Spiders.
Well, as always, if anyone wants to support me or just read three chapters ahead in both of my stories, that's possible on my (P)(A)(T) for just 2 dollars!
If not, I still appreciate you reading my stories. Thank you!
I won't drag this on; as always, happy reading to everyone and good night!
(P)(A)(T) /CalleumArtori
[...]---[...]
POV: ???
"Let me see if I understand..." My voice was flat, causing Cinder's image on the transmission to shrink. "You knew about the existence of a girl with silver eyes for over two weeks and didn't think it was worth telling me?"
It was almost amusing to see Cinder shrink, realizing the gravity of her mistake.
Almost...
"I didn't..." Cinder started to speak before deciding it was better not to make excuses. "I have no excuses, master, it won't happen again."
"Hmm..." I hummed, my fingers tapping on the throne's arm slowly.
I wasn't angry with Cinder; the foolish girl had no knowledge of the silver-eyed warriors, and her failure to inform me immediately was acceptable.
No, I was irritated because a pair of those eyes still existed in Remnant. I thought the last one had been that girl with the axe... Summer, if I recall correctly.
It seemed one of them had managed to escape my radar...
"Cinder." My voice cut through the silence. "I assume you have an image of this silver-eyed girl." A photo. I might not be aware of every technological advancement, but I knew a thing or two.
"Of course! I thought the master would inquire, so I gathered as much information as I could!" Cinder nodded quickly, eager to please me.
A few minutes later, thanks to Arthur's efforts to set up a transmission tower in my lands, I had the images and information of the girl in hand.
"Ruby Rose..." I didn't need to scour my memory to recall the last silver-eyed warrior's surname to know that they were related.
They were almost identical, to the point where I briefly doubted if they were not twin sisters, but the age didn't match. A mother-daughter pair? It was likely...
"I'll forgive your mistake, Cinder." My forgiveness was enough to visibly relax Cinder. "But let it not happen again; I won't tolerate a second mistake." Before, she was unaware of the silver-eyed existence, hence my forgiveness; now that she was aware, I won't tolerate any more mistakes.
"Yes, master. It won't happen again." I'm sure it won't, Cinder, for your own sake.
After a few minutes of transmission, with Cinder updating me on her plan's progress, I turned off the Scroll.
I remained silent for a few seconds, organizing my thoughts, before speaking.
"Arthur, inform Tyrian that I want to see him in an hour; I have a new mission for him." Even with no one in the throne room, I knew my orders had been heard.
"Your wish is my command, Her Grace." Arthur's voice came from the ceiling speakers, confirming that he had heard me. "Does Her Grace also want me to hire some mercenaries to assist in the mission?"
"Unnecessary." Mercenaries would only slow Tyrian down, as they wouldn't be able to keep up with him while he tracked the silver-eyed girl, and they would distract him.
Tyrian hadn't killed any of my other servants only due to his loyalty and fanaticism towards me, but I had no doubt mercenaries would end up being killed one by one by the faunus.
I didn't care about lives, but it would delay him while he "enjoyed" himself.
Tyrian might be one of, if not my most loyal pawn, but he was also one of the most mentally disturbed individuals I had ever met in my entire life, and I had lived a lot...
"As Her Grace wishes." Arthur's voice ceased, with the speakers falling silent.
I let my body lean back in the throne and closed my eyes as I thought.
Is this little girl one of your new pawns, Ozma? Like the other?...
Foolish, as always, it's almost embarrassing how far you've fallen. The "Eternal Huntsmen," instead of fighting, threw hordes and hordes of children to delay me...
Delaying the inevitable... I almost pity your students, so blind... So heroic...
As always, it seems you continue to tell lies to everyone, not mentioning that heroes always have the same end...
Whether by my Grimms, pawns, or chance, they all die...
I opened my eyes slowly and looked at the picture of the girl. Silver eyes, black hair with red streaks, and an innocent smile.
... This child won't be an exception...
[…]
POV: Devas Asura.
"I see I'm not late." I spoke aloud as Melissa was about to begin talking. "Did you sleep well, Sleeping Beauty?"
The reference went over the guide's head, but the meaning didn't.
"I've had worse naps." He shrugged before grunting in pain, not from any lingering wounds from his previous actions in the battle, but rather from Melissa's fist hitting his head.
"Worse naps... Is that so?" The smile on Melissa's face unnerved Dylan, who quickly retreated to the other side of the bed. "I might put you to sleep, then; let's see if we can find a middle ground..."
Dylan raised his hands in surrender quickly. "Not necessary. I'm good with the current amount of sleep." Even as he spoke, the guide waved his hands in denial.
"By the way... How long have I been sleeping?" Dylan asked after reaching the end of the bed.
Whether the question was to distract Melissa or out of genuine curiosity, I didn't know, but it worked in both cases, as the nurse replied.
"Two days and a few hours." She sighed, lowering her arms and unclenching her fists. "You worried me, little brother..." Melissa's voice was part irritated, concerned, and happy.
Concerned because the guide had serious injuries, even if they weren't fatal. Melissa had said what Dylan did was risky, and any mistake could have left him crippled forever.
Irritated by her brother's supposed lack of self-preservation, nearly getting himself killed.
Lastly, happy, after all, Dylan had recovered well, without consequences.
("They are so cute.") I heard Lucy's voice in my head when the siblings hugged.
I didn't respond to the ax, nor did I think she was really talking to me; it was just a comment.
After a few seconds, they separated, and Dylan turned to me.
"What? Want a hug from me too?" I said jokingly, to which Dylan laughed and declined. "Here, I think this is yours." I pulled out a broken arrow I had found buried in the snow behind the Deerclops and tossed it to the guide.
"Thanks for the help." I spoke as Dylan looked at the arrow in his hands.
I knew that even without Dylan's arrow distracting the deer, the outcome of the battle would be the same, but that didn't matter here; it was the intention that counted.
Dylan had injured himself to give me an opening, and I was grateful.
The guide hesitated for a moment before sighing and smiling in a relieved manner, as if he were glad he had done something.
"You're welcome."
[...]
After talking with the guide and the nurse for a few more minutes, while Melissa did a final check-up to make sure everything was fine with her brother, we left the room to go find the others.
"Kid!" Gilbert shouted as he slapped Dylan's shoulders, causing him to stagger slightly forward. "You had us worried; I'm glad you're better."
"Are you crazy, old man?" Dylan shouted back, at the same time Gilbert laughed.
After everyone congratulated the guide on his recovery, I mentioned something to Annabel.
"About the spider nest, where is it?" She seemed surprised for a moment by the question but answered.
"It's south of the city, a few kilometers away. Why? Do you want to go there?" She asked, drawing everyone's attention to the conversation.
"Uh... Do you really want to go see those things?" Selina seemed uncomfortable with the idea.
"Yes. Are you afraid of spiders besides bees?" What was the name of the insect phobia again?... Entomophobia?
"The small ones, no; the ones that are five meters tall? That's a different story." Almost everyone, along with (CHAT), nodded in agreement.
("Not me! Spiders aren't trees, but they fall the same when I cut their legs!")
"Fair enough." I ignored the voice in my head and shrugged.
"I want to see them for myself and, if possible, gather some materials from them." I was curious to see what a giant spider would be like in real life, even knowing it would be something weird. I also wanted some bodies to see if I could make something with them.
"Sure." Annabel nodded. "I can guide you; I was planning to wait a few weeks to check the nest's condition because of the snow, but I'll take the opportunity."
"Weren't you swamped with paperwork and work?" Melissa asked, before having to dodge the countess's elbow that almost hit the nurse's ribs.
"Work? Paperwork? I finished everything I had to do; a few hours of rest won't hurt..." If the fake smile didn't give away the lie, the twitching eyebrow did.
Seeing this only reinforced my idea never to get involved in any position or work that involved paperwork.
While Annabel contained her breakdown, Robyn approached me and pointed at Lucy.
"That's new..." The zoologist commented, her snow fox jumping and lightly patting the ax's head.
("A fox! And white! Can we keep it?!")
"Yes," I replied to Robyn.
("No, she already has an owner") I transmitted my thoughts to Lucy, who whined.
"I'll see if I can cut down some trees." I ignored the joyful exclamation from the voice in my head and continued. "Even frozen, I want to cut some for testing." Boreal Wood was a good material, frozen like this? I should be able to create an excellent paint for anything involving ice.
That and satisfying the genocidal desires of the ax at my waist... Actually, I need to find a strap to put the ax on my back...
Robyn nodded at my response and didn't comment further.
A few minutes later, with Annabel putting someone in charge of everything in her absence, we were all in the Humvee.
"Can I drive?!-"
"No." I cut off Selina's speech, making her pout.
I ignored the murmurs from the Steampunk who quietly cursed me as selfish and cruel and sat in the driver's seat, with everyone else getting in shortly after.
"Which way?" I asked Annabel, who was in the passenger seat.
Dylan had gone to the back seat, as it was easier for the countess to guide this way.
Annabel took a few seconds to respond, looking inside the Humvee with her mouth open.
"That way." She pointed to the left. "We'll take a bit longer because of the snow; this path should be faster."
"Snow? What snow?." I asked playfully as we left the city.
I had cleared almost all the surroundings of Winterhord, which everyone noticed, and they looked at me with wide eyes.
"What's the size of the inside of this thing again?." Dylan pointed to the VoidBag on my waist.
"Yes." I responded without losing pace and accelerated the Humvee.
It took a few minutes to reach the nest's entrance, which was buried in snow, and a few more seconds for me to clear the entire entrance and drive the Humvee in.
"Dreadful place." I commented, looking at the cave walls illuminated by the Humvee's headlights. The cave was huge.
The deeper we went, the more frozen spider webs there were, along with some bodies of dead and frozen Wall Creepers.
Everyone went into my inventory.
("I'm claustrophobic... Dark places aren't cool either"). Lucy commented.
A claustrophobic ax that didn't like the dark... Well, I didn't like the dark either, so that was fine.
"Let's say..." I commented briefly, drawing everyone's attention who were looking out of the Humvee. "That all the spiders died, will Winterhord go bankrupt?."
As far as I knew, the city survived more on silk than anything else.
"No." Annabel shook her head. "Even though silk sales are the city's biggest source, we have other raw materials to sell, like wood."
"Wood that's frozen..." I heard Darnell comment from the back seat of the Humvee.
If Annabel heard, she didn't react to the comment and continued.
"Besides, my family keeps some Wall Creeper eggs in case something happens to the nest."
"Has this happened before?." Robyn asked curiously. "Not the storm, but the nest population decreasing."
"It has happened a few times, but it's rare; the last time, I wasn't even born." Annabel didn't lose her pace and answered. "My grandmother said it was an earthquake that caused part of the nest to collapse, killing almost half the population; it took almost five years for everything to return to normal."
"Hmm..." Robyn hummed in thoughts. "So, even if all the spiders die, there's still a chance to recover the nest..."
"Maybe, I can't say for sure since it has never happened, but there's a good chance." Annabel replied.
"Not necessary." I commented absentmindedly, looking at the MiniMap.
Before anyone could ask why I seemed so sure of this fact, something jumped on the Humvee, colliding with the barrier and startling some people inside the car and in the (CHAT).
Especially the (CHAT), which could see what had jumped on the barrier, me having changed the stream camera to the outside of the Humvee.
I didn't even need to read all the messages to know the (CHAT)'s reaction; Stark basically summed it up in a few words.
[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: HOLY FUCK, THAT'S FUCKING HORRENDOUS! BURN THAT! BURN IT!
The spider must have somehow read the message too, as it descended to the hood and growled?... What was the name for the sound a spider made? Grunt? Chirp?...
Well, it opened its mouth to the glass and raised its front legs threateningly.
The Wall Creeper wasn't as big as I thought, although it was large since it occupied the top of the entire hood. I would guess about three meters, maybe a little more.
I noticed that the spider's eyes were white, which was almost expected for something that lived underground, where light didn't reach.
The "Almost" was only because of the mana that could very well say "Fuck it" to logic and let spiders see even though they lived only underground.
"Ugly little thing..." I murmured calmly.
"They have many legs..." Millia wrote, the little slime in the pocket of my cold-weather outfit. "It's weird..."
"BURN! BURN THAT THING!" Selina shouted, along with some others.
"It's a juvenile, and it looks hungry." Annabel commented as calmly as I was.
"True... its opisthosoma looks thin and deep; the storm must have kept them trapped without food all this time." Robyn commented equally calmly.
"Do you realize how strange it is for you two to comment on this with that thing right there?" I pointed to the Wall Creeper trying to break the barrier by biting it and failing miserably.
"My family has owned this territory for centuries; at some times of the year, I see more spiders than Terrarians." Annabel replied calmly.
"I imagine so." Robyn commented amused. "But it's literally my job; I'm a Zoologist. As scary and huge as this spider may be, it's not that strange to me. Besides, we're inside the Humvee."
Robyn's words seemed to have calmed the others in the car, reminding them that they were inside something very protected.
In fact, I'm sure most of the screams were more of a startle than real fear, since, besides Robyn and Annabel, all the others could kill the Wall Creeper in front of the Humvee.
Some with more difficulty than others, but one spider alone wasn't a real problem.
"Damn... My chest hurts... I think I almost had a heart attack." Darnell commented, half jokingly, half seriously, prompting Melissa to slap him on the back.
"So... Are you going to leave that thing there forever?" Gilbert asked, looking out the window, probably searching for another Wall Creeper.
"No, I just have one question." I replied to Gilbert before turning to Annabel. "What do these things eat?" There were hundreds of dots on the Minimap, maybe thousands, these spiders ate what?
"Everything, but their main diet is Orange Bloodroot." The countess replied. "It's a plant that looks a lot like meat; it is found in caves and grows by absorbing mana from the underground."
"Hmm... Let's say the cold and Deerclops's energy killed many of those Bloodroots." I commented. "What are the chances that these spiders, after the weather returns to normal, will leave the nest to hunt everything on the surface?"
A surface that only had Winterhord alive, as everything else had died frozen.
Annabel hesitated, frowning before answering.
"If they were starving?... Even not surviving common cold, not the storm, the spiders would risk it."
"They would try to go to the city." I let my thoughts out.
"Yes..." Annabel said in a somber tone. "They wouldn't even be able to invade, but the nest would be practically dead then."
Which would be a problem since, as she had said before, Annabel wasn't sure if she could recover a completely dead nest...
"And if we killed them?" Robyn asked. "Not all of them, but a good part of the nest, and then fed what was left? That should control them." It wasn't a bad idea...
"That might work..." Annabel agreed with my thoughts. "But there may be thousands, maybe even more."
"Which would make the job of killing them complicated." Dylan commented, his eyes shining slightly before he frowned in pain, and the glow disappeared.
"It would take a long time, even if all of us went out to kill them." Dylan replied, rubbing his eyes.
"Are you okay there?" I asked, Melissa already by her brother's side analyzing him.
"Yeah, just a headache, it'll pass; it's happened before." Dylan replied.
"Yes, it happened when this idiot studied for five days straight." The nurse shook her head. "He got a headache for hours before it went away."
I nodded, feeling relieved that it was nothing serious.
"As for taking a long time, you would be right normally..." I commented while activating one of the Humvee's matrices.
As much as I wanted to use fire, I didn't think it would be a good idea, especially inside a cave, so electricity should do...
It took about three seconds for the Arc Reactor to power up and two more for the matrix to activate.
Not even a second after that, an electrical pulse shot out of the Humvee, starting at the Arc Reactor and running along a painted line that conducted the electricity out as an attack.
The time I took to get this to work was not short... Especially to avoid damaging another part of the Humvee with electricity or hurting anyone inside the car.
The result at least was worth it, as the Wall Creeper that was still trying to attack the barrier was electrocuted and recoiled, its legs retracting close to its body just before the thing died.
"Was that... Was that lightning?" Dylan asked with wide-eyed eyes mirrored by everyone in the Humvee.
"Almost that." There were some differences, but it was close enough. "And Selina, if you wet the Humvee's seat, you'll clean it." I pointed to the Steampunker who was drooling and almost glassy-eyed.
Before anyone could ask "How?", I accelerated the Humvee towards the back of the cave.
Let's kill some spiders...
[...]
It took a few hours to clear a large part of the cave, but the result had been satisfactory.
In addition to me getting thousands of these things' bodies, preventing a possible disaster in Winterhord, I wanted to use the Humvee's attacks for a long time.
Now I just need an opportunity to use the flamethrower...
-//-
[SpiderCide! (Completed!)]
Secondary objective: Kill a large number of Wall Creepers!
First mark: 9224/10 (Completed!)
Second mark: 9224/50 (Completed!)
Third mark: 9224/100 (Completed!)
Fourth mark: 9224/500 (Completed!)
Fifth mark: 9224/1000 (Completed!)
Sixth mark: 9224/2500 (Completed!)
Seventh mark: 9224/5000 (Completed!)
Eighth mark: 9224/10000 (Failed!)
Reward: Web Slinger (Hook), Wall Creeper silk (70x),
-//-
It was a good reward, a Hook that I would need to test, and a lot of silk. Along with what Annabel would pay me, I wouldn't have to worry about it for some time.
What surprised me was the number of dead spiders; they seemed like a lot more to me while I was driving the Humvee.
As for the other mission.
-//-
[Spider's Friend... Or close enough! (Completed!)]
Secondary objective: Prevent the extinction of the Wall Creeper nest near Winterhord! (Completed!)
Reward: Spider Egg (Nest)
-//-
Funny how I killed more spiders than the storm; still, I was considered their savior since reducing the numbers of live spiders and feeding the others had been enough for the mission to be completed.
Did I lose some tons of meat I had in the inventory? Yes, but at least the reward seems to have been worth the price...
-//-
[Spider Egg (Nest)]
Type: Consumable/PlaceableRarity: Blue
Use: Place the egg in a large enough place for hatching and feed it with mana for the nest to develop.
(Note: Depending on the environment, mutations may occur in the spiders born from the nest!)
(Note: It is recommended to use the user's mana so that the spiders recognize you as "Father/Mother" and do not attack you!)
Description: An egg containing the potential to be something more; a whole nest in a single simple spider egg.
-//-
A nest of these things, one that would recognize me as an ally and not attack me... Moreover, depending on where I "planted" this nest, the spiders would undergo mutations...
The price had definitely been worth it, even if I couldn't use this thing now; it was more than an excellent reward.
Where I would put it, I didn't know, but that was something I could see in the future.
With these two secondary missions completed, only the secondary mission of returning to the kingdom would be left to complete them all.
("Shall we cut some trees now?"). Lucy's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
("In a bit"). "Talking" with my thoughts for someone else to hear was strange...
("Okey Dokey Loki!").
Schizophrenia has never been so real...
[…]
[TohsakaHeiress]: I'm going to burn every spider I see in front of me... Ugh! Gross, I'm still shivering! (Chibi Rin emoticon throwing an explosive ruby at a spider).
[JiraiyaIsAnIdiot]: Snakes are still at the top of the list of creatures I hate the most, but spiders have solidified a strong second place! (Old toad emoticon crossing an "X" on a list).
[WiseWizardGleam]: Hagrid would have loved to see that nest of spiders; it's a shame the stream only lets you invite three other people. (Old wizard emoticon sighing).
[AsuraLady]: (Emoticon of a lion with a pink mane throwing a Molotov at a spider).
[AinzOoalGown]: It wasn't the biggest nest of giant spiders I've ever seen, but the atmosphere was good; it gave a creepy feel to the environment, even though the spiders were weak. (Skeleton emoticon approving).
[Darkness]: Those webs seemed sturdy enough to trap a human body, even if they struggled and begged for freedom... (Female paladin emoticon drooling).
[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]: I'm too tired for a bigger reaction than "Stop embarrassing me," so I'll leave my indignation in an emoticon: (Indignant generic guy emoticon).
[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]: I'll type for Megumin since she can't move - Megumin: "I've come to hate spiders; I'm going to blow them all up, thanks for the trauma! :D"
After returning to WinterHord, I spent some time reading the (CHAT) while testing some things with the Wall Creeper silk.
The silk was ridiculously good at conducting mana and resistant, to the point where I prioritized building an armor with the Deerclops fur as a priority.
"You guys know there's an Arachnophobia filter, right?" I asked the (CHAT).
[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: I found out a few minutes after you entered the nest, didn't say anything because I thought it would be funny. (Iron Man emoticon eating popcorn).
[MagicalGirlSera-Tan]: Huh? Me too, didn't you guys know? (Confused magical girl emoticon scratching her head).
[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]: Wait... What?! What?!
I shook my head amused. The stream had a few extra filters that I bought; most of them were cheap, around Ten Thousand SP, almost all for phobias.
I thought it was obvious since their icons were easy to find, but it seems I was mistaken.
("Who are you talking to, partner?"). Lucy asked.
"The others, in my head."
("There are others!? Where?! Can I talk to them?!").
"I'll introduce you to them later."
[…]
The next three days were calmer.
Winterhord seemed to be recovering well without the constant presence of hallucinations and the Deerclops' screams.
"Are you sure you don't want help?" Dylan asked me. "Melissa can sew, I know a few things too, we can help."
"Nah, I'm good." I declined the help.
I knew how, I just needed practice, so it was better for me to train than to receive help, especially since I was training with normal threads, not Wall Creeper silk.
Besides Robyn, who was sleeping on the couch after a shift at the hospital, the only ones in the room were me and the guide.
Melissa was helping Annabel with something, probably paperwork.
Darnell had gone to help rebuild some houses with Gilbert, and Selina had gone to assist the two with her mechanical arms.
"What are you going to do after this?" Dylan asked after a few minutes of silence.
"After Winterhord?" I asked, to which he nodded. "Obviously, go back to the kingdom, but that's not what it's about, is it?" I commented.
"No..." Dylan sighed.
"Worried?" We both knew that something was wrong in the kingdom, just not exactly what.
"Yeah, something tells me that whatever is happening is big... And it's going to be dangerous." The guide's voice was heavy.
"Yeah, I also think it won't be simple." The mission practically confirmed that for me. "But what we can do is prepare, getting stressed for no reason is foolish."
Getting stronger, getting new equipment, weapons, armor, all of that was better than stressing.
Dylan nodded in agreement, but still seemed worried, which was fair, after all, it was his home that was in danger.
"And you, Robyn, what are your thoughts?" I asked the "sleeping" woman.
"How did you know?" She didn't even try to hide that she had woken up some time ago.
"Your breathing changed." I answered honestly.
I had become much more sensitive to how everyone around me breathed after learning Sun Breathing.
"By the breath... I should have guessed." Robyn shook her head and lay down again.
"If the question is about what's happening in the kingdom, I have no idea." She replied looking at me with only half of her face, the other half buried in the pillow.
"I won't lie and say that I'm worry-free, after all, the princess and the duchess are involved." Robyn fell silent for moments before continuing. "But, as you said yourself, worrying is unnecessary."
"In the end, I'll help with what I can, but I know that the main job won't be mine, after all, the princess and the Duchess of Symbols are involved and will be the "front" of the battle, if there is a battle..." Robyn repeated the earlier words she had said.
For some reason, finishing the sentence, she looked at me as if she was sure that I would also be part of the "front" of the fight, which, frankly, she wasn't wrong...
Before I could comment, I don't know how, but I felt one of the emergency tickets tear inside the VoidBag, and a mission appeared in front of me.
"Devas, did something happen?" I heard Dylan's voice ask me, but I didn't pay full attention, focused on reading the words that had appeared.
-//-
[Emergency Mission! (Ticket) - (1/2 Part]
Rarity: AmberWorld: Remnant (RWBY)Time limit: 30 days. (Max)
Mission Description: Due to Ruby Rose unlocking her "Silver Eyes" earlier and using them in battle, the "Queen of Grimm" became aware of her existence and sent one of her most loyal pawns, Tyrian Callows, to hunt her down.
Prevent him before he completes the mission the queen gave him.
Reward: ???
-//-
The worst part was not the mission, not the surprise it came out of nowhere, but that there was a note at the end of the mission.
A note that hadn't appeared in any other mission.
[NOTE: In case of refusal, an 80% chance of death for: Team RWBY + Affiliates]
[...]---[...]
I'll be brief here.
Well, we finally entered the new arc, and for those who guessed it, yes, it's an RWBY arc!
Devas went to a viewer's world for the first time (Ignoring HOTD, as they became viewers later).
What will happen? That's for the future!
They asked me for a schedule, so I set one up. The next chapter will be released on 26/02 (Day/Month) (In two days, in case someone is in a different time zone).
So, that's it. Good night, everyone, and happy reading!