Chapter 154: Poison

"Gained sentience? Doesn’t that mean it can understand us?"

"Probably."

Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind them, it was the giant dragon!

Ethan and his group were already accustomed to the giant dragon’s appearances by now, but Draugor, Iris, and the other Minotaurs were shivering with fear.

"Do not be afraid," the dragon said with a smile.

"I am merely here to ask for a cup of coffee."

"Haha, I’ll go brew you one right now." Ethan smiled, walked into the kitchen, and brewed a cup of coffee for the dragon.

The dragon took the coffee, happily took a sip, and then said, "The Human-Faced Spider was originally just an ordinary spider monster, it was only after devouring a Chaos Fragment that it became what it is today, however, it is different from other monsters."

"How so?"

"It possesses its own sense of territory, any creature that steps into its domain will be attacked, regardless of whether they represent the forces of Harmony or Chaos, however, it is completely indifferent to matters outside its territory, appearing utterly uninterested in the war between Harmony and Chaos."

"You’re saying it’s neutral?"

"You could say that, the Human-Faced Spider is incredibly powerful, the fact that it has not joined the war between Harmony and Chaos is already a great fortune for us, therefore, we generally do not provoke it, moreover, ever since its transformation, the Human-Faced Spider has stayed within its own territory — it rarely ventures out to roam."

"Then it really can be communicated with."

"Correct. It possesses wisdom and can communicate with us normally, if you truly wish to see it, take this with you." The dragon took off a necklace from her neck and handed it to Ethan.

It was a spider-shaped necklace.

"It should be willing to speak with you."

Ethan took the necklace, smiled, and pointed at the cup in front of the dragon. "Another cup?"

"Certainly."

...

By evening, the Minotaurs took their leave.

Zharok started a fire in the yard to cook, Ethan, on the other hand, was smelting iron ore to extract refined iron.

Iris hesitated for a moment before walking over to Ethan and whispering, "Umm... thank you."

"I should be the one thanking you, thanks to you, I’ve learned so much about Doll Grass."

"No, that’s not what I meant..."

Ethan didn’t stop working, the molten iron was almost ready. "Pearl, how is it looking?"

"Perfect, meow~"

He poured the molten iron into the mold, once it cooled, he’d have perfectly shaped iron ingots.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Iris, "You brought Lady Witch’s token, after all, I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing, could I?"

"What’s your relationship with Lady Witch?"

"My friend’s boss... I suppose?"

"That’s right, meow~" The Witch was Pearl’s master, and Pearl was Ethan’s friend, helping a friend’s boss was naturally a matter of course.

Seeing Iris moved to tears of gratitude, Ethan smiled and patted her shoulder. "So, you don’t need to feel burdened by it."

"...Thank you, I am truly so grateful to you."

...

Early the next morning.

A rhythmic clanging of a hammer against iron woke Pearl from its sleep., it rubbed its sleep-filled eyes, walked out of its room, and headed toward the smithy.

Ethan rarely came to the smithy this early, he would usually go work in the fields or prepare breakfast first, why was he forging iron so early today?

Pearl walked into the smithy and looked at him curiously, it saw him hitting an iron plate with a hammer, slowly stretching and thinning it out.

"What are you making, meow?"

"A megaphone."

"A megaphone?"

"Yeah, I wanted to make it out of wood, but I couldn’t find the right materials." Ethan explained while continuing to hammer the plate.

Once it was large enough, he called Zharok over to help cut it into the right shapes.

Zharok groggily walked over and, following Ethan’s instructions, cut the iron plate into several triangles of varying sizes, Ethan bent these triangular iron pieces into cone shapes and then used high heat to weld them together.

[Crafting Complete: Simple Megaphone]

[A simple megaphone made of iron plates. Can amplify sound.]

[Well-Crafted: Amplification effect increased.]

[Well-Crafted: Sturdy and durable.]

[Crafting Difficulty: ★★]

"Wake up! Wake up!" Ethan picked up the megaphone and shouted into the mouthpiece, a booming voice echoed through the Great Forest.

Startled, Pearl hurriedly covered its ears with both paws. "What are you making this for, meow?"

"We can’t just barge directly into the Purple Forest, right? If we make the Human-Faced Spider angry, that would be bad."

Since the other party could be communicated with, they should try the diplomatic approach first, they couldn’t just trespass into someone else’s territory without permission, could they?

Ethan smiled and set the megaphone aside.

"Morning..." Perhaps woken by the megaphone, Iris rubbed her eyes and stumbled out of her room.

Seeing her messy bedhead, Ethan couldn’t help but laugh, Iris looked at him in confusion.

Seeing this, Liora quickly handed her a mirror, when Iris saw her reflection, she instantly blushed bright red. "I-I’m sorry, I-I haven’t tidied myself up yet..."

"It’s fine, Liora, let’s go wash up."

Liora also walked out of her room and pulled Iris toward the river.

Ethan set down the megaphone, turned into the kitchen, and started preparing breakfast, today’s breakfast consisted of rolled omelets, bread, and jam.

To Ethan and his group, it was just an ordinary breakfast, to Iris, it was a rare delicacy.

"Wow... I never thought bread could be this good..."

"The bread Ethan makes is the most delicious, meow~"

"The vegetables and fruits are really delicious too..."

"They were just picked, of course they’re good," Zharok mumbled around a mouthful of sugar beet.

Iris also picked up a piece of sugar beet, took a small bite, and nodded repeatedly. "We elves usually eat wild fruits and vegetables that were foraged in advance, we rarely get the chance to eat food this fresh."

"Does the Lord Marquis’s territory not have land blessed by Goddess Gaia?"

"We do, we have a very large plain where we grow wheat and other crops, but we rarely eat freshly harvested food."

"I see, eat some more."

"Thank you."

After enjoying a hearty breakfast, everyone began clearing the table and cleaning up.

Ethan returned to his room to pack the things he needed to bring, he took his weapons and some essential items, then placed the megaphone into the handcart.

"It looks like it’s highly likely we’ll end up fighting the Human-Faced Spider today," Zharok remarked while pushing the handcart.

"Yeah, if negotiations break down." Ethan nodded.

"Then bring this along." Zharok pointed to an earthen jar on the table.

"What is this?"

"The magical beasts in the Purple Forest are highly venomous, and the Human-Faced Spider is certainly no exception, although I am a beastman and have nothing to fear from poison, you and Miss Iris are different."

"You make a good point." Ethan picked up the earthen jar and placed it in the handcart.

Pearl and Liora had already climbed aboard.

"You should get on too," Ethan said to Iris.

"No need, I can walk..."