworldly rift collapsed in on itself the wooden stick was ejected back with extreme force. ? Instinct ? ? Reflexive Reaction ? ? Snap Reaction ? When the rapidly approaching projectile flying towards her was registered, her body moved before her mind could grasp the situation. Somewhere she thought she heard an explosion. She found herself face deep in soil and pebbles with minor scratches that quickly closed up. As her mind finally caught up, it appeared that she jumped to the side with such force to avoid the imminent danger. Standing up and looking around she found a spectacle of landscape similar to a plane had crash landed behind where she was standing. Earth gouged out forcefully, trees peppered with something akin to multitudes of deep bullet wounds, gashes on boulders as if someone carved it out. The stick had reached intense velocity in such a short time that the integrity of the wood couldn¡¯t keep up and turned into a sawdust travelling at outrageous speed. And those tiny pellets were the reason behind the disaster. While trying to replicate the event something different happened. Instead of shooting out the second stick the rift seemed to just swallow the branch with much the same force. After multiple sawdust related explosions and failed attempts she found the reason. ¡®An object whose most of its mass is already in the void will be swallowed whereas an object whose majority of its body is outside it will instead be ejected with ridiculous speed as the rift closes¡­ More of it is the void the faster it travels, if it is just barely sticking out of the void then it will flop onto the ground harmlessly¡­ I guess I could control its speed like that. I wonder¡­¡¯ She never realized this but¡­ she could open rifts to the void without her immediate presence by just picking an image from memory and using other senses she could remotely open rifts. Rifts in plural, multiple of them. Although opening them took a considerable amount of mana and concentration, once they were opened they could be sustained with minimal effort. She could weaponize this unexpected discovery. Lastly she still wanted to see if the teleportation was possible but she was still skeptical about fully stepping into the rift after what happened to the giant rat and Dauntless. Of course the first thing she tried was to let a mirror image go in and close it behind it, with a simple command to return back to her after a minute. It was deemed a failure as soon as the chasm closed up the connection with the image was severed and unsurprisingly the image did not return. Breaching into the lightless space again, she found a sphere of water in its expanse, the remnant of what used to be a mirror image. This was more or less expected, after all without the supply of mana from her the images would fail and dispel. Incidentally she didn¡¯t know a good way to pull out the water sphere of water. But she wasn¡¯t about to give up just yet. If she couldn¡¯t extract information from her images she just had to use something else that wouldn¡¯t perish so easily. With the communication between her images impossible as they would degrade into their base material something more substantial and closer to her physiology, or rather, someone. Gagged and bound with silken cords men came to, stripped off to the most basic of undergarments were held in a dark subterranean den. Their base was overtaken by monsters somehow and without knowing they carelessly walked right into the group of them and overwhelmed by Arachnid monsters. They were spared, or rather set aside for later consumption. Only a few of their many companions present in this prison¡­ one could imagine what had come to a pass to their missing brethren. Something came and grabbed him by the cords and dragged him away. Terror gripped his whole being, tossing and turning he fought with what little strength remained in his body for it was his time to be devoured. Fiery sting pierced into his tender meat. Burning pain spread from his thighs. Then his head was forced into someplace dark, blacker than the light forsaken subterranean den. Winds howling around him carrying voices speaking of maddening conspiracy and paranoia. The blinders covering his eyes wore off letting the full brunt of the malignity of the cosmos to fall upon his frail mind. And the gag had fallen so he screamed, yet the voices roared louder. Up he looked seeking salvation, there was no sun, there were no stars, only the immeasurable darkness of creation. Below¡­? Which way was below? Is there an up or down in this godless place? The air he breathed was choking the life out of him. Air? Was this even air? Holding the man in place without injuring him was becoming more and more difficult with how much he was tossing about. More importantly however¡­ ¡®Huh¡­ I guess sound doesn¡¯t travel between¡­ Maybe¡­? No, I pulled out his gag.¡¯ As she slowly pulled the man out, as soon as his head was on her side of the world: Surprised by the volume of his wail, she quickly shoved his head back into the abyss. His grieving cries were silenced as abruptly as it arrived. ¡®Yeah he¡¯s screaming alright¡­ sound definitely doesn¡¯t travel. Hm¡­ does he not see that rift right in front of him? Light probably doesn¡¯t travel either then¡­ Hey Al-¡¯ >Data extraction complete¡­ Compatibility registration underway¡­ >Compiling profile¡­ Processing¡­ >Usability assessment underway¡­ Processing¡­ ¡®I was gonna ask if you could make something out of that but I¡¯ll take that as a yes.¡¯ >Generating heuristics based profile stand by¡­ >?Trespass? Acquired. ¡®Ohh¡­ that sounds awfully like blink.¡¯ In her excitement she almost forgot about the man with his head stuck into the void vault. ¡®Eh¡­ let¡¯s see what he has to say to defend himself. I think I gave him enough of a scare.¡¯ As she pulled the brigand¡¯s head out of the pocket his reverberating hoarse and raspy screams continued. Upon hearing his ear splitting scream she nearly reconsidered her decision. ¡®Them¡­? Whatever Alma, what can you get from him?¡¯ ? Soul Echo ? >Neural activity consistent with extreme psychosis. >Caution. Prolonged exposure to location designated as Null Void may cause irreversible mental degradation to sapient subjects. Cause: Unknown. >Warning. Subject has experienced intense time dilation. Cause: Unknown Alicia was surprised to see the man, for he had undergone extreme changes in just a few minutes within the void. Tears and phlegm had accumulated on his face and collars over the layers upon layers of dried mucus. Lips cracked and dry. Creases and wrinkles had formed where they were not present before. Eyes and cheeks had sunken in, hair thin and receding. The veins of his neck were visible and had a reddish appearance to them resembling a meshy web like structure.2Telangiectasia (Telenjyektazia) also known as spider veins. No it has nothing to do with spiders for the most part. The physical changes on his head weren''t uniform with the rest of his body still on her side. She just about believed that this person was a different man from before. ¡®Looks like he just aged twenty years in there¡­ But¡­¡¯ Soul echo still showed his age of thirty-four. His constant nonsensical pleas of mercy and delusions were getting on Alicia¡¯s nerves. She quickly incapacitated him by squeezing the jugular veins, depriving his manic brain of blood carrying oxygen. In mere moments his fighting ceased and he fell unconscious. ¡®Thought my arms were too thin but still I can do it¡­ I¡¯ll just have this guy thrown out of the forest with the rest of his friends after they get baptised by the void as well. Whether they live or die afterwards is no longer my concern anymore.¡¯ Rather she couldn¡¯t care much about these outlaws especially with a successful discovery of a new spell, they had outlived their usefulness. Sometime later a trio of aged doomsaying heretics came from who knows where. They preached of some great end of an age in a coming upheaval that will bring about an utter darkness swallowing the sun and stars throughout the free cities and states alike. Often cast off and exiled as madmen they travelled throughout the world. And with time the pervasive influence of the void over their minds waned and some semblance of sanity returned to them but it¡¯s scars never disappeared serving as a timeless reminder of their eternal stay in a godless realm. In their previous lives they were wanted men with bounties to their head. Yet in an age with imprecise descriptors and vague artistic illustrations serving as the sole descriptors in wanted posters, the physical changes brought upon them by the void made them effectively different men. Their mind was scarred but the body was still whole. Where they would have been apprehended and sold off to slave away in treacherous mines or executed under the law, they walked free and lived. In an ironic twist of fate the sea of darkness gifted them another chance at life. Heavens know they cherish the fleeting stay of others and their own in a world under light Auratic Let''s see how much you know about spiders eh? Name all the web spinning types. Now now you can''t cheat with google or see the answers before commenting. Because I''ll know it. A. Funnelweb (Agelenidae or Funnel weaver, sometime called grass spiders, their webs are non stick but they can run faster than a shoplifter running from the police to catch and kill their prey) B. Sheet web (Not be confused with Stiphiididae or sheetweb spiders, these webs are from Linyphiidae which are called sheetweavers or money spiders in UK and some other England related countries) C. Meshweb (Dictynidae) D. Reduced orbweave (Uloboridae or hackled orb weavers, they are unique in a way that they have no evolved a venom gland, making them nonvenomous. They also make an extremely fine but non stick silk which tends entangle and ensnare rather than stick into their prey. Sometimes called a ray weave and incomplete orb weave) E. If you don''t know this by know I have no faith in you getting the other ones right also known as ''Orb weaves'' specifically Vertical orb weave (Aranaeidae, guess who I dare you to get this wrong) F. Tangle web sometimes confused with cobweb which are ABANDONED webs. Some biologists refer these as cobwebs but most refer to these as tangle webs(Theridiidae) G. Horizontal Spiral weave perhaps the most unique of the spiderweb these are spun by Tetragnathidae or long jaw spiders. And yes, they are very long. And scary. No it''s not a stick bug, it''s a spider. Did you know spiders like the Celaenia excavata have defense techniques of a shit? They quite literally resemble a bird shit to hide themselves from birds. They''re not the prettiest but they do kind of look cute when they''re trying to hide from a predator. They are native to surprise surprise, Australia. Image below; (Arkys Curtulus) Glossary (Valid upto Chapter 57) Documents of google here. Formerly male, civil engineer. Cause of death; workplace related extreme bodily trauma. Araneae Hybrid, the second half of the hybridized species is currently unknown. Bachelor of Science; Engineering. Experiential Master of Science in Engineering. Recently became a Licensed professional Engineer before his untimely end. Shows excellence in leadership, engineering, designing and architecture. Competent home chef. Shares a body and mind with the spirit of the former inhabitant of her new body. Defining features; Long Platinum hair and blue eyes, extremely dense magic of unknown origin, Lower body of a monstrous spider, with upper torso of a humanlike creature. Misses AutoCAD softwares to help with designing. Female of unknown Araneae species. Cause of death; succumbed to venom and injuries caused by siblicidous behaviour of the species, matriphagous under natural circumstances. Recently uplifted by Alicia¡¯s former memories and knowledge. Likes metal fangs(Swords, single or double edged). Shows excellence in web spinning, hunting and genocide. Struggles with words and expressions, curt. Has odd inflections and word stresses. Randomly pauses during speech, recently improved due to continued exposure to Alicia¡¯s wider vocabulary and tutorship. Defining features; Shorter ashen gray hair and red eyes possibly caused by albinism, inexpressive, doesn¡¯t understand most social cues, solitary, instinct driven and ruthless. Alicia and Alice seem to have a mysterious connection inexplicable even by the overseers. A semi-sentient system repurposed to facilitate the use of Soul Scryer. Holds many remnant memories of previously reincarnated individuals who used it. Registered as an androgynous voice but often chooses whichever voice modulation that will be interpreted as the most convincing to its hosts. Sometimes referred to as a she by Alicia. Amortal. Genderless. First priority seems to be life support and survival of the administrator. Technical advisor. Multi-Metaphysical Aetherium singularity based quantum core processor. First designed to predict and chart the evolution of limitless many world interpretations of life choices of sapient beings with near 100% accuracy on a multi-dimensional scale. Evolved sentience through self evolving code. Logical to a fault. Seems to have a ¡°personality¡± and an unknown agenda. Defining features; will mathematically prove that you are a suboptimal being, pursues true perfection. True potential and features of the system are yet to be discovered¡­ Twin sister to Anastasia. Daughter to Alice and Alicia. Reclusive, soft-spoken. Shows great promise in matters philosophical and mathematical alike. Meticulous planner, often flustered by unexpected changes and errors in her plans. Promethean thinker. Shows excellence in magic. Has a hobby of collecting moths and other flying insects with her web spinning, not for consumption but for collection and observation. Likes moths the most, tries to raise them with little success. Likes subterranean burrows and often creates her own tunnels. Twin sister to Goldia. Daughter to Alice and Alicia. Outgoing, competitive, trouble maker. Shows great promise in matter martial and culinary. Hasty actor, can be bullishly stubborn at times which only seems to be reined in by her mother or her sister. Epimethean thinker. Shows excellence in close combat. Has a hobby of making food out of random ingredients, these are often inedibly charred to the point that even she doesn¡¯t eat them. However owing to her stubbornness she doesn¡¯t give up at all. Relies on her sister to think for her. The two seem to share a natural and inseparable psionic bond since their nascency hence are closer to each other than normally evident. Often shares their memories that sometimes confuses one and another as whose memories it is. Alicia¡¯s parenting strategy seemed to have eliminated the siblicidious tendencies and sibling rivalry. First of Alicia''s conjured familiars. They are tiny compared to her normal size but seem to be a base of sorts for the other conjuration options. They all seem to have inherited Alicia''s cognitive abilities to an extent showing comparable intelligence. Alicia often shuts them down with complex differential calculus equations to solve. And they¡¯re getting better at it. All of them seem to be ghostly white with their coloration and show some degree of albinism. Interestingly they all seem to be female of their species. Long legged Araneae often seen in caves and other dark secluded places. Mostly blind but is offset by their finely tuned hair like sensors on their legs able to pick up even flyers from their disruption in the air current. Additionally with the help of Presence detection from Alicia they are able to see ¡®normally¡¯ in high light environments. Their legs are spindly and banded with gray black colorations. These legs despite being seemingly frail hides deceptive strength to make up for the fact they are mostly unable to spin webs. With potent venom and their strength combined with their ambush tactics allow them to capture and takedown even large mammals the size of oxen and other beings far larger than it. Most mature species are as large as or larger than 1.8 meter tall average human male. The physiological limits of their legs have an unusual gait often seen as unsettling. Defining features; Lanky long legs. A large Araneae species possessing an oversized almost hunchback abdomen. They are named after their appearance in underground crypts. Although they are comparatively weak and vulnerable to Alicia¡¯s other familiars they are expert weavers without equal. Having the most extensive choice of silk and web architecture allowing them to construct complex web structures only comprehended by others of their species and close relatives. Despite their size and fearsome reputation they most docile even to strangers even without Alicia¡¯s influence. One shouldn¡¯t seek to exploit their meekness for their cunning minds are able to create labyrinthine traps on the scale of a city the size of a metropolis. Able to trap the simple minds of titanic beasts and starve them to death. Defining Features; Oversized Bulbous abdomen, meekness. Araneae with a striking pink, red and white coloration. They are the most venomous of Alicia¡¯s familiars. Their corrosive venom is as deadly as the poison of a king of serpents and is reputed to eat through adamantite as an ant through earth. They are adept webspinners. There are rumors that their venom can be transmitted via airborne means though it is difficult to separate fact from myth. Despite their toxicity, Alicia noted that they are most motherly and caring of her familiars often grooming and voicing concern for others. Defining features; bright coloration, deadly venom. One of the smaller Araneae in Alicia¡¯s arsenal. Often having the size of a basketball they are still huge by their species standards. Regardless of their smaller size they are the most mobile, inquisitive and intelligent of the Araneae under Alicia¡¯s command who relegated them to a sort of perimeter patrol. Their mobility is owed to their unique ability to jump distances near and far complemented by their excellent sight. Most outsiders view them as cute or adorable due to their tendency to tilt their head along with them ¡®playing along¡¯ to sate their curiosity. However they are feared by Alicia¡¯s other Araneae as in nature their kind are reputably carnivorous with almost all of them having a preference for Araneophagy, often preying on the web building kind. Serving under the same master their natural instincts are suppressed. In spite of that, natural fear still seems to run deep. They are also known to be extremely subtle and stealthy. And have become an unofficial internal discipline enforcement unit. They are also persistent hunters able to track and kill their targets on hunts lasting as long as weeks over a continent wide chase. Defining features; Large anterior median and lateral eyes, curiosity, head tilting, ability to jump. A middling sized Araneae with curious evolutionary decisions all around. Smooth exoskeleton with spotted patterns lack the hair like sensory organs shared by most Araneae. Venom glands of their chelicerae produce both venom and silk in large quantities in liquid form allowing them to capture and envenomate their prey from a safe distance. Stick-like limbs lift them higher than most others allowing them to stride over lesser beings underfoot to pin them where they stand with their spew of web. Using this unorthodox hunting strategy they are able to seize reckless low flyers foolish enough to approach them. Their purposeful traipse movements may give them the impression of a gentle giant. Those who are emboldened by their plodding movements may try to outmaneuver the webslinger unaware that they are but just another insect soon to be struggling in their web. A true hunter always watches where they step¡­ Defining features; Looming height, Smooth exoskeleton, Web Slinging, Slogging movement. A variation of the troll species. Long slender limbs, tough bluish skin with tribal culture. Acclimated to cold environments, often use mud to cover their blue skin to make themselves less conspicuous in the forest as well as to cool down their bodies. Spear fishing heritage makes them all experts at use of spears in any area. Towering in height compared to a regular human, however they often crouch walk to lower their profile. Many are faithful to the Dance of Light or Dance of the Aurora folklore pantheon. Adorcist spiritualists. Though forgotten from their history berserker blood courses through their veins which rarely reveals itself with ardor and rage. Often led by rare but powerful witchdoctors. Mystics of the tribes known for using ancestral and spiritual magic. They are mediums between troll ancestors and their current generation. They are sometimes called shadow priests by outsiders of the culture. Many make charms, weapons and armor out of bone and fur of their kill as they believe the beasts¡¯ spirit still dwell within. They often create their own decorated and painted masks of diverse sizes which seems to serve to show their social status and standing in addition to being an improvised shield. Defining features, tribalistic, varying skin color on the blue spectrum of light, two tusks protruding up from their jaw. A master hunter of nearby troll tribes spread throughout the Velauhart forest. Masterful tracker. Adept herbalist. Journals a well documented bestiary. Adept trapmaker. Grateful to Alicia for saving his life in his encounter with a rabid Owlbear. Carries a hunting charm that suspiciously resembles an eight legged creature. Creates and owns self made knives and daggers made from various fangs of previous quarries. Defining features - One tusk broken off from an old hunting encounter. Witch doctor of the Taiga troll tribes. Spiritualist expert. Healer of the tribe. Supposedly old. Fashions his gray hair in a topknot. Often wears a ceremonial veil covering some portion of his face. Creates various salves and incenses of dubious origin. Believes Alicia to be a type of Rada Loa due to her white coloration but is no longer sure after seeing the black of Ghede Loa. Intends to study and venerate her until he understands Alicia¡¯s spiritual nature. Crafts charms, fetishes and wards. An umbrella term to define a wide variety of entities, believed to form as an animate and intelligent personification of energy. Unlike energy itself they can be destroyed or lost. Most are usually formless. Lesser spirits are more or less primal often following their nature and instinct. Often gathering around areas with high energy potential they can sometimes form into a singular being known as a spirit often inhabiting specific geological areas which becomes their place of provenience. Bound to their place of origin they can be highly territorial of their homes. They are so intertwined with their place of origin should the provenience be disrupted greatly the spirit itself will scatter shortly thereafter without intervention. For most this is the equivalent of death. From their place of provenience they inherit primordial magic that they can use to great effect, from water spirits of lakes and springs calling forth rain and devastating floods, to fire spirits of volcanoes and geothermal vents razing settlements down and spirits of wind and air from hinterlands and mountaintops throwing and toying with all within its reach, their element can be quite varied. Hypothetically any object with high enough energy potential can become an embodiment of a spirit. Sometimes spirits can become infatuated with certain individuals and can form a covenant. Besides blessing them their original powers, covenant spirits are lifted from their place of provenance. Instead their lives are linked to whom they form their covenant with allowing them to follow them in their travels and assist them wherever they can. However this seems to have faded into obscurity. Possibly because earning the admiration of a spirit was a difficult feat to achieve. Spirits without a place can possess living creatures and sap their energy to feed itself, this makes the creature perceive its draining energy as tiredness or hunger that can¡¯t be sated which leads the creature to be exceedingly aggressive and irrational. The parasitic relationship is not quite one sided as the lesser spirit empowers its host so that it may survive, so it can feed from more of its energy creating a kind of symbiosis. Depending on what it possesses these creatures are called a Djinn, a hostile spirit, a Magic beast, a creature driven to madness due to perceived hunger or a Monster. Enduring an existence of suffering and violence should the spirit or possessed host survive long enough the spirit merges with the creature becoming an entity known as a demon. Djinns acquire material bodies instead. Due to their vicious rearing up to this point, many demons are at the mildest cold, callous, selfish, apathetic and at the worst genocidal, power hungry, warmongers. They are especially envious towards full fledged spirits as they are what they could have been. Perfect, in their eyes. Due to their selfish nature, no holds are barred in their methods and they will consort with any if their interests align. The declining growth of naturally forming spirits due to loss of land as many kingdoms claim nature as their own and exploiting the lands. Additionally as followers of esoteric pantheons either become exiled or lose faith and respect for their spirits. With fewer and fewer to cherish the avatars of their land and the spirits themselves, more and more demons seem to be forming. An ancient pagaeae residing in the Lake found at the hearts of Velauhart. Takes the form of a human female girl with long turquoise colored hip length hair, which is sometimes mistaken as a cascading waterfall. Despite being a Water spirit of a spring from the mountain depths she frequented the lake as it was of significant importance to her and one she loved before. Due to her past she shows both homicidal tendencies and guilty conscience. However after multiple interactions with Alicia and after forming a covenant, her usual lonesome nature along with her murderous intentions have mostly faded away. Eventually she made peace with herself and her past. Used hate the fact that she couldn¡¯t cry and shed tears. Instead summons torrential rain where she resides. Likes to study Alicia. A tree nymph of the oak tree Alicia made home in. Was likely already in the process of forming a spirit, the final stages were accelerated and catalyzed by her presence due to her rampant and leaking magical energy before she learned to control it fully. Takes the form of a human like girl in likeness of Alicia. Possesses long hazelnut colored hair and beige skin like that of sapwood. Her eyes are the color of tree sap. Likes planting acorns and taking care of the flower garden near the beehives and sunbathing on treetops¡­ nude. As a recently formed spirit has a bubbly and somewhat immature personality but can show wisdom and understand should the situation calls for it. An ancestor of wolves and dogs. Larger in size and strength compared to its relatives they are unusual lone hunters. Their jaws have the size and the might to crush human skulls. They can be rarely found in almost all climates excluding tropical and subtropical regions. Stronger, faster, smarter and better in every aspect compared to other types of wolves such as fen dwellers and vanargands. A direwolf Alicia saved on two different occasions, the second time he pledged loyalty. After becoming Alicia¡¯s follower he went out to recruit others of his species under his master¡¯s name forming a pack. Him and his pack serve as the border patrol and RRF. He is extremely dutiful of his responsibilities, a sentiment which is shared by his packmates. Mountain goats that have the ability to harness lightning through their horns. Named after the noises they make from butting heads which sounds like a thunderclap. They have the ability to absorb lightning strikes with their horns and turn it into nutrition. Their milk has the texture of condensed milk and the taste of an energy drink, highly energizing especially if they have absorbed a lightning strike recently. Although timid they will stand their ground against perceived threats which ends in shocking results. First of Alicia''s familiars he acts as a 2iC to the others in cases where she¡¯s not present. Level headed and patient. Tasked with keeping tabs on and leading everyone in her stead and to take care of his flock. Is respected and heard by all of Alicia¡¯s familiars. Due to their size and presence of killer and giant wasps they struggle to sustain stable hives in the forest. A certain immature queen bee that wandered into Alicia¡¯s web once, who then freed it. After many failures and losing all of its drones it seeked out Alicia - an Araneae, a natural predator for its species - for help in desperation. Surprisingly it was given the chance to rebuild its colony once more through the gift of Parthenogenesis or Virgin birthing shared through kindred. Their colonies are mostly subterranean due to support issues, however they will prefer to nest around trees if possible and have the shape and size of a grain storage silo. Its hives and colonies quickly thrived under protection from Alicia¡¯s Araneae who naturally eliminated and consumed their biggest threat, wasps. Without the need for drones to birth larvae, the queen could focus its energy solely on workers and soldiers. A success of a hive can be measured in the number of soldiers it can sustain. Although they are valuable investments who can protect the hive they are far too large and do not contribute to the creation and stockpiling of honey. Their presence indicates that the hives are in such a good position that they can ¡®waste¡¯ resources by birthing soldiers. Incidentally they have a particular attachment to Dryssia who comes and takes care of the flower gardens around their nests with Soldiers bees¡­ bodyguarding her wherever she goes whenever they can follow her. They all have a tendency to get stuck in the web network of Alicia and her Araneae. Alicia thinks it is a familial trait of the queen and her brood. An apple never falls far from its tree¡­ Long pointed ears and golden honey like skin. Their elongated ears are not just for show either as it acts as an external organ allowing them to use magic with ease able to conduct and receive magical energy. Due to this their ears have high concentration of nerve endings making them exceptionally sensitive. Survivors of the now gone Elven high kingdom. Once called the highborne they have extremely low natural population growth. Before the fall of their culture they highly valued swordsmanship. Now survival made them pick up the bow to deadly accuracy. Lithe and swift they are almost all blessed by the winds. Their natural agility is supported by their unique metabolism with minimal waste and high efficiency. They are also able to control their metabolism to slow down their ¡®speed of life¡¯ until the time comes to use the energy stored. This led to soldiers and others in physically demanding careers having much shorter lifespans than that of civilians, measurable in hundreds of years of life. Though none remains now, they had a special breed of elves known as the bloodborne who had an extremely short lifespan of just over two hundred years. These were sterile elves born for war and combat, who matured quickly, physically excelling and often served as honor guard to the Elven aristocracy and the royal family. However their numbers were small due to low virility of the elves. Considering they are a part of the Elven gene pool one might crop up sooner or later¡­ Defining features; Long pointy ears, golden honey skin color, tall but thin stature. Ranger captain of the elven village of Werdun. Master archer, fastest of her village. Apprentice of wind magic. Her name means Fireborn Songstress after her fiery red hair in her childhood and singing voice. She fashions her current red velvet hair into a ponytail whose tip barely rests above her shoulder line. Likes to create small idols and objects by carving wood. Has three officers serving under her. Has a tendency to attract trouble and gets into suggestive situations with Alicia which she wishes she could forget due to embarassment. One of the officers under Faenas. Carefree and somewhat gluttonous. Shorter than her colleagues despite being a senior in service time and age. Has short shoulder length bobbed hair with chestnut color, a color that is the same as with her eyes. Her name means Autumn. One of the officers under Faenas. Willful, realistic and rational. Acts as 2iC for Faenas. Has long waist length hair with mint green color. Her eye color is that of a red jasper. Her name means Sparrow or Freedom. Last officer under Faenas. Upbeat and optimistic and dutiful. Has straight and long pale violet hair. Gossip chaser but has the presence of mind to never tell anyone anything without thought. Her name means Myrtle. Symbolically meaning ¡®The arrival of spring¡¯ the season of her birthday. Often called simply as Ash. Former colonel serving in the Elven army before its fall. Talented with the sword. One of the few surviving founders of the village of Werdun. Sword instructor to Alicia and her daughters. Apparently his former name was forgotten. Old friends with dwarven smith Greimen Stolthamar. Used to believe his days of adventure were over until he met Alicia, who rekindled his love for the way of the blade and exploring. Once he considers the village safe where it no longer needs his guidance and little protection he can offer he plans to set foot onto the changed world at large once more. With skin like iron, bone like steel, and stout stature with magnificent beards to boot they seem to be made for the life of a warrior. Perhaps they would be if not for their revelrous nature. Many are the life of the party, seeking opportunity to drink and celebrate. Of course not all their race is like this, there those who are industrious and hard working. When they pick up the hammer to strike metals tirelessly they create one of the finest of arms. But first you¡¯ll need to make them pick it up in the first place which can be a challenge in and of itself. Sometimes mockingly called beardling. Born in the bowels of the mines and mountains they are close to the earth and many are able to use earth magic by maturity. Due to their unique choice of habitat they must rely on trade with other races to provide food as such their civilizations have a hardline neutrality policies. They think so long as they provide others with what they want and stay on the sidelines no harm will come their way. Such is the race that knows not the cruelties of war, burdens of slaves and the greed of mortals. Time is nigh for their rude awakening¡­ Blacksmith that lives on the outskirts of Werdan. Carries around a huge war hammer. Dissatisfied with his society of merrymakers he decided to go along with his old friend Ashlan. Capable fighter as he is an accomplished smith. Unlike others of his race he has a short fuse though his fury abates just as fast as his anger flares. A giant rat which was put into a persistent vegetative state after exposure to the void. After restorative measures taken by Alma it was more or less reborn. The procedure improved the rat¡¯s cognitive and intellectual abilities significantly causing it to be on a level far greater than others of its kind. Although set free by Alicia it was adopted by Dryssia shortly who gave it its current name. She has also managed to train it with treats of insects and other ¡®meats¡¯ commissioned from Alicia¡¯s araneae to find her acorns and other seeds and to ¡®dig and plant¡¯ them. Currently it is considered Dryssia¡¯s pet. Not much different is known about the humans of the other world. However Alma has found some discrepancy in genetic data from the H.Sapiens of Earth compared to the humans native to this world. Although closely related there seems to be few minor but important differences, including but not limited to, improved strength and endurance, heightened aggression at the cost of some genetic features closely related to intelligence. And a completely new section of genetic region of unknown purpose. Alma¡¯s current hypothesis stands that these genes govern the humans ability to use magic, as pitiful it is without a specialized organ like that of the Thundergoats or Elves. Though some seem to be able to reach the cusp of mediocrity with the help of contracted spirits recently¡­ Former slave girl who was recently freed by Alicia and granted health and social skills. With her gifts came responsibility to set an example and lead her other former cellmates. Role of leadership weighs heavily on her mind but it is much better than a life wasting away in a rotting cell or as a plaything of lecher. She finds the thundergoats charming where others are scared and repulsed by their threatening horns, where lightning visibly and very loudly jumps between them intermittently. She is fond of them as they reminded her previous, much simpler life as a farmhand. A noble daughter of the local lord, Reynold. Possessing a bright golden rod colored thick wavy hair with madder red eyes. She managed to flee from her captors by starving herself so her hands could slip through the binding cuffs. In her flight she stumbled into Goldia who contacted Ramiel for help. She was escorted to the Elven village where she could rest and regain her strength. She now seeks to return to her home. The details of how she managed to get captured are unclear and suspicious. The whole circumstance reeked of tangled mess of conspiracy, lies, treason, trickery and treachery¡­ But who else but a spider can untangle a web of blades¡­? Auratic Chapter 58: Crossroads Giddy use of trespass had left Alicia woozy, though it was not without its gains. For example she found out that the exit of the rift, even if it opens on the inside of an otherwise ¡®full¡¯ object she will simply ram the object and bounce back instead of merging with it as it would with true teleportation. The comprehensive testing was cut short after an unsavoury incident where a rift exit opened inside of the digestive tract of a Warhog. But until then she learned much of its important details such as its instant movement maximum range which appeared to be just over 40 meters1Unmodified range of Trespass is precisely 42 meters.. Further than that she had to take more than one step to reach more distant rifts, in regards of time this was instant in a sense due to the nebulous nature of how the void acts. This is inconvenient to her not because of the escalating energy requirements, rather as more than even a single step inside it was - although tamer what anyone else might experience - nonetheless disconcerting. She wasn¡¯t welcome in the void, though it did not outright reject her either, a trespasser indeed. As a side note, the rifts only let the object she wanted to be in to pass through. ¡®Strange¡­ people, animals and even spirits can¡¯t see into the void¡­ Eh, just means I can use it to disappear from ridiculous situations. Let¡¯s go see what made out of those cracks in dauntless¡­¡¯ Still disoriented from repetitive use of trespass she opted to walk. Slowly. Alice answered by making Alicia nod to herself¡­ Again without her intention, her head tilted to the side quizzically by Alice¡¯s intentions. Alicia didn¡¯t even notice it this time lost in her musings¡­ Dirty redolessence of ardent coals carried by the wind could be recognized afield away. Faintly one could make out the distant rhythmic clanging strikes of hammer against metal. After a few hard bangs on the door Alicia helped herself in. The usual clutter and ill lit interiors greeted her, further into smith¡¯s abode she could see his shadowy form outlined by the orange glow of the forge. Without turning back he answered, for the iron had to be struck while it was hot. The ebon blade on the metal bench was looking as fine as it did the first day of its service, its translucent glassy surface appeared gleaming from certain angles, owing to its structure refracting the dim light of the blazing forge. Most importantly the anomalous fissures she noticed were gone without a trace. An impressive work considering those were on the inside. The guard of dauntless were small rods of discrepant materials affixed to the handle and blade and it was a last minute job from the beginning, it wasn¡¯t pretty but for what it''s worth it was serviceable. The guards were crooked into various directions like a briar, a change she did not notice before it was pointed out. Still it didn¡¯t bother her much, as the guard however contorted did not hinder her grip and was still somewhat effective protecting her hands. After throwing a cooled piece of metal back into the forge to heat it up again; He passed a small bottle while wiping some of the sweat out of his forehead. As soon as she put her hands onto the blade it reacted as if it were alive. Web like cracks spread underneath its structure, glints of cold violet glow escaped between the open gaps barely visible in low light while the guard spikes straightened into shape subtly, it appeared as if it was ¡®waking up¡¯. Though both the smith and the wielder were none the wiser¡­ ¡®Back to wrapping this in silk I guess¡­ Maybe I should have a proper scabbard and baldric made¡­ That¡¯s enough dilly dallying gotta get back and continue with the project¡­¡¯ In the midst of repeating the process of drying trees and gathering raw materials for the expansion of the cottage, in her head she was planning out the floor. ¡®19 residents, round up and divide into two wings on to the side, 5 rooms each wing, gonna need a proper dining room or something along the lines of a communal cafeteria near the center, kitchen in the back of it. Needs fireproofing, stone floors and walls, fire exit as well¡­ Kitchen needs storage space, a trap door basement will have to do. Current wash closets are fine but they¡¯ll need something bigger for better hygiene. In room showers¡­? Not feasible without plumbing¡­ Bath, wooden for now, heating will have to come after pipes are in place, then the cottage will need a central heating solution¡­ Thermal power station to power a steam turbine, fixes heating, hot water and electricity. What to do with electricity¡­ need incandescent light bulbs for night time lighting¡­ later.¡¯ ¡®Might need to accommodate more people, second floor¡­ Once the rooms are done and after the girls move in the main hall will be free that¡¯s where the stairs will have to go. Cantilevering and jettying should get me some more space to work with, just need to be mindful of the load and stress¡­ We¡¯ll cross that bridge when we have to¡­¡¯ Alicia was deep in thought preoccupied with planning out the future of the project, her eyes dull without anything in its focus yet her actions smooth and fluid like that of a rehearsed play. Gears of her head were turning oh so fast one could even imagine one of them snapping out and shooting off. For someone like Alice who shared the headspace of the engineer lost in her work however didn¡¯t have to do much to imagine such an experience, for she was living in it. She could see the rapidly developing vision on Alicia¡¯s mind; walls, floors, windows, doors and supports each playing their part like puzzle, bound to shortened but detailed mathematics. A room wasn¡¯t built from the outside, it was created after a bed, windows, doors, closet, side room for the bathing, desk, chair and drawers, were in their place with how they would be laid out planned, each with meticulous numbers of their proposed dimensions. They were built for their simple function and then the form followed after, a side-effect from the technical and material limitations. Geometrics, on the spot calculations, constraints to designing, even without knowing not even a shadow of what exactly she was crafting in her mind Alice noticed something. Despite the chaotic mindscape and countless numbers of ill-defined meanings, there was a method to her approach. Within the anarchy of numbers, there was a semblance of ingenuity and she trod through the labyrinthine havoc with grace. Every hypothetical calculation and action had a purpose behind it linking to one another, like threads tied to each other to create a whole greater than the sum of the parts. It was here Alice thought maybe they are not all too dissimilar. Some spiders create a tangled mess of a web only they can understand and traverse. What Alicia was doing right now, this¡­ this was her web. In spite of her distant and nihilistic outwards attitude, all of this was for the people she doesn''t even know fully, taking in every possible consideration of their needs, a display of her sentiment¡­ that she cares about them to the point neglecting her own needs. Without raising suspicion to her Alice had managed to derail Alicia¡¯s line of thought enough to let her fervent visualizations to slow down so she herself could take a rest from the computations¡­ Much of the daylight spent on the extension work. With the hall framework in place and the very first of the rooms shaping into a more usable state. Introducing the girls to the possible everyday work needed was mostly done by Llynbel and Dryssia, as regrettably only Alicia could lead the construction work. As it was their first ¡®formal¡¯ day they were mostly only made acquainted with the surroundings and important locations such as the web network perimeter. The araneae maintaining the webs had to help them out of entanglement a number of times. In light of the recent advancements to the hostel style rooms an issue became apparent. ¡®I need crew, one that¡¯s reliable and disciplined¡­ I mean who doesn¡¯t, some would kill to get a crew that follows instructions to a tee but¡­ the point still stands. Ridiculous how even in a fantasy world an educated workforce is an issue or maybe its the other way around. I can¡¯t keep an eternal watch over these people. They need to grow independent so they won¡¯t crash and burn without me, growth naturally entails more population, more population that needs housing, food and amenities in the simplest of terms. Anyway, I can keep chugging at this project alone for now, rather I think I made some stellar progress in just two or so days. But as the scope expands and with the ever growing number of needs to meet in mind, it¡¯ll be getting out of my hand in a hurry. What options do I have¡­ I wonder if some of the elves might move in¡­ But that¡¯s only some. Trolls¡­ unlikely, but worth a try anyway. Another possibility is going out and pulling in people huh¡­ Sounds like a lot of trouble, still it¡¯s doable. Anything else¡­¡¯ >Proposal. >Final promotions of the educements in the skill tree of ? Kindred ? will allow current and future units to achieve genotypic similarity to Administrator. >Units will attain capabilities comparable to the current Administrator ability. >Affirmative. >Insufficient development points. ¡®Hmm¡­ Choices and choices¡­ not a single definitive answer¡­ Ah! I just remembered that kid wanted to meet me. Probably about how I should escort her back to his father for rewards, riches and fame or something like that¡­ I¡¯ll wrap things around here go then. Hope she didn¡¯t give them too much trouble¡­ Well if I¡¯m heading to that town to return the girl I might find some people who might be willing to move in along the way. The local lord should help with my little errand if I return his daughter to him. Alright that¡¯s another solid plan. I¡¯ll make my mind up on the way there¡­¡¯ Auratic So I had to plan out the Cottage floor blueprint which I had to do by my hands with pencil and paper. It''s not the prettiest and I''m terrible at planning. Decided to do with an online floor planner it''s difficult to find one that''s free. So I decided to do my floor planning through the medium of Minecraft(I wish I was joking but its the best thing I have in my mind). Here''s a little disturbing Trivia; Alma''s preferred method of genetic data extraction for analysis is the acquisition of either Reproductive fluids or Stem cells. Which would require me to depict - very explicitly - the would be protagonist either sucking on a ding dong or the Bone marrows (or equivalent thereof) of slain foes. Both of which have me hit with a big R21-G with the following tags included (Anthro, Bestiality, Smut, Mature, Adult, Cannibalism, Necrophilia and other fun tags that you would be best off not knowing.) Since you''ve read yourself all the way down here might as well give you something, there''s a poll below that you should vote in. Simple choice between two options Alicia had in mind, 1 the ''get humans'' or 2 the ''make humanoid spiders'' kinda choice. The outcome doesn''t affect things too much, in the larger scheme of things. It''ll just change how I''ll sequence the story progression. In other news this is my type of writing right here; Chapter 59: Prestige By the gods¡¯ grace Rosalia had managed to escape her captors through a reckless gambit. In the flight from her pursuers she luckily chances upon a girl slightly younger than her in age. Her language and mannerisms were far too refined for her to be a daughter of some boorish yokel. Dresses she wore were of exotic make foreign to the region and far too exquisite for the average merchant to splurge on. The design emphasized a restrained elegance that drew attention not to itself but to its bearer. Different from other typical noblewomen¡¯s wear that shone and stung at one¡¯s eyes begging for attention with over designed frippery, as the bearer sure as the devil couldn¡¯t, not through their own merits if they chose it consciously. Ah, how she longed to try it on for a single night. Repressing her covetous desires, she could only gaze filled with yearning. As surely they wouldn¡¯t part with it easily. In consideration of her prestigious name holding both ancestral heredity and claim to a region. The only possibility meant she was a daughter of an obscure line of aristocracy. Obscure or not the girl who introduced herself as Goldia had saved her. She even had a large, well trained mountain ram as a pet that she introduced as Ramiel. Impressive as the creature was not bound by a collar of subjugation. She seemed very close to it, as despite its massive size she wasn¡¯t intimidated by at all, even speaking to it on occasions. At first she thought the ram was responding and even acknowledging her - rather elaborate for the ram to understand - words. Almost as if they were having a conversation that she just couldn¡¯t hear¡­ It must have been the starvation in confinement playing tricks on her mind¡­ If anything she enjoyed the comfortable ride the ram gave to her. She was somewhat worried about where she was being led to. Her heart jumped when two elves came out of nowhere and started to soar when she noticed the weapons on their back. But seeing how Goldia wasn''t alarmed at the slightest she could maintain some of her composure. One of them with long, straight pale violet hair spoke first: ¡®I knew it¡­ she wasn¡¯t just some parvenu¡­¡¯ The other one with wavy green hair continued. Their gaze shifted towards her. From the short exchange she figured the two were bodyguards or sentries of sorts. ¡®Free elven guards¡­ well disciplined and trained¡­ that¡¯s going to cost a pretty penny whoever you are¡­ I¡¯m in the company of an affluent personage it seems¡­ Hm¡­ Those ears are familiar somehow¡­ Where have I seen it before¡­?¡¯ She was mistaken, sorely mistaken¡­ she just assumed the village they spoke of was a human one. An elven village was something she didn''t even know existed in the current age, until now. A network of suspended rope ladders bridged the gaps between elevated structures built high above the ground and into the trees. Rife with activity, she could see the elves constantly using them to cross over to and from the structures, carrying mostly food from what little she could glean from her angle. Even the ground level wasn''t free from traffic. And there the thing she saw made her eyes go wide, almost exclaiming out loud with surprise. Thankfully she didn¡¯t lose face in public with such inappropriateness as the results of her harsh etiquette training. Unfortunately she couldn¡¯t do much about her lack of decent clothing, thankfully the crowds didn¡¯t seem to pay attention to her at all. What she saw that evinced such an intense response was a male Elf. She didn¡¯t know much about elven history as many of the documentation about them have been either lost or destroyed. What little she did know were from the surviving excerpts and her knowledge of the contemporary circumstances. Elves, at least the ones within human domains, were a virtually female only race that developed to co-exist inside their society. Although the records showed some mention of there being males, in the current period a male elf was as rare as a unicorn. Her best guess for reason was the elven males being phased out was the xeno-compatibility of females. Elven males had extremely low virility, sometimes being confused as to being sterile. Conversely the females evolutionarily compensated for the issue by being highly fertile. That fertility alone wasn''t enough of an explanation for the scholars who debated against it, and in some hundreds of years ago someone put forth an idea that races¡¯ innate magical ability could allow the intermixing of closely related species which came to be widely accepted but highly contentious. Her idea was more or less correct, but it was only half the issue. The other reason which she didn¡¯t know was method of slavery widely employed. In the early days after the fall of the elven kingdom regardless of race, species or gender all able bodied slaves, mostly males were often put into mining pits and trenches with squalid conditions and makeshift tools - if any at all. Due to the primitive understanding of mining and technology at the time, safety precautions were nonexistent. Being trapped, buried alive and crushed by cave-ins were a common occurrence. With brutal lashes of whip from vicious taskmasters and thin gruel, any slave being sent to the mines had a life expectancy of at most a few years. The mines were such an effective method of dealing with the unwanted, it was the most popular option for the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie to deal with their political enemies, as it technically was not an execution in the public¡¯s eyes. With a rigid caste system in place, many were borne into the life of slavery. As the survival rate of males plummeted to the ground and with the low natural population growth dragging down the numbers even further, evolution had to intervene and fast to preserve the continued existence of the species. And so it did by heavily biasing the gender ratio towards females who had a living chance. Even as the situation improved throughout generations to a point where it was not strange to see a few smattering of free elves among the common folk, evolution being a blind beast, had no reason to go back. As such, although they share many physical and genetic features, it is difficult to say the Elves out in the world are the same as the Elves in Velauhart. Rosalia at this point had no idea what to make of the situation she found herself in but she simply decided to go along with the flow. Marvelling at the fantastical sights of a race and culture wholly different than her own and possibly the only one surviving of its kind, Rosalia almost forgot about her reason being here. Before she realized she was brought in front of a residence fairly larger than the rest. Judging by the looks of the building, it seemed to be the dwelling of the village chief, elder or something along those lines. It appeared that they had arrived at their destination as the Ram stopped. After she stepped down from the top of the ram it immediately started trotting somewhere else. She reckoned it was heading to it¡¯s stable or a pen. Goldia went in headfirst, seemingly familiar with the premises followed by the Elven escorts that had brought them here. One of the escorts beckoned her to follow in. She truly was appreciative of the offer. Ever since her capture she hasn¡¯t had the opportunity to bathe herself once. And anything else was better than the rags on her body. ¡®Colonel Weard¡­ Hum¡­ Goldia¡­ seems like a human so is he her father? She only spoke about Alicia every now and then who sounded like she was Goldia''s nursemaid or her ward¡­ And referred someone called Alice as her mother¡­¡¯ As she followed the elven guard inside she was led into one of the side rooms. The interior of the house had nothing remarkable about it aside from its lower ceiling and thin layer of dust coating every furniture. The room she was led into had a single bed for one placed next to one of the walls, with a chest at the foot of it, a single window the sole light source other than a candle. A table and a stool was placed against the wall underneath the glass pane, half-burnt candle, with its wax oozed down the side was atop it. It was bare and cramped compared to her sizable bedchambers she had at her family residence. However it was a luxury stay compared to where she had just escaped from. Just as they said, there was a basin filled with water on an end table at the side of the bed along with a bar of scentless soap. Water was warm to the touch, it wasn¡¯t enough to bathe herself nor were there any servants to wash her¡­ As she looked around there was no sight of the clothing they mentioned. ¡®Did they forget¡­? That doesn¡¯t seem right¡­ unless¡­¡¯ Her attention was brought to the chest at the foot of the bed, opening it she nearly cried out in surprise. Within it lied numerous dresses and what she could presume to be undergarments. She wasn¡¯t quite sure as these clothes were of foreign craft however the thrill of excitement soon filled her body. These clothes shared much of the same handicraft that was present with Goldia¡¯s attire. Dabbing herself with the rags that used to be her sole raiment soaked in water and soap she cleaned herself and finally changed into one of the dresses she fancied. Scrubbing herself clean of filth and grime on her own for the first time in her life was tiring, especially with her lack of nourishment. Resting on the bed tired but satisfied with her hygiene, she was happy with her new dress as she laid on the bed. She almost fell asleep until gentle knocks roused the sleep creeping on her. From the other side of the door. ¡®Ash¡­? Is that the name of Colonel Weard?¡¯ ¡®Immature little¡­-¡¯ After tidying herself she exited the room and closed the door behind her. Not having an attendant to do these sort of menial chores for her made her realize how much of a comfortable life she had. Falling from the top of the social ladder and hitting the lowest rung made her see the world from a new perspective. Returning to the main room her nose easily picked up on the enticing fragrance of a meal. She was ravenous, especially since she had starved herself previously to have her hands slip through the cuffs to escape. On a table a feast was prepared and at its end sat an elderly elven man. While he was admittedly plainly dressed, his eyes were sharp as blade¡¯s tip and his presence demanded respect. His clothes barely covered the warriors¡¯ medals etched forever on his skin, the scars of battles past. Instantly she knew this man was a person who had the time served to back up the title he held, unlike some other aristocrats who bought themselves to the position through briberies and favors just to brighten their own glory. Military ranks themselves were considered a minor title themselves. Opening with a curtsy greeting: As she was about to introduce herself, the grizzled man motioned her to stop with a wave of his hand. Surprise and delight was written all over her face. As she settled down on the chair from her side the sound of a book closing drew her attention. She was almost startled that Goldia was there. Likely she was there from the beginning. ¡®How did¡­ When¡­?¡¯ She was baffled at how unnoticeable Goldia was, but her attention quickly shifted to the feast laid out in front of her. As the host started to dine she followed through, grabbing a hold of the cutlery provided she quickly started carving into it. With just the first bite her taste buds told her that the meals tasted as magnificent as it smelled. She paid extra care not to break any table manners and maintain primness despite her rapacious pace. Much of the cuisine presented was new to her but without aversion she enjoyed as much of it as she could. As her cup dried and the rate of her consumption slackened Ash broke the silence. ¡®Goldia told him, I see¡­¡¯ ¡®Trap? Test¡­?¡¯ She was unsure what the implicit meaning behind his wish to be addressed differently however she decided to stay on the safe side. ¡®So there is someone above him possibly the lord of this village¡­¡¯ ¡®A guardian spirit! City patron gods used to be called either guardian spirits or guardian deities before the reformation. Of course everything makes sense now. No one would be able to survive in a place like this without the help from the spirit of the land¡­ But¡­ wait¡­¡¯ ¡®Forget spirit that¡¯s a patron deity¡­! Something that powerful needing the affirmation of another? Can such a being even exist?! Just what did I get myself into¡­¡¯ Auratic Yup that''s me, Author dipshit McGee. If you''re wonderin how my noggin ticks on the inside read up on both INTP and INFP. Don''t worry I minored in psychology I know this isn''t very accurate but self testing with multiple different modules, my results over 5 ish years of self evaluation has been pretty stable so far. Anyway I decided to go with the Faster pace since I thought it was time for a change in scenery even if its a short while. Also KFC here is like 15USD, why is it so expensive? I can buy atleast 10-12 ramen packets with that much money and that''s being luxurious. You ever feel like you''ve wrote tons of stuff but it''s actually very short when you''re done and looking at the chapter preview? That just me? Oh and heads up, university is starting February 2nd. So that might affect things. Chapter 60: A deal After a hearty dining and some miscellaneous discussions, Rosalia retired to her room early to rest. Though she knew it would come to her meeting the lord in charge of this region, she didn''t expect this person in particular. The one who would help her return home, if she could sufficiently persuade them - Alicia. Her impression of Alicia was that she was a caretaker, educator or someone very close to her. But what bothered her was the name. The names Alicia and Alice were far too similar to be a coincidence. Were they sisters? If so that could mean she is a human, a small favor on the scale. Remembering Goldia''s introduction, she knew her mother was named Alice. Following the obvious line of thinking she thought she would meet Alice as she seemed to be the ruling lord based on how their daughter was basically treated like a royalty around the village. What she thought to be someone inconsequential suddenly turned out to be quite the opposite. She didn''t know anything about the other party. What they wanted or what their motives were. She simply didn''t have enough information. Regardless she only had to accomplish one goal, to prove herself as someone with a lot of worth and they could simply reap the rewards for bringing her back. Easier said than done, considering she didn''t know a thing about what they may want. Finding the right answer was going to be tough. She had some time to think things through. At most she had half a day. She laid down on the bed staring at the low ceiling. As the fatigue drained and comfort set in, the lull of sleep gradually grew on her. With a full stomach for the first time in a long time, combined with how it was warded off the first time by Goldia knocking on the door, the onset of slumber would not be endured this time around. When the pale glow of the moon shining through the lone window gently caressed her shut eyelids, she stirred within her sleep. Erelong they began to part letting the lunar shine through, further rousing her. As she stretched her body and collected her thoughts scattered by the rest, realization struck her. She had only meant to let rest her body a smidgen before poring over her options further. She hoped to learn more about Alicia from Ashlan, Goldia and the villagers if she could. However now, seeing as how deep into the night she was, it was apparent that she had missed supper and the dead silence meant that the whole village was asleep. Since she had just woken up, returning to sleep was difficult so she thought of ways to secure Alicia¡¯s assistance. ¡®I need more than just riches¡­ Fame¡­? Useless. Titles¡­ perhaps¡­¡¯ Evaluating the resources that would become available to her after her return Rosalia was quickly assessed the worth of what she could offer to entice the other side. Although there were a choice of options, none of them stood out in particular, each of them had their downsides. She could see how everything she thought of falling apart because of small but important details she didn¡¯t know exactly. In a moment of insight an idea came to her¡­ ¡®Should I lie¡­?¡¯ Bluffs, false promises, schemes and tricks were inseparable from the life of an aristocrat. There was no reason for this not to work but¡­ her guts told her a terrible premonition. Although there are risks involved once she was back in her father the lord¡¯s domain, she would be in a better position to negotiate allowing her to devalue her pledges. Surely they wouldn¡¯t like this¡­ however she would have been safe within her own realm¡­ right? After careful consideration she decided against the notion instead opting for a different approach, one that she didn¡¯t like any better as although it was the safest pick, it had the lowest chance of success. The worst comes¡­ she would have to make her own way through the treacherous exile¡¯s forest. The decision was the complete opposite of her previous one, complete honesty and sincerity with added favors. Her noble training screamed against trading her family¡¯s favor for what is basically a lowly escort¡¯s job. It was a terrible deal on her end but¡­ ¡®That¡¯s all I¡¯m worth right now huh¡­¡¯ She settled on trying to learn more about the other during the meeting and hoping that they have something they might want from her¡­ Sitting behind the desk wistfully staring out the window in front of her, she peeked at the distant moon. She remembered her time imprisoned as the moon¡¯s glow was her only companion in the night. Although she had escaped from her cell¡­ she was still trapped. ¡®Is there truly no other solution than to simply hope for the goodwill of a stranger?'' A long and restless night of pacing was ahead of her¡­ Come noon, before Rosalia could gather any substantial knowledge about Alicia from the villagers, word of her arrival had started to pass around person to person. A visit from a person of status was always consequential so the reaction wasn¡¯t all that too surprising, it would be the same if she or her father made a visit around the fief. However she was perplexed to find out that Alicia apparently took extra care to make her visits furtive to the village residents, spare few of close acquaintances, and she was already within the premises. But when she thought about it, it seemed quite like her Rosalia thought. The leads she got from the villagers and even Sir Ashlan himself were vague and contradictory with no one knowing for sure. As she was at a loss unsure what to do a familiar goat came to her on its own. It appeared as if it wanted to lead her somewhere, still confused and after some time thinking she started following it. The brisk pace of its steps combined with it turning around every now and then. She was led away from crowds and the settlement to find her rushing out into the woods. Right away she found herself near a clearing. A small stream of shimmering water cascading down layers of stone, a long log was cut in half to make a simple bridge across. Nearby canopies filtered enough light in addition to the running water nearby made the area pleasantly cool. Across the small bridge sat a pergola with lattice work roof. Within it seats and a table were prepared, as if inviting her in. She had seen numerous well tended forecourts and backyard gardens of various noble estates, from trimmed hedges to exotic flowers. Ergo, she was well literate in terms gardening. In spite of that she was still drawn in by the beauty of the secluded sanctuary. She was used to the sculpted handicrafts of gardeners and had little exposure to natural beauty crafted by mother nature herself. As she drew near the bowers: ¡°Rosalia?¡± Small eek of surprise escaped her mouth as someone spoke her name behind her, frantically turning around to face the one who called her out; she was utterly mystified. A maiden with a silky, platinum tress and eyes like the enamelled sapphire of an exemplar lapidary. She almost let slip her tongue and nearly called her Goldia. None would reprimand her either for she was a spitting image of Goldia, or more appropriately it was the other way around. ¡°Oh, sorry, didn¡¯t mean to spook you there. Bad habit of mine. Please have a seat. I hope you don¡¯t mind my¡­ roundabout way of bringing you here.¡± Though it was the first time she was seeing her she could guess who it was. Following the suggestion she seated herself on one of the pergola benches. ¡°I know who you are so, allow me. You may call me Alicia, no ti- actually there are few titles I possess officially and unofficially¡­ but they aren¡¯t important. Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m a¡­ parent figure to Goldia, and I must thank you for entertaining her.¡± ¡®She¡¯s related to Goldia then? I could guess¡­ besides looks, sneaking up on someone out of nowhere also seems to run in the family¡­ Evasive about her heritage¡­ Is she cautious of me?¡¯ ¡°Verily it is not something worth mentioning.¡± ¡°Love to treat you to a cuppa but unfortunately I do not have the leaves for it.¡± Her vocabulary seemed to be much more loose and relaxed than the pompous speech of an aristocrat, if somewhat inappropriate for someone of her standing, creating a mix of impressions. However the etiquette and knowledge she possessed were not prevalent among the common folk. Rather it just seemed to her that she was simply much more down to earth compared to the others of the cream crop of society. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about your circumstances.-¡± This was it, this is what she was waiting for. Before she could open her mouth to speak her piece¡­ ¡°-And I cannot afford to help you.¡± Rosalia¡¯s heart sank, her hopes dashed in a moment with mere words alone. ¡°Not today anyway.¡± In just seconds Rosalia had died and resuscitated, obviously none of it surfaced on her face. She managed to keep a neutral expression and wanted to give herself a pat for not giving away her emotions to Alicia, but unfortunately for her Cold Reader had different ideas. ¡°You see, my presence is direly needed here right now. Please understand that aiding you with your particular issue is simply not my first concern at the moment.¡± Reading between the lines was an essential skill in any level of talks and Rosalia wasn¡¯t no stranger to it. ¡®There it is, she will help me¡­ but I don¡¯t possess enough merit to take precedence¡­ Prove myself huh. I knew this was coming¡­¡¯ ¡°How regrettable. If it can be helped, is there anything I can do to expedite my early return? Once I return, I can arrange an ample reward for your endeavor.¡± Almost as if expecting her offer Alicia replied immediately without a moment¡¯s contemplation. ¡°Nothing that will advance it nearer than tomorrow no.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Many things were churning around in her head leading to a pause in the conversation leaving only the sounds of the cascading water in the background remaining. Rosalia let out a long drawn out sigh, she could rest easy now knowing that she at the minimum would still be arriving home. She would still prefer to go back early however. ¡°Seems to me that you miss your home quite a bit. Could you tell me about it?¡± The question seemed a little odd, but harmless nonetheless so she entertained the conversation. During the talks she was mindful to only let divulge nothing more than what someone could learn by just walking around. As the talks naturally came to an end Alicia appeared to be satisfied with what she learned. ¡°I believe you stayed at Ash¡¯s place? Tell me, how was your night?¡± After a short lull she seemed to be changing the conversation to something else. ¡°I¡¯ve had the most thoroughly excellent rest.¡± Thinking about it now, despite the straightforward appearance the linen, bedding and the blanket fillings were soft and of superb quality never seen before. They were a contributing factor in her oversleeping and losing precious time to obtain information. ¡°How about the dress? Is it to your liking?¡± Unsuspectingly she spoke her mind frankly. ¡°The way it stretches and conforms to the figure is quite marvelous. It fits just right, not too loose, not too tight. If I could I would like to give my praises to its creator.¡± For the first time, Alicia¡¯s facial expression changed into a pleased smile. ¡°Why, I¡¯m sure it''s weaver will be very happy to hear that.¡± ¡®Weaver¡­?¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed that there were more of them in the chest of your room?¡± ¡°Ah, of course.¡± ¡°Since you like them so much, you can take them with you.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± She had blundered by raising her voice and showing her excitement. ¡°Yes, really. Think of them as a parting gift. A question though¡­ if they were in good supply do you believe they will find their vendee?¡± ¡°Absolutely. I think they will be in high demand among the high society.¡± ¡°That''s good to hear. I hope to deal with clothing of all sorts in great numbers for everyone you see. I was wondering if you couldn¡¯t help me with that.¡± "It would be my pleasure." "Of course I do not plan to exclusively deal in clothing. When the time comes, we will expand our range of specialty products." "Can I assume that these products will be of similar quality?" "Naturally." "Then you have my utmost support." Standing up, Alicia prepared to leave. "That was a very fruitful meeting. We shall move out early tomorrow if that is alright with you." "Of course! Thank you very much!" As Rosalia watched her figure disappear into the forest she thought to herself¡­ ''I''ve been had. She planned out this outcome from the start. She did not reveal what it was that she really wanted until the very end. This time I got off easy, but going forward I have to be careful¡­ at times it felt as if she could hear my thoughts¡­ shrewd and terrifying¡­ I do not envy whoever has to negotiate with her¡­" Auratic I should''ve gotten about two chapters out by now but I was bottlenecked by my inability to write an exchange that doesn''t sound like it was an A.I generated conversation between a sociopath and a stalker serial killer. But things can now finally move forward and I can stick to my preferred method of storytelling, through worldbuilding. I was going to add a nice image but that will have to wait. Chapter 61: Taste of Idyll After the meeting, Alicia was making her way back through the forest grounds. ¡®That girl has an¡­ active imagination. Plucking information straight from someone¡¯s thoughts¡­ I may have underestimated Cold-reader. Now, I need to finish up the rooms by tomorrow so they don¡¯t have to sleep on the floor, again. And while I¡¯m gone I¡¯ll have to leave them in care of Llynbel and Dryssia. Llynbel is¡­ not quite ready, while Dryssia could be a better fit, she can be too shy sometimes¡­ Again I¡¯ll have to ask for Faenas¡¯s help¡­ I should bring back something like a souvenir. Well that¡¯s one hell of an overtime, not like it¡¯s that different from my usual Saturday night¡­ What day of the week is it anyway?¡¯ Alicia had managed to figure out the rhythm of her construction. Working tirelessly throughout the night without a single sound or a drop of sweat, in just an overnight the hostel rooms had been completed. It was a splendid accomplishment for the timespan given. Of course the success could not only be attributed to her, aid from her two covenant spirits helped her make it possible in the end. Girls residing within the very building were picking up their jaws from the floor in the morning. They were somewhat formalistic, appearing repetitive like that of hotel rooms due to Alicia¡¯s intensive streamlining to save time, they were well serviceable for the standards of the current world. Every room made for two was planned with ample space for each resident to prevent them from feeling confined. With windows to let natural light in, furnished with wooden beds, personal dressers and puzzling objects called a wardrobe which was a storage furniture with triangular gadget that could keep one¡¯s clothes straight and easily accessible. An obvious deviation from the commonly used method of storing clothes folded in a chest. Some of the rooms and furniture didn¡¯t have their veneering, rendering them vulnerable to scratches and other types of wear damage. Amending this problem was delegated to Dryssia as even without Alicia¡¯s guidance she could carry it out. Interestingly the tree nymph seemed to have taken a particular interest in the process, treating it as sort of a game of dress up for the wood beneath. Thanks to her efforts every room and furniture, despite being of the same design, had a distinct identity and feel to them. Before setting out to work on the construction Alicia had contacted Faenas to keep an eye on the two spirits being left behind as she didn¡¯t totally trust in their abilities to protect the girls. Later someone from the troll village would come too, to deliver some catch and arrive as a temporary ambassador of their kind. Rather the girls might need protecting from Llynbel. And Dryssia herself is someone who might need the protection, though her bodyguards - the soldiers bees - seemed to have increased their numbers to a few dozen in response¡­ The other favor Alicia asked from Faenas was for her to see how they were getting used to their new lives and help them along if she could. A few days ago they were malnourished, enervated and absolutely hopeless. As well as to keep Llynbel from causing casualties¡­ Faenas called out one of the girls carrying a bucketful of dirty water. Warily Faenas asked: Panic quickly overtook the ranger, as she suddenly clutched her. Some of the liquids spilled on the ground and the clothes from the abrupt movements. The intensity of Faenas¡¯s actions and the tone of her voice frightened the clueless girl. She could only quickly nod as she was let go to dump the water elsewhere. Though there wasn¡¯t that much left to dump seeing as how both of their clothes had soaked most of the water¡­ Having met up at the elven village before dawn, two were already at the edge of the forest by early noon under some ranger cloaks borrowed with the help from Faenas. Weaving in hoods for privacy and lengthening it was a trivial task. Considering Rosalia¡¯s poor stamina, Ramiel was brought along to serve as her mount until they exited the forest. Having consulted the map their destination was the city of Kostranald. The path to there was anything but straightforward as Alicia¡¯s map was not accurate enough for her to pick the most optimal route. Forcing the two to go from one landmark and minor settlements to another to keep on track so as not to get lost. After letting down the human girl, Ramiel turned back around to the forest and faded into the foliage soon after. Without the trees to provide wind shielding, the gusts of wind could rage as they pleased. After reaching the top of a particularly tall hill that blocked sight, the two could see grasslands, wetland fens, hills and lone trees. Seldomly travelled paths of dirt and thin vegetations implied the presence of some fringes civilization. Following a stream of river flowing out of the forest by sight, Alicia could even make out human dwellings in the distance. Although it would seem only two of them were on the journey, a brood of Araneae moved with them. The Huntresses moved ahead and around of them as scouting wayfinders chosen for their excellent detection, eyesight and mobility. Not known to Rosalia, Alicia carried a large number of hex weavers within her hair, a few of them conjured just for the occasion. Most of them were evolved Araneae assuming a smaller, much more portable form through mimicry, ready to return to service at a moment¡¯s notice; Brides of death, Webslingers, Crypts weavers, Cave crawlers all, each able to wreak havoc in any town¡­ Alicia travelled with speed and confidence using the information fed by her leaping Araneae ahead of her, a confidence not quite shared by her partner. However, soon Rosalia realized an uncanny calm was around them, following them. She thought for sure that she heard the whining of canines in the distance, but without any affirmation from Alicia and the sounds ceasing immediately thereafter she dismissed it as her mind seeking meanings and patterns in the whistles of the wind. It appeared as if they were on the trail of destruction as they walked through tall grasses hiding the bodies of recently eliminated threats. Where Alicia led an eerie spectre of death seemed to make way for their path, paving a way of blood. They drew near a small settlement the size of a hamlet where even Rosalia could see it in the distance without any perception enhancing skills. On the map this place didn''t exist, meaning either it was a recently established community or more likely a minor settlement of little significance that the map maker couldn''t bother to notate. Small field of crops, a couple of fowl wandering about clucking, and, most importantly for Alicia, the miasmic odour of dung from livestock and poor hygiene completed the perfect image of the countryside. Taking a deep whiff¡­ ¡®Smells like shit, not even exaggerating¡­¡¯ Although there wasn¡¯t any explicit danger that dwelled within the hamlet as far as Alicia and her Araneae were concerned, regardless she wanted to avoid making a commotion and to the average bystander they were some strange girls travelling alone. From beneath her cloak few Hex crawlers rappelled1You have no idea how much I struggled to remember this word. down and spread out while some of the Huntresses made their way on top of the buildings, assuming overwatch. The Araneae - though not as proficient as Alicia - were proficient at using stealth and the idea of cloud watching wasn''t fresh on the mind of people carrying out their daily chores. The residents largely ignored the two with the men either busy on the fields tending to the grain crops and watching their livestock grazing the nearby pastures or resting under the shade of trees. In the Kingdom of Pyrinia where they were at its fringe right now, hamlets were the small detachments from villages. Near the edge of the hamlet there was a dirt road with wagon tracks leading to the village center and along its wayside was a large thatch roof building, merry laughter and the scent of ale hung near the structure. It was a tavern for the residents and travellers alike to grab a cool drink after a long day under the sun. Much of the country consisted of scattered towns and villages and Pyrinia wasn¡¯t an exception in its case. Peddlers, merchants and travelling adventurers alike relied on these villages dotting the lands for food and lodging as packing such provisions were both tiring and unnecessary, family owned inns and taverns provided these to the people. Especially for business oriented merchants who were stingy with space on their wagon caravans, these pandocheions2Greek for Inns. and caravanserai3 A type of inn most commonly seen in desert areas originating from the Islamic world. A roadside inn. were the lifeblood of their businesses. Naturally she was lying. Their early departure was before she could put anything in her stomach, but her days of undernourishment had hardened her against hunger that would break a person of lesser will. Due to her high constitution Alicia had the stamina to travel day and night without stopping, but the same could not be said of Rosalia. Alicia had hoped to hitchhike a wagon to the next few towns and villages. The concept existed, however it wasn¡¯t that widespread. Crackling flames of the hearth welcomed in weary travellers. Behind the tables the patrons imbibed their frothing ale and shared their overblown stories to one another in good humour, in the background sounds of clinking cutlery. None paid attention to Alicia¡¯s entrance, if they even noticed her arrival at all. Alicia approached who she assumed was the innkeep sitting behind a low bar table-esque counter. The man was lean and physically fit, even so it was apparent that he was past his prime with hints of silver streaks poking out from the root of his hair. He didn¡¯t even acknowledge Alicia until she started to knock on the counter to grab his attention and when she did he glanced over finally to see her. While surprised, he quickly recomposed himself to greet her. ¡®I thought every barkeep was supposed to be polishing a mug with a cloth or something like that¡­ whatever.¡¯ Kneading his neck a little the man seemed to remember something. ¡®No to the porridge and the brick¡­ Charky¡­ what was that again¡­ a bag of beef jerky if I recall correctly. Grassbirds are similar to quails¡­ Right then.¡¯ Alicia pulled out an empty bulbous bottle from beneath her cloak, along with a few coins to cover the fee. While pretending to pull more out of her cloak she procured a few more coins from her vault, careful not to reveal that she didn¡¯t actually have pockets on the insides of her cloak. Though hidden pockets were popular, especially as they can be used to hide some of your money in case you are mugged, her magician¡¯s trick of pulling a coin and a bottle out of nowhere would draw some curious gazes if it were known. ¡®Fifty copper equals a bronze, fifty bronze more and you get a silver. Now if you can get a hundred of those you are a proud owner of a shiny gold coin. Thanks for the tip, innkeep. Most of the peasants dealt with copper and bronze for most of their lives, but sometimes there are arguments with the authenticity of the currency thus bartering with whatever¡¯s on hand was the status quo, the most preferred currency after crowns seems to be food. Hell, even some of the wealthy farmers seem to pay their servants with bags of salt or grain as payment. I¡¯ll give it to those brigands, hundreds of silver is nothing to scoff at, until you get caught I guess¡­ Thanks for the inheritance.¡¯ Her order arrived shortly but the cider took some time before the innkeeper came back with her bottle. Alicia made excuses to deflect the chatty innkeeper¡¯s invitations and quickly made her way to the exit, while motioning Rosalia standing in the corner to leave. The Huntresses had already located the Merchant¡¯s carriage preparing to depart. Sampling the jerky wincing at its saltiness she then took a bite out of the skewer. Thankfully it tasted a lot better than jerky so she handed the food to Rosalia as she briefed her on where they were headed now. The spread out hex weavers returned to her while the Huntresses opted to follow. It seemed that they were confident in their ability to keep up with the carriage. After some persuasion with coins and a little help from Whispers Alicia managed to secure their position in the carriage ride to Viveria¡­ Auratic Originally, Stealth would have functioned a lot like Caveira¡¯s Silent step and N?kk¡¯s Hel Presence Reduction abilities, with it taking effect only when actively used. This was shelved for it¡¯s more basic counterpart that has yet to be featured. Stealth functions by tampering with cognitive perception of the observer. Technically Alicia or any user of stealth doesn¡¯t become invisible, transparent or anything, rather any person looking at her will see her perfectly fine as long as their eyes are functional. But they won¡¯t recognize that they¡¯re looking at a person or an Araneae unless their perception rolls nat20. So what do they see? Basically everything else around her. The effect is similar to the Filling-in phenomenon that occurs in humans for objects in response to their physiological blind spot. Take some time to read up on it. Tl;dr Alicia is basically a walking optical illusion when using stealth. This skill works even on digital recordings or any recording that faithfully records what it sees and hears because it is so faithful, the illusive effects of the skill are also recorded. Because of how stealth works, if one steels their mind against the effects they gain a resistance to its influence which is why its effects are halved when the opponent is aware of her, if she were to break LoS, then the skill regains its full potential again. Even advanced robots and synthetics are not safe from it. Only few things can overcome the power of stealth, motion sensors and tripwires laser or not as they detect physical interference and don¡¯t have cognitive potential for stealth to interfere with. However anyone manning the apparatuses will not be alerted any further than must have been a random misfire. You see, I flesh out how the things in my story works in my head but then forgets to properly showcase it. Did you know Alma was inspired by the nanosuit A.I from crysis? The suit was a hell of a wingman if you¡¯ve played that game. You felt like a one man battalion and the suit was there every step of the way by literally making you invisible to deflecting bullets and absorbing explosions and even defying the all powerful fall damage that kills oh so many gamers. I¡¯ve tried to recreate the suit¡¯s speech pattern as an homage to it. Another A.I I really liked and probably influenced me was the Cyclops onboard A.I and the Neptune rocket A.I from Subnautica. I simply really liked their voices, I didn¡¯t know which one to pick so I basically made Alma¡¯s voice into androgynous and having that hint of professionalism from service speech. But Alma can have any kind of voice modulation. It¡¯s just Alicia interprets Alma¡¯s voice as feminine but sometimes as a masculine entity. Obviously Alma has no gender, but you can have it be whatever you want it to be. Even an attack helicopter armed with hydra missiles or your favorite Vtuber if that¡¯s your kink, I won¡¯t judge, however I will be severely disappointed¡­ I believe in the very first drafts of this story, Alicia would instead be called Sylviana - shortened to Sylvie and her last name would have been Dagenhart. Whereas Sylviana''s equivalent of Alice would have been Silviana. I stead switched to Alicia for a specific reason. Also in the early version Alice (The spider) wouldn¡¯t have existed and Alicia (Deadboi engie) would have had the name Alice instead. I decided that the current setup that¡¯s going on has more potential and is more interesting story wise. Alice and Alicia¡¯s dynamics are one that mimics Talion and Celebrimbor except no megalomaniac backstabbing from a control freak. No replacing a bright lord with a dark one. Only the lullaby of the Void¡­ Wow I hate university already, not as much as usual but still hateful. And it¡¯s my third year. Fuck. Recovering from what I call, ¡®post semester break hangover¡¯ is hard. Anyway here''s the gist of the next chapter. See you tomorrow when someone inevitably finds mistakes in my writing. Chapter 62: Highwaymen The convoy advanced through the rural countryside, on the road towards its next destination. Alicia and Rosalia were on the last of these wagons and without any suspension system to speak of every bump on the ground could be felt with full force. They had to share their seat space with cargo and crates containing goods for delivery and sale. Thankfully the convoy moved at a leisurely pace out of concern for the integrity of the goods. Had it not been for that, the journey would have had a lot more jostling and jumping. The hay cushioning from underneath them absorbed some of the force but it was still inadequate for a comfortable ride. Two more people were riding along with them on the insides of the wagon, part of the escort party hired by the merchant. One of them had their self bow carried on their sling. While for the other, Alicia noticed the blade in its scabbard resting beside him and a round shield on his back. They were the chatty type, poking and prodding with questions. Where were they from, where were they heading. As much as Alicia preferred a silent sightseeing ride, it couldn''t be helped that she had to answer some of their questions in the most uncompromising way she could. However, she also saw an opportunity to gain some insight into their profession. Answered a man who seemed to be in his mid twenties. ¡®Even if you don¡¯t know what it means¡­?¡¯ Scratching through his messy tawny hair, racking his memories he answered after some humming and hawing. ¡®Uh huh, sounds adventurer-y but everything is¡­ slightly sideways? Closer to a mercenary I suppose. Speaking of which¡­ why guess? Let¡¯s just ask the person.¡¯ The man¡¯s face turned sour and before he could answer his partner gave an impassioned answer for him. In disgust the man spat out of the wagon. ¡®Should¡¯ve bought a defuse kit for this bomb¡­ right let¡¯s change the topic¡­¡¯ ¡®Right¡­ For most people of this world and the current age your village is your entire world¡­ You¡¯re born into the community raised in it, your home is there and so is your job. You¡¯re likely to find your spouse in it or from the village over and build your family, again in the same village. Time flies and then if you¡¯re lucky enough not to die from dysentery you¡¯ll rest your bones in the very same village you were born in. Some find comfort and security in this kind predestined life. Others loathe and despise it, abandoning their homes in search of something greater. It doesn¡¯t help that there aren''t many recreational activities in the villages either, most have a saloon for drinking and feasting or a parish. And without those¡­ sexy time is the only thing they can do to pass the time. No contraception¡­ Well no, comfortable and easily accessible contraception and with whether or not your child is surviving the year until fifteen or so is decided by the invisible coin toss by the whims of life, why not go for more? Sure these rural peasants are vulgar, brutish and lascivious but can you really blame them? They are molded by their environment, is it not natural for the water to turn into ice if they¡¯re placed in the freezer? Men like him are the ones that reject turning into ice. Sedentary life doesn¡¯t fit them. They seek fire and the flames so that one day they can reach for the skies, riding the vapor of their sweat, blood and tears. But just as many clouds swim through the welkin, countless more fail to reach it, consumed by the flames, singed and forgotten. Their bodies buried far from their home, if even found at all¡­ Everyday is an adventure, but not every adventure has a heroic ending¡­¡¯ With a hesitant laugh the man pulled back to the side of his colleague, elbowing his companion to get their attention. In a hushed whisper he asked; To which his partner answer; Alicia pretended not to have caught any of their talk and decided to simply shut off their ongoing conversation and let them have their confused fun. The convoy steadily carried on towards the town¡­ ''Smells like trouble this one¡­'' The news she received from her huntresses was worrying. The wagons were about to pass through small woodlands and there wasn''t any settlement close by. What concerned her were the reports of upright naked mole rats, humans in this case, loitering along the path they were about to pass through. Although her Araneae weren¡¯t apt at differentiating men from women they still managed to figure out that there were all men. According to them, there were about thirty of them, perhaps even more. Most were wielding a variety of ¡®iron fangs¡¯ with a small number of them having ¡®crooked sticks¡¯. ¡®Too many to be a hunting detachment¡­ Besides, however poor, I doubt humans around here are THAT savage to use swords for hunting rather than a bow and arrow, or even a spear. The number of bow users is also too few for a hunting party¡­ Bunch of men, away from human settlements, just loitering in a thin forest¡­? Now where have I heard this story before¡­? Ah if it isn''t my old acquaintances again¡­ What do I do now hum¡­ The escort party is outnumbered but they¡¯re definitely better equipped than some crooks hanging out in trees. If we¡¯re assuming they¡¯re evenly experienced - which is a big assumption especially considering the other side is a collection of thugs - in one on one at least, the escorts will always win due to their superior quality equipment. Now things get muddier if they¡¯re surrounded or have to deal with two or three guys at the same time from the get go. Being down just a single person quickly tilts the odds against their favor. But the same should hold true for the thugs too¡­ few of them, if any, have the resolve to fight until the bitter end. Their confidence stems from their numbers¡­ but if few of their allies start hitting the dirt, that confidence quickly shatters and if one starts to panic and another will too. Fear is infectious. Both sides don¡¯t want a real fight. Escorts just want their pay and carry on with their life. The bandits want to intimidate the opposition to shake down any valuables they have for food or drinks, anything. However if both sides don¡¯t want to back down¡­ We¡¯ll have a situation¡­ and considering what I already covered¡­ it could go either way¡­¡¯ ¡®But if the push comes to a shove¡­ what do I do? Technically we¡¯re still ¡®just some girls travelling.¡¯ If I intervene, I doubt some hobos will be giving me much trouble but that¡¯s not the point¡­ whichever way I do it, it¡¯s going to get attention from my driver and my travel-mates. Not sure if I want that¡­ Do we bail out now? In the worst case scenario we¡¯ll be on foot again for no reason but we won¡¯t have to get involved in any confrontations. Should I break the news to Rosalia¡­ no that¡¯s out of the question. If we¡¯re whispering to each other and leave just before they get into trouble¡­ now that just looks like we set them up doesn¡¯t it¡­? Ugh¡­ there¡¯s no way around it now huh¡­ Alright let¡¯s see what I can do in the mean time to prepare¡­ How do I reveal just enough to scare off some people without letting everyone else know too much¡­? God, it feels like I¡¯m solving one of those logic puzzles from university again¡­¡¯ As she was mulling over her options, wisps of faint light started to dance in front of her. Seeing as how one of them looked vaguely like a fish swimming in air, she had found her solution¡­ A boy in his teens came running to the gang of men waiting for him, his face was full of nervousness. He was tasked with keeping watch and letting them know of any incoming traffic. He knew the men were up to no good, but if he behaved and cooperated there would be times where he would be able to get some money rather than scraps of food they toss at him. Besides they hadn¡¯t hurt anyone¡­ yet. The leader of the group spoke up to rally his men. And the group came alive with movement at the behest of their leader¡­ As the small caravan steadily approached their position a tree was felled on the trail blocking their path. The horses pulling the wagons stopped neighing and their startled driver were obviously surprised by the event. An indignant cry came from the merchant. Before they could understand the situation they got into, they were already surrounded. From the woods came the culprits, weapons drawn. The sudden unexpected halt and the commotion ahead alerted the escorts to a brewing trouble. The merchant had the option of running away leaving everything¡­ But he would never recover from the loss as a small timer, it would be the end of his life as a merchant. To him it was the choice presented to him was to die trying now or die later in the muck. He had to push through whatever the means. One man from the escort party came representing most others¡¯ thoughts. Many of these bandits were poorly armed with daggers, shortswords, hatchets and other repurposed farming tools. And almost none of them were properly dressed in protective garments. They were much better protected as well as having weapons with better reach maintenance. The escorts organized themselves into a tight semi circle formation around the wagons with their backs against it or each other. Although with their fewer numbers they couldn¡¯t hope to protect every wagon. This meant a docked pay. However they needed to live through this predicament first before thinking of any payment. An intense staredown ensued. A worry was spreading through the bandits, the signal shot they were expecting didn¡¯t come¡­ ¡®What are those fools doing?!¡¯ The arrows that they were expecting from their bowmen never came. Their hope was to take at least one of the guards down from range forcing them to charge out into them where they could pick them off one by one. The bowmen in question were positioned as far back as they could so as not to be found easily before they could take their shot and so that they were safely behind them. Ironically the positioning favoring their safety placed them in most danger. A danger far greater than counterattack from the defending party. Alicia had made sure her Araneae wouldn¡¯t be seen throughout the engagement. The bowmen were mistakenly situated out of sight which meant the Huntresses could dispatch them without anyone realizing. With their disorganized formation, the bandits had a number of outliers not being protected by the others. They were easily abducted by the lassoing web slingers out of sight where they could be dealt with discreetly. Due to their poor training and discipline along with the growing tension the brigands were anxious to charge. From within one wagon emerged a man, bow already nocked and ready to loose. The arrow flew and hit at dead center one closer thug, causing him to stagger back before collapsing down clutching at his chest. And that was the last straw, seeing their fellow die was the tipping point for them to start charging. Although the leader was pleased that his men didn¡¯t run away just like that, engaging in melee wasn¡¯t that much better either. But now that was out of the question; their bowmen didn¡¯t make their shots, what happened to them? Regardless they had to make a move now lest they would be picked off one by one by the enemy archer. And pulling back his men who were already charging in with a battle cry now was impossible. Just before as bandits charged in, a person in a viridescent cloak came out of one of the wagons and stood out. The man who was just with them before shouted; A feminine voice spoke. By her words a pool of water welled up from the parched grounds. Through the motion of her fingers the water swirled up like an eddy. By now the clash between the escorts and the bandits had just begun. With a torrential outburst rose up a geyser, but it did not return to earth like normal water. Instead, the shifting waters shaped itself into a torso of shape similar to that of a cresting wave of the oceans with two arm-like appendages. And though it had a head like feature, it lacked any facial details, reflecting only the blue skies and the face of its beholder. The bandits were taken aback, but they were too deep in to safely disengage from the escorts. The defending party too were surprised by the sudden arrival of a mysterious being. Receiving its master¡¯s decree, the entity let out a sort of cry similar to that of a wave of the ocean crashing against itself. With a swipe of its appendage an oncoming attacker was tossed away rolling on the ground. With another it shot out a stream of water smashing the bandits against each other and the trees sending them scattering. In desperation one of the bandits managed to land a strike against the terrifying being, but a blade through water ineffectively passed through, only to rust and dull the blade¡¯s edge. Although harmless to it, the entity understood that it was under attack. And it responded in kind by engulfing and hugging it¡¯s assailant, swallowing them whole inside them. As the man was devoured screaming and fighting against the currents, the others could only watch helplessly in horror as they faced an enemy they didn¡¯t know how to fight against. His muffled wails and his struggling eventually ceased. ¡®Whoa, never thought water of all things would be this effective¡­ I was just playing into the role that I was a sorceress who had a contracted water spirit.¡¯ Like a child spitting out a vegetable they didn¡¯t like, the elemental threw out the man that was inside of it. The man washed up in front of the remaining bandits still remaining and that was enough to send them running in fear. And with that the encounter concluded with minimal losses for the caravan¡­ With the aggressors repelled the being dissipated. And the water returned to earth whence it came from, moistening the once dry earth leaving only a small wisp behind, visible only to a select few who had some gift in magic, one of which was Rosalia. To them it looked as if the faintly glowing wisp returned to Alicia, to Alicia a fish just swam into her hair. One of the men from the escort party came up to her and hesitantly asked her; ¡®Well that¡¯s the role we¡¯re playing into, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ The brief pause from her answer made everyone tense up in anticipation and slight fear. With those words she went back into the wagon leaving the others astounded with what just happened. Even the patronizing temper of the merchant - who had peeked out to take a look - had disappeared¡­ Before long the men managed to clear the path by hauling the tree away so that the wagons could pass. The one bandit that was spat out by the water spirit that everyone thought was dead woke up coughing up and choking on water. He was stripped to his underwear and taken in as a prisoner. Towns and cities often gave rewards for capturing and delivering these sort of roadside bandits, as through ¡®questioning¡¯ they can learn their allegiance, base of operations, numbers and active regions to stamp out outlaws as they, like in this case, often terrorized highways used by merchants and other travellers and damaged the supply lines and reputation of the region. Even if they didn¡¯t spit out with whom and where they were working, they would make for a fine slave in the fields. Regardless of the outcome, the one who brought them to justice could expect a decent recompense. Greater the number, greater the compensation. With all the trouble sorted out the caravan was ready to move out again. As they were about to move out again, a man came up to Alicia. It was the Merchant¡¯s assistant ¡®Ugh¡­ more nuisance¡­ well I think the carriage has better seats than this wagon.¡¯ Briefly looking at Rosalia and nodding to her to come along; Auratic Happy late/early lunar new year to the people who celebrate it. You see where I celebrate it, it''s either one day late or one day early whichever one it is, I don''t really remember it. I decided to turn bring the google docs down here from now on so look down here if you''re searching for the google docs version. Anyway I hate k-dramas but I can¡¯t avoid them because my near 60 granny likes to watch them while doing anything really. They¡¯re extremely distracting, because you know it''s a drama, there¡¯s some vaguely intriguing shit happening but it''s so bad yet you can¡¯t look away from it, you wanna see the resolution but they never give it to you or just add more spaghetti and AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA they just have a big bucket list of twists to add into the cocktail and when you¡¯ve seen one you¡¯ve practically seen them all. But somehow it still entertains my gran and my mother sometimes, is there a cure out there? I wanted to get this out yesterday but eeeh but not everything goes as planned. I kind of wanted to give more details to the characters here and characterize them a bit more but couldn''t with the time... Kinda feels like I cheated out deserving details, ah well. Chapter 63: Of witches and warlocks. Auratic The ride within the carriage was far more superior in comfort compared to that of the wagon even if it was still the same type of seating, that of a wooden bench. Still there were some disappointments; rough substandard coverings, lack of adequate cushioning, stuffy interior and unpleasant scents of old sweat which Alicia regrettably picked up on because of her heightened senses and perhaps most irritating, an exceedingly inquisitive travelmate. The conversations she had to entertain were tiring, primarily due to needing to weave ¡®No¡¯ or ¡®Perhaps¡¯ again and again into the subtext of her answers to the various efforts to recruit her. However bearing with the torturous session bore some value to her. Mainly in learning the societal standing of Mages in general public and in Pyrinia in specific. Although she was clueless to many of the topics, fishing for tidbits of information from the merchant¡¯s own mind revealed more than she expected allowing her to continue her act of erudite sorcerer who has been out of touch with the outside world. Even unexpected complementation came in the form of Rosalia¡¯s recollections about the subject, surfacing onto her mind as the conversation naturally progressed. A person capable of using magic is called sonorant while those who have magic potential but cannot outwardly express it are called the voiceless, the mute ones or sans voix in the more higher echelons of society. Though officially the magic users are termed sonorants, they prefer to be called a Mage, wizard, or sorcerer as it was much easier for the general public to understand. The term sonorant itself seems to be an outdated nomenclature as ancient magic users were often documented as using a song, aria or sometimes even a dance and a ritual to perform what is currently recognized as magic. A person who has the talent with either the connections or the money can apply to various Akademias throughout the world. Lower classes - unless in extremely rare cases - did not have the resources to develop their magical talents or even knew that they had the ability. And once they are able to use their magic consistently, a sonorant often becomes a mage. One can easily pick out the common mage by their esoteric constructs that they carry around, frequently in the forms of staves, wands and even a walking cane which are usually their instrument to channel their magic and express it. Many sonorants are aligned to one natural element either that of air, earth, fire and water, though those with more unique elements are seen from time to time. And even though most are quickly sorted into one of the four elements, how their magic is expressed seems to be highly individualized and anyone with even a smidgen of magical power with some form of training are highly prized. Construction, groundwork and agricultural development jobs are always in high demand, seeking a mage with earth affinity - or a geomancer for short - since their abilities match dozens of workers doing the same work while being perhaps more coordinated and faster than a crew and especially for the commissioner, cheaper as they only have to pay a single person handsomely rather than arguing with wages with a mob of men. Those gifted with water - besides bringing rain down in times of drought - commonly find themselves as an aide to a large group of travellers and or merchants. Having an aquamancer allowed any group to take a direct faster route or a safer alternate path in this monster infested world through the simple action of creating potable water. Many travellers rely on natural sources of freshwater in their travels in forms of rivers, lakes, springs and wells within villages to slake their thirst and water their horses. This was the reason why there are many villages spread around the dotting countryside, to serve as a supply point for merchants and peddlers. However this limited their options in choosing a course and often forced them to digress off track to reach a nearby village or a safe stream of water or risk dehydration, weakness and other unpleasantries trying to brave the wilderness. Of course one could take the most direct path possible if they had an Aquamancer with them saving merchants precious time in forms of hours or even days sidetracking. Or they could go on a long journey to distant cities with exotic goods in high demand as they are not regularly visited due to their isolation or danger to going to and from. Fire mages or pyromancers are the most commonly seen among the guild agents in their commissions as they are more directly capable of combat even if they aren¡¯t well trained. But those who are can find success pursuing a military career, serving in a well paid position and away from physical tasks. Lastly Aeromancers are rarely seen away from harbors as they could make sure the winds always favor the ship that they were on while warning sailors to incoming storms and typhoons. Even if they didn¡¯t follow their usual professions many mages could be scouted out as a bodyguard to the aristocracy or become an instructor to their new child. Of course even the monarchy knows the value of mages, primarily in the form of warfare. Pyromancers could bombard enemy ranks with rain of fire, geomancers could instantly create fortified positions in almost any terrain, Aquamancers, while providing fresh water in hostile territory could also be paired with aeromancers to create a thick fog to hide their approach to any lookouts or scouts. Because of these reasons most Mages are treated with respect equalling that of craftsmen and merchants if not that of a knight serving under a nobleman. Wherein lies the sudden change in tone from the Merchant came from, Alicia had just demonstrated herself not just a mage but one capable of defending herself and the merchant¡¯s goods with water magic, an element not quite known for its destructive capabilities. Simply put she was a rare talent that¡¯s far too valuable to let slip. The reason for the roundabout ways of trying to coax her into a form of employment. In his mind, he already assumed she was in all probability already under nobleman however he still had to try in the off chance that she was not. ¡®He doesn¡¯t even care that I¡¯m a girl huh¡­¡¯ In this age, the standing of women was more or less nonexistent, with laws and society itself showing preference towards men and sons, who would either become soldiers for the country or workers for the farms both being vital to the survival of the nation. With the exception being sorceresses. In this world women had very few things favoring them. They had to use cunning, looks, tricks and even their body as a tool to be used just to make it another day. Behind closed curtains and out of sight they wage a bitter fight against their rivals. The gifts of magic were the greatest weapon they had in their arsenal with its versatility. It allowed them to be at least regarded in some respect and an equivalent standing to men even if it is still inferior in certain circumstances. It was the only way for women born in the lower classes to go up to a more favorable social status in the strictly stratified society that they lived in. While the boon of magic showed no preference being equally rare in both genders, women were more likely to become a mage to improve their standing, whereas men had more venues of choice such as; soldiering, pursuing commerce, peddling. And those who do follow the path of magic are either children of nobility who almost always chose it to avoid being drafted into the military as a knight, risking their lives or those of lower classes unfortunate enough to be born frail and weak. Those lower class men generally became clerics or priests if they¡¯re lucky enough to show promise in thaumaturgy, sometimes called holy magic which seemed to be a school of magic similar to Anima magic or soulbourne magic. Although being born into a noble house might seem like a great stroke of luck, children who are incapable of using magic or unable to express it are oftentimes disowned in a cruel mockery of fate. And that is considered the best outcome¡­ according to Rosalia¡¯s recollection. Innate magical ability seems to be strongly hereditary being able to be passed down, especially in the bloodlines of the aristocracy. A child without it is a stain on the house¡¯s name, and yes while they¡¯re typically disavowed and thrown out of the family, many head of houses opt to instead avoid the humiliation altogether by ¡®dealing¡¯ with the hapless child before the news has a chance to leak. Rosalia had heard many gossips of such claims, too many for all of them to be true¡­ but gossips don¡¯t just crop up out of nowhere¡­ meaning some portion of those allegations had grounds to be true. Similarly Rosalia herself was thankful to her own modest magical capabilities in tune with the wind. Though new or smaller noble families seem to not care all too much of the practice, renouncing the tradition. >Possible theory¡­ Accuracy 89.1%¡­ >Genetic region responsible for the ability to harness magical energy subject to genetic variability. Offspring possible to receive receptive genetic information. Ability to use Magical energy is present in a dormant state. Solution; exposure to Epigenetic trigger to active related genetic expression. There were more conventional alternatives such as a lesser spirit¡¯s blessing or a contracted spirit. When a lesser spirit decides to give their blessing and inhabit a child, the host either gains the ability to use magic matching the spirit¡¯s harmonized element or their natural ability is enhanced. In the case of greater spirits like Dryssia or Llynbel were a step above the others, as a contract with them would turn a third rate akademia reject into a first rate sorcerer. The reason why was that a contract with a spirit, that has the elemental affinity same as the contractor''s, bolsters the mage¡¯s own magical talents to a far greater heights than before. Alternatively if the spirit possesses an affinity different from that of the host, they simply gain a new element of magic, turning them into a duo. Whichever the outcome, they have something to gain. As a consequence spirits were aggressively sought after resulting in their numbers plummeting. Without greater spirit to stabilize the flow of energy by their very presence, the rampant energies and lesser spirits coalesce into raging elementals that wreak havoc on settlements that are in its path of rampage. Mages themselves become a first line of defense against those elementals as weapons of men fail to repel magical beings. However finding a mage who can tame a maddened elemental safely can only be found once in a blue moon. It¡¯s not strange for some to run away swallowing their pride but with their homes and dignity on the line, many step up to the challenge. Furthermore there is an incentive that the elemental could actually be a strong spirit who could be forced into contract. An individual who can achieve such a feat is not only regarded as a distinguished duet but also a hero to the town or city. Still that is a wish coveted by many and achieved by few. The outcomes are predictably tragic, destroyed and abandoned settlements, strewn bodies of failed challengers¡­ After an uneventful stop at a small village the convoy was closing in on the outskirts of the town of Viveria, its fortifications in the form walls peeking from the distance. Atop the carriages few privileged Araneae, notably Alicia¡¯s eldest conjured Araneae were riding along, unseen and unknown spare one exception. As they arrived at the outlying villages that surround the town the merchant offered to let them into the town and invited her to accompany him to the guild. Although initially Alicia was wary it soon became clear it wasn¡¯t another blandishing offer to recruit her, rather the man wished to express his gratitude by writing her a letter of reference which would aid their travel by allowing easier passage into town and cities. But his ulterior motive came to light under Cold reader. If she were to use the letter anywhere it would more or less announce to anyone that can read between the lines that she was already sort of picked up by him, a kind of a warning against anyone else that might try to cozy up to her. Still, it was a harmless gift as far as Alicia was concerned so she reluctantly accepted the offer¡­ The first offer she accepted out of many other proposals¡­ The sun was leaning towards the horizons and they had to start searching for lodging thus the letter would certainly come in handy as there is virtually no night time traffic to their next destination¡­ With a plan in mind their carriage passed through the gates with minimal inspection to the town of Viveria. Auratic Anyway as much as I wanted to slowly stream in the exposition, I didn''t have enough material to go around without being tangled in a single topic for at least two or three chapters so you get it in a one big condensed ball of info dump. Nobody likes these but take notes this will be on the exam! Ever thought what the -mancy suffix to a word means? Well its Greek meaning something along the lines of ''Divination'' specifically related to magic. Oh and the name Viviveria simply means ''Life'' in my monologistic butchering of certain language (Usually latin, greek and spanish with some healthy injection of Cyrillic phonetics) other towns and cities also have meaningful names isn''t that odd? Here''s another one Pyrinia means ''of the middle/heart'' or ''Corelands.'' The kingdom is basically shouting we are the center of the world, quite egotistical don''t you think? Or maybe it''s geologically placed in the middle of my head canon map, nah couldn''t be that. Chapter 64: Messenger Auratic At the town¡¯s entrance past its stone fortifications the girls parted ways with the merchant. Despite the hour growing late the place was still full of activity with footfalls of people and horse drawn wagons and carriages. For now they were on the lookout for a place to stay the night. Asking for pointers from their mercantile companion was a valid option, however Alicia wanted to avoid any further entanglements, especially with his growing interest in her. Or that was supposed to be the plan. Perhaps due to being in a familiar environment once again Rosalia was much more liberal now than she was anywhere else. With confident steps she led the way with Alicia in tow who had little grasp on the layout of the town and was willing to trust her, for now. Alicia herself was mentally caught up on communicating with her Araneae, thus she didn¡¯t give it much thought. Initially she was worried that she would have to leave the ones that couldn¡¯t enter with the convoy behind, but then she remembered that they were Araneae which could crawl up the stone walls effortlessly and slip past the bored guardsmen manning the fortification leaving them none the wiser. Clearly the walls were intended to keep out a different type of assailants; she wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the denizens of this world didn¡¯t even know about an existence similar to her or her familiars. The huntresses who perched themselves atop the towers along the walls had an excellent view of the town, feeding their new information back to Alicia. Although recognizing the specific buildings were challenging, thanks to her engineering knowledge she could quickly pick up on the larger zones of the town. ¡®Hm¡­ so we¡¯re near the south-eastern entrance currently in some sort of mixed use zoning of residential, commercial and guard stations?¡¯ She instructed her Huntresses to scout out the town briefly, sticking to the rooftops for better vantage as well as to avoid any encounters. They followed the activities of the citizens about to wrap up their day. ¡®Town hall and some plaza to the north¡­ near the center of the town huh¡­ Main roads seem to be rich with small commercial buildings¡­¡¯ Tough workers were finishing up their day¡¯s work and were looking for a place to grab a cool ale. ¡®South western side seems to be a sort of industrial zone¡­ random residential buildings¡­ Temple grounds were quiet with solemn monuments and statues watching over them, a few curates tending to the premises. The bell-ringer got himself ready to let the masses know it was time for rest. Religious buildings¡­ Ah that¡¯s what I¡¯m looking for, the Commercial district.¡¯ Merchants, vendors, peddlers and the common men alike streamed through the districts, their movements akin to the flow of coin changing hands. Their activity was centered around a single outstanding structure. It was hard not to notice it¡¯s demanding presence without needing any more evidence¡­ ¡®Bingo! That has to be the guild building. Wait where were we going again¡­?¡¯ Despite the fact that she tried to hide her alarm it was quite obvious that she was just as clueless as Alicia was moments ago; her faintly reddening face wasn¡¯t helping her either. Furthermore, as if to add insult to the injury¡­ ¡®Really¡­ her plan was to follow the main road until she came across it¡­ While it¡¯s not a bad idea and she would have eventually found the place, I would much rather take a direct path¡­¡¯ Grabbing onto her hand Alicia turned around and started making her way to the Guild. Without giving her a chance to protest they made a beeline to the commercial district. Weaving in and out of the gloomy back alleys she easily navigated the slithering, mazing paths as if she knew the place like the back of her hands, thanks in no small part to her Araneae providing her with a bird¡¯s eye view and guiding her along. In almost no time at all the Guild building was in their sights. Rosalia, however, was winded, gasping for air from trying to keep up with Alicia¡¯s pace. She wondered how she could move so fast when she appeared to be only walking rather briskly. She didn¡¯t even realize that she was in front of the guild until after she had her breath under control. She really wanted to ask Alicia several questions. How did she know where the guild was? How does she know there were paths in the mazing alleys? And most importantly¡­ How in god¡¯s name did she move so fast? Curbing her curiosity, she just focused on what she needed to do now. First floor walls of the three storey tall grandiose timber frame building were made out of stone masonry, with the upper floors being constituted by wood. Each floor after the first were jutting out more and more towards the streets due to jettying to create more space. Considerable amount of free space was allotted in front of it. Many guild¡¯s workers were going in and out of its doors. Jubilance of receiving well earned payment could be heard from across the street. Passing by a stream of people, soon they entered through the wide open doors. As the day was about to end, the guild halls were filled with agents, workers collecting their recompense. A number of notice boards were lining one of the side walls, housing the remaining commissions of the day. A few wood slates and papers with something drawn and scribbled on them. Behind a long counter staff were processing the completion of said commissions from a number of windows. People were handing in various items and received a purse or a bag of something in return. With the distinct clinking of small metallic objects coming from it, one could easily guess what it was. Against the other wall were benches, round tables topped with glass and bottles, chairs were placed behind it. It was a sort of waiting lounge as the paperworks were carried out. Finding a break to the people going to one of the windows, Rosalia quickly made her way to it. Alicia herself was keeping an eye on her from a distance while taking in the interior of the building. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling together with small windows to the outside provided adequate lighting. Number of wooden beams supported the building up. Behind the staff was a set of stairs led to the upper floors. As an engineer experiencing the architecture she could only find in textbooks and digital images authentically was fascinating. ¡®Oof, that sag isn¡¯t normal, something heavy must have been placed over there; nothing a nice strongback can¡¯t fix¡­ And there¡¯s some wood decay on the corners, they should really take a look at that, small things add up you know¡­ Is that a burn mark¡­?¡¯ Some habits die hard¡­ Regardless of their unusual getup not many people paid attention to either of them. After all, the guild halls were almost no different than a public space for both workers who carried commissions and the general citizens to make requests. Assistants of merchants, various apprentices, eccentric mages, all kinds of people gathered here and they fitted right in. Not long after, Alicia noticed Rosalia beckoning her though she looked somewhat distressed almost as if she couldn¡¯t find her. Before Rosalia knew it Alicia was already next to her, it seemed as if she just appeared out of nowhere. Even the clerk seemed to be surprised. The woman behind the counter quickly recomposed herself asking: ¡®She was about to send a letter wasn¡¯t she¡­? Right, she¡¯s broke¡­¡¯ When she placed a silver coin the clerk was even more surprised and confused. The courier service was often used by the townsfolk to send letters to their villages. However it wasn¡¯t rare for some merchants, wealthy citizens and low class nobles to use it either. She could tell what kind of standing someone had from their payments alone. Foreign and some careful local merchants, - despite being part of the guild - often paid the exact amount, not trusting them with their money to prevent any chance for skulduggery. Those of the peasant class often struggle with bags of copper they scrounge up for payment, sometimes overpaying or underpaying. Although she herself didn¡¯t get involved, in cases of overpaying, she has heard that others in her line of work were pocketing the extras without raising attention. Nobles often sent their servants to make use of the service. The clerk had assumed they were some nobodies sending a message to their no name rural village since one of them even forgot that they carried no money. That changed when she saw the silver coin; silver was out of the reach for most commoners, while merchants primarily dealt in silver amongst themselves. From her experience no sensible one would use it for something as small as the courier network. They simply didn¡¯t fit into any of the usual suspects that used the service. She only knew that they were wealthy and didn¡¯t care about the small currency of copper and bronze and she had to be careful with dealing with them. Displeasing someone important would end their life as the guild would simply cut them off to save face. After triple checking the change, she returned it in a small bag back to them. One of the most fundamental skill requirements of the guild¡¯s clerks was that they should possess basic scribe¡¯s abilities to be able to read and write as they needed to process transactions and other formalities in paperwork. Merchants often disliked writing themselves and had an assistant do it, same with nobles, but many peasants couldn¡¯t read or write at a high enough level and that¡¯s where their work came in. She has written many letters to home, family and whatnot in stead of others and could boast without a lie that she knew the lives of almost every kind of peasant. And that was the last confirmation she needed to know for sure that she was working with powerful people. After she handed them paper, ink and quill the first girl started writing. Just by looking at the speed and penmanship that had qualities of almost calligraphic precision, it was clear as a day she wasn¡¯t no comparison to her. She was just thankful she didn¡¯t dismiss them. Heads would¡¯ve rolled¡­ She noticed that the letter was done after the bright yellow hair girl imprinted something with her thumb¡­ She felt that there was a sudden draft of wind around her. She had seen similar cases before¡­ Magical sealing, a type of authentication in place of normal seals. There were various advantages and disadvantages to using it, but it was one of the favored methods of proving the writer¡¯s identity. Her heart stopped; she couldn¡¯t believe her own ears¡­ Rather, her ears were fine. Her mind just couldn¡¯t accept what she had heard. Someone sending letters to the local lords was rare, especially to the Valtima who were the cream crop of the aristocracy this side of the kingdom. Remembering that they still needed a place for accommodation Alicia took over after Rosalia. It was an unassuming note, but with a single look she froze in shock, recognizing the seal of the Albertini. ¡®I think I saw a library¡­ few a noble estates¡­ There¡¯s a lot of things I want to see¡­ Oh and I might be able to bulk buy some salt finally¡­¡¯ They arrived at the recommended place without much trouble. The bag of coins Alicia stored away garnered the attention of a few daring thugs hoping to swipe or burgle them as they exited the guild, but they quickly lost track of Alicia¡¯s whereabouts in the alleyways that they were supposed to know the best¡­ The letter would go on in its way the next morning; time would tell whether it would reach its intended recipient¡­ Auratic I got caught up in trying out a different schedule which is great for me but readjusting took time and I got distracted... a lot actually in addition to my assignments... Anyway I''ll try to get another chapter out this week pronto, Cheers. And yes I cheated, but that''s better than delaying. Chapter 65: Investment Auratic The duo of girls were standing outside a fairly large tavern-esque building sizing up its appearance. Under a roofed porch illuminated by a lantern containing a dwindling candle giving off small light next to the entrance, a wooden sign depicting a crudely drawn bed and a mug was affixed to let travellers know of their services. Unfamiliar scribbles were above and below the rough imagery. Though there were numerous windows, it was difficult to see much through it other than vague shapes and silhouettes due to the cloudy glass. The upper floor windows were even worse, covered in a layer of dirt and dust as the owners were not wiping it as often, owing to the fact that they couldn¡¯t even reach it without a ladder or the equivalent thereof. A gray smoke slowly flowed out of the chimney carrying the scent of sprucewood and roasted meat. The age of the building showed on from the discolored planks and beams, an old door fitted into an archway with a knocker, along with the cracked wall masonry. A path around the building led to a simple stable built into the structure, a watering trough was placed near it for the patrons¡¯ steed to stay the night. Stepping up to the door, Alicia was tempted to use the knocker but with a closer look she could see that it was already open. The door creaked softly as it opened when she put her hand against it and pushed. The interior was much larger and spacious than what anyone could infer from the outside. Few of the people staying at the inn were in the main dining area, either waiting for their meal, enjoying their food or washing it down with drinks and chatting. Barmaid serving customers their booze noticed the two and called out. The counter the girl mentioned was situated at the back of the hall, in the space below the stairs leading up to the second floor behind the beams supporting the walkway above it. Manning the bar was a man, the owner of the establishment most likely. Balding head, rotund physique, short bushy beard and a fierce gaze. Briskly walking up to the said person: After taking a short time to briefly inspect the two strangers he answered. Since Alicia put the requisite funds in front of him, the innkeeper''s open animosity quickly disappeared. Shifting his attention to the waitress girl: After quickly returning a tray of empty mugs and drying her hands on her apron, the girl begins to lead Alicia and Rosalia to their room grabbing a lit candle nearby. On the second floor walkway, the floorboards squeaked and creaked every other step as they put more distance between the eating area. The noise of the loud diners gradually died out leaving only faint indiscernible sounds and the occasional bursts of laughter could be heard by now. After picking through a keyring the waitress unlocked the door to their room. Going in she lit the various candles and lanterns in the room. A portion of the room¡¯s ceiling was slanted as it was part of structure that supported and made up the roof. Stepping inside, the room was furnished well with a desk, chair, fireplace, rug, some storage compartments and of course a bed for sleeping. Two beds in the room were separated from each other with a small end table that oddly looked like a rectangular stool. The rug was anything but soft, however it¡¯s intended purpose seemed to be that of an insulation and decor rather than comfort. After lighting the candles, the girl then turned her attention to the small fireplace at the side of the room close to the slanted ceilings, tossing in some wood and lighting up the tinder. After taking some time making sure the fire wouldn¡¯t go out by itself and seeing that there was enough firewood for the night: With those words she closed the door behind her and left, indicated by the squeaking floorboards. Although Alicia was doubtful about the sound insulation, the room was satisfactory. But she wasn''t sure if her expectations were warped because of her heightened senses. The place was off the beaten path as well, just as she asked of the clerk woman. Promptly Rosalia went towards one of the beds to lay down and stretch. Despite the comfortable journey without a lot of walking, the time spent on the road had worn her to the core. She had not yet completely recovered from her escape, the bruises on her cuffs were still pulsing with pain, she simply had gotten used to it to not notice it anymore. Alicia placed a small pocket of coins with enough fortune to transform the life of a plebeian on its head, despite the fact that it wasn''t even a change of pocket for anyone from a noble family. For broke Rosalia however, it was more than enough. As the door slowly closed by itself behind her¡­ ¡®Time for a little setup¡­¡¯ As soon as she left the inn she turned around a corner to a quiet alleyway, away from anyone¡¯s sight. Leaving behind a copy in hiding it served few purposes, first was to keep an eye on Rosalia while she was away and if needed it was for a quick return via Transposition. It¡¯s second purpose would come later in the night. Whilst they were taking care of the lodging Alicia¡¯s Araneae had a good grasp of the layout of the city. There were few places of interest that she wanted to have a look at, namely there were few places outside the town¡¯s walls. While all villages were expected to and are self sufficient in terms of food, towns and cities instead relied on the surrounding villages and wildlands to sustain itself. Though often looked at with disgust from the upper class they supplied their foods. And since the guardsmen and other peacekeepers were scarcely found in these ¡®beyond the wall¡¯ areas, the streets were run by thugs and mugging and thievery were rife. Of course these criminals were eventually caught and funneled to a certain type of establishments. As she passed beyond the buildings cast in fiery orange from the setting sun she found herself in front of one such place. Entering the modest building, she came into a sort of reception area with what could only be described as a small stage with curtains in at one side and at the other an open archway leading to a dimly lit corridor breaking into rooms. A show stage to promote the ¡®merchandise¡¯. The interior was dead silent from one the doors and a young man in a uniform like attire came forth looking to investigate the sound. As he noticed Alicia; Alicia caught the under the breath muttering to himself that was not supposed to be heard saying. ¡°but there are no meetings left for today¡­¡± Trying to identify her, the man was clearly trying to catch a glimpse under her hood. Pulling out an envelope she passed to the man who after recognizing the seal on the binding wax ushered her in. Walking through the gloomy corridors she was led to a small room with divan seatings and a short table with flowers on top of it. The room was well furnished with paintings of landscape, carpet flooring, sconce lighting. With those words he closed the door behind her and left. As she took a seat not long after there were faint taps on the door. She was roughly tracking the man¡¯s position based on his footsteps and this wasn¡¯t him or the owner of the establishment. She could faintly make out a sound of something being pushed which meant one of few things. Woman dressed in a servant¡¯s clothes came in pushing a tray of crockery, carrying a faint herbaceous scent. The girl quietly prepared a small cup of black tea and placed it in front of her. After serving the tea, she sidled up against the wall in the corner to make herself as inconspicuous as she could. Bringing the tea to her lips she sampled the burgundy liquid. ¡®Ah yes my favorite flavor¡­ Black tea accented with flavours of citrus and Dirt¡­ You know I should really try boiling one of those plants around the forest¡­ might get something better¡­ I was looking forward to some tea too¡­ It didn¡¯t immediately give me a gag reflex that¡¯s a passing grade so far¡­ How much do I need to give for a box of hundred piece tea bags? Yeesh. Having the guild¡¯s backing in cases like these is pretty nice¡­ Investment and networking with them wouldn¡¯t do me bad it¡­ ¡¯ Not long after the assistant man came back holding the door for another person. It was a tall, lean man with an indistinct appearance, draped long in robes that hid most of his bodily features that came clutching a ledger of sorts. The man looked more like a mage than a merchant. He apologized for the delay in a soft but clear voice. ¡®There it is¡­ Let¡¯s see what you have in your noggin¡­¡¯ ¡®Hmm¡­ Interesting¡­ Purchase is quite obvious in this case¡­ contracts however¡­ are like an indentured servant¡¯s contract¡­¡¯ He said before cueing the assistant who held the ledgeresque book near her cycling through its pages. ¡®Oh boy. Can¡¯t understand anything about it¡­ But isn¡¯t this quite short for everyone¡­?¡¯ When he answered the assistant went for the door and shortly thereafter came in leading the ¡®goods¡¯. ¡®Wait wait wait why are they not clothed?!¡¯ As many nobles, aristocrats and even merchants looking for a concubine or a servant preferred to inspect the bodies of slaves without any coverings, many slave traders forgoed the hassle of dressing and stripping their property. ¡®It¡¯s a goddamn sausage party! Why the-!¡¯ ¡®YEAH THANKS ALOT FOR BRINGING ATTENTION TO THEIR CROTCHES!¡¯ The trader had mistakenly thought Alicia was a bored noblewoman looking for a plaything to accompany her during ¡®lonely nights¡¯. For their husbands these purchases were bodyguards or ¡®Just a dashing set of muscles for her own safety¡¯. It wasn¡¯t his fault that he jumped to conclusions either, that was what most high standing women in cloaks came here for in the end. It didn¡¯t help that she also didn¡¯t specify the purpose of the servant. After realizing her mistake she cleared her throat to bring the owner back on track of the subject matter. The trader gave short introductions to the various slaves they passed through. During which Alicia was collecting her thoughts on the slave culture of the kingdom and most likely the word at large. Contract slaves were in a type of indentured servitude where someone sells their body and labor or takes out a loan, this has a finite duration between a year to a decade. Of course normal free citizens accused of a minor crime that cannot pay the fines are often turned into an indentured servant where they earn their freedom through work. And in some other cases it is even considered a valid career working for the local government for people who struggle to find professional employment. While it may seem like a decent enough system there are ways to abuse it when it is carried out by a personal firm. Placing the slave in a catch twenty-two with arbitrary and often confusing terms of contract that allows for a lifetime of slavery. And when the slave outlives their usefulness they decide to toss them to the streets by randomly concluding their contract. After almost a lifetime of toiling when they¡¯re frail, old and without value to anyone, they are ¡®rewarded¡¯ with a life in the gutters to fend for themselves without a place to stay or any possessions to their name. This was much more affordable that even some wealthy citizens could hire them. The other type is much more straightforward in its function. A slave in its entirety is owned by the master and freedom is never guaranteed. With the strict stratified society embedded in the caste system even their children are considered a property of the master. How they enforce compliance of the slave is interesting. A set of objects called bindings of allegiance is used which seems to be a poor replica of bonds of subjugation that it is trying to mimic. Or that¡¯s how Llynbel identified some of the metallic collars, cuffs and anklets found from the Brigands tossing them aside in disgust. Though weaker than the Bonds¡¯ all powerful effects of complete domination. The bindings held the same type of enchantments. Where the bonds could apply any number of stipulations in absolute compliance, bindings can do so for only a few clauses the most common of which is ¡®You may never take part in an action to harm your master¡¯. While it weakly enforces any other commands from the said master. She was curious about the whole process as it could pose a risk to her, the twins or the girls at the lodge. Reason for that was when she later came across the objects¡­ >Possible protocol compatibility detected with skill: ¡°Domination¡±. Trigger activation of foreign objects for full analysis. She guessed that Alma wanted to see it in action to ascertain some usefulness but Alicia was sceptical about even trying it. In this world¡¯s human culture, slavery was an accepted part of society. Their labour was used ubiquitously from agriculture and construction to service and entertainment. Now as the ¡®front¡¯ goods were already shown¡­ they turned towards stairs leading down below ground. Entering the stone tiled dungeons she was brought to a row of cells¡­ There were few that she really thought who could help her with the work on the lodge and establishing a proper settlement but she was reserving that judgement until she saw everything at offer. Here slaves in training were kept. Their eyes held a mixture of emotions but defiance and fear were most prominently seen. She understood why the owner was apprehensive about showing them to her. Intrigued by his words she continued on, this time paying attention. In one cell an elf-like woman caught her attention, unlike the elves of Velauhart she was more voluptuous and had a more mature appearance. The biggest difference was her ears. They were shorter and droopy compared to what she was used to. As she continued on, she saw a curled up person in one of the cells. Although she almost overlooked her, through pallesthesia she noticed the odd vibrations coming off of her far too different from normal human breathing. Her black hair had strange spots and streaks of gray green making her believe that she was diseased. When he pointed out Alicia noticed the outline of her feline ears. A sharp glare was her answer. The girl stirring up from the commotion looked at the two people conversing outside her cell, her rounded pupils narrowed to a slit and her ears flattened back, hissing. A clear sign of aggression. With a scoff of disbelief Alicia walked away prompting the man to follow. It was a painful truth about an insecurity he had, plucked right from the recesses of his mind and spit back at him through Cold Reader. A little twisting of the knife in the wound was all that she needed for the man to relent. Although he could have sold the Lithiline to less reputable, illegal traders as a last resort, they would figure out at that point he was desperate to be rid of her and would degrade the value even further to the point of not being able to recoup the investment sunk into her. Three gold and twenty-five silver. It was a modest price way below expected commercial value of a lithiline slave. They would be sold around from anywhere between eight to eleven gold pieces but that was only if the said slave was trained well, eager to ¡®please¡¯ and had decent enough looks in addition to at least one professional skill. What he had was a possibly feral juvenile without any training or known skill. Though she has the looks for it right now, it might be lost as she reaches her species maturity. Right now she was, as Alicia said, a deadstock with his current price and uncertain if it would gain or lose value as time went on. If he took her offer on the other hand¡­ he would at most be breaking even. In addition he would be able to use space for another slave that is much more easily handled with a pliable mindset for growth. What impressed him was her in-depth knowledge on the subject matter. She wasn''t a mere bored noblewoman trying to find entertainment, she was an educated maven of the trade. Weighing in the options in his mind for while he came to his conclusion. ¡®You know¡­ Cold reader is quite scary¡­ it¡¯s always the things that people that are worried about that surface most clearly in their minds¡­ Imagine if diplomats had this¡­ yikes. Well I could have gone further¡­ but I think he¡¯ll start sussing me out from how much private information I know. Besides, if you can look past his dubious career he¡¯s surprisingly decent for a slave dealer¡­ I can''t find any traces of violence in his memory either just¡­¡¯ Back in the meeting room, after giving him the funds he had his assistant count it as she made most of her payment in silver. Eventually the counting was done and the assistant tried to return the excess payment. The tall slave trader said, pointing to a paper binding. ¡®Signature¡­? Is it like what Rosalia did with her letter? What do I just infuse the paper with mana? And the imprinting process¡­? Oh that must for the bindings, rightio¡­¡¯ Before the assistant could give her a quill and ink she had placed her left index fingertip on it pouring her magic onto the paper. With a faint white glow her fingerprint was engraved on top of it. The color of the mark was shifting from one hue to another in pearlescent white even without changing the angle of view. Everyone else was stunned silent, it was extremely rare someone would use their seal for something like a slave¡¯s contract but what is more baffling was the nature of it. These magical seals were normally invisible to the magically inept and barely visible to those who aren¡¯t. The opacity, color and feel of the seal was based on the user¡¯s total magical energy pool. The owner was in awe because not only was it clearly visible to him but to his magicless assistants as well judging from their amazement staring at the paper, for it was their first time seeing a seal. After she finished, he started to rub the marked area with his fingers in disbelief. Here another peculiarity arose, one could feel the nature or the affinity of one¡¯s magic through their seal. Warmth like it was freshly branded meant fire element, grainy texture like if one was rolling a bunch of sand between his fingers meant earth and so on. Hers had quality never seen before, it had texture like that of smooth silk caressing his fingers and¡­ something else he couldn¡¯t fathom. This meant that this lady- no this mistress possessed energy unknown quality of such quantity that it was visible to the naked eye. ¡®Did I screw something up¡­? Why¡¯re you looking at me like that¡­ Hello?¡¯ She was brought to a different room that was mostly empty. The Lithiline girl was taken in in bonds by a pair of helpers, she was languid under the influence of a sedative. ¡®Well Alma make sure you¡¯re paying attention¡­¡¯ As she attached the collars on the girl¡¯s slender neck and clicked it shut, one after the other, a domino of events occurred. First it felt as if her essence was being instilled on the collar, then¡­ >Compatibility Analysis underway¡­ Processing¡­ >Viability assessment underway¡­ Processing¡­ >Analysis complete. ¡°Domination¡± skill educement information acquired. ¡®What a lovely¡­ encouraging educement options I¡¯ve gotten¡­ Those are not worrying at all.¡¯ >Report. Mind altering effects of the foreign objects can be overridden by ¡®Domination¡¯. >Unable to dispel. Insufficient data. 34.1% When Alicia was finished with her ¡®purchase¡¯ the night sky was waiting for her outside. She made her way back to the inn she was staying with Rosalia. ¡®I completely forgot I was supposed to get something for Rosalia¡¯s wrists¡­ It¡¯s late now¡­ I could just spin her a silk bandage¡­ Oh I know what I can do. Alma can you help me synthesize something to heal her wounds?¡¯ >Processing request. Solution: Accelerated production of tissue factors of salivary glands acquired from the species ¡®Lupus Tromero¡¯. Admixing general antiseptics, Antivirals. New skill acquired. ¡®Oh so that¡¯s why the wolves are always licking themselves¡­ I should have caught on to it sooner. Salvaged! Alright here we go¡­¡¯ When she arrived, the sixth bell had just rung indicating the lateness of the night. After tapping on the door to announce her arrival she entered. Rosalia was dressed in a nightgown sitting behind the slanted writing desk reading a book she found from somewhere turned around greeted her. ¡®I shouldn¡¯t tell her that I almost got sold ¡®bodyguards¡­¡¯ Is that a nightgown¡­?¡¯ Although it had come a long way in its healing process starting to form scabs around the edges, it was still a gruesome sight to look at. From her cloak she pulled out a pristine dressing, darkened with dampness. As soon as she placed the bandage on the injury a refreshing coolness overtook the residual pain as she wrapped it up. The elastic swathe self adhered without the need of tight knotting. She looked at the open book resting on the table. With those words Alicia reached for the bed. It is a given that she didn¡¯t need sleep but¡­ she had a role of a ¡®normal¡¯ person that she had to play into. Few hours later Rosalia blew out all the candles and didn''t take long for sleep to take hold over her. That¡¯s what Alicia judged based on her heartbeat and breathing pattern. ¡®I¡¯ve never thought of it like this but listening in to someone¡¯s heartbeat without them knowing is creepy¡­ I mean I wouldn¡¯t want a giant spider disguised as a human listening to my heart¡­ It could be plotting something. Anyway¡­¡¯ Swapping locations with her mirror image created earlier, she was now outside the confines of the building, standing atop of it. Night''s crisp breeze was pleasantly reinvigorating. Night was still too young for the sleepless¡­ ¡®Let¡¯s go for a real walk shall we¡­?¡¯ Auratic This photo is from... you guessed it, Australia. I''m not too sure of it''s species but I can give it a shot and call it an Araneus. There once was youtube comment coining the idea of a hero being summoned to an Isekai being an Australian summoner who unleashes the hell that is the Australian ecosystem. I guess I''m helping him... Anyway we have catgirls now... I''m mostly satisfied with how I''m going with their physiology, species diversity based on geographic location, phenotypic variation, climates and how they''re related with therianthropy. I shall finally address the 4 ears dilemma. Also, I have no idea how this chapter fares on the grammar and sentence structure, google documents says it looks good so I''ll believe it. Though gramatically correct doesn''t always mean literarily sound or that it makes sense. So if catch anything odd you can just comment down below and I''ll eventually fix it... Maybe not but I''ll try. These personality tests are getting too real tbh. Chapter 66: Remembrance In the dead of night against the dark backdrop of blackened skies, a white phantasmal being glided from rooftop to rooftop with superb agility. It was trailed by wisp like apparitions blinking in and out sight, yet none would witness their invisible parade. It¡¯s next stop was at a certain commercial hub. Although their operations had slowed down to a near stop there were quite a few staff still sifting through paperwork and inventory. ¡®Let¡¯s try the front door first¡­¡¯ Reason for Alicia¡¯s intrusion was to gather as much information as she could from. During the day she and her Araneae would go around scouring town and its premises, noting down places of interest from the legal side of things. During the night where activity dies down, she would help herself with some reconnaissance. Despite her overwhelmingly potent stealth skill which in reality would allow her to waltz right into a castle on high alert, assassinate its lord and slip out without anyone noticing, she was erring on the side of caution. Determining how effective her skill is going to be on people required her to use Soul Echo, a skill that immediately breaks stealth upon use. Not leaving anything to chance, she always assumed the worst and made her way up. Additionally guilds had records of transactions which meant at the very least she could determine the market price of goods. The funds acquired from her encounter with the brigands while impressive it was impermanent and would deplete sooner or later. Securing a stable source of income would afford her some freedom of action in interacting with any civilizations using currency. After some maneuvering and sticking to ceiling corners of rooms and hallways, hiding behind chandeliers. Alicia found her inside a dark archive-like room holding numerous scrolls and paperwork. Reading was an especially difficult challenge for her as all letters looked like scribbled gibberish to her. Borrowing her little knowledge gained from Faenas and racking her mind through other documents she could make some sense out of them, after a painstakingly long study. Besides what she wanted, which was the market prices of day to day goods and luxury products she gained a bit more nuanced understanding of the guilds¡¯ inner workings. How they first came to be seems to be borne from few merchants thinking cooperatively rather than competitively. Centralizing their specialized skills and trade into a single organization with more to offer to all potential customers not only cut costs of labor and increased their profits but also allowed for easier access to resources and raw materials as there wasn¡¯t a need for competition among the guild members. This was a massive success and quickly spread over much of the civilized world. Since then the guild¡¯s changed and evolved as time went on and turned into its current form. Interestingly, despite being under the rule of the monarchy and needing the city or the town¡¯s governing lord¡¯s permissions to establish themselves, they have quite a bit of influence on the government¡¯s decisions. Furthermore while they are all known collectively as the guild, they are not a transnational entity or a unified organization. Similar as they may be, their individual internal rules and regulations vary wildly between each establishment. At the end of the day, whoever it is and whatever service or goods they are offering they must go through the guild otherwise they can be issues in forms of suppression, antagonization and fines. ¡®Monarchies and Monopolies, lovely¡­¡¯ The use of agents in manual labour was a recent development in terms of the guild¡¯s services however being a big hit it too also was adopted quickly. Many towns and cities belonging to the very same country has a very deeply rooted nationalistic views among it¡¯s citizenship, and guild¡¯s were no different. Although there have been some efforts given to breaking down these walls it had a long way to go. One example of it comes up in the form of agent migration. There is a certain ranking given to agents which is basically how valued and trusted that person was to a specific guild. The system varies from place to place but metal based systems seem to be widely adopted starting from bronze and ending in adamtite or orchicalcum. The ranks entitled them to some perks and benefits from the guild like favorable rewards, better prices with guild vendors and so on. Higher your rank goes, the better deals you get. But if the agent wants to move to another town they have to start over again from the bottom. A scheme to both keep their talent from streaming out but also to keep outsiders away. Here reference letters, like the one Alicia received, play their part. Guilds often exchange these letters to recommend an agent to one and another. Looking through reports of commissions completed previously revealed an interesting insight to the guild¡¯s policies. Agents were not confined to their respective parties. The parties for commissions were formed based on what is necessary for the successful completion of the commission. Parties had to meet the requirements set by the commissioner, be it magecraft, brute force, specific professional skills or simply numbers before they were set out and were disbanded as soon as they returned. However it was not rare for some close individuals to come together again. The rewards are set and agreed upon beforehand and any extra gains were decided internally. Success of a commission was not just determined by the completion but also survival rate, client satisfaction, completion and so on. If the party underperformed, only the base rewards would be given and they may even lose progression to their next rank. If a member went missing, everyone¡¯s payments were withheld for up to fifteen days until they returned or docked by up to half if there was a fatality. A policy to discourage any out of sight shenanigans. Right when she thought she was done another intriguing fact cropped up from documents. Many guilds were in control of something¡­ the words used were completely alien to her but it read through them over and over again cross referencing along the way she could piece together a rough understanding of the objects mentioned. In certain places all across the country and perhaps even the world, an unstable doorway to ¡®other worlds¡¯ open temporarily. Guilds took it up to themselves with researching, exploring, evaluating and ultimately securing the realms beyond the doors wherever they can and the monarch of Pyrinia at least seems to invest some funds into backing the guild operations to these endeavors. ¡®Where there¡¯s profit to be made, there¡¯ll be merchants¡­ but it¡¯s not all that happy go lucky it seems¡­ the portals can close unexpectedly, forever stranding hapless workers and adventurers or change exit locations without notice. And they can be located in some perilous places¡­ Judging from the various reports people see strange flashes in the sky, sailors find glowing¡­ things deep within the dark abyss of oceans. And if I¡¯m interpreting this one correctly, one portal straight up opened into a volcano, I can imagine the looks on the faces of the people¡¯s face who tried to stick their hands through it. There¡¯s more to it but¡­¡¯ Looking around she couldn¡¯t find any more records about the subject. ¡®Confidential information that I won¡¯t just find lying around in a dusty room is it¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll get anything else from here¡­ I do know another place¡­¡¯ Tidying up the binded scrolls and leatherback books as best as she could she made her quiet escape. ¡®Seeing how they can get a lucky haul sometimes and bring in interesting stuff I suppose the risks are worth it¡­ Hopefully they don¡¯t notice the break in¡­ These guys don¡¯t know about forensics right¡­? I should make myself a pair of gloves.¡¯ Needlessly worrying about her fingerprints left behind she turned towards her next destination¡­ the noble estates away from the town. Although towns sometimes had libraries and archives known as lyceum or bibliotheca depending on the culture, they were scarcely available to the public or had enough useful information. In comparison, wealthy merchants and noble families had accrued quite the collection of literature over time and that¡¯s what she wanted. In addition to learning more about the ¡®doorways¡¯ she had hoped to find out more about practically everything. This world was still far too foreign for her with countless unknowns. For a start, she wanted to know about the history and the culture of the kingdom and its neighbours if possible. In no time at all she was in the landshaft1Landshaft Design of a three storey tall manor some ways off the town, of whose property it was, she did not know. She only picked one based on impressiveness. ¡®I should¡¯ve asked Rosalia about the prominent figures around here¡­ too late now. That balcony looks promising¡­ I guess they don¡¯t expect assassins to be scaling the walls through the front huh¡­ Sorry for the intrusion¡­¡¯ As soon as she entered the building, something felt ever so slightly¡­ off, trusting her instincts she quickly stuck to the ceilings honing her senses to identify the cause. Giving all her attention to pallesthesia she started locating all people on the inside, guards with their heavy footfalls patrolling the lower floors, the masters¡¯ peaceful resting breaths, tired servants¡¯ snoring snooze and finally found the reason for her unease among all the distractions. From one end of the long hallway she was in, a single individual¡¯s prowling footsteps caught her attention. They were dressed in a servant¡¯s attire and held no candle holder or any source of light, apparently the pale moon¡¯s glow was enough for them. However unmistakably Alicia saw their eyes¡¯ green glow, recognizing it to be similar to the direwolves¡¯ piercing gaze in the night. Even some of her Araneae, the ones that are especially active possessed it and she herself was no exception. The reflective coverlet. ¡®Therianthrope¡­ but what morph¡­?¡¯ Therianthropes were beings standing on the border between beast and man. Lithiline she decided to ¡®procure¡¯ too was a therianthrope. Gifted with the sharpened senses of their wild counterparts to a somewhat lesser degree. Regardless, they made for excellent sentries compared to the average humans sometimes earning them a place in higher echelons of society. Realizing that there was an actual, albeit low, risk of being compromised, Alicia started taking things a bit more seriously than her trespassing into the guild. She shut her eyes without hesitation as her own eyes were reflective in certain light conditions as well. Even blind, she could easily track the therianthrope. As they arrived right under her they seemed to crouch down sniffing and looking around¡­ A thought crossed her mind to use transposition in an event that she¡¯s discovered to retreat back to the inn and immediately dispel the image into a puddle of water so as to not leave any trace behind other than a wet carpet, however there were few key details someone perceptive could notice and use to correlate her involvement, it would be a minor problem even if that were to happen. There was however, another way¡­ she just hoped it wouldn¡¯t come down to her injecting a couple lethal doses of neurotoxin to someone innocent. An effeminate sneeze filled the hall for a brief moment. After a few sniffles the therianthrope continued down the hallway going past her. Opening her eyes after they had passed her she noticed a bushy tail peeking out under their uniform. ¡®Canidmorph¡­ Seems like she¡¯s closer to wolves than anything else¡­ which subspecies I have no idea¡­ Just avoid her and find the study or something equivalent¡­ maybe stick to the ceilings¡­ yeah that sounds good¡­¡¯ After the perceived close call she managed to find the private office next to the lord¡¯s bedchambers. Only thing barring her passage were the locked doors. However, her hex crawlers could easily slip underneath the gap of the doors and with them sharing what they saw allowed her to use Trespass to gain entry. Just as she expected, there were bookshelves well stocked with plenty of books. Through light browsing with a fingertip¡¯s worth of flame illuminating the texts, she found no information related to the portals the guild studies. However she did find some history books containing the information about the first Nobles of the countries, about the demon lords and a recent and hopefully more accurate map of Pyrinia showing it¡¯s strategic towns and settlements. Since she couldn¡¯t copy or take it with her without raising alarms she tried her best to wrap her head around the details. Alicia¡¯s overly abridged study of the history of humanity went as follows. When mankind first shifted towards sedentary lifestyle through the advent of agriculture and the first of civilization started to form obviously some were more privileged than others. Many of today¡¯s aristocrats were descendants of families who owned particularly fertile land fit for farming. You own the land, you own the food - a currency that everyone needs to survive. When you have food that other people want they¡¯ll be much more inclined to trade you for it for something that you don¡¯t have. Craftsmen who could make better tools, builders for comfortable houses and so on. Those who didn¡¯t have anything better to offer basically offered their services. They worked the lands for the ¡®wealthy¡¯ landowners - which were more or less a tribe of extended family - to earn their food. These low class workers were valuable as more people meant they could work more land and therefore more food. More food meant more people coming and before you know it, the very first forms of civilization came to be. In this society the original land owners were obviously more important and were fit to rule making them the proto nobility, even if they weren¡¯t called as such during that time, more like god-king so and so. The other option to nobility was far more simpler and violent. You get a lot of swords, tons of men who were willing to listen to you and went on to raid other people for food if you didn¡¯t have such arable land for farming. Sometimes you could just kill the leading class and take their place, securing yourself both ¡®citizens¡¯ to work the land and getting a nice place to call home. There was an obvious appeal for this militaristic approach. Strong and plentiful soldiers were an effective deterrent for any rivals that would seek raid food supplies. ¡°If you can¡¯t protect what¡¯s yours, do you really deserve it?¡± was their mentality. Although seemingly barbaric, this was exactly how some earned the prestigious title of nobility. Eventually people learnt to deal with things diplomatically leading to the first of the kingdoms and empires forming however the quarrelsome nature never truly went away with history always being fuel for future conflicts. As for demon lords, it seemed to have more fiction than facts, reading more like a legend or a story than a documentation. Even the few hex crawlers she brought with her were listening to her inner reading voice as if they were here for a storytime. However two stories stood out in particular, Lillian the whore-mother and Unnamed wolven beast known as Scourge of gods. What brought Alicia¡¯s attention to these stories were their backgrounds, if they were to be believed. Both seemed to come out of nowhere quickly, possessing arcane knowledge and brought about great disasters for humans. Lillian appears to be quite the carnal individual seeking pleasure for herself from pretty much anything. Described as having ¡®bewitching looks that seduced man and beast alike¡¯ ¡®horns of a ram¡¯, ¡®claws of burning passion¡¯, ¡®leathern wings blacker than the skies of moonless nights,¡¯ ¡®the devouring serpent at her back¡¯ which appears to be a roundabout way of saying she had a prehensile tail and lastly ¡®hair of chiseled marble¡¯ who rallied prostitutes and turned them to demons of lust before simply disappearing. Alicia wasn¡¯t sure if it was some sort of admirer¡¯s love letter or factual account. The scourge is an interesting case. It was described as a wolven beast of humongous size, capable of running over mighty trees with ease. It¡¯s most famous case is that it absolutely destroyed a religious city-state located in a searing desert said to be the home to the one true god by bringing about a relentless blizzard among other accounts of deicide hence its name. And of course, it seemed to be regarded as a god of sorts itself by wolves during its time, with some societies even taking to worshipping it. Again the curious fact about it was its physical appearance. The scourge of gods was known to have a fur white as the first flake of snowfall with streaks of frosty blue. His story ends with a little more closure. It is said that he retreated to boreal forests seeking the tallest peaks of indeterminate location, where supposedly he still resides. Legends say that one he will descend from the mountains to devour gods once more. ¡®As much as I want to dismiss this¡­ apparently there are people who are out there still worshipping white wolves believing them to be the messenger from their morally ambiguous god¡­ It¡¯s gotten real easy to read now all of the sudden¡­ Who set that big ball of fire¡­? Oh¡­ the sun¡­ of course. Wait, The Sun! What time is it? Did I miss the first bell?! I need to get out of here!¡¯ After making a hasty cleanup she made her exit safely. ¡®Ooof, close call there. Right what was I going to do today¡­ Ah right I need to bulk buy salt, some hinges and nails, maybe some farming tools¡­ Oh and find someone who can buy my excess silk cloth and garbs, hopefully get a long term deal going¡­ Alright back to playing into my role of a normal girl¡¯ As she was thinking of the agenda for the day, the first bell rang, rousing the townspeople and with it carriage left for the regional capital carrying Rosalia¡¯s message among other documents¡­ Auratic I was bit late because assignments and midterms, yaaay but also I needed to get the Waifu and I did. What did it cost? 12160 primo gems but I have her so all is good. Okay but why silk flowers? There''s like only 20 of them a day and I don''t have friends for silk flower farming hello? Chapter 67: Rat king Moving from one receding shadow to another, Alicia hastily headed back towards the town. After finding a suitable hiding location she used the sub-ability of Mirror image to return to the inn. As the skill took effect her vision blurred and distorted until clearing up into the sight of familiar wood panels, finding herself under the covers of heavy and rough blanket. ¡®Maybe I should have changed into proper sleepwear before I swapped it¡¯s sweaty in here¡­¡¯ As she made up the bed lightly, she honed in on her senses. She could only feel the few presences awake and about with others stirring, soon to wake. Rosalia, however, was still deep in her dreams. Stepping out of their room and walking down the stairs she came across the waitress girl from the previous night sloppily dressed and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Stifling a creeping yawn she inquired. Handing over a few spare change. Pocketing the money the girl responded quickly, the last of her sleepiness eliminated. Alicia took in all the ambiance of the quickly rousing townscape as she walked around the streets. She didn¡¯t have a specific destination in mind simply wandering about, taking in the scenery. Wagons driven by bullock-like creatures went by every now and then. Shops opened their doors and windows and small businesses set up their stalls. Pleasant aroma of freshly baked bread suffused through the air. Despite the enticing smell, Alicia knew better to not get her hopes up. ¡®Freshly fired bricks¡­ my favorite.¡¯ Alicia was recalling the details of the map found in the noble estate; the kingdom was, broadly speaking, divided into four major counties: Vathergand to the north, Tol Rupeasa to the west, Jongaarde to the south and of course Valtima to the east. Of these two were especially thriving; Vathergand due to bordering the sea had healthy maritime industries, trade through sea and fisheries. Valtima on the other hand had flatlands and particularly fertile soil meant it supplied much of the food of the kingdom and were of strategic importance. Even the lands currently unsettled could be turned into bountiful farmlands after some land reclamation works with the outlying bogs and marshlands. Interestingly Velauhart forest was drawn to be part of the kingdom. However in truth it seems only to be to the effect of a political land claim as it appears to be a contested territory. Besides contesting with the extremely hostile fauna, the ever so prevalent Empire and even theocracy - who doesn¡¯t even border the region - seems to all have claims on the territory. Though no one seems to have the gall to actually put their flag on the ground. Everyone wants to be the king or the emperor ruling the whole wide world but unfortunately in order to actually make the land their own they need to back it up with something concrete such as citizens living in the land, soldiers manning the borders and so on. Due to its nature Velauhart was a veritable jewel for countries. The forest itself was just piles upon piles of timber waiting to be harvested, its soils rife for farming and the mountains hid ores and treasures unspoken. Apparently many expeditions from many powers were sent in to set a foothold but all ended in disaster for various reasons. Eventually everyone distanced themselves from the forest some calling it sacred, specifically the theocracy. ¡®Well let¡¯s see¡­ we have giants and ogres just hanging about in the woods wandering about trying to turn you into a burnt charcoal they call lunch, a territorial and extremely genocidal water spirit, Dragonhawks who will swoop down and pick you up like man-child before plummeting you to your doom, swarm of giant wasps wanting to turn you into their seedbed for their maggots, a horde of warboars who can spit roast skewer you, an endless number of carnivorous ants that can dismantle you down to your bone given the chance and until recently a fire spirit in the form of a fat ass dragon just chilling in the mountains. Oh and I guess now, it has a huge spider infestation. Honestly sounds like a great place to live. I don¡¯t see why they wouldn¡¯t go for it.¡¯ Strolling through the forums and the flea market Alicia stocked up on important necessities for when she returned to the forest, bags upon bags of salt and spices. She bought them from different vendors to avoid the suspicion of why a single person needed so much salt and how she was going to carry it. The aim was to find someone who would be willing to regularly buy the silk and other silken products she would procure. Of course, customers who pay, tickle vendors pink, and happy vendors are more than willing to run their mouths with all kinds of wild speculations. Though most are useless fluff, there are some that have merit to it. Alicia had found a firm that held promise, yet after a brief meeting it became clear they were more into exploiting and squeezing as much profits for themselves out of a deal rather than make a long term contract. With Cold Reader, peering through their malign intents was straightforward and the Bazaar master was dumbfounded on how quick she was to back out of it. Alicia arrived back at the inn, now tranquil in the early morning without customers'' vigorous consumption of alcohol. When she entered the room, Rosalia had changed out of her sleepwear and into a more casual attire, examining her wrists. In only a single night the injury had healed without a trace. Rosalia herself didn¡¯t notice it but the silken wrapping had shrunk significantly in size. For Alicia, its maker, the change was obvious but she had no idea why that was. >Regenerative Saliva rich with virgin stem cells. Reconstruction accelerated by engrafting process. ¡®You telling me my spit was, IS alive, did it drink her blood and scabs too?¡¯ >Waste products, recycled, repurposed, resource for restoration procedure. Eventually Rosalia noticed Alicia standing in the doorway. She said pointing to one of the end tables. Trying it out she was mildly disappointed. ¡®Hard on the teeth¡­ too much sugar¡­ and only sugar¡­ I know girls like sweet things but damn. I can physically feel cavities forming on my teeth and my blood sugar levels spiking.¡¯ >Self Diagnosis unfounded. ¡®Let me have my moment.¡¯ After little pondering she answered. After yearningly looking at the book placed on the writing desk for a short while she turned her head back to continue the conversation. Leaving behind a few crawlers that were with her, they started making themselves at home in the corners of the ceilings. Her image was hiding on top of the rooftops amidst the chimneys of the building as a quick return in case of an emergency. It would have been a constant energy drain without Gemini. As she was making her way out of the inn, an out of breath but familiar man was at the entrance, supporting himself against the doorway. ¡®Him again¡­ Can¡¯t just ignore him, let¡¯s just greet him and try to slip past¡­¡¯ Quickly self-tidying to make himself a little more presentable he responded. With that she tried go around him but he stepped in front of her; ¡®How did he even¡­ of course the tattletales at the guild¡­ Well, well, well if it isn¡¯t the consequences of my actions.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re damn persistent I¡¯ll give you that, if anything I¡¯ll hear you out for it.¡¯ As she went on with her day she understood the reason for his visit became clear, and where she tripped. At first she thought she brought attention to herself due to her large acquisitions of salt but rather her viability studies. Turns out it is quite noticeable for someone to go around researching prices, buying habits and interests of people despite her roundabout way of doing it made it difficult to catch on. And he had caught wind about the products she was trying to sell, still it is remarkable how he came to realize what she was trying to do with just scattered dots of information. While they were walking through a particularly crowded market a street rat started to tail them. Rats were those living in slums homeless and without work you could find them in almost any town big or small. They staved off starvation by means of pickpocket, theft and other petty crimes carried out in dark alleyways, this in turn made them the perfect population for slavers to target. Money made from them lined the pockets of many thus not everyone was willing to do much about them. They could be called rats for those reasons alone and the rat infested slums they lived in did them no favors. The said rat in this case was a young boy thin and frail but motivated by a growling stomach he possessed incredible agility for his size. He was waiting for an opportunity to swipe a bag of money they carried. In his mind the man was a fat merchant incapable of doing anything for himself without his manservants by him and the girl was a pampered princess that didn''t know the difficulties of life, in other words, easy pickings. After some patience he was rewarded with his chance¡­ It all happened so quickly, Alicia¡¯s sense of vibrations were overloaded with all the crowd around her that she didn¡¯t immediately pick up on the oddity of the boy¡¯s actions behind them. However in an instant the kid took the bag her instincts told her something was wrong and before she knew Alice moved her body for her, their back twisting in an unnatural movement to catch the boy¡¯s wrist. Some might say it was a dance move if they had seen the whole action. Screams soon ensued followed by someone yelling ¡°Thief!¡± and with that guards were alerted. Alicia was more surprised by Alice''s sudden movements and the weird posture they had taken like they were the subject of some artistic statue. A pair of sentries soon pushed through the crowd and arrested the child, with his thin limbs he fought to free himself the best he could but lacked the strength to overcome an adult. Correcting her awkward pose Alicia looked straight into the eyes of the merchant beside her. An evaluating gaze with its intents unclear was cast towards him. Even as an expert who closed many deals beforehand, Albertini still couldn¡¯t quite fathom the reason, however it was curious and attentive in nature, as if waiting for his next actions. There was a subtle pressure behind Alicia¡¯s gaze, encouraging him to hurry; he didn¡¯t know what he should do however. But trusting his intuition; Surprise and murmurs spread throughout the crowd that had gathered around them As soon as the grip on him slackened the boy darted away pushing through the people and disappeared into an alleyway. As soon as the child was let go, Alicia turned around and started walking away. Albertini, who just noticed that she had gone away, quickly ran after her to catch up before he lost sight. In the short time they made contact Soul Echo activated by itself. The slum kid didn¡¯t seem to realize what Alicia was in the chaos. Only seemingly being extremely scared of her. But on the other hand small glimpses of information slid through in that short time. With the most intriguing being his one and only trait: Thinking that he passed her test he was happy to lead Alicia to one of his firms¡­ Within the castle Kostranald Rosalia¡¯s first letter arrived¡­ It was received by a certain noble who started to quickly panic and burn the letter, stamping it to ashes with his heels. Similar fate awaited the second one sent to the estate of the House Valtima had it not been for a coachman nearing his retirement who received the letter on behalf of the servants of the house, delivering it to his master in person¡­ A retainer quickly rode for Viveria¡­ Closely tailed by an elderly coachman taking his vacation leave¡­ Auratic Chapter 68: Miscommunications Near the edge of the commercial districts stood the merchant¡¯s - comparatively smaller than most - office of his firm. Being led in through the staff door through the back of the building she was quickly brought into his humble and little personal room. ¡®I¡¯m basically a tree hobo, who am I to judge¡­¡¯ After quickly tidying the contents of his room he sat down behind his desk in front of her. Though surprised, he recomposed himself easily wearing a troubled smile. There was a period of uncomfortable silence as Albertini anticipated a surname from her, before she clarified. He wasn''t having it, thinking that it was an alias or something in the similar vein; the way she handled herself, the ephemerality that makes her seem as if she would disappear like an illusion borne from a daydream the next time someone looked at her, her brief display of formidable martial and magical prowess, the exotic yet familiar charm, and the extraordinary perspectives from which she approached a given situation weren¡¯t just found from a nobody without history or house. And even if she was, no sane person would let those talents go easily. Was she a spy employed by the Empire? A foreign aristocrat in hiding? Or something else entirely? Such theories swirled round and round in his mind. With every interaction with her more questions seemed to crop up than answers. There were too many mysteries surrounding Alicia, that it was simply too much to attempt to uncover them all. ¡®Goodness is it that hard to believe that someone introduces themselves by just their first name? Do I need to forge a birth certificate with a fake family or something? ¡®Alicia,¡¯ that¡¯s all I got, take or leave it. I don¡¯t have to convince you with anything. What if someone¡¯s an orphan¡­ wait I know the answer to that already¡­ you know what this is not a train of thought that I want to finish.¡¯ Thankfully or perhaps dreadfully, he did not have to. He was a merchant, he only needed to immerse himself in the business, even if the action of conceding wounded his pride and his confidence in his personal network of informants. And to that end, Alicia tried to bring the conversation back on track. Since antiquity, silk has long been sought after luxury for its practical and aesthetic use by many cultures. Clothes fashioned from silk and silken furnishings were comfortable, retained warmth well, were durable to humidity and had naturally pleasing lustre, making it a prime product. In addition, it absorbed ink and dyes well, making it an expensive but resistant writing surface for documents. And in medical fields it was used as sutures as well as being used for other esoteric applications such as artificing, enchant, and magecraft. Many religions also made various religious depictions on their tapestries and silk was one of the preferred materials for that reason. Pyrinia was no exception and the little silk that finds its way to the country either through trade ships or caravans from distant lands are quickly bought up by few wealthy and privileged merchants who fiercely bid against each other which was then sold to nobles, scholars and artisans for a great price. It was a product that was always in high demand and low supply, in turn making it an expensive luxury. It would be the same as obtaining gouske that laid golden eggs, if one could obtain a steady supply of silk. However that was not all. He was expecting some other ordinary products, like food, hides or some foreign spice even but none of it compared to what came next. Honey made from bees was one of the oldest known delicacies in human history, coveted for its natural sweetening properties. Moreover, it had medical use in treating burns and injuries with salves and balm, ritual applications and finally it was one of the key ingredients in the ever so popular honey wine or mead. Their wax was a wonderful ingredient to use in candle making as they produced a brighter flame more readily without producing much smoke and had various other uses. To harvest honey, bee-hunters made the insects drowsy by filling the hive with smoke, allowing for the taking of the honeycomb without suffering the bees¡¯ painful stings. However beeyards required vast blooming meadows, a land that could also be used for agricultural use to feed the growing populations directly competing with staple foods such as grains. And the smoking process was challenging for certain species that made subterranean hives or constructed their hives in tree hollows where billowing smokes into them weren¡¯t always successful. And that was assuming one could even get to the hives without being stung by the territorial bee swarms. Even a little bit of it was enough to turn profits from its sale. This was Albertini¡¯s chance to reach for the top and he wasn¡¯t going to let it go no matter what it took. There were always risks involved in investing in a new line of operation, but only by taking such risks could one reap the benefits of being a pioneer. After his affirming nod, Alicia stood up and parted her cloak, uncovering her silken dress underneath it. Even without touching it the quality could be seen from the glazy sheen of the silk. He feigned contemplation caressing his half shaven chin. In his mind he had already made his decision. Although any other person would be overjoyed to get a value higher than expected on their ware she lightly shrugged it off. ¡®A sly, sly dog aren¡¯t you¡­ you intended to take it for one fifty from the beginning. That is still on the higher end from what I learned¡­¡¯ With the inspection complete she sat down Although her postponings dampened his spirits his head cooled down a little as he realized he was acting precipitously. He was simply hasty in consolidating his position as he wanted to capitalize on the opportunity as much as he could before someone else inevitably caught wind of it. This worry, suppressed as it was, still reflected on his thoughts, accessible by Cold Reader. As much as she pondered there was little she could do to reassure him without raising suspicion. Eventually she gave up and started looking around Albertini¡¯s office to entertain herself while the merchant frenetically scribbled down the on paper. After a while Albertini placed the finished the final draft of the contract and slid a copy of it to her to review. Irregardless of her weak grasp on the common script used throughout the continent she could make out the essential details. As she slowly read through the paper he was rhythmically tapping his fingers against his desktop, anxious, worrying that she might find something dissatisfactory and pulled out. It took her a while to comprehend it all but to the merchant it seemed as if she meticulously read it through not knowing that she was, in fact, simply subliterate. After making sure everything looked in order she placed her index finger on the space meant for a signature and affixed a magical seal on it and the copy. Alicia, putting on her most inoffensive smile, handed Albertini¡¯s copy of the contract oblivious to his distress as she was focused on reading. He sighed in relief, glad that all had gone well. Although he would have brought in fine wine and delicacies to celebrate he correctly assumed that Alicia was the type of person to dislike such pretenses. For a while she was totally lost on the topic, but it struck her. He was talking about her clothes. Specifically their seemingly alien design based on clothes conceived in the modern era, making her seem like she was from a foreign country and her just over the knee height skirt of her dress. She had quite revealing clothes by the standard of the continent which had mildly temperate climate. Though Merchants have had exposure to the revealing clothes commonly found in the desert societies through their trade. It was still new to the commoners who only saw the same type of clothing from slaves and strumpets. ¡®Listen here you little shit, if I wore straight pants, every time I switched forms I would need a new pair and I do in fact like to wear something and the only type of clothing that is appropriate and doesn¡¯t require me to carry around a dedicated bundle of spare pants just for the unforeseen occasions that I need to transform are skirts. Besides legionaries who fought for the Roman empire - one of the greatest empires of human history - wore defensive skirts! So suck it up!¡¯ Alicia, since attaining her new form had become sensitive about her few remaining vestiges of masculinity. It was a given that none of her internal lectures leaked out from her mouth or surfaced on her face¡­ only her responses became subtly cold and distant. ¡®And then there are the Scottish, who wore one of them kilts. Would you take a fight with a scotsman? He¡¯ll-¡¯ She was very defensive about the matter. Although it would attract lusting gazes in countryside and remote villages, the residents of large villages, towns and above would have a poor opinion of her, not only for her connoted lower social status but also by their beliefs and tenets. Many religious sects condemned excessive lust and by extension those who seduced men. It was well intentioned teaching that tried to limit the number of children born, in an age where fertility rates are through the roof. The teachings attempted to limit the unnecessary cruelty imposed on children of poor families that were viewed as a burden often being abandoned or thrown away. However overtime the original intents faded into obscurity and were warped into its current state. After the brief conversations she bought a stack of paper, quill and ink and left the firm while noting down the location and its name. While recalling details did not pose a problem, she judged that it would be difficult for the current and future projects without journaling on some more elaborate projects. It wouldn¡¯t take long before a distressing alerts came from her Araneae positioned around the town¡­ Auratic Here''s something topical: Chapter 69: (Nice) After quickly disappearing around a dark corner of a deserted alleyway, Alicia used Transposition to return to the Inn premises, eyes closed, leaning against its chimneys billowing out smoke. She was in fully focused information gathering. Rosalia had gone out recently and naturally the Araneae entrusted with keeping tabs on her secretly followed after her. Apparently Rosalia went out to a small library located inside a scriptorium1Literally meaning ¡°Place for writing¡± in Latin. of a nearby church to read. As churches served more purpose than just a place of worship - in case of most towns also being a health care service provider - their libraries often had various documents and other literature. Rosalia, despite not being a particularly bookish person, was still bored being cooped up in an inn room and the act of browsing through the contents of these texts provided her with a distraction. All of this was normal so far. Until a number of suspicious people started scouring the town. This would not have been a problem if not for the fact that one of them evidently recognized Rosalia, followed her back to the inn from a distance and notified their comrades who were now converging in on the place. They were obviously up to no good, but luckily, it appeared that not all of them were combattants. As Alicia examined all the information and reports she received from her Araneae and compared the actions of these men to each other she noticed few discrepancies. They were too slow to communicate but most of them seemed to have simply backed away and left, spare a few. Although their behaviour was puzzling it made sense when she understood that these men acted in much the similar way how she managed her information network. Even if they seemed primitive without the powerful telepathic communication shared with her Kindred. She identified most of them to be some sort of informants and moles, most likely part of a greater organization. ¡®If it¡¯s anything that¡¯s not already being exploited by the guild then it¡¯s probably illegal. Some sort of syndicate then¡­? Let me guess¡­ hits, shakedowns, contraband smuggling, tax evasion, illegal slave trade and all that smooth jazz. Seems like someone doesn''t want our princess to see her father again¡­ haaaa¡­ I was starting to like the town too. We could bounce but¡­ someone should be coming for her¡­ Well someone other than cutthroats with daggers dipped in poison¡­¡¯ Only a few suspicious men remained loitering around the inn premises, seemingly staying behind to keep watch on Rosalia. For now they wouldn¡¯t act in plain sight it seemed. ¡®Waiting for nightfall or an opportunity before they make a move¡­ that buys me some time¡­ I should let Rosalia know what¡¯s happening in the meantime, just not everything¡­ This inn, albeit temporary, is still my territory. While I¡¯m not against sharing an establishment¡­ These little helpers of mine aren¡¯t as gregarious, especially with humans that are clearly stepping on all the wrong places¡­¡¯ With their objectives clearly dictated, the araneae lurking in the darkness of alleyways and corners sprung into action. Having to steer clear of these walking ¡®pests, and watch them go back and forth right in their sight were infuriatingly provocative for the araneae. It was as if lambs, oblivious to the dangers of a resting pride of lions, kept prancing in front of them playing without a care. Even without the need to feed the araneae were by nature, predators. Their hunting instincts of identifying prey from a threat, gifted to them by evolution kept asking them over and over again why they weren¡¯t taking such a free prize. Yet the loyalty imprinted to the very essence of their beings prevented them from acting out in a way that would inconvenience their mother who was masquerading as one them and thus suppressed their natural urge. They explored and observed this food-rich biome because she required them to, they waited because that¡¯s what she would have wanted of them. Still small twinges of the cravings persisted. And now having been given the orders which generously provided them with the opportunity to sate their lust for hunt, they wouldn¡¯t squander it nor would they disappoint their mother, their god, who wove them into existence. As Alicia stepped into the inn in the most natural manner as she could, trying to make it seem like she returned back in a conventional method, the Araneae captured the would-be assassins one by one, abducting the individuals without company and fell upon the groups in sync. Their sudden disappearances witnessed only by the inanimate stone bricks in the walls. Those of them who blended in with the everyday citizens took some time to pick out as some of them needed to take on their smaller, hex crawler form to sneak their way into their clothes and undergarments to then bite them to incapacitate their ability to walk. Rosalia welcomed her back when Alicia returned, quizzical of her early return. Under a made up pretext, Alicia advised her to stay in the inn and try to avoid going out as much as possible, offering to go out on errands for her to those ends. Although unconvinced Rosalia agreed anyway. Until the araneae summoned her to some abandoned buildings at the edge of the town, she entertained some small talk with Rosalia before she set out again. This time with more density of guards for her as well as setting up a perimeter of tripwire net to cover a more extensive area. ¡®Maybe that guy was onto something trying to sell me bodyguards¡­ Well I basically picked up a feral cat¡­ too late to cry over spilt milk¡­¡¯ The village folk tired of their tiny world, charmed by the tall tales that come out of towns, driven by either ambition, desperation, or wanderlust set out on a road staking everything on their grandiose aspirations of a new better life. More often than not they fell prey to the ruthlessness of the cities, consumed by them. These crumbling ruins of a district were once their shelter, now a grim reminder, a graveyard of broken dreams and sometimes of their owners. Many of these men played a part in the creation of places like this, directly or not. They were webbed, hung and cocooned to various walls and ceilings inside one of the cellars of these abandoned buildings, only half conscious, venom yet to wear off. Small rays of light filtered through the rickety floorboards supported by decrepit beams provided some illumination. ¡®Hopefully no brain damage¡­ hoo boy I have my work cutout for me¡­ Let¡¯s get this started¡­¡¯ Many towns were built with or above an already existing underground aqueducts, cistern reservoirs and wells. These long, narrow tunnels carried water from nearby mountains, springs and rivers to supply towns and cities with fresh water. These systems were hidden as much as they could for various reasons. Armies sieging a city could poison the supply making defense hellish, small critters could find their way in spreading diseases or die contaminating the water. In consideration of problems like these these waterways were purposefully built with winding tunnels with dead ends, hidden passages and more. Over time these tunnels that deliver precious waters, supplying the wells and fountains of the city whose the people take for granted are forgotten over generations. Their only proof of existence were ancient maps and blueprints of the city passed down from the previous line of nobles, tucked under the dusty collection of the ruling lords. With decades of neglect and disrepair, some of the bricks lining the walls of the tunnels erode away to reveal unintended entry into the systems. Decent men had no business within them, the scum and villainy of society however found them a suitable hideaway, establishing themselves as the literal underworld of cities. The crown was bestirren with action, more so than the usual after someone set a hefty forward bounty on some woman. It wasn''t often that the crown received a bounty on someone¡¯s head. Getting away with murder wasn¡¯t easy and they asked a fortune for their service, especially if they didn¡¯t know a lick about who it was. And even with their extortionate prices someone still placed an advance payment for their death along with a small slip containing the description about the target. It would take time for any of them to move into action but the client added that they will double their initial payment to the man who brought proof of her death before the next morning. With that newcomers and hardened veterans alike set out, tempted by the dewy offer. It was a slow start due to mismatching information about her attire but eventually they found a person matching the descriptions provided and luckily she didn¡¯t appear to be going anywhere for a while. The eager freshblood amongst them tried to go straight for the target but failed to get a chance, some even blowing their cover and being pursued by the guards. With how cautious the target was, it would need a proper planning and delicate approach if any of them wanted to succeed. Here the struggles caused by infighting enticed by the lucrative pay further hampered their chance of success. Tearing one of the dazed men out of the group; Alicia condensed the dank air and using her magical energy supply more, created a pool of water that flooded the basement up to her ankles and¡­ ¡­slowly stirring until it garnered enough torque to smash through the flimsy floorboards in a torrential upspurt, forcefully splashing the stuck men with shivering waters, waking them up in the process. Without the floorboards sunlight poured in . Beset by sudden and violent awakening, confusion and terror brought about by their bounds combined with the difficulty breathing through the silk, they all started grunting and groaning, and fought against their restraints. Two loud claps momentarily pulled their attention away from the frightening circumstance to the woman standing in the middle of the room. Alicia spoke through the rain water and wooden chunks falling back down into the broken cellar ceiling. So what is happening, really, I ought to do everyone a favor and just feed you my Familiars but you have something that I want. There is-¡± Seemingly out of thin air the woman drew out a blade and cut the rogue who was stuck to the wall free of his bonds. Not expecting the bizarre action the man fell down on all his fours. A shoe struck his head down before he could rise up straight, throwing him face first into the pooling waters. Despite the fact that he was crippled by the lingering venom, the man had significant strength in him, grasping at her legs to move it away yet he was unable to free himself from her soles. And as he continued to fight, water inevitably entered his airways causing him to burble. His struggles slowed down in several minutes and in another minute he was lying motionless on the surface of the water and at that moment Alicia finally stepped off the man. As soon as she had said that last line she was met with a clamorous series of muffled and desperate murmurs. Alicia kicked the man lying in the water rightside up, as if making an example of, stomped on his stomach and played it off as she did it out of spite. In reality she stomped on him to have his body choke out the water in lungs to prevent drowning with particularly violent application of CPR assisted with magic. Pulling out the waterskin that was given to her by the Troll tribe from the void vault she showed it to the men, shaking it side to side to make sloshing sounds to prove that there¡¯s something in it. She had little use for it for herself but she carried it around to look ¡®normal¡¯ to Rosalia and anyone else that might be watching her by taking a sip every now and then. Nods of approval quickly followed. ¡®If only you guys have been this cooperative from the start¡­ Oh well¡­ but what do I do with them afterwards¡­? Leaving them here is fine, the webbings will naturally degrade over time, fast enough that they won¡¯t starve to death¡­ probably¡­ I could do some science with Domination. Having my very own band of assassins does sound tempting¡­ even if there¡¯s little practical use for them but they could be my ticket into their organization¡­ that¡¯s an interesting proposition if I can wrest control. Another straightforward approach is just feeding them to my Araneae and I don¡¯t think anyone will miss them. Them being missing might be a good deterrent for the Crown - or whatever they called themselves - from making future moves against Rosalia¡­¡¯ Auratic Well I guess this is my new schedule... Fuck. I ran out of my favourite green tea, teabags. Gonna take a while before I get a new set since they''re somewhat expensive for me. And without them I can actually feel my cognitive functions working at less than peak conditions without the caffeine. Apparently the story started trending for a while... on 2021/4/1, on april fools day. My new readers must have had some wicked sense of humor or are just really, really bored. I never could tell the difference. Last weekend I had to fix my ''used to be an engineer now a cook'' relative''s computer. I think he got scammed by an IT service over here because shit was formatted the all the wrong way. Basically the symptom was the aggressive and inadequate antivirus of Windows 10 prevented any downloading of anything because it can''t scan shit. You can guess how much problem that can be when everyone here is working from home. The other symptom was that the Office suite (Word, excel, powerpoint you know those guys) 2016 wasn''t opening at all. First I tried to switch off the windows defender but I didn''t have admin access... This was the only user account on the system. Windows labelled it as ADMINISTRATOR yet it doesn''t have administrator access to turn off an antivirus? ''Hello? Small indie software company, bugs are expected'' I thought. So I tried to make a new user account and switch admin rights to that one and work from there but then Microshit to the rescue once again. When you create a new account windows does that weird ''getting things ready for you'' charade. I waited it out and then got hit by OOBESETTINGS error. Normally this error should just go away with a simple press of the retry button provided. You can see how long the rest of this fucking paragraph is so obvious that didn''t work. Restarted the computer, drained the capacitors, even did a motherboard CMOS reset to no avail the dreaded yellow text persisted no matter how much I tried. And you know what the kicker was? As soon as I made the new account and signed off the fake administrator account - that old account disappeared! You know what that means? The fucking OOBE stuck account is now the default account on this system making the computer unusable. Fucking Great! Fantastic. So I had download windows media creation tool to make a format USB. Which means FRESH INSTALL hooray! The computer had terrible hardware so it was really chugging. Core i3 2770 or something like that with 4Gbs of memory and a single HDD partitioned into 4 so you can probably feel how fucking slow it was. In the end I finally fixed it but holy shit did it take hours. In lieu of my suffering you can have an angry tarantula instead. Chapter 70: Consumer of Crowns Loose stone of the waterlogged cellar floor came together and assembled into something similar to a rudimentary stool. Despite its rough appearance, it was as comfortable as it could be with its top surface smooth and even. Alicia sat on top of it, stabbed dauntless into the ground next to her, and began her questioning. Using Cold Reader, she was quietly monitoring their disjointed thoughts, screening for any attempts of deception. It didn¡¯t take long before one of them answered. The rogues crown didn¡¯t care who wanted who dead or for what cause, only cash. ¡®Should¡¯ve thought about that one¡­ I won¡¯t get anywhere like this¡­ let¡¯s change my approach then¡­¡¯ With the promise of the antidote¡­ men were all so eager to contribute, those that can speak with that is. ¡®Hm¡­ he¡¯s just a cog in the wheel. Once I find him and get him to talk, I¡¯ll get another lead on who¡¯s really behind this mess. Might want to stay out of this rabbit hole though¡­ Ah, who am I kidding, I¡¯m already knee deep and practically chasing the white rabbit to murderland¡­ I even sport the name for this off brand knockoff¡­¡¯ ¡®Means he¡¯s still hanging around to pay them¡­ Well well well, seems like I get a free bone here.¡¯ After some excruciating moments of racking their minds one of them suddenly answered. ¡®So I¡¯m looking for a high class, aged man with graying hair, who is uncomfortable with life in the streets. I think we have a pretty complete criminal sketch for our suspect.¡¯ The man started to stumble on his words, carefully picking what to say next as he looked at the poor sod who demanded to ¡°be set free¡± before him. ¡®My, my, they seem to be quite eager to leave, aren¡¯t they? Seems like they¡¯ve been quietly cutting away at their bonds¡­¡¯ When they came to and found themselves captured, few of them had small hidden blades within their arms reach. Slowly, bit by bit they loosened the strange white bindings. By behaving and distracting Alicia, these men thought they were buying time to free themselves. Exchanging gazes and wordless communications amongst them to ascertain their numbers. Unfortunately their collusion hadn¡¯t escaped Alicia¡¯s attention under Cold Reader. Although the water muddled her sense of pallesthesia, due to their close proximity she could pick up on the sounds of the webbing being cut open. Despite the show of power beforehand, they believed they had a chance to outnumber and overwhelm her. They didn¡¯t know how they ended up like this but for whatever reason she hadn¡¯t removed the weapons from them. Their knives and daggers, still laced with poison. Once they had won, they could take antidote from her and free the others or leave to let them succumb to the poison. ¡®I was about to limit test Domination¡­ but hey I don¡¯t need everyone¡­ let¡¯s make an example out of them besides that should make the others more receptive of the spell anyway.¡¯ They were expecting her to abandon them once she had what she wanted, her actions were unexpected. She deliberately approached one who held a dagger under the silken bonds. Due to being situated higher on the wall, he had the perfect opportunity to plunge the dagger right into her exposed neck and since she had no reason to suspect them. When she stepped close enough into his reach, he couldn¡¯t help but let a conceited smirk form across his face. Why would he even try to hide it now? She couldn¡¯t have noticed it from her angle, even if she did she wouldn¡¯t recognize it¡¯s underlying sinister intent. But against all odds even if she did, it was far too late for her to do anything anyway. He had won. Or so he thought before she grabbed his hand and yanked him from the webbings, throwing him to the damp concrete. The rapid succession of events had left everyone but Alicia dazed of what just happened. Without letting go of his wrists she held his arm open before driving her knee into his elbow joint. It was accompanied by a vicious cracking sound before it deformed, clearly bent in a direction it was never meant to bend. During the sharp onset of pain and loud scream of agony that came after it, he dropped his poisoned dagger onto the floor, the poison spreading in the water. The other men, who had their weapons, recovered quickly and began to free themselves, landing on the ground in a splosh one after another with rallying cries. Outnumbered and surrounded, their victory would seem apparent. Even though they found themselves in the extraordinary situation of being caught by a single girl, it was at this moment freedmen made a tragic error by assuming Alicia was an ordinary human. So said another slavering over her beauty and how he would defile it, patting his groins. Mocking snickers spread around amongst the thugs freed from their bonds, but unusual worry spread among those who were still stuck to walls and ceilings. Without the rush of adrenaline coursing through their veins, they had the clarity to note Alicia''s uncanny composure, without a sign of distress almost seemingly expecting this outcome. She was not even reaching for her weapon, which was still jammed ground. Clenching her hand into a fist, the water under the feet of the nearby rogues began to turn into ice, welding them to the ground below, achieved through both temperature change and sheer power of magic forcing it to solidify. The man who just had one of his arms mutilated scowled with spite: As the resulting ice was mostly formed through intense pressure rather than temperature and since their feet were already exposed to the chill waters they were none the wiser to their new frosty fetters. Once Alicia was sure they were sufficiently restrained she opened waterskin¡­- -¡­and poured out its contents into the ground, stunning everyone still. Shimmering, cascading liquid of their salvation was spilt, mixed with the sordid puddle. Before they could process what and the why¡­ ¡°¡­Where¡¯d all that aggression go? What¡¯s the matter, got a-¡± Pausing for the delivery¡­ ¡°cold foot?¡± They plunged headfirst into the water as soon as they attempted to charge towards her, they tripped, tied by the unexpected trappings. When they stumbled further into the waters, she took advantage of their exposure to it The whole atmosphere of the room seemed to freeze over and it wasn¡¯t metaphorical either as the frost quickly set in, trapping the heads, hands, legs of many under a glacial prison. The panic-stricken screams of those whose heads were entombed within the ice could be heard through and felt throughout the waters even to those without the skills necessary to understand the tune of vibrations. They were at loss for words, not even being able to lie. They never spared someone on their hit list. Even gloating and taking pride in their little perfect track record of slaughter. The answer was obvious¡­ It wasn¡¯t clear if they were stammering due to cold sapping their stamina and heat or fright, though Alicia cared little for the distinction. She poured more and more mystic energies into the waters, draining even more heat from it and intensifying the freezing process. Crystals were now forming all across their bodies, silencing them forever. Their fates were sealed, only those who were still stuck their webbings and those that stayed their hand were spared of a frore demise. It was obvious now that she had never drawn her blade¡­ Her magical abilities had been so overwhelming it was simply unnecessary, or so they thought. And she clearly exempted a certain person of this slow end, the man with his broken arm. When her eyes slowly turned to him, terrified by what¡¯s to come, he attempted to escape running to the doorway behind leading to stairs up, hugging the wall still holding his broken arm. Strangely she let him go, puzzling those left behind, until moments later he came back, his frantic screams echoing through the stony walls. In his fearful sprint he tripped and splashed into the freezing waters but still carried on, crawling to Alicia, grasping at her legs even ignoring his broken arms. He looked up as if she was her saviour. Still donning an apathetic look she asked. The question was an odd one¡­ It was obvious to those around her. Whatever monster he saw would have clearly been aggressive to her as well and even if she wanted to escape, leaving them as a distraction¡­ she still needed to go out the same way the monster was coming. Inhuman high pitched cry of some creature echoed from the hallpassageway followed by an emergence of the monster. Alicia knew what it was even before it¡¯s reveal. A cave crawler. Horror quickly spread, with unintelligible screams coming from the man still clutching Alicia¡¯s legs. Soon more cries of fear came from his former comrades, perhaps it was just now dawning on them what threat they all faced. He didn¡¯t notice, but he was clutching onto something else¡­ It wasn¡¯t the slender shins a girl would strut with proudly. But a sleek tip of different a type of legs. The creature, after observing them a little, slowly retreated, almost as if it lost interest. He had yet to face her, preoccupied by the monster¡¯s appearance and now baffled by it¡¯s strange departure he turned around to see an Araneae Hybrid. A beauty and a beast. >Subject¡¯s willpower to resist sufficiently drained. Domination spell success rate estimated 99.9%. Required energy use reduced by 97.2%. >New active available. ? Relinquish ? When used, abolishes effects Domination on target. Some changes may remain. Incomprehensibly wailing man that was attempting to crawl away suddenly stood up and approached her, his fear still swam within his eyes yet the newly instilled obedience was more powerful obligating him to stay. It was difficult to say if he was the same man judging by his actions but there was no doubt about it on Alicia¡¯s mind as she scrolled through his thoughts. Personality, memories, behaviours, skills and abilities everything that made him, him remained as it was¡­ just this time, with a fanatical devotion to her cause, whatever it might be. ¡®Well it¡¯s the first thing to try out, I always wondered if a human could do this¡­¡¯ Previously a cold hearted assassin now turned into a devoted servant did as his new master dictated. His face turned red, sight blurred, and started to asphyxiate. His natural survival instincts, the reflex to breath all superseded by the command, until his very body could no longer carry out the order, collapsing as his conscious mind was unable to continue, deprived of oxygen. The spell¡¯s hold remained and while it had no conscious mind to control it seeped into the subconscious mind. The man was dry suffocating, carrying out the last known orders, even without consciousness, as his body tried desperately to restart breathing. ¡®Well that¡¯s disturbing¡­ With a gasp his breathing resumed. That¡¯s an experiment alright¡­ Interesting¡­ and disturbing. Mostly disturbing.¡¯ When she turned around to face the remaining men, stunned in dread, whimpering meaningless things to themselves. When she locked eyes with one of them, he voided his bowels¡­ Indicated by unique smell urea and yellowish fluids dripping through the webbings. >All targets suitable for Domination. Auratic with that all current element images have a symbol which means whenever a spell or magic is used their associated symbol will also be featured just to remind people of which alignment they fall into, especially in regards to Anima and Void. I''ve had a bit of a conundrum trying to decide on which direction to take the chapter towards, as the last vote was hardly conclusive with votes being split closely to each other except, spare. Yeah fuck those guys, I created them that way but still fuck those guys. FYI I consider over 65% vote share to be a decisive majority, and that''s with me being generous. So I kind of went with mostly kill and then recruit which turned out alright, I think. Here''s a video if you would rather listen and watch than to read and try to visualize. As for your spider fact this week. Archaeidae are species of spider family sometimes called the Assassin spiders or Pelican spiders. They were once thought to be extinct for decades being discovered in ancient ambers but was later found to be still in existence in Australia, South America and Madagascar, almost earning them a spot in the Lazarus Taxon or species that went extinct but later, through sheer power plot armor evolved themselves back into existence over the course of few million years. Despite their names of Assassin, you do not need to fear them, unless you also happen to be a spider. Like jumping spiders they are aranaeaphagous, primarily feeding on other species of spiders hence the name. They have elongated mandibles and a cephalothorax that resembles that of a pelican which is suited for them attack other spiders from a safe distance while injecting their own venom, hence earning their name of Pelican spiders. And just like jumping spiders they pluck at webs of other spiders making it feel like there''s a prey stuck to a web to lure the unsuspecting spider to them or just crawl onto their webs and just plucking them from the middle. They can also follow the draglines that spiders use for nagivation to track them down and you can guess the rest. This is what they look like: Coming up I''ll release that writings tips kind of stuff as a chapter briefly before taking it down. The google docs link will be pinned on my profile afterwards. Oh and I''ll also pin the link the Anniversary special too since not a lot of people know about it. Since we''re on the topic now is the time to shill out; If you wanna get updates on what the fuck is happening it''s best to follow my account so you will receive a notification whenever I post there. Also posting on my profile is the fastest way to contact me, as it stands. Chapter 71: Turmoil Auratic ¡°Gently¡± persuading the remaining rogues to her cause was demanding of her energy reserves, but it went much more smoothly than anticipated. Extracting information from them had become much easier as a result of their newfound motive to curry favor with Alicia, who now held them under a terrifying witchcraft. They quickly revealed what¡¯s to come might be more complicated than she had hoped for. Supposedly a certain notorious assassin within their underground organization known only by their nickname: The Butcher, took a particular interest in the bounty. Their knowledge on the said assassin is quite limited as the other party often kept to themselves, as such Alicia could only scrounge up a few details. The Butcher seemed to have no desire for money or wealth, but rather in the act of the killing. Unlike other members of the Crown who rely on cloak and dagger or poisoning and carrying out their job on the hush hush The Butcher, quite fitting to their nickname, enjoys to make a spectacle out of their grisly work by flaying their victims and leaving a sort of calling cards or messages out of blood taunting whomsoever that discovers their ¡®art¡¯. ¡®Great¡­ Now we have a sociopath on our trail.¡¯ Because of the highly brutal manner in which they work, The Butcher is infamous even inside the Crown, as their showy scenes of slaughter often attracted unwelcome scrutiny and crackdowns from the local government. Something that the crown wishes to avoid, however they put up with it due their considerable skills. To them, the butcher is a double edge blade. Fortunately for everyone involved, The butcher only seems to pick blue bloods or in other words, people of noble descent or people they think are¡­ different or interesting according to their own words. Meaning they took action infrequently. According to what Alicia¡¯s new ¡®recruits¡¯ heard, they were planning to strike tonight, hence their haste to one up the Butcher. A few other details to note were that these men heard from few people who had the opportunity to converse with the Butcher described their voice sounding young, possibly even adolescent. Even if we deal with them, they won¡¯t be last. Unless we take care of that bounty¡­¡¯ The disappearance of men hadn¡¯t been noticed yet, if they appeared again, no one would raise a question as to where they have been or what they were up to, most importantly they were insiders that Alicia could use to her own ends. Although disheveled and seemingly spooked they managed to return to their lair in the town¡¯s underground where they spread rumors, false leads and misinformation. With red herrings and contradicting information, there was an internal chaos that slowly spiralled out of anyone¡¯s control. Even informants who usually sold reliable information were caught up in it, everyone was scrambling to gather new leads. The act severely sabotaged the Crown¡¯s ability to take hostile actions as their members were lost and confused out in the streets of the town. Underneath the town however, Araneae were mapping out the labyrinthine waterways after learning several entry points. Through their numbers they covered vast amounts of land and through their efforts new, previously unknown entries and exits. Though some were unusable for a human as the openings were far too small for anything but the hex crawlers to squeeze in or behind one of numerous collapsed tunnels far too treacherous for human safety and access. Each of Alicia¡¯s new men had a personal hex crawler assigned to them to relay her orders summarily as well as to keep tabs to make sure they stay in line. Obviously the hex crawlers couldn¡¯t enforce her will to the same degree as her but they couldn¡¯t know that. Besides the telepathic messages they received from the hex crawlers were anything but natural. As they lacked the library of words and expressions, instead primal transmissions of notions, emotions and instinctual peremptories came in. Though for them, it was as if they were possessed by some unseen spell rather than the small spiders relaying her words to them. A name echoed through the besodden tunnels filled with humorous air. Someone called out to a haggard man with weary eyes that were heavy with suspicion. ¡®Henrik¡¯ turned his head around after a short pause glaring at the people who called out to him. As far as the meaning of the word colleague went these people were the closest examples of it to him. They¡­ were once his colleagues, until recently¡­ Of course in a band of cutthroats there was no allegiance except to one¡¯s self. His true identity was Merik Hein, ¡®Henrik¡¯ was just an alias that grew on him. He was one of the ringleaders of the Devil¡¯s Crown¡­ formerly. He was one of Alicia¡¯s new novitiates. After quickly turning away the people under him he continued to walk, through dark tunnels that he had become so familiar with. His mind was in shambles after what had happened earlier in the day. He and his band got a hold of a lead on a bounty with particularly ample rewards. It was about offing some girl and bringing forth proof of her death, be it her hair, eye, heart or the whole head it didn¡¯t matter. Normally he himself wouldn''t have gotten personally involved but in order to secure this bounty for himself and his men he took action¡­ and it was the greatest mistake he had ever committed. Given the choice, he would much rather confess to his past crimes and willingly go to the hangman¡¯s tree. Somehow he and some of his men were caught up in some monster¡¯s trap. A demon that hid under human skin. At first he thought they were caught up in some other rivalling group¡¯s scheme. He soon started piecing together the details of the bizarre circumstance he found himself in after regaining consciousness in restraints. Looking around Hein noticed it wasn¡¯t just that his men but also of men who served other ringleaders. People from at least four different factions were present including¡­ another ring leader. The girl who spoke to them unsettled him immediately. It didn¡¯t make sense for someone of her stature to capture everyone present just by herself¡­ unless she had accomplices. Until he could gauge their strength, he wanted to avoid antagonizing the suspicious girl. Thankfully the other party appeared to want to talk which meant opportunity to extract information and yet¡­ Some bumbling idiot blurted out and seemed to foul the ¡®girl¡¯s¡¯ mood, being forcefully freed only to have his face plunged into the water on the floor. In some display of power or frustration¡­ that girl overpowered a man larger than her, knocking him out by stepping on him and later kicking him rather forcefully to vent. In that moment he noticed the monster''s extraordinary strength. Dainty, supple leg generating such strength to hold down a grown man. Anthelm, the other ringleader, seemed to lose his temper and patience after the incident¡­ wriggling in his bonds. He could only assume the man that had just spoken out and beaten was one of his. He seemed to have started cutting his bonds on his own, with his men and even Hein¡¯s own subordinates started following suit. Earlier he noticed the ¡®girl¡¯ using some sort of magic to create a sitting surface out of the earth without a chant, aria or even a name which meant that she was an extremely capable sorceress. And that blade that she had next to her didn¡¯t sit right with him either. Even his men were becoming agitated, looking to him for when they were ready to cut themselves free. He gestured them gently in denial, preventing them from taking any brash actions, until a disaster struck. Strangely, after being satisfied with all that it wanted from them she moved in to free Anthelm. It was then he attacked that¡­ monster and all hell broke loose. Recounting the events was painful for him. People shivering entombed inside icy prison¡­ their eyes still open, staring back at you through hazy frost. Expressions of despair and desperation eternalized like some sort of nature morte inside an amber. Anthelm had it the worst, seeing his men die like that in front of him¡­ and then being bound to servitude. He wanted to live¡­ but not like this. For his prideful self, death would have been the preferred alternative. Seeing what that demon that called itself Alicia. Hein chose to live, even if it was a life he would have to spend kneeling to some monster. Perhaps it was a mistake to sell his soul away¡­ he regretted now. When that thing¡­ cast whatever hex on him it felt as if he was forgetting who he was and noticed a voice that rang inside his head. Like two different minds sharing a body. He couldn''t make the heads or tails out of it most of the time. It was a whisper uttering some indiscernible things nonstop. It is quiet, almost quiet enough to not notice its presence. But it is there, always scratching at the back of his mind. It told him what to do, what that demon wanted us to do. Incessantly repeating over and over and over and over and over and over¡­ even if he didn''t want to do something his mind and body acted before he could even realize what he was doing, he even felt¡­ happiness from carrying out that demon''s orders. It wasn''t him that felt this way, it was the voice inside him. And when he received any sort of direction¡­ that whisper turns into a song¡­ melodious and entrancing, he couldn''t resist. There was little concern about what the voice dictated. He was more afraid of not wanting to resist the voice,before every time it sang¡­ when he came to his wits it felt like a piece of him went missing. Replaced by the entity inside of him¡­ How long would it take before he would become a flesh puppet imprisoned inside his own mind? Sometimes in sporadic fits of insight he could instinctively understand what the voice spoke about. Prophetic visions about the end of the known world, coming of some great storm that would devour all life, it was beautiful, poetic¡­ yet terrible. He would have preferred that the voices remained unintelligible. Before now, he was searching for a method to break the spell. The first thing that came to his mind was to slay that demon. Yet it only led to palpable misery. That creature was interested in the reason as to why their lair was called the Devil¡¯s crown. An opportunity presented itself¡­ or so he thought¡­ Devil¡¯s crown, a captivating wild flower known for its unparalleled beauty and extreme toxicity. Just touching it with bare hands was enough to put that person into a catatonic state. So notorious was it¡¯s deadly poison that it was forbidden to be cultivated even for research by apothecaries. But when handled with care through gloves, it could be ground down into a powder. Their band used the devil¡¯s crown extensively for it was one of the most ideal poison for their uses, considering both availability and the ease of concealing it. And once mixed into drink or food it had a pleasant taste, no odour to speak of and was slow to take effect. He had seen what the pure, refined poison of this flower can do. Noblemen and merchants alike died weeping blood on their deathbed days after they consumed food tainted by the flower. Of course he didn¡¯t tell any of this, nor did he have to, thankfully. He was only to present the flower. He had hoped that the devil might unwittingly touch the plant, and if he was fortunate, the poison would destroy it. But that was all water under the bridge. Only despair awaited him¡­ Alicia was closely examining the flower that one of more veteran assassins brought before rubbing its petals. ¡®I can see why they call it a crown¡­ those petals do resemble a crown of sorts.¡¯ >Notice. Cutaneous irritation detected. Floral sample contains potent toxic compounds¡­ Damage assessment underway¡­ Avoid contact with oral and optical organs. ¡®Oh? Toxin reaction from the plant¡­?¡¯ >Preliminary analysis complete. Multiple usable compounds identified. Able to acquire novel compounds for further analysis, archival and biosynthesis. Ingest floral sample to proceed. ¡®Isn¡¯t it poisonous?¡¯ >Compound structure similar to fungal toxins. System able to identify, isolate and neutralize compounds. Toxin absorption inadequate due to user physiology. The side effects benign. Risk assessment: Compound poses minimal danger to Administrator. ¡®The things you make me do¡­ Well extremely toxic to humans but not to me... huh... Well, a poison is still a matter of dose and perspective.¡¯ Without hesitation Alicia chomped the flower in its entirety. A mellow sweetness spread throughout her mouth. Strangely, the man who brought her the flower seemed to be so baffled by her action that he was stuck in a state of bewilderment, happiness and soon worry. He most probably knew of its poisonous properties¡­ ¡®A compassion from an assassin¡­ unexpected, unnecessary¡­ not unwelcome, I suppose.¡¯ >Analysis underway¡­ Standby¡­ Acquiring an unexpected boon, Alicia was in a rather good mood. Out of courtesy she put on her best smile to let her new underling know that she would be fine, to put his mind at ease. Though for Hein it was the most ruthless sneer, mocking his futile efforts to poison her. A great peril had come to this town¡­ perhaps even to the kingdom itself. Walking through the dark corridors he wondered¡­ was it better to stand against or with the crisis¡­ The choice was made for him. For his own survival, he dearly wished for the kingdom¡¯s downfall. With such thoughts running through his mind, Hein set about completing his next mission¡­ ¡®While we earned some time¡­ this is only a token fix. If the information I currently have is to be trusted, the butcher won¡¯t be discouraged by something like this¡­ But this isn¡¯t the last card in my hand¡­¡¯ Auratic Anyway. In this chapter the flower, Devil''s crown is based on a real poisonous flower known as Gloriosa superba more commonly known as fire lily, tiger lily or flame lily. Of course while it is toxic it probably won''t kill you with just a touch. Probably. I haven''t tried. Though still it is a nasty plant if ingested. To cite some facts Wikipedia: "Every part of the plant is poisonous and toxic enough to cause human and animal fatalities if ingested. It has been used to commit murder, to achieve suicide, and to kill animals. Within a few hours of the ingestion of a toxic amount of plant material, a victim may experience nausea, vomiting, numbness, and tingling around the mouth, burning in the throat, abdominal pain, and bloody diarrhea, which leads to dehydration. As the toxic syndrome progresses, rhabdomyolysis, ileus, respiratory depression, hypotension, coagulopathy, haematuria, altered mental status, seizures, coma, and ascending polyneuropathy may occur. Longer-term effects include peeling of the skin and prolonged vaginal bleeding in women. Colchicine is known to cause alopecia. One case report described a patient who accidentally ate the tubers and then experienced hair loss over her entire body, including complete baldness. Poisonings can occur when the tubers are mistaken for sweet potatoes or yams and eaten." The Glorious lily... See that? To add insult to injury this plant can make you bald even if you survive the other deadly effects! I''ve just realized how much illustration I need to do for this series and I''m not very thrilled about it. Since you''ve read it this far, I would like to ask you to kindly point out any mistakes or irregularities. I didn''t have the time to double check everything. I''m just hoping Google docs didn''t shaft me. As for some good news, I only have about 5-6 weeks of university left before summer break. That should net me some time focus on this. Granted I don''t die from the vaaarus. Chronicles Vol.1 Auratic ¡®The Following are a collection of excerpts from a larger piece of writing. Author unknown. The text is sporadic and disorganized but neatly penned. The cursive scripts do not resemble any known language, present or past. Numerous philologists have failed to decipher the text as a whole.¡¯ ¡°Regarding magic. Entry #3. The first step was the hardest but afterwards it was easy. Rather it was unnerving how natural it felt to use magic. Magic, as far as I know, is the almost supernatural phenomenon mostly created by the actions of spirits. Nearly every time. I could feel them, vague at first, but after raising my sensitivity to it I could see the minor spirits all around me. Some of them have seemed to have become infatuated with me, preferring to reside in my hair along with the hex weavers¡­ ¡­For me they look like animals, however it seems that they are able to take on any shape or form imaginable. They, spirits are pliable, mutable, they are capable of limited change¡­ ¡­Minor spirits appear to be quite food motivated. Magical Energy never fails to coax them into helping you with your spells. Even in their primitive forms they show remarkable intellect. So far, I have yet to observe any form of language or method of communication used among them¡­ so how can they understand incantations, arias and chants of humans or any other race for that matter, and create magic¡­?¡± The following excerpts were donated to the Royal conservatory by our venerable High Priestess, who confirmed the authenticity of the text, and its language to be of the ancient divine script. ¡°Regarding magic. Entry #9 Breakthrough! I now understand what spirits are and have a better understanding of what magic is and how it functions. The answer was right in front of me. First spirits, they are beings of energy. I was mystified at the term magical energy. However just omitting the magical part and just examining it as energy made much more sense. Just like any other energy, it can be converted into other forms, kinetic, potential and thermal. Including other more rare, composite, impure types of energy such as sonic, gravitational and radiation energy. Perhaps the most extreme example of this conversion is perhaps energy being transformed into tangible matter. Common spells, like the fireball, work by creating a mass of something, in this case a ball of flame in the air and then shoots it out into a direction as a means of attack. The created ball of flame is an example of creation of matter though I believe it is possible to ignite the air itself with thermal energy alone. Having the flame ¡®float¡¯ in air is an example of imparting potential energy into the object and flinging it in an arc at something at high speed is the last example of imparting kinetic energy¡­ ¡­More complex the spell, usually more small actions and finesse needed for the manipulation. All of this is taxing on concentration and exorbitantly expensive on energy. Here spirits help us, since they are beings of energy they understand energy at a level I cannot even begin to fathom. During spell casting, they take care of all of the small details, fine tune our accuracy, improve efficacy, compensate for our mistakes and if needed give us little bit of an energy boost to help us along; they aren¡¯t necessary for spellcasting¡­ but without them casting any sort of complex spell is more or less impossible for anyone¡­ It is amazing how deeply they are intertwined with energy¡­ we must seem amoeboid to them when attempting to use magic. It is a wonder why they assist us. Perhaps pity¡­ ¡­This also explains how they understand us, why arias and incantations and some dance-like movements and gesticulations exist. Spirits do not understand the individual meanings behind the words of any language but they can recognize the sound energy emitted by our vocalizations. The meanings of the words are irrelevant. They remember it, can go do a set of actions based on what they understand. They don¡¯t understand the meanings behind the movements but they can recognize the kinetic energy of those flailings. In this case they can be trained¡­ sort of. One¡¯s mastery of magic can be improved by repetition and general use of magic not just because the caster, the user, attains a firmer grasp on how to manipulate their magic, but also the spirits that have become attached to that specific person or conductor object such as a staff, horn, hair¡­ whatever that the being uses, also learns how best to understand their host and assist them when needed in the most beneficial way¡­ It is a collaborative effort¡­ Reason why I have much easier time using magic is thanks to Telepathy¡­ My spirits do not have to guess what I want from them, through my words. I can communicate with them directly. Tell them what exactly I want from them. But that is besides the point¡­ ¡­Perhaps there is a merit to yelling out a spell¡¯s name. The spirits may be able to identify the intensity of the sound, therefore act with more sensitivity¡­ I hate how the cliche of yelling random nonsense has an applicable use¡­ Thank god I don¡¯t have to do it that way¡­¡± ¡®Please do not touch the records, they are fragile. Miriam, this is especially for you. No, you cannot smell them either. - Llynbel, head curator, keeper of artifacts and relics of the Royal Conservatory.¡¯ Chapter 72: End of a Dynasty A petite girl called Maria struggled to get through all the people walking the packed, chaotic roads overflowing with foot traffic. Pushing past all kinds of people she eventually got out of the main streets, her short shoulder-length, umber colored hair1burnt umber #635147. was made slightly frazzled and messy from the whole ordeal. The girl took some time to neatly push it down back down into shape. Between the bangs of hair curtaining most of her face, a pair of onyx eyes could be seen. Her clothes were a cut higher than the average peasant''s that would draw unwelcome attention from the wrong type of people. As such, she wore a shabby robe over it to blend in with the commoners. Yes¡­ this girl was of a noble descent. Wealth, power, authority she had everything, all in ample proportions. Born under the protection of the spirits, even the mystic arts of sorcery were subject to her whim. Her undistinguished features, by aristocratic standards, would be the only point of contention. Besides that small quibble that she now considered preferable, she had a luxurious life ahead of her that anyone else would kill for to be in her shoes. And she left it all behind¡­ Remembering that this part of town wasn¡¯t kind to innocent girls, she pulled a hood over her head and hurried on with her way. There was a time period when some people would come around looking for her, no doubt sent by her house. Despite having everything anyone could ask for, that life of an aristocrat was stifling¡­ strangulating. Every lesson about etiquette, court manners, fine arts, dance, historical relationships, diplomacy, foreign language she naturally excelled at, yet they all felt empty¡­ unfulfilling. Though even now she puts what she''s learned to good use, in order to survive on the streets. A blooming smile naturally formed on her fetching face. Only her studies of magic and physical training along with weapons piqued her interest. It wasn¡¯t long after when her family learned of her fascination with the latter did they limit her time with the subject. Although irritating, it didn¡¯t discourage her at all as she continued the weapons training on her own in secret. She had visited the town nearby for a leisurely trip and was away for a few weeks. Though far from being her home, Viveria had grown on her enough to evoke homesickness. After a few days of catching up, she had discovered some intriguing information. Greeting familiar people she was in a great mood. The last straw that made her run away from her home for good was the arranged marriage with a high profile heir of another prestigious house that was set in stone when she was only thirteen. Other girls of her age would be brimming with excitement and happiness like their fantasies came to life. For her it was different. She hated the notion of being tied down to someone. Frankly she didn¡¯t have any interest in no man, but just insinuating that notion would bring dire consequences, so she tolerated it as best as she could for years. Still her life was dull, gray and meaningless, the few things that brought her joy, forbidden. But eventually she decided to try something. Something that would change her life forever. A romantic rendezvous in the woods. Her fiance, who was becoming somewhat anxious of their lukewarm relationship, quickly jumped at the invitation of this ¡®tryst¡¯. Their voices echoed through the desolate woods, blood rushing. A wet, sloppy mess of an encounter, it was the only moment she felt alive¡­ and she ran away, as far as her legs could carry her. That was a long time ago¡­ Picking through her pockets she pulled out a small pouch containing fibers of something, a memento of her first. Slowly she breathed in its lovely aroma, reminding her of why she chose this life. The thrill of her next date shot through her entire body, until she was reminded of her surroundings. Hired assassins, thugs and all sorts of scum dwelled in the streets, even some notorious big names prowling it nowadays. She picked up her pace to her destination, still a charming smile remained visible on her face¡­ After snaking through a few back alley streets she found the place she was looking for, a shabby inn away from prying eyes. Stepping through its doorway her nose easily picked up on the faint lingering scent of alcohol in the air. Despite its worn outwards appearance, judging by the interior she would have to say that it was rather well off business for being so far away from the mainstreets where most customers of an inn often travelled. Quickly she picked up on the man sitting behind a counter. Rotund physique and a grumpy mug that she could see from a mile away. She would have to see if he really was as stern as he appeared to be. While she was thinking of such things she was accosted by the barmaid. The diners¡¯ and customers¡¯ eyes followed her with a dumb look on their. She quickly greeted and the wench left quickly afterwards to tend to the sheep. Despite the friendly greeting, genial welcoming she could easily see through the game the minx was running. Hollow flattery, pointless interest and the charm of youth, all working together to get the hopes up of the starving men that gathered here. Intentionally or not she was playing with them, deftly turning down their advances. The fools in turn extend their stay, thinking that they have a greater chance to woo their prize if they just keep at it. Either the girl was an experienced slattern or truly naive. Then her attention shifted to the grumpy man behind the counters, though seemingly idling the entire time. His eyes were keen on catching any wandering hands and now that she looked at it a little closer, he was also ready to jump out at any moment to swat those hands back into their places. It was obvious what model they had adopted; ¡®look but don¡¯t touch¡­ or else¡¯. Walking up to the man she pulled down her hood and put on her best smile and asked for a room. The cost was little over the average but not excessively so. She ran through all of her pockets to scrounge up the just the right amount of funds, though it was all an act on her part¡­ His accent was quite thick probably of some dwarven descent, from the dialect she guessed that he was an immigrant from the empire¡­ The stout man quickly pointed to a room to the side after he quickly scribbled down her name into a ledger. Although she tried to play ditzy to earn a little favor it was clear that was not going to happen. ¡®Tough as they come¡­¡¯ she thought to herself. Her date would be here, she just had to find them and be patient¡­ After briefly checking into the room, she walked around for a bit looking around the inn and from the outside. She spent most of the day observing the people coming and going in and out of their rooms until only one room was left unaccounted for. No one had gone in or out the entire day, she was growing anxious. It was when the night arrived, someone came out and all was good in this world, again¡­ Something stirred within the blackness of night when every honest person was lost to a deep sleep. If there was anyone awake to see it, pearl-like white teeth could barely be discerned from the shadows. A black edge took life¡­ and another¡­ so easily as if snuffing out a candle. Slipping past the door and slinking through the building like a shadow on the wall they swiftly reached another door. Even the creaking floorboards seemed to be asleep with a hush. Earlier they had meticulously studied the locks of the inn. They were above and beyond most of its competitors yet it was no deterrent for them. A leering smile appeared on their face as they carefully picked at the hole and the lock clicked open. Though their mood quickly soured when they saw what was waiting for them. A question voiced with a strange and cold timbre came from the figure donned in a green cloak, standing in the middle of the room. Their short white strands of hair could still be seen through the darkness. They put on a theatrical bow and when they took an upright posture, a needle-like pair of daggers came flying at the hooded figure. From beyond the darkness, they were hardly discernible having been dyed black with some sort of substance. They were easily flicked aside by the cloaked person¡¯s blade but that was far from the end as another pair of knives with curved edges were bared against them, narrowly blocked with their blade. ¡®Elfi¡¯ had closed the distance in the instant when the daggers were deflected. Tongue clicking in frustration could be heard from right after the clash of metal. Realizing that they couldn¡¯t win the contest of strength they retreated before retaliation could arrive. In an almost acrobatic backwards roll the tip of Elfi¡¯s leg missed the cloaked figure¡¯s head by a whisker but it managed to tear through the front of the hood enough to have it slide back. Piercing gaze of deep scarlet eyes looked back at them now. Faint nod was the reply. From the rush of wind that whizzed by her, Alice knew just how much force was behind that seemingly harmless roll backwards. And just now she picked up on a unique smell lingering in the air. She couldn¡¯t tell what it was, however¡­ >Olfactory profile identified. Byproduct of multiple potent toxins. Exercise caution. From the showy curtsy as a distraction, thrown daggers, leading up to the pre-emptive strike, they were all calculated killing blows. Just a scratch from the poison laced daggers, without even needing to draw blood, was enough to send the average person to their eternal slumber. The skirmish was hardly a quiet one and from the commotion¡­ golden haired young scion of the house Valtima woke up. She seemed like she wanted to ask ¡®but how?¡¯ as the assassin Elfi was blocking the only exit, but they didn¡¯t have time to calmly think things through and come up with a plan. Rosalia quickly grabbed her cloak from her bedside and attempted to pry open the window behind her. Elfi¡¯s voice turned strangely sensuous, severely shocking Rosalia who was so deeply shaken to her core that she briefly forgot to work the window in spite of the mortal danger presented. A manic if somewhat unhinged series of giggling followed after the declaration, and when she tried to leap after Rosalia, a flashing glint of a fast approaching blade dissuaded her from continuing any further. Coming to her senses Rosalia managed to open the window and jumped out. She caught a glimpse of Alice''s overall appearance and built a brief profile of her, the result; she was a minor threat. She possessed an exotic, attractive face but dressed herself in a strange promiscuous, yet fine attire fit only for harlots. It was the expected answer of a bodyguard. As much as she wanted take her time running her daggers through their tender skin. But if she did, she was guaranteed to lose her grand prize. Alice''s swings were wide, heavy and slow, she had no trouble evading them, however, when she went on the offensive Alice proved to be quite the tricky foe. Despite her graceless, clumsy haymakers, she could show speed and finesse previously unseen from her when she defended herself. ''If she could apply that same swiftness to her attacks I could have been in trouble.'' she thought, ''not quite ripe but full of sweet nectar¡­ you''re better than most, but not the best I''ve faced. Ah¡­ if I hadn''t had such a titillating little flower to attend to.'' With her evaluation complete, Elfi attacked once again with a rush of speed, this time outmaneuvering her, enough to bypass her and jump after the fleeing girl. She hadn''t gone far, her distant yells of help she could still be heard. Unfortunately for her she was running towards the slums where patrols were rare, and decent people to offer her help even rarer. Her heart was racing, blood racing through her veins, the thrill of the hunt. She was gaining on her as now the sounds of Rosalia''s feet frantically striking against the paved road became louder and louder. Her huffing breath, intermittently cut off by sharp gasps, became audible before long. Laughter filled with madness resounded through forlorn streets. Elfi could traverse these streets by just smell and touch alone, and like a hound herding livestock to their pens she threatened Rosalia from one side and another, manipulating her movements without her knowing, corralling her into a corner. In a little while this wild chase inevitably ended in Rosalia being trapped. Desperately looking around the dead end for any hope for escape, but alas her pursuer was hot on her heels, proudly walking up to her from behind with strutting steps, twirling the deadly daggers between her fingers. Her captured prey stood with her back against a wall panicking but still trying to maintain her composure, stirring a peculiar excitement within her. To hear her euphonious screams when her blade ran through her flesh supple like butter. How she would adore her untarnished face will twist from pain as her body. Realizing that escape is not an option, Rosalia prepared to protect herself, quietly starting to chant, an action that provoked more unsolicited lust from Elfi. She couldn¡¯t hold back any more of the exhilaration, in a blink of an eye she had already pinned Rosalia¡¯s hands up against the hard stone bricks behind her before she could finish her chant, or even respond and she could feel her hot breath on her nape. Rosalia tried to turn up and away from her, exposing her neck in the process. To the excited Elfi, it was like an invitation. Muculent and sultry tongue sensuously tracing her neck from the clavicles to the carotids, leaving behind a trail of saliva. The arteries thumping rapidly against the tip of her tongue only further kindled her desire. She was in no hurry, for in her mind she had gotten Rosalia right where she wanted her to be, and when her clumsy lap-dog crawled back to her she would take all the time in the world tormenting her in front of her to see how the hope fades from her eyes deep purple2Bossanova #402E5C eyes. In reality¡­ it was Elfi who was being tangled deeper and deeper into the web, soon to be inescapably trapped. Few hours beforehand Alicia had caught wind of a suspicious person loitering around in the inn. She learned of this rather late as the person in question initially slipped past the attention of her Hex crawlers stationed in the inn, meaning they had stealth related talents even though the Crawlers had up to sixth rank of Presence detection, not something common among the general populace. Even some veterans of the Devil¡¯s crown didn¡¯t have that high of a stealth skill. With a probable candidate for the butcher identified Alicia started drafting up her plan. First of which was to secure Rosalia¡¯s safety. Although she didn¡¯t like it, this time she decided to keep her completely in the dark. Thankfully from her mushroom related incident and the sampling indigenous toxic flora, helped discover the perfect venom for the situation. A potent sleeping and paralysing agent without the fatal consequences of a conventional venom. Alicia wanted to deal with the problem as cleanly as possible in the most thorough manner. Stinging Rosalia, the target of the assassin, into a sound sleep, Alicia very carefully carried her away to a safe place outside the town near its edge. The location was provided by her new collaborators from inside the Crown, and secured by the brunt of her combat-capable Araneae and a Mirror image of Alicia for use of transposition to immediately return if anything happened. Staying out of sight on your own was easy, doing the same in the broad daylight was a challenge, staying out of sight while carrying around another unconscious person in daylight was a nightmare. By being patient and taking her time, Alicia managed to safely reach the impromptu safehouse without an incident. Although Alicia wanted to dispatch the suspect herself, they were too alert, looking around for someone or something. Even as the evening approached and nightfall began, they ¡®slept¡¯ as if they had one eye open. Alicia had multiple opportunities but each of them felt less than ideal. Being seen attacking an innocent person was not an option. She even tried sniping the suspect from afar with her bow but the angle never worked out. Regardless now that the victim was safe, away from the Butcher¡¯s reach it was time for a second step. Catching the assassin and minimizing the collaterals. If a confrontation occurred and their cover was blown, it was likely that the Butcher would flee to avoid the guards, only to strike again with more preparation, more caution. And if the Butcher somehow escaped them after realizing something was wrong or if they recognized that they were losing or about to it was the same. Effectively, returning to the drawing board with added difficulty. Secondly, a fight inside the inn might endanger innocent bystanders in the crossfire. Both of this could be solved in a single step. Although highly demanding, mimicry combined with Mirror image could transform Alicia into an almost perfect replica of someone. Height, voice, physique everything. Though there were few imperfections such as eye color and obviously¡­ mannerisms and personality was unchanged. Meaning that Alicia had to act the part as well. Thankfully the other party shouldn¡¯t have known much about Rosalia other than her looks, so there was some room for error. Borrowing her identity, Alicia could lure the Butcher into a more suitable place, away from townsfolk and a place where they felt confident. Slums were the best choice for both its proximity and the lack of people in certain areas. Still Alicia didn¡¯t know how strong the other party was and it would be strange for someone like Rosalia to go around on their lonesome, even if they were in hiding. That is when Alice came into play, she filled in the role of a bodyguard, who would not only gauge the Butcher¡¯s strength and delay them while Alicia, disguised as Rosalia, would run away and lead them to the intended location. Besides a few ad libbing added to the plan as it was executed, only one last step remained. Closing off the web. Once the butcher was in the right place, Alice with the help of a few crypt weavers would create a massive network of reinforced webbing to make sure the Butcher could not escape. She only had to hang on for a little while until the webs were in place. And the plan went off without a hitch. Though Alicia would disagree¡­ There was no way she could account for the Elfi deviancy¡­ As Elfi relishes the image of Rosalia¡¯s body, something jumps out at her. The attack took by surprise but she avoided it by jumping and rolling. When her eyes turned to where she was just standing, it focused on a familiar girl, pulling out an arming sword lodged in the ground where she stood. Something felt different this time, it was undoubtedly the same girl from appearance alone but an oppressive aura emanated from her. It felt as if hundreds of small pins prickled her whole body at the same time when they locked eyes. While she was shaking off the strange feeling Alice had disappeared from her sight and the next moment she was at the bottom of her peripheral vision the edge of her blade glinting from the pale blue light of the moon. Common response would be to look down but if she did the sword would find her neck with a clean cut. With all her strength she threw her head backwards and followed through the momentum into a flip backwards. Though hitting the landing it felt as if the ground itself was trembling as it broke into smaller pieces putting her off balance. However Alice was unconcerned with the shaking or the uneven ground and pressed on her attack. Without proper footing Elfi desperately rolled on the ground to escape the attacks and made enough distance to put herself back on her feet. But that wasn¡¯t the end¡­ Pebbles and stones loosened by the prior tremors flew at her, at first she could avoid them and block the ones she couldn¡¯t, but their arrow-like speed and the sheer numbers intensified creating a veritable hailstorm of stone making it impossible to defend herself against every one of them. One stray stone hit her left ankle, throwing her off allowing enough to hit her square in the gut shortly followed by another hitting her in the chest. Causing her to collapse down kneeling into a fetal position. Blood dribbling from her mouth. Though Elfi herself seemed not to be bothered at all by the situation, she looked up at Rosalia and lapped up the blood from her lips smiling. And when she did, her coal black eyes lit up in bright crimson. She was right, she had never felt this alive since killing her fiance. She couldn¡¯t help but giggle with excitement, this was everything that she wanted. She was born with a unique gift, an uncanny desire and talent to maim and mutilate. Spilt blood, be it of her own or others it didn¡¯t matter they all awoke something in her, filling her with energy, animating her still body with life. At first she managed it by watching animals be slaughtered for food, then she started to hunt on her own, an activity that was rare for women to partake in. But her family after seeing her disturbing interest in gore prohibited her. Repressing those strange desires did not quell them, it only laid there simmering until it boiled over culminating in the creation of the deranged assassin known as the Butcher¡­ and the downfall of the entire lineage of nobility. Tinge of lunacy could be seen clearly on her black pupils drowned in blood red iris. She sprung forth with unprecedented speed straight at Rosalia. She was the one using the magic, she had to be dealt with as soon as possible¡­ regardless of what may come, she knew she wouldn¡¯t live to see tomorrow. But that didn¡¯t matter to her in the slightest, as though there was some reluctance to die from not being able to sample more fresh blood, she was sure there was nothing else in life was greater than the moment she was in living in right now, and she didn¡¯t want to spoilt it with meaningless thoughts distracting her. The speed at which she ran at Rosalia, the one who gifted her with this wonderful opportunity was inconceivable. Even as she hurled herself headfirst into her in a crouching sprint, Alicia could not easily hit her with the stones due to her smaller frame, and the ones that did manage to land did not deter or even slow her down at all. With an insane murderer barreling towards her Alicia had to think fast. A crack in space formed, leading to a lightless realm invisible to the sane mind. Reality itself seems to shudder from its existence, of this gap, attempting to close it off and restoring itself to its proper state. From its bottomless mouth Alicia pulled out a black object with glassy sheen just over the halfway point, and let go of the stream of magical energy sustaining the opening. In a snap the opening collapsed in on itself, propelling the object out at extreme speeds. Dauntless flew through the air and embedded itself deep into Elfi¡¯s body, stopped from completely penetrating through her by the briary guards digging into the space between the ribs. The blade had pierced and shattered a chunk of her lower spine, her chest leaned back while the rest of her body rested kneeling motionless, her body prevented from collapsing backwards by the blade itself acting as a support on her back. It seemed like it was over and a few moments later, relieved, Alicia undid her tiring disguise and walked over to her to pull off her blade from her body. >Cautio- When she came close to Elfi she used the last of her vigor to swipe her daggers at Alicia, despite being caught off guard she managed to back off but the small shallow swipe barely drew blood. A drop of it fell on her face and flowed down into her face and entered her agape mouth landing on her tongue. With the last of her breath she seemed to say something but it was never voiced¡­ Only Alicia knew what it was through brief connection of telepathy. When she gripped the handle of dauntless¡­- -¡­a rush of memories came through. Noxine Norilsk Romanov was a troubled individual since her childhood. Born into a prestigious line of aristocratic family, as their first child, she was drilled with an enormous amount of classes and lessons from youth and was burdened by grand expectations that often fell upon noble children. The House of Romanov by the time she was born was in decline, and they were eager to take back the stage. In spite of all the torturous lessons, she persevered but not for long, for she was both gifted and cursed by a particularly risky skill. The skill gave her the means to succeed and keep up with the ever increasing demands of the family. It gave her focus, will, motivation and sheer grit needed to survive the brutal upbringing of an aristocrat. But it ate away at her mind, with how corrosive the skill was to one¡¯s psyche, it is a wonder how she managed not to snap. Rather than denying and containing it, she embraced the corruptive suggestions of the skill, it protected her mind, but forever tainted her. While overtime the tendencies of the skill would fade away over a long, long period of time, her lifestyle never allowed it for it. The nobility could be ruthless even to their own kin, brought up in that inhospitable environment shaped Noxine. Treated as a tool, just another piece on the board, instead of being a daughter made her think of others in the same way, an object to be used and discarded when it was of no use. She grew up lacking empathy and her training as noble, which included courses in hiding one''s emotions as it was treated as a weakness within the circle, keeping a stiff upper lip only fed into the development of her psychopathy. And when it was combined with her upbringing focused on the intricacies of social interaction, it resulted in a deadly combination of charming, charismatic being that created faces and identities and discarded them on a near daily basis to get whatever little advantage she could get. On the surface she was an endearing, well mannered girl, but as soon as you turned their back to her¡­ she would gut them with the same, blooming smile on her face. To her life itself was expendable, only a means to feed her habit, entertain her. In her mind she was never truly doing wrong at all¡­ She fully transformed into the heinous assassin known as the butcher when she decided to kill her fiance, her first victim; it was all too easy to trick people afterwards and it was then she realized she didn¡¯t need to hide behind a thin veil of society, of marriages, balls and dresses. >Vital signs negative. Nervous activity similar to sleep pattern. Complete cessation in 7¡À2 minutes. Pulling away Dauntless, without any surprises this time, she deposited it back into the void vault as the body finally fell to the ground. There was no response but the answer was quite obvious to Alicia. After picking up the blackened knives from her body Alice asked her counterpart: She looked at the damaged street she herself broke down in order to use the stone underneath them. And some of the missed stones had punched copious amounts of holes into the walls of nearby buildings. Looking at Noxine, Alicia remembered to close her still open eyes shut for the last time, and silently waited in the street until Alma confirmed full cessation of brain activity where she put Noxine¡¯s corpse inside the Void vault as well, for safekeeping before burial. A certain small part of the pauper¡¯s district had gotten a pristine makeover of immaculate repairs to both the road leading up to and some of the nearby buildings overnight. The reconstruction was so flawless that some lower-middle-class people moved in for dirt cheap prices to some getting it for free, bringing jobs and finally businesses opened up along with it, creating a small bubble of order within the chaotic, abandoned section of the town. It helped people who resided in the area a second chance to get back up on their feet once more. Though it did not completely remove the rats and paupers in the town¡­ it sure shrank their numbers considerably. Auratic The chapter is about 5k words raw, so uh could you guys pretend that I double released a chapter and then half released one over the last two weeks? thanks. I''m still clinging on to this mortal coil, unfortunately. Me granny is out of the hospital but she sure makes me run on a lot of medication groceries. I wonder if it was even the time to let her out. My great-aunt is still in the hospital. Apparently you need blood-oxygen saturation of 90% to be discharged. She currently has something around 72%. A section of this chapter was written in a mall public wifi because my appartment experienced electrical outage. Anyway I did this thing called human benchmark test. I''m not sure if it is saying that I''m bad at being a monkey or that I''m worse than a monkey. Apparently I have above average word memory or something. Noxine will get a sketch and maybe a colored portrait sometime soon?. Why her first? Well first I think she is important enough to warrant it but also I wouldn''t feel that bad if I were to fuck up her illustration so yeah. And here''s your meme. I haven''t done this in a while so here''s your chance to earn some clout points you can use them to cyberbully me into making additions into the story as it goes. I distinct remember some guy trying to make me turn nyancat into a canon addition to the story. If you''re reading this , this is it. Noxine has a title that will be revealed at the next chapter''s author notes section. If you can comment it before it is revealed you win the clout. Your first hint is, the root of the name Noxine itself. Your second hint is, her second false name. The last hint is, To injure or harm. Chapter 73: Investigations Cryptweavers had cleaned up much of the unused webbing before the townsfolk started their morning life. Any leftovers were instead disposed of by the smaller hex weavers who could still work in the broad daylight. Though few, out of the way bridge lines were spared as they were deemed harmless, setting the precedent of a walkway that linked buildings and establishing a convenient path the Araneae could use to move around unseen and unhindered by the traffic. Few of Alicia¡¯s Araneae were getting quite comfortable in the urban setting, primarily feeding on rodents that plagued the streets and buildings. Unfortunately, the pigeon population now had a new predator besides stray cats to worry about¡­ Rosalia had woken up quite later than usual, as Alicia had injected a rather high dose of somniferous venom in lieu of risking her waking up at any point before the issue was resolved. Thankfully it appeared that she had no idea what happened during her sleep or that she was dragged around like luggage against the pavement by Alice the night prior. It didn¡¯t take long for Rosalia to perk right back up. With all of the recent chaos finally done and over with, Alicia decided it was finally the time to sit back and relax. She enjoyed her laid back life for about 20 minutes until two men were found dead in their room. With the last person who was with them missing inexplicably, it was easy to determine who was the perpetrator, unfortunately they had fled without much of a trace. Many of the guests including Rosalia and Alicia were questioned rigorously by the guards arriving at the scene, but without any evidence to go off of they had let it go shortly thereafter. It goes without saying that the inn¡¯s reputation was tarnished not unrecoverably so, still it was a stain that wouldn¡¯t fade away any time soon. Understandably Rosalia was disturbed by the event and was finally willing to change lodging, but due to the arrangement she set up in her letter, she couldn¡¯t leave. By early noon a telepathic message from one of her familiars with the content: ¡®Upright swine has arrived¡­¡¯ Setting up a secure means of communication with members of an underground criminal syndicate was by no means straightforward. However, as they were bound under the influence of Domination, combined with the fact that they all knew the true identity of Alicia offered her a wider range of methods she could employ. Almost every one of her Devil¡¯s crown recruits carried with them a hex crawler, some knowingly others obliviously. As the crawlers were her kindred, Alicia could approximately track their positions and acted as a two-way radio, of course they were also monitoring their actions, ready to inject lethal dose of venom at the instant they overstep their boundaries, just as a second safety net should somehow Domination fail. ¡®I really should teach them the difference between humans and swine¡­¡¯ >Current iteration of Araneae incapable of high level facial recognition. Development level of Araneomorphae recommended. ¡®Speaking of which¡­ I didn¡¯t have enough last time, any updates so far?¡¯ >Sufficient points accrued. Action may take several minutes to conclude. Induce development? Y/N. ¡®Not here, not now. Remind me after we return home.¡¯ Rosalia was tense with the recent transpirations while Alicia, knowing that she was at her safest right now as opposed to the past few nights, was mostly unconcerned. However, since she couldn¡¯t come up with a proper justification of her confidence without revealing too much information, in order to keep Rosalia relatively calm she had no choice but to stay near her. Or she could trick her into thinking that she was with her. Slipping away for a moment, Alicia created a mirror image of herself that returned to Rosalia, whilst she herself went to attend a ¡®meeting¡¯. It wasn''t long until she came across a group of shady-looking individuals gathered in a side lane of one of the main streets, huddled together doing¡­ something away from prying eyes. Occasionally one of them would nervously look around. They were completely unaware of Alicia¡¯s approach, despite their vigil. Messy hair, dirty clothes, foul scent of sweat masked by something herbaceous, eyes jumping everywhere except directly at her, combined with his tired appearance perfectly sold their appearances as lowly serfs. Most farmers, however, would not have as deep an understanding of poisons and human anatomy as they did. Not expecting to be addressed, they were all taken completely off guard, jumping up in surprise before turning to her. One closest to Alicia noticeably fidgeting, stammered out a response through a series of nervous chuckles. Through Cold reader she could piece together what he was attempting to say. ¡®They found something interesting, needed to let me know and tried to communicate with my Araneae¡­ This is going to take too long.¡¯ Closing her eyes and mentally sighing Alicia decided that it was better to give them a little encouragement. The men who heard her voice were compelled by some arcane, preternatural will not too unlike from Domination, both mind and body complied. After a small break of breathing exercise they were ready to continue. Volume of Alicia¡¯s voice increased with each question, putting more pressure on them. Alicia herself was only worried that some uninvolved bystander could have been dragged into the situation. ¡®This is going to be troublesome, I have to go see what mess these guys prepared for me.¡¯ ¡®Seems like we¡¯re in the industrial part of town, the warehouse must be a storage depot not currently in use. Not my first choice but, with how much of a short notice they had to prepare a place like this, not too bad.¡¯ Within the spacious interior empty crates of varying sizes and shapes along with hay left over. Few men were standing watch in one of the corners, from among them, Hein was selected by Alicia to conduct the questioning instead of her. He had an aura of a seasoned leader about him, a quality Alicia thought would be useful for the upcoming questions. If by chance someone unrelated was mistakenly brought in, it would be difficult to let them go after they had seen her in league with possibly the largest crime organization of the town. ¡®Can we have some sort of amnestic venom¡­?¡¯ >Insufficient compound database. Acquire more samples. ¡®Right¡­ of course¡­ why didn¡¯t I think of that¡­ Well we¡¯re going to do this the roundabout way.¡¯ Though Hein was clearly uncomfortable with the use of Telepathy he had no choice but to heed. As Hein Walked up to an old man with his hands bound behind him, Alicia examined the captive. The man wore fairly refined clothing, his head had graying streaks in it and most notably held an air of arrogance. As soon as he noticed Hein approaching him, his eyes narrowed to a slit in disgust. With a heavy backhand slap, Hein smacked the monologuing elder to the ground, interrupting his threats. Fuming with anger, he propped himself up and started muttering something under his breath. Without his hands to guide the flames the fires haphazardly spread out. Hay surrounding the aged man caught fire, yet in spite of the abundance of dry flammable materials it struggled to grow or spread, only billowing a white hazy smoke around him. ¡®Seems that he needs his hands to use his magic effectively, I guess he was trying to burn through his bindings¡­? Then what¡­? it¡¯s not like he''s gonna be able to fight everyone in here¡­¡¯ In actuality he was attempting to intimidate the former assassins into letting him go by setting the entire building ablaze. His strategy was also not a terrible one; much of the peasant class and ordinary folk viewed acts of magic either with reverence, wonder, or terror. After all, humanity has always been afraid of the unknown. And, because of the limitation imposed upon them by the caste system or lacking financial competence, the common serf did not have the opportunity to educate oneself on magic. Only a select few commoners had the miraculous chance to be held in favor of their superiors and learned some paltry pieces of the arts of magic. Though not long after his menacing declaration the flames died out. A small puff of flames shot out behind him before immediately dying out. The surroundings smoked as if it wanted to catch fire; they only smouldered without igniting. The old man started wheezing as he struggled to breathe, taking in quick shallow series of breaths. Hein could have just remained silent and let everything happen, but he was just as interested, possibly hoping to gain whatever little information he could from Alicia that might reveal any flaw or fault in her control over him. His inquisitiveness was not lost on Alicia so she answered his question. In her life before this one, she often taught her younger sister on various topics and when she couldn¡¯t answer the question, she would go through books, magazines and sometimes even strangers to find a satisfying answer for her. While Alicia was lost to a brief hit of nostalgia, Hein understood very little of what she had conveyed to him but he knew that she had done something with the air around him that was both preventing his Fire affinity magic from materializing and had adverse effects on his weakening body. He lamented his lack of knowledge of Alchemy and Natural philosophy, but¡­ would even the academy''s best scholars really comprehend her? Was there even a deviant witch in the world who could recognize what she was saying? Again he could only think of supernatural devils, evil spirits with vast power and arcane enlightenment beyond human attainment. Unsure how to proceed, a tense few moments of silence went by. Grunting and pouring all of his power into it, the elderly man unleashed all of his magical energy as his sweat poured out of his graying head to create a blaze within the oppressively low oxygen environment. Counterproductively, the flames devoured the precious little oxygen within his bubble before snuffing out, as Alicia drew away more oxygen from it as a precaution. The man had choked himself out in a bout of wrath that was only destructive to himself. From the start to finish of the interrogation process Alicia had been monitoring his thoughts. Knowing that he will return to normal after some time in fresh air she was not a bit worried about his health. Hein¡¯s men dragged the knocked cold man out of the warehouse as Hein himself went over to the other person that was most likely mistakenly captured. Alicia got what she wanted so she was fine with just leaving now but decided to at least take a look at the person, hopefully to make it up to them later. Past a few boxes sitting on a cushion of rough hay sat another man past his prime. He was neatly dressed and groomed, just like the person before him, but his face had a more lived-in appearance. Uncertainty clearly reflected on his eyes. Leaving unscathed, Stefanos walked through the streets once more, holding his back. Deep within the pockets of his well worn driver¡¯s coat he carried only a letter addressed to a certain noble heir of house Valtima. Unbeknownst to him, several Hex crawlers moved about on top of the bridge lines above his head, and Huntresses leapt over gaps between buildings; they were all following his movements. Not as a prey, but a V.I.P, for he was a retiring coachman on his last service. Auratic I''ve noticed that people are, concerned with what I''ll do with Noxine''s cadaver floating about in the chasms of the void. For now I can not say anything without going into spoilers territory. By the time this will get relevant again you''ll probably will have forgotten about her. For now, all I can say is that "Dude, trust me." Also you''ll get a different type of poll which will affect how she''ll come out. If you''re wondering about her Title that I mentioned last time the correct answer was "Noxious Love" /u/MarkofWisdom gets half a point for getting it half right. If you get another one half right, you get a full point of clout. First part of her name ''nox'' is referring to the word Noxium - which is related to the terms, to injure, harm and hurt, it is also etymologically the root of the word Noxious. The second hint was for the second part of her title. Her second alias was ''Filia'' meaning daughter. I''ve included this to throw off people because daughter is obviously not the answer though it is still believeable enough to be one. Filia is a Homophone to the word Philia, one of the four terms for love, specifically brotherly love. And there you have it. Noxine, The Noxious Love. Oh and uh if you didn''t know both Rufus and Ramiel have their titles as well. It''s just not as obvious, you can try figure them out but have fun because I''m not dropping the hints for them again. Also if you''re wondering why I was so late... Uhhh I got caught up in the End-user License agreement scheme. Anyway I still haven''t started on Noxine''s sketch and i''ll get to that. And things will wind down for a bit, in terms of the story progression. I think we all need it. Chapter 74: Vow of Secrecy A hoary man stepped into an inn some ways off the main streets. Though adorned in shabby clothes under a threadbare coat, he walked with his back straight and strides confident. The interior of the inn seemed almost barren with an air of unease hanging about. At the back of the building behind a counter, the portly innkeep downed mugs of alcohol one after the other, paying no heed to his arrival. As he was taking in his surroundings, double checking whether this was the right place, a young girl - judging by her getup, a waitress or barmaid - leaned her head around a corner from the depths of the building to see who had come in. With some uncertainty the girl approached him. He couldn¡¯t help but bring attention to the unsettling lack of patrons, however the subtle nod completely flew over the girl¡¯s head. Instead she lightheartedly thought that it was easier to find what person the old man was looking for with fewer people in the inn. Thinking to himself for a moment: Instantly she knew who the man was referring to: Saying so, with light steps, she dashed up to the second-floor rooms, running up against one of the doors, knocking gently. Not long after she returned with a smile to lead him to the room, asking if they wanted a drink to which he requested a particular blend of tea, though unfortunately the establishment lacked the particular mix. As the girl left, he barely knocked on the door before it opened. He had barely stepped into the room when Rosalia raced up and hugged him, evidently overjoyed. Stephano froze for a while, stunned, before looking at Rosalia¡¯s face then squeezing out a response. In the background of the reunion scene, Alicia was deep in thought trying to figure out a way to act like she was seeing the man for the first time. Inadvertently her subconscious wish to not be noticed until she formed a plausible acting script, triggered stealth to take its effect. Rosalia inquired but received only a heavy hearted downhearted stare. Slow and despondently he shook his head. He brought out an envelope from the depths of his worn coat. As soon as she saw it, she knew from whom it was from. The wax sealing it bore not the insignia of House Valtima but the personal emblem of Reynold himself, a kite shield depicting a predatory beast snarling at the beholder. Letter had an unnatural yet welcoming warmth as if it was just written from the hearthside of her home when she touched it, content in finding its way to her; it was her father¡¯s magical seal. Hastily tearing through the envelope scanning through every phrase, word and letter not letting a single detail pass by. Alicia, respecting her privacy as best as she could, fought against her urge to sneak a peak or tune into her inner voice through Cold Reader. But even without any additional assistance she could guess the letter didn¡¯t bring the news they wanted, as Rosalia¡¯s eyes started to squinch and bedew as she started to cradle the letter. Her initial hope and optimism faded, in its place a look of loss set in. When Rosalia¡¯s legs started to waver from emotion, fearing that his master''s daughter would collapse, Stephano quickly grabbed ahold of her and led her to a bed nearby. Unsure how to approach the situation, Alicia decided it was best to give her time and space mentally going through her to-do list and double checking if she had forgotten something. Before she was even halfway through the checklist Rosalia came up to her, face filled with conviction. ¡®Wow, she recovered fast.¡¯ Rosalia looked to be struggling to put her thoughts into words, floundering, starting sentences over and over again without forming a complete idea. Even the ever reliable cold reader couldn¡¯t help Alicia as her mind was in a state of utter chaos, a cesspit of confused thoughts and a riot of emotions. The bewilderment even spread to Alicia who couldn¡¯t bear to peer any further into her thoughts without getting lost and confused herself. After an arduous few moments Rosalia started to speak. Alicia abridged the points as best as she could. ¡®So skipping over the soap opera bits she got disowned¡­ not quite¡­ exiled maybe¡­? Is there a specific word for this¡­? Anyway, basically she can¡¯t return. The point being her father thinks the attempted murder and her subsequent disappearance was an inside job and doesn¡¯t know who to trust; bringing her back to a place like that only endangers her, perhaps more than if she were out in the middle of nowhere running away from wild dogs or whatever. So he asked a favor of his previous servant, Stefanos, a coachman in service to his family who he apparently has a long history with that retired a few moons ago. But he has a lead of sorts¡­ someone brought her bloody signet ring as proof of her death claiming that they later found it from the site of the attack and wanted to see where that rabbit hole led. Bringing her back in the flesh makes for great incriminating evidence¡­ but probably won¡¯t root out the problem as he thinks the corruption runs even deeper. Additionally her return will most likely push the true culprits into hiding until they make another far more prepared plan. Knowing that she¡¯s alive and recognizing that he has been tricked1backstabbed and quite possibly, bamboozled also allowed him to ruminate the actions of his allies from a different light and already he has seen some holes in their claims, making some highly dubious actions. Unfortunately he can¡¯t also assist her directly without raising suspicions and implications to whoever that might be monitoring him. Playing the grieving jester he wants to bring them all to justice and wants some time. He had already caught some accomplices sending more people after her trying to finish what they started. Yeah, yeah, yeah¡­ I think I know how that turned out, he missed one and that one guy put a bounty on her head and that just so happened to catch the attention of a local sociopath¡­ that sexually assaulted me, pretending to be her¡­ you know what I¡¯ll just leave out this part. And then his bright idea for how she should continue is to just hide outside of his domicile so she¡¯s far away from the danger, suggesting that I, who had helped her so far, take her in for some indeterminate amount of time. For some reason she also mentioned that I was some sort of distant noble or whatever in her letter and he thinks that I can take her away, vowing to return the favor in some eventuality promising some vague political gains¡­ Okay, what kind of whackjob asylum patient¡¯s diary of a letter did she write to him? How did I become part of the aristocracy? Ugh- I¡¯ll omit this part too¡­ Rosalia had calmed down quite a bit since her initial panic. It was the first time Rosalia had been taken aback by Alicia¡¯s decisions, but she had her answers prepared from the start. Rosalia was at a loss for words when it came to persuading Alicia to change her decision. Realizing that the conversation was quickly coming to a standstill and subsequently to its conclusion in an unsatisfactory direction for Rosalila, Stephano chimed in. At her wits end Rosalia relented. Alicia gave her another chance to reconsider and put what is in store for her into a meaningful perspective that she can understand, grimly stated: Understandably Stephano was getting anxious and hesitant of Alicia¡¯s increasingly ominous warnings. Amused, she inquired. Tittering for a brief moment. Alicia again relegated to the background interrupted. Deep breath and a long pause Rosalia answered. In a subdued tone, almost as if to convince herself: She held out her right hand towards Rosalia standing to her left, and her left - going underneath her other outstretched hand - to Stefanos. An invitation for a handshake, even if it was a completely foreign custom, they could infer what she wanted. In a voice louder than her previous. Alicia concentrated her magical energy in preparation. Unnerving aura of oppression grew around her. Never has Rosalia seen her like this, she knew for sure, Alicia was serious. They stared into the limitless depths of the abyss for the first time, as an overpowering emptiness swept over them, bent on devouring everything that made them who they are, through Alicia''s platinum white. Nervously gulping down the growing unease, they took the leap of faith and grabbed her hands in unison, firmly shaking it. Auratic Spooder vidya of recently discovered tarantula species. Oh you want a meme? I have that too. :) Chapter 75: Homecoming Auratic As the iron grip of Domination set in, the true extent of their commitment gradually dawned on the two. The overbearing nothingness hung heavily upon something deep inside them, and though the feeling like that of massive shackles tying them down only lasted for a moment before vanishing without a trace, it left an indelible mark. They couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling that they just signed off their souls to the devil for dubious compensation. Alicia, the so-called devil, was simply rubbing her forehead as if she had a headache, habitually rather than from any real pain. Before any of them could raise a question Alicia started talking¡­ to no one in particular. Before they could ask who she was talking to, countless white spiders crawled out of every nook and cranny of the room and streamed towards Alicia. Old coach driver and his young liege were choked in silent awe as the arachnids slipped under and climbed up her cloak. One particular Hex crawler scaled up her face. Apparently the spiders¡¯ destination was her hair as they disappeared among the strands of her platinum tress. They snapped back into reality when she brought the subject of departure to them. As she said this, she exited the room and gently shut the door, leaving behind the still perplexed couple. Delivering the news to the innkeeper that she and her party were leaving today elicited an indifferent response from him; still reeling from the murders that happened in his establishment. Only the excessively-bonhomie-at-times waitress girl bid farewell and invited them to come back soon. From what she noticed, the ¡®staff¡¯ area at the back felt empty as she perceived almost no presence at all compared to when they first arrived. ¡®Day offs and early leave¡­? Yeah right. Probably quit or laid off. Ahhh¡­ I can¡¯t say I¡¯m not completely uninvolved with this mess but I can¡¯t really do anything. Let¡¯s just hope we can make up to them later if the opportunity presents itself. Anyway I need a return vehicle, straight back to the forest¡­ Albertini might have what I¡¯m looking for¡­ I don¡¯t know how much a whole carriage costs but it should be much cheaper to rent it instead. He needs to know where we are to buy anything from us, the driver of the said carriage should be able to tell him all about the route when he returns¡­ Just have to be careful about not showing him too much. That sounds like a plan¡­¡¯ Recalling the location of where his office was, Alicia made her way to Albertini''s store. She entered through the back door, but as soon as she did, one of the assistants approached her and confirmed who she was, recognizing her look to fit the details left behind by their boss. From the assistant she learned that Albertini was absent. He had left earlier in the morning to check up on a shipment of goods near the gates. When they offered to take her to where he was, she readily accepted. After some time following the man around town Alicia found Albertini in front of a busy warehouse overseeing its work, talking to his subordinates. The assistant who led Alicia here briskly went up to inform him of her arrival, the ambitious merchant quickly gave some final instructions to his men before turning to meet her. ¡®Easier for you to keep tabs on me, you mean¡­ not like you haven¡¯t been doing that anyway¡­¡¯ Although she had the urge to tease him about his audacious statement, in the end her wish to resolve the issue quickly won out. Indiscernible to all but one, the attitude instantly shifted to a more serious businesslike manner. ¡°I need a carriage ride for four people. Ideally, the driver, one of your men.¡± Clearly he was intrigued by the sudden request. ¡®I guess that¡¯s the name of the inn¡­?¡¯ She was distracted by the discovery of the name of the inn. She was committing it to memory as she wanted to later provide requisition. Meanwhile Albertini was on his own musings. He picked up on what he thought she was hinting at; to hire a wagon at surface level but maintain secrecy. He had not heard of Velauhart, where it was or how far away it is, nor did he find any maps mentioning it. It goes without saying that the place most likely lied outside the kingdom¡¯s borders. The fact that she required someone to plot out the route could mean only one thing. It was either an undiscovered or previously uninhabited location. Not only did this imply a new commercial partner, but also a new way- a route. Although it may seem unimportant at first, discovery of a new route implied far more than just another road leading to a settlement. It is through these routes that goods flowed, populace migrated and armies marched. They were the blood vessels of a nation, delivering vital necessities where they were most needed. The merchants who brought in goods from distant territories were the ones that braved the savage wilderness between towns and cities to establish the paths which would later become roads. Monster infestations, thugs and bandits, rogue mercenaries, deserters and sometimes nature herself barred this path between cities. Even within the bounds of counties with high public order where protection is provided by the local lords, however small, there is still a risk involved and a tariff imposed by the fiefdom. Knowing the right time and the right road meant all the difference between the loss of life and life of opulence. At its worst, a new route simply offered an alternative path to consider. However, at its best it could mean a safe, tariff-free passage into regions that were previously inaccessible. But not for long. For when his subordinate returns with a complete route mapped out those windows of opportunity would be his to exploit. Keeping it under wraps as long as possible meant that he could take advantage of it much longer. Alicia, on the other hand, hadn''t even thought to think about the matter to that degree. Despite the fact that her former career was intimately related to such infrastructure projects. He quickly called out to one of his aides. A youngster ran up to him, reporting. With how glad Alicia was to hear that exchange, she thought that that¡¯s all there was to the conversation and had already prepared a tame response to end the discussion when Albertini surprised her. Guiding the Carriage through a set of familiar buildings she found the slave trader¡¯s place. This time when she set foot inside, even through the crowd of customers from all walks of life leering and ogling the ¡®products¡¯ being showcased, she was brought into the back immediately by one of the clerks who recognized her. She was led to a room made for private affairs, not too unlike the one before. It didn''t take long for the frail looking slavemaster to come through the door, not even bothering to knock this time around. After some brief exchanges and a little wait the Lithiline girl was brought to her. Interestingly there were three whole sets of bindings that were attached to her. Although at first Alicia thought the measurements taken to be excessive and bafflingly ineffective as there were no chains between them but without her needing to ask, the slave trader started talking about it unprovoked. Unsurprisingly the girl was uncooperative and they couldn¡¯t tame her temper at all with just the collar necessitating use of bindings enchanted with specialized spells; the costs were deducted from the gold Alicia left as an allowance. Specifically the obedience instilled by the collar was insufficient; the cuffs on her wrists prevented her from lashing out against the training staff and tearing through her clothing. The chainless fetters did the same for her feet, as well as preventing her from escaping. It was a maximum security solution usually reserved only for the most dangerous criminals. Under normal circumstances only the collar would be needed. But in the end they managed to put her under their control as she seemed fairly responsive to orders as demonstrated by the trader. However it is supposedly still unsatisfactory compared to the standard as he lamented at the fact that she still did not respond verbally very well, a point for devaluation. Regardless they managed to put some clothes on her as she was dressed under a simple shift dress and a servant''s apron. After finishing the talks with the trader, he made some final business pitches before Alicia could leave. Informing her that he will have new stock from the Capital soon. The slave market at the capital had a larger variety, quality and services. Apparently there was a whole industry focused solely on slaves; training guilds disciplined slaves into various professions, simple miner, farmhand prostitutes to more common housekeeper, scullery3Kitchen. maid, entertainer, dancers roles to even assassins, escort services and bodyguards. At a pretty penny some slaves could even be educated to do more sophisticated work such as clerk, vending, accounting and so on. Of course most if not all earnings would line their masters¡¯ pockets. In the end she asked ¡®hypothetically¡¯ how she would release the slave. According the trader¡¯s explanations she would have to either channel her magical energy through the bindings at a constant rate in order for the bindings to: quote revert to its original state of being unlocked unquote or bring the said slave to a reputable slave trader - preferably the slavers that sold them in the first place - who could release the slave after some careful tinkering with the bindings. As a last warning the bindings should not be forced off without the proper precautions or overloaded with excess energy as doing so could irreparably damage the bindings and mentally scar the said slave to catastrophic degree. With that Alicia bid farewell to the slave trader and returned to the awaiting carriage followed by her new attendant. Despite all the efforts made by the trader, the petite lithiline still had much defiance left in her but for now she submitted. When she stepped onto the Carriage Albertini took much interest in the girl of Felid descent who came after her. While they were on their way back to the he was observing her intently, disregarding her ferocious gaze eyeing at his throat. Alicia was suspicious of him having his own slave ring. Hearing that Alicia understood that she was addressing the girl rather rudely, through their species name only. Realizing now why she disliked clothing, coming from a cold climate that they¡¯re adapted to, she probably finds the temperature of the temperate kingdom and the attire absolutely unbearable. Thinking that, she remembered she never asked for her name and thought now would be a good time to ask. The Girl after being told to introduce herself looked confused before clutching her head in distress then shaking it side to side. ¡®Great¡­ just great¡­ What is a good cat name¡­ whiskers¡­? She doesn¡¯t even have whiskers¡­ No, no I have to take this seriously¡­ Felix¡­ No¡­¡¯ It didn¡¯t take long for them to reach the inn where Rosalia and Stephano had already prepared their few belongings. It is here they departed with Arno who had been driving the coach throughout town and Stephano took the reins, Albertini sitting next to him with his map in hand. They unceremoniously left Viveria behind and followed the road all the way back to the village where they first met Albertini. Here they stopped to let the horses drink and rest before moving out again, by instructions Alicia they drove off the beaten path into the direction of Velauhart. By now Albertini, who had the map, quickly noticed where they were headed and grew a little anxious. Before long he and Stephano noticed large wolves were closing in on them from them. It was as she said. The wolves followed at a distance trotting in parallel with the carriage. One of the wolves sprinted in front of the horses, far enough that they didn¡¯t panic. As it ran it kept looking over behind it as if making sure that they were following it. Stephano muttered to himself. Albertini commented from the side, just as amazed and baffled. Within the carriage Rosalia was infatuated attempting to communicate and ¡®play¡¯ with the Grimalkin who much preferred to be left alone sunbathing while Alicia sat in a meditative trance. Or so it seemed to everyone else. She had already left the carriage and went ahead of them leaving behind a mirror image for quick return. As much as she preferred her human guise, her other set of legs were much faster at covering ground. Her hair waved behind her as the winds rushed past. Entering the forest she soon started to recognize the familiar woods. Suddenly at a distance she saw a landmark that she didn¡¯t see before. An enormous tree towering over all the others, enveloping a large portion of the forest under its shadow. Eventually it clicked in her head¡­ The tree that she was looking at was the great oak tree she first awakened on, in this world. Previous provenance of Dryssia before their covenant. ¡®What the hell did that leafhead do while I was gone¡­?¡¯ Erelong, she was finally home, but as much as she wanted to rest, there was much to catch up on and even more to do ahead of her. When she returned to the lodge she noticed few additional dwellings there. Among the verdant foliage of the trees she noticed the hallmark rope ladders and the small elevated houses of the Elves leaving the grounds clear for Trollish chums. Without much searching Alicia found Llynbel and Faenas to learn of all the notable happenings that occurred. She was relieved to hear that no problems arose while she was away for a few days. Though it would be a fallacy to say that there were no developments. For instance, the Troll hunting parties and the Elven rangers had embarked on a joint excursion that had shown promising results, bringing in more game than any one previous expedition. Apparently, Faenas had developed a new type of magic for the rangers with their arrows on distant targets called Farflight, which she adapted from what they understood from elfshot Alicia created. After severe lessons from both trolls and elves, the girls who had been released from the brigands had become more or less accustomed to life in the forest. According to one of the trolls who¡¯ve helped train them they could survive at least a minimum of three days on their own within the forest, something he evidently takes pride in for having taught them as much. With some help from Dryssia, Llynbel had managed to divert a subterranean river enough to create a distributary5 Geological. A flow of river that diverts away from the main flow. flow to feed a natural reservoir underneath their little growing hamlet. The reservoir was easily accessible after she had the girls dig a well into it in one afternoon. Although Alicia was highly concerned that she made them dig with their bare hands, it was revealed that the Troll had supplied some rudimentary tools with stone or bone heads. As for Dryssia it appears that she fed a bit too much magic into her former home, causing the hallmark gigantic growth spurt. The Apiary garden has grown again and started to willingly donate excess honey. Dryssia at first tried to store all the honey in her apron with sticky and messy results. Fortunately the trolls provided amphora jars suitable for storage. They showed interest in trading large amounts of raw meat for the honey when I returned. Not only is it obviously delectable for them, it also seems that they utilize it in making disinfectant dressings, ceremonies, and other specialty applications. Having finally been apprised to most of what happened, Alicia too had much to share with them. Informing them of her journey''s incidents as well as the current situation. Llynbel was deeply intrigued about why she had acquired a slave. Despite the fact that her explanation was lengthy and difficult, she reached an understanding with her. Ever since she had learned the existence of objects that could instill a degree of obedience to anyone or any beast there had been a growing worry within her. Alicia hadn¡¯t forgotten about her monstrous side of hers, humankind would most definitely be intimidated if not aggressive to her and her kindred. If it were some dung farmers with pitchforks and torches, she could deal with it. However, an army of soldiers out to get her¡­ was another matter. Whilst she felt confident in her ability to manage herself, she was far less convinced about everybody else who may get involved in it, chiefly the twins. In order to not escalate things to that degree she had taken a cautious stance on what and how much she revealed when interacting with outsiders. For the same reason she had to put both Rosalia and Stephano under the effects of domination. To limit the spread of information if anything went wrong. Notwithstanding her precautions, she was always under the threat of the artifacts known as the Bands subjugation and its imitations. The slavers'' collars being one example. To say she was paranoid was an understatement. The thought of her or one of her kin being caught and put under such shackles was mortifying. She needed to devise a means of prevention, if not a countermeasure or a contingency plan, and in order to do so, she needed to examine the actual object in effect. In addition, she had certain experiments she intended to carry out. Kindred, Domination, and the collars all accomplished the same thing, albeit in dramatically different forms. She was curious about how they would interact with one another. Are there precedences and overriding variables? Is it possible that just one of them is valid at a time? Experimentation was the only way to find answers to these questions. Her new grimalkin assistant would prove indispensable in this venture. Llynbel was quite impressed by the thought given to the matter from Alicia. She knew she had enough development points to transform her Araneae into beings that resembled herself. Since they possessed a portion of her memory and abilities, if they were successful, they would be immensely useful not only with the construction but also with other more delicate problems. >Ready for Auto-execution. >Processing¡­ As they gave permission the system went on with its actions. Unraveling the potential sealed away, lost to time and history. The transformations brought about by new educements from kindred were generally unnoticeable and gradual, but not this time. Alicia could feel and hear her body structure change. A web of cracks formed on her carapace before crumbling into dust to reveal larger, sturdier carapace growing from underneath. The fine sensitive hairs covering most of her body had changed its composition and form. The patch of hair on her abdomen grew longer and hardened, Alicia could feel a slight pressure building beneath them. The hook-like graspers at the end of her legs were no different, growing more digits and becoming larger. Her overall body spider body had grown yet on the contrary her body felt lighter than ever. >Action complete. Remaining points: 1. ¡®Okay¡­ I feel different¡­ a lot different. What happened¡­?¡¯ >Retrieving Genealogical information. ¡®Yup I have no idea what that lower half is supposed to mean¡­ I¡¯ll have to go through this tree later¡­ Seems like we will have four new members in our growing little family¡­¡¯ ¡®What the hell is this¡­? Wait I know this¡­ this is a detailed breakdown of my status¡­ based on genetics¡­ Complexity, enigmatic¡­ you picking a fight with me again? What does any of this mean¡­¡¯ >Interface with another subject for demonstration. The Araneae residing in her hair got out and started presenting themselves, crawling onto her palms. >Warning. Insufficient energy reserves. Action inadvisable. Recommended to stagger evolution process into stages. As she evenly conducted her magic, she was onset by intense exhaustion. After all, she was supplying enough energy to turn a small critter that she could hold with her index finger into being similar to herself a couple dozen times its original size and she was doing this process ten times over simultaneously. Her head felt light and eyelids heavy, her very bones seemed to ache. It was the same feeling as if she was about to collapse from fatigue¡­ she remembered the first time this phenomena had happened to her was when she was in critically low energy supplies¡­ ¡®Damn¡­ you guys are mana drains¡­¡¯ >Transfer complete. >Remaining energy 11%. >Switching to core functions mode. Energy saving priority. >Inducing Epigenetics triggers, processing¡­ By the lullaby of feedback reports from Alma the two slipped into a deep hibernation, as her new closest kindred gained their new forms, Alicia¡¯s last thoughts before she lost consciousness was¡­ ¡®That grimalkin¡­ I wonder if she has the righting reflexes of cats¡­ if I were to push her off a cliff¡­ would that be attempted murder¡­ or animal abuse¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¯ Auratic So I had an adventure trying to kill another spider (what a shocker I know) that climbed up to the corner right above me. Now call me whatever. I don''t feel comfortable sitting underneath it. Almost broke the floor mop trying to kill it with it. Unsurprisingly it did not work. Instead it only made it fall somewhere near my computer. So I did next logical thing. I panicked and kept smashing it with a soft floor mop. Yep, a great idea. You know what the fun part is? I can''t find its body anywhere, it''s not on the floor where I last saw it wriggling or on the mop. I''m not sure if it is even dead or alive. It might just come back with a vengeance and smother me in my sleep. Who knows, if I disappear you know who did it. This one''s for you ''Just.Kidding Roflmao u gay'' fans I present to you Eriovixia gryffindorii, the sorting hat spider. It is named as such because of its side profile it looks like the sorting hat from the Harrypothead and the Philosophical stoner and the scientist who found it was a nerd. Now you might be wondering the fuck is this shape? Allow me to explain. They are part of the Araneidae Family meaning they are related to golden orb weavers. Much like the bird shit spider, their unconventional shape allows them to blend in the environment. Specifically, dried leaves. Look they can move. Despite what you think of them... you know... hats are usually immobile and without legs... If you didn''t see it, you might need another look or you''re in due for an appointment with an optometrist. But if you still can''t see it. Let''s just say that left side of the leaf is a sussy baka. (end me please.) Much of the eriovixia family look like they''re some sort of hermit crab spider hybrid. Eriovixia Pseudocentrodes Female; and Male; You don''t need me to explain to you what sexual dimorphism is... right? Since you guys know that I hate wolf spiders i''ll just mention this in passing. Lycosa Aragogi is the name of wolf spider also from the pothead series. You''ll have to look that up on your own. Oh before I go I just introduced the names of 4 additional Araneae that will be featured along with the hybrid forms of the spiders you already know. Try to guess the four new ones. Their common names will do well. The hint... is their names, obviously but also the educements that come before them in the evolutionary tree. Chapter 76: Dreamcatcher Auratic Alicia was awakened by a stinging bright light, to find herself not by the lush woodlands, but under the swirling golden clouds lined by pale blue outline overhead. ¡®This feels familiar¡­¡¯ She was once again at the place where she met ¡®death¡¯ once again. This time, the entity that introduced itself as ¡®God¡¯ looked far different from its previous iterations. What greeted her was a young man eccentrically dressed in a clash of elements. His head looked almost misshapen due to his large forehead juxtaposed sharpish pointy jaw. Its eyes heterochromic with a piercing blue and a milky white one that appears as if it''s blinded with glaucoma. His hair, short and messy with dirty pale blonde lustre. Dressed in a bespoke suit and shirt dirtied by chalky substance and stains of something unknown. The white chalk appeared to be a script of sorts hieroglyphic in appearance that continued all the way down to his ragged pants and single dress shoe that he wore, his other foot was covered only by thin and tattered atramentous sock. Alicia had no way of divining their meanings, nor was that the most pressing question she had. His pockets were filled to the brim, bulging with packets, paper, more of the same style of language covering them. He talked in an odd manner, with a hurried tone combined with his shaking hands and bobbing head it gave off an impression that this was a mental asylum escapee. listen we don¡¯t got¡¯a whole lotta time to talk so you gotta know this alright. while you were out there living out your best life unlived, you basically opened pandora''s jar alright? no No nO NO not the box thing that''s the mainstream church failing at stealing a simple idea. anyway forGET about that what¡¯s important is that you died but you lived. that might sound obvious to you the second time around. when you sent you back in there something that was supposed to happen did not happen the details we dont know yet. The thing is you have another being existing with you all this time something which should have already been dead and gone from that world you ye know of them?¡± Following the man¡¯s speech was a difficult challenge but Alicia quickly understood what Johnny was talking about. Johnny was pacing around restlessly as he explained. Johnny was practically biting at his nails. While Alicia was doing as instructed in her best understanding of what she was told, Johnny ran through his pockets spilling all sorts of papers with drawings and writings on them and pulled out a packet and some sort of metallic gadget that looked like an ornamental eye. Before she could react he popped the packet right in front of her, smoky chalk enveloping her vision. From within the smokescreen something shone through, gazing back at her, as she stared deep into the light certain memories rose through to the top of her mind, free from their prison. They came and left, ephemeral like she was watching a quick slideshow switching from frame to frame. Until eventually she spoke. Johnny was visibly confused but a portion of him seemed almost excited. Furiously gesticulating with his fingers and body language Johnny continued. you know about the abyss right the place where you go before ending up over here well that is part of the void another layer of it just like this place is a stable portion of it stolen from its domain. now remember your house that you told us about that is a domain created by you, your memories and your soul it exists in the void as much as it exists in reality and in your memories. it was always empty because it is your personalized domain there shouldn¡¯t be any other souls there just as there was nobody in your home except that spider¡­ that was another soul a soul that should¡¯ve been sucked up by the void or the WINDOW outside and be put back into the cycle of reincarnation except!¡± void doesn¡¯t just let you go once you¡¯ve gone too deep inside it. if it couldn¡¯t claim Alice then it would go with them. it chose them and by proxy it chose you as well. it listens and assists you and Alice because it thinks that you¡¯re part of it, or perhaps something more we don''t know. It felt as if her head was about to burst with what she had just learned but one thing remained a question. ¡°SHIT! were running out of time¡­ Alicia look look look at me. Before you go, remember this. what you have under your beck and call is something that occultists from all kinds of different and unrelated worlds and cultures have wet dreams about. The same kind of people that do all sorts of rituals and sacrifices of virgin girls, goats, rams, babies and other profane extremes trying to earn a single moment of attention from it. void always heard them never answered them. sometimes they succeed but they always get the wrong kind of response from the void. you could say that the void has a sick sense of humor. but it does to you and your friend. you¡¯re treading a path no one nor no god has walked before. >Energy reserves restored to operating level. -here¡­ -s ¡­ -ore¡­ b-¡­ it-¡­ is no-¡­ -igh-¡­ -ime¡­¡± >>Switching to standard configuration. Johnny along with the realm of clouds he resided in all meld together before fading away into nothingness as Alicia was roused. >Self diagnostics complete. >Biometrics scan complete. >>Vital signs stable. >Readjusting sensory input. When she awoke, the shady greens of the forest welcomed her as her eyes refocused on her surroundings. >Energy reserves 25%. All systems nominal. Welcome back administrator. Unfamiliar voice answered from beside Alicia catching her off-guard. Turning to look towards the owner, a strangely familiar yet unknown individual stood back at her with the all-consuming blackness that was her pupils encased in black quartz colored iris. A stone-faced woman with long straight white hair and sloeish almond shaped eyes clad in a snug full white suit foreign to this world. Due to how her eyelids rested a third of the way closed she seemed to express both carefree indifference and cynical incisiveness at the same time. The person looked like some sort of erroneous pastiche rendition of Alicia herself. Alicia was almost certain who they were due to them responding to her unvoiced, internal thoughts. Like an auditionee performing their role, she acted offended with exaggerated gestures. Looking around Alicia realized she was beneath the shady underside of the great oak tree, with no one close-by. Discarding the theatrics immediately, she gave a brief rundown of what she did while Alicia was recovering. She finished her report with an overdone sigh of melancholy. And thus was conceived the first of Alicia¡¯s leaders, the Adjutant. Auratic TFW you run out of ways to describe colors. Also you will never find me describing eyes as fucking orbs. That''s just weird wtf. Chapter 77: Survivors Auratic After granting Alpha her name, Alicia made rounds reacquainting with her, now significantly different familiars and bestowed them with their own personal identity as she went, while Alice decided to go on her own to see the twins. Needless to say as she wasn¡¯t expecting the need to come up with multiple names on the spot, they were not all too original or creative, nevertheless the Araneae in question did not mind at all to much of Alicia¡¯s relief. Almost all of them had adopted humanoid forms, but not before presenting themselves to Alicia''s close associates in their true selves. Luckily no serious incidents had risen other than some slight confusion. On account of time, Alicia couldn¡¯t properly greet and inspect their capabilities in detail, especially the newly evolved Araneae species were completely foreign to her. Still, just by memory alone she could identify her old subordinates. Dyson, formerly a Cave creeper, retained much of the distinguishing features of her prior self, namely the characteristic exceptionally long limbs seemed to have translated into her having a tall slender figure. After making sure everything wasn¡¯t going to burn down in her absence, Alicia used transposition to return to the carriage that was now nearing the edge of the forest. Both Stephanos and Albertini still seemed to be in disbelief that a settlement could exist in the hostile environment of the forest. When they first entered the woods the coachman was concerned since he couldn''t readily follow the wolves ahead of them through the verdance, while the merchant was uneasy about the whole ordeal, but after some minutes of quiet travel, they settled down somewhat. This, however, would not last long as the sounds of trouble would start to be heard in the distance, and it was closing in on them fast. Tribalistic horns sounding, effeminate shouts were following the squealing footfalls of an ungulate. The horses driving the carriage started to snort uneasily, their anxiety spread to the coachman who became sensitive to their body language through years of experience. From the side thicket a great Warhog riddled with arrows and javelins came barreling out, crashing right in front of their path, startling the horses into rearing still. Stephanos struggled to get them back under his control. Fortunately the beast was in its death throes. Soon a hunting party caught up to the creature but not all was well it seemed. Tall humanoids wearing oversized wooden masks came out of the vegetation with a menacing aura about, followed by a cadre of elven rangers. The passengers soon realized that they were surrounded by this unknown group. Tension took hold of Albertini and the coachman as a disquiet silence hung over the air. But it was broken by Rosalia who pulled over and peeked out the small curtain covering the carriage window. The coach driver''s expression turned to puzzlement when Alicia stepped out as he was expecting orders to escape. His predicament would soon be resolved only in a way that created more questions than it answered. When Alicia revealed herself, everything came down unraveling. Firstly the masked individual all took off their ligneous visages and took to prostration, hushedly chanting in a language foreign to the common tongue of the continent. Alicia, despite being used to the trolls¡¯ show of faith, still couldn¡¯t help but cringe. Meanwhile the rangers arranged themselves in a single line of salutations, not too different from one presented to a military official. And with that Alicia wanted to push her face all the way to the back of her skull in embarrassment. The only saving grace for her was that her back was turned to them, so they couldn¡¯t see her face. Even without looking, she could guess what they could be thinking. One of the elven rangers immediately answered. ¡®It¡¯s better than ¡®mistress¡¯ but¡­ Liege¡­?¡¯ Her question was directed at the trolls in the midst of their ¡®show of faith¡¯. They responded by making movements indicating that she had nothing to be concerned about. The rugged terrain of the forest meant the carriage couldn¡¯t travel at a pace faster than an ambling gait. Keeping up with a slow wagon on foot was not a difficult task for the rangers, who had been trained with a particular focus on endurance that is necessary to outrun and avoid predators of the forest on a nearly daily basis. They responded with perplexity. ¡®Faenas, what the hell are you doing¡­¡¯ Albertini kept sneaking looks at the rangers who accompanied them the entire journey. He still couldn¡¯t truly accept that anything but monsters survive in the forest ; the place was infamous for a reason, yet, there in front of them were denizens who lived in this harsh land not by just surviving, but by taming this savage place, hunting down its great beasts. He wasn¡¯t mistaken, it is just the fact that some monsters¡­ were figurative rather than literal escaped his mind at the time. As women were quite the ways ahead of them he had thought they wouldn¡¯t hear him if he spoke in a low voice even with their rumorred, excellent hearing, and asked the coachman next to him. The aged man was unsure where the conversation would turn to; even with his declining sight, he was sure the girls ahead of them were of elven blood so it couldn¡¯t be that a young merchant like himself with an eye for goods would be asking such a strange question with an obvious answer behind their backs. Still, he replied in the same, quiet manner as he did. Now that he mentioned it, and looking at their features a little more critically, the Elven women walking in front of them did seem different from ones commonly all throughout the continent. Reserved tapping sound came from behind them. The small wooden port - intended to allow the passenger to speak with the driver without the need to stop and open the carriage door - from whence the sounds came from opened with its wooden cover sliding to the side. Alicia peeking over her shoulders from the other side. It was as she had said, the rangers ahead of them had put on their hoods - which they greatly disliked wearing - and seemed a little farther than they remembered. A credence to her claim. First impressions were important for new business ventures¡­ He almost botched it with his wandering gaze. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t seem as though anything bad would come of his actions. But something else remained¡­ a question, how did Alicia, who had no way of seeing how the elves ahead of them from the passenger seat, knew what they felt and were doing¡­ He simply assumed that Alicia was intimately familiar with their unique culture. Not for a moment stopping to consider that she was monitoring them through her unique sense of pallesthesia. On the other hand, the long limbed, crouching beings with tusks garnered his attention even more. He hadn¡¯t seen any humanoid like them before, dozens of questions he had but he didn¡¯t have the heart to ask them. Whatever they might be, what was important to remember was that they held Alica in high regards, as shown from their actions. In good time, he would get his answers, but for now all that was important to him was to find this isolated settlement and remember the path they took to get there. For a long time afterwards he would mull over the subtleties of the Elves, adamant in his belief that they were different from the elves out on the wider continent, the explanation eluding him for days. He was not wrong, but not quite in the right either. Elves of Velauhart would be what humans and many other cultures would call a High elf, thought to be extinct, existing only in the dusty records of history. Differing from what they knew as an Elf seen among many settlements. The distinction came from their lineage. The ones they called ¡®High elves¡¯ were simply pure-blooded, direct descendants of their ancient ancestors that survived the fall of their high kingdom up until now. What was known as the common ¡®elf¡¯ were those who were descendants of ¡°High Elves¡± taken into captivity. Through generations of close intermingling, first accidentally and abusively, later more reciprocally, it was only a matter of time before a changes to their genome occured. It was closer to truth to call ¡°High elves¡± simply ¡®Elves¡¯ and the ¡°Elves¡± as ¡®Half-Elves¡¯. This error of denomination would not be rectified for centuries to come¡­ and even then¡­ the practice would persist among the public in perpetuity. Without much of a further incident, the carriage arrived at the hamlet within the furthest depths of Velauhart beneath the shade of a grand tree. Dwellings of disparate types were built around a central two storey estate of foreign architecture. It¡¯s design is a simple one, oriented towards practicality rather than the pompous style more commonly associated with the buildings of similar vein seen frequently in the upper class residences. Afore the building many people had gathered, with a simple fair like displays prepared. From the collection of people a certain group of maidens stood out in particular. Ten of them standing in a line of quiet obeisance, donned in apparel of exotic origins never seen before, each unique to their owners and indicative of their personality. They were distinctive from each other as they could be, as if they each came from a completely different race. Through all his years of dealing with many types of powerful and influential people his nerves had been hardened against show of force and intimidation. None of it compared to the tension and pressure he felt from this group. Each of them, despite their charming looks, gentle deportment and welcoming demeanors, commanded respect better than most noble aristocrats that he had met before. But beneath that he felt some unseen prepotency that they exerted, no doubt borne from their immense capabilities and prowess. One of them even looked like a child no older than nine yet she wielded a matching presence. They were all in an equal standing. For the first time in a long time, cold sweat formed on his nape and trickled down his back, saturating his back collar; all his hairs were standing up in cold shivers, he questioned himself, ¡®was it fear that he felt?¡¯ He noticed that the pressure wasn¡¯t directed at him but to each other, to the ones standing besides them, he just happened to be caught up in it. But why¡­? Why would they direct such malice towards each other, it felt as if they would jump at each other¡¯s throat at any second. Then it dawned on him that he was misunderstanding the situation completely, it wasn¡¯t malice, but competitiveness, an eagerness to prove oneself. To whom, who could unite such mighty beings, of vastly differing races. The answer came to him before he could ask this question himself. When an intriguing woman with exceptional magical talent that he once took into his carriage for fare stepped out, in an eerie unison they bowed. Representing the group, one of them with a terribly sharp sight possessing eyes blacker than the abyssal depths of the sea on a moonless night¡¯s sky, stepped forward and welcomed her. ¡®Though you were here just a moment ago¡­ Do we need to make it a habit to greet you twice?¡¯ ¡®Could you not mentally harass me for ten seconds?¡¯ ¡®Sure! One¡­ two¡­ three¡­¡¯ ¡®Haaaaahh¡­¡­¡¯ She turned her sights to him. Dear guest, we hope you will enjoy the amenities offered and have a pleasant stay.¡± It felt as if he was standing upon an edge of a precipice, with the great abyss staring deep into his very being. He knew this feeling well¡­ and knew that only one other person he knew possessed it. He felt as if any other response would be too inadequate and he didn¡¯t want to find out the outcome of that, but excessive unctuousness might earn something else unsavory. Walking that tightrope was a tricky thing but he would endure¡­ Earning a profit had gone all the way to the back of his mind, the foremost thing in his thoughts were. ¡®I have to survive¡­ whatever the cost¡­¡¯ Auratic Also try this, I approb https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/waterfallSoundGenerator.php R16 Warning; I forgot to add this as a trivia on release so better late than never. Alicia and all the other Araneae''s sense of vibrations through use of pallesthesia is severely weakened while in a humanoid form as they only have two legs, very close to each to sense vibrations as opposed to eight, spread out over a larger surface. And during this, if she focuses Alicia or Alice can hear your heartbeat and the sounds your bones and muscles make. Chronicles Vol.2 Auratic Following document requires class-1 clearance to view. Original document has been archived. Any copies are to be destroyed after viewing. Any unauthorized personnel that interact with any of the documents are to be exterminated with extreme prejudice by the decree of the Royal Spymaster - Echo. - director of ACE1Agency of Counter-Espionage/Intelligence. Sometimes called the CIA or Counter Intelligence Agency. Not to be confused with the central intelligence agency of the US. I really wanted to make the acronym to somehow read as ¡®DICK¡¯ but lacked the necessary creativity. Following is curated information from a larger document. Regarding my Familiars My familiars are all from a different species, though recently their numbers have grown more than I remember conjuring. Seems that they use parthenogenesis often to make up for any lack of manpower. But the first ten, they have a special significance to me¡­ even as more and more are conjured. They are kind of like an ambassador/leader of their species. Alfred (Alpha) Nobel. Species: A.artifices de moiras, formerly a Hex Weaver (A.magicae) Common name: Architect of fate, Fateweaver. A leader to the leader, I created her for the purpose of her being the head girl. To unite others to a single purpose. I don¡¯t know why I decided that was the name best suited for her, but at the time it made sense to me. Who else but the founder of the nobel prizes would best lead the others? But what I didn¡¯t give her is that overwhelming sass that she gives me at every opportunity. That is something that she had from the moment of her creation and didn¡¯t lose since. Despite her retorts, she is competent, sometimes to a fault. Has quite the sick sense of humor, cynical even. She can be unsympathetic and callous at times especially to those that do not present an immediate value to her plans and I cannot blame her for that, she was a monster, a predator devoid of human values. It is a wonder that she even has the will and capability to learn my sense of morality. She resembles us the most, both physically and in the way she thinks. After all, she was with us the longest. And she is the most in tune with the void among all others I¡¯ve seen¡­ John (Beta) Browning. Alias; Moses Species: A.tyrannus. Common name: Jungle tyrant. Stoic and hulking Araneae largest in terms of weight. She doesn¡¯t speak often. Not because she¡¯s incapable of it, no she can be appreciably eloquent if she wants to be. She simply prefers to remain silent and listen. Her Araneae form is enormous, larger than any of the other Araneae we¡¯ve conjured, no wonder her common name is a Tyrant. She lacks any distinguishing features otherwise, like the web spinning of the crypt weavers or the agility of the huntresses. But to make up for it she has the greatest raw statistics out of them all. Simply put, she¡¯s stronger and faster than any of them, the only exception being Alice and I together. Though she does seem to lack the imagination and acuity needed for complex magic. But once again she makes up for it in her ingenuity. She is an excellent smith - specifically a gunsmith. Wasn¡¯t created like that but became one to fit into the shoes of her name. Browning drew his last breath in a workshop behind a desk working on a gun. She shares the same talent and the passion for guns. Even if she doesn¡¯t need a weapon like a gun to pulverise a man in full plate armor like a highschooler crushing a tin can just because. Canned human anyone¡­? She produces the weakest venoms but I think the envenomation is the least of anyone¡¯s worries considering her fangs can pretty much tear through anything given enough time. The prerequisite for her was the reinforced exoskeleton educement. And reinforced her carapace is. Even her molts, exoskeletal shedding that has dried up, hardened and became brittle with exsiccation has shown considerable protective capabilities. She shows a craftsman¡¯s mindset which I can respect¡­ Charles (Charlie) Darwin. Species: A.venatrix. Common name: Mother of the hunt, The Huntress. Looks like a child in their humanoid form. Acts like a child in their humanoid form. You would think they are just a child if you didn¡¯t know any better. Best not to be fooled, they are mature and deadly as any other Araneae I know of. They play into their juvenile appearances to earn trust of unsuspecting prey, making them think she¡¯s not a threat. And this trait is not just exclusive to Charlie, all of her species is like this. They have the same terrifying mobility as they did as a jumping spider even in their humanoid form. They can literally run circles around you while stinging you with venomous bites, talk about an anklebiter. The combination of their small physique, extraordinary agility, phenomenal stealth, superb eyesight and natural inquisitiveness make for effective spies and assassins. Naturally that meant Alpha primarily used them for reconnoitre and interception assignments. People do not usually suspect children, thinking them as oblivious to the world around them, the huntresses use this misconception well to their advantage. They know just the way to talk and act to endear you to spill a little extra tidbit of information they need, before sinking their fangs into your neck. I think they''re natural psychopaths. They act like they care, know what to say, making ¡®friends¡¯ with others is a literal child¡¯s play to them. They use others without having them even suspecting a thing that they¡¯re being used and cut ties and discards them when they hold no more value. A natural charmer but is ruthless as any other Araneae; people are just an amusing toy or a pet to them. Still I think there¡¯s some compassion in them. I¡¯ve seen them act¡­ like their appearance when entertaining the twins, like a genuine child innocent to the world. Especially Charlie, she likes to insist that she¡¯s their older sister, even though their height difference widens every day¡­ And complains to me when the twins don¡¯t listen to her the way they used to¡­ I can¡¯t help but ask her ¡®what are you doing¡­?¡¯ from time to time¡­ Dyson (Delta) Freeman Species: A.speleaus. Common name: Cave creeper, Cave-Crab demon The largest in terms of dimension and leg span. When taking a human form she is exceptionally tall and slender. She is extremely fast. I guess those long legs aren¡¯t just for show but she does lack a delicate touch compared to Charlie. Or rather Charlie makes her seem flat out clumsy. Doesn¡¯t mean that she is. But what she isn¡¯t is an eagle eye. Due to their natural, subterranean habitat and lifestyle they have poor eyesight compared to the others with a tendency to miss something if it doesn¡¯t move, mostly inanimate objects. To make up for their lacking sight, their sense of pallesthesia is perhaps the most refined, barely coming short of Alice and I. And in certain nuanced areas Delta might even beat us. In her Araneae form, she is more wide than she is tall, with her legs having spine-like protrusions for both protection and sensory aid. Despite how frail she looks she is the second strongest in terms of raw statistics, below the Tyrannus species. While the Tyrants are all out brawlers, the Creepers are more of an area control fighters. Unlike the tyrants, despite appearing to be large, they can become quite flat if needed, being able to fit into small spaces like cracks, crevices and openings common in underground caves. Using their speed they quickly close the distance and surround the threat with her legs in something like a crescent moon shape, creating her own combat arena. Anything caged between their legs loses ground slowly as they tighten the noose around them, before being devoured by their fangs. Regardless of how flimsy they look, their legs are extremely resistant to damage and possess a deceitful strength. If one thinks that they¡¯re clever and tries to fly or jump out of the cage they are in for another surprise. The creepers can pounce incredibly high up into the air. Though they can¡¯t jump as far or frequently as the huntresses, this ability of theirs should not be underestimated. They don¡¯t show this ability of theirs often, it is almost like they want you to jump and show you just how wrong you were thinking that you can escape. They act almost like an Iron maiden, I mean their legs are spiked after all. Delta unfortunately does not have much else to offer other than being a muscle. But she is excellent in exploring dungeons, caves and mines, often seen hanging around with Gustave and learning a thing or two from her. Erwin (Echo) Schr?dinger. Species: A.ypnotizon. Common name: Mesmer. The illusionist. Aspect of Death. Mirror demon. The Hypnotist. While all my Araneae share my lack of subdued coloration, namely with predominant whites, Mesmers are unique even among them. Anatomically they are not different from the common araneae but there are unusual characteristics about them. Their humanoid forms and their carapace are translucent. Given a little bit of luck you can even see their organs through their exoskeleton. With the right lighting condition and the correct angle sometimes you can see right through them. They have perhaps the most powerful stealth ability of any of my Araneae, through active use of their Camouflage they can effectively render themselves completely invisible in the visible color spectrum. According to Alma that is just scratching the surface, they can also become invisible in infrared, ultra violet and even X-ray spectrums. Well not completely invisible but they can willingly absorb and or reflect certain wavelengths of radiation to make themselves obscure with disruptive patterns. Unfortunately I do not have the tools or means to verify these abilities of theirs. I would love to see them in action. This is not without a fault though they can¡¯t become invisible in two different wavelengths. If they choose to be invisible in the infrared, they can be perceived in ultraviolet light. Different types of perceptions still can track them as well, such as all too common, pallesthesia among other Araneae. Furthermore, these active camouflages are remarkably energy intensive meaning that they cannot maintain their invisibility for long. Echo seems to be an exception though. Still it is an impressive versatility that they have. Mesmers have reflective plates all around their flexible abdomen which they can raise and fan out like a peacock. Their abdomen often appears as some sort of crystal or a reflective mirror. Their exoskeleton is extremely resistant to external magic. Combining their magic with their own metachromatic displays they can show hypnotizing prismatic patterns that can¡­ well mesmerize an adversary. That¡¯s probably where their common name comes from. While to me it is a little more than a photosensitive seizure inducing screen, to others it seems to be an irresistibly alluring display that invariably pulls prey in. And thanks to magic it is even effective to those that do not even have visual organs. Quite a bipolar species they are. One moment they want to hide so much that they can turn invisible, the next moment they¡¯re a diva that wants every bit of your attention. Evolution, make up your mind. It seems that their colorful displays first evolved as a camouflage, then into a courtship ritual thing and then lastly into a weapon to hunt. Unfortunately I appear to be immune to the adverse effects of their mesmerism due to Kindred¡¯s Protection. The First time I''m being disappointed with it, but with all that it has done for me, I can¡¯t complain either. But asking for those that have made out of Echo¡¯s interrogation alive, the victims don¡¯t even notice what is wrong with them, even if they were being consumed by a monstrous spider chewing on their innards. For more milder cases, it was described as the most beautiful yet terrifying things that they¡¯ve ever seen. Their mesmerism combined with my gifts from the void make them terrifying masters of manipulation. They¡¯re one of the few species that have the potential to learn Domination, Whispers and Cold reader without any extra help on my part. With such talents they have, Alpha has created some sort of internal intelligence unit, with Echo as their head. In the public they¡¯re called Enforcers or something like that. Doing immigration control and border patrols. I don¡¯t envy any spies sent to tune in on us. Echo is also a strange individual herself. She can often be found spacing out staring at something. To someone who doesn¡¯t know her, she can look a little loony. I don¡¯t know when but she has developed a bad habit of dunking her head inside the void for extended periods of time. Since the rifts created by the void are imperceivable to those not in tune with it, few girls fainted thinking that she was headless Araneae seeking vengeance or something. She often comes out either on the cusp of enlightenment spouting some deep philosophical quotes or coming out thinking that she is the Kaiserin of the Holy Grandbunny Empire and someone has stolen her sweet roll. Again. Bipolar. It doesn¡¯t take long for her to snap out of it so I don¡¯t mind her weirdness that much. Those episodes can be amusing at times, if it doesn¡¯t freak you out first. Like the last time when she thought we were being invaded by an army of sea monsters. Other times she speaks of glimpses of the unworldly nature of the void. A sea of blackness composed of void spirits, ever in flux, flowing slipping into worlds unknown. Crumbling islands sailing the endless emptiness. The incessant whistling winds, delirious whispers that tell thousand different tales about the end of the world. We feel justified, Alice and I, that we¡¯re not the only ones that endure its insanity¡­ The molts of the mesmers retain some of their camouflaging abilities, I think with some processing we can make a cloaking attire that deflect magical projectiles or something that mimics the natural disruptive patterns of the Mesmers to create an all environment camouflaging uniform. I think Faenas and the ranger corps would love something like that, that doesn¡¯t restrict their movements. Moreover some intact parts of their molt have some unique light refracting properties that could be used to make something like a telescope. I just need to casually recreate the multiple breakthroughs mankind had with telescopes just a few centuries earlier than intended, talk about tall order¡­ More importantly it could help with creating a functional telescopic sight later on for the rifles. Not that Rangers need it, they¡¯re a deadeye even without the irons, but the new human recruits definitely will. Maybe I could just make a circular glass with a red dot painted in its middle, call it a day¡­ Gustave (Gamma) Eiffel Species: A.enedra. Common name: The Dungeon master. The burrow master. Ambush Demon. Earthen spider demon. Finally~! An Araneae that is truly my kindred! Well that would be a bit unfair to everyone else who has been with me as loyal as the waves are to the cliffs¡­ But they¡¯re natural engineers, Structural engineers at least. The dungeon masters are a type of Araneae that is most likely named after their tendency to create elaborate, underground networks of tunnels as opposed to an overground web. They create many twists, turns, dead ends and divergent and convergent paths in their tunnels that only they themselves can really navigate efficiently, hence the dungeon part of their name. It serves to prevent any invaders from ever reaching the Dungeon master, draining the stamina and willpower of any that carelessly step into their domain as it is very easy to get lost in their tunnels. Those that perish due to starvation or weakened due to malnutrition and fatigue become an easy meal for the Ambush demons, netting them a nice passive income of food. These tunnels can be deep as they are willing to make it, as their name suggests, they have natural talent for Earth magic, Gamma, with the help from her daughters, seems to have made tunnels hundreds meters deep, spanning dozens of kilometers wide below the forest. An undercity of spiders and ants. Too bad, for the outsiders it can only be traversed with the help of the navigation services provided by one of the Dungeon masters, humans can¡¯t exactly scale ninety degree walls, crawl upside down on the walls, or are flexible squeeze through ridiculously small crevices or survive 30 meter falls for that matter. That is considering that the humans are willing to cope with the utter darkness that dominates most of their tunnels. Using their earthen magic they can easily loosen the toughest of bedrock into fine dust before¡­ well slowly consuming them. In nature that is. Gamma and her daughters seem to just dump the excess soil into the void. If I ever needed to make a mountain, for whatever reason, I think I know just the right person to ask, I guess. But they also harden the earth around them that supports their tunnels with both magic and their own personal touch of silk. At first I wondered why they were called dungeon masters but it seems that before their species practically went extinct, the wild counterparts of my ¡®Dungeon masters¡¯ would create such tunnels that they can¡¯t maintain all parts of it and would regularly abandon large sections of it. Monsters find the derelict entrances to their abandoned tunnels, see it as a perfectly fine shelter and move in, and before you know it, it¡¯s a monster infested dungeon. Their second name, the ambush demon or simply the ambusher seem to come from their active method of hunting. They create a spider hole, with its top entrance closed off by a fitting rock, slate or cool looking tree bark or whatever creating an inconspicuous hatch that hides the entrance to their burrow. Surrounding this entrance there is an almost invisible, extremely thin layer of silk that acts as their eyes and ears overground while they remain hidden underground. Any unsuspecting prey that wanders too close to one of the tunnel entrances the Ambusher was listening in on is quickly pounced on, envenomated and dragged into their dark tunnels. Gustave and all her daughters have an excellent sense of structural engineering and are competent with any type of construction or infrastructural work see how well they handled the sewer system and aqueducts. It is just that¡­ they are simply uninterested in overground constructions. If they focused their talents on something other than tunnels they could create towns and cities in just months. It feels like a hostage negotiation with a terrorist trying to convince them to help me with the construction of even the simplest of projects. It is in their nature to be an undergrounder I suppose. I don¡¯t have it in me, nor will I ever force them to work for me if they don¡¯t want to, sometimes they do throw me a free bone every now and then. Surprisingly cooperative when they do, I guess that they feel duty bound to help me on occasions. I appreciate those few moments. Gamma¡¯s species are the second smallest, next to the huntresses. Though not as childlike as they are, they appear exceptionally petite in stature, between an old middle schooler to an highschooler who is somewhat vertically challenged compared to their peers. Unlike the huntresses, they completely lack the charm and acting the former possess, nor do they play into their young looking forms. Often correcting and insisting that they are mature. While technically, yes they are mature, as their spider form, but that doesn¡¯t seem to fully translate into their hybrid or human forms. That being said even in their spider forms they are¡­ to put it kindly, compressed? It¡¯s hard not to adore their small forms but different from the huntresses they do not particularly enjoy that type of attention. Gamma, her daughters and all the other Dungeons masters have an interesting dialect and a style of speech, not found in the others. When the subject is raised to them they appear baffled and see no problem with their speech. Isaac (Indigo) Newton. Species: A.setapiso. Common name: The Bristleback spider. The quill spraying spider. Much like the Mesmers, the bristlebacks have turned their defense into an effective weapon. Much of their body is covered in thin but dense bristles, which contributes to their outward appearance of looking large and intimidating. If the Araneae is calm their bristles will relax as well and droop down, and conform to the shape of their bodies. Conversely if they feel threatened all of the hairs on their body will stand up, quite literally. Only about half of the bristles are exposed, the other half is burrowed underneath their bodies, the deepest of them are located in the area around their abdomen. The exposed part of their bristles also sport small branching structures. They can grow their bristles like that of barbs for getting stuck into the aggressor and hindering them or like that of serrations, able to dig deep into flesh and tear up blood vessels. Those external branches have hollow interiors able to carry venom if they deem it necessary to fill it up with it. The length of their bristles are about anywhere between fifty centimeters to little over three meters, averaging around two meters. Much like the spears and javelins used by the trolls. It might be intuitive to think that their bristles are for protection, while one wouldn¡¯t be wrong to assume that there''s more to it than just being a spiky ball that protects you. Or that they can only launch their bristles backwards since it''s in their name. Their abdomen is abundantly flexible and manoeuvrable than they would seem from their immense size though still heavy, they possess the necessary strength needed to easily and quite readily raise their abdomens high in the air allowing for omnidirectional attack. For a spider called the bristleback, it seems that they have no back to stab them in. Their bristles are their primary means of attack, more so than their fangs. Unlike the trolls the Bristleback will win any olympic javelin throwing competition in both range, speed and devastation. The educement needed for the bristlebacks were something like pressurized glands¡­ Those glands beneath their abdomen can launch the bristles at extreme initial velocity, although inaccurate at longer distances they can launch their bristles at upwards of three hundred meters, if not more. While I do think I¡¯m good at eyeballing certain distances, I lack the tools needed to accurately measure them unfortunately. With the mass and size of their bristles comparable to that of a ballista bolt, it is more apt to call them a living siege weapon than a spider. Unlike a ballista crew, or an entire platoon of ballista crew, they can rain bristles down faster than. Their magic is mostly used for pressurizing the glands and regrowing launched bristles. Most of them can sustain their assault for about 60-90 seconds before their fire rate declines noticeably. It should also be noted that their newer, fresher bristles are slightly shorter and less firm than old ones that¡¯s been growing for a while. But it only takes about an hour for the fresh bristles to mature and harden. Indigo seems to be an exception where she can maintain her barrage of bristles indefinitely. While the serrated and barbed are the two primary bristle types, there is a clever third one. The entirely hollow bristles. These bristles are significantly lighter and can fly farther than the others, owing to a lack of internal structural integrity other than the strut-like substance that links the walls, they are largely brittle and shatter on impact. While this might seem like an ineffective weapon, the resulting shrapnel splinters are still as tough as the real thing and since they fly much faster, despite lacking mass, the additional kinetic energy will still make them hit hard. Interesting detail I noticed is that the bristleback can fill in these hollow bristles with inorganic substances such as solids, fine granules and even liquids. The additional weight of the substances will affect the range and speed but¡­ they could theoretically fill their bristles with gunpowder if provided. This would turn them from siege weapons to rocket artillery if conceived properly. Keyword there being, properly. Filling them up with explosives seems like a terrible idea and easy vulnerability to exploit. Small spark and you¡¯ll have the most horrifying accident involving spines and internal organs. Until I find a way to safely facilitate such a process I refuse to allow any explosive, flammable or otherwise sensitive material into their bodies. I may be less human now than ever but there are some lines I will never cross so long as my mind remains sane. Even if they are disturbingly fine with packing themselves chock full of explosives and running at whatever enemy they come across. Especially Indigo. I¡¯m just trying to make things better around here, not to create domestic terrorists and suicide bombers. Nikolai (November) Tesla Species: A.hypogeum. Common name: Crypt Weaver. Quiet, reserved and surprisingly caring. The crypt weavers are isolationists by nature but don''t dislike company as much as expected. They are quite creative when it comes to sewing and designing more¡­ aesthetic side of things. The Weavers are the civil engineers among the spiders. They build, rebuild and maintain web networks, clean up intruders that get stuck in their webs and cocoon them for later consumption, the daily stuff. However with the newfound understanding of enchantment methods provided by our new associate, they have turned into artificers and armorsmiths, weaving in various useful magical features into everyday objects. They have also taken to helping me with construction projects, even if they make questionable decisions every now and then. When I first gave November her name I did not expect her to take it seriously. But just to live up the shoes of her name, she has developed a firm grasp of electricity and its related magic. Though it seems that it was not by theory but rather, intuition alone. Her use of Lightning magic is unique in that she has a completely different approach to the conventional wisdom. It is her obsession to create a network of web that connects pretty much everything. Sitting in the middle of her web she sends precise electrical currents through the silk, using it as a conductor, or a copper wire in this case. She also seemed to have learned a thing or two from Victor. Although it might seem that she¡¯s creating some sort of elaborate fly zapper this way, her control over the currents are so accurate that she can selectively shock targets while sparing allies of electrocution. Being a Crypt weaver she has much more of an understanding of vibrations carried across webs and as a result she can surgically zap intruders before they even knew that they were trespassing. November is markedly eccentric though even among others of her species, since the discovery of her Lightning magic she has gotten a morbid interest in shocking her prey, often at convulsive levels before frying them. She is fascinated with the electrical impulses of nervous systems¡­ being overloaded, how the muscle spasms, how she can manipulate their limbs with just her lightning magic alone. It seems that she always had this rather disturbing interest as the venoms, specifically neurotoxic ones often have the same results just at a slower rate. Despite her concerning interests, she is still somewhat reserved and docile as any other of my Araneae and besides my worries¡­ innocent? She seems to be driven only by curiosity and not by malice¡­ not often at least. If anybody were to inconvenience me in the slightest, she would very aggressively solicit them into her experiments, often involving high voltages and excessive amperes. If I needed a technician¡­ a very electroshock therapy pro technician, November would do nicely. Paxton (Priest) Joseph Species: A.perniciosa. Common name: The Bride of Death. The Toxic Temptress. Setting aside their concerning names they are surprisingly considerate. Lacking any notable traits other than their production of extreme potent venoms, Priest and her subordinates seemed to have picked up on the pharmaceutical side of their venom. Although nothing like the synthesized compounds created by Alma, they proved to be much more effective than the bootleg alchemy that it is, which helped them quickly establish themselves as fairly competent apothecaries. Paxton is quite caring towards others despite having access to venom that can kill pretty much anything that moves several times over. Though I refuse to try out her potions. I know what''s in it, I''m still not keen on chugging down a bottle of spider vomit mixed with whatever weed she found outside and put together in a beaker and simmered for a few hours. She has started to be more known as Priest among the newcomers rather than her actual name, probably due to the healing services she provides. Though it may have gotten bit into her head as I once caught her proselytizing her patients into worshiping me as their religious icon. Had to put a stop to that and forbid it entirely. I already have the trolls to deal with, I don''t need more. Besides, it can''t be a good idea to randomly convert people out of nowhere. Sounds like just asking for trouble. She also took to the old witch doctor to learn a few tricks. She might actually become a priestess at this rate. She''s never trying out her new formulas on people, not on my watch, not before testing it on rats. Victoria (Victor) Alexandria Species: A.reteiactus. Common name: Webslinger, The net caster. Physically the netcasters are indistinct from the other Araneae species sharing the same freckled pattern but other than that only, their smooth exoskeletons and their six eyes stand out. As a characteristic they have slow amble gait with purpose and the obvious ability to more or less shoot web from a distance. With the addition of the Exoskeletal reformation, they can now contort their bodies to shoot mass of web ahead or behind. The orbicular mass of web is held together by a special strand of silk similar to those used in draglines, but are structurally weak which then allows it to snap on collision strewing paralysing strands of reticulation all over the impact area. These web shots differ from their primary silk spray from their fangs by being more condensed and are able to be flung at a much distant target than before, allowing them to immobilize, debilitate and disable targets from a greater distance. With minor modification to the composition they can make these silk shots deploy prematurely during flight, creating something like a net shot that can capture targets in the air. The webslingers seem to make it a sport to shoot down birds with their new silk ball. Not for consumption, but for the fun of it it seems. I hope the Forest¡¯s ecosystem isn¡¯t too affected by their sport. As a positive side effect, we have an abundance of fowl now¡­ Victor herself isn¡¯t too different from her peers, as in she reacts a little slowly to stimulus: unless it is a threat to herself or to me, then you can see how freakishly fast she can move. Besides that it seems their species as a whole is quite¡­ carefree and short-spoken. It seems that their evolutionary mutations favored them to be on the slightly slower side; however, due to Kindred pumping up their agility statistics whether they liked it or not, they can appear decidedly disturbing at high speeds. They already look alien without it. Now imagine that alien, shooting you down with a punch of web from nowhere and then approaching you at around approximately 88kmph fangs bared dripping with citrine venom. Most of the Araneae with the exception of the Tyrants and the Creepers don¡¯t make much sound when¡­ sprinting at high speeds, the same holds true for the Webslingers. I think their soundless approach makes them even more terrifying. On a lighter note, Victor or one of her species are quite good at ensnaring the twins if they try anything mischievous, before they can stir up much trouble. I have little doubt that they can¡¯t do the same thing to even armed assailants. Those liquid silk, venom, web things stiffen quickly when exposed to air, remarkably resilient to cuts and tears as they basically turn into rubbery texture when hardened. ¡­studying the evolution of the Araneae makes them seem almost¡­ alien to this world. According to Alma¡¯s genealogical mapping, it seems that these Araneae that I conjure are restorations of creatures that have gone extinct in this world some hundred, or thousands of millenniums ago, the implication being that the presence of magic has existed for a long time, accelerating growth in more than one ways. That and somehow Alma is restoring the genetic information of these extinct species by some reverse engineering of my - or should I say, Alice¡¯s - ¡°Enigmatic¡± DNA. Although it might be terrifying to think these monsters existed and even more mortifying is the thought of what wiped them out into extinction but According to Alma¡¯s estimations with very high probability is that¡­ they competed themselves into extinction. To reiterate, the areneaemorphae are not picky eaters, they will consume their offspring, their siblings and at times even their mates and parents if given the chance. They were such effective predators that they basically hunted each other into extinction, and when the last prey was consumed, without a consistently large food source they simply starved or practiced autosarcophagy until death. They were quite simple creatures that acted on instincts. In a sense, Alma in its genetic restoration work, uplifted them so to speak, to a creature capable of higher, more human-like thought in its efforts to make my familiars - my kindred - into beings that will serve me the best. Their natural instincts were repressed but never fully suppressed, it still flows beneath their consciousness, just out of reach but they can willingly tap into it. With the current modifications to their genetic structures, the current Neo-iterations of the Araneae are much more intelligent and capable of cooperation than their ancient predecessors. Along with a healthy reduction of cannibalism. Though it seems that some habits die hard; their antediluvian conflict seems to surface again in current times in the forms of rather unnecessary and excessive rivalry all around. At least it doesn¡¯t always devolve into violence and if it¡¯s like that then some rivalry is a good motivator for all of them, that I can approve. It seems that my human nature is what leashes them to be more, well, humane and reserved. Prudent, even. Let¡¯s hope it stays that way¡­ For themselves and the residents of this world. ¡ª Former engineer, Alicia von Velauhart. Auratic Since no one, except certain mark of wisdom came close to guessing all of the species correctly here''s the list of all the new ones Spiders along with their real life counterparts and inspirations. - The jungle tyrants are based on the Goliath Birdeaters or tarantulas in general. Tyrannus comes from the Greek word ¦Ó?¦Ñ¦Á¦Í¦Í¦Ï? or absolute ruler. - The Mesmers are conceptionally inspired by the Mesmers from Subnautica, real life chameleons and physically based on real life Mirror spiders, Thwaitesia argentiopunctata. Their names probably means something, Thwaite''s Silver Punctuated (Spider). I''m not good at breaking down scientific names. They hide by confusing predators by the means scattering light in a way that makes the difficult to see. I don''t know exactly how but since they exist it probably works. Another theory is that they hide themselves in the morning by looking like a reflective dew drop on leaves similar to this. and at a distance one can imagine how some other animals might mistake the spider as a morning dew. You can read up more on them here, about 3 minutes of reading. Their name Ypnotizon means "The Hypnotist" - The Ambushers or Dungeon masters are based on Trapdoor spiders. Their name Enedra is based on the greek word ¦Å¦Í?¦Ä¦Ñ¦Á meaning simply Ambush or more roundaboutly; "Lurking place". - The bristlebacks are an unusual addition I made up myself, based on the tarantulas urticating hair that their kick with their legs as a defense measure. I just took that Idea and just went ham with it and created the Bristlebacks. Their name is based on Seta which is an Alternative form of Saeta meaning Bristle with the greek word ¦Ð?¦Ò¦Ø (meaning back) is ducttaped behind it which very barbarically makes the word Bristleback. I should paid more attention to my linguistics class. But I was too busy confusing every other sound with everything else. - The last species, Artifices the Moiras, means exactly what it says on the tin. Artifices means Architect or Craftsmen in latin. Since latin doesn''t have the word ''of'' a traditional sense like English does I just yoinked French word for ''of'' and slapped in the "Greek" word Moiras or the "Fates". They are simply based on the contemporary media depiction of Arachne. Originally they were going to be called Yperochi de moirai. Chapter 78: Negotiations Auratic Even as he steeled himself for the worst, his strength of will still came out to be lacking and he could repress the quaking of his body as much as he wanted to. The common person would not be able to notice such small a detail, but discerning nobles with eyes like eagle however, would catch wind of it sooner or later, this he learned through experience. Although he doubted that Alicia¡¯s retainers would be that percipient, he nonetheless was wary, knowing that they were no ordinary individuals. He thought that he was doing alright in that area, absolutely clueless to the fact all of Alicia¡¯s lieutenants knew of the fact due to their refined sense of pallesthesia, catching each and every little tremors that raced through his body yet they feigned oblivion. Alfred - Alicia¡¯s aide that she introduced to him to guide him - wore a soft, tame smile on her indifferent face that rarely showed any intense emotion as she accompanied him. A beat behind his steps, at his side and trailing from the , maintaining enough distance to be unobtrusive but not too far away or lagging behind to drag him down or feel as if he was alone. It was a skill few attendants possessed, and fewer mastered, she on the other hand, demonstrated exemplary perfection of the practice. When appropriate, briefly stepping in to give concise explanations and details about the subject when he needed it, without prompt. Before he knew it, he had become so used to her presence that he had forgotten what kind of position she held, freely inspecting the selection of goods and indulging in the sample of foodstuff, as he frankly thought she was one of his assistants. It didn¡¯t take long for a strange chill to shoot up his spine, as if to remind him of an important fact that he had forgotten¡­ Thanks to a rather supernatural reminder from his own body, incited by some survival instincts, he caught himself going too far and getting overly comfortable with the situation. Surely¡­ she could not have known what he was thinking about¡­ could she¡­? As he looked over his shoulder to look at Alfred, she only smiled and asked if there was anything wrong. Thinking of the ordeal as just a strange occurrence, he recomposed himself and continued on. Not in his wildest dreams thought that he would be blown away by something as simple as an everyday milk. Though it was anything but simple for Pyrinia. Due to lack of preservation techniques, fresh milk was difficult to access and weren¡¯t commonly consumed except by the extremely elderly or the young and often in forms of whey. The thundergoat species that produced the milk were missing in the predominantly flat Kingdom of Pyrinia and even if they did, they must have resided in the mountains of Tol Rupeasa, unfortunately he had never heard of such creatures residing in the barren heights of the region. He had feared that the early settlers must have hunted them down or simply driven them out for easier access to the copious amount of silver found beneath. Although, wool and milk of the goats were abundantly present, the meat of the creature was nowhere in sight. He could taste the flesh of the animal only in his imagination. But after he noted that the Elves had great impressions of the creatures, bordering on zealous worship, he curbed his interest. His astonishments would not end soon, from the soft lustrous textiles of woven wool and silk, and though only a mouthful, the luxuriously sweet taste of the viscid honey was still fresh on his mind and the stiff, vinous aftertaste of it had yet to fade from his taste buds. It was everything Alicia promised and then some; as there were still more on offer. Rich earthy bouquet of basketful mushrooms, clothes fashioned in foreign design, he was so absorbed in the needlework of the attire that he didn¡¯t find anything off with all of them being in white. Dyes were expensive, it is only natural to save costs where possible, he thought. As soon as he thought he had concluded his inspection, more arrived. This one though, he was familiar with. It was the very beast that had been slain right in front of them. The fur would take time to tan thus it was absent, nevertheless its flesh had been turned into a great feast. It was a great show of hospitality, meat was not so readily available or affordable for the average citizen, and merchants who had money centric mindset like Albertini, despite having the means and the coins to consume meat on a day to day basis, only reserved the use of meat for special occasions such as receiving an important business partners or nobles. It was rude to partake in the feast without the host, but when he inquired if Alicia would join, Alfred stated that she unfortunately had other businesses to take care of and had it not been for that she was sure that her mistress would have accompanied him personally. Satisfied with the answer he joined in, tentatively. He was no stranger to pork; he had no high expectations of it, yet again he was taken by surprise. As he had not expected a dinner1Note, Dinner as in lunch; because dinner is lunch and supper is the ¡®dinner¡¯ in this context., he was not carrying his personal utensils with him other than his knife and dagger that he always carried along, though cutlery was offered, he politely turned it down instead opting for the small wooden platter to serve himself. His knife easily cut through the charred exterior dressed in glossy viscous fluids, revealing a white pork with just the faintest hint of pink. Clear juices that were trapped inside by the crispy exterior dribbled down onto his platter. Combined with the aromatic scent of herbs, the anticipation was unbearable. As the teeth tore through the flesh effortlessly and the savour burst inside his mouth, astonishment naturally came over to him. The mellow taste of the pork was not too unlike what he knew. Though scarcely seasoned, the fact only became testament to its freshness. The texture was marvelous, incomparable to the food from countless banquets engaged in, the meat seemed to crumble away the instant it was placed inside his mouth, barely needing to be chewed. He realized what the glossy sheen was from, caramelized honey glaze adding further depth to the sapidity to the meal. After consuming a fair bit more than he had intended, he was content with his full stomach. Although he had hoped for a fine wine to cut through all the food he had ingested, he felt a minikin of disillusionment for what was served. Water¡­ plain water. Due to concerns about purity and sickness, water was considered a bondsman''s drink; filthy and unfit for even the common man. Ale, mead or diluted wine was preferred and widely accepted as a superior drink due to its taste and body belief that it was more nutritious and healthy. Or so he''d had thought. Poured from an ewer into a drinking glass he had no high hopes for it, still he courteously accepted it, declining would be an unnecessary affront. Albertini thought he would only take a small sip, put it down and not touch it again until the time for his departure. Without realizing, he had gulped it all down in an instant, surprising himself. It wasn¡¯t any ordinary water from a well, it simply didn¡¯t feel like it. Whilst he could not grasp the reason behind it, setting aside its taste that was the same as any other water¡¯s, yet the flavour of this water seemed just different from what he knew as ¡®water¡¯. Cool and refreshing, it felt as if some unseen burden was lifted with each mouthful he engluted. The mere waters of this forest gave him such a rejuvenating sensation. Mixture of emotions were swirling inside him, braving the infamous forest where men were exiled to die within its depths, he had come seeking to monopolize undiscovered luxuries and acquire marketable goods, that was his primary goal, but now he had a mission to carry out. To secure even the smallest supply of riches and wonders of this secluded place and bring it back. And finally, near the tail end of the festivity the hostess finally came back from her business and the chance was upon him¡­ However, on the other side of the curtain leading up to this point¡­ Alfred while guiding Albertini was siphoning rumors and information as well as impressing certain favorable ideas about Velauhart into his consciousness. It was Alpha¡¯s scheme to place her mistress on a high podium, Alicia however wasn¡¯t quite convinced of the idea just yet, worried about something going awry she stealthily followed them. During this she listened in on their conversations, getting small bits and pieces of the culture of this world. Alicia had no idea why Alpha sent her to Llynbel to get water. The new well that was dug up should have been just fine for the occasion. But without thinking much about it she went to find the local Nymph regardless. Not far from the woodland hamlet a tranquil lake calmly shimmered with the sun, mirroring the blue sky upon its surface. ¡®She¡¯s not here¡­?¡¯ The lake was the ¡®usual place¡¯ aforementioned; as it still held some sentimental value for the spirit that watched over it. Alicia, carrying a wooden bucket she borrowed, could not find her, even after carefully looking around the premises. ¡®Gaaah, I guess she went somewhere else¡­¡¯ Right as she turned around to go looking for her, distinct bubbling sounds preceded a greeting in a familiar voice. Alicia displayed utter disbelief and shock on her face. Silence took hold as wordless communication took form, not through Telepathy, but by expressions alone. From seeing Alicia¡¯s confused display, Llynbel herself had an unamused impression, seemingly to ask; ¡®Seriously¡­?¡¯ Llynbel took only a few steps to wrap her hands around Alicia¡¯s head beforing shaking it vigorously before stopping to lend her ears against it. Although struggling with a few key concepts, once she had gotten over the hurdle it didn¡¯t take long for Alicia to grasp the particularity of the magic. >Antiquated elements able to be modernised. Updating¡­ Propelling through still water, flowing freely within the lake felt liberating beyond anything she could have hoped for. It took her a while to get used to the whiplash of quickly transitioning between flesh and blood, and chitin and haemolymph, to hydrogen-monoxide often getting disoriented when exiting the waveform. As it turns out, the magic by its nature only turned her body into a liquid, ignoring her clothes. She had to pay extra attention to also include her attire otherwise she would come out, disrobed. Unconcernedly: She corrected. -You should try swimming without the constraints of clothes.¡± After shrugging and right when she was about to take the first step to leave, Alicia remembered the purpose of coming to look for Llynbel before she got side tracked. After handing the bucket to her Alicia expected her to just scoop up some water from the lake. Against her expectations she held the bucked close to herself in her embrace. Though she was mystified by what she was doing, it soon became clear to her. Glittering water welled up from the bottom of the bucket, soft blue dots of light swirling within. When she was done, she handed the bucketful of water to Alicia. Peering into it the container and focusing onto its depths the said blue dots were in fact lesser spirits of water, drifting in a concentric manner, like school of minnows swimming. Alicia felt a small quivering in her voice. When she returned, she noticed Paxton driving her fangs deep into a Warhog carcass, outside the perimeters of the hamlet. Alicia left water in possession of Priest, to continue her covert observation. To her relief, nothing seemed to have come up and the negotiations seemed to be going well. Before long she was called on by Alfred to make ready and wrap close things up. Although impromptu, a lively feast composed of mostly elves, the freed girls and a few troll representatives had been set up and she was asked to present herself in the middle of it, according to Alfred¡¯s plan. At a relatively quiet and unoccupied part of the feast where Alicia was watching from, Alfred came guiding Albertini to her. After the usual back and forth dance of dialogues, the topic eventually drifted into the crucial part. Unlike her typical demeanor, ¡®The First¡¯ showed no cynicism this time, but rather faithfulness, as seen by her pristine bow surprising Alicia. The merchant then finally said the words she had been waiting to hear for a long time. Auratic My psu basically died and almost took another component with it. I mean its like at least 7 years old and waaaay past its warranty. Besides I use my computer basically every waking hour of my life and a often push my CPU and GPU hard while playing so yeah. Had to replace it, with a 600W one. My old one was 800 watt and an absolute unit but it was on a borrowed time. The new on has enough juice to fuel all my other components to it''s not that big of a deal since I''m not planning on upgrading anytime soon. Unless the 1080 prices crash to the floor or something. I''m also under self quarantine because I''ve come in contact with the couff. No symptoms yet, except the occasional coughing but I think that''s just because I sleep without a shirt with the balcony open... I''ve encountered a little bit of a snag with the tool I use to create my images that was an infuriating experience. I am aware that I''ve lost quite a bit time and behind schedule. I''ll try to close that up over the next two weeks. Also I was bit preoccupied with Rimworld Ideology DLC making catgirls the superior race on the planet. Aaaand inazuma... that also happend, and punishing gray raven. But wait I have something to show from Inazuma, I''ve skipped over kuzuho for this. For a trivia, much like many other animals, spiders can show intersex qualities or be hermaphrodite[modern_footnote]or as futanari as the degenerate community likes to call it[/modern_footnote]. Although very rare it has been documented both by scientific and hobbyist communities. Chapter 79: Bulwarks and Middle Management Auratic Undeterred by the disadvantageous circumstances the merchant had no intentions to agree to an unjust deal, however he was still willing to accept a favorable deal for Velauhart. It would be an investment, in his vision it would pay out in the long run to have a foothold in the growing hamlet, besides he could still make a great profit out of the new goods he had secured. The only thing that caught him off guard was¡­ Although initially stupefied, the reasoning made sense. There was little value in coins when one did not have a place to spend it. This was true for most secluded settlements where bartering with foodstuff, especially with pouches of salt or bags of grain was a common occurrence. After some discussions his traders would instead bring tools, seeds and other commodities of equivalent value to pay instead. Request for conventional items such as bricks, tiles, glassware, gypsum, grains and seeds, and tools were all predictable but then it turns out that he would gain great benefits if he were to bring bizarre objects that proved useful from unusual ores to saplings of trees not native to the lands. It wasn¡¯t rare for those of lordly birth to seek out outlandish amusements; he on occasions fulfilled some of those as well, thus it didn¡¯t come as too much of a surprise. He had few ideas on where to look and although he had some questions, he kept it to himself. In return he would get pelts, tusks, meat, cheese and linen along with more sought-after goods such as honey, high quality if exotic clothes and of course silk. And with those in mind Albertini rode out on his carriage early in the morning, with some ¡®gifts¡¯ loaded onto his carriage. With the concerns of securing a channel for mercantile activities taken care of, Alicia could breathe easy, at least in the short run and shift her attention elsewhere. In just a few days a large caravan of traders arrived at the edge of the forest, bringing with them a huge stock of wares. They had traded nearly all of their cargo for low volume, high value luxury goods. With how hastily the wares were gathered, there was nothing that could be considered, out of the ordinary among the items by the standards of the new world. The reason for Alicia¡¯s requests for the unusual was because that she might ¡®rediscover¡¯ something from her old world; coffee, cacao, anything. Her other guests were starting to adjust to their new surroundings. She had personally overseen the refurbishment of the second storey¡¯s floor space into a high class residence suitable for their stature to the best of her ability with limited timespan. Now, thanks to the access to more building materials and furniture she could afford to have more liberty. Considering the lack of stone processing tools Alicia had made a large bulk purchase of limestone blocks for reinforcing some areas of the lodge, in addition to placing an order for sandstone for the next shipment. Limestone was comparatively soft to other stone types that were also available, such as granite, slate, basalt and so on, and could easily be processed into bricks and blocks of varying sizes depending on the need for the construction. Despite its softness it was still durable enough to be used for future expansions. But most importantly, limestone was integral for making mortar and cement for producing concrete. Though expected, but nonetheless disappointing, there was no smithy that created steel reinforcement bars - or rebar - that Alicia wanted for creating reinforced concrete. For now, the lack of tensile strength and the brittleness of stone hadn¡¯t become an issue yet, nevertheless the acquisition of rebar remained an important bullet point to address down the line. As for the sandstone, if she could process the limestone with heat, Alicia wanted to try her hand at creating quartzite, a much more durable product of sandstone created under high temperatures. She had limited exposure and little reference for the interior design style of Pyrinia¡¯s aristocracy and therefore decided to keep things neutral and minimal for the time being, placing an emphasis on spaciousness. Much to Alicia¡¯s relief, it seemed that both Rosalia and Stefanos had a favourable opinion of the suite though they were puzzled by the decision of placing the private chambers on the higher floor. It was a diehard habit of Alicia to plan for and place luxury suites on the higher floors as people preferred the view, natural lighting, ventilation, security, privacy and less noise pollution offered by higher floors and hence had a considerable price tag on them. Of course, none of those were as highly prized in the new world, to her discovery. It was soon becoming a very real possibility that the small community surrounding Dryssia¡¯s great oak could develop into a settlement. A formation of society meant for a need for security be it from threats natural or man made and order. Alicia was fairly confident in providing the security part, her Araneae led by her adjutants were more than enough for competently dealing with most threats and were flexible enough to accommodate for most complex situations. What she was worried about was the law and order part of the deal. City planning, infrastructure development, maintenance, bridges and roads; these made sense to her. Legislations and edicts on the other hand were simply out of her league. While she was under this predicament, Rosalia, anxious to do something to return the favour of taking them in, in spite of apparent threat posed from unknown sources approached Alicia. Here a spark went off in her head. Rosalia, despite her youth, had an indisputable knowledge of governing the masses as owing to her aristocratic upbringing, and most definitely familiar with the process of issuing decrees and enacting law. Alicia was all too eager to dump all the responsibility on her. Of course she wasn¡¯t going to leave all the executive burden onto her. Alicia wanted her to draft up a set of laws based on the laws of Valtima region specifically as a starting point to then make changes to it as needed, so she wouldn¡¯t pass on something that would cause significant culture shock and it would have some familiarity to the current residents. Before Rosalia diffidently took on the request, she had often been seen spending time with the twins and along with Charlie stalking her every move, though she didn¡¯t know that. As she was the older one compared to the two by both age - by a decade and a half, chronologically - and by maturity Rosalia had naturally leaned towards a role of an older sibling. From here Alicia discovered a new spell. Although she didn¡¯t know when or how it happened, it seemed that Rosalia had identified the two¡¯s aptitude for magic and decided to help them, by teaching them the first spell any mage should learn, be they someone from noble descent under tutelage of respected masters or lowborn with fortune¡¯s favor: Ward. Although Rosalia herself wasn¡¯t particularly talented with wards she understood its necessity well. Also known as the wizard¡¯s shield or mage armor, wards were a front-facing barrier usually formed from the user¡¯s correspondent elemental affinity that repelled attacks against the caster. They were often formed with the image of a shield or a wall to help novices to learn quickly. It''s only downfall was that it was terribly ineffective against physical attacks. While abysmal in performance compared to a proper armor or a shield against physical blows it did not mean that it was not some otiose diversion either. Despite its faults it could be used in an emergency situation to just barely deflect an arrow or divert the course of an oncoming blade but where it excelled was the protection from the mystical. Against attacks of magical nature depending on its application it offered significant protection, especially against hazards that can¡¯t be dealt with in a conventional manner. Spray of acid, snaking flames, supernatural frost, surge of lightning and so forth, rare as they may be, traditional armor simply fails to defend against these. Bringing up the topics of wards to Llynbel revealed its age, or lack thereof. Although barrier type spells existed since antiquity, they were usually on a large scale and took months if not years of setup to form, often with doubtful efficacy, wards did not exist when Llynbel was at most active, meaning that it was a fairly recent development. Wards were most likely a more refined, practical application of the barrier family of magic. Goldia picked up on it immediately with just a single demonstration, her sister on the other hand seemed to struggle with it, though eventually she picked up on it after some conflagration related incidents where the local naiad had to step in. Seeing the merit of the magic Alicia tried her own hand at recreating the spell. ¡®Hm hm? I think the reason why it is terrible at protecting against physical attacks is because there¡¯s nothing to absorb the blow. It''s basically an angry wind that¡¯s protecting you from a very real weapon, by saturating the air in front of yourself with mana. The ¡®ward¡¯ doesn¡¯t have much to work with, now if it was a sturdy piece of boulder¡­ well that would be cheating now wouldn¡¯t it¡­? Not to mention it wouldn¡¯t be very prompt. It''s like trying to stop a bullet aimed at you with only your hopes and dreams¡­ not very effective. Is it just destined to be bad¡­? After hours of mulling over the problem trying to change her approach, she had achieved various other solutions but they were not to her satisfaction. I need to take a step back¡­ What makes the bullet or a sword for that matter dangerous to me in the first place? Kinetic energy isn¡¯t it¡­ If I can give something kinetic energy enough for it to fly, I should be able to take away the kinetic energy, or apply force in a different vector to deviate from its course away from myself. Instead of the ward being a shield that fails to stop anything, why not a wave¡­ a flow perhaps, that redirects attacks. It shouldn¡¯t affect its performance in regards to magic, but against a sword blow it should fare far better than trying to stop it¡­¡¯ As she tried to put her new theory to test something interpolated into the process. >Common code identified. 67.2% Match. Retrieving archived data. Restoring sector corruption¡­ As she harnessed her magical energies to cast the spell and modified it, the automated system had completed its task before any questions or objections could be raised. >Recovery successful. Translucid, effulgent, structure with self repeating pattern formed around her. Looking closely it appeared to be interlaced hexagonal cells, creating a mesh web, intermittent glows of light coursed through the lines. As it completed its formation it returned to complete transparency, as if it didn¡¯t exist at all, however the slight warping and bending of light around her made its existence undeniable to an attentive eye. >Telemetric support available. Heads-up display access needed. >Requesting heightened access. ¡®Uhhh, normally I wouldn¡¯t question your suggestions, they¡¯ve been keeping me alive so far but what kind of permissions am I giving here¡­?¡¯ >Access to occipital lobe and optical organs. Required for Heads-Up display of telemetric data. >Management of limbic systems. >Partial access to the amygdala allows emotional monitoring and correction. >Direct control of the pituitary gland for hormone modulation. >Neurotransmitter regulation. >Assistive motor functions support. ¡®Those don¡¯t sound too bad¡­? Can I go back if I feel like it?¡¯ >Administrators reserve the right to revoke access at any time. ¡®Eh, try everything once right¡­¡­ Granted.¡¯ What she heavily relied on disappeared for but a moment, yet it left behind a stifling hush leaving her in an unnerving silence. >Rebooting in heightened access state¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ >POST diagnostics complete. >Initializing¡­¡­¡­ When it returned, it sounded closer somehow, strange considering that it was always in her head. Even the tone seemed by the smallest margin¡­ warmer, in a kind of way. >Establishing connection¡­¡­¡­ The preference for the machine-esque parlance however, remained unchanged. Though Alicia almost hoped something would have changed, she was also relieved that it hadn¡¯t. >Adjusting visual offset¡­ Her eyesight went bleak as Alma tweaked her visual perception. At this point she was getting used to her sight being tampered with, no small thanks pallesthesia which became her third eye of sorts. For the most part of her life eyesight wasn¡¯t a necessity for her, it was just a vestigial remains of her human nature to maintain visual contact with her surroundings and what she was interacting with. It simply felt comforting to her, to see. Otherwise it felt as if she was walking in the dark of her own home. Despite knowing where everything is and where they should be¡­ one still doubts themselves at times. >Heads-up display active. Contextual mode. >Updating interface. When her vision cleared up, at the edge of her peripherals the familiar condensed version of her general health and energy reserve could now be seen with a new transparent ideograph of a barrier encompassing it along with a tertiary bar to represent its remaining strength. It was tucked away at the corners of her vision that it didn¡¯t obstruct anything and almost seemed to disappear. But when she consciously focused on it, they returned to opacity. ¡®It¡¯s like how people can see their nose but forgets about it¡­¡¯ In terms of energy expended, forming the ward was the most demanding compared to maintaining it. Though after it was formed, its durability was constantly being corroded, bit by bit just by existing, necessitating constant maintenance, a tax of magical energy so long as it remained up. It wasn¡¯t viable as a ¡®permanent¡¯ armor. ¡®Can¡¯t help that eh¡­¡¯ There was no doubt that if she was under actual attack the strength of the ward would wane meaning that she would need to divert even more energy to maintain it. Mana which could be used for something else. ¡®Resource management¡­ great. No matter the world, the office work always haunts me. No, this is even worse, because I¡¯m juggling with resources that directly affect my survival. Terrific¡­! Speaking of strength¡­ how strong is this barrier¡­?¡¯ As she reached out to try and touch its surface she could feel the ward extending outwards. As it did its structure shifted and expanded to accommodate for her movements. Here another discovery was made, although she didn¡¯t notice it, the Ward¡¯s stability had suffered; it was small enough to go unnoticed by her but it was still measured by Alma as the HUD showed a slight dip in its stability. ¡®Huh¡­ At Least it''s flexible enough to bend¡­ Could angle it in a way that redirects attacks effectively¡­ It¡¯s not like I would know how strong this thin veil is by knocking on it. But I¡¯d rather not try by letting something hit me. That¡¯s like testing the seatbelts and the airbags by crashing yourself into traffic. It¡¯s good if they work, but I¡¯d rather not get to that point. Let¡¯s just leave it at this for today¡­ I can limit test this later.¡¯ As the energy supply subsided, the hexagonal cells gradually faded away, along with the distortion of light. Content with the results of the experiment Alicia concluded her research for the day. As she was stretching: Woman in a milky white suit called out to her. Playing coy; Mirthlessly Still burlesque: Then abandoning it the very next second. -but that is correct. Can¡¯t hide it even if I wanted to.¡± Along with the first caravan of goods came a small amount of seeds of various grains. Although food was not a concern right now thanks to the rich bounty of the forest, it would be better to secure a more consistent supply of it in the form of sustainable farming. Alicia had entrusted some to Llynbel to let her find out their preferred soil type, moisture levels, growing climates and so on. -Our zone of control has expanded greatly, however we might need some assistance in some areas. Lastly, it is unfeasible to keep hiding our identities from the merchants and outsiders in the long term so long as we keep in contact with them. Many of them are still skeptical about entering deep into the forest or coming here in the first place. We also have no way of verifying the validity of their information.¡± Problems nestled within problems. But in the way Alpha delivered the last report it seemed that she had something to say. Although she held some concerns, especially with the later development plans she held off from voicing it, she thought that was too far ahead in the future to worry about. Muttering this to herself Alicia¡¯s thoughts shifted to stone cutting and masonry for the sewer systems not knowing that she had just given an order. As Alfred left her mistress in contemplation she had their first mission at their hands. ¡®Let Charlie take control over the ¡®associates¡¯ in Viveria.¡¯ The said associates were part of a criminal organization known as the Devil¡¯s crown, although Alicia meant it to let Charlie take authority over the current band under their control, Alpha didn¡¯t bother to make that distinction. They were all part of the crown and that meant either they will all serve¡­ or else. As Charlie lacked any subversive skills like Whispers or Domination nor did she have the right attitude for such actions. It left only a hostile takeover the only option. Still even without such skills, the threat of death would prove quite persuasive. Since it was for the purpose of information gathering, it had to be done quietly, something that they were all quite familiar with. And thus a bloody reckoning was set in motion for the Crown¡­ though to Alpha, it was only a change in leadership of the subsidiary. Auratic Also I often write notes for myself for the next chapter so uh here''s things I''m keeping in mind for the next chapter... If it was in any other context I might have get sent to the looneybin. Chapter 80: The Chosen Auratic Weeks passed in the blink of an eye, for Alicia it felt as if only a few days had passed. Tackling the problems of setting up infrastructure for a settlement however primitive, with knowledge and nigh non-existent tools by modern standards posed a unique challenge for her. Despite the difficulties, her current work was far better than a routine maintenance on roads or doing a safety inspection on some end of life span bridge in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully she didn¡¯t have to confront the undertaking alone now that she had some capable assistants. After considerable difficulties, with help from Gamma she had managed to set up a rudimentary stone cutting operation. Enedra species were already undergrounders, evolved especially to create and maintain their ever growing maze of tunnels and chambers, made easier owing to their inherent gift of Earthen magic. Though they were far from producing the most geometrically accurate creations. The resulting stone blocks needed thorough sanding before they could even be considered for processing. Nonetheless, minor improvements were made with each iteration. And that¡¯s what mattered the most, to take that first difficult step. It was now only a matter of time before masonry would be something to look up to. Decidedly, most of Alicia¡¯s familiars preferred to inhabit the subterranean burrows which meant even more workload for the ¡®Dungeon Masters¡¯. The settlement within the heart of the forest grew, as above, so below. She didn¡¯t know since when but more and more Elves seemed to have taken up permanent residence, with safety and food security guaranteed they seemed to have started to rekindle their neglected forms of art. As only the eldest generations have the skills, experience, and most crucially, the expertise. The process is long and drawn out as the younger generations who have been completely caught up in surviving the savage forest have to rediscover their culture once again from the standpoint of an outsider. Still some of the day to day arts from the heyday of their kingdom gradually resurfaced after some modernization to fit with the current times. From something trivial as weaving patterns on a loom to more sophisticated applications of magic and Elvish smithing practices. As per suggestion from Alfred, a small outlying outpost had begun its setup. Though almost without any permanent occupation, it served as a trading depot for the vendors of Albertini¡¯s firm. Beneath the surface however, a vast array of tunnels and chambers linked it to the great oak. Along with the regular shipment there was a small section of curios and oddities. It had become routine for Alicia to browse them personally when the caravans arrived. Most of them were some failed ¡®art pieces¡¯, eye catching trinkets, ersatz magical artifacts, imitations of heirlooms, gadgets with novel ideas but without practical use, gathered from all around the reaches of Pyrinia¡¯s trade partners. ¡®You can¡¯t steal someone¡¯s intellectual properties if there are no laws about intellectual properties¡­¡¯ That being said, from time to time Alicia would chance upon something of interest. Haphazardly packed in padding something akin to a storm lantern caught her attention. The rough hazy glass revealed little about the contents stored therein from the outside. But just for a moment it felt as if she saw a flicker within. Picking it up and holding it in her hands she sensed a tiny, beating flux of mana pulsing from its core, warming up ever so slightly in her palm. Although she had suspected it might be something dangerous, ready to throw it into her void vault, nothing seemed to happen. One of the traders who noticed her interest in the object approached her. Unlocking the small latch keeping the glass shut revealed a rough crystal dyed in faded copperish color. Faint intermittent pulsing light alongside the gentle warmth felt as if she held a dying heart of glass, metal and stone. On the surface it looked like she lost interest immediately. She wanted to tinker with it a little but judging that showing any enthusiasm might not be in her best interest she instead veered in the opposite direction. She had learned to keep a straight face from Alice¡¯s impassivity. Knowing their master''s relationship to Alicia, all of the traders who worked for him were eager to please their master''s treasured client. Although she wanted to disassemble it and examine its internals, something bugged her. It appeared as though there was a lesser spirit of fire housed within rough gemstone. Different from the ones she fostered on her head, which had the appearance of fiery monarchs if one concentrated on them enough. She caught glimpses of something like a wisp, like a fragment of the sun. ¡®These guys change their appearance based on who created them¡­ Seems that our scholar was also a sorcerer, evidently.¡¯ What bothered her was how weak it was, struggling desperately to stay put inside its home, yet with each passing moment its presence faded. By condolence she tried to take it into herself but¡­ it offered a pitiable resistance. She could extricate it easily but chose not to. ¡®If you¡¯re going to refuse that then¡­¡¯ Directing her internal flow of energy through its outer shell Alicia fed her own magical energy into it. The metal and the glass had certain resistance to the flow but that wasn¡¯t enough to stop it from reaching the crystalline core. At once the spirit within was reinvigorated, and with it the crystal¡¯s lifeless, dull brown hue turned to the radiant glow of the sun in seconds, pulsing with new strength. Closing its latch, the cloudy glass contained its intense glow akin to that of a raging furnace and turned into a much more cozy lucence. Her act of ¡®repairing¡¯ the torch, although brief, was especially striking and had gathered a number of spectators. Of them, the man who had given her the lamp had his mouth agape with astonishment that had his jaws not been hinged to his skull with flesh and muscle it would have been on the grass, lapping up dirt. Catching himself making such a boorish appearance he quickly composed himself, putting on a friendly smile, to the best of his abilities. In his heart of hearts, he knew he was had, ¡®How much could I have had¡­¡¯ he thought, and that reflected on the performance of his act shown by the recurrent upwards twitching at the edges of his lips. He couldn¡¯t take back his words now, letting go of such fortune. His dear master merchant had warned him of Alicia¡¯s extraordinary inveiglement methods which leads to getting a deal in her terms without one ever wisening up to it before it''s too late, or so he said before muttering indiscernible things to himself. Negligent of the forewarning, he had let his guard down for frankly he had his doubts and now he was paying for it. The only silver lining was that he could consider this an investment, it was the only way he could rationalize his loss. For Alicia she had already made her worthwhile discovery, the lamp itself was of little significance to her now besides few more experiments. The most valuable thing she had gotten out of that was the proof of concept and the existence of magical contraptions. In particular the crystals seemed closely identical to ones she saw before. Some time later she was shocked by what was in the middle of her room. Though it was her ¡®bedchambers¡¯ within the lodge, it ironically lacked the very furniture its name had. In practice the room served as a study and an atelier. Black smokey quartz-like vitreous crystals were piled all the way up to the ceiling of the room. ¡®The hell is this¡­?¡¯ It was still the same crystals she had left behind in the cave, but the amount astonished her. From her memory, there were only enough to fill up a small gunny sack, not fill up a room. ¡®Something doesn¡¯t quite add up¡­¡¯ She had forgotten about it since learning it from imbuing magical energy into her silk, but many materials had mana conductivity to them. Some materials were receptive like her silk and cloth whereas most metals were resistive. There was another property she discovered through an accident, retention. Every material also had an ability to retain their magical charge for some time. Even if she could imbue something into a resistive medium, like iron they would very quickly lose their magical energy. Noting down the various rates of the magic decay Alicia made a correlation with resistivity and retention. Higher the resistivity the lower the retention and vice versa. From her tinkering, the crystals had the highest reception. They could hold onto magical energy far better than anything else she had the opportunity to test with and had the highest retention rate. They did not have any magical decay, at least not one that she could measure. ''Quite like a battery huh?'' Taking a small piece of crystal, she imbued it with a fire spirit with a very simple instruction¡­ to use the spell Flame and fed it the magical energy needed. The lep fluttered into the crystal disappearing into its depths, suffusing it with warm color. It was her first instinct to throw into the floor, hoping that something would happen. Unsurprisingly the crystal shattered, releasing the spirit and the magical energy in a fiery combustion, setting the wooden floor ablaze. In a panic she doused the entire floor with water, which while putting out the fire meant that it also flooded the room with ankle depth water that was now seeping through the floorboards. Before the damage got out of hand she swiftly froze all of the water with her feet still in it. Sharp sting of gelid ice bit deeply into her, eliciting a crescendo of shriek out of her. After very painfully getting acclimated to the cold, she began the clean up of the aftermath of her impulsive experiment, breaking the ice into chunks before disposing of them¡­ Despite the initial hiccup she wanted to try a few more things, infusing more crystal chunks with various spirits and elements she exited her room. Wandering around the lodge she chanced on Alia trying to light the kitchen fireplace with a firestriker. The sparks simply didn¡¯t ignite any of the tinder grass. ¡®Note to self¡­ figure out how to make matches¡­¡¯ Leaning over; ¡®You too huh¡­¡¯ Alicia at this point was done with trying to dissuade the people around her from calling her mistress. "Here, try this." She said, handing over a bright red crystal. "This¡­ looks expensive, can I really have this?" The village girl asked, doubt clear in her voice. Lost in confusion she was stunned silent, processing the words uttered. This time Alicia undercharged the crystal so that a disaster wouldn''t repeat. With little pop dry grass set aflame, though it wasn''t enough to properly light the firewood. As Alia wasn¡¯t expecting it to pop and burn, a short yelp escaped her lips. ''I think I overdid it with safety¡­ humn¡­ Right, I have that one.'' Pulling out another crystal, this one barely tinted blue, Alicia gave it to the girl. Still unsure about the whole ordeal she only did as she was told, whispering something like a prayer to the stone before tossing it into the fire. The fire roared with vigor as flow of air burst inside the fire pit bringing in an influx of oxygen. Its outburst lasted for a brief moment before mellowing out. Both girls were enamored with the result, one for the fantastical side of things, the other for the march of progress. Pleased with the outcome, Alicia left a few more ember crystals with her. Once Alpha had returned Alicia thoroughly questioned her on her small expedition before going back there by herself. The crystals had a faint tingling of unworldly energy. Her adjutant Alfred used it to locate the chamber where Alicia first made contact with the void. However the true nature of the situation had eluded her. When Alicia returned to the cavern at the peak, the entire geometry of the place had been drastically changed, enough for her to have a double take questioning whether or not it was the same cave system, yet instincts told her it was the very same place. Instead of some forgotten ruins in a collapsing cave it was now something akin to a temple. She was expecting to scale walls as she did the first time and had changed into her hybrid form. Gone was the rough indurate ground, replaced by smooth and polished floors. The walls were adorned with pictorial images resembling the depths of a realm she sees only in her unwaking mind. The images seemed to shift into another scene, slowly, slow enough that one couldn¡¯t tell if it was moving or not. Her mind was plagued by the paranoia that the inanimate images displayed on the walls were flowing into another shape when she wasn¡¯t looking. Without the difficulty of the terrain, she could move much faster into its depths and as her destination grew near, a faint whistling became more and more audible, like that of the wind. Yet her trichobothria hadn¡¯t picked up the faintest movement in air. An unnatural wind beckoned her. All the way until she reached the deepest parts of the caverns, indescribable voices followed her. It was as if someone just out of sight was talking to her. The voices and their messages all overlapped where no meaning could be gleaned from them. Domed chamber where she met an ancient fire spirit in the form of a dragon remained the same for the most part, spare for the sprawling crystalline growth in the middle of it. Within the heart of the crystal she noticed a pinprick of a hole from where the void seeped out, the pervasive influence of which terraforming the very world around it. >Notice. Volitant particles detected. >Alert. Non-Euclidean space detected. >Caution. Anomalous gravitational field detected. ¡®You¡¯re worried¡­? That makes the two of us then.¡¯ Alicia had long since lost her fear of the void. What she feared now was how familiar void felt. Approaching the crystal it seemed to react to her presence fracturing into smaller pieces, yet instead of falling it defied gravity, suspended in air. Reaching into the perforation in the world she gently nudged it close. But as she did, from the point of contact with the void something surged through her arms and into her, searing, agonizing pain stung through her chest, reminding her of her first encounter with the void. With the source of abnormality gone, the floating crystal chunks around her fell to the ground all at once. With its closure the perturbing voices went with it. Though she wanted to believe the sealing of the rupture was her doing, it felt as if it closed itself on its own. From the small camp made for visitors created outside the world infamous forest, a caravan of merchants and their guards set out for Viveria, homebound, carrying highly sought after items. Unknown to them, a mysterious stowaway came riding along with their goods. A blonde haired child sitting on a wagon roof at the end of the line, swinging her little legs back and forth to a berceuse tune that she hums, her hair bobbing with each small bump the carriage passes over. Malachite greens peer out of her xanthic locks. Not many would suspect the mortiferous intentions underneath her lightheartedness. Yet her cheer, however, came not from the coming hecatomb she will cause but from her earnest service to her mistresses. Auratic Crystals that hold onto charge. Clearly something fictitious, right? I present you, piezoelectricity. Crystals, particularly quartz when exposed to stress (Mechanical stress not anxiety or the crippling depression you have.) release electricity. This can be created through number of methods but most common are applying charge, causing physical stress (not damage) or high heat. Such piezoelectric crystals are quite crucial in creation of crystal oscillators which are a common component for devices, from the simplest of clocks to the most complicated computer systems. In fact the very device you''re using to read this, probably has an oscillator in it somewhere. Ever wondered how your computer is able to accurately tell how long its been off for and what time it is right now when booting up despite being completely cut off from electricity ? Again, the crystal oscillator within it use a small battery to create a periodic electric signal at a regular interval. By, quite literally counting these signals, they can keep track of time, even when cut off from the world. It is not the most accurate of clocks but for most people, that''s that big of a deal. Anyway, last time I checked the main page I saw this, here''s someone having a very good time... I think...? Chapter 81: ‘Childish’ antics Auratic A quiet night like any other was in its prime. Gentle warm light poured out one of the windows of the wooden lodge. At this hour very few souls were awake. Ever since her previous life she was already a light sleeper, often staying up until deep into the night. Now, her new form completely did away with sleep, not that she minded losing the very need for sleep, rather she quite appreciated the extra free time. Although she wished to be productive and continue the construction work through the night. Unfortunately, though sleep was inessential to Alicia and her subordinates'' it was not the case for everyone else. Thus it had become routine for her to spend the night studying texts - though she could communicate with natives of the new world effortlessly, reading was not the same - prototyping tools and drawing up blueprints or noting down her thoughts. Door to her room slowly swung open, from the dark hallway emerged a familiar person, the other half to her being. It took a long, long time before Alice came over to using stairs and the door, rather than the window, or the roof. It was a huge step up from the downright petrifying, unsolicited, ventral view of a huge spider tapping on her window, illuminated by only the weak candle light encounters during the night. As Alice was highly independent and mostly concerned with the growth and safety of the twins, it was rare for her to approach Alicia personally, unless it was a particularly troublesome issue that she couldn¡¯t solve on her own. In her characteristic curtness; In this case it seemed that it was something to do with one of her girls. The building was awash with quietude as they exited its halls. Alicia didn¡¯t recognize the place they were heading to. Despite having keen awareness of the layout of the forest and its notable landmarks, there was still much left to discover. Soon afterwards, they saw a dull silvery light in the distance and caught the abnormal chill in the wind. A lone girl was sitting, kneeling in the midst of a meadow in a small clearing of the forest, surrounded by twinkling orbs of light that looked as if the patch of the night sky had fallen down around her. With the faintest breeze they flittered, displaying a breathtaking display yet also giving away their underlying nature. A chaotic tangle web whose intersection points each held up crystallized ice globes shining enticingly as the moon illuminated it. The floor around her instead had a thin sheet of frost draping over the meadow flowers and grass. After some time a rhythmic clicking sound could be heard, becoming louder and louder. Alicia was preparing to jump in, if anything were to come out. Her counterpart held her back. From the deeper parts of the forest, a large flying insect came out, heading straight towards one of the globes in an attempt to land on them, snapping a number of web strands in the process, presumably intended to capture it. However it appeared as though they didn¡¯t get stuck to it at all and after being startled by the snapping of the fibres they became spooked and flew away, back into the forest depths. Leaving a trailing of sparkling flakes. After it flew away, Goldia despondently got up and repaired the damaged parts of the web, changing its structure as she went, as well as cleaning the dust off of it and picking off any stray bugs that wandered into it. After she was done, she returned back to her spot before sitting down and looking up to the heavens once more. It appears that she passed the time by stargazing until another moth approached her web. Silence was the most common answer Alice gave. It implied that she was correct and there was nothing more to add to it. ¡®My oh my¡­ quite tall order. I¡¯d rather take on an entire country¡¯s army than to be a good parent. And it¡¯s not looking like I¡¯ll find an army anytime soon¡­¡¯ Tapping and tugging on the edges of the web to a certain tune Alicia made herself known to the young girl. Small gasp of surprise escaped her. After a short while of contemplation she slowly nodded her head in such a way that indicated that she wasn¡¯t quite convinced of her decision. Because of its chaotic character, the web was difficult to navigate through, at the same time Alicia couldn¡¯t help but admire the adroit attention to detail it possessed. Each line of silk had their purpose, be it to support, to capture or to entice. ¡®Hell, this feels like a pillow fort, except your child got hold of an entire storage unit''s worth of planks and an access to infinite nails and hammer, and decided to go nuts in your back garden. Never would I have thought that I was too big for something, especially after losing my height in a gender change¡­¡¯ Carefully crawling through the web while testing the supporting capacity of some parts of the silk, Alicia made it to the center of the web where Goldia was at. After she reached her, she sat down crossing her legs and picked Goldia up into her laps. Sitting on top of the hub she could read into every little movement of the web. ¡®Some parts have little delay to them¡­ Few redundancies here and there¡­ The acoustics aren¡¯t half-bad¡­ Eh, it''s not like she¡¯s catching something to save herself from starvation.¡¯ Every now and then she would look back up to her before returning to monitor her web again. And every time she did, Alicia would look at her to reassure her. She could feel that now that she was with her Goldia had become a little tense, anxious of something. Eventually it seemed that she was becoming a little antsy on her laps, but she didn¡¯t move to free herself. Although she had few guesses as to why, the most likely one was that she was getting impatient about not getting another moth to approach her. Once again she looked up to her, craning her head, inquiry crystallizing in her eyes. Alicia put Goldia down next to her and lied down on the frosted meadows. Twinkling orbs suspended in webbing was the foreground for the starry night sky, enriching their numbers. Goldia had started to count the stars in earnest. A whisper-esque reply came after a while. ¡®Some of them look like they can abduct a toddler and feed on it but what do I know about aesthetics.¡¯ A short nod came after. A sort of an affirmative mumble came from her. As she didn¡¯t want to disturb her she ordered one of the few remaining hex crawles still nestling in her hair. The spider quickly crawled out and brought samples of it to her open palms and dropped. Looking closely at the exfoliate and rubbing it against the tips of her fingers and seeing how easily it crumbled, she deduced that the moths have to be covered in some sort of flaky scales that easily peels off in layers, rendering them quite slippery for a conventional web to capture. ¡®Interesting¡­ seems that this ¡®prey¡¯ item has made quite the evolution for escape, were these changes made just so that they could escape spiders¡­ or something else¡­? Well it doesn¡¯t matter who it is for, it works, evidently. We can take more¡­ active approach for this.¡¯ Before long another moth approached the web. Attracted to the ice crystals it slowly flew towards them. Sitting up straight; Readying herself, the little girl unveiled her real form. Slowly putting herself in position, multiple pairs of legs placed on the main draglines, she was prepared to close her web around it. As soon as it made contact with the web, she sprung to action, twisting the nearby silk in an effort to wrap it up. The moth, although initially unencumbered, soon became stupefied from being jostled around inside the web haphazardly flying into more and more webbing until. ¡®Oh, that¡¯s a hole¡­¡¯ Without Goldia noticing Alicia had made a small reinforcement to the web¡¯s structure, closing up the opening with her magic. It didn¡¯t take long for the moth to get helplessly tangled up in the web. Its movements slowed down from fatigue, yet it still flapped its wings in desperate bid to survive. Goldia¡¯s eyes lit up with excitement, quickly stumbling over to look at it closely. After cutting off some of the web she held the huge moth in her hands by its abdomen. The moth had mostly milky white coloration on its wings with symmetrical circles that almost looked like a larger animal¡¯s eyes. Looking up she pondered for a while before answering in a soft voice: Hesitantly she handed the moth to Alicia. As she held the insect with a soft smile the unseen chains of servitude slowly crawled around its being. Animals without much sense of ego or independence, that act by mostly instincts were swiftly overwhelmed by the overriding will of the magic. With that she freed it from the remaining silk. Instead of flying away, it held onto her hands and started to groom itself, picking away at any leftover silk and cleaning its antennae. She handed it to Goldia who was ecstatic to have her new pet back. ¡®Some kids want a puppy, she wants a giant goddamn moth¡­ Well, if it makes her happy, what do I care about? For an insect¡­ it is quite fluffy, suppose those tufts of fluff are what made them hard to catch.¡¯ Alicia froze up as Goldia buried her head towards her chest. ¡®Riiiight¡­ Mom¡­ of course¡­ I don¡¯t think I can run away from that title¡­ not like I successfully avoided any other title but still.¡¯ ¡°I don¡¯t think you get it.¡± Again she slowly nodded. Her face turned to that of confusion. ¡°Don¡¯t stay up too long now.¡± As she seemed to be conflicted on whether or not to go or stay and play with her new pet, Alicia just assumed that she wanted to stay, and got up. Going over to Alice who was watching them from the treeline; Once she had gotten sleepy, she fell asleep on the meadow, her pet moth staying on her body, slowly flapping its wings. It was then Alice emerged from her vantage point and picked her up and put back in the tree house. Some time afterwards Alice came into the workshop room, due to the ajar door she entered without Alicia noticing. She was engrossed in studying the void crystals and noting down her findings. Alice had inadvertently snuck up behind her and bit her ears. From her extreme reaction Alice quickly let go and tilted her head in confusion. Alice was staring intently at her. Alicia wrapped her hands around her in embrace, gently patting her head from the back. Alicia let go of her and tried to return to her work but¡­ She was thoroughly hoping that she could brush it off, cursing her mouth for slipping out that word. Closing her eyes and abandoning her reason Alicia quickly leaned over and pecked Alice on her forehead. Alice seemed to be stunned still but shortly afterwards she touched the place on her forehead and wiped the little saliva that was left over it and intensely looked at her fingers. Alicia almost spit at her documents. Auratic In the dark alleyways of the middling town little girl strolled in a carefree manner, skipping occasionally. A bizarre sight, especially around this time and place, but also her behaviour. Where normal children feared the dark, she seemed not at all bothered by it. It appeared that she was looking for someone or something, almost as if she was lost and¡­ alone. This perceived vulnerability has not gone unnoticed. Group of thugs, three in total, quietly followed her, until she had gone into a corner. Children like her going out and about like this were often abducted and sold into illegal slavery. Due to their immaturity they didn¡¯t fetch much of a price but easy money was easy money. But very rarely, some parents often wandered around looking for their child. With a little tip about where they might be they could easily ingratiate themselves to the desperate parents and extract favors from them. Or even some more money¡­ Although they often did this to street rats and other extra mouths kicked out of poverty stricken families or whores who abandoned them. Thin and frail bodied children weren¡¯t worth much and weren''t worth the effort most of the time. But this girl¡­ prim and clean clothes, good looks, healthy body all of it were in favor of increasing her price. Such were the thoughts of lowlifes that prowled these parts of the town. When she knew she had walked into a dead end she turned around, only to come face to face with her stalkers. Stench of cheap alcohol wafted out of their mouths with cracked lips, slipping through their receded gums and yellowed teeth. Crude laughter came from them, exultant in their success. Stepping closer one of them replied. Answered another. Still approaching her; Now standing right infront of her and crouching down, salivating, his hands snaked down towards the little girl''s loins. Yes she was pretty, but before they sold her off¡­ they could have a little ¡®fun¡¯. They were expecting her to scream for help. What they didn¡¯t expect was the snapping crunch that came right before he reached the girl. A loud yelling of pain, surprising the other two that were standing behind him as he stumbled back, spilling hefty blood on the ground. Still not taking it seriously, they asked in a mocking tone. Sharing chuckles amongst the two of them. But the chucklesome atmosphere quickly turned sour. The kid¡¯s tone had completely changed, as if she was someone else entirely. What they had thought was a human child, turned to something¡­ else in front of their eyes. Emerald chelicerae, short but robust pairs of legs totalling to eight. Fangs¡­ chewing on¡­ their colleague¡¯s finger, making gut wrenching sounds of bone cracking. The creature spat out a half eaten digit towards them. In a blink of an eye with a sound of some sort of booming crack, it seemed that the monster¡­ teleported to their friend¡¯s neck driving its fangs deep into it. Turning towards the colleagues of the man choking on fangs and his own blood. Well¡­ Aren¡¯t you going to help him, or are you going to stand there and watch?¡± A mocking question was imposed. Their liquid courage quickly faded away in face of the mortality of their ally, knowing that they might be the next. The moment they turned tail to run. Two more snapping sounds echoed. Both of the men were on the ground, unable to make anything more than choking throes of death. Each with a Huntress on their back, clamping down on their neck with their fangs. Not letting any sound escape. As the venom coursed through their bodies and the light faded from their eyes. Charlie let go of them. ¡®It seems that our concealment is sufficiently effective, as expected. Though this was a small test group. They did attempt to court me¡­ Strange though I am of sexual maturity, my humanoid form should not be the same. What strange organisms they are¡­ or perhaps they had seen through some of the disguise¡­?¡¯ More huntresses descended to tidy up the scene, while others scattered to find more suitable test subjects to ascertain the effectiveness of their Mimicry. Soon rumors of a serial killer who took fingers out of their mutilated victim became widespread¡­ Natural selection had come to their little town. Auratic The moth featured in this chapter is based on the Saturnia pyri or commonly known as the European Emperor moth or the Giant Peacock Moth, with a little mix of a Venezuelan Poodle moth (Bombyx mori) or the more commonly known domestic silk moth. Here''s irregularly scheduled video. Giant Crevice weaver.(Kukulcania hibernalis) Also this happened. The poll is important okay. She was so unimportant that I forgot to give her a name or already gave her one and then immediately forgot about it or both. Chapter 82: Cats and Catalysts Auratic Days had passed since she had closed the rift in the mountains. The abnormality of the situation that was present that day led to Alicia looking more into the cause of the event. Early into her investigation it was made clear that it wouldn¡¯t be a straightforward case and it was abundantly obvious that she needed help if she were to make any meaningful progress towards understanding the true nature of the void. Although she was reluctant to enlist others¡¯ help for her own ends, her adjutants were more than happy to provide assistance, almost to an obsessive insistence - and with some discussion among themselves the most suitable candidates were elected for the task at hand. Alfred was the most intellectual of Alicia¡¯s adjutants; however she had a far more crucial task of leadership and management, which led to Erwin taking the position of the researcher in charge. Mesmers, perhaps thanks to their unusual hunting strategies requiring both creativity and an erudite mind, had intrinsic advantage in regards of discovery, analysis and if necessary, development. Though Alicia quickly learned to outsource the development part to other more suitable individuals. Alicia was extremely concerned about how she couldn¡¯t teach Echo the scientific method. Rather it seemed that she drew inferences and made breakthroughs at random. Only to later discover that she could hypnotize herself to test hypotheses at an extreme rate by creating close to reality illusions inside her own mind. While within one such illusion, time is indescribably dilated. Unfortunately the method was inapplicable for anyone else as they couldn¡¯t be safely induced into or awakened from the mesmerization. In addition, once they¡¯re in the illusion they couldn¡¯t maintain a cognitive state suitable for productive research. ¡®Seems that their hypnosis causes some short term memory loss, replaced by their new experiences from their time within the illusion, making their victims¡¯ switch from illusion to reality completely seamless¡­ I thought that I had just gotten slightly aloof Araneae species¡­ didn¡¯t know how terrifying they could be¡­ As for me¡­ it just doesn¡¯t work. I cannot be put into their hypnotic state, aware or otherwise. Alma has its own ideas but¡­ the general consensus that it reached was that my, or rather, our minds within a single body was far too independent of each other to be fully affected by any mind altering states, hypnosis included. What am I, an Alien¡­? Well¡­ suppose I am¡­¡¯ Later Alicia discovered from Lynbell, that her void crystals were not a new discovery that she had made but rather any medium that possesses a minor spirit, energy to house it and specific set of instructions - like that of a spell - were known as catalysts. They were often scrolls bound with a special string or seal that had to be undone to release the spirit and subsequently the magic. Other rare forms of it were that of a grimoire, wands and staves with special fixtures, and of course small crystals. The water spirit was more terrified of how Alicia had made dozens of them and were handing them out like candy. Even simple ones cost a pretty penny due to the difficulty involved in creating them. Materials that could house a lesser spirit were few and far between, in addition not only did they need the careful hand of an artisan to craft them into the desired form but also the spells of the distinguished sorcerers. All of those steps had a price tag that would make even the most affluent of merchants to wince at the cost. The end product was worth it, as even such catalysts devoid of a spirit could still be used as a sort of a magical battery, being able to act as a capacitor to aid the sorcerer in possession of the objects, to quickly recover their energy reserves, whence their names come from - catalysts for magic. With only another step of processing, devastating spells could be preserved within such objects. Army devouring floods, city swallowing earthquakes, cyclones capable of uprooting nations, infernal hellfires, all could be stored in a chunk of crystal small as a handful. And Alicia was using such crystals bound for greatness for the purposes of creating a glorified fire striker. But it was not without a cause, even though the rift was closed, in its area the void crystals continued to bud and grow almost as if it was¡­ alive. Unintentionally she found out that the crystals¡­ if not possessing intelligence or will¡­ had some sort of memory. When she used dauntless to chip off a sample to bring back to study reacted with her blade. It was then she noticed the uncanny resemblance of her blade to the unworldly minerals. When it was first forged, the dwarven smith Greimen gave her an oil and whetstone to hone its edge and sharpen it but she had never once used them, still floating in the dark space of her vault. And although she was quite conscious of needing to treat the blade at first, she soon became more and more¡­ barbaric with the weapon. From using it for crude work such as to chop wood, to jabbing it deep into stone floors and so on. The weaponsmith would have hammered her head flat into his anvil for just one of those incidents, let alone the numerous other transgressions she had committed against the blade. But most importantly it never once lost its edge and only now she noticed the strange property of her weapon. To see what was happening she brutally smashed the edge against a rock, smashing it to pieces. Then she examined the edge of her weapon¡­ it had lost its sharpness somewhat with noticeable chipping but she also saw something else. The sword was¡­ for a lack of better words restoring itself to its original form. It did lose its edge, very often in fact. But it simply repaired itself when she wasn¡¯t looking. And as she suspected the crystals themselves in their raw unprocessed state also shared the same property. Where it was getting the materials to ¡®grow¡¯ was still a mystery as it didn¡¯t seem to be absorbing anything from the nearby terrain, but for her purposes testing out a theory she marked one of the buds to be kept undisturbed. In weeks worth of time it grew from a small bud to a flowering bloom and stopped, or rather it had matured and reached its own saturation point. Smaller the bud faster it grew to reach its ¡®ideal size¡¯ slowing down as it grew closer to it before stopping completely. Her initial worries of needing to keep the crystals from growing indefinitely was fortunately unneeded. Even if unattended they wouldn¡¯t consume the entire world and turn it into crystals. The reconstructive nature of the crystals were lost once they had been broken off from their origin. The limit of how many times they could restore themselves hadn¡¯t been discovered yet or if it even has such a limit in the first place. In the long term, it meant that Alicia had a ¡®crystal farm¡¯, an unexpected windfall. Though dubitable, for now the crystals were deemed safe for use and Echo had moved onto researching more applications the crystal could be used for. Reasons for her suspicion towards these crystals closely affiliated with the void came from the ¡®gift¡¯ the void bestowed her. With the title came three individual traits and of which one had already made its presence known. ¡®Devour hope¡­ I don¡¯t remember getting an improvement like that¡­ Doesn¡¯t sound friendly either¡­ Alma?¡¯ >Decrypting standby¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Complete. ¡®Right¡­ how do I mentally strain them¡­ be annoying?¡¯ >Cause burst of mental distress for immediate effect. >Inducing an acute sense of overwhelming dread. Efficient. >Inducing a sense of disorientation into the target, self doubt. Cause target to question rationality. ¡®So¡­ wait. Either I terrify someone to the point where they cannot resist the domination attempt or I gaslight them into questioning their own sanity¡­¡¯ >Options inexhaustive. ¡®Yeah I guessed, I¡¯m sure there are a lot of way to torture someone¡­ But¡­ it will leave them an empty shell. A living puppet¡­ Not going to be my first choice¡­ Speaking of which¡­¡¯ Along with Rosalia and the former coachman of the house Valtima, Alcia also brought a young lithiline girl from the town. From the learned Merchant she found out that this girl was a Grimalkin, most common around this part of the continent, known to be related to reclusive giant felines that make boreal forests their home. The other most common type of lithilines, the Leaena, originating from golden deserts to the south are the stark opposites of the Grimalkin - the tundra-morph. Besides the contrasting climates where they hail from, the Leaena - desert-morphs - as opposed to their other kin are supposedly extremely gregarious. While most half-kins struggle to progress further than tolerance of human presence, the Leaena seem to actively seek out relations with humans, living amongst their communities and settlements. It seems that they are all considered citizens in the region of ?giphet and though disputed some are even revered as a deity. As much as Alicia wanted to learn more, accurate information on both morphs, and lithilines in general are as rare as they come. Half-bloods without collars were rare around these parts. ¡®People couldn¡¯t abolish racism in its entirety when we were all humans¡­ now with other entire species possessing intelligence that are wholly different put into the mix, in addition to the constant warfare and paranoia¡­ I can see how xenophobia became the trendiest mindset. Grimalkin and Leaena are just two of the entire genus of Lithilines out there that have been discovered and described¡­¡¯ The grimalkin was mostly left on her own when she was brought to Velauhart, so as not to stress her out unnecessarily while she got accustomed to her new environment. Although she was quite annoyed by Rosalia¡¯s unrestrained curiosity into her species at first, after sneaking out by herself during one night and accidentally running into cave lion¡¯s den to then flee into an owlbear ambush, she was then rescued by one of Rufus¡¯ night patrols. At the end of it, though only sustaining superficial wounds it almost seemed as if she was more patient with the noble girl¡¯s attention. Alicia was hopeful that Rosalia, through exposure and bonding, had learned more about her but¡­ Under her breath she whispered¡­ she likes to be scratched behind her ears.¡± It was obvious that her hope was misplaced¡­ Abashedly, she replied. ¡®This might be something to look into¡­¡¯ After a quick few knocks on Rosalia¡¯s room Alicia let herself in without waiting for an answer. From indirect observation through the numerous Araneae hanging around the premises she knew the felid girl had her bouts of restlessness after the sun went down, deducing her to have a nocturnal lifestyle. That being the case, she knew the Grimalkin would be lounging about in Rosalia''s chambers, napping the daylight away. As she entered the room, she quickly sat-up from her sprawling stretch on the bed. She avoided making eye-contact, hoping that Alicia would just leave. It was a much better reception than the first time. Though anything but warm, there wasn¡¯t any disdain flowing through it. It was perhaps the most intense neutral gaze Alicia had encountered. Pulling up a chair and placing it in front of her Alicia sat on. Quite alert to her actions she had stiffened up, pupils narrowing into a slit, her ears were upright facing towards her, following her movements attentively, however it didn¡¯t turn down and to the back yet which was a sign of aggression or in most cases interactions with Alicia, fear. Without a word, Alicia balled up her hands into a loosely clenched fist and slowly presented to it. Bemused by the gesture she wasn¡¯t sure how to react. Regardless, Alicia was determined and held her rather awkward position. After some time, she gingerly leaned in to sniff at her hands, occasionally being startled by seemingly nothing. She had become oddly fixated on sniffing at her hand eventually, nuzzling her face against it before backing away; Alicia noticed that her pupils had become mostly dilated when she did. After the greeting, she slowly opened up her balled up hand and calmly reached around her head to rub her behind the ears. The felid girl¡¯s hesitancy had mostly faded away, still she could sense that there was some chariness left in her. Those walls would take time to break down. Quiet, barely discernible sounds resembling meowing could be heard coming from her; even with her finer sense of hearing, the sound was still easy to miss. Judging now was a good time Alicia spoke. She interpreted the slow tilt of her head to be one of confusion, as if to ask ¡®what name?¡¯ Knowing that she was ¡®contracted¡¯ from a slave trader, she had heard that most slaves had their names wiped from them so that they could be renamed by the client to make it more of a ¡®personal¡¯ purchase. Alicia thought that she might remember her previous name but it seems that it was not the case. The petite girl turned around and swished her fluffy tail at her in disinterest. Low, almost growling yowl of discontentment came from her. Alicia was surprised to hear from her. The topic must have been dear to her. After a long pause she responded once more. Hopping over to the window peeking out; ¡®Get married, raise the children, then figure out something else later¡­ Sounds like the life plan of most people I met¡­ It isn¡¯t bad but¡­ sounds like she¡¯s lost.¡¯ Pensively she mused to the skies through the window. Her pale green eyes stared intently at her. For almost every day since then Alicia visited Frost to learn more about her and to limit test the capabilities of the Slave collar. It took a long time to find a fitting name that she liked, as she would stubbornly refuse most suggestions but eventually she remembered the name of a place that struck a chord with her, Caulforst. As the name was quite complex for most to remember in its entirety, it became shortened to the much easier to recall: Frost. Initially she was unresponsive to the name but she quickly became accustomed to it. The first thing Alicia wanted to get to the bottom of was therianthropy. Where did it come from, what benefits did it offer, why of all things did they look like a hybrid between humans and animals. Originally Alicia thought that some drunk village idiot got out into the woods and had a procreative congress with whatever woodland creature they found, that resulted in therianthropes. Though she would have been unsurprised, she would have been nonetheless disappointed if that were the case. Thankfully, for the dignity of the entire human race Alma¡¯s genomic mapping results suggested otherwise, though it did elucidate a rather intriguing compatibility between the two species. Setting aside the compatibility, Alma''s analysis suggested that the Grimalkin had most likely come from a common ancestor of sorts that have been well adapted to cold climates. The reason as to why their evolution took turn towards convergence with human evolution is not yet clear, however compared to other animals humans did possess a rather unique set of abilities not commonly found amongst others in the animal kingdom. Humans were not good sprinters, however they had evolved to have extreme endurance using the numerous sweat glands of the body for evaporative thermoregulation. This was the first and perhaps the most important ability for a therianthrope to acquire from humans. The act of shapeshifting or transforming their bodies, partially or otherwise, demanded an enormous deal of energy but also generated excessive heat, losing that heat quickly was important. Speech, higher cognitive skills, opposable thumbs, and a slew of other talents that were all rare in the wild were inadvertent perks that just so happened to come bundled with it. While there are many advantages to be gained from mimicking humans, there also had to be concessions to be made. Lithilines for example, lose a great deal of their facial muscles from acquiring humanoid form - facial muscles used for delivering tremendous biting force, used for taking down a prey - but in turn gain much more flexible and nimble digits in the forms of hands and feet that are capable of more delicate and deliberate actions. From there adaptation takes a further step by replacing fingernails with the razor sharp retractable claws, combined with the enhanced dexterity this meant that they became even more of a dangerous weapon. Auratic ¡®But is there really a need to look that much like humans? I¡¯d say buttocks are an unnecessary adoption.¡¯ >Gluteal muscle group. Necessary for supporting upright posture. Enables Erect pose. Crucial for regaining posture from crouching position. ¡®No I meant that¡­ whatever. They don¡¯t need to be so large.¡¯ >Effective fat storage medium for reserve energy. Acts as additional storage to be used during energy demanding actions. Perceived shapely form from curvaceousness indicates well nourished, healthy subject, used as indicators for identifying attractive mate. ¡®Riiiight¡­ but women don¡¯t look at a man¡¯s rear and get hot and bothered. What about that, eeeeh?¡¯ >Fact remains unchanged. ¡®Wait really? I¡­ didn¡¯t know about that¡­ huh¡­ do you by chance know why human male genitalia is shaped the way it is?¡¯ >Ridges likely evolved to displace competitors¡¯ reproductive fluids within 50 hours. ¡®You mean¡­¡¯ >Deep repeated plunges simulated to remove over 90% of Rival¡¯s emission from the female''s parturient canal. ¡®No wait-¡¯ >Post climax enervation combined with continued stimulation resulting in perceptual pain supports theory. Natural discouragement from displacing own- ¡®I get it! I get it! Please. Stop. Why have you cursed me with this knowledge¡­¡¯ >Query. Is the inquiry rhetorical in nature. ¡®YES! Don¡¯t answer¡­¡¯ Using a few rats for experimentation in parallel with examining Frost¡¯s collar, Alicia started to piece together an image of its unseen structure. Specifically how it enforced the master¡¯s will into the victim and how it perceived what defiance was. Despite its seemingly almighty power it had glaring weaknesses in its designs. Firstly it identified the master through their magical signature imprinted to the collar, but when situated far away enough, it lost its signal, so to speak. In this situation it relied on a fallback mechanism that relies on the victim itself. If the victim is still aware of their master, it will read and use that image from the slave¡¯s mind to continue to enforce their last orders, recurring or otherwise. Since anything short of brainwashing will not easily remove the impression of the master from the victim''s memory, it is a crude yet effective method of imposing compliance. Additionally, one can attempt to overwhelm the magical flow inside the collar, overloading it so that it attempts to reset to its original state. During this the collar will try to ask for the master¡¯s impression from the victim, often being recalled through traumatic memories resurfacing. Here, if the enslaved in question is unable to be accessed by a token of being unconscious. The collar will revert to its initial state of not being bonded. If the individual overloading the collar does not act to imprint their own magical signature, this essentially frees the slave. Though she noted few unintended side-effects especially in the short term. In terms of how it judges compliance, unless done through physical contact, it was much of the same story, if the slave could comprehend it, it used their own conscience to determine if they were complying or not. While effective, it also left much to the slave¡¯s own discretion than initially thought. If somehow the slave could delude themselves into thinking that they were carrying out their master¡¯s orders they could practically do whatever they wanted to, this included walking up to one¡¯s own master and slitting their throat. Whilst it was nearly impossible to achieve without completely degrading the slave¡¯s mind to a point of insanity, outside influence is not factored in. In a sense a slave could be tricked by someone into thinking that whatever it was that they were about to do was their master¡¯s order, or an interpretation of it. Unless the master¡¯s order in particular was given while in contact with the Slave. The physical contact creates a bridge that connects the master directly to the collar. Here the collar will instead prioritize and use the master¡¯s intents and expectations for the enforcement part. After seeing how it worked, Alicia could already devise a better design just on principle of doing it better than the person who made it in the first place. Setting those aside, none of it truly mattered, as she found out that Domination simply overtook any slave collar. Meaning that people under the power of domination are immune to the collar''s effects. But there was still one more question that remained and she intended to find out the answer. Few days prior Alicia gave Frost a simple order, should the last experiment succeed she was to hold her breath until she passed out. But she didn¡¯t tell her what the experiment was going to be, or when it would happen. Called into Rosalia¡¯s room where she liked to nap, she was curious as to know what was happening. Alicia¡¯s experiment had already started. Frost had been dressed in a rather stylized maid¡¯s uniform. Apparently Alfred commissioned Nikola to make it for her, her justification being that servants, temporary or not, should dress as such. The dress has apparently been made to be as comfortable and cut resistant as possible with specially interwoven silk to counteract her tendency to shred her clothes. Apparently, the silk is elastic and comfy enough that she hasn''t tried to cut through them yet. It was now clear why she disliked clothes as they constrained her, which was less of a problem with the elastic silk attire. Alicia held out her hand. Although confused as to what she was saying Alicia understood it as acceptance. She grabbed her hand rather carefully, as if she wasn¡¯t sure if she was doing it correctly. As soon as she made a firm grasp; >Kindred request transmitted. Awaiting response. The girl now fully understood what the ¡®join us¡¯ meant. There was some hesitation. Although her grip faltered for an instant, moments later she held it with conviction. >Connection Established. Idiosyncrasy in progress. >New acquisitions. >Instincts Deprecated. As Kindred succeeded in its process Alicia was ready, repeating the word relinquish in her mind over and over, like a spell. And as it ended she waited with bated breath, to see if Frost would hold her breath, ready to release domination, but it never happened. The experiment was a success, meaning that kindred had higher priority than Domination. With that she let out an exhale glad that it was over. Until; Frost pointed to something over her shoulders. Looking over to what she was pointing towards, Alicia saw a white, spindly, segmented, appendage four in total coming out of her back. It looked awfully like the legs of a spider, instinctively she tried to move it and it responded. Auratic Anyway on a completely unrelated note, you may have noticed that there''s a new addition in this series description. License type: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Go to: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ For more information. If you remember, a while ago I changed the series license to Creative commons from All rights reserved. Now CC is less restrictive that Copyright but I found a little site that tells you what CC license I''m using, check it out. If you comply with the following: Attribution ¡ª You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. NonCommercial ¡ª You may not use the material for commercial purposes. ShareAlike ¡ª If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. You are allowed to: So go wild with the license have fun with it. And if you do use this a material give me a heads-up. I wanna see what you got cooking. I forgot to add this but here you go anyway. Sidestory 4 Auratic In the late morning, a lithiline girl lolled high upon a tree limb reclining against the main stem. Fresh gusts of cool winds that caused the nearby woods to noisily sough roused her from her languor but for a brief moment. The surrounding woodland and the occasional mountain breeze carrying the chill of night, often reminded her of her home, the gently drifting snowflakes, the nival mountaintops, snow-laden trees of cedar and pine, and of course the snow hares she would hunt. The temperate forest that she was in now was no substitute for the home she matured in, yet she couldn¡¯t help but feel affectionate with it and its untainted nature. Though she had quickly learned that the surrounding natural beauty hid terrible dangers. Giant landwelling avian that waits in ambush, prowling panthera that stalks through the foliage, hairless bears, forest giants and fat ogroids. Few of which she had an unintended confrontation with. It was timely for the canids to arrive. They guarded this part of the forest, yet it was not their territory. Strangely they followed a large hircine. The caprine in question answered to her new master¡¯s servants. From them emanated an air of danger, one that far outshadowed that of any one monster within the forest, each with different qualities. They always seemed to come up to her unawares until the last moment. These individually powerful¡­ beings¡­ waited upon her master who didn¡¯t have such an atmosphere, rather she had no aura, she had no scent, she had no presence, it was as if she didn¡¯t belong to this world. A spider spirit masquerading as a human, ¡®she¡¯ was different from her retainers - whom she could notice their presence eventually. Hers, she couldn¡¯t feel at all, she would only become aware of her existence only after she herself makes her presence known. Couple of days ago she had made a deal with her to join her cause¡­ Despite the differences, somehow she was persuaded and once the pact was forged, she realized the true depths of her being, the power that she had hid and the nature of the kindred bond. As much as Alicia took from her, there was something to be gained in return, that she found out last night. The night after the kindred bond had formed she had a dream, not like any other. She dreamt about her home, yet it wasn¡¯t her home. The trees were made not of lumber and leaves but from crags and crystals, black snow fell from dark skies with no stars. Ground was bathed in the glow of cosmic blue. Everything felt off, as though it was poorly reconstructed from one¡¯s memory¡­ her memory. The familiar blended with the unfamiliar, and as she explored the bizarre forest she found herself standing at the start of a strange new path. Ebon stones suspended in air supported twisting and turning, they were like temple steps beckoning her to proceed, and despite the aversion there was a strange compulsion that drew her in, so she had ascended. It felt as if her body was no longer her own and moved according to a will of something greater, something ancient. Up and down lost their meaning as she followed the winding treads that curled into all manner of planes, there was no down for her to fall to for whichever step she stood upon became her ground that pulled her. She went through steps unnumbered and after time untold she had finally found herself at the end of the treads leading to some impersonation of an altar. Few breadths above hovered a mass of crystal in the shape of a snowflake. In her dream she never found it strange but looking back it was no natural snowflake for it had eight asymmetric points. The crystal invited her through some unknown means and she answered, reaching out to it, just as she had made contact with it, it burst open leaving behind where its center was, a tear in her dreams. Whereby the rift that had opened came a sound most unnerving characterized by crackling and snapping followed by a segmented¡­ tendril. It looked like an appendage of an arachnid, yet by the way which it bent and turned it could never have belonged to a living thing. She now understood what those sounds of crackling were now in retrospect. Those were the sounds of something breaking at each turn the tendril made. This appendage that should only exist in her nightmares contrarily did not frighten her. Her body was still bound by the unseen will and dared not to move. The tendril changed in its mannerism just as though it had taken notice of her just now. It pointed to her and froze, as if appraising her. At long last, the bounds that had come over her had been released and she could move once more. In a state between awake and dreaming she had become lucid, looking around and aware of her situation. However the dream did not end, the tendril waited, waited for something¡­ waiting for her. It then moved towards her belly, her gaze naturally followed. There she saw something, lines and lines of¡­ things¡­ glowing through her body. They moved in a tangled mess. There were many of them in great variety and color. Some of it she could see in her limbs too¡­ and she knew these were living creatures, inside her, draining her of life and power, feeding on her. Revulsion and disgust came over to her for a brief moment but then the tendril caught her attention once more again. It said nothing, it made no motion, there was no action that could be correlated with any attempts of communicating but she knew through some preternatural medium precisely what it conveyed. An offer has been made, a trade of give and take, it would take the¡­ organisms¡­ that plagued her body, ridding her of their malignance and in turn it would give her¡­ something. She knew now why her will had returned to her. It was giving her a choice¡­ to take its¡­ gifts or refuse it. Thinking clearly for the moment she thought through her options and accepted it. These¡­ worms that prevaded her body clearly did no good. There was nothing to lose by giving them away and in return she would get something. If it''s anything that could help her survive, she would take it. And as she made that decision, the tendril pierced her in the abdomen wherefrom insufferable pain radiated. Looking down onto her belly she saw the writhing creatures glow bright orange, like coals pulled out of a furnace. Instinctively she held onto the protuberance involuntarily, to ease the pain. Driven by the whips of agony, she exhibited immense strength, with such power and intensity that she could almost feel her arm muscles shred and tear, all of that did nothing to hinder the tendril. No amount of brute force could overcome its otherworldly might. A scalding pain as if her stomach was being marked by a branding iron spread through her belly. Her eyes started to water, obstructing her vision, yet still she could make out what was happening to her body. The appendage that pierced her guts were drawing those creatures in, devouring them. Those were the last things she remembered from the strange dream. She had most certainly passed out from pain shock, unable to tolerate the excruciating anguish. Despite the grim conclusion of her dream this morning she had woken up well rested and full of energy. What she believed was just a strange dream had become more real to her than she had previously assumed when she discovered that after investigating a lingering heat from her belly, she had some sort of alien iconography on her stomach from where she was impaled by that¡­ thing from her dreams, warm to the touch, burning from within. Before worry overcame her the heat subsided before long. She could infer that most of her newfound vigor was the result of that entity¡­ ¡®cleaning¡¯ her of those parasitic creatures. The other part of her power was most likely given to her. As she eyed a common chiffchaff sitting on a twig looking around itself cautiously, her claws started to protrude more and gained a tint of dark violet. As soon as the tiny bird took off to the skies far out of the reach of any terrestrial being; in a single swift ¡®jump¡¯ that tore through the veil between worlds she had snatched the bird mid-flight, now standing anchored to nothing, upside down in the air she held its fragile life between the tips of her claws. Against her nature, she gently patted the little bird and let it fly once more. Although to a bystander it seemed as though she was flying, there was more to it than what meets the eye. The constructs of the void was invisible to the unbaptised. When she recalled her time in that strange dream, she could pull it into the real world. By summoning ¡®platforms¡¯ composed of ebonstone from that changed the direction of gravitational pull her dream, those who made contact with it could travel in any plane imaginable. But only she could touch the treads, as only she overcame the trial of the temple steps. Now the limitless steps leading to the altar and its mind-boggling geometry that warped gravity itself was now hers to command. She returned to the ground by dismissing the tread that bound her to the skies to return to Rosalia¡¯s room. Though she disliked how clingy the human girl could be at times, she didn¡¯t dislike her company. ¡®The new limbs¡­(?) from therianthropy are useful in multitasking¡­ I never knew how helpful an extra set of¡­ appendages could be. The whole last few months have been about making strange discoveries. Though it should be mentioned that the limbs are quite flimsy, just by size and mass alone. So it won¡¯t be taking over mimicry any time soon. However it does give the ability to climb walls without having to turn fully into a spider, not that they ever became an obstacle for me. As for their offensive capacities¡­ it is quite limited, rather I would consider them a liability due to just how fragile they are¡­ but in a pinch, the claws at the end of the limbs could be used to stab or scratch something¡­ lace it with venom and it might do ¡®something¡­¡¯ that¡¯s better than nothing I suppose. As for the mobility part¡­ it is depressing to even think about it¡­ The limbs cannot support my body, not that they don¡¯t have the strength. It is just that trying to balance my entire mass on what is basically two spindly stilts doesn''t come naturally to me. Walking on them is even more awkward than trying to walk around in high heels, which is strange now that I think about it. I thought it would be easier if you¡¯re a female¡­ which I am now. Do girls take a secret training of walking with high heels that I don¡¯t know about¡­? November and her kin have already started to put therianthropy into good use especially in making new clothes. The time investment of creating a new clothing from scratch decreased greatly. A single Crypt weaver could make about two to three articles of clothing in a 24 hour span, now they can consistently make more than five in the same amount of time, that is about a fifty percent increase in productivity. Too bad I''m not half as good at manipulating my new limbs¡­ well I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any other person out there with spider limbs coming out of their back¡­ At least someone is making good use of the skill¡­ that¡¯s all I could hope for. ¡®Thanks to Kindred I learned some interesting facts about Grimalkin or Lithilines in general. Although not traditionally a spellcaster it seems that they are nonetheless able to use magic to a lesser degree. I¡¯ve noticed that they can channel their magical energy through their body and express it through their claws which enhances their attack power somewhat. The internal circulation of magical energy also seems to contribute to their enhanced well¡­ every athletic feat they possess. Jumping, running, hand to hand combat? Is it paw to paw¡­? Unarmed¡­? No they have claws¡­ that''s cheating¡­ Err¡­ close quarter combat capabilities, heightened sense of scent, sight, hearing all of it is improved by their magic, they just don¡¯t consciously think about it so they don¡¯t even know that they¡¯re using magic. Though frost seems to have earned new talent¡­ from the void. Which showed up on her belly of all places¡­ the symbol looks like a child tried to mash the fast-forward video icon with the pause symbol with some sort of interpretive lines¡­ I honestly don¡¯t know what to make of it. However I noticed that she could make a small leap similar to trespass. Unlike trespass she doesn¡¯t fully step into the void but rather¡­ tears a rip in space that brings void to the world, large enough to make a path in which she could travel at accelerated speed. Concerningly, her claws imbued with the void¡¯s energies can slice through solid rocks like hot knives through butter¡­ Good thing she¡¯s with us¡­ Now if only I could somehow make myself a some sort of void-cat proof scratching post, that would be great. Especially when rocks are not enough to satisfy her need to scratch things¡­ I wonder if I could trick her into cutting stones for me¡­¡­¡¯ Auratic Also this is a chiffchaff. Sounds british. btw grimalkin/tundramorphs most have tabby fur patterns with rarer tricolor(calico) patterns and are based on Siberian and Norwegian forest cats. Here''s a reference. Also did I mention I originally aimed for 3.5 rating or above average. This series currently as the time me writing this has 4.4 aggregate. I think i reached that goal, what do you think? By the by next month''s special, guess what it is. Chapter 83: A new management… Auratic The improbable settlement located within the forest of Velauhart grew and expanded by the day. From the goods brought by the network of traders coming by the behest of Albertini, Dryssia finally identified fruits that could be grown in the region. Although there were some other exotic fruits that came from the tropics, they simply could not thrive in the temperate climate. From these fruits Alicia could recognize a few, pomegranates, persimmons and apricots along with some others that were foreign to her, namely Nectarines and Frumontis fruit. Though these fruits would take years to grow, mature and at last bear fruit themselves naturally the process could be vastly accelerated. Dryads - though not as effectively as with their bonded type of tree - could still vivify other types of flora. With guidance of the tree nymph a large orchard was created some distance away from the main residential areas and in just about a week¡¯s worth of time of constant care and attention from Dryssia the first of the trees had grown large enough to begin bearing unripe fruit. In time they would ripen, and with more and more of the fruit bearing trees being cared for by a Dryad and new batches maturing every week the fruits was sure to become a staple. The Elves were quite proficient with harvesting and taking care of the trees, a by-product of their forager lifestyle. The pest insects that destroyed the majority of the produce from other plantations would hardly be a threat for the orchard, as the trees were more or less infested by multitudes of spiders committed to safeguarding the trees. Alicia had a sneaking suspicion that they were only this driven because it meant an easy lunch for the hex crawlers. Though Rosalia couldn¡¯t browse the inventory of the merchants by herself due to the fear of her being recognized by one of them, Stefanos often went instead of her young mistress. Usually buying texts and sometimes sweet treats, he often mingled with the merchants to hear about their recent travels and rumours. One of which caught the attention of both Rosalia and Alfred. The conversation turned to something else as the peddlers continued to talk at length. Rosalia being the daughter of the lord and the heir apparent to the house Valtima she was greatly troubled by the news. A worry Alfred shared, the villages that were attacked were proximant enough to be considered a threat but their only source of outside information was reliant on the human merchants who may cease to visit once their routes become threatened. If that comes to pass, they would become blind and deaf to any potential threats¡­ The creation of the orchard meant a steady, sustainable and most importantly reliably consistent food source if they could address an issue first. The shelf life of the fruits were concerningly short. Methods such as pickling and sun drying were available options for extending the life-span of the produce, those needed much time and manual labor. Though hardly a pressing matter in the near future it would become increasingly more difficult to keep on top of the preservation process as more orchards are planted. Alicia had heard rumors that the Empire to the east had developed and employed magically enchanted storehouses and granaries that could preserve foodstuff. It was highly unlikely that she would travel eastwards just to ¡®steal their patent¡¯ for now, at least. Refrigerators were one of those conveniences of modern technology that she took for granted and never looked into the specifics of its mechanisms. Where there was will, there will be a way. Improvisation was the only option here. If she couldn¡¯t make refrigerators - not to mention generating electricity - she would create something close enough to it. A sort of a coldbox that siphoned the heat within its internal space and dumped it elsewhere. Besides she had plenty of void crystals to work with in emitting the ¡®coldness¡¯. ¡®Let me remember¡­ copper is the best thermal conductor¡­ so for insulating against heat exchange it would be¡­ tin¡­? Steel¡­? That¡¯s going to be the exterior, too heavy perhaps¡­ going to need a strong support, a walk-in freezer¡­ maybe. What about heat exchange, crystals with infused Cryo magic seem to absorb heat very effectively however it needs to be cycled out regularly. But it does ease the problem of temperature control, I can just have someone shovel out some of the crystals to raise the temperature¡­¡¯ Alicia was engrossed in making hasty sketches of the blueprints of the coldbox and jotting down important details for herself to remember, such that she didn¡¯t even notice the knocking on her door. She felt as if she was just a few steps away from achieving what she wanted. Alfred had helped herself in, after noticing Alicia was absorbed in her work, waiting for her mistress to return to the material realm. It took some time before Alicia to notice the presence of her standing by the entrance of her room. A hint of jibe lingered behind her sharp blackened gaze. Shortly after the cue, Alpha gave her a rundown of her concerns. Mesmers, Hypnotists, Mirror demon, they were known by many names and had just the capabilities to prove their once terrifying notoriety. A mix of amazement and confusion struck through Alfred but she quickly recomposed herself and gave an answer. ¡®That sounds like something a cultist would say¡­ Am I running a cult without even knowing about it¡­? I thought she was pulling another fast one on me but she¡¯s dead serious¡­ IT has to be just some subjective view of her¡­ I should confirm their feelings on my own¡­ individually¡­ in private. Also, wait no¡­¡¯ As Alfred was about to leave and close the door behind her. ¡®God that sounds so weird to say¡­ I mean it is weird. No should be sending children out on a spy mission. Or was it the other way around¡­?¡¯ Pausing her departure for a moment the suit wearing girl stopped to confirm something. Before the third bell signifying the midday pealed out, a pallid man in hooded robe headed for the market square where hollers rang ceaselessly and money changed hands. He was not the honest sort and had no place among common men. His grisly line of business ought to be done behind closed doors or under the cover of night, or it was off to the mines for him if not the axe. There was little difference between the two. With a single whisper from him, a person who he has never seen before could go ¡®missing¡¯ forever from this world. Yet as of recently, no such sins had been committed. If one were to overlook his deep involvements with a ring of smugglers bringing in contraband for an underworld marketplace, he was the image of the very model citizen, Merik Hein, once a bounty hunter and an assassin, now a ¡®merchant¡¯. Ever since Alicia left him and his cronies behind, some semblance of normalcy returned to the Devil¡¯s crown. Despite a few restrictions, he still had his free will and a simple order to carry out. Even though the monster had disappeared, a lingering presence of it still remained. It felt as if it was monitoring him, observing his every single action in scrutiny. From time to time, he could feel it crawling below his garments. And ¡®it¡¯ was his reason for going out and about in broad daylight. He and his people were just now beginning to recover from their encounter with the monster under human skin. Until one day, the silent observer delivered a decree. ¡°The first of kin comes, the lessers are to prepare themselves for service.¡± How long have they fallen that even monsters spoke to them in such a disdainful manner. Or so they thought, but being in the presence of these¡­ critters long as he has he somehow understood that they were no mindless beasts, but being capable of thought and reason. Rarely did they interact, if ever, but this one time it did, he felt as if there was some emotion coming from them. Initially, he mistook it for fear, however now he had reason to believe it was more akin to anticipation than anything else. Out of caution he never interacted with these spiders infesting their clothes. On this particular occasion, though, he couldn''t help himself from attempting to know more and seemingly inane at first he spoke to the spider that hid somewhere¡­ in his body. An answer came immediately as though it was itching to preach about the topic. Most he couldn¡¯t comprehend, but what he did learn was that these critters held that monster called Alicia in reverential light like it was their goddess in the flesh walking among them. After her, came the so-called first of kin, apostles, progenitors of sorts in direct service to her. He assumed they were the monster¡¯s offspring, after all, they grew in numbers quickly in the wild, but a gnawing notion in the back of his mind screamed it was something worse. One such entity was in this town¡­ somewhere¡­ in this square, how could no one have noticed? There was one possibility¡­ it too, much like its master could hide beneath a human guise. Lost in thought and anxious expectation he found himself in the middle of the bustling square, people going about their day to day lives, oblivious to the danger that hides among them. As he was vigilantly looking out for the being someone lightly tugged his cloak from the side. Short yellow haired child looked up at him through her rich green eyes brimming with vivid curiosity. ¡®Was she lost?¡¯ That was the first thought that came to him. Then she asked the most damning question. Naturally people around them noticed the heinous name. To the populace, the crown was something of a myth. Many thought that they were nothing more than a canard rumor. Fable created by parents to scare their children into obedience. Few thought there was some credence and fewer believed their existence. People as quickly as they noticed the odd question, they dismissed it just as quickly after realizing it was from some child that knows no better. However for Henrik it was far too convenient for it to be a coincidence. He didn¡¯t know what to do¡­ There''s no way a child like her could be an apostle for that demon¡­ but he knew better not to judge by appearance alone. Everyone thought it was just a bored child pestering someone to play with them, and gave it no mind. Hein however he knew for sure it was the Apostle in question, for the tiny spider on his body crawled out from somewhere and skittered towards the girl¡¯s light tress and disappeared among the locks of hair. Before it went however, it spoke to him as such. ¡®Prostrate yourself, pitiful creature, you in the presence of the third.¡¯ Being ordered around by a child, how ridiculous it must seem. What other choice did he have now but to comply. As he quietly led the way and exited the square. She was already in front of him waiting, when she was just beside him a moment ago. Despite her innocent appearance and playful demeanor, he was certain she was just as dangerous as her master¡­ perhaps even more, as he had growing suspicion that she enjoyed watching him squirm next to people¡­ It was a scheduled meeting of high ranking ringleaders of the crown, one of them had disappeared mysteriously and the other became increasingly distant and uncooperative¡­ even by their cutthroat standards. Their discussion topic for this day was about the matters of absorbing or electing a new leader. It was the typical petty power politics that happens every now and then that they fought tooth and nail, give them an inch¡­ Henrik obviously had his seat in this gathering as he was about to open the doors to the underground chamber he paused for a moment, cold sweat running down his neck and palm. In the meeting they could only bring one retainer, for protection and other errands, it was a given that their retainers would be skilled bodyguards, especially when surrounded by assassins and criminals. He looked over and down to his shoulder and saw no one else but a large araneae clinging to the barrel vaulted ceiling¡­ they would not come with him, no their duty was to make sure no one got out alive. In a quiet whisper¡­ as if to himself he asked. She sounded like she was in his ears¡­ -¡°I lack the manipulative abilities of Erwin or the intellect of Alfred¡­ So I will start killing them one by one until they acknowledge my authority. Insubordination is an inexcusable disgrace among us, you see¡­¡± After gathering his courage, Hein swung doors open and the idle chatter within ceased immediately. Looks of confusion, suspicion was cast his way. Before anyone could say anything¡­ Charlie had gotten into the middle of the room, commanding the attention of all. In an exaggerated manner and energetic voice she loudly declared. A mix of boisterous laughter erupted whereas some were caught in a state of bewilderment shifting their gaze between Hein and the strange girl. The growing smirk on her face implied something altogether different from what she had said¡­ Hein turned around and left the room from the way he came in, closing the doors behind himself. It didn¡¯t take long for their jolly laughters to turn into screams of horror and cries for help. As he was halfway through the corridor that led to the room, someone burst through the door and came out running. Without breaking a stride, Hein turned his head to the side just enough to catch a glimpse of who it was. The poor sod had tears in his eyes and blood all over him. It most likely wasn¡¯t his own blood, but soon that wouldn¡¯t matter. He averted his sight, pitying him in his heart just as the Huntresses that lied in wait jumped on him from above¡­ Auratic Also here''s your sppoder vidi Meet my Tiniest Tarantula. I think its fitting for Charlie since she is already mature (i.e she''s as big as she will ever get). Despite looking like a child. Chapter 84: The Observer Auratic A brigand dressed roughly in patchwork clothes led his horse carrying side packs heavy with loot through the shaded foliage of hill forests. Heading towards a hastily put up hideout. Despite the man¡¯s thuggish getup, the well tended sword at his hips and the measured steps that he took evinced that he may not be what he feigns to be. The horse itself was no lame sumpter either. Bred for strength, speed and endurance few others could hope to match it. The camp he came up to was by no account a shabby hamlet of hovels as one would expect. In its place are orderly lined tents surrounded by palisades, complete with doors and watch towers, manned with archers and lookouts. Inside, the man brought his horse to a certain large tent at the back. The pristine appearance of men inside the compound were at odds with the filthy getup of his. Two people guarding the entrance of it stopped him to take a look at his cargo. Against expectation, there was no gold or riches within to line one¡¯s pockets, instead only an impressive haul of grain and dried foodstuff. Once they had ascertained the contents they started to unload the goods, storing them inside boxes and taking it away into the tent. These were no brigands but trained individuals pretending to be a band of bandits. For days Erwin tracked their movements. They would raid villages, burning them down and looting the storehouses. Motley guards with poor training that attempted to muster a defense against their attacks were dealt with swiftly. Once defenders with were taken care of they set fire to the buildings and terrorized the villagers. Though they rarely killed the residents, barring few accidents and futile attempts of resistance being quelled, it felt as if they were more interested in letting them go. Unlike a rag tag collection of bandits, their ransacking was coordinated, quick and efficient. They wasted no time plundering hidden valuables or searching for spoils other than their intended target, food and supplies. Still she noticed some of them pocketing what they could behind the backs of the others¡­ After they got hold of as much food they could carry, they set fire to the farm fields and set loose the barn animals and rode away before any help could arrive. Leaving in wake husks of villages burnt down and abandoned. Sometimes they would ride after the fleeing villagers, possibly to instill fear and panic into them further. Few of them often broke off to harry individuals. If the said individual happens to be a woman¡­ they would free themselves of their pent up¡­ frustration through her. She would be beaten and then dumped somewhere along the road if she was lucky¡­ She at first thought they were deserters or mercenaries. Yet she then discovered that they were far too well organized and numerous for them to be either deserters or mercenaries. This was a forward detachment of a foreign army, preparing for something. A prelude to a coming invasion. Echo came to this conclusion watching them from near and far. Even now she hung from the tree tops, unseen by the soldiers. The Araneae hidden above the encampment exchanged such thoughts. Here Erwin had to step in. Still, an instruction came from Alpha that so long as the humans remained oblivious to their presence she was granted the freedom of choice. This meant that so long as no one alerted the others¡­ a few missing people would not raise an alarm. Though she has yet to act, she wondered if watching and doing nothing amounted to the same as tacit acceptance. Would her beloved mistress be content with her decisions¡­? It was the shared goal of all of her kindred to please their mistress and earn her approval. Would she approve of her current inaction? Yet if she were to intervene would that not go against her divine mandate? Asking for assistance for such a trivial issue would put the stain of inadequacy on her. She hadn¡¯t found the right answer for her dilemma. Even the Void remained silent to her¡­ After days of trying out different designs, failing and starting over again Alicia finally put her first working refrigerator prototype to the test. It could only be described as a tall metal closet. The outside was crudely put together from different metals whether they were reclaimed from previous failed prototypes or made specifically for this one. It had two separate sections to it, the larger upper section that opened like a door and smaller one below it, opening like a drawer. On the inside of the upper portion it had wire shelves and dividers for organization. The walls had copper plates covering the layers of endothermic crystals charged with cryo-energies. The lower section had even more of the crystals behind its linings, voluminous enough to reach freezing temperatures. After letting an apricot sit inside for a while and noting that it was cool to the touch Alicia uneasily checked up on the freezer that contained a bulky cut of meat. Insulating the temperature was the most difficult process of her work. Creating a cooler box or freezer individually was easy enough after she properly insulated it against temperature gain. The problem lies in creating a freezer-refrigerator combo. Not only did she have to insulate against temperature gain but also to create an internal insulation. Far too many times the internal insulation failed, where the refrigerator¡¯s contents froze over or when she underpowered the freezer to the point that it couldn¡¯t reach freezing temperatures. Not to mention runaway heat gain from improper sealing. Although it was for the sake of technological advancement and the food wasted from spoilage was negligible in the larger picture, each of her failures weighed heavily on her. A weight that was taken away when she noticed the cut of meat was cold to the touch and saw that it was beginning to frost over. An audible sigh of relief escaped her. Surprised by the sudden company, Alicia looked over the clutter of metal, tools and miscellaneous objects, towards the entrance of her room to see Alfred standing by with a tea trolley by her side. Her once nearly bare room had become littered with previous works, incomplete projects before she realized it. Alicia replied as she closed the refrigerator before biting into the cooled fruit. With the usual banter over, Alfred changed to her usual self. Alpha continued to give her rundown while she deftly made tea. ¡°The supposed bandit attacks towards the villages around the appear to be a result of a covert military operation from an unknown party.¡± Alfred served a freshly brewed tea sourced from beyond the sea that Velauhart recently got a hold of. Alicia asked as she took a sip of the reddish brown colored drink. While thinking of how the tea tasted absolutely bland with barely any flavor or scent. As Alicia finished drinking her tea, and turned to leave, Alfred asked for one more thing. A child filthy with dirt desperately ran through highland woods so hectically that he would often lose his footing and slow down. The occasional fall would not deter him in the slightest bit from standing back up and sprinting again. His exhaustion was easily apparent with the wobbly steps he took. Thin, shabby clothes and the scruffy appearance delineated his lowborn status. Face dampish with a mix of tears and snot, numerous scrapes covering his arms and legs, and the fresh cuts dribbling blood did him no favors. The most intact piece of clothing he had was the hand-me-down slippers he had on his feet. Though even that looked as if they had seen better days. Soles of his foot had hardened with calluses betokening that until recently he hadn¡¯t had anything better to wear. A recent victim of raiders pillaging the villages in the vicinity. Before long he collapsed on the ground unable to run no more. The uncontrolled breathing led to hyperventilation sapping the child of his meager stamina. Lying on his back, the only thing in his sight was the sparse canopies patterning the skies with their leaves as the clouds gently sailed on in the serene skyscape. Before he knew it, strands of silvery white hair waved in front of him, a young girl dressed in a loose white dress was standing over him, watching insouciantly. Following the hair he couldn¡¯t look away from pearly white eyes that gazed at him. The parts of her white irises of her seemed to shift in myriads of colors enticingly. Ridden with fatigue, she appeared to him as if she had just manifested in front of him. He couldn¡¯t even register the monstrous portion of her body. That wasn¡¯t possible, it must have been his tired mind playing tricks on him he thought. Not knowing that the girl could become invisible to human eyes when she wished to and reappear to them at her whim. Her silken voice seemed to bring his mind back down to earth from the clouds. Processing the situation for a while he croaked out a plea with his dry mouth. He didn¡¯t understand why this defenceless girl did not flee from the marauders that were close behind him. But her strange confidence influenced him. Perhaps she could help his sister. Her older sister had him run for the trees after making him promise not to look back or stop at anything, while she continued to run through the prairie. They had agreed to meet up on the other side of the river not far from here. Soon after, the galloping of horses could be heard in the distance and she started to yell ¡°Here!¡±, ¡°Over here!¡± repeatedly. She couldn¡¯t have outrun people on horseback. That was the source of his layers and layers of tears caked with dirt and snot on his face. Grasping something from his chest beneath his shirt he pulled out a grotty feather accessory without any monetary value worth mentioning. Unpleasant scent of sweat had been ingrained in it. A gift from their mother, it was far more valuable to him and his sister than any food or coin. He feebly stretched out his hand holding it out to her. His voice no longer had the strength to make even a whisper. But nonetheless his request seemed to have reached her. Monsters¡­ though he had heard many tall tales from passing adventurers¡¯ boastful claims of them slaying deadly yet fantastical creatures, monsters in his life were tame and banal as the occasional goblin sneaking into the chicken coop at night or Vargr that the village guards chased away. How bad could they really be¡­ His lips seemed to form the word¡­ ¡®Please.¡¯ as no sound escaped his mouth. Just when the strange girl took the charm from his hands he lost consciousness, giving into the exhaustion as tiniest of hope found itself in his heart. Stepping out of the woods and listening in to naught but the gusts of wind whirling through the calm grassy prairies, the inapposite sounds of galloping horses stood out from the otherwise peaceful meadows. ¡®Just over a few hills¡­¡¯ Erwin thought to herself. Following her instincts, she unhurriedly strolled through the lands. A girl serenely walking through the picturesque landscape. In due course she could hear sounds of conflict not too far from her. Making her way atop a crest of a hill, she saw what was happening in the valley below. Five or so men on horseback had nearly caught up to a young girl. Echo had seen this scenario playout numerous times. The number of offenders and the victims were different, their ages were different, the place and locations were different, the outcome however remained the same. At least one of them stayed on their horse to keep a lookout, this time there were two, they made sure no one could come up to them without the rest of them knowing as well as to keep the horses of companions from wandering away. While the rest had their fun with their prey taking turns or all at once. Former seemed to be the case, for now at least. The girl screamed and struggled against her assailants with all that she could muster, scratching and spitting. Though she had mounting evidence that these men were part of a professional army, right now they were not too different from the outlaws they purported to be. In that case perhaps they were ¡®good actors¡¯. It seemed that in most armies the soldiers were often paid little to nothing during enlistment, instead any spoils of war were usually stockpiled, inventoried and then given out as payment after the war was over. It meant that only those who survived the war saw any return. The dead have no use for wealth after all. In addition, during sieges and fall of cities the armies of men that looted the cities often attempted to pocket as much as they could during the chaos as that will only be extra payment for their hard work. The people of the defeated often were taken as slaves, women were often used as sexual relief beforehand, however. Months and years away from home, beset on all sides with other men meant pent up frustration. In that sense, women too could be seen as a form of salary to the soldiers. Though such indiscipline and vulgarities were supposed to be rare among those who were in part of the professional army that had consistent pay. It appeared to her that in this case, the men involved wished to savour the occasion as much as they could. Dragging the village girl by her hair towards a lone tree as she kicked and cried. The girl fought to preserve her dignity against coarse men tearing away at her clothes. More she attempted to fight them off, the more they seemed to be¡­ encouraged. They liked their meat with a bit of spice it seemed. Of course with each article of clothing shredded the more desperate she became, her flailing swats more faster, feeble blows landing harder. While their obscene smiles hadn¡¯t faded, there was still a limit to their patience. Before long a savage backhand landed on her cheeks, followed by a gut punch. Reeling from the strike the girl could only mount a weak resistance. She didn¡¯t know exactly what was about to happen to her, but she was sure it was something¡­ dreadful. She could feel their gloved hands feeling about her immature breasts. As her vision returned to her, she saw an ethereal¡­ maiden standing behind her aggressors. Whole of her being seemed to be shimmering, refracting light in myriads of directions. Noticing her strange behavior one of the men pinning her down looked over his shoulder to see nothing. Tears welled up in her eyes, her parents told them stories of invisible spirits that came to take people away just before their deaths. Such a thought echoed the loudest in her mind. An answer came to her resonating inside from inside. Fear and confusion along with pain had overtaken her. Echo knew exactly how these scenarios ended. Them killing her off to preserve secrecy was not a matter of if but when. Faster they got bored of playing with their toy, sooner they got rid of it. It was a quiet and quivering answer but it could be heard clearly. As soon as she answered the spirit seemed to disappear from her sights. By now the men finally tore away the last piece of fabric covering her loins, and they were just about ready to disrobe themselves. Before they could act, they all stopped as if they heard something and frantically started to look around as if looking for someone. Until she and all the men around her saw something magnificent not too far away. Prismatic array of lights shifting from one color to another in mesmerizing patterns, enthralled by the sight the sense of time seemed to slip from them. The sun seemed pathetically dim and dull compared to the kaleidoscopic display of lights. All worries, pain and thoughts fade away from them. Until it changed its like to unearthly blue. The men around her all started to sob, speaking nonsense to themselves whilst they all gazed upon the color. For her, she saw the deathbed of her mother moments before she passed away. It seemed as if everyone''s past trauma had come back to haunt them once more. The colors shifted once more, this time into maddening red. Rage and bloodlust overtook all of the men around her. They drew their weapons and attacked each other with wild abandon, no regard to any concerns about their own safety. Even with a blade piercing through their bodies, they tried charging again to strike, until consciousness escaped from them as they collapsed. Coming to her senses she was surrounded by fresh corpses of her former attackers. The two men on horseback came riding along with the rest of the horses. She was about to get up and run again but her feet lagged behind thoughts. But to her surprise the two men seemed to have changed completely in their personality. Dismounting they helped her get up on her feet, taking off their clothes to give her something other than tatters to cover herself with. Bewildered by their change of heart she noticed a third person on horseback. It was the same spirit of a woman she saw before, only this time, more tangible and real, but still distant somehow, her eyes still had the shifting iridescence, reminiscent of colorful light that drove people mad. The woman held out a feather charm and threw it onto her hand. It was the one that their mother made for her and for younger brother. It was a memento most endeared, her little brother wouldn¡¯t have misplaced it. Since she was mentioning a price earlier, fear and alarm filled her entire body. What if¡­ she had just traded her brother¡¯s life to save her own? Before she could voice anything. Hearing that she was relieved but still she remembered a price that she had to pay. Surely, it would be something significant she thought as she steeled herself for whatever that may be required of her. The lady in white turned around and rode away without saying anything, the two remaining men quickly mounted up and started to follow her. Baffled, she asked from the lady; In lieu of answering she only told her to follow¡­ There was a single horse left behind, presumably for her. Horse riding wasn¡¯t something she was familiar with, but how hard could it be to learn it now¡­? When she approached the equine, sat down on its rump as if inviting her to get on top. When she got her balance on top of the saddle the horse got up and started to trot up behind the others¡­ Auratic Also this; Tarantula LAYING EGGS on film Chapter 85: Intruder? Auratic A minor commotion arose in the growing community of Velauhart early in the morning, well before daylight. Any minor issues or anomalies were usually resolved on their own or with the intervention of one of Alicia''s close aides; namely Rufus, if the problem is a security concern, Ramiel, if it''s anything related to livestock. Agriculture, apiaries and the forestry management was Dryssia¡¯s responsibility, waterworks along with the newly founded aquaculture duties were Llynbel¡¯s, and although a secret, the internal code of conduct and regulations - that is, in other word the law of the region - was drafted almost solely by Rosalia, the enforcement of them, however, so far has been mostly unneeded. Alfred was in charge of everything else, including administration and management. Alicia¡¯s Araneae leaders, as they are highly independent, would need sufficient justification to take orders from pretty much anyone. Only ones who could exercise absolute authority over them was none other than Alicia and Alice themselves, barring one exception: Alpha. Whilst she was by no means exempt from Kindred¡¯s power, as the one given the charge of leadership, Alfred had considerable sway over her ¡®younger sisters¡¯¡¯ decisions. The problem at hand, unfortunately, did not solely fall into any specific responsibility, which resulted in a spontaneous gathering of multiple representatives. Unable to reach consensus the problem was quickly elevated to Alpha, who brought it directly to Alicia in her room. Though Alpha wore her usual passionless look on her face, the corners of her mouth had only slightly turned upwards. It was as if someone just told her a joke and she was trying her best not to lose it. ¡®Well, it''s not like I¡¯m in a position to censure anyone for not recognizing if something is a nymph or not, let alone a dryad¡­ As far as I know, I only know one dryad for sure and she basically looks like a normal person. ¡¯ ¡®Satyr¡­? Wouldn¡¯t wander alone¡­ Maybe a Chyort¡­? Would make a lot more trouble if it were a Chyort¡­ hm¡­¡¯ ¡®Her? And fibers¡­ like wood? Maybe she is a dryad¡­¡¯ A concerning individual came up in that passage. ¡®So it''s extremely low voltages this time. I¡¯ve seen her demonstration of a ¡®low level voltage¡¯ last time¡­ More like a convulsive level. Wait a minute¡­¡¯ Alicia tensed up in remembrance of unsavory memories related to Nikolai and Electricity. Letting out a long sigh Alicia relaxed again. There would be no Electrical Explosions¡­ yet. With her report contents over and having received a go ahead with their current plan, Alfred made a quick bow and turned to the door. Since gaining a vaguely humanoid form, the Bride of Death has become infatuated with magical potions that could heal wounds and cure diseases in a single swig of mixtures of dubious origin. An antithesis to what she was, a venom monger that only dealt death. Trying to turn her lethal toxins into something else¡­ something curative. Though at first she only created decoctions fit only as poison for the local oversized rodents she has since made great strides. Enough to move onto human trials. Though she was sceptical at first, Alicia has come to recognize her honest effort, but one thing remains a mystery, why did she come to have such deep fascination with, what is technically pharmacology. While Alicia was pondering such diversions she noticed Alpha who was just about to leave froze in her tracks. She turned her head to the side, as if intently listening to the whispering leaves of the trees outside. Alicia was led just outside the storehouse for temporary stockpiling and sorting of the plantation¡¯s produce before it was sent to the cold storage underneath the lodge. There she could already see Llynbel, Ramiel and November along with a few Elves stealing glances of the perpetrator from a far. Strangely Ramiel seemed to be keeping his distance from the new girl, Alicia had thought the contrary - that the goat would find the girl¡¯s presence more appealing. It would be more of a surprise if they didn¡¯t, she was completely different in appearance than anything they¡¯ve seen so far in their life in this forest if at all. Naturally she stood out with her ligneous horns, cloven hooves whose fur-like fleece spanned the majority of her legs, thinning down and stopping about the thighs, about what she had expected from Alfred¡¯s account. But a few other significant features she had failed to mention struck out: her hair. Long fluffy hair with soft and loose curls that reached to her lower back; it looked woolen white with hints of pink that became exponentially more vivid as it neared the tips, and at the end becoming completely orange. In addition, her skin tone rosy beige1Wise Owl #cdbca6 seemed slightly off¡­ almost¡­ treen in appearance. From the simple clothes that she wore it was highly probable that November had to make them on the spot. Simple woolens over a chemise. ¡®She¡¯s a little shorter than I expected, and more modest in the chest department, compared to the other Dryad I know¡­¡¯ As Alicia and Alfred approached the group took notice. November''s eyes were typically dull and black, but they had become a vibrant violet as she greeted her Mistress. ¡®She¡¯s not usually this excited¡­ Wonder what happened to make her like that¡­ If she¡¯s happy it''s either bad or really bad¡­ I¡¯ll have to ask what she set aflame this time, afterwards.¡¯ With the conversation shifting to her the girl started fumblingly speaking, in a manner similar to lambkin unsure what to do. Her panic seemed to only multiply with the weighty gazes of Alfred and Tesla. Very much so gladdened to be of service, Alfred would do much more for her even without the motivation, but she could also read in-between the lines, and understanding Alicia¡¯s intentions, made her departure, dragging along Tesla with her, who whilst unwilling, complied with her leader''s judgment. ¡®Here I thought it was an actual security concern. Well better a false alarm than no alarm.¡¯ Llynbel, unable to stand her blundering, spoke for her from the side. ¡®So I was right¡­ Ramiel should have a good compatibility with her¡­¡¯ Alicia''s gaze turned to the Ram, inquisitively. ¡®So why is he trying to maintain distance with her?¡¯ The goat sought to appear unconcerned under her probing scrutiny, but yielded eventually revealing his worries. A wordless affirmation came as a reply. Fidgeting a bit, still nervous. ¡®Stone fruit tree? Must be a native tree, I don¡¯t remember having any of them planted though¡­¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re not making it any clearer for me, Llynbel¡­¡¯ ¡°I believe they¡¯re called Apricot trees around these parts.¡± She nodded vigorously in answer. >Processing Request. ¡®Huh¡­?¡¯ Excitedly she answered. In her delight she started to sprint towards Ramiel - who started to run away, but too late did he realize her intent and his belated reaction meant that she caught onto him wrapping her arms around his neck. There was no escape now, only distraught bleating came from him as he was quite aggressively nuzzled against. ¡®Ah¡­ so he was the morning¡¯s victim eh¡­ Clingy¡­¡¯ ¡®Bit childish¡­ again¡­ like a certain other Dryad.¡¯ ¡®Speaking of which¡­¡¯ From a distance riding on top of Rufus, Dryssia came with something¡­ else in tow behind them. ¡®What in the-¡¯ It looked like a tree that had uprooted itself and started to walk. ¡®Looks like it''s going to be a long day¡­¡¯ Auratic I''ve noticed that I''m slower when committing to an idea. I try to develop it to its completion, get halfway through then don''t know how and where it fit it in, forget about it and get frustrated. I feel like I''ve set myself an ever increasing standard that I myself cannot keep up with, creating a bout of indecisiveness that results in procrastination. Anyway... I also missed the anniversary stuff so let''s do a QnA, send me or any of the characters in the story questions. It will be answered in the next few chapters, unless its inappropriate question: (Like asking for my precise home address or social security number) Chapter 86: Relicts and Reports Auratic As Dryssia drew near she noticed the new arrival, dismounting quickly and simply, froze¡­ staring at the girl without a word or warning. Yet there was no answer. Thankfully however, the tree-like thing also stopped before long. There was no need to take action if it remained stationary. Even on her quiet days it was unlike of Dryssia to not respond to Alicia. Sensing that something wasn¡¯t quite right Alicia looked around, this time even the ever so knowledgeable Water spirit had no idea as she gently shook her head side to side, Rufus seemed just as clueless while Ramiel seemed to be finally at ease, free from Apricot¡¯s caress. At last she took notice that the Epimeliad had also lost all of her animation as well. The situation turned into the most disquieting staring competition. Despite their stillness there was clearly life in them still. Trying to understand what was happening Alicia turned to her usual methods. ¡®...........................................¡¯ But there was nothing to be gleamed. A static whitenoise without emotion or thoughts that could be understood. ¡®This is creeping me out now¡­ it¡¯s like they returned to being trees¡­ trees¡­ huh¡­?¡¯ When she first formed a covenant with Dryssia from the pact Alicia acquired a few plantlife related skills and among them, there was one in particular which allowed her to communicate with plantlife. Without finding the opportunity to use it, it had long escaped her memories, until now. Her mind operating on human - an animal - ordonnance couldn¡¯t make sense of the language that was used within the Kingdom of Plants, being perceived only as meaningless silence. Though she now started to develop an intuition of what florae around her, felt and perceived it was still not enough, thus she delved deeper. As she tuned in to their preferred method of communication, she found herself naturally drifting away into a trancelike state. Becoming one with the ebb and flow of floral life. Innumerable complex systems of veins and arteries carried information, sugar, water, nutrients, energy, everything. Alicia understood why there were no words, no emotions. Plants had little need for such distractions. Everything and everyone one was connected, each for their individual gains yet contributing to the whole. As one sheds its excess it is taken to another, the deficit another taken from the whole. Alicia felt as if she was some bumbling tourist that had found themselves in the busiest street of another country. Streams of information passing by her. She could ¡®hear¡¯ the entire forest with incredulous detail, from the faintest whispers of tiniest blades of grass to the gentle hums of the tallest trees. Overwhelming was the number of interactions and propinquities. And still Alicia saw two grand nexuses infront of her, where countless connections formed messy tangled matrices, sprawling out like roots of trees that knew no boundaries. The quick flashes of lights zipping back and forth between them, she could only guess that they were exchanging information. Though dryads may seem scatterbrained, Alicia now realized that perhaps there was no helping it. For they heard and tended to the wants and needs of every plant around them, mediating between dozens of thousands of trees and hundreds of thousands of plants. Though she ill-understood the ¡®language¡¯ of plants, what little she understood was enough to convey a simple message with the intention: Return. Hoping that it was unique enough to stand out among the sea of bourns filled with their own impulses. It was no different than yelling something into a crowd hoping that the few intended recipients would hear and understand it. Surprisingly it worked, perhaps it was due to the proximity or something else but the two dryads noticed it and disentangled themselves from the streams of sub-consciousness. Alicia came to with Dryssia shaking her awake. Somehow she was laying on the ground. Long burnt hazel color hair of Dryssia tickled Alicia¡¯s face as it swayed. This time the water nymph answered. Dusting herself and her hair, Alicia got on her feet, with Dryssia helping her up. Both tree nymphs held each of her arms, almost possessively. Alicia brought attention to a hulking amalgam of a tree that Dryssia brought over. ¡®Right¡­ She was going to look into the mushroom farms. And brought this thing back. I wonder¡­¡¯ Llynbel, being the one that had been around the forest the longest, had only a clue to offer. Placing her hands against the bark of the ¡®tree¡¯ it was slightly warm to the touch, as if it were some sort of animal. There were some creaking sounds but for the most part there was no reaction from it, yet. ¡®Come on now¡­ it''s just a tree¡­ how fast can it really move¡­ honestly. But if it came to it, I can still torch it. Here we go. Alma¡­?¡¯ >Toxic Reaction¡­ Neutralizing¡­ >Lifeform Analysis underway¡­ >Compiling Records¡­ >Taxatta regiusa. ¡®A poison yew¡­ And¡­ something else¡­¡¯ >Leucostoma aboripetans. >Parasitic fungal colonies formed symbiotic relationship with host. >Mycelium network underneath bark forming connective tissue. Able to interact with Host. Fungal composition structurally analogous to Animalian muscle tissue. Enables locomotion. >Theory. Accuracy 97.1% >Fungal colony reaching maturity, proliferation priority. Subject able to take over motor functions of insects. Spread spores over large area. Colony located on tree. Immobile. Tree developed symbiosis with invader. Resilient to fungal infection. Fungi developed motor functions to spread fungal spores. Complete lifecycle. Fungal colony inactive, motor functions remain. ¡®I remember hearing something like, fungi are closer to animals than they are to plants. And I did read it somewhere about fungi making zombies out of insects. What I didn¡¯t know was that they were so close to animals that they are able to evolve muscles, just to spread their babies, since the goddamn tree they were on was immobile. So it''s still a tree, a tree with odd fungal infestation. Though I¡¯m guessing it''s not that fast. >Analysis Complete. Reclaiming data. Updating¡­ ¡®Wait what are you doing¡­?¡¯ >New Acquisition: Innervate; Relict Protector ¡®Great, now I can make my very own monstrosities. Just what I wanted.¡¯ Worried that Alicia wouldn¡¯t take it in. ¡®You¡¯re bad at making puppy eyes¡­¡¯ ¡®Seems like they¡¯re happy enough¡­ I wonder¡­¡¯ Scrambling prickly shoots grew out from within her hair circling around her temples, forming a coronet of thorns atop her head. Branching wooden growth sprouted out from the crown of her head, forking into boughs, crackling as it did. What had formed could only be described as an verdant antler covered with vines and a circlet of briar. The trenchant points these antlers possessed proved it to be sufficiently the deadly weapon if utilized. ¡®¡­I really hope she meant the apiary¡­¡¯ Relict slowly meandered behind the two dryads. Alicia noticed a few threads stuck to the upper parts of the tree spirit, glittering in light. Since their destinations were in the same direction they started walking together, with the well tended orchard serving as a pleasant backdrop. ¡°Good thing this was a minor problem, things have been getting a bit tense out there. It¡¯s nice to have slow days.¡± Just as she had finished her words, a telepathic transmission ringed inside her mind. By the tone and speech pattern alone, Alicia recognized the one who conveyed it to her was Alpha and by the same token she knew it was a serious matter. Llynbel, who noticed her stop for a brief moment before cursing at herself under her breath, had a fair understanding of what had transpired. Despite the meaning of her words, the soured face and the dry delivery of the words suggested quite the contrary. It was just her style of humor. There was a uncharacteristically long silence from Alicia who usually quick-witted Though it wasn¡¯t the most convincing explanation nor a compelling justification, the absolute confidence she emitted was enough to persuade the water spirit. ¡°Besides, engineers rarely work on their own. It''s so much easier to tell someone to do it for you. Then berate them for not understanding simple instructions¡± Auratic Yolk aside, happy new year to all of you. Next chapter is going to have a little Chronicle inserted before it. Leucostoma is a real species of fungi that infects trees. aboripetans is definitely not a real thing since it literally means, moves-a-tree. By the by, the relicts are mash of tree like fantasy creatures from 3 different series. I''ll give you a hint for each, Tolkien, Blizzard, CDProjektRED. One to name the each species correctly gets 10 fakebux and a singular drop of clout. Chronicles Vol. 3 The Saintess Auratic ¡°The following are the restored copies of declassified records released by the Ministry of Health. Translation efforts are still under progress.¡± ¡°Entry #2 -¡­ healing process is oft complicated work as such it takes a great deal of time and resources. Hastening such an intricate process is no easy task, however it is possible, I know it to be. The visions of our holiness, brought of a world beyond ours has shown me. In one instance, imbibing fluid red as freshly spilt blood confined in glass flasks was enough to stave off the march of lord death himself. In some cases it was applied directly to the injury itself. Mortal wounds, loss of vital fluids it mattered not they were all restored. And in another form the decoction was green, its name different yet the effects were much the same. There were myriads of these so-called ¡°Potions¡± each with their own pick of colors that held many effects. Invigorating potions of clarity that boosted one¡¯s magical powers, draughts that granted land-dwellers the blessing of the seas, brews of fire that allowed champions to brave lakes of lava, philtres that mended arms and armor, spirits that coated one¡¯s body protecting them from harm. Nigh endless were the possibilities that only a madman could dream of, I saw in materialization. If they were realized once in another world, it can be realized twice, here and now. To deal death, I can, a plenty. To save life, can I, but once? The elven rangers that pledged themselves in service of our creator wontedly tarry with unenlightened brutes that make home in these sacred coverts. Though they won¡¯t be felled to such base beasts, it is not rare for them to suffer slits and stitches. Superficial they may be, these elves were not blessed with corse we were gifted, that knew no harm too great to renew. Any damage they sustained was slow to heal, a consequence of their deficient access to viands until now. To them the most I can accomplish is to deaden the flesh, numb the pain with venom. However it is yet a false relief, only a veiling of the harm. The pellar of the trolls who worship our lady knows curative salves and herbs. I must seek him out. If I am to recreate potions, he knows where I can start¡­ Entry #5 The session with the Witchman was indeed productive. Salves he makes and the wraps he fashions were not what I seeketh but what goes into the creation of those dressings were what I after. His wisdom revealed that distilling certain healing properties of plant life was possible with careful application of alchemical practices but it required a suitable medium to embody it, a base. Water was abundantly available and readily receiving of these remedials but not just any water was sufficient for not all water was equal. The purest was not the answer, for they lacked something essential. From his experiences only the wai that springs from the hearts of mountains had the properties fit for absorption. The spirit of the lake may aid me in discovering such sources. However water was not a base alone. Strong spirits could also become base, though there is great variation in production of these. For now, the foreign goods will suffice. I shall begin the distillation posthaste. Alternative was the use of magicks. The trollish rituals I do not understand. It is yet another option to explore for another time. Entry #9 Many mixtures have I tried yet none possess the qualities I search for. Remedial, most definitely, but nowhere near swift as I aim for. I have looked into other potential sources of healing. The nectar of the honey bearing insects have shown promising results. Regrettably they are far too viscous. And any combination with other fluids often causes dilution of its restorative potential. I must take action. Look more deeply into the process of healing. Entry # 13 An injury is never quite the same, each unique. But there are common damages. I must aim to repair those damages. Natural healing is the most fascinating process I have borne witness to. Once the skin layer is ruptured and vascular tissues damaged, the healing process immediately begins. Though almost all of the actions take place in parallel, there is some semblance of steps - an order. I must find a way to accelerate these steps. Entry #15 The apitoxic venom possesses strong acidic features without envenomation. If applied under right dosage it may be useful as a debriding agent. Dissolve necrotic tissue and defilements. However it induces extreme pain to the recipient, especially onto an open wound. A mix of neurotoxin to temporarily block the pain receptors perhaps¡­? Entry #16 The honey bearing insects create different nectars depending on their diet of flora. I have made requests for lady Dryssia to introduce herbal flowers into their flower fields. Until then I may have an idea on how to assist in the coagulation process. Our silken webs if finely spun into filaments may aid in stopping the loss of blood. With a small adjustment to their structure, they may become a staunching dressing. Plaster for which the body can begin to restore the flesh. I must study its application further. Entry #18 A temporary setback, it seems some medicinal herbs can be toxic to the honey insects, they seem to avoid them in particular. And ones they do harvest from have a middling impact on the resultant nectar¡¯s healing properties. Regardless I am not without progress, I have discovered another potential substance. The nursing jellies of the insects are densely packed with nutrients. These jellies are fed to larvae that are to become a new hive queen. I have acquired samples of their jellies to extract nutrients from. With how rich these jellies are, dilution is less likely to be an obstacle. With some processing these can become catalysts for healing. Entry #19 The fluid venom of the webslingers naturally has a mixture of silk that hardens in exposure to air. In its liquid form it still retains some of its bonding capacity. I might require help from Victoria and her brood. A shame, I wished to claim credit for the accomplishment for myself only. But this work of mine is greater than either of us. The first batch does not show the bright red color I seek rather it is quite sickly yellow. The brew it hisses in exposure to air¡­ Entry #22 Test #1 Formulae #1 Subject: Giant rat specimen 001. Trauma: Sufficiently large wound created by sharp instrument in the abdominal region. Large amounts of blood loss. Application: Topical. Result: Wounds have closed within seconds. Intense struggling suggests extreme pain. Alas the apitoxin has caused significant burn injuries upon the skin layer. Outcome: Partial success. Subject has made a recovery from the wound. However excess of apitoxin has caused further complications. Analgesic properties are insufficient. Must adjust the ratio of apitoxin and the neurotoxin. Entry #23 Test #3 Unnumbered Formulae Subject: Giant rat specimen 004. Outcome: Terminated. It appears that I mislabeled one of the batches I used. The specimen has been subjected to pure acid. Death inevitable. Entry #25 Test #5 Formulae #4 Subject: Direwolf Additional note: Volunteered assistant. Possesses number of scarring upon the snout area. Trauma: Superficial wounds. Application: Topical Results: Injuries healed quickly. nteresting note. When applied to scar tissue the apitoxin reacts violently, dissolving the deformity and forming a new layer of skin. Estimated time for the process is within a minute. No signs of distress shown on the subject, analgesics effective. New tissue appears to be healthy. Outcome: All wounds healed successfully. Additionally treated scarring upon the snout area. Make a note. Entry #29 A success! After many attempts Victoria herself has provided a blend of venom that contains silk structure stable enough to be used in curtailing the outpouring of vital fluids. The silk congeals once the liquid is exposed to air, but remains in its fluid form in presence of blood and warmth. This allows for it to become an immediate sealant for grand wounds without hindering the liquid the access to the site of injury. The production of the silk however comes not without a compromise. According to my fellow, it shan''t not last a day before disintegrating. Hardly a problem for the tonic for it acts in a manner of seconds. But if the volume of healing liquid is insufficient, it may pose a unique challenge¡­ Batch of draughts following the fourth formula seems to have taken on a milky green color. It is one of the colors I seek. Perhaps I¡¯m getting closer? Entry #30 Test #6 Formulae #5 Subject: Giant rat specimen 008. Additional notes: The specimen was brought in by the Direwolf patrols. Poor handling. Trauma: Multiple puncture wounds caused by curved fangs. Significant damage to the left carotid artery. Massive loss of vital fluid. Minimal response to external stimuli. Subject unconscious. Death imminent. Application: Topical Results: Administered half the recommended dose to each site of injury. The fluids hiss and then form milky white incrustation sealing the wound. It turns red upon soaking blood, however it seems to have succeeded in coagulation. Due to insufficient administration the healing process is taking longer than anticipated. Dispensed additional dose of formula #5. Fluid is absorbed by the incrustation readily. Acidic nature of its base form assists in breaking down the silken plaque, allowing entry for external fluid to enter the wound. Once dry it then hardens again, resealing the injury. Subject remained unresponsive for approximately four minutes before regaining awareness. Further observation results pending. Outcome: Undecided. Success. After a day of observation the specimen has shown increased vigor. The sealant layer appears to be flexible enough to allow movement, even under strenuous activity. After seventeen estimated hours, the silken plaque has crumbled away, leaving only a bald patch on the skin layer, no signs of scar tissue. Subject appears to have made a full recovery. Entry #41 Test #18 Formulae #9 Subject: Elven ranger. Additional note: After much work I have earned enough trust to start trials upon my intended patients. Trauma: Minor scratches on the face and limbs, fairly sizable lacerations in the flank region. Application: Topical, Oral. Results: Topical application successful, wounds have healed marvelously. Oral application for supplementary vital fluid recovery unsuccessful. The subject has shown gag reflexes to scent of the fluid. After a mental preparation, the subject has made an attempt at consuming the liquid. Subject then immediately sprayed the fluid onto my face in a single spritz. Outcome: Partial success. Topical administration successful. Oral administration failed. Make a note. Complaints received: Scent has been noted to carry similar smell to rotting carrion, set afire. The taste has been equated to that of a regurgitated vomit. It appears that the Araneae do not have the associated dislike towards the scent or the taste. The rat specimens have not shown any aversion to the formulae mixed into their feed. I must find a way to mask these somehow. Entry #44 Test #19 Formulae #9 Variation in production #3 Subject: Elven ranger. Additional note: Added wood ash, purified charcoal. Dried birch tree bark soaked into the resultant batch of brew. Significantly darkened coloration. Trauma: None Application: Oral Results: Similar aversion due to scent. Somewhat lessened it appears. Still some dislike towards the taste. Although psychologically damaging, subjects are able to consume low volumes of the draught. Outcome: Though I dread it, it appears that I must redevise my formulas to be more fit for humanoids. Start from the ground up. Entry #48 Test #39 Formulae #13 Variation in production #7 Subject: Elven rangers, Trollish hunters. Additional note: Use of rose hips extracts, Bloodmoss and rich honey has made the color of the brew a bright red. Added brew of Mille flower and Golden Vane. Finished with a ground mix of Salvia and Lamica. Sour taste of Silver Anne cuts through the bitterness of Grendol weed. Addition of seeds of frozen whisker to improve scent. If the current batch does not achieve expected outcome, acquire Lava lily and Sundrop flower. Application: Oral Results: Resounding success! Floral scent has been universally approved to either be attractive or neutral. Taste has been improved significantly thanks to the sweetness from honey and golden vane. Finally, something that deserves to be called a potion.¡± ¡°Our staff at the Royal Conservatory are committed to restoring the rest of the documentation and translating it. For we believe the unassuming potion mentioned in the article is the predecessor to the ¡®Asclepius¡¯ series of healing potions that the public has come to know and rely upon. As for the author of the documents, we have mounting evidence to believe it was writ by none other than the Grand minister of the Ministry of Health herself, her holiness, Cardinal, Paxton - Priest - Joseph, once known as the first Bride of Death. Though to you our dear guest, she may be recognized by her more colloquial title among the public, The Saintess.¡± - The Description of the exhibition. Auratic Anyway, few days prior, one the artists I follow released a nice music video that I really wanted to share, give it a listen. It is completely coincidental that the name of the song also happens to be the shorthand of my username Aura. Don''t read the comments or the Video''s description for a spoiler free, sterile impression, trust me. Read this once you''ve given it a listen. The voice is provided by a voice bank Solaria, created by Eclipsed sounds and is scheduled to be released on Jan 19th. Think Vocaloids like miku, gumi bear. Don''t even think to pretend you don''t know what those are, you fuckin weeb. Chapter 87: A decision… Auratic Alicia was called to a rather unusual place, the small hamlet that was built at the edge of the forest to receive outsiders. It mostly saw comings and goings from vendors and merchants associated with Albertini¡¯s firm along with the occasional peddlers seeking the unique products solely produced by Velauhart - Magna apis Mellifera honey and extraordinary silk that stretches without tearing or losing shape - unknowingly or not attempting to secure some for themselves and troubadours seeking shelter. It was mostly inhabited by the former slaves Alicia freed with frequent visits from ¡°Elves of the Black Forest¡± - or so they have been dubbed by the outsiders that stay for the brief - were vastly different from the usual half-elven tarts closer to humans that they ogled, namely longer ears, sharp senses, sharper wit and, it going without saying, the sharpest being their arrowheads. Few scoundrel stowaways often learned the last point first hand. Those qualities, combined with them moving quieter than a owl¡¯s down on grass, attracted followers by their own right, be it as admirers or challengers. With their judgement being dealt swiftly without pretence, usually in the form of an arrow to the neck, they were quickly established as the sentries of the hamlet. Groundless rumours and gossip borne from the implausible settlement in the forest were carried far and beyond the small confines of the hamlet, retold each time with fewer and fewer facts, and more and more fantasy. It was a given though, that few things remained a staple, of which the mysterious woman in white, known only as the Mistress that revealed only to greet those bearing esoteric offerings from distant lands and spending loosening her coinpurse generously to buy miscellaneous paraphernalia should it catch her fancy. And one was considered exceedingly fortunate if they could bear witness to magicals feats of wondrous proportions that she may perform. Some real, some imagined, all the more enticing for bored middle-class, glory seeking knight-errants and curious travellers. The person in question however had no clue of the peculiar notoriety she had amassed. This time however she was not here to browse vendibles. Though that did little to deter her from taking in her surroundings at her leisure. She had almost no involvement in the design and construction of the growing vill. As she often made her visits when it was crowded with merchants and busy overall, she hadn¡¯t quite found the time to inspect the construction aspects seriously. But now it seemed like the perfect opportunity she was looking for without much traffic. Picking the largest building she could find, which happened to be the caravansery guesthouse with a sizable stable at its side, she started circling it around looking for any obvious errors, damages or potential issues. With a glossary look from the outside showing no signs of stress, she started digging at the side building with her hands, enough to reveal its cobblestone foundation. Kneeling down, placing her palm against it to examine the foundation with magic, she felt that there were far more people inside than she expected, but she thought nothing of it since it wasn¡¯t rare for some travellers to stop by, and carried on with her original intent. Her magical energy permeated through the stone substructure, divulging her of its minutiae. ¡®Raft foundation¡­ no cracks¡­ The soil is packed nicely beneath it but doesn''t reach the hard strata¡­ Unlikely to settle unevenly, must¡¯ve compressed the soil with magic¡­ quick and dirty but it will work. I don¡¯t think this thing has a drainage system, not like we have some plastic pipes that I can stab holes into¡­¡¯ ¡®¡­Almost nothing¡­ not a lot of moisture¡­ won¡¯t be wearing out to water damage anytime soon. Still, it needs a foundation drain, a weeping tile perhaps. The old fashioned way, with fired clay¡­ rain and snow is going to be mean without it. Just gotta dig a trench, fill it with gravel, give it a nice filter mesh sock and it will be all good. In the worst case, someone with water affinity can force the humidity away from the footing with magic. Eh¡­ good enough, they get a passing grade.¡¯ Satisfied with the work of her Araneae put into the construction she stepped away, just in time too as Alfred had come to receive her. Holding her head low she answered. The strange emphasis on the word guests made Alicia curious. Furthermore, there were no visits scheduled from Albertini¡¯s firm for at least two weeks. ¡®Oookay¡­ First a moth with Goldia. I expected a puppy, or a kitten from Anna but not humans¡­ from Erwin no less.¡¯ ¡®She¡¯s been busy counting heads I see¡­¡¯ Her head turned to look up at the building beside her momentarily before answering. ¡®Ah, so they were the ones who I sensed on the inside.¡¯ Alfred¡¯s face turned to one of proud satisfaction for but a fleeting moment as she replied. Alicia, wise to Alfred¡¯s mischievousness, suspected something was up. Alfred¡¯s face had slowly twisted into an unrestrained, smug smile, like that of someone about to deliver the punchline of their greatest joke. All of Alicia¡¯s hair stood on its end. As dry-wit as she was, Alpha was not one to mix personal amusement with her work, that Alicia knew as a fact from working with her. So why did she ask a question that she already knew the answer to¡­ It was quite simple, Alicia wanted it to be a joke. And with that, reality of the situation had set in. Never before did Alicia wished to disappear as the seafoam did. In accordance to her will, stealth took effect, obfuscating her already faint presence. ¡®Echo! I would love to compliment you for your work but why in the name of hell did you make me into some sort of deity. I have one tribe too many already.¡¯ With the previous topic too embarrassing to dwell on, Alicia gladly jumped at the opportunity to change the subject. Led by Alfred, the two arrived at a stable some distance away from the hamlet, as it was built to house the horses of visitors it was mostly empty most of the time. There, Erwin was feeding fruits to horses as she was stroking them, accompanied by two men. The mounts were quite different from ones that usually occupied the stables. Smaller build, quality saddles on their back, blinders on the reins, just from cursory look alone it was quite clear that they were not the sort of horse that a typical trader would bring along. As they came closer, Erwin took notice and held her head low in reverence, the two men that were with her instead took a knee in an unexpectedly practised manner. Even the equines seemed to follow suit, somehow. ¡®Horses too¡­ I was doubtful of her, what was it? Hypnosis? No no, it''s mesmerism, she was adamant about it not being hypnosis. Apparently it works on animals too. As for the men¡­ empire¡¯s soldiers. Defectors or¡­ Echo¡¯s new pets?¡¯ Erwin¡¯s look of serene calm disappeared as she cast a dismissive look to her side. ¡®I can understand what he¡¯s saying but it sounds¡­ off? I think it''s still the common tongue¡­ maybe with a dialect? Also, how much influence does she have over them¡­?¡¯ In lieu of answering directly, Erwin opted to demonstrate. ¡®A lot¡­ That¡¯s the answer¡­ Ugh¡­ I thought Domination was excessive, meanwhile Erwin here is brainwashing people into some sort of religious nutcases. Just don¡¯t think about it, just don¡¯t think about it.¡¯ Echo still wasn¡¯t sure if the actions she had taken of her own accord were correct. She was hoping for a resolution, was it approval or reprimandation. Studying her beloved mistress¡¯ expression, she couldn¡¯t tell for sure, yet it may just have had just the modicum of displeasure, something she absolutely dreaded. ¡®Of course¡­ they¡¯re not just going to bang their heads against stone walls and those vertical grate doors¡­ whatever they¡¯re called. Catapults, ladders, rams, those giant wood tower looking things yeah¡­ should be something to see¡­ from a distance that is.¡¯ ¡®Army hm¡­ modern militaries can field hundred thousands of soldiers easily if they wanted to, in this world, without the advancements in roads, transport logistics, chains of command and before the discovery of radio¡­ organising an army is going to be hell. So I can low ball it quite a bit. But he did say it''s enough to make someone stubborn concede, so they¡¯re likely to utilise overwhelming numbers to their advantage¡­ Tricksy, tricksy¡­¡¯ ¡®There should be at least two forts in their way before they can even make it to the edges of Viveria. They¡¯re acting as if it won¡¯t even be an obstacle to them¡­¡¯ Armed conflict, city siege, international politics, treachery and betrayals, things had escalated far beyond Alicia¡¯s comfort zone. Although it was something she really wanted to stay as far away as possible, stowing away to herself in a quiet corner of this world, the world had already made its decretum. An open question to everyone, but there was really only one that could give a satisfying answer among them. Alfred stopped to think, exhaustively considering all the possibilities and the hypotheticals, carefully picking her words. It was Alicia¡¯s first time seeing her at her wits¡¯ end. ¡®Heh, so you¡¯re not a supercomputer made by gods after all. That¡¯s fine. The company of one is already enough.¡¯ Alicia finally found an answer to the question that was plaguing her for a long time. It came suddenly, but it was without a doubt an approval. Such a shock it was to her Erwin froze up, her luminous scales lost in discordant colours, a window to her mental state. Now, take Delta with you, I need an accurate, topological map of the area just outside the forest. Remember to include the outskirts of Viveria. Take in more refugees, any that you can spare to save.¡± She finally recovered from her stupefaction, and moved to carry out her new task with pep in her steps, something that was somehow shared to the two human soldiers that was under her thrall. Her hair and scales turned to bright yellow and teal as she went. ¡®Huh¡­ So that''s her happy colour¡­ Wait a minute, is she a goddamn chameleon?¡¯ Auratic most PSYCHOTIC female TARANTULA Chapter 88: Devil Dogs Auratic Beyond the periphery of Velauhart¡¯s weald lay wetlands, floodplains and swampy marshes that formed around the winding rivers that flow out of the silva. Tall grass hid predators and prey alike. Dragonflies and damselflies darted through the dank air as the frogs sang their chorus of croaks. These fertile lands fit for farming were one of the features that made Velauhart such a coveted region. Though the fendwellers¡¯ ambush and other territorial amphibians became a difficult obstacle for any land reclamation efforts by humans. After some thought Llynbel stepped into the muddy bog in blatant insouciance, with the water reaching all the way to her hips and the tips of her long hair dispersed over the water''s surface, drifting freely. Letting her hands freely submerge, she concentrated on something unseen, it almost seemed that she had dozed off with her eyes open, in a few moments she snapped back to reality. It seemed that to the water spirit, any body of water seemed to be an inviting home, regardless of its perceived pollution. Picking off algae, duckweed and other debris from her hair and body with fresh water, Llynbel asked: In her short travels to the Viveria with Rosalia in tow, Alicia had to hide her identity from the noble girl. This meant moving at a normal human pace and pretending to eat. While that was hardly an expeditious affair, it did allow for Alicia to have a good look over the local terrain and mentally update the old map of the region she acquired. The hills, the marshes, the sparse woods surrounding small ponds, isolated villages and hamlets, blooming meadows and, most importantly, the natural sources of freshwater. There were two large rivers that ran through the land. With its source somewhere in the mountains to the north, one took a westward turn and flowed all the way to the city of Viveria and beyond. The large-scale agriculture of the county could only be supported thanks to the irrigation provided by this river. The remaining river, originating from Velauhart, slaked the thirst of the countryside. Besides these two, there were mottles of villages with wells that tapped into underground streams and reservoirs and some of the aforementioned ponds deep in the wilderness. Irregardless of the presence of sorcerers capable of creating water aside, they could never hope to make enough to sustain a march of an entire army. Soldiers of such a large number of troops, and the horses they rode alike needed to drink. As such they are bound to follow a path with ready access to drinking water. Though the outlying villages were already razed, their food and livestock plundered as rations for the coming army, the wells full of water went relatively untouched by the make-pretend brigands. Using those wells and the snaking river that flowed through the land as a reference point, Alicia could guess what route these invaders would take to reach the city. However there was still too large of margin to make an accurate estimate, thus she was planning to stifle the flow of water to more or less guide them, and make the room for error as small as possible. Sounds of dry grass crackling and squishes of mud interceded their talk. Alicia did not seem fazed at all by the warning. Unnatural tear fissured open near Alicia¡¯s as she held her hands out, from within fell out a dark violaceous sword; its hilt landing perfectly upon her waiting grasp. After she finished spritzing a generous dose of yellowish venom unto her blade: After her preparations were done, Alicia took on a relaxed posture with her weapon hanging low. Wargs were the most prevalent of monsters nearly everywhere in continental lands. Though similar to a wolf in characteristics and hunting strategies they differed in savage aggressiveness, appearance and physique. Somewhat larger and stronger with engorged muscle mass in the upper torso, neck and front shoulders cause them to appear as though they had a hunchback. Possessing jaws and teeth able to crush through bones to suck on the marrow of prey, they were a considerable threat to anyone, especially in a pack. Despite being outclassed by a fully fledged Direwolf in most scenarios they were nonetheless rated as far more dangerous than a direwolf by guilds due to their taste for human flesh. A Direwolf attacked humans in defense of its den, territory, or its hunting grounds; wargs attacked humans because it was peckish. Barks and snarls signaled the beginning of their assault, it was both a form of intimidation, as well as a signal for their pack members to begin their attack in tandem, a form of coordinated attack. They believed themselves to be concealed by the high grass and reeds as Alicia did not track them by sight and began their attack from her flanks and behind. However, by now it had almost become a second nature for Alicia to exploit that fatal misjudgment. As one leaped out towards her from behind her, absolutely certain of its triumph, mouth salivating, she swiveled out of the reach of its lunge, away from harm. Continuing the momentum of her swirl into her blade she delivered a heavy downwards slash on its scruff just as landed, the cold edge shredded through fur and flesh alike. After the strike it could only stumble a few steps away before succumbing to pain and collapsing. Even though they could shoulder such grievous wounds to a vulnerable spot like their neck to keep attacking through sheer tenacity, the venom drenching her weapon made sure that was not the case as it seeped into its bloodstream through the open wound. Undeterred by the loss of their ally, they went on with their assault, only this time cautious of Alicia¡¯s counterattacks. They dipped in and out of the reach of her weapon, growling, hoping to lure her into an empty swing that will leave her open to an attack. Keeping a cool head despite being surrounded, she did not move unnecessarily. The miry ground made it difficult to read the vibrations of fine movement of muscles, something she depended on to tell if someone or something was committing to an attack or not. Instead she relied on her reflexes to react. Though certainly not the most sound strategy in any case it was something she worried about, for she was not alone. The wargs'' hopping movements faltered as the earth itself seemed to drag them down, with the intent of devouring them, if it could. While certainly not the most pristine of sources, it was still nonetheless a source of water, a home to a Water spirit. One that was now especially riled up. It was clearly apparent that Llynbel was not adept at controlling the mud ridden, moist floor. Her usual precision and celerity over water magic being nowhere to be seen. But that in itself provided a unique opportunity, while it was true that she couldn¡¯t drag them down to a bottom of a lake - her preferred method of dispatching unwelcome visitors - the dirt and soil, pollutants, carried within the swamp water provided for a strong grip that could hold onto the legs of the wargen wherever they stepped. Something that was not readily possible with pure water. Recognising the situation as favorable to her, Alicia went on the offensive. Even with belated movement, the wargs¡¯ were able to maintain a fair distance, though that space was quickly shrinking, until grazing wounds and scraping scuffs were piling up on their bodies. Usually such surface injuries would close quickly and merely amount to annoying a warg, but each drop of venom that entered their bodies through them was enough to start sapping their strength. Fatigue turned to exhaustion and Alicia could feel their legs trembling, just standing up seemed to have become a laborious task for them as the paralyzing venom set in slowly. Although it was tempting for her to use stronger, faster acting venoms such as neurotoxic and necrotoxic venom, when sprayed onto her blade they seemed to carry a certain odor, especially after being exposed to open air for a prolonged period of time. Odor that monsters with refined sense of scent could pick up on and become wary of, like wargs and would try their absolute best to avoid it. Though a deterrent to be sure, a venom was useless if there was no reliable delivery system. While the withering venom was too volatile to the point that it was questionable to even call it venom. Whilst there was a more surefire and traditional way of delivering venom, it was something Alicia wanted to avoid at all costs, for it amounted to her basically grappling the target to bite down with her fangs. While it was the most straight-forward method, she would leave herself completely vulnerable to attacks from the target''s allies while delivering the venom. Likewise fangs of her humanoid form could do the same, biting into the fur of an overgrown mangy wild dog was the last on the list of Alicia¡¯s priorities. After fruitless skirmishes that only resulted in pain and injuries. The wargs changed their attention to a seemingly more vulnerable target, Llynbel. While she was focused on assisting Alicia, one of the wargs circled around behind her before rushing to take a bite out of her ankles. It expected to drag her down and tear her apart piece by piece, to its confusion it felt as if her feet came off surprisingly easy, yet it did not have substance, feeling vaguely slimy. Although her concentration faltered briefly due to losing her footing, she quickly regained her composure. From the site of dislocation on her shins spurted not blood but leaking water. After some effort it bubbled a new stub vaguely resembling a human foot. Little by little it gained more and more definition, looking more proper as it lost the translucency of water. The piece of her leg, which was losing cohesiveness and collapsing back into its original state as formless water, sprang to life, surging into the nostrils and mouth of the warg until not a drop of water was left on its snout. In spite of the fact that the volume of water was insufficient to fill its lungs it could still be cycled within its airways, blocking respiration. Attempted sneezes, pawing at its own face accompanied by confused and hysteric wanderings eventually led to it collapsing on its side with its legs in manic movements resembling swimming motions, most likely caused by some natural instincts. It was slowly, and painfully, drowning on dry land. As the last of its movements seized up, water barely enough to fill up waterskin halfways1Very roundabout way of saying about 700ml of water. slowly poured out of it. It was doubtful if the warg survived the ordeal. By the time the event was over, Alicia had already downed two more of them over on her side. The last warg had just slinked away without much of a presence. Alicia had a general idea on where it fled to by the muddled information provided by pallesthesia but giving chase to something that was already running away felt unnecessary. Alicia commented on the strange behavior as she washed away any excess blood and venom from her weapon with magically created water. There was a sense of foreboding that came with her answer. Before Llynbel could ask a question in turn, a hollow, otherworldly howl resounded throughout the damp bog. -at¡­ was that?¡± Even before they came into sight, a foul, sulfuric scent assaulted Alicia¡¯s nose. What emerged were a pair of monsters far more fearsome than wargs. From their steps bloomed abnormal green-yellow flames that burned atop the waterlogged floor. Monsters¡¯ form resembled a typical canine in most aspects, excluding the skeletal head and legs, they appeared as though all of their fur had been scorched away, revealing hideously seared body and flesh that appears to be perpetually on fire, with the flames cloaking their bodies. Every orifice of their face spouted the very same flames. To Alicia¡¯s nervous comment only a screeching wail that was hauntingly similar to human scream came as a reply. As they opened their mouths in unison, from the gaping depths a jet of flames spewed out towards the two. The flames shot towards Alicia smashed against the magical barrier, clinging to it for a fair amount of time before subsiding. >Shield Integrity: 86.7%. Restoring¡­ >Damage analysis underway¡­ ¡®Don¡¯t wanna get hit by that¡­ whatever it is.¡¯ Llynbel raised a wall of water to protect herself, the flames reacted violently to the liquid, violently sputtering and hissing on the surface of the barrier. It would seem obvious that the flames would be doused out, yet it persisted, burning still on the water, almost to the extent of boiling away the water. Nevertheless the fire dwindled away in the smokescreen of steam. She never had seen Llynbel this worked up before, most monsters couldn¡¯t put a scratch on her, these, however were the exceptions. Their flames could undoubtedly damage, perhaps even put an end to her existence. Alicia was furiously racking her brain trying to identify the monster in front of her. Meanwhile the water spirit took initiative. Surrounding swamp water twisted and swirled around the creatures, enclosing them before combining into tall waves and slamming down on them. They were immersed and imprisoned in the water for a brief while, for as soon as they were entrapped, the mysterious flames intensified and detonated in a spectacular fashion. Although it appeared to be fatal, flickering yellow lights proved otherwise, and they were still standing, albeit visibly worse for wear. The monsters started panting, as though they were tired, the flames on their bodies had died down somewhat but with each passing moment it was regaining its intensity. Llynbel almost sounded as if she was bewildered, and at a loss at what to do next. But through observation something finally clicked in Alicia¡¯s head. She had seen entries describing the and illustrating the monster within the guild¡¯s archives, only on the cursory. Now she understood that the reason why she didn¡¯t recognize the monster was most likely it was because the rendition she had seen must have been an artist''s impression, recreated from second hand reports. Seeing the real thing and a recreation was a day and night difference. ¡®Lightning¡­ With all this water around; toaster bath, no good. Cryo¡­ Would hinder Llynbel. Earth¡­ Soil too soft won¡¯t be able to muster anything solid. Flora¡­ would be equivalent to adding logs to fire. Wind¡­ Hypoxic air might help but if it''s not in an enclosed area they can just run out of it. Water¡­ only thing that worked so far. Void and Anima¡­ no offensive magic yet¡­¡¯ >Thermal damage analysis complete. Able to restore derivative Thermal shielding effective against thermal damage. Standing by for confirmation¡­ ¡®What is that, five? Pocket change. Go! I¡¯ll need it.¡¯ >Executing¡­ Licks of flames coated her body in a glow of burnt reds2Milano Red #C12D06 accented by golden yellows3Desert Fire #FFD67A that flared up occasionally. Fiery Monarchs - fire spirits bonded to Alicia - twirled around her in warm embrace. The blazes did not extend to her held weapon, to Alicia¡¯s dissatisfaction. ¡®Hm¡­ maybe that¡¯s for the best. I might as well try something else while I¡¯m at¡­¡¯ A small shoal of tiny glowing fish emerged from somewhere. They swam through the open air in a looping motion around her arms until they reached her blade, where they coiled around her sword and disappeared into its dark surface. But their presence could still be felt as a gentle stream that flowed through her weapon. A fine mist that formed on the exterior of Dauntless slowly condensed into drops of excess water that dripped to the ground. Leaving one of them to Llynbel to keep it occupied Alicia charged forward ducking low as she held her weapon, imbued with water. Flames of the barghest flared up again and they opened their maw. As soon as it did, a small spout of water formed and shot out towards the mouth of one of them. As water and fire met, the resulting reaction caused a series of small explosions inside its muzzle, disorienting it for a while. The remaining one that was unimpeded, charged up its fiery blast before firing it off towards Alicia. As she was quickly closing the distance, at the current speed of the fast approaching fireball a several decimeters in diameter, complete evasion was highly improbable, as even if she did avoided it, for when the projectile hit the ground the edges of the resulting explosion would catch her at the least. But she had no need for such a maneuver, instead rushing against it head first. The flames hit her square in the torso and detonated as expected. Yet from the resulting haunting green inferno emerged the girl that had not slowed down in the slightest, still wreathed in the caress of golden fires. Palpably surprised with her unscathed survival and especially concerned with her swift approach, for the first time it seems that the barghests felt some form of apprehension, possibly even fear. Before they could mentally register the occurrence fully, Alicia was already within striking distance of Dauntless. Even after their late reaction they had managed to jump away to evade, allowing her to only land a glancing hit against it. ¡®Not enough¡­-¡¯ she thought as it wasn¡¯t the decisive blow she was hoping to get. While she was thinking about how to follow up afterward, as she was swinging her blade, Alicia noticed a thin line of white that followed along the trajectory of her strike, shimmering in the light. She recognized it as water; a thin blade of water that followed along her slash extending the range of her slice. The cool water passed through its cloak of flames and deeply cut into its body, sizzling against the beast¡¯s blazing skin. Seeing that her strikes are effective and that her opponent is now on the defensive, she maintained her onslaught so that it did not have the chance to make distance and recover. Perhaps feeling threatened by Alicia or that it understood that its ally was being pressured, the remaining Barghest sought a chance to intervene. But the swirling waters around it and the jets of water that threatened to bore through its body prevented any chance for it to interfere. Being weakened by the crashing waves earlier the tiniest lapse in judgment would spell the end for it. Getting used to the extended range of her strikes Alicia was steadily pushing the monster into a corner. Until, it tried to go for a daring leap towards her, swiping its sharp skeletal claws towards her. Spotting an opening as it sprung to the air, Alicia managed to just barely duck herself under its leap and positioned her weapon so that the barghest would shred open its own underbelly by the velocity of its jump against the edge of her weapon. Rot scented pus instead of blood, fire like magma instead of guts spilled out of the wound. As it rolled and sprawled on the ground, there was some life left in it still. Any other creature would have been dead in seconds, the barghest however stubbornly clung to existence. Intending to snuff it out completely Alicia stabbed her weapon halfway through its neck and twisted it, then using her other hand, held the sword by the upper part of the terso using it as a leverage to forcibly yank her blade to decapitate its head off. With one of them dispatched Alicia turned to the other barghest that Llynbel was keeping occupied. Caught in an attack from both sides it was quickly overwhelmed and dealt with unceremoniously. Or so it seemed, something bothered Alicia, even though its head was cut off from its head, the fire still lingered within its skull. Even before it was dispatched, she wondered why it had leapt towards her to swipe. For canines, magical or not, the strongest weapon in their arsenal was their fangs and jaws, not claws, that was more common in felines. So why did it try to attack her with claws? Was its fangs ineffective? Absolutely not, the skeletal fangs were enough to pierce through iron armor if it wanted to. Was it desperation? A possibility. But in retrospect of her fight with them Alicia noticed something odd. Even when its innards laid bare on the ground what it tried to protect was not its neck but its head, or rather the skull. Be it harmless water or sword strikes. It didn¡¯t sit right with her enough to the point that she went back into the soggy bog and crushed the skulls into pieces with a hefty stone. To her later justification, she discovered from Sha¡¯ko that barghests¡¯ were a result of unburied corpses. Those were made plentiful recently thanks to the attacks towards the outlying villages. As they were beings of death, they couldn¡¯t be destroyed by conventional means, rather ritualistically the unburied bodies that summoned them had to be incinerated to banish them. But if one with enough martial prowess could best them somehow lest they destroy their skulls, however ravaged their bodies were they would rise again and seek vengeance¡­ Auratic So uhh... this made me think, I have a pretty good image of how Alicia and the other characters should look like. But I''m not sure if I conveyed that into writing well enough, some details might have been left behind. One of which is well... Have I actually described Alicia''s chest? And I actually cannot remember. So I ask you, did I ever do that? and if you would be so kind, give me like 7 word long(can be shorter or longer, whatever floats your boat) shitpost short description of your favorite character, I''ll compare it against what its supposed to be and make amends if I have to. Chapter 89: First Embers Auratic Malign flames of the Barghest finally died down as whatever force that was animating its body could not make it move anymore now that it was shredded to pieces. ¡®I need a dagger¡­ or a hunting knife for really short range, it will be useful for when dauntless is a bit too long to handle¡­ like when some rotting dog wants to give me an infernal smooch.¡¯ Alicia shuddered at the thought of living through such a scenario. ¡®I¡¯ll have to give Greimen a visit, he should be able to make something good, provided I give him the materials for it¡­ I wonder if the void crystals will make for a good substitute¡­¡¯ ¡®What is that supposed to mean¡­? Eh¡­ better I didn¡¯t know.¡¯ Llynbel had a number of responsibilities assigned to her since her coming into a covenant with Alicia. She was quite engaged with her new work since they were much different than her usual activities; Watching the rivers flow, dallying with water, observing the life and death struggles of monsters around her and shooing away any insects attempting to lay eggs in her lake - while interesting in their own right, had become something of a tedium for her. Her boredom might be attributed to the centuries of repetition, though she wouldn¡¯t admit it to anyone. Some distance away at the prearranged location Alicia agreed to meet her familiar, a bizarre sight came into view that she had to take another look. An outdoor gazebo-esque structure composed of various white stones stood stoically. Neatly cut to the point where the joints between each blocks and bricks were minimised to near invisibility, making it a challenge to determine where a block begins and where it ends. Gray hexagonal roof crowned the structure. Stepping stone walkway set in the grass led to a small set of steps leading up to the interior where a tea set, various confectioneries set upon multi tier stands were set up on a polished stone table and a girl exceptionally young in appearance, casually taking in the fragrance of a piping hot tea. Someone had made a garden in the middle of nowhere. Judging by the handiwork, Alicia hadn¡¯t a single doubt in her mind. ¡®Yup¡­ that¡¯s Gamma¡­¡¯ Gustave ¡°Gamma¡± Eiffel, was an oddball even by Araneae standards. It was an unstated fact that all of her araneae favoured the colour white - for it was in the likeness of their revered mistress and as such those who could clad themselves in it, specifically when it came to hair colour and attire. Gamma was anything but that, short black hair, dark brown eyes and a long, big sleeved robe with a muted yet colourful, simple yet extravagant design, the antithesis of the monochromatics of white and grey. As an Enedra her species were the masters of creating tunnels and shaping the earth to their will. Those talents were only enhanced after Alicia ¡®uplifted¡¯ her into a hybrid. Favoured by Alicia for her intimate understanding of structural engineering, she was a great - if not a genius when it came to any type of construction work. However only a single vice gripped her. She had a disdain for any kind of work overground. Enedras were undergrounders that spent nearly the entirety of their lives cooped up in holes and tunnels. Something that was intrinsic to them. Exceptions were only made for Alicia that is¡­ case in point, her overdoing of the construction of the garden. As she drew near, she noticed the pleasant scent of cut grass still faintly lingering in the air. ¡®Even trimmed the grass¡­ wonder how she¡¯d manage that on her own¡­¡¯ When stepped inside, the inlaid marble flooring with symmetrical geometric pattern commanded attention. ¡®I don¡¯t think we bought stuff like this¡­ so that means she made it herself. The marble too, I don¡¯t think forest has a natural deposit of it. So she scorched the limestone until it crystallised¡­¡¯ Even though she motioned not to, Gamme still stood up only to bow her head: Alicia could only sigh in response to the genuine confusion towards her question. ¡®Landshafting? More like terraforming.¡¯ Alicia almost blurted out. ¡®¡­Now that''s a news to me¡­ I didn¡¯t know their diet was composed of rocks¡­ If I recall correctly she and her brood were running into some ores. Since we couldn¡¯t really process it nor did I want to just sell it, I just told her to stockpile them somewhere hidden¡­ wonder what came of that.¡¯ ¡®They need mining helmets with a light fixture that doesn¡¯t detonate the methane and light up the massive stores of coal down there¡­ how the hell do I make a mining helmet for a spider¡­? I wonder if the dust is a problem for them¡­ actually¡­ since they eat rocks for food, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if breathing in ground dust is good for them.¡¯ ''Here we go again¡­'' Alicia had an understanding that her Familiars had a skewed sense of relationship balance for a while now. Whether it was they that held her atop some imaginary pedestal that they created or if they had an excessive modesty that bordered self-deprecation in her presence, it was a fact they saw themselves as an expendable fodder. While that may be true in an objective sense - as she could Conjure another one to take any one of their places if needed - on a principle basis she was against it. For she feared what may become of her if she let go of her former ideals. Though at her core, she knew that there was little she could do to truly change their perceptions but that wouldn¡¯t stop her from trying anyway. The twins were still very impressionable and not only did they look up to her and Alice but also learned from how they interacted with their environment and the people surrounding them. She wanted to be a positive influence in their development; Callously exploiting and discarding one''s followers like used tissues and replacing them with another just as disposable was hardly a positive influence from her perspective. She only had an inkling of suspicion, but subconsciously she had started to treat her familiars as though they were her family no matter how different they were, her mind still not being able to cope with the loss was trying to substitute what was lost. It was not as though she outright denied the notion however. Faced with her Mistress¡¯s confrontational side, Gamma was unsure how to react resulting in her stilted response. Although any form of reprimand would make them shrink in shame, fear and respect not necessarily in that order. Contrarily even the slightest approval would send them over the moon. As it was the case just now with her subdued yet visible glee. In those regards, Alicia couldn¡¯t help but think that her familiars were childish in her presence, like an expectant child waiting to be told that they did well and moping at the smallest of disapproval. Only with them, instead of tears it was their dangerously self-destructive behaviour that seeks vindication. If she were to get a little overboard with her emotions and say something without much thought, it would have been taken to the heart. Their devotion to her was a double edged sword in that manner. If she were to tell them to rid the planet of life, they would become the scourge that cleansed the world. And if she were to tell one of them to die then and there, they would do just that without a moment¡¯s hesitation. This meant that any form of interaction with her kindred required precision and eloquence in choosing which words to express something. To Alicia that felt as if she was navigating a maze of land mines. It was demanding but necessary. Though she was only a moment earlier savouring the small praise, in a short moment that changed and she gave her undivided attention to Alicia, waiting for her instructions as the topic shifted. The change was subtle and unannounced, the aura of solemnity that surrounded them, palpable. Thrilled by the nature of the task - that being excavating tunnels - she was eager to get started, almost standing up to leave, until: Reeling in her hastiness she patiently listened. Although her visit was brief, Alicia had a good grasp on the Viveria¡¯s layout, thanks to her outings. The plan now started to make sense for her¡­ The plan had some form of response for multiple contingencies, effort given to it was frankly too high for what was essentially a collection of flavourless fleshy insects that were the humans. A notion that would be shared with many others of her Kindred. Why go to such lengths? Such a question remained in her mind. Though none of them would question Alicia¡¯s decisions, curiosity still remained. Seemingly a neutral question, beneath the surface there was some suppressed disgust. Though not supremacists by any means, Alicia¡¯s araneae saw humans as inferior creatures. In a similar vein as how a human would look down on some animals such as house flies. To them, humans weren¡¯t even worth being viewed as livestock, due to low reproduction rate and subpar taste. They far more preferred insects, rodents and lizards. ¡®We¡­? Huh? ¡­probably nothing¡­ maybe she¡¯s being weird again¡­¡¯ Although Gamma was still not entirely convinced with the whole consorting with humans part of her Mistress¡¯s plan, there were a few absolutes that couldn¡¯t be ignored, that was; The city¡¯s continued existence under its current rulers, were in her mistress¡¯s interests. In essence that meant the city was now under her lady¡¯s protection, if not her direct ownership. Any assault against it meant it was an indirect assault against her, and any offence towards her however minor or indirect was an indefensible sin. The interlopers had to pay in blood for even daring to think of such an attack, and for setting foot in the vicinity of the city they would sign their own warrant of death. This conclusion would be shared among all of her familiars, later on. Now that the important discussion was over with. Alicia looked at lighter things. ¡®The tea¡¯s gone lukewarm¡­ that¡¯s fine¡­ oh¡­ this one doesn¡¯t taste half-bad. Not having pieces of dirt definitely helps¡­ Now that I think about it¡­ how does she keep her clothes so pristine when she¡¯s literally living underground? Some sort of earthen magic?¡¯ A willowy tall woman whose upper body was obscured by a circular cape above tree tops and cast her gaze towards a distant night sky brightly illuminated by fiery glow, its intensity subdued by its own billowing smoke. At this distance, the chaos and the carnage couldn''t reach her; she was surrounded by a tranquil lull. Few days worth of distance - by araneae standards who lacked the need to stop for rest or food - away at the kingdom''s fort Caermana Delta was just about to conclude her surveillance. Her objective was to assess the size of the attacking empire''s army and estimate the pace at which they advanced towards Viveria. The Caermana while manned and in a strategically defensible location was simply overwhelmed by sheer number of attackers. She examined Fort Grounvall on her way here, and the findings were disastrous for Pyrinia. The fort was pitifully undermanned and in decay, with its walls barely holding together. It wouldn''t even slow down the oncoming invaders. Now that Caermana had fallen, there was little standing in the way between the Empire¡¯s army and the Kingdom¡¯s fringes. It appeared as if she was speaking to herself, she was surrounded by a variety of Araneae species from a number of different broods, each suited for a specific situation. Venatrix, Reteiactus, Speleaus, Hypogeum and so forth. Auratic Here''s a random trivia; Alicia very quickly picked up on sword fighting due to her familiarity with kitchen knives. She has a preference for single edged swords and more or less treats them as a long chef''s knife. Conversely she is extremely self conscious when wielding double edged weapons such as longswords and claymores. Here''s some spooder vidya Chapter 90: Border patrol Auratic A word about a settlement hidden on the outskirts of the dark forest that provided sanctuary to those in need spread quickly around the people who lived in the fringes of Valtima. It started with another community that was in the midst of falling victim to the Empire''s troops, posturing as common thugs. Foreboding howls signaled their as men of the empire were caught up in the middle of the raid''s turmoil. Then came arrows, silent and deadly; they found their marks on the raiders¡¯ vitals, the neck and the eye, a favored target. Lightly geared in order to be mobile and fit into their role as a rural bandit, and partly because they did not expect much resistance from the disorganized peasantry, their armor was insufficient for the engagement. Still as trained soldiers, though caught unawares, they recovered and regrouped quickly, yet another surprise came their way as their assailants finally laid eyes on them. Hooded Elvish women, mounted on large wolves, were loosing arrows one after another at them wielding an unusually compact bow that possessed peculiar curves never seen before in bows. Devilish was their aim as it seemed that they were undaunted by the unstable sprint of the wolves they were on. In the chaos none who observed saw the harmony of their movements, in the wolves¡¯ gait there was a small window where the archer had but a moment of stability to take their shot. This could only be achieved by deep rapport between the mount and the archer, followed by years of training to be reproduced, normally that is. These wolves were no regular wolves. Of those Rufus gathered, they were the ones to receive the gift of Telepathy from him; a spillover from kindred. The elves truly were synchronized with each and every thoughts and impulses of the wolf they rode on. Not to give up without a fight, the men of the Empire tried to retaliate in kind as well. But landing a shot on a moving target was difficult already, even more so when the wolves¡­ almost seemingly knowing when they were being targeted, made sudden turns and jumps the moment they fired their own quarrels. In the meanwhile they had to stop, aim and fire, dangerously vulnerable to return fire. Despite their attempts to use neighboring structures as cover, the mount''s greater mobility allowed them to simply maneuver around the cover and resume their assault. All the while their fellows without ranged weapons were trying their best to bar the way of the wolves, they simply became easy pickings for the Elves. Besides the Elven archer on top of it, there was still the ferocious wolf that could handily pin down a person and tear through their jugular to deal with and they did not even attempt to try to face the beast. Realistically, sacrificing a man while the rest surrounded the monster and attacking it from all sides would be an effective strategy¡­ Yet no man wished to be the sacrifice as it was a sure promise of death. Thus they were picked off one by one. Though they outnumbered them¡­ it was they that were outmatched. Knowing that continuing on like this could only end in one way, they ran for their horses. Not in an orderly retreat, but in a full blown panic. After all, horses were valuable military assets of limited quantity, meaning that there were only so many horses for so few men. The rest, of course, marched on foot here. Now in this losing fight it was a free for all scramble for the horses to flee. Abandoning the less fortunate, let them be damned so long as they made it out. Turning their backs to the elves was their greatest mistake. Ran down and hunted like some game, just like they did to unarmed peasants of the kingdom. Though there was a singular difference between them and the elves that now pursued them. They often chased after fleeing villagers to entertain themselves, purposefully letting them run, giving them headstarts to then run down on horseback, blades in hand; a travesty of the thrill of the hunt. The elven rangers however had no such desire for thoughtless slaughter. Velauhart¡¯s savage nature taught and trained them to become hunters, for if they did not they would have died as the hunted. With steely coldness they pretenselessly shot them down, no headstarts, no mercy. Efficiency, their hallmark. In a sense, they weren¡¯t even equal to an animal to be hunted down. Few of the make pretend bandits that fell down were either shot by elves in passing - a preferably painless end - or mauled to death by the direwolves - a far more brutal way to go - if they hadn¡¯t already died from being trampled on by their ¡®fellows.¡¯ Regardless of how many the Elves felled, it couldn¡¯t be helped that some would make it to their horses to escape. Conventionally, horses, especially war horses bred for speed and endurance would easily outrun a pack of wolves. Not direwolves though, they could easily rush down the swiftest of horses. Still they did not give chase. A faint sense of worry welled in the eyes of both the beasts and rangers as they knew that in the wilderness between here and their camp, Fifth Ordinal, Echo and her brood patiently awaited their flight. The ordinals answered directly to their Liege, The white lady of the black forest and brought down judgment on her behalf in her absence. Echo as she was known has yet to master the intricacies of the human psyche and her ¡°Indoctrination¡± as she put it were imperfect. While successful most of the time, creating loyal servants out of their enemies for her mistress. The ¡®patients¡¯ who did not respond favorably to the process were left as deranged lunatics, their minds broken beyond any reparation. Those who lost their minds were often sent to the first Ordinal, Alpha, and more often than not are never seen again. Elves and the direwolves alike prayed to Alicia, to let as many of those who escaped to successfully pass the trials ahead of them, before turning back. As they returned the chaos was starting to settle, few people had rallied to put out any stray fires and searched for survivors, women and children coming out of hiding. Some sobbing at the loss of family members, others weakly shouting out their names, still clinging to what little faith they had that they were still alive, the rest were aimlessly trudging about, in disbelief of reality. In the spacious area closer to the heart of their village some of the survivors had gathered, mostly by the elderly waiting for the return of their mysterious saviors. Though there were many questions, the rangers were already done with their business here and were about to leave. Before their departure however they offered a direction towards the Velauhart, where they would be protected from the raiders. There were many different reactions, mostly of confusion - ¡®as to why they were saved¡¯ and ¡®who they were¡¯ - combined with that of shock. In all varieties of human cultures, Velauhart had a reputation for its hostile environs. It was sometimes hallowed, sometimes haunted. It was sacrosanct at times, and reviled at others. The den of monsters where evil slept, and a place of true nature untouched by mankind. Whatever the interpretation, one thing remained constant: the men who had stepped in had never returned. They were now being told to seek out that forest for their salvation. As the decision was of the humans to make on their own, the rangers left without a word or answer. Villagers expressed a variety of reactions as they bid them farewell. Mostly thankful, but this one time there were a group of youngsters who had taken the loss particularly hard. Everyone dealt with loss and grief in their own way. Denial, acceptance, guilt¡­ Theirs was anger, misplaced anger. Before the words could fully exit his mouth he noticed the arrow mere inches away from his eye. The next moment it had struck the earth a few steps behind him, leaving behind a strange gust of wind. A shallow cut had been made across the side of his face, in the same level as his eyes were, where fresh warm blood dribbled. Somehow the arrow had curved in a way that it just missed him. What met him was a piercing green eyes boring a hole into him. The wolf that she was mounted on charged at him, causing him to revulse and fall onto his back to scramble away. Barely an adult human, crawling back was hardly a walking pace. The direwolf caught up to him easily. Just when he thought he was done for, raising his arms up and in front of him instinctively to protect his head, whimpering. Nothing ever came of it. The Elven ranger dismounted with lithe hop, standing in front of him, before walking past him to pick up her arrow from the earth, inspecting its tip for any damage. And as she did bitter questions were became their answers: Why did we save you? That was never our intention. We were driving away barbarians making a mess around our homes. You just happened to be saved from the process.¡± After blowing away some dirt and debris, and wiping it down, she put the arrow back in her quiver. The tense atmosphere didn¡¯t allow for any objections or interventions from bystanders, not without a very real risk of death. As for the survivors of these encounters, with much of their livestock lost, their crops set afire, homes raided, the options were very limited. Very few had any relatives in neighboring villages. Though they could try their luck with taking refuge, a village was often made from a tight knit community that had little room for outsiders. It was quite common, if not an expectation for someone born in their village to die in that very same village at the end of their lives without ever seeing the outside world. Besides, without a property or a house, they would be treated as another mouth to feed, one that they couldn¡¯t afford. Borderline slave treatment was ahead of them in that matter. And towns and cities were already crowded with slums, not to mention the far and a grueling journey. Most importantly, there was no promise of safety or food from cities anyway, many who lived in towns¡¯ slums were those who thought they could ¡®make it big¡¯ or ¡®start a new life in big cities.¡¯ With each and every option coming with their own bag of risks. There was a third option; to set out for the black forest. Seemed just as valid as the others. At least their safety was guaranteed there¡­ Thus started a rumor, that a haven lied in blackest depths of once accursed forest. Drawing refugees and survivors from all around its area¡­ Alicia was working on making the river wider and deeper, and its banks taller for the freshet that Llynbel would cause, so that it wouldn¡¯t spill and cause any unwanted damage along the way out of the forest. She had some of Gustave¡¯s Enedra to help with the process. As she was in the middle of the work a report from Alfred came in. Although she was highly skeptical of Paxton¡¯s elixirs, after seeing their effects in action, she had to acknowledge her efforts and the very real results. Still it was somehow unbelieve to her that a ¡®potion¡¯, something out of fiction, existed in front of her. But accepting the fact, she knew there would be many that would be wounded in the coming conflict, effective treatment would be in high demand. And she was preparing for it the best she could. An army marched towards them¡­ the flames of war, at their doorstep. Auratic Two weeks eh, been long I know. But I''m almost done with my practicum. Only problem is that I still have 4 weeks worth of studies to catch up with so, even if its over I have more shit waiting for me behind it. Pain-peko. Anyway about those side-series I want to go for, here''s some ideas that I have with their small synopsis. Except #3. I don''t have shit on #3. Vote for whichever you like. I''ll let you know when they''re up, down here in some future chapter''s footer. #1 Ghost story (Supernatural, Magic Realism, Horror?) E¡¯er since times ancient, the paranormal has co-existed alongside humanity. With such close proximity to each other, the walls between the real and the fantastical have become thinner and thinner. Some people straddle the thin line, displaying traits that can only be defined as mystical. There are many that cling onto the world of the living for whatever reasons they hold. Unfinished affairs, lingering attachments, the scorned vengeful and even those who would try to cheat death by means of possession, to demons that tried time and time again to invade the overworld and steal souls, all manners of spirits terrorized the human race since times of old. Now in the contemporary world, ghost hunting has become a common profession among humankind. From government regulated organizations to private investigation firms, Priests of the church to the shamans of the wild. World religions raced to create institutions that trained exorcists that banished spirits back to the great beyond. Even science itself has turned to study of apparitions, creating many tools and equipment that aided in detection and study of ghosts, cataloging and recording ghost sightings. Alex was a man that at his youth had become something of an Ace in all manners of encounters at his organization. Solving cases that took the lives of many previous investigators on the day and driving off deadly spirits by the night. Money, fame, status he had it all. But one day he simply disappeared. The official statement from his organization remained that he went missing in action - presumed dead. Few knew the truth, that to this day he lived among the populace keeping to himself. Solving small incidents when he could. He had left behind his life as an exorcist. But the exorcist life wasn¡¯t ready to let go of him yet as the past came to haunt him once more as a young prodigy of a girl from a prestigious paranormal studies academy had tracked him down, dragging him back into the world he had already left behind once. It seemed that the girl, too, was haunted by something. They walked on a path together each seeking their own salvation¡­ #2 Scamazon story. (Management, Fantasy, Use of excessive firepower.) It has been a year and a half since Matthias re-entered human society after spending the better part of the last few years in reclusion, battling his inner demons. His parents had become the victims of robbery gone wrong, leaving him alone in the world at a young age, distant relatives all turned a cold shoulder. Falling into a downward spiral of apathy and hopelessness, days flew by as he couldn¡¯t even muster the motivation to get out of the bed, sleeping his life away. Thoughts of suicide lingered at the edges of every thought. In a bizarre twist of fortune, even committing suicide seemed too much of a work. He wished that some day he simply wouldn¡¯t wake up. His only window to the outside world were websites and SNS. In his mind had no reason to live anymore yet he continued to live if only because he found death terrifying. Dwindling savings inherited from his parents and diminishing food forced him to find work. Without higher education and lacking social skills there were hardly any job prospects. But eventually he found himself a tolerable job as the night shift cashier of a convenience store at a 24-hour gas station in some remote area of the town. He was almost always alone on his shifts at the gas station as the pumps were self-service. Only customers that showed up were truckers stocking up for the road with sandwiches, snacks and coffee or beef patties and deli meat. On one particularly quiet night he dozed off. Only awakened by a strange alarm. When he woke he was startled by the daylight peering in from the outside. Looking out the windows he was stunned. The usual sight of a desolate road lit by street lights was replaced by verdant forest. While he was still trying to comprehend whether he was dreaming or his mind had finally gone mad the alarm rang out once again pulling back to this new reality. A fairly large tablet of unknown brand was next to him on the checkout counter prompting him to turn on the POS computer. Not thinking much about the situation he complied. The computer booted into a strange new operating system. Before any input the computer played what could be equated to an employee training video, teaching him how to run the convenience store, explaining to him the things he mostly knew about such as the facilities available in the store, how to use the POS computer and introducing him to his personal tablet. It didn¡¯t take long for him to notice the increasingly strange turns the video took. ¡°Order goods through the computer and receive them immediately!¡±. The waste pickup area around the back had been changed to the ¡°Recycler¡± ; the details it mentioned seemed unsettling as it could ¡°Recycle bio-matter to its base components to recover resources.¡± ¡°Consult the ¡®Research and Developments¡¯ tab to use resources stored in inventory to expand the store!¡± it said. Curiosity got the best of him thus he scrolled through the available ¡®R&D¡¯ options. Active radars, ceiling mounted sentry guns, combat helicopters, clearance to call in artillery strikes to everyday commodities like toilet paper and cup noodles could all be ¡°Ordered¡± through the computer. The ability to ¡®Acquire personnel¡¯ is also an option. Soon he noticed that five people in a strange getup had walked up to the automatic glass door. Seemingly discussing something among themselves, cautiously prodding at the windows with staff and sheathed sword. For some reason the glass appeared to have become one way only and the automatic sliding doors did not react to their presence. An overly friendly sounding voice came from the speakers that usually played generic muzak at low volume during the day: ¡°Unknown entities at the entrance. Store is currently closed; All entry points sealed. Lockdown in effect.¡± As the group of people were dallying in front of the building, examining the self-service pumps. From the forest behind them came¡­ things¡­ monsters that belonged in children¡¯s stories emerged, charging at them. They were surrounded on all sides, greatly outnumbered, with no way out and their backs against a wall that was the automatic sliding door. The situation had turned dire in a hurry. A red button labeled ¡°Lift lockdown¡± flashed on the computer¡¯s screen and on the tablet¡­ Matthias had a choice¡­ to leave these strangers to their devices or¡­ let them and maybe even some of those monsters outside the store, in¡­ #3 Jaded flex support¡¯s early retirement. Basically my take on the trend of stories with the setting of ¡°neglected/abused support of some hotshot party was actually the one running the whole circus but they kicked them out anyway because of vainglory¡±. No synopsis but I do have few things I want to play around with the setting. Chapter 91: Updates and Encounters Auratic A workshop that was supposedly Alicia¡¯s bedchambers had been tidied up for a meeting, with many prototypes and incomplete models moved to the loft above her desk. The cadre of Ordinals had gathered to each give their own reports, along with others that are close to Alicia barring Llynbel who was excused, for her work of redirecting flows of rivers were integral and could not be interrupted. The Empire¡¯s march was the most immediately salient topic. It felt surreal for Alicia to be taking part in a meeting like this though she couldn¡¯t quite put a finger on what it was that seemed off, that was for another time. The question was of course addressed to Dyson whose task was to reconnoiter their movement. Although nothing was said, the atmosphere in the room had slightly shifted, towards that of disgust at the knowledge of corruption within Pyrinia. Corruption, insubordination, unfaithfulness, disloyalty, these were concepts foreign to Alicia¡¯s Araneae. They held only absolute obedience, complete confidence, unwavering faith and unshaking loyalty towards their mistress, often to a fault. It was their very essence, as the kindred of hers spun from her. Of course Alicia sensed this subtle change, just barely. But could not truly understand it, and attributed it to a form of being riled up towards the intruders. ¡®This is getting old with groveling. Maybe I need to be more assertive about some things¡­¡¯ With a resolute voice Delta answered while performing a gesture that Alicia could only interpret as a salute as she had not seen this particular one anywhere. ¡®Did she make that up or pick it up from somewhere? Well moving on¡­¡¯ ¡®Ah¡­ prostitution and prisoners of war being¡­ sexually assaulted. Right. From one awkward topic to another, great. Yeah, that¡¯s enough of that.¡¯ Echo whilst taking in as many refugees from the villages has still maintained some surveillance over the forward forces of the empire¡¯s army, skulking in woodlands. While there were plenty of ¡®living spaces¡¯ provided by Gamma¡¯s tunnels underneath the forest floor, after a visit it was deemed unsuitable for humans by Alicia. Vertical tunnels without any form of escalation, near absolute darkness without a hint of light, rough-hewn floor and walls; The Enedra burrows were only suitable to Araneae that were accustomed to such an environment without any comforts. While it was possible to make the tunnels livable with few modifications to their design, that would take time, especially so if their master Gustave and her brood was away on an assignment of their own, and thus that idea shelved for later. In the meantime, crude huts, log cabins and extra teepee style tents provided from the trolls provided most of the temporary lodging. Dryssia and Rufus were in charge of securing food. After accounting for increase in consumption and expanding the orchards along with the hunting areas it was not an issue as the stockpile was at a healthy level. While solely relying on hunting was not sustainable without permanently affecting the local ecosystem, before that though the newly planted fruit-bearing trees and fungus would begin producing returns. Rosalia, despite her youth and relative inexperience, was still part of the ruling class of the aristocracy, in essence the villagers were her people. This made her a natural choice to represent them. Though there usually would be some dissent against her being a de facto leader due her age and general indifference towards the nobility - that from their point of view have more or less abandoned them. The presence of the direwolves that they saw first hand how vicious they could be, along with the now familiar Elvish rangers both showing some regard to her requests quelled any notion. The occasional trollish hunters and warriors that showed up to deliver their foods - mostly meat and game - further intimidated them from acting out, involuntarily. The ranger captain provided much of the manpower needed for operations outside the forest and interacting with humans as they were most familiar with them. Food, especially meat was borderline luxury products for the elves, even with a stable source. Alicia simply asked what she could offer to the elves from Faenas to recruit their help; and after learning that meat was still a prized product she had found her payment. Since then, elves applying for ranger training surged to an all time high, and semi-militia life was even seen as an even more prestigious position - with extra benefits of course. ¡®Workaholics much?¡¯ The rangers had earned the quiet recognition of the Araneae Ordinals that had gathered in the room. An honest service to their mistress was not to go unnoticed. Though both Alicia and Faenas were none the wiser to this reticent ennoblement. ¡°I think it''s more important that they¡¯re not too strained from the assignments.¡± Representing the others, Alpha inquired. With the meeting coming to a close, just before everyone dispersed: Rosalia knew that Alicia often corresponded with a certain taciturn girl nearly every day. Not many knew of her, but besides Alicia¡¯s, all of the Ordinals and the Araneae under them held her word as law - rarely as it came. That alone told anyone with any tact and a modicum of logic, that she had just as much influence and, most importantly as much power as Alicia did. Someone that important being absent in a meeting like this was highly unusual. ¡®Now that I think about it¡­ do cats need walks like dogs¡­? Should I get Anna to do it in the future? I mean, they need activity¡­ hm¡­¡¯ Since mothering the twins, and ensuring their safe development Alice was more or less lost. Although she did not understand it fully, her species, after laying a clutch, started an instinctive procedure that started a slow process of dissolving themselves from the inside out by overriding the hunting and feeding instincts and increasing production of digestive fluids. The mother would not survive this process, however the resulting residue from this process was full of nutrition, suitable for providing sustenance for the hatched broodlings. That is how it has always been and how it should have been. The process was interrupted by Alicia, through what could only be described as sentimental attachment. It was meaningless in the end. They were one and same, though separated through magical means, there was far more intrinsic connection between them. She learned of this from the voice that guided the both of them. >Note. Administrator judgment inaccurate. Cessation of individual administrative unit inconsequential. Subsistence of Anima essential. In the event of cessation of a separate administrative unit, individuated Anima will be repatriated to secondary host unit. Repatriation event will not cause a reunification surge. Unary hosts will suffer from Repatriation fatigue until the host has recovered completely. She did not comprehend the words and their meanings through understanding, but through implicit apperception. So long as one of them persists, the other may not truly taste death. So, even if she had died then, she would have returned to Alicia, perhaps once again as a voiceless being, a silent spectator. Yet that was not meant to be. So lives, lost and confused. Her goal in life - the successful propagation of offspring - had been accomplished, what was there to do? She had no answer for it yet. So she asked the only one she knew and trusted to answer for her. To make sense of the senseless, to find meaning from the meaningless. How pointless. But that was human nature and also the reason she was out and about. She did just as she was told, perusing through the memories of Alicia to find it. Only artful things she could pull from her recollections were the self defense arts, from the youthful depths of her memory. Living through her experiences, absorbing it as much as she can. Following a pattern of vibration Alice recognised as slow stampede she judged it to be of humans. Where she was, she was extremely far from the perimeter of defensive webbings and their alarm line and the patrolled area of the Direwolves. She was practically at the edge of the forest. Frost followed her, mostly because she saw it as an excuse to stretch her legs without running into something dangerous, as she knew the Araneae could steer very well far from monsters. Despite technically being her attendant for the occasion Frost did not need to protect Alice. Rather it was most likely the other way around¡­ After a short while, Alice found the humans in question. The usual ragged clothes over boiled leather scale armor, above average equipment - far out the league of the usual thug¡¯s, measured march like steps. The hallmark signs of a now familiar group of people. Alicia¡¯s past memories were replaying in her mind, guiding her now. ¡®¡­best self defense is the one where you don¡¯t have to fight. Avoid confrontations, verbally de-escalate the situation if you can¡­- -¡­sometimes, you might have to stand your ground, then make a clear warning without being provocative¡­-¡¯ ¡®Warning¡­¡¯ Most of them were carrying backpacks filled with logging equipment. They were moving cautiously in small numbers, so that they didn''t draw too much attention. It was clear all of them were tense with how often they looked over their shoulders and to their side, jumping with the smallest of sounds. It was then, a voice spoke out to them. Subdued gasps and disquieted murmur spread among them as they froze in their tracks. Looking around they found a young girl well-dressed in an alien fashion with piercing red eyes barring their way. Next to her stood a lithiline in a servant¡¯s attire, evidenced by the vertical slits in her green eyes, the feline set of ears and a tail playfully swinging side to side behind her. Where did they come from, who were they. Questions and more questions. To them they somehow appeared right in front of them, a terrifying concept considering they were on high alert, looking everywhere and they still somehow managed to slip past their attention. Already jumpy, and now terrified one of the soldiers speaks to the one leading their march. With a stern promise of lashes and bravado the leader commanded his small group to seize the two. In spite of her worrying words, her teasing delivery made it abundantly clear that the grimalkin was not taking the situation with a single shred of seriousness. Frost, now without a collar weighing down on her neck, free of disease and parasites, wielding the shrouded boon of the void was unperturbed by the armed men in front of them. Trimmed and retracted claws lengthened once more with faint violet. Alice hovered her hands over the ¡°metal fangs¡± as it were, reclaimed from a certain assassin¡¯s body. Again she scrolls through Alicia¡¯s experiences¡­ ¡®-¡­always let them throw the first punch, as long as you throw the last one, that way you don¡¯t get into legal problems afterwards. Remember it''s self defense only if you¡¯re protecting yourself-¡­¡¯ Losing herself to the instincts of these memories Alice took up a stance: one hand forwards at chin height, the other low and close to her body. It was her first time taking this posture, yet it felt natural as if she had practiced it hundreds of times before. ¡®-¡­only use your fists against soft targets: guts, the flanks and the like. Against bones or anything hard, open hand palm strikes-¡­ ¡­-you¡¯ll only injure yourself if you¡¯re careless, and the last thing you want in a fight, is to have a shagged hand that you can¡¯t use¡­- -¡­now same thing with joints, it is the weakest part of the bone structure, give it good hit and you¡¯ll easily incapacitate your attacker¡­-¡¯ Emboldened by their superior¡¯s command the few soldiers walked up to them. Alice didn¡¯t quite grasp the meaning of the self defense arts, however she did follow one principle: it had to be non-lethal. They reached out, foolishly stretching their hands within her range, to seize her. It was then that her terrifying strength came to bear. Alice, when she was separate from Alicia, had a diminutive height and extremely youthful appearance, often being mistaken for a child, especially when she was using human Mimicry. The twins were barely shorter than her, and that wouldn¡¯t be the case for long either. Deceived by her appearance the men that tried to quickly grab and overpower her quickly learned of their misconception. Before they could react, she had quickly grabbed the gloved hand that extended towards her and struck against its back with enough force to dislocate the wrists. His sturdy gloves dampened the hit somewhat, avoiding an outright fracture, but that wasn¡¯t any less painful. Just as the pain shot up and through the rest of the arm, she forcefully yanked the man taller than her to make him fall down to her level where she would have better access to the sod¡¯s elbow - her next target. Now holding him by the forearms and having him stumbling towards her she had his elbows fully extended before viciously striking it from the side, forcing it to crack in a direction it was never meant to bend. It all happened in a fraction of a second. One moment a healthy, well built soldier was approaching a young girl, the next he was on the ground, thrashing in pain holding onto one of his arms, howling bloody murder. One of the soldiers that tried laying hands on frost, ran back towards his colleagues covering his face after a flash of white and violet came over him for a moment. In his blind hysteria he tripped on some undergrowth and smashed his head against a nearby tree, knocking himself out cold. Without him covering his face and staying still, everyone could see what had happened to him. Countless scratches and lacerations all over his body and face, even on his eyelids. The clothes and armor, slightly darkening from being soaked in fresh blood suggested injuries and bleeding from underneath them. The crimson fluid on the tips of the perpetrator¡¯s claws further reinforced this theory. Yet there was not a single scratch or damage to his armor let alone his clothes. Somehow, undeniably her claws had run through the man¡¯s armor like a sword through water and shredded his flesh directly as if he had worn nothing at all. The cuts were all thin and shallow, barely enough to draw blood, the man was covered from head to toe on paper cuts, just the movement from breathing in caused extreme pain. The feline however, seemed rather amused by her handiwork. The sounds and scene struck abject terror into the men, who now realised, they should have heeded the warning¡­ But Alice was just getting the hang of this whole ¡°Self defense arts¡± thing. It would be a shame to let it come to a premature end¡­ Knees, shoulders, ankles, all the joints she didn¡¯t try breaking yet. The sternum, the solar plexus, and the guts, all the places she hadn¡¯t struck yet. They would all become her practice dummies, whether they wanted to be one or not¡­ Alicia was inspired to check in on her counterpart by Rosalia''s questions, only to come into the disastrous scene. Bodies twisted and mangled in all different directions, as if someone had made a terrible attempt at folding a paper plane out of them, were sprawled all over the forest floor. Armor plates dented and deformed as if struck by great force. Bruisings internal and external, inflammations all over their bodies, pool of foul smelling liquid Alicia identified as someone¡¯s emptied stomach contents from the bits and pieces of food and grain floating in it, presumably some poor fool¡¯s breakfast. Some were still half-conscious, barely able to whimper, even the simple action of breathing seemed to cause unimaginable pain. Of course the artist behind the disaster, Alice, was standing in the middle of her fine work. Alice had exuded an energy and behavior that seemed to say ¡°Praise me, I did well.¡± She also noticed Frost casually grooming herself on a tree branch completely unfazed. Letting out a lengthy sigh; Auratic Also I have found the next species to be featured, or rather their smaller more fitting cousin. Chapter 92: Oathbreaker Auratic Invasion of the Empire¡¯s forces took Pyrinia by surprise, though not because it happened, the writing was on the wall for their aggression. The kingdom was scrambling to call their knights into service and rally their own army. Even if they could somehow muster their defense it would take a few days to weeks before it could arrive at the frontline. That window was for the Empire''s troops to take control of as much of the Valtima territory as possible. Valtima was blessed with beautiful nature and bountiful soil not readily found elsewhere, fit for agriculture which made it the greatest exporter of food, namely various types of grain to the rest of the kingdom. Geographically it controlled the one and only narrow valley that spanned outwards to the rest of the kingdom creating a natural bottleneck. Control of this region was crucial as its occupation would both cripple the Kingdom''s food supplies and create the necessary forward position for any future attempts of conquest. Meanwhile after multiple troops, personnel and search parties that went missing after entering the Black forest, the Empire¡¯s forward party abandoned any further attempts of collecting lumber from it. It seemed as though the forest was truly haunted or at least treacherous as the locals claimed it to be. The lack of official announcement only further demoralized their troops. After encountering fierce retaliation from what their scouts could only describe as an organized militia formed of quote Elvish markswomen riding gray saber-tooth tigers unquote repeatedly foiled their raids on the villages. Still, despite the failures at the later stages, their operation was mostly a success for what it set out to achieve. Creating tension and destabilizing the area, building pressure on the major settlements. Their second objective of acquiring timber for siege weaponry however had lagged behind due to unforeseen circumstances. It was a minor but a significant setback for the Empire''s advances. Unbeknownst to any it had bought Kingdom days worth of time. This would become the unceremonious start of the Empire''s otherwise successful campaign''s downfall¡­ Deep in the night at a rather large estate not too far from Viveria, a sole lantern¡¯s light illuminated the large bedchambers, luxuriantly decorated. For the personage that was currently residing in it however, it was all too humble for his status. After the first news of the peril that befell his land he rode out with all his knights under to the frankly vapid city with nothing but fields all around that was Viveria. Margrave Reynold had found a strange note, hung from a near invisible string in front of his private quarters where none but his most trusted aides were allowed. Its contents were bare and to the point. Whoever it was, it wished to meet him to offer a bargain. Stipulating that they would appear before him, three hours past the last toll of the bell when he was alone in his room.1First bell rings at 6 AM signifying morning and start of the day. Bells will ring once every 3 hours until 9PM where it will ring last time. Only in some cities and capitals will the bell ring every hour. Despite this, keeping time is extremely difficult. Normally he would crumple it up and toss it away as nonsense. It did, however, have a magical seal that contained a tremendous amount of energy, to the point that the typically undetectable magical seal had become visible to the naked eye. Atypically, he couldn¡¯t fathom the elements behind the magic seal as one usually could. When he touched the letter, he sensed the faint presence of another seal that prompted him to accept this strange invitation. Cool and refreshing sensation, as though spring¡¯s gentle breeze had just caressed him. He would recognize this anywhere, it was his daughter¡¯s seal, the one he had thought was lost forever. He had finished his work early, just so he could count the minutes pass. In meticulous precision he waited. The note only stated that he was to be alone; however, it bore no mention of having nobody around thus his most trusted bodyguard was standing guard just outside the room with dozens more patrolling as scheduled. He was anxious, what if they couldn¡¯t enter and left. He was hoping that his retainers would bring in this mystery contact after apprehending them, but if they did catch them, they should have brought them in by now, so the first outcome was more than likely, still he waited for the last minute until the moment when the day turns. The lantern¡¯s flame flickered for a moment, and she appeared before him. Hair platinum white, its sheen shining through the dark shadows cast by the lantern¡¯s harsh lighting. Carrying a fleeting charm, it has to be her. ¡®Wow, now that¡¯s a first. When the hell did I become part of some aristocracy?¡¯ Low and deep voice sounded filled with confidence there was no mistaking it. Another form of unease set in now. He heard no footsteps, felt no magic and he hadn''t left the room since the morning, ruling out the possibility that they had been waiting inside all along, and even if they had been in all this time, no one could stay concealed for that long without raising some suspicion in this small room. Only two other options came to his mind, this person was a masterful assassin, one that could take heads of monarchs or one of the few fabled sorcerers who had pried open the secrets of teleportation. Regardless of which, one thing was for certain, they were someone from a far different league and just as dangerous. Tension was high in the room. Though he loathed his own daughter''s well-being being used as a damn bargaining chip, he could not do anything about it, at least not right now. ¡®Why have you chosen to make this offer to me, specifically?¡¯ he wanted to ask, but he already had his answer. She might become an ally or an enemy¡­ That is, if the negotiations here fall apart, she will side with the Empire. Another opponent is the last thing the Kingdom needs right now. Most significantly, his daughter''s life would be endangered. This woman had already demonstrated her willingness to use her as a tool by bringing it up to him. There was no doubt she would be sold to the rats of the Empire if he failed here now. He played out all the action he could take in his mind, none of them led to a satisfactory outcome. Bitterly, Reynold could only concede, it was a checkmate from the beginning, and she knew it. Various scenarios raced through his head; naturally, under the tense atmosphere, they weren¡¯t the least bit comforting. Relax, you will find my request quite agreeable.¡± With just those words, as though some invisible knot came loose, his body eased up, his racing mind came to a calm lull. She held out her hand. As soon as she said that her outstretched hand¡¯s sleeve slowly emerged a spider small enough to be held by one¡¯s finger. It abseiled down onto his desk. He put his finger on his desk in front of the creature, and it gently crawled along his finger and vanished into his clothing. So ephemeral was critter that he questioned whether it was a real being or figment of his imagination. Wiry appendages similar to very same spider¡¯s grew out from behind her, startling him for a moment. He wanted to call her something, anything, but couldn''t think of anything that would describe her without upsetting the recipient. The limbs retracted and disappeared behind her quickly as they appeared. Reynold reclined against his chair in deep thought before long he muttered something to himself. She slid a folded letter over his desk in front of him. In great elation he picked it up and skimmed over it, the chirography, the word choice, even the mistakes were the very same features that his daughter possessed, one of them could be forged, all of them, unlikely. ¡®Now, what was the local expression again¡­ something with ways and paths¡­ eh, later.¡¯ Well with that, I must bid thee adieu.¡± Before he could say anything, he was yelling out to an empty room, all alone. She had vanished as fast as she had appeared. In his haste to sally forth to Viveria the knights he took with him were ill-prepared in terms of rations, this wouldn¡¯t be an issue had the bailiffs in charge of the city hadn¡¯t been bumbling morons that mismanaged the food supply. As it were, it was a choice between either having starving soldiers or starving citizens neither of which was good. It was a significant impediment, and she had possibly provided him with a solution. Besides that, she had brought news from his daughter, a simple gesture that gave him hope and ardor to persevere through this predicament. For at least that he wished to thank her. Then he realized something, that critter he was entrusted with. As he rifled his pockets and clothes it somehow appeared on the back of his hands. ¡®Elusive, just like their master¡­¡¯ A thought went through his mind. Into it he whispered from the root of his heart: Days went by in a flash and the Empire¡¯s invasion forces had made significant progress towards Viveria. Having Alpha check up on Gamma''s excavation of the pitfall, Charlie¡¯s handling of stockpiles and the correspondents within Viveria, Echo¡¯s interception of the Empire''s forward force, stockpiling of Paxton¡¯s potions, Delta¡¯s round the clock surveillance, Alice¡¯s patrol that caught any that approached too closely to the heart of Velauhart, Llynbel¡¯s pulling and drying of river streams pooling them for a cascade and much much more behind the scenes. Week worth of preparation was in place, whether it was enough or not, mattered little to Alicia. Regardless of the outcome it wouldn¡¯t be a great loss on her end. Few days prior she visited the acquaintance who forged her blade before for an order, a plain ring. It was an unusual request, for someone of Alicia¡¯s status to have interest in such a mundane object. Even though he insisted that he make it into something extravagant by using different more luxurious metals than plain iron or adding in engravings or socketing jewels, it was still turned down. It was an uninspired silvery ring that would have fit snugly into her fingers if she bothered to wear it. It was something symbolic of her past. As planned the Empire¡¯s forces were successfully steered towards the drying little stream outside that was fed by one of Llynbel¡¯s rivers. She had faith in her temporary Embankments that would divert the torrential flow of water that would soon sweep away the invaders. They only had to work once after all, so she could cut significant corners in their durability to make time. Unfortunately the Empire¡¯s army did not establish a permanent base as she had hoped, instead only a portion of them were stopping to rest and resupply there for a moment. Still that was more than enough. As she gave the go ahead to Llynbel. Thunderously the northern mountains of Velauhart spouted massive amounts of water, held back by Llynbel. Just in case of premature failure of the embankments, she had all of the potentially at risk areas restricted and vacated leaving many housings at risk of destruction; but for her, buildings could be rebuilt, lives could not. ¡®I commit to keeping completely, to the full extent of my capacities and judgment, the following promises:¡¯ Standing on a bluff above the source of the flowing water, where she could easily watch how the freshet ran, she flung the ring she was clutching in her pocket into the raging stream. ¡®I shall use my knowledge for the benefit of mankind.¡¯ When she finished her engineering school she had to take an oath and a cheap silvery ring symbolized that oath. ¡®I shall bear the entire responsibility for my actions and shall in no way discharge them on another.¡¯ It was in a sense exonerating herself of her former values. ¡®I shall endeavor to perfect my professional abilities¡¯ She found herself a new life, a new identity and a new people that now depended on her. ¡®I shall remain wary of the context and consequences of projects I take upon¡­ ¡­I shall give particular attention to projects with military applications.¡¯ Her former principles were inapplicable, but she still wished to preserve it, until now. ¡®I shall not use my knowledge for destructive purposes.¡¯ Every line of the Oath she took replayed in her mind, fresh as if it was just yesterday. ¡®I shall practise my profession in complete intellectual honesty, with conscience and dignity. The people now she looked after did not need a Civil Engineer; they needed a leader, someone who could provide them protection, a place to live and lead them to prosperity. Time might come when they need an Engineer as it was historically, the architect and maker of war-engines. In doing so she would break her oath. In breaking one oath, she made another. One that she gave to herself, that she would protect those whom she cared for, even if she had to drag her standards and morality through the mud and filth to uphold it. Here began the founding of Velauhart¡­ Auratic Alicia''s Oath based on the Archimedean oath, an oath that engineers and technologists take, similar to the Hippocratic oath that doctors take. Trivia; Alicia''s school of Engineering also had a latin motto but she forgot about it and only remembers the new motto her Teachers used to use. "Semper in excremento sumus, solum altitudo variat." (Always in the shit, only the depth varies.) Two people in Alicia''s family would take oaths, one Hippocratic, one Archimedean. O btw, spiders can regrow their limbs :). Now read the above sentence again while paraphrasing the capitalized words with their antonyms of your choice. Chapter 93: A series of unfortunate events… Auratic As though it was the beginning of a dry season all nearby water sources were drying up to puddles and runnels, once vast swamps had dried up to cracked earth with rills running through it. It was considered fortunate even, as it was easier to march through dry swamp than wading through muddy waters. That was until they realized even pools and springs shriveled up, as if the land itself was opposed to their campaign. Wells of villages they themselves had raided and abandoned and were quickly dried up, after all they could only support hundred-odd people not thousands and thousands of soldiers on march. They couldn¡¯t slow down for every passing hour meant time for the enemy to rally their troops and prepare their defenses. When they met up with their forward forces they had learned that this dry spell had affected the entire region surrounding Velauhart, along with intelligence and rumors. For the intelligence, there still remained a single river that flowed out from the Black forest - the once mighty river was now reduced to a rocky brook. For thirsty horses and parched men, it had to do. Furthermore they learned that there might be some sort of armed militia skulking within the forest, their allegiance was disputed. If they were to proceed forwards and besiege Viveria, they had to be sure that their flanks were secure, but circumstances prohibited intensive combing of some folklore forest when time was of the essence, thus although regrettable, they had to split off some of their forces to protect their rear. As for the rumors, it was nothing but spook stories and superstitions surrounding the forest, how some men on patrol would disappear for days only to appear suddenly with no memories of their missing departure, those who returned had strange changes in their personality, how the trees in the forest whispered to each other, conspiring amongst themselves, how lost spirits wandered the forest and so on; the war counsel of the main army concluded that the repeated losses to this ¡®militia¡¯ had severely affected their morale and dismissed it as something unimportant to their plans. Whilst their forward forces were few in numbers, surely any militia would now fall to the full might of the Empire¡¯s army if they dared to show themselves. Near the said stream of river they stopped and camped, foraging for food, watering their horses and filling their waterskins to the brim. First it was the horses that were frightened. Well trained and disciplined they didn¡¯t panic just yet, but they were alarmed and antsy. Then the rumbling sounds came, quiet and distant; it was drawing closer and closer. Unsure of what these sounds were, the troops were looking around in confusion, weapons at the ready. Then the horses ran off neighing wildly, slowly the order was breaking down. Then they could feel the rumbling in the earth, in their body, palpable trepidation set in. Soon someone shouted and all went to chaos. A surge of gushing water, foaming white, barreling towards them from out the forest. They all tried to run and flee in search of highground, but it was far too late. Whole trees were uprooted and swept in the water¡¯s wake. Those that were knocked unconscious by the debris carried by freshet before drowning could be considered lucky to not have suffered a slow death by suffocation. The entire plains were inundated to the brim. Alicia saw how the water turned and led out of the forest from the mountain top and could garner a guess but why guess when you could just ask someone much closer to the incident. Alicia was conflicted internally. On one hand she was quite chuffed with how well the embankments held up. On the other, she had just learned caused the deaths of hundreds if not thousands. Few days later General Meginhard was being informed on the disastrous events by his lieutenants one after the other in his quarters. Although the losses were not severe, and almost no high-ranking personnel were directly affected, the effect was devastating. This campaign was a charade from the start, with the Empire on the verge of dissolving as a result of its hasty and treacherous beginning. The Emperor''s aggressive conquests and military excursions were all that stopped it from collapsing. While this was sufficient enough to divert the populace''s attention with wealth, glory, and slaves plundered from others, and to keep the disloyal elite at bay by handing over the new regions to be administered by them, it was merely a symbolic solution to an underlying problem that stayed unaddressed. The Empire was formed from the unification of three kingdoms. Unfortunately due to how it was formed, the ruling party never earned the true allegiance of their counterparts. Despite its vast expanses of productive land and hardy people, the Empire was never granted the time it required to rest and heal owing to a rebellious elite seeking to further their own goals. The issue was that the aristocracy was not a unified entity to be pleased, but rather a slew of disparate households each with their own interests and allegiances to whichever party they belonged, along with its own wealth, power, and desire to outdo or otherwise overthrow the other - the Emperor included. On the inside, a silent civil war was ongoing. Due to the rapid expansions their economy was more or less supported solely by warfare. If they were to stop now, it would plunge the populace into general unrest, starvation or even an open revolt. An opportunity that the aristocracy wouldn¡¯t let go to seize power in a coup d¡¯¨¦tat. But with the presence of multiple parties it would devolve into a violent infighting between the houses. This invasion of Pyrinia was just one last desperate attempt of the Emperor trying to buy himself another day¡¯s worth of time to rein things back under control. The other houses however had an interest in having this excursion fail for obvious reasons, sending in only a pitiable number of levies, and unwanted third and fourth sons to lead them. The bulk of the forces were knights directly in service to the emperor. Even now the useless lot thrown away by the nobles were bickering amongst themselves, trying to find blame in one another. His instincts told him to investigate the cause of the river flood. Was it just an unfortunate timing or was there something greater at play here? Did the kingdom know of their plans? There was no clear answer and no time to spend investigating a dubious lead. Regardless if there was a reason or not they had to push on, even if it felt as if he was walking into a trap. A runner entered the tent running in yanking open the flaps, not even bothering to ask for permission to enter. Such breach of standards would be swiftly and severely punished, but that seemed hardly a pressing affair right now. Alicia was having a hard time understanding what was being described to her. Echo returned fairly quickly after she was told to assist with disrupting the supply chain. Interestingly, the Empire employed inhumans to do their biddings with the tried and true apparatus - the Bonds of Subjugation. A mass produced magical artifact able to instill obedience to its victims after being put on them. ¡®Grove tender¡­ that sounds familiar¡­¡¯ It took Alicia some time to reach the place where they agreed to convene, she could largely skip places that she has been to thanks to trespass. ¡®It¡¯s strange, supposedly, teleportation magic does exist, but as far as I know, the energy cost increases exponentially with every little increase in distance so it is extremely limited in its range. I suppose that makes sense, if I¡¯m understanding it correctly you¡¯re basically taking mass from one point in space to another near instantaneously. But theoretically it could send you almost anywhere in the world, from one village to another or to another planet entirely. The real head scratcher is that I think there was a theory or something that declared teleportation was not possible in science, except trespass functions eerily similar to Teleportation magic but it has a constant energy cost, whether it is stone¡¯s throw away or¡­ well¡­ to the end of the world. It is almost always the same. So either trespass is such a broken spell that it casually violates the laws of thermodynamics or it works differently. It¡­ opens a rift, a brief one that pulls me in one end and spits me out the other. So is it a portal? Are portals real? Can I bring someone with me I wonder¡­ Hm¡­ between the entrance and exiting the rift created by trespass, I travel through the Void so briefly that I keep forgetting about that fact, could be because I hate spending even a single moment in that place¡­ I guess my mind just blots it out. But if that¡¯s the case¡­ Space is not the same here as it is in the Void or the other way around. A single step in the Void could translate to miles and miles away here. Therefore, it could be interpreted as that Void is everywhere and is connected to every place¡­ like some sort of ball that is wearing all of us. From here to¡­ well anywhere, hell it might be able to really take me to the end of the universe, or beyond even. God, just trying to imagine what that actually means hurts my brain¡­ You know what, it can stay a mystery. If it works, don¡¯t fix it. I prefer to stay on my tiny island of sanity.¡¯ Getting immersed in her own thoughts made the journey to conclude much sooner than she had anticipated. From far away she could see her familiars having stopped a herd of some sort of beastmen. ¡®Yeah those are centaurs, what the hell were they talking about- wait are those¡­ leopard spotting¡­?¡¯ She saw quadrupedal ungulate creature with their top-half vaguely resembling an androgynous adolescent human with flecked patches of fur on their body. Both Delta and Echo greeted her in unison. The many of them had been bound in layers and layers of webbing to the point that they could barely even turn their heads to face her. Even with their tight constraints, Alicia could feel the entire net quivering ever so slightly without even laying a limb on the web structure. With fear quite apparent in their eyes, it didn''t take much to deduce that these beastmen were terrified beyond description, their trembling creating the quivering she felt in the web. It was almost a centaur, except instead of a horse, it had the body of a doe and was much smaller - a cervitaur. Walking around to get a look at their hinds Alicia saw heavy saddlebags strapped to their bodies. The dull and heavy looking metal collar around their neck with faint magical energy told her more about their stories. ¡®That¡¯s strange, even with collars they should still have some escorts with them.¡¯ She thought to herself, until she noticed the half cocooned soldiers hanging from the trees as though they were some fir tree decorations. ¡®More like a gallows tree¡­ well at least they¡¯re not hung upside down. I think their limbs are being blood starved¡­ it''s an improvement from pooling blood into their brains; not by a lot but still.¡¯ A threatening aura emanated from Delta and the brood of cave creepers laying in idle in the nearby trees. And in just a second all of it vanished like seafoam bursting in air. -Let me think¡­ if only we could transport them somewhere else without drawing too much attention¡­¡± >Notice. Gateway educement belonging to spell Trespass allows transportation of multiple entities for greater energy requirement. Current anima nucleus available: 59 Acquisition cost: 3 Anima Nucleus remaining after action: 56 >Executing¡­ ¡®Let¡¯s see what¡¯s so different about this one¡­¡¯ Other worldly energy coalesced into a singular point a few inches before her. Boring into the very essence of the fabric of reality itself, the space invisibly shuddered and trembled before contorting and collapsing in itself, creating a pinprick hole that led to a place forgotten by time itself. Then, as more and more energy seeped into the gap, the hole swelled, engorging itself and widening. The rift large enough to easily accommodate Alicia, it was complete. An unending blackness in relentless motion. It invited its maker to step through. But she did not step through, no. More and more energy it took, larger and larger it grew. Before long it was a gaping maw that led to a familiar place, a forest she was well acquainted with. Alicia felt a little disappointed in herself for being so excited for remembering the image of a particular tree. It was a reminder for just how long she had spent within the woods. When its creation was complete, there was a sudden change in the atmosphere, the winds changed their course, and there was a draft that seemingly goaded them into stepping through the gap. All of this happened almost instantly. To the onlookers that have not been touched by the Void it appeared as though space distorted into revealing a massive hole open before them. Auratic You might get an SS or intermission next. Trivia; Cave creepers have long enough legspan that they can easily "Tree Walk" in a forest where they can play floor is lava and move about by not stepping on the ground by hooking onto only on tree branches or tree barks. Alicia''s cave creepers, lacking the webspinning capabilities compared to other species of Araneae in her service, have developed a unique hunting method of laying in ambush between trees and dropping down and attacking anything that moves beneath them. Their preferred diet is insectoids but they are not picky eaters thus if not for Alicia''s command not to attack humanoids (Elves, Trolls and Humans in the forest) they wouldn''t mind human flesh, though their actual target is not the meat itself but rather the bone marrow underneath it. They like the crunch of bones followed by the burst of bone marrow as it gives them the same stimulation as biting into a chitinous insect, human skin is too soft for that same sensation. As such they consider humans as poor food (compared to giant insects of Velauhart) and wouldn''t actively hunt them regardless of Alicia''s instructions in most situations. Chapter 94: Fertilizers Auratic Despite every attempt made to hinder them - excluding direct confrontation - the army proceeded on, which baffled Alicia because she expected them to withdraw, regroup, and reconsider their plans by now, given that they had suffered significant losses before any serious confrontation could occur. Rather due to the recent ¡®accident¡¯ involving certain river flow flooding and the loss of supplies, it seems now that they¡¯re in a hurry to start their siege. She guessed that the troops¡¯ morale had plummeted, and thought that any prolonged fight would not be in their favor and thus they redoubled their march. Abandoning fishing out any remaining supplies lost in the freshet or searching for survivors, they cut their losses, so to speak. Not before leaving detachment forces to scour the woods. Their objectives were simple: Find and rescue the soldiers of the forward forces that went missing in the forest and eliminate any enemies that could be hiding in it. The reasoning being that there must have been some form of organized militia or some armed village idiots acting out of place, seizing their men prisoner. After they wiped out any potential threats they would rejoin the main forces and assist the assault on Viveria. In order to keep their spirits high, they had been given spurious information regarding leads that indicated that the flooding wasn¡¯t a natural phenomenon but rather an artificial one, schemed by the enemy. While they didn¡¯t know, they weren¡¯t quite far off the truth either. There was little to be lost regardless of the outcome. Either they would find and destroy the enemy confirming the authenticity of intelligence or go around the woods slaughtering monsters before returning. Some couple thousands of soldiers stepped into the forest. In order to effectively comb the vast expanses of green. They broke up into smaller groups, some being given small horns to communicate and call for help from the others. So that they descend on any adversary from all sides with superior numbers. Alicia had to keep up with the main forces and brought with her only Alfred, leaving the majority of her Araneae behind with Alice entrusting the defense of their home to her. Alice was worryingly enthusiastic about potential people intruding on their territory¡­ With zeal the detachment forces entered the Velauhart. It wouldn¡¯t take a day until they would all be lost to the forest¡­ As soon as they stepped foot onto the wretched woods lieutenant Hagano¡¯s group was attacked non-stop by filthy worgs and overgrown insects. Quickly dispatching such insignificant monstrosities they pressed on. Call for help? What drivel. His group, nay, he alone shall be enough to drive off whatever rotting curs that hid in these woods. And when he does, he will gain his overdue respect and rise in rank. Maybe then, after his martial success will his family finally acknowledge his achievements and see him more than as a spare body, they have to. A scout ahead of them yelled. Such impertinence towards someone of higher birth. He couldn¡¯t wait until he was done with these lowlives. They seemed to pollute the very air around him just by existing. There had been suspicions of the recent disaster being orchestrated by the enemy. This could be a clue, a lead to bring him closer to his opponent, his glory. And lo and behold, just as he expected the river had unusual wooden supports and raised earth by its sides. Clearly it was used to divert the course of the river. By now, he should have sounded his horn and called for the others. But what if they came to steal, his glory? It was a sign from the heavens above that only he himself has found the traces of the enemy. The gods willed his success. It would be a shame to squander such a divine gift. So they pressed onwards and upwards following the river. In no time he and his men heard a humming song from ahead. Near a small cascade of water, pooling as it flowed, a woman sat on a small boulder. Her hair long and flowing as the stream beside her, blue as the water''s hue, as though her hair itself was part of the currents. She cast a half lidded gaze towards them in an instant, where a cyan blues of the oceans peeked through. Scandalously dressed in something reminiscent of a nightgown. She would enchant many a men with her looks alone. If it were back in the cities of his homeland, he would have gone and taken her as his woman. But here¡­ He and his men watchfully approached the woman. Bowmen at the back spread out circling around her. Spearmen held their weapons aloft. Swordsmen readied their shields, their hands resting ready on the hilts of their blades. As the leader, Hagano stepped towards her. There was no doubt that she was no lost village girl. Despite his middling performances in many fields there was one thing he took pride in, his swiftness at the draw. Confidently he went to her. An admission made in such a matter of fact manner stupefied all of them who heard it. After a brief time to process, a plethora of reactions were on display. But from the lieutenant came the most surprising reaction, that of triumphant delight. He would bring the head of the culprit behind the disaster. Though haughty and eager to prove himself, he was not a complete buffoon, feigning disbelief he invited the witch to show their capabilities. He was closing the distance between her with complete disregard. Although it would be oh so easy to signal the bowmen to loose their arrows, it had to have been him to strike her down. He wouldn''t give a chance for the lowborn mudsuckers to steal his glory. She stood up from her lithic seat and the nearby waters started to shift.- ¡°????? ? ?? ? ?? ? ???????¡±1Sylphi! ?r me chosaibh. In an explosive burst of speed he shot towards her, eliminating the little distance between them in an instant, beheading the witch in a fluid movement before she could cast any hexes. Her head unceremoniously splashing into the water, causing the gathered troops behind him to erupt into cheers. Lieutenant Hagano turned to his men and basked in this moment, but it would not last for long as cheering turned into eerie silence. A painfully slow clap, resounded. The men¡¯s elated expressions quickly turned to frozen horror. Turning towards the source, Hagano saw the terror that made his men freeze. A headless body, without a drop of blood making its way towards them, staggering in a theatrically exaggerated manner, slowly clapping. With each step the headless body took towards them, the lieutenant took a step back in unison, stumbling and stammering. A disembodied voice sounded all around them. The confused archers shot dead the center of the body, but they all went through doing no damage, like rocks thrown into a lake. From the neck, water bubbled and foamed up like a torrential spring, dousing all that was around the body, before the waters formed back into a face that she had previously. The garbled, disembodied voice vanished as she regained her form. A wire thin stream of water formed within her grasp, unable to conform to a shape as was the case with Alicia¡¯s blade, it was more similar to a whip. She lacked the expertise Alicia possessed with the blade, but how difficult could it possibly be, some sharpened stone shouldn¡¯t be a challenge for the will of the water that grounded mountains to dust. Llynbel flourished the stream of whip to form a proper shape of a blade, in doing so she inadvertently smashed a sizable rock to pieces, further terrifying the opposition. ¡®I always wondered why an Araneaemorph like her loves to swing around a sword in the first place.¡¯ So close to the group now, she casually walked into the cutting edge of a spear, instead of digging into flesh, it passed through. A one sided slaughter was about to take place. In a desperate bid, finally a horn sounded¡­ woefully, there would be none that would come to their aid¡­ Another group warily made their way through the forest. They were on edge, though they didn¡¯t find a soul, not a living being and an unnatural quiet followed them. It seemed as though not even birds would sing. They jumped with each cracking of twigs underfoot and the woods creaking at the occasional wind. Why was it so¡­? They were being hunted. Many of them had taken grievous injuries from machinations possessed with evil intent. With each step they took forwards they braved a potential trap. Pitfalls, deadfalls, noose traps, swinging logs, stakes that shoot up to the face with poisoned tips. Many were on the verge of breakdown. It didn¡¯t help that the trees ¡®whispered¡¯ among themselves. The only dissuasion from completely abandoning this cursed endeavor was that the last group of people to run and desert, throwing caution to the wind, had met their grisly ends at traps they had missed on their path. They were too deep now to run and flee. Many of the traps didn¡¯t even claim a life. It was the injuries that demoralized them, the poison, whatever it was laced with was sapping their strength, making the troops collapse with exhaustion. Tired and at the brink of collapse, they finally found something note. A shrine dedicated to some never seen before divinity, depicting an entity with a human''s torso but with its lower half having multiple, segmented spindly limbs. Various offerings of charred fowl meat were placed in front of the shrine, indicating the presence of people. A heathen¡¯s idol, they had it in their code to tear it down and torch it. A whistling wind screeched and the Lieutenant¡¯s orders were cut short by him gargling. An arrow had found its mark in his gaping maw. Followed by a barrage of similar shots. The shots came from all around them and above. It seemed as if the trees themselves shot at them, with the sudden attack and the loss of leadership panic quickly ensued. The arrows were primarily broadheads, but few had dagger sharp heads capable of piercing their armor. Still, arrows had a devilish aim, any area that was not completely covered by chainmail or plates of brigandine became a target. Even the gaps between the individual plates were mercilessly shot at. Many who held a shield attempted to hide behind it, until the winds screeched once more. An arrow with such fierce speed that it punched through the felt and wood, showering their face with splinters of wood. Those dressed in cuirass over padded quilts and coif thought such arrows would never penetrate their fine armor, they believed themselves invincible. Until their prided plates took hits from the screeching arrows. They were possessed with foul magicks, such force behind them they could feel as though they were struck by a battle hammer. The arrows didn¡¯t deflect, they spun when they landed, boring into the metal plates until the shaft shattered under its own force and the arrow head lodged itself into the armor. Making noticeable dents and weakening the armor, the metal dug into the internal padding. Once, twice, thrice and then there was none. The deformed armor could not stop any more. The subsequent arrows easily pierced the devastated armor piece. To add insult to their injuries their own armor turned into coats of thorns that dug into their flesh. The invisible enemy massacred them, one by one, picking them off like some game. The rich and the privileged who could afford quality full plates didn¡¯t suffer from such death. Though fully protected they could feel the power behind each arrow with their bodies, the force behind them causing bruisings. Those who survived the initial onslaught routed and fled. Forgetting the threat of the traps, many fell victim to their fear induced negligence. Then just when the few surviving in heavy armor thought they were safe, they were struck by a strange arrow as they fled. It was expertly aimed to lodge into the gaps between plates. In its shaft carried a hollow trinket that whistled when winds passed through it. It sang an eerie song with each movement they made. Still they seemingly managed to escape the terrors of the woods. After running until their legs gave up, they noticed the whistling coming from their armor. Clearly it was meant to track their movements. But whatever that attacked them had not given chase¡­ If so, then who was listening to their movements? It was not the best of ideas to attract attention now and have a noisy tracking arrow stuck to their bodies. Whilst they helped pick it off from each other¡¯s armor. Until¡­ Even as they froze in place, not moving, there was a constant whistling coming from somewhere and it was approaching them quickly. Was it one of them that had managed to flee? Yet the sounds came from the skies, until suddenly something heavy smashed into one of them, cleanly piercing their body. White osseous bolts, rivaling the size of a ballista bolt, had hit him directly, from the sternum to the spine. He couldn¡¯t even scream, or realize what had happened to him. The skies whistled more, and follow up bolts landed near them. Even as it missed, it gouged earth peppering them with dirt and stone. Even as they hid, the trees provided no cover for the bolts punctured them easily. Eventually, different types of bolts were used, it was a fragile osseous missile that shattered against the ground, spilling faintly yellow odorless fluid all around it. It sizzled against the ground, withered plants and liquefied rocks and stones, a dangerously corrosive acid. Just a little splash on their armor it quickly started to eat away at it. One could only imagine what it would do to their bodies should it spill on them¡­ Well, they didn¡¯t have to imagine for long. A near miss had spilt the vile fluids upon another one of them, the metal plates of their armor hissed and creaked before crumbling off, the skin burnt blistering and peeling off with terrible screaming to bespoke the agonizing pain as they rolled on the ground. Their faces had become unrecognizably disfigured by the burns. His suffering did not last long as soon as he stopped running and fell to the ground, numerous rigid bone quarrels pulverized him into a fine red paste. Only the lieutenant was left now, alone in this accursed woods manically fleeing. Along the way, the whistling arrow had fallen off of his armor, now to avoid attention he held his breath. Being exposed to the skies was a dangerous affair, so he looked for cover and thankfully he had found a cave entrance to hide until his pursuers lost track of him¡­ In his panic however it had failed to notice the anomalously large feather around the area. An owlbear would feed well that day¡­ In the meanwhile, Apricot, following along a herd of Thunder goats, accidentally ran into another group of soldiers. Panicking, more so than she needed to; as soon as she saw the troops she tightly gripped her shepherding crook - that she herself fashioned out of a medlar tree she grew - and flailed it around yelling ¡°Away!¡± over and over again. Unfortunately for her, what she considered a yell was only mildly louder than her normal speaking voice. And at the distance she was ¡®yelling¡¯ from, it was practically inaudible. The soldiers, unable fully see her inhuman characteristics - specifically her hooved feet, thought her some herder girl beckoning them thus they approached to investigate, much to her dismay. Believing them to be charging at her and the herd, she steeled herself to protect the goats as an Epimeliad ought to. Though it was more often than not the other way around. The goats very much enjoyed her presence while grazing, as it felt that the grass flowered and tasted better with her around. So when some group of unknown creatures clattering around clad in metal, distressed their caretaker, it was a given that they would react negatively, bolts of lightning jumping between their curved horns. Most importantly, Ramiel, who was quite protective of his herd, quickly heard the crackles in the air and rushed to their side¡­ On that day, it is believed a dry thunderstorm passed through the area. Mysteriously, the trampled armor and equipment with hoof marks from some soldiers of the Empire were found in the grazing grounds of the Goats in the mountains weeks later, though their bodies were never found¡­ On an unrelated note, more berry bushes, shrubs and fruiting trees had grown spontaneously in the same area¡­ Alicia was monitoring the movements and preparations of the Empire¡¯s main forces towards putting Viveria under siege. They were swiftly cutting down trees and building scorpions, catapults and mangonels just barely out of sight of the town. At the same time Alfred noticed the unease brewing within her Mistress. Auratic But enough about me. How do you like the mystery magic script? I intend on using it more often, to keep the mystery of what the magic entails, that is used by everyone else who is not part of the main cast. They do have syntax and some structure but often I just make it up on the spot, so have fun trying to make sense of my inane thought process. Trivia; both the dryads represent the family of trees that they are in. Dryssia being a traditional Oak Dryad, represents the Fagaceae Family which includes: Oaks (Black, Red, English, White, Water, Willow and more) Chestnut and beech, whereas Apricot represents the Rosaceae family which obviously has the tree species of her namesake, but did you know that the genus Prunus of the rosaceae also has Cherry blossoms? Might become something to remember when the Archipelago down the line comes to picture. Additionally, you might have made the connection or not but remember the Hawthorne tree leaves Alicia tried to eat way back, before she had gained the power of bipedalism? Also part of the Rosaceae family. I would say ""Planned"" but, it just coincided nicely as a foreshadowing of Apricot''s eventual introduction since I knew they weren''t part of the Oak Family and almost oddly random. Chapter 95: Culmination Auratic Bleak sky strew above the arrow riddled mantlets that lay abandoned around a field of ransacked dwellings left outside the protection of the modest stone walls of Viveria. Hastily put together wooden hoarding capped the walls. The town has been under encirclement for a week and a half now, besides the occasional small skirmishes around the gatehouses, there hadn¡¯t been any large engagements as of yet. The soldiery from both sides were stricken with foreboding trepidation. Siege engines of the Imperial army were almost ready. They were hoping that the refugee populace from the razed villages and the cutting off of outside supply would put additional pressure on the garrison. The sickness and wasting brought about by starvation would kill more than any blade could. There had already been a demand for an unconditional surrender in exchange for provisions and peaceful occupation. Though the Margrave would have none of it. Things might have been different had it not been for an unexpected aid from a witch. Following her instruction he had seeked out the ¡®merchant¡¯ and the young girl. Surprisingly the man in question did not converse, not on his own, rather he almost acted as though he was the retainer to the girl. The said girl in question however despite the childlike appearance and initially playful greetings was quick to reveal an inconsonant sagacity in her teasing remarks. The derisive mockery deeply hidden within her ribbings flew right over the heads of his less sophisticated bodyguards, only his close aide caught some wind of the jest. Charlie, she called herself, the third ordinal in service to their Lady, invited him and his entourage of bodyguards to visit a certain warehouse at the far edges of the town. Although it reeked of ambush, he pushed on. Reynould didn¡¯t fully trust his new connection yet but he didn¡¯t have much else to rely on. The trip was short and brief, but it felt lengthy; he had many questions for the young child prancing in front of him, yet her humming lullaby left no room for them. The incongruousness with the girl grew inside him with every step he took. When they arrived the mercantile man in cloak accompanying the girl pried open the door. Therein were crates stacked and sacks piled high to the ceiling, their contents a secret then the man went over to one of the sacks pulled out a dagger seemingly out of nowhere to cut a small slit at the top of the bag and golden brown granules cascaded down and settled into a small pile on the floor. Food, warehouse full of it. A modest amount for a town but with proper rationing, it could last for a week or so. With the looming threat of war at their steps, the price of food shot to the skies but then the man named his price and gasps filled the air from the escort behind him. At his rates, it was practically a steal with how cheap it was. Of course some demanded that it be handed over free of charge, after all it would be a contribution to the defense of the town. But Reynould put a stop to it, it was already a gracious offer and he didn¡¯t wish to impose any further. He simply told the merchant when and where to collect his payment and ordered his men to move the supplies, his aide quickly bolted out to inform the rest of his men and to inform the garrisons. The cloaked merchant only bowed and made his exit. When Reynould attempted to stop him and ask questions, he only turned to the little girl that was sitting on top of a crate swinging her legs, seemingly enamored with the armored men carrying the provisions away. He quietly commanded his men. Although there were some who would object, it was a direct order thus they complied hesitantly. They all left the warehouse after a short time, and the suspicious merchant soon followed, leaving them in solitude. He had his suspicions but he wished to set it straight. It was a characteristically inscrutable answer of a child who didn¡¯t know how to describe what they saw. Perhaps she was just a child and maybe, just maybe he was reading too much into something. Her eyes sharpened to a steely glare, yet still she wore a beaming smile. Threats he had heard many times in his life, but with this one, a dread like no other took hold of him, there was a full intent behind it and it felt even more disturbing coming from a childlike entity. ¡®So¡­ another monster¡­?¡¯ was his thought. He felt as though he was courting with forces no man should deal with, but it was far too late to turn back, he had to see it through to the end now. Just as the tension left the body he felt it return again when she posed an inquiry. He only nodded in response. It came out of nowhere. He wasn¡¯t even sure what to respond. A rush of disgust came over him to learn such scum still prowled the streets of this town that was his by right. Despite the highborn upbringing, he wasn¡¯t as gullible or naive as to be completely divorced from the cruel realities of the lower class society. What infuriated him was that these were happening, under his nose and had no clue of it. Certain kind of anger was welling up. He couldn¡¯t quite describe it. Letting out an amused hmm: As soon as she had finished her utterance, she disappeared in a series ¡®jumps¡¯ far too quick to track by eye, leaving the winds rushing wildly in her wake. Reynould was attributing the tendency of sudden departures and disappearances to the Araneae-kind by now¡­ In a bailiff¡¯s office Reynould was recalling these events in light of another warehouse being mysteriously stocked with fresh fruits not native to the land being offered. They had a price of course, as everything does - war and conflict was never enough to stop the flow of coin, in the end, conflict itself was just another form of business - but it hardly strained his coffers. As he was signing off an order for transfer, a small white creature skittered on to the back of his hand, still holding the quill. He froze up, and a strange chill came over him. A tiny white spider that carried messages from his new associate, it spoke to him it¡¯s master- it¡¯s mistress¡¯s words. He froze up not in fear of the creature - rather, after the initial apprehension, he considered himself quite used to its presence, almost considering it a strange pet that hid in the box in his pockets - but it only came bearing warnings, an ill omen. This one was particularly dire, for it was told that the enemy would begin this assault in full force six hours after the last toll of the bell, in the dead of night. He knew it was coming, they wouldn¡¯t wait until any reinforcements to arrive. They needed only a few more days before the first of the help would arrive¡­ Though none of it mattered now, they had to weather the storm. The city must survive, it was his duty as a Margrave to protect it. The Imperial army was unaware that they had a number of ¡®double-agents¡¯ distributed across their ranks, feeding information to Alicia who in turn monitored their internal movements and fed the crucial details to Reynold beyond the walls. The men leaking the information to Alicia were prepared by Erwin, or as she herself put it, ¡®conditioned to revere the glory of their mistress¡¯. Though she had no business being involved in actual warfare, seeing as her most relevant experience was derivative knowledge from RTS games, even she could understand and appreciate the tactics maneuvers being employed by both sides. The walls of Viveria had a handful of towers that sported permanent ballista fixtures atop of them. Although she initially assumed it was due to paranoid cautiousness, the true reason was something she couldn¡¯t even imagine. Wyverns, other draconics and flying monsters in general often roosted in mountains or the forest areas and feasted on livestock of villages. Sometimes they would get bold enough to try their luck with towns and cities. These ballistas were there for this reason and in order to shoot up in such extreme elevations they were permanently angled up. Although accuracy was a problem considering how nimble they could be in the air, that was never their main goal. The ballista bolts were large enough to deal significant damage to any flying monster if not outright ground them for good, barring dragons. Near misses of such bolts were threatening enough to make any monster reconsider their life choices. However in other cases these ballistas could become a formidable defense against any attempts at siege. Though it would be hard pressed to be an effective anti infantry weapon due to their awkwardly high angling and limited ammunition, the increased range allowed them to start firing at enemy siege weaponry before they could get in their range. With some trial and error, and a little bit of luck it could even destroy them with a direct hit. Not to mention the loss of morale of having to enter its firing range without any meaningful protection or a way to retaliate, even if the chances of getting struck were extremely minimal. Due to this, the Imperial army had to build their engines out of reach of the bolts and then push them into range. Their plan was to simply overwhelm the ballista fixtures with superior numbers and disable it. Though this meant they had to build their weapons with wheels to push it in the first place, increasing the complexity, material footprint and overall time required for construction. ¡®I have to prepare as well, I need to assign all the points I have leftover¡­ though there¡¯s just too much to think about¡­ Never thought I would have too many choices¡­¡¯ >System able to auto-assign animanucleo points based on recommendations following generated presets. Simplify administrator choice. ¡®Ohhh¡­ that sounds interesting¡­ show me.¡¯ >Processing request¡­ >Generating presets Standby¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ >Generating contextual text. >Complete. >System will reserve 10 points for purposes of tactical flexibility. ¡®Ah¡­ still a lot of choices¡­ just in a bundle. Well it is somewhat approachable I guess¡­?¡¯ Auratic Anyway you get a nice poll down there to choose, feel free to just press buttons randomly I don''t mind, but do mind that it will close after 4 days instead of the usual 7. I need time to see the results and then work from there, so hurry, somehow. I was worried about how much smut is okay on this site, then I saw this on the homepage some days ago I think I''m gonna be okay. Chapter 96: Dour Dawn Auratic Fine drops of water floated softly as arrows sailed through them. The imperial army launched their attack, as predicted, albeit their aim was scarcely exact in the drizzly nighttime. At the first movement of a shadow, garrison troops fired arrows into the darkness. The Imperial soldiers fired in return towards the general direction of the fortifications. Distant thunder and lightning giving faint flashes of illuminations. The engagement was hardly organized, and had the potential to easily devolve into chaos. Though the souring of the skies were expected, the General Meginhard simply could not delay any further for their window of advantage was quickly shrinking. They had the numbers advantage, their siege weapons were all but ready, the enemy¡¯s supplies dwindling and their morale shaken by the encirclement. By maintaining the encirclement, the garrison had to split their forces thin across the wall. He had his army reorganized using the night¡¯s shroud to mount a concentrated assault from one angle while they were dispersed. Unfortunately for him, the opposition was well-fed, well-informed and well-prepared. It was as though there was a leak of information. There had just been a stakeout a few days prior and nothing out of the ordinary came up. Unless of course the traitor was among the high ranking officials, his advisory. But he discarded that idea as quickly as it came to him. The bungling inepts would serve a worse double agent than the one openly admitting that he was one. If there was one thing that worried him, it was the rain¡­ His troops were still shaken by a recent encounter with a flooding river. Projectiles doused in oil and set afire were catapulted towards the walls to varying effect and accuracy. Some overshot landing in the townscape behind walls causing havoc to control and fire quell, others missed with an undershot. Those that did hit were few and far between but when they did they tested the masonry of the fortification. More often than not they chipped and took small chunks out of walls. The mud from the rain caused all the heavier siege weapons to sink into the ground and could not be reliably fielded. Those that were positioned were the lighter scorpions and torsion catapults instead of the heavier trebuchets. It was Alpha¡¯s suggestion to delay the incapacitation of the siege weapons to create a sense of danger and urgency to seek her aid to increase the impact Alicia would make upon lending her assistance. While it seemed like a decent enough idea at the time, she was seriously reconsidering her decision now that she was on top of the walls. She joined Reynold to the walls, where he could monitor the situation and provide more immediate commands to the garrison. That, along with the commander''s presence, helped morale somewhat. ¡®I always thought it would be awesome to see a historical combat with my own eyes and experience it. I still think it¡¯s cool, but I would have really preferred it if I wasn¡¯t in the front row seat and not being actively shot at!¡¯ Reynold questioned whether or not she would be safe with him without an article of armor, and Alicia had the exact same question for herself a few moments prior. Though then she gave a dismissive answer to emulate an aura of confidence, mystery and power, and turned the question towards him asking him why he had donned his armor but left the helmet. The answer she got was that the commander must be easily distinguishable from the midst of confusion, his finely crafted breastplate with lion¡¯s features and the flowing brown hair definitely made him stand out well. She promised herself to get herself some protection right after this. ¡®I need to do something before these walls actually collapse underneath me!¡¯ As soldiers marched the Enedra brood moved underneath them towards the mechanical contraptions, undoing their silken reinforcements to their tunnels. In the meantime, a hit against one of the fortified towers where a ballista was fixed atop of caused a sizable portion of it to fall apart. The tower stood for what it''s worth. But this was just the excuse Alicia needed, she still had a performance to play out. As soon as Reynold had finished giving orders of damage control Alicia remarked. ¡®Oh thank god¡­¡¯ She cast her gaze towards the enemy through a broken section of the hoarding- -and the attacks from the catapults very nearly stopped. The earth had crumbled beneath them, rendering several of them inoperable to varying degrees. Some fell sideways, others sunken so deeply into the ground that they couldn¡¯t effectively fire. In some cases, the horses that tensioned the catapults were swallowed by the gaping maw of the earth, rendering them temporarily unusable. Whichever the case, it was a disaster, perhaps a curse cast upon them by a witch who uttered not a word. A grave chill shot through Reynold¡¯s body. When he met with the one who called themself Charlie, he quickly learned of her preternatural wit, disarming appearance and monstrous speed that swore fealty to Alicia as her familiar. He hadn¡¯t seen its capabilities, but his gut at that time told him he wouldn¡¯t want to find out. Those who beat their chests and flaunted their strength often held fears of inadequacy, in the same vein as a threatened critter posturing to appear larger and more capable than they are in hopes of scaring away the offender, it was those who hid their power and feigned weakness that were the truly dangerous. He knew the truth of this from his own life, be it in the savage wilds or the marble halls of humans. On only a few occasions he had been under such daunting presence, the difference was that Charlie was not bradishing it. No, that was her¡­ holding back, he quickly learned of that fact when he crudely called Alicia a witch in front of her. Malignity he felt from her then overshadowed that of demons he fell before. A fierce loyalty and a powerful vassal, a dangerous combination for any that dared to challenge. He then pondered, what could cause such a powerful being to serve under another? What wondrous, terrifying powers could impose their will over something as powerful as they were, and here he finally glimpsed into the depths of that force, staring at the destruction she brought about with dismissive indifference devoid of emotion¡­ Was this the aide she meant or was there more to it? It was gladdening such force could be called an ally for now, but he wanted to see how far this rabbit hole went. To see its bottom, if there was one¡­ In the meanwhile¡­ Gamma reported the successful collapses of her hastily built extensions of her tunnels, with Alpha commending her work and calling her back to her original position. Their plot continued well without her input. ¡®I can¡¯t see shit with all this rain, darkness, stone, wood and whatever else is in the way¡­¡­ Why is he looking at me like that¡­? Should I turn back at him¡­? What now¡­¡­ their attacks slowed down¡­ and I don¡¯t think they¡¯re gonna make another major move until the visibility improves in the morning when they can really use their heavy siege weapons so¡­ just wait¡­? ¡­¡­¡­¡­Is he gonna awkwardly stare at me the whole time until dawn? Because I don¡¯t know what to do if he commits to something like that¡­¡¯ After the battle had slowed down to a stalemate owing to the ¡®accidents¡¯ the catapults suffered from foul weather, a herald from the Empire cried out from the fields towards the city garrison, proposing one final offer to yield before sunrise or face the full might of the Imperial army. There was no answer from Reynold. With the not so marginal damage they dealt to the walls, the Empire¡¯s side felt that they had the advantageous position. And it was common for such attempts at negotiations to happen often due to ease of contact. Words were as capable of weapons, to demoralize, to implore reason, to intimidate, as well as to mislead. There were those who had the funds to spare and other places to take refuge had already left the city at the first sign of trouble. The rest who were left however either had no other place to go, no relatives to shelter them or had made their decision to stand their ground. Many who were healthy had already volunteered to assist in the defense. Untrained and under equipped, armed with only their enthusiasm, they were little better than a militia and had been relegated to keeping the peace inside the town behind the walls. Controlling the fires, transporting supplies and water. They were no soldiers, and despite having them armed with stock weapons the margrave would surrender and open the front gates by himself first rather than to let them be involved in any fighting. The weapons were only there to calm their nerves. There is that one thing I wanted to try but never had the opportunity to use. I don¡¯t think my new skills get much use however¡­ Well, all in good time. ¡®Really? You¡¯re making me do this again? I just got used to being called ¡®Mistress¡¯ and now you¡¯re telling me to add another one? Well I suppose I am not their mistress. And I don¡¯t think the concept of civil engineering has been conceived yet. Last time I tried to explain, they called me an architect¡­¡¯ ¡®Okay let¡¯s think¡­ The trolls call me a Loa, which is kind of a spirit of their culture¡­ Llynbel and the Elves also call me a Spirit though I look more like a Djinn. Alma the system of god¡­s? define me as an Araneae Hybrid. So honestly I have no idea, ah screw it i¡¯ll just make up some portmanteau.¡¯ Like a mantra, the words not a witch, not a witch, repeatedly echoed in his mind. Alicia being a spirit would explain a whole lot of mysteries surrounding her. There once was a time spirits walked among humankind, those of particular affinity became known as patron deities guarding certain towns and cities. From his studies of youth he learned that Viveria in antiquity once had a patron goddess¡­ the Lady of the reeds and marshes who blessed Viveria with rainfall and bountiful harvests. That disappeared into the woods now known as the black forest, though at the time this forest was known as the Heart of Green woods. The new order of religion, the continental faith, either syncretized or pushed out pagan beliefs. The stories of the lady included, but oral tradition of it remained long enough for it to be recorded vaguely. Though not many of his people would know of this myth, it would be a useful tool to rouse their morale. History being shared from one to another was often transformed and muddled, details being lost and new romanticist idealizations being added. Many that did remember, believed that their goddess left due to a presence of new faith pushing the paganism out, not knowing that it was they who betrayed her first and not knowing that she still persisted in this world yet. While there would be a reasonable fear of her vengeance in that case, it would be unfounded as she held no grievances with them anymore. For she had left her past as the lady of the reeds and marshes, and lived freely as the covenant spirit of Alicia, Llynbel. With the regards of their Patron goddess recently slaughtering dozens of invading soldiers that stepped foot in her glades, perhaps she is, to this day, still guarding Viveria. The night passed and so did the rain but the clouds were yet to part. Many soldiers had dozed off on their feet, leaning against something or someone or tucked in cover behind the crenellations. Chill of morn that set in, did no favors with the damp and soggy. But conquest waited for no one. The denizens of Viveria were awakened by a volley of fiery missiles lobbed by trebuchets. Landing indiscriminately upon the city, smashing against buildings and walls alike. Citizens and militia alike rushed to control the fires. The troops manning the walls were at a loss at what to do, their ballistas - ones that were still usable - were outranged by the trebuchets. If they stayed, the trebuchets would grind down their defenses into nothing and the numerically superior enemy would overwhelm them. Should they sally forth, between them and the trebuchets stood the very same army split into two wings, inviting them to charge through the vacant middle where they would be surrounded and torn apart. Yet even still the siege towers loomed in the distance. Though as it seemed all hope was lost¡­ Reynold was muttering something atop of a bare tower with Alicia standing not too far behind him. >Speech identified; Archaic continental - Arcane dialect, high variant. >Interpreting¡­ ? ?????????????? You grant me light, Fiery embers danced around him as he spoke. ?????????????? You grant me warmth, His voice booming louder and louder with each word, and the embers flared up with it. ???????????????? Now grant me a weapon The flaring flames foregathered around his clenched fist. ???????????????? To protect mine people!? ¡®Huh, so that¡¯s how magic is supposed to sound like. Almost like a rhyme or a bad poem¡­ whose syllable count is off? ¡¯ He thrust his balled hand wreathed in flames towards the sky, and a fiery missile arced through the air leaving behind a blazing trail. The eyes of every man were drawn towards it. The imperial army realized too late where it would land. The siege engineers that manned one of the trebuchets abandoned their equipment and ran for cover as a burning comet descended towards them. The lance made a magnificent explosion as it hit the trebuchet, quickly burning it down in seconds. Those who saw the ordeal erupted to cheers, while putting fear into the Empire''s soldiers. ¡®Damn¡­ I wish I could punch out a siege engine from a hundred meters away.¡¯ >Archiving¡­ >New spell available for acquisition: Fire Lance. ¡®Hoh, ask and answered.¡¯ Outwardly he appeared not a bit different, but Alicia could tell his presence was diminished. He was putting up a strong front by force of will. ¡®Mate, if you cast that one more time, you''ll be lucky to stay upright; two and you''ll collapse from exhaustion.¡¯ ¡®Yeah¡­ no¡­¡¯ Earth trembled and fine brown dust engulfed the siege engines, swallowing them one by one, sowing chaos and confusion. A web of cracks formed all over the surface of the ground, falling down in chunks. As the dust settled, it became clear that the ground had given way to a series of holes that gorged on the assailants. Any would notice the great intensity and focus emanating from Alicia. To Reynold she had just cast a grand spell without a whisper. Its power and efficacy, visible from the great tragedy that befell the enemy. Hearing that Alicia took a deep breath and recomposed herself, her usual demeanor returning to her. Enedra were quite resistant to immense weights of the earth bearing down upon them. Still due to her own untimely demise, she had developed a certain fear of falling objects. She believed that her underdeveloped plan had hurt her familiars. As the normalcy returned to her, ¡®What great presence of mind to recover this rapidly¡¯ he thought. All of the enemy¡¯s ranged siege engines were left in ruins. A miracle indeed, victory wasn''t a given but now they had a fighting chance, the battle was far from over. The attackers rallied quickly from the incident and reorganized themselves. The infantry pushed a wall of newly assembled mantlets to protect themselves from arrow fire as they approached. Other groups manned battering rams under its protective canopy. The siege towers started their steady march, and troops that couldn¡¯t fit inside its protective face, fashioned their own escalades, ladders out of wood. It was an all out assault. And as their heavy footfalls reached soil standing above the tunnels tenuously supported by silk and stone that the Enedra carved, it caved in as expected. The trapmakers having already abandoned their burrows. Lacking depth it caused little more harm than a small landslide. Small injuries, impacted legs, crushed feet, it didn¡¯t claim any lives unlike the previous ones and was mostly only a thorn to their side. Though combined with their recent misfortunes with the earth, it deeply shook the resolve of the troops who were caught up in it. The ravaged terrain proved difficult to traverse with the wheels of the heavy siege equipment. Though not impassable, it slowed down charge greatly, especially when being peppered by arrow fire from the walls. ¡®They only managed to make two siege towers hm¡­ if their plan went on without a hitch¡­ they could have easily steamrolled their way into the city with their weapons. Well, I guess they¡¯re an Empire for a reason¡­¡¯ Though they were not the main targets, stray arrows still managed to reach their position. >Incoming small arms fire. >Requesting access to optical organs. It wasn''t uncommon for Alma to take control over certain parts of Alicia¡¯s body, or carryboit actions on her behalf. Most of the time it was conveniently helpful. ¡®Uhm¡­ Granted?¡¯ Alicia was curious to see what the Alma system was up to this time. And when she gave the permission her sight blurred out for a moment. >Reinitializing¡­ >Threat tracer active. She could see faint lines of blues shooting through the air when clarity returned to her sight. It didn''t take long for her to realize that these were the lines plotting trajectories that projectiles and missiles would take. And soon after one of these quarrels would land near them again, the line that led ahead it turning more opaque and bright yellow. It would be a near miss. A warning not to carelessly walk into its line of fire. The line disappeared as soon as the arrow harmlessly struck the stone surface and bounced away. It was evident that these trajectories were being calculated on the spot, as even how it would bounce and where it would land were shown. With its accuracy, one would not be found at fault for thinking these were premonitions of the future. As Alicia was marveling over the abilities of the threat tracer a sense of discomfort came over her. Scanning around found out that an arrow was in flight, with the expected spot to hit being directly on her body. The line that alerted her to this had become bright orange and with each passing moment as the missile drew near, the line darkened to deeper and deeper shade of red. Turning her body to the side, she evaded the shot at perhaps its last possible moment. The arrow flew past her and missed her. ¡®Helpful¡­ very helpful.¡¯ The engagement was slow and drawn out with neither side wanting to back down; this stalemate was only beneficial to the defenders; it was then long after the battle dragged on Alicia saw another movement stirring within the army. A corps of individuals barely armored with robes and holding tall staves instead of blades. Some hooded others wearing wide brimmed conical hats. They were few in numbers compared to the thousands of soldiers around them. ¡®I dig the whole cosplayer aesthetics but I don''t think the empire is that into conventions to host one in the middle of a battlefield¡­ which means¡­¡¯ The spell from the tree of pyromancy had a maximum range to them. Weaker spells like fireball or firebolt lost intensity and speed as it flew through the air before fizzling out finally. Even Alicia¡¯s Pyroblast had one, though for a different reason - acetylene she mixed into its composition was highly unstable beyond atmospheric pressure and often reacted explosively to any additional stress, shooting it out exerted such pressure to an already delicate balance. However, if multiple weaker spells of the fire spell tree were used in tandem against the same target with the same intention then the spells would compound together. Allowing it to achieve what a single spell could never do so. ¡®Yup those are mages!¡¯ The gathering flames of their collective casting drew the attention of bowmen along the walls who in turn focused their hail of arrows towards the cadre. However the counterattack from the enemy did not allow for a clear shot. The rare odd arrows that would have managed to land bounced away and fell only a few inches away from hitting them magus. ¡®Wards¡­ need to either keep hitting them or hit with something big¡­ And the ballistae are fresh out of ammunition. I mean, they were meant to scare away a big flying fuck off lizard every now and then, not deal with whatever this shitshow is¡­¡¯ Few of the sorcerers had shifted towards providing protection for the others instead of contributing to the literal firepower. This slowed them down somewhat but was not enough to stop their spell. And so in a cacophonous chorus their voices cried out and an amalgamation of fire and fury flew towards the walls. As soon as it started its flight, the threat tracer had already charted its path and it led to- Just as she foresaw, their combined ball of fire barely overshot the gatehouse off parts of it and landed on the street inside the walls. Buildings caught in its blast had their windows shattered and walls scorched. Without having seen it, the accompanying screams, pleas for help, and chaos gave a vivid image of the pandemonium. ¡®What do you mean ¡®one¡¯? There¡¯s more of those guys?!¡¯ As Viveria¡¯s garrison was still reeling from the blast, Alicia could see the Empire¡¯s magi already preparing for their next attack. Alicia was thoughtlessly muttering to herself based on her observations. ¡®Ah¡­¡­ I completely forgot about the aria, I should be able to improvise. Whether or not it''s convincing¡­ ah who cares.¡¯ She took a deep breath as she walked up to the edge of the tower and extended out her palm in front of her. It started as a small sphere, barely visible, that spun growing larger and brighter by the second. It rapidly increased in size as more air was supplied, flaring and feathering. The fiery glow of orange quickly receded, giving way to a golden hue, a captivating spectacle that gave pause to the fighting between mortal enemies. Alicia was now entirely hidden behind the ball fire that looked to be the sun shining above the tower. Its wild featherings and stray flames grew tame as its tint changed to a brilliant blue calmly it was burning but just by the intensity of its brightness. It was clear that this was no ordinary spell. The spell had reached its conclusion, and was ready to be flung to cause wanton destruction, just as she had done prior. And it was well enough suited for just that purpose and perhaps could even cause enough damage to make the Imperial army consider retreat. But she did not stop pouring mana into the sphere. The tips of her platinum hair lost their iridescence and charred to a black that seemed to absorb the very light around it. Her eyes lost their luster of sapphire blue to an endless black. Darkness grew at the back of her mind, scratching, clawing. Arcane forces beyond the reach of magic, beyond the gods¡¯ gaze intruded into this world. Whispers unintelligible, incomprehensible chitters and cracking sounds echoed inside her ears, inside her mind. It sounded almost as though they were telling her something¡­ just out of ear shot¡­ If only she had listened more intently, if she had paid more attention. She always thought it to be meaningless ramblings of something insane. Now it almost sounded familiar, like it was welcoming her¡­ back home. Either she was growing more insane to be able to understand them or they were becoming more¡­ human like. It was disturbing yet comforting. She felt herself being drained of energy, with the vast reserves she had this was a rare occasion that normal pyroblast never caused. The gnawing sensation of emptiness associated with the void filled her heart. This time however it caused not distress but soothing freedom from worry. Her energy transformed into that of the void¡¯s now fueling the spell. The grand ball of fire suddenly collapsed in on itself into a teetering orb. The calm blue changed to a noxious green and within it one could almost make out a vertical iris, looking down on its prey that was mortal men. ¡®Direct hit wouldn¡¯t end well¡­ so aim a little off and¡­ fire in the hole.¡¯ Auratic Chapter 97: All the best romances… Auratic The baleful orb raced through the air like an arrow, discharging explosively as soon as it made contact with the earth. Alicia purposefully aimed it in the vicinity of the mages in lieu of a direct hit. She was unsure of its potency, but the amount of energy it demanded hinted at its destructive potential. The area was blasted with a superheated shockwave. She could see the faint glimmer of white distort and disperse to winds when the blast wave contacted their barrier. With their protective wards undone in but a moment leaving them vulnerable. Then countless shrapnels of dirt and debris shot all around, carrying the sparks of beryl with them. The poorly armored spellcasters were shredded mercilessly by these molten slags, peppering even those who stood outside the blast radius. And at last came the burn. Any who were but only touched by the viridian flames suffered its fierce heat and unrelenting burn. Soldiers who had bits and pieces of their clothing set engulfed in flames were quickly overcome by panic, with some clumsily attempting to rid themselves of the blazing apparel as the fire burned abnormally fast over typically nonflammable materials such as metal plates. The flames felt intelligent, hellbent on destroying everything in their path. The worst was yet to come, as those who were too sluggish to strip themselves of the flaming attire or naively sought to stamp out the flames or tumble to the ground and roll, discovered that these flames were no regular fire. As soon as it reached the flesh, an infernal pain comparable to none other overtook all their being. It felt as if there was a wildfire raging beneath the skin and their very blood was boiling inside their veins and this maddening pain slowly spreading through their entire bodies. Their colleagues tried to help by splattering water from their water skins all over their burning companions, only for the water to vaporize in an instant creating a scalding steam to further torment them. One of them managed to sprint into a large puddle of water from the night¡¯s rain, only to boil himself alive in his own earthen pot. Even as all the water evaporated away, he still burned, thrashing on the floor. The fires subsided only after life had burned away from them. Leaving an immaculate corpse that was scarcely touched by burns. This infernal flame set afire to not only the flesh but the very essence of a being. Sated only by the claiming of their soul. Seeing the fate that befell their brethren terror took hold over the hearts of the soldiers unscatched by this inferno. Very soon the same people that reached out a helping hand now pointed their weapons at the victims of the fire. Stay back! They shouted. Away! They yelled. Consumed by the delirium of pain and agony, inflamed survivors ran towards their allies, seeking aid, any abatement from the misery. It didn¡¯t take long for those remaining untouched to strike down their burning comrades to prevent the spreading of the fire to the others. At the time they believed themselves to be ridding them of their torture. Just stay down! One pleaded. Let it go! Another begged. How quickly they turned to think of only their own survival. Flames snaked and coiled around the weapons they used to slaughter their own, forcing the wielder to throw it away or suffer the same tragedy. Caught in the anarchy, none even thought that their mage corps survived seeing as how they were completely surrounded by the green hell that still raged on¡­ As soon as the spell shot out, inky blackness of the Void escaped her and the color returned to her. ¡®The devil is very into the color green¡­ Copper sulfate maybe¡­? What am I thinking about, it¡¯s a bloody magic fire, it doesn¡¯t conform to chemistry. Well that should make them rethink their attack. You know¡­ I like blowing things up, maybe a little more than constructing them. I should have become a demolitionist or a sapper, it¡¯s still engineering, just a different kind of it. Eh¡­ I don¡¯t think demomen get to use the big explosives that much for controlled collapse, not even the well funded ones. Then¡­ sappers would get to do bomb defusals and IED disposal not blowing things up¡­ ugh¡­¡¯ While Alicia was a little out of herself watching the fire she caused, wreak havoc, at her side the Margrave was intently observing the events unfolding before him. He asked for a miracle, what he got was a glimpse into hell. He was just relieved that he and his people weren''t on the receiving end. But at the same time anxious, that this terrible force could have been on the Empire¡¯s side. This otherworldly fire that seemed to be alive could raze towns and cities to ashes in a matter of hours. He had asked for Alicia to show a great display of force in a roundabout manner of course, to see how much of a threat she could pose to the Kingdom. Now he realized that they might be in over their heads. This wasn¡¯t something that could be solved by brute force, not without tremendous risks involved. As such, if she can¡¯t be overcome, then it was imperative they had to win her over¡­ but that was for later date. It seemed more and more likely that this was it for the Empire¡¯s assault. Ending not because they couldn¡¯t continue the fight, there were siege engines still operable. But with the troop morale down in the dirt despite their numerically small losses, relatively speaking, due to the ravage from Devil¡¯s Sunrise, a victory seemed unattainable. The loss of their mages was a huge blow since it severely restricted the variety of tactics they could employ. Scaling the fortifications was a possibility, but it would be a costly one, and that was only the first step; those who made it to the top of the walls would have to fight their way to the gatehouse to raise the gates while being fired on from the town side. Only then, after seizing the gatehouse the entire Imperial army could pour in and crush the opposition by numbers, but to make that possibility into a reality, it would have to be built on mountains of corpses just to take the walls. General Meginhard knew that he needed to take drastic action to turn the tide back into their favor. So long as that tower where the fiery attacks came from stands, his troops will never have the resolution to press the attack. The general had known of the presiding lord to be an accomplished pyromancer; he even made a generous estimation of his capabilities on top of that, but it was clear that he vastly underestimated him. The most vulnerable time for an opponent was often after their fiercest attacks thus took to the battlefield personally¡­ As Alicia came back to herself as her body adjusted to the sudden drop in energy levels, she noticed the enemy was charging to the walls. ¡®Is that¡­ a cavalry charge? Against mostly intact walls¡­? I can¡¯t imagine this going over too well¡­ Man, tactical warfare is weird, no wonder people have to train for this.¡¯ Alicia thought she was the only one baffled due to her contemporary lenses. But it was shared with Margrave beside her, who in place of perplexity felt an uneasy foreboding. What was their purpose? Before long Alicia spotted a familiar person leading the charge, she had not seen him before but had memories of observing him overhead angles¡­ Memories of her Familiars spying on him. He was the leading general in this attack, usually a cautious man from all the reports she received from Alfred. Soon after she sensed a gathering energy of magic held in their hands with glaring burst aureate glow. She saw at least three of these before an unsettling premonition came over her. A chilling scream of someone rang out, before she could even think to ask what or why, first and foremost in her mind was a feeling that the rickety tower underneath her was about to collapse at any moment. And her body was already starting to move on its own to flee, but just before that. ¡®Wait! Reynold!¡¯ The lights she had seen were indeed of magic, related to the earth. Lithic spears shot towards the town¡¯s fortifications flying at tremendous speeds and striking against the weak points of the already battered walls, crumbling them down. Largest of these petrous javelins were aimed directly at the tower the two were on top of, cleanly punching through. ¡®This is why you use reinforced concrete!¡¯ Even as the ground gave out from under her, she quickly managed to recenter herself. And as the tower crumbled down Alicia instinctively and inadvertently used therianthropy summon her Araneae appendages to cling on and stabilize herself to a larger piece of the collapsing tower. She was conscious about revealing the other part of her to any would-be observers, even with the help from Stealth, but valued not getting caught under a falling rubble a little more than maintaining secrecy. Without much effort she spotted Margrave in free fall. Falling from such height, along with the raining debris, she could conceivably come out unscathed with the plethora of skills and spells available to her, but for a human even if they were somewhat sturdier than the average, she judged it was not compatible with a long and prosperous life or just staying alive in general. ¡®I have to get to him.¡¯ With the assistance of her extra limbs she quickly ran on the relatively stable sections of the tower still standing, using her additional legs as support for scaling while trailing a line of silk along the surface with her palm, creating an anchor of safety but not for herself. Due to the urgency of the situation, she created the silk through magic, fast and loose. She didn¡¯t have time to refine structure with the more finer details of a standard web. It was all stretching lines of capture silk, sticky but not durable on its own without the framework. ¡®Ahh, this is going to suck!¡¯ She never really got used to how spiders ¡®jumped¡¯ and avoided using her spider legs to jump at all costs. An Araneae had much different muscle structure than mammals. The hemolymph, the equivalent of the blood, rushed to extremities forcing the limbs to snap open with force which generated the thrust. This action was what created the ¡®jump¡¯. But even in her hybrid form, this meant her head and upper body was temporarily drained of blood and she briefly suffered from symptoms of severe hypotension. Blackout, dizziness and sense of doom that came along with it, though momentary, still frightened her. She never had a heart attack before, but was convinced that this was the closest thing she ever had to one. Right now she needed to catch Reynold from mid air, with just a normal jump she didn¡¯t know if she would make it. ¡®I wouldn¡¯t have to do this if I could only just shoot web¡­ wait I can shoot web!¡¯ Inherited from the Reteiactus species, their modified fangs could spray a mix of venom and silk usually used for immobilizing prey, though it had a poor range and accuracy, but today it would save a life. Avoiding the ¡®spider¡¯s jump¡¯ she managed to get close enough to start spraying silk at the flailing noble in fall. As soon as the little bit of it got a hold of his arms, she pulled him closer. Pulling him to her embrace. It might seem romantic even to a bystander free from context, until the point where she started to wrap him in thin sheaths of silk. Once she reached him, she stopped creating more silk from her palms and instead wrapped it around her entire forearm. Without production, the silk on her hand instead acted as a lifeline that stretched and stretched until breaking little by little swinging them back as it went. This was no surprise for Alicia, she intended for the silk to break, instead of suffering one big fall, it was a series of small drops until they reached the ground. Unfortunately, the part of the wall where her silk was anchored started to fall apart, causing their descent to start little earlier and little quicker and the silk quickly ran out. It had carried the both of them as far as it could, and the last stretch of fall wasn¡¯t all too bad. But what was a problem were ruins of the former tower falling on top of them. Just before hitting the ground she spun around with him to face the rocks bearing down on them. Again it seemed like she was cushioning the fall for him. She didn¡¯t even feel her fall, it felt as ordinary as jumping onto a bed - of rocks and stone uncomfortable but not something that would kill her, and it wasn¡¯t quite the feather fall considering the tiny crater that formed around her due to the Falling star. What had the potential to kill her were the large stones few seconds away from crushing the two of them. Dust and rubble engulfed them, seemingly squashed. After some time when there wasn''t any more rubble piling on top, applying a little more force to the barrier, Alicia created a sizable opening for both of them to walk out. Reynold was still laying on top of her, for him it all happened too fast for him to process, one moment they were falling, the next something grabbed him and started tying him up, then there were sounds of massive stones falling around them, so close that he thought he was being pulverized under them. Flabbergasted still, Alicia¡¯s remark pulled him to reality somewhat. Despite the enchantingly amorous situation she managed to get into, within her still remained a spirit of a man. A man¡¯s spirit who was still very much so straight. Her words dispelled the mood with the biting cold of arctic waters. After he rolled off of her Alicia got up and helped with any remaining silk on him. Climbing the intact part of the wall from the outside Alicia quickly found her quarry. She pulled out her bow from the gaping maw of the void along with a single arrow. Ingin, her bow made from a semi-living sapling had sprouted a few new twigs due to disuse; these didn¡¯t inhibit her from drawing it nor did obscure her sight so she left them be for now. Before anything she was recalling her lessons from Faenas. ¡®Let¡¯s see if I was a good student¡­¡¯ First, the method of aiming, tracking; when you follow your target with your eyes before learning to predict how they move, how they think. For distant targets you have to learn to see the ¡®ghost¡¯ of your target. A ghost was an imaginary location where the target would be by the time the arrow reached them. In layman¡¯s terms, it was leading a shot on a moving target. The other method was trapping, used for nearer targets. After placing your point of aim ahead of the target, the shooter looses their arrow as soon as they cross their point of aim. There was a time and place for both of them. Here she opted to ¡®trap¡¯ him. She had a fair idea of the path her target would take as he was keen on leading the charge through the hole he made through the gatehouse he tore down. ¡®When you aim¡­ use both eyes and respond only to movement¡­¡¯ After choosing the trapping point a fair bit ahead of him, she nocked the arrow ready. Faenas¡¯s advice echoing in her mind. ¡®When you pull, use the entire arm¡¯s muscles¡­ forearms, biceps and shoulders all of it¡­¡¯ As she slowly started to pull the strings, winds swirled around the arrow, from the tip to the fletching gracing it with their blessing that gave it an explosive force. ¡®You wanna throw shit at me buddy? What goes around, comes back around with a vengeance.¡¯ Lilting, rhythmic droning quietly ringed in her ears, pulling Alicia in a trance like focus. This¡­ tune grew louder and more complex by the passing second and so did her concentration. She didn¡¯t even think twice about shooting when the General¡¯s gilded armor came into sight. Just before the arrow began its flight. A line of black streaked through the air. Perhaps due to some self-preservation instinct the commander attempted to avoid the incoming darkness but it was far too little, far too late and he could only take it with his shoulders. The shadowy dart pierced through the bulky shoulderpads of the splendid armor as though they weren¡¯t even there. The projectile didn¡¯t even slow down as it cleanly dismembered his right arm causing it to spin to the air before flopping down to the ground like a piece of meat thrown to dogs. Blood cascaded from the open wound draining like a fountain faucet. The high rush of combat quickly drained from him and his aides. The charging cavalry stopped in their tracks. Already in dire straits, brutal loss of their leader was the final straw that caused the soldiers to rout with contagious fear. An orderly retreat was no longer a possibility. General Meginhard only then saw the ephemeral figure of someone¡­ someone glowing in the golden light of the sun. It appeared as though even the fair sun picked favorites. That was the last vision burned into his eyes as he lost consciousness from blood loss. His limp body was frantically carried by his bodyguards. Residents of Viveria erupted in celebration when the invaders swiftly withdrew, with no distinction between commoners and nobles, young or old. And thus concluded the siege of Viveria, the historic records of the event were widely debated and contested, as with any event of antiquity. But none argued that this battle was the earliest of the White Lady¡¯s lore, where the miracles started¡­ Auratic The captain be late by a few days. But! In turn I give ye landlubbers about 50% longer chapter. Arggh. Ahem, anyway, so ends in my mind at least, book 2, wow, much progress, such speed. I didn''t know how to show how the votes were influencing the story because well... in order to show it naturally I would have to write a chapter in multiple variants which would slow down my already sluggish pace. Instead you get a small line that indicates whenever a narrative event is modified by you guy''s votes. yey. Piracy If you are wondering what that pirate speak at the beginning of the notes were, I found out that this story is being Pirated. We did it guys, we made it to the big leagues, by being pirated, I mean that''s the true measurement of your success right? Anyway, I found one site, accidentally by seeing that someone was less than happy with their story also being pirated. Wondered, ''huh, is mine by chance here'' and lo and behold it is, with a stolen artwork with their site''s logo splashed over it to a boot. I am sure you all are used to the glorious placeholder image, I never commissioned an artist for the cover image. Anyway, I don''t really mind if this story gets mirrored elsewhere so long as it''s not in breach of the current Creative Commons License and a proper credit is given. It''s free already, not like I''m generating ad revenue or anything. And taking any meaningful anti-piracy measures by modifying text to only work in certain way are going to be more of a nuisance to the regular reader and their effectiveness is going to be dubious if any at all. This is doubly troubling for some other readers that I know who have expressed some issues with accessibilities and TTS before. So I elect to not change anything from my end. I''m thinking about going a little harder on the LitRPG aspect of the series, with more shift towards the fantasy. (Think generic asian MMO that uses sexy 3D models clickbait you into their microtransaction hell, scanty armor, more popculture stuff things like that). Add in some more ''video-gamey'' elements. Oh and here''s almost all of the new Void category of skills you guys have picked. (P.S Right click and open the image in a new tab for higher quality) Don''t click this spoiler. You fool! Why have not heed the warning! Now you shall forever be cursed by the knowledge of the Spussy. Sidestory 5: Alfred Nobel Auratic Dressed in her self made anachronistic lounge suit still immaculately white that had become synonymous with her, trudging through the ashes beset on all sides by the seething green hell unleashed by her lady, Alfred was inspecting the aftermath for survivors with potential. She had little faith that any of the humans on the outside had the potential to spot her, the literal walls of flame and the smokescreen provided further obstruction. Rather it was a quick and dirty form of checking if there was any human with the capabilities to see through the stealth of the Araneae. Both the divine¡¯s gifts and void''s boons trickled down to them through the kindred tie that bound them all together. This meant that only certain fractions of the power wielded by Alicia was shared to her kindred. In essence, at the current situation, Alfred wasn¡¯t as proficient at concealing herself as her mistress was. And even then, ¡®disappointingly¡¯ there didn¡¯t seem to be any human to spot her intrusion to the battlefield. She was hoping to capture anyone who could detect their presence. That ability of that degree meant potential, potential that could then be made to serve her mistress. But none passed that criteria. Still there was more to do. The mage corps deployed by the Empire was small in size but rich in talent that if possible should be recruited, or so her lady judged. The flames, perhaps, obeying their master¡¯s will, had spared the worst from the sorcerers instead burning in a circle around them. Alpha was more convinced by the fact that most of the sorcerers¡¯ had survived a direct attack from her mistress. Teetering on the edge of life that is, but still, survived by having made the decision to pool all their power to a defensive barrier. Now if her lady opted for a more direct assault, there wouldn¡¯t even be ashes left to look through no matter how many of them put up their life to maintain the ward. The mages that stood closer to the front were disfigured by the fire beyond recognition and mangled by the superheated shrapnel that shot out from the explosion. They were alive, for what it was worth. The fire cauterized most of their wounds, they wouldn¡¯t die of bleeding. But disease and infection would claim their lives. It would be more merciful to kill them outright than to let them suffer from the agonizing end ahead of them. Her lady was kind, sometimes too kind for her own good, Alfred was not, she would be the whip to her kindness. The ¡®potions¡¯ concocted by Priest could prolong their life long enough for her to drag them back to Paxton where they could be ¡®treated¡¯ by her newer experimental formulas. Sprawled on the ground a scrawny decrepit body caught her interest. Kicking it to the side revealed it to be an elderly sorceress. Her usual unimpressed expression that always wore an equable smile, took on a tint ridiculing. ¡®So an old hag was using her magic to maintain an illusion that she was still in her young and perky self, hah! To waste your time clinging onto your fleeting youth only to squander it with a hollow imitation.¡¯ The aged witch must have been using some sort of illusory magic to hide her true form. It was a common goal for humans delving into magic to make their first achievement achieving eternal youth, immortality or failing those at least prolonging their life to have time for studying the endless depths of the arcane. ¡®The saying goes, with age, comes wisdom¡­ A shame that intellect doesn¡¯t come with wisdom as a package. I would dub you a fool, but that would be an insult to the fools of the world, if they even realized that they were being insulted. Milady has no use for fools, let alone someone hopeless as this.¡¯ Alfred uncaringly stepped over her body, stomping on her barely humanoid face crushing the last bit of life left in her. No one would know this is how the ¡®youngest¡¯ prodigy to be recruited into the Empire¡¯s fourth mage corps perished. An indignant voice asked of her. It was a man, most likely a higher ranking wizard leading others bare on his feet. ¡®One of the languages in use within the Empire I presume¡­?¡¯ The person was a capable researcher and a magical instructor. Many of the magi around him were his current or one time prot¨¦g¨¦s. After combing this much from his memories through Cold Reader, Alfred decided to recruit him for the potential use. Whether he was willing or not, but first she needed to tame his temper unfit for servitude. The man had made the mistake that Alfred was someone from their homeland, just because she spoke their tongue. He realized this error as soon as she started walking towards him, spouting nonsense. Twining fires quickly rose from the cracked earth below chaining her in place. It was a spell used for holding down an elemental spirit. An overkill for the average person. But he felt something¡­ dangerous about this¡­ eccentric woman in front of him and used it without hesitation. He expected her to try to avoid or even protect herself, through magic or not but she didn¡¯t act. Rather it felt as if her eyes were tracking where the binding flames would come from. He thought he was hiding it by using the crevices of the ground as cover. He thought that he got the drop on her, but no, she let it happen. Her hollowly amicable smile still plastered on her face, unchanging. In the next few moments, she simply continued her stride towards him, breaking the fiery bonds chaining her without any effort. He held open his left palm, from which a stream of fire flowed out towards her, engulfing her completely. Still, he could barely make out that she was making her way towards him. As what little energy remained in him dwindled down and the stream of flames died out to a fizzle, through the soot and smoke Alpha was standing but a step away from him untouched by the flames. Even now she wore her innocuous smile, not a single muscle had changed from before but now it seemed to strike fear deep into his heart. She took the stammering mutterings of disbelief as a yes and walked up to him. Whoever she was, it was clear that in the current situation that he couldn¡¯t even scratch her clothing let alone have a fighting chance against her. He was petrified about what might happen to him now. Already unsteady on his feet, he felt as if he would collapse at any moment as he saw her hand reaching out to his neck. He could feel his heart seizing. Or so he believed, she was patting down his singed and disheveled robe. Straightening up his clothing, neatening it. Baffled, he could only say: ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± all the while some unrelenting feeling of unease crawled through his body, like something crawling under his skin. Some sinister force was coiling around every part of his being and by the time he noticed it, it was far too late to resist. He could feel an eldritch presence from behind his eyes, seeing the world through him, wearing his skin as a puppet of flesh, one of body and two of spirits. Its incomprehensible and profane thoughts incubating at the back of his conscious mind. His arms and legs no longer felt his own, numb and unresponsive. A prisoner locked caged in his own body and mind. Just as a taste, Alfred slowly loosened the grip of the spell holding over him. And he finally collapsed onto his knees. ? Call of the Void ? The freedom returned to his limbs, but at a heavy cost. Hope and motivation seemed to escape him, his mind had become awash with lingering dark thoughts about his own death. Myriads of possibilities, how much every one of them would hurt, how long would it hurt for. There was an inexplicable¡­ craving to act out these self-destructive thoughts. It felt as if he was being pulled into a sinking mire¡­ No matter how much he fought to pull himself out of this, the stronger it seemed to pull him down, a part of him perhaps craved to act out these¡­ fantasies. Were these the wants of the malevolent presence hiding behind his eyes wishing his doom, or was it of his own, kept contained under the lock and key of rationality. He could no longer make that distinction anymore. While lost in this seemingly intractable abyss of hopelessness, a clear and vibrant voice pierced through the darkness of his mind as though the golden rays of morning banished the night, and brought him back to lucidity. Her smile, hollow and indifferent as it always has been, now seemed like the only real warmth he felt in forever. She tossed a vial of blood red fluid onto him before continuing on. As she went on with her search one girl staggered to raise herself. Unable to stand, she only managed to sit up from the ground. She seemed to be in a daze, staring at the blazing fires enchanted. Even as the grogginess faded away her look of entrancement never disappeared. Her left eye had been crushed by flying debris with no hope of recovery, her legs and their muscles were shredded open. Numerous other scratches and bruises dotted her body. She should have been in unbearable pain yet it appeared as if it was a mere distraction to the grandeur in front of her. Within mankind there were¡­ abnormal individuals, those who were different from the others and among these abnormal individuals there were outliers, psychopaths, sociopaths, the mentally deranged, the mad and the insane. She was one of these outliers, with dangerously obsessive lust for magic. Or so Alfred learned through Cold Reader. ¡®This one¡¯s special¡­ This fixation of hers can be molded into something else¡­ like devotion to the mistress¡­ She ought to be brought to her grace directly.¡¯ She slowly turned to face Alpha half in a daze. And after a significant pause she strung together a question. Vibrancy twinkled in her eyes, as the fires of ambition ignited in her. Before she could contest, Alpha had already wrapped her legs in silk, drenched in the potions made by Paxton. In time she did learn the first ordinal¡¯s name¡­ and the title she came to be known for¡­ Alfred Nobel, the Patron of Prodigies. Auratic Update: It is now tomorrow 4pm. I remembered what I was supposed to add here. The Call of the Void is a more aggressive version of the real phenomenon of the same name. Not much study has been done about it, not ones that I can find anyway. Except here unlike our world, Call of the void is very real and very much so capable of steering someone into danger, and there''s little the victims can do to prevent their suicidal ideation and the consequent action they make towards it. Intermission 6 Auratic Tingling from the misty gold clouds swirling by her was what she came to. Her memories leading up to this point were dodgy at best. The few recollections that she had, informed her that she was watching people flee in chaotically. There were no emotions attached to that particular memory, and as though it were a dream, it was quickly fading from her conscious thought. Looking around, she was in some realm far above the clouds, the sun and stars. ¡®This seems familiar¡­¡¯ However, when she recalled events linked to this location, she had a strong feeling of foreboding. ¡®Oh god what did I hit my head on this time¡­¡¯ A mellow voice called out to her. Turning to its source, revealed a young girl with short hair, dressed in gilded garments fit for the clergy. Alicia had not been the most religious individual in her prior life, but with her recent events, especially now in the presence of God that gave her her current life, she would consider herself as a believer. A huge relief came when she heard that. It felt as though she heard this before¡­ or rather¡­ experienced being out the reach of time before, but it was escaping her mind. It was almost fitting that she took on a more clerical form as she regaled her story, almost appearing as though she was some iteration of a past saintess. There was a sense of guilt welling in her heart, why was she granted another chance, but they did not. Alicia could come up with thousands of answers and justifications and it still wouldn¡¯t be enough to quell that feeling of shame and regret. It was similar to having received a gift belonging to someone else, someone far more deserving. Her conscience told her that necessary intervention was needed. She felt only that might squelch this self-contrition. The girl donned in gilded white made no reaction as though Alicia wasn¡¯t even there in front of her. It was impossible for her to have not heard her question, which meant¡­ It was a particularly sore spot for Alicia. An amused smile bloomed on her face, Alicia half expected her to start giggling out of nowhere. Alone, the image of God stood in among the slowly drifting clouds of gold. Now, she was no longer bound by shackles of fate, the future was uncertain. Although the idea created a trace of inquietude it was overshadowed by excitement towards how these sets of dominoes would fall. How incomprehensibly long has it been since she felt this¡­ alive, like a human. Auratic Story heading towards a slow and steady like direction. We gotta build a city Sebby. Bottom text. *Dab* Chapter 98: Homecoming Auratic >System reboot complete. >Administrator access level updated; Maximum clearance. She came to herself, a rather effeminate voice welcomed her. True enough, as God had mentioned, not a moment had during their audience. ¡®Alma sounds¡­ quite feminine now¡­ Has it always been like that?¡¯ >Psychological profiling indicates: Administrator exhibits increased responsiveness to higher frequency transmissions in a state of ease. ¡®Huh. Does that mean I respond better if there¡¯s a manly man yelling at me from inside my head when I¡¯m stressed?¡¯ >Negative. Under cognitive stress, Administrator exhibits increased responsiveness to overlapping transmissions. ¡®Oh so it''s a lot of people yelling at me¡­ wait a minute does that mean I''m more influenceable to peer-pressure?¡¯ >Evidence inconclusive. ¡®That¡¯s good, I think¡­ Anyway, I need to wrap up the mess here and head back.¡¯ She had learned many new things, some concerning and others elucidating. It would take time to grasp everything, and doing so in the aftermath of a major conflict was not ideal. To Alpha, her mistress was a tireless worker that rarely took time for herself. This sudden request and her change in mannerisms were odd for that matter, but it was not something she completely disliked. For a little while, she was enveloped in the blackness of the Void, but she soon found herself back in the middle of her room in Velauhart. ¡®Yeesh I should tidy up a little every time before leaving. I don¡¯t think this will be the last time I¡¯ll be using Trespass to return. The clutter will become a problem when I return in a hurry.¡¯ The return of her presence was not missed by her other half. The hidden limitations set on Alma that were now gone intrigued Alicia''s curiosity and she was eager to figure out the new things that she could make Alma do that supposedly she would like. >Genetic tailoring functions now available. >Ascendancy protocols available. >Secondary supportive protocols active. >Tertiary supportive protocols active. >Assessment correct. Function intended to enhance existing expressions, implement beneficial adaptation and eliminate vulnerabilities. >Fatal vulnerability present in cervical vertebrae structure. Suggested action: Foreshorten vertebrae segments, simplify structure, improve resilience. >Prospective opportunity: able to assimilate scale structure present in reptilian lifeforms. Will allow genealogy to develop subcutaneous plates. Additional protection from external trauma without compromising flexibility and cosmetic values. Hinders loss of vital fluids. There still remains another problem. An object symbolic of God, a statue. That was a can of worms she wanted nothing to do with. Temple design was not her forte, not to mention sculpting was outside her expertise. ¡®Materials¡­ Has to be marble huh, Gamma should have a good stock of those. Then location, should it be someplace accessible¡­? Well it¡¯s only for me so that part doesn¡¯t really matter, I can always use trespass to get there fast. Since I need to¡­ well focus and meditate¡­ I think? It should be somewhere far from the hubbubs of life. Mountains then. Hm¡­ that cave where the crystal outcrops grow already has some altar feel to it. I could probably recondition it to become a temple. If so, it¡¯ll save a lot of time from building the structure itself, instead we could just have the insides be presentable.¡¯ Before she knew it, she had already gravitated towards the seat behind her desk, pushing away notes and half-done designs and models aside, her hand had already picked up the quill scribbling down notes for herself. It was quite the learning curve for her to move from convenience and reliability of pen and pencil to inkwells and quills and rough brushes occasionally. Her current proficiency came at the expense of precious parchment paper being blotched and poked through, with as many quills with broken tips and bottles and bottles of ink being wasted. Though as a result of the painstaking - and expensive - practice, she was perhaps the swiftest scribe there was on the continent, no longer needing to visually look at what she was writing. Though since it was for herself, the legibility had suffered quite a bit. ¡®Lighting¡­ is a problem. Although the main chamber has some sunlight, the rest of the cave needs artificial lighting. Have to figure that out. Second, Ventilation, besides the main entrance, there are few crevices where air exchange can occur, it would be better to have more points to know where the air is coming from, and control the volume of it, should be able to make some air shafts for that purpose. The structure of what she wanted had already started forming in her mind¡¯s eye. Pulling out a fresh paper, white and without imperfections, she had started sketching out its parts. ¡®Considering how dank it was last time I was around, there must be some sort of mountain condensation happening, need to plan around that, make some sort of drainage system before the water ruins everything. Before doing any digging¡­ I need to ascertain the load bearing capacities of the cave walls. Have to go there again for that. As for where the water seems to be condensing¡­ Llynbel might be able to help me with that. Otherwise I¡¯ll either have to waterproof every part of it¡­ or take time to figure out where it is happening¡­ What else¡­ Accessibility is a joke¡­ It¡¯s already at a high elevation with thin oxygen, not to mention the couple of sheer walls one would have to scale to make it to the main atrium. I have spider appendages, I cheated to get up there¡­ eh, might as well draw up something about it.¡¯ Before she realized it, she was completely immersed in the task ahead of her, drawing up the design of what would become a temple in meticulous detail with loose dimensional notations. She was not attached to her current outline as she would later make alterations and revisions based on her surveying. Only when the gentle knocking on the door of someone broke her out of her engrossment. Looking up from her desk, the light of the sun had already gone out and the moon was high in its ascent. She was surprised by the dancing fire above her left index finger. At some point she had used magic to create illumination for herself, without knowing. She put it out by quickly shaking her hand in the air and picked up the lantern that she repaired one time after the merchant that brought it didn¡¯t want it back. ¡®Got carried away again¡­ ahhh without my brain telling me to sleep it¡¯s hard to keep track of time. Well not like I listened to it much anyways.¡¯ Tapping gently on the faint amber crystal caused it to brighten to a searing orange, enough to light up a good portion of the expansive room on its own. Alfred came in, holding a stack of documents. It was uneconomical to commit reports and problems into writing, especially when Alicia had more or less a global communication with every familiar under her, but that did not extend to those outside the connection granted by kindred. While things could be done just as quickly or done faster by Alicia going over herself, the act was intensive of micromanagement, something that she was not fond of doing. Especially when considering that some people performed worse under scrutiny, be it from distracting presence or simply the knowledge and pressure of their work being evaluated over their shoulders. Add to that, Alicia believed that writing about something comprehensively was easier than discussing it, especially when the occasion was unanticipated. Skimming through, few things already stood out, though none of which was unexpected. They took in many refugees and rescued just as many people from the raids leading up to the conflict. Now with them came a number of problems. First was housing, the lodging houses intended for guests and merchants had already filled up to the brim, people had to sleep on the floor. The rest were in temporary shelters, makeshift tents and crude shelters. Furthermore there were a number of people that had voiced their desire to leave the forest, these were from people with relatives in nearby villages and towns. What was more troubling was those who expressed their wishes to stay and settle down, these were people who had lost almost everything. As she was the de facto lord around these parts, it was up to her to decide whether or not they could. For her though, it was a forgone decision to let them do whatever they wanted, which meant letting them stay. This in turn was a whole load of administrative nightmare. Next was the food strain. Though there was a decent stock thanks to the refrigeration, provided by the cold boxes Alicia made. Without more sources it could become a problem. ¡®So I guess this is what Alice meant when the humans were noisy¡­¡¯ With that came more and more problems to sort out, carpentry, furnishings, roads, public services such as bath-houses for sanitation, latrines or public toilets, creation of jobs, public spaces, parks and recreation, safety and on and on and on¡­ While there was a great overlap between city urban and civil engineering, she was not a city planner. ¡®Welp¡­ no better time to learn to be one. This¡¯ll be something to add to my CV.¡¯ ¡®Why is nothing simple¡­ I have to cut corners wherever I can, they want to live here, they¡¯ll have to build their own dwellings¡­ the singles will have to be put into apartment style buildings for density¡­ can¡¯t be too tall with the ground affordance so we¡¯ll have to go wide¡­ next¡­ the couples they¡¯ll get A-frame houses. Incorporate the trees themselves as support, lower the production costs and cut down the time. Lastly, the big families¡­ ugh¡­ They need something along the lines of villas or small mansions worth of space¡­ I could make do with split level¡­ easier to dig into the ground than it is to build a mansion. Alright, that sounds like a plan¡­¡¯ One crucial mistake Alicia had made was that she based her size estimates and planning based on her modern standards. In reality, for the serf class farmers that mostly made up the current people, homes with clean floors that didn¡¯t think of livestock manure was considered ¡°Good¡±. In fact many of poorer souls had to live and sleep with their small livestock - such as goats and sheep - using the ground level of their homes as a barn usually with the second floor reserved for more ¡®affluent¡¯ families. Even in poverty, there was a class of difference. Compared to that, what Alicia was drafting up right now was something the middle class of gentry - wealthy merchants, clergy, craftsmen would lie, steal, fight and kill - necessarily in that order - to call it their own. Auratic With a stable income though I should be able to open a bank account that is capable of international transactions. Which means I can start taking donations and use my funds to actually commission an artist. Waow. Chapter 99: Nefarious Plot Auratic Alicia had spent the entire night drafting the floor plan of the new buildings. For sake of uniqueness and character she included a few different variations of the same type of dwellings. There were few more problems that she wished to address, most of which related to plumbing regarding water supply, heating and sanitation. Issues regarding drainage engineering were left at the bare necessity levels at the moment. Until she had the time to devote into fully linking up the buildings in a proper system they had to make do without easy access to in house water. As such the blueprint plans had included foreign concept as a private washroom and latrine for future use. For now hygiene and sanitation had to be provided by a public bath house, another service building on her list. The construction projects had been explained in detail to Rosalia and supervision had been entrusted to Gustave. Many of the humans balked at the excessively large buildings - by their standards - and the sheer size of the undertaking. Although Rosalia did her best to reason with them it led to a certain degree of recalcitrance due to her youth and gender, Gamma¡¯s short stature similar to that of a particularly young girl didn¡¯t help in this case either. With the presence of the Elvish rangers and the Direwolves¡¯ ears perking up to the commotion, no one sound of mind truly dared to openly rebel. As for those lacking awareness¡­ The ruly man quickly learned the deceptive strength behind Gamma¡¯s stature when he broke his fingers against the quite literally stone hard exterior of the Enedra species while attempting to backhand her for ¡®talking big for a little girl.¡¯ A.Enedra more commonly known as the dungeon master would create labyrinthine tunnels connecting their den to the outside world. It wasn¡¯t rare for these tunnels to collapse on top of them every now and then, in such cases they would consume the rock strata around them to free themselves which would be used to harden their exoskeleton. As such their exterior was strong enough to bear the weight of mountains of soil and earth on top of them, and tough enough to shrug off most weapons. Thus, despite her mimicking of mostly human form that lacked her hard exoskeleton, her very skin was equally durable rivaling that of finest steel. It took everyone by surprise. Both his injury and the man ¡®daring¡¯ to raise hand against an Ordinal - an Araneae leader in direct service to Alicia who was held in extremely high regard by nearly everyone around. Besides his cursing and yelling a terrible silence befell, in waiting for the retribution from Gamma. But it did not come. She tapped the ground beneath twice with her forefoot. The earth trembled and shook, before a circular hole opened up in front of all the terrified mass. It was an opening that led to the underground tunnel network. She was offering them a place in the dark tunnels. Though from Gustave¡¯s perspective - who is from a species of Araneae that preferred to exclusively live in the dark underground - it was a perfectly fine and serviceable home. For the people though, it seemed like she was threatening to bury them all alive. In an instant their dispositions changed from hesitance to frightening motivation. The opening was quickly closed up as the soil under it swole and raised upwards. Her attention shifted to the man who struck her, clutching his injured hand. Intimidated by the ¡®Little girl¡¯ in front of him he quickly scurried away, not even knowing where he was supposed to go. He didn¡¯t get far before the rangers ¡®arrested¡¯ him with an arrow laced with paralytic venom and dragged him away. It was then Rosalia understood Gustave¡¯s actions. By all means, any form of action against a liege¡¯s delegate was equivalent to rebellion and punishable by death, rather people were hanged for less. This meant that it wasn¡¯t out of mercy, Gamma simply didn¡¯t see him as attacking her, but rather saw the very action as an irritation that one would feel from a gnat buzzing around them. Simply put, these people were so far beneath her that she didn¡¯t even consider them to ever be a threat to her or her Mistress. While condescending, Rosalia knew it to be true so she could only make a wry smile. Though some luck was involved. Gamma was one of the rarer Araneae with a thicker skin towards disparagement and wasn¡¯t as fervent as other Ordinals who might have taken up the occasion as an excuse to try¡­ more extreme ¡°corrective actions.¡± Thenceforth the building projects went on as planned. Though Araneae acquired and transported the bulk of the materials, the construction procedure was mostly carried out by the humans under Gamma¡¯s specifications and oversight. She often took over parts where people were taking too long or were not doing it to her satisfaction. Any dissension towards her command quickly disappeared as she scaled the structures with ease and lifted massive amounts of materials that was burdensome for groups of burly men effortlessly. The awe they held for her turned to reverence and shame as she worked with elegant craftsmanship tirelessly day and night without a moment of rest. Her prodigious industriousness inspired diligence and compliance in everyone. The people found coolheadedness towards her work encouraging. Though it was the result of her trying her best to finish the task at hand as quickly as possible so she could return underground. As normally she was quite dispassionate towards anything that was above ground. But her dislike towards the affairs of the overground was nothing compared to the pleasure of being of service to her mistress. Alicia was procrastinating about surveying the mountain cave - even though she could more or less get there instantaneously through trespass - a brilliant idea came to her mind and she knew exactly the thing to try out. It felt some massive impact hitting her. Next moment, the world stood still as she observed¡­ herself from behind. She felt dim and fuzzy, her thoughts drifting away, coming and going in a constant flow; never lingering long enough to focus and interpret them. She tried to move but only floated and glided, her body still as a statue left behind. She didn¡¯t remember much of what she was supposed to do. Only a vague notion to explore before returning¡­ ¡®Return¡­ return¡­? return, where¡­ here?¡¯ As her cognizance hovered close to the door leading out of her room she tried to reach out to open it. Except she passed right through it, it was strange, she knew that should have felt strange, was it strange? Physical matter did not constrict her movement. She passed through the walls roaming the familiar forest. She flew high to the skies, seeing as the eagles did. People¡­ everyone seemed frozen mid action. Time itself had halted its eternal advance. As she drifted further on, her vision was becoming hazier and she felt a force tugging at her. Something was pulling her back¡­ what was it¡­ is that what she was supposed to return to? Spurred by curiosity she returned to the place she first found herself a room with her body. She touched her body, and it seemed to pull at her, yearning for her to come back to it, letting this drawing force guide her, the soul reunited with the mind and body. Taking in a sharp breath, it felt as if her heart started beating again. Her hands were trembling ever so slightly. So closed her eyes, took in a deep breath as she clenched her hands into a fist as she recomposed herself. As her mind cleared up she took to the windows of her room. Leaves on the trees gently swaying in the wind, people moving about full of life. Time was moving as it should once again. ¡®That¡­ was a strange dream, almost a nightmare, almost. I guess this is what astral projection feels like, not something to look forward to. Let¡¯s not use it often¡­ So what did I learn¡­ time does not progress. And I cannot think¡­ not normally. So I can¡¯t use it infinitely to figure out a solution to a problem. I seem to become incorporeal during its use, I cannot interact with the physical¡­ things, which is everything, basically. Moreover¡­ I cannot go far from¡­ my body, it''s a leash that holds me back¡­ or an anchor that allows me to return to life as I know it¡­ The range seems¡­ generous, I can use it to quickly case an area. I think that¡¯s all¡­ ah I was supposed to be able to mark things, I¡¯ll have to wait for another time. Well not being bound to the physical realm does make it easy to survey an area, or find dangers that might be hiding¡­ hm¡­ The perfect tool to infiltrate somewhere, map out an area in advance, look for something or spy on people¡­ to an extent, so it has its uses, it¡¯s just¡­ not very comfortable. And that seems to be a trend among Void magic¡­ feels like I¡¯m playing with fire¡­ only a matter of time before I get burned. Gotta be more mindful of this thing¡­¡¯ Whilst mulling over such affairs Alicia was skimming over the thinning sheet of reports. She had already taken action on everything that was deemed important by Alpha. Those that were left over were not as urgently pressing to be stacked at the top of the report pile. Leisurely flipping over the records, something caught her fancy. It was a file regarding the recruitment of the mages taken from the Empire. Majority of it were names and injuries they suffered, but beyond that there was a list of professions and skills they had in service to the Empire. ¡®Divination, Identification, Artificing, Magical scribe, Enchanting, Educating, Exorcism¡­ These words don¡¯t mean anything to me without context. I¡¯ll have to ask for a more thorough report on this later.¡¯ One of the names was circled with a written note by Alfred herself. ¡®Strega¡­ Expressed a personal desire to meet¡­ me? To establish a concord. Claims to be an excellent enchantress, potentially useful towards creation of protective equipment as demanded from me¡­ Huh, sure why not¡­¡¯ >System enchantment assistance available. Action requires skill: Alteration. ¡®Well that¡¯s convenient, at least I won¡¯t be completely lost.¡¯ >Indexing complete. Catalog available. ¡®Alright show it to me then.¡¯ A list of all the enchantments she could apply were known to her. ¡®Oh this thing just keeps going¡­ Damn. Okay I definitely need to learn Enchanting from this girl, this is just free value waiting to be exploited.¡¯ Few days had passed since Viveria had repelled their attackers. The Empire had made no diplomatic moves. Or rather their action was to brush off the incident as just another one of the petty border skirmishes. Militarily, the Empire could easily take on the Pyrinia and its neighbors all together handily but the fact they were being this timorous was telling of an internal political issue. They could afford to be belligerent for now. But besides the Empire there was something far more concerning that unfolded¡­ Treason. There was undeniable evidence about some border nobles colluding with the enemy. With the Empire cutting all their ties, and being found out about the Kingdom, the nobles of these houses were dead men walking. Heads would roll. Literally. As soon as Reynould entered, everyone poured out of the audience chamber. The heavy door slammed behind them, leaving the two men in deafening silence. They briskly headed to a room to the side through a corridor. Arriving at the spacious, elegant yet modestly decorated room, the crockery containing the steaming hot tisane was already prepared on the table. Sitting down first Diederik continued talking. With reminiscence out of the way the real talk could begin. Diederik ran his fingers through his maroon hair, racking his brain for the recollection It was hardly a surprise, the feats he learned of her, was extremely unlikely to have been achieved by a single person. Auratic Chapter 100: Spellbound Auratic When Alicia arrived to meet with the Enchantress in one of the temporary lodgings, she found her in a full on prostration. Though it was difficult to know that there was a person with the dark mass of shaggy hair poking out of the umber colored robe strewn over the floor mopping the dust and dirt. Alicia recently learned that her familiars had often held everyone around her in an inordinately high standard. Of such egregious demands, inability to say no or otherwise refuse anything asked of them was one such example. It was as if they expected everyone to be held in the same dominion as kindred did. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they had orchestrated the meeting to have her received in reverence. Perhaps they couldn¡¯t be held at fault for kindred was their birthright. Both their greatest gift and the heaviest shackle. Still with her brows against the ground: ¡®Ah yes, the weirdo magic type of lunatic. Can¡¯t say that I¡¯m enjoying the attention from the different flavors of crazies. At the end of the day, they¡¯re still maniacs.¡¯ Slowly she got up on her feet, white silken patch covering one of her eyes. Alicia recalled the injury and treatment report about her. Besides a few bruisings and other superficial wounds, her left eye had been crushed by a burning shrapnel. Paxton was able to mend all but the eye. Since she was denied an eye transplant from a fresh corpse - due to Alicia¡¯s concerns, as Paxton herself had no idea if it was even viable - Priest instead only dug out the shrapnels and any other foreign substances and forced the eye to heal with ¡®shut¡¯ multiple treatments of her potions, dubbed asclepius. Unfortunately she did not know of a way to restore sight to her left eye. With a promise of finding a way. Her face brightened at the subject mentioned, after she had just gone over the trouble of having her stand up, she went on her knees. It caught Alicia off guard, she was not the teaching type. She was genuinely confused as to what this was about. ¡®I think the Void surge pyroblast made a little too much of an impression on her¡­ Maybe she¡¯s still suffering from some sort of shell-shock. It¡¯s not like I know that much about the void.¡¯ Alicia was eager to learn about enchanting as it was a facet of magic that was previously unknown to her, and seeing it performed was a chance she didn''t want to forego. ¡®Why does this sound like weird chemistry all of a sudden.¡¯ It appeared as though she pulled something out of nothing in some display of sleight of hands. But real magic often left small nearly imperceptible traces that quickly faded out. Even someone that was incapable of using magic could feel such disturbances with enough experience. Air spells often left a gentle breeze or a gust, water made the surroundings moist and lingering warmth could be felt from the aftermath of fire spells. From Alicia¡¯s magic though, there was nothing that could be felt other than a deep feeling that something was off. Perhaps that was the trace the void left on the world. This unsettling sense that would put off anyone else, instead was alluring to Strega. Curiosity or some dark attraction, none knew, not even herself. Between her fingers she held a small chunk of dark quartz like crystal. It was a crystal that she had never seen before. Alicia tossed it right into her hands. It was then she noticed its unusual properties. The crystals radiated energy like none other and overflowed with it. Even the most purest crystal reagents would pale in comparison. In fact it was the perfect substitute. Alicia was quite intrigued by the answer. The void crystals were so abundant that they had basically become a litter of shiny rocks to her. Although she found a use for some of them in terms of her refrigerator prototypes. There were simply too many of them lying about. Even after factoring in other projects that she would use them for. Finding another use for them was a welcome addition. She almost stormed out the door. In spite of Alicia¡¯s hopes, Erwin could not find any significant abnormality from her psychological evaluation of Strega. Unfortunately, Alicia overlooked Erwin''s perception of what is and isn''t normal. Excessive idolization at near obsessive levels, unusually high opinion of Alicia due to her proficiency over the Void and unconditional compliance towards her Mistress in question was normal for the Araneae. But for humans who were not touched by Kindred, such tendencies could be considered out of the norm. Lacking this critical insight, Erwin concluded that the errant human witch was of sound mental health. Alfred, who was in charge of the preparatory work for the enchanting, requested Alicia to provide a bit more time. Not short of work to be done she shifted the order of the tasks that needed her attention. Supposedly the first set of occupants of the apartment buildings were shocked at the amount of privacy, sound insulation and sturdiness of the construction each room had. To create such an effect Gamma basically had the walls stuffed with fleece from the goats. They were however most impressed by the floorboards that didn¡¯t creak. However it was not to say that everything went withouts issues. In favor of the kitchen, in Alicia¡¯s designs there was no fireplace or an oven as she automatically assumed that each of the homes would get an electric oven with a burner on top. This led to some people starting a campfire inside their homes, on top of their wooden floors. Evidently this was a completely normal occurrence with the apartments, especially in big cities for the poorer laboring class. Each building had to be quickly redesigned with proper fireplaces and chimneys, until Alicia could fire out the kitchens. There had been a few strange behaviors that came from the former refugees that turned to settle down. Most were sleeping on the floor of new buildings instead of the provided beds, citing them to be; ¡°too opulent us kernish folk.¡± along with other concerns such as regarding the cost of the provided houses to be too grand or fears of sullying the place with just their foul presence. General education became high up in Alicia¡¯s priorities but before that convincing the people to actually use the provided furniture was an easy first step. It was then she learned of the celebrity-esque status she had attained from the showers of gratitude, offers of increasingly concerning forms of thanks and some even falling down some form of prayer motions - even though her interactions with the new people were minimal, infact Alicia was sure it was the first time formally meeting the majority of them. Investigating further she found out the chain of events that led up to her repute. Apparently, Gamma had performed some reputable exploits while overseeing the constructions, earning the admiration of the peasant folk. That which she then - unknowingly - directed them to instead ¡®worship¡¯ Alicia, for the only reason she was doing these chores for the humans was because it was Alicia¡¯s decree, as Gustave was normally disinterested in the overworld affairs. Finding the attention of the gathered crowd quite bothering Alicia wanted to ¡°fade away into nothing¡± unwittingly using Waveform to turn into a puddle and then scurrying away. While she had managed to escape the gaze of the adherents then and there, what she forgot once more was that she had just performed ¡°a miracle of god¡± or so the unenlightened people lacking context decided the event to be further deepening their devotion. These series of events would later become the catalyst for Alicia to avoid direct interaction with them as much as possible later on, leaving her close familiars to serve as a proxy. Woefully this meant that there was little in the way of her familiars from taking her instructions and blowing it out of proportions in delivery and granted more freedom of interpretation than she personally would have liked. Around two days had passed by full of miscellaneous tasks and Alicia had all but forgotten about the enchanting affair until Alfred notified her that the preparations were finally complete. Being invited to witness the process she was called over to the house that was provided to Strega. The house was a modified version of the split level house originally designed for larger households. Because it was built recently and in a rushed manner, the interior was unfinished in many parts with exposed masonry and support structure, and when combined with sparse furnishings, it produced a sense of industrial sterility. A hardly a homely residence, Alicia thought to herself. When she was in Viveria she had the opportunity to glimpse into the interiors of the buildings and the lifestyle of its people. From it she knew that it was commonplace to hang brocades from walls as both decor and perhaps insulation. ¡®We have a practically infinite supply of silk and cashmere, might as well put them to use somewhere. I¡¯ll see if I can send over some next time around. Or just panel the walls.¡¯. Descending into the basement, it had been completely renovated to become a workshop of sorts, however bare and crude it appeared to be. With no artificial lighting, small horizontal window slits provided some lighting from the outside. At its center a large altar-like fixture had been installed. ¡®Excuse me, that¡¯s supposed the be a ¡®table?¡¯¡¯ The table appeared only to be an implement to hold up a strange device seemingly made up of concentric circles made from polished stones and metals. Besides that numerous lit candles providing warm light and a few glassware containing some liquids sat on top of the table. It had two crystalline balls inlaid to it. With a closer look the device had a gentle slope making it a shallow basin of sorts, the surface of the circles were covered in etchings of a language unknown and possessed smaller reservoirs with groovings leading out of it varying sizes as though they were made to funnel liquid or other substances to its large central bowl. Alfred was already waiting for her. The enchantress herself was standing next to the table, although subdued it was not difficult to see that she was excited, like a child proud to show off their creation. With her permission as a signal, the witch quickly began her work. She brought over a small square silken cloth and placed it in the center of the table. She then poured fine grounds of something out of a shallow wooden dish into one of the smaller receptacles. It glittering in the light, conveyed its crystalline nature. Then as she leaned on the table, with her grasping over the large ball of crystal. As though reacting to her presence the ¡®table¡¯ itself came to life with its etching starting to shimmer faintly and the grinding sound of the stone circles turning. The candles flickered out only to strike up again with a flame of bluish hue, bathing the whole area in its cold light. She started muttering something, and the etchings on the table brightened one by one seemingly in a specific order in response. Suddenly she lifted her hands, the table halting in its tracks and the lights dying out, except for the few bright characters still visible. She then turned the circles of the table manually by hand from the innermost ring working outwards, matching the groovings on them to create one continuous channel to lead to the central bowl almost like a puzzle. Once the final ring was in its place, a snaking path from the reservoir filled with crystalline dust to the cloth sitting in the central bowl was made. After which she gently poured one of the liquids in the glassware on top of the reservoir. The liquid soaked the dust, becoming infused with it before being channeled away, pulled by gravity. Flow of the liquid passed through the glowing etchings of the table, seemingly absorbing its glow as it flowed over. After a few minutes the fluid had passed over every lit character and its final drops saturated the cloth and disappeared. With the cloth drinking its last, the candles lost their hue of blue and returned to their natural colors. ¡®There seems to be some method to the madness but I was too busy being enthralled by the pretty colors¡­ What was it that one guy said? Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic? Well screw you, it still doesn¡¯t rule out magic!¡¯ With a nod of approval, Alicia picked up the small cloth. Despite being just soaked then, she couldn¡¯t feel any form of moisture in it, though she could notice some glittering was in the silk, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. With the permission granted, Alpha brought over a wooden contraption resembling a tanning rack holding two more similar cloths stretched and at tension. With a scornful sigh Alicia pulled her blade out of the vault. ¡®I should ask if I could borrow one of Alice¡¯s daggers, a sword is a little overkill with its length.¡¯ Without thinking Alicia stabbed the cloth, without any enchantments. It provided surprising resistance before tearing. ¡®Huh, this is Tesla¡¯s weave is it? It¡¯s paper thin and almost good on its own¡­¡¯ Making a mental note of how strong the regular silken cloth was, Alicia moved on the other one. Absent-mindedly she stabbed it, but instead of piercing through the cloth, the entire contraption with its cloth fell over backwards. It was about the same force she applied. Alfred propped up the rack and held its one side. This time with a proper preparation Alicia stabbed into magically imbued the cloth starting with slightly lower force than her first stab but gradually applying more as she went. The amount of resistance and strength this piece of cloth exhibited was quite impressive as she had to use both of her hands to get more leverage before finally the cloth started to tear. Satisfied and impressed with the results, Alicia turned to Strega who was quietly standing beside them. Her expression full of tension turned to that of happiness as Alicia held out her hand to her. >Kindred request sent, awaiting confirmation. Instead of shaking her hand, she turned it around only to plant a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. ¡®What the fu-¡¯ >Confirmation authorized, processing request. Auratic I wrote about half this filled with hunger and waiting for the food to be done. I can''t think straight. The enchanting table design was highly inspired by the shiny setpiece that was skyrim enchanting tables with a little bit of more functional exploration and added mayan stone calendar shit. Chapter 101: Works of Art and Love Auratic After Alicia witnessed the potential of enchanting first hand, she became very much so invested in the art. Thinking to herself if such practices existed how come it wasn¡¯t more widespread and adopted ubiquitously. Her answer came to her in the written report from Alpha. First and foremost, the art of enchanting was a rather recent development within the human world. The discovery and further advancements in the branch was largely overlooked, as it was overshadowed by the prestige and power that came with more¡­ destructive forms of magic, specifically ones that had earned one a notable position in the military. Secondly it was exclusively for the rich. The act of enchanting required rare and exotic materials to become a medium - from expensive metals most of which completely unheard of to Alicia such as ¡®magic silver,¡¯ ¡®adamantite,¡¯ and ¡®black gold¡¯ - and precious crystals and minerals - like ¡®blue sapphire¡¯ which apparently is lapis lazuli and confusingly, actual sapphires to as an example - act as a catalyst or a reagent, all of which are either prohibitively expensive or quite impossible to acquire if one is not of a certain strata of society. The process of turning the precious materials into reagents involves grinding them down to dust making them irrecoverable and extremely squanderous, for it could have been used to make fine jewelry or a gift in high society. The upfront costs necessary for any return on investment was a steep one that even affluent nobles would hesitate to fork up the cash. All of this also contributed to the fact that Enchanted items were not easily mass produced. With these circumstances it was much easier to buy up enchanted articles than to invest into a dubious and expensive venture. But there does exist few people that through various methods have secured themselves enchanters. However the work desired from those magus err to the side of decadence than that of practicality. While it is common for enchanters to be commissioned to create silverware that can detect poison and protect oneself from harm there are quite a few, eyebrow raising enchantments that are also common. A necklace with an embedded gemstone that can shine brightly even in broad daylight, a chair enchanted to be the most comfortable, and beddings that gives the most restful night¡¯s and a pillow that is always cool and wards off nightmares. Beyond that, training a mage to be an acceptable artificer was as ten times as difficult and time consuming than to train one to hurl a ball of fire at whatever their superior tells them to throw it at. While no-doubt useful, it was clear that enchanting itself was not utilized to its greatest extent. Alfred had also pointed out a few more details worth one¡¯s attention. While almost every material was receptive to the enchanting process, they would not all respond the same way. Something Strega called an ¡®enchanting potential.¡¯ Certain metals, like iron and steel were notoriously difficult to enchant compared to textiles and more ¡®natural¡¯ resources. She didn¡¯t have any evidence but she suspected that the process of making the metals itself, by purifying them, also purged it of whatever qualities it had prior that allowed it to have more potential. Coincidentally, this made the Araneae silk and the Energised wool of the thudergoats into an excellent medium for holding enchantments. The potential itself did not make the enchanting any more or less effective but rather, the demand for magical energy the item had to maintain the enchantments. Everything had some traces of magical energy diffused into them, accumulating and storing them, including inanimate objects. Enchantments used this energy held inside the material as a fuel to maintain itself. Items with higher potential, could hold onto numerous enchantments or express an existing enchantment more intensely. However by exceeding this potential, a burden is placed on whoever is using the item by draining them of energy. A steel chestplate enchanted with protection was already over its limit, but the amount of energy drained from its host - as long as they were fit and healthy - was insignificant as to be unnoticeable. This was desirable, as enchantments did not require the user to have any skill or knowledge over magic to benefit from them. Whoever if the same soldier were to wear a fully enchanted suit of armor, the collective energy demand would exhaust him, in the best case scenario or cripple him into a comatose state at the worst. Lastly there was one thing that was bothering Alicia, the symbols on the enchanting table, she couldn¡¯t shrug off the feeling that they were familiar somehow. Days later, she remembered where she saw them before. These symbols seemed awfully similar to the scribblings she saw on the papers and on the suit of ¡°Johnny.¡± With this revelation, Alma clarified that the ¡°Language¡± used in the enchanting table to be an extremely simplified version of what was known as the Messenger¡¯s tongue. This new version was called Enochian or the Angelic script by some. These were more or less poems or instructions, seemingly directed at¡­ a group of something. And could almost say pretty much anything, though it often followed a format of a prayer or a blessing. While Alicia was trying to ask Strega about what she knew of the Enochian. She received a telepathic note about an accident that occurred. Tesla, who was assigned to help develop a new design of clothing that was to be enchanted with more protection with help of Strega, informed her that the Enchantress fell from the small flight stairs of her home and hit her head unconscious and is recovering under the watch of Paxton. The accident was ruled to be caused by her lack of depth perception thanks to her missing eye. Though the solution came quietly from a place both far and near. The sound of ocean¡¯s waves breaking on the cliff walls and the winds¡¯ howling whisper dominated the desolate shore. A young woman stood at the precipice, brackish waves foaming far below her. She did not remember how came here, or what this place was. The sky was dark with no stars to keep her company, the ground beneath her lifeless and rugged, the water¡¯s waves, black and seemingly bottomless, the horizon between the sea and the sky appeared non-existent. To landwards the very world itself seemed to fall apart and end. Lacking the courage to plunge herself into the abyssal waters and unable to embrace the end. She trudges through the thin shoreline inbetween. As soon as she starts to walk, she feels as if she had been walking for decades already without change. Was it pointless? If so, why was she going this path? Walking¡­ walking¡­ occasionally stumbling, walking¡­ walking¡­ an eternity seemed to pass by. But soon voices could be heard from inside the whistling winds and a vague silhouette of something was seen. With each step she took towards the object, the more clearer voices became. Before long, the indistinct silhouette was made out to be a structure of sorts. Closer now, the whispering voices became a singing chorus. Standing right infront of the structure, it was a temple of sorts, encased in rough hewn rocks. It was as if the temple itself was unearthed from some place belonging to the bowels of the earth. Temple was pristine white with marble, and didn¡¯t seem a day older from when it was made. Columns, stairs, wall engravings, inexorable force seemed to pull her in. The whitened walls of the sanctuary drowned out the sounds of the sea, fully replaced by the gentle chorus of a language unknowable. In its depths, doors to an altar room swung open inviting her in. At its center a huge eye of some titanic being stared at her. The sclera a void of darkness, the iris a swirling mass of clouds in constant flux, and the pupil a distant star burning with cold torpor. The endless depths of the iris was revealed briefly in the flashes of lightning that shot through the storming clouds. As soon as she stepped into the chamber she felt the gazes of innumerable beings resting on her. Although it was but a moment ago she was indoors, now she stood again at the edge of a precipice, cosmos unraveling before her, each star, a piercing gaze. If the huge eye was the Judge, they were the jury and she was on trial. Despite the outlandish circumstances completely divorced from any semblance of reality, she was all too tolerant - accepting even - of the absurd scenario. From the chorus, she could make out some glimpses of words that held meaning to her, broken and scattered. ¡°Leaven offshoot¡­ house of magic¡­ vow¡­ duty¡­ to ones¡­ service¡­ be rewarded¡­ equal¡­ return¡­ light¡­ treason¡­ lament¡­ take the ????????????????????????????????????o????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????n??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????¡­ leave the body¡­ dark¡­ devoid¡­ intruder¡­¡± They all shushed in an instant, creating a deafening quiet, with only those words making any sense. A shooting star fell from the sky, landing before her, tumbling and rolling infront of her. A perfect sphere of dark marble enshrouded in flames of green. A time was given for deliberation, it was of no shortage in this realm. An offer was made, an answer awaited. The boon of the ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????d?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ones was both a gift and a promise, a promise of repayment in dear should one let slip their pledge. For her though, there wasn¡¯t a reason in the world that could make her cross her new masters. Their gift was everything she could have ever wanted for. In not even a second of hesitation, she grabbed the burning sphere and stuffed it inside the cavity that once housed her eye. The coal that it was, burning inside her head, searing pain overwhelming her. In the brief time Strega was unconscious from her fall, Alicia received an unusual report from Paxton. Alicia could feel her understanding of the world slowly degrading into a puddle mud. Following are the excerpts of writing neatly compiled by ordinal Tesla. We''ve been entrusted with creating clothing that can shield humanoids from harm, for their bizarre anatomy places the hardened skeleton on the inside, foregoing its protective embrace. Instead relying on a thin flexible membrane called skin. As a result, they must rely on ¡°attire¡± for external protection and temperature regulation. While I find their flaws pitiful, I believe there is merit in researching their creations for we too could benefit from it, partly as in our true forms our upper halves share the very same weaknesses. A trade off for more access to magic and quicker cognitive functions of humans. Caulforst? Whatever it was, she goes by the moniker Frost now. Unfortunately my proposal to turn her into a capacitor for static electricity has been shut down by our Lady. Shame, she would have been far more useful to me as one. Besides my failures, she became my test subject for creating a suitable clothing fit for our mistress. Unfortunately the subject is not compliant tearing away most early prototypes, permission to sedate using both restrictive cocooning and envenomation with paralyzing neurotoxin was denied. Regrettably I have been commanded to acquiesce to her complaints. Troubling. I have gained some insight as to how to make improvements to clothing from my time working with the¡­ fuzzy feline. It appears that most clothes for the Lithiline are far too restraining. Likely due to their flexible nature. Extreme elasticity and breathability is a bare minimum for them to put on the clothing. Additionally any clothing that is too form fitting is also inadvisable no matter how elastic it is, leading me to believe that all Grimalkin are an extreme example of negative thigmotaxis. Opposite to our nature, how baffling. With my new discoveries I have woven clothing of acceptable quality from both me and Frost. The original design was inspired by the uniform used by female maid servant¡¯s from our Mistress¡¯s knowledge. Surprising amount of thought had gone into its construction, though I had to make a few amendments to fit the Grimalkin. Firstly, the headband has been completely discarded. The feline does not like the feeling of it. Second, the weave structure has been greatly reinforced with the new alternating designs, this version has significantly improved tensile strength against any stabbing and cutting attacks. Small scrapes and scratches will never damage the structure. The extra tensility of the material still allows for near-unhindered movement, even by the flexible standards of Lithilines. Though blunt force trauma still remains a problem. Current iteration of using Tornitua wool padding to dissipate the force has rendered the uniform too bulky and hindered the breathability of the silk making it far too hot for the Grimalkin. Lastly, the length of the apron and the dress has been greatly shortened to end just above the knees, sacrificing the area of protection to only the flanks to improve movement range. The major arteries coursing through the thighs are still somewhat protected. Suboptimal result, as it leaves the shins bare, however with the natural agility of the Lithilines, this hopefully will not become a problem. This is only for Frost as future uniforms will be full length. Strega. Human witch. Artificer of sorts. Able to imbue magic to materials and attire alike to enhance their parameters. Useful. It appears that I have found my breakthrough needed. There is a large time gap between the second part of excerpts. It involved a few depictions similar to patent illustrations. While Alicia or any of her familiars may not have the need to feed, there are still many staff working inside her residence that do. The servants of the mansion had been given the following uniform as part of their employment. The high quality of the product meant that it was a cherished and proud possession of anyone, including noble girls. The enchanted maid servant¡¯s uniform. In use for the Ordinals and general staff. Headband. Nickname: The HALO A circlet in the guise of a headband for soaking up sweat. Five ornamental crystals are in fact cut and polished void crystals each with their own functions. Each crystal can be swapped out depending on the needs of the circumstance. C1 - Left most and C5 - Right most crystals serve as capacitors. Extracts void energies and act as batteries for the rest of crystals and uniform wide enchantments. Necessary for humans and other less magically attuned individuals. Can be replaced with crystals with more practical utility for other users. C2 - Median left - Auxiliary unit ¢ñ - Enchanted with Respiration, filters airborne toxins and contaminants, provides oxygen in areas where there are none, allows for near aquatic breathing, Serenity to prevent any mind altering effects and Arresting to mitigate damage from any fall related damage. - Specifically added by request of Alicia due to the incident involving Strega. C3 - Central - Spellbound with Safeguard spell - Activates only on emergencies and attacks aimed towards the head and neck. Acts as the ¡°helmet¡± for this ¡°armor.¡± Can be used to form a body-wide shield if necessary. C4 - Median right - Auxiliary unit ¢ò - Enchanted with levity to reduce mass of the headband to near weightlessness, Preservation to repair any damage and protect the integrity of the unit as a whole and Restoration to preserve life of the wearer. Due to the power and value of the circlets, most human other wearers are not informed the full details of the enchantments and capabilities of the HALO as to discourage any unnecessary risk seeking behaviors. As requested by Lady Alicia. Dress and Apron Nickname: The Temple Both attires have been enchanted with Protection, Preservation and Levity. Additionally, the dress has been enchanted with Empowering and Invigorating to improve working hours and physical capabilities of the user for tasks requiring strength. On the other hand the apron has been enchanted with Accelerating and Fixating for better handling of tools, maintenance, cleaning tasks and cooking. Likewise to the HALO, full specifications of the Temple are not known to the staff using them. But according to preliminary tests and a few incidents being observed. Together the uniform alone can elevate any average human to an equivalent level near peak performing mid-high tier guild Agent. In combination with any potential the user had as a baseline, even more. Inventory management of the uniforms for this reason is strictly monitored. Classified Stockings and Suspenders Nickname: The Foundation Enchanted with Protection, Preservation and Levity. In line with Temple pieces. Originally intended for Frost as her clothing left the legs in need of additional protection. Seemingly innocuous white undergarments created in secret to complete the uniform of the Grimalkin as her shins were left unprotected by the earlier designs. Continued to be manufactured after unexpected popularity among human females, that spread to other races as well it seems. As it is not part of the set, it must be requested by the user as an additional piece through Strega who will then request the base from me. Because it was not streamlined by myself as I saw no further need to pursue the article, there is some headroom for additional enchantments without overloading the capacitor crystals. These too can be added at request. However recently I started to question the practicality of the added functions desired by the humans, as they are not in line with either protection or thermoregulation as intended. Aesthetic choices of adding textures and designed holes and perforation to increase ¡°allure¡± have become a trend lately. I also suspect Witch to be adding non-standard enchantments to them as well. Additional piece of enchantment similar to Invigoration seems to be added for stamina but for a different kind from the usual one provided by the former Enchantment.1For longer sexual stamina Other peculiar enchantments were the addition of Fulmination - Enchantment used to intensify Lightning type spells and magic and Aeration for the same effect except for Air type. Fulmination when used improperly is apparently used to send electrifying gratification at an end of certain activity.2Sends electrifying pulses at the climax While Aeration is used to quickly dry out sweat and clean undesired fluids.3Dry out sweat, cooldown body somewhat as well as to dry out any bodily fluids excreted and ejected on. It seems that there is still more to learn about clothing, needs further research. - Tesla Auratic I am late but I do have something interesting to show you all. I recently gained access to OpenAI''s Dall-E 2 Image generator. After some fiddling I did what any other broke author would do, make the robot do free illustrations. It''s not what I hoped for, (especially after burning an ungodly amount of credits to do so) but it''s the best I could do with after strangling the AI twenty different ways. But here it is anyways, it is by no means canon or final but it should give a strong impression of how I envisioned them to be. Alicia - As imagined by an A.I I highly recommend that you do not zoom in too much as that make the flaws of the generation even more prominent. There''s another generation where I tried to make the A.I generate a more... Anime-style facial features. It didn''t go well, at all. It also needs to climb out of the uncanny valley too. If you want to do mental damage to yourself with a borderline DeviantArt OC. Then go ahead I tried to get a Neutral/resting smile, but the A.I needs to learn what a smile is, Period. Some of the other generations legitimately looked like it was making an impression of Momo doll, sculpture or whatever it''s supposed to be. Also it conveniently ignored blue eyes in almost all the generations. Too many prompts makes it difficult to focus I suppose. I will get my next set of credits to play with at the end of the month, which I will be definitely using for more of these. And hopefully open A.I then will have made some great improvements to the generation algorithm by then. Since I am also part of the Dall E discord I can share other people''s posts and generations too if anyone wants it. Not a chapter: Announcement This announcement will be removed when the next chapter drops. I have a 6 week internship that I must focus on, starting next week. Chapters will be immensely delayed until then, I cannot promise any form of schedule, they''ll just drop in randomly like the gifts from the chunky chimney climber. I will also be temporarily changing the series status to Hiatus, but that doesn''t mean there will be no updates or that I won''t be reading/responding to comments. But if it helps you hurry up and wait faster, the practicum period will conclude on October 24th. The third act will begin soon. In the mean time enjoy the dangerbox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im2hI2sntvg Chapter 102: Elevation In the weeks worth of time something of a small town had cropped up at the heart of the once untamed forest. Shelters were torn down and houses were erected. With the large demand for materials for the construction, many industrial facilities had to be made such as bloomeries, stonecutters and brickworks. The need for timber was a difficult problem to solve, for despite being surrounded by trees, a special care and distinction was required to accrue them without upsetting the local dryads. This in turn led to the creation of the sacred groves and the Nymphaion. Huge swathes of land, full of trees different from the fruit orchards were reserved for housing the two tree nymphs, the nymphaion was a place of rest and worship for the humans as much as it was a home for the spirits. In addition to its intended purpose as a park for the residents, it served as a basic tree nursery. In taking care of the trees of the grove, the dryads could safely harvest lumber, though the volume of wood acquired in this manner was as plentiful, it was the only option. Dryssia herself has brought up the option of ¡°making more dryads¡± to Alicia. More dryads could ramp up the acquisition of lumber without straining the ecosystem. Since dryads were spirits borne from trees, it was relatively simple to make a tree bear a dryad. Only problem being the tremendous amount of magical energy needed for the procedure. Alicia on her own could make one perhaps two Dryads, with help from Alice, at least four and maybe five if they¡¯re lucky, without falling into a small coma. But since it would be an artificially induced process rather than a natural one. The newly born dryads would be extremely underdeveloped, likely incapable of understanding any form of speech; plants had no need to communicate through vocalizations after all. That being said with Dryssia and Apricot to act as mentors and guardians it wouldn¡¯t take long for them to fit into their new forms. For now Alicia settled for only one new dryad. After a long trek following Dryssia, she was brought to a rather average looking tree. It wasn¡¯t the tallest, oldest, biggest, unique from the others or anything. She wasn¡¯t quite sure of the species of the tree, but looking at its leaves she at least knew it was different from Dryssia or Apricot. Guessing that Dryssia saw something in the tree that she couldn¡¯t see, Alicia kept her tongue from saying something that could be interpreted as rude. The feeding of energy was a relatively straightforward process, the only issue was that it had to be a slow and constant transfer. Much like watering a soil, it was a gentle drizzle that nourished it, not a stormy downpour. Once she had started to funnel her mana to the tree, eventually she had become accustomed to the process and after that she didn¡¯t need to concentrate at all. Without noticing she had fallen into a meditative trance. She didn¡¯t feel the hours passing by at all, until something came up that required her attention back at the settlement and broke her out of her glaze. But by then, it was almost all but done and Dryssia could take over and complete the transfer. Alicia quickly returned, and didn¡¯t think too much about it. Until she noticed Dryssia was missing for a whole day and a half. Just before she started to become concerned she showed up with a young girl trailing behind her. Strange cracked crusts covered various parts of her body, with a closer look almost all of her body¡¯s skin - spare the hands and the most of the face - was composed of the hard exterior of a tree bark. Alicia half expected another nude woman to show up as all her previous experience with nymphs led her to believe all of them to be nudists. Apparently, having visible bark is considered an incomplete transformation, evident from both Dryssia and Apricot distinctly lacking them. The girl didn¡¯t speak or react to any stimulus, this much was expected. The new dryad was of an Alder tree and would be under the two tree nymphs¡¯ care until she matured, so to speak. Thanks to plentiful food and security taken care of, the Elves started to rekindle their traditions. Mostly reserved to arts, woodcarving and other craftsmanship, it was a rediscovery of their culture. This rekindling had led to modest creations of Elvish nature. Which unsurprisingly was quite popular among the newcomers. Not only was it something new and exotics, but also durable and aesthetically pleasing without overdoing it. While the stock was small there was no doubt that Albertini would want to get a hold of a few articles to sell high elsewhere. Which led to the dilemma. His caravans were running quite late even accounting for the damage and delays caused by the recent conflict over Viveria. Charlie had already been recalled, and the Devil¡¯s Crown agents were laying low, effectively putting all of their usual operations on hold for the time being. The patrols of the outer perimeters outside the forest led by Delta too much information to relay. However a recent increase in highwaymen, and looters along with the appearance of military deserters, stragglers had been brought to attention. They wouldn''t even come even remotely close to the forest, while the exact cause is indeterminate it wasn¡¯t hard to guess why. As such it was safe to rule them out. Few more days passed by without anything noteworthy happening. Except the fact that the humans kept walking into the perimeter alarm webs and had to be rescued a few times. Those who were saved by the Araneae in their spider forms had signs of lasting trauma which led to the elven rangers patrols having to respond regardless of how long they would take to get there. One morning Alicia was greeted with such message from Alfred. Alpha wouldn¡¯t be so casual if it was something serious. Something told her she would not like what was ahead of her. Alicia had been mostly focusing on the infrastructure to support utilities. Plumbing, central heating, disposal system and such. Having warm water flow out through the rudimentary showerheads from the bathrooms of each residence was a luxurious living standard that could put shame to some large cities. The bathrooms with warm water slowly phased out the public baths that were hastily put together to deal with hygiene, however there were still quite a few people that used the public baths as a sort of point of socialization. The concept of central heating provided by radiators though still seemed to elude the people¡¯s mind. Only thing they cared about was that it kept their homes somewhat warm during the cold nights and was mostly a well received success if one could overlook a few incidents where people tried to warm water or cook their meals on top of them. Public amenities were still lacking, by her standards and would have eventually been addressed, unfortunately. Alicia¡¯s room was often cluttered with unfinished or failed prototypes. While she herself didn¡¯t mind the mess, it was not ideal for receiving guests, especially considering they could be dignitaries. ¡®Okay then¡­ time for some house cleaning. We might need a storage room or a warehouse¡­¡¯ Many days have passed since Reynold had parted ways with Alicia. Picking up the pieces from the Empire''s aggression was busy work, not to mention the administrative bookkeeping to get on top of. However nothing could have delayed his visit more than the plan he and his old friend have been hatching behind the scenes. His current visit to a forest beyond the edge of Kingdom¡¯s territory was the last step, after that, only God knew what would happen. His deep thoughts were interrupted by one of the forward scout¡¯s report. Completely dressed in white attire of foreign make, the long white hair. He remembered her, Alfred she called herself. Despite looking similar to her mistress at glance, she was far more memorable, in unsettling terms. She was the one to direct him to a certain merchant who had been doing business with them. Even now some of their caravans were coming along to guide the way. Although the distance between them was so great that he couldn¡¯t make out much more than just her figure, he felt as if their eyes met. Even now he could almost see her bland smile, the dark eyes that seemed to pierce through him. After some time riding towards their destination, they were finally reached within a speaking distance. She had been holding her hands behind her back all this time. Generally, hiding one¡¯s hands was considered disrespectful as it indicated that they were hiding something, perhaps a weapon. As such most of his entourage was wary of her before one of his attendants spoke. To him it was anything but, as she stood statuesque for more than an hour now. Straight back, level gaze and open front. No, she didn¡¯t hold this posture to conceal a hidden weapon or make a lousy surprise attack. Hands behind one¡¯s back were useless to protect vital organs, it was signifying openness, indicating herself as not being a threat and¡­ exemplifying her confidence and control of how she felt no threat from the couple dozen odd armed soldiers approaching her. As their convoy halted, before his attendant could speak she performed an action similar to a curtsy. Foreign to their culture of course but even the uninitiated could tell what it was and see the flawless execution. And so they entered the once prohibited forest. As they made their way through the woods, all of them were agitated. It was deathly silent beyond the sounds of their horses¡¯ jog and the clattering arms. Winds on the leaves made it seem that the trees themselves were whispering among each other. No bird sang, no animal scurried, it was them and the desolate forest. Every crack of dead branches and the deafening crunch of leaves made them jump because of how loud they were in comparison. No one could shake off the feeling that something was watching them, just out of sight. Feeling the nervousness of his men Reynold asked as such; There they found their answer, though it was meant to be reassuring, the feeling of being watched was nonetheless distressing. How many were there? What were they thinking? Some sense of reassurance could be found from the few merchants being awfully nonchalant about the whole situation. It seemed that they were quite used to being inside this forest. Soon after they were at the edge of what could be called a town deep in the heart of the woods. First a few isolated dwellings, the hamlets and villages. Bizarre yet captivating architecture could be seen everywhere. From buildings entrenched deeply into the ground to triangular houses hanging just above the ground, supported by the nearby trees. Suspended wooden walkways connected the lofty trees overhead, as people walked over them. Closer to the center as they went, the more lively it became. If one paid attention they could make out the sounds of children playing, running and laughing in the distance. So deeply integrated into the forest, it was difficult to tell where the town started and the forest ended. Perhaps the town too was a part of the forest itself. The residents of the dwellings peeked through their windows, watching them curiously as they passed. Besides humans they counted many Elves. Yet they seemed wholly different from those found in human countries. Taller, slender, sharper, somehow¡­ more alive and active. Most of the merchants had broken off the convoy with the intent of browsing goods that caught their interest and barter. What surprised the humans in the convoy were humanoids with lanky limbs hauling in a corpse of a massive monster that many of them didn¡¯t even know existed. People flocked to the humanoids with pale blue skin, presenting their bags of coin, salt and whatever else fit for bartering, some even dropped a bag of bones. Men and women alike pointing at various parts of the creature, the humanoids quickly went on to butcher it. Carving meat, skinning the leather, sawing off the tusks, extracting the organs and preserving them in jars of fluid before trading it away. They worked with such impressive speed and efficiency that the monster would be stripped down to bare bones in minutes. At Reynold¡¯s discretion his aides went into the crowd of people to question the people. Each of them answered half-heartedly, concerned with buying up the quickly disappearing meat. Piecing together the various answers thusly they relayed to their lord. Here their quiet guide, Alfred, spoke to them. He felt as if he stepped into a snare just then. Yet thrashing too forcefully against the quicksand might only make him sink further. As they advanced, more and more sights both peculiar and unlikely they came across. A giant spider monster carried a veritable mountain of materials to an ongoing building site. Grand orchards brimming with fruiting trees, flower fields teeming with vibrant flowers. It was as though they stepped into another world. Although it had only been a short while, the sights they saw were enough to make for a lifetime of adventuring. Before long they were surrounded by tranquil quiet and they were on their way towards a magnificently large great oak tree, under its leaven shade a mansion stood. Compared to the marvels that they were exposed to just before now, this building seemed quite subdued in its appearance. Nonetheless there was a certain sense of grandeur that could be felt. Unlike the curated gardens of noble estates that tamed nature and put up boundaries with cut grass and stone walls, the mansion here seemed to be one with the woods itself free from constraints. It was as if it laid claim to the entire forest, making it seem that much larger. Outside the mansion stood nine individuals in line, their attires though broadly uniform in their theme, each were highly personalized. Their guide until now, Alfred, broke off and stood in front of them in the middle, making the count ten. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°We welcome thee.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± In a glorious chorus that couldn¡¯t be reproduced with decades of practice they greeted them. Reynold turned to his men with a stern gaze. Near the end of a delightful dinner1Lunch as per medieval times. Dinner would be supper. Reynold was informed that Alicia was ready to receive him. Leaving all the unnecessary personnel behind, he and one of his house knights was brought to an unassuming door. By now he had learned that nothing was as it seemed in this place. As Alfred opened the door in front of him, a bright, spacious study came into view. Rays of sunlight, filtered through the foliage peered through the large windows. Tools, gadgets, and strange artifacts were neatly placed on the shelves against the walls. In the overhead loft, there was a workshop of sorts with numerous piles of drawings and unfinished contraptions. The owner of the room, sat behind a large desk, and as soon as he entered, her gliding quill stopped. Depositing it back into the inkwell; Alicia tidied up the paperwork in front of her as she spoke. With a simple nod, she went to retrieve her. So far the knight at his side was quiet, but no matter how suppressed, the restlessness in him couldn¡¯t be hidden from Alicia who could feel his heart beating rapidly. Stumbling with his words a little with the sudden shift in topic he was caught unawares. ¡®Excellency¡­ great, another one to add to the pile.¡¯ ¡®Broken ribs, crushed organs, internal bleeding¡­ yeah, sounds pretty lethal. And Paxton¡¯s medicine was enough to have him standing right here, usually she disposes of her test subjects more often than them being alive and well¡­ I should reward her for a job well done¡­ though how the hell do I reward a spider? erhgh¡¯ Saying that he made his exit in a hurry. Reynold came up to her desk and placed the sealed letters and a small box. Just as he had finished placing the letters. The door to the room opened after two quick knocks. Alfred had returned with Rosalia. The usually proper girl abandoned all sense of her manners and sprinted towards her father. Kneeling down to embrace his daughter; Glistening tears of a grown man was a rare sight to see, especially of someone so high in standing. ¡®I¡¯m not good with the sappy stuff, I¡¯ll just let them calm down¡­ let¡¯s start with the letters in the meantime.¡¯ Trying her best to appear uninterested, she grabbed one of the more interesting looking envelopes, broke its wax seal and unbound its ties. As she was uninformed about the various seals of the Kingdom she had no clue who or where it was from. Being fairly large the contents of the letter had multiple stamps and seals with some even having faint magical signatures. Due to the high-flown language within, she couldn¡¯t make out much but she did notice a few things that jumped out at her. Oddly short paragraphs, use of rare notations, numbered lists and referencing of some other document. She had seen this type of writing before. ¡®What is this, a contract, legal document¡­?¡¯ As she was mystified by the letter she was brought back into reality by Reynold who had recomposed himself. His complexion had become much more lively now that he had reunited with his lost daughter. ¡®My fucking what?!¡¯ Auratic Here''s a Spooder vidya: The evolution of webs. I also I did use some of the free credits from my Dall-E to make another uhh... artistic rendition of another character. This time it''s Alice, but... jank. I let Dall-E do some more on the peripherals but seems to have forgotten the memo about which style the hair was supposed to be. Also This version of Alice looks significantly older because I couldn''t very specifically use the words "young girl" together. I''m guessing that is because some people kept trying to... let''s say finagle around the NSFW filter to create their perfect waifu to fuck. I had to edit the eyes to be red myself because Dall-E can''t seem to give me normal looking red eyes. I ask for red eyes and it basically gives the me variations of the glowing eyes red meme. Before I continue is there any style that these generations... should follow? More photography-esque, LN/Manga like or a digital art/illustration like? Lemme know. Also who next, who you wanna see rendered with the glory of shitty AI. I might need to do some serious doctoring to the results but hey, at least it''s something to see. Chapter 103: And downfall Auratic Making heads and tails out of the series of letters was indeed a troublesome work, but with help from Rosalia - who had stayed, against Alicia¡¯s expectations - and two and a half day¡¯s worth of effort some resolution could finally be put together. First was establishing a chronological order to the letters which was deceptively difficult due to not all of them bearing a date combined with the fact that the letters had been held up and came much later than they should have. Though most of them had at the minimum a four to five days of space in between them. Before unpacking all of the contents of letters, one thing had to be established firsthand, the contentious ownership of the forest of Velauhart. Though technically unchartered hitherto Alicia¡¯s de facto control over the land, it was a more or less a contested territory between multiple parties, The Kingdom and the Empire included among the more powerful claimants due to their physical proximity. Though even nations that don¡¯t even border the territory had a claim to it, most notably the Oracular order - claiming it a holy land fit only for pilgrimage. Even petty kingdoms and city states had something to say about their legitimacy to its ownership; simply put, it was pie and everyone wanted a piece of it. With many powers placing a practical bounty to however that could actually hold the land, promising both the land, wealth, fame, whatever they could desire, drawing in many young, bold or the desperate to their unmarked graves. However none truly succeeded in occupying the territory for long due to the extremely hostile and equally dangerous fauna. It is difficult to say whether or not Alicia settled the land since she technically is part of the hostile fauna. Yet, this is where the lernean hydra of convolutions start. Since Alicia is native to Forest, - by this world¡¯s standards - and it being claimed by the Kingdom, through technicality she can be regarded as a citizen of Pyrinia. This unshakable, indisputable fact of her nativity becomes the linchpin that holds everything that comes after together. This minor but significant detail allows the monarch of Pyrinia, King Diederik to pull off some creative interpretations of the law. First of the letters was basically acknowledgement of her success in establishing a community along with compensations such as making her a freeholder with land. While what was written was significant it was that which went unwritten that was important. The letter was a recognition of her being a citizen of the Kingdom by the very King himself and set a crucial precedent both of which were important requirements for the next set of actions. Next up was her safe recovery of a high standing - Margrave - member of the nobility - Rosalia - with close ties to the Royalty itself. The position of Margrave was equivalent to a Marquis, but with a small difference. The adage of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer ringed true in most courts. The king or any monarch in general only assigned the most distant territories, - ones that are most vulnerable - away from their eyes to their most trusted and loyal individuals. Be it direct through direct ownership or giving it to family and close allies and keeping uncertain actors and potential enemies under close scrutiny of the Royal court. While at surface level it might seem as though they are being banished to some backwater county, for those who could read in between the lines, it was the greatest show of faith. And Alicia having found and rescued a member - inadvertently - of a house held that high by the King earned her another reward. This time they found it fit to raise her to the rank of a Baroness, a process made simple and straightforward since she at this point had already become a freeholder. Then came the conflict with the Empire, with the aftermath of the Imperial army being successfully driven back, revealing the corruption within the Kingdom. First on the chopping block were the noble houses who failed to hold up their duties and let the Empire¡¯s army practically waltz in with minimal effort, they were stripped of their titles and pretty much all else. They and all who associated with them kept their heads on their shoulders, though their political careers were put to an end. Difficult life was ahead of them, but there was life. They had believed that the Imperial army would be undoubtedly successful in seizing Viveria, perhaps that would have been true if not for Alicia¡¯s involvement. In order to prevent their escape after the end of the battle over Viveria, the Kingdom itself was put into a strict lockdown and information quarantine. She had thought the kingdom went back to business as usual far too quickly, though had questions about why the Merchants from Albertini had been held up for so long. And here was the answer, this would also explain why she had suddenly become a nobility within the Kingdom almost out of nowhere, they had to put everything on hold until they were done with the ¡°housecleaning.¡± For rest that colluded with the Empire itself in a high treason, it was off with their heads, centuries long dynasties ended. Alicia this time credited with providing immediate assistance to Viveria through various acts and personally joining the battle, and somehow being credited with exposing the treason, again received a reward this time skipping a title and making her a Countess. Her becoming Countess this quickly would normally be unprecedented but two things played a huge factor here. From the higher echelon of society, only those that would object to the King¡¯s action of ennobling her were the Aristocratic faction. Royalist faction, while raising an eyebrow, wouldn¡¯t need much persuasion, especially when the king himself was making these acts. The Centralists¡¯ faction were so small that they didn¡¯t really have the influence to say anything, whether they liked it or not. The non aligned part of the nobility were already the bottom rungs of the aristocratic ladder that they didn¡¯t even care about. It didn¡¯t help that most of the nobles that were being executed for high treason had some ties with the Aristocratic faction, which was enough of an excuse for the King to also purge some political enemies. Though the Royalty wasn¡¯t making any more moves, anyone with some insight into the whole ordeal could tell that the King of Pyrinia held the whole aristocratic faction by their veins. Besides, elites of the Aristocratic faction that were in the game long enough knew that when the axe started swinging, they needed to keep their heads low. The second reason was the recent¡­ purge. Stripping a large portion of nobles of their titles and executing the rest left a rather sizable gap of nobles to be filled. Numerous heads of houses were promoted to make up for that gap and many nobles that felt ¡®stuck¡¯ finally had a chance to move up in this round of elevations. It was in their best intention to stay on the King¡¯s good side, not questioning why someone that was practically unheard of before being ennobled was part of it. And so while not targeting her directly, Alicia was nonetheless swept up in it anyway to her current position of being a Countess in Pyrinia. Right in the middle of the Aristocratic ladder and suspiciously coincidentally the highest rank someone can achieve without being directly related to the Royalty. Interestingly, the very last letter was releasing her of her noble obligations as though one would free a vassal while allowing her to retain her land and title in the kingdom in the form of a regalia and pledging to uphold the sovereignty of her land. Now while all of these were surface level discernment of the contents of the letter but the real crux was figuring out the intention behind these actions. First of all, why give Alicia this much recompense and then free her of duties. It was simply to establish a more cordial relationship but most importantly do it without tying her down or making it seem like they are trying to control her, this was as much as the King could do, and he was bending every law available under him so much that the laws were making a contortionist show. Second and perhaps their primary goal, was to be the first to make a move to win her over. Alicia was native to the Forest, while this meant that she could be regarded as a Kingdom¡¯s citizen due to their claims, the same could be said for the Empire or the Oracular order. And that she had two duchies worth of territory in Velauhart under her. She was a wildcard, being able to be swayed to any side with reasonable legitimacy. While that was fine for the most cases, it would be absolutely disastrous if potential enemies of the Kingdom made a move first and succeeded. And lastly, to announce her presence to the world at large itself. Likely due to caution or even fear. All of the letters had been not only sent to various nobility of the Kingdom but also to its close allies and vassals. Which meant that she was under the spotlight. If she made any¡­ interesting moves, the world itself would be listening in. A precaution perhaps, for the Kingdom to defend itself against her. For if she turned against them, all the world would know, and with all they have done for her so far, it would be reasonable to interpret it as betrayal. Though the Kingdom itself may not survive such an event, Alicia couldn¡¯t trample Pyrinia without making multiple enemies. A strange, one-sided suicide pact that predicted an apocalyptic forecast far far in the future. ¡®So I still don¡¯t know if I¡¯m noble or not¡­ fantastic. Also¡­ did they just give me the land that I already settled back to me?¡¯ Fortunately for them Alicia was far more concerned with improving living qualities around her immediate surroundings. ¡®What the hell was happening out there while I was figuring out how to make showers work with just hydrostatic pressure. No no no this isn¡¯t right¡­ I refuse to become a noble.¡¯ And overcoming her own personal hell. While almost anyone would jump for joy for becoming part of the nobility, it was quite the opposite for Alicia. Whatever the case, she had been made into a governor with a land. Which meant, responsibilities, something that she dreaded. ¡®Everyone dreams of becoming a president or a dictator and whatnot with all the power that comes with it but nobody actually wants to run a country!¡¯ And with the wording of the letters, she was basically on her own. After some time spent in denial of reality she started to prepare herself for true governing. She could avoid reality all she wanted in denial, but she could never avoid the consequences of avoiding reality. Alicia was already governing the Velauhart before, now it was just official. And what better way to learn to be a mediaeval ruler than to learn from one. Or atleast the second best option of learning from the daughter of said ruler. While she was at a loss over how best to ¡®delegate¡¯ - or circumnavigate - her administrative work to others. Her Araneae familiars were the default choice, but considering their nature, it would be the last option. She was struggling because right now, it seemed like the only viable option. Bringing up well educated and capable officials for matters of statesmanship was the obvious choice, the obstacle being time, as she needed these competent individuals now. Hoping to stumble onto some catalytic inspiration, Alicia was quizzing Rosalia about various miscellaneous stories about laws and the associated punishments. Being too absorbed in her thoughts she had absent mindedly let the conversation steer off to a path unfrequented. The young lady was quite uncomfortable disclosing further details, as she approached the topic from a factual angle. The words finally clicked in her head now. ¡®Damn, I would not want to be gay in the middle ages¡­ Wait a minute¡­¡¯ ¡®What so men get executed by swallowing a sword while having another shoved up their ass, and women get¡­ public humiliation and beatings¡­ I mean, depending on your kink, the flog might even be a turn on¡­ Double standards much? This is how I know it¡¯s reality, because it sucks, true fantasy wouldn¡¯t have this¡­¡¯ ¡®Besides if you¡¯re from a privileged family you can be a lesbian as you want to be and they¡¯ll fork out the hush money, and give a slap on the wrist probably. Speaking of noble houses¡­¡¯ ¡®That seems to be a trend¡­¡¯ Despite the grim image Rosalia painted, within Alicia¡¯s head the gears were spinning and she saw a glint of hope - for herself. ¡®A well educated young girls that already has a background in governance that basically no-one wants in a legal context, yet largely available illegally due to recent political purges¡­?¡¯ Thanks in part to her recent rise in status came a not insignificant amount of monetary bonus. Auratic Alicia: Alice: Alternative Alicia(who looks a little concerned): And yes if you''ve noticed I reused the DALL-E generations as a input. I tortured my gtx970 for this. Hopefully it was worth my time and the pain caused to my GPU. Here''s the Extras album, if you want it, there''s like 2-3 NSFW generations from when I limit tested the A.I, so if you want to see them too let me know I''ll arrange something. Also is this a threat? Is he gonna track down my IP and egg my house or something for being bad? Should I be concerned.