“Dungeon magic?” I asked, unclear as to what he meant.

“This creature was created by a dungeon, that much is certain. It also seems it did not go feral when it escaped the dungeon’s bounds. Instead, it seemed to follow very clear instructions until the end.”

“What’s he saying?” Velariah said, standing next to me, eying the spider in front of us warily. She had taken off her helmet and was listening intently to my monologue.

“Hold on a second, Vel. I’m not quite sure how long Arch can communicate with me.”

“I’ll be fine, Elania. As I’ve explained before, it seems I need far less energy to talk to you now. Anyway, as to why the creature seemed to follow instructions or why a dungeon would do this is outside of my knowledge. I suspect someone instructed the dungeon in some way. I don’t see any other explanation.”

“But how? I thought I was the first one to communicate with a dungeon.”

“Dungeon cores can still hear everything that is said inside their domain. It’s just that you’re the first person that can communicate in two ways. Maybe someone threatened to destroy the core? That would be… disastrous to say the least.”

“Can’t you protect yourself?” I asked.

“We can. It takes a very strong adventurer to destroy a core. We have a last-resort type of magic that we can use to defend ourselves should we ever be in actual danger, but there is a risk of us losing control.”

“So this someone that managed to pull this off must have been an extremely strong individual?” I asked.

“Or they must have had some way to coerce or persuade the dungeon to do this and be able to control the monster when it left the dungeon’s confines somehow.”

“That seems more likely. If it takes an extremely strong person to destroy a dungeon, they could have done this themselves without using this monster, wouldn’t you say?”

“A solid conclusion. That seems likely, yes.”

“But I would assume all of this means that there is another dungeon somewhere in the forest that we don’t know about?” I asked.

“If that’s where the monster came from, I would assume so.”

“Another dungeon?” Velariah gasped softly.

I nodded. “Thanks a bunch, Arch. I’ll make sure to let Valtheril know. Actually… he doesn’t know I can talk to you.”

I put a hand on my head in thought. Should I expose myself to Valtheril?

“I wish I could help you answer that,” Velariah seemed to read my mind, “If you share any information from Arch with him, I assume he’ll want to know where you got it from.”

“I think I can trust him. I want to trust him, Vel. For gods’ sake, I’m in a relationship with his daughter...”

“Anyhow,” I said as I turned to the others. “Quick recap. It appears that the Borer we fought was created by a dungeon. Arch suspects it came from an unknown dungeon located somewhere in the forest and that someone coerced or persuaded the dungeon to create this creature. We don’t quite know why. He also mentioned that someone must have been able to give instructions to it after it had escaped the dungeon’s domain. It followed those specific instructions until we killed it.”

“The puzzle pieces are starting to fall together, aren’t they?” Velariah said, obviously deep in thought. “This monster appeared and seemed to have the intention of killing. You had a perfect countermeasure and did a great deal to stop it. Right after that, you have your ritual, which you had to do unarmored. Directly after exiting the room, someone attempts to assassinate you. Whoever is behind it picked that specific moment because you didn’t wear any armor. I daresay the Borer was a failed experiment. After it failed, they had to try to get rid of you some other way… That’s how I see this, at least.”

“You may be right. I don’t quite know if that’s the full story, but something is bothering me.”

“Do tell.”

“Someone was in this other dungeon. I don’t know where it is. If it’s far out, I doubt Lorin could have been the one behind this monster. There would have to be someone else that could do such a thing...”

“That seems plausible. We’ll have to inform my father, for sure.”

“I’d be careful when you tell him,” Seralyn commented. “We have one great advantage,” She said with a smile.

“Which is?” I asked.

“They have no idea that you can talk to a dungeon. If this other dungeon was used, so to say, against their will, you could possibly ask them to spawn a spider-like creature to use to talk to the dungeon. That way, you could easily reveal their identity. Maybe promise it revenge?”

“Seralyn, you’re amazing,” I said. I never would have thought of that.

“I know, I know. No need to thank me,” She said smugly.

“You will have to be careful to not leak that information. My father needs to make sure that none of that information can get out.”

I heard the Hellspider Queen laugh wickedly in my mind. “I like your party’s style, Elania. Do let me know what comes of this.”

“I will, Arch. I will.”

“So,” Draco entered the conversation. “We’re going to have to find out where this dungeon is on our own? Considering you can’t really share where you got the information of another dungeon’s presence from.”

“I don’t know...” I admitted. “The forest is vast. Do you think we can get Valtheril to make up some story about a suspected dungeon being present in the forest? Would they buy it?” I asked Velariah.

“Actually...” Velariah started. “Don’t you think he already knows there is another dungeon present? Remember that wolf? Why do I get the eerie feeling they are related?”

“That’s... A good point.” I admitted. “But that information is classified, he said. If they are related, he might have a reason to start a search on his own, without having to use our own information.”

“That would make things a lot easier,” Velariah continued.

“So complicated...” Nira said softly.

I sighed. “I know. I don’t like any of this, either.”

I looked at the spider before me who started moving away, backward.

“It seems we’ll have to talk with Valtheril first,” I said. “If anything, we can have him inform the guild about a dungeon somewhere in the forest while we are out on that goblin quest. That would cause no suspicion to be drawn to us whatsoever.”

I didn’t know if it was necessary in the first place, but I liked to play things safe.

“Possibly,” Velariah said, before losing herself in thought again.

“Actually, Nira?” I started.

“Yes?”

“Won’t you get promoted to gold rank if we complete that quest?” I turned to Draco. “That was a gold-tier quest, right?”

Draco nodded. “It is... And yes, she will be promoted.”

“Sounds good to me,” Seralyn said.

She was currently crouching over the beast we had killed, collecting her arrows.

“Damn that barrier,” She let out, clearly annoyed. “I’m going to have to resharpen these things...”

“We should get your weapons a proper round of maintenance when we pick up your new weapon, too,” Velariah said.

I nodded. “Honestly, I can’t wait. I lost my spear… again...”

I walked over to the monster and crouched to pull my spear from its side. It took quite a bit of effort to get it out, but in the end, I won.

“You’re going to be working on those muscles tonight, El.” Velariah smiled when I looked at her.

“Yes, mistress Vel,” I replied with a grin. “What do we do with this thing, anyway?”

“I’d say have the guild pick it up again,” Draco said. “I imagine going through the rain with that thing will ruin its pelt quite a bit.”

“Any idea what this thing is worth?” I asked.

Velariah shrugged. “Depends. Its parts will most likely be up for auction. We’ll have to see.”

I took one last look at the slain monster. It sure was an impressive creature from up close.

“What’s next?” I asked when I turned around towards the exit. “I mean, after we talk to Valtheril.”

“I heard there are a bunch of goblins that need killing,” Seralyn replied.

“Yes, but when do we head out towards the quest area?”

“I’d say as soon as possible,” Velariah said. “If we can get this goblin problem out of the way, it will allow us or my father to focus on the other issue at hand.”

“That sounds like you plan on heading out today...”

“Any objections?” She stared at me, then the others.

“Well, yes,” I stated clearly. “I want my new weapon first. I’m not messing around with trolls.”

“Miss Elania is right. We can’t take this lightly,” Draco assisted me. “This quest is also quite a ways out. I’d like to do some proper restocking on supplies beforehand.”

Thanks, Draco.

“Hm,” Velariah let out, seemingly disappointed. “You’re right. I’m just anxious to get things done. We’ve done a whole lot of nothing lately.”

I sighed. “I get it, Vel. Believe me, I’m feeling pretty guilty about holding you back, but we can’t rush this.” I turned to Draco. Technically, I didn’t have to as I could see him clearly thanks to my new eyes, but I imagined it would feel kind of creepy to not face the lizardman when talking to him. “How far out is that quest and is there nothing else in the neighborhood?”

“The location of the camp in question is quite far out. We’ll probably be away for more than a day. As to whether there is anything nearby… Not really, unless you like manual labor.”

“What kind?” I asked.

“Chopping trees.”

“Meh,” I let out. “Let’s get back to the guild first. Who knows if anything popped up?”

While cutting trees could help with my plans to build more muscle, I just knew I was probably going to overdo it and get myself sore arms the next morning. I’d stick to Velariah’s training instead. That seemed to be planned out perfectly to avoid any serious pain.

We walked back through the cave leading to the stairs. I walked next to Velariah while the others were ahead of us. I’d re-sheathed my blades with the scabbards that lay in the doorway.

“Hey, Vel?”

“Yes?”

“How are you doing? That fireball from earlier seemed to hit you pretty head-on.”

“I’m doing alright. This new armor took the brunt of the hit. Whatever damage it did to me was healed pretty quickly thanks to Nira.”

“That makes me happy.”

“Thanks for asking, El...” She turned to me and smiled.

I couldn’t help but smile back when looking into her all-too-honest eyes.

We reached the soldiers, who were still sitting at the campfire. They got up quickly and got ready to follow behind us.

Draco still held his torch and was the first to ascend, the rest of us following behind, with the soldiers taking up the rear, also with a torch.

“I sure hope it stopped raining,” I said as we walked through the tunnels.

“It appears to have stopped,” Draco called from the front.

When we stepped out of the tunnels and into the fields, I had to confirm that what Draco had said was true. The sky was still cloudy, but at least the rain had stopped.

Ah, to be home and have a nice cup of hot chocolate…

Maybe one day…

We quietly made our trip through the soggy fields. We arrived at the guildhall about fifty minutes later, slightly delayed due to the terrain. Draco informed the Lore Keeper of the loot we left behind, ready for the guild to pick up and sell. He gave her part of the beast’s mane as proof.

The others had ordered lunch while I was looking at the quest board. I wasn’t interested in food right now.

The weather wasn’t fit for adventuring at all, but I decided to see what was available.

The answer was: nothing.

Draco had already gotten his hands on the one interesting quest.

“Hey, Draco?” I asked when I sat down on the small bench.

“Yes, Miss Elania?” He asked me between two bites.

“You asked us earlier to come up with a name for your ability. How does that work? I mean, do they appear on your inherity sheet, and if so, do they get the name that you came up with?”

I asked because it appeared that the abilities that I had acquired so far seemed to have their names set in stone. I wasn’t quite sure if it was supposed to work that way. Hell, I wasn’t even sure about my ‘Silk Weaver’ inherity. Could I come up with new types of silk and have them listed there? That was kind of how I came up with the sticky variant, right?

“Yes, and yes,” Draco replied. “You can name new abilities yourself. They will appear on the sheet under that name.”

“Very interesting...”

I turned to Velariah. “What did you call your shiny sword ability?”

“Lightblade.”

I giggled. “Take you long to come up with that name?”

Velariah grinned as well. “Not really, no.”

“How about you, Seralyn?” I referred to her flame-empowered arrows.

“Destruction Arrow.”

I burst into full-blown laughter and covered my face. That was such a ridiculous name for something that wasn’t high-tier magic.

“What?” She asked with a sly smile. It seemed she knew exactly what I was laughing at. “I liked the name, okay?”

Velariah laughed as well. “You’re going to have to evolve that multiple times before you can actually call it that.”

“Imagine if Draco named his ability in the same manner,” I continued laughing. “Rockslide, or Giant Rock Avalanche.”

I grinned for a bit before continuing. “Or Giant Meteor of Doom!”

Draco smiled at my suggestions. “I’ll keep it as it is now. Maybe someday I’ll be able to call it that. Who knows?”

“Looking forward to it, Draco,” I said as I raised my glass of tea. This was probably the closest thing to hot chocolate. I needed something warm and coffee was out of the question.

Nira smiled at our interactions. It made me wish that she’d get an evolution soon as well.

“Do we know where Valtheril is?” I asked, staring at my pedipalps on the table.

“No idea,” Velariah said. “I hope he’s at home, either at the table or in his office upstairs. There are too many places he frequents to keep track of him.”

I looked around with my still open side eyes. There weren’t many people in the building currently. I imagined the rain had something to do with that, but I didn’t want to discuss our findings here, just in case.

“El?” Velariah asked.

“Hm?” I replied, still staring at the table with my human eyes.

“Think you can drink tea... You know…?”

I stared down at my fangs. “Hum… I don’t know. I didn’t exactly control myself last time. I could try it, I guess. Why? Are you that curious?”

She nodded and smiled. “I am.”

“I’ll try that at home some time then. It’d be hella awkward to do it here.”

“Damn, I almost expected you to do it here...” Velariah giggled.

“Not today, Vel,” I chuckled.

“Hehe, it was worth a shot.”

I waited until the others finished lunch as I hoped Valtheril would be home. With a bit of luck, Coldanus would have my weapon finished by tomorrow too. I was probably going to be making a lot of silk tonight, though…

Then again, I was able to earn gold quite a bit faster now.

I was getting excited about a new weapon again. Thinking about it made me realize that this feeling was so out of place for me. At least it would have been a month or two ago.

We walked back home through the wet streets. Once we’d arrived at the mansion, I took some time to clean my legs of built-up dirt by tapping them on the cobblestones before entering.

“You look quite funny doing that,” Velariah said, standing by the doors as I entered.

“Funny. Do you have a towel or something? I don’t want to get your floor all dirty.”

“Sure, just a sec.”

The small doormat inside the mansion was just not going to cut it.

What a struggle…

Velariah took off her sabatons before walking to the bathroom in her socks. She returned with a towel which I gladly accepted to clean my ‘feet’ the best I could.

After doing that, and taking off my armor, we headed for the main room. Valtheril wasn’t present and neither was Elly.

“I’ll go upstairs to check if my father is in his office.”

Draco nodded to the elf and took a seat. Seralyn and Nira joined him at the table, but I was conflicted.

I kind of wanted to check on Minia…

I shook it off and placed two chairs to the side to make space for me to stand at the table.

“Elania,” Seralyn spoke. “Do tell me. How are you currently doing, you know, in your body? I’ve wondered for a while now.”

Seralyn asking a serious question? I never imagined I’d see the day.

“Honest answer? I’m actually doing great. Better than ever, in fact. I owe Velariah a great deal.”

Seralyn nodded. “I had the feeling that was the case. I know I joke around a lot, but I am happy for the two of you.”

“Thanks, Seralyn. I know I haven’t been the nicest person to you, either. I’m sorry about that.”

“Heh, it’s alright. I kind of deserved it, I guess.”

What was with this elf? Was she truly becoming a better person?

I closed my spider eyes. A small wave of relief flooded over me. It seemed there was still some strain on my mind from using them as long as I had. I was suddenly able to relax quite a bit, despite feeling incomplete this way.

I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, followed by heavier footsteps. That had to be Valtheril.

They entered the room and Valtheril closed the door behind him. His face seemed to be more relaxed than last time, which gave me hope that things were going in the right direction. The General was still in full armor and looked truly intimidating, especially when his face had this look of complete seriousness.

“I heard you have some… interesting things to tell me,” Valtheril said as he took a seat.

“I figured this was information that was too important to not tell you,” I spoke with honesty. “And I have the feeling that some of it is already known to you.”

Valtheril put on a smile and leaned forward with both his arms on the table.

“Oh? Do tell.”