Chapter 442 : New Perks

Vee had already calmed down a lot after discovering she wouldn't be a perpetual child, or so we hoped, for everyone's sake, but her mood took a substantial positive swing when we brought out some food.

"I can finally eat like a human again!" Vee said, delighted, as she grabbed handfuls of food.

"Shouldn't you be using utensils to eat like a human?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I'm twelve at the moment, so cut me some slack."

Weirdly, despite now having opposable thumbs and arms, her eating had diminished greatly. Maybe it was because, when she was a spider, she often stuffed the whole thing into her mouth, leaving very little room to make a mess.

While Vee ate, I spent some time modifying her dress with enchantments, as apparently this dress had not been made from her [Rift Thread] and was just something she liked and had bought from a store.

Wait… How did she even buy it from a store?

Apparently Sylbera was the answer, and it was during one of my vacations on the island. Vee had gone out with Sylbera and instructed her from the shadows to buy some groceries and other items, putting the vast wealth we had accumulated to good use. During that little expedition, she saw this dress and bought it for her evolved self.

"We can make a combat one later. For now I just need to get used to all the changes in this body," Vee replied.

I would've thought she would've wanted to be extremely protective of her recently acquired human side, but apparently I was the one mistaken. Yes, despite how she looked, she was still a monster through and through, and that frail-looking human skin was anything but, able to block even swords without so much as a scratch.

"I can actually turn into a full spider; it's one of the traits I got from my evolution. I'm a bit annoyed [Bipedal Shift] didn't come for free, but I guess Arachne don't necessarily go around pretending to be humans, or something like that."

Vee demonstrated her three unique forms, with her spider form effectively just a larger version of her original self until she shrank back down. Her official race was now "Arachne (Riftweaver)," so even though she was officially an Arachne, it specified which type of spider she had come from before this legendary evolution.

Her evolution included several other benefits; she'd also received the [Unique] Emblem, although, considering Qhilleeqeth had already examined her, it felt a little moot at this point. Her [Thread Mastery] had received a massive boost in levels, which seemed to also include uncapping it for free. It felt a little unfair in my opinion, but maybe I would've received the same treatment if I had [Slime Mastery] before evolving.

Kind of an "if you don't have it, now you do" situation. And if you did have it, have a bit of a boost instead.

After Vee had been chasing this goal for so long, I thought she would have preferred to remain in her human form, but she actually preferred the Arachne form. Apparently eight legs were just way better than two, and the real prize was her hands.

"Now I can weave, or write, or craft, and so much more! I have a whole new world opened up to me!"

Her hands came with other benefits, as she now had ten more ways to produce spider silk. Each of her fingers had a tiny magical thread organ located underneath her fingernails, and despite their size, they were just as good, if not better, than her actual spinneret on her spider half.

With the point of a finger, she fired out a thread, attaching to the wall, before pulling herself towards it like a grappling hook. Vee giggled with delight at having access to these webs even when fully disguised as a human, making her quite a hidden threat.

Other than that, her basic attributes seemed to have all received an increase, as she was faster, stronger, and certainly tougher, but it still felt a little short in my opinion.

"I did receive one more thing, and it probably is something even Qhil would be jealous of. Okay, so normal Arachne actually have two sets of vital organs: two hearts, four lungs, etcetera, etcetera. This means to actually kill one you need to defeat the spider half and the human half."

"That's great news; I'm glad you've received another way other than [Defy Death]."

"Yes, but you haven't let me get to the good part. That's normal, Arachne, but I'm a Riftweaver, remember! So I already had my organs in a dimension. Anyway, the two traits seem to have merged, so not only do I have two sets of vitals in their own little rifts, but now I'm functionally immortal."

"Functionally immortal?"

"Well, I'm no slime that has twenty-four backup lives, not to mention a body that can only be harmed if you hit the core, but yes. Basically, I can't be killed unless my body is entirely vaporized, or someone somehow pierces the rifts and destroys both hearts, or something like that."

"I see why you said functionally… Although that's not exactly very practical. You might want to grab a trait to ignore or reduce pain, or something like that, as I can't imagine surviving with most of your body being destroyed is a pleasant experience."

"I actually received a combo trait to do just that. I think your Gramps person saw my unique situation and decided to improvise. I got both minor regeneration and pain nullification. Again, I'm no slime, or even a troll, but I can at least regrow missing limbs after a week or two, maybe a few days if I get more levels."

"Oh right, I almost completely forgot. Why were you speaking with Gramps?"

"Apparently he was invited by Mother. Imagine my surprise when suddenly there's another voice talking to me, and making me feel like I'm somehow guilty."

"Yeah… That sounds like Gramps alright. So, what did he say? Did you ask about my [Dungeon Master] application?"

"He mostly commented about my unique Arachne evolution and requested to see results. Honestly, I felt more like a chunk of meat on the table than someone he was talking to. I did, however, get a chance to ask, and Mother also kind of explained the situation."

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I was all ears as I listened, but when I found out why I was stuck in a limbo of pending, I was furious. Apparently the shadow octopus was under Unc, and because of that, he said I should be under him because even though I usurped the position, it was one of his slots. Gramps, on the other hand, refused to hand over any authority regarding me, leaving the two in a stubborn stalemate and me without my reward.

To say I was furious was an understatement, not at Gramps, as I felt like he had my best interest at heart, but at Unc. I had complied with his requests, given Leon a home, and this was how he repaid me?

"Don't get too mad just yet," Vee said reassuringly. "Mother came up with a good idea to force him to give up, and Gramps agreed it would be effective."

"I'm listening…"

"We banish Leon from the island until your application is approved. Unc relies on Leon as his connection to us, so if he's off the island, then Unc loses his source of entertainment."

"Wait, we're just entertainment…?"

"I wouldn't go that far, but it certainly sounds like they enjoy seeing our antics. Gramps and Mother seem to have a thing going on with you and me, probably because of the [Companion Bond] and whatnot, but Unc is kind of a third wheel. So, we banish Leon, and after a few weeks of suffering, Unc will give up."

"I kind of feel bad for Leon though."

"I wouldn't. The dumb crab probably would treat it as a vacation. Despite living on the island, he doesn't really treat it as a home since, you know, he has his shell."

"Alright then, we banish Leon until I get my approval. Anything else?"

"Mother said she's very happy with your progress in magic, which seemed to upset Gramps. That was when he told me to warn you about making your next evolution count."

"Do I really need to pick Queen?"

"He didn't say. Although unless your beloved Time Slime is there, that seems like the obvious choice, no?"

It did, although at the same time I wasn't sure. Was this really what Gramps wanted me to pick? And for what purpose exactly? To spawn more slimes?

I still have plenty of time to decide, and hopefully by then Vee has received an ascension or two, so I know what to expect. Humans get to pick things like affinities, so I wonder if that applies to us monsters?

I continued to chat with Vee about her experience and how she felt. I was still very curious about her new form, and it helped distract me from the upcoming banishment and my distant yet soonish final evolution.

The most notable discovery was something Vee hadn't thought of: she now had two brains. Whether this was intentional or a byproduct of her being so close to me was a mystery, but it allowed her to almost do some parallel processing, like with me and my [Sub-Cores]. I had Vee try casting two spells at once while knitting, and she described the whole thing as [Multitasking] on steroids.

After that discovery, we also looked further into her three forms and found that both [Bipedal Shift] and [Arachnid Shift] came with their own built-in [Identity Fabrication]. Vee was labeled a human when using the former and a riftweaver when using the latter, both of which concealed her Arachne moniker.

"That means I really need to level up these traits. Especially [Bipedal Shift] if I want to go around towns."

"That's true… But you're forgetting, you also have me."

Vee tilted her head curiously to the side, not understanding what I was implying. I chuckled and, after pointing at her dramatically, used my superior [Identity Fabrication] with its mighty twelve levels and applied an appropriate identity to her.

"Oh… I forgot you could do that."

I couldn't blame her, as from her perspective I was just using it to stupidly label rocks as gold and other similar pranks. But as my [Bonded Companion], I could give her a practically flawless identity, especially since she now had the visuals to back it up.

"We should take it on a test run. I could introduce you to Keldenar now, and we can see if it can deceive his [Eyes of Truth]."

"Didn't he see through even you, though?"

"Yes, but that was before it was uncapped. Plus, walking through Keld as a human is probably the best option for you right now without any risk."

"I think you're forgetting the stupidly powerful golemancer."

"I mean he's my ally at the moment, not to mention the elves. I'll also be leaving a [Rift Beacon] just in case."

"What about Southbrook?"

"Sure physical safety-wise that would be a better choice. I think you could rampage and destroy the entire town with one hand tied behind your back. But, well, you can't exactly change your looks, can you? So if your cover is blown, then I'm not sure what we can do."

"Dye my hair and change my name… but I get your point," Vee sighed. "Okay, I guess I did say I would meet him after I evolved. Then if my improved disguise works, we can go on a bit of a shopping trip."

"Sure, I don't mind. But first… We've got a crab to banish."

"He didn't even come to see my evolution, so I'm looking forward to this," Vee said with a chuckle.

It didn't take us long to find the antisocial crab who was in his usual spot at the edge of the island. When he wasn't building structures, he decided to set up shop here for some peace and quiet. Originally, he had liked the goblins and spent some time with them as if they were his minions; however, that was short-lived when he found them too loud and boisterous, causing disturbances during his thinking time.

As per usual, all we could see was his massive shell, as the crab still refused to show his face. I was very curious what it was like inside there, and, considering it was made of dungeon brick, I suspected it might even be bigger on the inside.

Oh, I still need to show Vee my compressed rooms. Well, we can do that tomorrow after a good night's sleep before we head to Keld.

"Leon! Wakey wakey!" Vee shouted before pounding a fist against his shell.

Unfortunately for her, despite her newfound strength, it was still no match for his stupidly reinforced shell, and she shook her hand, wincing after the fact. Thankfully, it didn't take long for Leon to show his face, no doubt curious about the voice disturbing him.

The crab poked his head out only to be met with silence as he appeared to be staring at us questioningly.

"Uh, Syl, I can talk now but Leon still can't," Vee whispered while giving me a nudge.

Oh, right…

I quickly established a connection while sensing the smugness radiating from Vee. Evidently, she was very proud of the fact that she no longer needed [Telepathy] to talk and was trying to gloat in front of Leon.

"Um… Is there a reason you brought this sassy child to me?" Leon asked as soon as the connection was established. "I know we are monsters, but I think kidnapping might be a step too far."

"Sassy child? Do I need to string you up in my webs to remind you of your place?" Vee threatened, shaking a fist.

"Vee!? Good heavens, what have you done to yourself? Have you possessed a child? What manner of demonic sorcery have you gotten yourselves into!?"

"You stupid crab, I evolved!" Vee shouted back before returning to her Arachne form.

"I see… Um… Very well. You can go back; this is much too creepy even for me."

Vee snorted in response, but made no effort to return to her human form, instead crossing her arms and glaring at the crab. "Let's get down to business."

"Business? Do we have another expansion planned for the island?" Leon asked.

I shook my head. "I'm afraid not. I take no pleasure in this, but because of the actions of Unc, I'm forced to banish you!"

"I'm being… Banished? What did that stuttering buffoon do?"

In the interest of honesty, we told him most of the situation, explaining that because of Unc I wasn't receiving my reward and that until he gave up, Leon would be banished. For what it was worth, Leon actually seemed almost understanding of the situation, or perhaps Vee was right, and he saw this as an opportunity for his own vacation.

"Very well then, thank you for defeating the fish people. Cheerio!" Leon said before scuttling off towards the sea.

Vee and I watched him disappear into the waves before awkwardly looking at each other.

I shrugged. "Well, that went better than expected?"

"I told you he wouldn't care. Anyway, let's head back. I want to eat a bit more before bedtime."

"You want to eat even more?"

"Well, I do have two stomachs now."

"Of course you do…"